The Battle of Yavin IV

Domino turned to Marina and smiled. "We must go down to the Jedi moon and support the troops down there. You will certainly face your doubts and fears on the Jedi moon. Do not give in to them, but give yourself over to your anger for feeling those other emotions."

Marina did have doubts. 'What if I should happen to meet up with one of my old students, or Kyp?' Marina looked out the window of the shuttle. 'I can't think about that now. I have pledged my service to Domino, and that must take precedence over my fears'

Domino sat in the pilot's seat of his personal shuttle, with Marquis sitting next to him in the navigation chair. Marina was seated behind Marquis, and another Sith Lord sat behind Domino. His name was Mirigula. "With the Sword of Sadow to guide us, we cannot fail here at Yavin IV!" Domino said as he directed the shuttle out into space.
Out in space, Domino's shuttle was joined by two squadrons of TIE Advanced. They flew through the atmosphere of Yavin's moon, on the opposite side from the Academy, then changed course to meet up with the Imperial troops who were now 10 kilometers from the Academy.

'Only ten kilometers from Ground Zero. This ought to be a rough one' Commander Krith thought to himself. He was walking in formation with a squad of stormtroopers in the middle of the line of Imperial might. 'This force is a representation of the best that the Empire has. This will be the test of Imperial efficiency, honor, and power'
Krith turned to his com officer. "We're ten kilometers from the target. Give the order to step up the pace. When we reach the five klick point, we'll dig in and set up Temporary Ops."

"Yes sir." the com officer replied. "Attention all units. Step it up, double time. We reach our temporary base of ops in twenty minutes."
The ocean of Imperial proficiency noticeably quickened its pace, as the covering TIE squadrons picked up their escort patterns.

Domino piloted the shuttle to a point just one half kilometer behind the attack force and landed in a small clearing as the two squadrons of TIE Advanced moved in to bolster the already formidable TIE Defenders. Quickly he and his group disembarked from the shuttle leading a group of Julayps off to meet up with the ground force.

A TIE pilot who had been sitting in the back of the shuttle sat down in the pilot's seat and flew the shuttle back to the command ship.

It only took Domino and his party 15 minutes to catch up with the rest of the ground forces, and by that time, they were nearing the clearing that they intended to use as their base of operations.

As they reached that location, pre-fabricated armor walls were unloaded from AT-AT's, E-web heavy repeating blasters were set up, and the officers were making last minute organizational decisions. It was only a matter of ten minutes before the Imperial Temporary Command Center was erected and operational.

Domino met with General Tamar and Commander Krith. "The truth is, gentlemen, that this attack is unnecessary. However, the Emperor has been chastised by some of his advisors, who are no longer with us, for allowing the formation of this bold enterprise known as the Jedi Academy. I have been charged with its annihilation."

General Tamar shook his head. "That is why I assumed you would order Base Delta Zero upon the Academy. Certainly I declared it a 'grotesque display of overkill' only two hours ago, but it would certainly be more efficient."

"And not exactly in keeping with the objectives of the mission either, general." Krith added. "We would not be able to capture anything but corpses if we enacted Base Delta Zero." Krith paused, licking his lips. "Our troops are ready, the stage is set. Now we must move in and wipe out this Jedi Academy for the glory of the Empire."

Domino raised his hands and smiled a very sinister, foreboding grin. "Then let it begin. Let the Rebellion be forced to choke on the blood of all that fight for the Jedi Academy here today."

Two squadrons of TIE Defenders led the charge into the Rebel perimeter, followed closely by one squadron of TIE Advanced. The defensive fire was heavy, but these pilots were ready with the experience that came with belonging to the most efficient battle group of the Imperial Navy. Within moments, the Imperials were met by two squadrons of X-wing fighters. The dogfighting was vicious and quick. Proton torpedoes shot across the sky and laser fire pummeled the shields of starfighters of both sides. But neither side was willing to concede without inflicting maximum casualties.

As the skies filled with fire, the AT-AT's, AT-ST's, repulsortanks and speeder bikes moved in with the squadron of TIE Bombers and the other squadron of TIE Advanced to provide support. The infantry, made up of stormtroopers and Army personnel, moved in directly behind the armor units. As soon as the first turbolaser battery was in range, a Bomber made short work of it with a concussion missile. Just then, A wings moved in to deal with the Bombers, but two more squadrons of Defenders moved in on top of them.

As the A wings began to harass the Bombers and get flak from the Defenders, the Rebel B wings moved in to give the ground forces problems. That was when the final 22 Defenders moved in, dealing death and destruction upon the Rebels. Within moments, casualties from both sides were rather high, but the clear victor in the first wave of the battle of Yavin IV was the Imperial forces. It didn't look good for the Alliance.

Stormtrooper Commander Jelvin Krith grabbed the com and called up to the command ship. "This is Commander Krith with Operation Bloodshed. When can I expect my reinforcements? Casualties were higher than expected in the first wave."

