Novgorod Pt. 2

[s'Il]

The small camp, high in the mountain crags, had been hastily deserted. It was obvious that Teagan and Brody had obeyed Dan, clearing out without a second thought. Anything that wasn't of importance had been left behind.

Standing near what had been the previous night's firepit, s'Il surveyed the abandoned, ramshackle collection of torn tents and scattered tin plates. Littered all about were what had been deemed unnecessary, and left behind.

"They're smart," the young Lupine finally spoke, eyes still scanning around her.

She kicked idly at a small metal can, sending it spinning in circles.

"They left everything they wouldn't need. I doubt they have plans on returning."

[General Dan]

"For their sake, I hope they don't."

The signs of Imperial presence here were everywhere. Walker tracks paced the outskirts, and the camp was blasted with a patina of dust, signs that LAAT/i gunships they'd seen before had already touched down and departed.

"What troubles me is the chance that the Empire might engage openly in reprisals against the villages to force Brody's band out of hiding."

He looked at her with a worried expression.

"We've got to link up with Novgorod soon. Time's running out."

[s'Il]

She was only partially listening - her mind was elsewhere and far away. She knew what had to be done, and despite Dan's doubts, knew also that her plan would be successful. In its' own right. Novgorod would arrive when she was able, and not before. Until then, they were left to their own devices.

"Everything happens when it should," she finally said, her voice almost distant as she still let her gaze track along their surroundings.

"When they do happen, we can only accomplish what we have done our best to prepare for."

She hitched the pack that held the crystals higher up on her shoulder. There was an air about her now that was so different than before. Now, the resolute determination that shown in her eye was unmistakable.

But, so was the concern she held for her friend's homeworld. But, he was more than simply that - in the span of a single night he had become something much more. So many years of battling alongside him, holding him at arm's length - it had all led to this point. For her, what she aimed to do for him and his home went beyond the call of any sort of emotional attachment.

It was a Lupine - of the Old World - that now reared its' head. The Te'mu'ss'en of old had given their bloodrights for the continuation; albeit failed, of the species. What she wished to do now, what she felt compelled to do, was not for her own furthered existance, but for the existance of a people that she had no real reason to fight for. But they were his people, and s'Il knew that it weighed heavily upon him - their survival.

Something caught her eye, and the Lupine made her way to the opening of one of the tents. On the ground, half-hidden in the dust, was the beginnings of a small necklace. Or at least, what she figured was a necklace. Fashioned from a thin leather cord, what looked to be spent slug casings were alternated between carved bone and a metal charm, all strung along its' length.

Plucking it from the ground, she inspected it with care before returning to Dan. Taking his hand in hers, she placed the partially finished piece of jewelry into his palm before closing his fingers around it.

"Your people have faith in you," she whispered.

"Now I'm asking you to have faith in me."

[General Dan]

Dan took hold of the crude necklace, turning the 'beads' and strap over in his hands a few times before closing his fingers around it decisively. His eyes met hers, and he nodded.

"You have my faith. You always have. Now all I ask is for a plan. These are my people, Lok. Whatever needs to be done, I'll do it."

[Teagan Creig]

The sounds of thundering hooves disturbed the late morning calm of the camp's abandoned silence, and Teagan urged her gula through the narrow rock entrance to what had been her home for months. This wasn't the first time they'd had to vacate a hiding spot, and she was well-versed in the art of grab and run. It was how one survived on Duravant these days; least, if you were waging the sort of war against the Empire that Brody and his child soldiers did. Imperials didn't care how old you were. If you were causing them problems, they'd have no qualms about putting you in the ground.

Brody was close behind, spurring his own mount onward, and the two skidded their animals to a halt at the sight of Mr. Dan and Lok.

When Mr. Dan had given her and Brody the order to split up and leave, she'd feared the worst for the Jedi that had stayed behind, but now - all smiles - Teagan let out an overjoyed cry. Even before her gula had come to a standstill she had slid from the saddle, sprinting for Lok with a grin that ran from ear to ear.

Even with the rifle slung over her shoulder, the girl moved quickly as she jumped at the Jedi, reaching up to wrap her arms around Lok's neck and holding on tightly. She buried her face into the crook of the young Lupine's neck, giving a happy sniffle.

"I thought you weren't gonna make it," she finally managed to get out.

[s'Il]

Somewhat taken aback at the girl's enthusiasm and concern, s'Il still held her close. It was touching, and the young Lupine found herself inevitably drawn to honest and kind nature the people of Duravant had.

"I always come back," she whispered reassuringly.

[Brody Chiltan]

"A relief to see."

Brody, more reserved than the younger girl, gave an appreciative nod to the two grown-ups as they returned.

"As soon as we got back, we pushed on. I doubt we'll be able to stick around much anywhere for a while. Figure after the bloody nose you gave 'em, the Empire's gonna try to make an example out of us."

He said that with some degree of pride, but laced with fatalism.

"We got a plan?"

[General Dan]

Dan glanced from Brody to s'Il as they all travelled together.

"My ship should arrive soon. That will help to balance the terms. Until then, I'm asking the same questions.

I think Lok has some inkling of an idea to make sure the Empire leaves Duravant for good."

[s'Il]

And she did.

Still holding Teagan, s'Il turned her eye to Brody.

"I need an almost inaccessible place for a pickup. Somewhere that walkers or speeders can't get to."

She tracked her gaze away from Brody and turned on her heel to look behind, where it was obvious that mountaintops higher than the one they currently stood on jutted skyward.

"Somewhere high."

[Brody Chiltan]

Brody nodded.

"That, we have. Breakneck Peak."

He turned her to the left a bit to point it out in the distance.

"Even your gula can't make it up the final 100 meters. You'll have to scale the rest yourself."

Something troubled him, however.

"You'll be exposed though. If you're spotted by the gunships, there's nowhere to hide."

[s'Il]

"It will work."

Her eyes picked out the rocky crags he was pointing to, and with an absent-minded hrm, she set Teagan down.

"That plateau, just below the last climb - that will be enough. No need to trek to the very top."

More silence as she thought, and the Lupine turned an apologetic look to Dan.

"I am afraid that we must go our separate ways once more."

[General Dan]

It took a supreme effort to bite back the torrent of questions on his tongue at her suggestion. What would she have him do? What was her plan?

"Where to, then?"

What did she hope to accomplish on a vantage like that?

[s'Il]

Her hand came to rest on Teagan's shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

"Take Teagan with you. Go back to the Y-wing and leave."

Another look to the plateau.

"Brody and I are going up there."

[General Dan]

"Leave?"

Dan wasn't expecting that. Of all things, why that? He opened his mouth to speak, and promptly closed it. Why even bother arguing with her?

"There's a good chance the Empire's moved to our landing site. I can't guarantee we will have a ship waiting for us."

He looked to Teagan, his jawline tightening.

"We'll do our best."

[Teagan Creig]

Teagan's jaw dropped, and in an instant she'd clammed up, the look on her face indicating that she had absolutely no desire to go with Dan.

"No. I'm not leaving this time."

Her arms went out wide in a gesture of disbelief.

"What if you die this time?! If both me an' Brody go with you, we can help keep you safe!"

[s'Il]

It was admirable, the girl's determination, but it was also out of the question.

"No. I need you safe, and Dan can keep you that way."

Teagan looked to argue further, but the young Lupine silenced any outbursts with a gently raised hand.

"Don't worry about me. I always come back, remember?"

Her attention turned to Dan then, and s'Il stepped forward to stand before him, looking up into the concerned and torn expression he wore. Tenderly, she placed her hand on his chest, over his heart.

"I'll make everything right."

In that moment it was just the two of them, and her hand moved up to slid behind his neck, pulling his head down as she lifted herself on her toes to meet his lips with hers.

"I promise."

[Brody Chiltan]

Brody watched the General and the Jedi share a moment, understanding that the situation was still desperate.

"And for me, Master Jedi?"

He was unsure if he would be helping s'Il make the ascent to Breakneck Peak, or if she had some other task in store for him.

[s'Il]

s'Il pulled away, her hand at the back of his neck giving one last squeeze as she moved to stand beside Brody.

"You're coming with me."

Swinging herself up into the saddle, s'Il held her gula in place as the animal pawed the ground nervously. It could sense its' rider's anticipation, and was anxious to move.

