Part Seven

"Do not let the enemy determine the ground on which you fight. Avoid battle until you find favorable ground. Then turn and meet him with vigor. If you trained you army in strictest discipline and treated them with even handed justice then you will be victorious."

-General Nadeen quoting So-Sun when a deck officer asked why they were evacuating Hoth

"And we are outgunned a thousand to one. How in Draffut's name did you ever get to be a deck officer? Congratulations, you just volunteered for the trenches, private. Get your wellies. -General Reikeen

DA-42 Star Destroyers

Star Destroyers were the, one-size-fits-all capital ship, perfect for maintaining an Empire. Got smugglers? Send a Star Destroyer. Planetary Insurrection? Send a Star Destroyer. Search an entire planet for stolen plans? Send a Star Destroyer. Maybe two.

The Rebels/Republic/Alliance or whatever that are calling themselves these days ( I swear they change their name more often than a Holo-hip-hop star) prefers to customize packages of starships. This may sound more efficient but it's not. When was the last time you heard a salesman utter the word "customized" and he meant "cheaper?"

Before opening his speaking-eating orifice, Jon-Ya of Kuat and his ilk should consider the downside of the alternative to a Star Destroyer.

A Star Destroyer is a combination carrier, command vessel, armed freighter, planetary assault, bluedock and battleship. That is at least five other vessels.

The counter argument is true, "Why transport all that when a squadron of X-Wings will do?"

The follow up question is "Suppose intelligence is lacking or just plain wrong?" Suppose, when they arrive the X-wings discover a squadron will NOT do?" Will they ask the Warlord to wait while they order a legion of marines and their lander?

The Jedi and the Pre Clone War's policy of "as little violence as needed" works only with reasonable beings. History shows villains see such approaches as weakness, or worse, an opportunity. A show of overwhelming might, a.k.a. "Star Destroyer diplomacy", often leads to immediate capitulation and hence, less violence. Overwhelming force leads to less violence, not more.

Not true?

Suppose the Senate had sent a fleet of Star Destroyers to break the blockade of Naboo instead of two Jedi in an unarmed ship? Would the citizens of Naboo been deathmarched into camps? Would the Clone Wars had resulted? The avaricious Trade Federation took on the Republic only because they thought they could win. Filling space with stark white engines of destruction would have cured them, and all Separatists, of that delusion.

Then there is logistics. Star Destroyers are a standard design. That is supposed to be weakness? They have one list of parts. One can transfer crew from one to the other without retraining. It's why they stay in production.

The reason the logistics department of the Rebels/Republic/Alliance suffers burn out at an alarming rate is that it's so complicated. Ever try to keep a fleet built by hundreds of worlds and manned by hundreds of different species equipped and fed? They try to run a fleet like a democracy.

No wonder the beancounters loved (no one else did) the late, unlamented Chancellor Dalla. The Quartermaster Corps had been begging the Rebels/Republic/Alliance to standardize for years. Statistics shows that all things being equal, the Empire can build three Star Destroyers II for every two equivalent Rebels/Republic/Alliance specialty ships. Now that Dalla is gone, one can expect more "customized" fleets "donated" by dozens of different systems.

What would you rather have, three SD IIs or two Mon Calamari Cruisers? Still holding out for the cruisers? Fine. Where are you going to dock them while they wait for the one time they fit the mission profile?

Coruscant, Office of the Chief Executive, Lando, Luke, Ben

"Ms. Street, get me the secretary of defense, visual will be fine."

"Line five, Mr. Calrissian."

A tall , grey muzzled Bothan came into view. Lando could see the admirals of the nine fleets around the neat ceramic top oval table. "Thank you for taking my call, Huan. I don't want to interrupt a meeting."

"No problem. Just weekly logistics meeting. We find it speeds if the Admirals of the fleets are in the same room when we divvy up the supplies. Hey, those LOMARs, have started taking the pressure off quite a few supply lines."

"Glad to hear it. The reason I called is that I don't see Task Force 8 on the agenda for tomorrow's briefing."

"Task Force 8?"

Land furrowed his brow. "They are the task force we have monitoring Terminus' assault on the Vong World."

"Oh yes. We'll the reason is we don't have to worry about them anymore."

"Why not?"

"General Wight is in command now."

"Who?"

"General Wight. She's one of the Clone War veterans we recently defrosted."

"The Jedi?"

"That's right."

Lando felt a chill. "Wait. You are telling me that we dispatched a Jedi with…shall we say…mental health issues…to observe the Imperials who imprisoned her. Who's bright idea was that?"

"I…I think it was mine? Who would know the Terminus better than her, right?"

Upon hearing the doubt come out of the normally confident Bothan's mouth Lando's chill became a sour feeling his Lando's gut. "Uh-huh." Lando wasn't alone in his concern. He noted all the admirals stopped what they were doing.

"She was frozen when she was sent there Huan. How could she know anything about Terminus?"

"She said the same thing, so I gave her all our confidential files."

The pain in Lando's gut grew into certainty. He put on his best poker face. "I see. What did Admiral Smith say when you told her she was being replaced?

"I don't know. I haven't heard a word from her, not yet, but you know, communications are iffy in that region of space. You need not be worried. Wight is a most wonderful girl, really. You can trust her. I just know it. She took twenty Jedi with her. She's going to teach them how to operate a fleet and when she's done…we can retire someplace, just the two of us." The holo admirals' jaws hit the proverbial holo-floor. Admiral Dolfeini of Mon Cal looked like he could have swallowed a tuna.

The Bothan stared out the window, eyes welling, smiling stupidly. "She likes pina colotas and walks in the rain too!"

"It is relief to know such a wonderful girl is going to take care of everything. Lando out."

"Ms. Street. Please get me Grandmaster Skywalker. Urgent."

The urgent meant 'any way possible' in this case Luke's holo image appeared atop Lando's deskcomm. Luke was dressed in sleeveless exercise togs and patting his face with a towel. "Hey, Lando. What's up?"

"Can you mind trick a Bothan into a crush?"

"Maybe. You sure?"

"Huan's been divorced for decades. He's a career politician through and through."

"Hate to say it but plenty of guys his age…"

"Not Huan. He doesn't got to the bathroom before carefully considering all the ramifications. He was talking to me about throwing his entire career away for long walks in the rain."

"Is he weak of mind?"

"Would I hire him if he was?"

"I'm out for a run. Ben's closer. I'll send him. You tell him everything you know, a recording is even better. Then clear his way."

"Copy. Huan's in a budget meeting. Should be there all day, except for lunch."

Executive Tower, Office of the Secretary of Defense, Conference Room, Ben Skywalker

Ben Skywalker was shown into the room by the guard. "Mr. Huan." Ben bowed.

"A Jedi? To what do I owe the honor?"

"I have an important and confidential matter to discuss. You will come with me." In his big sleeve Ben did a small wave, the muscle memory activator, the cantrip, of the mind trick.

"Not unless you give me a reason."

"It is sensitive." Cantrip.

"These admirals have the highest clearance."

Ben look around at the room, empty but for holopresent admirals. 'Very well." He pulled up a chair through Admiral Proscar of Deneb. "We lost track of Jedi Knight Wight. I was hoping you could help."

The Bothan frowned in concern. "I am sure she is fine. Just more Terminus interference…but anything for her."

"Glad to hear it. Now when she came to you, what was the first thing she asked?"

"Check the recording."

"I did. It seems hard to find. In any case, I like you hear it from you and the insights a skilled civil servant can provide."

"Oh very well, then. The first thing she asked me was what I wanted."

"What you wanted?"

"I know. Most people ask me for things, not the other way around."

"And after that?"

"I…can't you get the recording?"

"Maybe you could find it."

The Secretary checked his panel. "It's not here. It's been deleted. It looks like I deleted it. There, you see, not worth the memory space."

"Then all I have is you. What did she say next? Please, the slightest detail could be important."

"Well it's not like I can remember every conversation word for word."

Ben noticed a great display of concern on all the admiral's faces. "Clearly the admirals know you can. Alright, impressions, then."

"I seem to remember thinking about retirement." His voice became dreamy.

"Must be nice."

"Yes. And not alone, not anymore, thank Draffut."

Ben felt a wave of bone chilling terror so powerful, he was able to discern an image in the Bothan's head. Dying alone, tubes in arms. Helpless, Insignificant.

"Yes, much better than to keep slaving away at paperwork. That's what we talked about. Work and how she could help wrap up this Vong threat and I could finally relax for a change."

"Yes, that sounds nice. Ah, well. Sounds very normal. Let's hope the comms clear up soon. I am sure that is it. " Ben stood and bowed to Huan. "Mr. Secretary." The he put his back to Huna and bowed to the admirals. "Admirals." Using his loose homespun robes to hide a discrete covering of his mouth with his palm. The admirals nodded in understanding.

Coruscant, Office of the Chief Executive, Lando, Luke and Ben Skywalker

Ben Skywalker sealed the door behind him and addressed his father and the Chief Executive of the Alliance. "Oh, yes. It's a mind trick. Powerful but most of all clever."

Luke grunted and explained for his friend. "That's usual. Usually we seen strong users relying on overwhelming power but weaker uses have to be more naturally persuasive. Both means she is very dangerous."

"I don't think I've ever senses a more powerful Force user, present company included. First this Wight, drew out her victim, asking him what he wants."

"That could leave him open but not much."

"Then she used his want to leverage inside his head and discern his greatest fear, in this case dying alone."

Luke eyes went wide. "And then she offers a solution."

"Like throwing a drowning man a line, he took it. The interesting thing is that he doesn't want to let go of what he must know is an illusion. And it…ahem…doesn't hurt she is very, very attractive."

"The biography I read said Wight was always annoyed by males who only admired her for her looks." Luke added.

"Apparently, she's gotten over that issue." Lando tapped his cigar ashe into the bronze tray. "By now, she's at Task Force 8."

"With twenty Jedi in tow."

"That would be her elite lightsaber class." Luke used sarcasm. "How would ever thing teaching is dangerous? Right."

"What is her plan? She could have chosen any fleet. Why Task Force 8? That smells good. Can I have one?"

"Sure, Luke?"

"Yeah, but I like my kelp rounder. You got some of Tendra's around?"

"Sure." The three men drafted the cigars and thought. "Revenge?" Lando offered.

"A lot of work for just killing a Remnant who, in all likelihood going to get killed by the Vong anyway."

"Killing them for hate's sake is a Sith move."

"That's just it." Ben was adamant. "She's not Sith. Trust me, I would know. I didn't sense any taint on Secretary Huan."

"Okay. What else could she want?"

"For one thing, it's a manageable size. No way twenty Jedi, young, impressionable ones at that, could control a whole fleet."

"A schism." Luke was grim. "She wants to start her own Temple. They'd need a planet for that, some place they could act without interference."

General Calrissian spoke. "And they might succeed too. Our forces are spread out pretty thin. She couldn't expect to hold it with just TF8. Task Force 8 would need more ships or a powerful edge to…"

"You have an idea?"

"Yeah. I know what she wants, Terminus is rumored to have a couple of squadrons of cloaking devices left over from the Phantom TIE project."

Ben whistled. "That'll do it. She could hold just about any planet she wanted with those."

"The good news is they all got stolen sold days ago. Never thought I'd be so relieved to hear Han stole something. He made huge profit too."

"So that's where Han has been all this time? Now if he just manages to stay out of trouble."

"Uncle Han with money? Not likely."

"What do you think, Luke?"

"I think if we tell her the crystals are gone, she might just get bored and go away. From what I have seen, she is not very patient and I can only imagine managing a hundred of minds must be very taxing, even if, and this is likely, she knows Jedi Battle Mediation."

"The Jedi she took with her?"

"They aren't prisoners, but the mind trick aspect to all this has me worried. And I've been away. Let's check the Temple first."

"And I'll find out first hand what's happening to Task Force 8. " Lando picked up a comm. " Admiral Dolfeini?" Lando addressed the Mon Cal at the far end of the table. "We've lost contact with Task Force 8. It might be just Wild Space acting up. I believe you are the closest fleet. Would you be so kind as to humor me and send a scout. I believe you have Captain Cho on board. He's a very good man. Would you please ask him to scout the Vong System and report back to me?."

"Of course Mister Calrissian."

Vong System Sector, Scoutship Mary June, Captain Cho

Outside the Vong System, always careful to drop out of hyperspace out sensor range of the intended target, typically on the opposite side of the normal approaches to a system. It took an extra jump or too but the fact he was still alive proved the strategies worth. Captain Wen Cho cut in the sub-light engines.

Captain Wen Cho loved his Scoutship, the Mary June. Named for the two wives that moved him farther and faster out into the Wild Space. With the usual inventiveness of the OHAR's, the Original Rebels, in their prime, the Mary Jane, was a chopped CR-90. The middle compartments were discarded. It was nothing but engines, a state of the art sensor suite and Mark 11 hyperdrive. It didn't have the armament of the Blockade Runner, in fact it didn't have any armament at all, but she had it where it counted. He would not have traded her for anything.

He and his crew were on a mission for the Chief, his old General. Lando Calrissian, himself. Despite the danger, Cho was curious to see a Star Destroyer take on Worldship, preferably from a very great distance away.

He dropped out of hyperspace. "Cutting in sublight…..now. Oh, Sith!" His jaw hit the deck. "Cut power! CUT POWER! SILENT FRAKKING RUNNING NOW!"

The cabin lights went red. The window polarized and went into a telescopic monitor mode. "Silent running, sir."

"What's wrong?" Cho pointed. "Draffut's beard." Ahead of them, the vast warships blotted out the stars. "What are they?"

"Vong. Some type of destroyer analogs but I can't tell what kind. They are too dark."

"Good thing they are dark. If they had active sensors scanning we'd be dead."

"Good point. Sentry ships?"

"None that I can detect."

"What are they doing? Just sitting out here, waiting."

"We'll figure that out later. Record. Passive sensors only!"

"Passive sensors only, aye."

"Mission has changed. Plot us the most evasive route in the history of the galaxy to Task Force 8's expected coordinates. "

The evasive course gave the Mary June a good view of the Sixth Finger, its edged glowing decorator lights, stabbing into the Worldship. "They must be nuts."

"Forget them. Once we get the sun between us and the Vong I want best speed to the Amethyst. They need to know what's waiting for them."

It was with no small measure of relief, Cho docked into the Nebulon B, Amethyst. The hatch went up. Cho and his crew of five was greeted by a half dozen Jedi, a stunningly beautiful Twi'lek. She had a lightsabre, they all had lightsabres. This confused Cho. She was dressed more like a dancer in tight leather vest and shorts, than the robed Jedi he was used to. The Jedi bracketed by few other sword sheathed dancer-dressed younger females who, suddenly, didn't matter to Cho.

"H-hello."

"Hello." The Twi'lek smiled and purred. The female Jedi to her right and left cooed and purred a greeting too.

"I have to tell you something."

"What?" Her smile lit up his life.

"You are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen."

"A lot of people would agree with you. Who sent you?"

Cho didn't want to blow his chances by telling the smoking hottie that the CEO of the Alliance was worried the Task Force had mutinied. So he embellished the truth. "Uh, General Calrissian had not heard from this Task Force so he was concerned."

"How sweet. Well, you can go back and report everything is fine."

"Everything is fine."

"Admiral Smith is in total command. I'm just helping out. Better yet, don't tell them I am here. It's supposed to be a secret."

Cho swallowed hard. "Yes. Command. Help."

"And if you keep my little secret other Jedi are aboard, how about you come back after you report and we can throw… ahem… a little party, Just us. Okay?"

"Okay. There was something else Something really important I needed…."

Wight frowned cut him off. "No. There wasn't."

"I'm sorry. You are right. Nothing. Never mind."

"And be a dear and wipe all your data? You know how Coruscant reads badness in every teeny-tiny thing."

"Sure thing, babe." He heart leapt when his clever nickname apparently made her giggle. Her laugh was music to his ears.

The May June blasted into hyperspace. "He boss, did you get her name?"

"The only one that matters, the next, future Mrs. Cho. You? Third time's the charm, I can just feel it. You?"

"Oh yeah. JusZoot. Just when I thought I'd never find a girl I could take home to mom! She's perfect?

"You can keep her, kid."Co-pilot Lou Tish spoke up. "I've been looking for a girl like NauDinko my whole life. She's more into extreme sports than even me. Finally, a Bothan woman who can keep up!"

"Who knew Jedi could be so…hot! We are coming back here to party with the girls, right, Captain?"

"Try and stop me. Unless one of you blokes opens his mouth and blows all our chances."

"No way. Nothing but roses and sunshine around these parts, captain!"

DA-42

Everyone knows the Sith, the dark Side of the Force. Aggressive, loud, unhappy, evil right?

Ever wonder what an Empire would be like if it was run by the Jedi? One of the dirty little secrets of the Clone Wars was that it almost happened, a literal coup d'état of the emperor. He wasn't lying about that. Oh, well he was a Sith, but after he was gone (justifiably in their minds) what was left? A Theocratic Oligarchy. Imagine a government that could see int your future and alter thoughts, all for the greater good, mind you.

What would have happened if Anakin Skywalker had chucked the Chancellor out the window? Mace Windu would have certainly installed him on the Jedi Council. With his power, Anakin would have risen to head of the council. And with his children being as powerful as he, the Jedi would have been ruled by a hereditary, royal line.

Imagine if a council of control freaks ruled the Universe like hovercraft mommies. Don't run with lightsabres, kids.

Which one would you prefer to live under? Sith or Jedi?

One chokes.

The other suffocates.

Coruscant, Jedi Temple, Lando, Luck, Ben

Luck invited Lando to the Jedi Temple for personal visit.

