The battle raged on and The Rebellion kept it up, 6 rebel ships, 4 X-wings 5 A-wings, and 2 B-wings were destroyed. However, with the effects of the Battle Meditation gone, there was a whiplash effect, and their spirits were higher than ever. The almost overwhelming sentiment was "Let's get that Sovereign!"
'Why didn't I consider what she has been through with the Dark Side recently? I
never should have let her come along!' Tashannoc thought briefly, then the three
Jedi's combined their energies once again, blocking Mirath's spirit off from Mara, and
continued to block him until he was sealed away from the rest of the room.
Mirath Omnes' spirit threw itself at the walls of light force energy. I almost had her!
This wasn't how it was supposed to happen! I must find a host before I am gone! THIS IS
NOT HOW I FORSAW THIS!! Mirath raved. His energy was rapidly dissapating, and he sensed
just how little time he had left. Why didn't I anticipate that small one . . . . .
Tasha started to relax and looked at Luke and Mara. "Do you sense him any more?
I think he's gone."
Luke closed his eyes for a moment, then agreed. "Yeah, I think he is." Mara
nodded her assent.
Tasha fell back into his comfortable General's position. "You two see to Lerma and
Neb, and make sure they're okay. I'll see if I can find a layout to this place to get us
back to the Thunder.
After a brief search, Tasha rejoined the others. "I couldn't find anything. All I
found was a few datachips. They seem to be Jedi histories, So I picked them up. I'll tell
you what's on them after I look them over. How are the other two?"
"Well, they're both okay, just unconscious. I can tell that Neb's suffered extreme
psychic trauma, but I don't know what's wrong with Lerma. His mind is like a blank spot in
the force. It's there, but I can't see it." Mara looked confused.
Tasha picked up his two fallen friends, and threw them over his shoulders. He walked
towards the door, and the entire ship shook with a wild explosion. "Well," he
growled, "We'd better find our way out of here soon."
The slicer stumbled over to a computer and started working. "OK, here's a map
of this place." Sammy and Bjiatocah went over and looked at the display. "We're
here, near the back. The main power source to the engines is 5 decks above us and a bit
more rear. A few nicely placed explosives there should take the whole ship out."
"What?" The slicer's gaping mouth asked. "You're gonna blow this thing up?
I gotta be in on this!" Bjiatocah growled a negative. "You're too weak, you
could barely walk to this computer. You need to go back to the ship with the others."
"Far be it for me to disagree with a wookiee, but what if you get lost? You'll need
me to get a map again, or what if you need help getting specs for the power room? Come on,
I gotta be in on this!"
"It's your call Sammy," Bjiatocah said. "But I'm not carrying his body if
he faints."
Sammy thought a while, then got out some water and rations from his pack.
"Here, this might help you a bit. Major Hendrikson, take Thix and the pilots back to
the Cat. Remember, 15 minutes after you get there. Then leave." Major Bjiatocah gave
the pilots some blaster rifles she got off the troopers, and the group split up.
Bjiatocah, Sammy, the slicer, and the three remaining commandos, one with an injured arm,
got ready as the lift approached 5 levels up. "Here," one of the commandos
handed Sammy a belt of 4 grenades. "You seem to use these better than I can."
The door opened and some troopers were standing there looking around, stunned. They didn't
even attempt to turn and fight the invaders as the group opened fire, taking them down
with no trouble. The group, puzzled but not complaining, continued toward the back of the
ship.
Along the way they saw more people in the zombie-like state. "Tasha said that Mirath
kept strict control over his minion's minds." Bjiatocah explained. "This must
mean that my brother and the others were successful in defeating him." A couple
troopers gave some resistance, running on instinct, but didn't give the team much trouble.
They got to the engine room a little too relaxed and paid for it. An automatic firing
system did not recognize the intruders and opened fire with 4 laser projectors. One of the
commandos that was in the lead got 2 shots in the chest and fell back. The rest of the
group dove for cover. The injured commando got another shot in the leg as he dove behind a
console.
"How is it?" Bjiatocah called out. "Well, if you need someone to stay
behind and set the explosives off, I'm your man. I don't think I'll be walking out of this
one." Bjiatocah growled in anger and took a shot at one of the projectors, blasting
it to pieces. The slicer took a couple shots at one, sending sparks flying. The twice
injured commando dragged his way under one of the projectors. Lifting himself up on his
good leg, he brought the butt of his rifle in toward the projector to smash it. The laser
got off a shot first and fried his face in. Neurons in his brain fired and made his
muscles twitch even harder, careening the rifle through the front of the projector. Sparks
flew, erasing what little was left of the commandos face. Bjiatocah took out the remaining
projector and silence filled the room. A few techs lay on the ground, hit by their own
defense system.
Another explosion rocked the ship. "What's going on out there?" Sammy managed
this time to keep his balance. "Blast!" The slicer's report did not start out
well. "I'm in the system but there's nothing I can do from here. The main coolant
switch is in that room over there. Good news is flipping that switch will turn on the
coolant system. Bad news is it's full of radiation, and if you go in there you'll get a
lethal dose in about 30 seconds."
