Chapter 16

Isolder watched as the Slave IV streamed toward Coruscant, unable to believe the good fortune they had just received. Luke Skywalker was here now! And he was off to help Leia and Han. If they succeeded in their mission, the tide of the battle would turn. But until then...it was up to him and the Republic to keep Xizor's fleet at bay.
Pacing on the bridge deck of the Song of War, Isolder watched as the battle continued on the ship's enormous viewscreen. "Astarta, have all our fighters been deployed?" he asked the Amazon-like bodyguard next to him.
Astarta nodded, steely-eyed. "Yes, my Lord."
"Sir!" another officer called from her console. "The Burning Rose has suffered severe damage! And we've lost at least four Battle Dragons."
"Keep fighting!" Isolder shouted, as the Song of War suffered another hail of blasts. The floor buckled under his feet. "We need to buy time for Leia so she can retake Coruscant."
The Song of War aimed its fire at the closest Star Destroyer. Blasts from ion cannons came first, shutting down the destroyer's sublight engines. Three more blasts struck the bridge, and the Black Sun ship fell victim to a flurry of laser blasts and proton torpedoes. Two Barabel warships joined in the fire, and the Star Destroyer exploded in a wash of fire. The Star Destroyers seemed to be inexorable, no matter how many were destroyed--it reminded Isolder of a chirru; cut off one of its head, and it would grow three more in its place--for they surrounded the slowly dwindling Republic ships in a triangle, turbolaser batteries pulsing without mercy.
An escort frigate exploded right before Isolder's eyes, nearly blinding him and the rest of the crew. Another ship went veering out of control, its engines damaged, and collided into the Burning Rose, sealing its fate. They were slowly losing the battle...and Black Sun seemed stronger than ever.
Thousands of small fighters danced across the viewscreen, a mixture of TIE fighters, interceptors, X-wings, B-wings, Y-wings, and A-wings. The Republic and Hapans had some of the best-trained fighter pilots in the galaxy, whereas the Black Sun fighters seemed to be less-disciplined and clumsy. At least we're doing well in that area, Isolder thought. It gave him very little comfort.
The majority of the destroyers now focused their firepower on the Song of War, as if aware that the Prince of the Hapes Cluster was on board. The battleship shuddered as blow after blow struck its shields.
"Shields down by seventy-three percent," Ensign Sheular reported. "If this keeps up, we'll be destroyed in a matter of minutes."
Isolder could barely even nod, as he watched the fleet hammer mercilessly upon his ship. The Song of War's cannons fought as hard as they could, damaging several of the enemy ships, and the remaining Battle Dragons rushed to their flagship's rescue, but it was not enough. Unless a miracle happened...Black Sun would triumph.

Wedge had seen the Dantooine explode around the beginning of the battle. He had just gotten out of the hangar bay on his X-wing when a three-pronged attack from Black Sun rendered it crippled in space. Several more blasts blew it clean into oblivion, leaving the mighty Mon Calamari cruiser little more than wreckage that sailed aimlessly through space. Wedge had considered himself lucky that he had left the ship in time...and also a sense of sadness for all the people who had died. Too many good people had already died today in this battle.
Now in his X-wing, Wedge led the bulk of the New Republic fighters against Black Sun. The TIEs clearly outnumbered even the combined might of the Republic, the Hapans, and the Verpines, but Black Sun seemed to have forgotten to properly train their pilots. More often than not, the TIEs ended up shooting down their own allies.
Wedge armed two proton torpedoes, and launched them at a cluster of TIEs heading in his direction. Two of them exploded, and another was engulfed by the flames. The last one tried to flee, but was quickly shot down by two of the Verpine B-wings. The fighters seemed to be doing well, Wedge saw, but the rest of the battle was not. The Star Destroyers far outnumbered the Republic fleet in terms of size, number, and firepower. Even now, it was obvious that the fleet was losing to Black Sun. Wedge sent a transmission to every last pilot fighting.
"Attention, all pilots! Ignore the fighters, we need to focus all firepower on the Star Destroyers!"
The pilots complied, and almost immediately, a wave composed of hundreds upon hundreds of tiny fighters streamed away from the incoming TIEs, and toward the Star Destroyers. The bone-white ships were magnificent compared to the puny fighters, but Wedge knew their weaknesses. He knew exactly where and how to take them down, even with a simple fighter. He just hoped that would give Leia enough time to find and kill Xizor once and for all.
As he opened fire on the closest Star Destroyer, the laser blasts pounding the turbolaser batteries on its sides, Wedge saw another wave of X-wings and Y-wings coming in his direction.
"Great," he said. "We're going to need a lot of help if we're going too--"
Before he could finish his sentence, the new arrivals opened fire upon Wedge's squadron. Five X-wings exploded simultaneously, unprepared for the surprise attack. Horrified, Wedge swerved his fighter, avoiding blasts from the Star Destroyer, as he headed over in the fighters' direction. A closer look confirmed his fears: these new ships had the markings of the Imperial Palace. Black Sun had hijacked their own ships.

Callista snapped awake from her trance and found herself back lying on the rock, near the Anasazi river, in the middle of the humid jungle. The plateau was gone, vanished into oblivion.
She laid there on her side for a long time, listening to the chirps and squeaks of small critters running through the trees, to the soft rippling of the brownish- green water as it traveled through the jungle, still barely able to believe everything that had transpired during her stupor. She had done something no other Jedi had ever done since the beginning of time...speak to the Force itself. True, the Force sometimes visited Jedi in their dreams, in many different forms--she remembered how Luke had told her of the Force, in the form of Obi-Wan, had visited him on Hoth and told him about Yoda--but never before has anyone seen its true form face to face. It was a magnificent feeling, something Callista had never felt before. Luke would have loved to have seen it. There were so many questions she still wanted to ask the Force that she wished she could have, but she knew that she had little time to spare.
