The Battle for Coruscant

Jacen watched Arc pace to and fro in the WolvenBlaze’s lounge. They’d been in hyperspace for about a day now, with Lowie recovering in a bacta-bed. Sorvem had been lounging around while Jacen had contacted Jaina, Zekk, and the others. Tenel Ka’s parents, Teneniel and Isolder, had been cooped up in the Rock Dragon for days with their newborn, and were eager to get out of the ship.

"I still think we should have dropped them off at Gallinore," Jacen had earlier told Arc.

"And lose more time? Besides, seeing Councilor Organa Solo and General Solo might cheer them up a bit, and their infant needs a place to rest and eat," Arc had replied.

Jacen was hungry, too. He’d eaten at 3:00 in the morning, Galactic Standard Time, and that was just a small meal of vine coffeine and a package of imported bantha meat.

"Yeah, I’m hungry too. Need an entree?"

The comment surprised Jacen. "How’d you know I was hungry?"

"When you get to be a Jedi, you pick up a couple new senses. Detecting emotions is one of them," Arc replied.

"I’m basically a completed Jedi. Why doesn’t it happen with me?"

"You’re a young completed Jedi. Younger than your uncle Luke was when he blew the Death Star away. You’ll become more mature as you age."

"Why are you at the Academy, then?"

"Jedi Trainees become Jedi Knights, and Jedi Knights become Jedi Masters."

"Oh."

Arc opened the freezer unit and looked in. "Hungry, Sorvem?"

"Rrrratherrr."

Sorvem sat on the small couch watching a portable vid-unit. "Interrrnal turrrrmoil is rrrrrising on Bothawui."

"Damn." Arc shook his head and peered in. "Trencaer steak. I didn’t know we had that."

"I picked it up on Undirrrrian severrrral days beforrrre I arrrrrived on Lycoth," 

Sorvem noted. "I trrrrransferrrred it frrrrom WolvenHammerrrrr to WolvenBlaze."

Arc chuckled. "That hunk of junk?"

"As I rrrrecall, it beat WolvenBlaze by two parrrrsecs."

"Only because you put a live rancor in the cargo bay. It punched two holes in the quantum accelerator."

"You have no prrrroof that was me!" Sorvem grinned ferally.

"What in the worlds is trencaer steak?" Jacen piped up.

"Trencaers are wild, horselike animals that are native to Undirian and Hopmera. 

Several are on Dagobah, in the plains where the sun is most visible. It tastes juicy and kinda bloody, but I think you’ll like it."

Arc heated it up, then served it in a plate. To Jacen, it looked meaty and brown, and when he cut into it, it poured red juice from inside. It tasted bloody at first, but then it grew into a nice, steaky taste.

"As I recall, there’s a saying among all males in the galaxy," Jacen said.

"The redder, the better."

Arc, Jacen, and Sorvem chuckled as they said the phrase in unison.

"Here’s something to wash it down." Arc offered a glass of liquid that appeared soapy, and when Jacen drank it, tasted pleasant, fiery, and very, VERY strong.

Jacen rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Whew! Kessel’s glow spiders, that’s strong!"

"It’s lum. Tastes nice, doesn’t it?" Arc downed a healthy dose of his mug.

"Very. That’ll put hair on your chest."

"It gave Sorvem diarrhea when he drank it, and it took hair OFF his chest." Arc 

grinned wickedly at Sorvem. "As I recall, all the Wookiee females on Kashyyyk couldn’t keep their eyes off him."

Sorvem rolled his eyes. He looked at his chrono, gasped, and rushed into another room with the portable vid-unit.

"Where’s he off to?" Jacen asked.

"Wookiee special on tonight. A very...special female Wookiee, Mirrakkik, makes an appearance on it." Arc shrugged. "He’s taken quite a liking to her."

"What’s so special about her?"

"Her breasts."

"Oh...."

"First thing every Wookiee male on Kashyyyk notices about her. She’s a nice Wook, but a little too...self-absorbed."

"You mean stuck-up."

"More or less, yeah. Sorvem’s the apple of her eye." Arc fiddled with part of his meal. "Sometimes I feel a little left out."

Jacen pursed his lips in sympathy. He’d found love in Tenel Ka, Jaina and Zekk shared a strong relationship, as did Raynar and Lusa. Even Lowie and Sorvem had potential mates out there. Arc had...no one.

"I did have someone, though," Arc caught Jacen’s sympathy. "Long time ago. 

When I was a little younger."

"You mean like 270?"

"Way younger than that. About 250 or so." Arc rested his chin on his rock-hard fist. "A Dathomiri."

Jacen was surprised. "Someone from Tenel Ka’s world."

"Someone from Tenel Ka’s family. A Djo," Arc corrected him. "Rana Ki was her name."

"Teneniel Djo’s great-aunt?"

"You’ve done research on her family tree." It wasn’t a question.

Jacen cut through part of his steak. "If I’m in love with someone, I like to know their background."

"Point." Arc set his fork down.

"Where is she now?" Jacen asked.

Arc exhaled through his nose. "Dead."

"Sorry," Jacen apologized. "If you’ll pardon my asking...how?"

"Murder. Sheer, cold-blooded murder." Arc stared down at his steak. "I was on board my personal Frigate, the Inexorable, when I was in Imperial service. I was to leave Palpatine’s service and settle down with Rana Ki, on Lycoth or another world in the Unknown Regions. Trouble was, Palpatine found out about it."

"What was wrong with that?"

"He knew I was his uncle. He didn’t want a potentially Dark Jedi Master to join the Alliance and cause his downfall. He decided that if Rana Ki was dead, I’d have no reason to join the Alliance. So while she was on a courier vessel, a CIVILIAN vessel, he had a Loronar Strike Cruiser "misfire" on the ship." Arc’s eyes flared. "7,000 innocent civilians were on board that ship. Rana Ki was a casualty."

Jacen felt like throwing up. 7,000 innocent people...

"I knew it had been him. I knew he’d killed Rana Ki. I knew he was that evil, and I’d spent most of my Imperial service trying to turn him. When I finally succeeded in killing him, I went back to Yoda. I knew Palpatine was going to have a number of clones to live on in, but in each one, his Dark Side power was depleted. I got to Dagobah in time to hear Yoda tell me he was dying, and that your uncle Luke was going to come and cause the Emperor’s death."

Arc shook his head. "And after Yoda died, there was...no place to go. Lycoth had too many bad memories. Dagobah too. I tried Tatooine, but even that place wasn’t hospital to me. I just...vanished for six years. Six horrible years. I saw Thrawn’s acts of destruction, the clone Emperor’s acts of destruction, and death and doom everywhere I went."

He looked up at Jacen. "Sometimes there are no happy endings."

Jacen exhaled. "Then you decided to kill yourself."

Arc looked up at Jacen, astonished. "Why, yes, I did...how-"

"Did I know? If that had happened to me, there’d be nothing else to live for." 

Jacen shrugged. "So how did you live?"

Arc squinted at his steak hard, in deep concentration. "I don’t know. I tried everything- poison, falls from high points, even blasters and lightsabers and blades to the heart, and something...some force that I still don’t understand, kept me alive."

For some time they sat in silence. "Maybe it’s your DNA structure. You’re not human, you know. Maybe you have more hearts then you think."

"Possibly. Or maybe..."

"What?" 

Arc shook his head. "Anyway, the past is no more. Just a bunch of death and bad memories. Let’s pray there are no more."
 
 

Jorje Starglider, Javelin Three of the New Republic’s Javelin Squadron, flew through the space above the world of Kirtania with his wingmate Hari.

"You seem a little wistful today, Starglider. Thinking about Kristin?"

"Possibly, Jonsun. You may wanna keep your eyes on the outpost and not on me," Jorje replied with a grin.

"Break it up, you two!" Commander Kej’s voice came over the comm. "We’ve got a bogie in sector 4."

Jorje rolled his eyes. "You bring the whole squadron out because of an A-class bulk cruiser?"

"Suspect everything, Three. The Empire’s been rallying up support in this sector," Kej snapped.

The freighter was very undistinguished. Painted a moldy brown color, it was dented with craters and had only two guns on its starboard fin, both light and easily damaged. However, the queerest object on the freighter was a gravity well-projector.

"See? It’s nothing but a- AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!"

Javelin Four’s remark was cut off when the freighter exploded into TIE Interceptors. One of them fired and pierced Four’s Y-wing with five shots. Four detonated in a shower of debris.

"Break right! Seven Impstars and two Victims in orbit! Contact the 

Independence an-"

Jorje watched as the lead Impstar blew Hari into atoms. 

"Oh, god! Javelin Seven! HARI!!!!!"
 
 

Grand Admiral Thrawn smiled as yet another Y-wing blew into shards. Pellaeon stood at his right, watching in satisfaction.

"They seem aloof today, don’t they, Captain?" Thrawn noted.

"They just woke up, sir. I’d be aloof too." Pellaeon replied.

Thrawn nodded. "One problem with the Alliance squadrons- they’re never ready." He keyed the comm. "Captain Brandei, move the Judicator twenty degrees starboard, and launch fighters on my command."

"Yes, Admiral," came the reply.

Thrawn smiled as the Judicator moved into position. "Stormhawk, rotate nine degrees to port and fire turbolasers on my command."

"Of course, Admiral."

Two Mon Calamari cruisers and an Assault Frigate appeared from behind Kirtania’s moon. Pellaeon swallowed. He knew the Rebels were outnumbered, but two Mon Cal cruisers and an Assault Frigate were enough to take out the Chimaera.

"Relax, Captain, and enjoy the ride," Thrawn assured him. "Judicator, launch fighters: now."

The Judicator spewed fighters from its hanger bays. 
 
 

"Squadron C-9, fall back from the Judicator and head to the Turmoil."

The TIE squadrons shot past the Assault Frigate and headed towards a Victory-class Star Destroyer. Pellaeon expected the Frigate to open fire--and then, Grand Admiral Thrawn surprised him once more.

"I knew they had to be Shistavenen. Look at the way the Frigate moves, Captain. 

Notice that they leave their port side unguarded. Shistavenen always suspect TIE fighters of attacking them, ever since Uvena 3 was bombarded by the 128th TIE Interceptor squadron. They don’t fear Star Destroyers, since they assume they’ll go for the heavier cruisers. But now that their port side is vulnerable-" Thrawn keyed the comm. "Stormhawk, open fire: now."

The Stormhawk poured turbolaser blasts into the port side of the Assault Frigate. The crew started to shift power to port deflector shields, but with the power depleting from the starboard shield generator, that left the starboard side vulnerable as well.

They were trapped.

"Judicator, open fire."

Thrawn’s command was recognized a second later as the Judicator utterly annihilated the Frigate’s engines and starboard hull. Turbolaser blasts thundered and hammered the pitiful shields on the Assault Frigate. Fires broke out in the engines and under the hull. In a matter of minutes, the mighty Assault Frigate had been turned into a hulk of charred, blackened mass.

"Turmoil, turn one hundred-eighty degrees portside, then speed towards Chimaera."

"TOWARDS Chimaera, Admiral?"

"You heard me, Commander."

"Of course, sir. Sir..."

"You don’t have to understand orders, Commander. Simply obey them."

"Yes, Admiral."

Thrawn keyed his comm. "Lieutenant Tschel, shields up, full power."

"Yes, Admiral."

The Victory Destroyer sped towards Chimaera. One of the Mon Cal cruisers sped towards the Chimaera as well, charging up turbolaser batteries.

"Don’t they realize what they’re doing?" Pellaeon asked in amazment.

"They do, Captain, but they don’t see what they’re doing. I’m surprised Rodians can man Mon Calamari cruisers, though. Nonetheless, Rodians have a blind spot in their eyes, at the corners of the eye socket. The crew and captain can’t see the Turmoil speeding towards them. They will, however." Thrawn keyed the comm. "Turmoil, all power to front deflector shields, portside."

The cruiser started to open fire on the Chimaera, but it noticed the Turmoil.Then the Mon Calamari cruiser shot below the oncoming Turmoil. 

"Excellent."

Thrawn keyed the comm. "Judicator, target the starboard side of the cruiser. Open fire on my command."

"Yes, Admiral."

The cruiser, to Pellaeon’s shock, switched power to its portside shields.

"They expect a collision, Captain, so they’ll divert all power to portside shields to prepare for impact. Only for a moment, though, but a moment is all we need." Thrawn keyed the comm. "Judicator, open fire: now."

The Mon Cal cruiser realized its mistake a moment too late. The Judicator blew a charred mark on its starboard side, and the cruiser erupted in flame. The Turmoil caught the brunt of the blast, but thanks to Thrawn’s orders about the shields, it escaped relatively unharmed.

A moment later, the second Mon Cal cruiser caught the shock wave of the blast. Circuits coursed with lightning all over it, and then the mighty cruiser’s shields and engines, along with its guns, shut down completely.

"Stormhawk, it’s all yours."

The Star Destroyer greedily pounded the cruiser until it was no more than a charred hunk of ruined metal, plunging down to Kirtania.

"Admiral, if you’ll forgive my asking, how did you know those were Shistavenen and Rodian commanders?" Pellaeon asked.

Thrawn smiled. "Remember, Captain: when you understand a species’art..."

"You understand that species," Pellaeon remembered with a smile.

