Shades of Gray
The Battle of Fury

Once again, Ibran navigated the dark passageway, his lightsaber at the ready. So far, no bugs seemed present. "Odd... my danger sense is blaring but there's no bugs," he mused. Then, turning a corner, he found out why.

An incredible horde of bugs was clustered around a door at the far end of the hallway. This door had been pummeled on incessantly, and Ibran could tell that the bugs were taking a break. What could have possibly kept them out of that room? he thought. A Rebel Forces man with a rocket launcher came forward. "What's holding them up?" he asked. "I'm not sure... but I'm feeling..." Ibran suddenly broke into a smile. "Total the bugs. We'll cover you," he ordered the trooper. Surprised, the trooper took aim and fired.

The bugs suddenly woke to the fact that they were being attacked. It didn't do them much good, however, because the Rebel trooper fired rocket after rocket into their midst, utterly demolishing most of them before they could respond. The bugs counter assault was sluggish too. Due mostly to the fact that they're as tired as we are. Ibran thought, smiling. When the trooper had to reload, the bugs pressed forward momentarily, but some troops with light-repeating blasters kept them at bay while Ibran and the Jedi gave them cover. Eventually, the trooper finished his reloading and launched more rockets into the bugs midst. The bugs counterattack swayed and fell apart like a badly constructed building. The bugs scattered to the winds, disappearing into other hallways as Ibran's team moved in.

As Ibran approached the door, his Danger Sense suddenly flared. He quickly motioned his men back and cast about, his eyes searching for a test subject. Slowly, Ibran lofted a Gray Death that had been pummeled into the door. The Gray Death's body crackled with electricity, setting it on fire.

"By the rotted teeth of the decaying Emperor!" Ibran swore. "Something's electrified that door! Does anyone know how we can get inside?" He looked at his team members. The rocketeer hefted his rocket launcher. Ibran shook his head. "We don't know what's back there. Not a good idea."

Ibran's Danger Sense quit without warning. Surprised, he looked at the door, which was now emitting a noise, much like someone knocking on it.

Ibran concentrated on the Force and slowly pushed the door aside. Standing there was a man, grimy, and disheveled, but alive. "Thank 'eavens!" he burst out. "Hey, fellows! We've been rescued!" About 14 miners had been brought out of the room to join the first man. On their way back to the main group, Ibran questioned the miner. "What happened to you?" he asked. "Well, we was sittin' in there an' suddenly... whoof! Main power's gone! Door's shut tighter'n a coffin and nothin' works! We fixed up a PG'r two and got some power."
"PG?"
"Portable gen'rater."
"Oh. Go on."
"So anyway, when them bugs started knockin' on our door, we said 'Well, that door ain't gonna stay there for long, so we'd better figure out somethin' fast!' We fixed up a PG to give'm a nasty jolt when they tried to get in!"
"But how did you survive in there for so long?"
"Oh, we had food'n water and we're used t' workin' in the dark."

Ibran blinked, noting that they were approaching the main group now. "What kind of room has food and water in ready supply?" "Why, the break room o' course!"

Ibran turned to the man. "You survived in the break room?" "Yep! We was play'n a little hooky. Twas supposed to be our shift, be we were extra tired somethin' fierce, so we stuck around." Ibran suddenly burst out laughing. "What's s' funny?" the miner asked. "That's the first time I've ever heard of someone's life being saved by slacking off!" he said, grinning from ear to ear.

The addition of the miners brought much needed hope to their group, as well as a ready knowledge of the place. The miners knew where just about everything was, including a useful cache of explosives. After fixing themselves up with a few things, Ibran's team was ready to move on. Soon, they approached an area the miners called "the fun house." Apparently, it was supposed to be a recreational area the miners went to when off duty for long periods of time. Ibran, however, suspected from its description that it was an optimal place for the bugs to breed, and was proved right when his men scouted the area. Ibran and his men crept back momentarily and considered his options. "Suggestions?" he asked.

"We could bypass the place," the rocketeer suggested. "Negative. We'd have to find a corridor around and that will take time we don't really have."

"We kin blast're way right through them buggers!" Ibran turned to the miner and arched his eyebrow at him. "That would take manpower we don't have. However..." Ibran broke off. "Where's a suitable place a lot of bugs can fit into?" he questioned the miner. "The fun house."
"Other than the fun house." The miner considered this. "Well... we got the boring corridor..." "What's that?" "Corridor longer than them bugs' tails. Leads to a minin' shaft." Ibran nodded. "Take the explosives and wire the corridor. We're going to set a trap for the bugs."

After a short amount of time, the corridor was ready. Ibran took a few people with him. "Remember," he cautioned. Just enough firepower to get their attention. Then we split." His group nodded. Ibran looked over his impromptu commandos for a second, then led them all around the corner in a fast rush. The air suddenly erupted with the sound of blaster fire and rockets launching. The bugs milled around momentarily, then began to charge the fighters. "RUN!" Ibran shouted. "I'll cover you!" Drawing on the Force, he created a giant telekinetic bulldozer that erupted in the forefront of the Gray Death, sending the front rank tumbling backward into its fellows. Ibran took advantage of the momentarily confusion to speed after his team. The bugs were not to be stymied for long, though, and a furious pursuit ensued.

Dashing down corridors with a haste born of desperation, Ibran's "commandos" ran for their very lives. Several times, a member would stumble and fall, slowing them down until the person could get back on their feet. At each of these intervals, the team would turn and fire shots at the advancing bugs, although sparingly. Good thing I ordered them only two or three shots. We've only got so much ammo as is. Finally, the group reached the "boring corridor." They rushed down it, the rocketeer speeding ahead of the others so he could turn and launch a rocket into the bugs just outside of the hallway. Fortunately, the main group had already been ordered into the open door at the end of the "boring corridor". The mining shaft inside went down about 300 meters before hitting a solid rock bottom. There were escape ladders on each wall of the shaft, as well as a door on the opposite wall that his group had gone through. The door was also open, and just beyond it was the remainder of Ibran's team.

