Kingdom Come

[Calavan]

And Then There Was Light

I do not believe in a fate that will fall on us no matter what we do. I do believe in a fate that will fall on us if we do nothing.

~Ronald Regan



The last thing Tyr Rendix-Jeraan remembered before passing through the membrane was the brightness of it all. The hot white light that poured into his retinas like cream into a dish. He could recall the physical pain he felt for just a moment, when his eyes could no longer stand the blinding intensity. Then there was darkness, and for an instant he could remember nothing at all. And then? A sea of black space, as far as the eye could see.

And what was within that black space?

Ships. More than he could count. More than he could imagine. Huge ones, small ones, fighters escorting their tankers and carriers. The number of Galian ships that had passed through the gate had been imperceptibly small compared those who were still to come. They stretched out in space like a cloud of locusts, going as far as his eyes could see. A burst of sharp, knifelike panic hit him for an instant as a Charon passed overhead. The Midnight Zephyr had appeared just below its girth, passing through the shadow it cast by the glow of the gateway. Then the Charon was gone, and the Zephyr was wrapped in a thick blanket of blue light.

"Shandri?" Rendix whispered. "Do they see us?" He knew they did. And there were so many of them that if they had wanted to swat away that fly of a ship, they could do so without effort. But they didn?t, it seemed. They didn?t care. The Zephyr was a grain of dirt from that foreign country they were invading. It said a lot, Rendix thought, about the Galian mindset. Just another grain of dirt?there was nothing they could do. Nothing two people, or Four for that matter, could do against the war machine that had existed for a thousand years and conquered trillions, or more. To think that they could do anything other than be stamped out of existence was the highest form of vanity. Rendix found the whole notion irritating.

?Shandri?? he asked again. She still hadn?t responded. Very slowly he moved his head away from the cloud of ships, that had begun to grow larger and finite as more and more passed into the other galaxy. Once he managed to tear his eyes away and settle on Shandri Brightstorm, the tension in his chest doubled. His blaster wound, that had long since healed, began to ache. And his palms started sweating. ?Shandri?? he repeated, for the third time now. But she didn?t answer, and he didn?t really expect her to. Shandri?s head was lolled to the side with eyes, though not her eyes, still opened.

He knew whose eyes they were. He recognized them, as well as he recognized Shandri?s voice, or the smell of Cyern City in the morning. They were Judas Landon?s eyes.

They were dilated pools of black, like the midnight space outside.

***

Shandri Brightstorm stood in a dark place with no walls or doors, windows or floors. It was an abyss, and in the corner of her ear she heard a whisper that crescendoed and grew as it spoke.

And here we are at last. The Sojourner, the Prophet, the Janus, and the Ram. The four who once were and the four who are, bound by fate and destiny, but not by time. At last the wheel of fates begins to turn again after its long stagnation, and the fates of the many will be determined by the actions of the few. You, Shandri Brightstorm?Prophet?are the vessel of knowledge, and my link to the world beyond these walls.

And then there was light. It came from outside, and spilled in through gray skies past a grated window. Suddenly there were walls, and there were floors. But the only door was barred shut, as was the window. There was a lone bench made of humble wood on a bare wall. There was a straw mat on the ground. A cloaked figure stood by the window, looking out of it with sad eyes.

From where she was standing, Shandri could not see the figure?s face.

?Erin?? she said quietly. Hands trembling, she reached out to touch the cloaked figure. ?Is that really you??

Before she could touch the cloak, the figure turned and looked back at her. Her face was masked, but she had the eyes of a young girl, and soft hands. Shandri put her hand down and very slowly, the figure reached up and pulled back her hood. She had soft, supple skin and brown hair. Her eyes were brown as well. ?We meet at last, Prophet.?

?Erin?? Shandri said again, and her eyes fogged with joy. She felt happiness wrap around her, like it was a blanket or a warm embrace. ?You?re real.? It struck her that such a thing was odd to think, but then she realized that at the back of her mind, her greatest fear was that Erin wasn?t real at all. She was either part of the machinations of the Burning Man or the Pale King, or she was nonexistent entirely, and just some mental quirk that the four of them had conjured. But she was real, and she was standing right in front of Shandri.

?The hour is finally here, Shandri,? Erin said. She smiled, but it was a sad smile. ?The hour of the Pale King?s downfall and the liberation of a thousand galaxies is coming. I see many things from my window, and am powerless to stop them. Look with me, if you will, and deliver my visions to the Four once you meet again.?

So Shandri walked up beside Erin, and looked out the window?

Through the grates, the first thing she saw was a lavish hotel room with a large veranda window. There were five people in the suite, and one she knew was the man she?d met as Daniel Munn, but knew as Tom Milton. His face looked different, like he?d changed masks, but his eyes were the same. He was laughing and taunting the three who stood in front of him. She recognized them as herself, Jake, and Tyr. The fifth figure stood beside Milton dumbly like a puppet, and though his face was shaded Shandri knew it was Weston.

?You four will be betrayed,? Erin said quietly. Her voice was much softer than it had ever been on the ice fields. It was almost like a little girl?s voice. Innocent, yet with an eerie, distant quality.

?Is Weston going to betray us?? Shandri asked, staring at the image in the window. It was like a video feed caught in a loop. She just kept seeing Milton smiling and laughing. Smiling and laughing. But her eyes weren?t on Milton. She was watching the faceless stranger beside him.

Erin touched the bars of the window. ?Look for yourself.?

Then the figure stumbled forward into the light, and his face was revealed. Shandri stepped back in surprise, and a high pitch squeak caught in the back of her throat. It was Weston, but where his eyes should have been there were two bloody, gaping holes. The eyeless Weston fell to his knees, as though he was begging, and Shandri watched, horrified, as in the vision she pulled out her lightsaber and pressed the unactivated emitter against his forehead. Her finger hovered over the button, and then it stopped. Jake Landon had a gun pulled on her. Then Rendix pulled a gun on Jake. And Milton laughed, and laughed, and laughed.

?The covenant you share will tear into a thousand bits if you lose trust in one another. The traitor among you?the traitor who will be your undoing?is you Shandri Brightstorm. And it?s Weston Onasi. And Jake Landon. And even your beloved Tyr. The four of you will turn against one another before the end. It will take much strength to save yourselves, and despite this warning you will not want to see the truth before your eyes. You?ll deny it, and if you deny it long enough then you?ll lose sight of the truth. And all will be lost.?

?What?what could happen to make us do this to one another. And what happened to Weston?? Shandri muttered.

?That, I will not say, Prophet. It is his weight, and he must bear it for himself. But know this: the Pale King?s power lies in his capacity for manipulation. Something aches within the back of his mind, hindering his sight and powers. This ache protects you Four from him. He will not admit it, but you are immune to his powers, at least directly. This was not so on Dantooine, but the might of Destiny now shields your souls.?

And for the first time in a long time, perhaps ever, Shandri felt genuine hope in the Four?s success. ?He can?t touch us?? she asked.

?He will try all he can to stop you, but so long as the Four are together in this galaxy, he can no more destroy you with a breath than you can him. If one of you dies, however, then he is again free.?

?So he tries to make us kill one another??

?I?m afraid so,? Erin said. She raised her hand to her mouth and paused for a second, then she turned from the window and looked at Shandri. ?There are more visions for you Shandri, and your time is limited. Look.?

There was a thunderclap from somewhere far above, and the image of the hotel vanished. It was replaced by a desert and a tower. And looming above that tower was a black mass in the sky that Shandri knew was called Deltaur. It was night there, and Shandri watched as a bird flew along the coarse, desert sand and towards the tower. Then suddenly she was inside the tower, and she saw Jake Landon standing there in front of Him. He was a black mass of fabric and robes that shrouded the man beneath from head to toe. His face, which was beneath a hood, was young and vibrant. But his eyes were red and flickered like the heart of a fire. His teeth were sharp and white. In his hand he carried a staff adorned with the head of a ram. Around his neck was a glass ball about the size of a small grapefruit. It was black in the center, surrounded by a shell of light.

Beside Landon was Tyr Rendix-Jeraan. Behind the Burning Man was Shandri. She hovered unconscious a foot above the floor, and her lightsaber was in two pieces on the floor of the Burning Man?s throne room. ?The lives we live and the world we live in are all echoes of lives and worlds which have come and gone. Life is a wheel, and it is finally coming round to the same place again, where it was one thousand years ago. Then, the four were defeated by treachery, and by a single decision made in good faith, and yet used against them. I see another such decision in your future, Shandri.?

?I?m?I?m supposed to take Lauren?s place?? Shandri muttered. ?Let the girl get bound up and saved? That?s not very politically correct.?

?The Ram will choose between three lives. Again, he must sacrifice that which he loves the most. I cannot interfere with his free will, or I would tell you more. But I must say this, Prophet: the Ram must face his Red Father. It is imperative that he know that. No matter where the rest of you go, or what happens to you, he must confront the Burning Man. In the end, no matter who goes with him, he?ll be going alone.?

?I thought this was supposed to make sense,? Shandri muttered. ?I thought you were going to give me a step by step outline of our plan or?or something a little more helpful then what I?ve been getting for the past four months now! How do we kill the Burning Man? How do we kill Milton??

?I am imprisoned within the Burning Man?s tower,? Erin said quietly. ?But this cell you see is a metaphor. Much like this body.? The little girl ran her hand down the cold stone wall and then across the grated window. ?There is no such cell in the Black Spire. But he holds me, just as he holds you in the vision. I?m trapped in the trinket he wears around his neck.?

Shandri looked at the orb, and remembered Landon?s story about the ancient Annuhnaki and the Great Eye. That orb was the source of all of the Burning Man?s power. It was the essence of his immortality and divinity.

?If we take that from him, he?ll be dead,? Shandri said slowly.

?He is too far gone for that. He can only be destroyed by the annihilation of that orb. Free me, by cutting it from his neck. When one of the Four takes it, I will be given the strength to break free. Then, in Kel Gauthra?s moment of weakness, I shall stand with you and deliver the killing blow. We will destroy the Great Eye, and cast a thousand years of tyranny aside for a new and better future.?

Shandri nodded, understanding. ?And where?s Weston?? she asked, looking at the image.

The little girl beside her lowered her head and sighed. ?I don?t know. Even now I grow stronger, as the Four draw together. But the future is a fluid place at best. Some, but very few occurrences are certain. The Four are a certainty, but your success is not.?

?Are you saying he?ll die? Or just that he could die? I don?t understand.?

?Interpretations vary, Prophet. That is the gift and the curse we share. These images come to me from a higher place, and they come without a guide or description. They are what they are, and it is our duty to interpret them, accurately if possible. All we know is that for better or for worse, the Janus is not here.?

?So these images are definite, set in stone??

?They are the way the plan?s been laid. Any deviation from these images is a deviation from the will of Destiny. And yet small deviations do not necessitate failure. So no, Prophet, they are not.?

Shandri took a deep breath and sighed. Then the images before her faded away, and she was once again staring out at the desert, cloaked by moonlight. She heard the whistling of wind, and then felt an icy gale blow into the cell. It was the same gale she?d felt in every one of her dreams. Shandri pulled away from the window, and shivered. Erin continued to look out of the window.

?And Milton?? Shandri asked.

Erin still did not respond. She stood there, lost in her own thoughts, until at last she lifted her hood again and draped it over her head. Then Erin said softly, as if in a whisper, ?I do not know how you will kill Pamdemon, Prophet. I only know that you will, because it is his punishment, and the will of Destiny. Use these visions to guide you, and you will triumph.?

?You don?t know?? Shandri snapped. ?What the frell do you mean you don?t know?!?

Erin stepped away from the window, and raised both of her arms. ?Farewell Prophet. Deliver my message, and good luck.?

And the tower began to shake, and the light from the window dimmed until it was gone. Then Shandri knew she was alone, all alone, in the dark place again.

***

The Midnight Zephyr was almost invisible. It?s running lights had all been shut down, and it was running on minimal power. It hung, dead in space, two hundred kilometers away from the gateway. The mammoth portal was long-since shut down. Several small Galian support craft were busy scuttling along the exterior and making minor repairs. It must have taken a small sun to power the gate, Rendix mused. Holding it open for as long as they had had caused problems, even for the Galians. Now they were busy fixing little hull fractures and putting out scattered fires.

He was leaned against the wall in the main family room of the Zephyr with Shandri laid out on the large leather chair. He?d covered her with a blanket and tried to make her comfortable, but he couldn?t think of anything else. Except close her eyes. He?d done that too.

He looked at her, and wondered what had happened. She?d been fine when they entered the gateway, but the next thing he knew she was out. Perhaps it was the work of the Burning Man, he thought, but at the same time he knew that it wasn?t. It was Erin. This was her doing. He didn?t know how he knew, but he did. She was with Erin now, doing whatever it was prophets did. When she was ready, she?d come back. At least that?s what Rendix kept telling himself.

?Well?? he muttered, ?well well. We?re here Shandri. We?re in Galaxy 1, right where you said we?d be. Now what?? He snorted a cynical laugh and strummed his fingers across the wall. They made a tinny, hollow sound and he wondered if the panel was concealing a smuggling compartment. ?We?re all alone in Galian Space. Hell if I know where. I think we?ve gotten out of their sensor range but I don?t know for sure. I just saw the biggest single fleet I?ve ever seen go through a gateway into my galaxy and I?m not even going to be there to do anything about it. I hate Erin, and I hate Prophecies, and I hate fate. I wish all these mystical good for nothings would just wither away forever. We don?t need them, and never have.? When he finished, he sighed and looked at Shandri. She still didn?t move, and the silence of the ship was eerie. He was used to it, of course, but something about this ship felt different. It felt like it hadn?t been used in a long time. Like it?d been preserved, instead, as a kind of shrine or tomb. ?And now you?ve got me talking to myself,? he concluded. ?Way to go Shandri. Way to go Erin. The Sojourner is going fracking nuts??

He was cut off by a soft, giggling laughter. And he saw Shandri?s eyelids flutter. They opened slowly, and she sat up in the chair. ?You?ve got that right.?

Rendix felt a catch in his throat and his eyes opened wide. ?Shandri!? he said.

?Miss me?? she asked, and batted her eyelashes.

Tyr opened his mouth halfway and shook his head, ?You?did you learn anything??

She nodded, ?We?ve got to get to Madera as fast as we can. Jake and Weston are in trouble. But if we get there, Milton won?t be able to touch any of us.?

?What??

?I?ll explain on the way, we?ll have plenty of time.? She stood up from the chair and started walking towards the cockpit. ?The trip takes three weeks.?

?Frell, is there not a closer gateway??

?Nope,? she said. ?But we?re lucky, because this bird might be able to make it in two. If we sing to her.?

Tyr smiled and shook his head, ?You don?t want me to sing.?

Shandri shrugged, ?No singing means you?ll be stuck on board this thing with me for even longer. No body else to talk to or hear you scream.?

Tyr laughed and gave a mock shudder, ?I?ll start warming up my voice.?

?Thought so,? Shandri said. She stepped through the door and into the cockpit.

Tyr smiled for a moment and rested his head against the wall. Two to three weeks all alone aboard this ship with Shandri? There?d been worse things to happen to him, that much was certain.

He closed his eyes, letting the thought of those two weeks sink in. He?d enjoy them, he knew, and hate it when they were over. It seemed silly, but that second part?the hating it when those two weeks ended, when he had to worry about Erin and Milton and Kel Gauthra all over again?seemed almost so terrible that he dreaded the two weeks even starting. He preferred it as it was now. Something bright and hopeful to look forward to. Because what did he have to look forward to when it was over?

***

On the sensor screen, the Midnight Zephyr powered on its hyperdrive engines, began to accelerate, and then vanished. It was gone. ?I do not mean to question your orders, Judicate, but why was I to let the vessel to escape??

The man that asked the question was a lean, middle-aged man with a clean shaven face and bald head. He had a scar on the side of his head where one of his ears had been cut off, and wore the uniform of a Galian captain. Projected by the set of swiveling cameras above him and onto the floor right in front of him was Sector Judicate Marin. Marin had served the Burning Man for forty-four years, first as a technician, and then as Captain and finally Sector Judicate under Alitar Fiat.

The holographic figure of the sixty-something man looked bright and alert. He had a sparkle in his eyes. ?It is the will of the Burning Man that this ship reaches the Platus system and arrive at Madera. There, our enemies shall do his will, either destroying the Usurper or these infiltrators. Once one group is gone, the Maderan forces already in place on the surface will destroy the remaining hostiles. Clear enough, Captain Kenner??

?Yes sir, Judicate. I apologize for my doubt.?

The hologram of Judicate Marin nodded and then vanished, leaving the bridge of the Galian ship dim without the hazy blue light. Kenner did not understand. Unless Kel Gauthra genuinely thought that such a small ship could liberate Madera, it was utterly pointless to risk not destroying them. Certainly the Burning Man knew that. Kenner determined that his only recourse would be to file an investigation with Sector Command regarding Judicate Marin. It was entirely possible that Marin was going senile, or perhaps he was part of some as-of-yet unidentified resistance movement that was focused on sewing dissent.

Unfortunately, the next day Kenner would be surprised to find that neither of these were the case. Sector Judicate Marin was dead, and had died thirty minutes before he?d contacted the Gateway and ordered them not to engage any vessels coming in from Galaxy 32. He?d been found face down in a bowl of Alphabet Soup, where he?d drowned. Immediately an investigation was set into motion to discover how Marin had access to a soup that?d not been in production for 900 years. That investigation was immediately suspended when they pulled his head up from the bowl. Few were surprised by the letters that'd stuck to his face.

Ha Ha Ha. Tom.
_________________

[Calavan]

The Invasion

?I regard the death and mangling of a couple thousand men as a small affair, a kind of morning dash ? and it may be well that we become so hardened.?

~General William T. Sherman



Space is a dark, empty, perilous place. It?s a place of monsters and nightmares. For many in Galaxy 32, the Galactic Empire, and all of its iterations, have long been seen as the penultimate representation of those lurking things. But the people took comfort, because despite their weapons of terror and their abundant resources, time and again the Sith and the power hungry were thwarted. And yet, as every small child who?s ever been alone in a dark room knows, no matter how many times you push them away, those lurking things come back. Sometimes it?s the same one, out for revenge, but there are other times?worse times?when the lurking thing is devoured in its own darkness by some bigger, crueler beast. It?s at those times when the true measure of men is tested, because despite all the adages and propaganda, there are times when it?s easier, and perhaps preferable, to die.

***

Admiral Palmerston rapped his fingers along the console and stared out of the forward viewport. His crew, all dressed in sharply pressed uniforms of the Imperial Navy, were busy about their business. It was, after all, just another day.

He was standing in the command center at Imperial Headquarters on Onderon. Projected on the holographic table in front of him was a three dimensional representation of the Bounty, a mark 3 Imperial Star Destroyer. Two days ago, the Bounty had been dispatched to identify a sudden loss of transmission data from Fhloston. Although Emperor Morik had seen it as imprudent to hold the planet, Imperial computers still active on the surface monitored system data and relayed it to Onderon. Palmerston thought it somewhat funny that the Alliance of Free Worlds had no idea that Emperor Morik new all about the Galian Fleet and its assault on Dantooine. Of course, a large majority of Imperial personnel did not know either. It was kept strictly silent, and only Morik and a handful of officers serving near Fhloston knew of it. They?d been instructed to keep a watch for activity around the planet, because a Galian Fleet was supposed to be coming, and yet after that fleet?s destruction Palmerston and most of the Western-sector staff had become fairly lax. Until two days ago. The signal just snuffed out. An Alliance of Free World?s Star Destroyer had rendezvoused with a smaller ship, and then?then nothing. All data ended. Surely that first fleet, which had almost decimated the entire Alliance of Free World?s military (and yet in spite of that, they?d continued to achieve success against the old Imperium sector) had been all they?d devote.

That?s what Palmerston had told himself, but he hadn?t genuinely believed it.

?Admiral, they?re coming out of hyperspace in two minutes.?

Palmerston nodded and leaned against the side of the holotable. He was in his early fifties and had a shock of bright-white hair courtesy of a freak landspeeder crash he?d been in as a child. Their speeder had been clipped during a race, flipped twice, and turned upside down on a large rock. It had crushed his friend, who?d been driving, to death. Palmerston had been thrown out, rather, and was caught in a tree. It took two hours to pull him down, and during that time all he could do was stare at the rescue crews who flipped the speeder back over and picked up the bits of his friend?s skull.

He shuddered. ?Very good. As soon as they exit hyperspace, open a communications channel with them and put it on speakers.?

?Aye sir.?

Palmerston tried to swallow but his mouth was dry. He clicked his tongue rapidly, and rapped his fingers against the edges of the table. The image on the table vanished and was replaced by the planet Fhloston. Overhead, there was a hiss of static and the Bounty came up over audio. ?Admiral Palmerston, this is Captain Halleck we?ve arrived at Fhloston?.? his voice trailed off.

Palmerston rapped his fingers hard against the metal again. ?Please speak up Captain you?ve gone mute on me.?

But over the intercom, there was a stunned hush on the ship. Palmerston, in all his years, could not recall hearing a bridge so quiet. The only sound was the soft hum of the computers. After almost a minute, he said, ?Contacts??

The audio link was still quiet, but very faintly he heard someone on the ship murmur, ?May the Force be with us.?

?We?re receiving an updated map of Fhloston to correlate with the Bounty?s most recent sensor data,? one of the officers, a Lieutenant Sarin said. The image on the table then changed. It faded from one image to another, imperceptibly at first but soon the differences were apparent.

Fhloston was dead. The blue and green oceans were gone. There were only huge, empty basins that would one day be deserts. The islands were now mountains. The jungles were tundra. The atmosphere was breaking down, covered with thick, green-gray clouds and flashes of purple lightning. There was a crater in the center of one of the world, which oozed hot fire and lava like blood. It reminded Palmerston of the footage he?d seen of the Empire?s old Eclipse ships? He had always viewed superweapons as a mistake. He had always thought that the Empire was above them. And always worried about the consequences of them, if perhaps a less morally-elitest enemy than the New Republic were to rise.

?Preliminary sensor data indicates a blast impact near the center of the planet. It caused massive core destabilization. That atmosphere?s been shaken and polluted by a huge dust cloud. There?s not a lot left alive down there.?

Palmerston reached into his pocket and pulled out a handkerchief. Then he gingerly wiped away the sweat on his forehead. ?Captain Halleck, I want you to send a probe droid to the surface of the planet for reconnaissance. Have its frequency tuned to send images and data directly to Onderon.?

?Aye sir,? Halleck said over the intercom. ?My science officer says that data indicates that this only happened a day or two ago, which meshes with when we lost contact with the planet. I?ve ordered a scan of the surrounding space but we?re detecting no vessels in orbit.?

?Very good,? Palmerston sighed. ?Very good Captain Halleck. How long until your probot is ready??

There was no answer.

?Captain?? Palmerston repeated. He glanced up from the holotable and saw several of his officers looking at him. The CIC was enclosed, unlike a Star Destroyer?s bridge, and was deep within one of Onderon?s largest mountains. They had no windows or viewscreens of space, and yet their hush was just as quiet as that of the Bounty?s.

?The transmission?s been severed,? Sarin said.

?Well?reestablish, immediately,? Palmerston snapped. As he did so, the lights flickered and dimmed, followed by a very loud emergency alarm. Somewhere far away there was a muffled explosion, and the Command Center shook. There was a low rumble of voices in the command center as people began to whisper. One of the officers ran over to the sensor station that monitored Onderon?s surface and the space above.

?What is happening?? Palmerston wiped his head again with his handkerchief but it was almost soaked from the sweat of his palms.

?A fleet of over six hundred capital ships has just decloaked in a low orbit above Onderon. Some of it has broken to engage our defense fleet, but the majority began orbital bombardment as soon as they appeared, just a few seconds ago. All incoming and outgoing communications have been jammed.?

?Put a 3d-sensor readout up on the table. Let me see what?s happening out there,? Palmerston said.

The image of Fhloston suddenly changed into an image of Onderon. A mass of orange dots hovered above the surface, while a second cloud of orange had encircled two red dots on the far side of the planet. Within seconds, the two red dots vanished.

?The two Star Destroyers attached to the planet have been destroyed. We?re picking up massive fighter numbers coming from those ships. They?re all of unidentified configuration, possibly Galian. Markings of some are similar to ships we identified five months ago around Dantooine.?

?Can you identify their command ship?? Palmerston asked.

?They appear to be targeting major population centers and military targets. Iziz is reporting a massive bombardment, particularly around the Capitol and city center. There?s a holonews report going on now out of a small town south of Dix. It?s the only broadcast I?ve managed to find, most of the major stations have been incapacitated by bombardment.?

?Command ship appears to be leading the bombardment. It?s flanked by a number of other ships of similar configuration, although somewhat smaller. Those smaller ships are the same as the command ship that attacked Dantooine.?

?More damage estimates are on their way in sir. Casualties from the first minutes of bombardment are estimated in the twenty thousand range.?

?Enough of this!? Palmerston shouted. The mountain continued to shake occasionally, and the lights continued to flicker, but people began to calm. On the table, the cloud of orange began to disperse and encircle the planet. ?It will do me no good to have a thousand statistics vomited at me without time to process them. We?re all officers here, it?s time we accepted the fact that they have struck us by surprise. I?m not even entirely sure who ?they? are. They have the capacity to destroy a planet, however, and judging from their hostile bent I?m surprised they haven?t used it already. Fhloston was not destroyed by conventional bombardment, although I?m sure it was a factor. Now, very orderly, I want an emergency probe prepared and fired off. It should emit a distress beacon, and a warning. Make sure that the Bounty does not come back here. Next, I want us to switch the table to the Holonews broadcast. Let the public be our eyes and ears, for once.?

?Yes sir,? someone said.

The hologram of the planet then vanished, and was replaced by a woman?s face. She was holding a microphone. Behind her, there was a blue-tinted hologram of a cityscape. Parts of it were burning, and large balls of gold light were falling from the sky like meteors. In the sky above, a squadron of TIE Interceptors was taking off and flying towards space. As it moved towards the edge of the camera, the hologram panned up to follow them into the sky. They had almost passed from vision when suddenly the tight V-formation broke up, and several tri-winged fighters appeared and ripped into them. One of the TIEs tumbled out of the sky and the camera panned down to follow it. It struck a building somewhere in the city, causing an explosion that sent glass and smoke flying everywhere.

??casualties. If you look behind me, you can see some of the devastation now. Dix has already suffered catastrophic damage, and from what I can tell it has taken a very small proportion of the bombardment. I?ve seen four skyscrapers fall in the past two minutes. I?ve seen scrambling fighter squadrons nixed out of existence before they get off the ground. I suppose the question we?re all asking right now is, where is the Empire? Where are our Imperial p'rotectors now? I?d worry about being shut down but let?s be honest; the Government isn?t my biggest concern right now.? Behind her, a double flurry of slow-moving blue orbs went falling down onto the surface. One smashed through a building, bursting out of the other side, and then detonated on the ground. It sent a shockwave of blue fire that wiped out everything around it in what must have been a mile wide radius. Huge plumes of fire and debris flew upwards, sending landspeeders and flaming bodies in all direction. Another orb struck a second building and blew up inside of it. The entire structure exploded outward in a huge, fiery ball that extended outward, consuming another building around it. When the fire was gone, the first scraper was gone while the second looked like a skeleton. The woman stumbled forward from the shockwave and turned around to survey the explosion. ?Frelling hell,? she mumbled. From the side of the screen a young man ran up and handed her something. She held the comlink to her mouth and spoke into it. Then she raised her head, which was noticeably paler, and spoke into her microphone. ?I?according to a source in Iziz, there are reports that the hypermatter reactor beneath the city may have been destabilized. If you live in Iziz and are receiving this broadcast, I can only beg you to evacuate in an orderly manner.?

Palmerston pressed a button on his chair and muted the broadcast. ?Is she right about that? If that reactor blows, then the entire city will be vaporized.?

?I believe she may be right,? Sarin said. ?I?ve started up evacuation protocols, but there are four hundred thousand people in Iziz. Casualties will be high. I?m trying to contact the maintenance crews now.?

?We have to stop this,? Palmerston muttered. ?How is my probe coming??

?The probe has launched from the surface and is about to enter hyperspace. It looks like it has evaded flak from the alien ships. Probe away.?

Palmerston sighed with relief, ?Good. Now find out a way to contact that Command ship. Am I right in assuming there?s no way Imperial command will be able to mount a counterattack in the next four days??

?They wouldn?t be able to mount an effective one in under two weeks,? an officer said, ?The fleet is spread out and involved in different regions of the galaxy. A two hundred ship fleet would be difficult to counter, especially now that Ragnarok is gone.?

Palmerston clucked his tongue and nodded. ?Then we surrender. Contact the command ship, and tell them we surrender.?

?Admiral,? Sarin said, ?I?ve spoken to the maintenance people in Iziz. There was a massive detonation in the city center that disrupted the coolant devices above the city?s reactor. It?s an old city, sir, and the thing is not up to all the current safety protocols.?

?Spit it out, Lieutenant. What?s going to happen??

?There?s no way they can stop it. We should expect the reactor to go critical sometime in the next fifteen minutes.?

?Admiral,? the other officer interrupted, ?I?m not sure if the Galians will listen to a surrender plea. And even if they do, what about the Governor??

?The governor?s dead,? someone said. Palmerston and several others looked up and the officer nodded, as if to say ?yeah I?m serious.? ?The Imperial palace was one of the first targets. It was totally vaporized.?

Palmerston gripped the sides of the table tightly and frowned, ?I am in command of Onderon now, gentlemen. This is a Category VII catastrophe. It seems extremely apparent now that we are the target of a Base Delta Zero operation. That makes me the commander of all forces, military and civilian, regardless of the Government?s operational status. Now do what I say. I don?t care how, but make contact with them.?

?BDZ operations don?t usually allow for surrender,? Sarin murmured. ?What if they don?t accept??

Palmerston exhaled slowly and dropped his handkerchief on the ground. ?You are to make them accept, Lieutenant. Be as fracking charming as you know how. Promise them all slaves, or blowjobs or whatever the hell they want. Just make this stop. It?s your order, now carry it out.?

Sarin, although he tried, could think of no response. So he sat down at his console and began to work.

***

It?d been two days since Payne and the resistance fighters had picked up Jake, Weston, Menina, and Tom. The Galians had managed to provide some medical care to her, but even they were at a loss as to what the disease was. On the afternoon of the second day, storm clouds began to swell in the northwest, and Payne signaled the horsemen to stop early. It would take, riding at full speed, six more days to reach Kader.

Weston dropped from the horse and landed in the dry grass on his feet. Jake did likewise, as did Tom. Payne and his men dismounted and then Weston helped Menina off of the back of her horse. She was shivering wildly, and her teeth were darker than her face. As he hauled her off of the horse and laid her down on the ground, she reached out of the blankets and grabbed onto Weston?s wrist. He smiled at her and patted her on the head. ?Not too much longer now kiddo. Soon, you?ll be sitting with me eating chicken soup and watching Jake and Tom talk about Hell-if-I-know-what. Sound good??

?Sound good,? she repeated. Her voice was raspy, and empty of all its characteristic energy. Weston gave her another smile, and his wet eyes glistened in the afternoon sun. He walked away and over to Jake and Payne, who were already in a conversation.

?I?m not sure what you?re in such a hurry for,? Payne chided, ?It?s not like he?s going anywhere. We?ve been trying to put together a decent assault plan for months now, but things keep going wrong. Informants we put into place disappear, intelligence we collect is wrong. It?s like he?s playing with us, and working his magic against us. Up until meeting you guys, we?re the only resistance left. The others were flushed out and burned a long time ago.?

?Burned?? Jake asked.

?He thinks it?s funny, apparently. He burns anyone loyal to the Burning Man. But he makes the bodies strip naked first, so it?s the skin that catches and not the clothes. My quartermaster died that way six weeks ago.?

Jake frowned and nodded. ?I know the risks. But I still think speed is critical if we?re going to hit. The Usurper has a way of smelling stuff like this out, you hit the nail on the head. We need to try and beat him to the punch.?

?I?m skeptical,? Payne muttered. He looked over at Weston. ?What do you think??

?I?d like to know how Rook?s set up before we go into any details,? Weston said.

Payne chuckled and nodded, ?Y?all must not have gotten out much.? He kicked his foot into the sand and drew a large circle. Then a second circle to its north. ?Rook is a preindustrial city located about 3 days southwest of Kader. There is a large hill to its north called the Hueval that serves as a meeting place. It?s also a good place to see the layout of the city. The buildings in Rook are stone and mud, however the central manor, where the Galian Governor used to live, is a taller building. The Usurper has chosen it as his base of operations.?

?So we ride down from Kader and approach from behind the Hueval. Then we scout out the city, fill in the rest of the plan from there,? Weston said. ?Piece of cake.?

?Except that?s not a plan, son,? Payne muttered. ?The city has a population of over fifteen thousand. All of ?em are loyal to Pandemon and his agent, this Usurper. They?ve got statues and shit. Makes my stomach hurt to think about it.?

?Agent?? Jake said.

?Excuse me??

?You said his agent was the Usurper. Pandemon is the usurper.?

Payne shook his head, ?That ain?t what he?s been telling the people. He says he?s an emissary, given his powers by this new God. It makes sense though?he?s done some stiff shit. He brought a man back from the dead once.?

Weston stiffened and exchanged a glance with Jake. ?That?s?unnatural.?

?You?re tellin? me. The townsfolk gathered ?round the Hueval, looking to talk to him. But then one of the horses went mad and the crowd scattered. The dead man that?d been brought back to life was found dead?again?when the dust died down. His skull?d been squished by a horse?s hoof.?

?I promise you,? Jake said, ?Pandemon and the Usurper are one in the same. That?s why we?ve got to hit him as fast as he can. The more people under his boot the more people we?ll have to kill to get to him.?

?I have a feeling we?re going to have to kill the whole town,? Weston said, remembering his dream.

?A twenty two men resistance can?t kill fifteen thousand people. And you two certainly couldn?t have,? Payne said. ?Is that really all you plan to do? Run in, guns a blazing, and shoot your way to the tower.?

Weston shrugged, ?Pretty much.?

Jake frowned and looked over to the horses. Several resistance men had started gathering brush for a fire. ?If you?ve got something better, we?re all ears.?

Payne nodded, ?It don?t take much to top that. I?ve seen better plans in my shits.?

?Well I hope you?ve got a movement coming on,? Weston grinned, ?cause I?m fucking curious now.?

Payne grumbled something under his breath and walked away from the two men. There was a flash of lightning somewhere off in the distance and with his back to them, he said, ?We need to make camp now so we can have a shelter made before the storm hits. When it rains out here, it rains.?

***

It took twenty minutes to get a rough lean-to shelter put up. They used several horse blankets and some expandable poles that?d been packed away on two of the bigger horses. The fire was built just outside of it, and the flames licked at the dry kindling greedily. When they were done setting up the shelter, Payne held up his hand and patted his knee, as if to say, ?That?ll do for now.?

While the shelter had been going up, Jake and Weston had talked off to the side for a time, but then Jake had gone to keep Tom Collins out of trouble while Weston went to see Menina. She looked a little better, like the cool evening air had revived her somewhat, but he did not want any false hope. He looked at her and smiled, and she smiled back as best she could. ?How do you feel kiddo?? he asked.

?Bad,? she murmured. She cleared her throat and the action seemed to bring on another flurry of coughs. Weston bent down and put his hand on her head. It was, as always, burning up. ?I feels like?? she paused for a moment, as if trying to think of the right word, ?batshit.?

It brought a smile to Weston?s face. ?I knew I should?ve had kids.? His smile made Menina smile, and for just a moment he forgot she was sick. ?Where do you hurt?? he asked.

She pointed to her throat, and then to her chest, and then to the scabbed over bite on her leg. About that time, there was a small commotion as the men finished setting up the shelter and they began moving stuff beneath it.

Weston looked at the thing and then to Menina, ?Do you want to go over there? You?ll stay dry there.?

Menina didn?t seem to be paying attention. Rather, she had lost focus, and was staring off at the fire. Tom Collins and Jake Landon walked up to it and huddled beside Payne. All of them, Weston realized, looked like Hell. He wondered how he looked, and was glad he didn?t have a mirror. Then he realized something else, and it struck him as somehow very profound. Not only had he not cleaned himself, but he hadn?t cleaned his guns either. He hadn?t cleaned his guns since leaving Crescent. What did that mean? What did that say about him as a person? He didn?t know.

?Weston,? Menina said suddenly, breaking the silence. Weston was pulled from his thoughts, almost forcefully, and looked at her again. She wasn?t looking back at him. She was still staring at the fire, and at Tom and Jake, and she was staring at the resistance fighters and their comradery. Her voice was barely a whisper. ?I miss the doggie.?

Weston kneeled down and kissed her face. Then he stroked her cheek and pushed the hair off of her searing forehead. ?I know sweetheart. Me too.? And I?m sorry we brought you along to a world where no little girl should ever go. I?m sorry we dragged you away from your happy life. I?m sorry. I?m so sorry. He did not say the things aloud, but he thought them. He?d been thinking them for a week.

?But I glad I knows you Weston,? she added. And then she leaned up and kissed him on the neck. ?And Jake too. And even Tom?cept he smells funny.?

Weston laughed, and just looked at her, in awe of the miracle he?d witnessed. Because that?s what it was, he decided. That was what all of it was. It was a miracle. Somehow, through some uncanny events, he had been brought together with this little girl. He had resisted her. He had shunned her. He didn?t know her language and she barely knew a language at all. And yet in spite of that, here they were?talking and sharing a bond that Weston had never shared with anyone. He felt like a father. ?I think at this point, we all smell a little funny,? Weston said.

?Not meee,? she giggled.

?Especially you,? he said, and looked at her very seriously. ?Pee-you.?

Menina sniffed herself and shook her head. ?Silly Weston.? Then they both laughed, until she began to cough.

When the fit was over, Weston sat down on the ground beside her and ran his hand through her hair. ?Ok, you got me. You smell fine.? But try as he might, he couldn?t bring the smile back to her face.

?I?m big-sick,? she murmured.

?No,? Weston shook his head. ?No, no you?re not. You?re gonna be?you?re gonna be just fine.? He hoped he sounded more certain than he felt.

?I?m big-sick,? she repeated. ?The gray lady told me.?

This time it was Weston who coughed. ?The who??

?The gray lady. Said I?d see doggie soon. Said don?t be scared. She was cold.?

?Erin?? Weston muttered. ?That fucking bitch. Don?t listen to the gray lady sweetie, you?re not that sick. Nothing?s going to happen to you. In six days, we?ll be in Kader. Payne promised me they?ve got medicine. They?ll fix you up. Besides, we?ve still got that soup to drink.?

?Hope so,? Menina said. ?I miss doggie, but I?d miss you too.?

Weston wrapped his arm around her, and pulled her feverish body close to him. They sat there under the clouds and stared at the fire and the shelter, twenty yards away. ?I promise you, absolutely nothing is going to happen. You?ll be fine. I?ll do anything and everything to make sure. I?m gonna protect you. I promise.?

But there are some promises we can?t keep. There are some things that, no matter how much we will it to be otherwise, are just out of our hands. We may as well try to stop a thunderstorm or change the tides. That?s why Weston was so miserable as he held her little body and rocked her to sleep?as the first drops of rain began to fall from the heavens and patter on the ground, like little harbingers of the greater deluge to come.

[Calavan]

The Red Horseman

And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.

~Revelation 6:4



Captain Halleck?s fingers strummed lightly on the arm of his chair. He breathed in and out in small, shallow breaths. The bridge was so quiet he imagined you could hear an ant belch. ?ETA??

?One minute, Captain.? the helmsman said.

Halleck bit down on his bottom lip and his fingers started moving faster and faster and faster. The Bounty had left Fhloston a day ago, but before leaving the system they?d detected an emergency subspace beacon from Onderon. The planet was being attacked. Halleck had contacted Imperial Headquarters, only to be told that in total, sixty planets had been declared ?missing.? They were just winking out all across the board. Stranger still, they were vanishing at what appeared to be random. But had the Imperial technicians mapped it, they would have seen that it wasn?t random at all. It was a very well-laid pattern, all spiraling out from where it all began.

?Weapons and shields ready?? Halleck asked. He did not wait for a response. ?Good. Keep the hyperdrive spun up too. We may need to make a quick escape.?

?Do you think they?ve reached Utapau too?? someone asked.

Halleck nodded, ?They hit sixty planets in the three days. Who knows what happened during the twenty hours we were in hyperspace.?

?We?ve arrived.?

The purple-blue hyperspace tunnel faded out and was replaced by a pockmarked wasteland that reminded them all of Fhloston. Albeit there was one critical difference.

?Report,? Halleck snapped. Alarm klaxons went off around the bridge.

?Six hundred and forty-three ships are in orbit, ranging in size from roughly that of a Carrack cruiser to that of a Titan. They are all in a low orbit above the planet, pummeling the surface.?

?Not all,? someone else said. And he was right. Two small, pitch-black ships appeared as if from nowhere and were approaching with surprising speed. ?Contacts on an intercept course. ETA six minutes.?

?Hyperdrive charged and emergency coordinates locked,? the helmsman said. ?Retreat??

Halleck smiled grimly at the approaching ships. They were so small, and they looked so fragile. And he had such a thirst for revenge. ?No. Fire all batteries on them. Once they?re dust, we go.? They would pay for their hubris, Halleck decided. Sending such a paltry number of ships to attack an Imperial Star Destroyer was an insult to the Empire and every one of its servants.

The gunners hesitated, and the crew cringed, but the Bounty did as it was told. Hundreds of green bolts lanced out from the hull of the Bounty and slammed into the closer of the two alien ships. There was a flash of gold light as the alien shields absorbed the barrage, but they were otherwise undamaged. Then the two frigates slowed, and a large, glowing blue orb went moving out from the maw of each.

In his defense, Halleck couldn?t have known what was coming when he gave the order. But that was a small comfort to the men who died when the first energy bomb seared through the forward shields and the second ripped a massive hole in the Bounty?s command tower. Even from the bridge viewport, they could see the roaring fires and bits of hull that went spilling out into space. Halleck himself was thrown from his chair, and a mighty power surge caused a series of electrical fires that made entire console arrays burst aflame. The fire suppression system switched on and sprayed thick foam onto the bridge. The whole ship shook again, and again, and suddenly Halleck realized that the first two frigates hadn?t been alone at all. They were bait, and the Bounty was surrounded.

?Status?? He shouted. He forced himself to climb up onto his feet and tried to see through the foggy mist of fire suppressants.

?Six contacts,? an officer said. ?Hyperdrives are down. Starboard deck guns down. Shields down in patches across the?? he stopped talking when his console blew up and he caught on fire like a human candle. Through the thick smoke and fog that now filled the bridge, Halleck could just make out Utapau. The continents had been reduced to burning slag. Then his view of the planet was cut off by an alien ship that dipped down and fired another blue orb. He saw two more swarming around behind it, firing off clusters of rockets and yellow bolts into the hull, blasting out huge chunks of armor and sending bodies of his crew floating off into the void. Lances of green tried desperately to ward off the assailants, but like a lion surrounded by a pack of hyenas, it?s attacks were ultimately in vain.

Some people say that before we die, our lives flash before our eyes. Not so for Captain Halleck. As he watched the orb fall closer and closer towards the Bounty?s command tower, the only thing that flashed before his eyes was its blinding blue light. Followed by the sound. And the heat. And the smell.

Then everything went black.

***

A thin shellac of sweat had broken out on Andrei Vuroric?s glossy bald head. He marched down the hallway of the Capitol building with purpose, passing Planetary Defense soldiers and other government staff without any acknowledgement. He had a stack of three datapads in his arms, with a small hologram projector and remote sitting on top of that. He had practically run from SOC headquarters to get everything put together in time for the scheduled briefing, but he was sure it?d be worth it. It would have to be. When Commander Myec had contacted Dantooine three days ago, no one had known exactly what to do. Literally a few hours later, an Imperial officer named Mirrak Dubose had arrived in orbit, asking to defect. And then not long after that the reports began coming in. Planets all along the western edge of the Galaxy were going quiet. At first they were only in the outer rim, but soon the reports spread to the mid-rim as well. There were no distress calls. There were no declarations of war. Planets just vanished. Worse yet, a few scattered recon patrols had gotten word back that the planets hadn?t vanished at all. They?d been destroyed. Base Delta Zero operations on a massive scale, wiping out world upon world upon world. It was enough to make one?s blood go cold. And all evidence was pointing to the same, damning conclusion: Dantooine was next. Maybe in an hour, maybe in a week, but sometime in the near future Dantooine would be facing the same fate as Fhloston, or Onderon, or Utapau, or a hundred other planets that had already been slain.


Vuroric stopped suddenly as he came to a door. He tapped a quick succession of buttons into the keypad and the door slid open. Inside, Admiral Berloc Varless was sitting at a large conference table with a mug of caf. A grizzled old man with hideous scars was sitting across from him. Both looked up as Vuroric marched into the Conference room.

?Good morning, Gentlemen, sleep well?? Vuroric said.

Berloc grumbled something beneath his breath about hours and Hell.

The grizzled man, Mirrak Dubose, tapped his hand on a datapad already sitting in front of him. ?I can't believe these reports. One hundred and fifty seven planets have been confirmed unresponsive to communication attempts. At least a third of those have been confirmed dead. Other recon ships have been dispatched and are never heard from again. Empires are scattering to try and put together some kind of adequate defense, but in doing so they?re leaving worlds unprotected. Riots are breaking out. People are scared and feel like they?re being backed into a corner?they?re turning on each other and their governments. Pretty soon the Galian?s won?t have any job left to do. The whole galaxy?s gone mad.?

Vuroric smiled curtly and passed out his datapads. Then he set the little projector up on the middle of the table and sat down. ?Yes,? Vuroric nodded. ?It certainly seems that way.? He then pulled out a chair and sat down beside the two men.

For the first time Berloc seemed to break his trance, ?I hope you have something good Andrei. All those emissaries we sent out?all that preparin? we did, and for what? Those fleets are scattered half-way across the galaxy. It took Saggat three days to get from Fhloston to here.?

?It?s been more than three days since the planets started disappearing,? Vuroric pointed out.

Dubose shuddered, ?The fleet is probably taking its time. I?m sure they split up?because all told, there were over a hundred thousand of the things. This isn?t a war we, as a galaxy, can win.?

Vuroric hesitated, ?I?m sorry Admiral, I know that you said you were familiar with the Galians but not even my delightful friend Admiral Saggat has been able to give me a decent number of ships. He?s been telling me upwards of sixty thousand. And you are saying one hundred thousand??

Dubose nodded.

?He saw it in a dream,? Berloc said. ?He saw it in a frelling dream, and I believe him.? The heavy man took another sip of his caf.

Vuroric regarded both of them for almost a minute, then shrugged. When Dubose arrived, he had been interrogated by the SOC and then went directly to Admiral Varless with his service record. The emissary vouched for him, and after extensive discussion, Vuroric and Varless decided that they needed a man with Dubose?s resum? on their command staff. Really, of course, they needed another voice. The government was too big for just two people to run, and both of them agreed they certainly weren't going to be extending any extra rights to the representatives. Dubose seemed more qualified than any of the Alliance personnel they?d seen. That and he?d shown them the rock. When he saw it, Vuroric wasn?t sure what to make of it. Then Dubose began to divulge the dreams he?d been having. Horrible, bloody, prophetic dreams. Dreams that would drive a man mad. Throughout the conversation, Vuroric felt oddly connected to him, like they were two soldiers who?d suffered in the same prison camp.

So they agreed to appoint Dubose as Acting Fleet Admiral, since Varless himself had other responsibilities. Then, without taking a breath, they began to work on a plan of action for the coming days.

?Well,? Vuroric said, ?I?ll give you both a chance to take a look at my report later, but for now let me summarize. I?ve checked with our contacts in the Empire, and no one seems to know anymore than we do about what?s going on. The enemy fleets appear out of nowhere, jam all outgoing transmissions, and then proceed to sterilize the planet. I think we?re ahead of the game in recognizing that this is the Galian Star Empire we?re dealing with. Of course Saggat verified this,? Vuroric paused. ?He has been very helpful, indicating that their fleets will take anywhere from five to eight days to reach here, because of the additional logistic ships in their fleet. He?s even offered to help our R&D people with the Destiny testbed, but I?m afraid that it?s a little too late for that.?

?What?s got him so eager to help?? Berloc asked.

?The same thing that makes most of us eager; self-preservation. If they get here, this Alitar Fiat fellow is not going to be coming to save Saggat. He?s coming to punish him, and make an example of us. I?ve drawn up a map of our forces? relative position to Dantooine, along with our allies? fleets, and I?m afraid to say that although we have nearly five hundred ships dedicated to the cause we can?t hope for more than one hundred or so of those ships to be available for use. The Unity and a few other large ships that are being finalized in our construction yards can be pressed into early service, but we?ll have scarcely enough ships to fight off a fleet like Saggat?s, let alone something along the scope that we?ve been hearing of. One report by a recon group confirmed sensor readings of over six hundred ships in a fleet. Frankly, there?s no point in even attempting a straightforward battle against an enemy like that. Certainly not when they?ve got such a technological edge.?

Varless?s eyes narrowed, ?What?re you suggesting??

?We run,? Vuroric said simply. ?We pack up and go. As fast as our fleets will carry us. And yes, I do realize the irony of this suggestion, considering I was so dead-set against it when President Rendix proposed this identical response as a solution to the last invasion. But if you take a look at the holonews, I?m sure you?ll agree that the situation is a little more?one sided this time.?

?The kid didn?t leave me in charge so I could run away from our problems.?

?By leaving you in charge, Berloc, the ?kid? was running away from his own problems. He went out gallivanting off to save the damsel in distress on the eve of this. What he would want us to do should be moot. And if anything, his past history has shown that running is exactly what he?d do in this situation, so I fail to see the problem.?

