Heyo, peoples. I figured it was about time a put up another chapter so I'm squeezing this one in really quick. Thanks to all who read, and double thanks to the faithful reviewer. It means a lot to know that someone still reads these. :)

Chapter Five: A Plan [A Long Chapter]

Four and a half hours ago outposts picked up the signature of an enemy attack force. Four hours twenty-five minutes ago, our HQ was destroyed by enemy missiles and Commander K'Ull was fatally injured in the blast. Ten minutes later she was located and rushed to the nearest medical bay. While in route to the station reports came in that Alee, the Commander's apprentice, had crashed into M-sect. K'Ull never reached help and died inside the transport. Immediately afterwards, Captain Forge was alerted to a critical emergency involving the orbiting flag ship, Irradiance. It had been destroyed by torpedoes from a hostile gun-boat. Colonel Viper died in the ship. I placed Commander K'Ull's body in capable hands before departing with Captain Forge to visit young Alee and check her status. Her condition was failing.

Three hours ago enemy troops conquered C-Sect and landed inside Almega's borders. A battlefield promotion has put me as remaining Commander of Almega. I have initiated a counterattack to repel our invaders. The counterattack has failed and left us even more scattered and disorganized than before. My last order was to send a detachment to relocate any remaining ships in 4-sect in order to stage a large scale retreat. If they fail…defeat is inevitable. (Captain Grey)

Captain Grey

A dry, hot wind pushes out from the forests, leaving rings of sifted dirt in its wake. The wind creeps across a clearing and rushes forward, sweeping over what remains of a high wall. Leaves skitter inside the barriers. Some catch on fallen figures of wrecked tanks and cooling bodies. Others tumble into buildings, leaning shells of burnt metal, and swirl through the barren doorways. Still, some dart stealthy under the endless sea of grey smoke drifting across the ruins. Bleak, and grey. This is the battlefield. This burnt wasteland is Almega.

Captain Grey is leaning with his back against a long support beam from a demolished building. His Deece is hot in his hands. Strands of smoke twist up from the barrel. To his left and right are other clone troopers. Eleven troopers in all. They form an un-even line all the way to the beam's end. There, the line breaks. A small crater from a stray missile. The line starts back up behind a smoldering antiaircraft gun, breaks, and continues inside a machine gun bunker eleven meters away. The fragmented streaks of defense continue all the way across the northern front of M-Sect. One kilometer of faltering soldiers is all that stands between victory and annihilation. All around, troopers are taking the time to reload and recoup. As they work, their hushed conversations whisper through Captain's intercom. Snippets of their conversations come and go. Just moments ago they were fighting off their fourth surge of enemy troops. The line had held, barely, and not without cost. Ten minutes ago nineteen clones were firing out from behind this beam. The dead are now lying in heaps, pulled out of the way of those still living. Their lifeless chests are splashed with the dark burn marks of blaster fire. Eight clones gone. And that's only in this one small strip. From the reports coming through Captain's helmet, the casualties are much higher along different hot spots. Some numbers are as high as forty. Elsewhere, entire sections had been wiped out. At this rate the line won't last through the hour. Soon the enemy will be back. Except next time there'll be a tank or a walker pushing the way ahead. Maybe one of their gunships will even tag along.

"How 'bout it, sir?"

Captain glances to the side. One of the troopers has moved down the beam until he's beside the Captain. The marking on his armor denote him as a 1st Lieutenant. Captain know him. His name is Two-One. Everyone calls him that. The last two numbers of his Kamino given code. Several rookies had tried to give giving him a "proper" nickname, like Deuce or Ton, but they'd all fallen off. Two-One was simply Two-One. Nothing else to it.

"How about what? This?" Captain nods slightly towards a nearby body. Half of the trooper's upper body has been blasted out and cauterized by a hand-held laser canon. "This is what some people call a war."

Two-One ignores Captain's statement. "Four hours of this battle…"

"Four and a half hours lieutenant. Trust me, I've been keeping time."