As she looked up at the slowly darkening sky, she could see Anasazi's largest moon start to cover the afternoon sky. The eclipse...just as the Kerash had predicted. She got up from the rock, feeling more refreshed and at ease with herself than she had felt in a long time, and headed into the jungle. She needed to find the Kerash rebels. If she was going to take on Armenia and her warriors to stop the Ritual of the Coming, she was going to need help.

Emna sat alone in the Kerash caves, her face lit by the slowly dwindling flicker of torchlight. Within a few minutes, it would burn out and die, leaving the former Nightsister trapped in the cave's darkness. She didn't care. All she could think about at the moment was Callista's words before she took off.
The woman was lying; she had to be! There was no way Armenia could bring Arak from Raximidaj. The Kerash leader herself had told them that it was impossible, and to do such a thing would only result in destruction and death. And yet...what if what Callista was saying was true?
Emna reflected back on her life on Dathomir, back to simpler times. She could still remember her mother's final words before she was exiled from the Northern Lakes Clan, when it had been discovered that she had been practicing dark spells.
I am ashamed to call myself your mother! she had said, her fury barely contained, her hand moving up as if to slap her. I raised you for sixteen years, taught you how to live the ways of the warrior. From the moment of your birth, you knew that the Book of Laws states to never concede to evil. And now look at you! Perhaps exiling you into the forest is best for all of us.
The words had struck true in Emna's mind, no matter how much she tried to deny it. She knew how evil the Nightsisters were, and yet she still gave in to the dark side. After their argument, Emna had lashed out and killed her mother. Horrified, she had left the clan as quickly as possible, never looking back. Those memories still haunted her to this day...even on Anasazi.
Emna always felt that the Kerash were not as pure and righteous as they had claimed to be; from Cray's words on Dathomir, she had always known they were evil to an extent (Gabriela had once told her that, in truth, all beings in the universe were evil at heart). Armenia, in particular, seemed a tad insane, especially since the death of the great leader Cray--Had Armenia really lied about that as well?
Maybe there was more to the Kerash than she had thought. Emna had once been a Nightsister. She knew how evil worked. The Nightsisters, whether they were under the command of Gethzerion, or Gabriela, or Anya, never tried to hide their true intent. They were evil, and they wanted everyone to know that. That was what made the Nightsisters so different from the Kerash. If the Kerash priests were truly evil, then they were doing a very good job of disguising it. Emna knew how manipulative evil could be, and if what Callista had told her was right--
--then the Kerash were planning to bring back Arak. Emna had heard of the legend weeks after Cray had first brought her to Anasazi. Arak had been a very powerful god, and had tried to corrupt the rest of the pantheon, but her plans went awry, and she ended up destroying the other gods, and trapped herself in Raximidaj forever. Emna wasn't sure if she believed the story--although the Nightsisters had had their own sect of gods to worship--but she didn't want to take any chances. If Arak was real, then a lot of innocent people were doing to die.
Cray herself had told Emna that the Kerash planned to destroy the Republic-- and even the entire universe. Years ago, the very idea would have pleased Emna. But now... Emna stood and watched as the torch breathed its last. Darkness approached, quickly shutting out the meager light. But Emna was not afraid; she knew how to find her way out of the cave.
Her decision had been made.

Leanna had barely recovered from her shock--which was quickly followed by the realization that there was no possible way they could have kept the galaxy's greatest bounty hunter restrained for long, even with the help of Jedi--as Boba Fett leaped from the cot and tried to snatch the vibroblade from her hand. Leanna cursed and backed away, determined to maintain as good a distance from her opponent as possible. Despite her quick speed, Fett still managed to gain a hold of her vibroblade, and tried to wrench it free from her hand. But Leanna was not about to let him get it, and she held onto the handle of the deadly weapon with all her might.
For seconds, the two fought for control of the vibroblade, making very little noise save for a few grunts of frustration. The Jedi must have been oblivious to the battle, Leanna realized, for none of them rushed to help. She considered calling for assistance. No! This is my fight, not anyone else's. If anyone's going to kill Boba Fett...it is going to be me...
 As they struggled, Leanna brought her free hand up and down upon the handle of the vibroblade. The force of the blow caused the blade to break free from the grips of the two combatants, and clatter to the floor. Fett's elbow flew into her gut, and Leanna grunted in pain and staggered back against the wall, breathless. Hot, burning bile rose in her throat, threatening to spill all over the floor.
As she tried to regain her strength, she weakly saw Boba Fett bend over to retrieve the fallen vibroblade. The hunter's mask turned toward the weakened woman, and something inside Leanna told her he was smiling under it.
"This is for giving me a bloody nose, bitch," he said in that cold, terrifying voice, as he slowly sauntered over to her, the vibroblade in one gauntleted hand. Despite the tremendous pain she felt in her gut--as well as the slight burning sensation in her thigh from the wound she had received in their fight on Garkonis--Leanna smiled.
"Okay, Fett," she said, now taunting, "you want a piece of me? Then come and get it, you no-good, baby-stealing, bantha-smelling, piece of Wookiee dung!"
It seemed to work, for Fett now charged toward her like a stampeding blurgg. Leanna waited until just the right moment, then leaped forth, gasping in pain as she did so. She bent forth and slammed her body into the bounty hunter, causing them both to plummet to the floor. The blade flew from Fett's grip and hit the wall, out of his reach. His helmet came loose as well, exposing his deformed face. Leanna was the first on her feet, and she waited for Fett to rise. As he got to one knee, disoriented from the surprise attack, she threw a high- kick that connected against his head, throwing him back onto the cot. "Nighty-night," she quipped, and watched as Fett got off the cot, a dark look of fury on his face. "You know, Fett, I'm not sure if anyone told you this, but--you are ugly."
A snarl escaped his lips, and he came at Leanna, throwing an impressive kick for her face. Leanna ducked--wondering how he could have aimed a kick that high with all that armor on--and swept one leg out in a lashing kick. She caught the bounty hunter by the back of the ankles, using enough force to knock his feet off the floor, and down upon his back. More enraged than hurt, Fett hauled back up, rubbing the back of his head.