Ibran paused three quarters of the way down the hall and concentrated on setting up a telekinetic barrier about halfway. The forefront of the bugs rammed into it, completely halting their advance but also sending Ibran reeling. He held on to his control, though, and backed quickly down most of the rest of the corridor. Then, letting the barrier fall, he ran and took up a position on the catwalk leading to the other side of the mining shaft.

The giant mass of gray forms flowed down the corridor. Ibran watched impassively as the grotesque forms of the entity known as Gray Death came for him. They had almost reached then end of the corridor when Ibran turned and nodded to one of the miners. He pressed a button on the remote detonator and the entire hallway erupted in a massive fireball. The Gray Death erupted into a flood of loose limbs, shattered chitin, and oozing ichor. The entire "boring corridor" as well as some of the adjoining passage Ibran and his group had entered through collapsed. What did not get charred to a crisp in the explosion was crushed by several tons of heavy metal.

It didn't really matter how it happened, but it was a good thing that Ibran was watching when it did. The explosives expert, unable to get a good grip on the catwalk since he had to hold the remote at the same time was knocked over the safety railing by the ensuing shockwave from the explosion. Ibran watched, horrified, then shouted "NO!" and in front of the entire group of miners, Rebels, and Jedi, he dove over the side of the catwalk after the miner. The miner, falling in a sprawled posit ion, fell slower than Ibran, who moved as a swimmer does diving into the water. It took Ibran 50 meters of falling to reach the man and another 50 to grab him and pick a course of action.

Closing his eyes, Ibran let go and gave himself completely to the Force. Slowly, they lost speed as Ibran's Force powers took hold. As they neared the bottom, Ibran created a Lesser Force Shield around himself and consequently the miner he was holding onto pouring into it all the power he could muster. Landing hard on their sides, Ibran and the miner rolled for a bit, then stopped. A sharp pain in Ibran's left side suggested that he'd cracked or broken some ribs, and further pain in his leg suggested injury there, as well. The miner also seemed beaten up on his right side. The undeniable fact remained, however, that both of them were still alive.

Ibran sent his thoughts out to the Jedi above him. I'm all right he said. And so is the miner. We've got some injuries, which I'm trying to heal and reduce, but I could use some help. We're coming someone said, and Ibran relaxed, letting the Force flow through him, healing and mending his injuries while he waited for assistance.

A good while later, Ibran and the miner were sitting back up with their fellow Jedi. The wounds of the two who had fallen were being tended to. Ibran's ribs and leg were only cracked, thanks to his powers, and they were getting better as time passed. Ibran could tell, though, that everyone was now regarding him with considerably more awe and respect than they had previously. Perhaps I'm not so bad after all, Ibran thought, smiling.

There was only an occasional trickle of Gray Death coming at Tashannoc's group now, so he had taken some time to go into a trance to find some answers to some questions he'd been having. When he came out, he found the same female Jedi trainee who had aided him when he had been injured protecting him now. She held a grenade launcher awkwardly in her hands. "You're not very comfortable with that, are you?"

She looked startled to see him awake. "No sir, General. I'm used to trying to save lives, not take them. But with our numbers so low, and a third of what's left taking the miners to the hangar, I suppose a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do. Her purple eyes glinted from her green tinted face, and Tashannoc wondered what planet she was from.

"Well, you can put it down now. I should be able to take care of myself."

As she set down the weapon, Sammy came running up to Tasha. The Jedi Master briefly realized that he didn't know the girl's name, and decided he would find out as soon as was possible. "What's the situation, General?" Sammy asked.

"Well, I used a farseeing trance to look in on the recent past of the other teams. Ibran is doing alright, although he has too little confidence in himself, and it makes him reckless. I suppose recklessness should be expected from Luke's student's, though. Tenel Ka and the twins are doing alright as well, but I think I'll owe Aria an apology when this is over. I shouldn't have placed a Lieutenant that I didn't know well to head up that part of the mission. Fortunately, I think cooler heads will prevail, providing they don't let their anger get the better of them. My sister and her team are actually behind us now. They've had more luck than we finding survivors, and now I don't know what she's up to, but you can be sure something's going to get destroyed." Sammy and Tasha shared a smile at that.

"Speaking of survivors, did you sense any more? And what about the Bugs?"

"Unfortunately, there are no more survivors left in this dome. I'm not as sure about the others. As for the Gray Death, I think we're coming up on something big. The stuff they've been sending at us has just to keep us busy and whittle us down. We'll move out once the rest of the group gets back. What are our numbers looking like, by the way?"

"We have eleven combat Jedi left, along with about four healers. Nineteen heavy weapons specialists, and half a dozen infantrymen and about two medics are left from the Rebel forces. And of course there's you and me."

Tashannoc closed his eyes for a brief moment. "They'll be back in about four minutes. Get everyone ready to move out, and tell them we only have a couple more kilometers to go before things get really nasty."

Sitting on the bed of her room at the Dantooine Academy, Lucinda Crissean worried. "We've heard nothing!" she said in a melodious voice, her brown hair swaying as she shook her head. "I wish I knew what was happening!"

"Simmer, sis!" Kain Crissean said from his position on the floor, where he was fiddling with an odd looking device. "Ibran'll come out okay. He always does." Kain reminded his older sister. Lucinda turned to look at Kain. "Yes... but remember when he lost his arm? How he said almost nothing for an entire month? I felt so bad for him..." she trailed off. Kain ran a hand through his short, dark hair. "Yeah..."