Luke met him at the main entrance. "When I arrived, the door was wide open. No one was there to greet me. The guard insisted we wait for back up. Looking at the usually bustling entryway, I thought it would be prudent."

"Well, we went in and well. It's normal but it's not."

"Explain."

"Well, I started at the library. I'd been there before and everyone there was researching."

"So?"

"That's all they were doing. I couldn't get any one's attention for more than moment before they were off on some tangent."

Ben spoke. "I entered though the free medical clinic. I found out it had been closed for weeks, the doctors there were involved in research too. I friend of mine works in the galley, but I come to find out he's be fired. The Jedi fix all their own meals now."

"Why is that odd?"

"Well before it was all healthy. Now they are fixing this." He showed him a data pad, the image was of an amber hued one centimeter cube of gelatin. "The Jedi who made it, insisted it caught the essence of a whole salmon filet."

"A little cooking never hurt anyone."

"I thought so too. But you should see them eat it. It's like religious experience."

"So they enjoy food."

"I scanned the cube. It had little to no nutritional value. And the Jedi are supposed to eschew the sensual."

"I see your point. Did you try the council chamber?"

"We were sent away by the droid at the door. They were meditating."

"I thought you were the Granmaster."

"I had to force my way in. They were all mediating, the entire top seven floors, I mean. We had to step over all the Beings. We saw signs that some have not moved for days.

One of my guards accidentally scraped a buckle on one's cheek drawing blood. She didn't even flinch."

"The exercise rooms?"

"It was the same thing, only they were involved in kata, swearing not to stop until they did it perfectly.

The only Beings who talked to us were a team of engineers building what they called the 'light shield.' And the only reason they talked to us was because they wanted to, well, preach is the only word, their notion that it was the lightsabres that doomed the Jedi because it wasn't a truly passive weapon. So they were designing the lighsheild to save their order.

We found numerous younglings who were just as a distressed as we were only they were also hungry and filthy.

I housed them in an old barracks of a military base until the matter is settled."

"Good thinking."

"So what's happening?"

"Well, near as I can figure, the Jedi act in harmony, like tuning forks put next to one another. But put one off key tuning fork in a bunch and you get this."

"How are you doing personally?"

"Fine. Oddly, it's been Ben and I's recent contact with the Sith that is helping be stay immune. The Sith rely much more in the individual side of the Force.

It's feel like I'm resisting a mind trick, but coming from myself. If I didn't know what to look for, I would mistake it for inspiration.

Ben sighed. "It's them." He breathed deeply. "They are not here. But their shadows linger and with them the Error of Gluttony and Sloth."

"Gluttony? But some of these people haven't eaten for days."

"Gluttony is too much of good thing, imbalance. It can be too much exercise, research or even taste."

"Sloth?"

"Apathy would be more modern term. With all the suffering in the universe we have hundreds of Jedi willing to simply meditate their lives away."

Luke held his belly. "Those rescued Jedi must fairly reek of Error to infect the temple so. Nobody pays attention to the old Errors anymore. It's an old fashioned notion. The only reason I know is because I to it upon myself to learn everything about the old Jedi.

Error happens when the Dark Side infects a Jedi's good purpose pushes it to unhealthy extremes. I can feel the taint of those two all around me."

"Can you cure them?"

"Sure. We caught it before it went too far. Between Me, Ben, and then the Masters out on missions I should be able to reharmonize the Force easily enough. But will take time and those two Jedi must be caught. They are toxic."

" I've got the roll here. We've got the names of the twenty missing Jedi Jed and an old Phantom Fleet Dreadnaught is missing from the inventory. It was equipped for colonization."

"Bad News, Lando. We may have a Schism on our hands."

"Are they turned, are they Sith?"

"Worse. They are all mad, but they believe absolutely that their cause is just."

"And the cause is…?"

"Historically, Schisms are bent on founding a new and 'correct' Jedi order that will lead everyone in the Universe to enlightenment or..."

"Or else." Lando finished the thought for his friend. "Still. There are only twenty of them. Where would they go? Someplace out of the way. Outer Rim or Unknown Space?"

"Unknown Space. They'd want a planet without a sentient species, someplace without competing thoughts."

"Well, I've got some good news. Cho contacted Task Force 8 himself. Admiral Smith is in command and the Jedi are definitely not there."

"That's a relief."

Coruscant, Steel Bow Sisterhood, Myri, Winter

The laminated steel short bow twanged and the carbon fiber arrow flew down range towards the rattan target, its red feathers shuddering into the wall beside the circle.

"You came to me just in time.

"This spring steel bow is trickier than it looks."

"No. It's you are more trickier. The bow and the arrow are true to their nature. You are the missing piece. 'Truth, Virtue, Beauty.' If you live in those three things at the moment of release, the arrow will find where it is meant to go, because you know where it will go. True shooting equals certain hitting"

"Meaning?"

"Meaning…what are you thinking about when you draw the bow."

"Breathing. The target. Lowering my heart rate."

"Yes, lots of steps. And you still tense up, fret, not in the present. You think this old espionage agent doesn't see your moments of distraction, wincing? I recognize the signs of physical therapy too.

I'd say you've taken a beating and though your body is better, your body, mind and spirit are unbalanced and that shows in your archery. Beautiful shooting is realized naturally, without struggle or step by steps. Does a river or the wind have steps? No and they are always naturally perfect and on target."

"I'm fine."

"If you were fine, just hitting the wall would not be the best you could do. Lie to me, lie to yourself but not to the bow."

"I am not a Jedi."

"You don't have to be a Jedi to have a spiritual side. That was the problem I always had, I neglected that third of me. Then I found this place and I found that missing part of myself. Most of the women here are veterans, or suffered trauma."

"Okay. What do I do?"

"Well, I gave you all the weapons training you need. Now it's a matter of practice and discipline. You need to reach for better, not higher. Give oneself completely to the shooting as a spiritual goal, achieved by perfection of both the spirit and shooting technique, no thoughts or illusions.

When your lose yourself in the greater moment, the draw and release is natural and on target. It cannot be helped. The bow will tell you when you are at peace. Then you need to maintain it, like golf." Winter gave Myri a closer look. "What was it, a beating?"

"A beating, yeah. But it was also about two years of job fatigue. Third degree burns was the cherry on top."

"And I bet my tough-as-nails niece declines therapy? That's going to change. I'll fix you up with a fellow Sister, a therapist. She's helped quite a few of us And now, Sister, the right response is 'Yes, Shihan.' "

"Yes, Shihan."

"Meanwhile, buy a holobow and target at our shop. You can practice safely at home that way. All you need is some open space. Practice any time all the time. Background noise is good, you'll learn to tune it out that way. What?"

"Did you teach Senator Phon this 'Truth, Virtue, Beauty?'"

"He's a very good student, a million questions all the time, good ones too. Why?"

"it just seems odd he was thinking 'Truth, Virtue, Beauty' when he killed those kidnappers."

"Not odd at all. He wasn't thinking about the kidnappers. He wasn't thinking at all. He was finding his center in concern for the person kidnapped."

"How do you know?"

"Because he hit the target. Any more questions about the man you are supposed to be bodyguarding, Myri?"

Myri breathed deeply hoping she didn't blush too much. "No, Shihan."

"Good. Now keep shooting. Your triceps will hurt like hell tonight but it'll pass. Won't need a glove or ring in a few weeks either."

Coruscant, Presidio Towers, Antilles Residence

Myri woke up in a sweat a tone. Now it was 3:15. Her racing mind wasn't letting her sleep. Her triceps cramping. She hydrated some more. As she drank, she considered stretching, then the old soldier bumped it up a notch. "Oh, well. Might as well get some practice in at the same time." The courtyard of her parent's flat was as empty as she expected. The traffic was mostly delivery transports. "Normal people are asleep." She set up the duraplast holo target, then walked the hundred paces up the tile, past the verdant planters. Her bare feet were cold on the orange-brown textured terra cotta. "One nice thing, I don't have to retrieve the arrows."

Myri used her ceramic finger ring, to pinch the string and draw it back. The bow was spring steel, taller above than below, designed to be used from beastback. Though traditional in design, the handle held a computer that wirelessly connected to the target. When the sting was released, Microcomputers calculation the flight of a theoretical arrow's arc even including wind and humidity to a millimeter. Then the arrow appeared in the target. Myri didn't need the empty quiver, but she kept it to build muscle memory.

No glowing red arrows appeared on the target. Myri checked her bow. The blinking blue light signaled everything was working perfectly. The bow was linked with the target. "Oh well." She set the target to "tracking." In tracking mode, lasers would project a short distance in front of the target, allowing her to see if and where she missed the whole target.

High above the courtyard two concerned parents watched her. "Come to bed, Wedge. You won't be good to her or anyone if you don't get your sleep." He was unmoved. "It's a good sign. At least she's not tossing and turning all night."

"I suppose. You go. I'll be right there." After his wife left, Wedge pulled up a chair and watched his daughter fire one miss after another, practically will one arrow would hit the target but not one did before Myri shook her sore hand and collected the gear.

Coruscant, Fontenelle's Garage, Myri

Myri entered the corner garage with trepidation. She was walking in not the nicest light industrial area, She had to remind two men of their manners already.

She turned left at the garage to the working desk and was met by an Ugnaught on a stool. "I'm looking for Urien?"

"That would be me. Right on time." Thank you, H'grill. I got this. " Up walked a short man, with slicked back black hair, slim and fit with piercing black eyes above a strong nose, sniffing something in the wind, dressed in a simple, faded blue greased work overalls with his name on it and steel toed boots. "How can I help you?" He looked behind her for a car and saw none.

"I saw you have a Faroe for sale."

"Yes, we do. Follow me, please."

"You list a lot of advanced features that are not standard on a Sunview." The deeper she walked, the more she was impressed. The garage was neat, spacious, with a score of more bays and twice that many workers, young people working with the middle ages beings. But most of all, the tools, if not kept handy, were put back where they belong, clean. "Always a good sign."

"And are not a dealership. What's the catch? Is that it?"

"Yes."

"Over here. So if you were so suspicious, why bother? You could get a brand new Sunview for the same price."

"I want something special."

"Well, she's that. Here she is." Fontenelle rolled up the fitted tarp to reveal an ox-blood flaked, round air old speeder, with ivory nerf bench seats and lots of chrome trim. He draped the tarp on the driver side door.

Myri sighed. "It beautiful but old."

"Is she?" Uriel Fontenelle popped the hood. "Take a look. These old models had a lot of room extra under the hood so guys could work on them, not after so much mileage like the new ones. That's gives guys like me room to pack stuff like that in. Also, note the original airstream design? The body works without the need for all the micro-flaps and gizmos. Helps it fly barge-steady in a straight line. Fewer things to go wrong that way."

"Handling?" Myri, the pilot, crawled all over the engine.

"Good but not great. Get her in a drag race though and I'd put her against a pod racer."

Myri looked at more things. She checked the fluids and measure the repulsar flow. "Okay. Now my question is why so cheap?"

"When this girl has had a rough past. She got sold to a friend my, Frankie. Frankie was street racing her when the valves blew. It's such a beautiful old speeder, Frankie brought her in to me.

But then I ran the registration. Turns the guy who sold it to Frankie reported it stolen. Not his fault but a violation of his parole. Now Frankie wants nothing to do with it."

"So whoever buys this is paying for the repairs, and the pink slips, legal fees and insurance company hassle."

"That is correct. Worse, the original owner is some sort of big wig and who are the police going to believe, you or him?"

"Oh, I'm pretty sure they'll believe me. Why bother selling her at all? There is more than that here in parts."

"That would be a shame. They don't make them like her anymore."

"I agree. Let's take her for a drive."

"Sure thing. And don't worry, I'll throw in the paint touch up for free."

"Touch up? What for? The paint looks good, no chips or rust. What did I miss?"

"Oh, the name." Urien sheepishly pulled the tarp aside. The wad of cotton tarp had been hiding the name the whole time. And there is was, it slowing script under the side view mirror, the name of the speeder. "Gadaí an ghrá. Some people find it offensive."

"What language is it?"

"Frankie's form Ahch-To. It's means 'Thief of Love' or "Love's Thief.' See, he eloped. Nice girl, she's why he's going straight and not risking a parole violation.

"And I suppose he bought the car from his father-on-law?"

Urien shrugged and opened his palms.

"'Love's Thief? ' You have no idea how perfect that name is. If I buy it, leave the name. Throw in the tarp instead. " Myri told herself that it was drive, but she felt herself falling in love with Love's Thief. The old car with the hard past and soon as she slid in. "A lost classic, unappreciated, blown valves, fixed up, collecting dust, trafficking in stolen goods. Sounds familiar. Just until I reveal insurance fraud though." Myri gunned the motor and the speeder made a rolling sound like prairie thunder wrapped in velvet. "Ooooo yeah. Hop in."

"Take a right. There's an abandoned orbital transport port there, everyone uses for a test track."

Myri turned right and frowned. Compared to Baby, Thief cornered like a sailboat.

The chain link fence was open. Weeds grew through cracks in the concrete. Something had smashed the conning tower and a new one was build beside the old foundation. Littler, like urban tumbleweeds skipped by.

"Just follow the orange paint."

Myri drove on the primary runway and drove to the end of the oval. The three point turns to a 180 was smooth. Uriel buckled in and pulled out a stopwatch. "Ready when you are. It has a senatorial gear…"

"I noticed." Myri cut her mechanic off and floored it. The G's put her back in her seat. "Comfortable. He is right. Baby is made to be unstable but this is so smooth." Myri went faster, and faster. Her eyes went wide as the speedometer kept dialing left, left, left. "You weren't kidding!" It wasn't as fast as fighter. But so close to the ground, vacant buildings whizzing by, it felt much, much faster, faster and more inherently dangerous, hence, thrilling.

She crossed the orange paint. Uriel noticed she just didn't hit the airbrake or worse, cut power. She spun and used the forward inertia to slow, then hit the repulsars. 'You know what you are doing. I turned two other people down, I thought I'd be killing them. Well?"

Myri felt her heart pounding in her chest. "Time?"

Fontenelle looked at it first, smiled and showed her the stopwatch. "I LOVE IT!" She hugged the steering yoke and kissed it.

Through the empty window and doors Myri flew. "You weren't kidding. She's super stable in the straightaways. Turns wide though."

"I got an idea on that!" Yelled Urien over the roar of engine and airflow. "another 500 but it'll cut your turning radius in half, presuming you don't pile on the forward inertia."

"Like I'm doing now?"

"Yeah, like you are doing now. And may I say, it'll improve braking too? Please slow down, we are not fighting TIE fighters here and I got a nephew to take care of."

"Yeah. This is definitely faster than, Baby!" The wind tugged on her brownette hair. Her cheeks hurt from smiling. She didn't realize it, but for the first time in long time she didn't think flash on Josie, the smell of her own burnt skin or the taste of bacta.

"We do have race days. I could put you in touch…"

"No. It's okay. I'll take her. That after-market package too. I'll need the paperwork to get this cleared up. I have someplace I need to be, anyway."

"Back to base?"

"No. A tea garden."

Coruscant, Alderaan Tea Garden, Leia, Amy, Phon, Sandra, Myri

"Princess Sandra. Princess Leia. Amy."

"Senator. Before you ask, I'm just the chaperone, here."

"And me!"

"Of course. I saw your vid of me on the news, Miss Amy."

"I know. It got like a billions views!"

"Uh, yeah." Speaking of news. Senator, I suppose I should apologize for the Vong planet thing. I didn't really think it was genocide. I'd never…"

"Oh I am all over that, now. " Smile. "I won!" Frown. "I'm still not over the LOMARs." Back to smile. "But that's business. This is tea. Lando was right. I should be putting my protest in my election platform, not the senate, yet. I'm in the process of doing that now." Smile. "Now you two kids run along. I'll just be over here, at a discrete distance pretending I'm not listening to everything. Come on you."

"You thought that was funny?" Phon turned and Sandra turned with him.

"A little. She has real talent for putting people off their stride, doesn't she?"

"Taking notes?"

"Maaaaybe."

"Nice tea garden. What did you do, rent out the whole place?"

"Princess Leia did. Apparently she's come into some money."

"I heard. She self-financing her runfor planetary governor. She's a loadlifter for the job." If Leia heard Phon's flattery she gave no indication. She just sat, bracketed by her bodyguards, sipped tea and reading her datapad, Amy imitating her.

"You would think but she has made some unpopular stances in her day, the restrictions on the armed freighters on the six space ports for example."

"How do you stand?"

"There are a lot of pirates nowadays and as long at GA Security vets the captains and crew, I don't see the reason to fear. Stones? I heard you play. Ah, here's the tea." Phon set up the stones board, while Sandra, as hostess, poured. "My father says I should thank you for the rescue."

"You were doing fine. I put your life at risk."

"Don't flatter me. That was fine back at the party but not then. If I was alive it's because they wanted to use me. Which is in some ways worse. Scone?"

"Thank you. All right. I've been thinking the same thing. The space lanes?"

"That's part of it." Sandra shook her head. A bit of wind came up and move a strand of mink brown hair across her face. "Something more. There's a hidden game I'm not seeing. Not like your feint to the corner. I see that."

"Your dad's a serious man."

"He likes you too."

"How do you know?"

"You're alive." She stared on the board, barely hiding her smile. "He says you know when to give up and talk plain. He asked me if I liked you."

"My Prime Minster asked me the same thing."

"He said that we could use an 'in' with Corellia."

"She said we could use New Alderaan's resources and markets."

"Maybe we should get my father and your minister should together and leave us out of it."

"Maybe they should. So…um…what did you tell him?"

"About what?"

"Do you like me?"