He spoke, his voice now raspy and dry, not at all like the voice of his mask, "You stupid little Twi'lek tramp! You're gonna pay for that!"
Leanna was not perturbed. "I mean, you're more than ugly! You're so ugly you make a Gorax look gorgeous. Is it true that when you were born, your doctor turned and slapped your mother?" As she spoke, she ran at the bounty hunter, who seemed plenty mad at her now at the mere mention of a family member--even a nonexistant one, if the stories about Fett were to be believed.
As he rose to both feet, Leanna performed a perfect cartwheel. Halfway through, she turned the cartwheel in Fett's direction, and into a kick that struck him clean across the face, dropping him the floor like a fallen stone. The hunter twisted in mid-air before he crashed, blood flowing from his nose. Leanna landed gracefully on her feet, and turned to bring him down permanently.
But she was unprepared for the tackle Fett threw at her. In just under a second, he was back on his feet--Leanna had to admire his stamina--and threw himself against her, knocking them both against the wall. Leanna took most of the impact, and a tremble of pain went down her spine. With Fett grasping her shoulders, he threw her down, and landed on top of her belly, having gained the upper hand. Leanna tried to squirm away underneath him, but he had a firm grip on her arms, preventing her from moving.
"Now, doesn't this seem familiar?" Fett remarked, his breath stale and nasty on Leanna's face. "Looks like you're going to be joining the rest of your family in death. I think it's fitting I should be the one to kill you."
Leanna stared into his eyes--those cold, beautiful eyes that bore not semblance of humanity or compassion. "Fine," she said, ceasing her struggles. "Go ahead and do it. Just get it over with and end my life. I no longer have a purpose since you butchered my family."
Fett smiled, reaching over to grab the vibroblade. "As you wish, Leanna Kai," he said, bringing the blade up, prepared to take her life, as he had taken the lives of her family--
--and screamed as a green blade of light tore through his back, melting through the armor, cutting into flesh and bone, and coming out through his breastplate. Fett looked down at the mortal wound, as if unable to believe what had happened, and rolled off of Leanna, his body instantly going limp. Leanna remained on the floor, finally letting out the breath she had been holding for who knows how long. Her head turned and saw Fett's face, eyes open wide, lifeless. She turned back to see who had attacked him, who had saved her from the hands of death and saw Skywalker standing inside the room, in front of the open doorway. There was no surprise at all on his face, confirming Leanna's earlier suspicions. He had known what she had planned to do all along.
And he had just saved her life.
Leanna rose weakly to her feet, starting to feel the aftereffects of the fight. Her stomach and back were sore, and she was almost out of breath. She looked at Skywalker, and then at Fett. She didn't know what to say. But there was nothing needed to be said. "We've landed on Coruscant," Skywalker suddenly said, and left the room, leaving Leanna alone with her nightmare. After Luke had left, Leanna leaned against the wall. Closing her icy blue eyes she thought, Why? Why couldn't he have just let Fett kill me? I have nothing to live for ... nothing at all. Slowly she sank to the floor. "I'm just so tired of living. So sick and tired of all of this pain." It seemed an eternity passed as she sat there on the cold floor. A broken woman, who was tired of living.
Promise me one thing, Lea, my precious daughter. No matter what happens to your mother, me or what life throws at you, never give.
I promise, Daddy.
Raising her head, Leanna scanned the room. Am I hearing things?
Your e so full of life, my dearest. Never give up on life, there's to much to live for.
I won't mommy
Shaking her head, Leanna mentally cried, Leave me alone!! I don't want to remember!!
Hey, sis! Remember to take a take a break!
But it's hard. And if I take a break, I might not get anything done.
Sure it's hard, but I'll tell you what. So is life. You can't just dive head first into everything and work yourself to death because you want to accomplish something in record time. Life is full of opportunities, you just have to know when to go for them and when to step back. So take it a little easier, ok?
Only if you do the same.
Deal.
Tears dripping down her face, she covered her ears with her hands as she whispered, "Leave me alone. Just leave me alone."
We'll be together forever, right Lea?
Yeah, we will, Llia. Together forever in our hearts.
 Wide eyed, Leanna lower her hands to her knees as an epiphany came to her. I've been refusing to remember because of the pain that comes with it. But by doing so, I've been encasing my heart in a block of ice and forgetting everything I had promised them. Closing her eyes she mentally unlocked the door to her memories and allowed them to come flooding back.
A child of four years old, skipped along her father's side asking, "What are we doing today, Daddy?
The man beside her was tall, he had short black hair and emerald eyes. Smiling down at his daughter he replied, "I going to show you how to meditate, today, Lea." Scrunching up her nose she replied, "But I thought that only Jedi meditate, Daddy. Why do I need to learn how to meditate, I'm not Jedi."
Chuckling, he picked his daughter up to place her on his hip as he answered, "Jedi are not the only people who meditate, young one. Meditating can be very good when you want to clear your mind, to relax, or to seek an answer that can only be found within you."
Looking into her father's eyes, Leanna asked, "Is that why the Jedi meditate, Daddy?"
Lightly shrugging his shoulders and causing her to squeal with delight, he said, "Maybe." Winking once he continued, "Come on! After meditating, I'll teach you a couple more moves."
With her eyes sparkling, Leanna said, "Mom said she was going to cream you if you did."
Putting a finger to his lips for a second he whispered, "Shh, it can be a secret between you and I."
Laughing she replied, "Whatever you say Daddy. Whatever you say."

A girl of seven years sat in a lotus position on the living room floor. Her eyes were closed and her silverish white hair was pulled back in a braid that rested over her right shoulder while her hands were folded in her lap. Hearing faint noises behind her she firmly commanded, "Benjamin Harp Kai, don't even think about it."