"Well, four and a half hours of war and we've been pushed into a corner. What do you make of it Commander?"

Captain takes his time answering the lieutenant. Somewhere in the distance a heavy machine gun starts up, blasting away into the drifting haze. Grenades burst and rumble. There's nothing Captain can do about. The line is already spread too thin.

"I take it that we've lost too many guys in too little time. In order to pull this kind of stunt, I'd say we're up against a helluva genus commander or have a mole on our inside. Either way, if I survive, someone WILL pay." Captain looks back at the cauterized body.

"Who was he?"

Captain sighs. He reaches into his pack and produces a pair of tags. "Corporal Cutter. Was in my battalion. Arrived without so much as a stain on his bucket. As shiny as they come. I hear he was fond of the Commander's apprentice. Crazy at times, but he was a good soldier." Captain replaces the tags. "But there's nothing to it now. He's like us all. Found himself in a bad joint and ducked one times to few."

Two-One takes a good long look at what used to be Cutter. For some people, whenever they see a body, they immediately think of the person that used to be inside. For a clone trooper that's nearly impossible. After seeing the same thing it all becomes the same. For Two-One, a deceased civilian is the same as a deceased soldier. One just wears a uniform. Captain clears his throat to catch the lieutenants attention. Two-One looks up.

"A lieutenant in the Grand Army just doesn't start getting friendly with his Commander. Why are you really here soldier?"

Two-One says "My former CO told me to always cushion the bad with the good. No matter how 'tough' a soldier is he always needs cushion."

"Your Commanding Officer was a liar."

"Maybe."

Captain: "Quite stalling soldier. You're wasting my time."

Lieutenant Two-One nods. "Yes, sir. I've got some good news and some…"

"Stop. With. The clichés. Lieutenant." Captain says. His irritation towards the trooper is rising. The soldier is definitely from Captain Forge's battalion. He always led an underwhelming, un-organized bunch.

Two One obliges. "The detachment to Sector Four made it intact, sir. Once inside the walls all they found was a hive of enemy soldiers. Everything left of Lieutenant Karr's force was being gunned down inside the main hanger. The detachment got out without being detected."

The gunfight in the distance has died down. All that's left is the whooshing of the wind pushing by tinted clouds of smoke. Several airborne leaves blow up over the metal beam and settle around the pile of bodies. Captain digests the information. I was betting on the drop ships in Four Sect as our ticket out…but now Four Sect is in enemy control. Plan number 2# is official a no-go. Another failure. Hostiles are using us as target practice and all we have is a paper thin defense line. Despite the odds, Captain doesn't let his moral slide. True defeat is a state of the mind. Situational defeat is relative. There's always a way to win, you just have to find it. Already, ideas are taking vague shape in his head. He doesn't develop the ideas though. Just leaves them. Twice he's tried delivering Almega on his own. Twice he has failed. It's time to bring this one in. He switches to a more secured comms channel.

"Lieutenant Two-One."

"Yes, sir?"

"Who told you this?"

"Captain Forge was contacted by the leader of the detachment. He tried contacting you but the connection wasn't working. He transferred the information to me and tasked me to relay it to you. The enemy may be trying to jam our communication to speed up victory. Divide and conquer, by the books sir."

Once again, Captain considers the idea of a mole on the Republic side. Pathar is a site for Republic mining facilities. Almega is not only a military base but also a base for a third party company that the army contracted to dig up rocks. Most of the workers are actually located in the smaller outposts scattered around the planet but a few stay at Almega. Possibly it was one of them. But unlikely. The clone troopers and civilian workers almost never interacted. Much less allowed them near sensitive data. A clone, maybe? Traitors are extremely rare in the Grand Army but it is something to consider. Anything can be possible.

Captain nods to Two-One. "Thank you, Lieutenant. Contact Captain Forge and tell him I've got the message. Tell him to finish up wherever he is and to meet me at the relief station in mid-section. Have him call all the senior NCO's and to have them at the station too. I want all commanders there. I'll meet them in a half hour."

Two-One nods. "Yes, sir."