[General Dan]

Dan mounted his own gula, as Teagan rode parallel to him. He paused, looking back to s'Il for a moment, and then turned back, kicking his heels to pick up the pace as the two riders headed towards the village outskirts, where they hoped the Y-Wing remained, undiscovered by the Empire.

[s'Il]

The ground moved by in a blur, as did everything around her. The pounding hooves and snorted breathing of her gula filled her ears, and her eyes remained fixed ahead as she leaned forward in the saddle, standing in her stirrups to afford an easier vantage over the gula's laid-back ears. She held the reigns tightly, using the thickly-muscled neck to help stabilize herself, and her entire body moved with the frantic rhythm of her mount.

The landscape was thickly wooded, with uprooted trees dotting the ground and other brush growing in thick clumps. There were a few smaller streams and waterways that she and Brody plowed their way through, but it was easy to tell that the higher they went, the less cover they would be able to keep.

[Brody Chiltan]

"We're coming up on the main ascent."

Brody kicked his heels, heading up a winding pass. From here, the vegetation started to thin out, resulting in patches of wind-swept scrub brush and whatever could hold onto the hardscrabble. He paused on one of the bends, noting far away the outline of a LAAT/i.

"Gunship, out beyond the Nuthru Valley. Doubt they're looking in our direction from over there, but we ought to be careful."

With that, he continued the climb.

[s'Il]

Urging her gula after Brody, she felt the powerful animal's muscles churn beneath the saddle as it surged upward. It wasn't too steep an incline, but it was enough to further cause the gula to sweat, its' coat already lathered in a damp sheen, short fur soaking it slick and in spot a darker shade of its' normal sandy dun color.

She too had seen the gunship, heard its' guttural roar far off in the distance, but she pushed all thoughts of its' presence to the back of her mind. They still had a fair amount of land to cover, and it would do no good to worry over any possible pursuit.

[Teagan Creig]

* * *

Keeping pace with Mr. Dan, Teagan pressed herself down against her gula's neck, feeling as the wind whipped her tied-back hair into a frenzy as they raced across the flatlands.

"How far away?!" she yelled over the sound of thundering hooves and relentless wind.

[General Dan]

"We're to the village outskirts now, Teagan. See!"

Dan pointed off to the distance, but before Teagan could turn towards town, he eased her off the path.

"We can't go that way. We can't chance it. The Empire may already be in the village."

He pointed to a ridge, snaking to the northwest.

"We cross over at this wash point, and ride on the other side. Ride on for about an hour, I'd guess."

[Brody Chiltan]

"Stop."

Brody pulled his gula to a halt, just shy of what looked like a spilled pile of stones and rubble.

"Alright, from this point, we've got to climb. See that rock face over the top of this landslide? We've got a hard climb."

Pulling a rope out of a pack and a series of spikes, he tossed one set to s'Il.

"Don't suppose you've got a better way up. I'm not much of a climber."

[s'Il]

She was breathing hard - as hard at least as her gula, and looking up at the stone face of the rack face, s'Il knit her brow in intense thought.

"Yes," she finally answered quietly. "I've got a better way. Put your rope and spikes away."

She caught the odd look he gave her from her peripheral vision, but paid it no mind. The task that was set out before her was daunting, but she was unwilling to allow any doubt to cloud her thoughts.

One hand reached up, palm facing outward as she closed her eyes, and drawing in a long breath, the Jedi pulled upon the Force around her, dipping far into its' limitless well. What she aimed to do she had only done in small bits - years ago when she and Zem were still alone on their world.

Time stood still in those first few minutes, her sitting motionless as Brody looked on.

And then her fingers curled into a fist, and she jerked her arm back in a small controlled movement. In that instant the entire cliffside seemed to groan under terrible strain, voicing its' displeasure at being called outward as she was doing. But, it gave way regardless, and amidst the cracking of rock and rumblings of the earth, small pebble showers began to descend as jagged lines lanced upward to spiderweb up along the face.

Another labored rumbling, and the flat rock wall began to shift, seemingly coming apart as she coaxed the earth to her will; to obey her silent commands. platforms began to jut out as a rough-hewn incline started to form.

But her work was not done yet, and the Lupine redoubled her efforts, lifting her other hand up into the air to take a more solid hold upon the intangible.

[Brody Chiltan]

Brody initially retreated a good dozen meters back down the path, shielding his head instinctively from any falling rocks.

"Lok, what are you doing?!"

Nevermind the possibility they would be pulverized by falling stone. What if the Imperials saw the rockslide?

[Teagan Creig]

* * *


The hour that Dan had given them seemed to pass by in eternity, yet in no time at all. Riding alongside the wash, Teagan could feel the fatigue in her gula, but continued to spur it onward despite the lathered sweat soaking its' hide.

Her heart beat faster than she'd ever thought possible, her head lifting every now and then to scan the desolate land around them for any sign of the Y-wing. Sidling her animal to gallop alongside Dan's, she called out once more.

"Where is it??! I don't see it!!"

[General Dan]

"We're not long now. Keep on a bit."

Dan pointed ahead to a drop that indicated a hill slope beginning. They reached the crest and looked out.

"There."

He pointed at what appeared to be nothing but another wash of rocks abutting the ridge, but a bit of wind pushed the camo net, causing it to billow in the breeze.

[Teagan Creig]

She saw it, and instant relief flooded her thoughts before they were once more crushed by the truth that she and Mr. Dan were leaving. Without Brody, and without Lok. Screwing her face into a tight ball of frustration, the girl kicked at the sides of her gula, sending it careening down the ridge in one last sprint that would take them to the fighter.

Rock and dirt, disturbed by the gula's hooves, tumbled down the gentle incline in her wake, and as soon as she reached the bottom she coaxed the beast faster, whipping the ends of her reigns to either side so that they'd smack along its' hindquarters.

[General Dan]

Dan gave chase, leading both of them to the site of the resting fighter-bomber. Bringing his gula to a halt, Dan eased off of it, dropping to the ground as he headed to the ship and pulled it's camo netting aside.

"Teagan, don't you worry. We're coming back for them. We're coming back for everyone. We've got a ship that will soon be here, and we're gonna make things right."

As he cleared the netting away and pulled down the ladder to lead to the cockpit, he hoped his words proved true. There were still so many uncertainties, and Lok asked him to trust in a solution he could not see.

[Teagan Creig]

She'd slid from the saddle, hitting the ground in motion as she scrambled to help remove the netting. It was a cumbersome task for her, and her short size proved a difficult thing to overcome, but Mr. Dan's practiced movements soon enough had the netting cast aside.

Making quick work of the ladder, Teagan shot up each rung as if her feet were on fire. The canopy was taking too long to open, and the moment she could fit through, the girl was worming her way into the back seat.

"I hope so," was all she could say, her voice suddenly tiny and very, very worried as she tried to situate herself.

[General Dan]

Dan climbed into the pilot's seat after making sure that Teagan was fastened into the crash webbing.

"Not to mention, from where we're going, we can get a much better look at where the Empire is down there. That'll do everybody a bit of good."

Dan began the warm-ups, closing the cockpit hatch as he finished up. The repulsors fired, sending the Y-wing into the air. Another moment and the landing skids retracted as the ion nacelles flared to send the ship skyward with a rush.

[Meiers Brecklin]

* * *

The Novgorod sat quietly in the sensor shadow of Duravant's moon, her temporary commander pacing the length of the bridge in front of the captain's chair.

General Brecklin had pulled every amount of power from the restored engines, sending the Marauder Corvette hurtling through hyperspace to keep her date with inevitability. He'd recieved the transmission from General Dan long enough ago that by now, it was starting to become a game of nerves. What had happened down there? Why had the General's Y-wing not risen from the planet's surface? That there were swarms of Imperial gunships and walkers scanned combing the desert boded ill. He was uneasy; he trusted his fellow general, but still couldn't shake his bad thoughts.

"Kes, any word from planetside?"

"No sir. Nothing conclusive at least. Just a lot of chatter and frantic transmissions. Near as I can tell, someone took something that they're desperate to get back. I don't -"

The redheaded officer was cut off by a warning claxon, and he bent his head to read the datastream as it filtered to his terminal at the helm.

"We've got multiple ships dropping from hyperspace, sir! Looks like two Star Destroyers and four frigates!"

Brecklin cursed under his breath.