"You remember that, don’t you?" Thrawn smiled thinly. "Many things in the past are important, Captain. Mistakes-" he turned to face the ruined hulks of ships that had once been fully functional New Republic cruisers- "and the lessons learned from them."
 
 
 
 

Jorje was taking a lot of fire. Out of the original twelve members of Javelin Squadron, only he, his fiance Kristin, and Javelin Twelve, Jorje’s brother Pite, were left.

"Jorje, get to Coruscant. Warn them of this!" Pite shot an Interceptor off Jorje’s 

tail.

"Pite, wait! We can get- NO!!!!!"

Jorje watched helplessly as his brother’s Y-wing blew into shards. Pite had plenty of time to scream before he died.

"Jorje, let’s go! Set course for Coruscant!" Kristin shouted. 

Jorje punched in the course as a TIE pummeled his Y-wing, causing shrapnel to cut into his face. Kristin blew it to smithereens.

"All right, the course is set- KRISTIN, WAIT!"

Kristin shot back into battle as Jorje’s Y-wing began its jump to lightspeed. Jorje saw her take a hard hit that would certainly have killed his Y-wing.

"Jorje...et to Cor....warn Ne...ublic of thi...I...ove you, Jorje."

"KRISTIN!!!!!"

As he hit lightspeed, Jorje saw Kristin’s Y-wing explode, along with his hopes and dreams.
 
 
 
 

Zekk finally got clearance to land on Coruscant’s private docking bay. The guy manning the planetary shield had been plenty rude, and it’d taken Jaina’s convincing that she was Leia Organa Solo’s daughter to get Zekk past the shield.

"Man, the people they hire these days," Zekk said.

"No kidding. I’m going to have a word with my mom about that guy," Jaina 

promised.

WolvenBlaze had arrived about a minute or so ahead of them. Rock Dragon flew in formation with Lightning Rod as WolvenBlaze docked at the landing pad. Zekk could 

see Councilor Organa Solo and General Solo standing on the pad, and, surprisingly, he could see See-Threepio, Artoo, Chewbacca, and Master Skywalker standing with them.

When Zekk finally landed with Rock Dragon, he ran out of the cockpit, down the ramp, and over to the group.

"Master Skywalker, Councilor Organa Solo, General, what are you all doing here?"

"I arrived a day ago with Artoo to pick up a few supplies for the Academy. 

Tionne’s running things, by the way. Leia and Han came because Jacen and Arc asked them to come," Master Skywalker explained.

"This had better be good. Fey’lya’s now in charge of military operations for five 

weeks while Drayson’s recovering from surgery, and Ackbar isn’t too pleased to be Fey’lya’s puppet. I just came out of a diplomatic convention and- oh my god."

Councilor Organa Solo broke off when Jaina came out with her baby. General Solo’s jaw dropped. Master Skywalker’s eyes grew wider.

"Mom, Dad," Jaina said, "I need to talk to you."
 
 
 
 

"My god..." Leia held her face in her hands as Jaina finished explaining that she’d had a son.

"I’m sorry, Mom," Jacen and Jaina both apologized in unison.

"What’s there to apologize for? I know it wasn’t your fault," Leia assured them.

Han spoke up for the first time, in his calmest voice. "So, who’s the father?" 

Jaina, Zekk, Jacen, Tenel Ka, Raynar, Lowie, and Sorvem all pointed to Arc. Arc shrugged and put a nervous grin on.

"You son of a-!" Han lunged at Arc, cursing and screaming. Arc ducked out of the way as Han’s fist came at him. Chewbacca and Luke had to restrain Han.

"General Solo, wait!" Arc shouted, "I didn’t have sex with your daughter! At least not that way!"

That calmed Han down, but he still glared at Arc. "The story. Tell."

Arc proceeded to explain (albeit cowering behind Jacen) about the incident with Megator. Han seemed to calm down more, and Arc was finally able to come out from behind Jacen.

"I see," Han lied.

"I’m sorry I wasn’t there to stop Megator from impregnating Jaina, but keeping a monster half the size of a full-grown rancor down isn’t very easy," Arc apologized.

"And who was responsible for killing it?"

Arc sighed and hung his head. "Probably me."

"And did you do it?"

"Yes, but-"

"But NOTHING! You could have killed it earlier, and you didn’t!" Han snapped.

Arc stepped up, eyes flaring demonically, and yelled in his face, "I TRIED, DAMN IT!!!"

"Stop it, the both of you." Luke frowned at Han and Arc. "Arguing over killing a beast isn’t important."

Arc turned away from Han and refused to look at him. Han followed suite.

"Now, Jaina," Leia turned to face her daughter, "what do you plan to do about this child?"

"Isis said she’d sacrifice it on Unholy ground, but-"

"Why would Isis want to sacrifice an innocent child?" Leia asked.

"Arc spent time in Imperial service, and during that time, he was tempted by the Dark Side. It’s influenced his Force abilities so that it sometimes causes him to lose his temper," Luke explained.

Leia stared at Arc, jaw hanging.

"What?" Arc asked. "It’s not that unbelievable."

"My god...Lord MalacBromad."

That caught Arc’s attention. He rolled his eyes. "I should have known someone would recognize me."

"Who’s Lord MalacBromad?" Han asked, then glared at Arc suspiciously. "An Imperial spy?" 

"No, General Solo, I was the reincarnation of Jek Porkins. Of course I was an Imperial spy, among other unpleasant duties," Arc replied. 

"Lord MalacBromad was the Emperor’s hangman. Every prisoner turned over to him met a horrible death."

"Urban legend," Arc assured Leia. "In my time in Imperial service, I killed only thirty-three Alliance members out of about fifty thousand. If you’ll recall, one of them was..."

"Lieutenant Naytaan," Luke nodded. "Red Nine at the Battle of Yavin- you were Black Seven."

"Impressive, Master Skywalker," Arc commended, "and how did you know that?"

"I did some reading while I was in the Reborn Emperor’s service," Luke explained. "In one of his files, he talked about the history of a Lord MalacBromad. 

Quite a colorful history, but it did contain your callsign at the battles of Yavin and Hoth."

"Quite the reader, aren’t we? However, I’m not going to boast about killing him."

"I expected as much," Luke noted. "But as I recall, Naytaan was a jerk."

Han nodded. "A little self-absorbed, if you ask me."

"Anyway, all I did was try to turn Palpatine to the Light side," Arc continued. 

"There was also another option: kill him. When turning him failed, it was the latter that I had to complete."

Leia was about to ask "you killed Palpatine?!" but Arc cut her off. "Yes, I killed Palpatine, but of course, he was prepared. He had a clone chamber on Byss, if you’ll remember, and cloned himself in a few hours."

"How do we know you’re still not working for them?" Han grumbled.

"Ask Mara."

THAT comment silenced Han. "Yes, Mara Jade- Skywalker, that is. She would 

know I’m not working for them."

"How do you know her?" Han demanded.

"I trained her."

Luke’s jaw dropped. "You trained her?"

"Among other of the Emperor’s trainers, yes, I taught her. Mostly in hand-to-hand combat, but some lightsaber training as well," Arc explained. "A little in ship combat, too. Especially over Bespin."

"Bespin!" Han pointed at Arc. "I knew I’d heard your voice before. Vader was burning the snot out of me, and you put a stop to it after he left."

"Well, I’m not much for seeing Corellians injured," Arc pointed out. "I saved a Corellian’s life once. An old acquaintance of yours, I believe. Red Hand Squadron Commander Bria Tharen."

Han bolted up in his seat. "How long ago?"

"Let’s put it this way: she’s still alive."

Shock gripped the room. Bria Tharen, supposedly killed in action during Mission Skyhook on Toprawa, dying a martyr for the Alliance cause, was alive.

And had been saved by the thing sitting across from them.

"W-where is she?" Han asked.

"How did she live?" Luke added.

"I’ll answer Luke’s question first. Bria Tharen was shot and supposedly killed on Toprawa by a stormtrooper named Grodin Tierce, a soon-to-be member of the Emperor’s Elite Royal Guard. However, Tierce never was one to aim for vital parts of the body, like the heart or brain. He went for the jugular vein and carotid arteries- the neck. He miscalculated on Tharen and struck her neck in a non-vital area. He succeeded, however, in hitting her appendix. She was half-dead by the time Vader and I had arrived. I was checking the bodies and found that one of them wasn’t quite dead.

"That was the body of Commander Tharen. Vader was also checking the brain patterns on the corpses and was coming close to Tharen’s. I put a shield over her body that temporarily stopped her breathing, brain activity, and heart. In other words, I killed her while still keeping her alive."

Arc took a sip from his cup of hot chocolate, which Luke had fixed up for them. 

"Now, when I’d identified her body and told Vader and the stormtrooper regiment that had come with us that she was in fact dead, I volunteered to take her corpse and throw it in a ditch. However, I treated her wounds and put her in a bacta tank on my personal Su-" He broke off, then continued. "My personal SHIP, so that she could recover. She did, eventually, but her knee had been too badly damaged during the raid on Toprawa. Poor thing. She couldn’t even breathe well anymore."

Arc set his mug down. "So I gave her over to the Alliance Underground. I soon lost track of her after that."

Han sat back in his chair, unable to believe what he’d just heard. "Bria..."

"I take it you took Boba Fett’s words as truth."

"How could I not? Fett doesn’t lie. And he has access to the Empire’s little files." Han pressed the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. "She should have died in action. She would have wanted it that way."

"I didn’t. While I was in the Emperor’s service, I killed many Rebels, yes, but during that time, I kept as many Rebels alive as possible. She was my first success."

Leia shook her head in wonderment. "I’m sure Winter or someone else could identify her whereabouts."

"Maybe Mara could. And she could probably ascertain this guy’s words as truth." 

Han gestured to Arc.

"She’s in hyperspace right now. We could-" Luke started.

BLAKAM!!!!

"Councilor Organa Solo! We have impact on Coruscant! Grand Corridor has been hit by a...Y-wing?" a voice called from the war room. "It must have dropped out of lightspeed too late...we expect two fatalities."

Leia rushed to the Grand Corridor. Arc was on his feet next, then Han, Luke, and Chewbacca took off. The Young Jedi followed next, with Artoo and Threepio close behind.

"I say, Artoo, we’re always interrupted by war, it seems!" Threepio wailed in protest. Artoo answered with a blap.

Leia and Arc reached the Grand Corridor first. Sure enough, a Y-wing had punched through the wall and plowed into the ground. The pilot was crushed under it, bleeding terribly. Two other people, a Sullustan and a Bothan, had been hit by the Y-wing’s debris. The Bothan had been killed instantly when a piece of the Y-wing’s engine had flared and blown up in his face. The Sullustan was still alive, but wounded. His neck had been slit wide open.

It took Arc, Chewbacca, and Sorvem to lift the Y-wing off the wounded pilot. 

Lowie lifted the pilot out of the hole he was in, and Luke attempted to heal the man’s numerous wounds.

"Who are you? What caused you to crash?" Zekk asked.

The pilot’s eyes were filled with agony. "All of them...gone...Commander Kej...Hari...Pike...and Kristin...dead...." His eyes focused on something none of them could see.

"Javelin Squadron," Han said, pursing his lips. "Based at the post on Kirtania."

"He’s in shock," Arc stated. "And bleeding internally. I don’t think..."

"What did this? WHO did this?" Leia asked.

The pilot looked up at her, then his eyes rolled back into his head, and he exhaled, then finally ceased to breathe.

"Damn," Arc swore. "He didn’t deserve this."

"He could have told us who did this. At least then we’d know who took him out so we could get back at him," Han noted.

Arc glanced at the young Jedi, then nodded. 

"Actually, that’s another reason we came to you, Mom," Jacen said solemnly. 

"We have a good idea who did this."

Leia had the feeling she wasn’t going to like this. "Who?" she asked, keeping her voice steady.

"This is something the Inner Council needs to hear," Arc said. "Get them together, and we’ll have a long talk about the past three days."
 
 

As Arc and the Young Jedi Knights finished their report, the Inner Council, which was made up of President Ponc Gavrisom, Councilors Fey’lya and Organa Solo, Senators Bel Iblis, Miatamia, Ishori Ambassador Istarcha, Admiral Ackbar, and Cilghal, along with Han and Luke, lowered their heads in shock.

"It can’t be true." Han shook his head in shock. "He’s dead. All the Imperial reports say he’s dead."

"I’m sorry, but it’s true. Thrawn is alive. I saw him with my own two eyes. I could feel his presence in the Empire when I served with them-"

"Which is all the more reason to believe you’re lying," Borsk Fey’lya grumbled, interrupting Arc.

"-and this is the exact same presence," Arc finished, ignoring the Bothan leader.

"Councilor Fey’lya makes a good point, I’m afraid," Gavrisom conceded, shifting his wings in frustration. "You have worked for the Empire before, and you’re not completely trustworthy."

"Mara Jade was," Admiral Ackbar came to Arc’s defense. "She has proven herself to be entirely trustworthy. Did she not give us the location of the Emperor’s storehouse?" 

"And was she not the Emperor’s Hand before that?" Fey’lya shot back. "Did she not kill Mon Calamari, Bothan, and human alike?"

"She gave us its location at risk of death from the Imperials. She was willing to sacrifice herself to prevent a second version of the Clone Wars," Ackbar replied.