"Well, a major and one commando isn't very much of a commando unit," the last
commando spoke up as he headed for the door. "I guess it's _my_ turn to take one for
the team."
Bjiatocah put a paw on his shoulder to stop him but saw the look in his eyes. "You
will be remembered for this," she said as she let her last commando off to die.
"Ok," the slicer told the commando. "The switch is against the far wall
behind that panel. See it?" The commando nodded. "Ok, there should be just one
switch. It's pretty important so they didn't want to get it confused."
The rest of the team got behind a console to shield them from the radiation leak when the
door was opened. The commando took a breath and went in the room. The temperature was
almost unbearable, and he could feel his skin starting to heat up. He went as fast as he
could over to the panel and opened it up. His head started to spin as he doubled over and
puked. "Have to finish the mission..." He pulled all his strength into one task.
The click of the switch echoed in his head, the last sound he would hear. He sunk to the
ground and looked out the window at the other room. His major was standing there giving
him a "Good job" signal. The commando lifted his hand to his head and died with
the thought that he still had a soldier's dignity to salute his superior officer.
"That did it!" The coolant system came on and the gauges started receding from
the red. "Ok," Sammy said as he dropped his backpack. "Let's rig this place
up!" Sammy wired several kilograms of explosives around key points in the room.
"These timers are set for remote activation, but they're also timed. So if we don't
get out of here, the place blows anyway. And now, corny as it may seem, let's blow this
place." The other two rolled their eyes at Sammy's departure comment.
Two minutes to go. "Damn, where are they?" Hendrikson looked down the
hallway for the hundredth time. "Thix, run through the start up sequence." The
engines of the Cat started to hum. The Sovereign had stopped exploding, for now hopefully,
since he fixed the communications and told the Rebels what was going on. "Sir!"
Thix yelled from the cockpit. "There's a small ship on the scanner, freighter class,
and it's coming toward us." Hendrikson wasn't too worried, since most of the Imperial
ships had already left or been destroyed. Nevertheless... "You two pilots get to the
guns." Hendrikson cursed as he remembered Sammy's peculiarity. "Nevermind, this
thing doesn't have any lasers."
"Sir, It's General Tashannoc in the Rolling Thunder!"
Hendrikson grinned and went up to the cockpit to chat with his friend leaving a pilot to
watch for the group. "Greetings General, how did it go?"
"Just fine, you?"
"So far, mission successful," Thix said.
"It's good to hear your voice again, Thix. Welcome back." Tashannoc allowed
himself a smile.
Hendrikson checked his watch. "Sammy isn't back yet, but he's got 30 seconds to get
here before we leave."
"Sir!" A call came from behind Hendrikson. "I see them! The major, Sammy
and the slicer are coming!"
Sammy came into the cockpit and took the pilot's seat. "I don't know about you all,
but I'd rather not see the fireworks from this close."
The Cat and Rolling Thunder shot off back to the rebel fleet mopping up the rest of the
Imperial forces. Sammy stopped and turned around so he could see the results of his handy
work. He took out the remote and placed his finger on the trigger. "So it has been
forever, all things built must be destroyed." He pressed the trigger and watched as
explosions erupted out of the back end, slowly traveling up the spine of the beast. With
one final gigantic KABOOM the Sovereign Star Destroyer was obliterated into fragments of
glowing space dust, slowly extinguishing in the frozen wastes of space. Sammy wiped a tear
of joy from his eye and continued on toward the fleet.
Two days had passed since the destruction of Mirath's fleet. Those ships that hadn't been destroyed had returned to the planets they had been stolen from. Major Hendrikson had just departed with Sammy, Thix and Nemesis squadron. Luke, Mara, and Tashannoc were meeting with Mon Mothma after they had gotten out of their bacta baths. "We have secured Chandrila, and at this point we could probably have most of the sector secured as well with the assistance of the fleet."
Mon Mothma shook her head. "I'm sure most of the planets would probably
be thrilled to be out from under the thumb of the Emperor. However this it too close to
the core worlds to be safe. As it is, our rescue of Chandrila and the rest of the sector
should earn us some new allies in this region of the galaxy." She glanced at the
three listening intently, but easily read the fatigue in their eyes. "Why don't we
finish this when you three have some rest, okay?" It was obvious that this was not a
suggestion, but a dismissal, and the three Jedi weren't going to argue with Mon Mothma. As
they exited, however, Tashannoc stopped the other two. "I need to see the two of you
in my quarters."
Luke and Mara followed Tasha to the Rolling Thunder, where it rested on the
Alliance carrier. Tashannoc strode quickly to his room, then collapsed into a large chair.
Luke and Mara found smaller seats and joined him. "First," Tasha started,
"I owe you an apology, Mara." Mara looked surprised, but didn't say anything as
Tashannoc continued. "I didn't know you, and therefore didn't trust you with
information about Mirath, and it was only because Luke insisted that I brought you along.