~They launched just 30 minutes ago. They should be arriving shortly.~

Krith gave the com back to his com officer then proceeded to curse. "Sweet blood of Atheron! Thirty minutes ago? When I called for those reinforcements I was told twenty minutes." Just then, four drop ships escorted by two Advanced squadrons, two Interceptor squadrons, and two Bomber squadrons came into view. 'Just in time. Here comes the remnants of the first wave'

The Imperials had hit the Alliance forces hard. The Rebels were down to 21 starfighters of various makes, and the defensive artillery had been annihilated. The ground troops were unscathed however.

As for the Imperials they too had received many losses. The Defender squadrons had lost thirty from their number, while the Advanced squadrons were down to only two ships, and the TIE Bombers had been completely decimated. Three of the six AT-AT's were destroyed, and all of the AT-ST's had been obliterated. As far as the lighter armor, the repulsortanks had been effective, insomuch as that they provided a distraction from the AT-AT's in offering the Rebels something to shoot at. The scout troopers on the speeder bikes were the only units to not suffer losses, but they hadn't exactly hurt the Rebels either. But now the reinforcements had arrived.

Indeed, the glory of the Empire was the consummate goal for the Imperial forces now at Yavin IV.

Alia had ditched the speeder about 5 km back and had been lugging her pack through the jungle ever since. There was something up ahead....something big. When she stumbled into the clearing, she immediately stumbled out again and kneeled, reciting the 'Litany Against Fear' until her breathing returned to normal, which must have been several hours as far as she could tell.

While trying desperately to figure out what she was supposed to do, a beep came from Teg's pack. "Teg found thing!!" She pulled him out and the little "thing" he had been talking about.....a comlink. Alia hit her forehead, feeling extremely stupid at the moment. All that riding and worrying and EVERYTHING could have been avoided if she had remembered the little "thing". "Gimme that."

"NO! Teg's thing! Teg found it first." Geeze...She clamped her other hand around him and slid the comlink into the breast pocket of her shirt. She slipped Teg back into the pack against his protest, promising him that whatever else he found he could play with for a while.

Well, now that there was a comlink, the only number she could remember was a take-out restaurant on Imperial Center. A number was attached to the back, so she decided to try to contact them.

"Yes?"

She knew that voice!! "Mara? Mara Jade?"

"Yes?"

" It's me...Alia. Look, I managed to follow another trail to try and get back to the Academy and ended up behind the enemy base camp. I can't get around them without attracting attention. And the leader, I've seen him before, my father used to speak of him...and Mara....what in blazes am I supposed to do now?"

Thix heard a beeping noise from his console in the cockpit of his craft and hopped in from the wing. He read the display. His shielding was fully recharged, as were his lasers and his maneuvering ability was no longer hindered as much. "Bout time." He muttered as he strapped in and began to take off. His scanners showed the enemy had changed objectives: the Academy was under attack!

He also read TIEs galore and knew he couldn't do much against them. However, some extra Rebels had arrived in the time he'd been down and Thix decided to fly with them against the enemy. "Lasers, schmazers. Eat this." Thix armed his proton torpedoes and selected a TIE that was in close pursuit of a B-Wing. When the targeting crosshairs turned red he let one fly.

The missile ripped through the hull of the fighter and it exploded brilliantly, showering the jungle below with shards of white-hot shrapnel.

"Can't just go everywhere you want, you know," Thix said as he drew another target. "you Imperials should learn to knock!" He fired. The second missile was not a direct hit, but nonetheless destroyed the left panel of a fighter, causing it to spin into the jungle canopy where it detonated.

Thix got a stab of anxiety and jinked his X-Wing to the right as green lasers flashed by. "Thank the Force for the Force." He moved to engage the TIE as other Rebel fighters and TIEs swarmed around him in an aerial melee.

As the first wave of Rebel Fighters (all but 21) flew past the Dragon Lord, Bahumut decided to cause a little bit of chaos...He flew after them, though hanging back a little, knowing all too well that the TIEs would be a little busier this time around.

Upon arriving at the scene of battle, he found he was being chased by a couple of TIE Defenders, possibly (though not likely) from the squadron he had outmaneuvered earlier. He pulled off a few quick maneuvers to confuse them, then pulled off a loop-the-loop, and managed to end up right behind a Defender. He took it out easily with a concussion missile, but found out that a "squint" had managed to sneak behind him and started blasting away, depleting his shields.

He turned the dorsal double laser cannons 180° to face the new menace and starting blasting at the Interceptor. Meanwhile, the Defender had turned around and started blasting it's ion cannons at the ship, missing it wide, or just barely. After the Interceptor was scraped, the Dragon Lord went after the remaining Defender. He shot a concussion missile at it, missing, and ended up hitting another TIE Defender and scraping it. The Defender then switched too proton torps and fired one, hitting the shields dead on. Noticing the shields were almost dead, he shot a more well-aimed missile, which blew up the Defender. He then flew back to the Academy to fix up the freighter and reload the missile tubes (if he could). He was one of the few fighters which made it back in one piece.

