Cheese crackers and the funny pages

Rolling to her feet, s'Il held her still lit sabre in a loose grip as she looked down upon the Executor. In distate, she patted at the front of her shirt to dust off specks of dirt.

Attention going to her opponent once more, the Lupine watched his agony. She had seen it in his eyes - caught so off guard by her actions. It was something she relished.

She let him alone, writhing on the ground, having no desire to end his suffering. No - she would let him live with his failure here, today, on this world. Mercy would be given to this man who had so wished to cut her down. He had been too bold, and s'Il had only allowed him to reap the benefits of what he had done.

"Think of this as a lesson, Executer Sevon," she said finally, "in exercising caution when engaging your elders."

Her eye rested on his form. "And in answer to your previous question, my name is Loklorien s'Ilancy."

Shock. This woman is S’ilancy! This woman IS S’ilancy! She IS S’ilancy!

Bite her back. Bite her back. Just do it.

He wasn’t thinking logically. His neural interface was already causing his body to release a cocktail of proteins that would help him cope with the massive damage incurred. It had mind altering affects, he knew this.

Khendon, under normal circumstances, would’ve said something different. “Think of this as a lesson,” he spoke softly, “in not messing with Executor Sevon. Watch Cathar burn.”

He caught sight of the first jade turbolaser beam falling from heaven like an angel’s lance and blacked out.

"Dren in a bucket!" I shielded my eyes against the first sizzlingly bright green blast from the sky. Even with the storm picking up around us, the far away turbolaser beam was nearly perfectly visible.

"SANIS!" I looked down and remembered to toggle the commlink. "Sanis, they're slaggin' the planet. You best hurry!"

"Come on, it's a big planet!"

I yelled back into the comm, a bit unsure of myself as the first green turbolaser rain blossomed on the horizon.

Dirt. Dirt, dirt, and more dirt with dirt on the side. And I was supposed to retrace my footsteps and find a suicidal mystic in the middle of raining hellfire.

"I really could use a sign here!" I said to nobody at all.

I kicked the shuttle higher into atmo, trying to get a better vantage as I headed back toward the village.

Anger. Righteous anger. It burned in her soul and the Lupine glowered true hate down at the unconscious form of Sevon. Without a second thought she called his thrown blade to her hand. It whipped through the air from where it'd fallen to nestle itself firmly in her grasp.

The Jedi pulled her arm back, launching the blade downwards and into Sevon's exposed hand.

Her breath came out quick and rapid as she stared down at the prone form of the Executor. Oh how she wanted to kill him - to drive her sabre through his chest and end his horrid life. It was the last look in his eyes though that stopped her. In their depths she had seen a rage fueled by failure. To live with that would be worse than dying, and the Lupine huffed an indignant breath from her nostrils.

Turning on her heel then, s'Il picked her way through the rubble that had once been a shopkeeper's hut. The ground beneath her feet shook momentarily as the ordered bombardment comenced, and she had to catch herself.

Another few steps and she was out of sight, leaving the bleeding and burned body of Executor behind.

Now to find Dan.

A group of dead Sorrow trees stood clinging to the balding crest of a parched hill, and a shadow that was not their stood among them.

Dan's lean silhouette stepped out from the grove, where he had found a vantage point to the fight between the two force users. Though the temptation to intervene was high, he had resisted until the outcome was clear.

The earth shook beneath his feet, and the gunslinger's eyes took to the sky, as the hurricane of turbolaser blasts crept closer.

"s'Ilancy!" He shouted, running after her a at a good clip down the hillside.

Khendon’s eyes opened and his face winced with immense pain—his implant was releasing chemicals to keep him conscious.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

There was an anvil in his head and the smith was beating the sin out of it.

His eyes shot around, examining the confusing scene but not really seeing anything. White. That was the sensation; but, there was more.

His arms felt like they had been submerged in vats of ice water for hours. His extremities were ungainly and barely tangible.

The Executor tried to move and a spike of pain ran up his back and sent heat with the intensity of a planet-wide forest fire.

Warm, warm liquid traced its way around his side and over his tattooed arms. It was so perfectly hot. It was. Blood warm. It hit him—he was bleeding to death on this foreign soil.

I will not die here. I will not die here. I will not die here. I will not die here. I will not die here.

Lightning in the sky, thunder as it crashed into the ground.

Thump. Thump. Thump

A face, all too confusing. A voice, muffled by a mask, screamed, shattered by the sound of energy coming to terrestrial rest and setting an entire building ablaze. “STAY WITH ME, EXECUTOR! STAY WITH ME!”

