"You're back early," Cyr'rnin said to Sergeant Dorne. "What did you do, clean the Meteor?"

"Yes, ma'am," Elara said. "Were the two of you in combat?"

Jorgan said, "I wanted the Lieutenant to meet the Deadeyes. Things got interesting."

"Yes, of course," Elara said.

"How was Tatooine?" Cyr'rnin asked.

"Wonderful, ma'am," Elara said. "I did things I thought I would never do. I only wish I had scans to show you. And, your brother! He showed me a side of myself I didn't know existed. I'm rather glad I don't have scans of that. But, I'm leaving out the most important part. Our time was cut short, because your brother Ter'viro contacted the captain. I wasn't privy to the conversation, unfortunately. He said he needed the captain's help, because his girlfriend was dying. I don't know more than that."

"Thank you, Sergeant," Cyr'rnin said. "I will contact Xal as soon as I have a secure line. Right now, Jorgan and I need to clean up. After that, General Garza wants to see all of us."

"Stand at ease," Garza said. "We have a lot to discuss, and not much time to do it in. First, for your courageous actions against superior enemy forces, you and the members of Havoc Squad are being awarded the Republic Mark of Victory."

Cyr'rnin nodded her thanks, Dorne smiled with pride, and Jorgan's expression said, about damn time.

"In addition," Garza continued. "Due to your exemplary leadership under the most dire of circumstances, you are hereby promoted to the rank of captain, effective immediately. Congratulations."

"Thank you, General," Cyr'rnin said.

"Havoc Squad is going to begin recruiting," Garza said.

"Yes. Ma'am," Cyr'rnin replied. "We have been understaffed for most of a year."

"I'm aware of it, Captain," Garza said. "It's time to designate roles for your team, executive officer and operations sergeant. Take your time, Captain."

"No need," Cyr'rnin said and turned to Jorgan and Dorne. "Most commanders go through XO first. I didn't. I can't train an XO when I don't know the job myself. Sergeant Jorgan has already served as an XO. He's the obvious choice. Dorne, that makes you operations sergeant. I think you'd make an excellent XO, but it's not the best choice now."

"Yes, ma'am," Dorne said.

Cyr'rnin turned back. "Any chance Lullel passed the physical?"

"Not yet," Garza said. "Jorgan, you're hereby promoted to the rank of lieutenant. Congratulations."

"Ma'am," Jorgan said with intensity.

"Now, your next assignment," Garza said. "An SIS agent working undercover in the Imperial military has made a critical discovery. The Empire is constructing an experimental new superweapon, code-named 'Gauntlet.'"

"How dangerous is this thing, General?" Cyr'rnin asked.

"We're short on details, unfortunately," Garza said.

"What's Havoc Squad's role, ma'am?" Cyr'rnin asked.

"The agent is in too deep to risk transmitting any further information. Our only option is a rapid extraction. That's where Havoc comes in," Garza replied. "The extraction will take place on Tatooine. An SIS agent will meet you there with the full details of the operation. I have been told the agent's code phrase is, 'Mom sent me.'"

"'Mom sent me'?"

"I've heard stranger codes, Captain," Garza said. "The arrival at Anchorhead will be difficult. They have sandstorms this time of year. You are also on a tight schedule, but that's not unusual in these cases. Failure is not an option, Captain. We have to learn what the Gauntlet is and what it's capable of, no matter the cost. Dismissed."

Elara smiled slightly on the approach to Anchorhead.

"Fond memories?" Cyr'rnin asked.

"Yes, ma'am," Elara replied.

"Did Xal show you the sights of Anchorhead?" Cyr'rnin asked.

"No, ma'am," Elara replied. "We never left the Visitor."

They experienced a little buffeting while landing, but settled into their berth.

"Jorgan," Cyr'rnin said. "Do you know much about sandstorms?"

"Stay in the tunnels until they pass," he replied.

"That makes the extraction difficult," she said.

Jorgan shrugged. "So does having your flesh peeled from your bones."

As they entered the main spaceport, someone yelled, "Cyr'rnin!"

She looked over and said, "Nina?"

"Baby sister!" the Twi'lek woman said. "Look at you! Havoc Squad. I knew you could do it."

"Wow," Cyr'rnin said. "Why are you here?"

"Mom sent me," Nina replied.

Cyr'rnin's expression soured. "What does she want this time?"

"Stop that," Nina said. "She loves you."

"In her way," Cyr'rnin replied.

Nina said, "So, Captain Cyr'rnin, introduce me to your team."

"Lieutenant Jorgan," he said. "Havoc XO."

"Keep my sister safe," Nina said.

"I try to, ma'am," he replied.

Cyr'rnin said, "Medic and operations sergeant, Elara Dorne."

"Wow," Nina said. "Keep her away from Xal."

Elara said, "Actually, Captain Xaldiba and I have been seeing each other for the past two months."

"Months?" Nina said to Cyr'rnin. "Plural months? Hold on to this one."

"Our droid, Forex," Cyr'rnin said.

"It is an honor to meet a sibling of our illustrious commander!" the droid said.

"Right," Nina said, looking at Cyr'rnin. She shrugged in return. "First things first, this is for Ter'viro." She gave Cyr'rnin a weapon case. "Tell Xal to tell Ter'viro I don't believe a word of it, and I am very proud of him. Champion of the Great Hunt. That deserves something special."

Cyr'rnin opened the case. "Shit, Nina, you've been practicing." She removed the oversized pistol from the case. "He is going to love this."

"Have you heard from him?" Nina asked.