Fey’lya sat back. Arc couldn’t help but smile. Using the word "sacrifice" to silence a Bothan was a nice technique, since the Bothan race felt the Alliance owed them for sacrificing many of their number to obtain the location of the second Death Star.

"Please, people," Leia piped up, "let’s worry about trusting former Imperials 

later. Let’s worry about fighting off current Imperials now. You all saw what Grand Admiral Thrawn did to the New Republic ten years ago. He nearly destroyed us all with his clone soldiers. Now that he has an updated Death Star, he might succeed in finishing the job."

"We, unfortunately, don’t know for sure that he has one completed," MonMothma replied. "If he did, where would he hide such a thing?" 

"And if he did, why haven’t the Bothan spies spotted it yet?" Senator Bel Iblis added.

"First of all, there are plenty of places in the Unknown Regions and Outer Rim where he could hide a Death Star. Second of all, it’s because the Bothan Spynet doesn’t KNOW about this yet," Arc replied.

"Oh, come on, Jedi McBride, we don’t even have any photographic proof that what you’re saying is true," Fey’lya snapped.

"Councilors!" a tech burst into the room. Before any of them could shout at him to get out, he said, "I’m sorry to interrupt this meeting, but this is HUGE!"

The tech laid down a small holographic stand, and from it, a hologram fizzled, revealing a humanoid sitting in a command chair, his skin as blue as a Calamari sea, his eyes as red as Arc’s own, his hair as black as Leia’s diplomatic suit, and his uniform a spotless white.

Grand Admiral Thrawn.

"That photographic proof enough for you, Councilor?" Arc grumbled.

The Councilors’ jaws were hanging off their hinges. The Young Jedi smiled triumphantly, but grimly.

"Good evening, Councilors," Thrawn greeted them smoothly, "and of course, Jedi Knights. It’s pleasant to see you again."

Borsk’s fur had been ruffled, his face pale. Ackbar’s jaw whiskers quivered in shock. Mon Mothma’s eyes were as round as a planet. Leia hung her head, and Han glared daggers. Bel Iblis shivered.

Gavrisom spoke up, his mane quivering as he did. "Grand Admiral Thrawn...h-how-"

"-am I alive? I’m afraid it’s going to take more than a cowardly Noghri to finish me off, President," Thrawn replied.

"What is the meaning of this call, Admiral? Another massive campaign launch against us?" Mon Mothma asked.

"By the stars, no, Chief of State. Rather, I’m here to offer you a partnership.

"I want peace between us."

That bombshell hit them so hard that their fears abruptly ceased.

"E-excuse me, Admiral?" Bel Iblis asked.

"You heard me, Senator. I want peace and partnership between the Empire and New Republic," Thrawn repeated, smiling.

Arc, who’d been in concentration, scoffed. "Oh, come on, Thrawn. After what you pulled ten years ago, why should they believe you?"

Thrawn’s figure rotated its command chair to face Arc. "Because, Jedi Knight Arc, I believe the New Republic is a more formidable foe than I first imagined. I want to have such a powerful government allied with the Empire."

"I thought Isis was in command, not you," Arc replied.

"Isis wholeheartedly agrees," Thrawn announced. "Where do you think the orders to authorize this call came from?"

"Then why did she say you’d attack Coruscant in two or three weeks?" 

"She’s had a change of heart. It took some convincing, but she’s begun to see things my way," Thrawn answered.

"And why did you attack Kirtania, and kill the Y-wing squadron based there? 

One of them just died in front of us two hours ago," Arc snarled.

"The Y-wings and cruisers attacked us, Jedi Arc. A bulk freighter there with a gravity well-projector brought us out of lightspeed. We had no choice but to fight."

Arc growled, and Jacen put in, "Other than that, why organize a treaty with us when you have a Death Star and a considerably powerful fleet in your grasp?"

"I don’t know where you got the idea that I had a Death Star, young Solo, and the fleet would be a great asset to your New Republic," Thrawn replied.

The Inner Council considered this. 

"You don’t have to make up your minds right now. Later tomorrow night will suit my purposes. Thank you for your time, Councilors and Jedi, and I hope you will accept my proposal."

With that, Thrawn’s image shut off.

"A peace treaty with the Empire...think of all that power!" Fey’lya exclaimed.

"And all those resources," Gavrisom added.

"And all those worlds," Istarcha put in.

"I can’t believe you!" Zekk rolled his eyes. "Grand Admiral Thrawn, the guy who nearly wiped you out, is back, and you’re considering an ALLIANCE with him?"

"Don’t be quick to let old grudges come back, Jedi Zekk," Fey’lya replied. 

"Thrawn seems to be ready to face the facts that his forces aren’t as powerful as ours."

"He’s not letting old grudges come back!" Arc shot back. "He’s telling you that if you accept a partnership with Thrawn, you’re going to be kissing death on the lips!"

"I think we’ve heard enough of your incoherent rabble, Jedi McBride," Fey’lya snapped. "I think we should adjourn until tomorrow morning and get a good night’s rest. 

I’m sure you will all agree with my decision in time."

"YOUR decision isn’t the final word, Councilor Fey’lya," Ackbar growled.

"Oh, I didn’t mean that, Admiral," Fey’lya replied, putting an innocent look on his face, "I meant that you’d all soon agree to partner up with the Empire."

"Oh, I see," Raynar lied. 

"This meeting is adjourned," Mon Mothma said, and whacked the desk with her hammer. "Let us recess until tomorrow."
 
 
 
 
 
 

Arc slammed the wall so hard that the entire Imperial Palace seemed to shake. acen almost fell out of his chair. Arc roared in rage and anger, shaking the Palace as he did so.

"The FOOLS! How could they agree to make peace with that MADMAN?!" Arc roared. "Thrawn nearly killed them all ten years ago. Now he just shows up with that ‘I’m-sorry-I-didn’t-mean-to’ look of his, and they’re ready to accept his lie of an apology?!"

Jacen held up his hands. "Calm down, man, not ALL of the Councilors agree on making peace with Thrawn. Admiral Ackbar, my mom and dad, and even Mon Mothma and Bel Iblis don’t seem to be ready to make a treaty with Thrawn."

"What about the ‘in-between’ Councilors? Cilghal and Miatamia?" Arc pointed out.

"Well, they’re leaning towards blowing it off," Jacen noted. "Don’t worry about it, Arc, they can’t possibly believe Thrawn’s going to dismantle his Death Star and surrender his fleet."

Arc shook his head. "The fleet is the least of our worries." He paced over to the window and looked out at the nightlife of Coruscant. "If Isis and Thrawn have aYisra crystal, Coruscant and the New Republic are doomed to fall."

"A what-crystal?" Jacen asked.

"AYisra crystal. It’s the only crystal that can contain Mandaeus’ power. Isis has the power to release him from his realm into this one. If he manages to manifest his power on Coruscant, he’ll have the power to control everything that comes in or goes out of Coruscant- spaceships, exports, imports, cities, food, water, EVERYTHING on Coruscant will become his to control."

"How do you know that Isis still has Mandaeus in her grasp? It’s been a little while since you mentioned him, anyway. Why would she release a creature that rivals 

the Dark Side in power, anyway?" Jacen pointed out.

Arc looked up at Coruscant’s moons. "I sensed the Yisra’s presence on the Black Soul, when you’d jumped to hyperspace. It was in the cargo bay, in a room, with something else, something darker..."

Arc looked down at the Coruscant nightlife. "Have you ever the feeling that something terrible is about to happen, a dark force is involved. I don’t feel the Dark side here, not on Coruscant. I feel something MORE than the Dark side, something that the Dark side couldn’t defeat even if it were allied with the Light side."

Jacen’s eyes widened. "You mean not even the Force can defeat Mandaeus?"

Arc nodded grimly. "I’ve fought him twice before, on Lycoth, and on Korriban. 

Both times the Force had no effect on him, and there was something more."

"What was that?"

Arc turned back to Jacen. "He drained a Caamasi friend of mine, Cor, of his Force skills."

Jacen was stunned. "Cor was a Jedi, and Mandaeus destroyed his Jedi skills."

Arc nodded. "Not just his Jedi skills- he robbed him of Force sensitivity. After Mandaeus had drained Cor, Cor could no longer feel the Force. You have to understand that was a blow to Cor- all his life, he’d been praised because he was a Caamasi Jedi- something that comes rare in a Caamasi’s life. After his Force powers were drained, his people seemed to be disappointed in him."

"Were you?"

Arc shook his head at that. "How could I be? Cor sacrificed his Force powers to save a galaxy full of people- I couldn’t have been prouder to call him friend and ally. Up to the day he died, I never forgot what he’d done- and I’d never let it go unpunished. 

That’s why Isis wants Mandaeus released- she thinks he’ll rip the Force out of every single Jedi Knight in the galaxy. If that happens..."

Arc shook his head, clearing memories from the past. "Anyway, go ahead and join the others, Jacen. Talk to Tenel Ka- she’ll be a lot more entertaining than I am."

Jacen nodded, then left the room.

Arc sat in a chair. For the past two hours, he’d been in a guest’s suite in the palace, and his anger was steaming. He couldn’t go out onto Coruscant’s streets- he wasn’t quite in the mood to fight.

But it was there- the calling to go out and make his presence known, to lash out at a street punk, to destroy one more life-

NO!!!

Arc shunned the temptation away. He’d been tempted by the Dark side one toomany times to let it claim him that easily-

"Excuse me?"

Arc snapped his head up to look at the being in the doorway. A Centaurian, female, with two crystal horns sprouting from her forehead.

"I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to intrude-"

"Lusa, right?" Arc guessed.

The Centaurian nodded. "And I take it you must be Arc."

Arc nodded. "I remember you- you left Yavin 4 to be with your grandfather before he died."

Lusa nodded solemnly. "He died of heart failure yesterday morning."

"You have my condolences," Arc replied sadly. "Did he live a long life?"

"97 years."

"At least there’s that. Anyway, what are you doing here?"

Lusa looked around in the hall, then whispered, "I’m looking for Raynar."

Arc grinned. "Oh, Raynar."

Lusa held her hand up. "Not so loud! I want to surprise him!"

"Your hooves are going to make that a little hard," Arc gestured to her feet.

Lusa shrugged. "What can ya do? Nature made me like this."

"I can fix that," Arc stated.

A moment later, Arc had fixed up two sets of slippers to cover Lusa’s hooves. 

They made about as much sound as rubbing a soft carpet.

"Thanks," Lusa said.

"Don’t mention it. I always keep at least three pairs of those in my packer-unit. 

Comfort for long days," Arc explained.

Lusa nodded, then walked out. "Thanks again!"

"Anytime!" Arc replied. He shut the door, then gazed out at the nightlife of Coruscant. Then he gazed up at the stars, counting each one as he did so, recognizing their names and coordinates...

...and thinking about what would happen if all those stars soon belonged to the 

Empire. 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Commander Daala of the Imperial forces stood on the bridge of the Star Destroyer Avenger, eagerly awaiting the arrival of Grand Admiral Thrawn’s main task force, the Bellicose Task force. It consisted of the Chimaera, Turmoil, Judicator, Stormhawk, Inexorable, IceBurn, Darkstorm, and, of course, the Bellicose.

Daala smiled, since Isis had given her a task force of her own: twelve Victory-classes, four Imperial-classes, three Lancer frigates, and two Dreadnaughts. 

And it was hers to command...

"Commander, we have a priority signal from the Star Destroyer Tyrannic," her lieutenant, Uhar, reported.

"Of what priority?" Daala asked.

The lieutenant took a glance at his datapad. "Twelve Assault Frigates have entered realspace above Jandoon. The Tyrannic and Sentinel are requesting orders."

The Assault Frigates appeared from behind Jandoon’s moon, turbolaser batteries charging.

Daala sucked in. "ETA for Grand Admiral Thrawn’s arrival?"

"Ten minutes, Commander."

"Good. Target the secondary power generator on the port side of the lead frigate," Daala replied. "Order the Sentinel and Tyrannic to target the hyperspace motivators on the next two frigates, and order all other ships to do the same."

"As ordered, Commander."
 

The next five minutes were beautiful- the main Assault Frigate’s secondary power generator fell, and that left its turbolasers and ion cannons disabled. The full force of the Avenger’s guns fell upon the Assault Frigate. After a moment or two, it blew up in a shower of shrapnel. The shockwave weakened the shields on the next three, and the Sentinel and Tyrannic were able to pummel their hyperdrive engines until they gave out. 

Sublight engines failed as well.

The remaining nine functional Assault Frigates turned on the Dreadnaught Dissent, and managed to disable and damage it. However, with the combined ion cannons of the task force, the Imperials managed to shut down all the frigates’ drives.

Then the Bellicose attack force arrived.

"I see you’ve done well, Commander Daala," a smooth voice greeted her, "and I hope you’ll allow my attack force to finish them off."

"Of course, Admiral," Daala replied. "That was the entire plan. A little apology for the way I denied your existence aboard the Black Soul."

"Consider the apology accepted, Commander," Thrawn replied. "Thank you, Commander."
 
 
 
 

A half hour later, the Assault Frigates were in Imperial custody. All hands aboard them were executed for attempted assault on the Empire.

One prisoner was New Republic Captain Afyon.

"Captain Afyon," Thrawn had said when Afyon had been captured, "I would have expected more of the captain of the frigate that took the Dissent out of the battle."