Neb checked his status. After the first wave of the Imperial attack, the Rebels were seriously depleted. Most of the tanks in group 2 and 3 had been decimated before they could get a shot off. One of them had gotten a lucky shot into the neck of an AT-AT and destroyed it, but then had been destroyed itself by a TIE Defender's missile. The fighters had been totaled, and only a few A and B wings made it out. Omega Squadron had lost two ships: One pilot had safely ejected and was already being evacuated to the Peregrine. For some reason the Imps weren't attacking the forces fleeing the planet, so Iblis had granted them the same courtesy, not firing earlier on a shuttle leaving the surface. Another Omega pilot had been much more unlucky. Plmarr Forem, a Shistavenen who had flown with Neb for two years, had been caught in the crossfire of 4 TIE Defenders and been vaporized. None of those Defenders had made it out of the battle, but that didn't elevate the sting.

"Hey, Neb," Jeffy came on the com, "Here come those reinforcements." Neb looked: it wasn't much. Just one squadron of A wings and a trio of X wings, things must be tight up in orbit. He checked his scanners once again.

"Yeah, Jeffy, and here comes the next wave of Imps!" The Rebels dove once again into the fray, and Neb found himself in the middle of a firestorm. The rest of Omega had kept in formation, but a clever move by a pair of Advanced had cut him off.

"Neb," Jeffy said, "Are you alright? We're coming after you."

Neb didn't answer at once, he was too busy focusing on staying alive. Two Defenders and an Advanced were all moving in for a kill on Neb's ship. Divide and conquer. SImple, yet effective. Neb mused. His danger sense flared, and he broke hard to port. A missile breezed under his flank, and as he rolled back to starboard he saw the canopy beneath him: he'd strayed a ways from the Academy. Omega was closing in on his position, but the missile he'd dodged before and five others just like it were coming in from different sides. Hitting his rudder, he flared his nose up, giving it more throttle, and forcing himself to breathe as the pressure continued to build on him. Three of the missiles collided with each other, but the other two stayed on course. Suddenly another fighter was on him from above, firing away with green laser fire. He broke off his assent, coming into a lazy dive, only to find one of the missiles brushing against his nose shields and detonating, taking his shields with it. He was blinded momentarily, and felt his ship shake as the rear exploded with enemy laser fire.

Jeffy watched as Neb's ship exploded, and the ship started going down in a fiery blaze. "NEB!" he shouted over the com. There was no answer. Omega was already overwhelming the four TIE's that had broken formation to get Neb, and the fifth missile that had been fired at Neb took one of the TIE's out. Jeffy saw Neb's ship hit the canopy. At the same moment the skies thundered, and the clouds that had been gathering overhead broke, bringing a torrent of rain.

"NEB!" he shouted again. "Are you okay?" The only reply was a triple burst of static, then nothing. "Okay Omega," he ordered as the TIE's were finished off, "Let's head back to work." Already more TIE's were coming toward Omega Squadron from the Academy. "We need to get back to covering the evacuation. They're going to need to get out of there before there's any flash flooding."

"But sir! What about Captain-"

"That was an order, Omega Five," Sammy said bitterly, and turned his O-Wing back into the fray.

On board the Peregrine...

General Garm Bel Iblis was coordinating with his tactical officer. So far they were holding off the attacking Imperial Fleet, but even Iblis' tactical genius was being stressed here. His com officer approached him and pulled him aside.

"Sir, there's been some complaints from Uther and Commander Skywalker that you've been rude and haven't treated them with due respect."

Bel Iblis was shocked. "RESPECT! There are men dying in the mud, trampled under enemy walkers and they're worried about respect. Don't respond to them, Ensign." As the com officer walked back to his post, Iblis went back to tactical, muttering to himself, "Respect. Hmph. I'm here to save lives, not coddle egos." Suddenly the ship rocked as a wave of Bombers made it through the fighter screen and weakened the Peregrine's shields. "Launch the E and K wings, NOW! And launch the rest of the fighters as well. If we're going to see another sunset, we can't hold back anything else."

As his men scrambled to comply with his orders, Iblis thought, I just pray that what we have is enough to make it through the next couple of hours.

Thix felt like he was a lump of coal.

And, what with the pressure that was being put on him with these enemy fighters, pretty soon he'd morph into a diamond, which was good and bad, depending on how you looked at it. Rebel fighter craft were taking a severe beating, it seemed. Where was all this action? He must only be seeing the outskirts of it. He and a B-Wing were double-teaming hapless TIEs who straggled, but avoided what seemed to be a military airborne parade in the Academy's direction. Stomping through the underbrush were All-Terrain Armored Transports flanked by the smaller AT-STs. Thix knew these massive monoliths could decimate ground troops, but was more concerned with the TIE Fighter craft swarming him.

