Chapter 2

Pantora

The stick felt stiff under Kira Kath's hands. It kept trying to drift to the left despite her efforts. Normally, she flew as the gunner of Green 11, but today, her partner had decided to switch things up. He usually flew while she watched the scanner and manned the munitions. Today, he sat behind her, judging her as she flew his fighter. Theoretically, every member of Green Squadron could pilot a variety of starfighters, from bombers to interceptors.

But the Gladbron-79's were the squadron's starfighter of choice. Equipped with two heavy wingtip cannons attached to forty degree swivel mounts, belly torpedo launchers and a M.I.N.E deployment array, they were the perfect ship for combat. However, they required both a skilled pilot and a munitions expert to work the swivel cannons and the torpedoes, and well as the navigation. The starfighters did not come equipped with an astromech, after all. Who became gunner or pilot relied heavily on the strengths of the individuals. Some pilots chose to swap between positions depending on the missions at hand.

But Kira liked working with the hyperdrive system and the scanners and the firing controls. She enjoyed pressing the buttons that dropped the Gladbron's heavy ion M.I.N.E.S or fired the torpedoes. She even enjoyed that feeling of the guns being swung – a rattle that coursed through the wings and into the chair beneath her like the cry of a mogu. Many of the other gunners complained about it, but to her it felt like power personified.

"How are you doing?", Matron Trass called from behind her. He sounded perplexed by the blinking lights on the console. Usually, the Twi'lek pilot would be here, flying in perfect formation while Kira checked the readouts. But he had stated that after their mission during the battle over Pantora, he wanted her to be able to pilot more effectively. You never know when a blast might kill me and put you in the pilot's chair.

Kira glanced down at the controls, then out the cockpit's transparisteel bubble. The other three Gladbron's were just ahead of her, breaking out through the atmosphere of Pantora and into open space. She felt the last vestiges of gravity leave her own wings, and the stick stopped it's stiff movements. She smiled in relief, "I think we will be okay. I just hate atmospheric flight."

Ahead of them, three huge Acclamator-class carriers were parked in orbit, orientated so their cannons were primed and ready for any incoming threats along the systems singular hyperspace route. Sitting beside and slightly behind them, the dagger-shaped hull of the Resurrection, the fleet's Venator-class flagship, looked like a menacing threat to anyone attempting to attack Pantora for a second time. Not three days ago, a Recusant-class light destroyer and a D'brathi-class gunnery platform had arrived in system and laid waste to the forces guarding the planet at the time.

Reaching up, Kira clicked open the comm to hear what Pilios March, their current Flight Leader since Mark Antilles had gone missing, said to the new arrival that had just dropped into the system. She frowned. Ever since the battle, Pilios had been distant from her fellow Green Squadron pilot's. She had been disappearing for long stretches of time and…

"Pull back slightly.", Matron called forward. "This is a simple escort duty, but I don't think that Frone or Elen want us to ram their ships."

Quickly, Kira pulled back slightly on the throttle, and felt her speed drop marginally. "Is that better?"

"Perfect.", Matron nodded, his lekku hitting the headrest behind him with a quiet thump.

They both turned their attention to the comm as Pilios began to speak. "Attention corvette, callsign Crucible, this is the Green Leader. Please identify your purpose here and transmit clearance codes."

There was a seconds pause before the voice replied, it's tone's smooth and polite, "Well, hello there, Green Squadron. This is Jedi Master Junila Ressk, here to pick up the Jedi on the planet below and transport them back to Coruscant. Last I checked, you were coming with us, correct?"

Pilios' tone went icy, and Kira shivered at the unnatural trickle of hostility that crept into her voice as it grated across the speaker. "Indeed, ma'am. Allow us to escort you down to the planet. Master Windu is expecting you."

The commlink clicked off, and Pilios ordered the Gladbron's to their escort positions. Kira and Matron took the rear position, while Green Three - Elen Marth and Muu Daken – took point on the port and Green Six – Frone and Rax Impora - took the starboard. Pilios took the forward position, leading the Crucible down through the atmosphere and towards the orbital platform for landing. As they began to re-enter orbit, the stick's leftwards motions began again, and Kira tightened her grip. At least this time, they weren't going the entire distance to the surface.

Jedi Master Bultar Swan sat on the edge of Evidence Crate No.56, legs swinging childishly as she and Aalya Secura awaited the arrival of the Crucible, or as they had been quietly calling it, their ticket off the moon. Around them were various other crates of evidence, compiled by Obi-Wan Kenobi and the investigating CSI droid's for transport back to Coruscant. Hopefully, they had enough evidence for the droid's that they could pinpoint the precise culprits who had terrorised the moon for the past few months.