Dubose was staring at the datapad. His mouth was somewhat slackjawed. ?Even if we evacuate,? he said finally, ?This planet will take more than the three days or whatever we have left to clear. I?ve seen my share of planetary evacuations, and they never work if they?re rushed. But I agree, the only thing that makes Dantooine different than all these other poor bastards that?re being picked off left and right is that we have fair warning. If we sit around and don?t make good use of it, then it?s tantamount to suicide.?

?Exactly,? Vuroric said.

Varless took another sip of caf. ?Then tell me this,? he said finally, ?say we abandon Dantooine. Where do we go? Landon said that they?re going to wipe this whole galaxy. There are millions upon millions of planets out there. We could find a habitable one that?s been overlooked by the Republic and the Empire and all the other nations. We could settle in the middle of Bumfrack, Nowhere and still, one day, they?d find us. Then they?d kill us. The people don?t want that. The people won?t stand for a second exodus. There?ll be riots. There?ll be violence. The little civvies can?t stand it when they?re told what to do. And if I tell them what?s in store for us?morale?s shot to hell.?

?I?ve always said democracy was a bad idea,? Vuroric said. ?But luckily, it means very little to us. The representatives will do whatever we tell them, and the Espos and SOC will keep the population in line.?

?The kid won?t like that,? Berloc sighed.

?Berloc,? Vuroric raised an eyebrow, ?Berloc Varless is that you? What happened to your disdain for the civilian rabble who blame the military for all its failures and ignore all of its successes? I thought you of all people would agree that we should make them do what?s right, even if they?re too stupid or stubborn to admit that it?s for their own good. I certainly didn?t think you?d go around citing Rendix like he?s some kind of moral paragon.?

?He did a damn good job. He made me proud. He made you proud. And I know he would?ve made Cyern proud. I?m just tryin? to do good by him. Runnin? a nation ain?t like runnin? a fleet. I?ve got more than my share of lives to worry about.?

Dubose cleared his throat and looked at the two men. ?Gentlemen, I?m not sure if it?s my place to say, but General Vuroric is clearly right. No matter where we go, it?ll be better than staying here. Hell, why don?t we take a trip to Fhloston. We can sample the waters, if there?re any left.?

Varless laughed, just a little, and nodded. He didn?t like it, but he knew without a doubt the two men were right. He just shuddered at the consequences: certainly other worlds would be having similar ideas. How many populations would take to space in order to save themselves? How many populations would not stand for their governments? evacuation decrees? ?Fine. We go. But Admiral Dubose brought up a good point?is there even time left? We can scramble an evacuation order right now, but that takes time and I?m not sure if we have it.?

Vuroric grinned and pressed a button on the remote in front of him. The hologram projector he had set up suddenly flickered into life. ?I?m very glad you brought that up,? he said. ?Four hours ago, I dispatched the Shadow?that?s the SOC?s covert Interdictor, Admiral Dubose?to this point about a quarter of a lightyear away from Dantooine. That point, we?ve calculated, sits along the incoming vector from Fhloston. The Shadow will stay there with its gravity-well generators active until it catches the Galian fleet. Then it will perform a series of micro-jumps along their vector, continuously pulling them out of hyperspace and buying us the time we need to carry out the evacuation.? Vuroric pressed another button, and a hologram simulating what he just described played out for them.

Dubose looked at Vuroric with a hint of newfound respect, ?How much time does that buy us??

?Not much,? Vuroric admitted, ?At most a few days. Provided they don?t make a mistake. But SOC officers do not often make mistakes.?

?A few extra days means that we?ll be able to field almost twice as many ships as I was planning on,? Dubose said. ?A few allied ships from the non-aligned worlds will be arriving in five days. Also, the Damocles Empire is within five days range. It will take some convincing, but I think we may be able to get their fleet into orbit as well. That would bring the projected total up to around two hundred ships. Still not enough to repel the invaders, but at least enough to buy our people a little more time for evacuation.?

Varless rubbed his chin. ?I can?t see the Damocles or the non-aligned planets offering help if they realize the only thing they?ll be fighting for is to buy us time to escape. Fighting to neutralize the fleet is one thing. Fighting to save our asses is somethin? different.?

?No,? Dubose agreed. The scarred and grizzled Admiral then trained his good eye on Vuroric, then Varless. ?That?s why I would recommend keeping parts of our overall strategy confidential, for the time being. We need those ships. It?ll be the difference between being overrun and having a legitimate shot of holding the enemy at bay.?

?If they lose their fleets in the battle, those planets will be defenseless, and we?ll be in no position to offer any help in return,? Vuroric said. He narrowed his eyes on Dubose with interest, ?But I agree, we do need those fleets.?

?And I think we?re kidding ourselves to think that those fleets will do their worlds any good on their own,? Dubose added.

Varless rocked back and forth in his chair for almost a minute, thinking it over. It wasn?t the ethical thing to do. That was certain. But even so, it might still be the right thing to do. It wasn?t the first time, and it certainly wouldn?t be the last time that he wished Rendix had stayed. He'd never realized how hard it was to make some of the decisions that kid made.

?Let?s make happen,? he said at last. ?I?ll order the evacuation statements and prepare somethin? to make the foreign diplomats send their ships here. Andrei, I want you to crack our prisoner?s brain open. Right now, he?s the most valuable asset we?ve got. Sometime durin? the next two days we need to have him moved to the Unity or somewhere. Someplace safe. If he can help get some of our ships teched up, then let?s do it. One super-Marauder ain?t gonna be enough. And Mirrak, you start developin? a battle plan. I want you to work with Andrei as closely as you can. Figure out a place to send our civilians that?s out of harm?s way, then figure out a rendezvous point where we can meet with our allies. Cause even if we?re runnin? now, we?re not gonna run forever.?

Dubose nodded stoically. ?I?m glad you see it my way, sir,? he said.

Varless grinned, ?We?ll give ?em a bloody nose, Admiral. If there?s one thing I can?t stand, it?s trespassers. You saw what we did to the Imperium.?

Dubose stiffened and suddenly Varless realized what he said. ?Not?not that it was easy, or nothin?,? Varless began, grasping for something. ?Y?all fought good.?

?Yes,? Dubose said. ?Is that all, then??

Varless nodded, ?Unless Andrei?s got anything else. Andrei??

?No,? Vuroric said, ?No I?m done.?

?Then you?re dismissed.?

***

Rendix tapped his foot lightly against the hollow wall again. Then he pressed against it. It certainly sounded hollow, but if there was a way to open the compartment he hadn?t been able to find it. Honestly, he wasn?t sure why he cared. Shandri wasn?t the type to be a smuggler, and even if she had been?it didn?t mean anything. Except he?d come to accept that life was a wheel, and sometimes it came round to where it started. The ship was old enough, and more importantly obscure enough. He?d only seen a handful of TL-1800 freighters in his time, and only one other that had a jet-black paintjob.

Rendix shuddered. He?d ask Shandri about it sometime, but not today. They had enough plans as it was. As soon as she got finished taking her shower and gussying up (which she insisted on doing daily, despite her limited company) they were going to have a short staring contest. Then they?d continue their tour of the Zephyr, then they?d spend a little time reading over datapads that Shandri had brought. After that, Rendix planned on a nice lunch. They didn?t have a lot of food?the Jedi had only stocked the ship for one person?but they had enough to make it to Madera.

There was a hiss as the water in the refresher station shut off and he could hear Shandri humming as she climbed out of the shower. Rendix sighed and sat down in the big, leather chair that Shandri?s father had so loved. She stepped out of the refresher station quickly, a towel wrapped around her, and he held his hand up to keep his reputation as a gentleman intact (despite how much human nature urged him to do otherwise). She rushed through, leaving drips of water behind, and ran into the crew quarters to change. The door slid down behind her and she shouted, ?Ok Tyr, it?s safe to look.?

Rendix removed his hand and looked down at his feet. That was another thing, he mused. She slept, every night, in the crew quarters with him. He didn?t particularly mind, in fact he loved it, but at the back of his mind he always wondered why she never set foot in the master bedroom. He?d asked her once, but she?d deflected the question with one of her jokes. ?Oh, you don?t want a gorgeous girl sleeping so close, Tyr?? He didn?t have a response to that, but he always wondered. The ship was full of mysteries, and they had plenty of time for him to uncover them.

When Shandri came back into the main room, she looked like she always did, only her hair was still wet and she was munching on a breakfast-bar. She tossed a second one to Rendix and sat down in the chair across from him. ?Breakfast?? she asked.

He picked up the bar and peeled off the cellophane wrapper. He bit down into it and chewed. It reminded him of honey and pine bark. ?Tasty,? he said unenthusiastically.

?I grew up on these things,? she chided. ?You learn to love ?em.?

?I?ve been eating them for four days. Still hate ?em,? he replied, but he was smiling.

?You would,? she laughed. ?Fine, don?t eat ?em. You just starve to death.?

?You?re just bitter that I never sang for you.?

?Nope, I?ve gotten over that. Now I?m bitter that you won?t eat my favorite childhood snack.?

?Ah,? Rendix said. He took another bite of the bar and chewed it up. He thought about suggesting they get out some of the other foods the Jedi had provided her with. Then he remembered lunch, and how much he was looking forward to it, and decided not to bother. ?So Shandri, looking forward to the battle-of-the-titans staring match we?ve got??

?I?m 10-0. You?ve got your work cut out for you.?

?Jedi training might beat out personal conviction?ten out of ten times, but just you wait until that eleventh time.?

?Is that a challenge?? she giggled. She put the last of the bar into her mouth and swallowed.

?You bet,? Rendix said. He took another bite. ?Or you could forfeit and we wouldn?t have to waste five minutes on something that?s so one-sided.?

?You?d love that,? Shandri said. ?But if you think I?m going to give out after five minutes, you?ve got another thing coming.?

?Ok then,? Rendix said. ?Let?s go.?

?Now??

?Yeah.?

?Fine.?


Shandri and Rendix sat quietly in the main family room of the Midnight Zephyr. Their eyes were locked on each other. Small beads of sweat had begun to collect on Rendix?s forehead and a vein on the side of his head poked out just a little. Shandri looked cooler, more at ease, but he kept his fingers crossed that she was just better at hiding the discomfort. They?d been going for almost ten minutes, but it felt like ten hours.

Rendix widened his eyes and pursed his lips. Shandri stuck out her tongue and grinned. Rendix wrinkled his nose, raised his eyebrows, and twisted his mouth into the strangest expression he could think of. Shandri shook for just a moment, before her eyes teared up and she squeezed them shut, breaking out into giggles.

?I win,? Rendix said. He triumphantly stood up and took a bow, then sat back down in the chair and watched Shandri. A thin lock of hair had fallen over her face and she brushed it away.

She raised her eyes back up to his and still giggling, said, ?You cheated. You made me laugh.?

?I?m just getting you ready for Milton. He?s a liar and a cheater, so you better be prepared for anything.?

?If I ever have to have a staring contest with Tom Milton, remind me to thank you.?

?Believe me; you won?t hear the end of it. By the way, what were you saying about Jedi tricks again??

?Whatever?? Shandri said, suddenly feigning disinterest.

Rendix let her sit for a minute before changing the topic. ?So,? Rendix said, ?How about we finish our tour of the Zephyr. I?m dying to see the master bedroom. I noticed we haven?t opened the hatch since the trip started.?

Shandri?s smile faltered and she folded her hands. ?Maybe later,? she said.

?Oh come on, Shandri. I ate your nasty pine-tree bar.?

?Maybe later,? she repeated. ?I don?t like going in there. It gives me the willies.?

?The willies?? Tyr laughed. He felt like he was on firmer footing here. ?Well you know how to get rid of them, don?t you? You?ve got to face your fear and all that.?

?I?I think I?d rather let this particular fear fester inside of me.?

?I can go in??

?Tyr. No.? She looked at him flatly.

?Shandri?? Rendix said, backing off, ?I didn?t mean to insult you, I?m just??

?I just don?t want anybody going in there. It?s personal, now can we please talk about something else??

Rendix frowned. He felt like she?d just stabbed him in the gut with a lightsaber. ?Well?? he said at last. ?sure. What do you want to talk about??

Shandri sucked on her lower lip in a way that Tyr loved. Then she met his eyes and smiled. The act was spontaneous and full of life and Tyr knew that everything was ok. ?Do you have any fantastic stories for me? Any harrowing adventures from the Corporate Sector??

Tyr laughed. ?Yeah,? he said, ?Sure, I?ve got plenty of stories. Just tell me where to start.?

?Master Skywalker always said start at the beginning.?

Tyr inhaled and nodded, ?Ok then. Well, my first story?s one from the academy then. It happened my final year, on the night before graduation. We were all sitting up, planning on our next day, and four friends and I finally decided what the hell. It was a night to celebrate?? And thus began the first of many stories that Tyr Rendix would tell Shandri Brightstorm, who every time listened intently, no matter how tired or disinterested she was (although those times were few and far between). In truth, neither thought of how lucky they were to be sharing these times together (we rarely do), or how precipitously near the bleak tomorrow loomed. But perhaps that is a good thing, because if they did know what the future had in store for them, they would have never smiled again.

***

On the holotable there was a map of Galaxy 32. More and more patches of red began to spread across it, as the fleets of the Galian Star Empire did their duty. It was almost too easy, Sombra sighed. It was almost cruel. The natives didn?t have a chance. He had been honored, certainly, when Admiral Fiat announced his new responsibilities. He had been honored greatly, and yet in the back of his mind there continued to be a quiet, nibbling, doubt. Obliterating life was not the job he signed on for. He knew it had gone on in the Empire?s past, but to see it firsthand was something else entirely. It made him feel dirty, somehow, like he was covered with tar that he just couldn?t wash off. At nights, he would sit at his desk with the door locked and write out his thoughts and feelings on a piece of lineless paper. It always stung his heart a little to watch those pages burn, but he knew he?d have much deeper pains to suffer if someone found them. So he kept doing what he was doing, wiping out world after world after world, just to make a point. Even if it killed him.

?Statistics from Generis have arrived,? a Galavex said. Sombra looked up from the table and saw the black robot standing near the back of the command deck. It walked up to the Colonel and handed him a piece of laser-printed paper. ?Two hundred million dead in the first three hours of bombardment. City Centers have been pronounced uninhabitable, due to resonant heat from our weapons. The jungles are burning as we speak. Five ships orbited the planet, one Imperator Mk2 Star destroyer, two Escort Carriers, and two lancer frigates. All ships attempted to withdraw upon contact. They were unsuccessful.?

Sombra whistled a single, low note. ?Thank you Galavex, you may go.?

?Yes sir.? It turned and left. On the galactic map, another pixel of red appeared, adding to the slowly growing spiral that reached out from Fhloston.

?You?re doing well,? another voice said. This one was similar to the Galavex?s, but it had more texture and life to it.

?Thank you, Admiral,? Sombra murmured. Fiat had been standing beside him for so long that he?d almost forgotten that the good Admiral was even there. He?d become just another part of the scenery. Sombra paused for a moment and cleared his throat, ?We should be arriving at Dantooine in the next two days.?

?They?ll resist. This will be the first major battle of our war. The other empires are struggling to draw up fleets that they think will be able to stop us, and there will be more battles, but this will be the first.?

?Is that a hint of worry in your voice, Admiral?? Sombra asked with uncharacteristic forwardness.

Fiat glared at him with his one good eye. ?Our fleet will still outnumber them by hundreds?but Saggat must be killed for what he?s done, and the people must burn. They do not have to destroy our fleet to prevent that from happening.?

?No,? Sombra agreed, ?I don?t suppose they do.?

***

Tom Milton walked along the streets of Greenton, the capital of Aldivy. If Weston Onasi had been there to see it, his skin would have crawled. The air smelled like fire and blood. Riots had broken out in the city hours ago, when the orbital defense fleet above was recalled to merge with other defense fleets in order to produce a fleet that might actually have a chance at defending something. Unfortunately, the residents of Greenton, and the hundreds of other worlds that faced similar occurrences, refused to acknowledge the logic behind that sort of decision. So all across the western galaxy, there were riots, sedition, Governments being toppled and anarchy being spread. Of course, Milton was smiling.

Down the street, a man had just robbed a vendor and was racing away in a landspeeder. The vendor was staring out of his store, less at the robber and more at the hungry crowd of onlookers, who seemed to think that the robber had just been privy to one of the best ideas ever. Milton pursed his lips and blew a thin jet of air towards a nearby woman who was crossing the road, and she fell to the ground, spilling the things in her arms. She was on her hands and knees picking them up when the speeder struck her, sending a spray of blood up onto the windshield and her head flying, gorgeously unfettered to her body, until it landed with a plop on the sidewalk in front of an old man and his old wife. The old man was so tremendously affected by the experience, that two days later he would suffer a massive heart attack and die, leaving his wife alone and destitute. Although none of that would matter whatsoever in six more days when a Galian fleet arrived in orbit and snuffed out the wife, the landspeeder driver, and everybody else.

Milton loved getting out and about, and it wasn?t something he did very often anymore. But then when you get older, he reasoned, you tend to spend less time on things that used to be fun, like causing wanton carnage and small-scale mischief, and move on to more refined goals such as domination, or in his case elimination, of the universe. He continued to walk down the street, just observing as people stole and murdered and raped one another, and felt just a little bit obsolete. The races of this galaxy, of all galaxies, really, didn?t need him. They were plenty evil on their own. They just needed someone to give them cause to reveal their full potential.

?Give me all your money!? a man shouted. He was a large, burly figure with tattoos all along his arms and a knife scar across his face. He had leathery skin and small, beady brown eyes. He also had a blaster, and it was pointed at Milton?s head.

Milton tittered and grinned at the man. ?Why Mathis, I?m shocked. I thought you?d moved on to bigger crimes than larceny.?

The man?s hard face faltered. Inside his head, a million neurons struggled to figure out how Milton had known his name. ?What? What?re you talkin? about, I ain?t done nothin?.?

?Jaina Thorn would say differently. She would have said you raped her. But of course she can?t; you cut her throat when she refused to fake an orgasm for your little pencil cock.?

The man was shaking now, and he pulled the trigger on his blaster again and again and again, but it never fired a shot. Milton reached out his hand and grabbed Mathis by the shoulder. ?It?s ok son. She deserved it. She was a whore, you know. Four kids on three different planets. She left most of them in gutters.?

Mathis seemed to think it over for a moment and hardened his face. He felt a rush of white hot rage funnel into him as if from nowhere. It seemed to get more and more intense until Milton finally took his hand off the man?s shoulder. ?Yeah, she was a bitch. She didn?t deserve to live,? Milton continued. ?Everybody?s got sins like that Mathis. A lot of them are damn-worthy. And these are the end times, you know?theft is no big deal, cause you know what they say??

?No,? Mathis said.

Milton narrowed his eyes in annoyance, ?You can?t take it with you. That?s what they say. Now go run along and make some quick cash. And maybe do a little vigilante justice on the way. Teach people like Jaina a lesson. Be my Azrael.?

Mathis looked down and realized that the small blaster pistol in his hand had grown much heavier. His mouth dropped open and he stared at the disrupter rifle he was now holding for almost a minute before looking up at Milton again. ?What the hell is an Azrael?? he said looking up. But Milton was gone.

***

?Tom? Tom are you all right?? Weston asked.

It was mid-afternoon on the fourth day. Jake and Weston and Payne had been riding together near the front of the pack. They had just taken a ten minute break to rest their horses when Tom Collins had slumped over and fallen onto the ground. Weston dampened a cloth with some sweat and wiped it across Tom?s face. The crazy man mumbled and groaned and suddenly his eyes flashed open and he stared up into the sky. ?Come and see!? he shouted. ?The Horsemen from their stable gone. AWAY! The Red Horseman comes to Jericho. Come and see. Come and see! The sixth chapter of the final book! Come and see! War begets Death. Pestilence begets Death. Famine begets Death. Death begets Chaos. Chaos begets HIM.?

?What thin slice of Hell is this?? Payne muttered. ?Should I shoot him? You know, a mercy kill??

?No?? Jake murmured. He reached back and held Payne back with his arm. ?No. Something?s happened. Something important.?

Others began to crowd around the crazed man but he ignored them. His eyes continued to stare up into the sky, as if he was looking at something gorgeous and terrifying. The sun caught his eyes, making his pupils glow red like fire. ?Come and see! Come and see! Red and White and Black and Pale! Come and See!?

[Calavan]

The White Horseman

?And behold, a white horse, and he who sat on it had a bow. A crown was given to him, and he came forth conquering, and to conquer.?

Revelation 6:4



Just before dawn, hundreds of miles from civilization on the cold, lifeless plains dubbed by natives as the Flats, there was a scream. It went on for almost a full minute, and cut through the morning silence in a way that only a scream can. It went out like an emissary to the world, speaking of terror, and of suffering, and of a death that was soon to come.

Kader was still three days away.

***

A lot can happen in a mere six days. Berloc Varless would certainly drink to that. Everyday, more and more planets vanished. An intelligence report from earlier that morning stated that the Galactic Empire was assembling an armada to try and pin down one of the Galian fleets. Reconnaissance confirmed at least sixty Galian fleets, each composed of no fewer than six hundred ships, and every shred of evidence indicated many, many undocumented fleets. Berloc, however, didn?t particularly give a damn. He?d resolved to try and focus only on the present, because the future was too ugly and could very easily have driven him mad (or at least into an alcoholic frenzy unmatched by anything since his first divorce).

Try as he might, he couldn?t quite remember the past few days. They were like a dream he?d just awakened from?lingering on the periphery of his memory, but fading fast. He hadn?t had any sleep in fifty hours; he?d been too busy to sleep. Immediately after the conference two days earlier, Berloc had contacted the Damocles and unaligned worlds for help. Throughout the conversation, he had to reassure them that although their fleets would be vitally necessary if the Alliance was to have a shred of a chance at victory in the coming battle, they would also be perfectly safe and returned home in pristine order. By some tremendous force of luck, they had agreed, and a combined fleet would arrive in the next two or three days. He had then reviewed Vuroric?s interrogation reports, as well as heard other ideas fielded by his General, and worked to ensure the smooth running of the other worlds in the Alliance, even as Dantooine prepared for its apocalypse. But of course, his most difficult challenge had been the evacuation. To say that the people of Dantooine had taken the news hard would have been like saying Tom Milton was a poor choice of babysitter. The congress had demanded an emergency meeting. The citizenry began forming riot parties in the streets. People were panicking, and that panic made them angry at their government. Angry for forcing them from their homes, and for being unable to protect them in the first place.

By the Admiral?s way of thinking, if the past two days proved anything, it was that Vuroric was right. Democracy had no place in the Alliance of Free Worlds.

?Yeah, Sergeant?? Varless was sitting in Rendix?s chair behind Rendix?s desk in Rendix?s presidential office. At first he?d felt dirty about it, like he was taking something that wasn?t his, but he needed a bigger office, and this was the official office of the presidency.

?Riot teams are in place, sir, armed with stun batons and E-11 blasters. The mob has been mostly non-violent as of yet. They?ve taken up positions around the city, in front of both the Capitol and the SOC headquarters. Requesting further instructions.? A blue hologram twinkled in front of him, projected on the table. The man was wearing dark stormtrooper armor. Behind him, two other soldiers carrying E-11 blasters had their back to the hologram, and looked like they were holding back a slowly rising tide.

Varless furrowed his brow, ?Listen to me son. Whatever you do, do not fire a shot unless you are attacked first. Make sure all your guns are on stun, too. You?re just there to keep the peace, not to be a frackin? Luke Skywalker.?

?I understand, Admiral. No shots.?

?And if there is a shot, Sergeant, I?m going to have to send any offenders to the SOC for a full investigation. You make sure your men know that.?

The man in the hologram hesitated for a second. Behind him, a second stormtrooper ran up and said something to him. When the soldier walked away, the Sergeant turned back to Varless. He said, ?Riot Team Gamma reports a confrontation near the front of the capitol. A group of armed citizens are trying to storm it, sir. They are holding their fire so far but??

?If they try again stun the lot of ?em, but I swear that if you kill a soul it?ll be your head. Got that??

?No need to worry, Admiral.?

?Good, dismissed.? The hologram flickered away.

Varless frowned and ran his hand down his face. He was never going to forgive Tyr for this, never.

***

It happened in the blink of an eye. The black, empty void of space seemed to grow small for an instant, things seemed to suck inwards and everything paused. Then time moved on as it always had, and to the untrained eye, the universe trucked along without any change at all. A cynic would call it a microcosm of life. We wait and we wait and we wait for a moment to come?a moment that flashes before our eyes and then vanishes forever. And just out of happenstance or bad luck, we blink at the wrong time.

Poof. It?s gone.

***

Lieutenant Colonel Jacen Keller rapped his fingers across the edge of his command chair, much like a certain Imperial Captain had done over Utapau two days earlier. ?Anything??

?Scopes are still clear, sir,? Captain Polk, the chief science officer, said. He scratched his head and frowned at the new reading on his sensor display. Then, after taking a moment to digest it, he decided it was nothing and let it go.

The Interdictor Shadow had been waiting for two days, and according to all of their predictions, this was supposed to be the big one. It was going to be the day that the Galian fleet was snared from hyperspace, and stopped. If they were successful, the Interdictor?s game would add at least two, and possibly three days to the Galian assault. If they were unsuccessful, or if the Galians somehow got around the Shadow, then they would be within three hours of the planet.

?All right,? Keller muttered. ?Just keep your eyes open. Today is the big day, and I don?t want even the tiniest blip to make it through.?

?Roger that, sir.?

?Because,? Keller continued, ?If they were to somehow get around us without our knowledge, then Dantooine would be hit without a warning. The citizens are only just beginning to evacuate, a process that?s been exponentially bothered by the riots. The fleet is only partially together, with none of our foreign allies present. General Vuroric and Admiral Varless are both on the surface, as is the Galian prisoner. Need I go on??

?No,? Polk said.

?Good.? Keller rapped his fingers again on the chair. And again. He was unusually edgy today and he didn?t know why. The rational part of his mind told him it was because this was it. This was the big one. The Galian fleet was coming and they were tasked with catching it. And yet beneath that comfortable, rational voice there was another which screamed from his subconscious.

You?ve missed something, it said. Something?s wrong. Something?s terribly wrong.

***

?Three hours until contact. Repeat, Three hours until contact. All hands to battlestations. All hands to battlestations. Report to unit supervisors for individual assignments.?

The hollow, mechanical voice that spoke out of the ceiling and down to the crew of the Cerberus was like music to Alitar Fiat. He looked around the bridge as soldiers bustled and worked, and the Galavex stood stoically at their posts. Everything was right.

Everything was right.

?Colonel Sombra, report.? Fiat said quietly. He had kept to his word, allowing the Colonel to run the ship as he saw fit. And the soldier had done a good job. He was quick, attentive to detail, and surgically precise. It had been his idea to dispatch the cloaked probe to pinpoint Dantooine?s defenses. Fiat himself had thought the precaution needless, since the Galian fleet would easily overwhelm their forces, no matter what they were. But the probe, it turned out, had been invaluable. It had saved them from a more than clever trap, and ensured, in Fiat?s opinion, that the planet would be wholly unprepared for their fate.

The Colonel looked up at Fiat and stared at the robotic man?s single, roaming eye. It was the last vestige of his humanity. The skin that surrounded it was white and lined with veins that drew deep, green lines across his face like a roadmap. The contained the fluid, which was no longer blood, that kept him alive. Of course even standing close, Sombra could only catch the merest glimpse of skin. ?We have reentered hyperspace, Admiral. It only took us an hour to adjust our course and detour around the enemy gravity well. The rest of the plan continues unhindered.?

?You should be commended for your prudence,? Fiat said. ?I would not have taken such a step, and we would be found out and caught in their web. After so many thousands of such invasions, they grow tedious and repetitive. It?s easy to rush them and make mistakes. Well done.?

Sombra beamed and saluted Admiral Fiat. ?Thank you, sir. It is an honor to serve the Burning Man.?

?Yes,? Fiat said. Sombra was still looking at his eye, and an uneasy feeling that Fiat could not quite place passed through him. Sombra was intelligent, and loyal, but he was a free thinker. The Burning Man knew it, and so did Fiat. That was one of the reasons Sombra had been chosen. Out of the trillions of sentients that lived to worship the Burning Man and his empire, Jonas Sombra was to be the new heir. But like always, the qualities that make one a good leader are also detrimental to being a good follower. They had to be careful with him.

After several moments Sombra looked away, and the odd sensation passed. ?Yes,? Fiat repeated. ?Colonel, I will be in my quarters. Do not interrupt me unless there is an emergency that you cannot handle.?

?You won?t be interrupted,? Sombra replied.

?Let?s hope not.?

***

?Still nothing?? Keller yawned and blinked his eyes. The voice inside of him had only gotten louder as time went on. He felt like they had missed something. He felt like they had let something slide. ?Anyone, speak up if you see anything. Go back through your logs if you have to. Remember, I want anything suspicious. Anything even slightly abnormal.?

?That list could be huge,? Polk muttered.

?Colonel,? someone said from the crew pit. Keller looked and identified Corporal Donovan. Donovan was staring at his monitor, and his eyes were wide. ?I think I see something.?

Keller looked at Polk and frowned. ?Captain??

Polk gingerly stepped away from his station and walked down into the crew pit, not taking his eyes away from the Corporal. He stopped at his station and frowned. ?What is this??

?A murmur,? Donovan said, a little sheepishly. ?We picked it up an hour ago. I didn?t think to say anything because it?s certainly not a fleet?it?s not even a ship, but it could be a small cloaked object. Maybe a fighter sent to scout ahead.?

?I saw that too,? Polk said. ?It?s an ion flare from a dust patch. It has to be. That?s the only thing that our computers match it too. Besides, if it were a fightercraft on reconnaissance it should have been ripped apart, or at least damaged enough to become visible, when it was pulled from??

?Corporal Donovan,? Keller snapped, cutting Polk off. ?Thank you for bringing this to my attention.? He narrowed his eyes on Polk. ?As for you, Captain, should I remind you that your orders were to report every disturbance? There are people far more capable than you who will analyze the data.?

?I?m sorry sir, but common sense dictates??

?I?can?t believe I?m saying this, but we do not have the luxury to depend on common sense, Captain. Now, where was this energy murmur??

The corporal glanced at Captain Polk, who frowned and reluctantly nodded his head. Then Donovan tapped two buttons and a hologram of the Shadow and the space around it appeared. Ninety kilometers away, a small circle about the size of a 1-person mattress pinged on the display.

***

Alitar Fiat sat Indian style on the floor of his quarters. In front of him, he had set the small black rock. The lights were dim, and the room was dark save for the wholly unnatural red glow coming from the center of the room.

?All Hail the Burning Man,? Fiat said.

Speak, my Acolyte of Steel.

?Colonel Sombra surprises me. He saved us from a trap, and now we are barreling towards Dantooine. We arrive in mere hours.?

Watch him. Even now, although he serves us well, he questions. He does not agree with your tactics.

?I believe I?ve noticed,? Fiat said. ?He looked at me strangely today. I fear that he?ll resist us, if he learns the truth.?

He will lead when we have gone. His ways will not be our ways.

?And that does not bother you? You don?t worry that all you built?the whole empire?will crumble under his hand??

I have seen what is to come. I have seen the blood and the souls of those who have and will perish in the name of Kel Gauthra. Oceans full of blood wash against my feet. When we pass, there will be a great rejoicing the likes of which none have ever known.

Somewhere deep inside his suit, what remained of Alitar Fiat?s heart began to beat faster. ?You seem?uneasy, lord. What is coming??

For one thousand years we have reigned. For one thousand years we have carved our names in the stars. But the four have arrived in Galaxy 1, and continue unabated down the path Milton?s set. They will march to the top of the Black Spire, and my reign shall end in fire.

?You?re a God.?

Zeus. Jupiter. Ra. Thor. Brahma. Allah. Jehovah. Even Gods die.

?You have an army and a fleet. You are omniscient. There is no way that four people can even reach you.?

At Dantooine, destroy the planet. Punish Saggat. Enact my final vengeance upon this Galaxy and its denizens. Make them hate you, my Acolyte. Make them fear and loathe you. Then, when we pass, our successor will be seen as the Messiah. A new era will dawn, lifted up by the mountain of bodies we leave in our path.

?When we pass?? Fiat barked, taken aback. ?Tell me, lord, tell me what you saw.? But the stone had gone cold and black. Alitar Fiat did not move. He just sat there, in the dark, deep in thought.

***

Andrei Vuroric could feel the saliva rushing from his mouth as if he was sucking on a salt cube. ?Say again, Colonel?? He was standing in his office in the SOC headquarters. In front of him was the hologram of a short, skinny fellow with a black SOC uniform.

?The Galians ran a cloaked probe into our interdiction field. It tipped them off. We?ve had no further contacts and must assume that they?ve decided to circumvent the trap. Adjusting for the time it takes to redirect a fleet of six hundred ships, I would guess you have just over two and a half hours before their fleet arrives.?

Vuroric nodded, but couldn?t really find words to express what he was feeling. Actually he could, but they were all four letters and often considered rude in a professional setting. ?All right. Well,? he cleared his throat, ?Thank you Colonel. You are to proceed to the emergency coordinates specified in the briefing. Do not, under any circumstances, bring your men back to Dantooine.?

?Isn?t there??

?No. Only a hundred or so ships are in orbit. Our reinforcements are still days away. There is nothing an Interdictor can do. It will serve us better if it?s kept alive for the future.?

?I understand, sir,? Colonel Keller said. His little blue hologram looked noticeably distraught, but Vuroric was pleased that he had kept his composure.

?Don?t worry, Colonel,? Vuroric said. ?The evacuation is under control. We have two hours. We?ve just got to make the best of it.? He cut the transmission, determined not to wait for a response. Then immediately pulled out his comlink. ?Sergeant Devries, pull together a three-way holoconference with the President?s office and the Unity. And make it fast.?

***

Outside of the Capitol building, the crowd had begun to swell. Hundreds of protestors had gathered to condemn Admiral Varless and the government?s new policy. The Riot Teams had kept the crowd mostly at bay, but when the doors to the capitol opened and two large loudspeakers were heft up, pointing out to the crowd, the citizens finally calmed. A lean man with a bushy beard stepped out of the capitol. He was wearing a headset that was synced with the speakers, and when he spoke his voice sounded like God. ?People! People!? He shouted. The noise itself was enough to push the crowd back. ?Admiral Varless and your government appreciate this candid display of the democratic process. Protest is and always has been fundamental to free speech. However, you are all in grave danger. In two hours, this planet will be attacked, just like the planets that line the western edge of the Galaxy have been attacked. Our orbital fleet is defenseless to stop it. If you want to live, I must ask all of you to leave the premises in an orderly fashion. Return to your homes, and wait for further instructions on the holonews. Because we so value your patriotic spirit, our soldiers will be passing out datasticks that if inserted into your home holovid system, will move your homes to the front of the evacuation line. You make retrieve your datasticks from the soldiers standing at the rear of the crowd. We thank you for your cooperation?and go in peace.? The man then took his headset off, and stepped inside.

When he was gone, about half the crowd began to disperse, while the other half grew even angrier. One man rushed at a Planetary Defense soldier. In self defense, the soldier pulled up his stun baton and sent a shock rifling through the assailant. He fell backwards into the crowd, drawing the attention of two more men. One of them, upon seeing what he imagined was a wanton act of violence, lifted a heavy rock and threw it. It struck the soldier in the head, and he stumbled backwards. He raised his E-11 in a threatening manner, and then more stones were thrown. Other soldiers stormed into the crowd, hoisting up their batons and forcing the men back into the streets. Then someone, either from the crowd or the riot police, discharged a weapon.

***

Berloc Varless ran his hand down along his face and looked at the hologram of Dantooine. Andrei Vuroric had spoken to him ten minutes ago, and it barely felt like an instant. Two hours was not enough time?not by a long shot. They were going to have to pick and choose who made it and who died?so Varless made a decision that would weigh heavily on his conscience for the rest of his life.

?Did it work?? the hefty Admiral asked as the bearded man from outside stepped into his office.

?As good as could be hoped,? the man said. ?The datasticks were distributed. As soon as one of them is inserted into a holovid system, it will move that system?s household down to the bottom of our evacuation charts.?

?You got any word on the other Riot Teams??

?They report that similar messages have been given to the crowds outside the SOC compound and spaceport. Some have started to leave, but those areas are flooded with demonstrators. Bravo site is even worse?the demonstrators have been slowing us down. Some are just trying to get their evac tickets, but others want to send a message.?

?Just so long as we send one right back to ?em,? Berloc grumbled. ?If there are any more violent riots, stun the whole damn group. It doesn?t matter to me who?s doing what, I want ?em all out of commission before they get anyone killed. They?re endangerin? lives and pissin? me off.?

The bearded man nodded, ?Aye sir.?

Berloc paused and rubbed his chin. ?It?s been a hell of a day, eh Major??

The bearded man tried to smile. ?We?ve been doing well enough, Admiral. This recent news isn?t exactly good though.?

On cue, the sound of blaster fire came from outside the building. An alarm went off and the bearded man jumped to his feet. Berloc hit a button on his desk, and a holovid of the action outside started to play. Planetary defense soldiers were firing into the crowd, sending the demonstrators scattering. Their laser shots came out as blue rings, and their targets collapsed immediately. As the crowd ran away, hurrying down the streets, the Planetary Defense forces moved down into the sea of stunned demonstrators and began to slap binders on them.

?Hell,? Berloc muttered. ?You were sayin? Major??

The bearded man frowned, ?I should really go outside and check on that, Admiral.?

Berloc nodded, ?Of course. Dismissed, Major.?

The man stood up and started to leave. Before he reached the door, Berloc stopped him. ?Oh and Major.?

?Yes sir??

?Make sure you?re on a transport off this planet before the Galians get here. That?s an order.?

The soldier looked at Admiral Varless oddly and left the room. Varless checked his watch.

One hour and fifty minutes left.

***

Mirrak Dubose flexed his hands and paced up and down the Unity?s command deck. He was staring at a datapad in his hand. On it were the numbers for the Alliance ships. They were promising, but not enough.

1 SSD (Unity)
2 TMCs (Zekk Lassiter and Judgement)
14 VSDs
16 IDREDs
3 ISD mk 3s (Behemoth, Absolution, Glorious)
2 HSDs (Checkmate II and Champion II)
82 MCRVs
1 MCRV special (Destiny)
5 ESCs
1 ISD Mk 1(Vortigern)

There was a beep on his comlink and a voice from Dubose?s waist said, ?Refugee Shuttle 231-Gamma has docked. We?re nearing capacity, Admiral.?

?We don?t need a bed for everybody, and we?ve got miles of hallspace,? Dubose barked. He hated the thought of having civvies wandering around aboard a military warship, particularly when there was a battle coming, but they did not seem to have any choice. They had two more hours to get ready for battle. All fourteen of the Alliance?s available Victory Star Destroyers were landed on the surface outside of Cyern in a field called Bravo site. The Unity and a few other ships were playing ferryboat for a lot of whining civilian maggots. Other ships were fleeing left and right?he had never seen anything like it. But, of course, the Alliance fellows had.

Out of the forward viewport, two YT-series freighters flew up out of Dantooine?s upper atmosphere and began to fly towards the Zekk Lassiter. Before they docked, a DX-9 transport left the Tempest Missile Cruiser?s hangar and began flying down towards the surface.

?Admiral,? one of the crewmates said. ?The SOC personnel aboard are reporting their last minute reconfigurations of our shield system have been successful. Simulations show they are functioning at 150% efficiency.?

Dubose exhaled slowly. ?Good. Good. How are refits on the two Tempests coming??

?They?apparently the Judgement is finished and the Zekk Lassiter is almost there. They should have it within the hour.?

Dubose glanced at his chrono. ?They better. I need to have an emergency tactical conference with the fleet captains in an hour. And send a message to Admiral Varless. Tell him that if we do not have those Victory Star Destroyers in orbit by the time the Galian ships arrive, I?m not sure how long we?ll be able to hold them back.?

?Aye sir.?

?And Ensign??

?Yes sir??

?Tell him to get off the surface as soon as he can. That goes for Vuroric and the prisoner too. They should all be in space well before the Galians arrive.?

?Relaying the message now, sir.?

?Good,? Dubose muttered. He could only imagine what the situation was like on the planet. He?d already heard stories of riots and panic. They still had eight hundred thousand people on the surface. He supposed, in that situation, he might panic too.

***

The Special Operations Command complex was a bustle of activity. Forty-five minutes earlier, when word broke that the Galian fleet was en route and would arrive in two hours, a general order went out that every operative was to begin an immediate shutdown and deletion assignment of all SOC records and files. Backups would be taken and loaded on the Destiny, which was still underground in an SOC bunker. Soldiers and office personnel alike had things to do. Jobs to finish. Things had to happen before the Galians arrived. But as time moved on, the bustling people began to thin, because everyone knew that time was running out. Vuroric himself was not worried. He was standing at a large, vault like door in a dim and narrow hallway.

?Security code Epsilon Thirty-four Delta. Authorization: Vuroric.? Vuroric said, and the two soldiers guarding the large vault door lowered their rifles and walked up to him. One scanned him with a small, pen sized device while the other patted him down and removed his sidearm. Then, the soldier pressed a button on his armor and there was a heavy sound. The locking mechanism came undone. Then the vault door opened, and Vuroric stepped inside.

He walked down the hall quickly, heals clicking. Behind him, two more SOC soldiers (but not the guards from outside) were following him down into the pit. They too had relinquished their weapons. When they reached the ground floor, and arrived at Lucian Saggat?s simple cage, they spread out and Vuroric retrieved a single gold key from his pocket. ?Prisoner Zero-Zero-Zero-Four, to transit,? Vuroric said.

The two soldiers immediately stepped forward, one taking the key from their General and unlocking the cell. The other stepped inside and scooped up the man on the ground. He had been sleeping when they came in, and yawned sheepishly when they began to move him. The second soldier slapped a pair of binders onto his wrists. Saggat cleared his throat as he was pushed out of the cell. ?Where are we going, General? This is my private time. You promised me private time, a chance to rest, for my cooperation??

?You?ve been in solitary confinement for five months,? Vuroric snapped. ?I believe you?ve had quite enough ?private time?. Now come on, we?re leaving.?

The soldiers marched up the long, narrow hallway. It was so tight that they had to go single file until they reached the top. There, Vuroric stopped and retrieved his sidearm. ?Security Clearance Code: Transit. Upsilon Twenty-Two Beta Pi. Authorization: Vuroric.? The two security officers gave Vuroric?s men their weapons back and saluted the General.

?Now, there is still work to be done here that I must attend to,? Vuroric said. ?Prisoner 0004 will not be coming back to this cell. Can I count on you four to deliver him to Bravo site for extraction and accompany him off the planet??

The four SOC soldiers nodded in unison. ?Good. Then you have your orders. Dismissed, soldiers.?

Then Andrei Vuroric left them, walking further into the SOC compound, while the four soldiers set off with the most important tactical weapon the Alliance had, and headed for daylight.

***

Commander Myec looked out of the forward viewport of his Victory Star Destroyer and stared at the crowd of thousands. Tens, maybe hundreds of thousands of people swarmed in the fields outside of Cyern and waited for transport off of the planet. A crowd that was certainly just as big had assembled outside of the spaceport. Word of the cataclysm had spread quickly, and now even the most docile citizens were growing impatient and violent. Myec had already heard one report of a family of four being gunned down for their Evac-tickets. Another mob had tried to storm a star destroyer. They?d broken past riot guards and the ship?s marines had started firing. Twelve were dead, and many more were wounded.

It was a hiccup in the system, Myec mused. When eight hundred thousand people try to squeeze onto 14 ships all at once, the result is a clog that takes forever to work out. People were ignoring the relatively orderly system in place, where families were called up by lottery to receive Evacuation tickets, then sent to a designated ship and ferried off the planet. Instead they were opting for chaos and pandemonium.

?Commander Myec, message from Admiral Varless.?

Myec nodded and walked over to the station. The communications officer offered Myec a headset, and the commander put it on. ?Yes Admiral??

?How are the evacuation numbers looking?? he asked.

?I can?t speak for the other Victories, but we?ve been cramming more people aboard than such a ship was ever intended to hold. I can?t imagine there being more than five hundred thousand or so left unaccounted for. The Century has already filed a request to depart, claiming it?s filled to the brim.?

?Nobody leaves until they have to. I want you to keep taking people until you?ve got civilians on the bridge.?

Myec shuddered at the thought. ?Understood sir.?

?Good,? Varless sighed.

Myec was about to hang up the headset when he stopped and said, ?Sir, are you still planetside??

The Admiral hesitated, ?Yes I am son, yes I am. And I ain?t leavin? until I have to, just like y?all.?

?Admiral,? Myec hesitated, ?With all due respect, you should have left the surface the moment you found out??

?I suppose you?ve been talking to Admiral Dubose,? Varless chuckled without much heart. ?I appreciate the worry, son, but it?s unnecessary. I?ll be fine. Varless out.?

?Admiral, there?s not much time left, it will take at least half an hour just to get through the spaceport crowds and clearance?he?s not on the line anymore is he?? The communications officer shook his head. Myec frowned and took off the headset. ?Time?? he asked his bridge crew.

?One hour and ten minutes remaining.?

***

There was a hologram of Dantooine displayed in the center of the Unity?s ready room. The holograms of over one hundred starship captains were monitoring the briefing. Admiral Mirrak Dubose stood beside the mockup of the planet. He gestured to it as he spoke.

?When they drop out of hyperspace, the Galian ships will be cloaked and move on towards the surface of the planet. According to Landon?s notes, this is standard Galian practice. Now, the Nightcloak satellite shroud erected by General Vuroric for the last battle is still in place, however it has been inoperable for several months. A team of SOC operatives have been working on it for the past three days. We anticipated needing every, every possible advantage in this fight. It?s a damn good thing too, because the fight came three days too early. The entire fleet will therefore be moved behind the cloak veil. If you fellows remember the Battle of Dantooine, you?ll remember there were problems keeping the field up and large enough to mask the whole fleet. Well, worry no more. With the introduction of Galian technology into the nightcloak systems, not only will the satellites be able to produce a larger and more powerful shield, but they will also be able to let us see out. That?s right fellows, no more double-blind systems.

?The Galian fleet will then decloak and begin to move towards the planet. Our target will be the mothership, Cerberus. According to our prisoner, it is likely they will initially fend off any defensive ships with the fleet, then allow the Cerberus to move in close to the planet to fire its primary weapon. Now listen close, because this is the part you?ll love. We have moved the nightcloak veil into a low orbit above the planet?s northern pole. When the Galian mothership moves into position, we will move out of the veil and attack the ship.? Admiral Dubose clicked off the presentation.

?Isn?t that a little close?? one of the captains asked. ?If we take too long, Dantooine could be shot.?

?Dantooine is a necessary casualty,? Dubose said. ?This is our best shot at taking out the Galian mothership. If we do that, then their leadership and organization will take a major hit, and we will be able to retreat and formulate another plan later.?

?What about evacuees still escaping the surface??

?If there are still any citizens and evacuation craft on the surface of the planet, then they will have a brief window between the time we detect the fleet?s hyperspace wake, and when the fleet begins its attack. It will have to be enough.?

?That?s not what Admiral??

?Admiral Varless has given my plan a green light. We both agree that it is implausible to try and stop the Galian fleet. This will be the only time the Cerberus is relatively on its own. If we attack while it is still in the midst of the Galian fleet, we?ll be eaten alive before we can do anything of substance. And don?t forget that some of your ships have refugees on them now. Don?t play the hero if you can help it, because it?s not just your lives you?ll be throwing away. Now, if you need me, I?ll be moving to my Star Destroyer for the battle. Admiral Varless will command from here. Are there any other questions?? The grizzled old Admiral looked out at his peers, who stayed silent and somber. ?Good,? he said.

Admiral Mirrak Dubose had seen many battles and done many speeches, but he could not remember a time when the men around him looked so devoid of hope. Most of them probably expected to die. Most of them probably would. And although he did not like fanfare, for some reason at that moment, Dubose decided he needed to give them something more than they had. He needed to give them one other reason to live for. So very slowly, he looked back out at the crowd of holograms in the ready room. They stared back at him as well, all waiting to see what would happen. Then Dubose cleared his throat, and glanced at his chrono. ?The job we?re about to do,? he said slowly. ?is important. You all know that. We are the guardians of the fleet. We are the guardians of the Alliance. Now I know I haven?t been here long, but I?ve seen more loyalty and dedication from you people than I can measure. So I guess in closing, all I can say is this. Just remember who you?re fighting for, out there. Remember what you?re fighting for. And take as many of those sons of bitches down as you can.? He smiled, ?If you missed any of that, I?m sure your respective CAGs will be delivering similar speeches in the next half hour.? There was a low murmur of laughter amongst the commanders. And Dubose decided he?d said enough. ?All right then,? he clapped his hands, ?good luck and may the Force be with you all.?

Ten minutes later, when the other captains had left and Dubose had returned to the bridge, he was informed that a Commander Myec wanted to speak with him about Admiral Varless.

***

On the bridge of the Cerberus, Sombra rapped his fingers along the edges of the holotable. There was an image of Dantooine projected and beneath it a rapidly shrinking number.

0:0:44:37

***

The capitol building was quieter than he could ever remember. There was no one left in the offices, and even the soldiers had begun to abandon their posts and run towards the spaceport and bravo sites. But Berloc Varless hadn?t left. He sat in his office, hands folded, and stared at the hologram on his desk. It was the same hologram Tyr had looked at so many times before, watching as worlds of the Galaxy changed sides in the Galactic game of chess called politics, only now the worlds weren?t changing sides. They were just vanishing. The little icons that had once been national emblems were now gone all together along the western side of the Galaxy, and Berloc just stared at it. His finger was hovering above a small button that he?d known he would have to press for two days. He just couldn?t bring himself to do it.

?Admiral!? His door slid open and Berloc looked up. Two Planetary Defense soldiers stormed into his office. ?Admiral you?ve got to come with us. You?re needed aboard the Unity.?

Varless frowned at the men, ?What the frell are you boys doing? I am the Admiral of the Fleet and acting President, now you show me a little bit of fracking respect!?