Pouting, a boy a few years older walked over and sat down asking, " How did you know I was there, Lea?"
Smirking, Leanna replied, "You make to much noise."
Snapping his fingers, Benjamin said, "Darn. So, meditating again, huh? You do that too often."
Open her eyes she glanced up at him and commented, "Yeah, I was meditating. You should try it sometime, you'd be surprised at what it can do for you." Looking out the window she continued, "So did our cousin leave?"
Nodding, he answered, "Yeah, she did. She was pretty ticked at you for beating her in practice today. Think we'll see her again?"
"Most likely." Taking a deep breath, she stood up and said, "She's so full of anger. So full of hate. Can't she see that all anger and hate only clouds the mind?"
Shrugging, Benjamin followed her example and stood up for a few seconds before tackling her to the ground. The two wrestled for a couple minutes, he finally managed to pin her to the ground and declared, "Ha! I win!"
Glaring at him she replied, "Only because you cheated."
Laughing he said, "As if. I can beat you any day of the week, munchkin."
"You want to prove that, little boy?"
"You're on!"

Wiping the tears away, Leanna slowly stood up and opened her eyes. Their icy blue color seemed to melt as she walked over to the dead body of Boba Fett and bent down to close his unseeing eyes with her hand, saying, "I may not be able to ever forgive you for what you have done to my family and to others, but I'll will hate you no longer. I cannot afford the price that comes with that emotion. I won't allow my mind to clouded any longer."
Standing up, she walked to the door, and paused."I still have much to live for. It took me a long time to realize that, but I have. I have to know the truth. Perhaps it is time to share my past with someone who is willing to listen, but right now, I'm going to help Skywalker get his daughter back safely. Good bye, Boba Fett." And with that she walked out of the room, putting the nightmare to rest.

Meanwhile on a different planet, a tall man weakly opened his eyes thinking, Where am I? What happened? Looking around the room through blurry eyes he thought, Lea? Where's Lea? Where's Llia? Where are my sisters?

Leia watched as Xizor stood before her, only a few mere feet away from her, the grin on his handsome face so smug that it disgusted her. Her brown eyes blazed a thinly-veiled contempt for the man and his cronies. Guri slightly traced the tip of the torture hook across Han's left cheek, almost enough to cut into the skin. Although her husband kept a brave face, Leia could sense his terror, hidden far beneath his rough exterior.
"Would you like to see how well this little hook cuts, Solo?" Guri teased, digging the tip of the hook a little into Han's cheek. The first few faint droplets of squeezed out, sliding along his sweaty skin and dripping quietly to the floor.
"Leave him alone!" Leia shouted, trying to get the HRD's attention. "If you want to torture someone, then do it to me."
But Xizor shook his head. "My dear Leia," he said, shaking his head. "I can't let Guri scar that beautiful face of yours. You know that I can't marry an ugly woman."
Leia almost choked on her own saliva. "I'd rather be one of Jabba's slave dancers than marry you!" she snapped angrily. Xizor seemed taken aback, as if surprised that a delicate-looking woman such as her would make such a rude comment toward him like that. He doesn't know me very well then, does he? she thought with a smile.
The surprise quickly disappeared, replaced with the mask Xizor always used to conceal his true emotions. "It doesn't matter if you want to marry me, Leia," he said coldly, standing over her, his shadow completely dwarfing her. "All that matters is that I can force you to marry me." He stroked through her hair, like she was his pet. "You know I can, my dear."
Leia remained unafraid, and rose to the challenge. "You won't win this, Xizor. You know that."
Xizor chuckled. "Really? And who's going to stop me?"
The door to the control room slid open with a loud whoosh. Leia, Xizor, and everyone else turned to see who it was--though Leia knew who would be standing there; she'd felt him the moment he'd arrived--and saw Luke Skywalker enter the chamber with his lightsaber, followed by several more of his students, and Leanna Kai.
"I am," Luke said. "It's over, Xizor. Surrender while you still can."
Xizor turned to Leia, the fury on his face palpable. Smoke seemed to seethe from his nose and ears. "You--"
"Good guess," Leia said, and reared back, throwing her foot up into the air. She caught Xizor firmly in the jaw, knocking him down the floor in a heap of purple robes. It didn't feel as good as hitting him in the groin, but it was a start. Luke and his companions charged in, their lightsabers cutting down the Black Sun soldiers that stood in their way. A flurry of blaster bolts sailed in their direction, which was deflected back by a Force shield Luke had thrown around himself and his friends, bouncing back to their owners, catching them completely off-guard. As the fighting continued, with Kirana Ti leading the group, Luke went over to Han and Leia.
"Hey, guys," he said as he used his saber to slice through Leia's chains. Leia smiled and hugged her brother.
"You came just in time, Luke," she said.
Luke returned the hug, and broke off to free Han.
"Thanks, kid," Han remarked, rubbing his sore wrists. "We keep switching back and forth, don't we, in the saving each other's lives department."
Luke grinned. "Next time, I'll let you save me." His face took on a more serious tone as he explained the situation to them. "The battle's not going to well in orbit. Black Sun has pretty much brought our fleet to their knees. If we don't succeed--"
"We will succeed," Leia said sternly, and she believed it, too. "Now, can someone give me a weapon?"

Cray had felt an enormous relief when Luke Skywalker had charged into the control room with his companions. With the Jedi Master and his best students on their side, there was no way Xizor was going to win. She watched as Luke freed Han and Leia from their chains, and waited patiently for the Jedi Master to free her as well.
But instead of going over to her, Luke returned to the battle, cutting down Black Sun minions left and right. Leia and Han retrieved weapons from fallen soldiers and joined in the fighting.
"Um, somebody?" Cray said, trying to make her voice rise over the fighting. "Could someone help me...please?"