"Stay put - they don't know we're here. Let's not give them any reasons to think otherwise."

"Yes Sir."

Stopping his pacing, the General finally lowered himself to sit.

"But keep your passive scans piggybacked over their channels. If anything so much looks like our wayward couple, I want to be the first to know about it.

"On it, Sir."

[s'Il]

* * *


Brody's concern was met with the strained moanings of stressed earth, pulling against the hold that s'Il had over it. Her brow knit in concentration as she continued to pull chunks of the mountain out. But, they did not tumble down - instead, what she was doing was simply making them a path, dragged out from the sheer cliffs in bits and pieces until at last, she let out a breath that she hadn't realized she'd been hodling in.

Her arms fell, muscles tired and quivering, and her shoulders slumped in the aftermath of her exertions.

A look was given to Brody from over her shoulder, and she gave her gula a nudge with her heels, sending the animal forward and up onto the first step.

The gunship's engines were steadily growing louder, its' shape becoming larger in the distance.

"Let's go. We don't have much time."

[Brody Chiltan]

Brody stared at the Jedi's handiwork with stunned disbelief, and was rooted to where he stood. He didn't even register Lok's voice until she spoke to him louder, causing him to snap out of his amazement. At that moment, he too heard the rumble of the LAAT/i's engines in the distance, growing closer.

"That gunship is closing on our position!"

Brody scrabbled after s'Il on the makeshift ramp, heading for the final ascent of the peak.

"All I've got is this rifle. It's a poor match against a gunship, I'm afraid."

[s'Il]

The gula's footing was solid, and s'Il nudged it to a faster pace. Brody was right - the gunship was closing in on them, but they were making decent headway up the cliff face, and though it would be close, the Lupine knew that they'd reach the ridge with enough time to spare before having to plunge back down the other side.

"We'll make it," she growled through gritted teeth, concentrating on guiding her animal up the pathway.

His rifle would do nothing against the Imperial craft, but his offering was honest and she appreciated the words.

Higher they went, their gulas straining to continue on after their hard pace from earlier, and with the roar of the gunship filling the air, both animals were becoming frantic, pushing themselves onward and upward without much coaxing from their riders.

Stealing a glance to the side, s'Il frowned, knowing that their timing would be terribly close.

She could feel the thrum in the air from the ship's engines now. It reverberated through her chest.

And then, they crested the rock-strewn ridge.

Far below on the other side, beyond the tree-studded hillside and a stretch of woodland, was the plateau.

She wheeled her gula about to face Brody.

"Do you trust me."

[Brody Chiltan]

"Even if I didn't, I don't have a choice."

They were, effectively left with nowhere else to go. Brody held onto the reigns of his mount, turning here and there to keep it generally steady. The LAAT/i was practically on top of them. He could see it trundling through the air, barely a kilometer away. There was no question they were headed their way, and soon every weapon on that floating gun platform would be ready to shatter the peak they stood on.

Brody looked to s'Il.

"I trust you!"

[s'Il]

"Then follow."

She leaned forward in the saddle, and even without her hissed breath, her gula needed no other urging to leap ahead. She flew past Brody, who's own gula followed out of the beginnings of sheer terror. That gunship was bearing down on them, and as s'Il led the manic charge along the ridge, she felt her body become fluid, moving with the motions of the animal beneath her.

The edge came up slowly, as if time had been ground down to a maddeningly slow pace, and with one last kick, she sent her gula over the precipice without breaking stride.

She could hear Brody behind her, and the two animals tore down the mountainside.

[Teagan Creig]

* * *

It was a funny feeling that Teagan had in her stomach, but it wasn't unpleasant. In fact, if they were in any other situation she'd have confessed to having the time of her life. She'd never been in anything smaller than a freighter, and this was just beyond all comprehension.

Mr. Dan piloted the fighter like he'd always flown one, and watching with rapt fascination as the ground grew far below, the girl could only blink as the Y-wing banked to the side.

Her amazement was interrupted by the beep of a comm panel up front on Mr. Dan's console, and she did her best to lean forward and peer over his shoulder at the indicator light. The crash webbing he'd helped to buckle her in proved to be difficult to work around in.

"What's that?! Did they spot us?!"

[General Dan]

"No..."

But there sure were a lot more ships here than before. Dan kept the sensors passive and low power, not that he needed any to be able to mistake the keels of an Acclimator and a Victory Star Destroyer, as well as what appeared to be a picket of strike frigates.

"...but if we want that to stay the same, we have to be careful."

Frowning, Dan finally acknowledged the comm that was coming in.

"Dan here."

[Meiers Brecklin]

"General."

Brecklin's familiar voice held an urgency to it.

"I don't have much time so I'm going to tell you what to do, and you're going to do it."

It was obvious that there would be no arguing.

"We can't use this channel for long. We're in the moon's sensor shadow, but it's only a matter of time before those destroyers find us all. Set your coordinates for seven-two-nine-five-five-seven. We'll meet you in the middle. We'll not have but maybe a minute to keep our shields down, but in that time you're to bring that beast into the hangar. I don't care if it's at full sublights - we've got crash barriers for that.

"Understood?"

[General Dan]

"General, I can't do that."

Dan's hands tightened at the controls. The situation was impossible before. Now??

"Lok is on the planet. I can't leave her. We can't leave her."

But what choice do we have? This was far beyond the threat they faced before. The Empire was effectively doubling down on this star system. The chances to free Duravant from Imperial tyranny were disappearing.

[Meiers Brecklin]

"You can, and you will."

Brecklin understand Dan's initial refusal, but it did not change anything. His finger hovered over the comm button, and staring at the deck, he closed his eyes. His voice, now devoid of its' previous iron overtones, held a deep amount of sympathy.

"I'm sorry, General."

The line went dead.

[General Dan]

There had to be something. There had to be.

Dan adjusted his vector to match the coordinates that Novgorod had instructed for him. Laying those coordinates in, he looked in the glass of the canopy, finding some part of Teagan's face in the reflection. He closed his eyes, and changed his comm frequency.

"Lok...come in...come in. If you can hear this, the Empire has reinforced the planet. We're cut off."

His voice was heavy.

"I will return. I will."

[Meiers Brecklin]

Like a wraith Novgorod swung out of the moon's shadow, her engines running hot and her crew wary of the destroyers. It seemed like milliseconds after they begun their run that Kes was shouting updates - that they'd been pinged, that two of the frigates were coming about, and that TIE fighters could already be detected.

All of this Brecklin vaguely acknowledged, but his attention was arrested by the numbers ticking down to the point where they'd reach to coordinates that he'd given to Dan.

Kes was ready for the order, his own nerves wearing thin at the sight of the massive ships coming to intercept them.

"Not yet," Brecklin steadied his lieutenant. "On my mark, swing us around and up onto our starboard side. We need to give the General as much of an opening as we can - he'll only get one shot at this."

"Aye Sir."

[General Dan]

"Teagan, I need you to hang onto your crash webbing and keep your head down, okay?"

Dan pumped the sublights to a full burn, accelerating to full capacity. He cut the engines, enabling maneuvering jets to bring him about 180 degrees as they still drifted toward Novgorod and her open hangar bay. From this vantage, Dan could clearly start to make out the familiar shapes of TIE/In fighters, screaming towards them on an intercept.

"Hang on tight, Teagan."

Dan flared the sublights as they were nearly upon the pocket cruiser. The sudden engagement of the sublights brought the velocity down dramatically. As they slipped past the ray shielding and into the bay, the roaring nacelles singed equipment behind them as they skidded to a rough landing. Dan quickly killed the nacelles as soon as they reached the shield, and was jostled heavily as the Y-wing came in hard.

[s'Il]

* * *

There was no sound - everything was muffled in the treacherous descent down the mountainside. The crashing of hooves into dirt, bodies through low shrub, it all seemed to become one low rumble as the gulas continued to bolt headlong through anything and everything in their way. All that s'Il could do now was let the animal concentrate on its' footing.

But, for the briefest of moments, she thought that she could hear Dan's voice. It was distant, sorrowful, torn.

And then the ground to her right exploded as the gunship roared high overhead. She didn't even look up, and hoped that Brody wouldn't either. Another explosion sent up a spray of rock and bush on her other side.

Still she pressed on.