The taller soldier, who appeared to be the leader, hesitated. ?I?apologize, sir, but I was given direct orders from Admiral Dubose. He said to bring you from here by force if necessary for your own good, then cited three congressional mandates giving him authority. I believe the gist is, sir, that if you refuse to come you?re behaving irrationally and void your immediate decision making capabilities.?

?That?that?s the fracking most ridiculous thing I?ve ever heard,? Varless muttered. ?How many people have been evacuated??

?There are at least four hundred thousand left in the crowds, and an indeterminate number who are missing??

?There?s still??

?Admiral,? the soldier said seriously. He was now holding out a stun baton. ?Admiral, come with me. Fleet Admiral Dubose demands your presence aboard the Unity.?

?Son?? Berloc growled, ?Do you have any idea what you?re doin???

?It?ll take twenty minutes just to get to the spaceport and wade through the crowds,? the guard pleaded, lowering his weapon. ?There?s not much time left.?

Berloc frowned and nodded. The soldier was right, of course. There was nothing left he could do. ?All right,? he said at last. ?Let?s go.?

Then he stood up from his chair and walked out with them. But before he left, he pressed that button on his desk, the one linked with the holographic display that still shimmered neatly in the empty office.

When he did, the little icon of the Alliance of Free Worlds labeled Dantooine flickered for a moment, then winked out.

***

Andrei Vuroric sat quietly in his office, on the floor. Like the capitol, the SOC headquarters were entirely empty. But no one came for him. He was holding a small black rock in his hand, and turning it over. He couldn?t explain what was happening, but for some reason he knew that he had to get it back out. After Dubose had admitted to having one and handing it over, Vuroric could have easily done the same?but he hadn?t. He held onto it, and kept it close to his chest.

I have never contemplated betrayal, he had said. And the Burning Man?s response?

Think about it.

Vuroric couldn?t believe it, but he was. He was thinking about it. And he was thinking about it very seriously. The Alliance of Free Worlds was crumbling. Everything was going to die. Everything was going to waste. If Andrei Vuroric could somehow get in the good graces of the Galians, who was to say that he couldn?t somehow later help Varless and the rest of the Alliance? There was no reason for him to stay aboard the sinking ship when he could so easily get away?and yet?

No?no he would not become another Lucian Saggat. That was something he could not have. He had more willpower then that?and he would be damned if he ever gave himself over to those impulses.

?You hear that,? he muttered. He was somewhat aghast he?d been sitting on the floor in the first place. ?You hear that!? he said again, this time louder. ?Go to Hell.? Then he kicked the little rock across the room and it skirted into the corner. He could feel it, willing him to go and pick it up. He could feel it beckoning him. Offering him things.

And he ignored it. Setting his jaw, and taking a deep breath, he marched out of his office and down the corridor. The sign he passed, as he went deeper and deeper into the underground labyrinth, read Experimentals Division.

***

Berloc Varless stood on the tarmac outside of the Cyern City spaceport. A cold wind was blowing from the north and ruffled his thinning hair in all directions. He shivered and looked at the crowd of men. Four Alliance Marines were escorting him to his Lambda shuttle, but he still could feel the crowd?s fear. There were so many of them, and so few ships. If only they had more time?

?Is General Vuroric away?? Varless asked. He had last spoken to the general forty-five minutes earlier. Vuroric had told him that he was finishing up some last minute SOC work and would be on the next shuttle off world. Varless wasn?t sure he believed him, but there again he wasn?t sure he believed himself. He glanced at his chrono again and shivered as the wind struck him.

The SOC commando standing at the gate to the spaceport shook his head, ?He hasn?t been through here sir. It?s possible he went to Bravo site.? They were both screaming above the roar of the crowd and the blasts of cool wind.

?What about the prisoner??

?There?s been no sign of him either. Now come along, Admiral.?

?This isn?t right,? he said, staring at the crowd of people he was passing. As he moved past children and women and old men, he wondered what could possibly make his life more valuable than anyone else. ?Is there any chance they?ll get away in time??

The Commando glanced at the crowd, and then at the shuttles in the spaceport. A YT-1300 had just landed and it?s hatch opened. About fifty people poured up the on ramp and began to scamper aboard. Then Varless saw two men be roughly pushed off. ?They exceeded their weight limit,? the commando explained. ?She can?t break Dantooine?s gravity well with that many people aboard. So some of them had to go.?

Berloc nodded and shivered. It was macabre, all of it, and if there was one thing he wanted to do, it was make sure that he killed the people responsible for what was coming. And for what had already come. If he could just get his hands around Kel Gauthra?s neck?or even Alitar Fiat?s?well, Berloc had an idea that he would have more fury than a Rancor.

They arrived at his shuttle, at last, and Berloc climbed aboard. Several refugees, spotting the largely vacant shuttle, ran at it. Berloc?s men held them at bay. ?Stand back, stand back this is an official Government shuttle. No one else is allowed aboard.?

?Let ?em on,? Berloc snapped.

One of the guards turned back, ?Can?t, it?s a security risk, sir.?

?Let ?em on, Captain. That?s an order.?

The man hesitated for a moment and then signaled for the guards to lower their weapons. Then the people of the crowd began to pour in. After fifteen or so were aboard, the soldiers stopped the flow of people. ?You will have to BACK AWAY,? they shouted to the crowd. ?This shuttle is at maximum load, you will have to BACK AWAY now!? And the crowd did as they were told, and the landing ramp slowly began to slide back up into the shuttle, and the hatch closed.

Admiral Varless?s last memory of Dantooine?s surface was of the jeering crowd and the riot police holding them at bay.

[Calavan]

At World?s End, Part 1

?Old fool! This is my hour. Do you not know Death when you see it? Die now and curse in vain!?

~The Witch-King of Angmar, The Lord of the Rings



Weston woke up first, and he was on his feet in a heartbeat?s time. He climbed up off of the cold, hard ground and moved to Menina?s side. When he got there, he placed his face against hers and grabbed her up in his arms. Her heart was beating like a runaway freight train. ?Shhhhh,? he said to her. ?Shhhhh, it?s ok. It?s ok, I?m here.?

Eventually she grew quiet, but even then her eyes were puffy and red. Her skin was freezing, and a little rivulet of blood trickled down her chin. Weston dabbed it away with his sleeve and stiffened. Beside her, there was a puddle of phlegm and blood and saliva. She let out another series of hacking coughs and spit. A fresh glob jiggled back and forth on top of the rest. ?I?m cold,? she rasped.

Weston took off his shirt and gave it to her. ?It?ll be sunup soon. Then we?ll move, and we won?t stop.?

Menina put the shirt on, but even wrapped in it and the horse blankets, she continued to shiver without pause. Her teeth chattered like one of those windup toys, and her lips had turned a pale blue. She coughed again, and her head fell back onto the ground with a hard thud. Weston jumped and bent down to catch it, and felt a chill run up his spine. Menina?s teeth were clenched tightly shut, like a vice-grip, and she?d started shaking.

?Hey, hey a little help!? he shouted. Sweat started to bead up on his forehead and bare chest as he tried to hold her down. His heart was beating as fast as hers ever had.

Jake was already jogging over from his sleeping roll, and a few of the Galians had gotten up and were moving, albeit slowly, to investigate.

?I think she?s having a seizure!? She continued to shake madly. Her eyes were wide and her teeth were clenched. Her body was rigid, and continued to shake like a jackhammer. Then a thick mix of saliva and blood went oozing from between her teeth and spilled onto the blankets. Jake ran up beside Weston and dropped to one knee. ?What do you do to treat something like this?? Weston snapped. Jake wasn?t paying attention. He was staring at Menina helplessly.

Weston reached out and grabbed Jake by the shoulder, and shook him mercilessly. ?Come on Jake, what kind of treatment. What kind?!?

Jake still didn?t take his eyes off of her. ?I don?t know. There?s medicine for it but?we don?t have it.? Her eyes had rolled back up into her head and a stream of blood began to spill from her nose. ?Lift her head,? Jake said instantly. ?Or she?ll drown in her own blood.?

Weston nodded, terrified, and lifted her head up and rested it on his knee. Her neck was rigid and didn?t want to move, but he sat her up anyway. His eyes darted frantically from Jake to Menina and then to the circle of Galians who were watching dumbly. ?Her heart?s gonna give out!? Weston screamed. ?She?s going to fucking die and y?all are just standing there. Do something! Do something goddamnit!? Then she stopped.

Her neck relaxed, her mouth fell open, and her eyes went shut. For one terrible moment Weston was sure she was dead. He lowered his face down to hers, and very softly she breathed out. Then in. Then out.

?She?s alive,? Weston murmured. The crowd relaxed. He could scarcely believe it, so he said it again: ?She?s alive.?

But of course, as he knew perfectly well, the truth of the matter was that unless they made it to Kader soon, she wouldn?t be for much longer.

***

The bridge of the Unity was just like he remembered it. It was clean, organized, and noisy. People were talking and rummaging and moving about in preparation for the battle to come. The starship had been maneuvered behind the cloak shroud, as had the rest of the fleet. Admiral Varless stared at his chrono and clenched his teeth. The numbers drew down to the four minute mark.

?How many people are left on the surface,? he asked.

One of the bridge officers checked her display. When she answered, her voice was subdued, out of reverence or fear. ?There are still four hundred and eighty thousand people down there.?

A wave of depression hit Varless like a dump truck. He ran his hand along his jaw and sucked his teeth. ?Well,? he said at last. He paused again, and then added, ?We did as well as we could. Signal the Victory Star Destroyers for immediate liftoff. They?ve only got four minutes to get up here.?

?Aye sir.?

Out of the forward viewport, a steady stream of private and public transports, that had been used in the ferrying of citizens to the Unity and other ships, were leaving the surface. They looked to him like a steady band of helpless peasants, running from some mighty and indomitable foe. Which, he supposed, was what they were. And as they sped from the planet, running from their homes and quite literally for their lives, he felt another pang of guilt, and wondered if he had somehow failed them. He wondered if he had somehow done less?less than what Tyr Rendix-Jeraan would have done.

?Is there any word of General Vuroric?? Varless asked. A heaviness settled in his back and legs, like he was powering down. ?Or the prisoner??

?No?? someone said, ?Still no reports. It?s possible they?re somewhere in the fleet, or on one of the Victories, and just haven?t been accounted for yet.?

?Yeah,? Berloc sighed, ?We can hope.?

The task force of Victories were visible now, rising from the surface of the planet and swooping upwards into the cloak veil. A few more transports began to trickle out from the surface, but they were few and far between. Berloc Varless checked his chrono one last time before everything changed forever. He watched it ticked down?Five, four, three, two?and sucked in a long, deep breath of air.

The numbers tumbled over to zero.

***

Sombra could feel the blood pumping through his temples. He wasn?t often like this?nervous and on edge?but this was the first real battle of the war. This was the first real time when a fleet had been given fair warning, or fair enough. And it was also the site of the Galaxy?s first and only victory against a Galian fleet.

But Saggat?s fleet had been made up of a handful of ships. This fleet was many times that number?and it in itself was just a fraction of the force spreading through the galaxy like a cancer.

?All hands to battlestations. All hands to battlestations. Prepare for transition to realspace. All hands to battlestations,? the montonous, Galavex voice said from the speakers overhead.

Behind him, Alitar Fiat stood like a statue. He had not spoken since leaving his quarters fifteen minutes earlier. Sombra couldn?t tell for sure, but he imagined something had affected the Admiral greatly.

***

When he was a child, Jonas Sombra?s father had shown him a little game. He?d been given a square of four rows by four columns, each filled with numbers, and told to pick one number from each column without repeating any of the rows. Then add. When he did this, little Jonas was elated to find that no matter which numbers he picked, so long as he followed the rules the answer was always the same. It was magic.

But burdened by a curious and restless mind, Jonas studied the problem until he realized the pattern, and had turned something once magical into just another equation. From then on, whenever he saw the square or people dazzled by it, he looked upon them with the same curiosity as a scientist might look upon a chimp. He came to realize that magic was just the mind?s way of rationalizing something beautiful and perfect that we cannot understand. He developed a disdain for it, as though it were below him.

And yet every time the Galian fleet exited hyperspace above a planet, he felt that same sense of magic. He felt his old childish curiosity and fascination rear it?s boyish head, and wanted so very badly to embrace it. To explore.

But that was not his part. And so he tempered his impulses, and watched with jaw firmly set, tongue firmly in cheek, as the gears of the Galian Star Empire turned, and it did what it did best.

In the aftermath of such events, Sombra often swore he?d feel magic again. Invariably, he was wrong.

***

There it was. Dantooine.

Sombra flexed his hands together and leaned back in his chair. Below him, the holographic table on the main deck was empty, aside from the lone image of the planet. Even through the Cerberus?s massive forward windows, he could see no ships. There were a few fleeing freighters and a large scaffold, but otherwise the planet looked abandoned.

?Status report?? Sombra said.

A Galavex spoke from the deck below. ?System clear, no orbital ships detected. Some small passenger ships are attempting to flee the planet. Seven in space, indeterminate number on surface.?

?This isn?t right,? Sombra muttered. ?They?re out there somewhere. I know it.?

?Yes,? Fiat said. His voice was hollow somehow, and full of a deep, simmering anger. ?They are. They are hiding from us. Waiting.?

Sombra raised an eyebrow, ?Sir??

Fiat tapped his hand against the rear of Sombra?s chair. The metal on metal made a muffled tinging sound. ?Landon, before his defection, turned over all intelligence he had gathered on the Galaxy 32 races. The Alliance of Free Worlds uses a specialized and versatile cloaking system of 'nightcloak satellites.' They have erected such a satellite shroud somewhere around the planet, and are waiting for us to move the Cerberus out of the fleet?s protection.?

Sombra swallowed, mightily glad that he was on Fiat?s side. The Admiral was old, but after a thousand years, he could recall most every tactic used by most every enemy. And after a thousand years, every tactic had been used. ?Their cloaking system is double blind. So they must be using a spotter to report back and forth. They?ll have to reveal themselves before they engage us.?

?So what do we do?? Sombra asked, eager to learn.

Fiat?s single eye narrowed, and stared intensely at the blue-green planet.

?We give them what they want.?

***

?They?re in the system, Admiral,? Commander Hadrian said. Hadrian had been working aboard the Unity for several months, transferring from the Judgement after the Battle of Dantooine. ?I?ve picked up a severe radiation spike on the wavelength Landon gave us. They?re cloaked, but they?re here.?

?How many civilian ships are still on the surface?? Berloc asked.

?Four. There are four left at the spaceport. The crowds have broken past our soldiers down there and are keeping the pilots from taking off.?

Berloc Varless paused, and realized that he had never considered the fact that they were ordering soldiers to stay on the planet. It was like sentencing them to death. ?Sithspit,? he muttered. He wished he could say more, but he felt that the word pretty well summed up his thoughts and feelings.

***

There was a ringing sound and a pounding in the back of his head. Lucian Saggat felt his eyes throb when he tried to open them, so he left them closed. His body felt like it had been run over by a sandcrawler, and he was fairly sure that something very heavy was on top of him. He tried again to open his eyes and his thought was confirmed. The body of an SOC soldier was laying across him horizontally. Blood was leaking through his black armor and his head was twisted unnaturally far to the side. Saggat sat up, and tried to push the body off, but was unsuccessful. His wrists were still firmly locked behind his back in the binders. He would just have to summon the strength to stand up.

Saggat tried again, but couldn?t. There was a soft gust of wind that blew the smell of scorched grass up into his nose. Someone he couldn?t see shouted, ?Hey, you!?

Saggat blinked furiously to get the dots out of his eyes. After giving his eyes a moment to adjust, he could see again. He was sitting on the ground in a large field. There were hundreds of thousands of people standing around in the huge grassy plain, just kind of moping. Amidst the crowd of aimless wanderers, there were thousands more dead scattered across the ground. Some had been shot. Some had been crushed. Others had burned to death when the Victories had taken off. Just when Saggat had begun to think he was in Hell, a thin, lanky man in civilian clothes ran up to him and pushed the SOC soldier off of him. ?What?d you do to get that kind of treatment, fellow?? he asked. He was staring at Saggat?s binders.

The man helped Saggat stand, and the prisoner shook his head and gave his savior a not-too-helpful smile. ?Where are we??

?We?re the walking dead,? the man laughed. Saggat wasn?t sure if he was crazy or just dealing with the stress. He tended to imagine it was some of both. ?They took off. They took off without us. The Star Destroyers just left with all of us standin? out here in the grass with our fingers up our asses.?

?What?about me?? Saggat asked.

?Hell, I was gonna ask the same question. Here you are looking like you just clawed your way out of Hell, bound up like a prisoner and crushed under an SOC guard. I got a feeling y?all were trampled.?

?There were?three others,? Saggat said distantly, and he hoped that he sounded more disoriented than he really was.

?Probably got swept up in the crowd. A group tried to storm one of the star destroyers. There was gunfire and the crowd broke into a stampede. I?d imagine quite a few people got separated from their families or crushed to death or something.?

?So I?m free,? Saggat said simply.

?Well, for the next fifteen minutes or however much time we?ve got, I?d imagine so.?

?Is there any way you can get these binders off me?? Saggat asked.

The man wrinkled his nose, ?You didn?t kill anybody did you? Or rape??

?No,? Saggat said. ?They claimed I colluded against the government.?

At that, the man seemed to brighten noticeably, ?Oh, well that?s nothin? to be ashamed of.? He dropped down to his knees and searched the dead soldier for keys. He came up with a thin, silver keycard and unlocked the binders. Saggat flexed his wrists as the heavy metal things fell onto the ground with a dull thud. ?After what they just did to us, abandoning us to the hands of those?whoever they are?I would have colluded too. What kind of plot did you have worked up??

Saggat shrugged and glanced up towards the sky. ?I was just encouraging a change in government.?

The man nodded. ?Right well, what do you think you?re gonna do? I mean, before we all die??

Saggat frowned, ?I think I?m going to head back to the city.? He started to walk away, towards a nearby abandoned landspeeder, and the other man watched him go.

When he had gone almost a hundred yards, he heard the guy call back to him. ?I don?t know about you, but there?s a hundred thousand people with just a few minutes left to live. I?m gonna go find some ass.?

Overhead, a large mass appeared in the sky. To the crowd of people it looked like some kind of infernal beast, with spires coming off in all directions. Saggat knew better. Saggat knew it was worse.

He shuffled his feet, and began to walk faster.

***

?Contacts. Repeat, contacts. We have five hundred ships decloaking directly ahead,? someone said on the bridge. Admiral Varless felt his jaw go limp. He was glad he was sitting, because he imagined that the limpness would have spread throughout the rest of his body fairly quickly. It had been almost half a year since he?d seen a fleet of Galian ships. Now, for the second time, he experienced the brief fluttering sense of hopelessness that accompanied such a huge number of ships. And this time it was worse. There were so many of them that he had never seen before. There were so many ships. But they were holding back. Only the largest and the meanest of them, which looked just as long and more massive than the Unity, was moving forward.

?That?s her,? Hadrian said. ?The Cerberus.? Varless stood up and watched. A hologram of the battle was projected towards the rear of the bridge. On it, a sea of orange dots was hanging back, while the single larger blip approached the planet.

?And they can?t see us??

?No.?

He sighed and nodded. ?Good. Signal the fleet. Bring the Judgement and Zekk Lassiter and the Victories and the Dreadnaughts up along side. Prepare a heavy rocket barrage on my mark.?

***

Colonel Sombra and Alitar Fiat watched as Dantooine grew large in front of them. The fleeing civilian ships had all escaped. The only ones left now were stranded on the planet, and or in the fleet that was sitting somewhere out in space. Of course, where they were didn?t really matter anymore. The Galian fleet had arrived, and it was time for the Burning Man to exact his vengeance.

?Lock onto their primary settlement.? Sombra took a breath. ?Prepare to fire the megaweapon.? After he said it, it occurred to him how awesome and insane the Galian Star Empire was. Five words were all it took to destroy a planet. Five words, said by the right person, and the mechanisms of destruction began to move, the Galavex began their countdown, and the generators began to charge. Five words could end a civilization, or exterminate a million species forever. Not life forms, species. Of course, those five words were only words until he said the sixth.

Fiat sighed. He was clutching the little black stone in his hand very tightly. ?Admiral Saggat is still on the surface of the planet,? he said.

Sombra paused. ?How do you know, sir??

Fiat didn?t respond, but if he hadn?t known better, Sombra would have believed that the black rock in his hand was glowing.

***

Throughout the fleet, eyes widened as the front of the Cerberus slowly opened. The dome that tipped its front spread into eight different panels that opened until they looked like a lamprey?s maw. When they locked in place, they all jutted out straightforward. Beneath the dome was a deep cavity that plunged into the heart of the ship. It had a strange and ethereal blue hue.

?There?s a power surge growing inside the center of the mothership, Admiral,? Hadrian said.

Varless nodded. His eyes flashed from the hologram to the Cerberus and then back. It was out of missile range. If they were going to engage the ship, the fleet would have to fly out of the protection of the shroud. ?Hold,? Varless murmured. ?Hold fire ?til my mark.?

The blue glow began to intensify, and the ship?s engines flared pushing it closer to the surface. Varless?s eyes widened as he watched the ship close on the planet, and move ever close to their weapons? range. ?Hold,? he repeated. ?Let ?em get a little closer.?

?Sir,? Hadrian said, his voice was growing either impatient or stressed, he wasn?t sure which. ?Sir, we need to move now if we?re going to stop them from firing??

?Commander,? Varless snapped. He didn?t have to say anymore; Hadrian got the message.

***

?Should we abort the firing procedure?? Sombra asked. ?And dispatch a retrieval squad??

Fiat shook his head, ?We will?but he?ll still have some time after the weapon discharges. Target the southern hemisphere. Keep the Alliance?s major settlement away from the brunt of the blast.?

Sombra nodded. ?It will take a few moments to reposition the ship.?

?Of course.?

Sombra gave the order and the Cerberus began to dip downwards towards a relatively isolated patch in the southern hemisphere.

?Assault Squad Beta reports positioning complete,? A Galavex said.

Over the intercom, the same voice boomed across the ship: ?All forces standing by. Coordinates locked. Firing mechanism ready. Awaiting final authorization to commence firing.?

Sombra stood up and looked back at Admiral Fiat, who gave a single, very slight nod. He stepped forward and grabbed onto the railing and looked over onto the level below, where the holotable and several officers and Galavex were busy working. ?Authorization granted,? he said. Beyond the table and the glass and the sheet of stars, Dantooine sat idly in space, oblivious to its inevitable fate.

Eyes still on the planet, and it?s fields and its clouds and its oceans, he steadied himself and thought, And now comes that sixth little word.

?Fire.?

***

Lucian Saggat climbed out of the landspeeder outside of the SOC headquarters. He knew that he only had one chance, and it was a longshot. Overhead, there was a pulse of blue light and the Galian juggernaut in the sky was winked out by brightness. Then the ground began to shake, and the sky started to darken.

***

The southern hemisphere of Dantooine was largely abandoned, save for a few nomadic tribes that were left over from centuries prior. They had little knowledge of the Galians, or the galaxy, or even the Alliance of Free Worlds. They were content to farm and live out their lives in ignorance to the outside world and its ways.

It was this simple life they were living when the flash of light overcame the sun, and a searing half-mile wide beam of energy rent a hole into the planet. At first the ground began to shake, then the sky darkened, and then a wall of fire a mile high went sweeping out in all directions farther than the eye could see. Icecaps thawed instantly, grasslands went up like kindling, and the last thing many of these nomads thought before they were so utterly incinerated was that they had been smited by some cruel and angry god.

***

As the fire spread across the southern hemisphere and dust from the blast kicked up and darkened the skies, somewhere deep inside of Colonel Sombra the magic he?d felt when they had dropped from hyperspace died.

Just like it always did.

***

The bridge of the Unity was silent. No one could speak. There were no words for what they had seen. Varless closed his eyes and realized that he was biting down on the inside of his cheek to the point that it was shredded and bloody. When the blue beam finally went out, and the pulse of red fire spread for a hundred miles across the surface of the planet, leaving nothing but charred ruins in its wake, no one could even breathe. By some godsend, Cyern had been spared and the four hundred thousand people on the surface were alive, for now. But even as they counted their blessings, from space it was apparent that the destruction wasn?t over. Huge molten crevices in the earth spread out from the impact crater, causing the surface of the planet to look like a shattered pane of glass. And although the shockwave of fire eventually dissipated, those cracks continued to spread.

?Commander Hadrian,? Berloc whispered. He had torn his eyes from the devastation and was looking at the hologram of the battle. The Cerberus was now in full weapon?s range, and a hateful rage welled up in the Admiral. ?Signal the fleet to fire on my mark.?

Outside, the Cerberus sat still and nothing moved. It was as if they were waiting on something.

***

?Planetary Core damage confirmed. Core instability will cause total planetary death in twelve cycles. Damage to the upper crust continues unabated around the impact crater, spreading outwards towards outlying areas. Cyern City will begin to suffer similar catastrophes within four hours.? The remorseless intercom then ticked off the casualties from the initial blast.

Fiat looked at Sombra and then out at the planet. Black and green clouds swirled in the sky, and the oceans quickly evaporating from the incomprehensible heat. ?Galavex 2,015,732: Prepare a landing shuttle,? he said. I will be making the journey to the surface??

Before he finished, his voice was drowned out by the blaring of a fresh klaxon that erupted from overhead. ?Warning. Warning. Incoming warheads, brace for impact,? A Galavex voice shouted. Moments later the bridge was rocked by a thousand impacts.

***

The impacting missiles caused an explosion so tremendous that it would have overwhelmed a sun. The fire leapt out in all directions before being immediately choked by space. They had aimed for the top of the Cerberus and every impact hit its mark. As the blast cleared, the crews of the Alliance of Free Worlds held their breath and waited. The sigh that came soon after was not one of relief.

***

?Enemy shields have held,? Hadrian said. ?Repeat, enemy shields have held.? Outside, the Cerberus was still in one piece. Flames lapped along the edges of the hull but the countless pockmarks were mostly indistinguishable from its already black hull.

?Impossible,? Berloc murmured, and he was very glad that they were still in the cloak field. ?Load missiles and prepare to fire again.?

?Admiral?? Hadrian stopped short, her tongue caught in the back of her throat. On the holographic map, the number of orange blips increased one hundred fold. After taking a moment, she found her voice, ?Admiral, enemy fighters inbound.?

?What??

***

?They didn?t have a spotter,? Sombra muttered. ?And the cloak wasn?t double-blind.? He pulled himself up off of the ground and looked around the bridge. Fires had broken out in much of the lower deck. A monitor had fallen from the ceiling, smashing the battle-table below. Lights were out across the bridge, giving the place a dark and smoky look. The blast had thrown several of the crewmates around, and caused one of the large mainframes below to topple over. Still, compared to the assault they had withstood, the ship had held very well.

?Shields at thirty-one percent,? an officer said.

Fiat stood himself up and shook his head. There was a sound like servos grinding when he did so. ?Saggat?s treachery goes deeper than we suspected,? he murmured. ?He?s been helping them assimilate our technology.?

Sombra nodded. ?Fighter squadrons have decloaked and are moving in on the source of those rockets. Our cloaked Lillith squads are in position to follow.?

?As soon as the fighters break through the shroud, they will destroy the satellites and our fleet will descend upon the Alliance. They are too close to the planet to flee.?

Sombra nodded, and he smiled in admiration at the Admiral. ?Another victory for the Burning Man.?

?Yes,? Alitar said. ?Yes, indeed.?

[Calavan]

At World?s End, Part 2


"Why are you telling me this now?"

"It's the end of the world, Lee. I thought I should confess my sins."

~Lee Adama and Kara Thrace, Battlestar Galactica




The cloak field shattered like a pane of glass, and ten thousand fighters went spilling into the Alliance?s fleet. Gold, pulsing energy fell from those ships like rain of sunbeams, and washed across the Alliance?s fleet, enveloping larger ships and causing massive shield failure and destruction among smaller ones. In one salvo, the fighter swarm had destroyed three Marauder corvettes and done damage to many others. That was when it struck Varless how utterly helpless they really were.

?We?re exposed!? Hadrian shouted. Behind the fighter screen, the Galian fleet was beginning to move in on the Alliance, while the Cerberus was drawing back to hide behind the several hundred frigates and cruisers.

Berloc looked around the bridge of the Unity in a moment of panic, then he cleared his head and stared at the Cerberus. ?Fire all turbolaser batteries on the command ship. Give them the bloody nose they damn well deserve. I want Marauder groups to start covering us from those fighters, and tell the CAGs to get some of our own birds in the air.?

Hadrian nodded, smiling, and distributed his order across the ship and fleet. And from the forward viewport of the Unity, Varless saw thousands of green plasma beams lance out and strike against the Cerberus. There was one volley, then another, and then another. The bombardment went on for minutes. At first there was a bright field of yellow energy that blocked the lasers from reaching the hull, but as the barrage continued, the energy field died. And as it did, in a fit of ecstasy, the bridge broke out into a cheer. Plumes of fire rose up along the Cerberus?s hull as the ship pulled back in retreat.

?Look at ?er run!? Varless shouted. Hadrian jumped to his feet and started to clap, along with other officers. Through the viewport, Alliance fighters could now be seen moving out into space, and over the intercom the Unity?s CAG, Major Etienne Danson, was narrating the pilots? maneuvers.

?Echo squadron move to protect the Judgement. Matador and Bravo, form up on me. We?ll be flying escort for Unity.?

Berloc?s thick hands had gotten sweaty, and he rubbed them down the front of his uniform. The momentary joy of penetrating the Cerberus?s shields had now been outweighed by sudden realization of just how many ships were out there. Even if the Cerberus was stopped, the Alliance fleet was going to have to retreat, or it would be wiped out. ?How do missiles look?? he asked, still looking at the Cerberus as it moved away. ?One more barrage and we?ll finish her off.?

?Still loading Admiral.?

?As soon as they?re finished, blow that ship to hell.? Outside, the rest of the Galian fleet had grown much larger. At the front was a wall of Charon cruisers, over fifty of them, and amidst that wall were other ships that were smaller than the Cerberus but still massive in their own right. There were six of these ships. Had Landon been present, he would have warned Varless that those were Echidna-class Battlecruisers, which had the horrible distinction of serving as the big-brother of the Lilith frigates.

?We have six minutes until the Galian fleet is within weapons range.?

Berloc nodded, still watching the fleeing Command ship. ?And we?re gonna make the most of it. Start spinning up the hyperdrives, we?ve got to get the fleet away from the planet to make the jump.?

Another concentrated volley of turbolasers impacted the Cerberus, and suddenly a huge explosion rippled up along the left side, and one of the many arms that encircled the ship glowed hot red for a moment before exploding in flame. A dense, greenish gas went spilling out of the wound and into space.

Varless looked on with hungry eyes, and for a moment he forgot about the fleet?s peril and would have sacrificed everything away just to kill the Galian beast. It was a madness fueled by lack of hope, and by the utterly depressing state of things that?d only grown worse over the last few days. The lust for vengeance had taken hold of everyone. It was intoxicating and hypnotizing. Varless was in a trance, and it was only broken when a Galian fighter flew straight up, just a hundred feet out from the main viewport, followed closely by a TIE Interceptor. The Interceptor spun in a barrel roll, trying desperately to shoot the ship, then the Galian ship plunged downward and rammed directly into the shields of the Unity. Unable to pull up, the Interceptor crashed as well. Varless took his eyes off of the Cerberus for just a moment while this was happening. When his eyes returned to the battlefield, one hundred smaller ships were blocking his view. They had appeared as if from nowhere, and before Varless had a chance to speak they opened fire.

One hundred and twenty hot, blue orbs came forth through space. They were headed straight towards the Unity.

***

?Our Liliths have engaged the native fleet. The rest of the cruisers are coming up behind us. Our cloaking field is down, but soon we?ll be withdrawn from the battle, for all intents and purposes.?

Sombra was rubbing his jaw with a wet nap, scrubbing away the flakes of dried blood that had accumulated there. Alitar Fiat was not moving. His hands were tightly wrapped around the railing, and he was looking down on the now smashed and broken holo-table below.

?Our shields have failed. Armor?s holding but the fires have gutted some of the upper decks. Weapons tower 4 has been destroyed. They?ve since diverted fire to the Liliths. Our fighter squadrons are cutting their smaller ships to shreds. They outnumber the natives? fighters by thousands. I don?t think they realize that they?re trapped??

?Colonel,? Fiat said, breaking his silence. ?When we are out of the battle, I want my shuttle prepped for dispatch. I will be going to retrieve Admiral Saggat personally.?

Sombra paused. ?He?s not going anywhere,? he said at last, ?he can?t. It would be much wiser to wait until the battle?s over.?

Fiat watched as two Galavex shuffled out from the elevator carrying a new panel for the holotable. They moved the damaged fragments of monitors away and began to install the new projectors. ?Do what I say, Colonel,? he said distantly, ?No more questions.?

Saggat opened his mouth to retort but checked the urge. ?Of course,? he said.


***

The halls of the Special Operations Command were empty. It was like an abandoned tomb. The air was cool, and the lights were on. As he passed by offices, Saggat saw traces of the people who had left: A half-empty cup of Caf, several computers that were still on with programs still loaded. It had been a well lived place, but it was empty. Saggat continued to walk, uninterested in the things around him, until he reached an office near the end of the hall. The sign above the door read Andrei Vuroric. When he saw it, his breath became shallow and a terrifying impulse took hold of him. Hands quivering, Saggat ran his hand along the closed door. It was cold and smooth. It slid opened suddenly and he jumped, almost falling into the wall behind him. His pulse was began to quicken and his eyes grew large, and he stepped into the office like one exploring some dark and terrible cave, within which death is almost assured. Pure and resistless curiosity was the only thing that forced him inside. He took two steps, almost certain that Vuroric would be sitting in there, glaring at him with his bald head and severe eyes. Only after he realized the office was empty did he exhale.

Saggat clenched his hands into little fists. He knew he didn?t have time to be wasting. His only way off of the planet was still deeper into the base, but he had to take a moment. Never in his life had he summoned so much hatred upon one man. He truly did hate Andrei Vuroric. If the General had been sitting in that chair, Saggat knew he would have knocked him senseless, and then pulled every tooth from his mouth. The animal deserved nothing less.

He took two cautious steps further into the office and looked at the desk. It was bare, except for a single report detailing the now outdated evacuation plans. He looked at the datapad for just a moment, then lifted it up in his hand and smashed it against the table. There was a loud crash, then a crackle of searing circuit boards, and the little glowing box died. The single act of violence opened up a floodgate, and Saggat went mad.

He tore drawers from the desk, slung datapads madly in all directions, and shouted and swore like a feral animal. He found a picture of Vuroric standing beside Cyern Jeraan on Bonadan and destroyed it. He found several other datapads and destroyed them as well. It took him almost fifteen minutes for his rage to peter out. When it finally did, the room was nothing but wreckage. He was utterly spent. He fell against the wall and pressed his hands against his face, tears spilling out. Months of bitter and wretched memories came flooding back, and distantly he remembered his old life. Life as a Galian Admiral. Life at Fhloston. Life before. If he had it all to do again, he would never have betrayed his people. He knew that now. It had been a cowardly decision?and yet he?d made it. And he had never shown anyone his regret. It had been his Rubicon, and he knew that there would never again be a place for him in Galaxy 32. Not publicly, at least. If he did escape from Dantooine, he planned to retreat to the farthest, most desolate world along the outer rim, and live out his last years there, in exile, awaiting the inevitable coming of the Galian fleet.

What a life.

***

And as he sat there, crying to himself amidst the smoldering datapads and bits of glass and wood, Saggat never saw the small black rock in the corner of the room. But it saw him and read his thoughts with great interest.

***

?Brace for impact!? Varless shouted. The bridge crew were slackjawed as the energy bombs marched steadily towards the Unity. Then from overhead, three squadrons of TIE Interceptors and A-9 Vigilance Interceptors flew past, unleashing a hail of laser fire into the storm. Bomb after bomb detonated as their energy fields destabilized and the hot plasma dispersed into space. But there were many bombs, and some inevitably broke through. Almost twenty slammed into the front of the Unity?s shields, but they held.

?Admiral, Judgement reports more artillery frigates have decloaked behind our fighter screen.?

In space, another flight of fifty Liliths appeared between the Unity and the Judgement. Like the others, they fired immediately, but without significant fighter cover, the energy bombs did not stop. They crashed into the missile cruiser one after another, causing a vibrant lightshow of discharging blues and hot red flame to go searing out into space. The ship?s shields were only able to hold so well against the barrage; against such a number, they failed. The last few torpedoes smashed through the side of the Judgement tearing massive holes into its hull, and gutting whole decks. Fireballs hundreds of meters long exploded out into space before they snuffed out.

Varless cringed at the damage done to his ship. ?Rockets?? he snapped again.

?Rockets are armed and ready, Admiral.?

?Then fire.?

And the fleet did fire, but just as the Alliance ships has shot down the energy bombs, the Galian fighters descended upon the incoming missiles. They rained their weapons down upon them, and one by one the heavy rockets and anti-ship missiles were destroyed. Several made it past the fighters, of course, but by that point the Cerberus was well defended behind a cruiser screen, and the point defense systems of those ships kept the command vessel from feeling anything more than minor pecks.

?Echo leader, echo leader I need you?.?

?There?s too many?.?

?Fighter cover is thick. Cannot approach the cruiser groups for bombardment.?

?Bomber flight is attempting to?wait, we?ve got three bogeys decloaking from four o?clock. Incoming weapons fire??

Berloc grimaced. The Galian fighters were doing significant damage to the fleet, and scattered reports of bomber vessels of unknown configuration were slowly leaking in. Already several of the smaller frigates had been destroyed, and the shields of many larger ships had been steadily eroded as well. The small fighters reveled in flying between two larger ships, and then evading their fire so that the two ships fired upon one another by mistake.

Out of the forward viewport, he watched as the Cerberus limped back behind the enemy lines, and a wall of Charon cruisers and other ships before unseen were marching forwards. The Lilith artillery frigates had pulled back and were taking pot-shots at the Alliance vessels, and with the Alliance?s fighter squadrons outnumbered ten to one, they barely had time to defend themselves, much less fly point defense. As if to emphasize this point, two energy bombs slammed into the front of a Victory Star Destroyer flying near the Unity. It?s command tower was torn off and a huge fireball flew upwards, before being sucked back down into the ship and having the rest of the hull vaporize.

Gun frigates had entered the battle shortly after, flying outside of the cruiser wall and up close along side the Marauders and dreadnaughts, engaging these smaller ships in individual battles. Very quickly it was becoming apparent that the Galian fleet was overwhelming the Alliance, and if they stayed they would die.

?We?ve got to get out of here,? Varless muttered. ?They?re tearing us to shreds.? As he spoke, a volley of around thirty energy bombs smashed into the Unity?s new Galian-reinforced shields. They held, but the bridge shook and energy surges shorted out several consoles.

Hadrian was staring at the sensor image. The orange blips of the Galian fleet were now completely overwhelming any friendlies. He wasn?t even sure if he could pick out the red Imperial blips from the mass of orange. ?I?m signaling the fleet to begin immediate withdrawal. Hyperdrives are charged and ready?? Hadrian?s voice trailed off and Varless clicked his tongue.

?Commander, what is it??

?They?ve boxed us in,? Hadrian muttered. We?re too close to the planet to jump from here, and we can?t go forwards or we?ll be diving into their fleet. It?ll take the fleet nearly twenty minutes to move above or below the Galians enough to escape the planet.?

?Frell, they?ll eat us alive in twenty minutes,? Varless said. He was sweating heavily now, and he could barely think but for the pounding in his temples. His hands were shaking, and his composure was leaving him. Death had never been so close.

Hadrian nodded, ?I know. So what do we do??

***

From his seat on the Cerberus?s bridge, Colonel Sombra watched the Alliance fleet begin to break apart. They were making a terrible mistake, he thought. In his panic, the Alliance commander had ordered essentially ?Every man for himself?, sending the ships in every possible formation to escape from the Galian fleet. It was suicide. As soon as the Unity moved out of the way, the running ships would be open and vulnerable, the Galian fleet would rapidly move within weapons range.

And the Unity was starting to move.

***

?How are our shields?? Varless barked. Sombra was right. He had panicked. But Admiral Berloc Varless was too tough and too experienced to make the mistake Sombra thought he saw. The fleet was moving off on different vectors, that much was true, but they were not random. They all had one, very significant thing in common.

?They?re holding steady at 64%,? an officer said. ?Even with the increased recharge rate they won?t hold out forever. And if we proceed with your plan the amount of incoming fire will increase exponentially. I can?t guarantee us lasting more than ten minutes under constant bombardment.?

?That?ll do,? Berloc muttered. ?Order stands. Position the Unity perpendicular to the Galian fleet. Move us so close they don?t have any choice but to shoot at us. Give our boys time to get away.?

Hadrian repeated the order, and the plane of the battle began to move and tip sideways, and out in space several Galian commanders momentarily went senseless. The Unity, rather than turning to run like the other ships, had turned up onto its side, giving the largest possible target to the alien fleet, and creating a wall for the rest of the Alliance to hide behind as they fled.
The fleeing Alliance ships, hidden in the Unity?s shadow, managed one after another to move away from the major combat area and fly upwards or downwards out of harms way. Galian fighters and frigates were cut off from their fleet, as the Super Star Destroyer?s girth separated the Galian ships as well. The enemy ships began to pummel both sides of the Unity, and its turbolasers retaliated, but to all observers it was readily apparent how precipitous the Alliance?s position was.

Turbolaser fire from the Unity?s underside lanced out and destroyed Frigate after frigate, as their captains cracked in indecision as to what their target should be. Galian fightercraft swarmed amidst the Alliance fleet, still crippling ships and destroying the maimed, but without capital ship support the Alliance?s point defense and fighter cover were making more of a mark. But of course, although one after another of the Alliance?s ships managed to slip away to safety and then jump away, there was a cost.

?Admiral,? Hadrian said, ?Admiral Dubose is on the line.? The bridge lights had died and several consoles were inoperable. All power had been diverted to shields, even life support, but the constant bombardment was too much for them. Within seven minutes the Unity?s shields were down to 13%, fractures and scorched marks littered the outer hull, plumes of fire were leaking out into space, and entire decks had collapsed under the searing heat of burning and melting steel.

?Put him on.? Berloc said, ?And signal the CAGs to order all of their non-hyperdrive capable fighters to dock.?

There was a pause, and then over the intercom Dubose?s voice fell down onto the bridge, ?Have you gone fracking stupid??

Berloc glanced at Hadrian, who handed him a headset. The bridge shook and several consoles flickered and died. ?Admiral, get your ship to the rendezvous. We?ll be making the jump with you?I ain?t got no plans on dyin? out here, I assure you.?

?The Unity isn?t hardly in a condition to enter hyperspace. You won?t be going anywhere if you stay here much longer. You?ve got survivors on board?families. Now?s no time to be acting heroic.?

?We?re gonna need all the ships we?ve got, not just this one, if we?re gonna try to mount a resistance, Mirrak.?

?You?re acting?? Varless signaled and Hadrian cut the line. Berloc rolled his eyes, ?Hope he?s wrong. How?re shields??

?Failing,? Hadrian muttered. ?He?s right about one thing, if we don?t move soon we?re going to die. It takes a lot of pummeling to destroy a twelve mile ship?but they have the capacity to do it.?

Berloc sighed. In space, another flurry of energy bombs fell from the Galian fleet, and this time they ripped straight through the paper-thin shields and tore huge wounds into the hull of the Unity. Plumes of fire shot upward and chunks of debris went flying out of those holes and into space.

?Get us out of here then,? Berloc nodded. ?How many ships are left??

Hadrian shook his head, ?Twenty maybe. But they?re nearing the exit point. Most of them are going to make it.?

Varless hesitated, and the bridge shook again. He looked first at the Galian fleet, which was directly on top of them. It was tearing through the hull now, and the ship wouldn?t be spaceworthy if it continued much longer. Then he caught Dantooine out of the corner of his eye. Massive rents in the earth were tearing their way across the planet, and black clouds were looming over the evaporating oceans and dying grasslands. It hurt him a little to see the planet like that. And he thought for just a moment that he may have let Tyr down. But then, pushing the thoughts away, he furrowed his brow and nodded. ?You moved us as close to the Galian fleet as we could get without ramming didn?t you??

Hadrian nodded.

?Was it close enough??

He nodded again.

?Good, then lets blow this taco stand.?

And suddenly every Galian commander was surprised again, when the Unity, which had been so nearly and utterly destroyed, suddenly fired its engines and moved rapidly out of the fleet?s line of sight and shot out into hyperspace. It was gone.

***

Beneath the surface of Dantooine, several clicks away from the city itself and accessible only by underground tram, was the Special Operation?s Command Experimentals Division, Gamma site. Unlike the several other sites, Gamma was not full of long corridors of labs or strange glowing vials. It was, instead, a large but simple room of hollowed out rock, about a quarter-mile wide and long, and perhaps two hundred meters high. The roof of the place was made of thick, durasteel baydoors that had not been opened since the site?s completion over four months earlier. In the center of the hangar bay was a Marauder Corvette. Its hull looked like a mottled patchwork of Durasteel alloys and black obsidian, marking several unsuccessful attempts to cannibalize Galian armor. Many of its laser batteries had been removed, and in their place were a few larger turrets made from the same black ore. Other turbolasers remained, along with two massive rockets attached beneath each of the ship?s wings.

It was the Destiny, the testbed for all of the Galian Technology that had been salvaged from the Battle of Dantooine.

?Sodding Galians and their wars and their plots,? Vuroric muttered to himself. He was alone on the bridge, bringing the last few of the ship?s sensors online. It?d been thirty minutes since he?d felt the earthquake, but he knew what it was. The Galians had fired their megaweapon on the planet somewhere. He was running out of time. ?It would be to simple just to be happy with one galaxy. Frell, I?d be happy with one planet. It?s just an exercise in ego and overcompensation to want to expand this much. I should have killed frelling Saggat just to send them a message.?

As he grumbled, he punched away at the computer console. Behind him, the door to the bridge hung open and his belt, and gun holster lay down on the ground in front of it. He needed the flexibility when he started climbing underneath consoles and fusing wires. Lucky for him, he thought, he didn?t need much more time. In fact, give him another ten minutes, and the ship would be space worthy. Yes, ten more minutes, and he?d be off the rock for good.

***

Saggat walked briskly down the dark corridor, and at every junction he saw a flickering sign labeled Experimentals Division. All of the usual safety protocols had been deactivated by someone who?d come before him, and he wondered with apprehension who this person would turn out to be. Up ahead, he could see a tram.

***

Admiral Alitar Fiat stroked his hand across his chest and stared at Sombra. His one good eye darted back and forth from the mess of the Cerberus?s bridge to the Colonel. After almost a minute of this psychological thrashing, he turned and looked out of the main viewport towards the planet.

?Their shields and armor were strong. They absorbed a heavy bombardment from many of our ships and lasted several minutes.?

?Saggat helped them cannibalize our shield technology, just like our cloak. It?s the only explanation,? Sombra muttered.

Fiat nodded. Beyond him, bolts of yellow light were still falling as the last of the Alliance?s fleet retreated. ?He?s still on the surface, you know.?

?You said that before.?

?Scan the surrounding space for ejected pilots or survivors. Bring them in, strip them of their uniforms and shoot them,? Fiat dictated, but his voice sounded distant and disinterested. ?I?m going to the surface.?

Sombra nodded, and the Admiral left. When he was gone, Sombra closed his eyes and wept silently for the lives of those pilots. Then he carried out Fiat?s orders to a T.

***

Andrei had never been a strong child. He?d been a loner, quiet, and kept to the shadows. He hadn?t really changed much over time, except his field of work had developed in him a propensity for isolation, and a lack of empathy. It made many consider him cold and ruthless, but all of his decisions, he liked to think, were driven by a profound sense of patriotism. But there was always a part of him that feared becoming like Saggat. There was always a part of him that wanted to chose the easiest choice?the one that best benefited him even if it hurt others. He was, deep down, a coward. He?d just been denying it all his life.

It occurred to him, as he had worked, what he might have given up by turning away from the Burning Man?s offer. He had rejected rewards and almost certain power for what looked very rapidly to be imminent death. He?d rejected something that maybe a part of himself had craved. But he knew if that if he had to do it over again, he?d have done the same thing. Saggat was a warning, if nothing else, as to what could happen to a man that puts his own personal ambition and fears above loyalty to others. He was a coward, first and foremost, and that cowardice had since damned him both in the eyes of the Galians and the people of Galaxy 32. Lucian Saggat had run like a sprinter from death. Vuroric always told himself that he was different, and that when his time came, he?d approach it with strength and dignity.

?When I find Varless, I?m going to be sure to give him a piece of my mind,? Vuroric muttered. ?The Unity is not a bumpercar, and it certainly isn?t a wall. But then again?it did work.? He had been watching the battle from a few computer monitors and holocameras for the past fifteen minutes. He?d seen what the Galians were doing before Varless had, but in the Admiral?s defense he had come up with a very creative solution. Meanwhile, the General had been working on the last few modifications to make the Destiny spaceworthy.

Sighing with satisfaction and relief, Vuroric pressed the last series of buttons. The ship tremored as the reactor switched on and it began to hover. Its many repulsorlifts held it floating above the surface like a great bird. Vuroric sighed and counted his blessings that the experimental reactor hadn?t exploded. ?Well that?s a start,? he said. Then he pressed another button on the console and another. There was a grinding as the heavy baydoors above slid open. Then, from the forward hatch, he saw sunlight?or what he mistook to be sunlight?coming in from outside. Bright and dazzling yellow light was sparkling in from the sky, raining down from orbit like a spring shower. Each miniature sun pierced the dark, turbulent cloud cover and went falling to the surface with a great explosion. Vuroric stared at the mottled lights and swirling, furious sky in awe, and gave himself a moment to watch the sight, which removed from the consequences of destruction, was utterly beautiful. It was hypnotic. It was divine.