The shuttle had landed and he hadn’t even noticed. Already, Harbinger knelt near his leader, rifle scanning for any rebel assault.

A medic dressed entirely in white and with a large crimson cross on the side of his mask was shinning lights into Khendon’s eyes.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

It was the repulsor whine from the shuttle as it took off, its course set for space.

The Executor indicated for Harbinger to come close. The hideously armored face approached, its demonic gaze entrancing Khendon for a moment. “Stop the bombardment,” he mumbled through parched lips.

“What, Sir!? Repeat!?” The shuttle was running fast. Fast enough that its engines were whining in complete protest.

“Stop the bombardment.” Harbinger nodded in recognition and talked to an invisible audience through his helmet’s headset.

S’ilancy one. Khendon zero. Just wait, my dear, just wait. With that, the medic injected him and he blacked out.

The beads of Lamar's head rattled as the green spearheaded from the sky. A fear overcame him like no other before it, sending a trail through his spine that left him in a cold shiver. For a moment he cowered in his buckled seat, pressing against the back as he peered from the ship's window.

Taking a quick glance down at the blonde-haired child beside him, he frowned. It was rare that his composure was completely disorientated, but it was worst when he compared it.

He felt weak.

"Frag! When in seven rings of Corellian hell are we going to get to Coruscant," Lamar screamed, clenching his teeth and forming an angered fist. His hand shook like the beads of his braids, ready at any moment to unleash the turmoil that battered his senses.

For as young as she was, Tak was fairly observant of many things - living on Cathar, and with her mother, had taught her alot in her few years.

"A'hga na Omi'uka," she said sternly; or at least as stern as a child could. It was a mild rebuke, and the little blonde shook her finger at the man sitting next to her. Of course, in their current situation and given that the ship Dama had brought her aboard was rattling rather fiercely, Tak opted to scramble from her seat.

Best to find the other lady until Dama got back.

And with a speed only a toddler could possess, the youngster quickly made her way after James.

s'Il stopped, turning her head sharply in the direction of the one who'd called her name. She should have known - Dan always seemed to show up just when she either needed or wanted him the most.

The Lupine let a smile of relief wash over her features at the sight of him, but her expression quickly turned sour as another lance of green energy shook the earth beneath her feet.

And then, no more. No other following spear of destruction. She had steadied herself after the last one, and gingerly s'Il released her handhold. A cursory glance around her revealed nothing. The sky remained deathly silent.

Pushing off from the wall she'd used as cover, the Lupine strode out while in the same motion expertly replacing her second lightsabre in its' inverted leather carrier on her back.

Her step a little lighter at the sight of the old gunslinger, her hands reached up to pat away any remaining dust smudges, and her stride soon became a slow jog.

Lamar's shout came clearly up the ladder to my ears, and it knocked me out of my fear. I toggled the intercom as the bombardment stopped, and said, "I believe there are nine hells in Corellian belief."

Tak appeared, clambering up the ladder, and I moved quickly to help her the rest of the way up. "Yeah, I don't like him much either." I settled the little girl on my lap and waited for Sanis to get back in touch.

A scowl distorted Lamar's features as he listened to the sudden response. Nothing about the woman had sent a friendly vibe through his bones, but sarcastic remarks were not making the situation any better. It was clear that the trip to the Core World would not be coming anytime soon, and that little pleasure Lamar had was dwindling away.

Reaching for the buckle, he snatched it off and quickly picked up his blaster. Over time it had become an object of comfort, but now it stood for anger. The strong grip that accompanied his hold on his blaster usually became considerably stronger. A lull pop rumbled through his hand as he strained to refrain from using the deadly item for its purpose. He was ready at any point to unload on any moving creature.

Taking his intense gaze off from the void ahead, he looked down at the spot next to him. The blonde girl had managed to wiggle off, but Lamar could care less. All he wanted now was to leave the broken planet and head to the Imperial Center. Scrambling off to the ladder, Lamar climbed quickly up the steps until he found his face meeting James and Tak. Not a millisecond of hesitance could be seen in Lamar's motion as he pointed the blaster's eye to meet between James' two orbs.

"Take me to Coruscant. Now!"

"You okay Lok?"

Dan ran toward her, and gave a cursory visual inspection, and his expression hardened.

"What in seven hells are you still doing on-planet? Where's that damn Prent?"

With a rare smile touching her lips, s'Il seemed almost giddy with the first tinges of victory over the Executor.

"I don't know where Sanis is," she almost laughed, "I jumped off Layla."