No one answered. The control room was now alive with the hum of lightsabers and the firing of blasters. Luke and his friends pushed forth, their lightsabers deflecting bolt after bolt. Xizor had gotten up from the floor and took shelter from one of the consoles, a small hold-out blaster in his hand. Cray gnashed her teeth in disgust. Xizor was not only arrogant, he was also a coward. She silently swore that when she broke free, Xizor would be her first victim on her list.
That is, if she got free.
As she struggled to pull her chains from the wall, she saw Guri lumbering toward her, the torture hook gripped in one hand. "Oh, no you don't," she said.
Guri's fist flew into her gut--it felt like a hammer had been smashed against her stomach--and a gasp escaped Cray's mouth. For the first time since Callista had severed her hand, she actually felt pain. Something felt loose inside, and she had no doubts that Guri had broken something. Guri snatched Cray by one arm, holding her immobile, and placed the tip of the hook against her jugular. Cray brought her head back and head-butted the other HRD. Guri's head snapped back, and blood spurted out of her nose. Unlike Cray, Guri was of the older HRD models, programmed to bleed. As Guri staggered back, the hook sailing out of her hand, Cray leaped--Thank the Maker my legs are still free--and sent both feet smashing into her face, further crushing her nose. Cray performed a flip while in mid-air and scissored her feet so that her legs were clutching Guri by both sides of her head. The HRD cried out in surprise and tried to pry Cray's legs loose.
But her legs were as hard as steel, and not easy to break free from. Cray allowed herself to smile--she was really starting to enjoy this--and used her legs to flip Guri to the floor. The HRD landed and rolled against a console, stunned for the moment. With her opponent down, Cray struggled to break the chains holding her prisoner. Summoning every last inch of strength she had left, she began to pull. She could feel the chains start to break from the wall, but it still wasn't enough.
By that time, Guri had gotten up again, and reached to snatch a vibro-ax from one of the dead guards. With it gripped in both hands, a look of pure rage on her blood-stained face, Guri strode forward and rammed the handle of the weapon into Cray's stomach. Something shattered inside Cray's gut and she bent over in pain, an electrical shock coursing through her body. For a precious few seconds, she couldn't move. She hung limply from her chains, trying to collect herself. She felt something sharp strike her in the head, further worsening the pain. She realized that it had been Guri hitting her with the end of the ax. Her vision started to darken as several of her circuits fried. Guri was giving her quite a beating--and she seemed to be ready for another blow. Cray aimed a weak kick for her knee, hoping to bring her down--but Guri sidestepped, grabbed her leg in mid-swing with one hand, dropping her weapon, and snatched her by the throat with her other hand. She looked Cray full in the eyes, her grip starting to tighten.
Suddenly, an invisible fist smashed into Guri from the left, knocking her aside. The HRD crashed upon the platform overlooking the control room, shocked from the blow. Cray weakly looked over to see Luke rushing to her aid.
"Are you all right?" Luke asked as he cut through her bonds with his lightsaber. Cray nodded, and felt an immense wave of relief when she was able to move her arms freely again. "I'll live," she said, then gave the Jedi Master a bitter look. "It took you long enough, though."
Luke seemed a little embarrassed. "Yeah. Sorry, I kinda forgot about you." His eyes went over to Guri, who was starting to get up again. "Do you need help with her?"
Cray shook her head, glaring daggers at the HRD. "No. This one's mine."
Without waiting for Luke to respond, Cray ran over to the platform. She leaped, higher than a normal human, twisted in mid-air, and landed right in front of Guri, her hands held out into fists. Guri was slightly surprised by her quick arrival, but immediately reverted back to sheer coldness, ready to take her opponent down.
"You know," Cray said, "when you used that stun baton against me, I was mad. But now, after this little incident, I'm pissed." She took a few cautious steps toward Guri, wary of her every move. "Any last words before I snap you in half?"
Guri nodded. "Yes. Pray. You're going to have to once I'm through with you."
Cray grinned. "Bring it on." And she did. The two HRDs stood atop the platform, high above the raging battle in the control room, two opposing goddesses facing each other down on the highest mountain, while their little minions fought on the ground below. Neither moved, their eyes locked upon each other, their hands balled into fists capable of punching through even the strongest armor.
Cray knew what Guri was capable of. She was extremely quick, and powerful...more or less a one-woman army. And she already had Cray at a disadvantage, for she still had not fully recovered from their recent fight. Not to mention that Guri still had both her hands, unlike Cray. If she was going to take Guri down, she had to do it now and fast. Guri opened her mouth, as if to say something, most likely something villains always say in battle. She seemed so confident and sure of herself, that she thought Cray would actually let her finish.
Right.
Cray moved in the moment Guri opened her mouth, and delivered a whopper of a punch into her jaw. The blow was perfect, and she heard a loud crunch that rose above even the battle raging below them. Guri staggered back, even as Cray threw a second punch. She struck her squarely in the nose, which was still bleeding, and created another fresh red fountain that spurted from her nostrils and onto the clean floor. Judging by the look on Guri's face, she was in pain, but she was also furious. She threw a punch, which Cray dodged. As she ducked her head to avoid the incoming attack, Cray threw the toe of her booted foot into Guri's chest, striking her in the ribs. One of them cracked, and Guri cried out in pain. One hand going up to her chest, Guri charged toward Cray, intending to slam into her, take her off the platform. Cray calculated where Guri intended to hit her, and braced herself. As soon as Guri's arms fell upon her, she snatched them by the elbows, refusing to let go.
For seconds, the HRDs spun around together on the platform, until they were just on the edge of falling off. With a last burst of strength, Cray pushed, sending Guri flying off the platform. For a moment, it appeared as if she could fly, and then crashed upon a console, demolishing it under her weight. Sparks exploded around her, melting into her flesh, and she began screaming. Cray leaped off the platform toward Guri, intending to slam into her with such force that she would put a hole through the floor and knock Guri out of the battle permanently. She brought one elbow back, readying herself to deliver the blow. What she didn't see until it was too late was Guri's foot as she snapped it up, right where Cray would land. The HRD cried out as Guri's foot struck her hard in the chest. She fell back, and hit the floor, disoriented. She felt more electrical sparks surge through her body, and she saw that Guri's foot had left an imprint on her chest, causing it to cave in. Damaged wires dangled from the open wound, spilling onto the floor.