"You're in charge of this line now Lieutenant. Remember, this is all we have left."

"Yes, sir."

Captain Grey moves away from the fallen beam. He takes up his gun and pack. Takes a look at the piles of dead and heads toward the relief station. Travel is only by foot. All vehicles that didn't get pulverized in the air-bombardment are being used to prop up the defenses. Buying them some time. As Captain leaves, a salvo of gunshots start up along the line. Blue streaks of light run through the haze.

"Here they come!" someone shouts. Behind the sound of blasters he picks up the clanking of an incoming walker. He shakes his head. Just as suspected. Good luck Lieutenant. You'll need it. He turns and trudges through the ruble.

The relief station, at one time, had been called Gama. It had served as the Head Quarters when Almega was still a sketch hovering at the center of some General's office. Once the newer HQ was complete, Gama had been renamed to Relief Station One and left to collect dust. To retain some usefulness, a few technicians had wielded an outdated relay array to the top.

Now, as Captain Grey jogs through M-Sect, the Relief Station takes shape in the distance. Smoke converges around the plain, one-story building, framing it as a brick floating over a blanket of clouds. Bits of sunlight pick their way through the smoke and highlight patches of the building's old, dirt brown façade. Some of the light catches on two gleaming objects sitting atop the corners of the flat roof. From far off they resemble silver statues. When Grey draws closer the objects show their true colors. They are just a pair of sooty, anti-air guns.

Captain jogs his way up to the building. On the outside it is little more than a slab of metal and concrete. The blast doors open and he passes through.

Inside is a half-lit room with a few outdated consoles along the wall. Cool air pumps through several vents. The room is empty. On the opposite side of the room is a turbo lift. Captain walks towards it and, at his command, it opens. A spreading wedge of white light washes over his dirty armor. He steps inside and hits the controls. The lift rushes down.

Despite its underwhelming appearance, Gama is actually the peak of a buried complex. The complex's underground corridors, littered with old equipment, are now Almega's new center of operations.

When Captain exits the lift he is in a sparsely populated hallway with a total of three flickering lights. Two civilian miner's huddle in the corner speaking in their alien language. They are probably the last civies' in the base. Most of them died in the initial air-bombardment. The miners look up at Captain as he passes by. Their yellow eyes watch him before turning away. Almost like Commander Alee's eyes, he thinks. Hers glow red. I wonder, what is she? I've never seen another one of her type. Thoughts of Alee bring him to her current condition. At the moment she's one level deeper in the complex, under the care of a medical droid. Hopefully she's okay. Captain turns a corner, goes down another hall and stops at a large blast door. They reel open. The muggy concrete room is the largest chamber in the relief station. It is also the only one with a working holo-projector.

Captain walks inside.

Murky, yellow light shines down on four soldiers. Everyone is already there, gathered around a large projector. They've been waiting. Captain takes his place with the others. He looks over them briefly. Across from Grey is Captain Forge, standing with his helmet up under one arm. His hand rests on his pistol. Tattoos of burning arrows reach up his neck and past his jaw. Dark eyes scan the room. Next to Forge is Staff Sergeant Niner. There are a lot of Niners filling out the Grand Army's ranks. Every other platoon has at least one. To Niner's left is 1st Sergeant 8 with a blaster still hanging from around his back. The 1st Sergeant is to Grey's right, and to his left is tank commander C5. He lost all his units to the bombardment. It's up to these four, five including Grey, to come up with a successful plan. Everything is up to them. Or, more appropriately, what is left of everything. M-Sect, the center of the base is the only thing that hasn't slipped from their hands.

Captain begins the meeting with a simple nod towards the other soldiers. He switches the projector on and brings up a hovering map of Almega. The other troopers watch.