I was wrong not to trust his judgement, that you had moved past your days as the Emperor's
Hand. I'd be honored to consider you amongst my friends."
Mara just gave a tight lipped smile and nodded, holding Tashannoc's paw. "I'd also
like to fill you two in on how Neb and Lerma are doing. They have both regained
consciousness. Lerma is exhausted, but its nothing that a little rest won't cure. He
doesn't remember much of what happened in Mirath's chambers, and his Force abilities are
gone, and I think that actually makes him rather happy. I'm going to be taking him with me
to care for him until he's fully recovered.
"Neb should be okay, too, but he feels a little muddled still. He hasn't been able to
sleep more than a couple of hours a night since he got back, but the nightmare's are
fading in intensity. I think he should be okay in a month or so. What's really shot is his
confidence, however. I think he is really shaken up at how close he came to losing him
self to the dark side, and Mirath. That's one of the main reasons I wanted to talk to you
two. I'd like it if you would take Neb back with you to Yavin, and keep an eye on him. I
think he's back with the light for good, but he needs time to figure that out for
himself."
Tasha paused, and Luke broke in. "But what about you? You sound as if you're not
going to be around."
"I'm not. I need some time away. There's a planet that I practically grew up on, and
it's a good place to hide. My Disk's will guard my assets, and I'll study some of the
texts I got in Mirath's rooms. I just need some time away. I'm not sure that I can cut the
adventuring bit any more. I almost got Lerma killed a couple of days ago, and I don't
think I could have lived with that. I also don't know if I could have destroyed Mirath if
I needed to. I don't think that I could have struck down Neb, regardless of who was in his
body. I just need some time to think for a while. You can understand, can't you?"
"Yes, Tasha," Mara said with a glance to Luke, "We understand. And don't
worry, we'll take good care of Neb. When are you leaving?"
"I'll be leaving within the hour. Bjiatocah will be staying with you as well, to
watch over Neb. I think she is more shook up over losing her squad then she'll let on. I
have a squadron of O-Wings with pilots waiting for Neb to be okay. As soon as you give the
okay, I'll send them. I've already said my good-byes, and he knows how to get a hold of me
if he needs to, as do you, Luke."
Luke was a little set aback at knowing that his friend wouldn't be around anymore.
"Okay, Tasha. If that's what you need, we'll explain it to the others. Don't
worry."
"Don't you worry either, Luke. I'll be around if you need me. Don't worry about that.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to start up my preflight checks." With that, Luke
and Mara left the Thunder, and were the only ones in the hangar that watched as
the freighter lifted up without a single thrust of a booster, and quietly shot out into
space. Less than a minute later, over sixty blips left the screens of the Rebel sensors as
the Disks left for their respective posts.
In a medical bay, a weakened Twi'lek form awakened for a brief moment and wept a single tear. "Good-bye, Tasha."
Mirath cast about for some mind, any mind to survive in. His powers continued to dwindle and he was trapped by the walls the Jedi had placed around him. "somewhere anywhere I need to hide" he raged. Then, he had it. "AHA!"
Some of the troopers had regained their own minds enough to realize that they didn't want to go down with a sinking ship. Most ran for escape pods, those being the easiest to get to. One of them, a young tech, for some reason he didn't understand ran towards the shuttle bay. On his way he saw a large Wookiee with a couple of figures slung over it's shoulder accompanied by two humans. He knew enough to hide as they went past. He made it to the shuttle and wasn't even seen as he launched and entered hyperspace. Of course, he didn't see the large rat that had followed him around the ship and into the shuttle.
The young man ran out of rations and died while in hyperspace. When the computer brought the ship out, the rat came out of hibernation. The rat glanced around, then went back into hibernation. The ship drifted.
Finally, two months later, the ship came upon a planet. Trapped in a decaying orbit, it finally came down in a dense jungle. The shields had protected the ship during entry through the atmosphere, but the shuttle was totaled when in crashed. The rat, on the other hand, was okay.
The rat survived for another three months on native foliage. The planet was
populated by a variety of organisms, including a race of pre-sentient Neanderthals. After
months of avoiding the native predators, the Rat wandered into a village of the
pre-sentient beings. Within a week it was lucky enough to find what it wanted. Mirath's
control on the rat had grown as he had become familiar with it, but this mind didn't allow
for all of his powers. But the new mind he had found would. One of the women was pregnant,
with a force sensitive child, and Mirath was ready to leave this body. Oh! what luck! He
began to approach the woman, and was almost close enough to start the transfer when
suddenly, something grabbed its tail.
One of the males was holding him, and said in his own guttural language, [Mmmmmmm. I found
lunch!]. Mirath raged, NO NO NO!, and tried to manipulate the Neanderthal's mind. He had
been so engaged in preparing to transfer, and this fully developed Neanderthal mind was so
unfamiliar, that he couldn't do anything to affect him.
Mirath's existence came to a close with a CRUNCH, SLURP and a BURP.
SPECIAL THANKS TO TASHANNOC FOR PREPARING THIS ARCHIVE
RETURN TO THE ARCHIVES
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