Thix felt a poke in his back and realized he still had his backpack on. He must have forgotten to take it off when he was alerted of his X-Wing's repair. An alarm clanged in his cockpit and mind. "Enemy has missile lock! Breaking left and dropping altitude!" Thix supplied for the black box and his allies. He performed the maneuver, but the red light stayed lit. A counter showed him how long he had until Impact.

"Ten!" He muttered and pulled a steep climb into the searing rain. "Nine!" Two fighter craft -- he couldn't tell what type -- passed him overhead and continued on. Thix finished his loop and leveled out. "Eight!" He did a split-S and a roll, while firing in the general direction of a TIE he'd spotted. "Seven... six... five..." He saw no way out of this. The missile had a strong lock on him from a distance and didn't have to maneuver as much with him. He saw one way out of this situation. "Four!" He pulled the X-Wing around and aimed it at an AT-AT, and depressed the trigger, firing at the broad side of it. Since he hadn't much, if any, time to aim, most shots went wide and fizzled in the wet jungle. "Three! Time to ditch this joint!" Thix hit the eject button and his chair and he flew into the atmosphere of Yavin IV. Below him, the X-WIng and missile Impacted with the AT-AT, utterly destroying both vehicles.

"Damn! There goes that old ship." He swiftly guided the craft down to a safe clearing near the Academy grounds -- maybe a kilometer (or three) away. He jumped from the chair and pulled his blaster.

"Hey, you!"

Thix spun around, blaster held up. Luckily for him, it was a couple Rebel infantry men. "Get separated from your group, guys?" Thix asked them.

"Separated, heck." One responded. "We're all that's left of our squad. We were slaughtered by those Scout Walkers and stormtroopers! Plus it seems there are some of those dark Jedi down here -- not like old Darth Vader but they're formidable! I saw one chop one of my pals in half!"

"Dark Jedi students, maybe? Who's the teacher?" Thix wondered out loud. "I'm a trainee myself. Pilot and Jedi student. I'm only halfway to Jedi Knight status." Seemed quiet enough down here now, but, to quote an old smuggler's line: "If it looks to good to be true, it probably is!" In this instance, that seemed to be true.

"FREEZE! Rebel scum!" A stormtrooper and three or four of his identical pals stood behind the three Rebels, blaster leveled. "Don't move!"

Aria maxed her sublight engines trying to get to the Academy before anyone did anything too rash. She was just outside of Yavin's atmosphere when she saw Lord de Devastator's shuttle zoom by from a quarter of the way around the planet. She relaxed, knowing Domino wouldn't leave without his precious Sith weapons and glad that no bloodshed was about to commence. She had just drop power to her drives to 45% when she spotted several of Domino's drop ships and air combat vehicles.

'No! They have done nothing. Domino wouldn't attack the Academy. He wouldn't.' Tears of frustration crept into her eyes but she swiped them away and thought furiously about what to do. Praying she sent out the strongest Force call she could at the fleeting image of Domino's shuttle.

~Domino, this bloodshed is unnecessary. I understand from the feelings on the surface that you found what you came for. Is it really necessary to destroy the Academy?~

She could feel the anger press on her mind and Aria fought to keep herself in control. Finally the feeling subsided and Domino's voice entered her mind.
~I have no intentions to destroy the Academy.~

~But the ships?~

More pain followed and Aria put up as many mental blocks as she could while keeping her ship afloat.
~You will not interrupt me again! As I said, I am not going to destroy the Academy. Just the wretched beings dwelling that live in it. Return to the ship!~

Anger and shock clouded her mind. ~You said you only wanted the artifacts, Lord,~ she bit out. ~There are many innocent people down there who've done nothing to deserve this and you want me to return to the ship?~
Her anger took full control of her and she couldn't speak anymore. She shut off contact with Domino and powered her engines to full.

~SMUGGLER!~ Domino's voice boomed in Aria's head. ~You will return to the ship. My wrath is something that is earned easily but you will forever remain heir to it.~

Gaining control of her senses from that pounding, Aria answered, ~Good, I wouldn't want life to be pointless and boring. May the Force Be with me Domino but even more May the Force Be With You!~

Turning on her communications, Aria keyed to the Luke's com frequency, hoping he had not changed it after she ran away from the Academy. The com was answered in short form. ~General Iblis?~ Luke's tired voice came through.

"Master Skywalker?" Aria did not expect this reunion to be like this, hell she never expected to see or hear from this man again.

~Yes,~ Luke answered hesitantly. The voice sounded familiar but it wasn't Bel Iblis. ~Who is this?~

She thought to give him a fake name but realized she couldn't lie to him. "...Aria...Aria Ka Djo."

~ARIA!~ He sounded happy and confused. ~What are you doing here? Where are you?~

"Later Master. I am coming in on Bandork's Revenge, is there any place in particular you need me to divert some of the Imperial forces?"

~We could use a little help about five km's South of the Academy. We have a student there who has found an Imperial nest that may need stirring.~

"Good. A girl has got to earn her credits somehow. Signing off."