Captain Grey: "We're being crushed from two sides by an unknown enemy." The holograph shows a steady line of red pushing into the base's blue inner rings of defense. To the north, C-Sect has been reduced to a memory and now serves as a landing field for hostile gunships. The front has long since fallen past the borders of M-Sect. What remains of five ragtag platoons is putting up a staunch fight. Two damaged AT-ET's are helping them hold the Republic line. S-sect has succumbed to the damage of a fresh wave of attacks and is now occupied by hostiles. The southern edges of M-Sect are already engaged in fierce ground battles. Captain switches the view from Almega to Beta, the stand-alone counter-part. "Just recently, a dispatch confirmed that Beta, our center for air-support, has also been occupied. The dispatch unit is now holding a hidden position in the forests, waiting for further orders. Our northern line with C-Sect is on the verge of collapse. Our southern border has an estimated two hours."

"The most obvious choice would be to transfer some of the troopers from the south to the north. It wouldn't take long to move them up there." This comes from C5.

Sergeant Eight disagrees. "That would only delay defeat. We need to win."

"They can't have limitless amounts of troops. We could wear them down."

Captain Forge: "Negative. They have armored tanks. Unless we can spread our heavy weapons, we won't be wearing anyone down."

"Then spread the damn weapons" Niner says.

"They're already spread out all over the place." Forge points to a blue square highlighted in-between Almega and Beta. "Our highest concentration is in the drifter unit out in the forest. Nine rocket troopers, two mortars, and a few chain weapons in one nice bunch."

Niner: "Who ordered that build?"

"That's irrelevant" says Captain Grey. He looks to Captain Forge. "Do you have anything Captain?"

Captain Forge nods. "Staying to fight to the death would be worthless. We have nothing left to protect. We need to focus on an escape plan and preserve our troopers. Wasting lives only adds to our loss. We can return another day to reclaim the planet."

"We can't escape to space. We don't have any ships. Sector Four got run over." This comes from Sergeant Niner."

"Actually, Sergeant, we do have ships." All eyes turn to 1st Sergeant 8. He reaches over to the projector and zooms in on a schematic of Gama. All four levels of the complex come into view. He points to a large empty section below the lowest level. "I have an idea" he says. "This empty section of Gama holds two pre-war transports, both are equipped with hyper-drives and light weaponry. The hanger was formally used to fly in miners before the rest of Almega was built. The ships inside haven't been flown in years though. They could be unstable."

Captain Forge turns his glare on towards 8. "Why doesn't anyone else know about the 'secret' hanger? We could have used this earlier."

"Colonel Viper and General K'Ull were well aware of…"

"They're dead sergeant! And how did you know about this?"

"I worked directly with the Colonel, sir. We had no reason to tell anyone about old underground relics."

Commander C5: "They could've been used to escape."

"No. That's what I thought but the ships are old and slow. Those blasted gunships would tear it apart before it ever left the atmosphere, much less make a jump to hyperspace. It would be a suicide."

"Risky but not suicide. We could keep the enemy from pursuing." Captain Grey switches the holograph to a view of C-Sect. "An estimated twenty-one idle ships are in in C-sect."

"Why would they stop attacking?"

"A ship can only hold so many missiles. It took a lot of firepower to flatten over a square kilometer of buildings." Grey points to the northern front. Another red wave is sweeping towards the blue line of clone troopers. "If we can regroup the forces on the edges and concentrate them with one of the center units we can make a push into C-sect. That should draw the attention of any units guarding the ships. They'll want to mass their soldiers to crush our counter attack."

"And that's exactly what will happen" Niner utters. "We'll be crushed."

"But while they are drawn out, the drifter unit can sweep through the back, overwhelm the rear guards and wreak havoc on the ships with their heavy weapons. The attack would hopefully give the enemy units in the south a pause, allowing Republic troopers to push their line. That should delay the invaders and put them in enough confusion long enough to get both ships into space without much trouble."

"The plan could easily turn out to be a disaster." Captain Forge states this plainly. "But it's worth a try."

Sergeant Niner speaks up. "Who would be aboard the ships? All of us troopers would be out on the field helping push the lines…right?"

Captain: "The goal is to protect and preserve our Jedi Commanders. A few troopers and any remaining miners would be onboard also. As you said, everyone else would be pushing the lines."