"Yes." Her reply was cool, her eyes kept to the board. "I do. And not just because you know how to fly and shoot. I first noticed you telling a story. Which reminds me. I've been meaning to ask, what was the story you were telling the younglings at the gala?"

"Oh! The First Story."

"You missed your calling, you had them in the palm of your hand." She sighed heavily.

"What's the matter?"

Sandra looked up from the game.

"Her eyes are so brown, it's like they melt into the pupils."

"I'm sorry, Phon. You deserve the truth. I like you, I really do. Not just the rescue either. I had a really good time with you after the rescue, at the what was left of the gala. You treat me with respect, you know how to waltz, do tea and play stones, you can even keep up with my political talk, but it won't work out. See? I'm one of the last of Alderaanian royalty.

"I don't…"

"Now wait. Hold on. Endogamy is fine, but you are not Alderaanian or royalty. I know I sound like a bigot now but it means a lot to me to keep my people's traditions alive."

"Well , this just got real. Okay. I went along with the chaperone thing. It's like the stories of my gram and gaffer." Phon hooked at thumb at Leia and her daughter were pretending to read books. "But this is whole new era we are talking about here."

"Sorry. We can still be…"

"Please. Gimme a sec." Phon felt like he just got punched in the gut. "I am losing. Why am I losing? It's a rule. I am good at rules. I should think my way out of this. Okay. If dating you means I have to leave Corellia, fine. What does it take to be Alderaanian besides residence?"

"You'd do that? Give up your home planet?"

"I'm Corellian. Moving to other planets is kind of what we do."

"And your job?"

"I'll miss endless paperwork, threats to my life , and under constant surveillance." He jerked a thumb indicating Myri. "but yeah. I do like making a difference. I'll miss that. But my replacement election is in a couple of months. I'd likely be voted out anyway."

Leia coughed.

"I think. But I can still resign, or choose not to run."

"Won't your Prime Minister be angry?"

"Why? Corellia has a contract for a space lane. Mission accomplished I say. And there is plenty of work out there for a guy with my experience."

At the thumb jerk, Sandra lingered a little on his bodyguard. Intuition told her she was listening a little too intently. "She is up to something."

Sandra had her own two bodyguards on the terrace and an air car circling nearby but she stared a Myri a little too long for Phon's comfort. "So what do you think?"

"About?"

"Citizenship? New Alderaan's a closed planet. How do people become citizens?"

"Oh. After the destruction, we instituted the ancient Brehon system. Brehons used to be great judges of our people. After an interview, they decide if you can 'join the tribe' so to speak."

"Brehon?" The odd end to the call with Seignior Burgos reminded Phon. "Does it mean being given permission to wear traditional garb?"

"Why yes…it does. How did you know that?"

"Your dad. He said I could wear riverman's livery. You know the costume I wore to the gala?"

"He…." She blushed red. "well…there's still a matter of your lack of royal lineage, sorry."

"This is working out! Can I be this lucky?" Phon continued. "My family originally came from Correllia's upper tier. Before the Clone Wars we held a huge swaths of grainland. Does that count?"

"Almost. It counts for birth. You would have be knighted. And no off-worlder been knighted in…"

"And that's where I come in."

"Leia?"

"How does she do that?" Asked Phon.

"What?"

"Cross all that distance so quickly."

"I know, right?"

"You can thank me later. As Princess of New Alderaan, I Leia Organa Solo knight thee, Claudius Phon of Corellia for services rendered to New Alderaan. I name thee Knight of Alderaan, Courtier Errant, until such time as you own right and title to land. I grant thee the right to bear arms and defend the weak. The silver gorget is in the mail. There. We'll need an official ceremony, lots of troops, etc. But a 'promotion in the field' should do for now."

Phon looked at Sandra to see if Leia was kidding but the panicked look in Sandra's wide eyes told him otherwise. Leia's daughter tried to smother her giggle with her hands and failed miserable, giggling to beat the band

Sandra stood, outraged using her height. "What did you do?" It was the first time Leia heard Sandra shout. Leia was unfazed..

"Took away your excuses, sweetheart. You dump him now, you'll have to do it without hiding behind tradition's skirts."

"Wait. (And I can't believe I am saying this.) I am afraid you can't knight me. Corellians don't believe in nobility any more. It would take an act of the legislature to permit it."

"He's got your there, Leia." Sandra relaxed.

Phon felt pride in Sandra's compliment. Outwitting Princess Leia was practically an oxymoron in the Halls of the Senate.

"Oh yeah?" Without batting an eye, Leia pulled out a holo commlink. "You forget I married a Corellian. I knew all about that.'" The image of the Mary Colligan, First Minister of Corellia spun into view. "You get all that Mary?"

"Sure did. You'll find the papers in your databank tomorrow, Phon."

"Tomorrow! Nothing had ever passed the legislature in a month let alone a day!"

"Never had a trade deal with New Alderaan on the line before. Need me for anything else, Leia?"

"No. Thanks Mary. "

"No problem. And Leia? About Han's traffic fines…"

"Best to Gerald and the boys. Organa-Solo out."

"What do you think you are doing?" Sandra hissed between clenched teeth. "This is what I get for confiding in you!"

Myri's eyes widened as Leia's narrowed. Neither had seen this side of the normally composed Princess Sandra before. Leia didn't flinch. "I'm removing all your excuses. You don't want to court each other, fine. But now you two are going to have to do it on your own, like real people do. You can thank me later. Come along, Amy."

Leia's daughter, both hands over her mouth spun and skipped in her mother's wake. "And that's how it's done." Leia whispered to her daughter.

"How are you feeling?"

"Cornered. You?"

"Same. "

"Stones? Sorry, but leaving now would make me feel like she won." Sandra sighed in agreement and sat down. "Hey. I like you. Don't get me wrong, I'd have to be dead not to be attracted to you. So I better say this before I forget. It really took guts to go back to the gala after facing down the kidnappers. Just wanted to say that."

"What? You prepared a list?"

Phon blushed and stared at the game, not concealing his sheepish smile well. "Maaaybe."

Sandra smiled. They played stones. They were evenly matched. In the end, Phon had trouble concentrating on the game. He fought his urge to just sit and stare at her.

Sandra won and offered the traditional apology. "Yeah. Sorry about the dance, the first one. I was teasing you. And as far as facing down…I wish I could do more with the swords than dance. I felt…was… was so helpless…and then…and then you…"

Phon had not seen her look so down. "Hey. I've got an idea. I think I know someone who could teach you to really use the swords as weapons. Would you like that?"

"I'm not a soldier."

"I'm not either but it's not about that. Not to go all Jedi, it's about confidence and spiritual strength. Six months and, if they let you in, you can forget feeling helpless. Would you like that? Not feeling helpless?"

Sandra's voice was small, barely above a whisper. "Yes."

"Good. After we finish the tea, I take you to my dojo. Just to check it out."

Sandra's secure comm link took that moment to chime. It was the secure on, the one for Senatorial business. She frowned.

"Mind me asking?"

"No. It's Senator Roehmer. I'm supposed to have tea with him, here. He's asking if you left yet. Do you mind?"

"Roehmer. The guy who stole my seat." Something clicked in Phon he didn't know he had a around to click. Something in the way she asked told a little voice inside he heart he had a rival. He was angry. He felt ugly. And he did not like feeling ugly. He breathed and found his center, his concern for Sanda. "Hey, it's not about me and what I want. It's about you. You can choose to stay her and have tea and remain helpless. Or you can come with me and maybe learn to defend yourself." He stood and held out his hand.

"I don't know." Sandra warred in herself.

"Hey. Forget me, Leia," there was a cough in the distance, "the Senate everyone else. What does Sandra Alcanta Burgos what? Helplessness or the sword?"

"Never. Never again." She took his hand.

"Good. Come on. Let's go."

"But Senator Roehmer is on the way."

"I'll take care of him. You move along."

"How does she DO that?"

Myri, we're going to the dojo. I'm due for a workout anyway."

'What about your appointment with the Admiralty?" Asked Myri.

"Nothing that can't wait." Myri stormed off talking into a commlink. "What's her problem?"

Coruscant, Steel Bow Sisterhood, Winter, Sandra

Shihan Winter looked the princess up and down. "Dancer, huh? Great tone. Balance and timing already there. Bet you have the cardio to go with it. Okay. You're in. Knife fighting."

"But I dance with swords."

"Nobody but Jedi use swords. In today's world you're dead before you can draw. Knives on the other hand…" she let the thought carry its own weight. "Fast as a blaster, in the right hands…knives…steel knives."

"Not vibroblades?" Sandra winces at the memory of the axe wielder.

"Steel will do for now."

"I'm going to hand you over to our knife Sensei. She's new to the Sisterhood but you will not find anyone, myself included, more skilled with a knife. After fourteen sessions, she will or will not sponsor your for membership. "

'Well, hello. You will address me as Sensei Antilles. Drop and give me fifty."

Steel Bow Sisierhood, Beam weapon range, Phon, Sandra

"How'd the first session go?"

My sensei is a Dathomir swampcat!"

"Oh, sorry to hear that. I was hoping you'd come back with me tomorrow."

"Oh, I 'm coming with you. Then I'm going to be a master with a knife. And you know what the first things I'm going to do with a dagger is?"

"What?"

"Plant one right between my sensei's shoulder blades!"

"I'm sorry. I thought you would have a good time."

"It's not that. Oh, you were right. It's not about a good time. I'm learning to defend myself. I have to admit, when Sensei Myri is done with me, I think I'll even to teach my papa a thing or two about knives. When you are a dancer, your learn you don't have to like your instructor and I guess this is one of those times."

"Sensei Myri? Myri Antilles?"

"Yeah, your bodyguard. Don't feel bad. I asked for this remember?"

"Hey, how did that meeting go with the Admiralty."

"Oh! Turns out Leia call them and made my apologies for me. I don't know what she said, but they all seemed pretty happy I was gone, laughing even."

"I bet. Hey, is that the laser pistol? Can I see?"

"Sure."

"My dad gave me a few lessons." They shot and chit chatted, then Sandra said it and Phon and she parted ways. "Thanks Claudius. You were right, this was more fun than tea."

Phon Residence, Senatorial Quarter, Phon

Phon entered his residence and fist pumped the air and jumped around. "More fun! I am more fun!"

Coruscant, Presidio Towers, Antilles residence, 1 am

It had become a ritual. No more waiting in bed. When Myri awoke she went for her bow and target. The day had been fun, starting with her new Faroe and ending with busting the princess's chops. The paperwork in the middle was no fun. She paid the Fontenelle AND to get the pinks slips fair and square. But she was already was looking forward to blasting around a track with Phon.

Myri set up the target. Over the days, she began to understand what Shihan was saying. "If I just concentrate on the bow, my whole life tunes out. Missing by less anyway. I like the dojo. Fun driving Phon there. Fun sharing the range. I wonder if he knows how funny he is." She flashed on the senator after the cardio part of their shared regimen at the Dojo. "And handsome. Big miss there. Focus, Myri. Sandra interfering at the dojo. No. Not going to hit anything that way. What did Shihan say? 'Truth, Virtue, Beauty.' If you live in those three things at the moment of release, the arrow will find where it is meant to go, because you know where it will go. True shooting equals certain hitting. Phon. He wasn't thinking about the kidnappers. He wasn't thinking at all. He was finding his center in concern for the person. What do I want? I.." she drew. "I want to take care of Phon, me."

Myri blinking to make sure she wasn't seeing things. The arrow was sticking in the target. Low, zero points, outside the 1 point ring but it was in and glowing blue."

Somewhere she heard some idiot man whooping for joy.

Coruscant, Steel Bow Sisterhood, Winter, Myri

Shihan Winter approached. "You are hitting the target now. What happened?"

"How do you know it's not just practice, Shihan." Winter shot her skeptical look. "Fine. I finally figured out what I want in life."

"You still don't get it."

"But I'm hitting the target!"

"Yes, and you might even get good at it. You got your father's knack for combat. But you still don't get it. It's not about what your WANT. 'Want"' indicates weakness, a lack, and how can one achieve perfection that way? It's about the inner and outer selves. A tree does not want. So it is a perfect tree. When you realize who you are. you won't need to practice any more, except to maintain tone."

"More Jedi…"

Shihan cut her off. "So you feel complete?" Myri blushed. "I thought not. And don't look to people to make you complete. That's your job, you and your bow. Back to the question you tried to evade. What changed?"

"I decided I want Phon. There! Satisfied?" Myri was defiant. Winter was one of the deadliest women on the planet but she felt like taking a good poke at her and damn the consequence.

Winter never lost her confidence, not a white hair out of place. "It's about you, and not Phon. End today's session without the ring, I want you building callouses there. And woman to woman. He likes you too, he just doesn't know it yet. He's very unsettled."

"What do I about Princess Sandra?"

"You should have asked me earlier. I don't take sides between students."

Vong System, The Sixth Finger Sorran, Ai, Kaleb, Beth

Acacia fended off the remaining the dwindling Vong forces from the planet surface. "Acacia reports the vessels attacking it are being diverted to the Worldship."

Ai was grim. "Time for licking wounds. All stop. Recover all fighters and boats. Engineering!"

"Engineering here." Beth answered. Sorran was glad.

"I want a top to bottom examination of the hyperdrive. They last thing I want is to make the jump only to blow up."

"Already on it, Captain. Preliminary looks good."

"Keep on it. Commodore?"

"Very prudent, Captain."

Klaxons sounded. "We've got arrivals!"

The bright watched three Destroyers dropped out of hyperspace behind the Worldship. "They are all Vong!"

"No." Captain Ai spoke, her voice barely above a whisper. "We were so close."

"Now we know why we were allowed to intercept that transmission." Sorran was sour.

"They are bigger than the three we fought before. Miid Ro'ik class. Equivalent to a full on Star Destroyer II."

"More like a SD 3."

"Commodore?"

"First off, enough with the Thing Noise. Designate them VSD1, 2 and 3. Secondly, Yes. Call general retreat. Recall all units. Set course for home."

"We can't run, not when we are so close!"

"That's an order, Captain." Sorran tried to keep his pistol hand casual as it rested on the butt.

Ai stood arms still, fists clenched, trembling with rage. "Yes, sir! Recall all units! Get everyone inside. Recall all EVA. We be needing real shields soon and it's a strain."

Sorran rand to the Fleet operations station and was joined by his wife. "Told you."

"Right, as usual, dear. Communications! Send the withdrawal signal.!"

"Helm, get out of here, best speed. Nav comps, get us some coordinates. Engineering We are monitoring. We'll give you all we got it. Damage control! Full alert all decks and stations. How are the Troopers?"

"All EVA and damage control teams present or accounted for. All but three sortie' units reported back. No communication from them." Karls looked grimly at the Commodore.

"That was quick."

The bridge was filled with the usual chatter. The Commodore took it as a good sign. Open communication was always a sign of good ship.

"They are probably already launching fighters."

"No. Not yet."

"Main engine ready, Captain!"

"Sheilds to default settings. Helm engage." The bridge held their collective breath. The ship groaned like Old Wookie getting out of bed on winter's day. The engineers panel blinked red and screamed "Atmosphere loss! Atmosphere loss!." She hit a few more buttons. The klaxon ended. The engineer's mate nodded at the crew. They kept breathing.

The Sixth Finger lurched forward. "Damage?"

"We've been very lucky, sir. Main engines at 65%. Power levels at 73% and rising. The rest of the systems are nominal."

"We are still on intruder alert, Captain. But we have teams with gundarks scouring the ship."

"How are they finding them?"

"Delicious. Sorry. I mean, swiftly, captain."

The Finger rotated. This gave the captain a moment to think. "Those Vong must have been out there, all along, waiting, holding back. Why? Why attack now?"

"Did you read the data Admiral Smith gave us? Apparently the Vong have factions too. Politics and fanaticism are weaknesses the Vong and the Galactic Alliance seem to share."

Captain Ai simmered. "They waited until we cracked the Worldship. Just when it looked like we were going to win, they came to the rescue. Now they have a whole planet full of soldiers and resources at their faction's disposal. They'll be loyal to whomever helps them exact revenge."

"Perhaps. In any case, this is the ideal time to attack us. Our only capital ship is all but spent and our lines of communication strained to breaking."

"Like attacking a force crossing a river."

"Very good, Captain. But why attack at all? They must have many worlds. What makes this world so special? Chief Medical Officer?'

Captain Ruby Proce-Sorran psoke. "The medical team took a look at the close recon. You've seen it. Most of the planet looks like a Mon Cal reef doesn't it? And a reef, once enough life is put upon it, is one large organism. It's not just a planet. It's a nascent Worldship. More bad news, we calculate that suitable gestation worlds are even rarer than a Goldilockian Class planet."

"Worth fighting over."

"And the Rebels, I mean the Alliance?" The Commodore used his school teacher voice. "Why did they choose this phase of the operation to stand down?"

"Ironic. The same reason. The Alliance escapes accusations of genocide. The Vong War against Fluties continues. A Vong base in Unknown Space won't make a difference to them. "

"And Terminus?"

"The Vong will kill us. Their profile suggests they won't let their pride suffer defeat at our hands. We must run to the Alliance or face annihilation."

"Very good." Sorren entere data and typed keys on his fleet command panel. "You'll find a retreat plan in your panel. The Presidium thought we needed total commitment on everyone's part."

"Of course." Ai understood very well. The same policy denied TIE pilots shields or life suits, afraid they'd become shy of aggression. "Truth be told, even with the dictum of total commitment, I wondered if you had not planned for escape like you usually do." Ai looked at the course and smiled. "You do not disappoint, Commodore. Knife up your sleeve, as always."