?It makes you wish all that talk of God was really true, doesn?t it??

Vuroric froze. A cold shiver ran from the small of his back up to his neck, and he dared not turn. He recognized the voice. The once cold, confident voice that now cracked with fear and uncertainty. The voice that had screamed so loudly every time Andrei approached. The voice that carried death, and the absence of hope, like a badge.

?But of course it isn?t. Think about how many children cried themselves to sleep the night they realized the Force was just a colony of parasites. At least the Galians have a God. He might be false, he might be a man like you and I, but at least he?s there for his people. He guides them, and he dazzles them with tricks and miracles.?

Vuroric moved to turn but stopped when he heard the click and low hum of a blaster being switched on.

?He rewards those who bring him favor. But the punishments, General. The punishments for failure??

Vuroric could clearly hear the clicks of footsteps against the Destiny?s flooring. They stopped, and the cold barrel of a blaster pistol was pressed against his back.

?I thought?? the voice hesitated. ?Every time you hit me. Every time you tried to break me?.all I could think about was how much worse it would be if He ever found me. And he has?he?s here. He?s up there, in orbit, at least in spirit. His Acolyte will come for me, and take me, and put me in a dark place in his spire. A place with no doors. He?ll let his pets eat out my eyes, excoriate my flesh, and take me to the brink of death before healing me and doing it all over again. Forever.?

Vuroric felt the fear rising in his gut, and he swallowed only to find that his mouth was too dry to complete the task. He fought hard to keep his voice from shaking, and he suddenly realized that there was no escape. ?Well, Zero-Zero-Zero-Four, you have me. What are you going to do with me??

There was a quick flash of pain and Vuroric fell forwards. The blow made him see stars and he felt a throbbing in the back of his head. He turned over on the console, and saw Lucian Saggat staring back at him with crazed eyes, holding a blaster pistol in his arms. Vuroric recognized the pistol as his own, and saw the empty holster laying by the open door, and cursed beneath his breath. ?I HAVE A NAME!? Saggat shouted.

Vuroric tasted a coppery something in his mouth and spit the bloody saliva on the ground. His hands were shaking, and his bald head was shiny with sweat. But he didn?t beg, and he didn?t flinch. Rather he narrowed his eyes. He steadied his jaw, and said in the calm, dignified voice he always carried, ?You lost that a long time ago, along with your dignity, self-respect, and soul. You?re a waste of a life, a sniveling little gutter-snipe, and a coward, who clings to the easiest choice, because you can?t stand pain or risk. And in the end, whether from me, or from the Galians, you?re going to get just what treacherous cowards deserve.?

Saggat, through clenched teeth, said, ?I?m going to kill you now.?

Vuroric nodded, still holding his voice steady. ?I know.?

Then he did.

[Calavan]

Hold Fast, My Dear

?Do you want me to tell you something really subversive? Love is everything it's cracked up to be. That's why people are so cynical about it. . . . It really is worth fighting for, being brave for, risking everything for. And the trouble is, if you don't risk everything, you risk even more.?

~Erica Jong


The beast that sat at the peak of the Black Spire stared uneasily out into space. He knew what was coming. He knew what Milton could not. The four were marching towards him relentlessly and carelessly, not heeding the warnings they?d glimpsed along the way. They were playing into the Pale King?s hands, who would use them to tear down the wall around Earth. Kel Gauthra resolved that he would do everything in his power to repel them?to deter them. He would do everything he could to wreck what lasting vengeance he could upon the lives of the four. He would destroy their friends and families, their dreams, and even the galaxy they called home. But he knew, just as he had known long before, that his last days were coming. He breathed deeply, and wondered what death would be like. For one thousand years he had lived?or at least existed. Yes?existed was the right word. Because he hadn?t lived since Ashley. Since the War. Since before his exile and return.

Of course, as a God, those names and feelings meant nothing to him. His old love and old adversaries were hollow thoughts. But a small piece of man still endured beneath his ageless visage. A small fragment of Peter: the man who had been. Before Kel Gauthra. Before the Burning Man. And Peter, whose will had diminished behind the raw red hue of the Burning Man?s blaze, longed for the very thing that so terrified the God in him. For while God?s rejoice in stagnancy and knowledge, men find such things tedious in large doses. Men crave the opposite?they crave excitement, conflict, and most of all the unknown.

So Peter, that small part of Kel Gauthra who still felt, who had lived 1,000 years, who had done everything and seen everywhere, now knew that there was just one great unknown left. He was ready to die.

***

The red blaster bolt struck Vuroric squarely in his back and his body crumpled up and fell over. He let out one heavy wheeze and a gurgle of blood oozed up out of his mouth. Then Saggat shot him again. Then again.

He shot the body until it was unrecognizable?a burning lump of flesh and carbon. He didn?t realize he was screaming until he stopped firing. It was a loud, blood-lusted scream and he silenced it at once. With the scream quiet, so was everything else. He was all alone in silence. He hesitated for a moment, looked at the mess that was Vuroric, and started to laugh a mad, rambling laugh that had no real beginning or end, but just kept going, as if perpetually fueled by a raving glee.

?Not so big now, Vuroric?!? he shouted between giggles. ?Not so tough? Not so noble? Where?s your smart mouth and your hard hand? See if you will ever lay another finger on me!? His voice crescendoed as he spoke until he was screaming. ?NOT ANOTHER FINGER!? he repeated. He stopped abruptly when a hand wrapped tightly around his neck.

?Lucian Saggat,? said a cold, mechanical voice. Saggat felt the blood drain from his face, and his racing hearth began to thunder. He closed his eyes, mind racing, and suddenly wished he hadn?t killed Vuroric. He needed Vuroric. Vuroric would have been an extra brain. They could have fought back. But he?d killed him?

Saggat clutched his hands to his throat and suddenly realized no one was there. He was still alone on the bridge. It was still silent. Alitar Fiat had all been a dream. Slowly, he exhaled and let the tension in his body relax.

***

In Andrei Vuroric?s office, the little black rock in the corner of the room was glowing bright red.

***

Weston did his best to keep his promise to Menina. They did not stop. Onward and onward they rode, for hours on end without break or rest. They thundered across the Flats towards a pinprick on the horizon that rapidly grew larger. Onward and onward they went, over grass and desert.

?We have to take a break,? Payne yelled over the thundering hoofbeats. ?We?re ridin? the horses to death! If they die before we get to Kader, it won?t matter how close we are?we?ll be too late for the girl.?

Weston ignored him.

And they rode on, spurned by panic and need. The hot sun blared down on the horses as it marched across the sky, and their breathing grew labored. Menina, now on Weston?s horse, hung her head limply against his chest. He glanced down at her as they rode, and stroked her hair.

?Weston,? she said quietly. Her voice was almost imperceptible beneath the ambient roar. ?Weston?I thirsty.?

?Thirsty?? he asked, and looked down at her. The little girl, eyes bloodshot and face pale and clammy, nodded her head. She coughed just a little, and a bloody glob of thick phlegm oozed out from between her lips. She spit it towards the ground and it was trampled beneath the thunder.

Weston pulled back on the reins of his horse and stopped before many of the others realized what was happening. Payne wheeled around and trotted up beside him, eyes severe. ?Bout time you listened to me,? he snapped. ?That girl isn?t worth us dying. If our horses don?t make it, we?ll be walkin back. And we don?t have the food or water to make that trip.?

Weston looked out at Kader and nodded, ?How far a walk is it from here??

Payne glanced towards the city and grimaced, ?I dunno, ten, maybe fifteen days at least. We didn?t start this trip plannin? on guests though. We?re running low on food and water as it is, and it?s still a two day ride to the city.? As he talked, Weston had already dismounted and was fishing through his pack for a canteen. He found it?a canister of compressed water, and placed the nozzle in Menina?s mouth. She drank like a suckling child.

?That?s if we stop for the night. I?m not stopping.?

Payne shook his head, ?You?re nuts, boy. You may love that little girl a lot, but not as much as I love these men and my own skin. Walking through the Flats ain?t like taking a nature hike. If we don?t let these horses rest, we?re stranded, and we will starve to death. We will dry out. You ever seen a man die of dehydration? It isn?t pretty.?

While Payne was talking, Tom Collins had ridden his horse up behind the two with Jake close in tow. The madman stared intently at Payne. He cleared his throat and said, ?A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.?

Jake and Weston exchanged glances. ?Sergeant,? Jake said. He rode up alongside Weston and Payne. ?I can understand your fear, but these animals aren?t normal horses. They can be pushed harder than we?ve been pushing them. I remember from when you fellows were approaching that it never seemed like you rested. Now we break every night.?

?Maderan stock?s strong, that?s true,? Payne agreed, ?but you give ?em too much credit. In this heat, Earth horses would?ve been dead long before now. We?re riding at full gallop day after day with only one or two breaks for water and rest. I don?t know what you think you saw, but we were taking the same rests on our way out to Crescent as we are on our way back.?

Weston glanced at Jake. ?I?m not so sure I believe that.?

?Son? Why in the Burning Man?s name would I lie to you? You think I get off on watching little girls die??

?She?s not dying,? Weston muttered. ?She?s sick, but she?s not??

?Oh that?s bullshit and you know it. If you didn?t think she was dying then you wouldn?t be so gung-ho to get to Kader. You don?t even know if our medics can help her. Jacobs couldn?t.?

?Jacobs isn?t exactly a walking bacta tank,? Weston snapped. He glanced back at the man, who was on horseback behind him amongst the men. ?Sorry Jacobs.?

?S?ok. I don?t have any clue whats you said anyway.?

?Nor is he the brightest,? Weston added. Menina, her thirst quenched, let go of the nozzle and Weston walked it around to the horse. The animal whinnied and took a few steps backwards, then latched onto the canister and began to suck down moisture. ?Now, I?m going to make this easy for you Payne. You?ve got a choice. I?m going to get on this horse?as soon as it lets go of my water bottle, and I?m going to ride towards that city. You can follow me, or you can let me go. Frankly, I don?t give a damn.?

Payne chuckled and shook his head, ?Boy, do you have any idea what?s going to happen if you just ride into that town without me? We?ve got lookouts and an underground. The city itself won?t have any medical facilities like you need, you?re going to need Galian tech, and all of that is behind closed doors. Without somebody on the inside, without some way into the Resistance cell, you?ve got nothing. So the way I see it, you?ve got to listen to me or let her die, and there?s the only choices you?ve got.?

Weston rolled his eyes and pulled out one of his pistols. His other hand was still supporting the water canister as his horse drank. He leveled the gun at Payne?s head. ?Here?s choice number three.?

***

Rendix breathed in deeply. The air was hot and dry, and bits of sand cut at his skin. He was standing alone in an endless desert. In every direction there was nothing?no plant, no soul, no birds in the distance. Just sand and heat and misery. Rendix opened his mouth to call out, but he couldn?t. He had no voice.

Panic and thirst swept over him, and he stumbled forward. He collapsed into the sand and looked up at the sky and the hot red sun beating down on him. He tried to call out for succor but he couldn?t find the words. And then, as his energy drained and the heat intensified, and he felt as if his body were about to melt, he heard a voice. It was a deep, booming voice that came from everywhere. And the sky darkened. And the sun, he realized, had changed into a pair of burning eyes whose gaze he could never escape from.

YOU ARE ORDAINED FOR NOTHING the voice said.

Rendix opened his mouth again, but could not call out.

YOUR GREAT DELIVERER LIES IN SHACKLES. YOUR PROPHET IS FALSE. YOUR FATES ARE ILLUSION. YOU HAVE BEEN LIED TO AND MISLED. THERE IS NO HOPE FOR YOU HERE. GO BACK TO YOUR GALAXY AND DIE IN PEACE.

The red eyes intensified, and the sand around him erupted into fire. He was encircled in light and bathed in red flame, and he could feel it spreading and lapping at his skin. His shirt caught first, then his pants, and his skin writhed and sizzled and blackened. He tried to screamed out in agony, but he couldn?t even do that.

Tyr Rendix-Jeraan burned to death in silence, and the two red eyes watched.

***

Rendix woke up covered in sweat, and his skin was hot to the touch.

?Shandri!? he whispered. The crew quarters on the Midnight Zephyr was a dark, cramped little area of two beds where Shandri and Tyr had been living for the past week. Shandri had her own quarters across the hall, but they?d been so isolated for so long that neither wanted any freedom from the others? company. He?d gotten used to every inch of that room, so when he opened his eyes he immediately realized something was wrong.

?Shandri?? He leaned up in bed and looked over at where Shandri usually slept. Her bed was empty. Interest peaked, Tyr slid out of bed himself and landed on the Zephyr?s cold paneled floor.

The halls of the Zephyr were dark and empty. Tyr walked out of the crew quarters and out into the main family room. He peeked over towards the refresher station but the door was open and the lights were off. ?Shandri?? he called out again, but again there was no answer. He continued through the ship, checking first the cockpit and then the cargo hold. These, too, were deserted.

?Shand?? he cut short. He was halfway back to the crew quarters when he saw a low, green glow coming from the door to the master bedroom. The quarters were unsealed, and someone was in there. Quietly he walked up close to the door and placed his head against it. It was cold and thick, and he couldn?t hear anything on the other side. He wondered, suddenly, what might be back there. What could be so precious that she?d keep the door sealed when he was awake and about? Maybe it was some kind of evidence. Maybe it was some kind of proof that this ship, this old and ragged bucket, was the same ship that his Marauder had chased into an asteroid field ten years ago and barely survived. The ship that had caused the death of so many of his friends?his cadet mates. The first in a long line of deaths that came with the territory. He'd gotten used to them eventually, but at first it'd been hard. He hadn?t asked her. He hadn?t had the courage, but he?d surveyed the ship when she wasn?t around. He checked the walls, and the logs. The ship?s flight history was blank until eight years ago. Someone had erased it. Someone was covering something up.

Should he look? Did he dare? He wasn?t sure if he wanted to know what was on the other side of the door. He loved Shandri. He loved her dearly?and he could forgive her if what he suspected was true. She?d have only been sixteen or so anyway. She wasn?t the one who?d done it, she?d just been a kid. But still?still if it was true it was something that could drive a little, life-changing wedge between them forever. It was something that would redefine their relationship.

Very slowly, he reached over to the side of the door, and pressed in on the release.

***

Weston heard the click of weapons, and the other resistance horsemen trained their guns on him. Payne glanced at Weston?s pistol and then towards his men. ?You know, son, I think we?ve been through this dance before.?

?Weston?? it was Jake. He was watching the whole situation with increasing anxiety, and felt a little like a special forces officer tasked with defusing a ticking bomb. ?Weston put the gun away. It?s no good for anybody if we start shooting each other. We do that, Weston, Milton wins.?

?You think I give half a fucking damn about that right now??

?Well you should. But listen. Listen, if you shoot him, then you?ll get shot, and what odds do you think Menina has then? And even if you don?t, how receptive will the Resistance be to you when they find out you gunned down half their army??

?Listen to your friend,? Payne chided, ?he?s the smart one.?

Weston?s eyes shifted from Landon and then to Payne. His hand shook just a little, but he didn?t put his gun away. ?If we don?t get there soon, Menina isn?t going to make it.?

?We don?t have a choice,? Jake said. ?We?ll shorten our rests. We can ride at night and let them recuperate during the day. It won?t make that much of a difference on time, just a few hours.?

Weston was shaking more readily now, and his eyes winced. Payne grimaced at him and Jake frowned. The horse had finished drinking and Weston tucked the canister under his arm. His gun still hadn?t left Payne. ?Jake?what if we don?t have a few hours. What if this is all we?ve got left? And she dies because I wasn?t fast enough. Just like I wasn?t fast enough to shoot that fracking feral dog. Just like I wasn?t fast enough to save Bojangles. How could I live knowing that I could have done anything differently, and there?d been a chance to save her life.?

Jake breathed in deeply and closed his eyes. ?Weston?Weston those things they weren?t?they weren?t your fault. This will be. If you take her, and your horse doesn?t make it?and you two are stranded out on the Flats??

?Then what, we have to wait until you come along and pick us up? That doesn?t seem like too big of a consequence to me.?

?Weston?? it was becoming clear to Jake that reason wasn?t working. ?Please. Just put the gun away and we can talk. No matter what, that?s not going to help anybody here.?

Weston furrowed his brow, as if trying to contemplate how such a suggestion could possibly be true.

?Weston,? Jake sighed at last. ?Put it down. I love her too, and I wouldn?t do anything to endanger her. Trust me.?

It was not the words, so much as the tone in which they were said, and the look in Jake?s eyes that got through to him. Weston?s arm broke, and he stuffed the gun back into its holster. He dropped the canister from under his arm, and it clattered to the ground. Then he stumbled backwards and grabbed onto the horse?s neck for support. Menina leaned forward, though she was half asleep and shaking heavily, and ran her hand through Weston?s long, dirty hair.

Weston looked up at the little girl and held his hand up to her, and she took his hand in his. Weston, eyes bloodshot and face flushed, looked at Menina?s pale, feverish face and shook his head. ?We?ve lost so much. So many lives, in both our lifetimes. We?ve seen so much death?and been so severed from love?real love. Not that fleshy trash that I brag about. And now I find it, I find it in a little girl that I?d have left in the woods without a second thought. I find it in someone who a month ago couldn?t even speak my language. She?s like a daughter to me Jake. And I?m not going to risk her for anybody. Especially not the likes of him.? When he was finished, his knees felt weak and he didn?t know if he could keep from crying. He never cried, but now a dark pit that had been welling inside of him ever since crescent was on the verge of collapsing, and all the pain he?d been hiding was ready to spill out. He turned away from the crowd of Galian horsemen and buried his face in the mane of his horse. And then a peculiar thing happened.

Menina opened her eyes, and smiled, and wrapped her other hand around Weston?s. Feeling the gentle hand and the squeeze it gave, Weston looked up. He was met with a pale face and bloodshot eyes, and saw that she was crying too.

***

Far away, but much closer now than just one week earlier, similar sobs were coming from a girl kneeling against her parent?s bed. The tears running down Shandri?s face were hot and her skin was cold. She was on her knees, crying into the mattress. A single, flickering lantern lit the dim bedroom, and cast dancing shadows in the dark corners of the room. Shandri clutched their picture?a family picture?tight against her breast. Her mind was full of sad thoughts and ghosts, so full that she had neither heard Rendix?s calls nor felt his presence. She was in her own, special, vulnerable place. A place that she kept hidden from everyone, even herself.

With her eyes closed, she was picturing herself twenty years ago when she was just a little girl. Her daddy had brought her a present. It wasn?t anything big, just a doll from Chandrilla, but it had such beautiful emerald eyes. She cherished it. Just like she cherished him. And her mom. She then saw the three of them holding each other; she was just a little bigger. It was the day they had found out that Aurren?s father had died on Nar Shaddaa. He?d been, ironically, shot by a smuggler. She remembered how sad she?d been, but at the same time she had felt so safe with her daddy?s big hands and her mother?s warm body there, pressed close against her. She knew that nothing could ever happen to her when they were with her. She knew that she?d be safe forever. Her father kissed her forehead. And he smiled, and opened his mouth to tell her he loved her. He bent down, and whispered in her ear, ?Shandri??

?Shandri?? Tyr said again from the doorway. Shandri tensed, and tried to suck the tears up into herself. ?Shandri are you?? Tyr hesitated. Shandri bit her lower lip, and her throat quivered. She wasn?t sure what she felt. Shame? Fear? Anger? Maybe it was all three, but she let the anger talk for her.

Understand, that this vulnerability went against every grain of personal training and belief. It was an admission of weakness, and smallness, that she denied wherever she went. So when the door hissed open, and Tyr Rendix-Jeraan saw her kneeling there, crying into the same covers her parents had slept on a decade earlier, she felt like her most precious possession had been robbed from her. She felt like her last secret, her last defining characteristic that she kept safely private, had been found out.

?Tyr,? she said, ?Tyr what are you doing in here??

?Shandri, what happened? What?s the matter?? He looked into the room and first saw then picture she was cluthing. Then he saw the walls. It was like a shrine. Like a huge, living scrapbook. Photos and holocards and memoirs were pasted to the walls. Trinkets and baubles, outwardly meaningless but of great sentimental value lay scattered on the floor. And Shandri was in the middle of it all, kneeling at the foot of a master bed, and clutching onto a picture of the same two people that surrounded them in the room. Rendix immediately realized they were dead and that he?d intruded on something very private. He felt suddenly very guilty, and yet a little creeped out at the same time.

?Get out,? she said. She grabbed tight to the picture, and tried uselessly to return herself to that place where her parents had been.

?Shandri I didn?t mean??

?GET OUT!? She screamed, and she turned and held out her arms, and Tyr went flying backwards out of the doorway and into the hall. She felt the power of that aggressive act fly through her like an electric surge, and suddenly for one terrifying moment, she realized how good it felt.

Tyr picked himself up off of the ground and stared at Shandri, slack jawed. She looked back at him and her face was flushed and angry. ?I told you never to ask me about this room. I kept it secret. I kept it for me. Why couldn?t you respect that??

?Shandri,? Tyr said, ?Shandri I?m sorry. I just wanted to help.?

She narrowed her eyes and in her hurt and anger did something that she?d never done before. She dove into his mind through the Force, and pulled?tore?out the truth. She ripped through his defenses, found the kernel of knowledge that she wanted, and took it. ?You?re lying to me Tyr,? she said. ?You think I?m a criminal??

Tyr placed his hand against the side of his face. ?You just went into my head. You just went into my head without permission.?

?Don?t you make me the villain here!? She shouted.

?That is unacceptable! It?s a violation of??

?Of what? You?re privacy?!? That stopped him, and got his attention. Shandri paused for a moment and collected her thoughts. ?You barged into this room in the middle of the night, poking your nose in somewhere that you knew was private to me, somewhere you knew I didn?t want you going, and thought ?what will it matter? She could very well be one of those damn, dirty smugglers anyway.??

?Shandri, that?s not fair. I didn?t know what to think,? he snapped back. ?You get so frelling defensive sometimes. It?s easy to draw certain conclusions.?

Shandri rolled her eyes, ?This was my home, Tyr. Every piece of this ship is my home, and you go trudging about like it?s just another tin can transport that?s going to get you from point A to B. Well it?s not. It?s a home, and it?s been one for a long time.?

?Shandri?? Tyr stood in the threshold of the room and looked at her. Then he looked at the walls and then the picture. ?Shandri?I know it was probably wrong for me to come in here. I?m sorry. But this?this place?Shandri will you just tell me what happened? Maybe I can help.?

?You know the best way to help? Go. Go back to bed, Tyr, and mind your own business.?

?Shandri,? Tyr repeated. Now he was red, and his face had hardened. ?Shandri this?place, this is not healthy. I only want to help you. And if you?re going to throw that back in my face??

?I don?t want your help, Tyr. Don?t you get that? I want you to go back to bed and pretend this never happened. Keep out of my private, personal things from now on. And stay out of this room!?

This time Tyr didn?t say anything back. He just looked at her, and she thought she could sense a deep sadness in him. He frowned, and took two steps backwards, out of the threshold and into the hallway. ?Fine.?

Then the door slid shut, and Shandri was once again alone. She took one deep breath, and then another, and in the silence yelled, ?I don?t even know why you came! I thought the Corporate Sector meant so much to you! I thought?? and her voice trailed away.

When she dove into Tyr?s mind, she had come up with other bits of knowledge that?d clung to her during the retrieval. These weren?t immediately apparent, but as time passed and the target thought faded, these other peripheral thoughts bled through, like ink on a wet page. Suddenly she knew what Tyr?s favorite food was, and what his first crush?s name had been. She knew what his favorite childhood memory was, and she knew why he came?

Suddenly the strength in her arms went limp, and the framed picture fell from her hands and struck the floor with a loud clatter. ?Oh God,? she whispered. And all of her hate and shame faded and was replaced by a true and sudden fit of ecstasy. Then fear.

Hoping that she wasn?t too late, Shandri jumped to her feet and walked quickly out of the room. She left little condensation footprints on the floor as she went.

***

Payne looked at the Weston, then Menina and shook his head. ?Put your guns away,? he told his men, ?There won?t be any shootin? today.?

They did as they were told, and Jake rode up alongside Payne. ?That?s a good sign,? he said. ?See? And now that that?s over, Weston: I?m sure you?ll agree that we need to get back on the trail. We?re not far now.?

Weston clutched Menina?s hand and held it. Then, after taking a moment to compose himself, he stuck the canister back into his pack. Menina was shaking madly, and he moved to climb up onto his horse, but then paused. ?You were right Jake?shooting people isn?t going to help anybody. But I meant what I said. I can?t take that risk. If I get back on this horse, and we start riding again, I?m not going to stop. Not for you; not for anybody.?

Jake nodded. ?I kind of thought so.?

?I?ll see you when you get to Kader.?

Jake hesitated. He couldn?t believe how fast this was happening. Weston was leaving. Just like that, he?d decided to go. ?We?ll ride with you until we have to break,? Jake said.

?You?ll have to keep up.? Then Weston hoisted himself up onto the horse and without waiting for another response, he kicked and the animal sparked to life. It jumped outward and began to gallop. As it did, Weston turned back and met Jake?s eyes. Watch out for Payne they said. He?s on to us.

Jake waved to him, still somewhat dumbstruck, and mouthed the word goodbye.

As Weston rode off, several of Payne?s men pulled out their pistols and trained them on Weston?s horse. They looked to their Sergeant for the order to fire, but he shrugged. ?No no, there?ll be none of that. I told him though, that boy, that if he goes to Kader alone he won?t be getting a warm welcome. Especially not if he brings in the Pale King?s latest victim.?

Jake nodded, and watched the horse sprint off towards the horizon. ?I?d be much more worried if I was one of your resistance men. When Weston Onasi sets his mind to something, people have a habit of falling out of his way.?

?Our resistance boys are tough.?

Jake nodded, and chewed on the inside of his lip. He thought about Weston, and what he?d seen him do. He thought about the swamp full of dead spiders, and the stories, and the reflexes. Jake shuddered. ?Doesn?t matter.?

***

Shandri stepped into the cockpit of the Midnight Zephyr and dropped into the un-occupied seat beside Rendix. She glanced over at him, then followed his gaze out into the swirling vortex of colors that was Hyperspace. For long moments neither of them said anything.

?I thought I told you to go to bed,? she said playfully.

Tyr ignored her. She didn?t press him, and let the silence speak for itself. Then, after some time had passed, she finally broke it. ?Tyr, can I ask you something?? she said.

?I didn?t think you wanted to talk to me.?

Shandri frowned, but ignored the stab. ?Just?I need to know. Why did you decide to come with me??

Rendix glanced sidelong at Shandri and then resumed staring out the viewport. ?I told you this before. It just boils down to the fact that you were right and I was wrong. Berloc and Andrei can handle the rest of the liberation of the Corporate Sector. I was just running from what I knew I had to do.?

?Ah,? Shandri nodded.

They returned to staring out into hyperspace for several minutes before either said anything. Shandri glanced at him again and tried to feel him through the Force. She couldn?t; he was dark.

?Tyr??

?Yes??

?Why did you decide to come with me?? she asked again.

Rendix smiled just a little. It was an excited, but scared, smile. ?Can?t fool you, can I?? he asked.

?I am kind of a Jedi,? she grinned. ?And I?m sorry I freaked out earlier I just?I was having a moment.?

?It looked like quite a moment.?

?Yeah,? she sighed. ?But don?t change the subject; why?d you come??

He wracked his brain for a funny and safe answer, but Landon?s parting words kept ricocheting around in his head.

?You have to say something. You have to. Take it as advice from someone who didn?t. I kick myself every day and it still hasn?t stopped eating me up inside.?

I cant? he told himself. And he suddenly didn?t know why. What made her so different from any other girl? What was it that terrified him so completely. Was it his friendship with her? Was he afraid of losing that? Or was that just another excuse. He closed his eyes and realized his palms were sweating. He had made too many excuses, he realized. He owed her more then that. He owed her honesty. And even if he didn?t?even if she didn?t want to know, he owed it to himself.

He chose his words very carefully, and looked Shandri in the eye. ?You know,? he said quietly, ?we?ve only known each other a year. It?s just a drop in the bucket, generally speaking?but over that year, it?s felt like a decade. And I was afraid.?

?Afraid of what, Tyr?? she asked.

He sighed deeply and swallowed. Now or never, he thought. ?Of never seeing you again. I was afraid of getting up one morning and not hearing your voice, or seeing your face. Because if that happened, it would kill me. I have a hard time?well, I have a hard time saying it, but our friendship has meant more to me than you could know. It?s maybe the most important thing in my life. I?ve thought, you know, for a long time that I couldn?t live without that friendship. But then I realized that wasn?t it. It was you. I couldn?t live without you. And so I came.? Rendix took a deep breath when he had finished and tried to gauge Shandri?s reaction. She wore an odd expression and was staring out the viewport into Hyperspace again.

Shandri smiled a little and giggled nervously, ?Now that?s the kind of answer a girl wants to hear.?

Rendix tittered, ?Well, at least you didn?t Force body-slam me this time.?

Shandri hesitated and then finally smiled, ?Yeah?I?m sorry about that. I?like I said, I was having a moment. I should have told you about my parents before?but I just didn?t want to. It was something that I?ve kept buried for so long, and I didn?t want anybody?not even you?to know.?

?That?s ok Shandri, that?s ok. We?ve still got plenty of time. I?m just amazed that you haven?t hit me, or screamed, or run away yet,? Rendix said. He was grinning, ?So I guess I didn?t freak you out too bad.?

?Tyr,? she said. ?You freaked me out exactly this much.?

Then Shandri Brightstorm leaned over to Tyr and kissed him.

[Calavan]

The Black Horseman

And I beheld, and saw a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of scales in his hand.

~Revelation 6:5



When their lips met, Tyr thought he had died. They kissed passionately, and fell into each other?s embrace. To Tyr, it felt like a tremendous weight was suddenly lifted from his shoulders, and for the first time in months all of the pressures and worries that had lingered on the edges of his consciousness were forgotten. He was truly and utterly free. It went on for minutes, until Shandri finally pulled away and winked mischievously at him. ?So I hope you can tell: I?m pretty freaked out.?

Rendix laughed and closed his eyes, and for a fleeting moment he had to ask himself, Is this a dream?. But he knew it wasn?t. It was real. After a moment he stood up from his chair. ?It?s late,? he said, ?we need to get some sleep if we?re going to sit here all day tomorrow.?

Shandri nodded, ?That?s right. All that sitting can wear a girl out. I need to get my best sleep for that.?

Tyr laughed again, and Shandri looked at him with a peculiar joy, like she was seeing him smile for the first time. ?Morning?ll be here before you know it,? Tyr said. ?Pine bark for everyone.?

?Those bars are a family recipe. You?ve got some serious Brightstorm-family butt kissing to do to make up for that.? She hesitated, ?Not that I?m into that kind of thing.?

This time both of them laughed, the kind of full, half-giddy laugh of two people who are fully and totally entrapped with each other, and can finally say it. Shandri fell against Tyr and wrapped her arm around his waist, and the two walked out of the cockpit together.

***

That night, Tyr Rendix-Jeraan should have slept peacefully. He laid to bed with no worries or apprehensions. He was happy. In fact, he was almost giddy. But even in lieu of such emotion, his dreams were troubled. He had a constant, lingering headache, and at the back of his mind an unsettling thought began to germinate.

***

Saggat paced across the bridge of the Destiny from one station to another without any real goal. His eyes were clouded with the dull, robotic look of someone in shock or petrified with anxiety. He stared at one console, gave up, then went to the next, and carried on this march for ten minutes. ?How do I fly this thing?!? he shouted at Vuroric?s body. ?It?s different! Basic?s different! It?s gibberish!? He kicked the body and his foot tore through its still smoking back. When he pulled his foot out it was covered with ash and blood and bits of charred bone. ?They?re coming for me!? he snapped. ?I can?t get caught now!? He ran over to the console Vuroric had been tinkering with and slapped his hand down onto the controls. There was a series of beeps and suddenly the Destiny, which up till this point had been hovering above the surface of the hangar, fell. It wasn?t a long fall, maybe fifteen feet or so, but the ship slammed against the ground with a hard crash and Saggat tumbled to his feet. There was a noise like screeching steel and the ship skidded across the bottom of the hangar and then slid to a stop.

?FUCK!? Saggat screamed. He was sweating profusely now, and couldn?t believe what was happening. After everything, after all that he wasn?t going to make it? That was bullshit. And he knew it. He went back to the console and studied it, trying to figure out what he?d done. He took a deep breath, squeezed his eyes shut, and then pressed a few more buttons. Suddenly the repulsorlifts cut back on, and the ship was once again hovering. A childlike giddiness replaced his terror and Saggat had a smile from ear to ear. There?s still a chance! he thought. He ran his hand along the controls, and gathering his senses, realized that he did still remember a thing or two about basic, and he could get the ship off the ground. He just needed a little more time.

Out of the main windows the sky had grown dark and red. Bolts of green lightning were flickering from black clouds and the ground began to shake. Just a little.

***

Fifteen minutes later, Saggat?s knew everything was going to be all right. He stared at the console, and gave a long, weary sigh. ?It?s ready!? he laughed. ?It?s ready.? He reached down and typed in a few commands, and the automated systems of the Destiny activated, and the ship began to rise up from the surface of the hangar. Light spilled across the bridge as it left the shadows of the underground and into the bleak daylight of the dying world. Soon it was floating above the surface of Dantooine. The planet?s surface was visible out of the main viewport, and Saggat cringed. Hot fissures leaking magma had crept all the way to Cyern City. Buildings had fallen in on themselves, the Capitol was on fire, and the ground itself was turning to liquid. The hangar where the Destiny had been was surrounded by a field of ash, and the ground continued to shake as those fissures extended and split, consuming buildings and trees and fields and mountains as they went. The Destiny rose about fifteen hundred feet in the air before it stopped.

?What?!? Saggat muttered. He ran to the front of the ship and looked at the control console. A red warning blinker was flashing. The main thrusters had been damaged when the ship crashed onto the hangar floor. They could no longer break Dantooine?s gravitational pull, and the safety protocols had kept the ship from going any higher. ?WHAT?? he repeated. He kicked the console fruitlessly and chewed on his lower lip. What am I going to do? What am I going to do? he asked himself. That was when he heard the door to the bridge slide open.

Saggat spun quickly, and as he did so he ducked to the ground and scooped up the blaster pistol he?d used to shoot Vuroric. Two Galavex stormed onto the bridge and took up positions on either side of the door. They trained their weapons on Saggat but didn?t fire. Saggat shot three shots at one of them, but the bolts vanished as they struck the soldier?s flickering blue shield. Then the acolyte came.

?Admiral Lucian Saggat,? Alitar Fiat said, and he stepped onto the bridge. His good eye scanned the room, while his other, optical device swiveled and zoomed in on the bridge consoles. ?Your capacity for failure is impressive.?

Saggat pulled the trigger once on Alitar. The green bolt slammed into his suit and dispersed, doing no discernable damage. Fiat paused for a moment, as though he had trouble processing the fact that he?d just been shot. Then he reached out a hand and from under his wrist a small grappling claw ejected and latched onto the gun and Saggat?s hand. It snapped down on him and tore through his skin, pinching him and collapsing onto the gun. Saggat screamed out and tried to let go, but the claw had dug into his bone as well. It was connected to Alitar by a thin string of some kind of fiber, and began to retract, pulling Saggat up to the Burning Man?s lieutenant.

?Please, please let it off of me!? Saggat whined. Fiat grabbed Saggat?s outstretched arm and looked at his hand. The fine blades of the 4-fingered claw had sheared one of his fingers off, sliced deeply into the back of his hand, and clutched firmly to the gun. Without pressing a button the grappling claw released, blood gushed from Saggat?s wounded hand, and the gun clattered to the floor. ?Oh thank you, thank you,? Saggat sighed.

Fiat, stilled holding onto Saggat?s arm, squeezed and crushed his wrist. It sounded akin to grinding up logs in a wood chipper. Then he let go of Saggat and pushed him to the ground.

?OH MY GOD!? Saggat looked at his ruined hand as it hung there, limply on the end of his arm. It flopped back and forth, connected only by skin. ?M?lord,? Saggat said, ?m?lord I?m sorry. I live only to serve the Burning Man! I?I accept my punishment but I beg mercy. Mercy!? He began to cry.

Fiat took a step back. ?I should have ripped it off,? he said. ?You are an abomination and a disgrace. The Burning Man has no use for worms like you in his service.?

?Please?please,? Saggat whined.

?I bring upon you charges of mutiny, desertion, and treason. The act of Mutiny, for when you defied your orders and left the Galian Fleet to pursue your own dreams of grandeur. The act of desertion, when you abandoned your service as a Galian officer and begged for mercy in this place. And then the act of treason, for when you blatantly defied your lord the Burning Man and offered aid to the natives of this place. You have been found guilty on all counts. The penalty is death.?

?Oh please?? Saggat muttered, ?Please oh God give me one more chance. Give me one more chance, and I will redeem myself!?

Fiat shook his head, bent down, and grabbed Saggat by the neck. He hoisted him up above the floor. Saggat kept waiting for his throat to be crushed, or for something to happen, but Fiat just looked at him. His good eye stared back into Saggats?. ?Yes,? Fiat said at last, ?Perhaps you will be forgiven.? Saggat winced, but suddenly realized his feet were back on the ground, and the tremendous pressure on his throat was gone. He collapsed onto the floor and looked up at Alitar Fiat with huge, grateful eyes. Until he realized that Fiat?s other hand, which had heretofore been closed, was now held out and open, as if beckoning him to take something.

?But it is not for me to decide,? Fiat continued. He turned his hand over, and dropped a small black rock onto the floor. It clattered there, and stopped directly in front of Saggat?s wide, terrified eyes.

?Oh no,? Saggat muttered, ?Oh no, don?t do this to me. Don?t.?

?I don?t know whose it was. Maybe Landon. Maybe Milton. But someone lost their talisman, and it?s been watching you, Admiral. It called for me, and then led me to you like a bloodhound. It wants you.?

?Noooo,? Saggat whined.

?Take it.?

Saggat was paralyzed, and although he felt the rock beckoning him to grasp it, he held back. He kept himself from moving. He held fast to himself. ?No?? Saggat muttered. But he was motivated not by some inner strength, but by a pure and petrifying fear, and the knowledge of what would happen if he submitted to the Burning Man?s will.

Fiat looked down at the rock, which was now glowing a hot red, and kicked it with the side of his boot. It skidded across the floor and slid up against Saggat?s good hand. Without a second thought he wrapped his fingers around it, and started to scream.

YOUR SOUL IS TOO FRAIL TO SERVICE ME, a dark voice boomed inside his head. To Fiat, Saggat had taken the rock in his hand and brought it hard against his chest. To Saggat, he was on another plane of existence, in a horrible dark place with no sound or light, sinking in a pool of muck. The only thing besides him and the consuming darkness was the voice of the Burning Man. Then overhead, two bright red eyes burst into flame and stared down at him. They emitted so much light, and yet lit nothing.

YOU WILL SUFFER AND BE LOST.

?All Hail the Burning Man,? Saggat said through trembling lips.

DIE.

Saggat screamed out again, and then went silent, and on the bridge of the Destiny the glow of the black rock grew in intensity until Fiat could see it through Saggat?s skin. Then came the smell of burning flesh, and then came the fire. It spread across Saggat?s body in a matter of seconds. His skin burned like jet fuel. When it was done, there was nothing left of him but a pile of cinders, and in the middle of that pile sat the little black rock. Of course in Saggat?s mind, what took seconds took much, much longer.

Fiat bent down and scooped up the rock, brushing away the dust as he did so. It was cool to the touch. ?Pathetic man,? he muttered.

He paused and stared out of the Destiny?s forward viewport. Below, Cyern City had been swallowed by the ground. Fires leapt up from the planet?s surface, and jets of lava exploded like solar flares. ?Clean this,? he said to the Galavex and looking at the pile of ash, ?and the body over there. Then fix this ship. It is time for us to leave.?

***

The day marched on and the moon rose and the city on the horizon grew larger. Early in the evening, a cold gale began to blow from the north, into the path of the two travelers, and Weston took off his shirt to help shield Menina. Without stop or rest Weston rode, and soon all he could hear was the thunderous rhythm of horse hooves as they lumbered across the Flats. He never looked back to see Jake and the others, but he knew if he had, he?d have seen them. Just as they could see him, now, kicking up dirt as he continued his gallop. Menina slept the entire trip with her head buried against his chest. She was shaking wildly now, so much so that he was afraid she was having another seizure, but she wasn?t. She was just cold, and feverish.

Ahead, the dim lights of the city were still a day away. He would have to ride the rest of the night, and then until sunset tomorrow to reach it. He?d stop for water breaks during the day if Menina asked him, but otherwise he waited for nothing. No sleep, no breaks, no food, yet on he went. He was driven totally and completely by love.

This journey continued on for several more hours, until the moon had gotten low in the sky and the pre-dawn glow of morning had begun to usurp the stars. It was freezing by this point, and the sweat on the horse?s fur had begun to frost. Weston felt something similar happening on his own forehead and bare arms. ?Weston,? Menina whispered. Her voice was much smaller than it had been even a day earlier. Her throat had swollen so from the coughs and inflammation.


?What is it honey?? Weston asked through labored breathing.

?We have to stop.?

Weston shook his head and continued. Up ahead, the village grew closer and the first rays of sun peaked over the edge of the earth. ?No. If we stop, you?ll die.?

Menina reached up and gently tugged on the horse?s reins, and Weston couldn?t help himself. He pulled the horse to a stop. ?It?s too cold,? she whispered. Her voice sounded much louder without the horse?s hooves, but she was still small. Weston looked at her for a second and melted. He wrapped his arms around her and squeezed her, and she squeezed him back.

?We?ve got to keep moving,? he whispered. His eyes stung with tears that froze as soon as they touched the air.

?Weston,? she murmured, ?I love you.? Then she broke out into another fit of coughs. She lunged forward and Weston held her steady so that she wouldn?t fall off of the horse. But the coughing fit didn?t stop, and when it did it was replaced by dry heaving.

Weston lifted Menina by the shoulders in alarm and kicked the sides of the horse. ?Hee-ya!? he shouted. But the beast wouldn?t move. It?s legs were trembling, and it turned its head back and snorted out steamy air through its muzzle. ?MOVE!? Weston shouted. And he kicked the horse again, but it didn?t move. It didn?t.

Menina gagged again, and again, and Weston slapped her gently on the back trying to get whatever was lodged back there to come free. Suddenly it did, and Menina leaned past him and in one deluge a rush of crimson went spilling out of her mouth. A mix of blood and stomach acid gushed out in three heavy spurts. It landed in a thick puddle on the ground and the hot fluids began to steam in the cold air. Weston clutched Menina and held her. ?I?don?t feel good?? she whispered.

?You?re going to be ok,? Weston said. ?I promise you you?re going to be ok.?

But Menina was no longer listening to him. She had slumped over against his shoulder, and he could feel a steady stream of warm fluid trickling down his bare chest. Panic struck him, and Weston took her in his arms and jumped from the back of the stubborn horse. He laid her down on the ground and she breathed heavily, in and out. Blood was running out of her mouth and nose, and she looked at Weston with wide eyes and started crying.

?Menina! Menina,? Weston whispered, and he ran his hand through her hair. ?MENINA!? he screamed louder.

Her little face was pale now, and she began to shake harder. ?Doggie,? she whispered. ?I want my doggie!?

?Menina,? Weston wheezed.

?Where?s doggie!? she screamed. And she had a mad look in her eyes, and Weston knew she was hallucinating. ?Give me back my doggie!?

?Menina,? Weston said, and tried to hold her steady. ?Please, please listen to me. I need you to stay strong. We can beat this. We just have a little farther to go!?

?Doggie! Doggie!? she shouted. ?Stay away from that! Stay away from that!? she shouted out. She was shaking uncontrollably now, and Weston knew it was more than just shivers. ?Stay away from that!?

?Menina?please.?

?Keep away from that bad man! Bad man. Bad man. Moonlit minister!?

?Menina,? Weston said. He ran his hand along the poor girl?s side and with one arm fished around in the horse?s pack for some water. He found the canister and put the nipple up to her mouth. She latched onto it and bit down hard, and her shaking continued. Foam began to ooze between her teeth. Weston tried to hold her. He tried to stop the shaking, but he couldn?t. He pulled the canister from her mouth and cradled her head in his hands. ?Menina,? Weston repeated. ?Don?t go. I love you and I don?t want you to go!?

But she was going. He could tell. She was going and there was no stopping her. She shook wildly, her chest flailing up and down on the ground like a beached fish. Blood ran in small rivulets from her nose and the corner of her mouth. Her eyes went gray and rolled back up into her little, pear shaped head. Then suddenly she opened up her mouth, sucked in one huge breath of air, and fell still.

In the cold dawn air there was no sound. Just a silent, peaceful calm.

***

Jake Landon and the other horsemen set out early the next morning at a gallop. Jake had done his best to persuade Payne that if they could do so safely, they too should pick up their pace. Weston might well slow down near the city if his horse started to go out, and they could have a chance at stopping him from getting violent. Or, if his horse did give out, they?d be able to pick him up and he hopefully wouldn?t lose too much time.

It had been a particularly cold night, with a ghastly wind coming down from north of Kader. Jake asked Payne about the wind and the old Sergeant shrugged. ?It?s getting to be the cold season,? he muttered. ?Least I think so. The seasons are out of whack on this planet. It?ll be hot one day, and frigid as Pluto?s ass the next. It?s some people think its His fault.?

Jake nodded. Behind him, he could hear Tom muttering: ?Then nature shall reject the earth. Summer will become winter. Light will become dark. And the great beast shall rise from the depths of his lake.?

?Well, I just hope any really cold weather holds off until we hit Rook.?

?Kader?s three days from Rook. We?re two days from Kader. That?s just under a week until we make the hit. Give us a day for planning then...? Payne stopped midsentence. ?Damn.?

Jake looked up and felt his heart sink. Immediately he knew what Payne had seen, and knew what it meant. Off in the distance there was a horse standing by itself, and a man sitting Indian-style on the ground beside it.

Payne looked at Jake and then back at the figures ahead of them. ?I?? but Jake wasn?t listening. He kicked his horse hard and began to ride ahead of the group. The figure and its horse weren?t far, and he road driven by fear of what he knew was coming. It took him almost four hours to reach Weston, and not once during that time did the kneeling man move. As Jake neared, he could see that there was a smaller, third figure cradled in the arms of the man. Overhead, scavenger birds were beginning to make broad circles.

When Jake finally road up to a stop beside Weston, it was mid afternoon. The little girl in his arms was pale, but her hair was combed back from her face and her skin had been washed, and was probably cleaner than it?d been in a long while. Jake looked at Menina and all of his fear caught in one knot in his throat, and he couldn?t speak. He just sat there silently on the back of his horse, looking down at the little dead girl. Weston didn?t raise his eyes to acknowledge Jake at all. He just kept sliding his hand across her cheek and through her hair. His shirt was covered in blood, and his face was flushed. They stayed quiet for several minutes. Off in the distance, Payne?s horsemen were getting closer, but Jake had put a good thirty minutes between himself and the others.

?It was so sudden,? Weston said. His voice grated against the silence and Jake almost wished he hadn?t said anything. ?She was fine. Well?maybe not fine but?the same. And then everything started happening at once.?

Jake hesitated, and then slid off of his horse. He walked over to Menina and Weston and kneeled beside them. He slid his arm around Weston?s back and gave him a short squeeze. ?You did everything you could.?

?Yeah,? Weston muttered. ?I know.?

Overhead, one of the black scavenger birds cawed out loudly, like it wanted to rush the mourners away. Jake shot them a glance but Weston stayed unphased. ?You ever ask yourself what we?re fighting for?? Weston muttered.

Jake smiled glumly, ?Save the worlds??

?Yeah?yeah we?re gonna save the universe. We were chosen. But I?ve got to wonder Jake?I?ve got to wonder long and hard: what kind of world is it that lets a little girl die like that, in the middle of the desert, in?in so much pain. What kind of world does that to a human being? Is it a world that deserves saving??

?That wasn?t the world that did that, Jake. It was Milton. That?s why we?re fighting him.?

?Yeah, but there?s got to be some balance, hasn?t there? Some good that comes to counter all the bad? Where?s Erin, or Tom Collin?s God? Where were they when she was throwing up her guts, huh? Where were they??

Jake frowned and stared past Weston towards Kader. He didn?t know how to answer so he didn?t say anything for a long time. ?She was in pain??

?I can only imagine. It was pretty violent.?

?I bet. It was Milton?s brand of illness. The ?rot.??

?I?m going to kill him, you know,? Weston said evenly. ?He?s earned it now. I?m going to do everything I can to kill him. Even if I go down doing it. It?s?so frustrating, you know. I mean, what the fuck was the point? What was the point in Bojangles?s sacrifice if she was just going to get sick and die? That?s not supposed to happen. I mean, when somebody does something like that, when they make that kind of sacrifice for someone, it?s supposed to mean something. The other guy?s supposed to make it. That?s how those things work. You don?t take a bullet for a man and then the next day he dies in a plane crash. That?s not the way the world should work.?

?I know?? Jake whispered. ?It?s not fair. None of it is.? He paused. ?I?m going to miss her too. She had a real spark about her.?

?You remember the time we were going up the mountain, before the marsh? Menina was trotting around with her little bow and I hit her in the shoulder. She fell and?dropped all the arrows. And I told her I was sorry and she grabbed me by the face and said in her little voice ?That?s ok Weston!? and then kissed me right there on the nose. It was the happiest I think I?ve ever been.?

?Yeah,? Jake whispered. His eyes were fogging a little, ?Yeah, I remember.?

?Jake?I feel like somebody just cut my insides out. I?I?m really gonna miss her.?

?Me too,? Jake said. He looked at Menina?s little frame and at Weston, who was still petting her face. He hesitated and opened his mouth to say something, then thought better of it. Weston caught sight of this, however, and smiled.

?Do you want to say goodbye?? he asked.