What an odd thing to say. Jumped from a flying ship? Ha! Oh I kill myself.

The Lupine cast aside all airs of formality as she swiftly took up his hand in hers, pulling him about and with her as she continued on - away from the previous battlezone.

"I may never understand you Jedi mystics."

Dan growled as the two made their getaway back toward Layla's general direction.

"But I don't know if you're fast talking can ever explain away jumping out of a perfectly good freighter, which I paid for this mission mind you, to go fight a Sith Lord and his starfleet. Do we need to stop and look around for the marbles that you lost?"

I've dealt with drunks in the wee hours of the morning, and gotten them bundled into taxis or talked down. I was even robbed at blaster point twice while waitressing back home. I was helpless in the face of Lamar's weapon, but not entirely.

Calmly, perhaps more calmly than Cirr or Sanis would ever believe, I said, "Certainly. We'll leave right away."

I shifted my eyes to Proon, who was still sitting in the co-pilot's chair, looking uncomfortable. "Jeffries, d'ya mind takin' the girl?" Slowly and carefully I grasped Tak under the arms and handed her off to the old man, looking at Lamar the whole time. The girl out of the way, I put my hands on Layla's controls and added, "I can take us up right now, but there's an Imperial fleet upstairs. Y'want to stay hidden until they leave, or should I just make a run for it?"

I kept my tone as mild as if I were discussing something rational, instead of being held at gunpoint by what I was convinced was a raging Imperial nut-job. "I'll also have to notify Cirrsseetto about us takin' off. Is that ok?"

'Imperials' Lamar thought, clenching tightly onto the blasters grip. 'Here'

For a moment the blaster faltered in it's direct point, the man's grip weakening as his focus became isolated on his thoughts. The Empire had some sort of part in the green light. Nothing of such magnitude could come from anything other than the Imperial reservoir. A sigh escaped Lamar's lips as his eyes glaze wavered and his orbs targeted James. There was a sense of clarity now, but still the blaster stayed pointed at her face.

A gulp ran down his throat, dropping in the young soldiers system. The moment had gone and passed now leaving only a conclusion.

"If the Empire is here I need to put my beacon on. Maybe they can get me out of this hell-hole." The young man eyes switched to the side, hoping to intake any more thoughts he forgot to file.

"I’m not going to kill you if you don’t do anything stupid. I'm just not patient..."

Finding herself deposited in the old man's lap, Tak took one look at him before her eyes went wide. The wrinkles!! So many!! Squirming to her belly, she deftly slid off the old man's lap and back over to James while begging to be picked back up.

"Nadha kho'ss'umo Adia'vu," she said, turning a worried glance behind her at the old one.

Something was up. The thump thump thumping of the orbital turbolaser strikes had ended, but Sanis was still out there somewhere, and they were still idling in the canyon.

A bit leery of the sudden quiet, Cirr climbed up through the engine access hatch, to return to the crew compartment.

Offering only a backwards glance to Dan, s'Il flashed him her pearly whites as she turned about to face him. In the same motion, she threw her arms around his neck, sending the both of them into a controlled spin.

Her nose was scant centimeters from his.

"Mayhaps I lost my marbles," she grinned, "but I'm still two for two."

Dan caught his tongue on more than a few lashings he wanted to give her. She'd disregarded his concern for her, disregarded her own safety, and just about anything else inbetween.

"Whats a little thing like a turbolaser bombardment to come between a pair like us, eh?"

He smiled lopsidedly at her, and kissed her lightly.

I quietly gathered Tak back into my arms, keeping the girl's head well away from the end of Lamar's blaster. I suddenly knew that Cirr was approaching, although the big Cizerack wasn't making any noise to announce his arrival.

And Lamar's beacon was probably...probably... in his bags on the lower levels. "If you want t' activate the beacon, then you should. We'll all still be here when you come back up."

As long as Daani didn't run into him downstairs instead of Cirr. The stormtrooper would probably pop the little Cizerack between the ears if she startled him.

The young man glared as Tak dashed off into James' arms. Not a single flinch from his blaster could be seen as he dangerously pointed it ahead at the woman and child. Mercy was not a subject taught in neither times of war nor the life of a Bounty Hunter, leaving very little empathy in Lamar.

"I'm not stupid." He snarled. "You two are coming with me."

Lamar spat to the side, twirling the blaster down into a holster at his waist. Bringing his eyes back, he stared upon the two, beckoning them without even a single gesture. Smoothly turning about, he trailed down the steps below before awaiting the James and Tak to follow.

"I don’t trust you! I turn my back, I might find a blaster in it."