"And what if he loses his other arm? What if it makes him worse? This place was supposed to help him!" Kain regarded his sister for a minute. "The thing about Ibby, though, is that he always comes out ahead in the end. I'll bet you haven't noticed, but that arm of his doesn't bother him as much as it used to, and he's even adapted so he could use it better. Whatever happens, he'll pull through." Lucinda nodded. "I hope you're right. It's just... well... he needs a woman! Someone to keep him from rushing off headlong to help people every other second!"

Kain laughed. "Thank you Miz Matchmaker. I suppose next you're going to be hunting for someone for me, eh?" Lucinda turned and flashed her younger brother a devious smile. "Just you wait... once I've got Ibran wrapped around some nice girl's finger, I'll find you someone." "I suppose, all things considered..." Kain trailed off. "Yes?" Lucinda asked. "All things considered... I hope Ibran stays a bachelor forever!" he burst out and fell over laughing.

"Oooooh! Just you wait! I'll get you for that one, Kain! I will!" "Oh, no! Please, someone save me! Where's Ibran when you need him?" At this, Lucinda grabbed a pillow and proceeded to bash Kain with it.

Oriola Pavon, also known as "Pallbearer", spoke with the "Undertaker" via long range communication from the Ubiquitorate base at Yaga Minor. "You'll receive the listing as soon as it's compiled. First we need to sneak a spy into the Academy, though." "As long as I receive the information within two months, I don't care how long it takes. Beyond two months, however, and the Academy may have too many new recruits to keep track of to efficiently trace the Jedi at this battle in the Furies." "You'll get it, Undertaker."

The Admiral's image leaned back into his command chair. "Excellent. Keep me informed on all new developments. We may be able to use them to the Empire's advantage. And another thing... I'll be stopping by Yaga Minor once I've spoken with Lord de Devastator." "What for?" "Just a little something in the works. I'll let you know more as it develops." "Very well, but you're going to have to keep us informed, Admiral."

The Admiral smiled. "I will. You have no need to worry about that. Don't I always?" Oriola nodded. "I have to admit, even though you've kept a few secrets from us, your plans have worked without our help many times."

"It's partly because I work so closely with you people at Ubiquitorate. Information is vital against the enemy in a job like mine... especially detailed profiles." Oriola snapped her fingers. "So that's why you keep writing up the things! I thought it was mostly for the psych experts up at brainwashing."

"In one respect, you're right. Once defeated in battle, my observations can help defeat captured men's willpower. And the Empire welcomes all servants, especially those who have been "conditioned" to hate the Rebellion." The Undertaker looked at his watch. "I estimate the battle will take a good bit more time. Now... why don't you tell me about my new commander Domino de Devastator? Knowing what he will allow and what he won't will be a great asset to seeing how much I can accomplish."

Shaking his head dejectedly, Gregor Jarkov slumped in his desk chair. They were being beaten at Fury. Minutes earlier, he had, through one of the video links in an experimental creature, seen his Wing Commander being cut down by an ally.

"I've lost two trusted officers in one battle..." He murmured to himself. He did not want to send any more of his forces into the fray; preferring instead to keep them safely guarding his home base. The Rebels may defeat him at Fury, but they would not defeat him here.

Pushing a button on the console in front of him, he began to dole out orders without addressing those he was talking to on the broadcasting system. They would know who they were. "I want our special guards released into the jungles surrounding the base; and send the three Lab Corvettes out to their destinations, but do not release their cargo yet...And..Prepare to recall our Frigate orbiting Fury. Leave all other remaining craft there. As a replacement, send in a Carrack cruiser, and upon its arrival, I want you to bomb the mining facility. We shall cut our losses and leave."

"They're packin', people! Status!" Thix ordered. A chorus of acknowledgments flew over the comm system. There were now seven surviving members of Nemesis Squadron, counting the two disabled craft spinning out of action. One X-Wing had been shot down by a desperate member of Blood Axe squadron, who was still alive at the moment, but trying to fight off a pair of fighters chasing it. Blood Axe was holding up well, but without their leader, they were slowly being beaten. One flight full of TIEs remained--four craft--and they fought valiantly.

As Thix thought on this, another enemy dot on the radar winked out and the fighters' numbers descended to three. Blood Axe was dying. Suddenly, the three remaining TIE Advanced fighters peeled off of their dogfights and zipped directly for the Frigate, whose shields had recently failed. Thix believed at first that they were headed to protect their mothership, but they docked instead. Before the Alliance fighters could begin firing on the Frigate, it had accelerated to hyperspace.

"They ran." Neb sighed.

"I was just getting warmed up!" An A-Wing pilot stated.

"Yeah, but there are some other Impish fellows that are taking an interest in our agenda." Becky stated, referring to the as of yet unidentified TIEs that had been sweeping the combat area. "I'm hanging on by a thin thread here, Thix. Shields are gone, port stabilizers gone. Permission to head back to the Xenomorph and get some repairs?"

"Definitely. Hurry up and make sure the techs double check everything on your ship." Thix answered swiftly. Grant chuckled. "What?" Thix asked him, but Grant didn't respond. He could imagine the grins on pilots' faces right now. He was going to have to have a little chat with Grant soon about his little insinuations.

Everyone was trying to catch their breath while the fearless leaders planned. Several complained that this com silence was getting really out of hand. They'd been in those tunnels for well over a day and still no one transmitted info to the teams outside battling and fending off the enemy ships. One impatient soldier tried to use alternate frequencies to have his com blare and hiss back at him. Defeated he snatched a ration bar and bit into to take out his frustrations.

There were a large number of casualties leaving only ten foot soldiers, six Spec Forces that included Cuntry, nine Jedi with lightsabers, four Jedi healers and four med techs. That did not include the command structure. But they were almost near the end of the corridor and the ammunition was starting to become their most precious commodity.

The living were barely passing for living and were more than exhausted. Sleeping in shifts were no longer adding needed energy to their bodies and listlessness settled in as a permanent companion. Cuntry and Aria were replaced on guard and forced to rest. An impossible task, but somehow they both managed to fall into a light sleep.