"Give me a break, Thrawn," Afyon spat, but his voice still trembled. "I don’t break that easily."

"We’ll see. To kill you now would make you a martyr, a saint. I want you broken- broken to the point that you realize that the era of the Rebellion is over. The era of the New Imperium- the new Empire- has begun." 

"No," Afyon snapped. "The Empire is dead. YOU are dead."

"I know you are, but what am I?"

Afyon prepared for a witty retort-

-and screamed as red-hot pain stabbed through his belly. He looked up to see what Thrawn was holding-

-but Thrawn wasn’t holding anything.

The blast had come from a young girl, about 2 meters tall, with one eye as green as a Kashyyyk forest, and the other as red as the fires of Hell. Her hair was golden blond, and her skin as delicate as a pastry.

And the blast had come from her fingertips.

Another blast hit, then a second, a third, fourth, fifth, sixth! Afyon screamed and crumpled. More blasts followed, and finally, Afyon stopped screaming and moving.

And breathing.

"Oh, well, at least he screamed in such exquisite agony," Isis noted.

Thrawn nodded. "Tell the Rebels that Afyon and his task force attacked us while we had a peaceful rendezvous. More proof that we want an alliance with them."

Isis shrugged. "Whatever. I’d still like to send his corpse back to them."

"Patience, Empress," Thrawn said. "Soon you’ll have all the corpses you want. Especially-" he held up a DNA sample- "when Afyon and his attack force bombard Bothawui."

"Excellent, Admiral. Rana Ki?!" 

From behind the wall, a young woman, with hair as black as night’s, with eyes as green as Isis’ own, yet contained like a regular human’s, dressed in a robe and beneath it, a lizard hide vest, stepped out. 

"Yes, my Empress?" she asked in a dejected tone.

"Contact Captain Micallis on the Tarkin. Tell her to rendezvous with the Omega-Fortress in the Y’Toub system. Not in Hutt space- at the point of Nar Hekka, where the entire region is cloaked."

"Yes, my Empress," Rana Ki affirmed silently, then went off to make contact.
 
 
 
 

Jaina didn’t get a wink of sleep that night. Not because of Thrawn’s offer, oh no. That, she assumed, would be taken care of in short time. She had every confidence that reason in the New Republic would prevail.

For the past two hours, she’d been watching Kile sleep.

She’d been watching everything about him- his eyes, his hair, the little dimple he had at the corner of his jawbone, his stomach rising and falling at a steady beat as he slept. Jaina couldn’t believe that she’d only given birth to this new life only three days before.

"He’s cute, isn’t he?"

The voice from behind startled her. She turned to find Arc leaning against the wall, looking down at his son.

"What are you doing here? It’s late," Jaina noted in the Coruscant moonlight.

"I could ask you the same thing. It’s only 2:13 a.m."

"Even my mom and dad are asleep. You’ve had a long journey, especially with all that pressure bearing down on you."

"Nah. I fought two monsters, fought a Dark Jedi Master, and went into battle with an Imperial fleet. You gave birth."

Jaina chuckled, then walked over to Kile’s crib. "What do you think he’ll grow up to be like? If he makes it that far?"

Arc shrugged and smiled. "If anything, I hope he grows up to be just like his mother. A life like mine would kill most people."

"Will he live long?"

"Long enough to see us both die? Probably. With Lycothian genes, he’ll probably grow as old as age 300. With your genes, that’ll be an extra 80."

"Pretty old. I think even Lowie, Sorvem, and Chewie will be gone by then."

Arc pursed his lips. "One bad factor. He may have to see a lot of his friends grow old and die, while he goes on, with his only life-long friends as long livae."

Jaina squeezed his hand and patted it assuringly. "He’ll grow up right, Arc."

Arc gritted his teeth. "I don’t want him to know what his father’s done- gone into Imperial service, stood by as Thrawn and Iceheart and all those other beasts killed off innocent civilians, retreated into isolation after Ben and Yoda and Rana Ki and Cor and Tanis and Corwyn and Jorian died."

"Life is never easy, Arc," Jaina said. "There is no magic wand that can make everything better. Not even for a Jedi."

Arc’s normally demonic eyes seemed to be contained for a moment, like any other human being’s, but it vanished as abruptly as it had come, and the fire was once again in them, glowing brightly.

"That’s true," he admitted grimly. "It’s the ultimate in unfairness, though."

Jaina patted his shoulder. "Listen, I’m going to go get a cup of coffeine and some milk for when the baby wakes up. You want to come?"

Arc nodded. "In a minute. Go ahead, and I’ll catch up to you."

Jaina nodded back, then left the room and headed downstairs.

Arc looked over at his sleeping son. He went over to his crib and stroked his bald head.

"Grow up right," he pleaded. "Please grow up right."
 
 
 
 
 
 

Jaina mixed in some traladon milk with her vine coffeine. It was dark in the Palace lobby, but thanks to the Coruscant nightlife, she could see clearly.

Then something hit her on the shoulder.

She whirled around, lightsaber igniting-

-to face Tenel Ka behind her.

"Geez, Tenel Ka," Jaina wheezed, shutting off her lightsaber. "Don’t do that."

"I am sorry, friend Jaina," Tenel Ka apologized. "It was not my intention to startle you."

"That’s okay, Tenel Ka." Jaina lifted up a cup of coffeine. "Want some?"

"Please." Tenel Ka raised the cup to her lips and drank. "It has been long since I had a chance to relax."

"It’s been hard on everyone," Jaina noted. "Jacen asleep?"

Tenel Ka nodded. "He is very tired, but it is nothing a massage couldn’t help."

Jaina grinned. "You his roommate?"

Tenel Ka smiled thinly. "Actually, yes."

"You’re really into him, aren’t you?" 

"I have always been." Tenel Ka glanced down at her coffeine. "I did not know completely that he felt the same way."

Jaina smiled thinly. "The same thing could be applied to my relationship with Zekk."

"And Arc?"

Jaina frowned. "What do you mean?"

Tenel Ka’s eyebrow cocked. "Jaina, you have given birth to his son."

Jaina shook her head. "It’s not like that could just bring us together istantly, Tenel Ka. I don’t get the feeling that I get from Zekk also coming from Arc. I don’t think he loves me like he would a lover- he loves me as a new friend, and in a life like his, that love is highly valuable."

Tenel Ka nodded. "So you feel that you would be better off with Zekk."

"It’s not that, it’s just-"

"-that Zekk has felt a strong relationship with her always," a voice said from behind them. They turned to see Arc holding a mug, and a thin smile on his face. "If I were to be involved with Jaina in any way like that, Han and Leia would dismember me."

Tenel Ka nodded. "It is a possibility indeed." She finished her coffeine. "If you will excuse me, I must rest. Tomorrow my parents depart for Hapes."

Arc nodded back. "How’s your new sister doing?"

"Better than she was on the trip. She has now had enough liquids to keep her at full strength. I do not know if that is a good or bad thing, however." Tenel Ka smiled.

"I’d go for a little of both," Jaina smiled back.

After Tenel Ka had departed for bed, Jaina rubbed her eyes. "I need rest."

"Then go to sleep," Arc said, shrugging.

"What about Kile?"

"Jaina, I doubt anything will happen to him when he’s right by your bed in a constantly guarded palace," Arc noted.

"Point, but after what Isis said she’d do to him..."

Arc sighed. "I’ll keep an eye on him. You go to sleep and get a good night’s rest."

"What about you? You could definitely use some sleep."

"Lycothians only sleep about five hours, Coruscant time. I slept six. Go to bed."

Jaina smiled, then nodded. "All right. Thanks."

"No problem." Arc gazed out at the Coruscant nightlife. "With that going on, I probably couldn’t get any sleep at all."

Jaina and Arc walked through the dim corridor that led to Jaina’s suite.

"Arc?"

"Yeah?"

"I know you can’t get involved with me, but..."

Arc cocked an eyebrow, eyes narrowing a little. "Yes?"

"How could Kile accept the fact that he has a mother and a father that don’t live together?" Jaina looked up at Arc. "And that they don’t love each other in that way?"

Arc shook his head. "I don’t know, Jaina. I honestly don’t know. There is one way..."

"What’s that?"

Arc shrugged. "Maybe Zekk-"

"No, Arc. I will not lie to my child- OUR child." Jaina crossed her arms over her chest. "And that is a promise."

Arc sighed. "Maybe we just won’t tell him. It’s not a lie if you don’t say it."

"Arc, he has to grow up with a father. He needs someone to tell him right from wrong, good from evil, light from dark."

"This is getting to be a tough question." Arc sighed. "I need to take a walk. I’ll think clearly. Think Kile can go without supervision for an hour?"

Jaina gave him a friendly slap on the back. "Knock yourself out. Have a good time."

"I’ll be back in one hour. Have a good night’s rest."
 
 
 
 

As Arc walked down the dim corridor, he thought hard about what Jaina’d said. 

If Kile grew up with no father at all-

-BUM!

Arc spun around, lightsaber hilt in his hand-

-and he put it away when he saw it was only Zekk.

"Zekk, what are you doing here?" Arc asked. "It’s a little past your bedtime."

"Hey, orphans have no bedtimes!" Zekk grinned. 

"Point," Arc conceded. "All the same, what are you doing up?"

Zekk gazed down at the ground. "I couldn’t sleep. I’ve been thinking."

"About what?"

"You and Jaina. Do you...love her?" Zekk asked.

"Of course I love her."

Zekk sighed. "Okay. I won’t get in the way. Just- can I be best man?"

By the time Arc managed to get back on his feet from all his laughing, Zekk was glaring.

"What is so funny? I don’t think it’s funny at all!" Zekk demanded.

"Whoa, whoa, buddy," Arc held his hand up. "You jumped to about thirty conclusions there. Let me answer half of them by saying I’m not going to marry Jaina."

Zekk’s eyebrow cocked. "Why not?" 

"For one thing, I don’t love her that way. She doesn’t love me that way. It wouldn’t work out. That answers the other half of your conclusions."

Zekk sighed in relief. "Good. I mean- not good that she doesn’t love you, I mean good that you’re not marrying her- I mean, not good that- oy, I don’t even know what I’m saying!"

Arc laughed. "I know what you’re trying to say."

"Good." Zekk raised his eyebrow. "Where were you going?"

"To take a walk. Maybe down to the underworld of Coruscant. I sense something wrong there."

"EVERYTHING’s wrong down there," Zekk pointed out.

"Point. Still, I’d like to check it out."

"I’ll come with you," Zekk offered. "I can’t sleep anyway. Besides, I grew up down there once. I know the area."

"So do I. But two Jedi are better than one. Let’s go."
 
 
 
 

Myke ran through the dim underworld of Coruscant, hoping to escape his pursuers. He could hear their laughs, their vibroblades buzzing, their swoops accelerating at top speed. He was traveling on foot, and was armed only with his fists. 

Why they’d started attacking him he didn’t know.

He skidded to a stop. Dead end.

"Aww, the poor little wuss has nowhere to go," a voice taunted from behind him.

"Let’s put a smile on his face. A messy one," a gruffer voice added. Myke heard a vibroblade buzz.

Myke turned to face his foes. He raised his fists. "What do you want?"

"Notin’ special. Jus’ to gou’ out chur eyebaw’s!" a gringy punk drawled.

"I’m warning you...don’t mess with me!" Myke snarled.

The punks looked at each other, and almost keeled over laughing. 

"We won’t mess with you, wuss. We’ll just make a mess OUT of you!" the lead gangster sneered.

"Leave him alone."

The quiet voice surprised everyone, even Myke. All of them turned their heads in unison to face the two men that had seemingly appeared out of nowhere. One was about Myke’s size and age, with hair a shade lighter than black, tied into a ponytail. The other was about two meters tall, his head topped with fairly long black hair. What sent chills down Myke’s spine was the fact that his eyes shone a hellish crimson.

"Unless you’d like us to make this an unfair fight," the smaller one said.

"You gotta be kiddin’!" a punk giggled.

"It’s okay. I can handle this," Myke said, hoping to discourage the newcomers from getting hurt.

The lead punk got off his swoop, walked over to the big one, and placed his hands on his hips, a sick smile on his face. 

"Who do you think you’re talkin’ to, loser?" He grabbed the big guy by the chest and pulled him forward.

"We’re the Megators!" the punk spat.

The smaller one looked at the big one, almost as if expecting shock on the big guy’s face.

Instead, he just grinned.

"Sure you are."

The punk’s hand drew back, swung in a vicious punch-

-and missed by a mile.

The gangster looked at his fist, unable to believe it. He looked up at the big one-

-just in time to have the big guy’s fist smash into his face.

From the look of the impact, Myke estimated that at least twenty teeth were busted from their roots, and the guy’s nose was shattered instantly. The gang leader flew from the guy’s fist, and landed about 50 meters away.

The big man grinned, then held out his hands and gestured for the other gangsters to come get him. "Who wants some?"

One punk with a crowbar took him up on the offer. He held it like a sword and made a face. "Hoo-wah! Ky-yay! La-yay!" He poorly imitated self-defense techniques, then held out his crowbar like a sword yet again.

The big guy grabbed something, pressed a device on it, and a red beam of fluorescent energy sprang out of it.

With two quick chops, the gangster was missing his arms.

