Bellassa:

'Requesting landing access for B3TD1' announced Wes, confidently, in his attempt to mimic an Imperial pilot. Via giggled at his impression and Kara raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. She was in a much better mood now that KT had returned to her.

'You sound like a strangulated skungus' snorted Kara quietly, and Via burst into another fit of giggles. Wes snarled at them.

'You have not had pre-appointed access. We'll defer you to the Ussan garrison' responded the bored voice of an attendant.

'We have important access information for the base regarding the Phantom Order' lied Wes, scrunching up his eyebrows. 'It needs to go to Lord Vader immediately.'

'You know he's here. I thought that was confidential' said the attendant, not aware his voice was being broadcast through the comm, loud and clear.

'Do you really want to be responsible for keeping keeping Lord Vader waiting' called Wes, confidently. Kara heard the attendant sigh over the other side of the line.

'Very well, Hangar Six is available' responded the attendant, cutting the line off. Wes grinned. They burst out of cloud cover, approaching the Fortress. It was a tall black tower. Rings of defence had been wound around the base. Hangars and other buildings surrounded the main tower in the centre of the Imperial city that they were flying straight into the heart of.

They quickly descended. Anyone who looked up would see a vibrating blur of grey, barely noticeable against the overcast skyscape that was silently prophesying the coming storm. The ship slowed down as it approached the tower, before coming to a near standstill. The force field protecting hangar six was deactivated. Kara could already see the hangar was empty. They drifted in and the field automatically sealed shut behind them. Kara couldn't help feeling as though they were trapping themselves inside.

'I genuinely didn't think of that' grunted Wes angrily as he looked despairingly at the force field that was trapping them inside. 'I'm going to get some clearance and get out of here.' Kara activated her ear piece and hurried out of the entry hatch and into the Imperial hangar, with KT on her shoulder. Via followed her out. There was a single door at the opposite end of the hangar and the two of them walked side by side towards it. Kara could see that Via was holding onto her lightsaber, and instinctively reached for her own blaster.

At that moment, the attendant emerged from the door in front of them with a grav trolley. He took one look at them. 'Oh crap.' He spun around, abandoning the trolley but Via had already raised her own blaster pistol and leapt forward, catching him in a single bound. She raised the pistol over her head and slammed it into the man's forehead, sending him slumping against the wall.

'Are we any better than them?' Kara asked, watching Via push the body into a garbage chute with a disapproving glare.

'Don't get all high and mighty now' Via snapped. 'I heard in Venos that you killed over twenty pirates in the Kobane freighter.'

'They were lowlife, scumbag pirates. They deserved it. These troopers are just men trying to pull their own weight in this world.'

'It was necessary' Via responded, leading them through the doorway that the Imperial attendant had left open. Kara followed her done a grey corridor, lit by white lights on the floor and it reminded Kara of walking through the main corridor of the Shadow Blade. She followed Via past a number of doorways and to an elevator.

'The Shadow Blade's docked at Hangar Twelve' commented Via as they waited for the elevator to arrive. They had watched the Shadow Blade fly to the tower on their approach. 'They'll be on level twenty-four. Most likely, they'll go to the elevator and head up to the trainee facility which is where my brother will be. You cut them off before they get there, and I'll go up to Level Thirty, where the Inquisitors are housed and rescue my brother.'

'Where are we now?' asked Kara. Via seemed to have an uncanny knowledge of the building's innards.

'Level Six' responded Via.

'You've been here before haven't you. And not just the time you came to rescue your brother,' commented Kara.

Via looked at Kara just as the elevator arrived. The pair of them stepped inside. 'You're right. I have been here. I spent a long time here, during the Clone Wars.'

'What happened?'

'I told you my master was killed on Felucia. It was a lie. I don't know why I made it up, but I did and when you told me you were from Bellassa, I didn't want to tell you the truth. After I was transferred from Salaarg, we were sent to Bellassa, to fight the Separatists. My master was killed here and it was here my brother rescued me at the end of the war, before we were delivered to Aeos Prime. This very tower used to be a Republic safehouse where my master and I lived for a short time.'

The elevator pinged. 'And now you're here to rescue your brother,' sighed Kara as the doors slid open. 'Isn't fate artistic.' Kara walked out into the open.

Via grimaced. 'May the Force be with you.'

Kara snorted. 'And with you.'

Despite having Via in her ear, Kara suddenly felt a whole lot lonelier the moment the doors slid shut. The thought was pushed aside as anticipation filled her. She was on the same floor as the Phantom Order. The elevator emerged into a long hall. A security centre was shut off behind an automated door to one side, and the hall led down further, accessing a maintenance shaft on its way to the hangar doors. Behind the doors was the Shadow Blade. Kara pulled the safety off her rifle, but kept it slung over her shoulder. She didn't know what it would come to but wanted to appear unthreatening at first sight.