And Guri was coming back for a rematch.
Cray forced herself to get up, and made a feeble attempt to charge Guri. But the other woman was well-prepared for the attack, and she slammed her fist into Cray's jaw, knocking her aside into the wall.
"This is almost too easy," Guri remarked, as she strode toward the weakened droid. "Perhaps if you had had your other hand still, little girl, you might've actually been able to match me."
As she prepared to grab Cray, Han appeared behind Guri, grabbing her with both arms in an attempt to hold her still. It almost looked as if he was hugging her.
"Come on, Cray!" he urged her. "Pummel her!"
"Gladly," Cray said as she rose from her knees, and punched Guri with the stump of her hand. "Hurts, doesn't it?" she said, smiling at the fact that she could still use the stump of her hand even in battle. She punched Guri a second time, and Guri responded with a kick to the head, knocking Cray back against the wall. She grabbed Han by the arms and swung him against the wall, right next to Cray. Han was the first one to get up, much to his detriment. Guri grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, and followed with a powerful head-butt that split open his nose and lips, then threw him across another console. Han's head bounced off the top of the computer console, and he slid to the floor, unconscious.
"Humans are such weaklings," Guri said, as she turned to face Cray, who was slowly clambering to her feet. "Wouldn't you agree?"
"Boy, you're a real piece of work," Cray said with no small amount of disgust. "Picking on people weaker than you. Yeah, you and Xizor deserve each other."
"You mean, like how much you and Nichos Marr deserved each other?" Guri said, going straight for the heart. "And look what happened to him. Tell me, Mingla, was his death slow and painful?"
Something in Cray finally snapped. Althought she wasn't the real Cray, she still felt a love for the man who had been Cray's lover, and to hear Guri speak of him in such a way unleashed the fury within her. Before Guri could even blink, Cray was upon her in an instant, snapping her head to the left with a powerful uppercut.
"Don't you ever speak of Nichos again!" she shrieked, punching her opponent again, this time in the temple, hard enough that she left a bruise. Guri reeled from the blows, and Cray climaxed her attack with a kick that would strike her head off.
But Guri grabbed her by the foot before it could meet its target, and sneered. "Let's see if you can fly," she said, as she shoved her foot upward, throwing Cray back.
In mid-air, Cray cleared her mind, not allowing panic to overtake her, and turned her fall into a backflip, while at the same time shoving both feet full into Guri's face. It wasn't strong enough to decapitate her, unfortunately, but it was able to knock her back against the wall of the platform, stunning her. Cray landed on her feet, now a good distance away from her opponent. Guri shook her head to clear away the disorientation--
--when her eyes fell upon the torture hook. And then on Leia, who was directing the battle not far away from where the HRD stood, oblivious to Guri. Cray saw it as well, and knew immediately what Guri was planning to do. Moving at the speed of quicksilver, Guri snatched the hook, spun, and threw it with all the gracefulness of a dancer. The hook sailed through the air, right toward Leia's back--
"Leia, look out!" Cray shouted, and ran toward the Chief of State, who didn't even see the hook coming until Cray's cry. She ran with blurring speed, and leaped right in front of Leia, just as Leia turned around to see what was going on.
The hook stabbed Cray squarely in the chest, ripping through skin and wires. A small burst exploded from the wound, and Cray fell to the floor, unable to move her arms. Her body jerked uncontrollably, like a caught fish, the hook sticking out of her chest.
"Cray!" Leia exclaimed, as she knelt down to check her wounds. "Are you--"
"I...I can't move," Cray said, on the verge of tears, the pain was so great.
Guri laughed with amusement as she sauntered toward the two women. "This battle is so entertaining," she remarked dryly, eyes focused on Leia. "If this is the best your friends can do, Madame President, then pardon me for saying that I am not at all impressed."
Leia slowly rose back up, her eyes glaring at the HRD. "Fine, Guri," she said coolly. "You want impressive? Then how about this?" She stretched one arm out, palm pointed at Guri.
Guri was hurled back through the air, propelled by the Force, and crashed through the enormous control room viewscreen. On impact, the screen shattered into several million tiny pieces, burying the unfortunate HRD in a mountain of glass. The jagged edges, like a million sharp knives, sliced through Guri's flesh, cutting deep into bone and blood until they reached her CPU, and completely vaporizing it, rendering the droid incapable to causing further damage. Guri didn't even have the opportunity to scream. Cray heaved a tremendous sigh of relief, unable to help anymore in the battle, before she shut herself down, falling into a sleep cycle. The last thing she saw was Leia gingerly checking over her wounds and her words, "This doesn't look too good..." before her vision became swallowed by the night.

Leia watched as Cray fell into a sleep cycle, her body instantly going limp, looking almost dead. Her wounds were bad, but still reparable. But she knew that Cray would not last five seconds in the midst of this battle while shut down.
"Luke!" she shouted, catching her brother's attention. "I need some help!" Luke nodded as he sliced off a Weequay's arm, and ran over to his sister's side.
"What is it, Leia?" he asked, and then saw the downed droid. "I need you to get her out of here," Leia said, cradling Cray in both arms. "She's in pretty bad shape."
"But what about--?" Luke clearly did not like the idea of having her and the others to face Xizor's minions without him. "Don't worry about us," Leia said softly. "Hurry back as soon as you can. But...I just want Cray to be safe."
She looked into his eyes, and saw that he understood. "She may not be the real Cray, but..."
Luke nodded. He, too, had known Cray, and how painful it would have been to just leave the HRD to die. "...Callista was right about her." he finished, as he scooped Cray up. "Good luck, Leia."