On the way up the ladder, Cirr spotted Lamar coming down, with a blaster in his off hand. Reacting on the fly, he reached up and grabbed each of the stormtrooper's ankles, then let go of his foothold and let his 300 pound frame do the rest.

Both Lamar and Cirr fell down the access hatch and back down to the lower level.

Lamar came down in a sudden flail, his arms flopping like a Gunman out of water. The grip had come as a shock, but the sudden fall left a jolt rushing through every chord of his body. A moment before he was in control, and the next he was dropping like a stone. All he saw was a red blaze flying from his blaster as his uncontrollable hand bolted down on the fragile trigger. It meant very little though as he continued down in a short scream.

Whoever had grabbed his legs was carrying far too much mass for him to counter for a soft land. The only hope that ran through Lamar's risen adrenaline pump was a nice land a top that momentum-shifter. In the end it was just another empty seed, leaving him hopelessly hitting the ground. A thud banked in the back of his head as he came in collision with the ground. The blaster let out another scream, hitting a nearby wall as he lay barley conscious on the ground.

Pain kept his eyes open, telling him to look for the purpose behind the horrendous agony. Taking a moment's gaze, he saw nothing. Instead of a clear vision there was a display of hot crimson dripping from his busted lip. The taste, the sensation, the feeling kept his eyes roaming instead of falling back into a haze. Finally locking onto the large object sprawled across the floor; there was nothing more to be said than...

"Frag..."

And then he was gone.

Tak in my arms, I moved as smoothly as possible to follow Lamar. As he stepped onto the ladder, still gesturing at me with his blaster, he said, "I don’t trust you! I turn my back, I might find a blaster in it."

Meekly I moved closer to him, Proon Jeffries considered harmless in his old age and left behind in the cockpit. Plus, Lamar had two hostages now. The stormtrooper scowled at me, and then disappeared down the ladder. His blaster discharged as he fell, catching me high on the shoulder. I spun to the side from the impact of the energy bolt, falling down in my attempt to keep Tak from harm. Landing hard on my hip, Tak was still on top of me, clinging tightly.

Only the slightest of yelps passed through her lips as Tak went down with James. Her hands clenched at the woman's shirt, fingers clutching the fabric in a near-deathgrip.

The little girl buried her head in James' shoulder just below the wound, beginning to quietly sob. Why wasn't Dama here??

s'Il smiled, resting her cheek on Dan's shoulder for a few moments. It was odd that she felt so happy, with so much destruction around her. Maybe that's what happened when you were with someone you cared about? There were still many times that Dan made her feel like nothing more than a little child. In all the years that she had known him, she felt safe with him, and he'd always helped her whether she had wanted his offered hand or not.

Finally, s'Il pulled away a little, looking up to him as her smile slowly faded. She could see it in his eyes, a sort of frustration, and the Lupine knew it was brought on by her own actions. This was one of those times that she felt like a child in his presence. It didn't matter that she was a Jedi, nor that she was an Apex Pureblood of the House Losstarot - in fact, s'Il doubted that even he cared for the significance of such a thing.

"I had to do this, you know. I had to stop him I had to make him stop the bombardment, and he's leaving now - him and his fleets.

"Please understand that."

Down in the gunners station, Daani had found a folded up old newspaper from some unknown world. It wasn't written in Basic, or on a datapad, but was a huge papery fold-out job that crinkled and was hard to prop up to look at.

She was engrossed in figuring out a comic from the pictures alone when she heard blaster fire. Tossing the funny pages out of the way, she peered around underneath the freighter into the murk of the storm. Nothing down there.

Daani reached for the intercom, but paused. If it was from inside the ship, better that she didn't alert anyone to her whereabouts, Jussst jin cassse. Unstrapping, and climbing back out of the station, the little Cizerak crept into the lowest deck of the ship. She prowled to the galley, to see if there was anyone in there.

It was empty.

Grabbing a box of provisions, in case she had to hide herself in a smugglers hidey-hole, Daani edged along the passage and peeked into her brother's bunk. Empty again. Hmmm...

"I understand that people get close to other people."

Dan's eyes squinted against the sun. In the distance, he could see a small craft weaving on the horizon.

"Makes them do all manner of things a clear headed person wouldn't. Don't make it any less right, if you look at it in that light."

The craft seemed to be getting closer.

"You did what you had to do for them. Raised my hackles a bit in the process, but that's done. Now, I'm asking you."

His eyes returned to hers.

"Go.

Tomorrow, we'll see each other, somewhere. It just isn't ours today."

