6: Hoth Assault

The explosions and flames ensuing in the command center of the base on Hoth were minimal compared to what Dakriel could see on the screens displaying his master. What others could only percieve as a violet blur, Dakriel could feel the movement, and sense the energy the Jedi Knight was using to lay waste to the Sith Imperial troopers and tanks. He had found General Tarrka easily, and it had only taken him a moment to retake the command center.

With a look of slight grief, the general had watched alongside the padawan as Xenos used the force to hurl the failed machines into the tanks, disabling them completely. Dakriel was surprised that more troops had not penetrated the command center where they now stood watching, yet was relieved at the same time. Aside from a few troopers here and there, which he dealt with seamlessly, there were no real threats here.

"General," Dakriel gestured to the blaring holograms, "I am needed with my master. I have felt a disturbance in the force. He will soon be overwhelmed."

"Very well, Jedi," Tarrka replied with a nod, "I will watch over the boy. You do what you need to do."

"Hey I don't need a baby sitter," Keith shouted in protest.

"Who said anything about that? Stay here and protect the General. I'm counting on you," Dakriel replied with a smile, handing Keith a blaster rifle he'd taken off a trooper.

"You got it, boss," Keith shouted excitedly, as Dakriel darted off.

xxxxxxx

"I really don't understand why my master didn't simply kill you," Darth Mira smirked as Willow sat, obviously enraged by her pressence.

The two women had spent the majority of the short descent feeling each other out, reading each others' emotions, and getting a feel for how they would interract. Willow was happy to have such a powerful asset at her disposal, but nonetheless this one was a Sith. Willow despised the Sith more than anything else, save for maybe the Jedi. They were all the same to her: weilding some incredible magic power that seemed to give them the idea they could run the galaxy however they wanted. Not on her watch, she thought to herself.

"Oxygen is precious on my ship," Willow retorted, "Don't waste it."

"Oh I wouldn't dream of ruining this hunk of junk," the Sith replied, "What scrap yard did you find it in? I've been in the market for a good pile of scraps."

"I hate you," Willow replied with a snarl, "The sooner I get these Jedi to your lord, the sooner I can forget about you, and this whole thing."

Finally, they landed, just meters away from the base, and already Willow and Darth Mira could see their point of entry: a massive hole had been torn out of the far side of the base, obviously buned by blaster fire and scorched by some large explosion. As they approached, sounds of ricochetting blaster bolts could be heard, as well as the screams of troopers, who were being killed swiftly.

"He is here," Darth Mira said suddenly, "His Padawan is also nearby."

"Dakriel," Willow growled, "He's got some nerve betraying me to become a Jedi. Fool."

"They will not escape this time," Darth Mira continued, then glared at Willow, "Don't get in my way!"

The two of them rushed into the base, and as Willow began to lay waste to the S.A.S troops, Darth Mira made a bee-line for Xenos. Within seconds their sabers were locked, and Xenos was smirking. She felt her rage grow instantly at his arrogance, and jumped away letting it build.

"I was wondering when you Sith would show up," he said with a cocky grin, "What's wrong, Master didn't feel like babysitting his precious apprentice?"

"Silence, whelp," She growled, "Lord Malik has more important matters to attend to."

"Like watching his army die?"

She couldn't take any more, and so she lunged at him. Her power increasing with each strike. Xenos was having a bit of trouble keeping up with her swift blows, but had managed to push her back hard, sending her crashing into the wreckage of tanks. Dakriel had finally arrived, but only a few S.A.S troops had remained after Willow had slain most of their forces.

"You're late," Xenos shouted, keeping his eyes on Darth Mira as she violently tossed tank parts out of her way, snarling.

"I didn't wanna interrupt your date, master," the padawan replied.

"Didn't you get the memo? It's a double date, my young apprentice."

Once again the Sith was back on Xenos in a barrage of strikes and bursts of force lightning. She soon gave up the lightning when he simply used his saber to send it right back at her, and had narowly missed her a few times. Dakriel was both chasing and dodging Willow's wave of missiles and blaster shots, which were obliterating what remained of the hangar. Willow's jet pack had given her some protection from the Jedi, but not much. Dakriel was leaping upward toward her with incredible speed, and as soon as she ran out of missiles, she knew she'd be in trouble.

"Willow, stop this, please," Dakriel shouted, "Why are you helping the Sith?"

"I'm doing my job, and right now," she growled, just missing her mark yet again, "the bounty on your heads are large indeed!"

Dakriel had noticed what was left of the braces holding the hangar together, three of them left to be exact, wobbling unsteadily. He could sense that they would soon give way, and this part of the base would collapse. Snow and ice were already showering into the hangar itself. He could see Xenos dueling Darth Mira, and he could see the bounty hunter he'd been raised by for a short time. Time seemed to slow down for him, but he knew what needed to be done.

"Master," he shouted, tossing his saber in a half circle, aiming at all three braces.

What felt like hours to Dakriel and Xenos were mere seconds to the Sith apprentice and bounty hunter. The braces had been severred in half, and the hangar immediately began collapsing. Darth Mira had only moments to react, and had darted away from the wreckage, Willow still inside. Although she might have been able to save the bounty hunter, this was the perfect excuse to lose her without angering her master.

Dakriel and Xenos had made it safely inside the base, but Dakriel had lost his light saber in the destruction. Xenos was kneeling, using his padawan's shoulder for support, and then they both sat down. They both had sensed how powerful the Sith woman was, and knew that her master must be even stronger.

Willow had been crushed, but was still barely alive. Darth Mira approached her, slowly, saber drawn. Willow glared, her hatred for the Sith building with every second. The Sith simply smirked, eyeing her prey. She savored the moment, her lust for killing growing stronger, and seeing the bounty hunter glare at her only increased her satisfaction.