The gangster screamed and fell. The other gangsters jumped Myke and the two strangers. A gangster wielding durasteel knuckles jumped Myke. He took a swing, missed, and it cost him a tooth as Myke caught him in a savage uppercut. Another quick roundhouse kick and it cost him consciousness as well.

The second newcomer pulled out a device similar to what the big newcomer had pulled out, then ignited it into a fiery-orange blade. He cut through a punk’s throat, burning up his vocal chords. The gangster would have screamed if his voice hadn’t been burned out.

The other newcomer grabbed two punks by the throat, then raised them up high and slammed them back down to the duracrete floor in a vicious double-chokeslam. One punk whacked him across the back with a club, but the guy just turned, opened his mouth, and let out a red-hot blast of energy. It caught the punk in the chest and blew him into the wall.

The last punk got on his swoop bike and started to fly, but the second newcomer pulled a blaster, aimed, fired. The red-white beam of energy flew and hit the swoop’s engine. 

In a dazzling blaze of fire, it was all over.

Myke saw the lead gangster crawl silently over to his swoop bike-

-and fly back to the wall. 

He slammed full force into it, breaking a brick as he did so. The big newcomer gripped him by the throat.

"Where did you get the name Megator?" he asked threateningly.

"From that....dude," the punk replied.

The newcomer continued to stare at him, his red eyes boring into the punk’s soul.

"All right, all right! He’s on Bothawui! Said something about...awakening his soul mate. Said to wait ‘til we saw you, then report your presence or somethin’ to him. 

Said he’d break y’ then!"

The newcomer smiled. "Then tell him I’m not here. As you value your life. Just to make sure, though...."

The newcomer raised his index finger, and a claw popped out of it. He stuck it very shallowly into the punk’s throat, then extracted it. 

"Go." 

The punk hopped on his swoop bike and blasted off into the darkness.

"What’d you do to him?" the second guy asked.

"Cut off his voice temporarily. It’ll wear off- in about two years," the other replied.

"Aren’t you gonna go get Megator?" the second asked.

"I can’t deal with both Megator and Thrawn. With any luck, he won’t strike until after this ordeal with Thrawn is over," the first replied.

"But- how? Megator is supposed to be dead or comatose or on his way to a black hole or whatever," the second pointed out.

The first guy pursed his lips. "I have no clue how he got out. Must have been an Omega patrol squad out there. And where the hell did you get that lightsaber?"

"Made it myself," the second replied. "You like?"

Myke stared at both of them. "Who are you guys?"

The second newcomer looked over at Myke. "I’m Zekk, a Jedi Knight. This is Arc, also a Jedi."

The big newcomer, Arc, nodded. 

"I’m Myke. Listen, uh, thanks," Myke said.

Zekk shrugged. "No problem. If you’ll excuse us-"

"Ah, Zekk, hold on here," Arc cut him off. "This guy heard us say ‘Thrawn.’"

Zekk nodded. "Oh, yeah...so what are we going to do?"

Myke held up a hand. "It’s all right. It’s not like I’d ever tell anybody. If anyone 

came down here, chances are they wouldn’t get out, anyway."

Arc nodded. "So you’ll keep this to yourself?"

Myke nodded back. "You got it."

"Thank you," and with that simple phrase, they were gone, walking away into the fog of the Coruscant underworld.
 
 
 
 
 
 

The next day, Borsk Fey’lya was glaring daggers at Admiral Uhjukla. 

"Let me get this straight, Admiral: you launched a task force AGAINST the Empire?!"

Uhjukla glared back. "You saw what Thrawn did to the New Republic ten years ago. He nearly wiped us off the galactic chart."

"I agree with Admiral Uhjukla," Ackbar said gravely. "Grand Admiral Thrawn is a menace to us all."

Mon Mothma held her hands up. "Admirals, Councilor, please. Now, I don’t agree with Uhjukla’s strike against the Empire, but I also can’t forget what Grand Admiral Thrawn did to us ten years ago."

Tenel Ka spoke up. "I was not alive when Grand Admiral Thrawn launched his campaign against the New Republic, but from what Jacen Solo tells me, it was terrible." 

She looked over at Jacen. "Thousands died, millions were left homeless, billions were robbed of their freedom."

"And now Thrawn is offering us peace. What Uhjulka did was destroy he offered us," the Bothan snapped.

A tech rushed in. "Incoming message from Grand Admiral Thrawn."

The Council sucked in systematically, then Leia spoke up. "Put him on."

The tech lay down a holopad. From it sprang the image of Grand Admiral Thrawn sitting in his command chair.

And he wasn’t happy.

"Councilors, Councilors," he shook his head sadly. "Why have you done such a thing? I have been forced to defend Commander Daala against Captain Afyon’s task force, which you launched. Almost everyone in the task force is perfectly fine, by the way. We were, however, forced to destroy one Assault Frigate."

Fey’lya spoke up. "We duly apologize for this impromptu strike against you, 

Grand Admiral Thrawn. We shall see to it that Uhjukla is demoted for his-"

"You shall do nothing of the sort."

Fey’lya glared daggers at the red-eyed Lycothian sitting across the table from him. 

"You’re in no position to be ordering the New Republic military around, Jedi McBride."

"Neither are you, without the New Republic’s approval, that is," Arc replied calmly, but the authority was still in his voice.

"On the contrary, while Admiral Drayson is recovering, I AM in control," Fey’lya breathed.

"Gentlemen, please," Thrawn’s hologram raised a hand. "There is no reason to squabble over power. All is forgiven. We shall let the Assault Frigates and Captain Afyon go."

Fey’lya sighed in relief. "Thank you, Grand Admiral Thrawn."

Arc snarled. "You said that Kirtania’s forces attacked you. Why is the HoloNet buzzing with reports that they’re in your custody?"

"Because they WANT to be in our custody, Jedi McBride," Thrawn replied with a smile. "They have heard of my offer to ally the Empire with the New Republic."

Arc started again, but Fey’lya cut him off. "I have heard enough. I vote for peace between the New Republic and the Empire."

"As do I," Istarcha added.

"I suppose we could use the resources," Miatamia put in.

"And the worlds," Gavrisom said.

Bel Iblis considered for a minute, then nodded reluctantly. "If Thrawn promises to uphold his word."

"Oh, come now, General. When have I lied to you?"

"I could think of at least two hundred incidents," Arc grumbled.

In the end, out of the one hundred seventy-five Council members and representatives, the idea of joining the Empire won by a 7 to 2 ratio.

Mon Mothma had finally voted joining with the Empire.

"Councilors, I cannot tell you how elated I am to see we can obtain peace. I thank you. I shall make contact with you in exactly seven hours. I must rest."

With that, Thrawn’s image dissapated.

Zekk walked into the cafeteria quietly. Tenel Ka and Lowbacca excused themselves to their quarters. Raynar and Lusa went off to the Grand Corridor.

Arc, however, stormed out of the room, slamming a chair against the wall as hedid so. Jaina, Jacen, and Sorvem ran after him.

"Well, that went well, didn’t it?" Fey’lya piped up brightly. "So, who’s for lunch?"
 
 
 
 
 
 

Arc thrust the table into the wall so inhumanly that the table smashed into a million pieces. The wall wasn’t in much better condition, either. A blaring curse from the neighbor next door followed. Jaina jumped back a step as Arc shoulder-rammed the wall and cracked it.

"THE IMBECILIC DOLTS! HOW COULD THEY?!" Arc thundered in vehemence, and slammed a large fresher unit into the window. It gave way and flew out, dropping about thirty stories before impacting against the duracrete.

"Arc, calm down! You wanna get arrested for vandalism?!" Jacen yelled.

Arc’s hands convulged into fists. They tightened into claws until the blood came and the knuckles pressed against the skin.

"Arc, listen, whatever Thrawn’s got planned, they gotta realize sooner or later that they can’t trust him," Jaina said calmly. 

"Besides, Lycoth can keep an eye on Imperrrrial activity. Thrrrrawn is not infallible," Sorvem added.

Arc seemed to calm down, then he scooped up what was left of the table. "I suppose so," he said, but the anger was still in his voice.

Jaina stooped down beside him. "Listen, Arc, you can’t deal with everything the New Republic faces. Maybe you should just...let this one go."

Arc glared at her, the first time that they’d ever seen him give Jaina a look of anger. "Do not even suggest such a thing, Jaina. A Jedi’s purpose is not to stand by and let evil succeed. A Jedi’s purpose is not to ignore the wicked. A Jedi’s purpose is not to run from any tyrant. A Jedi’s purpose is to defeat evil. A Jedi’s purpose is to destroy the wicked. A Jedi’s purpose is to face down a tyrant. A Jedi’s purpose, above all, is not to try to do what the Force demands of him. A Jedi’s purpose is to DO what the Force demands of him, and to serve the Light Side of the Force always. His goal in life, and his desire in death."

Arc stood up and threw away the remains of the table. "That includes going up against Thrawn. Possibly losing his life in the process. But death has no hold on Jedi. 

Death is as defeatable as an unarmed stormtrooper. Death shall ultimately fail. Utterly, and in great humiliation."

Jaina shrugged. "So what do you plan to do?"

"If the New Republic forces won’t do anything, then Lycoth’s will."

"Jedi McBride?"

Arc turned to face a Caamasi in the doorway.

"If you’ll excuse the intrustion, I am Elegos, a Trustant to the Caamasi people. I 

do not mean to barge in-"

"It’s all right," Arc cut him off with a smile. "I’ve always held Caamasi in the highest regard. What do you wish?"

"The Inner Council would have a word with you," Elegos said grimly. "I fear you will not like it."
 
 
 
 
 
 

If Arc had been enraged about the peace accord with Thrawn, he’d lost control of his mind now.

"So, in conclusion, Jedi McBride," Fey’lya said triumphantly, "should the forces 

of Lycoth come into contact with any New Republican-Imperial territory, New Republican-Imperial forces are to open fire on them. Should you wish to avoid an interplanetary incident, I suggest you don’t make a fuss."

"Do you realize what this means, Councilor Fey’lya?" Arc spat. "You’re almost declaring war on Lycoth!"

"Almost?" Fey’lya grinned.

Arc looked at the Council. "I thought the New Republic stood for justice and peace, not threats and shoot-on-sight orders! You can’t possibly keep my forces from doing what’s right!"

Mon Mothma stood. "I understand your feelings, Jedi McBride, but the peace accords clearly state-"

"To Vader with your peace accords! I want to know why the New Republic wants to kill millions of innocent Lycothian civilians!"

"First of all, we won’t kill millions if you don’t let your forces enter New Republican-Imperial territory," Fey’lya snapped. "Second-" he laughed- "you’re not all that innocent. From what I’ve heard, you come from a long line of warlords and scum."

In that second, Arc snapped.

Leia never even saw Arc move. Fey’lya never had time to cry out in surprise. 

And at the end of it, Fey’lya was holding his jaw and counting his bloody teeth, and Lowbacca and Sorvem were restraining Arc.

"For striking a New Republic Councilor, I hereby place you under arrest!" 

Istarcha snarled.

"No."

Leia and Ackbar said the same word in unison. The Councilors looked over at them.

"First of all, Arc has done nothing wrong. YOU insulted his family, Councilor Fey’lya. He reacted as I would have. Second, it was YOU that ordered his forces fired upon. That does NOT demonstrate the New Republic ideals, does it?" Ackbar snapped.

"Also, since when has striking a Councilor been an arrestable offense?" Leia 

asked. "Though I suppose we should make it an order."

"Let us see what he has to say for himself," Cilghal interrupted.

Lowie and Sorvem released Arc. Arc pulled up an empty chair and sat down.

"I’m sorry for my actions, Councilors. I’ve been under extreme pressure, as I know most of you can understand," Arc explained. "I’d like to apologize to Councilor Fey’lya and pay for the teeth he lost. Before I go, let me explain why Lycoth’s forces will not be kept out of all this."

Arc stood and fixed each of the Councilors with his hellish gaze. "You all remember what Grand Admiral Thrawn did to the New Republic ten years ago. Nothing would please me more than to make sure that never happens again. Nothing would 

please Lycoth more than allying itself with the New Republic. I truly wish-"

"Fat chance of that happening," Fey’lya grumbled.

"-I truly wish," Arc continued, emphasizing each word, "that the New Republic and Lycoth could be allies, not enemies. Surely you must see that the Empire is-"

BRA-KA-KAM!!!!

Arc’s head shot to the right, gazing out the window, gazing out at the billowing cloud of smoke and fire coming from 47th Imperial Drive, Galactic Plaza.

The Alliance Elementary School.
 
 
 
 
 
 

Arc raced through the dim corridor, followed by Leia, Luke, and Zekk. The others had either called the Coruscant Police Establishment or raced to the speeder bikes. 

Arc ran through the Grand Corridor, to the entrance, out the entrance, out the Palace, and through the streets, dodging hovercrafts and speeder bikes as he did so. A landspeeder came rushing at him. He jerked to the right and slapped away an oncoming swoop, dodging the landspeeder by mere inches. He continued to run until he reached the school.

Or what was left of it.

What had once been a beautiful, lush green playground was now a charred ruin of durasteel and duracrete. Hover-swings hung off their hinges. Slides were reduced to melted transparisteel. The school itself was a smoking ruin. Fire graced out in flames, 

followed by screams of terrified children.