Lamar's stray shot was a ricochet, hitting a high gloss carbide press and continuing on.

As Cirr hit the ground, he blinked hard a few times and sniffed at the air.

"That smell..."

Looking up, he saw a hole in his chest, leaking crimson.

"...uh oh."

The two specks way out there almost looked like people. I weaved the shuttle closer to get a scan with close range sensors.

"Finally!"

Two humanoid life forms in the middle of nowhere. If it wasn't s'Il, I'd know in a few seconds at least. I brought the Cat low and slow across the contours of the land, coming up the side of a bluff before following the grade of a hillside to a dried-out gully. The repulsors began to kick up a puff of dust as I slowed down even further.

That fleeting moment of youthfulness departed, and s'Il let her eye follow Dan's previous line of sight. The shuttle was closer now, and it was easy enough to see that it wasn't Imperial. The closer it got, the more recognizable it became, and she soon could make out more detail.

The Black Cat. Layla's shuttle.

The Lupine turned back to look up at Dan, the weight of her years settling once more upon her shoulders.

Her arms went around him once again, and she embraced him fiercely. "Don't dally," she whispered in his ear, "it's been too long since I last laid eyes on you."

I struggled upright, placing the little one as gently as I could on the deck. "Stay here, Tak." My shoulder hurt like someone had... well... shot me, but it was too quiet on the deck below.

I had no trouble breathing, and there didn't seem to be too much blood, at the moment, so I moved to the ladder and peered down cautiously. Crr's feet were just in my line of sight, and to my relief they moved. Lamar, however, I couldn't see. I'd have to go down there.

Pulling my small holdout blaster from it's hiding place in my clothing, I gritted my teeth and held it with my right hand. The wound in my right shoulder made it painful to move my arm, but I really couldn't climb down the ladder with it. Thanking the deities, I made it to the second deck without incident. Lamar seemed to be unconscious but Cirr... "Oh, frell." I pushed him back to the ground when he appeared to be trying to sit up. "Cirr, lay still. Hold on, I'll go for help."

But I didn't have anyone to go for help to. Frantically I pulled my shirt off over my head, gingerly drew my right arm out, and pressed the fabric to Cirr's wound. "Stay still big guy, I'm going to have to get the medpac from the cockpit."

No sooner did the shuttle land with a soft thud than I was out of it, heading toward Dan and Lok.

"Oh great, you're here."

With a look somewhere between anger and paranoia, I reached in my pocket and pulled out a pair of stun cuffs, tossing them at s'Il's feet.

"Put these on."

The Lupine pulled only slightly away from Dan, a look of confusion descending upon her features as she slowly let her arms fall. s'Il blinked as she stared first at Sanis, then the cuffs at her feet, then back up at Sanis.

"I beg your pardon?"

My gun was out before her sentence finished, leveled off at her from the hip.

"In case you hadn't noticed, I've got a job to do. And a powerful urge to live, even if you don't. Ladies throwing themselves out of moving starships more or less complicate that."

There was the whole issue of what the hell was she still doing here with Dan, but that took a back seat.

"Don't mean to mince words. The sky up there's thick with people I don't want no business with, so the next thing I'd better hear from your general direction is the sound of those cuffs closing and you stepping along."

"G-get me a blanket too."

Cirr winced as he applied pressure to his blaster shot, and his teeth began to chatter.

"Too cold down h-herre."

He turned on his side slightly, the blood from his wound engorging the now-soaked shirt he used to stem the tide.

Her confusion was quickly transformed to mild frustration, and s'Il's eye hardened as she turned to face Sanis.

"Son, I think you'd best rethink your words."

Booted toe nudging up under the stuncuffs, she kicked them up and into her hand, but made no move to put them on. "What I did had to be done. No one is going to bother us now."

BLAT!

A smoking scorch mark erupted in sparks a few inches from the Lupine's feet. I looked down at my gun with a suprised look on my face.

"Man! That trigger's a might sensitive. I need a smith to see to that. Somebody could've been hurt."

Dan laughed at the smart-aleck mercenary's banter in an appreciative manner.

Only a grumbled look of annoyance passed across her face as s'Il cast a look behind her to Dan.

She said nothing however, and took a step away from the gunslinger. Free hand reaching blindly back, she let a gentle hand pass across his arm. "On the morrow," she said without turning.

And stepping carefully over a few loose pockets of rubble, she addressed Prent.

"Let's go then."

"Be safe, Loklorien."

His eyes smiled at her as he reached across with his other hand, giving her passing hand a gentle squeeze.