"We have to move soon," Tenel Ka said. "Jacen and Aria picked up on life senses but they both said they were weakening."

"Yes, but we have a group working on that hall, though most of it is cleared out, Cuntry is correct in his assessment of the interior structure. The ceiling collapse with more than five in a certain location."

"Ah, aha." Tenel Ka sat back deep in thought, absently munching on a biscuit Jacen gave her a while ago. "And I believe you have concerns about the only plan of action remaining."

"I do. We have a good group of fighters here, and the Jedi have surprised me time and again. But to send such a small force through there to save I don't know how many survivors. It is not sensible, the Jedi could just be identifying one or two miners, nothing more."

"I do not believe that is the case. Have you been watching the change in the rooms as we moved along."

"Not really more than to document our new location."

"They are living quarters lieutenant. I believe we may be heading towards the area where the miners go to after work."

"This is not the make-up of a break room."

"But it is similar in design to many of the on job living stations situated in Hapes. They have a cafeteria that some miners may have been able to have closed the bugs out of and survive until a rescue could be formulated."

"But only five of our people could go through. Five we can send to death or success. I don't like the odds of it."

"Then it should not be our decision. It should be theirs and if we send in two groups of four, the odds might fare a little better."

"I respect your suggestions and you are going to make a pretty good leader, Princess Tenel Ka Djo." Ganderson smiled for the first time since he got on this mission. "The men talked with some Jedi and well, some things slipped out."

Tenel Ka tried not to show her surprise. "Thank you. We must address the troops, Lieutenant Ganderson."

"As you know, we have received reports that there may be living beings about 100 meters down that corridor. That is the good news."

Ganderson took a moment to clear his throat. "The bad news is the structure of the hall for about 30 meters or so is very tenuous. We want to send two teams of four in leaving the remaining people to help remove the severely injured back to the ship." The group groaned and several newer soldiers were trying their best to put up a brave front. They all knew what he would ask next. "We need volunteers to go and attempt to retrieve the surviving miners. Please understand there will be no back up, if you fail, they will die."

Cuntry and Aria looked at each other, the sleep vanished a second after the announcement started, with a secretive grin they both raised their hands to volunteer. Tenel Ka willing step up to volunteer as well. The medic that was getting training on handling a blaster by Cuntry also meekly put her hand up to volunteer and one of the male Jedi healers, Pai, was more than willing to give jump up and volunteer. Ganderson was so impressed with everyone that he stepped in as the sixth volunteer Jacen followed quickly behind and one other Special Forces commando volunteered. Lowie growled angrily, he was not quick enough to volunteer nor was Zekk who'd just come back from rear guard duty.

"I want the volunteers to gather over here. Everyone else, as soon as the last group slips through that hallway, I want you to pick up everything and pull back. Nothing should be in this corridor if we make it back."

"You will need back up when you get out of here, someone to make sure the halls are cleared." Lowie's translating droid whined. "Lowbacca, you are to pack up and leave. Provide cover fire to those retreating. Are we clear on these orders." Tenel Ka emphasized each word, knowing Lowie might get some strange notion to stay around and get himself killed.

It took a while to clear the room, everyone lingered behind to cover the eight volunteers for as long as possible. It was difficult to leave them behind after losing so many. Aria was giving Zekk all the clearance codes to lift off if they never returned, she also gave him the slaver code to her ship Bandork's Revenge though she never used it. Lowie was inconsolable as Jacen and Tenel Ka tried to explain to him why he needed to leave.

Still in the end the words made sense and getting the injured back to the ship became first priority. Cuntry and the lieutenant were testing the integrity of the halls as far as twenty meters in, any further might prompt another attack by those bugs. Pai and Rolo, the other special forces commando, were gathering the necessary ammunition for this venture, checking to make sure the cells were fully powered and the grenades timers were not engaged. They also packed a couple of extra blasters in case there were some miners that could defend themselves. Tina was packing as much med supplies as she could in her carrying case and her utility belt, hoping she wouldn't have to use it as the other techs gave last minute pointers.

"All right," Ganderson's voice resonated in the room, "everyone knows what should be done. Let's move it out and first group you are with me. That means Jacen, Tina and Aria are with me. No arguments." Aria closed her mouth, she realized she would have to go through that hole first but not with Ganderson. Silently she muttered every curse she knew as she snatched up a pack and flung it across her shoulders. Defiantly she walked as far in front of the group as possible.

"Aria!" came the strong warning. Tenel Ka's voice echoed in Aria's mind. "They need your sensitivity and you have to work with Ganderson, not against him."

Aria took smaller steps so the group could catch up, but she was still sulking. Tenel Ka watched the first group disappear and turned to her group. Rolo and Cuntry were doing some last minute checks on the missiles and ion cannons. Pai was practicing with Zekk's lightsaber. The boy had given it to him, hoping he would survive longer than with a blaster. It felt like an eternity before the group heard the com click twice and then three times in succession. The first group made it through and there were no bugs in sight. The first group waited at the end of the hall for Tenel Ka's group to show up. Tenel Ka waved her hands and immediately Cuntry took lead and directed the group through the maze of destruction.

Darryl gave a last ditch effort to take down that TIE Advanced but it was weaving and bobbing and pretty soon his A-wing would be in firing distance of the Cruiser. At the last moment he gave up his chase, with a couple of futile laser blasts, and turned back toward the group. All around the trumpet of retreat must have sounded because all of the Cruisers and Corvettes were moving as quickly away from the fray as possible. He never did have time to find out what happen to Miles but he'd lost half his squadron and he dreaded making the calls to the families and friends. The only survivors were him, Laura, Sigmeund, and the cowboys.

"Grant to group, the remnants are retreating. Pull it in and cover your injured." The com clicked off.