"What will you tell your master, I wonder," Willow snarled, struggling under the weight of the wreckage.

"The truth," she replied, "The Jedi struck you down moments before the hangar collapsed," her tone was feigning empathy, "It was all I could do to save myself, and try to hunt down the Jedi."

"You're pathetic," Willow growled, coughing up blood and spitting it onto the snow beneath her chin, "My son will avenge me, and he will kill you!"

"You speak of the Jedi," Darth Mira replied, "Make no mistake, I will kill them both. Their luck will eventually run out, and when it does," she swirled her saber, preparing to strike, "Well, you know how it goes."

xxxxxxx

"Milord," a captain shouted, reporting to Malik, "A large section of the base has been destroyed. We have no word of survivors, and your apprentice was inside with the bounty hunter."

"I am aware of this," Malik said, lifting the captain with the force by his neck, "I would hope you'd have something more useful to report."

"We-ack-found the general," the captain gasped, "He's alone, accompanied by a small squad of troopers and a boy."

"Ah yes, the one in the command center," Malik replied, releasing the captain, "Are all squads in position?"

"Y-yes, milord. All squads have reported in."

"Very well, prepare to execute the trap. Operation Shadow Strike is in effect."

xxxxxxx

"I'm bored," Keith complained, as the general grew even more annoyed.

"Be thankful that we haven't been overrun yet," Tarrka replied, "We are fortunate to have Jedi on our side."

"Keith," Dakriel's voice echoed through the force, "Get the General out of there, it's not safe."

"Daks," Keith shouted out loud in confusion, "Xenos, Dakriel, where are you?!"

"They're in the hangar boy," the general replied then turned to look at the screen, seeing the wreckage, "Oh my."

"Come on, General," Keith said, grabbing Tarrka by the arms, "We gotta go, it's not safe here."

Before they could escape through the doors, Sith Imperial troopers flooded into the room, dozens of them altogether. Every exit was sealed off, and escape was impossible. Darth Mira came marching in, seeing Keith and the general, and smirked. She waved her hand, and two squads carried them away in binds.

"Search the base," she ordered the rest, "Find the Jedi, and report to me when they have been located."

She left, leaving explosives lined in the command center, and as soon as she was far enough away, a massive explosion engulfed the base. A chain reaction had been set off, with Sith Imperial forces clear of the blasts, and Darth Mira watched happily as it went up in flames. She could sense the Jedi much easier now, but they were on the other side of the base. Making her way to the Raven's Klaw, she hailed Malik's signal on her hologram comm link.

"Master, the Jedi are fleeing, it will not be long now," she said as his image appeared before her.

"Good," he replied, a dark hood covering his face, "I'm sending reinforcements. Hoth will be ours, and the Jedi will not escape this time."

"I will find them, master," she said as the hologram faded.

xxxxxxx

Dakriel and Xenos had managed to just barely escape the destruction of the base, but Xenos could sense that Darth Mira wasn't far from them. They had managed to find a deserted cave to hid out in, and a violent blizzard began to errupt outside. Dakriel had sensed Willow's life force rapidly vanish, and he knew she was dead.

"She's in a better place now," Xenos told him, "Unless it's your saber you're concerned about?"

"I just need some time, master," Dakriel replied.

"It is unwise to mourn the dead. Attachment leads to the dark side, Daks."

"I'll be alright, I just need some time."

Just outside the cave, the Raven's Klaw went roaring past, and both Jedi had sensed Darth Mira was piloting it. Had she noticed them, the ship would not have been likely to keep going. They were hidden, for now, but now they wondered how they would escape. They began to meditate, now was the time for patience.

xxxxxxx

"Milord, the two prisoners have arrived. The General and a small boy," the captain reported.

"Well done, commander. Send more troops to search for the Jedi; my apprentice needs all the help she can get."

"Yes sir," the captain replied with a salute as squads of pilots rushed to their fighters.

Malik was pleased, for now, as he made his way to the docking bay of his star cruiser. Although he hadn't captured the Jedi yet, he had scored a major victory, and he also could sense his hostages were valuable. General Tarrka and Keith both stepped off an Imperial fighter, accompanied by a group of troopers. Malik approached, sensing their fear, and smirked.

"Welcome," he said loudly with a smile and drew his sabers.

Without hesitation, he decapitated the General, and sheathed his sabers once again picking up Keith by the neck with one hand. He glared at the boy, wondering who he was and why he was with the Jedi. He could feel the force flowing through the boy, and it was strong. Glaring, he tried to calm himself, fighting the urge to kill him on sight. He needed this boy alive, to lure the Jedi.

"I'm not afraid of you, Sith," Keith shouted, struggling against Malik's arm, "My friends will come for me!"

"Well that's the idea, boy," Malik replied with a smirk, "Me and you are gonna go for a walk, and we will await your Jedi friends."

It wasn't long before Keith found himself in the same cage Willow had once been stored in. The fried corpse next to his cell made him uneasy, and fear crept into Keith's mind. Malik returned to the command deck, and hailed Darth Mira's fighter, the Raven's Klaw.

"Apprentice," Malik ordered, "Find somewhere to set down, and wait for the storm to pass. The Jedi will be well hidden in the storms, so search for them after it passes. Regain your strength, and bring them to me alive."

"Yes, master," she replied, and he vanished from her sight once again.

It felt good to hear the joy in his tone, although pleasing herself was equally satisfying. Who knows, perhaps she would capture the Jedi alive, if only to watch her master torture them violently. Yet why should he have all the fun? She slept, now pondering what she would do. What if she'd disobeyed him and killed them, would he kill her in return? She slept, now, just pondering.