Chapter 6

Nerca was not looking forward to seeing Verdin again. When she was seventeen, she was sent with her Master on a mission with to aid Verdin in freeing itself from Emh. Her last mission as an apprentice to Master Vna Wyylka. There she had been captured by an evil scientific group called the Mettranaloovye. She had been set free from them, but they had marked her forever.

Nerca had carried two tattoos that ran up her right arm and from her left ankle to her knee for two years, since her release from the Mettranaloovye. The Mettranaloovye had sewn winding towers of fire into her skin. There had been a purposely terminal disease that had been in the strange roses that were being engulfed by a toxin on her skin. Along with her former Master, Nerca had destroyed most of that disease, but traces of it still surfaced from time to time.

Because of the disease, Oliso too knew about it. When problems came, Oliso would treat her friend. Other than Oliso and Nerca's former Master, no one knew her dark secret. Not Jesbra, not Keldu, not Lexoc, nor the Jedi Council.

The Mettranaloovye had been found and driven off-planet, but Nerca knew they still existed. It was just a matter of where.

"Prepare for landing. Erida dead ahead," the Cosmic Dragon's on-board com center said.

"Roger that, Verdin's Jewel," Nerca said to the com operator aboard the huge star cruiser.Then switching channels she spoke to another fighter escort. "Cosmic Dragon to VJ-1138. Keldu, move to port, I'll cover the underside."

Beside Nerca, Oliso fiddled with landing gears. Keldu was flying an escort fighter, Lexoc was in VJ-4462 and Jesbra was flying another larger escort, VJSX-5683. Jesbra was above the Jewel easing her way back some. Lexoc was guarding the starboard side of the cruiser and moving to give it room.

Keldu did as Nerca asked and began to roll to cover Nerca's spot on the port side. When the VJ-1138 pulled up only an arm's length from the Cosmic Dragon's port stabilizer, Nerca accelerated pushing to the right.

When she was under Verdin's Jewel, Nerca could just see Erida, Verdin's capital. She had been there before during the beginning of the Emh incident about a year and a half ago, but Emh had only been driven out four months ago.

Even before the city had come into view, Nerca had sensed the great destruction. She was sure that her necklace glowed a bleak grey and beside her Oliso's eyes had already clouded.

"VJSX-5683 to Cosmic Dragon," Jesbra's voice crackled. "Nerca, have you been to Erida before?"

"Yeah," Nerca replied. "A year and a half ago with my Master."

"Verdin's Jewel to all escorts. VJ-4462,a little closer or you'll be off the landing pad. VJSX-5683, gain some altitude and pull out some more. Don't want you caught in our wake. Good VJ-1138. Cosmic Dragon, pull forward."

Nerca accelerated and eased forward. She easily cleared the Jewel's shadow. "Done."

"The government sector is mid city," the cruiser's com operator said. "Senatorial building is on the north edge."

"Cosmic Dragon to Verdin's Jewel. I know. Has it moved since the assault?"

"Yes,Master Beyul. Two blocks closer to the outskirts. In the Emhia Grand Assault, the old building was leveled. There is such a crater there now that we had to move."

"Got it."

As the group left the mountainous country side and neared the outskirts, Nerca felt like she had been punched in the stomach. Buildings that had been homes, parks, cafes, schools and shops that she had once visited were demolished. Though she had been here before and during the fighting, nothing could have prepared Nerca for what she saw.

The ruins had the same effect on the other Jedi. Oliso turned away for a moment. Jesbra's com rattled as she put a hand to her mouth, forgetting that her headset was there. Keldu gasped and Lexoc's com went dead for a moment.

The government sector was fairly well rebuilt but most homes were still wrecked. Most of the larger, richer homes had been fixed and some middle-class homes had been patched with plastoid materials and looked bright compared to the dark mess around them.

Nerca had friends here that she had made on her last apprentice mission. She sure hoped that Trylo and Bluet Cardei were alright.

When Nerca had sent Kendona back to Coruscant this morning, she had not wanted him to leave, but keep him close to finish out this mission. Knowing it was for the best, she sent him back anyway. Now Nerca was glad that the students' eyes had not seen this destruction.

Her com unit interrupted her thoughts. "Verdin's Jewel. There it is."

Nerca drew her attention back to flying. The Senatorial building was by far the most well rebuilt of the city, with a landing pad was large enough for three cruisers the size of Verdin's Jewel.

"Oliso, drop the landing struts on my mark," Nerca said switching to the repulsorlift engines. She eased forward to the edge of the marked slots. Nerca eased the repulsorlifts back, slowly descending. When the Cosmic Dragon was about two meters off the ground, she turned to Oliso.

"Drop."

Oliso dropped the landing struts and the starfighter set down gently. Nerca activated the landing ramp with Oliso following close behind. At the bottom they were met by Keldu, Lexoc and Jesbra.

"Where to now?" Keldu asked.

"Uunja needs us," Jesbra answered.

"Before we leave, I'd like to visit some old friends," Nerca said.