~Aria?~ Luke said, worried but he could feel her frustration and fear amongst the other emotions she was trying to bury. ~Be careful and May the Force Be With You!~

Mara continued to talk to Alia, "That man is Domino De devastator."

Alia nodded, "Mara, I need your help."

Mara interupted, "Alia, my transport is damaged, but I can pick you up on a speeder."

Listening in on the conversation, Luke suddenly realized that he could have Aria pick up Alia, he chimed in on the conversation, "Stay there Mara."

"But what about Alia?" Luke called back, "Don't worry, Aria is back and she's coming to her rescue."

Garm Bel Iblis surveyed the carnage on the surface and sighed. His ground reinforcements, Commando groups 5-7, had finally been deployed, but his men were being decimated. He signaled to his com officer. "Open me a channel to Commander Skywalker."

The reply to his hail was terse. ~Yes, General?~

"Look, Skywalker, I know you're mad at me but put your anger aside for a minute and listen. I'm losing too many men down there. I want you to load up the last of your essential equipment and your students into the shuttles and evacuate. I'll keep my men on the surface as long as I can, and I promise I won't leave until all those who are missing are accounted for. But we have to get the moon as clear as we can so that we can leave as soon as possible. The Imperial Fleet is really pounding on us up here. Do you understand, Commander?"

~Yes, General, I understand.~

"Good. Bel Iblis out." Bel Iblis turned to his tactical officer. "All right, I want the remaining fighters deployed in a screen formation, and have the fleet get ready for a Cracken Twist. We don't need those Imps following us where we're going."

Alia breathed a sigh of relief when she heard from Mara. She had no idea whatsoever who this Aria woman they were talking about was, but there were very few ways the situation she was in could be worse. Domino de Devastator. Stars above, that name meant almost as much fear to her as that of Kethren Trynyty. de Devastator.... what incredible irony! "Teg want thing back!"

Alia sighed. "Teg can't have thing quite yet."

"When?"

"When girl gets home." Home. Geeze...she actually thought of the Academy as home. That was scary in itself.

"Yay!! Teg get thing! Teg get thing!!" Well, at least going back to the Academy meant leaving the bird in the forest. As she sat waiting for some sign from the outside, a ship exploded in the air and the ground shook on its Impact to the forest floor. Alia felt torn to help the pilot (if he was still alive) or to wait for her transport out of this hell hole.

"Teg?"

"Huh?"

"Go find crashed ship."

"Now?"

"Yes, now!"

"Teg take thing?"

"NO!! Just go find the ship!!" Alia watched him fly off into the direction of the crash and turned back to the direction of the camp to wait.

Aria honed in on her targets, warming up her weapons. A quick glimpse and an ear-piercing sound later, she noticed her cannon's power was not at optimal efficiency. "Son of a Sith!" she swore. Frustrated she switched to auxillary and found her weapons inoperable.

With that Aria cut back engine power and hopped out of her seat. With three quick clicks the seat base detached itself from the ship and with one shove it tumbled over to reveal a small black box. Aria jiggled around with it and within moments she heard the harmonious sound of her weapons system coming back on line.

"Now we are in business." Quickly reassembling the seat, she plopped down, set the engines on full, and was within firing range in five seconds. Lining up with a patch of forest, Aria let go of the black Systeen tipped concussion missiles, which quickly cleared out about half a kilometer of forest and sent troops scrambling for other cover. Switching to lasers she picked off a few of the ground troops, before having to get some of the Dareel torps on line to confront some very aggressive TIES. Outnumbered three to one, Aria felt it was a rather unfair advantage--for her.

Trying her best not to let her ego get in the way of her piloting, she banked left and headed into a full 360. One of the TIES decided to follow the leader, leaving his wing man open. With a quick flick of her wrist, Aria changed directions and maxed the engines. The maneuver shot her off in a wicked tumbled. Gritting her teeth she fought to stabilize her ship and found herself lined up to take out the poor wing man. The torps made contact and fried the inner workings of the TIE ship with no difficulty. Leaving the wing man blinded and powerless and tumbling out of control. "Hey, dem dings betta than a'ole cargo of 'rotun torps," she slurred, mimicking her old partner. She lost her concentration as she saw another ship go down. Before she could place where it crashed, her ship registered a hit.

The other TIE managed to pull out of the bank turn and got a clean shot off at Aria. Her shields absorbed most of it but her third cargo bay alarms were blaring. Slapping them off as an after thought and sealing the airlock, Aria cut back her thrust and switched to lasers. The TIE had some difficulty keeping behind Aria's ship and lost his missile lock. He was close enough to play sabacc with her and Aria used that to her advantage. The other TIE fighter had veered off to investigate that crash and that left this one all alone. Sitting up out of her seat, the young Dathomirian hit all the switches that held the cargo in her holds--well the legal holds at least. With a push of another button the artificial gravity and airlock were disabled and dozens of oblong shaped cargo boxes tumbled out.