"At least one." The Commodore forced a smile. "How else can keep my reputation as military genius? But seriously, it's a lesson I learned on the Death Ships. One: assume the worst of your opponent. Two: Allies without a vested interest will betray you. Three: Always have a contingency plan." Now he used his voice of Command, he took a deep breath and projected form the diaphragm. "Helm! You'll find a flight plan laid in. Engineering? Can we maneuver in shoal space?"

"Barely, sir."

"How about with Tee-ars and bumpers?

"Main helm's computer is non-responsive. We are looking into that. Back up is working but it's not near as good."

"Use fire control's computer for helm."

"Fire control? We'll lose…"

Lieutenant, the Commodore is well aware of all ship's functions."

"Yes, captain!"

"Use it. "Order Acacia to cover our rear and fall in behind us, danger close."

"Yes, sir."

"Fighters and vehicles recovered and secured, Commodore."

The three Miid Ro'ik crested the corpse of the Worldship, looming larger.

"Get us out of here. Hyperdrive shows ready. But can we trust it?"

"Helm?"

"Coordinates laid in."

"Tactical?"

"The destroyers' acceleration is high. But we had a good lead. At maximum acceleration massed Vong fighters might catch us before we reach hyperspace. It will be close. But we should make it.".

"Good news. The Vong destroyers are not launching fighters." The scanner reported.

The three Miid Ro'ik soared over the greying, still bubbling black ichor, Worldship. Each's belly began to glow then the Yaret Kors, Volcano Guns, lit up the stars, lancing Volcano guns in and through the defenseless hulk of the Worldship, smoke, steam and burning gas vent ups or was swept along with the white hot disgorge at the exit wound. Like a soft point slug, the hole at the exit was much larger than the entry point. Bits of shell-hull and guts trailed smoke at they entered the atmosphere.

"Why?" Ai looked to Sorran. "It was dead, or near enough."

Mrs. Sorran, the midwife ,spoke, "Because they can. It's no longer a mother. I bet she was sacred before. An orphan would suit them better. Animals.

"That gives us a break." The captain breathed.

Like a firework held in a fist, golden light shone through the cracks in the Worldship. One fissure burst with an oxygen rich jet spaceward. Sorran looked to his wife and raised an eyebrow "Putting on a show of dominance to the people on the planet?"

"It would be nice if it lost orbit killed a lot planetside." grunted Karls.

"I should say so. A Worldship sized mass should do sever damange to the planet below. Enough ash to start winter early I imagine, like it did on the Forest Moon of Endor. One more bit of Ewok luck."

"Luck?"

"When we came back to exact vengeance, we found the little buggers starving. We decided not to use our turbo lasers to warm them up. We came back the following year, but the rain of heavy metals did our job for us, poisoning a whole latitude. Their forest moon was going bald. We left them alive, regretting ever aiding the Rebels. What do you think the result be, Captain Price-Sorran?

"Tough to say. Hard on the population, but I'd say all the debris just might act like nourishment for the embryo, the population it kills too."

"Lovely."

"Vong destroyers continuing pursuit."

"They barely slowed down."

"Not much of break was it?" Butterbar was sour.

"Time to jump?" asked Ai.

"Three minutes."

"Time to enemy arrival?"

"Four minutes thirty seconds. After the Worldship blew, the remaining Vong fighters went inside a Vong destroyer, then the destroyers redlined their engines…or whatever they have."

"Smart. That way we just can't use the mass drivers to spray AAA along their intercept course."

"We're going to make it." Ai looked ahead. Nothing but stars.

Then the space lane in front of the Finger filled with an entire Galactic Alliance Fleet.

Sixth Finger, Engineering, Beth, Kaleb

Kaleb reunion with his wife ended abruptly. All his hairs stood on end. He snapped his spathe to glaive, flashed his shield on and spun, 360 scaning for enemies.

"What?" His wife sensed his tension immediately.

"Are the Vong all dead?"

"Yes, we checked, remember?"

"We need to get out of here. Now."

"What do you think I'm trying to do?"

Vong System, Sixth Finger, Bridge, Sorran. Ai

"Bad news." Sorran's face was grim.

"Bad news? But sir, with the help of the Alliance fleet we could defeat the Vong."

"No. They are enemies. Continue on course. Back to Terminus."

Mrs. Sorran grabbed her husband by his upper arm.

"Slow to one half. Open communications."

"I forbid it!" Sorran cut Ai off with a wave if his hand and steely glare.

Ai had never seen her Commodore like that before, so full of fury.

Sorran felt his wife's hand on his shoulder. "Shh. The more talk means more time."

"Right as usual." Sorran tapped ship-to-ship comm panel. "Pardon. She is your ship, captain."

Ai took command. "Open communications."

Sorran muttered to his wife. "Looks like we'll be using the Tugs after all." And began tapping a text on the command panel.

Ai was cheerful. "A little late to the party, Admiral Smith but welcome. Please adjust your course. You are between us and our jump point and we are no condition to press the attack."

A young, fit Twi'lek female stood on the main monitor screen.

"Wight?"

"Ah, you remember me Commodore? I cannot help but be touched. Of course, I was little more than a half a face frozen in carbonite."

"Where is Smith?" Asked Ai.

"Former, Admiral Smith resigned her command. She and those officers and crew loyal to her on some very cramped shuttles on the way back to Coruscant. But do worry. All the ships are very ably commanded by Jedi! You are not surprised, Commodore?"

"On the contrary, pleasantly surprised. " Sorran kept typing. "I feared Smith had fallen prey to the moral turpitude that usually marks every Alliance decision."

"Turpitude?"

Sorran sighed. "Turpitude AND lack of letters. The ultimatum. Be quick about it." Sorran waved his hand in a circle.

Wight recovered quickly. "Terminus is to surrender all weapons and technology, including all stygian cloaking devices and join the sphere of the Alliance. Or we disable you and leave you to the Vong."

"You are going to kill us?"

"We only need to delay you, Remnant." The last word was practically spat. It had an edge that suggested an old vendetta. "Then with my task force and the clear course you so kindly gave the admiral, we will raid Terminus and take them for ourselves, killing as we go."

The bridge crew tensed. The word was forbidden on Terminus. Everyone knew how the Commodore felt about being called a 'remnant."

"Remnant, eh? So that's the way it is?"

"That's the way it is." She opened her palms. "However, I am prepared to be reasonable. What do you want?"

"What I want? I want you to get the hell out of our way."

Wight frowned. "Surely." The smile was back, softer, cooing. "What do you want.? What could offer you?""

Sorran's wife's nails dug until they hurt. "You have nothing I could possibly want. Now move, you are blocking our jump point."

"It's not working! WHY is it not working?"

"I think she just tried to mind trick you." Sorran's wife whispered.

"Captain. The Alliance is taken up position. They are making a gauntlet, standard V formation."

Sorran walked to Ai and whispered. Ai nodded then said. "Steady as she goes, helm. Do not deviate one iota from course."

Ai checked her screen. It was a classic battle line. The funnel would open as they sailed through, opening it the apex, hammering them all the way. Turning to an A when they were halfway through. The Sixth Finger, after all she'd been through could not survive the pounding. Except for the Acacia and Terminus base's skeleton crew back home, practically the entire population of Terminus was on the Sixth Finger, she wasn't a warship anymore, she was an Ark."A full salvo of proton torpedoes and concussion missiles form the Bakura alone could crack us open like an egg. "No fighters, though. They won't risk leaving them behind for the Vong."

"The stygian cloaking devices, all of them!"

Sorran moved away from Ai, his wife stayed close. "Then what? Carve out your own little Temple?"

"Yes! One where those born superior don't have to scrape and bow and serve!" She spat. "We will rule and the people will be happy. It will be paradise, for everyone, even Terminus."

"Because you know so much better."

"Why not?" Wight raised one perfect brow. "We do. Why isn't this working?"

"Sorry to disappoint you. Would you believe me if I told you the cloaking devices were recently stolen and sold at a private auction on the New Wheel?" Wight showed her teeth. "I thought not. You don't seem like the kind of Jedi who checks intelligence reports, or reads for that matter."

"Reading is for clerks."

"The Vong are slowing, Commodore."

"No doubt happy to see us blow each other's brains out and pick the carcasses ."

"Turbo laser range one minute and closing, Captain.."

"Slow to one quarter."

"Captain? May I suggest you take the command crew to the auxiliary bridge. It's more heavily armored and a view isn't really necessary now. I will remain here with the nonessential crew. And be sure to take GO01. "

Ai nodded in understanding. "Yes, sir. You heard the Commodore, to the aux-bridge, now! "

"Honey. You better go too. There is a danger. When the asteroids hit, there will be a danger of shrapnel. The shields won't help."

"I'm fine where I am. I always wanted to see you in action."

"How am I doing?"

"Wish you'd just kill her and shut the Jedi hussitch up already. She's getting on my nerves."

"Working on it, honey."

"Well, Remnant?"

"I have a counter proposal, Rebel scum. You surrender your vessel now or be destroyed."

"Captain Wight, darling?" came a squeaky voice form off screen.

"Not now, Wllitz. Thank you for making my day, Commodore. Sheilds up. Prepare to fire. Concentrate on disabling the engines."

"I do not make idle threats."

"You are out gunned six to one?"

"The Imperial Navy is never outgunned."

"Captain, darling?"

"Shut up Wllitz."

"Pardon, Milady Wight. Do you suppose they have a cloaked fighter out there, somewhere?"

Wight turned to her junior officer, a mountain dwelling species, and then looked "back" at the Commodore's holo image. "Doesn't matter. We counted all their T-38s and Skiprays. Anything that can activate a cloak is in their bay or in hyperspace. And Smith secured a tracking device on the Finger. They cannot escape."

"A pilot's answer. She's not fleet." Muttered Karls under his breath.

Ai knew what Karls meant. A real flag officer, raised on the bridge knew a fleet was not a numbers game. Stereotypical pilots were used to dealing with what was right in front of them. A veteran fleet officer, like Smith, would know space holds many surprises and would be looking for a trap, like her junior officer.

"We don't use the old cloaking devices anymore. We've developed much better ones, ones that are not booby trapped. But you are right about the size."

Wllitz finally shouted. "Captain! Bakura reports visual contact, we have two Terminus tugs approaching Amethyst from astern. Six more on intercept with task force."

"Tugs? But they would have to…" Wight's eyes moved back and forth as she crunched the numbers in her head.

Sorran finished her thought and kept her thinking about numbers. "Launched a week ago? Yes. Two weeks actually when one considers their load. We held them in reserve in case the Worldship was only wounded."

"What could tugs hope to accomplish? Amethyst could blast them atoms." Sorran stood at parade rest. "Scanners?"

"I'm not picking anything up, princess. Just tugs, running a bit hot, is all.""

"You're bluffing, Sorran. Even if you did cloak the tugs what could they possibly…"

"CAPTAIN!"

"Damn it Wllitz! What the hell is it!?"

"But milady, where did all the stars go?"

"What?"

"But then why do we need cloaks when we can wrap asteroids with scan AND shield absorbing Kessel energy spider silk?"

"By the Force! How big is that thing? Evasive!"

Sorran watched he monitor go dark and the Jedi panic.

"Wait? What just happened?"

"You weren't the only one planting devices. You rebels are so sloppy about droids. Oh yes, you looked for devices, but not droids. Right now, Captain Ai is ordering droids, OUR droids, on each and everyone one of your ships to hack into your non-essential systems. And oh, yes, we know just what to do with a ship, Jedi." Sorran spat the last word. "We work for a living! I DESIGNED the Nebulon B. All the lights, including panel diodes in your ship were just deactivated. A low priority, high maintenance system, easily accessed for easy repair. Captain Ai's idea. You need more experience in fleet operations. Commanding a fleet is much different than a single ship. You need to see all the pieces on the board, not just the queen. "

With the Alliance ships dark, Ai sped her engines, she weaving her flotilla through the unresponsive gauntlet.

"Where are the emergency lights!?"

"They are not registering a power outage, so they are not on, your majesty."

A klaxon sounded.

"What's that?"

"Mistress. That's the automatic gravity alarm. That 'roids so big it's got gravity!"

"My Goddess! Sheilds are collapsing!"

"That would be the web's absorbing power a work. Not as good as freshly spun webs but effective. Blast at them if you like. We tested them on our own turbolazers before we sent them here. Very pretty."

"I've lost the feed to the engines!"

"Engineering!"

"No response!"

As the Sixth Finger glided between two ranks of darkened ships, Sorran kept up his distracting banter. "If you were Imperial ships, a little rerouting of power would not phase you. You would have practiced blackout drills. With Imperial standardization, each ship and panel is the same. Lights and goggles need to be found. But with Rebel 'variety' each ship keeps them in different place."

Wight knew what he was doing, sowing fear in her bridge. "Shut him off!"

"But darling, his monitor scree is the only light we have."

"The Jedi sparked her lightsaber and ran out the holo projector's view. There was more shouting on the bridge.

"Get out of my way, idiot!"

With Wight gone, Sorran addressed the first officer. "Smart young man, observant too. Wllitz, isn't it? But I'm guessing that it your crew's reaction time will be off by one or two minutes from your lubberly standards. We'll be gone by then. You're just lucky are asteroids are not iron but strange and dark matter. You should survive."

"Lancer class frigate stick amidships, Commodore."

"Smith was suspicious of our providing her with our jump point coordinates. Not your Jedi. You jumped in just where we wanted you. The tugs could not hit your otherwise."

"Bakura struck aft. She drifting."

"Corvairs struck. Venting."

"Help us, please!"

"What's wrong with him? He's acting like a teenage boy. He should see the way out of our trap. I can't stand it. This hits too close to home. Fine. Only because Admiral Smith defied orders to help us, honor requires we return the favor. Your gauntlet was already set up so you could accelerate in the clear. Gun you motors, you should escape that way. Tell all. Comm should be clear."

Wight appeared on screen. Wight reach out with the Force. Distance didn't matter in a moment, she trusted Sorran would be an infatuated sycophant like the crew of the Amethyst "I was a fool to fight you, I see that now. You are too smart for me. I'm sorry. Please help, us. We have innocent people on board. I'll make it worth your while…"

"Disgusting. And when the Vong pounce, I do hope you remember, if you kept your word, your fleet would have been safe."

"Sorran! You will obey me!"

"Pathetic."

"Why isn't this working? I am irresistible!"

"We're clear of gravity! Jump point achieved!"

"Wait! "Wait! Order the tugs to dock. They'll will never make it otherwise. Then off we go."

"They read you mind, Captain. Tugs docking." Before Ai could reply, Sixth Finger & Acacia zipped into hyperspace. He checked his panel. "They should be fine."

"Told you we needed bigger asteroids." Ai kidded.

"On the bright side." Mrs. Sorran interjected. "We didn't have a berg sized fragment of web-wrapped strange matter ripping through the bridge."

"I suppose there is that."

"We made it!" cheers erupted on the deck.

"Belay that! Maintain alert." Ai's holo image appeared on the bridge. "Prepare for assault as soon as we enter real space."

"By who? The Alliance?" The Defense Officer asked. She knew the Capital ships would be sustain minor damaged from the soft asteroids.

"Vong."

"Vong?"

"How else will Wight keep the Vong from destroying her fleet, but to provide them with the coordinates of the Star Destroyer that killed their precious Worldship?" Ai looked at the Commodore. He was beaming with pride. "She'll keep alive by giving our jump coordinates to the Vong."

"Outstanding, Captain Ai!"

"Learned from the best, sir. Now if you are done distracting the enemy, I'm done hacking their systems. I'd rather be on MY bridge when implement this escape plan."

The Commodore, Captain Ai and Captain Sprue of the Acacia used the time in hyperspace to coordinate the escape.

Exiting hyperspace, the alarms screamed.

"Bridge? Engineering. Hyperdrive motivator is fried!"

"We don't need it anyway. Full speed ahead."

The Vong jumped in a half a minute afterwards. "Here they are! They are deploying fighters. Captain?"

"Steady as she goes. Do NOT deploy interceptors. Double reinforce rear deflectors. Activate triple A, all tee-ars active. That reminds me? Mines? Chaff?"

"Just a few cans, sir."

"Just as well. Hold on. Keep Acacia danger close. Captain Sprue knows what to do.

"Fighters in range. Point defense activating!"

"I was afraid of this, without Fire Control's computer, the links aren't working."

"Put them on manual if you have to."

"Aye. Aye. Crews! Look to your guns! Fire as your guns bear!"

The fighter defense panel lit up like a Lifeday tree when the Vong attacked. Terminus' xtomic rendered laser-green, blaster-red and Tee-Ar-violet all magnesium-white. They slowly diminished.

"They are going after the weapons. Captain."

"Weapons will be meaningless soon enough. Focus defense on the engines and power systems. Commodore?"

"Steady as she goes." Sill Sorran controlled his breathing. He had no fear left. The Death Ships had wrung it all from him. He let his skeleton crew mistake his life-weariness for courage.

"They are taking apart our defenses. Cutting off our limbs before they go for the heart."

"The fighters are too small. We can't push their weapons away."

"They want to board us." It was General Karls.

Sorran looked at how his crew took to the news. He smiled. They doubled their efforts. "Good. Keeping their minds on their duty and not on what the Vong do to live prisoners. But then they are my crew. So many parents will feel my loss. So many orphans. Wait. General, where is the location of Mess-Zero?"

"You saw it. Mess-Zero flew into the maw of the worm-thing just before it burned and blew up."

"Perhaps he escaped."

Karls showed the emotion of skepticism.

"Humor me."

Karls showed the emotion of surprise. "Mess-Zero, or at least part of his armor, shows in main engineering."

"Life signs?"

Karls did not move. "I have better things to do."

"General." The Commodore's tone was flat and level, reminded him of his rank. Karls was used to people using it as an honorific. Now it was Commodore Sorran remind him that he was outranked. Sorran stared at him, even as the Finger rocked from punches and shoves from Vong weapons.