"Cignas, this is leader. What is the damage?" Darryl waited for the reports. Laura was running on no shields and her navigation system was blown. She hadn't told him that earlier or else he would have pulled her from the fight long ago. "Can you pilot it in Five."

"Blindfolded, sir!" came back her quick reply.

"Okay, Five head back to Lightbringer for repairs." His niece had gusto, that was for sure. "Siggy, cowboys, how is it looking?"

"We can stay on defensive, if that is what you are asking Captain." Twelve replied.

"Good, I want a loose formation around our cruisers. We may need to wait out the return of the group on Fury."

"Sir, I am reading energy fluctuations from your engines."

"Blanket repairs, Siggy. I am working on it now. It is not necessary for me to go in yet. Let's get in formation."

"Aye, aye captain." Rick gave a salute from the cockpit and floored it to begin his circling around Lightbringer.

Bjiatocah and her men finally made it to their goal: the main power generators for this dome. "Will this be enough power for you?" she asked Squak.

He grinned and nodded. "Should be just fine." He hooked up his equipment, and got down to business. Since he had a penchant for talking to himself as he worked, he gave everyone a play by play. "Okay, first I'll link into the broadcast antennas, then bring my program online . . . . Now, blocking out the incoming and outgoing signals entirely . . . . filtering out those that belong to that Jerkoff guy . . . . Okay, let's see . . . . THERE!" He looked up triumphant. Okay, the bioterrorists no longer are getting feeds into or out of this facility, and we should have full communications going out of the domes now. I don't know what will happen if those signals were controlling the bugs, but they're on their own now."

Bjiatocah was just about to congratulate Squak on his work, when Sting approached her. He looked entirely too happy for her comfort. "What is it?"

"Well, sir, I just finished looking over the setup to the generators here. Looks like a well placed explosion could cause this and the other dome's generators to go into a meltdown phase, level the whole place. I could set it up and we could detonate from orbit."

"Okay, set it up. I'll contact my brother and let him know what we're doing, then we'll head back to the Thunder." Sometimes Sting reminds me all too much of that Gavin fellow. she reflected.

"That's a great idea!" Sammy blurted out after Tashannoc got done talking to his sister.

"I thought you'd like it." Tasha replied. "Go get everyone ready to fall back. I'll contact the other teams and the Cruiser.

"Attention Alpha and Beta teams, this is General Tashannoc. The enemy fleet is retreating, so I'd like to pull out of here as fast as we can. Get your Jedi together to scan for miners. If you find some more, let me know. Otherwise, fall back to your transports, and I'll see you in orbit."

Tasha turned back to Sammy. "Well, looks like we're getting out of here."

"Omega, report in." Neb got reports from the last five fighters left flying, plus reports from those pilots who hadn't been picked up by the cruiser yet. All told, he had lost seven ships and three pilots.

"Okay, Omega, we'll be joining the Disks to protect the shuttles as they leave the colony. I don't want a single one of those ships getting any carbon scoring whatsoever. Remember, the frigate and Blood Axe may be gone, but they haven't all pulled out yet."

As Tashannoc's group pulled out, a single Gray Death hurtling toward them. Sammy leveled his grenade launcher, but an idea sparked in Tashannoc's mind. "No, this one's mine," he said.

Reaching out with the force, he picked up the beast and held it still, walked up to it, and with a swift motion took it's head in his hands and snapped it's neck. Tashannoc motioned a quartet of Rebels to the body. "Bring it with us, and I want it kept intact. I have some friends who might be able to tell us something about them. I have a feeling that this isn't over yet, not by a long shot."

Tashannoc and the others jogged to catch up with the rest of the group and when he got there, he found the green skinned girl who had aided him earlier. "I'm sorry," he said, "but I didn't catch your name."

"Oh, I'm sorry, Master Tashannoc," she replied. "My name is Kimmbr."

"Well, Kimmbr, I have a little proposition for you..." he began.

Lance sighed. The battle had gone well; soon, after the Rebel forces had done some mopping up, there would be only one target remaining: that of Jarkov Biologics' own home base. The frigate had retreated, leaving the smaller Corvettes, or what was left of their original numbers, to fight his four ships and their fighter squadrons.

Lance's experience told him that that meant one of two obvious things: The enemy would either soon recall all the forces, or send in another mothership. Lance had scarcely thought the fact when an imposing Carrack-class cruiser dropped out of hyperspace good distance away from all of Hendrikson's ships.

"Carrack-Class cruiser entering area, sir!" An ensign reported the fact to Lance, though he had already noticed it.

"Tell the Remember Ord Mantell to deploy a B-Wing Squadron. I want to destroy that Cruiser before it can do much damage..."

"Feeling better?" Alia plopped down beside of Ibran and he slowly opened his eyes.

"Yes, I suppose, mentally and physically."

She smiled wearily. "Well, dear, we've got the only miners anyone can sense and there haven't been bugs after us for a while, I think it would be to our advantage to pack up and get out before anything even meaner decides that we should be its buffet."

He blinked. "Leave?"

"Yes, you know, leave Fury, hopefully go back to Dantooine and finish training."

"Yes," he said absently, staring past her at the wounded troops and Jedi lining the wall. "Dantooine, training."

"Ibran," she said lowering her voice. "What's wrong?"

"I could have done so much more..."

"Look," Alia took his face between her hands, forcing him to look at her.

"You did much better than probably anyone could have done in this situation. These people still look up to you and they're trained to spot leadership, they wouldn't follow you if they didn't have faith in you. Besides, we need to get back to Dantooine as soon as possible."

His eyes cleared, "Why?"

"I just have a feeling...we need to go back to Dantooine."

"All right, Alia… but there's something I have to do. I have to make sure there's no more miners. And to do that, we need to go to the control room. But to make sure it's safe we must take.…"

Ibran blinked, adjusting his lightsaber so that it was ahead of him a little better. Entering the vents had been uncomfortable, but the bugs weren't in the vents mostly, so the safety margin was much higher. Using the vents, the group had found several isolated pockets of living miners, many of them tired and ill from lack of food. It had been very tight in the vents, but at least it kept them alive.