Jake nodded, and Weston stood up and set Menina?s body gently on the ground and walked out of earshot. Jake looked down at the body, and on closer inspection could see her sallow cheeks and red, bruised face where her blood vessels had ruptured. He ran his hand along the side of her cheek and frowned. ?I don?t know who I?m talking to,? he said quietly. ?I don?t know if?if you can hear this or not. But if you can, I?m sorry. Weston thinks he can take on all this guilt but?sure, I?ve got some too. I?ve got some guilt of my own, and have to ask myself why I couldn?t be there for you the way he was. Why I couldn?t have made the same impact on you. I don?t think I showed you much affection these last few days?not the way Weston has anyway. I?ve had my own death to worry about?weighing on my mind. Every step closer we get to the end?if we?re the victors?it?s gonna mean that I go out with the villains. I?m sorry I wasn?t there for you, but I loved you, and still do. So much.? Jake bent down and kissed her forehead, and then ran his fingers across her scalp. Her little body had grown stiff, and Jake closed his eyes to hold back his tears.

Behind him, the approaching riders grew louder, their figures masked by the early morning sunlight. Payne road at the head of them with Tom Collins not far behind. Weston, still standing over away from the horses and Jake, kicked his heel in the dirt and walked back over to his daughter. Jake looked at him and smiled. ?Thanks,? he said.

Weston shrugged. ?She loved you too. She loved everybody.?

?She was never the same after the marshes though,? Jake said.

?No,? Weston agreed.

Payne?s horse galloped up and slowed to a trot before stopping. The others did likewise. Several of the men looked at Menina?s body and frowned. They had all grown fond of her during their trek, even if she was sick. Payne reared around and walked his horse slowly past Weston and Jake. He didn?t dismount, but he put his hand across his heart and then kissed his fingers. ?I?m glad you tried, son,? he said to Weston. ?Some things are worth fightin? for, even if it?s against me. And if it means anything, I?m sorry.?

Weston gave him a half-smile. ?Thanks.?

?We don?t have a lot of wiggle room with our rations, but if you need any time I think we?re close enough to give you a day.?

?Thank you,? Weston said, ?but I think the best thing I could do right now, is get to Rook. Because when I get there, I?m going to take out the whole city if I have to. I?m going to the Pale King?s court, and I will have his head.?

Payne nodded. ?Then that?s what we?ll do. We?ve got to bury her though. Out here. She?ll start to stink if we don?t get her in the ground.?

Jake shot Payne a hurt look, but the crass Sergeant ignored him. It was a fact of life, just as real as birth and sex. ?Jacobs, Marley,? Payne said, ?You boys get some tools and start digging a grave for her. We?re gonna set up camp a little early today.?

The two riders did as they were told and dismounted. Then Payne and the others did likewise, and began to set up their camping gear. They were just a day away from Kader, and it would be the last time they had to sleep on the hard ground until they made for Rook.

As the men began to dig the grave, Jake stood up and walked away. He couldn?t look at Menina anymore. Not like that. And Weston too stood up, and went to his horse for water. Payne looked at him again, as he started drinking from the canister (flakes of Menina?s blood still clung to the edges of it), and shook his head. ?We?ll get him, son. We?ll kill him good.?

?Yeah,? Weston said. He wiped a little excess water off of his lips and then stuffed the canister back into his pack. ?I know. I just can?t get over how this happened. How?Tom!?

Tom Collins looked up. He?d walked up to Menina?s body when no one was around and seemed to be on his knees praying. He looked up at Weston with wide, quizzical eyes.

?Tom, what does the Bible say about stuff like this? Why does your God let this kind of thing happen??

Collins shook his head gravely and then look back from Payne to Weston, and from Weston to Payne. ?God has given me over to the impious; into the clutches of the wicked he has cast me. I was in peace, but he dislodged me; he seized me by the neck and dashed me to pieces. He has set me up for a target; his arrows strike me from all directions, He pierces my sides without mercy, he pours out my gall upon the ground. He pierces me with thrust upon thrust; he attacks me like a warrior. I have fastened sackcloth over my skin, and have laid my brow in the dust. My face is inflamed with weeping and there is darkness over my eyes, Although my hands are free from violence, and my prayer is sincere.? Then he bowed his head, and went back to praying over Menina?s body.

Weston snorted and shared a look with Payne. ?Yeah. Yeah I guess that about sums it up. Real fuckin? accurate. Who said that, Tom??

Jake walked up behind Payne and Weston and stood with them. He had a somewhat deranged smile on his face, and was struggling not to laugh at the sweet and wretched irony.

?Job,? he said.

[Calavan]

Kader

My first thought was, he lied in every word,
That hoary cripple, with malicious eye
Askance to watch the working of his lie
On mine, and mouth scarce able to afford
Suppression of the glee that pursed and scored
Its edge, at one more victim gained thereby.

~Robert Browning, Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came



Menina was put into the earth later that evening. There was a simple ceremony, where Payne and his men bowed their heads and Jake and Weston spoke kind things about her. Throughout it, Tom Collins sat off away from the crowd, muttering to himself. When their words and tears were shed, and the dirt placed back upon the grave, Weston and Jake finally said goodbye to the little girl who?d befriended them so long ago. Who?d marched bravely with them through mountains and swamps and forests and plains. Who?d lost her only friend for them. Who?d given all she had to help them. They said goodbye to the little girl with a heart much too big for her frame. The little girl who taught Weston how to love again.

The next morning, Payne and his men readied the horses and packed up their gear. Before sunset they would be in Kader. And despite all his earlier yearning, Weston no longer cared if they got there. But as sad as he was, he could still think clear enough to know that time remained a factor. The Galians had probably made it to his home. They had probably already begun their invasion. They would have to be stopped?but first Milton would have to pay. And so like all the others, Weston readied his things and prepared to leave. But before he did, he went back to Menina?s grave and said goodbye one last time. Then he marked her grave in the only way he knew how: with the only other thing he had ever loved.

Reverently he kneeled to the ground and reached to his belt. He removed the power pack, and set one of his pistols gently upon the dirt. As he stood up to leave, a gentle gust of wind ruffled his hair and tickled the inside of his ear, and for a moment he could have sworn he heard the bark of a small dog and the laugher of a child. ?Take care kid,? Weston whispered. Then he mounted his horse, and the horsemen began the last leg of their journey.

He never saw his gun or the grave again.

***

Galaxy 32 ? Deep Space

Far from the soft lights and gentle rumble of Cyern City, Berloc Varless stood wearily on the bridge of a ravaged Unity. Consoles were smoking and the bridge reeked of charred circuitry. The ship was barely spaceworthy, with gaping holes and fires across multiple decks. Main power had gone out after the jump to hyperspace, and every few minutes came reports of new hull breaches and rupturing bulkheads. The ship was literally falling apart.

?The last of the star destroyers have reported in,? Hadrian said. ?We?re still calculating a final casualty list?but it could?ve been a lot worse.?

Berloc shuddered. ?I know. Has there been any sign of General Vuroric??

Hadrian shook his head. ?No sir. General Vuroric has been red listed on all of our ships, but so far he hasn?t turned up. Of course, it?s always possible he could have never made it off the??

?That?s enough,? Berloc muttered. He wasn?t going to hear any of that bantha shit. Andrei Vuroric was not dead. He couldn?t be. He was damn near immortal. And besides...if something had happened to him, that would leave Berloc alone. There was Dubose, of course, but he was new and not entirely trustworthy. First Cyern, then Zekk, then Tyr, and now Andrei? Berloc had a bad feeling that his number was coming up. The old guard was on its way out, and some new group would have to come in. But who? Who was in that kind of position right now? He had no idea.

Suddenly the bridge door slid open and a young man no older than nineteen walked forward carrying a datapad. His uniform was dirty with soot and his face cut and bandaged. He handed the datapad to Berloc and stood at attention. ?What the hell is this?? Berloc asked without looking.

?It?s a few additional damage estimates and status updates. Communications and main power are still offline. Life support is fluctuating on some decks, and we have complaints of inefficient food distribution among the civilians. We won?t be able to enter hyperspace again for several hours, but once we get the engines running, Commander Jaeger recommends immediate drydock for long term repairs. He?s attached a list of suggested sanctuaries on the back, judging from our location and projected range.?

Berloc glanced down at the datapad. ?Ok, good. And tell the civvies that are complaining about food to suck it up. It?s only been nine hours since the battle.? The officer stayed standing at attention for another minute and Berloc looked up at him. ?Go. Get on! What the frell are you looking at??

?Awaiting to be dismissed sir.?

?Oh?? Berloc grumbled. ?Well, yeah dismissed. Now go away.?

The officer did as he was told, and stepped off the bridge. Berloc looked around at the bridge crew, and they were looking back at him with slight alarm. He shrugged and gestured at Hadrian. ?We?ve got eight hours to sit out here. What are our options??

Hadrian thought for a second. ?We can send the fleet on to one of our planets, or an allied planet. We can keep the fleet here and have them wait on us. We?ll need to do something with the civilians at some point though. You know?I guess take them to Bastion or one of our other worlds. We don?t have the range to get them to the Corporate sector but??

?I don?t think the Galians have an up to date political map of this galaxy,? Berloc grunted. ?It should be safe enough just sendin? ?em to Bastion. They?re hitting worlds without any pattern, just going from one to the next.?

?The fleet that destroyed Dantooine may have its own agenda,? Hadrian observed. ?Considering it looks to be the ?leader fleet?.?

Berloc nodded. ?Ok, well for right now we?re going to just wait and see what they do. Keep the civvies with us. But once we get engines back online and can jump to a helpful system, we?ll decide on whether to ferry them back to the Alliance or dump ?em some place else.?

Hadrian nodded and began distributing the orders. He was half-way through his talk when he paused and turned to Varless. ?Admiral?what about us??

Berloc shook his head. ?We?ll get repaired.?

?Then??

The Admiral looked at him and didn?t quite know what to say. He knew he couldn?t say what he was thinking (that they were all going to die) or what he was hoping (that they?d find some little out of the way planet and settle there). So after a moment?s hesitation he shrugged and said, ?Don?t worry. We?ll cross that bridge when we come to it.?

The crew bought his answer about as well as they should have, but no one challenged it. It was, honestly, the best they could do.

***

The horsemen arrived in Kader at dusk. It was a large, rural city that reminded Weston and Jake of Crescent, except with more buildings and a population. Men in broad-brimmed hats walked beside donkeys hauling carts of goods. Women stood inside opened windows cooking food on cast iron stoves and shouting out into their lawns at passers by. In the center of the village was a statue of man with wild eyes wearing robes, and people gathered around it and prayed to it. Weston imagined, as he looked at the statue, that something constantly kept him from getting a good look at it. Like he was looking through a heat wave or gas fumes.

?Into the den of lions we walk, without nary a whisper or hope,? Tom Collins muttered from behind them. ?He is here. I can see him. Clear as lightning on a starry night. Watching. Laughing. Licking his teeth and thinking tasty thoughts. He took the fair haired child. Plans to take us too. I can feel his breath on the back of my neck. Lusting for my throat and blood and pools of gore. Lingering in the shadows he waits and stares but I won?t be his stopping point. He wants you. Beware this man with the sharp red teeth and naked smile. The pale horseman on his pale steed gallops with promises and dainty treats. Gallops all the way to the gates of Bethlehem, with soldiers who know not what general they serve. Don?t reach into his basket, for there are knives.?

The hairs on the back of Weston?s neck stood up, and he continued to stare at Milton?s statue. ?I got it?stay away from the basket.?

?I thought Kader was a special place. Didn?t you say we?d find something here? Something to kill him?? Jake asked Tom. The three of them had fallen back from the main group, and Payne looked back at them in annoyance and waved his hand forward.

Tom had stopped his horse all together, had dismounted, and was now standing in front of the Pale King?s effigy. ?And they shall wander o?er mountains and through vast wastes, and from the north even to the west, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, with which the fell-thing can be slain. And they shall not find it in their wanderings, but from Kader it shall be delivered.? Then he reached out his hand and placed it upon the statue?s face.

Several people around him who?d been praying to the statue rose to their feet. One man, with hateful eyes looked at Tom Collins and said, ?What d?ya think yer doing??

Tom Collins ignored him, but removed his hand from the face and looked back at the people. ?You will eat your diet of worms. Souls burned in fire. Bodies rotting and rotting like forgotten fruits. Not even the vultures will find you tasty. Down in his furnaces you will toil day and night for the pale king you call Lord. Forgotten as the Sun will be your faces to the living. As few as those may be.?

?Tom,? Jake said. ?Tom, come on.?

The angry man had come closer, but Weston maneuvered his horse between them. ?Stay right there, sir. We don?t want any trouble. My friend?s been out in the Flats for a little too long, if you catch my meaning.?

The man grudgingly accepted Weston?s excuse, at least for the time being, and Jake pulled Tom back up onto his horse. The crazy man shook his head and looked back at the crowd. His mount started to walk away. ?We are a few in the crowd of damned. Hated service to this demon king. Touch me, take me, beat me, burn me, for I fight with every fiber of my soul.?

Up ahead, Payne was still motioning them forward. Weston kicked his horse, and Tom and Jake followed.

***

When they neared the city earlier that day, Payne had sent a man ahead to alert the Resistance of their return. He promised Weston and Jake a big meal and a celebration, and although both knew he meant well, neither felt particularly like celebrating. They had talked more about Menina on the ride, and Jake had asked about the gun. For a long time Weston hadn?t said anything, but finally he just shrugged sadly and said, ?She earned it.? It was precisely what he?d meant. She had earned it. When she left, she?d taken a part of Weston with her. She?d just been nice enough to let him decide which part.

?Here we are,? Payne said gruffly. The horses stopped abruptly outside of an old hovel on the other side of town. The windows were dirty and stained with tobacco tar, and the door hung crooked on the hinges and was spattered with mud. Payne dismounted and the riders did too, so Weston, Jake, and Tom followed suit. The grizzled Sergeant walked up to the door and knocked three times on it.

Weston exchanged a glance with Jake, ?I hope Milton?s never watched any movies about underground resistances. I wonder if they have a code word.?

But to his surprise, the door wasn?t opened by a Galian outfitted in combat gear. Instead, a little old woman with her hair pulled tightly back into a bun appeared wearing a leather oven mitt. She smiled at the men as if they were her children. ?Hello Russell,? the woman said to Payne. ?You boys come on inside. I?ve got some roast on the stove.?

Russell Payne smiled and bowed just slightly for the woman, which by Weston?s way of thinking was more chivalry than Payne?d probably shown his wife, and stepped across the threshold, as did the others. Jake and Weston were on their way inside when Tom Collin?s eyes grew alarmed and he glanced around. ?He who works his land will have abundant food.?

Weston and Jake exchanged looks and Weston chuckled. ?Thanks Tom,? he said.



The interior of the hovel was actually smaller than it looked from outside. It consisted of a rough kitchen and a spiral staircase that ran under down into the earth. A delightful but unplaceable smell was coming up from beneath the floor. Weston was a little surprised that it wasn?t a trap door with a floor mat over it, but liked being wrong. The little old woman smiled and introduced herself as Miss Rita Watson. She?d seen eighty nine summers and still baked her own bread. Suddenly Weston could place the smell that was coming up from the spiral staircase, and loved her even more.

?Miss Rita has been our cover ever since the Usurper came,? Payne explained. ?Lovely, lovely woman. The city-appointed commander died?set himself on fire after dousing his head in shuttle fuel?but Colonel DeVries made it out alive. The Galavex went crazy in the capital building?shot everybody up good.?

?Order sixty six,? Weston murmured.

?The actual government is run by a Usurper-controlled Galavex we call the Tin Man. He?s Milton?s eyes and ears out here. He?s in charge of the whole town now. He is the government.?

?Russell,? Rita snickered and tapped the top of his head, ?let these little boys eat before you talk about business.?

?Miss Rita?? he stopped himself from snapping at the last second. ?Miss Rita how?s that bread coming??

?The bread?s downstairs Russell,? Rita snickered. ?It?s piping hot and ready.?

?I meant the roast.?

?Another five minutes or so,? she said.

?Good. So like I was saying,? he turned back to Jake and Weston, ?Tin Man?s in charge of the town, but he can?t even know we exist. Colonel DeVries is who sent us to search out Crescent.?

Jake nodded. Weston was watching Tom as he ran his hands along the wall of Miss Rita?s shack. He knocked lightly on the side of a book case and cocked his head to the side. Miss Rita opened her eyes widely, ?Will you boys make him stop that?? she asked. ?I don?t like people knocking on my wood.?

Weston snorted and grabbed Tom by the shoulder. ?Stop it,? he said. But Tom Collins didn?t stop, not at first, and Weston had to drag him away. He glanced at the old woman and then to Weston and said in a very low voice, ?This Wicked Witch stands upon a pillaged heaven. Fly my pretties fly. From Kader fly the fell beast?s misery. To Avalon where mighty few will suffer.?

Weston blushed and smacked Tom in the back of the head. ?He?s a real dumb-shi?knucklehead, sometimes.?

Payne and Jake were watching them impatiently. ?Let?s go downstairs,? Jake said at last.

Weston shrugged. ?Right-O,? he said. But his heart wasn?t behind it. He was still looking at Tom Collins, and thinking to himself, This is the key. This is the key to killing Milton. If only I knew how.

***

Beneath the hovel was a dining room with a dirt floor and a simple wooden table. An old man in brown rags that could well have been Miss Rita?s husband was sitting and staring at three loaves of bread. Several of Payne?s men had already gathered around, either sitting on the floor or at the table. The old man at the table, who looked more like a beggar than a leader, was dirty and had a prosthetic arm sheathed in strong, black armor. His face was scarred by burns, and one of his eyes was white like an eggshell. Payne walked over to the old man and kneeled, then reached into his pocket and pulled out a little vial of some amber liquid. He handed it to the old man, who opened the vial and swallowed its contents.

?Welcome home, Russell,? the old man said.

Payne smiled and stuffed the vial back into his pocket. ?I brought some visitors,? he said. ?Men sympathetic to the cause. They were hikin? to Rook when I found them.?

?Hiking across the Flats? From Crescent??

?No,? Payne shook his head. ?Farther then that. They were hiking from Saeddus.?

Weston and Jake both watched the old man intently for any sign of surprise, but if he was surprised he hid it well. He just nodded. Then, suddenly he reached out a single, knotty hand and tore a piece off of Miss Rita?s bread. He stuck it in his mouth and chewed it slowly. His good eye darted across Weston and Tom and then stopped squarely on Jake. He swallowed the bread. ?Saeddus eh?? he asked. His voice cracked with age, and he rapped his bony fingers on the top of the table. ?Quite a hike you boys had. See anythin? interesting??

?We lost a couple friends on the way,? Weston said. ?And now we want payback. That?s kind of why we?re here.?

The old man leaned forward and tore off another piece of bread. ?Ah. Well sit down then. I?d tell ya that you were crazy, ya ken. Tell ya it?d be folly for two men ta come and try ta siege Rook alone. The Usurper killed my entire staff with mah own soldiers. Killed the lot of ?em. Almost killed me. Ah don?t suspect though, that you two are lookin? for a fair fight.?

?I?m looking to win,? Weston replied.

?Ooooh,? the old man chuckled. ?And how do ya plan on winning? How do ya plan on killing an apostle of Hell??

?With my hands around his neck, if it?s an option.?

Jake patted Weston on the back and looked at the old man. ?We don?t really have a plan,? he said. ?But we know we can do it. We just need your help. I don?t know if Sergeant Payne?s told you this, but the Usurper isn?t an agent of this Pandemon. He?s the beast himself. He goes by many names, but his favorite is Tom Milton.?

The old man wiped his good eye with his wrist and snorted. ?Others bought his servant bit, but I knew better. Ah could tell what he was when he came here. But that don?t answer mah question. I don?t believe you fella?s have a fuckin? clue what?s gonna happen if you go to Rook. You?ve got thousands of believers, mind-fucked or not, ready to lay down their lives if need be for this tin God. You?ve got the Galavex he controls too, if he wants to use ?em. And then you?ve got him. Every assassination attempt I?ve seen has led to the system failure of the assassin?s weapon, or some freak accident that kept it from going through. Those ain?t coincidences. He knows. And he?s watching. Even if we did stage an attack, he?d be on us before we could say ?fire.??

?He is the beast which tears flesh from bone,? Tom Collins whispered. He was sitting on the floor with his hands holding his face. He had drawn a stick figure in the dirt holding a scythe. ?The little old lady who swallowed the flies. Pig?s head on a stick! Pig?s head on a stick! Fancy thinking the Beast was something you could hunt and kill!?

The old man looked at Tom Collins and his face relaxed, and for the first time his mouth turned upwards into a smile. ?By the Burning Man, what is this?? he asked. The few candles in the room flickered as a gust of wind blew in from upstairs, causing the light to grow dim.

?This,? Jake said, ?Is our friend Tom Collins.?

?He?s crazy,? Weston added.

?He?s our weapon,? the old man said. He slid his prosthetic hand across his chin and rubbed his jaw. ?Russell you never mentioned this man to me. This sword.?

Payne glanced around and grabbed a bite of bread. He chewed it and the room sat in silence, waiting for him to finish. When he did, he glanced around again and let out a long sigh. ?Why?s this crazy bastard of any interest?? he asked at last.

?He?s a seer,? said the old man. ?He sees the lights and knows the way. Thank the Burning Man, this fellow is a gift.?

?Wow Tom, big day for you,? Weston said and patted him on the back.

Tom Collins shivered and looked at Weston with wide eyes. ?Beware the Moonlit Minister. His candies are poison.?

Weston and Jake exchanged glances, and looked at the old man. The old man looked back at them and shook his head, ?Heh, I don?t believe he?s talking about me lads. Like everything else he says, it?s a mixture of sense and trickery. So where?d this man come from? Not Saeddus, I?d wager.?

?We found him in Crescent,? Jake whispered, ?he?s cursed. He was visited by?? Jake let his voice trail off. If he told this story, he?d be telling more than he wanted to. No matter how friendly these people seemed, they were not his friends. They were temporary allies, but if they knew who he was, or what he hoped to do after Milton was gone? ?He saw something. It made him retreat when Milton?s plague came. This man knew something though, something that could help us. Milton cursed him so that he can?t say what it is.?

?And the closer he gets, the madder he becomes,? the old man nodded.

About this time, there was a gentle shifting from above and Miss Rita teetered down the steps carrying a large wooden bowl full of roast. She placed it onto the table and smiled. ?Here you boys are. If you need anything else just holler, I?m going to lay down for a while.?

?Thank you Rita,? the old man said. He took one of the spoons she had carried in on the plate and tore off a bit of roast and then put it in his mouth. Seeing looks from Weston and Jake, he explained, ?Madera?s poor don?t have a lot. Utensils are a rare luxury. Spoons and knives are somewhat common, but forks are an enigma. We make do with what we can.? He swallowed his meat and looked back at Weston and Jake. ?So, Mr. Landon,? he said at last. He looked at Jake strangely, particularly his eyes, and wiped away a dangling bead of saliva that?d escaped from his mouth. ?Back to this plan. You say you two don?t have one. But you know all this jabber about the Usurper. You want revenge?but what?s he done to you? And if he has singled you out, why? These are the questions I find myself asking. Questions that my prot?g? seems to have forgotten. But I?ll let ?em simmer, because you brought me this present.? He looked at Tom Collins and kicked the chair nearest to him. ?You sit down next to me. We?re gonna have a chat.?

?He may well change your life,? Weston said, ?by making you go insane.?

Tom took the seat beside the old man and hesitantly took a piece of bread. Weston and Jake took places at the table, and they all began to eat. Rita came down two more times to bring more plates for the men on the floor, and all of them ate until they were full. There was little discussion during the meal, but when they were done the old man with the burnt face and bad eye looked at Tom Collins and wiped his mouth. ?So, Mr. Collins, what do you see?? he asked. ?Is there a way to kill this thing? This monster that oppresses us??

Tom shook his head, ?Neither sword nor shield matter to the beast with twelve heads. He fears but one thing, and lusts for its opposite number. Never aching never speaking always cringing at their bond. Break them burn them hit them hate them. Make them hate. Make them hate one another. Trick them. Use them. Kill them. His plan is simple and see it I do but no one sees the shore for the sirens.?

?Mmmm,? the old man said. ?That?s what he wants. But how da we use that? How da we kill ?im? Can we? Or is it up to these people you talk about.?

?Four Riders meet Four Wanderers. A Prophet. A Ram. A Janus. A Sojourner. They each must deal with themselves and their passions. They know, don?t they? He?s in them. Close close close. Can?t kill without killing. Can?t stop a train with a slingshot. Oh no. Oh no.?

?So how do you stop the train??

?All aboard. Off the tracks it tumbles and falls and wheels keep moving but its cars go nowhere. Can?t kill the unkillable? Can?t stop the unstoppable? Put it in a box. Lift it off the ground and it keeps on going, tick tick tick, but goes nowhere. In their hearts lives a soul in their soul lives knowledge of a place much better. From Twilight?s last to Avalon their vessel of salvation comes. Hides beneath the covers. Lingers under doubt.?

?Put it in a box. Put Pandemon in a box? Catch him? What box can hold a thing like that??

?Boxes come in shapes and sizes. Ribbons tie them shut. From a box he sprang once and back again he goes like a pile of Legos when mom comes home. Shiny shiny box of legos, shiny shiny glass. Break the glass, break that box, and the walls come a tumbling down.?

?And these four wanderers. What?s their part??

?A table cannot stand on two legs. A tripod tenuous at best. Four together with divine spark and away away fly fly back to Calvary. Death to their allies, death to their friends, death to their homes, but he can?t kill them.?

?Sounds like we need these four then.?

?Tired, Tired. Let me rest,? Tom muttered. He looked longingly at the dirt floor and stuck his lower lip out.

?I?ll let you rest Tom, I just have one more question. Where is this box?? The old man leaned forward in his chair, as did everyone else, and placed his hand against his heart. ?Give me the sight ya see. Share, like a black talisman of the Burning Man.?

?Always in his sight. He sees it like a beggar sees a bank. Sees its promise and its peril. Keeps it on his mind, lingering and biting and driving him mad. In the tower, it is. At its top. Hides it like a bad scar. Don?t let them find it. Don?t let them know. Tell him his name and he?ll tell you a thousand secrets. Trust him and he?ll slit your throat. Beware the Moonlit Minister. Now sleep and rest and rejuvenation must be mine lest degenerate like Crescent?s stock I do.?

?Yeah,? the old man agreed, ?I think you?ve told us a lot. More than you knew you knew. Get some sleep; tomorrow be a big day.?

Without any form or argument or response, Tom Collins stood up from his chair, and collapsed on the ground beside it. He laid there for barely a minute before he began to snore.

***

?That was amazing,? Weston said. It was late and the horsemen had gone to sleep, but Weston, Jake, Payne, and the old man stayed up and talked long into the night. The smell of baking bread was gone, replaced by an earthy smell of roots and dirt. A few small candles lit the otherwise black darkness of the underground room. ?I don?t know how you got him to say so much.? He reached down to a little open box on the table and pulled out a cloth. He?d started cleaning his much deprived gun shortly after supper, and now most of the dirt and grime that?d accumulated had been removed.

The old man nodded, ?He had everything he wanted to say in ?is head. He just di?n?t know how ta get it out. I suppose he knows more?suppose he sees it clearly in that rotten brain of his, but Ah think we may have gotten as much as we can out o? him. The Pale King?s some kind of monster, escaped from some prison. And there?s a cage we?ve gotta get him back in, and that?s how we stop ?im. There are four people who?re out there that can do this. An? they know who they are, I?d bet my watch and warrant on it.?

Weston and Jake exchanged glances. ?Well, whoever they are, they aren?t here,? Jake said at last.

?No,? the old man agreed, ?No they ain?t. But I wonder if we should wait on ?em. Your friend says the Pale King can?t touch ?em. Can?t kill ?em. Like they?re blessed or some nonsense. If they are blessed?well, we should wait on ?em.?

?I?m tired of waiting,? Weston said. ?We have a means now. We know where he is. All we?ve got to do is go to him and he?ll have us I?m sure. I don?t care if he kills me, I just know that if I go down I?m taking him with me.?

?Brave words son. But stupid,? Payne said. He was watching Tom Collins sleeping on the ground, listening to him snore. ?Funny. I never knew what we had with us, right under our noses. He never said so much on the Flats.?

?He?s gotten worse,? Jake agreed. ?Or if not worse, louder. Something about Kader makes him talk a lot. It makes him excited. You should have seen how he flipped at Milton?s statue.?

?I did,? Payne muttered. ?He almost got y?all lynched.?

?That?s our boy,? Weston chuckled. He set his gun down on the table and instinctively reached for his other, but his hand checked itself at the last second. He hesitated, and then began to put his cleaning supplies away. ?I think it?s getting late,? Weston said. ?I?m going to go to bed. We can decide all about what we?re doing tomorrow. But you already know my vote. We go right up the gut, and put Milton back in his box.?

Payne stood up and pushed his chair in. ?We?ll sleep on it.?

?Russell,? the old man said, as Payne was getting ready to sit on the ground. ?Can ya? help me up the stairs? I?d like to get some water out of the well.?

Payne nodded, and without speaking helped the old man stand up. It was the first time that Weston realized how much damage had been done to him. One of his legs was withered and gnarled to the point of uselessness, and his other was small enough to wrap a hand around. The Sergeant did his best to get them moving, and then the two old soldiers marched up the steps and into the room above. After a moment, there was a squeak and a crash as the door slapped shut against the frame.

?So,? Jake said to Weston, ?what are you thinking??

?We?re fucked. Royally fucked. That old man knows more than he?s letting on.?

?They all do. Have you seen any scrap of Galian tech since we?ve gotten here? Because I haven?t. If this is their base of operations, I?d hate to have seen your response if you?d brought?? he stopped short, and frowned.

?Yeah,? Weston said. A knife turned inside of him, but he was too proud to show it. ?Yeah. And DeVries, least I think that?s his name we never did get introduced to each other?well, he?s got that damn near lunatic interest in Tom. He?s catching on to us.?

?I wouldn?t jump to conclusions yet. He?s unnerving, sure?but we?ve just got to stay calm a little longer. Use ?em as well as we can?and then slip away.?

?We should be slipping away tonight then. You heard him, he?s gotten all he can out of Tom. It?s too dangerous to depend on this group of trigger happy Galians to not catch on to who we are. If we just sit here for a few more days in this cellar, they?re going to make a guess pretty quick and then?? he stopped immediately. The door above them squeaked and then slammed, and a single pair of old feet went moving down the steps. They could see a candle flicker and bob as it came down, and old Miss Rita smiled at them.

?Still awake?? she asked. She hobbled over to the table and gathered up the empty plates of food. ?I would?ve guessed you boys were fairly sleepy. It?s been a long day, I?m sure. Travellin? all day and politicin? all night.?

?Oh, I am,? Weston said. ?I was about ready to go to bed, honestly. Just had a little more to say to my friend here.?

?Oh, well that?s all right honey. That?s all right. Russell and Timothy are still up too. They went out behind the cottage to get some water. I walked out to chat with ?em and then came back in on my lonesome. They got to talking about Rook and monsters and I just left. Not my province, you see.? The plates clinked as she walked and she started going back up the stairs. ?Can I get y?all anything before I go to bed?? she asked.

?No ma?am, but thank you for the food. It was delicious.?

?Not a problem,? she smiled. ?Good food makes good friends, that?s what I always say.? Then she shambled on up the stairs until her little bobbing candle?s light vanished.

When they were sure she was gone, Weston looked at Jake and whispered as quietly as he could, ?So. What do you think about sneaking away tonight. We?ll be sleeping on the ground either way.?

?Actually, it might not be a bad idea,? Jake agreed. ?But we can?t go now, cause there?s only one way out and Payne and DeVries are still up there.?

?The fire marshal would not be happy,? Weston sighed. ?So what, we pretend to sleep and then slip out??

?Yeah,? Jake said. ?And we take Tom with us.?

?Tom?? Weston whispered. ?Are you sure? DeVries said he thinks we?ve gotten all we can out of the old guy, and if he wakes up and starts yapping like a drunk Jawa we?re never going to sneak out of here.?

?I?ve just got this feeling. He?s too valuable to leave here,? Jake said. ?Plus he?s one of us. Remember all the times he?s helped us??

?No, just the times when he?s stood around being useless and mumbling crazy shit. Everything he?s said we could have figured out from Erin.?

?Erin hasn?t told us about the immunity. If we really can?t be killed by Milton that?s a pretty big thing to forget. Not to mention the box thing.?

?Shandri?s the prophet, she?s probably heard all this stuff before. Remember my dream? Erin said when Shandri got here, we?d get the rest of the story.?

?I don?t think Shandri?s coming,? Jake said. Weston tried to respond but stopped, dumbstruck by the idea. ?I don?t think Shandri or Tyr are going to make it. It?s been too long. If they were coming, something either happened to them or they stopped to stay in their galaxy. We can?t wait another month hoping they show up while Milton rapes this planet and gets strong enough to make his move on Earth. That can?t happen.?

Weston breathed in and out. ?Well, if they don?t show up what?s that make us? A table can?t stand on two legs and all that.?

?Actually it can, if they?re diagonal from each other,? Jake smiled.

?Hmph, well there we go. One bad analogy, and Tom Collin?s crazy ramblings are now officially bullshit.? Weston was smiling too, and then he looked at Tom and bit down on his lower lip. His mind wandered to thinking about what would happen if they were caught. If Tom woke everyone up before they managed to get away. It?d be the end for them. ?We can?t bring him with us, Jake,? Weston said at last.

Jake looked at Tom, his face a blank slate. Inside, he knew Weston was right. They?d gotten all they could from Tom Collins, and to risk anything else was greedy and dangerous. ?Yeah, I know.?

Weston leaned over the table and cupped his hand around the candle, feeling its warmth. ?So it?s just us then, the two of us I mean. Just like when we first got here.?

?It?s always been just us,? Jake said. ?It has to be. If we take Tom with us, he?ll die. Just like the others.?

Weston didn?t say anything. He wasn?t sure if he could. He licked his fingers and pinched the candle wick, and the room went black. In the back of his mind, Tom Collin?s sing-song chant was playing over and over in his head.

Death to their allies, death to their friends, death to their homes, but he can?t kill them.

***

Upstairs, Russell Payne had his ear to the wooden floor. The gnarled old man was sitting in a chair smoking a cigarette, and Miss Rita was nestled beside him with her head laying across his lap.

?They?re planning on leaving tonight,? Payne said. ?As soon as we go to sleep, they?re gonna scram. Are planning on leaving the seer here too.?

?Curious, I suppose that counts him out then. We?ll have to move quickly,? the old man said. His voice had a stony, aristocratic quality to it that?d been lacking downstairs. ?I know my history, and the Four that Collins spoke of are not meant only for Pandemon. And two of them are down there.? He took a long drag on his cigarette and held it, letting it move and work its way around in his lungs. Then, very slowly, he pursed his lips and blew out a long stream of smoke. ?Oh Judas Landon?how far you?ve fallen.?

[Calavan]

The Flight


We know the race is not to the swift nor the battle to the strong. Do you not think an angel rides in the whirlwind and directs this storm?

~John Page



A cricket chirped on the balcony. Chirp. Chirp. Chirp it went. Its song had been going for almost a full minute. Then Tom Milton glanced at it through the glass door of his suite, and the little bug?s skin vanished. For a moment there was a little pool of still living insides, and then they slid apart, and cricket guts slowly oozed over the railing and fell off the side of the building.

Tom Milton ran his hand through his hair, and closed his eyes. It was almost time. He knew it. He could feel it. The clouds were gathering, and everything he?d been planning was coming to a head. He?d been watching them for days. He?d been watching when they fled across the plains. He?d been watching when the little girl croaked. He?d been watching when the old mad fool had gone on spouting what he thought would help them. ?Oh Tommy,? Milton whispered. He was staring at the big screen TV in the middle of his living room. Tom Collins was lying there on the dirt floor of some rickety shitshack. Weston and Jake Landon were nearby, only they were planning on pulling out. They were going to head for the hills, and leave little Tom Collins to fend for himself with the big bad Payne. ?Tommy. You still want to help, don?t you? But nobody?ll listen. Nobody cares. They just want you to shut up and go away. And who would blame ?em? This isn?t your story. You?re just a little ancillary fuck. And how do we get rid of little ancillary fucks? Well I think you answered that yourself. Death to their allies. Death to their friends. Death to their homes but I can?t kill them.? Milton snorted and smiled. Instead of teeth, he had a mouth full of needle-like fangs. He licked between each of them with a snake-tongue, and stood up from his chair.

?If only that were true,? he cooed.

He walked over to his glass balcony and stepped through the door. It shattered outward, sending shards of glass everywhere. They stopped in mid-flight and flew back into position like a huge puzzle. Then the door grew hot, and the glass melted back together in unblemished perfection. I?m gonna run out of ways to come outside, Milton thought. And the thought made him laugh.

He stepped up to the railing of his balcony and looked out over the city of Rook. In the distance, he could see the Hueval. Beyond that, very faintly, was a three-day track of land that marked the end of the Flats. And then Kader. It was in sight, and if he squinted hard enough he fancied he could just make out the little house where two of his top four favorite people were making nap time. He slid his finger across the greasy spot left by the cricket and stroked it across his thin, needle teeth. Then he closed his lips, swallowed, and when he opened his mouth again everything was back to normal. ?Can?t kill them?hmm?what sly kitten told that little fib? What sly kitten forgot??

And to the people below, on the streets of Rook, had they looked up to their Lord?s new flat they wouldn?t have seen Tom Milton. Some would have seen a little Chadra Fan with a hole in his throat. Others a young woman with blonde hair, her body ravaged by a horrible fall. Some may have seen a stern but loving father, dressed in the gear of a smuggler and pale as death from asphyxiation. And some would have seen a beast.

But Tom Milton only saw the future, clear as emeralds on a whiteboard. A future of pain, and grief, and abysmal failure. A future where future and history and everything else finally ended, and the damnable wheel that never stopped was ground to a world-shattering halt. A future with no more wars, and no more sorrows, no more light, and no more laughter. Well, Milton thought to himself, at least none from them.

But as dry as it made his mouth, and as fast as it moved his heart, there was still a ways to go for that. All the actors had to play their parts with tick tock efficiency, and they couldn?t go dying until the script called for it (but oh, when it did call for it what a doozy that would be). Milton moved his eyes again to the handful of lights that made up Kader, pursed his lips, and blew.

Miles and miles away, storm clouds began to gather.

***

Weston glanced over towards Jake. It had been two hours since they?d first lain down and still neither Payne nor the old man had come back downstairs. ?Did you hear that?? Weston asked.

?Sounded like thunder.?

?Yeah,? Weston agreed. ?You know, a rainstorm would be our best chance. It?s harder to leave a trail, much less get actively tracked. Visibility?s low, your sounds are muted. We?d have a real shot even on the Flats.?

?They?re still up there though,? Jake sighed. ?What do you think those two are doing??

?Rita,? Weston shook his head in faux disgust, ?you minx. Seriously Jake, if they are up there it?s just one guy, a cripple, and an old lady. I?m pretty sure we can take ?em.?

There was another crack of thunder, and although most sound was muffled by the dirt around them, Weston could hear the first drops of rain beginning to fall. Jake sat up on the ground and dusted himself off. ?You?re right,? he said. ?I?m just a little anxious about this. It?s been a while since I?ve had to be stealthy.?

?Well Mr. I-used-to-be-a-demigod, just follow me.?

***

The ground floor of the house was dark and quiet, save for the quiet pattering of rain on the roof. The little table in the center of the room was bare except for a few wooden plates, still dirty from the meal. Miss Rita?s little single sleeper bed had the covers pulled back and an uncomfortable but functioning down mattress bulging at the sides. It took some looking for the two of them to even realize Miss Rita was there, because she had sunk so deeply into the soft pad. Another figure was pressed close against her, with one arm sticking out over the side of the bed. Weston shuddered, ?I thought I was kidding,? he muttered. Rain spattered on the stained windows and the outside darkness was thick. A gale of wind screamed through the house?s walls and was followed by a tremendous thunderclap. There was a flash of light through the windows, and the entire house seemed to shake. The old man in the bed gave a low, guttural grunt but didn?t move. Quickly, the two walked across the plank floor of the hut and towards the door.

When they got there, Weston held up his hand and whispered, ?If we do this in sync with the thunder then it won?t be very noticeable.?

Jake looked at Rita?s bed and then back at the staircase. ?I wonder what happened to Payne.?

There was another crack of thunder and Weston threw open the door and ran outside, Jake followed and before the noise had subsided the door slammed shut. Outside of the hovel, the rain was falling gently, but the strong wind made every drop cut into their arms and necks like little knives. It was pitch black, darker even then the nights out on the flats. Big black clouds were blocking out the moon and star light, and the only visibility came from the statue of Tom Milton, which was encircled in five burning torches. They were casting eerie, flickering shadows across his face and enshrouding the statue in an ethereal red glow that dripped off of it like blood. Though they could see his red eyes and lunatic grin off in the distance, they couldn?t see five feet in front of them.

?So where to?? Weston asked. He tried looking for the distant city-lights of Kader, but could see none of them. It was late, and all the lights were either out or too dim to be seen.

?Rook?s southeast from Kader, but with the bad visibility and no stars for landmarks, we?re going to have to go blind for a while. Bu we need to get moving. I don?t want to be here if Payne comes back.?

There was another crack of thunder and then a bolt of lightning. It lit up the dark space around them, and for a flash of a second five armed soldiers appeared in the darkness. They were dressed in black, and when the flash was over they were gone again. Jake and Weston both jumped in surprise, and Weston pulled out his pistol and held it up. ?Might be too late,? he whispered.

?Ah reckon it tis,? said the old man. Behind them, the door to the hovel slammed shut, and the cold node of a blaster pistol pressed itself against Weston?s neck. ?Drop your gun Mr. Onasi. Nice and slow.? Weston, of course, did not. He didn?t drop the gun, but he didn?t shoot either. He was just standing there. They were surrounded and without cover, and even with his skill he knew he couldn?t shoot all of them before getting shot.

?What the hell is this?? Jake snapped. ?Colonel DeVries I want to know??

?Shut yer yap,? another man barked. This was one of the five standing in front of them. They were so close that Jake thought he could reach out and touch them, but he could still barely see them. There was another flash of lightning, and it lit up Payne?s face. He had an angry, and perhaps a little disappointed look on his face. He was holding a Galian issue sidearm. ?You boys are in deep shit. We trusted you?I trusted you. And you lied to us. You lied to us and used us and now you?re gonna leave us. That?s not very hospitable.?

?No,? the old man said. ?Not hospitable indeed. But at least it?s all out in the air now. Can?t believe it took you boys so long to get yer move on. I?ve been waitin? for hours.? The old man sucked in a deep breath of air and exhaled through his mouth. Jake could smell cigarettes and rotting meet on his breath. He snorted just a little and tapped the blaster pistol on Weston?s shoulder. ?So you two are the fellas destined to kill Kel Gauthra. Big deal. Funny seein this all over again, eh Judas? Feels familiar aye? Like a broken record that keeps hittin? that same sore spot over an? over again.?

?Jake?? Weston whispered. ?What the fuck is going on??

The old man dug the pistol further into the back of Weston?s head. He stumbled forward and Payne punched him in the jaw. Weston stumbled backwards, and the old cripple man?s incredibly strong gnarled fingers wrapped around his shoulder and pushed him to the ground. Then he grabbed Jake?s shoulder and shoved him down as well. There was a flash of lightning, and Jake could see blood pouring down out of Weston?s nose.

?I know my books,? the old man explained. ?And I know my planet. Funny, thinking you could tell me you worked at Saeddus. Don?t really look like a Galavex to me.?

Weston shrugged, ?I?ll give you that.?

?You just don?t shut up do ya smartass?? he snapped. He took his gun and pistol whipped Weston in the back of the head, and Onasi collapsed. Weston?s pistol landed with a soft thud in the damp dirt. ?Better.?

?What do you want with us?? Jake asked. ?We can still work together against Milton. He?s just as much our enemy as yours.?

?Yeah. That?s why you were runnin? eh? To help us out. Let me tell you what I think, Mr. Landon. You?re a coward, abandoning our fold and now comin? back not to help the Star Empire, but to run off on some foul vendetta against your father, which will invariably kill you at best, and both of you if you keep your hopes up. You think you?ve got some fair shake at destiny because one time a long while back you actually did. And you fucked that up good so now you want to try again. Sad day. Or maybe just sad, that you?ve degenerated from our Lord?s mightiest lieutenant, to an average Joe who?s got nothin? going for himself. Ain?t a marksman. Ain?t a magician. Ain?t even a leader. What do you do??

Jake listened to all this with wide eyes, and in the back of his mind he knew that everything the old man said was true. He wasn?t a Jedi, or a leader, or a crack shot. He couldn?t even protect a little girl and her dog. Weston had had to save them from that. He was just going through the motions, repeating everything he?d done a millennium ago?mistakes included. What was his worth? Besides being the interactive roadmap through Galaxy 1, not very much it didn?t look like. Especially not on Madera. Especially not in a fight.

?What are you going to do with Tom?? he whispered at last.

The old man smiled smugly, though Jake couldn?t see it. ?We?ll keep him around. He?s valuable, you know. More so then you ever gave him credit for. You two, however?well, I think we?ll do just fine without you two. Russell??

Payne stepped closer. The rain started to pick up now, and there was another flash of lightning. Payne?s eyes glinted in the flash, and Landon could see the bloodlust there. He was a model Galian, certainly. ?Yes sir??

?Have a field day.?

Payne bent down to Weston?s crumpled body and picked up his pistol off the ground. He weighed it in his hand. ?Won?t ever point this at me again will ya cocksucker??

He trained it on Weston and pulled the trigger.

***

The green bolt missed Weston by more than a foot, slamming through the window and into the house behind them. Payne?s aim had suffered greatly when the first hailstone, almost the size of a softball, struck him in the head. He reeled forward swearing and dropped the gun into the now thickening mud. In the dark, it may as well have been dropped down a chasm. He looked up and his head was bleeding from the impact. Another ball of ice struck the ground a few feet away from him, then another, and then a little farther away there came another. Huge balls of ice were falling now, everywhere, kicking up dirt and sludge and crashing through the fragile roofs of the Kader homes. Another thunderclap and roar of wind tore across the city, pelting the soldiers and prisoners alike with needle sharp bits of rain. The wind made everything colder, and Jake suddenly had flashbacks to Erin?s dreams. Then there was a lightning bolt, but it didn?t just light up the sky. It tore across the sky like a rip through paper, and slammed into Miss Rita?s hovel. The mud and wood house ignited in moments, and roared with intense heat. Payne, trying desperately to see through a face full of blood, stumbled backwards into his men, and the old man spun around to look on the house with wide, terrified eyes. His thin hair was sticking to his scarred face, and in the firelight Jake thought he looked more like a shambling corpse than a man.

?Rita!? he shouted. Another block of hail fell and exploded against the ground. It was mixed with rain and more lightning. Bolts fell down from the sky, striking other houses and causing other fires across the village. The houses were going up like kindling. On the other side of town, a barn full of horses had caught and the screams of the terrified animals colored everything they heard. The old man spun far faster than he should?ve been able to and caught Payne?s eyes. ?Russell, get Rita and the boys out of there! That?s a direct order Sergeant! You must go into that fire and save your troops.?

Payne stared dumbstruck, looking down past Weston and Jake. ?This ain?t natural,? he whispered. He was staring past them and watching the flames lick at and devour the hovel. The old man pulled his gun and aimed it at Payne. ?Forget them, Rita and the kids could be dying. Boys, go save your comrades!? he shouted. A big piece of hail fell and smashed directly on top of one of the commandoes? heads. He stumbled forward, rubbing it, and then shook it off.

?No?? Payne murmured. ?No?? Behind Jake and Weston and the old man?standing in the midst of the burning flames?was the ghastly visage of a little girl. Blood dripped from her nose and mouth, her throat was bruised from coughing, and her eyes were totally white. Bits of dirt clung to her skin and hair. Her mouth hung open in a scream. She leaned forward at him, and seemed to be getting closer though she never moved. She floated without taking a step. ?Go away,? he whined.

?Now?s no time to go crazy,? the old man snapped. ?Russell what the hell are you doing??

?She?s dead?? he whispered, ?All dead. They?re burning to death down there. He wants them dead?our soldiers, Tom Collins, Rita?? Payne trained Weston?s pistol on the ghost and pulled its trigger. One shot after another passed through the little girl and into the burning mess.

?It?s him,? the old man hissed. ?Pandemon is here.? On cue, screams started coming from inside the hovel. The door collapsed suddenly, in a brilliant shower of sparks, and Jake could see Rita moving as quickly as she could to get out of the house. Her clothes were on fire, and the bed behind her was completely engulfed in flame. Everything in there was burning up around her. The wooden floor had caved-in in spots, and Jake could see Tom Collins and the rest of the resistance down in the cellar panicking. The staircase was consumed by fire, and they were trapped. Tom?s eyes met Jake?s and he opened his mouth as if to say something, but over the thunder and the rain and the roar of the fire Jake couldn?t make it out. Huge chunks of flaming debris were falling down on the cornered men, and at the same time balls of thick, hard ice were plunging through the roof and floor and striking others. The old man, Colonel DeVries, stared helplessly at Rita as she hurried towards the door, and the ground beneath her gave way. She let out a terrible scream and landed twelve feet below on top of a pile of smoldering, splintery wood. Her body and the wood burned, and a huge rafter was protruding from her stomach. ?RITA!? the old man yelled, but before he could move faster the walls of the hovel gave way, and the entire building collapsed in on itself. The roof and floor and walls and everything fell downward, first collapsing on the hovel?s wooden floor and then falling down into the basement. Everyone inside was buried beneath a pile of burning wreckage. The screams did not stop, and several of Payne?s men had moved up around the house?s crater to try and help them, but the heat was too intense. Rita, Tom Collins, and the core of the Galian resistance had become just more fuel for the wretched and intense fire, which burned ferociously in the pit left by the basement.