Then Arc saw the ones that had caught the brunt of the blast full force.

"Oh, no...please, God, no!" he heard Zekk say from behind him. But Arc was so focused on the dead that the voice was distorted to him. The dead were so brutally scarred that their faces were unrecognizable, but he could recognize their ages:

Three years to eleven years of age.

Arc raced into the building, followed by Luke. Leia continued to gaze at the dead, horrified. 

Arc found a class trapped by a heavy slab of duracrete. He grabbed it, and with all his might, heaved it aside. He looked in. Two children were bleeding from their heads, but were being cared for by the teacher. Luke ran up to him.

"There are others trapped! I’ll get these ones out; you get the others!" he shouted.

"Watch the roof! It could cave at any minute!" Arc replied, then went off to the next class as Luke escorted the class out.

The next few minutes were chaos: one class was trapped under a chunk of durasteel, another trapped by furniture. It took him three minutes to get all of them out, then Luke managed to get two more out of another room.

The last class was also the hardest. There was nothing he could move to get them all out of the way: they were trapped by smoke and flaming debris. The smoke was so thick he couldn’t see them.

Then it hit him. He didn’t need his eyes.

Stretching out with the Force, he stepped into the room. He sensed the class and pictured them in his mind: two flaming boards of wood trapped them, and a ring of fire was enclosed around them. He could feel nine lives slowly fading away. 

Letting the Force course through him like blood in his body, he levitated the class out of the circle of fire. It caused screams of terror, but at least they were getting somewhere.

Then the roof started to crack.

Arc kept the class steady, then slowly, carefully, he stepped out of the room. The class went with him, as if he were pulling them on a leash. The roof cracked further, until a toxic blast of smoke entered the crack. Arc kept a poison-neutralizing technique from causing harm to the class. He kept going until they were near the entrance.

Then the roof collapsed completely.

Arc barely had time to move the people out of harm’s way, but somehow, he managed to thrust them out the entrance. Rocks pummeled him until blood came, and he was sure he was going to be buried alive under the debris-

-when a feeling like a strong hand jerked him out of the building and onto the sidewalk facing the school.

Arc let out his breath, which he’d been holding for quite some time now. He looked up to see a gold-red haired woman, with piercing green eyes, and a lightsaber clutched to her belt.

Arc coughed. "Well, well, Mara Jade," he said. "Nice to see you after all these years."

Mara grimaced. "I was hoping you’d be dead by now."

"Hope all you want, but nothing can kill me," Arc replied. "Even I can’t. Believe me, you don’t know how hard I’ve tried."
 
 
 
 

"Oh, god, this is terrible." Jaina held her face in her hands. "That corpse we just saw- the Bothan toddler- that was Yart It’liya, one of Anakin’s first friends. I’m glad he wasn’t here to see her."

Zekk held her gently. "And she’s just one of seventy-eight fatalities."

Leia was trying valiantly not to be sick. "Whoever did this....they went too far. 

They went much too far. These were CHILDREN- not just teenagers. CHILDREN. 

They killed children three years old...."

Mara and Luke were seeing to some of the children injured in the blast. Han and Chewie were moving other injured to the ambulances. Everyone else was doing what they could to help the injured.

Arc stared at one of the wounded children. A seven-year old Rodian girl, her eyes terrified, her body trembling. 
 

"It’s all right, it’s all right, it’s just alcohol, nothing that won’t help," Arc said gently as he dabbed alcohol on her gashed head.

"Wh-wh-who d-d-d-did this? Did I-I d-d-do bad?" she asked.

Those words cut into Arc’s heart like a rusted vibroblade. He felt like roaring, 

but the roar wouldn’t come. Neither would the tears. 

The anger did.

"No, you did nothing wrong," Arc replied. "You did good- you saw that you had to get out of the classroom, and you were the first to come out. You’re a very brave little girl. The ones who did this are going to pay, and pay, and pay...."
 
 
 
 
 
 

Jaina walked over to Zekk as he wrapped a bandage around a Sullustan boy’s head. The Sullustan was in pain- and crying his heart out.

"Poor guy," Jaina whispered.

"Yeah," Zekk agreed. "Why would anyone do this?"

"I don’t know...but why stoop to murdering kids?" Jaina added.

"Someone went too far on this one," Zekk stated darkly. "I don’t know who, but someone had the balls to do this. And if I find out who, I’ll castrate them."

"If you find out who, kill them," Jaina snarled, unusually angry, and looked out at the ruined school. "Just kill the bastards."
 
 
 
 

Later, at the Imperial Palace, Arc went over the details of the blast with the Inner Council.

"Out of 250 students, we saved 173. It turns out one of the fatalities was revivable," Arc told them. 

"I see, but where is Councilor Fey’lya?" Mon Mothma asked. 

Arc sighed and winced. "His niece was one of the critically injured. I saw her- 

she’s in really bad shape. Skull fracture, shoulders seperated, and she’s gone deaf in one ear. Three damaged vertebrae in her back, too. She needs a ton of bacta."

Mon Mothma sighed. "Has there been anyone else injured as terribly?"

"Twenty of them, but as to critical injury, there is one. President Gavrisom’s 

son-"

Gavrisom stood in shock and fear.

"-is expected to live, but he’s lost one eye and most of his right leg. Both are replaceable, I saw to it," Arc assured Gavrisom. "I’ve arranged a surgery to repair his leg 

and an eye donor from a fellow Calibop."

Gavrisom nodded. "If you’ll excuse me, I must see to my son."

"Of course, President," Mon Mothma replied. Gavrisom left, and that left Arc, the young Jedi, Luke, Han, Mara, and the High Council by themselves.

"As I was saying before the bomb exploded, I’d like to ally Lycoth with the New Republic," Arc continued.

Mon Mothma sighed. "I’m afraid, Jedi McBride, that until we are certain that your forces shall not interfere with New Republican-Imperial affairs-"

"Stop referring to yourselves as that," Arc cut her off. "Thrawn has got something up his sleeve- I’m sure of it. Look at it! How can you miss something so obvious? Thrawn’s got the resources, the ships, the men, the tactical genius, and a Death Star to annihilate us all. Why would he bother with a peace treaty right now when he matches the New Republic in strength? Because he knows that as soon as word gets out that he’s alive and combat-capable, the New Republic’s going to send what, fifty Star Cruisers, down on him. He wants to get us off guard, to catch us unawares. That’s his style. That’s Thrawn’s style."

"And the school bombing? I suppose that has something to do with Thrawn, too!" Istarcha bellowed.

"Something to do with him, yes, but he wasn’t behind it."

"Then who was?"

"Isis."

"Who?"

"Gah! Don’t you pay attention?" Arc rolled his eyes. "I’ve only brought her up about fifteen times! She’s the self-proclaimed Empress of the Empire and mothered the most despicable creature ever to walk the galaxy!"

Mara snorted. "You gotta be kidding me, McBride. Your sister mothered Palpatine?"

"She’s 319 years old. Plenty of time to screw a Sith Lord," Arc said crudely.

"Okay, then why would Isis want to bomb a school?" Mara asked.

"As I said, Thrawn wants to catch us unawares. To do that, he needs to distract us. Personally, I see only two options- one, he takes away our information, and two, he comes up with a new enemy for us to fight. The latter seems to be the most likely after the school bombing. You’re faced with a new threat, a new UNIDENTIFIABLE threat, and you focus your informatives or spies or whatever you’ve got on that one threat. Then comes the vibro-hatchet, and your head comes off. The body follows. He wants to take away all your resources from Coruscant, distracting the head of operations long enough for him to sneak in and do the deed."

"Lots of conclusions in there," Mara said. "Think you can prove any of them?"

Arc’s eyes flashed, and Mara shifted uneasily. "Sorry, I forgot," she apologized.

Arc held the gaze for another moment, then nodded. "Understandable. You’ve been out of Imperial service for some time," Arc pardoned her.

"What in Kessel are you two talking about?" Mon Mothma asked.

Arc shook his head. "Nothing, Mon Mothma. Just the past, that’s all. If you’ll excuse me, all this has put pressure on me- the bombing, the debates, and my head is killing me. I need to rest. I’ll be in the guest’s suite meditating for a short time. Can we recess?"
 

Mon Mothma nodded. "We stand in recess. We shall meet in four hours to continue discussion."
 
 
 
 
 
 

Jaina looked over at Arc, who’d been meditating for the past two hours while she’d been watching a muted vid-unit. So far, at least fifty of the injured students had been upgraded to "stable" and were expected to be released from the Coruscant Infirmary the next morning.

"How long are you going to be like that?" Jaina asked. Reflexively, she took a glance at Kile, to make sure he was all right.

"As long as possible," Arc said quietly, his eyes still half-closed in concentration.

"How can you be sitting around doing absolutely nothing at a time like this?" 

Jaina demanded.

"If my words offended you earlier, Jaina, I’m sorry. I meant no offense."

That surprised Jaina. "How’d you know I felt offended by that?" she asked.

"Several factors contributed. Your impatience was one of the obvious," Arc noted, his eyes never wavering from the wall.

"Sorry," she apologized.

"Don’t apologize. Your impatience and anger are rightfully placed. I should apologize," Arc dismissed the issue. "In the meantime, why don’t you go fix up Jorje’s Y-wing? I bet you can tinker with it, rearm it, maybe boost its speed to match an 

X-wing’s. You always have wanted a ship, haven’t you?"

Jaina blinked and smiled. "How’d you know that?"

"You were drooling the first time I showed you WolvenBlaze, remember?" Arc grinned. "I deduced from that that you wanted one."

"You haven’t lost your good heart, have you, McBride?" 

Arc smiled at Mara’s comment as she stepped into the doorway. "I do my best to keep it. I can’t lose a good heart in times like this."

Jaina looked over at Kile, then at her chrono. "If you’ll excuse me, Aunt Mara, Arc, I’m going to take Arc up on that offer."

"Sure," Arc agreed.

"Take your time," Mara added.

Jaina nodded, then grabbed her toolkit, smiled once more to Arc and Mara, then left for the docking bay.

"Aunt Mara, huh?" Arc grinned as Mara took a seat. "You’ve been up to a lot, haven’t you?"

"I have, yeah," Mara agreed. "What about you? I haven’t heard about you in years."

"Since I left Imperial service?"

"Since you left Imperial service. I heard about an Arc who trained with Luke for a while on Yavin, but I never got the chance to meet him," Mara pointed out.

"That was me. I left the Academy for...personal matters."

"Like what?"

"Nosy mood today, huh?" Arc flashed her a grin.

"Curious is more like it. Still, I haven’t seen you in ages."

"Nor I, you. As for the personal matters, I was unsatisfied with life. My love and most all of my friends were either dead or no longer speaking to me."

"I suppose the personal matter could be called suicide."

That rocked Mara back on her seat. "You wanted to kill yourself?"
 
 

"More than wanted- I demanded death. I tried everything- blaster shots to the chest, falling off high points, even walking into traffic. And after all those, I was still alive," Arc told her.

"Maybe it’s that hocus-pocus prophecy," Mara replied.

"Could be, but it makes no sense." Arc shook his head. "What was left for me? I’d watched Yoda, Rana Ki, Cor, Tanis, and all my friends and fellow Jedi go down. I’d had no friends anymore. Not even the Wookiee you saw, Sorvem. He wasn’t speaking to me after what I’d done either. The prophecy should have worked if it was true."

Mara shrugged, quickly changed the subject. "Well, you had a good theory on the school bombing."

"Yes, but I wasn’t entirely right." Arc leaned back against the wall. "Thrawn wouldn’t bomb a school- not his style. He was never interested in killing children- even when I heard him say he didn’t care on that Death Star, I knew he was lying. He wouldn’t bomb a bunch of innocent children. I don’t agree with his intentions, but I do agree with his conscience. Except for the Noghri. One of the times I was disappointed in him."

"Thrawn’s the type that’s interested in conquest, not murder. Still, I wonder why he’d go through with it...."
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Grand Admiral Thrawn read the readout, then his eyes narrowed, and he looked up at Pellaeon. "A school bombing?"

Pellaeon nodded grimly. "Isis ordered it- tragic, too. All those children..."

Thrawn frowned. "Why the children?"

"Because she wants to come up with a new enemy."

Thrawn turned to Daala. "Why is that, Commander?"

"She heard about your plot to exploit the Caamas situation. The best way to distract the Rebellion is to come up with TWO enemies for them to waste their resources on- the Caamas situation, and a terrorist group," Daala explained.

Thrawn nodded. "And what group would that be?"

Behind Daala, Isis appeared in the doorway. "The Omega."

"Megator’s group?" Thrawn scowled. 

"You’ve talked to Arc, I see," Isis noted.

"He explained the Tri-Destroyer problem to me on the Chimaera about twenty-five years ago," Thrawn explained.

"I see. In any case, the Omega are perfect. Arc has seen what they can do, and so have the Solo children and their companions. Ta’a Chume, bless her soul, has seen to that," Isis replied.

Thrawn nodded. "So she was killed in action."

"She would have taken out the Jedi before, but Arc has a talent for hand-to-eye coordination. Her brain blew up- she died instantly."

Thrawn cocked an eyebrow. "So what do you propose?"

"I propose that Megator and Tyrant reawaken DarkStar."