Not expecting this, the TIE crashed into most of the debris. Since he had no shielding, he quickly went to meet his maker.

~That was definitely unorthodox, unidentified freighter.~ a voice clipped on the com.

"I use whatever works, unidentified caller." Aria answered. "Who may you be?"

~Just making sure you weren't fighting for the other side,~ the other said and descended from above and a little behind Aria's ship.

She was startled speechless as the A-wing showed up on her scanners. Sparing her of any further embarrassment, the pilot spoke up, ~Master Skywalker needs some ships down at the Academy to help with evacuation. He suggested that your ship would definitely fit his specifications. General Iblis had other thoughts and asked me to tail you. You know the rest.~

"Glad I meet your specifications." Aria growled, regaining her voice. "Not that you did anything to help me."

~You look more than capable. Besides I would love to talk to you about some of those weapons. Very interesting.~

"I gotta go play inter system taxi for some Jedi-wannabes so if you don't mind?"

~Oh no! Go right ahead unidentified freighter. Just dock in the nearest clearing and gather up students. That hole you shot in the ground would be more than sufficient.~

"I'm sure." she replied coolly. "Bandork out."

Domino's words hit Marina like a slap in the face. 'Annihilate? Annihilate the Academy? Oh, Light...' She felt sick. 'I don't know if I can do this, I can't let them die... Especially not Kyp...' She shivered, even though it was warm outside, suddenly feeling weak.
'But what if I do stop him? What will that do, it's breaking my oath... I can't break it. Oh, Light, I have to just let him do it--and if he tells me too, I have to help him.' She bit her lip and glanced up at Domino; she was sure he knew what she was thinking, but he didn't appear to care.
'He's letting things run their own way,' Marina realized. 'He knows that there's darkness in me, and that I will have to eventually succumb to it. He's just waiting for it to happen.' Somehow, that thought didn't scare her quite as much as it should have...and definitely not as much as it would have only a few days earlier. It no longer frightened her so much when she realized how different she was, and now she didn't draw back from the teachings. She accepted what she was becoming, but she didn't help the process go any faster then it did on its own. Every time she took a moment to think, she could hear the dark side calling to her, and although she never resisted she never quite gave in to it, either.
'Maybe now is the time to let it have its way with me,' she thought. 'Otherwise, I'm not going to make it through.'

But the part of her deep down that clung to the Light didn't want to let go, and she found it hard to simply release. And yet, the dark side was still there, calling her name hauntingly, relentlessly, and she desperately wanted to answer it. But it was not so easy as it should have been, and she found herself wavering in the shadows between Light and Dark, the way it always had been before.

But now, she was another dangerous step toward the Darkness, and it would not take much to push her over the line.

Not much at all.

"I said, don't move! Drop your weapons!" The quartet of stormtroopers moved in on the three Rebels: one pilot and two commandos. Thix and the duo dropped their blaster pistols. Thix glanced at his light saber. Hopefully these grunts didn't recognize that piece of machinery.

"You! Drop your lightsaber!" So much for that. Thix unsnapped his saber and tossed it to the ground. "Now put your hands on the back of your head, where we can see them! And don't think you'll get the pleasure of being held captive, we're to take no prisoners here!"

"What? You're just going to shoot us in the back? Without even talking a little? That's the trouble with the Empire today -- they never take the time to do a good, honorable execution. They always resort to cowardice. I mean, shooting an unarmed opponent who's got his hands up? Please, spare the agony." Thix spoke loudly. One of the troopers had a holdout blaster in his back pocket. He was slowly reaching for it. No chance of taking out all four, but just maybe....

"Shut up, scum!" One of the stormtroopers gestured with his carbine. "I'll take no back talk from a condemned man!" The rebel soldier had the gun.

"Then I won't be listening to you!" Thix said, and dived for his light saber. He grasped it just as the first shots flew in the air. The rebel who had the holdout speared a stormtrooper in the faceplate, and he went down. The second trooper dove for his gun and the remaining three stormtroopers fired. Thix ignited his dark blue blade and dived at a stormtrooper from his crouched position. His lightsaber connected with the enemy's midsection, slicing him in two pieces. The first rebel who had the holdout took a hit and fell, and the second opened fire, missing. Thix looked up and saw a carbine pointed at him. He brought his light saber up and deflected the incoming bolt. It spun into a tree. The crouching rebel got off a more controlled shot that hit his target, and Thix stabbed through the chest of the stormtrooper who had fired at him.

"Whew." All four enemies had been dispatched. The rebel who had been hit had taken a shot solidly to the shoulder, but lived. He had his hand clamped on the wound. "Well, it could be worse."

They didn't know it yet, but it was worse.

Luke nodded, resigned to the knowledge that the academy was finished. He calmed himself, letting go of his anger, he looked to Mara and several of his students. "Mara, we're evacuating the academy, we'll let Iblis take care of this. I'll meet you there soon, there are a few things I must do. Get going!"

