I'm baaaaaaaaaaack! Sorry to keep you all waiting, but had to focus on college as I warned you. So here it is: my latest.

Disclaimer: Nothing is mine mkay

Chapter 18:

Junkyard Dog

Raxus Prime. Again. Juno sighed heavily. How in the galaxy did they keep ending up in places they had already been? Oh that's right, because Vader was pulling the strings. How could Juno forget? Things were tense aboard the Rogue Shadow. While Starkiller promised Juno that he would do his best to keep her safe, Juno still had no desire to talk to him. As far as the pilot was concerned, the apprentice's future was completely controlled by Vader. The Rebellion was another matter, but at any point in time, Vader could simply swoop in and kill the two of them. Then there was Kota. Ever since learning of Shaak Ti's death, the Jedi seemed to slip into even deeper despair.

As the yellow and junk colored planet loomed closer, Juno could not help remember their previous visit. Hopefully, the Rodians would be less of a problem; Force knows the Imperial presence would be problematic enough. How were they supposed to take down an entire shipyard? Starkiller seemed to have a plan, but Juno did not even have an inkling.

Still, she trusted Starkiller to get the two of them through this. Currently, the warrior was not her first choice, but he was the last person she could cling to. So here she was once again putting her faith blindly in a man whom she still did not even know. It all seemed very foolish when looked upon from an outside view. But there was nothing she could do. She could not abandon Starkiller; he could easily overpower her, not to mention PROXY and the Rebellion. She could only keep hoping that an opportunity would present itself where the two could escape.

The door swished open and Starkiller took his customary seat next to Juno. "I'm assuming you want to know the plan," he said idly.

"I would appreciate it."

"There's an ore cannon that takes all of the junk from Raxus Prime and shoots it up to the shipyard so it can be made into the destroyers," Starkiller explained. "If I can disrupt the aim, it can hit the shipyard, disabling it."

"And how exactly do you plan on disrupting the aim of this massive cannon?" the pilot asked, spinning her chair to face the apprentice.

Starkiller's confident face faltered. "I…uh. Well we'll cross that bridge when we get to it," he replied.

"So in other words, you want me to go through the schematics with PROXY and give you an answer as you go gallivanting around destroying everything in your path."

"Naturally."

"What would you do without me?"

"Put up with listening to PROXY," he replied. "Truthfully, no idea, probably dead."

"Well then maybe the Rebellion will be thanking me instead of you when we finish this," Juno teased as she prepped the ship for landing.

"I will be," Starkiller said seriously before standing. "But this isn't over yet."

"This is as close as I can get you," the pilot said as the ramp lowered. "Make your way to the processing plant due North. We should have an answer for you by then."

PROXY took Starkiller's seat and promptly accessed the onboard systems. "Ready when you are Captain," the droid said once Juno activated the stealth systems. "Curious, I'm surprised we did not pick up on this the first time."

"What is it?" Juno queried, as she searched through the Imperial files.

"This planet seems to have a…Core. How could I have missed this?" PROXY asked, seemingly annoyed by his error. "Remember when we noticed that the parts were being funneled to another location?"

"Yes," Juno replied. "I thought the Rodians were responsible."

"As did I. It seems that we were mistaken. This planet seems to have a central intelligence and it's connected to…the Empire!" the prototype exclaimed. "It is trying to alert them!"

"Hack in and disconnect it Mr. Prototype!"

"I'm already attempting to do so. In fact, I think I have…already…established control," PROXY said as his eyes dimmed before relighting.

"Are you alright?" Juno queried.

"Certainly J-J-Juno," PROXY said as he gave off a few sparks.

"Something is wrong," Juno said worriedly as she got up to retrieve her tools. "I think the Core got to you."

"Nonsense," PROXY said, now right on top of Juno. "I am in control. But I'm afraid I must restrain you."

"Restra-" but Juno never got to finish her sentence as the droid quickly covered her mouth.

"Do not make this harder than it already is C-C-Captain," PROXY said before slamming the pilot's head into the wall.

Fighting the darkness in her vision, Juno gripped tightly onto the wrist servo to alleviate the pressure that was now on her throat. The pilot quickly lashed out with kicks to the various joints of her attacker, but to no avail. "What are…you…doing?" Juno asked as she gasped for air.

"Fulfilling my primary functioning of course," PROXY explained matter-of-factly.

"I…can't let you do that," Juno said desperately. "Not now."

"Of course you won't let me," the droid said, pushing harder. "Which is why I need you out of the way. However, I cannot kill you. Now just let me choke you."

"Let…let? You're…in…ins…"

"Insane?" the droid finished for the now unconscious pilot. "I am as sane as my creator."

"Captain! Are you alright?" asked Kota as he dabbed the blood from the pilot's eyes. "That damn droid got to you didn't he?"

"Ugh…" was the only word that came out of Juno's mouth. "Where is that damn machine?"