Ibran pushed into the next corner of the vent… then stopped. The person in back of him stopped, too. "What's the matter?" "The vent's collapsed into the room ahead. We're going to have to cross some open ground, which I suspect will be hazardous to our health. Let everyone know back there. I'll scout ahead." The trooper nodded and returned to the main group.

Ibran slowly and silently slid down the remainder of the bent vent. He landed, smiling. Poor sap… I hate to trick people like that, but it's in their best interests. Both lightsabers ignited, Ibran walked slowly over to a hallway. He looked up at the ceiling, tracing the vents for a bit. Finding the right passage, he marked it by burning an arrow into the ceiling. Then, he turned and began to walk towards the main room the vent had opened into.

Once there, he slowly walked over to a door that had been pummeled on from the inside and opened it. A fierce buzzing noise could be heard from beyond the door. Inside, large gray forms could be seen, and wings were keeping them some five feet off the ground. Ibran nodded to himself, ignited a second lightsaber, and prepared to face the Buzzers.

Alia sighed, walking along the corridor. Some of the people in their group couldn't fit into the vents, so she and others had taken the walking path. Somewhere in the vents, Ibran would be scouting ahead. I don't see how he keeps going on, she thought. Most of us are dead tired and have been, but it doesn't seem to affect him. She shook her head, wondering what was going through Ibran's mind at the moment.

Suddenly, a trooper slipped out of a vent. "The vent's damaged a little ways on. We have to exit here and then re-enter a short distance from here," he told Alia. She nodded. "All right… where's Ibran?" "Scouting ahead," was the answer. She nodded and got the group together, letting them know what the trooper had told them. Slowly, the group moved to where the vent opened. Looking at the ceiling, Alia found where Ibran had traced a path with his lightsaber and started to lead the group after it, but something felt wrong. "Gurney… do you hear something?" she asked. Gurney cocked his head. "Now that you mention it… I do hear a sort of buzzing sound not far off. Why?" Alia shook her head. "Come with me while I check it out real quick." Gurney nodded and followed closely behind Alia. They walked down a hallway, and as they did so, the buzzing stopped. Turning a corner, they spied Ibran heading towards them. Alia looked at him suspiciously. "Where were you?"
"Checking for survivors. Didn't find anything."
"Oh." Alia nodded, and they headed back to the main group.

Soon, they reached the control room for the dome. In here they would be able to use the dome sensors to detect whether or not any survivors were left. Ibran looked around his group. Most of them were tired or injured. Too tired to fight their way in here, he thought. "All right… rest time. The control room's bound to be infested, so we'll need all our strength for it. Break time. And I mean everyone rests. There are no bugs that can reach us here, so there's no need for guards. No exceptions." Ibran watched as everyone lay down to sleep. Once he could feel they were all out cold he stood and walked towards a vent. Slicing it open, he caught it telekinetically and set it down soundlessly. He climbed in and crawled along. It wasn't long before he found the opening to the control room… and he was right. In it were several kinds of bugs… including swarms of little black ones that were about a meter and crawled all over everything. Then there were bugs climbing the walls, the Buzzers like the ones he'd fought earlier, and there were also about six giant malevolent looking leader bugs. I can't let anyone else die. I won't. he said, as he sliced through the vent. Several Buzzers and Climbers crawled into the vent space.

As they did so, he cleft them in two with the two lightsabers he was using now. Once he'd eliminated some of the flying bugs, he created a Lesser Force Shield and dropped into the fray. Immediately upon landing, Ibran turned, swinging his lightsabers in a broad arc, cleaving through two normal Gray Death. He leapt into the air and jumped right over an attacking leader bug, causing it to carve right into several Gray Death. This bug turned back to Ibran, but for some reason all the normal Gray Death seemed to have lost their focus. They leapt at Ibran, slicing madly, but he performed several deft acrobatic maneuvers and they ended up slicing into each other. He dove at them, slicing into them with short, controlled lightsaber slashes and carving them up until they dropped. Buzzers and climbers dive bombed from the ceiling and the walls, and several of them hit home, striking deep into Ibran's body with their spear-like tails. Reducing his injuries as much as he could, Ibran continued to clear the area around him with his lightsabers, swinging wildly in an attempt to get rid of the bugs clouding his vision. Suddenly, his Danger Sense blared and he dove to the side, just as a leader bug attacked the area where he had been. The other five leader bugs closed in on Ibran. Not good odds. Ibran thought. But it must be done.

Ibran quickly whirled his two lightsabers in a deadly circle, cutting through more bugs. Still swinging them, Ibran charged, cutting a huge swath through several remaining ground bugs and ended up in the corner. He raised a Lesser Force Shield for a breather, slowly surveying the scene. A lot of the smaller black bugs were now gathered away from the leader bugs. There were only seven normal Gray Death left and no Buzzers or Climbers. A few poisonous bugs were slowly encircling Ibran, along with the leaders. Ibran casually took note of all the opponents, then launched himself at the poisonous bugs. Using the Lesser Force Shield as a battering ram, he careened into the poisonous bugs, causing them to sway slightly, but they quickly recovered and counterattacked. Having planned for this, Ibran concentrated on keeping the shield up and letting the bugs crash into it. This time, the bugs were stunned more and Ibran took advantage of it.

He cleft the poisonous bugs in half right as his Danger Sense kicked in. Ibran turned, raising the shield again, but two leader bugs had moved in behind him. One sliced at him with its claws and the other crawled low, trying to sweep his feet. Ibran jerked back, startled and missed the claws of the one bug by millimeters. The other bug's tail swept into his feet, knocking him over.