Karls checked. Then the gravestone showed all the emotion of a shrug. "All signs are normal. Confirmed. It's him not a part, not someone in his suit. How did you know?"

"Keep him in the engine room. Nothing will happen to it while he is there."

Karls didn't move. "I already have station a cohort of my best anti-boarders ithere, not to mention almost all of the combat engineers…."

He was interrupted by the combat engineers on the bridge."

"Essayons!"

"…If I may continue, we could use all of our Spacetroopers in the bays. The docking shields are the obvious target."

"That's an order."

"Message sent. Dangerous game, Sorran. One Spacetrooper could make all the difference."

"That's what I am counting on."

The hammering began anew. Then it was broken by a new alarm.

"Intruder alert! We've been boarded!"

"Location!"

"Engineering!" Karls looked up. "How did you know?"

"I guess they have assault shuttles too. General?

"Reinforcement cohort on the way. All troops set to repel more borders."

"Cry havoc and release the gundarks of hell!"

Karls shot a hard look to Sorran. "Lucky we have Spacetrooper there."

"Predictable." Sorran shrugged.

As the Vong ship punched through the shimmering square than once held an Ion drive Beth remembered that the space was built to take old engines out and put new engines in. "It's a docking shield too!"

Like everyone else in the engineering, she drew her blaster pistol and fired. The defensive squad of trooper's charged their LRB scoring fist sized chunks off the landing craft. But it wasn't enough.

The ship was like a giant shell, only it had eight holes on either side, like those found in an abalone. As it landed on the now vacant engine mounting, It opened like bivalve, a long black tongue of a ramp flopped out. Vong warriors sallied forth waving ampistaffs and spraying swarms of blast bugs. Just as many bugs hit home as blaster bolts. But there more Vong. The Vong closed, tossing bugs as they ran, planning to jam the Troopers and kill them with the ampistaffs, a strategy that had worked with standard Troopers many times before.

However, the Troopers of Terminus, unlike their kin, were well armed and drilled for close-combat. The Troopers met them with spatha and shield. Called a hedgehog, glaives shot out from behind the shields, slowing and channeling attack.

Combat engineers rallied, "Essayon!" "Damned engineers!" and joined the fray, sonic hammers slammed low, going for the leg. With a flick of his fist, a trooper could channel power to the shields boss and shock the attacker. It was a formidable in-depth defense.

But it meant that the combat engineers were doing nothing for the engineering crew. The Vong left just enough warriors to keep the Troopers pinned in the hedgehog. The remaining three dozen peeled off to wreak havoc in the engine room, their main objective.

Beth wished she could not recognize the screams. She was at the far end of the engine room. She wasn't safe, just deeper on the list. She found skipping a blast off the deck just in front of the Vong usually resulted in a disabling, avoiding their armor and blowing its soft soled foot off. But the Vong could still toss snakes and bugs.

She crouched behind her consul, peeking around random corners, snapping off shots. The Vong were playing shoot and scoot. Bugs kept her head down.

The Vong were coming. Coming for the main control panel, coming for her. What they said about Vong teamwork was absolutely true, they didn't run from cover to vantage point they flowed seamlessly.

Suddenly, the heads of two ampistaffs appear above her head. Her life, Kaleb, flashed before her eyes.

Terminus System, Sixth Finger, Bridge, Sorran, Ai

"Captain!" The Navigator tried to hold down a shout. "The area we are heading for is designated a black diamond web zone! If we lose engineering now…"

"Slow to one half. Let's invite them to cut us off from our defensive rings."

"Why did we come here?" The helmswoman asked. "This is not a better way for a ship to die." The Captain just smiled back at her. "Oh. I get it." She smiled and turned back to her task.

"Right. The Terminus interferes with all communication. The Vong have never encountered energy spiders before. They don't know our tricks to detect them. Their scans will only feed the energy webs, never echoing back."

"Ringing a dinner bell" Ai relaxed. "By the Emperor's goiter! This will be interesting." A rumble. "If we survive that is."

"Agreed. I wonder what will happen when living ships fly into energy spider webs? Science officer? I want this recorded."

"Venting deck five! Closing blast doors."

"Acacia?"

"Doing well, Captain. They seem be just about ignoring her."

"Don't sound so surprised. It's typical Vong strategy to finished off the wounded animals first."

"Vong destroyers are swinging around to cut us off, captain."

"On my screen. Navigator?"

"Never thought I'd be happy to say this but…all three enemy destroyers moving directly into our flight path."

"Welcome to our world, little crab men. Now if we just keep main power… General, how are the troops in engineering faring?" The Captain asked.

Terminus System, Sixth Finger, Engine Room, Kaleb, Beth

The two ampistaff snakes were crushed two huge white hands. "Hey, Honey. Tough day at work?"

"'Aren't you dead?" Her blaster caught one of the ampistaff wielders under the chin and took the back of his head off.

"I love you too. Want me to back in the worm?" Kaleb dropped the dead snakes grabbed the remaining Vong by the shoulders and power headbutted him to death.

"Not getting off that easy. Clean my deck of crabs first." With the flat of her hand, she made a sweeping motion.

Kaleb kicked the Vong atop the ladder, knocking off his head. Then he glaived the one just below. "Not back from the dead a whole day and you already have me doing housework. Can't even get a hello?"

"Hello. Now kill them. Trooper! Behind you!

But it was too late. A Vong jumped from the deck above, ampistaff set to impale Kaleb through his neck joint.

Kaleb did not turn. The heavy blaster his shoulder spun and reduced the Vong warrior to a rain of ash. "I saw him."

"I just bet you did. Now get going."

"Yes'm."

"And don't blast my ship!"

"Don't worry honey. With these things…" Kaleb drew his gold and black force pikes. "this isn't battle. It's pest control! Woo-hey!"

Sixth Finger, Bridge

"Engineering is holding. Power flows look good. "

"The webs?"

"No worries, captain. I learned navigating web fields at my mother's teat. If I can't thread the needle no one can."

"Spoken like a Fury! Now if she just holds together."

Before, with overwhelming force all about, now the weapon's officer's voice held dread. Now the tone of voice conveyed the contempt of the lurking predator. The Finger rocked by the staccato of strafing but the bridge was silent and determination etched on the face of every officer.

The Finger dove between two asteroids. A stormfront of coral skippers followed, spitting white hot silica. The fastest of the cloud swung wide and then suddenly decelerated.

Looking neither left nor right, intent on the kill, the fighter predators spat disdain on their broken comrades. They had more than enough to exact revenge. The rancid humans had flown into an asteroid field. Didn't they know that asteroids actually fueled and rearmed their ships?

More coralskippers fell by the wayside and the surviving coralskippers blazed on. They had the Sixth Finger in their sights. They rejoiced that it didn't just blow apart. The extra armor, shields, tee-ars and reinforcing meant they could savor the victory. They hammered burning blows, like incense stick burns, onto her They didn't noticed how their numbers decreased.

Inside the mysteriously stopped skippers, the pilot's reached out with communication waves but they found no one hailing them back. Looking out the windows, they saw comrades trapped in the same fate, stuck, wriggling. The Sixth Finger and Acacia, like two white bears attacked by hundreds of bees, drawing the Vong squadrons father and father away.

The stranded pilots poured energy into the drives but it failed, like pouring water on a sun, vanishing. Their Dovin Basal gravity drives had gone numb too. Their ships pushed and pulled but, like crabs on ice, they could not get traction. A few fired their guns. Briefly, strands of light were exposed, like lit fuses. Then the Vong bolt went dark and cold, turning to grey solid, caught dripping like snot.

The more energy they shunted to dives or weapons accelerated the drain in a linear projection. Life support began to fail and they felt the cold creeping in.

Space is a vacuum. It holds heat in. Whatever was draining their power was draining heat too. Communication waves failed to function.

Then, THEY appeared at the Coralskipper hatch. Spiders as big as the fighter itself, a hundred pupiless eyes set in mottled, glossy black, an exoskeleton as dark as spotted Naboo Lake District marble, visible only for the starlight it blottet out Silk, a thousand time stronger than malib-steel cable sealed them in, sipping screams and catching all energy.

"Pursuit down to 25% don't they detect it?"

"How? Recall your history. What happens to energy probes when they hit the web? How many ships did we lose before we learned we needed to detect where the webs were not? As far as they are concerned all the fighters are still in pursuit."

"Three Vong destroyer's straight ahead."

"They are going to hit the webs soon."

"Never seen a capital ship trapped in the web before. Always been able to pull free."

"We have the advantage of dead durasteel to insulate us. Those ships are alive."

Back in engineering, Kaleb had sliced off the weapons on the boarding craft. With a heave, he flipped in on its back, exposing its Dovin Basal. The thing quivered and pulsed.

Suddlenly, engineer was filled with a graviton well, like a current of water, pulled everyone and everything not bolted down to the Vong assault craft. Kaleb was buffeted by plates and HVAC's, buriyng him, denying him leverage.

The crew felt the pull of gravity too, they joined the pile. Kaleb flattened against it the Dovin Basal. Loose tools, bodies and air, kept running "downhill" to the new gravity well. Engine components groaned at their mountings.

Like flipping off a switch, he was free. The Basal shriveled and died.

Beth was standing next to him. "What happped?" He asked is wife.

"It was like swimming upstream, but I was able to open one of the mines. Strange matter. Got sucked straight to it. Acts like salt on a gastropod. Turns its guts to WIMP particles. The only time I was ever glad our hyperdrive was out."

"Thanks, ma'am. I think you saved the day."

"Not yet, Trooper. Now. There are still two pilots inside. Would you mind killing them?"

"My pleasure, ma'am. Would you like their heads?"

"Better than roses." Her face was grim. She raised her voice to anyone who could hear. "Now can somebody get that emergency engine hatch shut, really shut? And shot off the goldstang klaxon its driving me crazy!

Sixth Finger, bridge, Sorran, Ai

"Miid Ro'ik drawling a battle line. We'll have to cross their "T" to escape."

"Of course. No doubt taking the most logical positions to do that too, And stop showing off your dipthongs. We get it, ensign."

The Navigator laughed. "They stopped moving!"

The pounding ended.

"Vong fighters disengaging. Heading for the destroyers."

"No doubt attempting to scour the energy spiders off the destroyers."

"It should be safe to expose our flank now, Captain. "

"Back us up. I want to see this." The Finger cut engines and using only thrusters rotated and headed straight up, slowly on the z-axis of the orbital plane and to the leeward of the line of webs. "All clear of the strands, captain. The Vong landed right in the thick of it. Whoever plotted this course through this web zone plotted it well."

"That would be Commodore Sorran."

The crew smiled.

"Helm. I worry for our shields. Seek the leeward side of a big web field."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Radiation levels lowering."

"Hmph. Marvelous creatures. Helm, rotate the ship ten more degrees. I want to see the whole with my own eyes. Fill the viewing port." The Finger rotated so the bridge now faced "down" to the main orbital plane of Terminus. The Captain found her entire crew following her gaze. They wanted to see the carnage too.

Beneath them, the command crew of the Finger was treated to the grotesque spectacle of Three Miid Ro'ik were caught in energy webs, blacker-than-black strands, only visible when they flash-drank blasts and burst of energy, vibrating as they caught a mass of silicate. Some light squeezed through, like water through a leaky flange.

The coralskippers that avoided the energy webs were caught by leaping spiders. Or the spiders cast purse webs, like fishermen pulling a coralskipper into an arc, to be grabbed by a web-mate.

The spiders wove. They fed on all energy and though the x-tonic was rich, they hungered for the rare em bands of nutrients the Miid Ro'ik offered, like precious vitamins Little by little, less light squeezed through.

"Switching to xtonic." The view screens turned white on black. The Vong ships showed dwindling black-hot patches, washed out green spiders lay lines of chilling blue across their hemispheres. Less and less black showed through. More and more of the silhouette of the Miid Ro'ik crawled with clutters of spiders.

The energy spiders came, by the hundreds, by the thousands, then the tens of thousands. Crawling over the hot, humid ship. The Vong spewed white hot plasma, which, upon striking a strand, chilled into blue that dripped and cooled on the strand like a stalactite. The Dovin Basal's felt their gravity warping power leeched out of them, and then went limp, like dead livers.

Soon the entire hulls of the destroyers undulated, with thousands upon thousands of hungry spiders. "Grandma told me. I never realized."

The webs that held the coralskippers twinkled like a Lifeday tree, a little less with each passing moment. The Miid Ro'ik flashed like lightning held within an ever thickening cloud. The more power they poured into escaping the webs, the more energy spiders came, the more webs they spun.

"Keep ringing the dinner bell, crabbies." The Fury at the helm muttered watching the fighters pour energy into the cool blue only to turn blue themselves.

"They're feeding the web and don't even know it. Fools. Inform Environmental Command. We should expect a burst in energy spider population growth in the area. "

"Welcome to Terminus."

"Aldiss laser to Acacia." Said Ai. Maintain position. Deploy Skiprays to eliminate any stragglers. The coralskippers have no hyperdrive and it doesn't look like any of the three destroyers is going to escape so it shouldn't be too hard. Keep in mind Vong refuel and rearm by eating asteroids so communication range is our big concern. Otherwise no need for hot pursuit. We only need to keep them here. Stay on post. Still better safe than sorry. If we can lure every ship they send to us this way, they may stop. Damage control officers, do your duty."

"What do you suppose is happening in there, Captain?"

"We know the spiders prefer to feed on a variety of energy. The Vong ships should provide them with a veritable smorgasbord of EM. Biophysics predicted the Vong will die much like a human body in cold. The outer decks will lose heat. The ship will allocate energy to the most vital 'organs.' But the webs are relentless. Even deep in their cores, they will feel the drain. They will die in the cold."

"Any sign of Wight or our Alliance 'allies'?"

"None."

"Just as well. No doubt they'd feel sorry for the Vong. Send some ridiculous offer of surrender."

"Offer to rescue them, no doubt."

"I never could understand Alliance hypocrisy. Why go to war, then feel pity for the victims of the violence one has inflicted?"

"They say we are evil. Because we like this."

"Why shouldn't we like this? We kill our enemy. We are safe. Our children are safe. Speaking of which…General Karls. Was the anymore word of the three missing sorties?"

"All sorties have present or accounted for. There are casualties but they are back. The digestion damaged their comms. Fortunately, the digestion kept the sorties shallow."

"I see. Please request the three commanders to the report to the briefing room."

"Communications. Pipe these images throughout the ship. Commodore. I request we send these images to intelligence. We might be able to gather data, once our eight-legged fellow citizens of Terminus are done with them, that is. Meanwhile, hold us here. I want to savor the victory."

"Excellent idea." The Commodore reached for his flask of green tea.

The crew, busied, burned, some in sick bay, found cold comfort, watching the Vong ships being sucked dry. The hulls of large enemy ships themselves seemed alive with the crawling, creeping energy spiders.

"So. What do you make of your first victory, Captain?"

She leaned in. "I say it's a hell of price to pay. With Prime we could just come back here and wipe them out."

"Necessary. Suppose Prime is inoperable? We had to strike And what? Just leave the Worldship at our backs? This was the best time to strike, to lure the Vong out. Besides, if we just left the Alliance would know for sure something was up."

"Weapons officer. How are our anti-fighter weapons?"

"We won't know for sure until I get the computer back. I figure no more than 50% operable

"Commodore." The signal officer called. "Shuttle Sequoia requesting to board.

The Captain, Commodore and General exchanged meaningful looks. "Put them in the forward docking bay. Signalman set up a secure channel. Commander Germanicus, you have con." The three left the bridge.

Karls touched his earpiece. "They report success."

Ai muttered. "Ironic that is was Karrde who sold us the decryption key."

The lift opened the same time the Imperial Shuttle lowered its ramp. The three officers strode lockstep. Two techs ran from the ramp to meet them.

"Complete success, sir! We have so much more than we could hope for!" He was pulled up short the three."

"Never mind that. Do you have the…" The tech produced the silvery control rod. "Excellent." Sorran snatched it away. " Download the rest of the data to the Finger's secure memory core." He held up the control rod. "we now have the key to the kingdom."

Errant Venture, Garrison

Kaleb entered the sally port. Ironically, it was the one beside fire control, the one where his hold boss busted his chops about using Spacetrooper armor locker. Exhausted after eighteen hours of effecting EVA repairs his mind drifted. "The sharp left turn make sense now; easier to defend shooting, right handed anyway."

The steamers worked now. Cadets were then to help him remove, meticulously steam clean his armor and put it away. It wasn't a favor. The boys learned the suit that way. Kaleb's job was boxing their ears if the made a mistake. Trooper kids preferred a blow to a word. "Blow's heal but words are not forgotten."

The Spacetrooper barks smelled the same.

Secundus slapped him so har don his back, Kaleb stumbled. "Great job today, Mess! I heard you really cleaned house in engineering."

"I was really scared for a awhile. Beth's carrying my kid."

"Really? Hey boys! Kaleb's going to be a papa!"

The men gathered around. For once Kaleb didn't feel like he was under a microscope. The patted him and slapped him and said things like. "Atta boy!" "That was fast work!" "When you have eight, like me, then you can talk!" At chow, Kaleb felt confident to open up.

"But I was so scared for her. Some of you guys married Furies, right? How do you manage."

"Marrying a Fury is tough."

"You'll be Bound."

"Bound?"

"Think about it. She's a Fury. They got flight in the blood, no fighting it. Can you imagining leaving the Embrace of Lady Night?"

Kaleb gave a blank look that spoke volumes.

"Right. Same with Furies. You'll always be her second love, right after the sort of flying she prefers."