Kara knew that if the Phantom Order decided to turn her in, they would undoubtedly catch her. She made her way halfway down the corridor, just past the maintenance shaft. The place felt deserted. She guessed there would be someone inside the security booth, so she made sure to steer clear of the automated doors, not wanting to alert anyone of her presence. The Phantom Order would emerge through the other side of the doors and Kara would bar their path. She had to try. She had to rescue them, for her own sake as much as theirs.

'Kara' called Via's voice into her ear. Kara spun around, half expecting to see Via right behind her before she remembered. 'I'm on the elevator, but they've updated the security system. I need clearance to travel any higher.' Kara looked to the doorway. The Order would arrive soon, and she had to stop them, but if Via was caught in the elevator, the game was up. 'I'm keeping the door shut for now but if anyone tries to get on at the central office level, I'm going to be discovered.'

Kara turned around and spotted the security booth. She hurried towards the booth. The doors slid open in front of her and she stepped inside a small black booth. Monitors, screens and control switchboards covered the rooms interior. Lazily sitting back on a black chair in the middle of the room was a security officer, donned in his grey uniform. The doors slid shut behind Kara and she quickly pulled the emergency lock on them, trapping them inside. The man looked up and spotted her. He jerked back, stumbling backwards as he groped at his waist. Kara removed her rifle and swung it overhead, catching the officer on the temple. He crumpled onto his side, unconscious. Kara gritted her teeth, before sitting down on the chair. The elevator shaft she had been in was waiting on the thirtieth floor, waiting for clearance. Kara pulled a lever, putting the elevator back into action.

At that moment, Kara heard voices outside the security booth. The Phantom Order had arrived. She did not want to emerge amongst them, or she would be surrounded. The voices receded and she opened the door, emerging into the grey, dimly lit corridor.

Fourteen Phantom Troopers were marching down the hall, two abreast. Their armour gleamed, reflecting the little light that illuminated the hall. 'Stop there,' commanded Kara, her voice echoing down the hall. All of the troopers spun around at the sound of her voice, instinctively reacting to it. One of the troopers at the front broke ranks, pushing the others aside to get between them and Kara.

'Ah, Commander Kara' sneered the cool voice of Thane. Kara gritted her fist. She had forgotten how annoying he was. Thane pulled off his helmet, pushing his greasy hair aside. 'I did not expect to see you, but executing you will only add to my pleasure.' The other troopers looked at each other in surprise, as they realised who it was. Kara removed her helmet, holding it at her waist.

'You're alive' exclaimed Rook, stepping out from behind Thane.

'Shut up' muttered Thane. 'I was recently told that you deserted and that you're a traitor to the Empire, having allied yourself with a Jedi.' There were gasps among her troopers as they realised what Thane was saying. The Jedi. The very people the order was sworn to destroy.

'Thane, I need you to understand. We need to go back to the Shadow Blade. I can explain once we're off Bellassa, but you're not safe here.'

'Why should we listen to you, traitor' spat Thane, his lip curling in disgust. 'I will have you brought before Vader and he will let me cut your throat.'

'You can do that, but if you do, Vader will cut yours with his lightsaber' responded Kara, standing in defiance. She scanned their ranks. There was only fourteen of them. There should have been fifteen, because of Kara's absence, but someone was missing. At first Kara had thought Clips had remained aboard the Shadow Blade but she had quickly spotted his stocky form among the troops.

'Why would Vader kill us? We've come here to receive information and promotion' responded Thane, laughing in contempt. 'You're just jealous it wasn't you.'

'Vader is going to execute you. The Jedi on Aeos. They are here, and they are weapons of the Empire. Inquisitors. Vader will let them kill you. You need to turn around while you can.' KT whistled confirmation but of course, none of the Phantom Order could understand what she said.

'You are a disappointment, Kara' hissed Thane. 'You have let us down. You will be brought to justice for your crimes against the Empire.'

Kara's thoughts were swept aside as she realised who was missing amongst the ranks of the Phantom Troopers. 'What have you done with Reeve?' she snarled, reaching for her rifle.

Thane smiled but it wasn't false and dread filled Kara's stomach. 'Reeve showed signs of disloyalty, and it was fortunate I could take action before he tried any form of mutiny.'

'You son of a gun!' swore Kara, she raised her weapon, taking a pot shot at Thane. He simultaneously raised a bar of metal, activating it. A large red shield emerged from the metal, immediately deflecting the laser into the ceiling.

'The Phantom Order recently came into possession of a large range of kohlen powered weaponry, to help us combat Jedi' snarled Thane, a wicked grin crossing his features. 'Take her' he ordered. Barko and Selethen both raised their rifles at Kara, stepping around Thane's shield. Kara took one look at them before shoving her helmet on her head and diving into the maintenance shaft. Laser bolts passed behind her as she emerged into the shaft, sprinting down the grated stairs.