As Ibran fell, however, he stabbed desperately with his lightsaber. The bug on the ground raised a claw to block it, but the lightsaber cut through the claw. The bug roared in pain and Ibran quickly turned to the other bug, tossing a lightsaber straight through it's midsection. The leader convulsed, spouting ichor everywhere as Ibran rolled to the side, recalling his weapon. He leapt up to the vent and caught on with one hand. Carefully, Ibran arrested the movement of the leader with the injured claw using Telekinesis. The other leader bug continued to convulse until finally, it fell over, dead. 'Must've hit something vital there.'

Ibran looked around. Suddenly, he realized that the leader with the injured claw was the only leader remaining. The others had disappeared.

Ibran looked around then carefully dropped to the floor. The cluster of black bugs was now moving towards him. He paused, prepared to defend himself, but the bugs took no interest in him. Instead, they started at the feet of the leader bug… and devoured it at a frightening rate. It was then that Ibran felt pity for the beast that he was attacking. Apparently something had happened to cause these things to lose whatever control they had had. And that they were eating everything in sight, which meant Ibran was also a meal, too. He picked up his lightsabers and carved into the Black Death as much as he could…

But they were too fast, and there were too many to destroy that easily. Despite the fact that Ibran killed off a large number while they were eating the other bug, there were still enough left to go after him. He continued to slice into them, but they were too fast and they slipped past his blades. Their pincers dug deep into his flesh, and he was too tired to reduce these injuries. He spent his remaining energies killing the Black Death that had crawled onto his body. Bug after bug fell, but still they came. Ibran felt a sharp pain in his back and he reached around with his bionic arm. He yanked the bug off his back and poured all his remaining energy into snapping its' neck. Then, he fell to his knees, looking around. The realization came to him that he was now severely injured… but safe. The bug whose neck he had snapped was the last one. He had killed them all. And then he passed out.

It wasn't until the group had started looking for guidance that they realized Ibran was missing. Alia looked around quickly and then realized where he must have gone. Everyone in the group who could clustered around the door and someone opened it. Inside lay a giant group of dead bugs… and Ibran. His body had been horribly injured, pincer marks showing up everywhere. His clothes were torn in several places, and upon closer inspection one could even see the white of bone showing through the blood.

Alia rushed over to his still form, then looked up. "Is there anyone here who can heal?" Several people stepped forward. "All of you, get to work." Alia watched for a moment as they got to work, then shook her head and sighed. Why, Ibran? she wondered. Why? What were you thinking? After several hours of healing, Ibran regained consciousness. He blinked and looked around. "Well, hello, everyone." At this, one of the younger healers beside him stood and shouted "He's up!" to the rest of the group.

Many people clustered around him as he sat up slowly and painfully, wincing. None of the healers really had the nerve to physically restrain him. Ibran looked around. "I suppose you're all wondering why I did what I did… well, the answer's simple. I didn't want any more of you to die. So I eliminated the threat before it became a threat." At this his face took on a serious expression. "I won't ask of you what I won't do myself. Someone get those monitoring controls working to check for survivors." Several troopers clustered around the control console. After tearing out a large section of wiring and hooking it up to a portable computer, they were able to use the monitor hookups. Scans showed there was actually a small team of miners who were trapped near the entrance. Apparently, they'd been working their way out. They might not have gotten off Fury without help, though.

Ibran nodded. "I'm glad that I did this. On our way back, we'll pick them up. Now… shall we go? As soon as I can walk, that is. Unless someone would like to carry me?" Ibran braved a smile.

The Undertaker finished listening to Oriola's information of Lord Domino. He nodded, now knowing what to expect from the Sith Lord. "Thank you, Pallbearer. I appreciate all the subjects you've delivered to me for undertaking," he said with a thin smile.

"Anytime, Undertaker. I hope you achieve your goals someday soon. I'll be waiting for you to become a Grand Admiral." "I have little doubt I will, Pallbearer. Undertaker out."

Instead of flipping off the comm, the Undertaker paused, thinking. He nodded then turned on the long-range communications array once more. "This is a message to Lord Domino de Devastator. My codename is the Undertaker. I will meet with you soon, once the preliminaries to my assignment are complete. You will find it very difficult to trace this codename through Imperial records because it has been hidden for secrecy. I assure you, however, that my name and rank are in Imperial records, and you will receive these items once you and I meet in person so that you may check on them. You will also find that this message is encoded in the proper procedure for its' classification."

"In the meantime, I would appreciate it very much if preparations could be made for a Sith Lord to be donated into my service. The reasoning for this will be explained upon my arrival at your location, which I have heard to be Neraka Prime. If I reach you before this message does, I will explain everything myself. In the meantime, I wish you well in your endeavors. Success to you and yours, Lord de Devastator, and Long Live the Empire." And with that, the Undertaker pressed the button that would send the voice communication to the man who would soon be his ally.

Rolo volunteered to go through the hallway first and take an injured miner with him. Ganderson tried to talk him out of it but the spec forces commando was determined and in the end another miner agreed to cover him as they entered the delicate corridor. It took less time for Rolo to get through there than before and he cleared some of the more blocked passages for the people who would come behind.

While Ganderson and Pai slipped through the corridor with their two injured Verpine and another miner, Aria and Cuntry where busy planning. They were going to be the last group through and they would set the explosives. Aria wondered if she could get accepted into the demolitions training that the Jedi had an option to go through. She'd certainly built up some experience demolishing anything in her path. Reports rang out over the com as Ganderson and Pai were almost buried under a cave in. They lost one of the injured.

It took a lot longer but they finally heard the two click, three click from Ganderson's group and Tenel Ka and Jacen started in with one of the injured Verpine. Aria and Cuntry finished mining the two open corridors they neglected to go into the first time. Their Verpine companions clicked and buzzed talking to each other about surviving this. Aria was running some wire, Cuntry wouldn't let her walk around too much, and her curiosity had her listening in on their conversation. Deciding it was too much to interpret. Aria shrugged it off when she heard Cuntry's blaster sound. Looking up for the danger, Aria quickly grabbed her blaster and sought cover.