The walk back to the shuttle was short, quiet, and tense. I had to break the ice.

"You look like hell. Rough date?"

I passed the lupine my handkerchief to deal with the more immediate layers of battle grime that had caked onto her during...whatever the hell she had been doing.

In my thin tank top I knew that it wasn't cold inside Layla. I snapped the medpac out of it's place in the bulkhead. Tak watched me with wide eyes, too afraid to go back over to Proon who was peering out of the front of the cockpit and generally being useless. I gave her a reassuring smile I didn't feel and slid down the ladder.

"Hold still, you big lunk." Medpac open, I grabbed the bacta paste and bit the top off. My hands shook a little as I pulled away his hand and the blood soaked shirt. I ripped at the burn hole in his shirt to clear the area around the wound, and squeezed the pinkish clear gel into it. "I'll get some synflesh on there and then we'll turn ya over and check the back."

I doubted that the bolt had passed all the way through, but he had been fairly close to Lamar when the blaster had gone off. And there seemed to be some blood underneath him. Adrenaline kept the pain of my own shoulder at bay, but my arm was starting to feel numb and stiff.

Daani came running up the passageway. "Cjirr!" She skidded to a halt on her knees beside her brother, a box of crackers falling to the ground behind her.

I grabbed her face with my good hand. "Daani, I need the blankets from his room. And a pair of stun cuffs. Quickly!"

Stricken with fear at the sight of all the blood around her brother, Daani needed a push to get started. "Rrrjight!" Jumping to her feet, the cubling ran down to Sanis' quarters and dug the cuffs out of his dresser drawer. Then she snatched the blankets off of Cirr's bed, and his pillow.

Stumbling and tripping on the blankets, pillow nearly blocking her vision, Daani got back in time to see that James had turned Cirr over and was fixing some synflesh on the back on his shoulder. There was too much blood. "Herrre." Daani pushed the pillow under her big brother's head and left James to worry about the blankets.

She hopped over to Lamar and snapped the cuffs on - one on his right wrist, the other on the bottom rung of the ladder.

Creeping down the ladder, Tak gingerly touched the deck as Daani arrived with blankets and a pillow. She watched the other girl fasten the unconscious man to the ladder she'd just descended down, and skittered a few steps back.

But the sight of Cirr was enough to propell her forward once more, and the little girl crouched at his head. A small hand carefully touched his forehead, and she lowered her voice to a whisper.

"O'ah ou'ulah, me'halo ah'oara iulu leh'lah," she began quietly - it was something Dama had said many times before while holding her after many a spill. However, unlike Cathar, these words were much softer, smoother, and lilting.

Tak didn't want anything to happen to Cirr - he was her favorite "uncle". She closed her eyes, praying as she continued to softly murmur a long lost Lupine lullaby.

With her free hand, s'Il accepted the offered handkerchief. "I would hardly call it a date," she answered evenly, albeit just a tad curt.

A few wipes later and she gave Sanis a sidelong look. After another moment of silence she pushed the still unused stuncuffs into his chest as they walked side by side.

The Lupine opened her mouth to speak, a mildy scolding tone in her voice.

"Now tell me, was all of that back there really necessary?"

Khendon’s shuttle landed on the main deck of the Death Advocate. Red lights bathed the large area in an oddly calming manner—there was a paternal sense to the space.

Medics rushed to the opened door of the emergency craft and lifted the now awake Executor via the stretcher he had been placed on. Fluids flooded his body and brought his mind back to sharpness. Already, first aid had stabilized Khendon and reduced the bleeding significantly.

“Can you move your legs, Executor?” It was a white garbed man.

“Of course,” came his grumpy response, “I’m fine, Doctor. I just need—“

“You need to tell me what the frell you were doing down there!” It was Admiral Gregorus with an angry look on his wrinkled face.

Khendon, of course, knew what he meant. He expected words about his lost men to flood from the Admiral’s throat and drown him. Instead, the man did not speak.

Of course, when one is choking it is very, very difficult to make any noise besides a mild gargle. Gregorus was on his knees, hands grasping at the invisible force that threatened to draw every last breath from his body.

One of the nearby medics ran toward the fallen officer and Khendon shot him a warning glace. He backed off.

“For conduct unbefitting a field officer, I hereby sentence you to death.” It wasn’t as good as killing S’ilancy would have been. “Sergeant,” he addressed Harbinger as he stepped off the transport.

“My Executor?”

“I’m ordering a blockade. See to it. The nearest Imperial fleet is to send another Destroyer to support. Ensure our gravity wells are at full operational output.”