Niner shakes his head. "You Null troopers. Our goal is to serve and protect the Republic, not the Jedi."

"I'm not discussing this with you Sergeant. The matter is closed. Captain Forge?"

"Yes?"

"I'll stay here and help manage the escape until the ships have taken off. Once I'm sure they are underway I'll be going out with the southern push into S-Sect. I want you onboard one of those ships to make sure things turn out. Drop the miners off at Timorn station. It's in this sector. From there, it's up to you. If Commander Alee has recovered buy time you reach Timorn, she'll probably have a destination in mind. Most likely Coruscant."

"If it would be possible sir, I would rather stay with the troops remaining here."

Captain Grey considers this. His own reasons to stay are because of responsibility. As temporary Commander, it's his duty to make sure everything goes as planned…not to save himself. But then again, Captain Forge has been at Almega ever since it was first instated as the sector's HQ of operations. Forge can oversee the evacuation just as well as he can. Then it's settled.

Grey nods toward Forge. "I'll go with the evacuation force and you can stay." Captain Grey turns to the other troopers. "1st Sergeant 8, I'll need you to make sure the remote storage facilities around the planet are remotely detonated. Whoever these invaders are, I don't want them getting ahold of Republic resources. Once you're done, you'll go with me."

Sergeant 8 nods. "Yes Captain."

"Sergeant Niner and Commander C5. Both of you will be part of the attack on C-sect."

Both troopers yessir.

"Good. Everyone has their assignments. Let's go."

Summer

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

Steady heartbeat.

"You are awake. You slipped into a coma…" The voice is stiff and robotic. Summer's hearing fades in and out. She feels cool metal fingers wrap around her wrist and check for her pulse.

"You've suffered a substantial head injury…" the words disappear into the distance. She senses a light tapping in her left leg. Her leg hurts really bad. Then the pain fades too. Thick lines of color swirl past her and retreat into infinity. She feels like she's sinking, sinking, sinking away.

Be strong Summer. Elicity's voice whispers. Trust no one.

"…an operation would be necessary for full recovery…"

Who would blame you?

The Jedi Council.

"The brace on your leg should help some."

Summer sees images of a flaming ship crash and skid across the ground. She watches herself climb from the burning ruins.

You have to destroy your father. It is your destiny.

Clone troopers rush to help Summer as she staggers away from the crash site. In the background, black gunships dive from the sky firing down streaks of missiles.

"…the injections didn't work. Another medical station should have the proper equipment…"

You're unstoppable.

Fuzzy images of a droid standing over Summer begin to form. The droid looks at her then turns to something else.

"This should help with the recovery."

Something sharp stabs into Summer's arm. Another injection. Once again, she is sinking. Sinking. Gone. Back to a world of dreams and shadows.

In her mind Summer is watching a battered troop transport vehicle race through Almega. Several times gunships swoop in low and launch missiles at the fleeing vehicle but the tank swerves out the way at the last second. The viewpoint goes to the inside of the tank. The interior is dark, lit by only a few glowing lights. Elicity is lying on a mat in the middle of the floor. Two clone troopers are kneeling beside her. Her eyes are closed. Captain Grey stands off the side, talking to someone on a hologram. The tank jerks and swerves wildly. Captain is yelling something unintelligible at the soldier on the hologram. They seem to be arguing.

"Captain!" one of the troopers shouts. Grey doesn't look up. The two kneeling troopers look at each other and then glance at Elicity. One of them, with a large cross covering one half of his helmet, stands and makes his way to the Captain. Interrupts him. Silent words are exchanged. The other trooper stands and joins the group. More talking. More glances.

"She's gone" says Captain quietly. "Commander K'Ull is dead..."

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

The heartbeat has returned, steady and strong. She can hear her own breathing loud in her ears.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Once again the fuzzy image of the droid looms over her. Those always-to-bright medical lights are shining behind it and reflecting off its metal casing. The droid's golden photoreceptors look over her. Summer squints at the light.

"Welcome back Summer Alee. You are free to go."