"We gotta blow that now!" Cuntry said.

Aria fumbled for the trigger to the second corridor and depressed the button. The hall shook with impact and everyone went under cover as the ceiling began to fall. "What's going on Cuntry?"

"Back up, a whole lotta back up comin' outta der cher. Let's move!"

Aria quickly buzzed in to Tenel Ka who admitted they were almost through the corridor and to head on in. With that in mind, she gave the two Verpine a push into the dark hallway and followed quickly after. "I only detonated the first group of those," she panted to Cuntry. "We would all die if I set off anymore than that! How are we going to hold them off?" One of the Verpine up ahead fell and Cuntry scooped him back onto his feet.

"Don't know cher but there's a whole lotta of dem and they headin' dis way."

"Okay, this hallway is a straight shot. Let the Verpine go ahead and we can cover them."

Grabbing one of the Verpine, Aria handed it her last glowrod and another blaster. Quickly she notified the terrified bug of her plan and gave them a push toward the exit, which seemed lightyears away. Cuntry reported in. With that, Aria and Cuntry sought some cover and Aria began setting off the mines, spacing the blasts so that only half the ceiling rained down on them each time. They heard it before they saw them, the sound of metallic scraping on the floor about 20 feet away.

"We done over stayed our welcome cher!"

"I agree!" Aria hopped up and retreated as fast as she could. She felt Cuntry move in behind her and scoop her up. Within moments Aria was being carried and spraying cover fire all over the hall. The halls protested the mistreatment and cave-ins soon followed. When the bugs were almost on top of them, Aria grabbed a detonator and set it on a ten second delay, releasing the safety, she dropped the small metallic globe to the floor and Cuntry ran as fast as he could away. The blast lifted both of them up and hurled them down the hallway.

Aria woke up and pushed most of the ceiling off of herself. Her ears were ringing from the blast and she felt like she actually broke a rib this time. All in all, her ankle felt much better than the rest of her body. She tried calling out Cuntry's name but instead fell into a fit of coughs. The corridor was pitch black and she reached out to sense any living being or hear the ominous clatter of claws scraping the floor. She felt neither and tried not to panic, maybe she wasn't concentrating. Feeling around in her utility belt, she found her lightsaber and turned it on. She looked up in shock, if the blast hadn't thrown them as far as it did, they would have died. The entire hallway was closed off as the entire dome spilled into the hallway.

"Cuntry!" Aria shouted, peeking around in the debris. "Cuntry!" She slowly picked her way through most of the downfall before she spotted him behind a pile of debris, or at least his missile launcher. She tossed the debris out the way, uncovering her point partner. "Cuntry," she whispered, trying to wake him. She couldn't tell anything from his face because of the eerie green, orange glow coming from her saber. She fumbled around for his wrist and tried to take his pulse, there was none. "No, no, no....CUNTRY! Wake up! Don't do this." She shook him silly but her friend never responded back. Tears of frustration seeped out and she tried once more to wake him before giving up. Stunned she just sat there and stared off into nothing.

"No one is responding to the comlink." Tenel Ka answered, worried.

Those blast were furious and no one reported in after that final earthquake. Everyone tensely waited for a report to come through but they heard nothing.

"All right everyone, we have to pack it up and head toward the ship before they blow this place." Ganderson said, trying not to show his concern.

"There's no way I'm leaving Aria and Cuntry behind," Jacen responded, no longer able to contain his frustration. "You may not give a hutt's butt about them but I do and I'm going back."

"Me too," Pai sounded in.

"This is a fact." Tenel Ka agreed.

"Sounds like the party is back there." Rolo chimed in and turned to face his commanding officer, from the other side.

"There is no way of knowing if they survived." Ganderson pleaded.

"Well, we won't know until we get there." Jacen stood up as tall as he could and squared his shoulder's.

Ganderson gave in, there was no way he could handle a mutiny. "We still need to get the Verpine to safety. Jacen and I will go after Cuntry and Aria, the rest are to head toward Bandork's Revenge. You have your orders." He put as much threat into his voice as possible. It would not look good to have the undermine his authority twice in one day, within ten minutes.

"Sir!" Jacen saluted and headed back into the broken down hall. Ganderson was on his heels.

Her wounds were superficial compared to her mind. She'd not responded to Jacen's first call, just sat there, staring. He finally got within hands reach and shook her back to reality.

"Jacen?" Aria stared at him confused. "Cuntry, he's... The blast and he..." The tears floated back up and Aria laid her head back on her knees.

Behind Jacen a piece of the ceiling collapsed and he had to duck out of the way. It took a moment for him to get around to Cuntry and dodge the new debris. Cautiously he grabbed the soldier's wrist and got no pulse.

Ganderson looked on curious and impatient. "He's dead lieutenant."

"Aria, we have to go now. There's nothing we can do for him."

"He wouldn't leave me...he...wouldn't."

"Aria! Look, this cave is falling in and if what you say is correct, then Cuntry risked his life for yours. What good would you do him by remaining here to die?" Jacen reached out and shook her. "Answer me!"

Her eyes cleared and some of the far away look drained from her eyes. "He died because of me, it is my fault. You know it and I know it. Why should I leave him here alone?" She started zoning out again.

"Because you have no choice." With that Ganderson stunned her and she slumped over into Jacen's arms. "Can you carry her or shall I?"

Shocked, Jacen mechanically lifted up Aria and adjusted her to rest in his arms. His anger came quickly. "What you do that for?"

"Look up!" He flashed his glow rod up and Jacen could see the ceiling fixture cracking. Without another word both men ran at top speed. Moments later, the ceiling came tumbling down.

MOVE ON TO PART VI
RETURN TO THE ARCHIVES

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