Thrawn’s jaw dropped. "Have you gone C’baoth on me? That’s a demon you’re reawakening. Who knows what form she’ll be in this time?"

Isis held up a crystal-like object. "He does."

Thrawn shook his head. "Don’t call him up. You’re dealing with powers darker than you could ever imagine."

Isis stroked the crystalline object. "Oh, but I know, Thrawn. I know, and I love it!"

Pellaeon gulped noticeably, then edged a little closer to Thrawn.

"Now, Empress, you know as well as I do that the Tri-Destroyers are too unstable to use. Their loyalty is in question," Thrawn put an edge in his voice.

"They follow Mandaeus. And whoever Mandaeus follows, they follow," Isis replied.

Thrawn considered for a moment, then looked up. "It’s not mine to decide, at any rate. For the meantime, they will suit my purposes."

"Our purposes," Isis replied.

Thrawn merely nodded. "Now, we are ready to begin the Bothawui operation. Is the Republic’s Glory ready?"

Pellaeon nodded briskly. "Yes, Admiral."

"And the commander?"

Pellaeon supressed a smile. "Oh, yes indeed, Admiral."

"Excellent." Thrawn sent for Captain Dorja, and a moment later, Dorja arrived.

"Admiral?" Dorja asked.

"Activate cloaking shield on my command. We want to make this look real, don’t we?" 

Dorja smiled. "Indeed we do, sir."

"Good. Cut the hyperdrive engines, Captain," Thrawn ordered, turning back to Pellaeon, Isis, and Daala. "Commander?"

Daala stepped forward. "Yes, Admiral?"

"Stand by to signal the Republic’s Glory," Thrawn ordered, "and, Commander?"

"Yes, Admiral?" Daala asked.

Thrawn smiled. "Give the fleet a reminder that the Empire’s final triumph over the Rebels begins here."
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Brev Ral’xya gawked at the price. "Eighteen credits for a loaf of spiced cheese?"

The shopkeeper crossed his arms over his chest, his fur ruffling. "Take it or leave it, buddy. Spiced cheese is in high demand these days."

"No, it’s not! It’s nowhere on the stock market! I’ll pay seven credits for it," Ral’xya snarled.

"Thirteen."

"Nine."

"Eleven. That’s my final offer," the shopkeeper said.

Defeated, Ral’xya shoved his hand into his pocket, selected a ten-credit piece and a credit, and slammed the money down on the counter. He grabbed the cheese and stalked off into the warm daylight-

-and then the thunder fell down.

A green burst of energy slammed into the building across the street, sending it down in a shower of hailing debris. Several bystanders were buried alive.

It took a minute for his hearing to come back, another minute to get his eyes functioning. Ral’xya watched as more turbolaser fire pounded the Drev’starn plaza. 

Explosions erupted everywhere. Screams mounted as more blasts slammed into the ground. Ral’xya looked up at the sky. Three Assault Frigates were opening fire in all directions.

Assault Frigates bearing New Republic insignias.

With a loud curse, he ran back-

-then Ral’xya saw a shadow fall over him.

He looked up in horror as the skyscraper above him was pounded by turbolaser fire, then collapsed.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!-"

Ral’xya’s scream was cut off as the skyscraper slammed atop him and the street.

The Assault Frigates continued to pound Drev’starn into a flaming ruin before finally being apprehended by Admiral Ackbar and his task force.

No survivors were found in Drev’starn.
 
 
 
 
 
 

Arc grabbed Jaina’s fusion cutter and sliced off the engine barrel on the Y-wing. 

"How’s that look?" he called.

"It’s looking better," Jaina called back. "Just need a spare X-wing engine or two."

"Well, there’s plenty of old X-wing engine hulks over there." Arc pointed to an area of the docking bay. "They just need a ship to be attached to."

"Great. I’ll go check it out," Jaina replied, then went off to look.

Arc picked up another hydrospanner and twisted the engine barrel. With a few more twists, it’d soon be able to handle an X-wing’s engine. 

The Y-wing was looking better and better. Already he and Jaina had strengthened the ion cannon range and increased the hold for the proton torpedoes by six standard feet. 

All that remained was to fit the engines in. Maybe with a little more work, the shields could be increased, too...

Arc put that aside for now. He stood and started for the cockpit, running a hand along the smooth hull of the starfighter as he did so. The cockpit’s forward laser cannons could easily be-

‘Arc?’

Arc stopped in his tracks. Had he just heard a voice pop into his mind? Or was it his imagination?

‘Arc!’

There it was again. Arc whirled around, lightsaber suddenly in his hand. "Who’s there? What do you want with me?"

‘Arc, it is me.’

Arc blinked. There was something familiar about that voice...the silent, soft yet firm voice of it...

Then it hit him.

"Oh, no...no, that’s impossible. You’re dead, I watched you die."

‘Maybe you thought you did, but I live, and-’

"I WATCHED YOU DIE!!!!!"

The sudden outburst surprised even himself. It took a moment for him to regain himself.

"I watched you die," he repeated quietly. "No one could have survived that blast."

‘I know, my love. Even I do not know to this day how it is possible that I survived, but-’

There was a pause for a moment, and Arc feared that she’d been a figment of his imagination, a taunting, mocking joke of the Dark Side-

‘I am trapped, Arc. Help me.’

"Rana Ki, wait!" 

‘Help me.......’

"Wait!" Arc tried to seek her out, somewhere in the presence of hundreds of trillions of beings, but she was nowhere to be found.

"Arc?"

Arc whirled around. Jaina was there, carrying one engine and dragging another.

"Could you help me with this?" Jaina strained, struggling to hold the heavy engine.

Arc nodded and grabbed the engine with relative ease.

"Oooh!" Jaina sighed in relief. "That’s better. I- are you okay?"

Arc leaned against the Y-wing, clutching the side of his head. Jaina dropped the engine and went over to him. She touched his arm.

"Are you all right?" she asked, concerned.

Arc nodded. "Yes, yes, I’m okay." He shook his head.

"You’re sweating blood. You’re not okay," Jaina persisted, wiping his forehead and holding up a bloody hand to show him.

"Really, Jaina, I feel fine," Arc replied.

"All right...but if there’s anything you need, tell me, okay?" Jaina said.

Arc nodded, then went back to work with his hydrospanner.

Jaina likewise turned with her fusion cutter, began to install the X-wing engine-

-when a loud wail of anguish filled the docking bay.

Then the pain came.

Jaina clutched her stomach, her chest. Pain and despair wracked her, even worse than Isis’ lightning blasts had caused several days before. Faces appeared before Jaina, faces she’d never see again, let alone meet.

In desperation, she used her Force ability to heat the cold wash of despair she’d felt. When she was seven or so, she, Jacen, and Anakin had used the Force to hold back the pain and despair they felt when Kueller caused a great disturbance in the Force. 

Soon, the pain and despair was gone, and she could stand upright again.

Jaina looked towards the entrance, where the scream had come from, and was about to turn to Arc-

-but Arc was already well on his way there, running faster than even an enhanced human could go.

Jaina ran after him, clutching her lightsaber, and trying not to let her nerves get the best of her. The scream had been unhuman, as if a great distress had come about to 

an innocent person. 

When she arrived, Arc was turning away from a group of Bothans, his face labeled with sheer rage and raw anguish.

"Arc," Jaina asked, "wha-what happened..."

Arc looked at her, then shook his head, his eyes gazing down at the floor and casting demonic light on the polished durasteel tiles. "Don’t look, Jaina. You don’t need to see this."

Jaina ignored his comment and pushed into the crowd. She saw a vid-unit-

-and nearly upchucked in horror. 

On the vid-unit, there were frightening images of crushed Bothans, incinerated Bothans, Bothans bleeding from mass wounds and holding each other in fear. Bothan mothers held their infants in their arms, clutching the crying children in their arms. 

Bothans lay everywhere the camera turned, torn asunder, blown apart, brutally massacred in horrid fashions...

Jaina turned, ran through the crowd, and stopped by Arc, unable to go any further. 

She vomited in utter disgust, utter rage, utter pain...

When she finished, Arc was gently holding her by the stomach, easing the nausea.

"You shouldn’t have looked," Arc stated.

Jaina vomited once more, then she managed to stand on her own. Arc handed her a glass of fresh water. She gladly took it and rinsed her mouth. She spat the foul water out of her mouth into a sink.

"The others already know about this," Arc told her.

"They felt the disturbance?" Jaina asked.

"It hit ‘em kinda hard, too. Especially Lusa. She’s a little new to all this, and she didn’t know how to handle it. It hit her so hard she slammed herself against the wall. 

The medics say she’s got a dislocated wrist and a fracture in her shoulderblade. She’s in bacta submersion right now," Arc replied.

"Will she be all right?" Jaina croaked hoarsely.

"In two hours, she’ll be as good as new." Arc grabbed a mop and bucket from the janitor. "I’ll mop up here. Why don’t you go get yourself some more water?"

Jaina nodded, then grabbed a mug of cold water. Arc proceeded to clean up Jaina’s vomit, and as soon as he was done, a Bothan blew chunks in the same area. Arc swore, then cleaned that up, too.

"Gah! I’ve never seen anything more nauseating in my life than Bothan vomit!" 

Arc spat. 

Jaina gazed at the news-vids, then yelled out, "Arc, get over here!"

Arc dropped his mop and went over to her. "What? What’s wrong?"
 

"They’ve IDed the commander in charge of the task force that attacked Bothawui," Jaina stated.

"Who is it? A pirate or Imperial comman-"

"It’s Captain Afyon."

Arc fell silent, his eyes unbelieving. 

Jaina nodded. "It’s him, all right. They IDed his retinal patterns, blood type, everything..."

Arc hung his head. "This was Thrawn’s doing. I’m sure of it."
 
 
 
 
 
 

Jacen slowly helped Lusa out of the bacta tank. "Easy, easy, Lusa."

Lusa put her right hoof down first, then the left, then the left hind leg, and finally the right hind. "Does it always hurt as much as this?"

Jacen shrugged. "If you mean the disturbance in the Force, it just gets worse every time."

"You gradually get used to it," Zekk put in.

"Even though it is not always a pleasant experience," Tenel Ka added. Lowbacca and Sorvem voiced their agreement.

Raynar came running up with a towel. "Here." He handed it to Lusa.

"Thank you," Lusa replied to Raynar, and their eyes locked for a minute before a loud crash came from the hallway.

"This is bad, guys, real bad!" It was Arc, and Jacen braced himself to see Arc coming in, eyes flaring demonically.

But Arc didn’t come in that way. His expression was one of concern and distress. Jaina came behind him with an expression of sadness.

"The Bothan strike you’ve heard about?" he asked them. Jacen and the others nodded. "The Bothan Spynet is now declaring neutrality from the New Republic."

Jacen cursed violently. The others turned to look at him. Jacen felt a warm flush of embarrasment come to his cheeks. "Pardon my Huttese, but without the Bothan Spynet, the New Republic is practically blind."

"Point." Jaina looked up at Arc. "Can Lycoth help?"

Arc looked down at her, then the others, then sighed. "You heard Councilor Fey’lya. If I bring Lycoth into this, I’m starting a war. Without the Bothans, you know what a war would do to the New Republic."

"Isn’t there some way around it? Diplomatically, that is?" Zekk asked. "There must be something in the Document Archive-"

"There isn’t anything," Arc cut him off. "I spent hours looking through the New Republic charters and declarations. There’s nothing there. Even if there was, Lycoth never made treaties with the Alliance. If I made a treaty now, they’d believe I was making a treaty with the ‘New Republic-Imperium’ or some crap like that, and not with just the New Republic."

Silence fell for a moment. Then Tenel Ka spoke up. "Hapes has sufficient power to fill in the gap left by the Bothans," she said, changing the subject. "The New Republic shall not be entirely blind."

Arc nodded. "But there is another problem. If the Bothans secede, then it’s grounds for a civil war."

A gloomy silence fell over all of them. Jacen shivered. A civil war against the Bothans....

"Maybe we can talk them out of seceding," Raynar suggested.

"Afyon’s task force has been identified." Tenel Ka replied solemnly. "It’s no use. His Assault Frigates have been identified as the ones from his task for-"

"Wait a minute."

They turned to face Arc. 

"Didn’t Thrawn say that Afyon had attacked him using Assault Frigates? And that Thrawn had defeated and captured them?" 

Shock fell over the Jedi. "Did he let them go?" Jacen asked.

"He didn’t say, but it’s a safe bet he didn’t. It all makes perfect sense now." Arc clutched the side of his head. "Thrawn knew that the New Republic needed the Bothans. 

What better way than to use the New Republic’s armed muscle to create Bothan secession!"

"And once the Bothans werrre out of the way, Corrruscant and Mon Calamarrri and Diamala and Ishorrri and all the otherrrr militarrry worlds would be blind," Sorvem noted. "And a blind rrrrancorrr-"

"Is almost a defenseless rancor," Jaina replied, the pieces fitting in. It was all fitting in- the school bombing, the Bothan secession, the Lycothian situation, everything was fitting in.

It was, indeed, Thrawn’s style.

"So what do we do? Contact the Bothans and tell them about it?" Jacen asked.

Zekk shook his head. "They’ll probably just blow us off, saying we’re just trying to keep them on our side."

Jacen concentrated for a moment. There was something there, something niggling at him....

His eyes snapped completely open. "That’s it!"