The droid helps her sit up. The headache is gone but she still feels like she is looking through a fog.

"How…how long was I out." Summer finds it hard to talk. Her jaw is stiff. Her words come out jumbled up. She's pretty sure the droid won't understand her.

"Four hours" comes the reply.

Four hours! It hasn't seemed that long at all.

"The Captain has requested your presence immediately."

Her answer comes in the form of a sigh. She feels sluggish.

Summer slides off the bed and stands. One leg involuntarily jerks and she takes a wobbly step forward. The droid catches her before she falls. Summer looks down. Her pants leg has been rolled up past her knee where several metal pieces of machinery are imbedded into her blue skin.

The droid says "I applied a brace; it is only temporary. It will have to do for now. It is still getting used to your movements. Walk carefully." The droid, after making sure she can stand, leaves her side to retrieves two objects from a metal drawer. It returns and hands them to Summer. "Here are your weapons ma'am." Her lightsabers. Still intact. "I personally advise against any form of combat. Waiting until you have fully recuperated would be ideal."

Summer nods.

"Can you walk? The Captain was adamant about you're immediate arrival."

Summer nods again. Leaning against the droids slight frame, she limps out the room. The droid stops at the door and bids her farewell.

She continues, limping, outside into a dark hallway. She briefly remembers being carried down here after crashing. Apparently that was four hours ago.

A clone trooper is standing just outside the room. Covering half of his dome is a grey cross. Summer recognizes him from the brief vision of the fleeing tank. The trooper has been waiting for Summer. He waits until the door closes and then he approaches her.

"Excuse me sir, I'm Private Anglo. Commander Grey assigned me to escort you to hanger Gama. Almega is being evacuated. Commander Grey will give a brief about what's going once we reach the hanger."

Everything he says blows right past Summer. The only thing she catches is '…assigned me to escort…hanger Gama…Commander Grey.'

"Commander Grey?"

"Yes, sir."

If Grey is Commander then everyone else is dead, Colonel viper included.

Anglo looks at the brace interconnected along Summer's leg. "Do you need any assistance?"

Summer shakes her head. "No, I'm fine." She's not fine but she isn't about to start leaning on people to help her walk through a building.

"Yes, sir." He sounds unsure. "This way, sir." He turns and begins walking down a long curving hall that leads away from the Medical bay. Down here the air is muggy and smells slightly of mold. The walls haven't been cared for in years. Most of them are streaked with black growth and the metal paneling is starting to separate. One can see metal beams in the deep cracks. The lights above sputter out weak orange light, leaving half the hall bathed in murky shadows. Summer doesn't notice any of this. She's too busy trying to place one foot in front of the other without tripping.

Anglo and Summer walk down the hall. In turn, his boots and her shoes, impact the metal flooring. Clunk, clunk.

As they walk, Summer begins to get the hang of the brace. She lets her mind wander and thinks back to the visions she'd experienced while she was still unconscious. Elicity had died inside the tank. When that was, Summer doesn't know, but she bets it was before her dream in the medical bay. The only reasonable explanation would be some type of Force connection she had established just before dying. Like she planted a memory of the experience in Summer's mind, which had, in turn, interpreted it as a dream. Elicity had really wanted her to know the truth. To know what would happen. Most of the stuff she'd said remained a mystery to Summer but as her master had said, soon things will begin to come together. One day everything would make sense.

One day.

Private Anglo leads Summer through a series of dimly lit hallways. With all the twists and turns, where they are inside the building becomes a mystery to Summer. She does notice that as they travel they are joined by several other people. Most of them are miners but a few are clone troopers. The miners talk in low tones. The troopers are silent.

Summer had always known, in the back of her mind, that there was a hunger below Gama. Elicity had told her about it, a long time ago of course, but Summer had never paid much attention to the fact.