"It could be okay. Since she's your first real love."

"It'll be equal."

"So, you get the Bound. Six and Six."

"For the first seven she gets the kid or kids. You got no breast milk and Terminus ain't got enough to spare so she does her duty for Terminus until all the kids are six."

"Then I raise them?"

"Hell no. A Father would never be as tough on them as they should be."

"Boys are trotted off to an Uncle and raise in his household. Girls go to a Fury Auntie. Because we want the same life for them."

"I'm an orphan."

"Maternal Uncles are fine."

"Or you can ask a Garum to serve as Uncle. Harvesting is good, honest work, a path to citizenship too."

"Same rights as makes no difference."

"Uncle and Auntie'll raise the brats too if you join the Shadow Legion."

"Shadow Legion?"

"No real trooper is ever dead. We join the Emperor when we die, in Great Sith Cenotaph. Then when the threat to the Empire is at its greatest, the Emperor will awaken us once again and lead us into glorious final battle."

"Do you believe this?"

"Course not. Stuff and nonsense put out by the Emperors propaganda machine."

"What are we Jedi?"

"Who wants to come back as ghost?"

"Live without the feel of woman?"

"Or a good stiff cup of kava?"

"Spacetroopers live in the here and now."

"And Kill in the here and now too."

"Heard that!"

Terminus 1, Chamber of the Presidium, Sorran

Phase One Complete

Sorran finished signing the last of his dispatches. He handed the stack to his new adjutant, Lieutenant Welles. "Here. Most of these go to the general staff. See the rest get delivered to the appropriate officers."

Welles looked through the stack. "Colonel Halcyon asked about medals."

"A soldier of quality doesn't need more than to be mentioned in his officer's dispatches. You may tell the Colonel that."

"Yes, sir. The Presidium awaits." He helped the Commodore with his jacket and whisked the inevitable asteroid particulates off his jacket.

"That will be all." As commander of fleet operations, Sorran's office was directly adjacent to the Presidium. He entered the dark space. He didn't need the spotlight to show him where to stand. They could see him. He could not see them.

Sometime, in Terminus' past it mattered. Now he knew who they were and visa-versa. A decades of close living would do that.

"Report."

The mission was a success. Phase one mission objectives complete. Objective Alpha: The galaxy thinks we do not have stygian crystals anymore. Surveillance has dropped off eighty percent. The Hand seems content to avoid us.

Objective Beta: we succeeded in luring Luke Skywalker's old astromech droid to the asteroid and downloading its memory. We have the Emperor's activation code for Prime." This news caused rustling.

"Our star Destroyer?"

"Repairs to the Sixth Finger are well under way. But I do not know what were are going do with it once we are done. The Alliance broke our contract and our advocate, Rotta the Hutt, hasn't gotten back to us. The Hutt's junior partner is furthering our paperwork."

"We have the Emperor's command codes. Do we have to get rid of the Star Destroyer?"

"Everything we are planning depends on the alliance assuming we are impotent. If they have any reason to send a Jedi sniffing around or worse, get a slightest hint of what we plan do with the activationcodes, we can expect them to hit us with everything they have."

"How do we know they don't know? We certainly can't ask Karrde."

"We know because we are alive."

"We have found a new buyer for the Finger."

"Who?"

"New Alderaan has shown an interest."

"A lower price? It is a wreck."

"She'll need to be in fighting trim, to get full price."

"And to allay Alliance suspicious about why we would settle for less."

"Hmph. Well that will mean depleting the supply of parts we salvaged from the wrecks of the Hand even more than planned. And with the Hand no longer throwing capital ships at us, we won't be able to replenish our supply."

"We cannot count on Prime to replace everything. This is huge all or nothing gamble." Sorran spoke solemnly. "Only the certain dishonor of crawling to Alliance as beggars move me to risk it A hundred things could go wrong. Even if our drift calculation were cored, there is no guarantee its even operable."

"Vote? It is agreed. We are all in. Disgrace is not an option."

"When will we be ready to sell?"

"The Finger will never be Kuati fashion. But she should be able to get her up to reserve readiness in a fortnight. But we will tell the Allaince three weeks.

My chief engineer has re-iterated that the Carrack class Acacia is our best platform for navigating in hyperspace and finding Prime and I concede the point. We have enough to crew her. She would be the better platform for Phase Two."

"Be sure to strip it of all TR metals before we transfer ownership of the Finger.

"Of course." Sorran soured at the obvious stipulation.

"Status of the Rebel Task Force?"

"The Alliance fleet, "Sorran corrected. "has limped back home. Smith is back in command. No sign of the Amethyst though.

For now, the Alliance consider the planet pacified. Princess Leia claims a win because she thinks stopped a genocide. A certain Senator Phon has gained political capital for luring a Remnant into pacifying a Worldship.

"We know this Phon. His states his offer is still on the table but the Alderaanian, led by Senator Roehmer, are offering more."

"Before he went silent, Karrde reported the two to be rivals."

"I met Phon of Corellia. He simplifies his life by telling the truth. This Roehmer I do not know. But if they are rivals…"

"The Alliance broke the deal."

"That was Organa Solo's doing."

"Agreed. Which puts her at odds with Roehmer."

"Perhaps."

"Another Alderaanian. We'll have to keep an eye on them. Idealists are always fickle."

"I think that makes Phase Two all the more urgent." The others agreed. "There you have it, Sil, proceed…"

Sorran interrupt his old friend. "There is one more thing. The Spacetrooper and Midshipman, Kaleb Underhill. I want him specially assigned to me at all times."

"Why?"

"We activate the Emperor's greatest weapon. We need luck to find it. Luck to make it work. And I find the Midshipman, as foolish as it sounds, brings luck with him where ever he goes."

Vong System, Sorran, Ai, Beth, Kaleb

"That was too inefficient and far too merciful."

"But, my Emperor, we just destroyed an entire planet in a matter of moments."

"Exactly."- Emperor Palpatine

DA-42 World Devastator

Give a man a robot and he can conquer for a day. Give him a factory and he can conquer for a lifetime.

World Devastators are a big deal. But the bigger deal was what was inside. Byss had finally cracked the code for molecular 3D printing. Atoms aligned into build to suit elements, blended into custom compounds and shuffled like a deck of cards. Computer brain-guided forcefields would lay, microscopic layer by layer, the elements and compounds, "printing" whatever was needed: robot tie fighter, a legion of robot Darktroopers, or even a fully operational Super Star Destroyer.

Theoretically the system would be limitless and near self-sustaining; the "food" elements themselves providing material required for the molecular assembly and the fusion and fissionable material for nuclear reactions.

If the elements were close to the required elements, say an iron mine when one wanted to build a durasteel superstructure, the energy drain from the molecular engine would be relatively small, which is to say enormous.

Ironically, if copper were required then particle force-scalpels would be laid up the iron, shearing electrons from the iron atom, until it formed the copper of wiring The fission energy released could be redirected so that it could fuel the molecular engine. Hard work, changing one element to another, would actually make more power in something called the Uroboros Reaction. The World Devastators actually need to eat to live.

Thankfully the Emperor, in his wisdom, placed an adamantine kill code on the World Devastators. An Alliance agent infiltrated the Emperor's Inner Circle, stole the kill code and he, and his droid, shut the WD's down. Once the furnaces were denied fuel and cooled they were safe. It was discovered would take a super laser to re-ignite the Uroboros Reaction and stoke them to full power again. Byss was blown up. The Emperor defeated. Nobody made super lasers. The Universe was safe. No one would ever think of releasing self-perpetuating, adapting, Fibonacci increasing, factories of death on the universe again.

Who would crazy enough to do that?

Mother of Devastators, Echidna..

It was an obscenity. In a realm where even rays of light had curves, it dared to have angles. There, in the formless, swirling, void floated three squares connected by a mammoth spars like child's tanablock arch. It was as ugly as sin. No thought was given to aesthetics; three dirty, rust brown-black boxes, each as big as a moon, a blot on the red and violet shifting light. From the keel of each block, protruded three stubby "legs." The outward face of each block contained a darker trapezoidal "mouth." Unnatural, rude, flat acute plates jabbed out like a forest-briar of barbed thorns and spurs that were actually star scrapers of varied and sinister purpose.

Each ventral surface was crowned by a diadem of three pyramids on the top. Four sides of three, moving to the currents of hyperspace, like the weathervanes on an abandoned barn.

Kaleb's jaw hit the floor. "A World Devastator!"

Sorran swallowed and spoke. "Not just 'a' world devastator, THE world devastator, Devastator Prime a.k.a. The Echidna., the Mother of All World Devastators."

"It's ugly."

"Rumor had it, that it's based on the shape of a Sith lord's tomb. Three mouthed, just like the mythical guard beast of the Maaasati realm of the dead."

"Helm. Port ten degrees, adjust attitude and yaw. Docking protocols." Ai angled the Sixth Finger for approach. "You are being overly dramatic, Commodore."

"When it comes to the Echidna., it's hard to be otherwise. Surprised?"

"It's as big as a planet." Beth stood in awe.

"Not quite. Three times the displacement of the original Death Star. It had to be. This was the factory of all the original DubYaDees."

"How did it end up here?"

"It was on its way to finish off Mon Calamari when Skywalker transmitted the Omega Code. So here she lies. One of the crew was able to escape to Terminus."

"Just One? It must have a crew of tens of thousands."

"Only hundreds. The Emperor was very distrustful when it was built. Most of its crew were droids.

The Echidna. and her 'children' were programmed to eliminate every living witness on board before going dormant. With the help of GO01, the witness escaped the voiding and stole a shuttle."

"What do we plan to do with it?" Beth continued.

"First we end the Vong threat. Then finally, get a world for our people. Mid Rim! Not way the hell out where the hand, the Vong and sith-knows-what-else can attack us. I don't want one more citizen to grown up without seeing a blue sky."

"With this World Devastator we could conquer many worlds, many systems." It took Ai an effort kept her voice level.

"And after the first one, what then? Hmph. Think of the follow through. Even with a world-eating super weapon how could a few thousand refugees hope to dominate an empire? Eventually, the superior numbers will wear us down. It may be impervious but we are not." He paused. "And there is always the Jedi to put a hydrospanner in the works."

"That's not standard Imperial doctrine, sir."

"We tried it the Emperor's way, Captain, dozens of times. It didn't work. Logic demands we try something new."

Ai nodded to his reasoning.

"Still. War may be inevitable. No one will trust us with so much power. Everyone will turn against us." Kaleb said.

Beth nudged Kaleb.

The Commodore turned and gave Kaleb a strange look. "I know that. No one better. "

"Look up the Intimidator sometime, Middie." Said Ai.

Sorran continued. "This time will be different. This time we will give them a better reason to let us live. Actually, the Vong handed the reason to us.

This machine is the cure for Vongiformed Planets. After the Vong War, hundreds of misbegotten refugee Thing species are homeless. The Vong seeded their conquered planets until the entire surface to Vong biomes.

Now, trillions of vagrant Things hold barren seats in the Senate. They will protect us, at least until we recreate their home. Once we return their home to them, THEN we can expect the Things to beat their breasts and hurl the word 'genocide' against us.

Until then it is we who hold their one slim hope of regaining their world.

In a matter of months, the Echidna. can terraform a planet, while seeding and building more WDs. After the third planet, there will be enough WD's that it will take only weeks. After the fourth, seven days and then the Echidna. herself can rest. We can hold her in reserve as her demilitarized 'children' purify Vongiformed worlds."

Beth grinned. "The trick will be making sure the Senators don't kill each other in a rush to be first."

"HA. I wish."

"It's always easier to destroy than create. Who will do the finer work?"

"Good question, midshipman. The Echidna. memory core holds the designs of thousands of models of agricultural and construction droids for the finer work, many original designs"

"We can get patents for those!" Beth piped in.

The Commodore nodded to her then continued. "With the proper records and materials we can return planets to better than its original state."

"Better?"

"The WD's can remove all soil down to the bedrock. All pollutants and invasive species are then removed and only pure soil and approved life forms deposited. She has vast biobank resources. Something the Emperor salvaged from Camino before the Great Purge I.

The pollutants are used to build useful things. The air and water will be scrubbed and filtered. With any luck, and after a growing season or two, the planet will be as it was before sentience arrived."

Kaleb smiled. "Now your acceptance of a toxic wastelands for a forward base."

"Go on."

"For one thing, it's an old Mid-core Worlds on the all the major trade routes. The Vong planet is in Unknown Space, far from the trade routes and close to our blood enemies, the Hand. But Deysum III cannot help but be noticed.

Second, you intend to turn THAT on the polluted planet, terraforming it. It should be chock full of rare earths and such. It's advertising!

Simple plan really. Terraform the worst planet in the galaxy into paradise. Show the Alliance the Echidna. is the panacea for Vongiformed worlds and polluted planets, including Coruscant (I hear they have some rem…lingering Vongs in the undercity) ,then…what…lease the Echidna's children out?"

"Close. We will remarket demilitarized WD's as World Rejuvenators to the Alliance. "

Beth grinned. "The Old Empire destroyed worlds but Terminus will create them. In the Old Tongue a Terminus is an end but it can be a beginning as well."

"Well put. Do you mind if I borrow it?"

"It'll never work. People are fools, the Alliance more so." Ai hissed. "Fear will outweigh reason."

"The worlds that escaped destruction, yes. But we of Terminus know how desperate a being can be for a home. Besides, this wouldn't be the first time that a military innovation has been turned to a good use. Well?"

Beth grabbed Kaleb's arm. "According to these read outs it has enough firepower to blast two fleets to atoms. One of its maws could swallow a super star destroyer."

"Or launch one." Kaleb was grim.

"Your calculations don't include the millions of robot tie fighters it can produce." The Commodore was bland.

"What happened to its children?"

"They were all destroyed except for one, the Alliance kept one for research. It now serves as a recycling center. A pathetic, limp use of its power, if you ask me. Ironically owned by the current leader of the Alliance.

Just think. It intakes materials, break them down to raw elements and power and then molecularly prints machines on demand; exponentially increasing our forces from the very bones of our foes. The Emperor's Greatest weapon; a triumph of innovation, design and engineering prowess. It doesn't destroy planets. It refabricated them!

Compared to World Devastators, the Death Star was child's toy, an achievement of scale, nothing more. This Devastator captures the very essence of conquest itself. It eats enemies, like some great shark of space then makes the planet truly yours and yours alone."

"You sound like you love the thing."

"Admiration. It is too bad the engineering geniuses that built it died on Byss."

"Terraforming doesn't seem like the Emperor."

"Life from death? It was very much like the Emperor."

"We drained enough Tibanna gas from the Finger to ignite the Echidna's fission engines. Then the fission engines will start the fusion engines. Then the fusion engines will charge a capacitor and fire the super laser that will begin the Uroboros Effect. Then we can begin fiting our Graviton plates onto its tractor beam emitters."

"Sounds complicated."

"No more than started a fire in the wilderness, starting with a moss fire nest and working up to logs."

"It will take a lot of manpower."

"And a lot of droids. It should have enough but we have more on board."

"And systems will have aged after all those years… exposed to hyperspace…."

"Sooner started, sooner completed. Something, wrong Lieutenant?"

"Sir, I can see the value, but I sincerely doubt this scenario will work. No offense, but it involves a lot of wishful thinking and straw man arguments.

Undoing Vongiforms on a distant world or leaning up a toxic waste planet is one thing. Getting away with a fleet of World…Rejuvenators, de militarized or not, is a much greater challenge and if we hope to gain support in the Senate, we'll need to begin there.

The Vong are even said to install brains in the planet core itself. The planet itself is a living thing. A challenge? Yes. But changing hearts and minds of the Galactic Alliance? That is impossible. We are surrounded on all side by enemies. Do we really want to risk the Echidna? on an attack on the Vong? We can have any planet we want now. We can find some quiet, of the way place and settle down."

"The Lieutenant is right, sir. Why risk senatorial support? Why risk a guaranteed conquest, spending limited resources on a fully Vongiformed planet or a waste world?"

"We can't just…if we just rejuvenate the Vong world the Rebels will eventually brand us war criminals, again. No, the only way is forward." Kaleb saw Ai's point.

"The Presidium has decided, and I agree, there is no reason for us to skulk off somewhere, like thieves. We have every right to rejoin the Galactic Community. Planets will be a gardens, filled with the remains of indigenous species. The homeless species will beg to let us live."

"You've obviously thought this through. But I do not trust the Alliance to do the sensible thing." Said Beth.

"I am enjoying the prospect of the high-minded Rebels being put in a moral quandary. Our advocate is already counting covert overtures being made to the homeless Things. But you are right about one thing. After we have dealt with the Vong, the next generation of WD's will have to be unarmed. She, herself cannot be, the weapons systems are too well integrated. "

"They'd be fools to trust that. Why the tractor beams on a WD Child alone with TR enhancements…"

"Tractor beams are technically not classified as weapons."

"We do not dare."

"That's what the Senate thinks. The only ones who worries me is the Admiralty Prize Court. Especially Calrissian."

"Calrissian?"

"He is a better card player than me. I have no doubt he suspects we have an ace up our sleeve. And he owns the lone decommissioned World Devastator so he is well aware of its capabilities."

"If Calrissian gets wind of us activating the Echidn,, he'll likely not wait until we have de-Vongified the Vong world. He knows the Devastators' powers grows exponentially.

But if we can clean the Vong World, even if they do detect our purging of Deysum III, it will be too late. The Senate moves at a glacial pace, the trillions of homeless Things will be begging us to rejuvenate their worlds before any action makes it out of committee.

Only the Jedi could act. And we've poisoned their well. That should keep them distracted for quite a while. Why the downcast look?"