The others looked at him. "Pardon?" Arc asked.

"The Caamasi Doctrine- the doctrine that grants any nation the power to join the New Republic- that’s the key!" Jacen exclaimed.

"How is that the key? I already said that Lycoth would be joining the New Republic-Empire crap if I- oh, stars above, you’re right." A smile beamed on Arc’s face. 

"Then if the Empire joined the New Republic-"

"-then the Empire’s now a part of the New Republic, not a counterpart or anything that requires a change in government! If the Empire’s really a part of the New Republic, it’s subject to all the Alliance rules and principles, including-" Jacen made a gesture with his hand to the others...

"Dismantling all superweapons," the others replied in unison. 

"You got it!" Jacen beamed.

"What better way to trap Thrawn..." Arc grinned. "If he’s really with the New Republic, he’ll have to take the Death Star apart."

"And that is a HUGE blow to his resources," Jaina said excitedly.

"And to his military strength! That’s a completed, fully functional Death Star in his hands, and he has to take it apart!" Zekk added.

Arc looked over to the docking bay, at WolvenBlaze. His lip twisted, then he turned back. "I have to go to Lycoth. I must talk this over with my father and Cabinet."

The others looked at him, stunned. "You can’t go now," Zekk protested. "We need you! You know how to deal with Thrawn! What if he decides to attack?"

"He won’t attack yet," Arc replied. "Yes, Thrawn does think of everything, and no doubt he’s already thinking of this now, but as long as the New Republic is happy with him and pointing blasters at each other, he won’t attack."

Jaina turned to Arc, then to the others. "If it’s all right, I’m going to speak to Arc in private."

The others nodded, then went back to helping Lusa.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Jaina took Arc by the arm and led him over to the hallway. No officers were working there, and it was a safe distance away from any working techs. 

"Arc...you can’t go. Not yet. Not while Kile is defenseless," Jaina pleaded.

"He’s not defenseless," Arc replied, then laid an arm on her shoulder. "He has you. He has his mother, his grandparents, his great-uncle, his uncle, and Jacen and Tenel Ka and Zekk and the others."

"But he needs you," Jaina insisted. "I need you. All through this situation you’ve comforted me, watched out for me, helped me in ways no other person could help."

"Jaina, you don’t need me anymore," Arc assured her, taking her hand and giving it a comforting squeeze. "You have all you need- your family, your friends, the Force- all you need is right here."

"I won’t have you."

"But you will, my friend," Arc assured her. "As long as the Force is with you, I am with you."

"Arrrrc?"

Arc looked over at Sorvem. "Yes, Sorvem?"

"I will come with you. I need my ship. I might as well trrravel back to Lycoth with you," Sorvem stated.

Arc nodded. "Okay, pal. Start her up."

Sorvem nodded, then went off to start WolvenBlaze.

Jaina was at a loss for words. Arc and Sorvem were leaving so suddenly, and she hadn’t known until now that she’d gotten used to having them around. 

"Arc, please don’t leave. With Thrawn on the loose, you’re the best choice for outsmarting and defeating him," Jaina pleaded.

"Jaina..." Arc looked up for a moment, then turned his gaze back to her. "Jaina, there’s another problem."

Jaina shivered for some unknown reason. "What’s that?"

"Megator is alive. I don’t know how, but somehow, he lives. Tyrant also is out there," Arc replied.

"It’s okay," Jaina assured him, but there was no confidence in there that Arc could hear. "We defeated them once- we can do it again."

Arc’s gaze fell to the ground. "But if they meet together and do what I think they’re going to do...then it’s over. Over for the New Republic, and for Lycoth as well."

Jaina shuddered. Arc sounded like his death was on the horizon. "What are you talking about?"

Arc swallowed. "Megator has a mate, DarkStar. She’s far more powerful then anything you’ve come across. More powerful than Exar Kun’s spirit, and more powerful than Megator and Tyrant.

"She’s a demon."

Jaina started to shudder uncontrollably. She’d heard legends of demons and the power they possessed. 

Arc continued. "Now, about a hundred years ago or so, Sorvem and I defeated Megator, Tyrant, and DarkStar. It cost me two valuable friends, and DarkStar nearly killed me. Somehow, I capitalized, and uttered an incantation that put her in a nine-thousand year-long coma. Sorvem and I crippled Megator and almost killed Tyrant, but before DarkStar could go dormant, she saved Megator, and Mandaeus saved Tyrant. Now, the incantation I uttered was enough to defeat DarkStar, but not kill her. I wasn’t a full Jedi back then. The incantation has a weakness that Tyrant and Megator can exploit: the power to reawaken DarkStar."

"So if they are together, they can reawaken her," Jaina finished for him.

"Exactly. I need to deal with them the only way I know how, and that’s to challenge them. I don’t want Sorvem drawn into this- he’s fought them before, yes, but he’s going to be an asset in the battle against the Imperial forces. Count on him- the battle WILL happen. I have the strength to fight DarkStar, Megator, Tyrant, and Mandaeus. It’s what I’ve been training for, for the past one hundred years. I can fight them, because I know of a weakness in Megator," Arc declared. "I’m going to Lycoth for another reason- to get the equipment that will allow me to defeat them all."

Jaina nodded. "But then why did you say it’s over?"

Arc pursed his lips. "That I can’t tell you yet. This I will tell you- be ready. 

Have your Y-wing up and running as soon as possible, and tell the others to hone their lightsaber skills. What will happen will test all their skills. This is a situation that only trained Jedi can deal with."

Jaina nodded. "I’ll tell them to. I’ll be praying for you, Arc."

"And I, you. Also, tell the others-" Arc hesitated for a moment, then went on, 

"-tell them I’ve never been prouder to call them friends. I have all confidence in them, and I believe with all my heart and soul that you and they will triumph."

With that, Arc kissed Jaina’s forehead, and then was off to the others. He spoke to them for a second, then ignited his lightsaber, the red beam blazing into existence. 

Zekk ignited his fiery blade, then Jacen flipped his emerald green beam on. Tenel Ka’s turquoise blade sprang out next, Lowie’s molten bronze blade followed. Raynar ignited his silver blade, and Lusa’s hand shot up into the air in salute. Sorvem raised his paw high.

Jaina walked over, ignited her electric violet blade, and raised it up, with Arc and her fellow Jedi, into the air.

"Stronger together," Jacen declared.

"Stronger together," Tenel Ka voiced.

"Stronger together," Zekk agreed. 

Lowie roared his agreement.

"Strrrrongerrrr togetherrrr," Sorvem put in.

"Stronger together!" Raynar announced.

"Stronger together," Lusa agreed.

"Stronger together," Arc responded.

"Stronger together." Jaina smiled. "May the Force be with us, always."

They shut down their lightsabers, then Arc motioned to Sorvem. "The Force is strong with you, my friends. May it be with you in the coming ordeal."

"The Force is with you, Arc, my friend," Tenel Ka replied. "Deal with what you must deal with, then return to us safely."

Arc smiled. "Sometimes I wondered why I was blessed to have friends like you, my fellow Jedi. I think now I know. Farewell."

With that, he gave a salute, and then he and Sorvem walked up WolvenBlaze’s plank. The plank disappeared, then WolvenBlaze’s mighty engines started. Its crimson light flared, then WolvenBlaze shot out of the docking bay at top speed, leaving the Young Jedi alone in the hangar.

"You think he’ll come back?" Lusa asked. "Alive, I mean?"

Jacen smiled. "He’s a Jedi Knight, Lusa. The Force is with him, forever."

Jaina looked into the sky for a long moment, then the light in the morning sky that was WolvenBlaze disappeared into hyperspace. Jaina hugged Zekk, and Zekk put a comforting arm around her.

"Thank you, Zekk," Jaina whispered.

"For what?" Zekk asked with a smile.

"For not thinking I was in love with Arc," Jaina replied.

Zekk looked up at the morning sky, smiling at the area where WolvenBlaze had shot into hyperspace. ‘And thank you, Arc, for not telling her that,’ he added silently.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Arc made an adjustment to the navicomputer, and then Sorvem watched the stars transform into lines of light as they hit lightspeed.

"You arrrre unhappy, my frrriend," Sorvem murmured. It wasn’t a question.

"Yes, Sorvem, I’m distressed," Arc confirmed Sorvem’s statement. "A part of me fears they won’t be strong enough. Another part gives me confidence in them. Still another part tells me to help them."

"Is that all that’s botherrrring you?" Sorvem asked.

"What else could be bothering me?" Arc asked him.

"The fact that if you kill Isis, it will rrrresult in yourrrr own death," Sorvem replied.

Arc shook his head. "Sorvem, I would gladly die to prevent her evil from corrupting the galaxy."

"Is that why you didn’t tell the otherrrrs about Korrrriban?" Sorvem asked.

Arc’s gaze turned down. "I’ve grown to love them as friends, Sorvem. I thought that if I didn’t get them so involved with the Tri-Destroyers, Mandaeus, and Isis...if I just kept their sights on defeating Thrawn...maybe they wouldn’t end up like Cor, Tanis, and Jorian."

"And they wouldn’t die helping you," Sorvem finished for him.

Sorvem could tell Arc was in pain. "One hundred and fourteen years, and it still won’t go away, Sorvem. Cor’s death, Tanis’ murder, Jorian’s sacrifice...it still hurts."

"So you thought that keeping them away frrrrom this situation, that dealing with this all by yourrrrself, would keep them safe frrrrom the Trrrri-Destrrrroyers and Mandaeus?" Sorvem asked, an icy edge to his voice now.

Arc remained silent. "It’s my fault, you know," he said after a long moment. 

"It’s my fault. If I’d just been strong enough...I could have stopped the Megator clone from getting to Jaina. If I’d been able to get to my feet, this wouldn’t have happened. If I hadn’t come to the Jedi Academy in the first place, none of this would have happened."

Sorvem gripped his friend’s shoulder. "You did nothing wrrrrong, Arrrrc. Had you not come to the Jedi Academy, the otherrrrs would be dead. Ta’a Chume would have killed Tenel Ka. Megatorrrrr would have killed Jacen and Jaina and Zekk and Rrrraynarrrrr and Lowbacca. Lusa would have been the only one left alive, but prrrobably not forrrr long. Maybe you brrrrought about the birrrth of Jaina’s child, but you gave them warrrning of the Empirrrre and Thrrrrawn and Isis."

Arc smiled. "No wonder Cor called you kingly, Sorvem."

Sorvem gave him a Wookiee grin. "And it is no wonderrrr he called you mighty."
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Isis sat on the bridge of the Chimaera, in her private throne. Thrawn was in his quarters (at least she assumed he was), and Pellaeon was conversing with Lieutenant Tschel about upgrading the ion cannon targeting system. The Chimaera gracefully glided through the blackness of space over the dead world of Triton. The Death Star had been fitted with a cloaking shield, and even now it lay behind one of Triton’s dead moons. 

The Chimaera was accompanied by the Judicator, Stormhawk, Inexorable, and, of course, Black Soul.

This fleet alone was enough power to eradicate Coruscant.

But no, she reminded herself. No. The Rebels had to think that the Empire was now on their side, willing to do anything for them. The weak-minded fools. 

Bide your time, she told herself. Bide your time....

"Empress?"

Isis turned her head gracefully to her Trandoshan assassin, Russk, who’d been found aboard the Death Star, barely alive. 

With Tyrant.

"Yes, Russk?" Isis asked.

"We have confirmation of it now. Megator has been sighted on Bothawui. He wishes to reawaken DarkStar," Russk replied.

Isis smiled. "Excellent. We must take Tyrant to him, of course."

"Of course, my Empress," Russk agreed.

Silence hung for a long moment, then Russk’s eyes widened. "You mean...me?"

"Do you have a problem with that?" Isis asked coldly.

"Empress, with all due respect, Megator is a monster! Tyrant’s a monster that can barely speak Basic! DarkStar is a demon! They could break me in two, blast me, and scatter my atoms into Hell itself!" Russk pleaded.

Isis held up a hand. "It’s all right, Russk. They know you’re with me, and if you’re with me, you’re with Mandaeus. They’d never kill another disciple."

Russk calmed down, then nodded. "All right, my Empress. I shall take Tyrant to Megator, then escort Megator, Tyrant, and DarkStar back to you. Assuming Megator and Tyrant are still alive by then."

"Enmity runs deep between Megator and Tyrant, yes, but Tyrant wants his sister back, and Megator wants his love returned to him. They shall work together," Isis assured him, "for the time being."

Russk pursed his lips, snarled, then nodded. "Your will be done, Empress." With that, he left for the hangar.

Isis turned out to look at the stars. Arc was out there, yes...she could feel his presence.

She smiled. He was in despair. Beautiful.

Isis relaxed in her throne. It wouldn’t be long now...the Tri-Destroyers and Mandaeus would have Coruscant, and she would have the galaxy. The Tri-Destroyers and Mandaeus would kill Arc, and Thrawn would lead the Imperial fleet to victory over 

Coruscant. All would go according to plan.

However, she still couldn’t forget Arc’s ancient warning to her. The warning he’d given her before they’d fought a battle that had resulted in the destruction of Triton.

WITH MY DEATH WILL COME YOUR OWN. SO HAS IT BEEN 

WRITTEN...

SO IT SHALL BE.

To Be Continued....

*1999 by Arc McBride