And there was a feeling, a sting just beneath her left shoulderblade that spread through her entire chest. She felt her gula stumble, and knew without looking that the animal had been shot through the chest. It lunged forward still, but the wound was instantly fatal, and as its' head dipped low - first nose then its' entire face - dragging the steeply angled ground, the Lupine was pitched forward from her saddle. Her arms flew out to help control her fall, but with the budding pain in her back she could only catch herself well enough to roll to her side.

The gula came down like a ton of durracrete bricks, crushing her beneath its' weight as both began a terminal slide down the mountain. Crushed too, was the reader that she wore on her wrist. It had just enough time to flash yellow, its' warning chime rapid before the saddle destroyed it.

[Brody Chiltan]

"Lok! No!!!"

The LAAT/i had swung around, one of it's weapons pods featuring a continuous energy beam that lanced across the rocky ediface, cutting out the path from under Brody's gula. In the chaos of the cloud of vaporized rock, Brody fell from his gula, and tumbled down the hillside just behind s'Il.

The Empire's attack was overwhelming, and as the LAAT/i hovered in a holding pattern to wait for the dust cloud to dissipate, it became clear that whatever they had considered doing was undone.

[s'Il]

She came to rest at the base of the hill, coughing in the cloud of dust and spitting a stream of blood. Trapped beneath her gula, the Lupine gritted her teeth. She rolled her head to the side, then back to suck in lungfulls of dusty air. The ominous growl of the gunship's engines filled the world around her, and closing her eyes tight, the Jedi pushed outward with the Force in one last effort.

She let loose a cry as her thoughts strained against the machinery holding the craft in place, but it was plain to see that it was beginning to list. It dipped low, and one of the wings clipped across the treetops high above.

Her cry had turned into a growl, and cracking open her good eye, the Lupine fought against the animal pinning her down. One arm raised high, she made a fist, and in the next motion brought it down forcefully to the side. The gunship tipped on its' side then, and with the din of metal on metal, turbine fans piercing their housings, the ship dropped from the sky as if it was cast down.

[Brody Chiltan]

Brody watched the gunship fall to earth from where he lay, broken and bloodied on the hardscrabble descent from the mountain. Both legs broken, and bleeding internally, he felt nothing, but simply watched the results with a detatched interest.

He was in shock from his fall, and the trampling he received as his gula fell atop him and drove its feet into his back as it tumbled. With a weak cough, he did nothing but to watch the oily black smoke from the crashed gunship snake up the skyline.

[Teagan Creig]

* * *

Teagan lifted her head, the landing they'd made far more rough than she'd thought it would be - not that her expectations were much of anything. But still. She gave a tiny groan, little fingers coming up to pull weakly at the crash webbing that had kept her in place.

She coughed a few times, covering her mouth with the back of her hand before lifting her eyes up.

"Mr. Dan... ?"

[General Dan]

The sudden violence of the crash landing had unfortunately been rougher on Dan than Teagan, who was prepared for the hard landing. Dan struck his head against the canopy, and was knocked out, slumped over in the seat.

Tech crews rushed to the Y-wing. They put out a series of small fires and worked quickly to pry the canopy open to get at both passengers inside.

"Are you alright? Stay still, we're getting you out of there!"

[Teagan Creig]

Mr. Dan hadn't answered her, and Teagan's efforts to extricate herself from the webbing turned frantic even as the tech crews struggled with the canopy.

Her fingers finally managed to unlatch the clasps, and slipping out she had to steady herself as a shudder rocked the Y-wing. She knew enough to know that it was the shudder of entering hyperspace, but that thought was not so pressing as Mr. Dan's silence.

Sliding herself half over his shoulder, she gave him a light shake.

"Mr. Dan... ?!"

[General Dan]

"Hrn..."

Dan began to stir, his thoughts reeling as he teetered on the verge of consciousness.

"..."

"General, can you hear me? Can you move?"

The canopy at last freed with the aid of a vibro-saw, Dan had two pairs of hands on him in an instant, pulling him free from the craft. In a daze, he turned to see Teagan also being quickly attended to as the crews contained the crash and worked to get them free.

"Teagan..."

He blinked his eyes, struggling to focus.

"...Lok."

[Teagan Creig]

The fright of the rough landing was enough to make her want to cry almost, but it was the sight of the reader on his wrist that made her break out into tears. The girl let out a sob as one of the deckhands set her gently down. She was running to Mr. Dan in an instant, wrapping her arms around his waist and burying her head into his shirt to muffle her crying.

[General Dan]

The sound of Teagan's crying was what prompted Dan to look at his beacon. The light had gone out.

"No..."

He weakly held onto the girl as they were both carted away, and his face carried the grief he was now starting to feel.

"...no it can't be....no."

[s'Il]

* * *


In the aftermath, she fell back.

It was the call of the crystals that beckoned her, their song always the sweetest she'd ever heard. It brought a smile to her face, and with a groan she hoisted herself up on an elbow to reach a hand out, fingers fumbling for the strap holding her saddlebag closed.

It took three tries to open it. Her fingers reached inside, grazing along the leather pack that she'd so carefully nestled inside. Even through the leather she could see them glowing, their inner fires burning for all eternity. Clutching the pack to her chest, s'Il closed her eyes as she whispered to herself.

"Trust me."

Once more her thoughts went out - though instead of their earlier intents, now they were soft. She drew from the crystals, seeing with her mind's eye the threads of life that they existed within. She took a hold of one even as her consciousness soothed itself over Brody's dazed state.

She was no healer, but the Lupine had a fair enough idea, and with the Crystals she placed her trust explicitly in them. They would know what needed to be done, their song would guide her.

Her presence in his mind wasn't anything so overt as telepathy, but her emotions of peace and calm, of warmth and serenity all blanketed him.

And steadily, bit by bit, she began to feel as the Crystals took hold of him, surrounding him with their healing threads.

[Brody Chiltan]

"It doesn't hurt..."

Brody's eyes reflected an unnatural serenity despite his broken condition. He met s'Il's own eyes.

"Not one bit. I know it should."

He exhaled a long breath, feeling a strange warmth through his body.

"How?"

[s'Il]

Sh clutched a little tighter at the pack she held, keeping her gaze locked with his. She smiled at him, a bare smile that hid the pain she herself was in.

"The Force," she answered weakly before breaking away from his eyes, her body wracked by horrid coughs. More blood was spit out.

"The Cyrstals heal. They provide life."

Her voice was a whisper now as she looked back to him.

"They are why the Empire is here. It is not guns or weapons that they wish to store - it is life. So the Emperor can hide them and keep them buried in the ground for all time."

[Brody Chiltan]

"That's why they're here? Invading my home, killing my people?"

Brody's hand overlapped s'Il's own, clutching the pack as she also held it.

"That's ironic, isn't it? That something that can save lives is responsible for so many lives taken."

Weak, but now no longer near the threshold of death, Brody felt renewed from the power of the crystals, but inwardly, he was disgusted.

"How many more will they kill for this?"

[s'Il]

She turned her hand over to weave her fingers into his own, giving a squeeze. Yet, there was a finality in her tone that held little room for doubt.

"As many as they must."

Her own body, steadily growing warmer, was doing its' best to right the wrongs, but the extent of her own injuries called into question the faith she had in her physiology.

The Lupine fell silent then, her eyes closing as she let her head fall back. It was taxing, to follow the Crystals as they worked, letting them guide her through a body that was not her own. Her labored breathing was the only sound between the two of them, and as the sun passed its' zenith, s'Il felt her mind pull away from Brody. She felt it pull away from everything, and for the briefest of moments the Losstarot Lupine swore that she saw the towering form of Melkiah Losstarot. It startled her, and she jolted from her listless daze only to hiss out a pained breath between clenched teeth.

As if in defiance, she pushed weakly against the lifeless gula pinning her lower half to the ground. It was a useless gesture that only made her grimace.

"Help me," she whispered finally.

[Brody Chiltan]

His strength was barely with him, but Brody could at least move under his own power. Sitting up stiffly, he re-positioned himself to better leverage against s'Il's dead pack animal.

"If I might ask..."

Brody spoke with labored breath as he pushed. Inch by inch, the gula moved under his efforts.

"...what did you have in mind, scaling that mountain?"

[Meiers Brecklin]

* * *

They were in the safety of hyperspace for now, and with a dour expression Brecklin strode into the medbay. It was a small affair, but served its' purpose well enough. The small staff was comprised of only one doctor and four nurses; even that a precious commodity on larger ships.