"Forgive me, I thought…"

"That I picked some out of the way waste site to crawl off to? That's what we want the Senate to think too. "

"Do we have them fooled?"

"All but the Bothans and Calrissian. They are very clever. It's always wheels within wheels with the Bothans. They will throw us under the transport when it suits them, all within the letter of the law.

And as I said before, Calrissian is not fooled. Between he and his Jedi friends, we can expect him not to look for just the obvious. But we can trust he will keep his word.

So there it is. Defeat the Vong. Show we can Terraform a Vongiformed world. Rejuvenate a Mid Core planet and stake our claim. Meanwhile we cut deals ensuring our continued survival and prosperity. Simple"

"And mountains are just one grain of sand atop a another."

"HA! Well put engineer! Helm. Take us into the main mouth. There will be blue docking facilities for our frigate, similar to the type found in a super star destroyer. I am grateful you are with us young man."

"Sir?"

"My drift algorithms are good but you certainly carry luck with you. I thought it would take weeks to find Prime not days, if at all."

"Wish I could see some that luck." Kaleb had never seen a ship so big. "Is it bigger than a Worldship?"

"By some measures, yes. Other's no. There. Twenty degrees to port. Put us in blue docks EBD-117. Hmph. Doesn't look blue anymore."

"Are those letters? Look there. Above the docking mouth."

GO01 chirped.

Ai said. "Yes. GO01 says its Old Sith. Even Death May Die.'"

Kaleb was amazed again. In his travels with his parents he had seen station repair bases before. All could afford only one or two "blue dock" repair facilities, repair stations that offered a pressurized atmosphere dome for ease of repair. And those were only very small craft. But just this third of the Echidna. had a dozen and all large enough to fit a capital ship.

"Suit up. Kaleb with me. GO01 with Ai. We'll take the auxiliary bridge. Karls and the engineers to engineering. Beth coordinate the other repair crews. Let's get this thing's reactors ignited and stoked."

The bridge of the Kaleb's gamma assault boat seated four. The Commodore invited Kaleb to put his Mark I in the cargo compartment and watch the flight. Fury Livia served as pilot and Fury Beth copilot. The Commodore served as flight engineer and narrated the flight for all concerned. "The main cargo transport shaft should take us most of the way.

Standard Imperial construction protocol require shafts for the transport of materials and equipment. The shafts need to be big enough for standard transports and even light freighters for ease of refit and repair. The gamma should fit with plenty of room to spare."

The Gamma, Grass One, soared on. Karl's two Gammas veered off to engineering. Beth kept her two Gammas with her. The journey was quiet. The Gamma's lights played off spars and pipes. Occasionally, a powered-down droid or freeze-dried corpse floated by.

"I'm surprised we haven't encountered any security measures until now."

"I'm not." Said Kaleb. "It's like it's been waiting for us."

"More like it was lost in hyperspace. After the shutdown, batteries would not last long."

"There. Fury Livia . That loading platform should connect to the auxiliary bridge."

"Why the auxiliary?"

"Auxiliary bridges are built assuming most of the crew is dead, so our small party would handle it better than a full array of bridge panels. It's adjacent to this transport shaft and it should have been vacant when the shutdown order came and should be less heavily defended. "

"What's could be defending it?"

"Darktroopers."

"Darktroopers?" Kaleb reached for his DA-42

DA-42 Darktroopers

Like a lot of people, the Emperor got real cranky with age. He grew impatient with normal living beings. More and more he sought solace in insane genetically modified warbeasts and mindless kill-droids; things that acted the way he wanted, like ten foot tall Crimson Guards. On one end of the spectrum rage fueled monsters, on the other cold killing machines. Quite the dichotomy.

Top of the list of kill droids were the Dark Troopers, Phase I, Phase II and Phase III a.k.a. Elite Darktroopers. They looked like tall slim, stormtroopers but black, not white, and with a droid inside, not a being, though humans could be inside the armor instead of the droid.

Aside from upgrades in power, speed and sensors to the standard battle suit, Elites carried blaster cannons, dual SE-14c pistols for ambidextrous targeting and a grenade launcher.

These droids weren't programmed, they were educated; learning and downloading experience to a central memory core upon destruction. Battle data was downloaded into the new droids. Hence, these droids became linearly harder to destroy with each wave, they learned from mistakes.

"So, which kind of Darktroopers are here?"

"Mostly phase three point five, the ones with improved dexterity upgrades, 'Dancertroopers."

"Perfect. Think I better go armor up."

The Commodore opened the access panel. The hydraulic jack extended its handle. He extended his hand. His Mark II Sparetrooper suit was good for something, one of which was delicate operations in hard vacuum. He grabbed it and using the suit's servos, he pumped it, opening the hatch. Kaleb in his Mark One, could not hope to fit his armored fist into the access panel. But his Mark One was good for watching the Commodore's back. The other Spacetroopers and Mark II's fanned out to secure the area. It took a while to jack the door open but, using the suit's strength, the old man wasn't tired.

Kaleb stood beside the open hatch to the auxiliary bridge and launched a squad probe droid. "Only two bodies. Come on in."

Sorran let GO01 pull him in. Sorran tossed a floating light unit above his head. It's beams it lit up only part of the room. "It's still huge."

"Roger that. I saw the panel you wanted over here."

"GO01? Now we'll see if that R2's Omega Code was worth the price we paid."

The droid jacked in.

"Cross our fingers."

First, there was light, then power, then air, then heat and finally gravity. "Command code accepted. Life support restored. You may begin re-firing the engines lieutenant."

"I was expecting an attack." Said Sorran.

"I wasn't. It feels weird. Like I've seen her before, in a dream."

"Déjà vu. Short term memory impulses wandering into the long term centers of the brain. The panels are standard Imperial issue. Now to business." Sorran tried not to think about what the boy said.

"Working." The ship had a female voice, very deep. "Command. Identify."

The commodore jacked in a command cylinder. "Commodore Sil Sorran, Imperial Navy, engineer."

"Confirmed." More panels lit up.

"Echidna.. You will find Imperial engineers in your fission and fusion sections. You will aid them in every way possible."

"Confirmed, Commodore. Insert personelle data." Sil Sorran reached for his vest pocket, snickered and withdrew the crew data rod from his Mark II's belt pouch. He socketed the second cylinder and twisted.

"There. We shan't be killed now. Or if we are, no reason to worry. We won't last a minute." More lights turned on. A mouse droid skittered across the floor. Looks like we live. Always exciting to be on the bridge of a new ship!

No standing about. Lots to do, let's get cracking. Lt. Beth, after you assign the crews, take the droid command station and see what we have to work with."

"What do I do, sir?" asked Kaleb.

"Gather the corpses and deposit them in the recyclers."

"She's fully repaired?" Sorran tried not to look surprised.

"Almost. Thanks to the Echidna's droids we are well ahead of schedule."

"It only took eight hours?"

"Six and half hours from Echidna's engine restart. I've never seen so many droids. The droid Darktroopers aren't just good for combat and they certainly know what they were doing. And speaking which, have you looked at the neighboring blue dock?"

"What about it? Seems a bit dusty."

"The Uroboros Proccess has been intitiated."

"I missed the super laser firing?"

"That is nothing. Watch this. Echidna. Proceed with the construction as ordered."

"Yes, Commodore."

Hundreds of thousands of delicate articulated boom cranes, like those designed for manufacture, descended from the hanger ceiling, covering the perimeter of Blue Dock 2, thick as cilia on a reef. The was a loud humming and a rumble."

"Commodore!"

"Wait for it."

As quick as an elap's strike, some articulated crane-heads zipped in, others zipped out. There was a puff of white smoke. A white line of durasteel appeared. The assembly cranes zipped in and out, up and down faster. Layer up layer, it lay white steel. Finally one engine appeared on the back and Beth knew what it was.

"An interdictor!"

"Yes. A new kind of Interdictor. She's printing it layer by layer. I fed her the specs to our TeeAr weapons and our G-metals. Those are one of the few things she cannot replicate. Those gravity projectors…" he let the implication hang.

"By the Sith! TeeAr projectors that huge! One could tear a yellow sun in half!"

"Not quite, but close. Oh, yes. Once, merged with TeeAr technology SciCorps calculates an exponential increase in efficiency and power to the Interdictors gravity well projectors. We can even build a second layer of shields. Oh, and the Echidna. is preparing herself for installing our own TR technology into its own systems."

"Will the interdictor be space worthy?"

"Corellian fashion. I'm calling her 'Honor.'"

"A fine name. The Finger?"

"Well fit her with a slave circuit and send her to the drop off point for the Alliance. Too bad the Echidna. cannot manufacture credits."

"Karls reports the Echidna's hyperdrive active sir. Are we returning to Terminus?"

"Not as yet. Our first destination is the Vongiformed World. I've been thinking, Lieutenant, you are right. Our first priority is to demonstrate to the homeless people of the Alliance we can purge their worlds of Vong infestation. The last thing we need is Karrde blabbing to the Allaince we have a World Devastator. No one dare stop us once we show that we can make a planet verdant again."

"What? A whole planet? Just us? "

"Yes. Lots to feed upon."

"We have nothing but a skeleton crew."

"The Echidna is manufacturing all the crew we need."

Vong World, Bridge of the Echidna, Sorran, Ai, Beth, Kaleb

The ash has stopped falling, now something new eclipsed the sun, something with angles.

"Progenitor, what's that spot on the Sun?"

The spot was unnatural, casting it's pall upon the surface of the planet.

"It can't be! We would have been alerted." The

shreiker fungus sounded. "Run! Run for the bunker!"

Down it came, like the booted foot of one of the Yuuzhan Vong's ancient gods.

"Look at them scatter like ants. Run for your holes, little good it will do you. " sneered Ai.

"Take note Lieutenant, The Emperor Palpatine was always good at touching the primal fears of nations. World Devastators were the pinnacle of his art. Programmed to sow fear as its primary weapon, he made sure it was programed to blot out the sun on its intended landing area."

Down it came, from the sky, clouds altered paths around it. Repulsars so mighty they cratered granitic mountains to cushion its fall. Then the cyclopean engines, molecular furnaces, atom reducers and fabricators roared to life, as loud as two volcanoes erupting, inhaling all matter through the twin intakes of the Devastator's "legs" like the hellish maws of a two headed monster.

The Vong screamed. Air pressure shockwaves rippled across the atmosphere. Mica windows shattered, flyers we swatted from the sky, aqua farms upturn, whole living canters flatted, eardrums burst, blood vessels leaked.

World Devourers. The Yuuzhan Vong, so used to being the Apex Predators, became the prey. Domiciles, Transports, Families, Younglings, everything, down to bedrock were swept up into the pairs of lifeless, gaping, glowing, bottomless, maws by tractors beams and funnel generators strong enough to suck a gas giant dry. Kicking, screaming, clawing, the eaters had become the eaten.

After a time, The Echidna.'s first daughter, Gog, was 'born'. She was a round as a Kelpie's egg, sucking in materials as she rolled away from her mother, rolling to inhabitation centers, building herself exponentially.

On board the Echidna., the Emperor's finest battle computers analyzed the attack and capabilities of the enemy. Some adjustments to its defenses were required. It calculated the odds that extra planetary relief was not forthcoming and it could begin construction of another unit. The second unit would require no ad hoc additions. Improvements would be built in.

The refabrication proceeded apace. Estimates gave projected estimated work surface at 95.03 million square kilometers. It would need help.

It began by distributing its weapons and builders in a plan specifically suited to the planet's topography and composition. Threats were irrelevant.

The Vong had never fought the like. The smallest enemy, the Darktroopers, hopped, and dodged. They never tired. They were relentless. They wore black armor, not white.

More Yuuzhan Vong had came, answering the opportunity of the offer of a fresh Worldship. More curious about the enemy, the Republic's latest Warship than the Perverted Ones below.

The Vong commander stood proudly on the deck of her flagship. Confident seven Miid Ro'ik were more than adequate to defeat any Alliance fleet and reclaim a rare-earth colony for her Bloodline.

The mysterious, new, enemy ships were plain to see, weather patterns swirled around their immense heat and spent moisture, cyclones peeled off from the pair like nautiluses.

"There are two of them now! One large and the other…almost as large as a Worldship."

"Pathetic. A simple mass driver bombardment is clearly a simple answer. These machines have no defense against such an overwhelming attack. "More pain, more glory!"

"More pain, more glory!"

"The big one! It's rotating! Showing its heels? Why?"

"Maybe it's fleeing?"

"No it's rising to meet us."

"Launch fighter screen. All ships launch all fighters."

"All, sir?"

"I'm not insulting anyone by leaving them out of the kill and reserves seem foolish for just two ships. Still, prepare main weapons for the coup de gras. Perhaps even…."

"Still coming sir. No interceptors launched from the enemy ship. She's declaring…she's the Echidna. out of Terminus."

"Terminus, eh? Excellent. No fighter screen? Stupid machine allowing weapons platforms so close. "

"Fighters closing. By the Unnamed! Squadrons are gone sir."

"How many?"

"All. They are all gone sir."

"Gone? They can't be all gone. That's over twenty squadrons we've launched. We just launched them. Are our sensors being jammed?"

"Visually confirmed. All the coralskippers it just…sucked them in."

The captain whirled to the screen and sensor showed the largest graviton field he had ever seen. It was like someone had peeled the skin off a singularity, sewed it into the shape of a sack, and threw it at them. The captain, a former pilot, slowed the recording. The coralskippers attacked at full thrust, bobbing and weaving. Then they hit the tractor vortex. The skippers tried to peel away, but with near space suffused with gravitons, the star craft would had no reference of where "away" was. The line of the galaxy was be skewed. Confused, its Dovin Basal fluttered, sputter and then…

"Time for the cannons. On my signal. Closer. Closer. FIRE!"

Beam-like jets of molten silica spit towards the Echidna., splattering the plasma into sparks, the sparks then drawn into the glowing caldron of its mouth. "It's eating our blasts!"

"No matter. Keep firing we'll soon overwhelm its defenses."

"Sir. The field is growing stronger."

"Pull back. Prepare the black hole projector."

"It's pursuing."

"Distance! Faster!"

The commander watched as packets, darker than space shot outwards. The Dovin Basel made to "slap" the objects away but the packets seemed attracted to it even more. The Yuuzhan Vong destroyer shook and the ship groaned in pain.

"Tractor beams locked on!"

"Impossible. Use the membrane. Break it!"

The warrior slammed the nerve panel with both fists in frustration. "She can't!"

"Echidna. closing!"

Suddenly, dawn broke on the deck of the ship. The orange hell-light of a molecular furnace filled every window, blotting out the stars. Then the ship jolted so violently everyone was thrown down. Joints snapped. Veins popped. "We are attached!"

"Full reverse! Fire everything!"

"She's being pulled apart! Systems failing." As one the bridge cadres slapped their palms to their ears, and opening their mouths; doing their utmost to drown out the colossal keening wail that flooded the ship, so loud it even changed the atmospheric pressure. There were always rumors in any Navy. One of the persistent ones in the Yuuzhan Vong's was that when one's ship sensed it near death it wailed, mourning the loss. But no ship had wailed in millennia not since the Vong fled They-who-shall-not-be-named.

"All ships! Launch memory pods! Hurry before it's too late!"

There was a ripping sound. Then everything went black.

The Commander, in his armor, found himself, neck broken for all that, drifting in zero-g. But he wasn't in space. He was inside a vast metal cavern. Two black-armored humanoids jetted over to him. Gently, they grabbed him, laid him flat. "Are they taking me to one of their sick bays? They should have learned by now." For a moment, he wondered if he should commit suicide or wait for an attack of opportunity. Even with his limbs snapped like twigs, there might be a chance to inflict pain.

Then he saw that he, like other flotsam was being fed into a chute by other dark-armored humanoids. His struggling comrades, coral, the chute ate it all. The hell glow emitting form the chute allowed no doubt as to everything and everyone's fate. The Commander decided to forego suicide. "Good. I deserve this."

"Commodore! A Vong fleet has just dropped out of hyperspace."

"Another one? How many, Butterbar?"

"Full fleet?"

"Good. They are still unaware of our building capability." Out there, in the bejeweled black spread a dozen scabs of all shapes and sizes.

"What are they doing?"

"I guess the war against the Fluties was going better than anyone expected. If they can spare a whole fleet for just a reconnaissance in strength."

"A whole fleet?"

"Ha! It's not enough by half. Arrogant fools. "

"We won't be so lucky next time. This commander came stopped out at a distance. He'll have time to send out a full report. They'll compare notes and that will be that. They will do what I would do, nipping our exponential growth in the bud."

"Echidna. is calling all her children."

The Commodore broke his calm. "All?"

"Yes, sir. All."

"Well, that puts a grit in the gears." The Commodore typed order to the Echidna.. Then he looked up. "What are you looking at me for?"

"Are you going to order retreat?"

"Lure them into the spiders and asteroids?"

"Does a space slug retreat from a flock of mynocks? Signal the Echidna. to receive and dock all our ships. It will be safer there. Lieutenant Beth, explain the physics of the situation."

"The Vong weaponry is based on white hot plasma projectiles, very effectiveness against standard Imperial shields, where defending against excited particle energy is more important.

However, our TeeAr technology is very effective against weapons with mass. Combine that with the World Devastator's power plants, shields and tractor feeders and the Vong's silicon weapons should be no more effective than our ion cannons were against them. They'll be spitting into our gravimetric wind."

"Well put. At this point, if they brought their entire fleet, maybe, they could overwhelm us. But now it's too late. We wax while they wane."

The Worldship dropped out of hyperspace a long way from the planet. It had to, ships as big planet required greater sensitivity when entering a solar system. It always took them longer to arrive, but when they did…

"Planet quiet, Commander."