Leia nodded and watched as he left the control room. A pair of guards blocked his escape, which he easily pushed aside with the Force. Once he was gone, Leia stood up, prepared to fight the remaining soldiers to the death. A low groan to her left caught her attention, and she turned to see Han lying on the floor, on the verge of unconsciousness. Blood ran down from several injuries on his face.
"Han!" she shouted, as she ran over to her husband. Three Black Sun soldiers had Han surrounded, preparing to kill him. With her blaster, she squeezed a single shot, hitting the first in the leg, blowing his knee completely off. Two more shots found a home in the forehead of the second guard, and she pushed the third into the wall with a well-directed Force blow.
"Han," she whispered, choking on her own words, as she knelt beside her husband. She cupped his head with both hands, careful not to touch his injuries. He was bleeding from his nose, mouth, and a wound on the back of his head.
"L-Leia?" he said weakly, his eyes half-open, half-closed.
"Shhh," Leia said softly, kissing him on the forehead, trying so hard not to cry. "It's okay, Han. Don't talk. You're going to be all right."
"That's where you're wrong, my dear."
The voice sent a tremble of anger down Leia's spine, and she turned to see Xizor standing behind her, in all his arrogant glory, no longer amused, or angry, but cold, emotionless. In some ways, his coldness frightened her more than even his fury. She gently laid Han's head down on the floor, and stood up, facing the Falleen, with no weapons other than her blaster, her wits, and the Force, knowing what she was going to have to do in order to ensure victory for the Republic. She had to do the one thing she couldn't do to Armenia in order to save her son.
She had to kill Xizor.
"Awwww, did your husband get hurt?" Xizor taunted, his eyes darting toward Han's prone form. He chuckled as he put on a mock-sad face. "You're not gonna cry, are you, Leia?"
He was trying to anger her, Leia knew. Rather than take the bait, she offered him a challenging smile. "Is it just me, Xizor, or are your so- called 'funny' jokes not really funny at all?"
Xizor's grin widened. "Perhaps it's you, my dear." From the corner of her eye, Leia surveyed the battle. The Jedi and Leanna had gained the upper hand, and were quickly mopping up the last remaining Black Sun soldiers. It would all be over within minutes. She turned back to Xizor.
"Surrender, Xizor. There's no way you can beat us now."
Xizor merely offered a sigh. "You just don't get it, do you, Leia? As long as I have control of Coruscant, you can't win." His eyes seemed to be looking over her shoulder now. "I'd watch out for that man if I were you."
Reacting instinctively, Leia spun around, and saw no one there. Too late, she realized that Xizor had tricked her. The Falleen moved with incredible speed. One clawed hand shot up to snatch her blaster pistol, while the other, balled into a fist, hit her across the face. Leia felt the world start to spin around her. Xizor knocked the blaster from her hand, leaving her weaponless, and threw a powerful spin-kick. Leia's Force senses screamed in warning, and she ducked, feeling the dark black leather of Xizor's trousers lightly brush past her head. As the kick struck only air, Leia rose and surprised Xizor with a backhand that knocked him against a console. A second blow shattered his green lips, drawing blood. One hand instinctively went up to his mouth, and Xizor glared at Leia with so much rage that he could melt a wall just by looking at it.
Without wasting a second, Leia grabbed him by the shoulders, and rammed her knee into his gut, drawing the air from his lungs. She followed with a third punch that hit him in the chin. As she prepared for another attack, Xizor recovered and grabbed her by the shoulders, as she had done to him. Leia didn't have time to block his attack. She felt his knee slam hard into her stomach. A small gasp of pain escaped her mouth, and Xizor shoved her aside, knocking her into the console Guri had fallen into earlier.
Covered with burnt circuits and pieces of wire and metal, Leia began to get up, but was intercepted by Xizor. He sat atop her belly, snatching her by the hair. "Tough little girl, aren't you?" he said. "I didn't think you had it in you, Leia."
With that, he snatched a handful of her hair and yanked. Leia screamed, feeling some of the strands pull free from their roots. She looked into Xizor's eyes, and saw him smile, showing off his sharp reptilian fangs, and for a brief moment, she lost it.
Grabbing him by the hand holding her hair, Leia bit into it. Hard. She dug deep into his skin, feeling greenish-black ichor spill into her mouth. She almost choked on it, but continued biting, until she reached the bone. She heard Xizor's agonized screams, and she relished in it.
Anger...the dark side... Luke's voice repeated calmly in her head, snapping her out of her enraged daze. She released her death grip on Xizor, and the Falleen pulled back, clenching his wounded hand. Leia started to get up, and saw his fist barrelling towards her face. It was ten times harder than any of his other blows, and she felt something break. Her hand went up to her nose, and when she pulled away, she saw blood staining her fingers. She quickly got up to her feet, determined to continue the fight, but fell victim to another hard punch, throwing her back down on the shattered console. She didn't even have time to get up before her grabbed her by the throat, lifted her up with almost no effort at all, and threw her against the wall. Her head bounced off the hard durasteel, almost knocking her out. She slid to her knees, a massive headache of pain exploding behind her eyes. By the time she had regained her awareness, Xizor was standing over her, the victor of the fight.
"That hurt," he snapped, indicating the wound on his hand. Leia spat blood out, a mixture of her blood and Xizor's, and glared at the Dark Prince.
"It was supposed to hurt," she said angrily. "It's called pain, Xizor. Get used to it." Xizor clicked and shook his head. "That's going to cost you dearly, Madame President."
He didn't even notice the blaster hovering in the air, behind him, the barrel aimed for the center of his back. "It's a pity, really. You would have made a fine wife."
Leia smiled. "Sorry, Xizor...but I'm already married." With her hold on the blaster tightened, Leia stretched out with her mind, and pulled the trigger. A single bolt lanced from the blaster, burning squarely through the small of Xizor's back. The Dark Prince screamed in unexpected pain as his spine was burned in two, his heart pierced by the bolt, and coming out through his chest. With a weakened groan of pain, he fell to his knees. Leia stood up, gasping as a small twinge ran through her face from her broken nose. She picked up a vibro-ax lying near a downed Black Sun soldier, and sauntered over to Xizor, who was straining to breathe, slowly rising on his hands and knees. He looked up at Leia, and for the first time since she had known him, she saw fear.