He had yet to see the damage done to the hangar bay, but from the talk he'd heard in the corridors on his way down, it had been impressive. And lucky. Dan had had one chance to get himself aboard, and he'd done it.

But the price - the loss of the Jedi, was something that Bracklin wasn't sure he could shoulder. It had been on his order however, to leave. What could he have done against what the Empire had set over Duravant? He only hoped that Dan could understand.

His fellow general was turned away from him as he entered, the small girl that had been with him still softly sobbing, her tears interrupted in intervals by rapid sniffs.

Brecklin closed his eyes, clasping his hands behind him.

"We're safe, for now."

[General Dan]

"Where the hell did those Imperial cruisers come from?"

Dan was weary and in pain. It was all he could do to get that question out.

"We gave far better than we got, and even then, it wasn't even close to enough. And now Lok is..."

He looked away from Brecklin, words leaving him.

[Meiers Brecklin]

"I don't know where they came from any more than you do, General."

His words were patient. It concerned him, the tones of Dan's voice when he talked of his Jedi friend. Brecklin lifted a hand up to massage his temple, thinking on his next course of action. For now - however long - they would be uninterrupted. It would be wise to use their time to formulate a new approach to the problem at Duravant.

"We're in a war, Dan."

Despite the sympathy, there was no mistaking the underlying iron.

"People are often left behind or... " he was treading on thin ice, and it was likely that his next word would break that ice.

"... die."

[General Dan]

"What about the leak?"

Dan's tone darkened a bit. There was no mistaking that he suspected their sudden appearance of an adversary had a lot to do with whoever was suspected of ferreting information out of the Rebel forces.

[Meiers Brecklin]

At that, Brecklin gave a defeated sigh.

"There was no leak."

Seeing the look on Dan's face, he elaborated.

"Your timing was simply coincidental. From what our sources could gather, the arrival of those Star Destroyers was scheduled out to a precise time - you just happened to show up right beforehand."

Now it was his turn to ask the question that he'd been wanting to know since first being given the orders to turn Novgorod over to Dan.

"We've learned that those Destroyers were carrying something. Something that they were sent to deliver to Duravant. We just don't know what."

His eyes bored into the other General.

"Did you discover what it was."

[General Dan]

Dan nodded.

"From what Lok said, it's some sort of Jedi artifact of great power. The Emperor, it seems, wants to turn Duravant into some sort of secret purse world. He's set up a huge excavation site for use as a stronghold to store items like that."

He sighed.

"Lok has the artifact. Or had. If she's even still alive anymore. I don't think she made it."

[Meiers Brecklin]

Turning this information over in his mind, Brecklin looked down at the deck. The girl had quieted, but her tear-stained eyes on him did not make him feel any more comfortable with the situation that they were still in.

"If it is a Jedi artifact, then it is vital we recover it at all cost."

His eyes went up once more to Dan.

"I'll make arrangements to have us double back once we reach our navpoint."

Lifting an arm, he rested his hand on Dan's shoulder.

"We'll find your Jedi. And her artifact."

[General Dan]

"General, as much as I'd like to play the optimist, the Empire returned to Duravant with twice the firepower that we barely escaped from the first time."

Dan shook his head.

"Nobody wants Duravant liberated more than Teagan and I. It's our home. But I'm worried that the reality of the situation has turned any attempt at it into suicide."

[Teagan Creig]

She'd been quiet for so long, stuck in a mood that switched from anger to sadness to loss, each emotion cycling on repeat. But, at Dan's defeated tone, her voice spoke up.

"She always comes back. That's what she said."

Scrambling up to her feet on the medical bed she'd been sitting on, the girl leaned over to Dan, looking him straight in the eyes and jabbing a finger into his chest.

"She also said to have faith. I trust her. Do you?"

[s'Il]

* * *

They were in the shelter of a cave, deep inside and hidden as well as possible should any stormtroopers come looking. Brody had supported her as they'd made their way to it, and she had told him all of her intentions. It was a simple plan, but one that required trust and faith in the Force. It would show her when to act, and so long as she obeyed, it would light the way.

Her legs were nearly useless, and as Brody situated her against a rock, she set the leather pack with the Crystals in her lap. It was an exercise in tolerance, to see how much her body could take, and more than once the Lupine had had to grit her teeth and clench her jaw shut to avoid crying out. Having been subject to the weight of her gula rolling over her more than once, she was becoming very intimate with the feeling of a broken body.

Brody sat beside the fire he'd built, close to s'Il. Her breathing had deepened as her eyes remained slitted, staring into the flames for what seemed an eternity.

Presently, her head dipped, and her eyes closed fully. Her energy was being sapped by her body's metabolism, and it was all that she could do to keep her mind focused on the Crystals' threads. At least the blaster wound that had gone through her back was righting itself - she'd ordered Brody to check it, and despite the boy's hesitation to remove first her overshirt, then the one beneath it, he had done so.

Now, her feeble grip to the healing threads was weak at best, but she still refused to let go.

She just needed rest. She needed to be still.

She needed faith.

[Brody Chiltan]

"I hope my riders made it out better than we did."

Brody sat at the fire, tending it with a stick as he looked into the embers with depthless contemplation.

"Hope Dan and Teag fared better still."

He looked over the fire at s'Il, who was lost in her efforts.

"I ain't heard any gunships in the last hour. I don't know if that's good or bad. If they put boots on the ground to confirm we're dead, they're sure to find us in a few hours."

[s'Il]

It was a long while before she answered him, and when she did, her voice was low.

"They have been looking for us for a long time now. But, they are also divided - do they chase Dan, who may have their treasure? Or us, who may also have it. Much of their inactivity I would imagine is also due to the unfortunate task of having to inform the Emperor that they've lost his prize."

She shifted then, sitting up a little straighter. She rolled her shoulder, then carefully tested the ankle joint of her left foot.

"They will be out in full force by morning, but by that time we'll be gone."

There was another lull in the conversation, and s'Il cocked her head to the side as a sound caught her ears. It came from the mouth of the cave, but rather than the familiar fall of stormtrooper boots, she could tell instantly that this was the sound of an animal.

She smiled.

"The Force provides," she spoke, as Brody's gula - which had indeed taken a rather spectacular tumble down the mountainside with them - slowly made its' way into the cave, drawn by the fire. It looked shaken still, but no worse for wear, and though the tack was coated in dirt and bracken, it was still as usable as ever.

The Lupine turned her smile to Brody.

"Faith."

[Brody Chiltan]

She was so sure of herself and the world around her that it took Brody's breath away. The gula returned to kneel at the outskirts of the fire, and Brody worked to shake the dirt off of it, himself at a loss for words.

"There are a lot of people that would do just about anything to have faith that sure and certain, Jedi. Maybe spreading a bit of that around can do wonders."

[s'Il]

That elicited a slight laugh, which morphed into a cough.

"Everything works as the Force wills. If we were meant to die on this mountain, we would have. But we did not."

Her hand reached out, arm no longer mangled or bruised, and absently she began to draw designs in the dustry floor of the cave.

"The Force has a task for you, Brody. I see it over your shoulder, waiting. It would not cast you into death if it needed you."

She gave a cryptic smile at that before returning her gaze to the patterns she was drawing with her index finger.

"None of our paths are always pleasant affairs, but they are what make us grow, make us stretch beyond what we thought ourselves capable. Of course, this is all contingent upon our inner beings. I may be able to inspire, or to start a change, but the task ultimately falls to those who wish to be changed.

"Only they can make that decision for themselves."

[Brody Chiltan]

Brody frowned at that. He wasn't sure if he was ready to put any faith in anything anymore. It too often bred disappointment.

"I'm not a Jedi, Lok. I don't know if I'm coming or going one day or the next. In the end, I've got a few dozen tired, hungry, scared teenagers and kids that I've got to look after, and my track record for that ain't been good lately."

He looked up to her.

"This path sure ain't pleasant, you're right. I don't know what kind of fork in the road you think I'm waiting for, but I don't know if I'll even be able to see it coming.,"

[s'Il]

She gave only a quiet nod at that, returning her eyes to the leather bag in her lap. There was a peace in her features that did not leave, even as her eyes closed once more, her head going back to lean against the rock. He would understand in time. Their situation now was dire, but they would not be lost to chance. Each had a role to play in this, and she was determined to see their task carried to its' end.