"He contacted Captain Xaldiba," Elara said. "I didn't hear the conversation, but he said nothing about the Aurora. He asked for the Captain's help, because his girlfriend is dying."

"Okay," Nina said. "Do you always call him 'Captain Xaldiba'?"

"Not always," Elara said. "I... have a pet name for him."

"I won't pry," Nina said. "Are you hungry? I know a great place. Just follow me." Once they reached the restaurant, she said, "Now, Cyr'rnin and I have family business to discuss, but dinner is on me. Cyr'rnin, I got us a private room. Right this way." They settled in and ordered. Once the waiter left the room, Nina put the memory chip on the table. "The Gauntlet is a sensor guiding a spinal mount cannon. It can detect the opening of a wormhole, locate the ships, fire on them while they're still in hyperspace, where they're completely helpless."

"Do you know the effective range?" Cyr'rnin asked. "Is it mobile?"

"The distance is the entrance to the hyperspace lanes," Nina said. "If the ship arrives at a different planetary orbit, the sensor won't have time to lock on before the ship is out of hyperspace and its shields are up. It's not mobile yet, but they're converting a group of Harrowers. The good news is, it's purely defensive. It can hold a system, but it can't take it."

"I'm not too surprised with your new job. I am surprised they let you do this."

"They owed me," Nina said. "I can't say why. And they won't tell me anything about Ter'viro." Cyr'rnin nodded. "Why does your medic sound Imperial?"

"She's a defector," Cyr'rnin said. "I trust her with my life. Even after she started dating Xal."

Nina smiled. "Two months? Really? Any woman who can do that deserves some trust."

"Now what?"

"The extraction is a cover," Nina said. "After the storm passes, go into the desert for a couple of days and head back. Make it look good."

"And you?" Cyr'rnin said.

"I can't tell you," Nina replied.

"There's a lot of that going around."

"War is coming," Nina said. "I'm surprised Angral didn't start it, but the Empire says he went rogue. Was that really Agenord?"

"They're calling him the Hero of Tython," Cyr'rnin said.

"So, it's started," Nina said.

"It has for Agenord, anyway," Cyr'rnin said. "I wish we could talk to Kriranda. She'd have it all figured out."

"She's probably busy," Nina said.

"True," Cyr'rnin said. "What do we do until the storm passes?"

Nina smiled again. "I talk to my baby sister."

"Well done, Captain," Garza said, taking the chip and handing it to Sergeant Lullel. "A weapon that can destroy ships in hyperspace. It will be almost impossible to attack."

"Yes, ma'am," Cyr'rnin said.

"I've been in contact with Fleet Admiral Numinn and Supreme Commander Rans," Garza said. "We're preparing a full-scale, joint operation to deal with the Gauntlet. I'm afraid we've taken over recruitment from you. You'll need a technical specialist and an explosives expert. We are scouring the Republic personnel database to find the best."

"Understood, ma'am," Cyr'rnin said.

"You seem pleased, Captain," the General said.

Cyr'rnin said, "Yes, ma'am. The SIS contact turned out to be an old friend. The sandstorm lasted a while. We spent a lot of time talking about anything except work."

Garza nodded. "After everything that's happened, I understand. What about you, Sergeant Dorne? You seem happy as well."

"Thinking about Tatooine, ma'am," Dorne said. "I spent my leave on Tatooine with Captain Xaldiba."

"Why did he take you there?" Garza asked. "It's not my idea of a vacation spot."

"I insisted, ma'am," Dorne replied. "I wanted to see Mos Entha."

"Mos Entha?" Garza said. "Why would you want to see that?"

"Mos Entha, ma'am?" Cyr'rnin said.

"The slave capital of Tatooine," Garza replied. "I went there once as a trooper. It's not what I would call a vacation spot."

"I was indulging a fantasy, ma'am," Dorne said.

"I can't believe Xal would stand by while you played with slaves," Cyr'rnin said.

"Of course not," Dorne replied. "I was the slave."

"What?" Cyr'rnin said.

Dorne said, "The dreams had gotten stronger, ma'am, and more frequent. They were more explicit and more compelling."

"But why a slave?" Cyr'rnin asked. "I can think of plenty of other explicit alternatives."

"The dreams were very specific, ma'am," Elara said. "I wanted a collar and a leash. I wanted to be a slave, and I wanted to know how far the dreams would push me. I wanted Captain Xaldiba to test me, to see how much I would take."

"Test you how?" Cyr'rnin said.

"The Captain did everything he could," Dorne replied. "Really. Though I could see how it pained him. He wanted to show me the reality of being a slave. The things he did to me, ma'am, the things he allowed others to do to me, were all designed to break me and free me from the desire. But, he never did. The more he abused me, the more I wanted his collar." She smiled as she spoke, as if it were forced in place. "He was able to bring me back to myself a little, though it took considerable cruelty. He rented me out to a woman called the Lady of Pain, a title she thoroughly deserved. After an hour with her, part of me could see how dangerous the game had become. I was able to tell the Captain to take me to Anchorhead. If I hadn't asked then, I never would have left. I would have signed myself over to him eventually. If he refused me, I would have signed myself over to someone else." She paused briefly, picturing it. "In Anchorhead, the desire lessened without other slaves around." She massaged her neck where the collar should be. "I became his treasured slave. I cooked for him, cleaned for him, and crawled across the floor like an animal for him. If he wanted, I'd go back to Mos Entha with him right now." She looked at them. "I've said something bad, haven't I? Yes, I think I've said something very bad."