Although thirty Jedi had arrived on the moon to assist with the terrorists attacking the locals, few were travelling back on board the Crucible. Many of them had died when the four Pelta-class frigates they had brought with them had been attacked and crashed into the surface. Some, like the Shistavanen Manina Varona, had gone with Admiral Yularen to the Mel Hullt Medical Centre and stayed there to assist with the wounded Pantorans. Still others, like Rig Nema and Quinlan Vos, were remaining behind on the moon to assist the populace further.

Of those coming back, Bultar knew three by something more than reputation. Luminara Unduli and her padawan Barris, who had assisted her on prior missions, were checking over the three wounded soldiers the Jedi were taking back with them. The other was Aayla. The human and Twi'lek had grown up sharing missions during their padawan years, their Masters, the aforementioned Vos and the Council Member Plo Koon having been paired up during the Rendili Hostage Crisis. Though both Aayla and Bultar had been recently knighted, somehow Aayla had manged it a full year before the Kuati's own ceremony.

The other Jedi were something of a mystery. There was the tall, white-haired Jedi called Fay, who had served the Order for years, and been the first alerted to the breakout at Black Cliff Prison. Jedi Master Kit Fisto and his padawan, Nahdar Vebb sat facing each other on the far side of the platform, meditating as teacher and student often did. The Mon Calamari had joined Bultar when she went to assist Fay's efforts at the prison, and was responsible for stopping a mass outbreak through the sewage system. Behind them stood another four Jedi, the Sullustan An-Do Mackusi and her padawan, the Tholothian-Chelico D'urban Wen-Hurd, the Artiodac Streng Hutch, and the Azumel Fortra Keena. Each had been sent to the various cities to dole out the relief supplies, and were glad to be going home.

Standing at the forefront of their small group, standing tall and proud, were Master Mace Windu and Ord Enisence. Ord was remaining behind, having received new instructions to pilot his small Delta-7 starfighter to find the missing Pantoran Senator. Senator Trav-iss Torn's disappearance had only reached Pantora's ears yesterday. At least five Jedi, each from multiple sectors, were being sent to find the missing ship, and the delegation it had been transporting. Ord would be following the Triumph's path to Shili and searching for any debris.

Master Windu, on the other hand, seemed anxious to get back to the Temple. He spent most of his time on Coruscant these days, discussing the spiralling issues of the galaxy with Grand Master Yoda. Even more news had reached them, this one stating that the Senate was calling all their representatives to Coruscant in an effort to vote against Count Dooku's Confederacy of Independent Systems. It was the fifth such vote, and it was vital that Senator Torn be there.

"Who do you think will be most relieved to back on Coruscant?", Aayla asked, surveying their Jedi as Bultar had been. The blue-skinned Twi'lek nodded at Streng Hutch. "I think that our Artiodac friend is missing his gardens in the Temple. He's a gentle soul, and being here has unbalanced him."

Bultar shared a quiet smile with her friend. She glanced at each of the faces again, then smirked. "It's harder to say without Obi-Wan and his apprentice here."

Aayla barked a laugh. Anakin Skywalker, having heard the news of the Senator's and delegations heading for Coruscant, had been disappointed when instead he and his Master had been directed to handle a dispute on the planet Ansion. He would have clearly preferred to be back at the Temple, or at least somewhere he could watch the proceedings.

Bultar's eyes locked on Fay, who was pacing slowly in a circle. The woman's white robes were still somehow immaculate, despite the dirt and grime that currently covered Pantora's captiol, Fortress. "I think that Fay is wanting to get back for some reason."

"I hear that she has a pet of some kind back at the Temple.", Aayla smiled, then looked straight up into the clean sky above. "I wonder how Stass and Caloc are going."

Bultar frowned at the sudden change in topic. Their lost comrades were a sore topic. "Aren't they lost? I thought that we were…"

But the Twi'lek was shaking her head, twin lekku bobbing slightly. "Their ship is lost."

"Do you think they are still alive?", Bultar wanted to believe that Jedi could survive anything, but the mystery surrounding the ship's disappearance meant that her mind automatically thought the worst. They had been destroyed, or their hyperdrive had malfunctioned, or they had exploded in the hyperspace tunnel, or… she stopped herself and looked at Aayla.

Her friend was smiling sadly at nothing, lost in memory, "Caloc and I trained together after his time on Devaron and Menach. When I learnt of what injuries he had suffered", she stifled a shudder, "Caloc is as strong-willed as an anooba and as stubborn as a reek. He won't die, and if he did I wouldn't be surprised if he came back to life somehow. He is a survivor, but he has been taught by Stass Allie. If anyone is more stubborn and headstrong than him, it is her. Stass might be training him a little too well. Trust me, they might be lost, but I doubt they are dead."

Bultar went to rebut, but the sound of engines approaching made her look up instead. The familiar shape of one of the Jedi's private corvettes, the Crucible, appeared, four Gladbron's streaking away to continue their patrol. She smiled, recognising the aura of the few Jedi who had made the trip to assist them. Their presence was like a new beacon of light in the darkness that had swept over Pantora. Finally, she thought, they would be going home.