Jake was utterly dumbstruck, and could not physically move. He stared at the destruction and the devastation that was spreading across Kader and felt a tremendous pit open up inside of him, like his heart had imploded. Tom Collins was dead. Miss Rita was dead. Everyone he had met and come to know and love on this damnable trip had died. And for what reason? Was there a reason? No. Their only sin was crossing Tom Milton. The Pale King, and evil white thing that lurked in Rook. Weston was starting to stir, being brought back to life by the rain and the cold wind. All around them, chaos was ensuing. Payne was still staring dumbly off into space, mumbling to himself likely due to a concussion. Several of the five soldiers were busy trying to help their comrades, while others had fled to their families or other people they knew in the village. Colonel DeVries was staring at the pit and watching the fire burn, and looked resolved not to move a muscle.

?Weston,? Jake whispered, and slapped his friend?s face. Weston blinked and shook his head and groaned. ?Weston we?ve got to go. We?ve got to go right now.?

Weston reached up weakly and rubbed his head. Then he leaned forward and blinked rapidly. ?Yeah, go. I got it. Hey aren?t I the one supposed to be telling you this??

?Milton?s doing this. He?s killing everyone in the town.?

Weston opened his eyes and looked around. A family was running terrified down the street as their house collapsed in on itself. Another bolt of lightning struck down and sent a huge explosion of dirt everywhere. Payne was wandering without rhyme or reason around the hovel?s pit. The Old Man still hadn?t moved. ?Oh,? Weston murmured. ?So he is. Why??

?I think he?s trying to give us a chance to get away. And he?s crazy.?

?He is nuts.?

?Yeah.?

?Ok, let?s go.?

?Weston. Tom?s dead.?

Weston froze. He had already begun to stand up, and his hand wrapped around his pistol which was now clearly visible from the light of the many fires. For a second he just sat there, then his body began to shake and he collapsed back down into the mud. Rain continued to fall and patter on them, but the worst of the hail seemed to be over. He laid there in the mud, not moving, letting the cold rain run over his body. It took him almost a full minute before he found the strength to get up, and when he did he realized his throat had seized up, and that he couldn?t speak a full sentence without his voice cracking. Jake reached out his arm and helped Weston up to his feet. Then together they looked back at the flaming pyre where their last friend and the Galian Resistance were burning.

After several moments, Weston let out his breath. ?So Tom too??

?Yeah,? Jake said. Another bolt of lightning struck the ground behind them, causing a huge fireball to erupt and engulf a grain silo. Colonel DeVries turned slowly back at them and stared coldly at the two. His hands were trembling, and his eyes were bloodshot. Water ran down his face and mixed with mud and grime. It was a gruesome sight, and Weston was glad he had his blaster in hand. ?You two?you two bring death wherever you go. What did we do to deserve you??

?I?? Jake started, but he could think of nothing to say.

?Just go,? DeVries mumbled. ?Kill that son of a bitch. Go now, walk away from here. Go to Rook and kill him.?

?Are we??

?You won?t win,? DeVries laughed. His voice was laced with panic-induced hysteria. ?You won?t win. You can?t win. He?s everywhere. Look at what he?s done here? How can four men kill a God? You?re no more a threat to him then maggots to a freight train. But give it a shot. Far be it from me to try and stop you.?

?Colonel,? Jake said quietly, ?I?m sorry for your loss. He held out his hand to the grizzled old Galian, and the old man looked at it.

?You know, if I really thought you stood a chance in Hell I?d kill you,? he said.

?Yeah, I know.? They shook hands, and then the old man frowned and saluted them. In the heart of the city, weapons started to discharge. Five black soldiers were marching down the center of the street. They were shooting everyone in sight. The one in the center looked identical to the others, except it was wearing a long, red cape and had a smiley face drawn on its helmet in white paint. Rain was bouncing off their metal hides and rolling down their victims? bodies. Lightning flashed again, illuminating the Galavex and their grime spattered armor. One of them lifted its rifle and fired, and Sergeant Payne?s back exploded in a shower of sparks and blood. He collapsed face down in the mud. Another rifle shot tore off the face of one of the Galian resistance fighters.

?Tin Man?s been mobilized,? the old man whispered. ?You boys go. Run. It?s a three days ride to Rook, may take up to a week if you walk. But there?s horses roaming all ?round here tonight. Find one, and get that son of a bitch.?

?Will you come with us, Colonel?? Jake asked. Weston had already shaken free of his shock and was ready to run. The old man dipped down and picked up the pistol he?d dropped. He watched the approaching Galavex with narrow, hate-filled eyes and he shook his head.

?You run along,? he said. Jake met his eyes and knew what he meant to do, turned back to Weston, and the two of them started to leave. Before they were out of earshot, Colonel DeVries shouted back to them, ?Good luck Judas. Give ?im Hell.?

Jake turned back for just a moment and gave him one last salute. Then he and Weston ran. They ran from the burning city into the thick, flooded night. The rain and the hard wind stung their skin, but they moved like the mouth of Hell itself was chasing them. After three minutes of solid running they turned and looked back. Over the flat plain, still lit by the fires, they could see Colonel DeVries standing alone firing his weapon. The blasts struck the approaching Galavex one after another, and finally one of the robots crumpled to the ground. But the Tin Man and its three other soldiers continued to advance. They neither raised their weapons nor quickened their step. They took the brunt of DeVries fire until they were upon him. Then the Tin Man, firelight still catching on the white painted face, reached out and grabbed the old man by the throat. It hoisted him up into the air, and tossed him into the raging pyre below.

Just another log on the fire.

***

Weston and Jake didn?t make it far outside of the city before daybreak. They didn?t even try. It was obvious that Milton had staged the storm, and the crackdown?everything really, with the express intent of setting them free again. Milton had saved their lives, and in the process killed their last ally and the entirety of the Galian Resistance. In the soft glow of the predawn sun, smoke still rose from the ruined city. There were no houses left standing. A few were burnt out husks, and most were collapsed all together. The only structure that remained in tact was the statue of Tom Milton. Jake and Weston couldn?t see it clearly, not from where they were, but they could see its shape, and as the sun rose over the horizon, that statue?s shadow seemed to stretch for miles and miles across the countryside. Jake and Weston, too tired to walk anymore, collapsed down to the ground. Jake wheezed and fell backwards onto the muddy ground. Weston sat with his legs crossed and his head buried in his hands. They didn?t say anything, they couldn?t, and in the cold, early morning air and amidst the breaking clouds the world was silent. Pure, unrestrained silence.

Weston, finally, lifted his head and looked at the smoking ruins of Kader. His hands were clenched tightly, and his face grim. ?He?s still grinning, you know,? Weston murmured.

Jake sat up and rubbed his hand through his hair, likely smearing more dirt on himself than he brushed away. ?Huh??

?That fucking statue. It?s still got Milton?s stupid grin plastered on it. I?d like to go back there and blow the thing to fucking Hell.?

?Yeah,? Jake whispered.

?If?you know, there weren?t all those Galavex still there. That kind of throws a wrench in my sinister vandalism plot.?

Jake started to laugh, and then so did Weston, and the two felt like madmen but they laughed anyway. They laughed at their situation. They laughed at the bleakness of everything. ?So,? Jake sighed, wiping a tear from his eye, ?I guess that?s that. What now??

Weston shrugged, ?Well, I suggest we take a day off. Let?s have a day where we just kind of sit around, meander towards Rook if we feel like it but no timetable. Rest up. Then, if we really want to, we can get back to saving the world tomorrow.?

Jake nodded, ?Ok. But you know, we can?t do too much of that. No food or water, you know. No provisions whatsoever.?

?Oh,? Weston said. His voice wasn?t surprised, in fact it seemed very unsurprised, as if the really shocking thing would have been for his plan to be completely and totally viable, because that would have meant that at least for a moment, everything was going fine. ?Well,? he shrugged, ?the Good Shephard?or in this case wicked, sinister, Devil thing, made it rain once. If we?re thirsty he?ll make it rain. If we?re hungry he?ll send food. If Tom Milton wants us so damn badly, I say make him work for it.?

Jake laughed and nodded, and laid back down onto the ground. They let the silence continue for a bit, and then Jake looked back at Weston and sighed. ?I?m glad you came,? he said. ?I don?t know if I told you. I can?t remember, but?I?m really glad you came.?

?Me too,? Weston said. ?I mean apart from all the deaths and suffering and uncomfortable smells, it?s been a blast.?
?No,? Jake said, ?No I mean it. You?re a good man, Weston. And I can?t know what thoughts still haunt you at night, about the past?but I do know that today you?re a good man. And today is what matters.?

Weston smiled and looked back at Jake, and reached out his hand. The two shook, and Weston whistled. ?Heh, funny thing is that today, right now, I can?t think about anything. Not Menina, not my past. I just?I just don?t care anymore. So much has happened so quickly that I feel numb to it all, like I?m outside of it.?

?Yeah,? Jake said, ?I know the feeling. Have you ever thought that maybe that was Erin?s plan all along??

?To let our lives get so shitty that eventually we stop caring??

Jake shrugged, ?She is a woman.?

They both started laughing again, and Weston slapped his hand against his forehead, ?Of course. Of fucking course. Why didn?t we see it before. Can?t wait for Rendix and Shandri to get back so they can hear the secret.?

?Yeah, but Shandri won?t get it.?

?Ah, too bad. Well, screw Shandri when Rendix gets here at least he?ll get a kick?? Weston stopped, and his voice trailed off.

?Yeah,? Jake whispered. ?Yeah he would. You know, whatever was motivating me to rush on to Milton last night has kind of fizzled out. If we didn?t have to go to Rook, because our lives depend on it, then I?d say we wait. Milton can?t do anything, he?s waiting on us.?

?Too bad our timetable went out the window with the Casablanca. I have no idea how long we?ve been out here. Or if it?s even been very long. But looks like its kind of moot now anyway.?

?Rook?s got all the food and water. Unless Milton really is going to play nice and take care of us, which I?find unlikely, we really don?t have a choice.?

?Heh, well fuck me. If I?d have known we were going to have all this down time traveling I?d have saved my story for now. That?s one upside anyway, at least I won?t have to break any news to Shandri.?

?Yeah,? Jake said.

?Kind of ironic that our enemy?s stronghold is the only place we can go to get basic living supplies.?

?If we can even get there. Without horses, it?s going to take us a lot longer than three days to make it to Rook. And I don?t know about you but I?m not sure if people can go more than three days without water?especially not on a shadeless plain with the sun beating down on you all day.?

?Oh Erin you fiery bitch, you?ve done it again,? Weston muttered.

The sun rose higher in the sky, and the last clouds from the night?s storm faded away. A steady, foggy vapor floated up from the ground as the water burned off of the Flats, and the last of Kader?s fires burnt themselves out. The two friends, Jake and Weston, laid side by side in the warm morning air and noticed none of this. They were content talking to each other, and letting the coming battle stay blissfully out of mind. They rested their weary bodies, and stared up at the sky; fore if they looked to the horizon they would have seen Rook.

And had they looked even farther, towards its tallest building, they would have seen a figure on its highest balcony looking back at them.

[Calavan]

Reunion

?I?m not planning on leaving you two alone. We will come back, and we will see you again. And we will make it through this?all of us.?

~Tyr Rendix-Jeraan, Red and White



Alitar Fiat rested his hand on Colonel Sombra?s shoulder and both of them looked out of the forward window. They were not on the bridge of the Cerberus but rather in its uppermost observation tower, where a small room was constructed to look out on the stars. Ahead of them was a debris field. The planet that had once been Dantooine was gone, ripped apart from the inside out. Those left over from the battle and the evacuation had been slaughtered. The last remnants of the Alliance of Free Worlds in the Dantooine system was the floating debris, and a Marauder Corvette called Destiny.

A day earlier, a combined strike fleet from the Damocles Empire and several non-aligned worlds had trickled in, apparently unaware of Dantooine?s fate. Their ships had been destroyed in minutes, overwhelmed by the sheer number of Galian forces and unprepared for so quick an attack. Now three Galian sub-fleets had been dispatched to bombard those empires into submission. Resistance was not to be tolerated, and Fiat wanted to show the galaxy what happened when its denizens banned together. Two weeks had passed since the beginning of the Galian invasion, and already three hundred and sixty planets had been exterminated. Many of them had been small worlds without defenses, but the firm hand of the Galian Star Empire had not wavered. Hundreds of billions were dead.

?It?s almost pretty,? Sombra said. He watched the still-burning parts of the planet spin and tumble in space, some colliding, others drifting, and again prayed silently that there was no God to punish him when he died.

?It?s your legacy,? Fiat replied. His steely voice belied a hint of jealousy, as though he hadn?t been privy to that same legacy for years and years. He squeezed Sombra?s shoulder just a little, and then turned away. His good eye had almost begun to cloud. He wasn?t sure why. He could feel no sorrow in his heart, but he knew?just as Kel Gauthra knew?that some great battle was coming on a front he?d not predicted, and when it came the Galian Star Empire that he had known for almost a thousand years would cease to be. It would endure, of course, in some manner. But the age of the Burning Man and his servants was already corroding. First Milton, then Landon had left. Although thoughts of betrayal had not entered Fiat?s mind, the cold truth was that he wouldn?t have to betray. Time was working against them. He was old, and though his body stayed strong, it was not due to his suit. Even with the Galian technology, he would have died long ago without Kel Gauthra. The same was true for all of the ancient servants. And should Kel Gauthra be deposed and his powers extinguished?what then? Whether it was Milton or the humans that won, the end result was the same. Robbed of his magics, Kel Gauthra would die. As would Alitar, and everyone else preserved by those magics. They would wither away into dust. Jake Landon knew this, surely as he knew the impossibility of their task, and yet he continued without pause or hesitation. In no small part, that awed Alitar Fiat. To have such courage and selflessness? It was heroic. And in no small part because of that heroism, Fiat imagined that perhaps the Four just might win.

***

The walls of the Yaga Minor capitol building were a slick, pale white. Alliance of Free World soldiers walked down the halls, and for Admirals Mirrak Dubose and Berloc Varless, the entire place felt surreal. They felt like they were in a haze where nothing had ever really happened, and the Galian invasion, the destruction of Dantooine, and everything else was just some elaborate waking dream.

?We contacted the Damocles as soon as we heard, but it was too late. Their fleet was totally destroyed. Fifteen hours later we lost contact with their capital planet. We?ve had similar reports from the unaligned worlds that were contributing fleets. They?ve lost their ships and are defenseless.? They woke up.

Berloc cleared his throat and rubbed his lower jaw. Dubose stayed silent. They were walking with Yaga Minor?s Governor, Jarek Michelman, towards his office suite on the fiftieth floor of Yaga Minor?s government hub.

?That won?t do us any good in the public relations department,? Dubose murmured.

Berloc shuddered. Public relations was turning out to be one of his most despised phrases. ?You?ve been out and away from the battle,? Berloc said to Michaelman, ?How?re the people feeling??

?Terrified,? Michaelman murmured. ?and I am too, honestly. When we heard that Dantooine had been destroyed, we naturally feared the worst. There were riots, and protests. Peaceniks and other nutjobs. Here,? he stopped. They?d reached the office.

Two days ago, the Unity along with remnants of the Alliance of Free World?s fleet arrived at Yaga Minor for repairs and regrouping. Without its leadership, the governors of the Alliance?s respective planets had largely been taking over themselves, while the military had been wandering aimlessly, attempting to contact anyone from Dantooine. Dubose and Varless had largely taken care of these problems once they reached the planet. They had asserted control over the colonies again, and Berloc appointed a successor in the Corporate Sector, which appeared to be safely distant from the current conflict. Meanwhile, new numbers had been coming in. Hundreds of planets had fallen, and the Alliance of Free Worlds was not the only empire that had tried to engage the enemy presence. But time and again the fleets of this galaxy had failed to the Galian onslaught.

Michaelman ran his hand along a touchpad. The door slid open and the three men entered. Michaelman offered Berloc his chair, but the Admiral declined and sat beside Dubose in two leather-bound chairs across from Michaelman?s desk. ?Like I was saying, everything?s going to hell out here. I just got a holorecording of a long range sensor package detailing a Galian attack on an Imperial fortress world. This one was an outlying planet, but it had a fairly significant fleet. They were wiped out, and the planet sterilized,? he reached into his desk and pulled out a bottle of Corellian whiskey. ?It?s the kind of thing that warrants drinking. Would you like one??

Berloc and Dubose exchanged glances and both nodded.

?Well if we?re all gonna die anyhow,? Dubose laughed, ?pour me a double.?

Berloc laughed too, but it wasn?t the same jolly, full bellied laugh that he used to have. It was empty. Fake. Because there wasn?t anything to laugh about. They Galians were coming, hitting world after world after world, and up until now there had been no success in stopping them.

?I?ve been keeping in contact with our agents in the Empire,? Michaelman added. He took a sip from his whiskey. ?Emperor Morik is not happy. He?s been organizing a fleet to try and form a counter attack. There?s no word on if the Galians plan on hitting Sluis Van, but Morik apparently sees it as a good place to start. At last count, there were one hundred and sixty Imperial Star Destroyers, fifteen Titans, twelve ASDs, and hundreds of support ships grouping there.?

?That?s a fair sized chunk of the Imperial fleet,? Dubose said. He bit his lip and rubbed his disfiguring scar with his hand. ?Morik must be feeling the heat if he?s whipped up that many ships.?

?Well, from what we can tell, the Galians have been working on the outskirts of the Galaxy up until now.? Michaelman took another sip of his drink and pressed a button on his table. A hologram of the galaxy, much like President Rendix?s on Dantooine, appeared and swiveled. There were several black gaps in the map that Dubose didn?t recognize. ?With the exception of their movements in the Exodus sector, they have remained in the westernmost portions of the galaxy. Now, we know the Galian command fleet is still in orbit above the Dantooine debris field, sending out smaller fleets to clean up the nonaligned worlds to our north. Yaga Minor and the other Alliance planets have up to now been skipped by, but I?m sure the Galians will be moving to us sooner rather than later. I?ve already started issuing evacuation orders.?

?Evacuation,? Berloc raised an eyebrow. ?Governor, we just frellin? got here, I need to know?? but he stopped his protest shortly. It was no use. Running was the only option they had, at least until they could find a place to stop and catch their breath. A safe place, if such a place existed anymore. ?Where do you plan on sending your citizens??

?I don?t know,? Michaelman admitted. ?I don?t know. But staying here is insane.?

?You?re right,? Dubose muttered. ?If they know what they?re doing?and it looks like they do?well, if I was them, after I cleaned up as many small worlds as possible, I?d move on to the industrial planets. They want to wipe out a galaxy? Well that?s gonna be one hell of a war, especially if your enemy is replacing all those lost ships while you?ve got a finite number. Morik got it absolutely right. They?re gonna hit the big shipyard worlds. Fondor. Bilbringi. Kuat. Sluis Van. Corellia. Once they move to the core?that?s where they?ll be going. Any world that can build big ships?? He gave a sidelong glance out of the main window and towards the sky. It was small, but the Unity and Yaga Minor?s repair dock could both be seen in the upper atmosphere. ?Or repair ?em.?

Berloc was taking a sip of his whiskey, but when Dubose finally finished talking he turned back the whole glass. He set it on the table. Michaelman filled it back up. ?Any word on repairs?? Berloc asked.

Michaelman shook his head, ?Word is it?s amazing the Unity didn?t disintegrate in hyperspace. It?s like I told you this morning, the patch-up job my men are doing will have her ready to fly. Hell, it?ll have her combat capable, but without a good month in spacedock that ship won?t be combat ready. Every inch of it is covered with carbon scoring. There are still fires we haven?t put out. Whole decks worth of electronics have to be replaced. And these are quotes from my best engineers?and some of your own.?

?I get it,? Berloc grumbled. ?Well gentlemen, where do we go from here? We?ve contacted the New Republic, but they?re still worried about buildups along their borders from the Empire and its satellites. None of their worlds have been hit, and so without some act of the Force, bureaucrats will be bureaucrats. The Jedi have pledged support, but they don?t have a fleet and the Galians don?t have an army or a dark Jedi that needs crunching. The Empire is too stubborn to work with us, and the other people, some of whom know this is a real threat now, are either burying their heads in the sand or simply refuse to divert fleets. And every day the Galians take out more planets. Every day we lose more ships, and people, and fighting ability. Do we?does anybody have a casualty count on Galian ships? Those things are built like armored duracrete bricks. Our entire fleet bombarded the main Galian flagship. Our entire fleet attacked it with a rocket and heavy ordinance volley, followed by concentrated turbolaser fire, and we gave it a bloody nose, but not much more. Their shield tech saved the Unity, but the Destiny and all of its research are gone. We?ve got nothing. What we?ve got in the Unity?s databanks, from what I?m told, won?t even give us a frelling chance at fixing ?em. We?ve got to go back to standard Imperial shield tech cause our Galian power plants are shot. So what the frack do we do? We tried standing up, and they bloodied up our nose and knocked us on our asses. We tried running, and now they?re chasing us. Where do we go??

?We can?t,? Dubose started. Had been staring at the hologram while Berloc spoke, almost mesmerized. His eyes were clear, and for the first time everything began to fall into place. ?We can?t just hold down somewhere and hope to rally a fleet. This war will not be won with a single sweeping battle. We have to hit them, and keep on hitting them, like mosquitoes on a ronto?s back. We will pick away at their fleet until there?s nothing left. We?ve got an advantage?well, two. One, we know where they are. And two?popular support will be with taking up an offensive. I?ve seen my share of civilians, and they don?t like to run. They like to see their military fighting back. So that?s what we do. We hit the Galian fleets, slow them down, and hinder them at every chance.?

Michaelman nodded, and his face perked up, ?Keep their flagfleet pinned down here, in the Exodus sector, and our industrial centers in the Corporate Sector will start to churn out ships. Wartime economies are wonderful. But for this to be effective, we?re going to need intelligence. And that doesn?t solve the question of where do we go. Or how we do any of this.?

?No,? Berloc said, but his face has brightened as well. ?Dubose you?re a genius. I got an idea.?

***

Tick tock, hippity hop, off the rocker and round the clock. Life?s a curse and the world?s a lie, so drop what you?re doing and let them die.

Just as it finished, the rhyme began again. A little girl was chanting it as she bounced up and down on a seesaw. Up and down. Up and down. She had gold hair and a plump little face. Aside from her, Tyr was standing alone in a field of green grass. The sky was a soft, robin?s egg blue and speckled with wisps of faraway clouds. The sun was warm and gentle.

?Tick tock, hippity hop, off the rocker and round the clock. Life?s a curse and the world?s a lie, so drop what you?re doing and let them die. Bye Mr. Kitten, good day Mr. Lark, soon both will have wings and a tuned little harp. Dress up the princes and make up the dames. Won?t matter a bit when the world?s aflame.? The little girl giggled and started back at the beginning. And she kept going up and down.

Tyr hesitated. Then he walked towards the little girl. ?Hello,? he said.

The girl stopped seesawing. She stopped chanting. She put both feet firmly on the ground and looked over at Tyr once with both eyes piercing into his. Then she turned her head back towards the empty seat across from her and kicked off with her feet. Up and down. Up and down.

?Who are you?? Tyr asked. ?What are you doing??

The little girl ignored him. She just kept going up and down. Up and down.

?Listen. Who are you?? Tyr persisted. He was just about to reach out and stop her when she stopped herself. She landed on the ground and with a long, melodramatic sigh said, ?Hey you guy. My mommy told me never to talk to strangers. Not even Mr. Good Guy.?

?Who are you?? Tyr repeated.

?I?m Lauren!? The little girl chirped, apparently needing very little reason to disregard her mother?s warnings. ?I?m Lauren, and you?re Mr. Good Guy. But you haven?t been so good.?

Tyr wrinkled his forehead and the little girl giggled. ?You look silly,? she said.

?Stop that,? Tyr grumbled. ?Didn?t your mommy ever teach you to treat grown-ups with respect??

?Mommy?s dead,? the little girl giggled. ?Squish squish jellyfish.?

Tyr tried to smile, but he couldn?t get around how creeped-out he suddenly felt. ?Lauren?what are you doing here??

?I?m wait?n for you, silly. Wait?n for Mr. Good Guy to save the day. You can do it, you know. Save me, save mommy, save us all.? As she spoke, the sky darkened, and Rendix looked up. His pulse began to quicken.

?Honey?Lauren? Where are we??

?Where do you want to be?? she whispered.

?I want?Lauren just answer the question. It?s very important sweetheart. Are we on Dantooine??

?Yeppers,? she chirped. Rendix looked back up into the sky at the multitude of shapes that had blotted out the sun. Thousands upon thousands. Maybe more. They were descending like a swarm of locusts. ?We?re on Dantooine?or maybe we?re on Corellia. Or maybe Mon Calamari. Or maybe Madera. Or maybe Earth. Maybe we?re on Biter. Maybe Alpha-Centauri. Doesn?t really matter where you are, cause its gonna come all the same.?

?Lauren,? Rendix said, sweating. ?This isn?t a game. Now tell me, where are we??

But the little girl didn?t answer. She just giggled. ?Save the day, Mr. Good Guy. I believe in you! I believe in you, and I love you?and so does He.? And Rendix could tell she was pointing at something, somewhere off beyond the dark mass that came quickly and inevitably, but he couldn?t tell what. Then, in one sudden stroke, the black things fell upon the world, and the field of endless grass went roaring alive with fire. The little girl?s skin and hair turned black and peeled off, and all the while she seesawed up and down on her little seesaw.

She didn?t scream. She didn?t flinch. She just chanted her rhyme as her flesh seared off.

?Tick tock, hippity hop, off the rocker and round the clock. Life?s a curse and the world?s a lie, so drop what you?re doing and let them die. Bye Mr. Kitten, good day Mr. Lark, soon both will have wings and a tuned little harp. Dress up the princes and make up the dames. Won?t matter a bit when the world?s aflame.?

***

Rendix?s eyes flew open and he sat up in bed. He was sweating profusely, and he knew he needed to get up. Quietly, he slipped his feet out from the sheets and placed them on the cold metal floor. He shivered, leaned down, and picked his pants up off of the floor, then carefully put them on. Then his shoes. He was still shaking. ?Bad dream?? Shandri asked.

He looked back at her, still wrapped up in the sheets of the bed, and shook his head. ?Scary as Hell. I think Milton?s playing tricks on us.?

?Yeah?? Shandri asked, leaning forward. ?What?d you dream about??

?There was a little girl,? Tyr said as he stood up. ?And she called me Mr. Good Guy, but that I?d been bad. Said her mom was dead, and I could save the world if I wanted to and that she loved me. And then?then??

?Tyr, sit down. That?s just your nerves,? Shandri smiled, and a gentle push from some invisible hand sat Tyr back down onto the bed. She wrapped her arms around him. ?You?ve got a lot on your plate. It?s not that surprising. Today?s the big day.?

Tyr nodded, going back over the well-rehearsed schedule in his mind. ?We?re going to drop out of hyperspace around 2100. We pull into a low orbit, and if Jake and Weston are still alive??

?I?ll be able to sense them,? Shandri finished. ?It?s foolproof Tyr. It?s pretty clear, I think, that they haven?t made it to Milton yet. Our only question is how far have they gotten? Did he get them? Or did Milton just delay them long enough for us to get the team together??

Tyr nodded, and closed his eyes as Shandri massaged his back. She squeezed his shoulders and rubbed her chin across his neck. ?Did you ever wonder,? Tyr asked, ?Why Milton would do a thing like that? Seems like he could have killed them a while back, taken this group of four down to a group of two. It?d be easier for him.?

?He?s got to keep us together,? Shandri murmured. ?That?s his plan. Keep us together, keep the team like it is, and then?well?then make us leave him and move on to the Burning Man. If we don?t kill him dead, then he?ll just go into hiding and let us do his dirty work. And then it?s game over.?

?Tick tock, hippety hop,? Tyr muttered.

?Huh??

?Nevermind,? he said. ?It was something from the dream. A?nursery rhyme. Spooky.?

?If Tom Milton is trying to scare us with nursery rhymes, I?m feeling better already. We might as well relax, Tyr, Milton can?t touch us. He can?t do a thing to us?I think we?ll be all right.?

Tyr looked back at her and furrowed his brow. ?Seems a little overconfident to me. Considering what we?ve seen him do.?

?Overconfident? Or pig-headed,? Shandri said, looking back at him with mock annoyance. She batted her eyelashes and Tyr?s defenses turned to water. ?Look,? she said, ?I know this is a big deal. I know it?Milton is going to be one tough nut to crack, but at the same time you?ve seen me. I?ve been training a lot lately, and I feel strong. I?ve got more confidence and I?ve got more energy too. And I know we can take this guy. Ever since we got here I?ve felt the Force pulling at me, itching to be used. I feel it all around me. It?s like this tangible cloth that I can feel scratching at my skin.? She sat up for the first time, and very matter of factly said, ?I?ve gotten good Tyr. Better than I?ve been since the Academy. I?m not worried, and that?s coming from the biggest gun we?ve got.?

Tyr snorted, ?Oh, so you?re a gun now??

?I?m gonna have to be,? Shandri shrugged. ?But, you know I?ll still love you. Even if you are just the trigger man.?

This time Rendix laughed, and fell back onto the bed. ?I just don?t think you should be putting so much stock in these Jedi skills. You never used to. And I have noticed you training a lot. I just?I don?t know. I just don?t want you going all veiny and gray-skinned on me.?

Shandri giggled, ?I don?t either. I like my complexion just the way it is.?

?Me too. You don?t think it?s the ship do you?? he asked.

Shandri rolled her eyes.

?Being locked up for two weeks on this ship probably hasn?t?well?I just mean,? Tyr hesitated, ?the memories can?t be pleasant.?

Shandri sighed, but there was still a shadow on her face. ?No,? she said. ?No, not too pleasant. But it was a long time ago, and I still flew around on this ship after they died. For?almost five years before the Jedi got me. I can cope, trust me.? Suddenly her face brightened and she held up her hand. Rendix felt his shoes go tugging off and she wrapped her arms around him. ?Care to help me take my mind off of it??

?Is that all I am to you? A diversion?? Tyr chuckled. He kissed her, and even if she?d said yes he knew he wouldn?t care.

?You betcha,? she lied. Then they took each other, and laid there for some time in peaceful silence. Later, when they were resting side by side, Shandri stared up at the ceiling panels and began to laugh.

?Oh, what is it now?? Tyr asked.

?I was just thinking about Jake and Weston. We?ve sure got a surprise for them.?

***

??surprise for them.? The screen flickered off.

Milton wiped his hands on his pants and broke out into a huge, world shaking gut-laugh. Little Shandri Brightstorm sure was a firecracker wasn?t she? A little pumpin?, humpin?, wildcat in the sack. ?Oh, I think they?ve got an even better one for you sweetie pie,? he hissed, ?And I for one can?t wait to see it.?

Around him, in his empty penthouse suite, a lot of the chairs had been moved away from the middle of the room to make room for his guests. He?d have one before the others. One that came freely into the spider?s nest. The great day was almost upon them. The great show was almost here. All the parts were coming together.

Time to start the music.

***

It was late in the afternoon, and after two days and two nights of walking Jake and Weston could still smell the smoke from Kader. Rook looked only vaguely closer, and even though it was nearly a miracle that they could see it at all, considering how far away from it their ship had gone down and how many miles they?d traveled, their hearts sank every time they looked at it. Partially because of the thirst, and the hunger, and the overbearing heat. Partially because every step closer they got, was a step closer to what they knew to be a nearly hopeless battle.

?When Payne said the seasons were out of whack, guess he wasn?t kidding,? Weston rasped. His voice cracked beneath his dry throat. He wiped his hand across his forehead, but he?d all but stopped sweating. ?Wasn?t it cold a week ago??

Jake groaned, ?Yeah.? His stomach rumbled. No food for two days and he couldn?t even think about eating. He was nauseas, and had a throbbing headache. In the back of his mind, he kept thinking about what Payne said. Ever see a man die of dehydration? Isn?t pretty. ?Milton hasn?t exactly been feeding and watering us like you said either.?

?I hope he never had a dog.?

Jake offered an empty, cynical laugh, and the two kept walking. Their pace had slowed noticeably since the night before. Every step got harder, every mile longer. They were thirsty?that was the worst part. There?d been no rain, and the days were hot. Sometimes a cold wind would blow down from the West, across the Flats from Saeddus, but most times the sun above just beat down on them. They were still caked with mud from the deluge the night they fled Kader, but that had long since baked to their skin. It created, to some extent, a natural sunblock. But in spite of that, both had awful burns on their faces and necks, and both could feel their feet aching and legs quaking with every step. The Flats had never seemed so bad, but then again, they?d had provisions and taken breaks back in those days. Now, they weren?t stopping. They hadn?t made a camp yet, they just walked. They walked day and night, hoping to reach Rook before their breath gave out. And they walked mostly in silence?they had grown too tired for much else. Too tired for stories, and too tired for even their own companionship. They were in the slowest race of their lives, but it was a race all the same. A race to water and food. A race against nature, and the heat, and the sun. And they were losing. They kept going until the sun finally went down on the evening of their second day and beginning of their third night from Kader.

They planned on going further still, but shortly after sunset, Jake collapsed.

***

He hit the ground with a soft thud; his legs just crumpled beneath him, and he fell face first into the dry grass. Weston didn?t even register that anything was wrong. He was lost in his own thoughts and aches. He?d grown lethargic and catatonic, running mostly on sheer will and the routine he?d fallen into of moving his feet. Right foot, left foot, right foot, left foot. Suddenly, after taking several more steps, he paused and broke out of his trance and spun around. Jake was unconscious, face down in the grass and dirt. Weston walked back to him and dipped down and pressed his hand against Jake?s forehead. He was alive, but unconscious. His skin was hot and dry. ?Jake? Jake buddy, you all right?? Weston asked. He slapped Jake?s face gently, and his companion rolled over onto his back and sighed, breathing out bits of grass and dirt. He cracked an eye and looked at Weston, and shook his head. ?We?ve gotta stop,? he said. His voice was low and weak, like a whisper. ?We?ve got to take a break. It?s not going to matter how much water?s left in our systems if we kill ourselves by not resting.?

Weston smiled a nearly psychotic smile and nodded in perfect understanding. ?We were kidding ourselves. There?s no way in Hell we?re gonna get there before the heat gets us. I was running on fumes before I stopped?and now??

?Without horses, or food, or water, or shelter?? Jake murmured.

?That?s golden. That?s just golden,? Weston said. He dropped onto his knees and then toppled over onto his back and looked up into the twilight. ?Here we are, Jake. And there?s Rook. There?s Rook, and Milton, and the whole fucking point of this trip just over there, and we?re not going to make it. I don?t even know if I can get up again.?

Jake, through his sleepy stupor, seemed to laugh. Weston did too. ?Guess Milton really did want to kill us after all. He couldn?t lay a finger on us, but he could sure as Hell not help when we died on our own. Bet he?s laughin his ass off.?

?Probably,? Weston agreed. ?You know, what I don?t understand is why he goes through all this bullshit. Even if he can?t touch us, he?s been looking out for us. He got us out of Kader, somehow, only to let us die out in the desert between Kader and Rook?the last, and I?ll admit it, I thought it?d be inconsequential, part of the journey. He?s just playing with us like we?re mice, and he?s a fat cat with a fetish for torture.?

?Sounds about right.?

?Why? You knew the guy, back when you were all?black eyed, and what not. Why??

?I didn?t know him,? Jake said. ?I didn?t even know he existed, really. But I think it boils down to him being crazy.?

?Oh. Crazy, huh??

?You already knew that.?

?I was using what, I believe in your language, you call ?sarcasm,?? Weston winked. Up in the sky, a small star sped across the cosmos. Jake and Weston watched as it passed overhead and then vanished. ?You know word on the street is that the Burning Man?s crazy too. Can?t tell me you didn?t know him. How is he??

?It?s been a while since I?ve talked to him. We don?t really keep in touch,? Jake said.

?Yeah, yeah I know but come on. Is he nuts? Is Milton going to be a cakewalk compared to him? I wanna know. I want to know what to expect?? his voice trailed off, as he was very aware that the odds of him ever seeing the Burning Man at this point were a fraction of a thousandth of a percent.

Jake didn?t answer for a long time. ?He?s crazy,? Jake said at last. ?But it?s not the same kind of crazy. He?s not a psychopath he?s more?senile. His body?s still thirty-five or something but his actual mind is starting to decay. There are very few humans who actually lay eyes on him. I?m one of the handful who has. And when you do?its easy to forget, the way he communicates through those little rocks, and with all the power he projects, that deep down there?s a human hidden in there. The man was corrupted a long time ago, but I think as time goes on he?s gotten more reflective, and maybe regained a little of that humanity he lost.?

?Wow,? Weston said. ?So you mean this guy who?s ordered the annihilation of thousands of trillions is really ok once you get to know him??

?Well, no, I mean I wouldn?t say ?ok??he?s scared. That?s the biggest thing, I think. He?s forgotten what it?s like to be alive, and even as he reminisces on his past, he?s terrified of what it would mean to become what he was again. To be a human. A mortal?to die.?

?Wow. Well Jake that?s really deep. That?s really fucking deep. I don?t know though?I still wouldn?t invite him to my kid?s birthday party.?

?He?s a contradiction,? Jake said.

?He?s an ancient demigod who kills whole galaxies because his traditional first-wave invasion didn?t go so well. Seems pretty clear cut to me which side of the fence he?s on.?

?Well??

?Sorry,? Weston sighed, ?I know. Shouldn?t have asked the guy that used to lead the Burning Man?s fan club.?

?Well it?s not?? Jake?s voice trailed off. ?Doesn?t matter.?

?Not really,? Weston agreed. He tried to swallow, but couldn?t. His mouth was dryer than dry, it felt like he?d stuffed it with cotton, and his tongue was chapped and swollen. Even in the cool, evening air their thirst went unabated. Stomachaches, headaches, and exhaustion had become the rule, and Weston knew what that meant. Neither of them wanted to say it, but deep down they both did. They were dehydrating, alone in the middle of a stretch of land that saw no traffic, particularly now that Kader was gone. They were lost in the wilderness, and they were going to die. ?So how long do you think we have to get to Rook? Before the?you know?symptoms get worse.?

Jake shrugged, ?I try not to think about it. What about you??

?I?d guess we?ve got maybe a day, max. Less then that if some scavengers come up and eat us tonight. I can?t swear I?d fight ?em back.?

Jake snorted, ?If you told me that any other time, I?d say you were crazy for saying a thing like that. But yeah?I guess you?re right.? He paused, thinking, and then added, ?We really aren?t gonna make it this time.? His voice, Weston noticed, wasn?t sad. It wasn?t really anything. It was just calm, and accepting, like someone had just shown him the answer to a very perplexing puzzle.

?No,? Weston agreed. ?I don?t think we will.?

?So is that it then?? Jake said at last. ?We just?lay here and fizzle out??

?If that?s how I have to go?let me just tell you Jake, it?s been a pleasure.? And Weston leaned up onto one elbow, reached out his hand, and shook Jake?s. His eyes were clouded with a deep sadness mixed with nostalgia. ?You?re a good guy, Jake.?

?You too Weston. Much better than I thought you?d be,? he grinned, and Weston grinned back. Then they rested their heads back onto the ground, and began to doze. Jake was almost asleep when a quiet burning noise stirred him, and something caught his eye.

?Hey?did you just see?? Jake said suddenly. Not five minutes had passed, and Weston would have been wrenched from his sleep, but as fate would have it he?d been watching the sky too.

?Yeah.?

Up above the shooting star from earlier flickered by once again, this time in the opposite direction. Only now it was larger. It stopped mid-flight, zipped back in the other direction, and then seemed to stop moving. But it was getting bigger.

?That is one hell of a broken space rock,? Weston muttered.

?Is it?falling??

?Straight towards us??

?Yeah.?

?I think so.?

?Should we move??

?At this point? Why the hell does it matter?? Weston laughed.

Jake gave him an odd glance but didn?t move. Like Weston, he was either too tired or too jaded to care what happened. Que sera, sera. But as they watched the falling rock grow larger in the night sky, an odd thing seemed to happen.

?Weston??

?Yeah Jake.?

?It?s slowing down.?

?Thank you Jake. I would have never figured that out.?

?You?re a dick.?

?I love sarcasm.?

***

There were no lights on the Flats other than the stars. Jake and Weston had been lying on the ground watching the descending vessel for nearly five minutes as it sped towards them like a meteorite, and then slowed to nearly a stop. Now, still a good two hundred feet in the air, the hovering vessel began to lower carefully. The soft hum of repulsorlifts was music to their ears. The night was still too dark to see what was landing, but both of them knew the important thing. It was a space ship. It had been looking for them.

And that could mean only one thing.

When the ship touched down on the ground, the two of them were on their feet in an instant, and all their pain and fatigue melted away. The ship?s running lights looked like stars against its pitch black paint job, but suddenly all of that was blasted away by the tremendous light pouring out of the ship when the main hatch opened. The hue from the lights made the black hull glow like it was shrouded in firelight, and Weston suddenly recognized the image from his dream, and the feeling that accompanied it. Two figures walked into the threshold, they were indistinguishable save for their silhouettes. There was a man, and a woman. The ramp extended downwards.

Jake looked at Weston and Weston looked at Jake, and both of them were grinning wider than they?d grinned in a long, long time. They looked awful, covered with dirt and grime and months worth of filth. Their hair was long and unkept, their faces ragged and unshaved, their eyes sunken and dark. Their clothes dirty and their skin burnt. They looked like they?d been through Hell, but in that moment they felt like they?d just passed through the gates of Heaven. Tyr Rendix-Jeraan and Shandri Brightstorm walked down the ramp and saw them?the two, weary men who had been through so much, seen so much, and lost every bit of it. They saw them standing their, small, dirty, and emaciated from weeks without adequate food. They saw them smiling with such wide, lively eyes. They looked so humble, and in a way they had to be. After all they?d seen and done, this was proof in their minds that someone?maybe Erin, maybe something else?was watching out for them. To Tyr, they looked like survivors of some terrible ordeal that no man should be thrust into. They?d been put to the fire, and they?d come out unburnt. Tyr did the only thing he knew how to do when faced with such men. Silently and without thinking, Tyr saluted the both of them, and then bowed. Shandri had less restraint, and stumbled across the Maderan soil and threw her arms around the both of them. She squeezed them tightly, too tightly really, for their sunburns were sensitive and still hurt plenty, but neither complained. They hugged her back, and Weston felt a heavy shadow fall across his joy, because he knew a conversation was coming that he didn?t want to have.

Jake looked at Tyr with wide eyes, which would have been full of tears if he?d had the water to cry. ?We?d given up,? he said quietly. ?But you made it. You followed us.?

Tyr looked back at Jake and extended his hand, and the two shook. ?I said I would.?

?Thank you.? Jake hesitated, then repeated, ?Thank you.?

?You two need some water,? Shandri said. ?You look awful.?

?You took the words right out of my mouth,? Weston laughed.

?Both of you?I?this is a miracle,? Tyr murmured. ?When we got in orbit, Shandri couldn?t feel you at first. It took a lot of effort. We thought for a while that you were dead.?

?We thought you were in another Galaxy.? Weston smiled, ?Of the two, I think you were closer to being right.?

Tyr smiled, but recognized what he was saying. If they had waited even one more day on Dantooine, it?s very possible that these two men would have died. Shandri ran her hand through her hair and said, ?You two need some water and some rest, come on boys, let?s get you inside. Then you can tell us all about your sight-seeing.?

Weston and Jake exchanged glances and laughed, and arm in arm the Sojourner and Prophet led the Ram and Janus back up into the Midnight Zephyr.

Just like that, the Four were reunited. Destiny was repaired.



And the man they call Tom Milton was very pleased, indeed.

[Calavan]

Conversations with Dead People

? The door was open and the wind appeared
The candles blew and then disappeared
The curtains flew then he appeared
Saying don't be afraid.?

~Blue Oyster Cult, Don?t Fear the Reaper


The sun-baked Flats of Madera were long behind him. Weston Onasi sighed with heavy relief at that. He?d escaped. They?d gotten away, destroyed Tom Milton, and ended the threat of the Burning Man forever. Mission accomplished.

He laid his head back on the hill and stared up at the sapphire sky. He yawned. The grass was warm and tickled his back. There was no wind. Everything was peaceful. Weston couldn?t believe that he used to hate Aldivy. Now he loved it. After their return to Galaxy 32, Tyr and Shandri had returned to Dantooine. Jake had stayed, ruling on Earth as the new leader of the Burning Man?s armies. And Weston had opted to return home with Menina and Darth Bojangles. He?d tried to convince Tom to come, but the crazy son-of-a-bitch had just shrugged his shoulders and said it wasn?t right. Wasn?t right? Maybe not.

None of this is right.

Weston frowned and pushed the thought away. Overhead, two white birds flew by in the sky, one apparently chasing another. Off at the crest of the next hill he could see the back of Menina?s head. She was sitting in a patch of dandelions picking them and doing God-knows what. Weston laughed, and thought it was good. Let her live like a kid. Let her get back some of that childhood she lost on Madera, fending for herself.

Menina?s dead.

Weston sat up suddenly, with a jolt, because of the sheer certainty with which he?d had the thought. But she wasn?t dead. She was right there. Weston stared across the hillside at the little girl picking flowers and shook his head. She was right there, alive as can be. But all the same, he felt a cold tendril slipping down his neck and shivered. ?Menina?? He called out. The little girl didn?t turn. Weston grunted and picked himself up off of the ground. ?Menina!? he repeated. Still the little girl ignored him. He frowned and started walking towards her, and overhead the sun went behind a cloud. The meadow grew dim. ?Menina, answer me right now,? he snapped. But the little girl still wouldn?t. She wouldn?t answer.

?She can?t hear you,? a familiar voice said. Weston felt a chill run down his back. ?She can?t hear you because you aren?t here for her. Just like you weren?t there for her?just like you weren?t there for me.?

Weston stared at Menina, who was still picking daisies and dandelions and very slowly turned. The voice was right behind him, coming over his shoulder. He could feel the warm breath of someone hovering over his neck, and smell a sick scent of decaying animal flesh.

He turned around and there was nothing there. The grass was clear and there was no one in sight all the way to his little cottage on the hill. Weston sighed; he turned back towards Menina. Standing a foot in front of him was the decaying figure of a Chadra-Fan. Its eyes had long since rotted out and its fur was missing in patches. Some places were just bare skin. Others were bone caked in brown, half-rotten matter. The little Chadra-Fan had a gaping hole in his neck, and although its eyes were missing, its mouth was twisted up into a big, stupid grin. Behind him, Menina continued to pick flowers. ?Hello Eric,? Gugglo said.

Weston stumbled backwards and threw up both arms in surprise. The grinning, decaying Chadra-Fan took a step closer and lifted his head. A large worm wriggled out of the blaster wound and fell to the ground. ?Gee?Gugglo?? Weston laughed nervously, ?Ah is that you? Wow. Wow I really should have hired a better mortician.?

?You?re glib exterior doesn?t fool me, Eric. Won?t fool them either. They can see through you like water in a glass. Jake accepted you cause he?s been there. But do you think Tyr will? Or Shandri? Run away. There?s still time. Back to the Flats. Run far far away, and never return.?

Weston narrowed his eyes, ?Gugglo you?ve sure changed. First talking in Basic, and now rambling on about nonsense? I haven?t heard of ?the Flats? since Madera. And that?s long gone. I think you?re about a year too late, pal. Now go haunt somebody that gives a damn.?

Gugglo didn?t respond to this. He just laughed. Weston took another step back, and the Chadra-Fan vanished in front of him. Overhead, the sky brightened, and the air grew fresh and still again. Weston wiped his hand across his face and sighed, and walked up the hill behind Menina. She was still playing in the flowers.

?Hey girl, listen I?? Weston started. But he remembered Gugglo?s face, and tried to push the thought away. ?Listen to me when I call you. And stick close to home. I love you and I don?t want anything to happen to you.? He put his hand down on Menina?s shoulder, and she reached back and put her own on his. Weston frowned. Her hand was cold.

A frosty shiver went down Weston?s spine, and he noticed the gray, flaking skin on the hand touching him. Then the fair haired child turned her head slowly around, and Weston could see the face of his daughter. A rotting, rancid thing far better left under the ground. Her eyes were white balls that stared out at nothing, and her plump, lively cheeks were now sallow sacks of gray and wormy skin. Bits of dirt still clung to her clothes where she?d pulled herself up out of the ground. And suddenly, Weston could see what she?d been doing with the flowers. She?d been pulling the petals off and casting them into a shallow pit like confetti. In the pit, which Weston realized was her grave, a half-decomposed Darth Bojangles was trapped and struggling to climb out. But every time he gained leverage a flurry of petals would blind him and he?d fall back down to the bottom. She smiled madly at Weston and stuck her fat, black, rotting tongue out at him. ?I wuv you too Leston!? she cackled.

Weston screamed and woke up.

***

He shot up in with a sharp jolt, knocking over a nearby cup of water. It clattered to the Zephyr?s steel floor, spilling. Shandri and Tyr both looked up. Jake was still asleep, laying on his side on the firm mattress next to Weston. Tyr and Shandri had created a makeshift sick ward in the main room of the Zephyr. The two mattresses had been pulled from the crew quarters, where they?d eventually return, but Shandri had told them she?d rather be in the main room while she was tending them. There was more room, after all.

?Weston?? Tyr asked quizzically. ?Are you all right??

Weston didn?t hear him. He was breathing heavily and staring at the mattress. He was laying half-naked in a bed of white sheets. Distantly, like a fast-fading dream, he could remember what had happened. He and Jake had been dying out on the Flats. They had given up getting to Rook, and were resigned to death. Then they saw a falling light, and suddenly Tyr and Shandri had returned. There was a brief time of joy, and the two had been brought aboard the Zephyr. Weston had known where he was almost immediately. It was a cruel twist of fate, he thought, to be back on this ship again after so many years of running. Like everything else, it went back to Milton?s old saying. Why was he even surprised? After all, life is a wheel.