"Gone," the Jedi said as he helped the pilot to her feet.

"I've got to warn Starkiller!" Juno said as she rushed to her console. "Eclipse to Starkiller, we seem to have a bit of a situation."

"Everything alright? You sound hoarse."

"PROXY has…left the ship," Juno said, leaving the attack out of the discussion.

"Thanks for the advanced warning Juno. I should have seen this coming," Starkiller said with a sigh. "In the meantime, I've reached an Imperial drop base. Can you override the hangar door?"

"I'll try, but it might take a moment," Juno said, as she called up her console.

There was an explosion over the comlink. "Take you time. I've got plenty to keep me busy."

Kota took a seat next to her and started typing into the console as well. As Juno looked over at the console she saw that Kota had successfully searched for ore cannon schematics. "I may be blind but I still have my memory of a keyboard."

Juno only smirked and got back to work. Finally, she found access to the door and got it to open. "Pure Pazaak."

"As I recall, the best way to win in Pazaak is to cheat," Kota said with a chuckle.

"What have you got?"

"Force if I know," Kota said, pointing to his eyes.

Juno called the files onto her screen and began sifting through them. "He could always use the Force to guide the ore into the shipyard."

"If anyone could do it…"

"I was joking," Juno said when she finally found a possibility. "Eclipse to Starkiller."

"I'm there."

"Good, you should be able to see a tower in front of you. That is, if you used the front entrance."

"Actually, I did," he responded.

"There's a first. That tower is maintaining the alignment of the cannon. Destroy it, and you can disrupt the firing pattern," she explained. "From there you'll have to supercharge the rail guns so that the ore will actually strike the shipyard."

"You make it sound so simple," Starkiller said before another explosion sounded. "Well actually, that part was. I'll radio in when I'm done."

"Why didn't you tell him?" Kota queried.

"He doesn't need to know," Juno responded. "He needs to be focused and ready for anything."

"Are you saying that you are a distraction for him?" Kota pushed.

"If your partner was attacked by somebody else you trusted, it wouldn't distract you?" the pilot shot back.

"Distract? No. I would simply add it to the things I have to deal with," the Jedi said with a shrug.

"I'm sure you know that Starkiller hasn't exactly had Jedi training."

"Obviously. That's what I have been wondering. Where in the galaxy did he learn to harness the Force like he does?" Kota said thoughtfully.

"I don't know for sure," Juno lied. "I just know that it is scarily effective."

Kota nodded gravely and leaned back in his chair before bolting right back up and grabbing the comlink. "What's going on out there boy?"

"I hit the shipyard. But one of the Star Destroyers is headed right for me," he said quickly. "I've got to het out of here."

"You'll never get clear in time!" the Jedi shouted.

"What in Force's name am I supposed to do?" the warrior asked wildly.

"That's it boy. Pull it into the cannon."

"What?" Juno and Starkiller asked in unison.

"You're insane," the warrior continued. "It's…massive!"

"You're a Jedi boy! Size means nothing to you," Kota said passionately. "Reach out with the Force and grab the ship, or you will die on this trash heap!"

"No pressure," Juno muttered as she brought the Rogue Shadow around the planet. When the falling ship came into view, Juno paled. "It's releasing TIE Fighters."

"He'll need full concentration," Kota said. "You'll have to help him."

That was all Juno needed to hear before accelerating towards the TIE Fighters and opening fire. Juno remembered the last time she fired on TIE Fighters for Starkiller; there was so much hesitation. Not this time. Juno easily picked off the fighters one by one until they were all cleared away.

And then the unthinkable happened. The Star Destroyer that was listlessly falling into Raxus Prime suddenly jerked and began falling much more rapidly to the surface. What was more was that the ship was being turned nose down. "He's actually doing it!" Juno exclaimed.

"I told you that you would see the true extent of the Force if you stayed with him," Kota said serenely. "And one day you will. Such potential."

An explosion rippled through both the surface and the ship sending a shockwave into space and the surface below. There was static over the comlink and Starkiller's tracker went dead. "He's…"

"You there boy?"

But Juno was not listening to Kota's hails over the comlink. As the Rogue Shadow rocketed towards Starkiller's last known location, the pilot's pulse was pounding in her ears. Why did this keep happening? Every time there was no response from him, she panicked and raced to him. Was it because his life was so closely tied to hers? When under Vader's control, if he died, she was sure to die as well. Now, if he died, the Rebellion would falter and Vader would still hunt her down. But something told Juno that it went deeper than that, but she had no time to think on it.

"Relax, I'm still here."

Juno slowed the Rogue Shadow as Kota guffawed and slapped his knee. "Good…good. We'll see you back at the ship."

And there you go! Thanks for all your wishes of good luck and reviews, both are much appreciated!

So review as always and hopefully it won't be as long in between updates.