Underneath her helmet, tears were beginning to streak down Kara's face. The crew were still loyal to Thane. Why was her crew so taken with Thane's pigheadedness? The shaft burst open above her as troops poured in, pursuing Kara vigorously. Blaster bolts streamed down the stair well, forcing Kara to take evasive action as she bounded forward. Kara jumped through another door.

'What's going on?' called Via over the comm. KT let out another useless response.

'I'm under attack from the Phantom Order. I tried to explain to them, but things didn't go so well' responded Kara, sprinting down the corridor. Diano burst out of the doorway behind her and Kara spun around, aiming her rifle at his neck, the weakness in the armour. Before Diano could react, Kara had placed the shot. A streak of red collided with him and he was knocked off his feet. Whether he was dead or not, Kara didn't know. Kara spun around to see two ordinary stormtroopers, doing their patrols down the corridor. They looked up in alarm at Diano's unconscious, but evidently didn't suspect Kara as the perpetrator, due to her Imperial armour.

'What happened?' asked one of the troopers, rushing towards Kara.

'Someone in the maintenance shaft shot him' fibbed Kara, pointing towards the door. At that moment, Chaff emerged from the shaft. 'Him!' exclaimed Kara. Both of the stormtroopers fired on Chaff who nimbly ducked back into the shaft. Kara turned around, sprinting away.

'Get her, dammit!' yelled Chaff, pointing at Kara as she fled towards the hangar. The stormtroopers turned around to realise the mistake only a moment too late. Kara disappeared behind the doors. Inside the hangar, red lights were flashing on the ceiling and an alarm was sounding.

'What's going on with you?' asked Kara, hoping that Via's situation wasn't quite as perilous as her own.

'I can't find my brother.' Kara could sense the worry in her voice. 'I thought he'd be here, but I can't see him anywhere.'

'Well, if you're not busy, I could do with a hand' muttered Kara, sprinting towards another exit as blaster fire erupted out of the corridor from where she'd come.

'I'm on my way' responded Via. 'Where are you?'

Kara looked up to see a massive white eight painted on the wall of the hangar. 'Hangar Eight' she responded, disappearing into another corridor. The tower seemed like an endless maze of corridors, elevators, conference rooms, maintenance shafts and security booths. She could sense the tower was larger than she had first realised. It had hangars big enough to hold the entire Shadow Blade.

Kara sped down the corridor and diverged to the left as she heard voices ahead of her. As she ran, her mind raced as she tried to think through her confrontation with Thane. He had killed Reeve, or at least done something to him. Kara had to find out.

Selethen and Clips burst out of a doorway next to her. Both were reluctant to raise their weapons against Kara, but it didn't matter. Kara was cornered. The tunnel was a dead end. Kara spun in her tracks to face them. Selethen raised his rifle at Kara but she drew her pistol up before he could react, catching him in the leg. He toppled over, injured. Spurred into action, Clips aimed his rifle at Kara.

'Please Clips, you don't want to do this' pleaded Kara but it didn't matter. In a torrent of anger, Clip's unloaded. Luckily, he was an expert pilot, not an expert combatant. The blasts went over Kara and she was forced to point her pistol at him. He zeroed in on her with his rifle but Kara was quicker, shooting him in the chest. He collapsed, stunned by the energy blast dissipating through his armour. 'I'm sorry' she whispered as she raced past the injured troopers.

Sadie and Filler emerged at the other end and Kara disappeared into the hall that Clips had come from. She hurried onto an elevator platform, allowing it to carry her upwards just as Sadie emerged into the room. Kara loosed off a shot at her comrade as she reached the floor above, hoping to deter her from following.

Kara emerged in a large chamber, belonging to some high-ranking officer. It was an open space, with a bench and kitchen to one side and a circular indent in the ground, with couches built into the walls of the concave area. The whole room was semicircular, with the round wall made of glass and the opposite wall made of grey durasteel. Two doors branched off into sections of the house or into the tower. Kara immediately locked the hatch, so that Sadie and Filler couldn't follow her up, but it didn't matter. Rook and Barko had emerged, pointing their rifles at Kara.

Kara knew her time of running was finished. She raised her hands in submission, dropping Bronto's rifle to the ground. She kicked it towards them and Barko pushed it aside. Rook lowered his rifle but Barko kept it trained on her, moving forward as he pulled a pair of cuffs from his belt, keeping an eye on Kara the whole time.

At that moment, Rook drew his pistol and had it pointed at Barko's head.

'You don't want to do that, Rook' snarled Barko. 'Allying yourself with the traitor will only lead to certain death.'

'Allying yourself with Thane is only going to make you more like the prig' swore Rook, abandoning his cool and calm demeanour, as he placed a laser through the back of Barko's head. Barko collapsed.