“As you command.”

"Seemed a might too clingy for just acquaintances."

I smirked at s'Il as she went about cleaning herself. Opening the shuttle's egress door, I ducked and stepped inside, moving to the pilot's seat.

"Trust me, I'm fighting back tears coming to terms with splitting you two up."

Cirr wanted to yell at James and get the two little girls out of the room, but his words were only audible in a wheeze of painfully exhaled breath. The big felinoid rolled back onto his back, finding no comfort on his side either. His chin and lower lip quivered slightly as he looked up at Tak.

I stumbled to my feet and handed Daani my blaster. "Keep an' eye on that one," indicating Lamar, "And sing out if he wakes up."

The blankets covering Cirr were doing a good job of covering up the blood on the deck as well, and I didn't have time to worry about the two kids being scarred for life. I pulled myself up the ladder one handed, and fell against the comm. "Sanis you need to get here double time. Cirr's been shot."

About to retort back at Sanis, s'Il jerked her head sharply to the shuttle's dash as the sound of James' voice came over the comm unit. Of its' own accord, the Lupine's hand reached out to slap against the panel that would close the door before hurriedly lowering her small frame into the co-pilot's chair.

"What the hell do you mean, Cirr's shot? Did we get boarded? Is he okay?"

My hands were frantically going over the power-up sequence for the shuttle, and we bucked unevenly into the air, before I dumped the throttle into drive, putting down a beeline back to Layla.

"It was Lamar - he lost it. Cirr got here in time t' stop him from activating a beacon for th' Imps," I took a sharp intake of breath as I jostled my arm, "but he got shot high in th' chest. Close range. I did the best I could... but I'm not a medic."

I bit down on my lower lip, with nothing to say to the bad news. I was practically standing on the throttle pedal, and the shuttle was shaking slightly from the stress put on the engines.

I wanted to tear the yoke from its mounting and beat the console into sparks and scrap metal.

Grinding her teeth, s'Il gripped the armrests briefly before addressing James.

"What about the children - are they safe? Is anyone else hurt?" The Lupine had caught James' sharp breath, hoping that her suspicion was wrong as she waited for the other woman's answer.

"Th' kids are fine. Just - hurry. I have to go back down to middeck."

There was a way to pick up the main comm line from every deck, but I didn't feel like pushing the button so I could still talk while I sat with Cirr. I turned to move back to the ladder, and my vision narrowed to two small points. Confused, I opened my mouth to comment on it, and then I fainted.

At least I think I fainted. Anyway, I don't remember what happened next.

The shuttle burned atmo as we hurtled back to the canyon. I couldn't berth the Cat quickly enough.

I looked s'Il in the eyes and growled on my words.

"Let's go."

Sprawled a long the floor, Lamar had very little to wake up happy about. Even though his body didn't shift in the least, he was quite conscious. The activity about him only made the once probable sleep nearly impossible. A shiver rolled down his spine as he lay motionless, feeling the cold of the clamps that attached him to…something.

Hopefully he could stay in limbo, taking whatever possible escape that may come up. From the sounds that swung about in his ear lobes it didn't seem like anything would come soon, but patience was a virtue.

Daani's ears perked up and her head swiveled at the sound of the shuttle docking. "Saaaaanjis!"

Cirrsseetto was mumbling to himself, and after the thump one deck up she hadn't heard anything from James. But what if it wasn't Sanis? What if it was Imperials?

The little Cizerack looked at Tak, who looked back with big blue eyes. Daani pointed the blaster down the passage, towards whatever was approaching.

Sanis hadn't even needed to utter any words of motivation for her to disembark. s'Il was up and out of her seat, close on his heels as they stepped onto Layla's decking.

Her pace was hurried, and the Lupine pushed past Sanis as her legs took her into as fast of a run as she could manage within the confines of the ship.

Left, right, right again, up an access ladder to another level, it seemed nothing but a blur. Rounding the last corner, s'Il reached out to grab at the edge of the bulkhead and stop herself, momentarily taken by surprise at the sight of Daani holding a blaster.

Lok moved around the ship easily as well as I did, and I followed up on her six, until we were both in the habitation level. Between Cirr's chest and the kid stormtrooper's brainpan, the stink of blood crept up on the room's perpetual machine oil and sweat rank.

Daani held the business end of a blaster at me, in some kind of vestigial guard duty stance. She'd already recognized me, but she didn't move until I eased the gun barrel away from me.

There were a million things I wanted to say, and about as many that I wanted to do. One thing at a time.

"What happened?