Luke went to a communications station in the main hangar "This is Master Skywalker, tell Iblis that the evacuation is underway."

Just as the first of the evacuees started to lift off, all hell broke loose. The Imperials attacked in a massive onslaught, and while the evacuation ships weren't the primary targets, they were getting hit in the crossfire. Lt. Toran Fel, a member of Omega squadron, was helping to organize the evacuation when the attack came. He had safely ejected from his ship before going down, and had led Captain Calluna to believe that he had left long ago. It bothered him that the last thing he had said to his friend was a lie, but he knew that he was needed here. Most of the kids training at the academy were bright, but they hadn't seen real fighting before, and truth be known they were a little scared. He still remembered his first combat experience, and how Captain Calluna had gotten him through it.

But now, the evacuation was going awry. All the ships they had launched a moment ago, filled with cargo and personal, were getting caught in the crossfire between the rebel and Imperial fighters, and there was nothing to be done about it but get them back down on the ground. They were too heavy to move fast, and too poorly armed and shielded to make it through the fire fight.

He opened a channel to the Peregrine. "Peregrine, this Lt. Fel, of Omega squadron. Evac is on hold, repeat, evac is on hold. We'll need you all to thin down the opponents for us before we can get out of here."

The reply came back on the same coded channel. ~Acknowledged, Lt. Fel. I will pass the information on to the General. He won't be happy, but he'll understand.~

Fel frowned as the ships came back to a landing, and he started to get the students and children into the nearest temple where they'd be sheltered from Imperial blasting.

Not all of the students at the academy were fighting or running. For a few months now, a small, quiet group of dissident students, unhappy with the rate at which they were learning, had been gathering to discuss their options. Of course, none of them had actually mentioned the Dark Side, and most of them had never even thought about it, because their training had so strongly ingrained a disdain for the very words. One of them had thought of it, and was very close to braving speaking the words for the first time.

Judas McAbee had started this group, and saw himself as the de facto leader of this group of six young humans. Now they were gathered in the forest behind the academy, away from the fighting and confusion. "I'm telling you, I've sensed dozens of Jedi in the attacking forces, and the leader is supposed to be a powerful Master. Maybe he would take us on as his students!"

Pram, the weakest of the six, questioned what Judas had said. "I don't know. I mean, I know we've been complaining about wanting to learn more, but, joining the Imperials? Are you sure."

Maria, Judas' latest conquest, and his only since coming to the academy, replied, as she usually did when Pram started to question. "Look, Pram," she said, practically fluttering her eyelashes at him, "Judas is right. Skywalker has his special students, and the rest of us are left to learn the scraps. I mean, some of the others were nice, but look at them. Tionne left, as did Rina and Kyp. When was the last you really saw any of them? This is the best option for all of us."

Pram melted, and the worshipful gleam came over his eyes as it always did when Maria paid attention to him. "Of course, you're right, Maria. I'm sorry I said anything Judas."

"Don't worry about it Pram," Judas said, pouring on the charisma and squashing his disgust. "It's only natural to be trepidatious when embarking on an adventure such as this. But that's what we are, the true adventurers. The rest are being coddled in their temples, and we're going out to face the galaxy on our own terms. So, are we ready?" At the cries of assent from his followers, Judas loaded them all into the land speeder they'd stolen from the Academy, and headed toward the far end of the Imperial troops.

Less than an hour later, they were stopped by a squad of stormtroopers. Raising their hands, Judas addressed the Troopers. "We surrender. We're completely unarmed. We were students at the academy, but we're looking for a new teacher, and we've heard that there may be one at your base camp."

The lead trooper turned to his subordinates. "Put the binders on them. We'll take them back to base. Lord de Devastator will know what to do with them. And if they're lying, they'll pay the price for trying to deceive him."

'All for the glory of the Empire' Stormtrooper Commander Krith thought as he surveyed the dead from the relative safety of his command speeder. 'Out there some of the best soldiers the Empire has ever had lay dead and maimed. Some of the most valiant rebels I've ever shot at have been butchered here this day. Hail to the Emperor' Sarcasm dominated his thoughts. Krith was less than enthused with the situation. Certainly his commands had played a role in the imminent Imperial victory, but the devastation was far beyond his projected losses.

"Com, give the recall order. Let's give the rebels a chance to retreat."

The com officer hesitated. "Sir, aren't you just giving them a chance to reform and strike back at us?" Krith smirked. "And what good would that do them? They've been kicked hard today. Lord de Devastator ordered that any evacuating rebels be allowed to do so. Let's let them go."

Along with Marina Durron and two squads of Julayps, Domino crept through the Yavin IV jungles like a prowling panther stalking its inattentive prey. Just twenty feet from where they stood, the Dark Lord spotted the perfect test for Marina.

"There you are, Marina." he said as he gestured into the trees. "That young Jedi over there is providing aid to that rebel pilot who was shot down. Go and confront her. Feel your destiny. Let it lead you."