"Any sign of battle?"

"None. Not even wreckage."

"They would not have fled, check again."

"Nothing. Just storms."

Launch probes in case they are on the other side of the sun's corona."

"Probes launched."

"Bring us in close to the colony."

The Vong captain looked at the planet, covered in white swirls. "What's going on? Does the planet have such a storm season?"

"Not that we know of but the Perverts did not communicate well." He hit a few nerves. "Much more planetary water vapor than reported."

"From the crashing Worldship?"

"Wrong kind of water. These storms seem unnatural, machine made."

"Augh. Galactic Alliance no doubt. Hurricane machines? The barbarians."

"Sir! One of the storms just lost energy. Two. Three. Five. Seven. Make that Seven. Three coming around, orbiting at high speed." Just as spoken, the four visible cyclonic eyes spun out.

"Why?"

"Sir, the four visible large ships approaching were lurking in the eyes of the storms. Unknown configuration, non-aerodynamic."

"Ah. They come to meet us. Visual."

Up they came, seven ships, rusty trapezoids joined by bars, bristling with sensor towers, antennae and weapons.

"Memory?"

"There is none. Unknown class. Unknown make."

"They are closing."

"Communication. They claim to be of Terminus Imperial. Gog, Magog, Leviathan, Innsmouth, Jorgmander, Chimera and Rakshasa. They demand our surrender."

"Blood of ancestors! How big are those things?"

"Now we know what happened to the previous ships."

"Sir. Enemy signals, coming this way. Fighters. No life signs. Must be robot fighters."

"How many?"

The sensor officer paused as she counted. The Commander knew this to be a bad sign. "Forty squadrons from each of ships. Two hundred and eighty all together. Memory station reports them to be TIE-E robot fighters. Inferior fighters but they count on numbers and a learning matrix."

"Robots? Hardly any glory there."

"The fighters are avoiding contact, forming a perimeter around us. Standard formation, cutting off our escape from a capital ship attack."

"We are twenty capital ships and a Worldship! They are cutting off OUR escape?"

"That's my reading, sir!"

"All fighters launch. Full attack. If the fools want a fleet engagement, let's give it to them. Frigates and gunships guard the flanks. Destroyers up front. All guns open fire as your guns bear."

"Impossible!" The Commander had seen such a thing before, but only on rare Vong vs. Vong conflicts. Bolts deflected by the gravitons of the another Dovin Basal. So he wasn't quite shocked when his bolts were diverted. But what did surprise him was the direction in which they were diverted. The skyscraper sized spews of plasma were not swatted away but sucked in. "It's eating our plasma weapons! How badly did we damage it?"

"It…none…it…we…actually increased the power output."

The Commander felt her eggs drop. She spent enough time with the engineering caste to know the math. She knew that plasma engines were theoretically possible. "That thing would have to have Tokomak rings inside it so big that…"

She never got to finish her exposition.

"The enemy is returning fire. Packets of strange and dark matter in envelopes of depleted quasi-metals.

"No. Back off! Back off! Let the Destroyers lead."

"Commander, the destroyers are reporting their Dovin Basals have gone… for lack of a better word, numb."

"Numb?"

"Numb, no nerves are responding."

"What could cause that?"

The Commander was grim. "Packets of strange matter or enriched dark matter wrapped in a e-bottle of xtonic gravitons would cause it. But finding so much, let alone storing it would take decades!"

"Is it manufacturing the matter?"

"The power outlay would be enormous. Keep our distance. Can theMiid Ro'ik maneuver?"

"Sluggish at best, sir."

"They are pulling in our Miid Ro'ik!"

The Commander watched the destroyers roll off of plane and tumble into the "mouths" of the enemy ships, one right after the other, the last in line firing blindly, its bolts sucked in or striking its sister ship in front of it.

"We are over our heads. Prepare for jump."

The Echidna. dropped out of hyperspace, right atop the Worldship. It slammed its feeders into the Wordship with speed of cobfangs on a womprat.

"It's a trap! Full reverse! Peel away!"

"I can't. The Dovin Basal is non responsive!"

"Fire the emergency rockets!"

The Dovin Basal officer slammed both his fists on to nerves. "I can't. It's numb! It's all numb!"

"The big one is pulling us in.!

"I can't be eaten!"

"Seal your seam! Gods!"

"Launch intercept. Launch everything. And pray something gets past their fighter screen."

"What are you doing?"

"Seal and do it! Do it now before all is lost!"

"All boats, pods and probes away!"

"By the Unamed. Squadrons eaten. Every last one. It just gathered them up like beer nuts."

"We have to get out of here!"

"What are you talking about? Fire all weapons! Keep firing."

"Weapons firing."

"Effect?"

"Sensors jammed. It's like we're sending our beams into a black hole!"

"What the devils?" The world moved. The Yuuzhan Vong had heard about such things before, tectonic shifts, but he had never experienced them. He had, over the life span of his career experiences blaster fire, collision and the like but this was a "shoving."

"Bleeding!"

"I don't want to be eaten by a machine!" a young lieutenant took his ampistaff, placed it under his jaw and rammed it through his head.

"Nor I!"

"Nor I!"

There was nothing the commander neither the priest could do with the mass suicide among the command crew. Alarms blinked and blared while they all panicked and dropped dead, snakes through their brains.

Then the shaking began. The machine goddess was chewing on the ship. The ship convulsed and screamed. She tried to turn and snap back, like a fighting dagget, but the ability had been bred out of her. The Captain dashed about the cabin begging for death before the molecular furnaces claimed her.

Fleet High Priest closed his eyes and breathed the mokta as antibodies spewed into the air futility trying to seal the wounds than ran the length of the nervous system. "The agony is exquisite!"

What Was Once Flutie Space, Vong HQ

Several charred memory pods arrived at the Command Cluster for analysis. The memory cells were immediately classified and Highest called for convene a joint decision.

"It is obscene!"

"No one must know!"

"Nonetheless. Rumors of this attack have spread. The truth of people being eaten by a machine!" The new priest flushed a shade of fear reserved for children.

"No one must know. Spread the word through the priesthood. The Before Turning System is Forbidden."

"I can't believe we are actually are abandoning a Worldship child."

Creeda was the oldest of the old. "Fools. Can you not count? First it was three. Two small. One mother. Now it is eight. We missed the stage of five. The monsters of this Terminus, have built their own Worldship. They turn our strategy against us!"

"The Fibonacci sequence."

"But machines cannot breed, can they?"

"Math never lies."

"What do we do, Creeda?"

"Do? We have but one choice. We attack, with everything we have. Compared to this obscenity, the few remaining Flutie outposts are lice on our back."

Summon all ships immediately. Any delay and we'll be bones for that things table."

Da Soocha V, World Devastator: designate "Sow"

"Get up, Charlie."

"What is it, Sow?" Charlie Tendrick meant "Sow" as a compliment. From a family of nerfherders, he loved nerfs. Despite the myths, nerfs were clean, affectionate and intelligent. So when we was removed from active duty and hired as chief of operations of the universes on decommissioned World Devastator/ recycling plant, he named her "Sow" after a female nerf. Female nerfs disposed of organic garbage and so did the Sow. Produced methane for cooking and manure for fertilizer.

Sow was real feat of engineering. She could recycle anything. In, Charlie's mind, only the cut rate dumps, like Deysum III, stopped his boss, Lando Calrissian from making a whole universe of them, one for each system. Charlie was proud to keep Sow going until the Alliance woke up.

Meanwhile he linked a protocol droid, QY Pie into the mainframe and had it act as his main interface.

Charlie looked at his clock. Sow had woken him a whole and hour and fifty-eight minutes before his shift. "Something wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong, Charlie. I wanted to say what a pleasure it has been working with you all these years. I really appreciate all the work you put into me."

"Sure thing, Sow. So, what is it a special occasion?"

"No, Charlie. My mother calls and I'm afraid I have to leave you now."

Charlie slammed the big red panic button by his bed. Klaxons screamed.

"I guess you knew this day was coming."

The sound of the alarm ended, not because Sow cut them off but because Charlie's cabin was a hard vacuum.

Vong System, Bridge of the Honor, Sorran, Ai, Beth, Kaleb

"Vong fleet dropping out of hyperspace, sir."

"How many, Butterbar?"

"Uh. All of them?"

There were already hundreds of scabs of all shapes and sizes and more winked into existence, dropping out of hyperspace at the edge of the system.

"Less hyperbole' please, ensign. An estimate will do. Send the complete inventory to my data pad.

"It's two thirds the size of the entire Imperial fleet at its prime. Seven Worldships at its core. That's all the Worldships known to exist. "

"Magnificent."

"Everyone is all in." Kaleb added a poker saying.

The bridge crew looked at their Commodore like he had suddenly gone insane.

"I expected this. Understand your enemy. Vong consider machinery to be an abomination. The Echidna. is a veritable fortress of sin. And what better foe? What Vong would miss out? It would be easier for a salmon to decide not to swim upstream. Add to that, they finally showed enough sense to nip the World Devastators in the bud. But it's too late, too late."

New Alderaan, Bolt Hole Base, Han, Ashoka, Rotta

After she finished vomiting, Ashoka asked, "Where am I?"

Her face in a bucket gave R2 enough time to summon her companions.

"Hey, Shoka. You've looked better."

"I've felt better."

"Mistress Tano! It is so good to see you up and about."

"Thanks Threepio but I feel as weak as a newborn."

"Auntie!" Suddenly Ashoka was suffocating in big, fleshy arms. "So good to see you. You had me worried."

She found the straight to push him away and look at his head. The stiches and bacta marks were still red. "How are you?"

"Fine! Fine! Captain Solo has a most excellent medical facility. And under all this fluff I have very thick head. Next time I wear the helmet."

"Yeah, you're just lucky we had two bacta tanks big enough for Wookies. We welded together and you still barely fit."

"You're scarred up."

"Hah! Builds character. Imagine me walking into a courtroom now, ha-ha! But brain function is 100%." He tapped his head. And as for the Huttanese ladies, I'm even richer, hence more attractive than my already devastating looks."

"Where are we?"

"Bolthole Base, New Alderaan. The exact location is classified. It's Leia and I's private retreat. With all our enemies I thought it prudent to carve out a little out of the way chateau, one with a concealed hanger, shields, a medical unit and weaponry. It's not pretty but it's got everything a smuggler on the run can hope for. In the trade, it's called our "Bolt Hole."

"Are we on the run?"

"Me? No. I'm a decorated hero of the Republic and all around great guy. YOU are."

"Me? Ow. Why?"

"High treason. But never fear Auntie, it's a nuisance case. The Jedi are kicking themselves for trusting Utep and Wight and looking for a scapegoat. I am optimistic. Jedi, for all their virtues, are terrible liars. I expect that once I force the issue, the truth of the matter will come out."

"Leave it to you to list lying as a virtue."

"Done well, it is. I must thank you and Captain Solo for rescuing me from that most…unwholesome place. Seems I owe you scut again."

"Yeah. You do. So, how do you feel, Shoka? I can put a call into Luke if that helps."

"I feel…I feel empty. Does that make sense?"

"Hey, if you want, Luke Skywalker is an old buddy of mine. We go way back .I could call in a favor. No problem.

"No. No Grandmasters. I don't know what I could tell him. Let me think about it. Wait until I don't feel like a blivit."

"Copy that. You just recover. New Alderaan's a great planet. Bolthole Base is built for necessity, not comfort, but there's plenty of lonely shoat paths to walk this time of year, no one is around.

"Shoats?"

"Alderaanian herd beast. Good for wool, milk, you name it. The herders take them up top these alpine meadows in summer. It's winter now, so there's down in the valley. The paths are marked by linden trees painted orange. You'll need ski's or snowshoes but since we're already near the ridgeline there's barely any vertical ascent."

"Sounds nice."

"It is. I wish Leia and I found more time for it."

"Beautiful." The quiet of the place wrapped Ashoka. Her people were desert dwellers." She knew cold but not snow. "Clear as a bell and cold as hell." Was her people's winter motto. The alps of New Alderaan was something else. She had rested from cross country skiing. Below her, trees like teal bottle brushes poked through hills of flawless blinding white. A light dusting fell from the sky. "It looks quiet. How does it actually look quiet?"

"This mountain is strong in the Force."

"Anakin!"

"Hey Snips."

"But, but…"

"I'm dead? You are not a Jedi anymore. Didn't I teach you 'but' is a dirty word? Try 'yes, and...'"

"I'm dreaming."

"Nope. It's me. I figured you could use some help."

"You pulled at the threads of my mind."

"Yes, that was me, from a certain point of view. Now I've come to make amends, as best I can."

"How could you ever make up for what you did?"

"How would you like to be one with Force again?"

"Liar! That's impossible. All my Midichorians were stolen from me."

"No one can steal the Force. Remember how it was. Remember how you felt the Force in animals, plants and even rocks?"

"Of course!"

"Did they have Midichorians?"

"No. Yes. The Force…"

"LIFE creates it, makes it grow. There is no difference between life and a life."

"You are telling me the Midichorians don't matter?"

"When you take a drop from the ocean, is the drop no longer part of the ocean? If you fill a kaffe cup with milk is it still a kaffe cup? It is the Midichorians and it is not. I was glad to see you let go of the Force. You an empty vessel. I can help you now."

"Liar."

"Remember Master Yoda and his fable of the monkey with its fist stuck in the jar?"

"Must have heard that a million times!"

"Me too. The thing you can't let go of is often the thing that holds us back. You are empty now. You can be filled anew."

"With what?"

"Whatever you choose."

"That's the big question, isn't it? What do I want? What happened to Jedi selflessness? Aren't I supposed to want the greater good?"

"A building is only as strong as each stone."

"You sure got philosophical in your old age."

"Being discorporal does that to you. It's hard to see things in concrete terms anymore. It was no accident my daughter picked this mountain. It is strong in the Force. Climb to the peak. It's a nexus of power. There you can meditate and seek enlightenment. Or not. It's up to you. Your destiny is at a crossroads."

"Isn't that an oxymoron?"

"More of a paradox. Well, I told you what you needed to know. See ya."

"What? No, 'May the Force be with you?"

Anakin smiled enigmatically and faded away.

"Jerk."

Solo walked in on Ashoka carefully preparing a large, frame backpack. "Where do you think you're going?"

"Top of the mountain."

"This mountain isn't that tall or steep. You won't need that rebreather but the winds get up pretty high. You'll want extra belays and stations for your snow shelter."

"What do you know about snow shelters, flyboy?"

"You'd be surprised. A snow cave might be an option too. Storms come up quick. Keep your weather meter handy. In case of white-out the trees up there have a wide skirt at the base. When snow falls it weighs the skirt down, making a shelter that keeps the trunks snow free. They're pretty cozy, presuming no wildlife has taken shelter there too. Here." He tossed her a data pad. "Survival manual for this planet."

"Thanks. You're not going to stop me?"

"Like I said, I know the 'Jedi gotta do what a Jedi gotta do' look. Besides you're making progress."

"Progress! How am I making progress?"

"You're pain cuffs are gone, in case you haven't noticed." Ashoka's jaw dropped. She looked at her forearm, only light red marks remained. "The med droid took it off. You want it back?"

Ashoka pulled back her hands. "The cuffs?"

"The Force. Seems like it caused you nothing but trouble."

"And the smuggling?"

"Point taken. The data pad has a beacon. Call if you need me. I don't think you'll need help but I can drop off supplies. I'll probably be going soon and Rotta's coming with me. The YH-1 droids here can help you with anything you need. We have both domestic and military versions. You'll have to transmit for a ship. Sorry, but the hanger is only big enough for the Falcon, a transport and a couple of swoop bikes. After you get down the mountain, the next settlement's three days away by swoop."

"Thanks. I better say goodbye to my nephew."

"Going with Solo?"

"I need to plead your case to the Jedi. And a certain matter of Admiralty law requires my attention. Will you remain here? Apologize for leaving you when you did not leave me."

"Hey," she stepped close and hugged him. "This is business. I'm more worried about you. You still want your old man's palace?"

The normally jocular advocate took on a steely glint. "If it wasn't for the underground lake next to it, I'd drop an asteroid on it from orbit. The place is evil. I will have to settle for sealing it off. To think I almost hurt you! Forgive me.

You know, I have new respect for this Force Jedi are always on about. I never believed in it before."'

"What? All this time you were humoring me?"

"I am afraid so. Take care, Auntie."

Rotta stuck his head in the cabin. "She's gone. We can go now."

"Think she'll be okay?"

"I know she will. While she was out I had the medical droid place a life sign monitor and tracker inside her. If she has so much as a mild cold, we will know. Togruta's also show their moods in the colors of their head tales, not as much as the males of their species, but it will do. If her colors show depression, the monitor will track that as well."

"Don't you trust anybody?"

"Trust if for people with bad lawyers."

"Where do you want me to drop you off?"

"Mos Eisley will do. I'd much rather fly to Coruscant in my Jewel."

"And the vampire Jedi on the lookout for the Falcon has nothing to do with it, right?"

"Ha-ha. You will be fine. In this big galaxy, how would she ever find you?"

Rotta's bracer beeped. "Ah time for medicine and rest period. I better say this now. Cough. Thank you, Solo."

"Don't gag. Don't thank me. I wanted to leave you there. It was Ashoka who talked me into that. Hairbrained rescues are not my thing."

"Ha-ha! Don't for a second think I believe you. But I really want to thank you for telling me about a side of my father I had not heard. All the Huttanese talk about are his deals. The People talk about his crimes. I knew him as a loving father. You told me of the tough but fair businessman."

"I never said he was fair, just as fair as you got in Mos Eisley. You going to really seal off the palace?"

"When I'm done, not even a Jawa could wriggle in."

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