And as the night dragged on, the nocturnal sounds of nature took over. Both needed to rest, to recover.

To renew.

[Meiers Brecklin]

* * *


Novgorod had reached their navpoint, dropping into realspace for only the amount of time it took to come about and replot their course to Duravant.

Once more in hyperspace, Brecklin sat with Dan in the captain's ready room. It was a small sideroom that seemed more a closet than anything else, but it at least had a desk and two chairs.

"This Breakneck Peak," he was musing, "... you could pinpoint it easily enough on a holomap, correct?"

It was a stupid question on the surface, and without waiting for a response he went on.

"What I mean to say, is that could you give me precise enough coordinates to drop straight from hyperspace into the atmosphere of Duravant, close enough to this mountain that we can avoid the Imperials for as long as possible."

[General Dan]

Dan, deep in thought, considered Brecklin's words.

"My navicomputer has local topography stored from our trip in and trip out. Get an astromech droid to make that talk with a star chart, and you could probably do it."

He grimaced.

"Of course, you could also burn to a crisp if you touch the atmosphere in a way you don't like, too. But I suppose that would be quicker than meeting your maker at the hands of the Imperial fleet."

[Meiers Brecklin]

Brecklin gave a half-hearted grin at that.

"Then we better make sure we do this right, shouldn't we."

He leaned back in his seat.

"We can afford to make two, maybe three passes around the target area. I recommend you park yourself in the hangar; you'll have crew enough down there to help spot anything, and if you're as sure as that little girl about your Jedi being there, we'll need sharp eyes and even sharper reactions."

[General Dan]

"We got anything worth taking planetside? I wouldn't trust that Y-Wing to see any better days."

Rubbing his chin, Dan considered the crazy plan unfolding before him.

"I can get down to Breakneck Peak if we get close enough. Let's just hope Lok is still near the summit."

[Meiers Brecklin]

"At the moment," Brecklin frowned, lifting himself up to his feet.

"No. As soon as we were fit to fly, my men took out everything that wasn't bolted down - fighters and shuttles included."

He looked down to Dan, who was still sitting.

"You let me worry about the particulars."

Slowly he made his way to the door, pressing the panel to open it. Outside, caught by surprise, was Teagan. The girl looked expectant, as if she waited for some sort of unknown reassurance. Brecklin gave her a kind smile, stepping to the side to allow her entrance, and when she'd slipped in, he gave a final nod to Dan before disappearing, the door closing behind him.

[Teagan Creig]

"I couldn't sleep," she admitted quietly after the door closed.

She'd been told to rest; had been given Lok's quarters even. But slumber refused to come, and Teagan had sought out the only familiar body aboard the ship - Mr. Dan.

Her hands came together in front of her, fingers fumbling over themselves as she bit her lips and kicked at the thinly-carpeted deck with the toe of her boot. He looked a lot different, sitting behind a desk. It was a little bit intimidating, even.

"I... I want to help."

[General Dan]

Dan hated the idea of putting the kid back into danger. He was ready to flat-out refuse, but hesitated.

"Teag, I need to know - just off Breakneck Peak, what hiding spots did Brody use? What were the best ones? If they've gone to ground, we need to find them fast. I need your help doing that."

[Teagan Creig]

Teagan thought about that. Again she bit her lip, and moving to one of the chairs in front of his desk, climbed up into it.

"Well, there's a bunch of caves up there, but I really don't know. We used to use 'em all the time for hiding."

Even she knew that was what Mr. Dan didn't want to hear.

"But she said she wanted to go to the plateau, remember? I don't think they'd be in caves. They'd prolly be waiting for us up there."

So determined was she to deny the thought of the beacon, telling of Lok's death, that she refused to think of their return as anything but a rescue. Dead bodies weren't rescued. Alive ones were, and Lok had to still be alive.

She always came back. That was what she'd said. She always came back.

[General Dan]

"We can do a quick check of the plateau on the way down. If they made it up there, they should be easy to spot. If not..."

Dan met Teagan's eyes.

"We'll just have to do something to get their attention and hope they're looking."

He looked to away from Teagan, a different look in his eyes.

If she's even alive to look.

[Meiers Brecklin]

* * *


It was a morning like any other on Duravant, with the sun beginning its' climb up into the sky. The wildlife went about its' usual waking routines, and those who lived peaceful, solitary lives started their mornings early. There were no clouds to be seen in the sky, and was as clear and blue as ever.

The peace and stillness of the morning was shattered however, as with an earsplitting crack, the sudden appearance of a Marauder Corvette cut into the sky. Residual shockwaves from its' unexpected entrance - from hyperspace directly into the atmosphere of Duravant - radiated outward in all directions, rumbling through the air around and even shaking the ground for a radius of two miles.

The corvette immediately banked to the left, veering toward the mountain range it'd dropped beside. In the short distance, what was known as Breakneck Peak could be seen, and below it, a large plateau - wooded where it was close to the rest of the mountain, the trees thinned the further it stretched until finally terminating in a sheer drop.

On the bridge of the Novgorod, General Brecklin sat ready, issuing curt orders and waiting for the call from Kes that would mean their time was running out. So far there were no signs of the Imperials, but he knew that would soon change.

A finger depressed the comm button built into his seat, as he patched himself through to Dan who was currently in the hangar. They wouldn't have but one, maybe two chances to make any sort of pickup - assuming there was anyone to pick up.

"We're coming up on the plateau now, General. Keep your eyes peeled."

[General Dan]

"If it sounded anything like it did in here, I think it's a safe bet Lok and Brody heard us come in. Then again, so did the Empire."

Dan stood at the threshold of the hangar bay door beneath his and Teagan's feet. He wore a life line suspended to the bulkhead, and as the hull plating peeled back to reveal the atmospheric shield, he could watch the trees rushing past at tremendous speed. He had no idea how fast they were pushing in atmo, but it had to be at the limits for this altitude.

"We're coming up on broken ground...plateau ought to be..."

The Novgorod buffetted slightly as they gained altitude slightly to compensate for the change in height, rising to meet the plateau."

"...there! There! Slow us down!"

[Teagan Creig]

Like Mr. Dan, Teagan had been fitted with a life line, and she looked out with a sharp eye, watching as the ground zipped by at a speed she'd never thought possible. It was amazing, and the roar of the wind was loud.

She felt the ship slow somewhat at Dan's order, and as it banked slightly, she didn't take her eyes off the trees below. They were starting to thin out, patches of shrub and bush growing more dominant until -

"THERE!"

She pointed to a blur of color moving through the foliage - it was a gula! It had to be!

But it was the blur of white that kept pace beside it that confused her, and Teagan squinted her eyes to try and make out what she was seeing through the sparse trees and foliage.

[s'Il]

There was nothing so pure as freedom. Nothing so pure as running wild. And as the shock-white vornskr propelled herself forward, she let her awareness seep out in all directions as her body pushed ever onwards. Through tree and brush she sprinted, whip-like tail following in her wake like a ridged streamer. Brody, to her side, was pushing his gula to greater speeds. The clearer the land became, the faster they moved.

There was a leather pack, fixed to the Lupine's back, fitted snugly over her frame and holding the prize that they had both come so close to dying for. Brody had fashioned the carrypack from what remained of his own saddlebags, and s'Il had thought it rather ingenious.

The two careened headlong forward, and as the last few trees passed by them, s'Il picked out the unmistakable sound of a ship's engines. She did not need to see it to know that Novgorod had returned for them. She knew they would. She had faith in them; in the Force.

But, it was still a delicate situation as the sounds of pursuit could be heard close behind.

It seemed that the Empire had sent out gula patrols, as their walkers and speeders were unable to scale the mountainside. These mounted units now gave chase, having finally caught up to s'Il and Brody in the early morning.

Before long a second aerial rumbling could be heard. The gunships were on the prowl, and it wouldn't be long before they closed in.

[Brody Chiltan]

"Mother of..."

The sound above was deafening as the Marauder Corvette decelerated hard and closed the distance to the ground. The air blew hot and kicked up a terrible amount of dirt and dust as the engine wash splashed residual gales in their vicinity. Any closer and they were liable to crash!

Brody dug his heels in. He could feel his gula protest, the spittle frothing at its mouth as it thundered onward. As the belly of the ship came into full view, a familiar pair of sights greeted him from inside.