Once aboard the Zephyr, they had sat down and Tyr and Shandri brought them both a big glass of ice water, which they drank up greedily. Then they both took a shower, put on a clean set of clothes (Tyr?s clothes, actually, and although Tyr was by no means an overweight man, the clothes practically swallowed Weston and Jake?s emaciated frames whole). When that was done, Shandri had pulled out the mattresses, and told them to rest. So he had rested, until sleep took hold of him. Then?

Weston shuddered, and remembered the dream. It was still clear in his mind.

?Are you ok?? Tyr repeated.

?Bad dream,? Weston mumbled. ?Don?t worry about it.?

Tyr frowned, ?Yeah. I think we?ve all been there. Was it Milton??

?Probably,? Weston said, ?Had some old faces?? his voice trailed off. Standing behind Tyr and Shandri on the deck of the Zephyr was Kaida Khel. She had a gaping blaster wound in her chest and her skin was gray. Her head hung limply to the side, like she?d been hanged, and her mouth was opened just a bit. She didn?t move or say a thing?she just stared at Weston with empty, pit-black eye sockets. Weston blinked and she was gone.

?Old faces,? he repeated, ?from before.?

Tyr nodded, ?From Dantooine??

?From here,? Weston sighed, not elaborating which here he meant.

Tyr nodded, assuming he meant Madera. ?Well, I?m sure both you and Jake have a fare share of stories to tell. You?ve been out here almost six months. All alone?in the wilderness.?

Weston thought back to Menina, and try as he might the only image he could remember was her cackling, rotting face. He couldn?t wait until the dream faded from memory, like a handprint on a cold pane of glass, but he feared it wouldn?t. ?No,? he said at last, ?not alone.?

Tyr looked over to Shandri, and for the first time Weston met eyes with her, and he could see the concern on her face. She cared about him. She really cared about him. Knowing that made what he had to do even more terrifying. ?You?re cold,? Shandri said, ?like your soul has been touched by something very dark. Whatever you dreamed about, it must have been traumatic. Who did you see??

Weston hesitated. ?A little girl,? he said, at last. ?My little girl.?

Tyr stiffened, ?Wait,? he said. ?Wait was this girl small, blonde haired, cute little face??

?Yeah,? Weston murmured. ?Cute as a button, and so sweet. So full of life. And I?I?? and his voice trailed off, and even as he sat there talking to them, still plagued by the trauma of his dream, his mind went back to his memories of the past six months, and suddenly a wave of emotion rushed over him and dragged him kicking and screaming back to that place he thought he?d buried. ?I cursed her,? he said at last. ?I let Jake bring her along on this sith-damned trip, and I knew she shouldn?t. I knew. But I let her come. I gave an inch, and then she snuggled up next to me and cracked through my shell better than the best seductress.?

?Was her name??

?Menina. Her name was Menina.?

Tyr frowned, disappointed that it wasn?t the girl from his dream. He moved to ask Weston another question, but Weston had closed his mouth, and for the first time ever Tyr saw Weston cry. It was not a pretty sight, seeing a proud man cry, and both Tyr and Shandri glanced at each other uncomfortably as Weston sobbed. ?I loved her,? he gasped at last. ?She was like a daughter to me. And I?she opened me up again. She thawed me. And I repaid her by dragging her out of her life, tearing her out of her happy home. Oh, it was Jake?s idea but I?m just as much to blame, if not more. I saw the writing on the wall. I saw what would happen and I let it slide. And then what happened? She lost her best friend. Then she lost her health. Then her mind. Then she died. She died a sick, twisted, gruesome death and it was not the kind of noble thing that they write plays about. She hacked her lungs up and died lying in the dirt. And I couldn?t do a fucking thing to stop it.?

What Weston said came from his heart, and he meant them, but nonetheless while Weston mourned his child, he knew that deep down all of his pain was not focused in guilt. And although he would never admit it to anyone, a small part of his pain was anger. Anger at Menina herself. Because even as she lay dying in his arms, the thought occurred to him that if he?d never met that girl, and if she?d never melted his heart, he wouldn?t be feeling the agony of her loss. It was a selfish, wretched, human thought, but a part of him would always resent her for it.

Tyr sat dumbstruck in silence. He looked at Weston, and saw someone that he never imagined would love a little girl. He saw a womanizer, and a scoundrel, and a criminal in some respects. But not a father. That was one role, that Weston Onasi just didn?t seem cut out for. But there he was?mourning the loss of a little girl who?d been his world. Tyr didn?t know what to say, so he said nothing. But to his surprise, it was Shandri who spoke next. Very gently, she walked over to Weston, kneeled, and put her hand on his cheek. ?I can help,? she said barely above a whisper. And both Tyr and Weston met eyes, and although they didn?t know what she was doing, they knew it was something that two weeks ago Shandri Brightstorm could not have done?and even if she could have, she wouldn?t have. Joy, and anguish, and the rushing seesaw of emotions that had struck her over the course of their journey had left a mark on her. And just as Tyr had noticed before their arrival at Madera, again he saw the mark and knew that Shandri had changed.

With her hand still on Weston?s cheek, she grew very still, and Weston could feel a presence in his mind. And suddenly he knew what she was doing, and he panicked.

?Stop it,? he said to her. ?I don?t want your help.?

?I know you?re scared,? she said quietly, ?but I?m stronger now then I?ve ever been. I can help you. I can go in and calm these memories.?

Weston could feel her going deeper now. She was finding memories, looking at them. She was looking at Menina, seeing her face and trying to diminish the pain, but it was dangerous. Weston knew that. If she so much as caught wind of the wrong memory? ?No,? Weston said again, ?I don?t think you?re listening I said stop it.?

?This?ll only take??

?Get the frack out of my head!? Weston snapped, and then he pushed her, and she fell back onto the floor of the ship. ?Don?t you get it? I don?t want your help. Just let me have a good old-fashioned mourning. I don?t want any part of your frelling Jedi mind-powwows or anything.?

?Weston,? Shandri hesitated. He could tell that even from afar she was scanning him, reading his emotions. ?Weston I?m sorry.?

?Sorry? Well I think you missed the fucking point, you can?t say you didn?t just go into my head to figure out why I?m mad. Have you lost all your fucking sense of empathy? You can?t tell why I?m pissed without poking around again??

?Weston,? Tyr murmured, ?Stop it. She was just trying to help.?

Shandri looked very hurt, and didn?t try to defend her actions. She stood up and went back beside Tyr. ?I said I was sorry,? she said, ?What more do you want??

?Nevermind,? Weston grumbled. ?Nevermind. I?m ok. I just don?t like people poking around in my head.?

?Oh well,? Tyr said, ?Now she knows. No harm done.?

?I?m sorry,? Shandri repeated.

Weston leaned up and reached for his cup of water when he saw that it was knocked over. He swore under his breath and fell back down onto the mattress. He closed his eyes, and when he opened them his pulse spiked. Dangling behind Tyr and Shandri, where Kaida Khel had been, was a noose, and from the noose, Menina. It was the same bloated, rotting corpse that he?d seen in his dream. Only this time she didn?t speak. And yet he knew she was watching him. Weston blinked once, then again, but unlike Kaida, she wouldn?t go away.

?So what?s the plan for today?? Tyr asked.

Menina?s body was swinging just slightly, like a slow moving pendulum, back and forth across the deck. Her white eyes stared at Weston, but otherwise she didn?t move. And after a few moments, Weston had almost decided that she was really dead. Then she blinked. And the grotesque, dead mouth twisted up into a smile. They almost had you, Weston. They almost found your secret, a voice said in her head. It was the voice of a little girl, and it sounded like it could have been Menina?s voice, but Weston knew that it wasn?t. She?d never spoken with such malice. He didn?t think she could. And they will before long. And when they do, when she does, don?t think that her philanthropic force-skills aren?t backed by the other side of that coin. She will cast you away, and then when the others aren?t looking, slice you, dice you, and fry you. You don?t belong here Weston. You might as well leave now, while you?ve got the chance.

Weston frowned grimly at Menina?s corpse. ?The plan? We start to prepare. The Four are back together, and so I think it?s pretty clear what we should do. Milton?s been playing with us. He?s been ushering us a long and coddling us?protecting us. I told Jake while we were waiting for your ship to crash into the planet and vaporize us that he?d been playing with us. Just?just keeping us caught up in the motions enough to push us along. Keep us on our feet. I feel like he?s a cat and we?re just a mouse he keeps swatting back and forth. I?m ready to find out why. And honestly,? he said still staring at the jeering corpse, ?I?d love to wipe that smug grin off his face.? The corpse continued to leer at Weston as he spoke, and the dun-white eyes turned red. And Menina?s grin turned to a scowl.

You?re denying what you know is true, Weston. They?ll find out one way or another, and when they do they?ll cast you away. You?ll be no better than a murder in their eyes.

?We piece together all the clues we?ve gathered along the way, recuperate and get ready, and then tomorrow we smite the shit out of that false-god. That?s what I think the plan should be.?

Can?t say I didn?t warn you. The corpse and the noose vanished.

***

Milton clicked the TV off and dropped the remote onto the marble floor. It stopped a few inches from the ground, hovered in midair, and then floated over to its slot next to the television. ?Strong words from Mr. Onasi, eh? Strong words. But do you think he knows he?ll need more than strong words?? He raised his eyes from the television to a thin, wolfish man in a black pin-striped suit.

Lexington Quigley ran his hand through his slicked back hair. ?Dunno. But you?re right. He?ll need a fucking army. I?ve already gotten the word out that heretics are planning on an invasion. A few of my people are keeping the mob actively pissed. They?ll be ready to lynch whoever comes knocking. Hunt down the infidels and bring ?em to death, am I right? They just need to know it?s Pandemon?s will.?

Milton laughed. ?Oh yes, the will of our great God and celebrated savior.?

?Just give them the word??

?I know,? Milton said. ?My word is all they need. That?s all they?ve ever needed. I say jump, they jump. I say cry, they cry. I?m their facet to the one true God?their?ticket from Damnation. That makes me Lord of Lords and King of Kings, I believe.?

Lex nodded. He?d been a butcher for years before Aaron Krempe and the Pale King came. He?d been a butcher from a long line of butchers. Then, Krempe hand-picked him to lead. He?d become suave, sophisticated, and respected. People looked up to him, and he was the de facto mayor of Rook?just one step down from the Big Man himself. ?Absolutely,? Lex said quickly. ?Just give them instructions, and they?ll do anything for you.?

Milton laughed a cold, sadistic laugh. ?I know,? he replied. ?And the will of Pandemon will be wrought. And that will is for these four interlopers to suffer greatly at the hands of the believers, before they are ultimately brought here, to this office, where I shall become Pandemon?s vessel, and strike wretched retribution down upon them.?

A chill traveled down the back of Lex?s spine. He tried to swallow, but his mouth was dry. Milton he held up both hands and the window out to his balcony exploded in a brilliant shower of sparks. Outside, there was a roar of a thousand people screaming in adulation. Milton gave Lex a slight nod, ?That?ll be all, Lex. I just wanted you to get a taste of what it is I do. The people are your responsibility, you know. I?m giving them the orders but I?m holding you accountable for whether or not they follow through. That work for you little trailhand?? Milton gave him a friendly smile that showed no hint of malice.

It didn?t work for Lex, of course. He wanted nothing to do with the mob, because he knew as well as anyone that mobs, once released, soon went out of control. And oftentimes they ate their leaders. ?Of course,? Lex lied. Despite the warm smile, Lex had seen enough of Krempe to know that he never really gave choices. He was putting Lex in charge, and Lex (quite rightly) trusted the will of a raging mob over the temper of a disappointed priest.

?Goody,? Tom said with a smile. ?Now if you?ll excuse me, I?ve got a little meeting to attend.? And before Lex could reply, Tom Milton stepped out onto the balcony and the crowed erupted with cheers and thunderous applause.

***

The sunlight glinted on the bits of broken glass at his feet, and Tom Milton stepped out into the early morning glow with arms held high above his head. Women, children, and grown men shouted praise and adulation for their priest and miracle worker, and when the cheers died down they dropped to their knees and began to pray. Milton waited solemnly as the people did their ritual, and when they were done, he said with a loud voice that carried across the city: ?OH PEOPLE OF ROOK, YOU HAVE BROUGHT GREAT JOY TO YOUR GOD!!? There was a cheer, then a hoot, then the crowd?although still technically in an attitude of prayer?began to celebrate. ?YOU HAVE WORSHIPED HIM, AND HE HAS BROUGHT YOU FOOD AND SUCCOR. YOU HAVE LET HIM LEAD YOU LIKE A SHEPPHARD LEADS A FLOCK, AND HE HAS LED YOU TO GREEN PASTURES AND PROSPERITY LIKE YOU HAVE NEVER SEEN?BENEATH THE BURNING MAN OR OTHERWISE.? More applause. More cheers. ?AND NOW IT IS TIME FOR YOU TO FULFILL YOUR DEBT TO THIS GREAT AND GENEROUS GOD! NOW IT IS TIME TO END YOUR PERIOD OF SERVITUDE TO HIM, WITH ONE GREAT DEED IN HIS NAME!? And this time, the cheers began to quiet, and Milton seemed to grow taller on the balcony. Clouds gathered in the sky so that the whole city was shrouded in shadow, save for a beam of sunlight that glinted on Milton like he was their one, true hero.

?FOUR INTERLOPERS SEEK TO TOPPLE THAT WHICH PANDEMON HAS BUILT FOR YOU. THEY SEEK TO DESTROY THIS CITY. THEY SEEK TO WRECK YOUR FAMILIES AND YOUR LIVES ALL IN THE NAME OF A MYRIAD OF FALSE GODS!? He paused, and listened. It was low and rumbling, like the early stages of an earthquake, but he could hear the mumbles of discontent. The brewing anger. Good times. ?THEY WILL COME FROM THE HUEVAL IN TWO DAYS! PANDEMON HAS SHARED THIS VISION WITH ME, AND I NOW IMPART UPON IT YOU. AND I TELL YOU NOW THAT MANY WILL DIE IN THEIR INVASION, FOR THESE ARE NOT ORDINARY MEN. THEY ARE CHAMPIONS OF THE FIRE. ONE IS, IN FACT, JUDAS LANDON OF THE BURNING MAN?S INNER CIRCLE. THEY WILL SLAY ALL WHO RESIST THEIR MESSAGE?BUT I MUST CALL ON MY PEOPLE TO BE STRONG!!!? He paused, and felt the energy of the crowd. A few people cheered, others grumbled, angry at the thought of these invaders. ?BUT FEAR NOT MY CHILDREN, FOR I HAVE SEEN THE OUTCOME OF THIS BATTLE. AND THOUGH THE COST OF BLOOD SHALL BE HARD FOR US TO BEAR, IN THE END YOU WILL OVERPOWER THEM!!? More cheers, and abruptly, Milton?s voice quieted. ?But hear this. One shall come before the others. And he is not to be harmed. For that is not the will of Pandemon. And likewise, it is not the will of Pandemon that you would slay these four, no matter what misguided notions cloud their heads. Judgment is not yours to make. And so when you take them, and overpower them, you shall leave them alive.? He could hear grumbling in the crowd. ?But that is not to say that they cannot face punishment. They can be PUNISHED! PUNISH THEM CERTAINLY. MAKE THEM WHETHER A GREAT AND ARDUOUS BURDEN FOR THEIR WEAK AND IMPRESSIONABLE MINDS, BUT DO NOT KILL THEM! I repeat. Do not kill the interlopers. They are to be brought to me, personally, to my tower. And here, I shall call upon the great Pandemon, and in the first time in ten thousand years he will visit the mortal plane and attempt to educate these persons and guide them back to his holy, white, aura. And we WILL NOT STOP until the four of them have given up their wretched, sinful ways and pledged themselves to fight back at the heathen devils which manipulated and tricked them into service.? There was a murmur of approval from the crowd, and Milton grinned , ?Now tell me, is Pandemon not a Just and Benevolent God, even as he is Strict and Enacting?!?

Pandemon is JUST! Pandemon is BENEVOLENT! they cried together.

It was music to Milton?s ears. ?That he is,? Milton agreed. ?It will be a great, difficult task for us all, but Pandemon calls on each and every one of you to step forward and make the sacrifice. Be it your time, your energies, or your lives. Do you ACCEPT HIS CALL?!?

WE DO!!

?WILL YOU RESIST THE INTERLOPERS, AND IN ONE VOICE ORDER THE CEASING OF THEIR INFERNAL MISSION??

WE WILL!!

?Then you truly are worthy of your posts,? Milton said. And he sighed a great, dramatic sigh of relief, as if he had really been worried that perhaps these people were not up to snuff, but they?d surprised him in a pinch. ?You truly are worthy of the great afterlife that Pandemon promises all?and the bounty that he offers today. You MAKE ME PROUD CITIZENS! Now carry on your day?s work, but remember in the back of your minds to prepare. Because we have two days! TWO DAYS!? And the citizens once again cheered, and Tom Milton once again raised his hands high above his head, and the sky grew clear and the weather lovely.

Lexington Quigley watched all this from inside Milton?s hotel suite with wide and adoring eyes.

***

Two hours later Jake had woken up, and the Four ate their first meal in six months together. All four had breakfast bars, but Tyr and Shandri had gone into the cargo hold and gotten out some preserved meats for Weston and Jake to have with theirs. Weston looked at the bar curiously after he?d eaten his meat and then exchanged glances with Jake. ?So?do you think we?re still stuck in one of Milton?s nightmares??

Jake and Tyr laughed. ?You know,? Shandri sighed, ?give ?em a chance and these things are wonderful. You learn to love ?em.?

?Still hate ?em,? Tyr said. He was grinning. Shandri gave him an I-want-to-hit-you look and then started to laugh.

?So,? Weston said, taking a bite of the breakfast-bar. ?I take it y?all had a pleasant flight down here.?

Shandri and Tyr exchanged glances. They hadn?t told Weston or Jake about their relationship yet, and had been cautious on broaching the topic, for no other reason than they didn?t want it to get too awkward. ?Yeah,? Shandri said, ?It was pretty uneventful anyway. Except for a few dreams. The most fun we had was the staring matches.?

?Oh,? Weston said. He sounded a little disappointed, ?Well I guess y?all are going to want to hear what happened to us during those long six months.?

?Only if you?re ready to tell,? Tyr said. Shandri nodded, though she looked eager.

Jake finished his bar and took a sip from his cup of water. ?Not much else to do, really. Not while we?re still recovering.? He turned to Weston, ?Do you want to go, or should I??

?I?ll start,? Weston said.

And over the course of breakfast, Weston and Jake told the story of how they entered into Galaxy 1. How they destroyed the Trans-Galactic Gateway, and how they tracked Tom Milton to the planet Madera. How they crash landed in a field, were plagued by foreboding dreams, hiked through a dense forest, and then finally met a darling savage girl and her little dog. Weston explained how they took her in, and how she showed them the way out of the woods to the mountain range. He explained how he retrieved his guns, infiltrated a Galian sentry post, and returned only to find that Milton had sabotaged the group. Then Jake told the other side of the story, and of the trickery Tom Milton played on them. Then they both told about the battle in the marsh, the rescue of Jake and Menina, and the heroic death of Darth Bojangles. They explained her heartbreak, and the arrival at Crescent. They told them of the plague, and the feral dog that attacked them, and of Tom Collins. Then they talked about Tom?s prophecies, and the dream he gave to Jake. But they did not go into details, because they agreed that the details of the dreams would be left out until they were ready to piece together the clues laid out by Erin. All mention of Weston?s story was omitted.

And though he grew teary-eyed again, Weston did not break down when he told them about the Flats, and Payne, and Menina?s death, and finally their arrival in Kader. He concluded with Tom?s final prophecy, the midnight double-cross, and Milton?s storm that saved their lives, only to banish them into a desert with no food, water, or shelter. ?And then you found us,? Weston finished, ?and saved our lives. And well?that about sums it up.?

Over the course of the tale, Tyr and Shandri had finished breakfast and were leaning forwards on the edges of their seats, hands under chins, both looking like fascinated university students. After they were halfway through telling, Jake began to defer large parts of the storytelling to Weston. Weston was a good storyteller, after all, and much of the same verve and energy he put into telling his own story he put into this one as well. And so when he was done, Tyr and Shandri felt like they?d just finished living a very mighty adventure, and both leaned back in their chairs with looks of exhaustion and bedazzlement on their faces.

?I?m sorry,? Tyr said when he finished. ?About Menina. And Tom. War?s an ugly business, and Tom Milton seems to go out of his way to make it uglier.?

?I?m sorry too,? Weston said, but it was mostly for show. He was sorry, but Tyr?s pity seemed undeserved and unasked for. It seemed elitist, like Tyr had a monopoly on old war tragedies and was sharing some deep, enlightened secret with the group. Frankly it irritated Weston a little, who in the back of his mind thought that he?d probably seen one hundred times the things Tyr had. But he let it go. ?I?m sorry too. But Tom was right. We?re the four. And we?re the only ones who can stop Tom Milton. Anybody that tries to help us won?t make it. They?re just going to get stomped by the big, bad, boogey-man.?

?Maybe its better Andrei isn?t here yet,? Tyr mumbled.

Jake raised an eyebrow, ?Wait what??

?He?s coming,? Tyr explained. ?He?s going to bring the Destiny after us. I transmitted a transponder code to him before we passed through the gateway. When he gets it, he should program it into the Destiny, and then use that to track us.?

?Wait?? Weston held up his hand, ?Wait now, what?s the Destiny??

?Oh,? Tyr said, ?of course you two don?t know. Destiny was our testbed for Galian technology salvaged after the Battle of Dantooine. It?s a Marauder Corvette kept in a bunker outside of Cyern City. We?ve been developing it for months now, trying out Galian shield and cloaking technologies mainly.?

?Yay for Vuroric then,? Weston chuckled.

?Good,? Jake hesitated. ?Thank God. We?re going to need that if we have any chance of getting to Earth. Otherwise Deltaur will just vaporize us before we get past Luna. But Tyr?I think I should tell you something about Andrei.?

Rendix raised an eyebrow, ?What is it??

?Do you remember, before the Battle of Dantooine, his story about me being beat by guards while I was in prison? It was a lie. He tortured me, starved me, and beat me. Just like Saggat.?

Tyr opened his mouth, ?What??

?And he made up a story about the guards, and told me that if I ever told you, no one would believe me. I was a traitor, and scum, and my word was worth less than nothing. He blames me for the Galian invasion?and I think he still mistrusts me. I think he?s got it worked into his head somehow that I?m still the enemy. He doesn?t trust me Tyr?and I don?t know if I can work with him.?

Tyr frowned, ?You?re telling me that Vuroric tortured you and then lied to me about it??

?He tortured me because he blamed me for what he did to you. I really, really don?t want to cause a fissure here but he?s a sociopath.? As he spoke, Landon?s mind went back to Vuroric the day his release order came down. Vuroric had taken him and pushed him to the floor. Crushed his kidneys, then rushed him to a bacta tank. Landon licked his lips and could suddenly taste the coppery blood and dirt in his mouth.

?Andrei Vuroric has served the Alliance of Free Worlds with dignity since before the Civil War. He?s a little crass, a little too fond of the old ways, but he?s a loyal, loyal soldier.?

?I?m not questioning his loyalty?I?m just warning you in advance that he may not be the best to work with me.?

Tyr was still frowning. ?Ok,? he said. ?Thanks for bringing that to my attention.?

?Well?so long as he doesn?t go nuts and try to kill us, when can we expect him?? Weston asked.

Tyr glanced at the hatch. I need some air, he thought. ?The Galian fleet was arriving right as we left so it can?t be long now. They made it to Galaxy 32?and I?m sure that now that they?ve had two weeks, they?ll be gunning for Dantooine. I had a nightmare about that myself, but I?m not sure if it was Milton?s brand or not. It was too?cryptic. Shandri thinks it could have just been nerves.?

?So the Galians are in Galaxy 32,? Jake murmured.

?Their fleet was enormous. More ships then I?ve ever seen,? Tyr nodded.

Jake?s face was dark. ?Then it?s a race. It would take a unified Galaxy to stop the Galian invasion fleet that we prepared for you. And that?s something that we knew would never happen. The Galaxy 32 empires are too fragmented and two opposed to one another. They?re greedy, feckless, and vain. If that galaxy?s going to survive, it?s up to us. If we stop Kel Gauthra, and kill him, then the leadership of the Galian Star Empire will be thrown into disarray enough so that the Galian fleet should break up. Without order, it will be hard but still possible for our fleets to be wiped out.?

?Then we ought get to work,? Weston said. ?I?m tired of sitting around anyway, and I?m sure as hell fed up with Milton. I want a peaceful night sleep without seeing something rotting or laughing or mocking me, and I?d prefer no more lightning storms or visions either.?

?I?I agree,? Tyr said. His face was troubled. He?d always known that Andrei did things that he didn?t report. He?d always known that?but he never knew Andrei to lie about it after the fact. If he had to, he?d tell Tyr. He wasn?t keeping the information from Tyr because it was bad for him, after all, he kept it from Tyr so that it wouldn?t weigh on his conscience. Everything Vuroric did was for the good of the Alliance. Or maybe that?s just what you?ve been telling yourself, Tyr thought.

?Well, I can tell you right now what the lay of the land around Rook is like,? Jake said. ?Payne and I had several conversations about it. There?s a big hill on the northern end of the town called the Hueval that they used to use as a town gathering place. It?s the only high ground in the city. We can prepare our attack there.?

?Wait,? Shandri interrupted, ?why are you acting like this is going to be a siege or something? Surely it won?t be that hard to get to Milton.?

Jake glanced at Weston. ?I think we better tell them a little more about your dream.?

What else have you lied to yourself about? Tyr asked himself. Dantooine is almost assuredly under siege by now. Did the people evacuate? Did they escape? Is Berloc up to the task? Tyr didn?t know. He?d worried about these things subconsciously for a long time now but after Jake?s confession?

Weston nodded, ?Ok, well before we met Menina??

?I?m sorry,? Tyr interrupted. Jake?s confession wasn?t even that big of a surprise. It had been so long ago and during such a hectic time that he?d almost forgotten?but when word came down that two nameless SOC officers had beaten Landon to a pulp, Tyr could even now remember thinking, even if Vuroric hadn?t been responsible, he?d surely condoned it. But it just was one more chink in the armor Tyr had tried desperately to erect around his decision-making skills. But now all his fears were coming to a head once again. Was Berloc fit to rule? Was Vuroric good and healthy as an instrument of the alliance? What would Cyern have done? What should Tyr Rendix-Jeraan have done. ?I?m sorry,? Tyr repeated. ?Can we take a break? I need to go get some fresh air.?

?Yeah,? Shandri said. ?Yeah of course?? But Tyr had already gotten up and stepped outside. Shandri stood up to go after him, but Jake held up his hand.

?Let him have a minute on his own,? Jake said. ?Let him have some time alone, then you can go out to him.?

She frowned, not liking the idea, but conceded that it was probably wise. ?All right,? she said. ?Well?then if we?re going to take a break, I might as well freshen up.?

***

Shandri walked into the refresher station and the door slid shut behind her. She was worried about Tyr. He?d been acting differently ever since his dream?but he hadn?t told her much about it, beyond the fact that there was a little girl named Lauren and the planet they?d been on had turned to fire at the end. She?d known for a long time that he often worried that he?d made the wrong decision about leaving. He worried that he?d done it for her, and put her ahead of the billions of inhabitants of the Alliance. He worried that he?d done it for her, and not because he really believed in Erin or anything else. He worried that Dantooine was under attack. And Shandri had tried to assure him that it was natural to second guess oneself after such an important decision, and that he?d made the right choice?but she was almost certain she hadn?t gotten through to him. And now with Landon laying on this bit of news about Vuroric apparently undermining his authority?well, it certainly wasn?t going to help Tyr feel any more like an effective and respected leader.

Shandri turned on the spigot and splashed cold water onto her face. Eyes shut, she grabbed for a towel and scrubbed her face, drying the beads of water off. When she was done, she opened her eyes.

She would have screamed if she?d found the courage.

Staring back at her in the mirror, just over her shoulder, was her father. Aurren Khel?s pale, asphyxiated body stood there with wide eyes and a mouth that hung open, still gasping for one last breath of air. As soon as she made eye contact, he closed his mouth and smiled. ?Hello honey,? he said. His skin had a bluish tinge, and bits of ice clung to his skin, like he?d been locked in a freezer.

?Dad?Daddy?? Shandri asked quietly.

?Shandri,? the corpse said. ?I have something very important to tell you. Now listen closely. It?s about one of your friends??

Tak. Tak. Tak.

Shandri glanced over at the locked door. ?Hey Shandri, hurry up will ya? I?ve got to take a crap.? It was Weston.

Shandri looked back into the mirror and then spun around. She was alone.

***

Tyr stood with his hands shoved in his pockets. It was still morning, and the air hadn?t grown hot yet, but he could already tell that it was going to be a warm day. He sucked in a long breath of the Maderan air, and looked out at the Flats. In the distance he saw Rook, and wondered what tomorrow would bring. He was surprised, at least a little, that Weston had been so eager to go into the fight. He and Shandri had talked about it while they slept, and they?d both assumed that Jake and Weston would want to rest all day today, and possibly recover for the rest of the week before actively going on the attack. But then again, after hearing about Tom and his plague, and how Weston almost certainly blamed him for the death of Menina he could understand why Weston was so ready to fight. Particularly if Milton was harassing his dreams with images of the little girl.

But that doesn?t explain who the girl was in my dreams, Tyr thought. Lauren. Little Lauren. He had no idea why, but the name seemed familiar to him. It was the name of the girl Jake once knew?but that wasn?t all it was. It was the name of someone very close to him?he just couldn?t recall who.

Tyr exhaled and kicked his heel in the dirt. ?Andrei,? he mumbled, ?why?d you have to do it??

?It?s not all my fault Tyr,? a voice said. Tyr looked up, but didn?t see anyone. ?You knew what kind of person I was. You?ve always known, but you tolerated it because you needed someone without a conscience to counter your overtly gushy sentimentalism.?

?Andrei?? Tyr asked. A soft breeze blew down from the north, and suddenly the smell of burning hair and carbon caught his nose. Still, there was no one to be seen.

?It?s true. I tortured him. But that?s only because he made me shoot you in the chest. I tortured Saggat too, afterward you promised him a lovely hotel room, I put him in the bottom of the SOC Compound, far from sight, or sound. Another violation of your infallible word, Mr. President.? Vuroric laughed a low, sinister laugh.

?Andrei? Where are you.?

?Oh really Tyr, you didn?t think that I believed any of that dribble I fed you? You were always a weak, ineffective ruler without the courage to take the steps necessary to lead your people. You abandoned them at the cusp of victory to come to this backwater world. You let me have free reign, and the SOC soon became tantamount to a terror organization. Did you even know? Did you even know that your own people feared their government and its secret police? No, because you were too busy pining over the Jedi coquette.?

?Milton,? Tyr snapped. ?Show yourself. You don?t fool me, that is not Andrei Vuroric.?

?But it is,? Vuroric said. ?I?m right here.? And Tyr felt a hand fall down on his shoulder. He spun around in an instant, and he was face to face with Andrei Vuroric. Vuroric looked as good as ever, with his goatee trimmed nicely and his uniform pressed. He saluted Tyr, and took a step forwards, ?I made it.?

Tyr?s mouth hung open a little and he saluted as well. ?Andrei, it?s good to see you. How?why did you say those things.?

Vuroric lowered his salute, ?Because they?re true, of course!? And then he threw his head back and started to laugh that same, black, sinister laugh. And to Tyr?s horror the pristine general transformed before his eyes into a black, charred mass of flesh that was only dimly recognizable. Huge, gaping wounds littered his body. His head caved in on itself, revealing a ruined clot of brain and fluids. His eyes were seared shut from the flames that had ravaged him, and only tattered rags of his uniform remained on his malformed body. Tyr stumbled backwards and fell down onto the grass. The Zephyr loomed up in front of him, and between the two Andrei Vuroric?s charred body stood smiling. His teeth were still pearly white. Vuroric ran his hand along Tyr?s cheek, leaving a trail of ash and dried blood. ?Good to see you too, Mr. President,? he said.

?Andrei, what happened??

?You did. You let us down. You let everybody down. The Galians came and we weren?t prepared. Berloc was a failure of a ruler. And when the attacked, over half the planet was unable to evacuate. Millions were left behind. There was civil unrest, riots, and effigies of you burned and cursed. Berloc and a few others escaped, for a time, but Dantooine itself was not so lucky.?

Tyr went pale. ?Andrei??

?It was fired upon by the Cerberus, its core was destabilized and the planet imploded in on itself a few hours after the weapon?s impact. I was killed trying to get the Destiny off of the surface by that worm Saggat. Then, ironically enough, he was killed by Alitar Fiat. That wheel of life just keeps on spinning don?t it?? His head bobbled up and down on his blackened neck as it laughed and laughed and laughed. Tyr was petrified, and after almost a minute of laughter the Dead-Vuroric grew quiet. ?You should give up, Tyr. You?re an awful leader, and nobody needs you anyway. What do you add to this fight? You add absolutely nothing. No skills, no fortes?your only claim to fame is as a military leader, and it looks like you?ve gone and fucked that up too. You?re worthless, just like always. If you don?t believe me, just ask him.? And dead Vuroric reached out his hand and pointed, and Tyr looked, and standing over him from the other side was Cyern Jeraan. He looked down sadly at Tyr and shook his head, ?Always such a disappointment. I had such high hopes for you son. I?m so glad that I died?.so glad that I wasn?t here to see you fail.?

?Go. Away,? Tyr hissed. ?You don?t fool me Milton. Your tricks have gone transparent.?

Cyern Jeraan looked at Vuroric and frowned. ?He really has no idea does he? Of what?s coming? Of what?s ahead??

?No,? Vuroric replied. ?No idea at all.?

Then the two of them vanished, and Tyr was lying alone on the ground.

[Calavan]

The Wages of Sin

? He that falls into sin is a man; that grieves at it, is a saint; that boasts of it, is a devil.?

~Thomas Fuller


?Milton?!? Tyr screamed. He was shaking with anger by the time he picked himself up off of the dirt. ?Milton!? He shouted again. Bits of dirt clung to his shirt and hits pants and he brushed them off and raised his fist in the air. He was shaken, and emotionally wounded from what he?d seen?but more then that he was mad. He was furious that anyone would have the audacity to defile his dead. He was furious that anyone would so insult. ?MILTON!!? This time he screamed it.

It was then that he noticed the man leaning against the hull of the Zephyr. He was wearing blue jeans and a dusty pair of sneakers, and just kind of casually watching Tyr?s outburst like a tired mom watching her toddler?s tantrum for the umpteenth time. He wore a white T-Shirt that said ?The Asians Beat us Again? and beneath it was a balance. On one end of the balance was the word Columbine. On the other, heavier end, were the letters VT. He had a shock of windswept brown hair that was dirty and disheveled in a ruggedly handsome sort of way. He was grinning widely, and his eyes had a twinkling lunacy about them. As soon as Tyr noticed him, the man held up one hand and gave a token salute.

?Nice to meet you, Mr. President.?

***

Weston knocked a second time on the door to the refresher station, when he did he felt his stomach roll over inside of him and he swore that if he was ever offered anything that resembled ground up rocks again, he?d shoot someone. ?Shandri? Shandri are you in there?? He waited a moment and again there was no response.

So you?re friend is dead, the words came back to him suddenly, and standing in the hallway outside of the refresher station, he thought they were coming from the station. And for just a moment he was taken back ten years. Let?s cut through it son, he?s dead and you?re not. And you feel guilty because you know in your gut that you can?t blame the kid who shot him, you can?t really blame anybody. It was just an accident. Shit happened. But you?ve got this need to avenge him. It?s in your blood. I imagine that you?re dying inside, feeling all that rage and no one to direct it towards?

Weston shuddered and stared blankly at the door to the head. Rent?s words still sent a shiver down his spine. ?Shandri?? he raised his hand to knock again but stopped. The door slid open and Shandri stumbled out.

She frowned and looked up at Weston. She was pale and a little dribble of some rank liquid clung to her lip. ?I?m sorry Weston,? she said, and she genuinely looked sorry.

??um?.? Weston said dumbly, ?It?s ok.? He didn?t really say anything for a moment, and just looked at her. Finally, he shook his head and muttered, ?For Force?s sake. Are you all right Shandri??

?Yeah,? She said. ?Just got to feeling nauseous. Threw up.?

?It?s the breakfast bars,? Weston said without missing a beat. ?It?d rather eat asbestos bites with a creamy mercury filling.?

Shandri smiled and laughed a little but didn?t really seem too engaged by him. She didn?t respond, and after a moment?s hesitation she walked away from the head and collapsed in one of the big chairs in the main room. It was her father?s chair. Weston still recognized it. ?Shandri?? Weston repeated. And he looked at her and frowned. She wasn?t okay. In fact, she was the living definition of not okay. She looked a hell of a lot worse than she did when she first went into the bathroom, which in Weston?s experience was not supposed to happen. Unless the bathroom is on Nar Shaddaa and full of thugs hoping to score a quick buck. Oh memories. ?Shandri,? he repeated, ?You?ve got something on your lip.?

Shandri didn?t respond to Weston?s prompts. She looked lost in her own thoughts. Weston prayed he?d never get lost in his mind or else he?d probably gouge his eyes out. ?Well,? he mumbled. ?If there?s some life-threatening evil in that refresher station, I?m about to find out.?

His stomach turned over and he quickly stepped inside. He dropped his hand to his pants and grimaced as the door slid shut behind him. He was quite sure that Shandri?s breakfast bars were, next to Milton, the most dangerous threat the Four had ever faced.

***

?Milton,? Tyr said quietly. ?You?re Tom Milton.? The man by the ship didn?t move. He just nodded and stayed there, still leaning casually against the Zephyr.

?That?s what you call me, Tyr? Milton agreed. ?Or, as that gray bitch likes to say?Sojourner?? His nose wrinkled in contempt and he licked his teeth. ?The would-be President of the Alliance of Free Worlds. It?s a shame I didn?t get a chance to meet you on Dantooine, but I know how busy you were. Being shot by your favorite General who was under the influence of your, now, closest ally. I?ve gotta hand it to you Tyr, you do know how to pick ?em.?

?What do you want?? Tyr spat. His hands were still trembling with rage, and he wished so very badly that he was wearing a gun.

?Well silly, you called me here!? Milton grinned. ?And unlike some people I know, I never reject a good calling. So, what can I do for you Tyr? Got some nice, bloody vengeance you want to wreck but you just don?t know how??

Tyr stared at him. Milton was not at all how he?d pictured him. He was too?normal? Was that the right word? Milton was just like any other guy. He wasn?t dressed up like a devil or robed and caped like a Dark Jedi. He wasn?t even wearing a suit like Landon had. He was just?an average Joe. It was true, Tyr knew, that he had called Tom Milton. But now that he was face to face with the man he had no idea what he wanted to say to him. ?I want,? Tyr began and hesitated. ?Go away. I want you to go away and leave us the hell alone. You can?t touch us. You can?t do anything to us. All you can do is sit up in your tower and wait for us to come for you. So stop harassing us and go. Because your days are numbered??

Milton raised his hand, ?Um, Tyr I?m gonna have to cut you off. Nice try, but how can I be intimidated by you, when I can see so very well the fear and doubt that are clogging you up inside. They cling to your skin like a cold sweat, and they?ve been there since your first dream in that coma. I terrify you, Tyr. And I should. You?re bravado is wasted breath on me. If you think you can just walk into Rook and mow me down like grass clippings, you are sorely?sorely mistaken.?

?I don?t think so,? Tyr said.

?Well, betting man, why don?t you go ahead and try it? I?m right here.? He grinned, revealing a mouth full of needle-like fangs. His eyes, for just a moment, turned into yellow, cat-like slits. When he blinked they were normal again. He closed his lips, and his mouth was normal too. ?What do ya say, Tyr? Can the four shut their flapping heads for a minute and act? Or are you, just like most everyone else, only in this for the glory of the title? Here I am, handing myself to you on a silver platter. Take a fork to me, eh?? Milton winked, and suddenly Tyr wasn?t looking at Tom Milton anymore. He was looking at Cyern Jeraan. And he was looking at Zekk Lassiter. And Andrei Vuroric. And Kerlos Zayelt?the Unity?s captain killed in the first Battle of Dantooine.

?We pick our battles where we want them, Milton,? Tyr hissed. He didn?t know if Milton knew or not, but the real reason why he didn?t go running for the others was his fear. He was shaking. He was terrified. The man?s eyes cut deep into his own like shards of glass. They paralyzed him. He couldn?t have run if he wanted to, and it is very likely that he did.

Kerlos Zayelt melted back into Tom Milton. ?That?s what I thought. You delay and procrastinate, because deep down inside yourself you think What am I doing?? you think This is suicide!, and most importantly you think Why me?. And why you indeed, Sojourner. Why did she pick you? What good are you, really? A king without a kingdom, a family, or a throne. You?ve no skills, except for an amazing capacity to fail the ones you love. So why you? A valid question, wouldn?t you agree? Hell, why any of you? A smuggler, a killer, an assassin, and a failure. A peculiar quartet, to say the least. But what would you say if I told you that she picked you four because you were all bound by one event? One pivotal moment in your lives that shaped and changed your paths forever. One moment that binds each of you in sin. I see through you, Sojourner. I see your sins and your shortcomings clearer than even you can. Oh, if you could hear the screams of all those men who were tortured under your rule. You knew it happened, of course you did, and you turned a blind eye to it not because you agreed, but because you were too weak to stand up to General Vuroric. That?s just an example, you see, of the many sins I see. And I will exploit them, and twist that knife in your gut until your innards are spilled onto the hot sand. Because, as my lovely friend Tom Collins might say, the wages of sin are death.?

Tyr was shaking, and it took every ounce of his strength not to show it. ?We won?t listen to you Milton, or that poison you spit out at us.?

And at that, Milton threw his head back and laughed the ugliest, most hate-filled laugh that Tyr Rendix-Jeraan had ever heard. He laughed and when he stopped, the terrible underlying giddiness continued to echo in Tyr?s mind for several seconds. Then Milton narrowed his eyes, and stepped away from the Zephyr. He grew inches from Rendix, and had he had the nerve, Tyr could have reached out and touched him. Milton?s breath smelled like honey and cinnamon, and his mouth was full of wormy maggots, all fat and sweating and rolling around in their own filth. ?You are four wanderers in the lands of the wicked. Four lost sheep with silly ideas much bigger than your forms. You four hate each other and don?t even know it yet. But you do?and before all this is over, you will have rejected each other and torn your fellowship apart. You are sinners, each and every one of you, and those sins have put a stain on your souls that won?t ever come out. And no amount of Destiny or God will change that. By the way Tyr?doesn?t that ship look familiar?? Milton winked, nodded back towards the Zephyr and was gone. And then, quite suddenly, Tyr knew in his gut that his suspicions?the suspicions that he?d forgotten in the days of bliss that followed his confession to Shandri?were true.

***

Tyr ran up the ramp and into the main hold of the Zephyr still shaking. He almost knocked Weston (who was just exiting the refresher station) over when he rounded the corner and ran into the common room. Both Jake and Weston stared at him dumbly as he stopped in the center of the room, looked back at them, and then started panting.

?Woah,? Weston said, ?easy, easy. What?s going on? Hell you?d think everybody?s flipping out today.? He walked over to Tyr and set him down in one of the chairs in the middle of the room, then sat down himself. Jake was already in big bound leather chair that Shandri had collapsed in after her encounter with Aurren Khel.

?Milton,? Tyr said between breaths. ?Milton?s here. He was just outside. He was trying to?I don?t know. Make me think things. He was getting into my head. There were ghosts.?

Weston ran his hand through his hair. ?Oh great. You too? Doesn?t he know he?s just irritating us? I mean?we know they?re him. It?s not like we?re stupid.?

?What?d you see?? Jake interrupted.

?Ghosts,? Tyr repeated. ?I saw my father?and Vuroric. Jake, there?s no need to worry about Andrei. He?s dead. And so is Dantooine. The Galian fleet attacked the planet. Berloc evacuated some?but not everybody?and the rest were wiped out by the Galian megaweapon.? Tyr was still shaking. His heart was beating a thousand miles and hour. ?They?re all dead. We?re losing. People are dying. Trillions. Every day we delay is another day for the Galian fleet go run amok.?

?Woah woah woah, Tyr. Slow down. And breathe, for frak?s sake,? Weston held up his hand. But already Tyr?s words had struck a deep chord. It?d been a long time since Weston and Jake had had the luxury of worrying about anything other than Milton and survival?but Dantooine? That brought everything back home.

?Right,? Tyr said. He sucked in a deep breath of air and exhaled. Then he did it again, and when he next spoke his voice was a little calmer, and a little more collected. ?Ok. So I saw the ghosts, but that?s not the worst of it. The ghosts left, and I was furious?and then?I saw Milton. He just?he was there, and I saw. Looked so normal. Then he talked to me. He threatened me. Said we were all?sinners. Said we hated each other and just didn?t know it yet. And then he told me that we would tear each other apart. And he started to go into my head. He knew things Weston. He knew things that he shouldn?t know. Things about Erin. Things about me.?

?He doesn?t know about Erin,? Weston said. ?Tom said he didn?t. At least not everything.?

?It certainly seemed like he did,? Tyr said flatly. ?He knew I was the Sojourner.?

?He could know,? Jake admitted. ?He knows a lot, and whatever it is Erin hides from him?I?m not sure that she can keep it up indefinitely. Knowing is part of his act. He looks at you, reads you a list of the mistakes you?ve made?tries to get inside your head. But what you, either one of you, can?t forget are that his milk and honey are chaos and deception. Don?t listen to him, and don?t trust him because everything he says is a lie. We?ve got to remember that if we?re going to pull this off.?

Tyr frowned and looked at Weston, then Jake. He remembered the petrifying fear he felt. He remembered trying to call out or move, and being still and silent. ?Some if it was a lie, sure,? he agreed, ?but not all of it. What he said about Dantooine? And Andrei? I believe him. That wasn?t a lie; I know it in my gut.?

Weston frowned, ?I don?t know about you, but after breakfast the last thing I?d want to follow is my gut.?

?Yeah,? Jake agreed. ?No, that?s true. That happened.?

Weston and Tyr both raised an eyebrow. ?Huh?? Weston said. ?Wait?Jake didn?t you?just like two seconds ago say that everything Milton says is a lie.?

?Not that,? Jake said simply. ?Weston. You remember the dream I had? After my hike back from the Galian shuttle in Crescent? The one Tom told me was from God? Well that?s what I saw. I saw a Galian fleet descending on Dantooine, and running off a united Galaxy 32 fleet. And I saw Alitar Fiat killing Admiral Saggat. And I can believe that Vuroric died somewhere in there.?

?Or maybe that?s the lie,? Weston said, ?and he?s on his way here right now in the Destiny, coming to help us. And Milton wants us to attack before he gets here.?

?No?I think Milton?s shooting straight on this one. Andrei?s dead. The Destiny isn?t coming?but even if it is, we don?t have time to wait on it. And if he did show up,? Jake frowned, ?Milton would just kill him. It?s what Tom said, anyway. Death to their allies, death to their friends, death to their homes but he can?t kill them.?

?Death to their homes?? Weston said. ?Don?t tell me Aldivy made it on the Galian death-list.?

?Every planet made it on the Galian death list,? Jake said. ?There are no free passes. No matter how agrarian or desolate.?

?Aren?t you just a ray of sunshine,? Weston grumbled.

Tyr cleared his throat. ?Sorry,? he said, ?but there were some other things too. Milton?he also?confirmed something I?ve suspected for a while now.? Tyr paused, and proceeded slowly. ?It was about Shandri. And I think I understand, at least a little bit, what he meant about us hating each other and not knowing it yet. I think she was a smuggler. And if I remember correctly, I?ve only encountered one smuggler?ever?during my days in the Corporate Sector, who flew a jet-black ship of this model.?

Weston?s eyes widened and he leaned forward in his chair. Jake crossed his legs and glanced at Weston, then Tyr, trying to read their faces. ?And I?I guess,? Tyr continued,
?this doesn?t make me hate her?because I understand her past and all that. And she told me what happened to her parents?but?it changes things.?

?Where did you see this ship?? Weston asked.

?It was ten years ago. I was helmsman on a Marauder Corvette tracking down some kind of experimental medical equipment that?d been stolen from Bonadan. We tracked the smugglers to an asteroid field?and I had to watch several of my friends die in the carnage that followed. We shouldn?t have gone in?but nobody wanted to lose that scum. Especially not when there was a chance there was a CSA insider helping them. It was my first real brush with death. I was just a wet-nosed academy grad, and a handful of my classmates were nearby. Seven died that day.?

Weston ran his hand along his face and laughed, a cynical, half-mad laugh that was all for himself, and meant more for irony than anything else. ?So,? Weston said, still in a sing-song voice, ?If you?d known this when you first met her??

?I?d have had her arrested,? Tyr said flatly. ?But things change. And I don?t hold her responsible to the mistakes she?s made. A lot can happen in ten years.?

?A lot can happen in one,? Jake reminded him. ?Just look at us, and where we were a year ago compared to now.?

?That too,? Tyr agreed. ?But Milton said that we were all connected by one event. Or at least implied it. And if this was my connection with Shandri?then I?m guessing that it?s got to somehow lead to a connection with you two as well?you know??

Jake shook his head, ?Ten years ago I was in this Galaxy, sure, but I wasn?t in the Corporate Sector. I was working on setting up a network of spies across the core worlds.?

Weston stayed silent.

?There?s got to be some connection. This is another one of those things that I don?t think Milton was lying about. I think this is real. It?felt right. And it?s the kind of thing that could divide us?finding out that ten years ago we were all on different sides of the same situation.?

?Well Hell,? Weston said, ?what is Milton lying about then? Sounds like he?s been nothing but honest with you.?