'Thanks, Rook' said Kara, thankful for his change of heart, watching blood seep out of Barko's armour. Rook wasn't known for being very violent, but obviously the past few days hadn't just changed her.

'Kara. There's something I need to tell you. About Reeve' said Rook, quickly. Kara immediately looked at him, ignoring her earlier thoughts.

'Oh no, I think that's plenty of talking from you Rook' snarled Thane, stepping inside with a pistol levelled at Rook's head. Thane didn't hesitate, shooting Rook from behind, straight through the back of his neck. Rook's throat burst open, blood seeping over his armour as he toppled forwards.

Kara looked between Rook's dead body and the killer, her anger renewed. Thane was halfway between her and her rifle. She would be dead before she took a step towards it. Kara pulled her pistol up at Thane, aiming a shot at his head. Thane activated his energy shield and the laser was deflected back at Kara. She slid aside just in time to avoid the blast. She pointed her pistol at Thane, but the trigger made a clicking sound. She looked down. She was out of power. The rest were attached to the clip in her rifle.

Thane deactivated his shield, flashing his white teeth. 'Don't take it personally, Commander' he laughed. 'Actually, do.'

Kara snarled, diving forwards before Thane could respond. She swung the pistol into his face, smashing his teeth open.

'I've always wanted to ruin that perfect little smile' she crowed. He stumbled away, spitting blood out of his mouth along with chunks of his teeth. He looked up at her and smiled, but this time it was disfigured, blood and gum mashed together. Thane aimed his pistol at her, but she was prepared. She dived behind the bench as he fired blasts after her. Chunks of steel and stone flew overhead. She could hear Thane coming closer. KT let out a whimper, clinging to Kara's shoulder. Kara had almost forgotten the droid was still perched there.

She looked down at her belt. It was empty. She had no tools, no gadgets, only her own resourcefulness. She grabbed a shard of metal that had broken off the bench and leapt over the counter, swinging it at Thane. He jerked aside, surprised and his immediate shot went wide. Kara crashed into him, the metal sinking into his shoulder. He screamed in agony, blood and spittle spraying Kara's face. His pistol spun away and Kara pushed him to the ground, stumbling after it. KT leapt off Kara's shoulder, landing on Thane and injecting her taser straight into his neck. He writhed in agony, throwing KT into the wall. He jerked up but Kara had already retrieved the pistol. She spun around, pointing it at Thane. He groaned, but at that moment, an electro shock trip mine behind Kara activated.

The same tool Kara had used on Via's brother, back on Aeos. The small cable ejected at Kara, catching her armour on the back. Kara let out a scream, instantly dropping the pistol as the voltage exploded through her armour. She instantly relived her time spent with Torquillo as she shook violently, trying to break away. She was barely aware as she toppled onto the ground writhing, instead realising exactly what she had put Via's brother through. KT hurried to her side, not daring to touch her lest she get shocked.

Thane snarled, reaching for the pistol. Just before he could reach it, it was pulled from the air, thrown across the room by some mysterious force until it came to rest in Via's hand. She had come to rescue Kara, who had come to a rest on the ground. She couldn't tell if the trip mine had run out of power or if she was just too numb to notice the pain. Thane was growling angrily at Via but Kara could sense something was off. It was a trick. With a start, Kara spotted two more trip mines set in place, right in front of Via. If she took a step forward, she would be caught by both.

'Via. No' gurgled Kara, trying to crawl towards her.

'Now's not the time for mercy. This man deserves to die' snarled Via, and Kara's mind flashed back to Aeos. Thane had been in charge of Via and had been provoking her. What had he said, just before she escaped that could make her hate him so much. Via took a pace forwards and it was too late. Both wires connected with Via and she immediately dropped her lightsaber and the pistol.

'The net tightens' snarled Thane. Via screamed, shaking from side to side. 'I suspect Vader will be most pleased with me.'

Kara couldn't bear it, watching Via shake in pain. 'Don't dwell on your mistakes. Right them.' She reached for her back, ripping the cable out. She tried to get to her feet but toppled over. Thane wasn't watching her, he had retrieved Via's lightsaber and was toying with it, holding it up like Kara had when she had first come in possession of the beautiful weapon. Kara scrambled forwards, not towards him but her rifle. Thane pulled the shard of metal out of his shoulder, wincing in pain. He walked towards Via, holding the jagged metal against her throat, his own blood dripping from the weapon. Via shook in fear, bouncing against the edge of the crude knife, a thin line of blood appearing on her neck.

'You will pay for your treason' he hissed.

'Too late you son of a gun' Kara snarled from behind Thane, firing three shots out of her rifle, straight through his back. Thane gasped as the lasers ripped through him, three bloody holes left in his armour. Kara took a step forward, kicking him into the window. The glass shattered and he rolled out the side of the tower, more than eighteen floors above the ground.