Her lullaby interrupted, Tak turned to see who it was that Daani had said was coming. She eased Cirr's head from her lap, turning only slightly to get a better look at the corridor.

And then there was Dama! Dama was back!

The little girl scrambled to her feet, nearly tripping over herself as she pushed past Sanis and into Dama's open arms.

"Jahga ama'ukha! Cirr liakha'au na hguna!"

The rest of her words were drowned out in Dama's dusty shirt as she buried her head into Dama's chest, clutching at the weathered overshirt with white knuckles.

Relieved that it was Sanis there to take over, Daani let her arm drop to her side as he pushed the tip of the blaster away from him. "jI dunno what happened! jI was rrreadjing an' jI hearrrd a blassterrr, and then Jamess told me to get blanketss, an' jI djid, an' then jI cuffed Lamarrr up, but he's out, an' Jamess went back up to the cockpjit an' jI was guarrrdjing!"

She let out a huge, dramatic sigh of relief.

He should have done something. He should have hit the Trooper, knocked him out, SOMTHING. He just wasn't thinking. He never would have expected the idiot to do something as stupid as threaten a pilot in a situation like this. What were they going to do? Fly past the Imps?

He follows to find everyone gathered around the big felinoid. Unfortunately, Akrabbim does not have the gift of healing. He would use it if he could. He kneels down next to the fallen Trooper, touching his hand to the man's head.

Hmm... looks like he'll be out for a while.

Akrabbim makes SURE that he stays out. He floods the man's mind with a blast of Force Confusion. He tries to flood it lightly at first, to be safe. He feels a resistance, though... apparently, this man has some Force sensitivity. He pours on the Confusion, sending wave after wave of sensory overload into his mind. He should stay out for a while longer.

What can I do ta help?

"Proon, got a medkit down in the mess. I need it yesterday."

I looked up to s'Il, and honestly felt a little overwhelmed by it. I didn't want to admit it, but I was in over my head, and this was a great time to have an eccentric Jedi in my corner. I'm used to things flying off the handle, and when it does, its way more simple than this. Shoot the other guy first or get shot. That's easy. This? Whatever shooting had started was over. My best friend was leaking on the engine room floor pretty bad, and unless Proon was a renaissance man of a sort, we were without a doc.

"James!"

I relieved Tak from cradling Cirr's head, and examined the synthflesh that clung precariously to the edges of his blast wound.

Not a sound.

"James! Where the hell are you??"

Daani plopped down, sitting on the ground beside her brother. She tweaked the end of his tail, but there was no response. She swallowed hard. "He... he's gojing to be okajy, rrrjight?"

Akrabbim nods at Sanis' words, raising up to leave the fallen Trooper. He shuffles out of the area toward the mess. As soon as he is out of sight, he puts on a burst of Force Speed. He reaches the mess, finds the medkit in short order, and then returns. He shuffles back into the room, handing the kit to Sanis.

I'm all yers. Anything else ya need?

The old man might've been out of sight, but the sudden use of the Force was unmistakable to s'Il, and she let herself bristle only slightly at this fact. There wasn't any feeling of the darkside to him, but that didn't mean much; and if he was skilled enough to hide his true colors from her, then there would definately be problems in the near future.

As soon as the old man returned, the Lupine reached out and caught him by the arm. Pulling him down without a thought to his well-being, she spoke firmly.

"Help him," she said firmly while nodding to Sanis. s'Il had seen the look Prent'd given her, and she knew he wasn't quite used to this sort of situation.

"There should be a sedative in that kit - use it, then clean the wound as best as you can." Stepping past Sanis and the old man, s'Il began pulling herself upwards. "I'm going to get James, but I'll be back to deal with Cirr."

And without another word, the Lupine ascended up the ladder.

"Neverr been shot beforre."

Cirr gulped hard, pushing back the blankets covering him slightly to look at the epicenter. The synthflesh was beginning to reinforce itself, but the whole area looked very fragile and pink.

He took a deep breath, but cut it short painfully.

"jI don't underrstand. The kjid just fljipped hjis stack."

The sudden pull on his arm almost pulls him out of character. At the last second, he remembers to overbalance himself and generally act like the tottering old man he's supposed to be.

I'll do what ah can, lil' missy, but it ain't much...

He hobbles his way over to Sanis, helping administer the sedative and bind up the wounds.

Let me take a try at it, sonny...

Akrabbim reaches down and presses on the wound ever so slightly. He's no healer, but he does know a small amount about transferring energy. He does what he can, sending a bit of life into the felinoid. It's not much, but the big guy should survive.