The small group passes through several heavy blast doors that have been recently wrenched open and delve deeper into unfamiliar territory. The metal coated walls turn to smoothed rock and the ground begins to slant down at a not-so-subtle angle. Slowly, they are transitioning from corridors to caves. Finally, Anglo, Summer, and the other eight people arrive in a small rock room. The entire room is centered around a giant gaping hole. The hole is almost five meters in diameter and is surrounded by a low metal railing. Three thick metal beams extend from the ceiling and descend into the hole's gaping maw. Supported by a trio of arms attached to the beams, is a cargo-lift, suspended just above the hole. A walkway leads up into the lift.

Summer can't help but have a few stray thoughts of the other hole in forest. The giant industrial elevator looks a little more efficient than a couple of vines. Easily noted.

Everyone files their way up the walkway and into the lift. When they're onboard, the door's reel inward and close with a decisive clang.

Shut and sealed.

For some reason Summer feels like she has been locked into and oven. Not a comforting thought.

One of the clone troopers makes his way to the controls. He taps at several buttons. The lift jerks and shutters slightly on its rails as it sets off into the pit. Down they go.

The ride is swift. It is accompanied by a steady rumbling from the supports. Several times the metal box is jarred as it hits rough spots along the railings. There are no handholds inside, the lift was meant for cargo, so everyone stays along the sides and leans up against the walls for support. The lift slows and settles to the ground with a heavy thump. Summer senses a faint scent of fuel and exhaust seeping inside.

There is a beep and a light comes on above the doors. They've arrived. The doors slide open and Summer steps out into the secret hanger.

Gama Hanger is big. It's not anything like Summer expected. When Elicity had told her of the unused hanger, Summer had figured it was a dinky dump buried beneath a pile of old rocks. Now, as Summer looks, up, up, and up, towards the ceiling, she sees that it's not that. The hanger has been built straight into a large, circular cavern. The hanger is sectioned into two identical halves. Each side is dominated by a giant slab of metal laid flat and slightly elevated above a stretch of smooth rock. Sitting on the make-shift landing pads are two large cargo ships. At one time they might have been dark green with grey streaks along the sides. Now they are a mix a black and grey with splotches of green scattered across the hull. Both ships are hooked up to large tubes that snake away, off of the pads, in separate directions, and off towards rows of tall silver cylinders. The cylinders are lining a tall, triangular formation of rock. In turn, the cylinders are hooked to giant metal silos imbedded into rock walls. Built onto the cavern walls, high above silos, are large metal cranes ending with giant hooked claws. They cranes are folded into storage position. They look like they haven't been used in years. There is a crane on each side of the hanger. Separating the two landing pads is a wide strip of smoothed stone. Scattered across the strip is are large metal containers. Most of them are old and rusted.

The hanger is engulfed in a hubbub of activity. One of the ships, the one on the left side, has been fired up. The engines let out a continuous roar that echoes back off the cavern walls. It's definitely loud. The other ship is sitting idly on its pad. Mechanic droids are crowded around the ship's engines, working furiously. Clinking and hissing tools join with the engines' roar.

"This way, sir." Private Anglo shouts over the clamor. Summer barely hears him. Anglo starts towards a small cluster of clone troopers walking across the hanger. They are passing by the crates piled up in the middle. One of the troopers is Captain Grey. Anglo joins up with the group. Summer following at a groggy pace, still stepping carefully, catches up a shortly afterwards.

As Summer joins the group, Captain Grey looks in her direction. "I need to talk to you Commander, Alee. Inside one of these ships would be better. It'll be easier to hear with all of this" he motions to the clamor around them "going on." He excuses himself from the group, and joins Summer. They walk off towards the old cargo carrier settled on the left side of the hanger.

The main entry hatch to the ship on the left side of the hanger has been opened up. A long ramp leads up into the interior. Summer and Captain ascend up the ramp and go inside.

The ship was built as a light cargo freighter for interplanetary travel. Everything about it has been designed to save space for its giant storage bays. Accommodations for the crew are crammed into any space left aboard. The corridors connecting rooms are thin and narrow.

Walking through a few of these thin stretches of space Summer passes by a small room designated as a sick bay and a few little enclaves labeled "Sleeping Quarters".