"Teagan!! Dan!!"

Spurred on by the thought that this might actually work, Brody pushed on even closer, coming painfully close to the ship as it dipped even more impossibly low.

[s'Il]

The great white beast kept pace, her lithe body moving as though it had been kept captive for far too long. Now, set free, it stretched its' legs and ate up the ground that it ran across. Powerful muscles drove her, paws churning dirt as her whole body surged ahead.

The telltale sounds of blasterfire reached her ears, and the Lupine sensed the land around them being peppered. She disregarded their pursuers however, and pulled on deep reserved, leaping ahead with renewed energy.

[Teagan Creig]

"Brody!"

Her voice was lost to the wind, it didn't stop her from yelling his name.

She could see the white mass of fur better now, and her heart skipped a beat. For the barest of moments she thought it was chasing Brody, but in the next instant she realized it was running with him, tearing up the ground with strides that the girl guessed were more powerful than even the gula's.

It was wearing a saddlebag, like the packdogs that the upper mountain trappers had in the north, and she moved a little to get a better look at the animal.

"What is that??!!" she shrieked.

[General Dan]

"It's Lok!"

Dan didn't have time to explain to the little girl. That was going to have to wait for a time when they were all hopefully quite safe and out of danger. Dan could see the blaster fire intensifying around them. Disregarding the buffetting ship, he dropped to his belly, crawling to the edge and dipping through the atmospheric shield.

"Give me your hand!!"

[Brody Chiltan]

Pushed to his limits, Brody leaned hard against the gula as it charged ahead. He leveraged himself against the beast's neck, sliding further up the animal's center of gravity, and stretched fingers out to their maximum. Just at the moment he was sure that either the gula would falter or he'd lose his balance, or the ship would pull away, he felt Dan's hand, and tightened.

He held on for dear life.

[s'Il]

From her peripheral vision, she watched as Brody reached up and Dan reached down, their hands meeting in the middle. Her rapid breathing huffed out of flared nostrils, her body beginning to approach its' limits.

Yet still she pushed herself, her muscles burning as they were ordered beyond what they were capable of.

She slowed her pace only slightly, falling back and to the side as a particularly aggressive blaster shot caused a small explosion of earth where she had just been. With the Imperials closing in, and the gunships just now cresting the ridge to bear down from behind, the Lupine steeled herself.

There was one more leap of faith for her, and her alone to take.

[General Dan]

Dan gritted his teeth, pulling up with all his strength, which was barely enough to leverage Brody far enough to get his second hand to grasp him behind the wrist. With two hands on the boy, Dan strained to gain purchase. Fortunately for him, crews in the hangar were quick to move, catching Dan by his legs and middle, and bracing together, they helped to reel himself and the younger man up through the atmo field.

Both men barely had time to rest a second on the deck before they were both crawling back to the outskirts of the bay.

"Lok!!!"

Winded by his efforts, Dan nevertheless pressed through the field again, but the intensity of fire was getting thick. The ship sharply bucked, a sound reaching the hangar that was unmistakably the sound of a LAAT/i's mass drivers punching out a pair of rockets, which struck the aft quarter.

[Meiers Brecklin]

The edge of the plateau was fast approaching, and with the gunship fire scorching their backside, Brecklin barked to Kes.

"Speed us up! Roll left and dip below the side of the cliff!"

"Yes Sir!"

Kes was fast, and the corvette angled away from the gunship fire, pitching smoothly on her path. With the plateau no longer below them, Brecklin ordered the ship to accelerate.

It was a stupid, crazy, insane thought that had entered his mind, but it was at least worth a try. With those LAAT/i's making life difficult, they were going to have to get creative with their exit strategies.

Once more he accessed the comm that would send him to Dan.

"We're coming up from below, Dan. Get ready."

Dipping her nose, the corvette dove even further down, and as she reached the lower face that was far below the plateau's end, banked hard to the right and beginning a steep ascent up the sheer cliff wall.

[s'Il]

Her time had come - her last act of faith.

As Novgorod moved away, s'Il pulled herself in, drinking from the last wells of her inner reserves. They were so very close to empty...

By my blood and Brand, don't let me falter...

It started like some chain reaction. Thin slivers of light piercing through the leather pack she wore. They grew, curling their tendrils around her in fierce movements, accentuating her motions and running along the curves of her muscles. They soothed overtaxed tendons and joints, refreshed and reinvigorated breathless lungs, they gave her a new strength that was Force-born.

Like a mad beast hellbent on simply running, the vornskr dug in deeper to the ground, her strides becoming longer, more powerful. They took her beyond it all, and the distance between herself and the chasing gula patrols - which had been closing - began to draw apart. She pulled away from them.

The edge was so close now...

The power of the Crystals coursed through her veins. It renewed her in a way that she had not thought possible. It surrounded her with its' light, its' essence. Its' song.

The edge...

Her eyes closing, the Lupine gathered herself for one last mighty push, and opening herself to the faith she now placed solely in the Force, flung herself over the precipice.

[General Dan]

On the mad ascent skyward, there would only be one shot at this. Hope against hope yearned for Lok to sense what her rescuers were to do. The barest fractions of seconds passed as the sheer rock wall flew past them at speed. As the top was cleared, Dan and Brody were ready, and held fast by a half dozen others. Hands outreached, they seemed to hang suspended in a moment of time. The white-furred figure of a vornskyr was between the hangar and the plateau, seeming to barely move. Slowly and surely it did though, and everyone reached, hands out. Their efforts, well-intentioned, weren't needed.

She had more than enough clearance, and her graceful, leaping figure floated past just above their heads, and through the shield.

[s'Il]

Her stomach seemed to flip in on itself as she passed into the artifical gravity of Novgorod's hangar bay. And as she descended towards what the ship calculated as 'down', her massive paws reached out, ready to catch the deck below her.

She hit, her momentum sending her stumbling, and as her body finally reached its' end, the Lupine skidded across the metal decking. She let herself fall still, exhaustion taking over with a grip that was unshakable, and offering no resistance to her slide, finally came to rest against a far wall.

She lay on her side, unmoving. Her ribcage rose and fell at a rapid pace, and she did not even lift her head. Even if she wished to, she had no energy to do so. Her eyes still remained closed, jaws coming open as she panted out quick breaths. The pack had been slightly jostled, but it and its' contents were still secure and safe.

Overtaxed muscles began to twitch, but the hulking white beast lay where she was.

[Meiers Brecklin]

"She's in!"

Kes was as shocked to say the words as Brecklin was to hear them, but he didn't allow himself the luxury of dwelling on the possibility of their hair-brained scheme having actually worked.

"Bank right, level us out! Take us away from those gunships!"

"Already on it!"

Novgorod broke sharply to the side, her engines screaming as she tore through Duravant's atmosphere.

"Where are my hyperspace coordinates?!"

"Coming through now -"

Brecklin turned to another of his officers, determined fire in his eyes.

"Dump one our fuel rods on my mark."

If there was any surprise on the other man's face he hid it well, only nodding his head in acknowledgment.

"Kes, I need my coordinates... "

A warning claxon sounded, as Novgorod's sensors detected another volley of incoming missiles from the gunships.

"Done! Navicomp programed and hyperdrive spooling!"

Brecklin wasted no time.

"Purge that rod!"


----

It was instantaneous - one moment the Novgorod was hurtling through the sky, and the next it had disappeared, in its' place a split nanosecond of nothing.

And then...

The sky drew in, pulled all around into one singular point, then shattered itself outward. Brilliant, white-hot light engulfed everything before collapsing into an ever-expanding ball of death and fire that blew outward. The inferno ballooned out, meeting the pursuing gunships with a terrible greeting. The craft were incinerated instantly, and still the explosion spread.

When the sound finally caught up with the hellish visual it chased, cracking thunder peeled across the sky. It shook the very foundations of the mountains and rock below, and the ground punched itself downward from the pressure of the blast. Fissures and cracks opened up in the earth, lancing away from the epicenter like lightning.

Novgorod was gone, seemingly vaporized.


----

On the bridge, watching the swirling starlines of hyperspace in the viewport, General Brecklin finally let out the long breath he'd been holding in. He blinked, fingers tightening on the armrests of his chair as he realized that he and the rest of his men were in fact very much still alive.