He was afraid of her. Leia raised the vibro-ax high over her head, preparing to deliver the killing blow--
--and hesitated.
The fear on Xizor's face morphed into amusement and confidence. "You can't do it, can you, Leia?" he said, followed by a succession of dying coughs. "You can't kill me. You don't have the stomach to kill in cold blood."
Leia looked down upon Xizor. Flashbacks of her fight with Armenia returned, of how she had come close to killing her, and how she had spared her in the end--only to be defeated, and her son taken away. For some reason, she couldn't bring it upon herself to kill Xizor. He's already dying, a voice whispered in her head. Just give him a few more minutes, and he'll be dead. Don't do this to yourself, Leia...
Xizor grinned, that same grin that made Leia's blood boil, that same arrogant, confident, self-righteous grin of his-- --and brought the ax down upon his head. First, there was the sound of the ax hitting the top of his head, followed by a crunch as it cut through his skull, and then a wet plop as it entered his brain. Xizor uttered no sound as he fell. Dead. Leia stared down at the corpse of the clone. Dead. Xizor was finally dead.
After all the misery and pain he had caused, he was finally defeated. All because of Leia. She turned and saw everyone staring at her, silent, the battle long over. It was then that she realized they had been watching her since she had shot Xizor down. She looked back at the dead Falleen, finally feeling a calm sense of peace. She had killed him. Without giving in to her anger and hate. Just like a Jedi Knight should do.
The door slid open, and Luke returned, this time without Cray. He whistled as he surveyed the war-torn control room. Then he ran over to Leia.
"Are you okay?" he asked as he gathered her in an embrace.
"I'm okay," she said, returning the hug with as much strength as she could muster. "He's finally gone."
"For now, at least," Han groaned, standing back up. "Remember what he said about the cloning chamber in the mountains. I bet he's still got a whole bunch more left."
Leia went over to her husband and kissed him, careful not to hurt him, feeling a flood of relief wash over her. "I'm so glad you're okay," she said, happily, then turned to face the others. "And he's right. I don't know how many clones Xizor has left, but my guess is the one I just killed wasn't the last one."
"So, we find the cloning facility," Leanna said, "and destroy the rest."
"Shouldn't be too hard," Luke said. "Most of Xizor's personnel was here, in the palace. The cloning facility shouldn't have much resistance."
Leia nodded, and picked up her blaster. "So, what are we standing around here for?" she asked. "Let's show Black Sun once and for all that they picked the wrong people to wage a war against."
With that, she led the group of the control room, save for Han and Luke, who stood alone together, looking down at the clone's corpse. "Whoa," Luke said, before turning to Han. "Leia did that?"
Han nodded, and Luke could sense that he was proud of her. "Yep, that was her. Man, kid, you should have seen it. She was practically kicking Xizor's green ass all across the room. And then she gave him a splitting headache with that ax. It was like, whack! I almost felt sorry for Xizor when she did that."
"When will bad guys ever learn?" Luke said as they followed after the group. "Never mess with my sister..."

Isolder watched, his face a cold expression of stone, as the Star Destroyers surrounded the remnants of the Republic and Hapan fleet, pounding the weakened ships with their turbolasers.
The Song of War shuddered repeatedly as blow after blow burned past their deflector shields, striking against the hull.
"Our shields have been reduced to fifty-two percent," Astarta reported coldly. She shared a glance with Isolder, and he could see a small amount of fear in her eyes. "We're not going to survive much longer, my Lord."
Isolder nodded, his eyes returning to the onslaught displayed on the Battle Dragon's viewscreen. "Keep firing with whatever weapons we have left," he said gravely. "If we're going to die, then let's take down as many destroyers as we can."
The Song of War's cannons sprang to life, firing away at the triangle of Star Destroyers. Several were damaged from the salvo, but the rest kept pummeling the Battle Dragon. A small explosion ripped through the back of the bridge, knocking Isolder and Astarta off their feet. Several crew members were incinerated in the inferno, while others were knocked down, badly burned from the flames. Isolder groaned as he stood to his feet. He had never been this close to death since his encounter with the original Nightsisters on Dathomir.
The Republic and Hapan warships fought as hard and valiantly as they could, but they were clearly no match for the Black Sun fleet. They were done for.
Just when all hope seemed lost, another fleet of ships emerged from hyperspace. Isolder tensed, horrified for a brief moment that it was Xizor's reinforcements. A second glance told him otherwise.
Over dozens of Mon Calamari cruisers had now entered the battle; the fleet of the ocean world must have been notified of the crisis on Coruscant, and had sent their fleet to help the Republic. Even as they left hyperspace, the Calamarian ships opened fire on the unsuspecting Star Destroyers. Isolder and several other crew members cheered as three Star Destroyers burst into flames. The Calamarian ships quickly surrounded the Black Sun ships in a deadly net, trapping them between them and the remaining Battle Dragons.
The voice of Admiral Ackbar filled the speakers. "Sorry for the delay, Prince Isolder. My fleet came as quickly as they could."
Words could not describe the relief Isolder felt at the sound of the admiral's voice. "You're forgiven, Admiral," he said. "Now, I think it's time to teach Black Sun a lesson they'll never forget." Even as he spoke, more ships began to arrive. Hundreds of cruisers, from over a dozen different worlds that had sworn allegiance to the New Republic. Corellia, Selonia, Munto Codru, Kashyyyk, the Smuggler's Alliance, Sullust, and many more had sent their fleets to aid the Republic and the Hapans in their war against Black Sun.
At last, the tide had been turned.
The miracle Isolder had been hoping for had finally arrived.