She and Captain continue until they reach a room with two tables and a few uncomfortable chairs. A small counter that's been made to resemble a bar fills the other half of the room. It's a cross of a mess hall and a break area.

The room is empty and they both take a seat at one of the tables. Summer sits in one of the chairs and leans forward, with her elbows on the table. The room vibrates slightly because of the running engines, but it is still much more quiet than the hanger outside.

Captain takes off his helmet and sets it down on the table.

Oh, so this is a 'face to face' conversation.

"What's going on?" Summer asks. It's the third time she has ever said anything since waking up. For some reason, forming words still feels awkward.

There is a brief second of unpunctuated silence. The floor creaks and shutters as the engines increase in power. Captain Grey looks down at his helmet. He looks to be debating something in his mind.

Oh, so he's going to tell me about Elicity. He thinks I don't know.

Grey looks up. His voice is low and steady. "Sir, when the hostiles attacked the base, their first target was the HQ building. It was destroyed in the initial wave of attacks. Commander K'Ull was in the buildings general proximity and was fatally wounded in the blasts'." He lets out a breath. The news is slightly awkward coming from Captain Grey. He was created and raised with the sole purpose to go, go, kill, kill. Sympathy doesn't come naturally for him. To expect any sympathy from him wouldn't be fair. It's just not in his character. He tells Summer the news just how it is. Sometimes the simple truth, all extra aside, is the best truth. "She died on her way to an emergency station."

Summer sits quietly. Hearing about Elicity's death, for the second time, has a different effect from the first time. She doesn't cry, she's already done enough of that, and she doesn't get uneasy. Instead she simply feels detached, like everything that's happening is so, so, far away. Ever since waking up, she's had the sense that reality is moving on around her at a faster pace. And now, it's like she's fallen so far behind that she can only watch as her own life moves without her.

"Elicity, she respected you a lot" Summer tells him.

"Yes, sir." Then Captain adds absently, "She was an honorable leader." A moment passes. For those brief seconds, he looks away from Summer as he delves into his thoughts. But only for a second. An instant later, he's back and refocused. Back to business. He shifts a little in his seat and continues.

"Almega was attacked by unknown hostilities. Whether they're affiliated with the CIS or a pirate faction is still unknown. What we do know is that they avoided all radar detection and hit us with a powerful attack. Their aerial bombardment all but wiped out our defenses."

Captain sets a small holoprojector on the table and has it to project a battle time image of Almega. Then, using the holoprojector to back himself up, he goes on to fill Summer in on the rest of the attack. He starts with their first strike and then moves to cover their subsequent offenses. Finally he tells her about the first Republic counter attack, which failed, and finishes with the plan to push into C-Sect and evacuate the miners to Timorn. His information is through and by time he is done Summer knows almost, if not just as much, as him.

Grey stands. "This ship will be the first one to depart Almega. You'll be in this one. I will be aboard the second one, which will bang out of here once the engines are fixed. Captain Forge will be staying here with the others. Both ship's will be traveling to Timorn station where the miners will be dropped off. From there, the destination will be up to you, Commander."

"Okay" says Summer. One word sentences are still ideal.

Captain Grey puts on his helmet and stands. Before he leaves he reaches into the pack on his back and digs something out. He places two items on the table in front of Summer. One of them is a spare wrist communicator. The second is Elicity's long, double-bladed lightsaber. The sword has been cleaned off and shines a bit in the room's light. "I have to talk to Captain Forge. If everything is going well, this ship will be taking off very soon. Good luck, Commander." Captain walks out to the door.

At first Summer just sits there dumb-founded, staring at Elicity's sword but then she breaks out of her trance. "Thank you…" Summer calls out behind him. He pauses at the door, nods at her like he does so often, and leaves Summer alone in the break room. Footsteps descend down the gangplank and he is gone.

With the lightsaber sitting right in front of her, Summer gets a little teary eyed. Yea, Elicity told her to "be strong…" and all, but she feels like she just can't help it. So, Summer cries again.

But not much.

Only a few tears.

Just a little.