Marina stepped into the clearing and approached the Jedi student. The Jedi looked up with tears in her eyes. "Oh! Mistress Durron, thank the Force it is you. When did you return?" It was Pendul, a former student of Marina's. "Never mind that. I need your help. I have tried to ease this pilot's suffering, but his wounds are too grievous for me to deal with. Will you please help me?"

Domino grinned maliciously as he watched with morbid interest.

The recall had been given. Imperial troops fell back three kilometers from the Academy to allow an enemy evacuation. Among the Imperial forces, officers were furious with the order. Lieutenants were raving about this gross abrogation of Imperial doctrine.

The TIE squadrons also regrouped over the command camp, flying in a holding formation and awaiting orders to move in and strike the final blows of destruction. Those orders didn't come.

"Even now the evacuation is beginning." Krith noted as two freighters began to lift away from the Academy.

Mirigula, one of Domino's mightiest Sith Lords, stood and looked over the surrendering Jedi students. "You are called Judas, no?"

Judas McAbee stepped forward from his companions and swallowed before answering. "Yes. I am Judas McAbee. We seek..."

"You seek death if you speak anything but the answers I require." Mirigula was not a patient or understanding Sith Lord. "I am Lord Mirigula. I will be your host in this camp for the time being. In my care you will be treated to the most uncomfortable battlefield confinement the galaxy has ever known. If you are hungry, I will feed you insects and nerf dung. If you thirst, I will provide you the sweat off a dead man's brow to quench yourself. If you gripe, I will cut off your ear so that you will have a caring ear to gripe in. You will wait for the Lord de Devastator to return."

Judas had foreseen this situation. He knew it would be okay in the end. "I understand, Lord Mirigula. We will not complain."

Mirigula motioned for the Julayps to guard his prisoners, as he coldly gazed into the souls of each one.

'Nice work boys!' Rayla said in her mind as she witnessed the rebels out think the stormtroopers. 'It's a shame it has to end this way for you all'

Thix was looking at the wound on the commando's arm as a small dart pierced his helmet and skull. He died almost instantly.
"Where did....." his words fell silent as the other trooper fell limp to the ground. He could feel danger and he instinctively engaged his light saber.As he let the Force lead him, he watched a beautiful young woman drop from a tree just thirty feet away from him.

"I've never had an opportunity to square off one-on-one with a Jedi before." she said with a charming lilt in her voice. "Lord de Devastator usually sends me off to kill pathetic wretches like your buddies. This should be fun."

Thix said nothing, but stood and watched Domino's prize assassin as she sized him up.

"My name is Rayla. You, Jedi student, are my prisoner. What is your name?"

Jeffy finished listening to the most recent orders given to the squadron commanders, and then switched his com to Omega's private frequency. "All right, Omega, listen up. We've got a mass retreat on the Imperial side of things, and we're taking advantage of it to evacuate the students and essential equipment. Once they're out of there and all search and rescue operations are complete, we're withdrawing all the troops and getting out of here. After a special little job that the General has planned for us. Got it?"

Omega 5 burst in, "Sir, what about Neb? Shouldn't we go after him?"

"We're going to follow orders, and that's all. If the captain's alive, then he's on his own until the rescue crews show up."

Up in orbit, General Bel Iblis was taking advantage of the new breathing room as well. Just moments before the Imp commander had backed off, Bel Iblis had destroyed an Imp Star Deuce using a modified A wing Slash. Realizing that an old tactic would probably be anticipated, he had brought in a new aspect.

As the X-wings had gone in and attacked the picket line, they weren't followed when they broke off the attack, showing that the Commander of the Imp Star was familiar with the tactics Bel Iblis had used against Thrawn. The Imp fighters then broke off to intercept the A-Wings on their way in. When the A-wings broke up in apparent surprise and confusion, the Imp fighters pursued, giving the E Wings coming in on another vector a chance to zoom through the hole in the picket line and destroy the Star Destroyer. Thankfully, it had worked better than Bel Iblis anticipated, which was a first for today.

Now, however, he was perplexed. Why had the Imperials not continued to press their advantage? He signaled to his tactical officer, who approached the General's chair on the bridge of the Peregrine. "Have all the ships been made aware of the alterations to the Cracken Twist, just in case the Imps know the standard drill?"

"Yes Sir," His tactical officer replied, "And we've dispatched shuttles to the Scepters to make sure they know as well."

"Good. Then I want you to bring back all the E and K wings that are left, and outfit them for the contingency plan Captain Calluna plotted out. And bring Omega in on it too. You'll need their help." A lone figure crept slowly through the underbrush, careful not to make any noise. He had just recently encountered a Sith trainee, lying in wait for any hapless Jedi. Now he lay in wait to decompose. The lone figure was just about to pick up his pace, thinking the coast to be relatively clear, when he heard voices up ahead, and the snap-hiss of a light saber. " . . . What's your name?" he heard.

I hope I'm not in over my head, he thought.

MOVE ON TO PART IV
RETURN TO THE ARCHIVES