His body leaned back, and he swallowed.

[General Dan]

"Lok!"

Nearly felled by exhaustion, Dan unclipped his tether, stumbling to the far end of the hangar. Nestled in one of the fighter berths lay the Lupine's vornskyr form, unmoving, but alive. Dan dropped to the ground, putting a hand at her head.

"You made it. I don't know how the hell you did, but you did the impossible."

Dan looked back, and he could see the crew of the ship looking on, all with plenty of strange expressions. Too tired to care, he propped himself up against the wall to catch his breath. The rumble in the deck plate told him all the wonderful news he needed.

They were in hyperspace.

[s'Il]

Eyes cracking open, one white and the other a tawny yellow, the vornskr weakly shifted her head, the muscles in her neck protesting as she nestled her muzzle into the palm of his hand.



* * *
One week later...


It was a matter of security, Novgorod's constant, almost continuous existence in hyperspace. She only dropped out for hours, sometimes minutes at a time, collecting her nav data, intel reports, and other supplies before jumping back out.

According to the Empire she'd been destroyed at Duravant, and the still very much budding Rebellion had opted to use that opinion to their advantage for now.

General Brecklin and his men had left three days ago during a stop to one of the farther outer planets that the Rebels had silently claimed. Now, Novgorod held within her bulkheads Dan's crew. Brody and Teagan were still aboard, though their time was not indefinite. Both had decided it best to go back home, and as soon as the opportunity presented itself, they would.


In Dan's quarters, which s'Il now also occupied (she'd given up her own to Brody and Teagan), the two sat together on the plain, utilitarian sofa that rested against one wall of the outer main room. He was stretched along its' length, half sitting, his arms around the Lupine who was practically in his lap, laying back against his chest as she read from a datapad that had the latest intel reports from their last stopover.

He was warm, his arms comfortable, and she blinked slowly while thumbing the scrollbar to move the page down.

"Says here the Emperor pulled up stakes from Duravant - "

Her finger lifted to highlight the text, and s'Il bit her lip as she read further on.

"... apparently word from the Core is that the 'pirate ship' that attacked their archeological dig site and stole whatever treasure they'd 'found' was destroyed - "

She stopped then, as his arms around her made it difficult to maneuver the 'pad. She made a face that he couldn't see.

"You can let me go every once in a while, you know."

[General Dan]

"Of course he abandoned it, there's nothing of any value to bury there anymore, or so he thinks."

Dan thought about the implications of all this as he rested a hand against her shoulder.

"I just hope he left enough behind for people to be able to call a home."

Would it even be possible for Teagan and Brody to return? Would they want to? He couldn't make that choice for them, he knew.

s'Il's next words stirred him, and he tightened his hold on her shoulder.

"Maybe I can find a way to have faith like that again. Faith that something can endure everything this cruel galaxy throws at it. I have faith in you, Lok. I won't forget that again."

[s'Il]

His last words made her smile, and she snaked her arm up to blindly reach back, giving his cheek an affectionate pat as her other hand still worked to scroll through the information on the 'pad.

"Looks like there was a statement issued, but it's mostly just political garbage that essentially means the Empire thinks Duravant is worthless and not worth either time or effort."

She sighed and switched the 'pad off, gently tossing it to the low table that was in front of the sofa. Twisting in his arms, she leaned into him, propping her chin on his chest.

"Your home is safe," she reassured.

There was a silence between the two, as she looked up at him from her oddly-angled lower perch. A sudden shift in her expression to one of mildly belated surprise.

"Though I will be honest - I'd not expected the General's use of a fuel rod - I planned that we'd simply draw them away; give them something to chase and take them away from Duravant."

[General Dan]

"Well, for once I'm glad my home is considered worthless by most folks' appraisal."

With something of a satisfied smile, Dan leaned back at the thought of that dichotomy. It was why the Empire wouldn't - couldn't prevail. They had no concept of what really mattered.

Mentioning the General's unorthodox strategy, Dan nodded.

"Yes, that. I suppose he figured it best to go out with a bang instead of a whimper. At least this way, we live to surprise the Empire another day."

[s'Il]

"It would seem that way, yes."

She watched him, felt his ease. It warmed her heart to see something other than a knitted brow or a frown etched into the lines on his face. His home and people; his family and friends, were safe from any reprisals or further intrusions.

"You should smile more often," she whispered, the corners of her own lips curling back into a grin.

[General Dan]

That elicited a new thought, and sure enough, he smiled on account of it.

"You've given me plenty of reasons to do that today."

Holding her close, he closed his eyes, and sighed.

"With enough practice, I could even make it a habit. We've got a lot of work to do between now and then, though."

[s'Il]

* * *
Epilogue




It had been a month.

A month since they'd all reportedly perished in a cataclysmic explosion over the skies of Duravant. It was a month of constant hiding and keeping close to the ground without any unnecessary exposure.

Standing with Brody, the two watched as the sun rose to greet a new morning. Teagan they had already left in Pale Valley - she had been more than happy to be with her extended family once more, as she'd been separated from them for so long. They were all she had left, and apparently after much thought the girl had decided she wanted to give herself the chance to grow up quietly. Apparently she'd had enough 'action' as it were, and s'Il was eager to allow her that much and more.

But, Brody. s'Il had seen the Force hovering over him - could still see it, ready to pull him close and watch over him as he watched over something equally as important.

Atop the plateau that they'd made their last individual acts of faith, they had not spoken but maybe a handful of words.

In the Lupine's hands was a simple wooden box.

Both looked up at the clouds scudding across the heavens, painted with the colors of dawn.

"It is a beautiful morning," she said quietly.

[Brody Chiltan]

"You know,"

Brody didn't take his eyes off the same sky that Lok was looking at.

"Growing up here, before the Empire came, all I wanted to do was leave. After that, all I could see myself doing was staying and fighting. Whatever it takes, fighting them all until they left."

He looked to the Jedi, and sighed.

"Now, I don't know anymore. We're safe, and we owe it to you. I can't help feel that I ought to pay that forward. There's probably more than a few worlds out there needing help worse than we are. Do I stay here, or do I go?"

[s'Il]

She mulled over his words, the expression of serenity on her face unchanging. Feeling as the sun warmed her skin, s'Il turned to meet his eyes.

"I think you should stay."

A single finger tikked idly along the wood-crafted box she held.

"... I would like you to stay. It makes my request easier."

[Brody Chiltan]

"Your request?"

He would object to her suggestion outright, if he didn't feel that she already understood that he longed to make a difference for the cause, even beyond the scope of his friends and family on Duravant.

"What would you have of me, Lok?"

[s'Il]

That he'd spoken her name rather than 'Master Jedi' made her dip her head, eyes closed with a satisfied smile on her lips. s'Il felt a satisfaction at the familiarity with which he treated her.

She slowly held out the box to him, lifting her broken gaze to meet his finally.

"Some things must be kept safe from those who would wish their destruction... or worse."

She did not need to explain herself - he would know well enough the contents of the box she now extended to him.

For his safe-keeping.

For his protection.

"And those things must be kept safe until their purpose and need are required."

[Brody Chiltan]

The responsibility she was giving him was enough to stifle any notion of dissent. He began to understand there were many sacrifices to be made. Many battles to be fought, and not all of them were on far-flung worlds. In some small way, by being the protector the Jedi wanted him to be, he was given an extraordinary chance to tip the balance in favor of the forces of light.

Slowly and with reverence, he received the box she gave him.

"You're the first Jedi anyone on my planet has ever met. By taking this, I hope we both see a day where you aren't the last, either."

He nodded, looking her in the eyes.

"You can count on me."

[s'Il]

"I know that I can."

It wasn't said with any amount of scorn or patronization, but encouragement.

"Tell no one; Dan does not even know. It is not that I do not trust him or anyone else, but rather it is for their own safety."

Her hands now free, the Lupine reached up to smooth one side of his hair - the morning wind had undone what she surmised to be a hasty combing on his part.

"You have a wonderful home, Brody Chiltan. Live well. Raise a family. Live."

It was something that she had said to Dan many years ago, though in different words. And even though the man she was growing close to had held a different view on the matter, there was a feeling within her that Brody would understand the meaning behind what she was speaking of.

Her hand moved to his shoulder, and with a smooth motion she pulled him into an embrace.

"Keep them safe for me," she whispered.