?I think I misspoke,? Jake said, ?about the lies. Everything he says is a deception, certainly?and in that way it?s a lie. But the things he says?a lot of times the truth can do more damage than lies. And if that?s the case, he?ll go with the truth every time.?

Weston snorted, ?Well, if it?s that likely to be divisive, why go looking for trouble? It?s what he wants. If we go looking for trouble we?re bound to find it. We need to keep our heads in the game, and focus on Milton and how to take him down.?

Tyr frowned and looked at Weston, and for the first time he began to feel an odd sensation that he hadn?t felt since the day all Hell broke loose on Dantooine. It was mistrust. It was caution. Like maybe, just maybe Weston was hiding something that he didn?t want leaked out. And though his conscious mind said such ideas were silly?what Weston said was obviously a logical statement, and made plenty of sense?Tyr?s heart couldn?t let it go that easily. ?Well,? Tyr said, ?That?s a good point. But we should at least keep it in the back of our heads. It?s better that we figure it out ourselves then to let Milton go and dump it on us?? he stopped. ?Where is Shandri??

Weston and Jake exchanged glances. ?She said she felt sick,? Weston said. ?Wasn?t lying, I felt it too. It was all that fiber. Didn?t settle well with me.?

Jake frowned, ?She sat in this chair for a while. Stared at the wall. Then she went into the master bedroom. I tried to talk to her but she just ignored me, and the door locked behind her so I didn?t try to bother her anymore. She went to the refresher station after you walked outside. I think she was worried about you.?

Weston shook his head, ?Well, if she was worried to the point where she threw up that?s a bad sign. My vote?s on the granola from Hell.?

Tyr blinked, and his face went pale. ?Oh no. Her parents died on this ship. One was shot and killed, and the other died in an accident. She?s got a lot of baggage?and if Milton?s going to exploit anybody??

***

The light above her tinked softly, and cast a pale blue glow over the room. She kneeled there at the foot of her parents? bed, cradling a picture of the three of them, and cried. Her father?s specter still haunted her thoughts, and his undelivered message played in her head over and over again. ?Shandri. I have something very important to tell you. Now listen closely. It?s about one of your friends??

?Daddy,? she sobbed. And she missed him. She missed him more than she?d missed him in years. She missed both of them. And through her tear-soaked eyes, she looked at the photograph of her parents and a smaller, adolescent version of herself, and cried even harder. It wasn?t fair. She?d almost forgotten. She?d almost let it go. It wasn?t fair. ?Daddy I miss you. And mom. If I could take what I did back?see you again??

?We?re here, Shandri.?

A shiver shot down Shandri?s spine and she jumped to her feet and spun. But she was alone in the room. ?Hello?? she whispered. Her eyes were puffy and vision blurred, but just on the periphery she thought she saw movement. ?Mom? Dad??

Bang. Bang. Bang. ?Shandri? Shandri are you okay? You might be in trouble in there.?

Shandri ignored Tyr?s voice. She continued to look curiously around the dim room. ?Is it?.is it really you?? she asked. How could it be, though? How could it be? She knew, she had to, on some level that her parents were dead. She knew that this was just another of Milton?s ploys?but in that moment, no matter how much she knew it in her gut, she denied it.

Bam. Bam. Bam. The knocks on her door were harder this time. She stared into the lonely darkness and searched for some sign of her parents, but there was none. Just the old photographs she?d kept for years, and the echoes of the past we call memory. Sadly, she resigned herself to the fact that she?d never seen her father, nor heard her parents? voices, and that everything was just her imagination. She was tired, or drained from her training, or something. That had to be it.

Disappointedly, she walked to the sealed bulkhead and began to open the door. ?I?m coming,? she shouted outside.

?Ok, good we thought something?d happened to you in there.?

?No,? she said, typing in the lock code, ?just meditating. Thought I?d get some last minute study time in before the big briefing.? She finished the code and the lock clicked open.

Just as the door hissed open she heard a voice, carried on the rushing air from the broken mag-lock, whisper into her ear: ?We?ll always love you Shandri.?

***

?Heya!? Weston said. The door shot up abruptly in front of him as he raised his hand to bang on it. Shandri Brightstorm was standing in the threshold, looking pale and distraught. Her eyes were red and puffy, and her cheeks were marked with dried tears. Behind her, the flickering light shut off, and all the light in the room died before they could see what was inside.

Immediately Tyr stepped in front of Weston and grabbed her in his arms. He kissed her forehead, then met her lips. She kissed him back and hugged him tightly. They held each other for several seconds before Tyr finally asked, ?Did something happen??

Weston and Jake exchanged glances. ?Apparently,? Weston said. ?You two have something you want to tell us??

Shandri shook her head, ?No Tyr, I was just thinking about?well you know. But nothing happened.?

?Jake, I feel like a blind man walking through a candy shop. I can sense something tasty very close but hell if I can tell you what it is.?

Jake chuckled, and Tyr looked back over his shoulder. Shandri wrapped her arm around his back and rested her head on his shoulder. Tyr smiled, took a warm glance at Shandri, and then brought his eyes back to Weston. ?We were planning to tell you sometime.?

?Sure you were. Whatever you say Mr. President.?

Jake looked at the two of them, and how they held each other, and for a flutter of a second he remembered Lauren. He saw her face and then saw it vanish, and it was replaced by a hot flash of envy. ?Well,? Jake said, ?I?m real happy for y?all. But we?ve gotta keep our minds in the game. Shandri, if you feel up to it?well, you are the prophet. I think maybe you should start us off.?

Tyr nodded, ?Yeah, Shandri I don?t? want to rush you but some stuff?s happened since you were in there. Big stuff. The Galian fleet that we saw coming into our Galaxy has hit Dantooine and killed it. Vuroric?s dead. So are a lot of others.?

?Force be with us,? Shandri murmured. ?Ok?well, I?m ready whenever y?all are. I really am okay?you know, just a little out of it from my meditation.? Her voice was still quiet though, and she looked smaller than usual?more vulnerable. And even Jake, who had lost the will to love centuries before, found her beautiful.

Shandri, Tyr, Weston, and Jake, the Four as chosen by Erin and Destiny, walked back into the main family room and sat down in a circle. Shandri opened a compartment in the floor that looked like at one time it would have been used for smuggling, but instead pulled out an old and dusty writing tablet which looked like it hadn?t been used in decades. She blew on it and a cloud of powder fluttered into the air and dispersed in the ship?s ventilators. Then Shandri pressed a button on the tablet, and a stylus extended out from the top. She took it and wrote ?Notes? at the top and underlined it.

The low-tech looking white board made Jake smile. The floor compartment made Tyr raise an eyebrow. The Four then sat there for a few moments, holding their breath and trying to collect their memories before Shandri began.

?All right,? She said. ?Well?I guess I?m ready to start. I?uh?well, I had a lot of dreams, for a while, that encouraged me to come here. These were from Erin, and they convinced me that if we didn?t go right away you two would die.?

Weston nodded, ?Can?t argue there. Anything about Milton in those??

?No,? Shandri said. ?Just this dark, shadowy thing. It could have been Milton, I suppose, but nothing about it helps us. My only dream about Milton, really, was the one I had when we arrived. Erin was...I saw her. I saw Erin locked in a tower in the Black Spire, looking out of a barred window. And she told me that the tower was a metaphor for her captivity, but what I would see was real. Then she invited me over to her window?and I looked. I saw all four of us, and I saw us fighting each other. I was?so mad. I was intensely hateful. It scares me to even think about what must have happened to do that to me. Weston was there, standing near Milton.? She looked at him. ?Weston?your eyes were cut out of your head. They were gone. And I had a lightsaber, threatening you. Jake pulled a gun on me?and then Tyr pulled a gun on him.?

Weston rubbed both of his eyes. ?Um?wait now are you sure they were my eyes? Maybe I was just dozing off and had them closed, I?ve been known to do that.?

?No,? Shandri said a little sadly. ?We were killing each other.?

?It goes with what Milton said,? Jake muttered. ?We hate each other and don?t even know it yet.?

?We do now,? Tyr said. ?And since we do, our only job to remedy that situation is to not turn into homicidal basket cases when we find out why. Shouldn?t be too hard. Agreed??

Shandri nodded. Jake did too. Weston frowned, ?I like my eyes.?

?After that,? Shandri continued, ?she showed me the Burning Man and his tower. And said we?d have to make a choice. And that to kill him, we?d have to destroy the orb that hangs around his neck. I asked her about how to kill Milton?and she said she didn?t know. She just told me she knew we?d succeed. Because we?re meant to.?

?Oh great,? Weston muttered. ?Like I?m meant to lose my eyes??

?Weston?? Jake reached out and touched his shoulder. ?You?re eyes aren?t going anywhere.?

?Thanks buddy. But I?m not so sure I like my odds.?

?Gentlemen,? Tyr said. He was frowning. ?Shandri, if that?s all we should move on.?

?Tyr,? Weston said, ?it ain?t like we?ve got a timetable. Milton is waiting on us to bring down that wall, we can do this at our own pace. Now I don?t think that Jake comforting me because I just realized I may never see out of my head again really qualifies as a waste of time.?

?Every minute we waist more planets are dying. The Galians are moving and we are just letting them tip over planet after planet. I?m as nervous as anyone but??

?Tyr, when Shandri tells you you?re going to lose a fucking sense?and I only have five of ?em?then you can tell me about being nervous.?

?I?m not trying to belittle??

?For frack?s sake Tyr can you get off your Goddamn pity-party float for a minute and shut the hell up?? Weston snapped, ?Boo fucking hoo, Dantooine?s toast. Well you know what? Not everybody. Not Berloc. Probably not your staff or half the other people you know. And if you really expect me to buy into all that political garbage about you feeling your people?s pain and whatnot, then you?re either full of yourself or naive. Neither one make a very good leader.?

?I don?t think I?m the one that?s got nerves to master, Mr. Onasi,? Tyr growled.

?Woah boys,? Shandri held up her hands and both men felt a soft pressure holding them back, and a comforting?albeit uninvited?caress on the back of their necks. ?This is just the kind of thing Milton was talking about. We know that we?re going to try and kill each other and here we go doing it anyway.?

Tyr and Weston stared at each other, and then Weston finally lowered his eyes. ?Your girlfriend?s right. But I know in my gut that if we rush this it?ll be a disaster. And two minutes are not going to save a planet.?

?Well?yeah ok, you?re right,? Tyr agreed.

Jake was rubbing his hands together. Outside, a cold breeze had started to blow in down from the north and clouds were gathering. The sun went behind a patch of them and the daylight lessened.

?So,? Jake said. ?Ok, well. If that?s all you?ve got Shandri, I think we should go with somebody else. Tyr, you started out with the dreams. You were the first one of us to have one. Do you remember anything about it? Or about any of the ones you?ve had sense??

Tyr nodded, but he was still bitter about Weston. ?Yeah,? he said starting at the floor. ?Ok, well it was a really icy cold place. This dream, I mean. We were in the middle of this frosty gale. And Erin spoke to me. She said I was the Sojourner. She said that this Tom Milton?s real name was Pandemon, the Pale King, and that he wanted to wreck the universe. And, you know, after meeting the gentleman I think I can actually believe that he?s just crazy enough to mean it.?

?Did she say anything else? I mean?she said enough for you to tell us. Enough for you to tell me.?

?Yeah,? Tyr nodded. And he began to think back. He started to wrack his brain trying to remember. And slowly but surely, like a convict picking up little bits of trash strewn across a highway, he started to collect the bundles of memory he sought. ?She told me that life is a wheel. And that Dantooine would be attacked, but I wouldn?t be there to defend it. Funny,? he snorted, ?I thought I?d at least proved that one wrong.?

Shandri grimaced. ?Wait. You said Milton talked to you. What are you talking about Tyr? I think I?ve missed something?important.?

?He saw Milton,? Jake explained. ?And Milton told him that Dantooine had been destroyed. And that Vuroric was dead. And that we would kill each other because we hate each other and just don?t know it yet.?

?Oh?? she said, her voice quivering. ?You mean Milton was?here??

?Yeah,? Tyr said. ?He appeared to me, first as a ghost, and then as himself.?

?But you could tell it was him?? Shandri said. ?I mean?he seemed like Milton. From the get-go? He didn?t trick you.?

?It wasn?t a very good trick if he meant it to be,? Tyr conceded.

At that Shandri seemed to relax a bit, although the possibility, the creeping chance that her encounter with her parents was actually Tom Milton made her scream inside. But she wasn?t sure, she wasn?t positive. And if she couldn?t be positive one way or another, then she didn?t want to tell anyone. Because they would jump to conclusions. They would assume. And if maybe, just maybe her power had grown and she was somehow chanelling her parents?well?she didn?t know if she could do it with their constant, lingering doubt weighing on her. Better for them not to know at all. Much better.

Tyr looked at her and raised an eyebrow, ?Shandri if you?ve seen anything??

?No,? she said. And she tried, as best she could, to reach out with the Force and make them forget her peculiar questions. She wasn?t sure if she could completely, for none of them were weak willed, but she thought maybe she could cloud their memories enough to make them seem like d?j? vu.

She concentrated and hoped. Done.

Tyr looked blankly for a moment, as did Jake and Weston, and briefly shook his head. ?Wait I?m sorry, what??

?Your dream,? Jake pressed. ?You said she told you Dantooine would be destroyed. What else??

?Yeah,? Tyr said. ?She told me that Dantooine would be attacked, but I wouldn?t be there to defend it. Funny,? he snorted, ?I thought I?d at least proved that one wrong. But, right Jake, there were other things too. She told me I wasn?t going to die on that operating table?and?well, at least she implied, that I wouldn?t be dying with my friends around me. And she told me that the Burning Man fears us, and that Milton is?is using us. She said that Milton wants us to kill?no?he wants to weaken the Burning Man just enough to bring down an energy field he erects around Earth to prevent Milton from nearing. Then, when that field is down, Milton wants to look into Kel Gauthra?s eyes and he will somehow become?I don?t know, a super-demigod.?

?That would be called a god,? Weston observed.

Jake and Shandri exchanged glances. Tyr ignored him. ?Well, whatever it?s called, he plans to tear down the Universe and bring it into blackness. There won?t be anything to see if he does that, Weston.?

?Not this again,? Shandri muttered.

?Ok,? Jake said, before Weston could rebut. ?Listen, was there anything else? Anything in the first dream we don?t already know??

?No,? Tyr shook his head. ?No?I don?t think so. She showed me something. She showed me something before the dream ended but?I can?t remember what. It was important.?

?Ok,? Jake said. ?Maybe it?ll come back to you. Have you had any other dreams??

?I had several back before I decided to come here. Several threatening my life and your lives, saying the worlds would all die and basically using scare tactics to goad me into coming out here. But nothing particularly useful. Then there was the dream I had about the little girl.?

?Little girl?? Weston asked, suddenly interested. ?You mentioned her before. What did you dream about, Tyr??

?It was one of Milton?s brand. The whole end is near type thing.?

?Tyr?just tell me who the little girl was. What?d she look like?? Weston repeated.

Tyr paused, and he thought back to that dream, and just like that he could see her face. Her eyes were blue, and stared into his own like a reflection. Her face was small, round, and giddy. Her hair soft and blonde. ?She was a pretty girl, blond hair and blue eyes. Young, with a round face. She said her name was Lauren.?

Jake?s eyes widened, ?What??

?Yeah, no kidding,? Tyr agreed. ?She told me her mother was dead. And that I had to save the world. She was on a see-saw, chanting this?eerie little rhyme. It was Milton all right?at least I hope it was.?

Jake shrugged, ?Possibly. It?s got elements of at least three of us in there. The name Lauren has significance to me. Physically the girl sounds like a younger, more childlike version of Weston?s Menina. And then she was in your dream.?

Shandri chuckled, ?So um?where do I figure in??

?Maybe you?re the dead mom,? Weston muttered, blinking his eyes.

Jake and Tyr both shot him a cold look, but he didn?t seem particularly apologetic. Shandri stared back at him quite taken aback, and then after several seconds he shrugged, ?Sorry. I meant to say: ?Maybe you?re the little girl?s fairy godmother who built her the see-saw.??

?Ok, ok,? Jake said. ?Well, Weston what about your dreams? Right now we know what Milton plans to do, and we know how. But we still don?t know anything about how to stop him.?

?Well,? Weston said. ?I?m not so sure how much help I can be. I haven?t had many dreams. At least not many that weren?t 100% Grade-A Milton trying to scare the shit out of me. But I did have one, that I know of, that came from Erin. I had it the day we crashed the Casablanca onto Madera. We had just started our hike, hell it seems like so long ago. But we had just started, and we?d camped out by a stream. I dreamed of this dreary, desolate old castle. Out front was a gray battlefield, full of dead things. Behind it was a cliff wall and beneath that the ocean. I went into the castle, and an army of dead men led me to this throne. And I saw the Pale King sitting on his throne. And he told me?he told me that I was the Janus. That I had two faces?.whatever that means. And then revealed himself to be Erin in disguise. She was trying to scare me. Funny, huh? But then she showed me images?Darth Bojangle?s grave. This ship, finding us. And an angry mob of villagers raising arms against us with pitchforks and torches. She told me that Milton will fall in Rook. And that if we go to the Black Spire, we will free her. I?? suddenly Weston?s voice broke. And he stopped talking. He put his hand up to his mouth and bit into the side of it. Then took it down. ?She was?enchanting,? he said at last.

Jake met his eyes. ?Was there anything else??

?Yeah,? Weston said. ?Erin kept telling me that there was a traitor coming. And that to find out who I had to ?look to the prophet?. And then when I told her that I had no idea how to kill Milton, again she said ?look to the prophet?.? Weston turned to Shandri, ?So?any answers??

?I?I told you everything I know,? Shandri said. ?I asked her too, and she said she didn?t know?but she told me that we were all traitors. That we would betray each other, and if we weren?t careful that was Milton?s goal.?

?For an omniscient, Erin is starting to strike me as pretty fickle,? Weston muttered. ?But other then those?other then those things, in that dream, I haven?t really had any dreams that I can recall. Nothing sweepingly prophetic or regarding Milton at any rate.?

?Ok,? Jake said. ?Ok?well then I guess that leaves me. And I only had two dreams too. One I had very close to Weston?s. We were in forest, being hunted by these?things. We called them Grendels. Turns out they?re called Corcasian Spiders.? Jake drummed his wounded hand across his knee, and if either Tyr of Shandri had failed to notice up until then, they now both saw the missing finger-end. ?I dreamed I was in the desert. And I saw the Black Spire. And I saw all three of you, dead. You were up on crosses, and Weston had been dead the longest. Shandri had been dead second longest. And Tyr was the freshest. Then I saw this man in a black cloak fall apart into a billion flies. And they swarmed over everything. And then there was a light from the sky, and the tower came down and so did everything else. Not a very?eh?informative dream. But it meant something to me when I dreamed it. Although I?m still not altogether sure what it was.

?My other dream came from Tom Collins, I think. Or from Erin. Or from God. I don?t really know which and I really don?t know what the difference is anymore. But it was a three-parter, and it was prophecy. I know. In the first part, I saw the Second Battle of Dantooine, complete with a Galian fleet and a united defensive fleet. From the sounds of it this dream didn?t go completely the way I dreamed it?which is maybe for the better. In my version, the Unity was destroyed by the Galian fleet. And Dantooine was turned to slag. I saw Alitar Fiat kill Lucian Saggat on the surface of the burning planet, and then I saw the inside of a spaceship. And I was at another battle. And I think?though I can?t be sure?that this was the battle. The one that counts. The one that determines everything. Or if not everything, at least something very important. I saw a Dark Jedi in a green cloak and a wolf?s mask dueling two older Jedi over a bridge. I saw?I saw them all fall. Then I saw Kel Gauthra. And I realized I was back in the throne room in the Black Spire. And?I saw what happened a thousand years ago. Only this time, I realized I had a choice that had never occurred to me before. But it was?right there. And I?ve decide to take it, because that choice will make all the difference.?

?What is it?? Shandri asked.

Jake shook his head, ?Don?t?don?t ask me that. You?ll know when you have to know.?

Shandri hesitated, her curiosity peaked, and for the briefest moment thought about finding out for herself. But then she realized how wrong that would be, and let it go.

?After that,? Jake continued, ?I saw Lauren. And she told me?well, it?s not important. But none that dream is really about Milton. And I haven?t had any one on one conversation with Erin like you three seem to be blessed with.?

?It?ll come one of these days,? Weston said, and patted Jake on the back. ?I wouldn?t say don?t jinx yourself if I didn?t mean it.?

Jake laughed, and so did the others. But the laughter was short-lived. ?So?? Jake said at last, ?Other then taking up some time what good did that do? I kind of thought we?d have more tactical knowledge from those dreams than we wound up with.?

?We know the villagers are going to want to kill us,? Weston offered.

Shandri put the stylus away and set the now nearly full whiteboard onto the floor beside her. She shook her head, ?Pitchforks won?t be a problem. We have a whole wall panel set aside for small-arms in the cargo hold. Blaster carbines, pistols, even some E-11s. Pick your poison.?

Tyr frowned, wanting to broach the question of why while staying well away from how but finding no good way to do it.

?That?d leave a lot of dead villagers, though,? Jake said. ?They?re not really?evil, or even malicious. They?re brainwashed by Milton.?

Weston rolled his eyes, ?They?re hostiles. Look, you three can play this humanitarian cock-suck game as much as you want to, but let me educate you in the way of the world. People conflict with one another. This is standard human interaction. When its one on one it?s called a fight. When it?s five on five it?s called a skirmish. When it?s one hundred on one hundred it?s called a battle and when it?s a million against a million its called a war. Now, generally when it?s four against a thousand it?s called a slaughter. And who are we to argue with the lexicon??

?That?s?the worst argument ever,? Jake said.

Weston grinned, ?But it sounded neat. And I sure liked arguing it.?

Jake nodded. ?You really are like?twelve, inside that body aren?t you??

Weston shrugged.

?Guys,? Tyr interrupted, ?lets get back on track. All we know is that, according to Erin, we?re ?going to do it? when we confront Milton. But from what I saw, Milton knows all about Erin and he?s not particularly nervous. His confidence combined with our?you know, for lack of a better word?ignorance, as to how we?re supposed to fight him, kind of worry me.?

?Maybe he?s bluffing,? Jake suggested.

?I?d rather we play it safe and assume he?s not,? Weston said.

?Agreed,? Tyr said.

?Yeah,? Shandri said.

Jake shrugged, ?You know, I was just throwing it out there.? He looked at the other three but none of them spoke. They were all staring at the same floor trying to offer something useful, but none of them were coming up with anything particularly useful until at last Weston had an epiphany.

?Well?we also know all that stuff that Tom said in Kader,? Weston suggested. ?About Avalon and Twilight?s Last and little trinkets and trains and all that stuff.?

?Wait what??

?Our resident seer, Tom Collins. Milton killed him in a fire a few days before you got here,? Jake explained.

?Wait?you?re talking about the crazy guy you found in a cellar who can?t speak plainly?? Tyr asked. His eyebrow was raised skeptically.

?That?s our man,? Weston said. ?And I?d take his word over that shared-voice in our heads we call Erin any day of the week. Trust me, he?s good.?

?Well,? Jake shrugged, ?if he?s not good, he?s at least another link we have to answers. I think I remember fairly well what he said. If I recall, he said that Milton couldn?t be killed with normal weapons, and that it would take us Four. He said that to try and fight us, Milton would have to make us fight one another. Then he said something about Milton being inside each of us, and that we couldn?t kill the unkillable and we?d have to put it in a box.?

Tyr and Shandri looked at each other. Then Weston looked at Jake. ?Oh come on Jake,? Weston said, ?Put it in a box? What are you smoking??

Jake chuckled and looked back at Shandri and Tyr. ?No, that?s seriously what he said. He said we?d have to imprison Milton, but then made no suggestions on how. He did say that the box was always near him though, like a genie lamp, if you people have some kind of analogue in your galaxy I don?t know what it is but a genie is this little creature that lives in a lamp and grants three wishes. All his power is tied to his lamp, though, and he can?t do anything away from it. But?anyway after that all Tom could do is repeat ?from Twilight?s last to Avalon their vessel of salvation comes,? whatever that means.?

?Force be with us?? Tyr muttered. ?That is a sad assortment of clues. We know what Milton wants to do. We know how he wants to do it. And we know some of the events that may happen when we go to attack him?but we don?t know how we do it. And then we have a few choice ramblings from a mad underground hermit.?

?Anybody like logic games?? Weston asked.

Shandri chuckled, ?We should have brought a droid.?

?At least that way I?d have something to shoot at.?

?Ok kids,? Jake interrupted. ?We really have to at least try and come up with a plan if we?re going to launch this attack. We told you about the Hueval. That?s where we go. We can keep the villagers at bay, I?m not too worried about that. What I?m worried about is what we do once we?re face to face with Milton.?

?I couldn?t do anything,? Tyr said quietly.

Jake looked up, ?What??

?He told me, while I was out there. He said that if we were serious, I should just get everyone and we could kill him then and there. But I couldn?t move. He paralyzed me?only I don?t think it was him. I think it was me. I?ve seen a lot, but I have never seen something like that.?

?He?ll do it to you,? Weston agreed. ?I shot him in the frelling head. Burned half his face off. You can bet I?m not looking forward to seeing what he?s got planned for me. Or?? he frowned, ?Oh yeah?well?I guess I probably won?t see what he?s got planned??

?Weston, stop it,? Jake snapped. ?You?re eyes are going to be fine. Now everybody, we?ve got to finish this. Tyr, I know you agree. Does anyone have a suggestion, a serious suggestion as to what our next course of action should be??

?It sounds like we have to break his little lamp,? Weston said.

?Weston, you missed one of the words in that last sentence.?

?You know what Tyr, I?m getting about damn tired of you always??

?No,? Jake said, ?He?s right we?ve got to get this??

?You guys!? Shandri shouted, and the rest of them went quiet. She looked at them all, somewhat alarmed, and crossed her arms. ?Whatever it is we decide, we have to remember the key warning. It?s cropped up again, and again, and again in these dreams we?ve described. Milton cannot touch us?and the only way he can fight us, is by making us fight ourselves. He?s going to try and get inside of our heads, find out what our weaknesses are, and then exploit those until we are doing his dirty work without even knowing it. And I don?t know about you guys, but I don?t want to see that happen.?

Jake looked at Tyr, Tyr looked at Weston, and Weston looked at Jake. Then all three of them grudgingly agreed.

?Ok,? Weston said finally. ?So we?re dumb guys that get into fights. But so what? It?s not like I?m planning on shooting anybody.?

?I don?t think we?re going to have to plan on it?? Tyr muttered. ?I think we?re doing just what Milton wants us to do?we?re sitting here, overanalyzing and trying to plan this thing out, when everything Erin keeps telling us is pointing towards one course.?

?What?s that?? Jake said.

?We go in blind. We just walk in there and do it, and come what may.?

Weston grinned sarcastically, ?I think last time I tried that, I almost turned into beef jerky.?

?No,? Jake shook his head. And across his face, Weston saw what very well may be termed an epiphany bring new life to all his features. ?No, that?s true Weston?but we didn?t. We lived. Come what may, right? Well?this ship came. Just in the nick of time.?

?A lot of stuff has happened like that,? Tyr said. ?We had to leave, and make perfect timing, and have perfect delays all to get to you at that point in time.?

?And Weston?did you save me from the Grendel?s just in the nick of time? And didn?t we get out of Kader just in the nick of time? And didn?t everything that?s happened to us happen either because of sheer luck or because of some third party working its will in our favor? Now we?ve been assuming it?s Milton, and maybe some of it was?but he?s right Weston. He?s right. Tom Collins liked to talk about faith. Well?what about this? What about having some faith??

Weston?s mouth was half gaping: he couldn?t believe what he was hearing. He looked at Shandri, who had been quiet through much of the debate, and stared at her with wide, pleading eyes. ?Shandri, would you please talk some sense into these two knuckleheads. Trying to come up with a plan for conquering a no-win situation by piecing together a bunch of nonsense dreams and messages is one thing. But to just blindly go running into the situation without even that minimal level of planning is?? he paused, searching for the words, ?fucking insane.?

?I?? Shandri began. Her voice was shaking a little, and her eyes didn?t quite focus on them. ?I?I think we should?? She was staring at the side of the ship, on the wall behind Tyr, because in the shadow of the big leather-bound chair he was sitting in, she didn?t see his shadow. She saw the shadow of a man wearing a wide-brimmed hat. Her mouth went dry, and her fingers clenched into fists, and she almost called out when suddenly she was free. The shadow was gone, and she broke her stare.

?I think Tyr?s right,? she said immediately. ?I?m sorry Weston?but he?s right. Every clue we?ve got, aside from Tom Collins?, is saying that we can?t do anything wrong if we just confront him. But waiting here, just sitting is going to kill us. It gives Milton more time to work us over, gives us more time to build up anxiety. I agree with Tyr and Jake, we need to do this and we need to do it sooner rather then later.?

?You three?? Weston muttered. ?You three have finally lost your minds. Jake: I knew yours was goin after you let me ride shotgun all the way to Madera. But come on, Shandri? Tyr? Tyr you?re a President for crying out loud, is this how you?d lead your people? Or what about your Star Destroyer crew? Would you just say, ?Oh, hey guys look there?s a cloud of enemy ships?tally ho!? Of course not! So don?t do it here.?

?I can?t see myself saying ?tally ho? under any circumstances,? Tyr said glibly, flexing his fingers. ?But you?ve gotta understand Weston?this isn?t just any battle. The rules are different. The rules are??

?How do you know?! How?how do we know anything? What if the rules aren?t different? What if everything we?re going off of is a lie? What if we?re about to commit suicide without any idea of what?s ahead or what we?re leaving behind, and what if there?s a clue to that horrible fate in this big messy jumble of dreams we?ve got? The only way we?ll know is if we stop and look, but no, can?t do that because then we?re giving Milton time to fuck with our heads. Well, you know what? I think no matter which way you cut it, my head is already pretty well fucked.?

Jake stared at Weston for a long time, then lowered his head into his hand and started to laugh. He laughed and laughed, and leaned over onto Weston?s shoulder and slapped his friend on the back. Weston stared at him slightly dumbstruck. ?Weston, you?re absolutely right. Your head is very very fucked.? Jake said, but then he summoned up a little seriousness, and looked at his friend, ?But do you remember on the Casablanca when we talked about Religion? Do you remember my conversation with Tom in Crescnet? Do you remember asking me on the Flats why Tom Collins? God would take the life of a little girl??

Weston looked over at his friend uneasily and nodded.

?This is a little bit like that. It?s about faith?and trust. Faith in these things that we can?t see and can?t control?and trust in each other. Sometimes?sometimes you?ve just got to throw away your inhibitions and go with your gut. You?ve got to take a step out there, and go blindly. If Erin?s dreams have been true, and there really is a plan, then we?ll be fine. But if everything?s just been some design of Milton?s?well, I think we?re pretty screwed no matter how we slice it. Might as well go out surprised. What do you say??

Weston frowned, ?But how do we know we can trust Erin??

?We don?t,? Jake admitted, ?That?s what trust is. But today, I think I prefer that version of reality to the alternative.?

Weston lowered his eyes in silence and stared glumly at the steel floor. Jake, Shandri, and Tyr were all staring back at him. For a long moment he didn?t speak, and the ship alone made sounds, as a fresh cold wind blew down from the north and pounded against the ship?s hull, causing echoes and reverberations to shake the old frame. After almost a minute of thinking, Weston swallowed and and shrugged his shoulders. ?Ok,? he said. ?All aboard the crazy train, then. Looks like you got me.?

Jake grinned and slapped him hard on the back. Tyr reached out and shook his hand. Then Shandri leaned in and hugged him. As they were pulling away from the hug, they met eyes. Shandri tensed.

?Shandri?? Weston asked as they let go. ?Are you ok??

She stared at him and shook her head, then nodded, ?No yeah?yeah I?m fine, I?m sorry I just. You know I had that spell in the bathroom earlier today and I?m just still?dizzy right? You know me. I think I?m going to go lay down for a bit?I don?t?feel well.?

Tyr stood up, ?Shandri you want me to get you anything??

?No,? She said quietly, ?no I?m just going to go lay down. I think maybe in my parent?s room.?

Tyr hesitated, ?Um?Shandri are you sure you should be going in there? Remember what we told you? About Milton? He?s been creeping into our dreams and harassing us. He might try it to you.?

?If I see anything, I?ll scream,? she assured him. ?And you know me. I can scream.?

Tyr smiled and nodded, ?Ok. I hope you feel better.?

She smiled at him as she walked off and a moment later Shandri disappeared through the threshold.

Weston bit on his lower lip and looked at Jake and Tyr. ?So?? he said at last. ?Think it was my breath??

***

?Dad,? Shandri prayed, ?Dad I could have sworn I saw your eyes today. I saw them in Weston Onasi. I hugged him and?and for a second I knew I was looking at you. Daddy they looked so scared?like you were begging me to listen to you. I want to listen to you dad. Daddy if you?re here, if you?re on board this ship and I can somehow reach you through the Force, please let me. Let me touch you again. Let me see you again. You and mom. I miss you two so much. It wasn?t fair?and now might be my only chance to ever see you again??

She sat alone on the floor of her parent?s bedroom in the black, muttering to herself and attempting to meditate. She didn?t bother to turn a light on, but soon a light turned on by its own accord. When it did, she paused and looked up, but there was no one there.

My powers must be getting incredible, she thought, if I?m doing things by just thinking them?and without meaning to.

And so she continued to pray and meditate, and honed the Force around her. She breathed in and out, in and out, and she alone sat illuminated in the small pool of light that fell down from above her.



In the thick blackness that surrounded that pool, like a shark in the deep waters, a man with no shadow of his own sat with a smile on his face, watching everything.

[Calavan]

Lest We Forget

"It is sad how one dark moment can live forever burned in the back of one?s mind."

~Anonymous



?There?s something wrong with her,? Jake said. Weston nodded. Tyr didn?t move. ?And I know you don?t want to see Tyr?but you can?t deny it. I can?t put my finger on what it is, but she?s not acting normally.?

?No.? Weston rubbed his hands together. It had gotten markedly colder on the ship. ?No,? he repeated. ?Did you see how she looked at me? Like she saw a ghost. That, and the strange trips to the bathroom, and the mood swings?not to mention she?s been using the Force a lot more too. Little things, pushes and prods and turning lights and things on?stuff like that. But it?s not stuff she used to do.?

Tyr still didn?t say anything. He sat there, staring at the ground. Then, after a moment, he sucked in a deep breath of air and coughed it back out. ?What time is it?? he asked abruptly.

Jake glanced up at the wall. ?Ship?s clock says around 1400. Time flies, right??

Tyr nodded. ?It?s getting cold. It was burning up out there yesterday.?

?One of the Galians that led us across the Flats mentioned the seasons going wonky out here. I?ve gotta admit?he was kind of right,? Weston said.

Jake chewed on his lower lip and looked at Tyr. ?I think you changed the subject,? he said. ?The question was what do we do about Shandri? Do you have an opinion, Tyr??

Tyr inhaled again, and exhaled. This time his breath came out in a little puff. The sun was still hidden outside, and the daylight had grown dim. Dense, low clouds were gathering. ?Yeah,? he said. ?Yeah, you two are right. I think this ?only-Jedi-in-the-galaxy? thing has started to get to her. You know she told me, back when we first came here, how much more powerful she felt? She said she could tell that she was alone?unique. I didn?t know it would have consequences like this?but I think you two are right. Something?s up with her.?

Weston raised his hand, ?Well, I?m going to veto the head-on approach before it?s suggested. I don?t need a lightsaber through the neck on top of my worries.?

Tyr grimaced, ?Weston, you know she wouldn?t do anything to hurt us.?

?You can?t know that for sure. It goes against what she said about what Erin showed her. She said that Erin showed her a scenario where she?s about to lob off my head with a lightsaber. Hence my veto.?

?Tyr,? Jake said . ?I think it?s Milton. This has his name written all over it. You already said she?s vulnerable?you mentioned her parents. That they?died on this ship. She?s got a lot of baggage. And on top of that there?s this power trip thing. He?s working her.?

Tyr didn?t argue. He was still looking at the floor. ?Ok,? he said. ?Then I?ve got to go talk to her.?

?We should all??

?No Jake,? Tyr said. ?No, just me. She?ll listen to me. I think. I should have realized this before?I think.? He rubbed his chin thoughtfully and swore beneath his breath.

Weston raised an eyebrow, ?Tyr, are you ok buddy??

Tyr shuddered. ?It?s Milton,? he said. ?I?m still thinking about him. Still thinking about what he said. I know I shouldn?t, and I?m trying not to but he?s?he?s worked his way inside of me. He kind of latched onto some things that I personally believe?either consciously or unconsciously, and so when he went out and said them?you know.?

?Yeah,? Jake said. ?He?s good at that. Well, why don?t you check on her Tyr? Try and see what?s going on in there?and I?m going to take a step outside and look at the weather. If there?s a snowstorm, we won?t want to move the Zephyr until it?s over. That could delay us another day.?

Tyr had stood up and was walking towards the master bedroom when he hesitated and turned back. He looked for a moment and Weston and then at Jake, and both could tell he was very agitated at the thought of waiting another day. But he didn?t argue?they all knew that Jake wasn?t just talking. They had to move the Zephyr under cover of night to the Hueval, and they weren?t going to assault Rook in the middle of a blizzard. ?Fine,? Tyr said at last. ?But remember a storm is one thing, a frost is another. If we can go, we should. There are people counting on us.?

Weston nodded.

?Fair enough,? Jake said.

Then Tyr turned and stepped out of the family room and into the hall towards the master bedroom. Before the door slid shut Weston raised his hand and said, ?Hey Tyr.?

Tyr turned.

?Good luck. I hope she?s ok.?

It was all he had to say. Tyr smiled, thanked him, and the hallway hatch slid shut behind him. Jake and Weston were alone, sitting silently in the quickly cooling family room of the ship. Jake was staring at the wall, and from his periphery he noticed Weston had reached down to his waist, pulled out his gun, and flipped open the little polishing kit he carried with him.

Neither spoke for some amount of time, until finally Weston broke the silence. ?So,? he said. ?Home sweet home, eh??

Jake snorted and chuckled a little. ?Tyr means well. Dantooine means more to him than it does to us. He was its?protector, I guess. And I don?t really think you give him enough credit.?

Weston cocked a look at Jake, ?Eh? How?s that.?

?He cares. It?s not just politics?he cares about those people. I could hear it in his voice. Whatever else he?s feeling, that worry and urgency he?s projecting on us is real.?

?I guess,? Weston said. ?But damn. Jake what about me? I mean?my eyes? That?s what I?ve got. That?s what I do. How can I even clean this gun anymore, let alone shoot anything with it, if I can?t see? I?d be like?fucking Berloc Varless without a gut. My defining characteristic would be shot.?

Jake smiled a little and shrugged. ?It could be worse. Where I?m from, there?re plenty of people who get along fine without eyes. And I?m sure Tyr could set you up with a nice cybernetic pair when you get back.?

?If we get back,? Weston muttered. As he spoke, he scrubbed his gun with the little polishing cloth and black flecks of dirt and grime fell onto the floor. ?And if there are any cybernetic eyes left. That galaxy?s getting shitkilled worse than we are. I don?t think fake eyes are going to be high up on the triage list. Not compared to?food and water. You?ve gotta think, even if it stopped today, the ramifications?there?ll be refugees for years and years trying to eek out a life. Trillions, maybe more, driven from their homeworlds. There?ll be overpopulation on the developed planets that people think are safe. Whole sections of the galaxy dead and no longer inhabited. We won?t be going back to the same world we left from. If we go back at all.?

?You, you mean,? Jake corrected him. ?I?m not going back.?

Weston rolled his eyes and shot Jake a halfcocked glance. ?Oh come on Jake don?t start that now. You remember Tyr and his bottle of wine and all that? It?s all or none. We?re all going back or none of us are.?

?That bottle of wine?s probably vapor right now,? Jake mused. ?Unless he thought to bring it with him. But no, I promise you Weston, it?s not that I don?t think we?ll succeed. I?m probably the most optimistic of us here. It?s taken me a thousand years, but this time I know perfectly well what I?ve got to do and how to do it. How to set things right again.?

Weston shuddered. ?Jake, there you go again. You?you do this. You keep getting all cryptic and mentioning what you?ve ?got to do? and ?not coming back??maybe I should do an intervention on you while Tyr?s in there with her.?

?I?ll tell you sometime,? Jake said. ?When this is behind us and we?re on our way to Earth. I?ll tell all three of you. But until then, I shouldn?t. It?s just something that?ll slow us down.?

Weston frowned, and wished that he was a Jedi so that he could find out for himself. It?s what Shandri would have done, he thought. But then again, maybe that?s why he wasn?t the one destined to go around killing his friends. ?Ok,? he said, ?Well then you better make damn sure I?ve still got my ears at least, so I can hear the story.?

Jake gave a half smile and stood up. ?We should check the weather. It has gotten colder.?

***

Clang. Clang.

Shandri looked up at the door and grimaced. She just wanted to be left alone, couldn?t they get that? She just wanted some peace and quiet.

Clang. Clang. Clang.

?Shandri?? She heard Tyr?s voice. ?It?s me. I?m alone.?

Shandri hesitated and then stopped. She looked at the door but didn?t do anything else. Then she reached over and grabbed the picture of her parents that she kept, and she squeezed it tight against her.

Clang. Clang. Clang. Clang

?Ok, ok,? she said aloud. ?I?m coming Tyr. I told you guys I was taking a nap.? Quickly she stood up and pulled back the bedsheets to make it look like she?d been sleeping. Then she ran her hands through her hair and walked over to the door. She deactivated the lock and it hissed back, and bright light from outside poured into the dim bedroom. Tyr, true to his word, was standing on the other side all by himself. He looked down at Shandri with concerned eyes and before she could get a word in he put his hand on her shoulder and said, ?Listen, Shandri. We need to talk.?

Shandri glanced around nervously and laughed, but not very convincingly. ?Hah, that?s never a good sign. Ok Tyr, talk about what??

He didn?t smile back at her. ?The others are worried about you,? he said bluntly. ?And I?I think there might be some validity to their worries. You haven?t been acting yourself lately Shandri. Not today. Not since we picked up Weston and Jake.?

?Tyr,? She said, laughing a little, ?Tyr we?ve only been here for what?has it been twelve hours yet? What kind of changes could I have gone through??

?It?s the Force, Shandri. You?ve been using it a lot more than you used to, and that?s not just since we came to Madera. It?s been over the whole trip. That, and you?ve been holding up in here a lot more. It?s a prime chance for Milton to go exploiting you.?

?Tyr,? Shandri said and they both sat down beside each other on the bed, ?Tyr, I am not going to become some kind of rage-filled dark Jedi. I don?t have any anger or hate or anything like that. I haven?t seen any trace of Milton. If you?ve got to know, I feel good. I feel stronger and more energetic?and you will need me, like I told you, if we?re going to go head into Rook without any plan. You will definitely need every ounce of me.?

?I?m not saying we won?t,? Tyr assured her, ?I?m just saying that maybe you should take a step back and look at how you?ve been acting.?

Shandri hesitated. ?How I?ve been acting? Tyr, I haven?t done anything.?

?I?m not saying you have??

?Tyr you just did. Now can?t you just take my word for it when I tell you that I?m fine? I just want a little space. I?m not in here plotting how to kill everybody, even though that?s obviously what you guys are thinking.?

?Shandri,? Tyr frowned, ?that?s not fair. We?re worried about you. Me particularly. And it?s not because of you, it?s because of Milton. He?s out here, and he?s been harassing us. You?re vulnerable?just?I just want you to be careful. Especially after hearing about your vision.?

?Oh for Force?s sake, here it goes,? Shandri muttered. ?I don?t think we should be hanging those dreams as some kind of threat over each other, Tyr, and I don?t appreciate it being done to me. I mean come on, I told you guys what I dreamed and it freaked me out too. I?m not the bad guy here.?

?Listen, listen nobody is saying you?re the bad guy,? Tyr sighed. He paused and stared down at the floor. ?I just don?t want anything to happen to you. And I know that something will?because I know you, and you?re right. There is absolutely nothing that would make you hurt any of us. So that only can mean that Milton is going to do something to you. Or wants to. So just?just tell me, if anything weird happens, ok? You know you can trust me.?

Shandri hesitated, and she looked up and met Tyr?s eyes. Then she bent over and kissed him. When their lips parted, and Tyr could still smell her smell, and he was still staring into her dazzling eyes, she smiled slightly and said, ?I trust you.?

?Then trust me,? Tyr repeated. ?Because something?s going on, Shandri. And I want to be here for you, I really do, but I can?t if you shut me out. Is this about your parents? Is this about what happened to them? Because if it is, then please tell me. I want to help you.?

And it was then, looking at this man that she loved, that Shandri knew she could not keep her secret for any longer. She nodded, sighed, and ran her hand through her hair. Then she flopped backwards and landed on the bed and let out a little grunt as her back hit the padding. She stared up at the ceiling for several seconds before speaking. Tyr gave her the space she needed.

?Yeah,? She said at last. ?I?please don?t freak out. Ok? I know you, and I know what you?ll say but just?don?t freak out. Let me finish.?

Tyr chuckled nervously and cocked his head, ?Me? Freak out??

?Yeah you bonehead,? Shandri said nervously. She opened her mouth to continue when she realized she was shaking. Very carefully she tried to clear her mind, and using all of her effort she sat up and calmed herself with the Force. ?Ok. Well. When you went outside, I started feeling?strange. So I got up, and went into the refresher station. I washed my face?thought that?d make me better, but it didn?t. I still felt kind of nauseous. But then, when I was drying my face off, I saw my dad reflected in the mirror. And he spoke to me.?

Tyr?s mouth dropped a little. ?Shandri, you know that wasn?t your dad, right? It was Milton. It has to be. I was outside looking at my own father?s ghost at that exact same minute.?

Shandri held up her hand, ?No, no let me finish. I know it seems like it was Milton. I know it could have been him. But?he wasn?t trying to scare me. He wasn?t threatening me. He just looked me, and smiled. And he told me he had to tell me something about one of my friends. Then Weston knocked on the door, and he disappeared.?

?Shandri just because he was nice to you??

?No,? Shandri said. ?No you don?t understand. And I don?t think you can unless?? her words trailed off and she sighed. ?Frak why is this so hard?? she muttered.

Tyr bent over and kissed her cheek, and rubbed her shoulder. ?Tell me,? he said.

Shandri smiled at him, and looked into his strong eyes. They were sad, just like they were when he used to talk about Etti IV. Just like they were when she saw him alone at nights, sitting in the cockpit staring out at hyperspace, and she would imagine he was thinking about Dantooine or his stepfather or the people he?d left behind. He would never have that again, she thought. It was gone. She realized that the look in his eyes was the look he always wore when he was thinking about something dear to him that he missed. And then she realized that he missed her. And he cared about her. And he really did love her.

?I?? her voice broke, but she tried to be strong. She hadn?t told anybody this. In fact she?d sworn to keep it a secret until the day she died. She?d sworn it to Eric Taarn, and he?d sworn it back to her. And as far as she knew, both people had kept their pact for ten years now. ?I never specified, what happened to my parents,? she said at last. ?I just told you they died on the ship. Tyr that?s not the whole?what I mean to say is, I wasn?t totally honest with you. They did die on this ship. And?well??

Tyr?s expression hadn?t changed. He was still staring at her with the same thoughtful intensity that he?d had when he started. The only difference was that now he had put one hand on her knee, and was holding her shaking hand in the other. ?Tyr?? Shandri said, and her voice trembled, ?I killed my dad. I murdered him, on this ship. I killed him Tyr, because I was a stupid, stupid little girl and I didn?t know what I was doing. I was?I was in over my head. I was suffocating. And I killed him.?

Tyr?s face went slack, and for a moment he didn?t say anything. His mind was suddenly racing and he looked at the girl he loved, laid out so beautifully on her parents? bed, and he wondered how she could possibly be saying such things. ?Shandri?you did what??

?It was an accident,? she confessed. And as she spoke, her voice grew three times smaller and she sounded like a small child confessing to a parent. ?It was an accident,? she repeated. Then Tyr squeezed her hand, and she felt his strength, and looked back into his eyes again. ?It was a horrible, stupid accident that should never have happened. But I did it. I killed him. And I?ve?you know I?ve made peace with that. But I?ve been getting stronger in the Force too, you know that. And if there?s a chance that I can connect with him and maybe get some closure?Tyr I?ve gotta take it. I have to. You don?t know what this means to me.?

?Shandri,? Tyr said. ?it?I?I don?t want to say I doubt you capabilities, but don?t you think this is all a little convenient? I mean, Milton?s already here, showing us ghosts, and here comes another one but you think just because you?re a Jedi and you want it to be real that maybe it is? Shandri that?s insane.? The moment the words were out of his mouth he regretted them. She looked back at him, and her face darkened. He could tell he?d hurt her, but at the same time he hoped that maybe she would at least appreciate his honesty. ?Listen,? he continued, ?I didn?t mean to say that. I?m not trying to belittle you but you?ve got to see where I?m coming from. I think Milton is manipulating you, Shandri, and I know if I tell the others that it?s what they?re going to think too.?

?Tyr, no you can?t.?

Tyr raised an eyebrow, ?I damn well am.?

?No, you can?t tell anybody else about this,? Shandri pleaded. ?Not until I know. That?s why I didn?t tell anybody. I know it could be Milton, I?m not stupid. But if there?s a chance it?s not... If there?s a chance I have to take it. My mother and father both died the same day. It was?maybe the most traumatic, defining moment of my life. One shot, one jettisoned out the airlock. I?this means so much to me.?

Sweat had already started collecting on the back of Tyr?s neck and on his palms. The words defining moment of my life lit up in his mind like a beacon, and suddenly he recalled what Milton had told him outside. That maybe the Four were not just chosen at random. Maybe they were chosen because they were connected, linked by some singular event of amazing importance in a lives of each of them. Maybe, Tyr realized, just maybe he had stumbled across that moment. And if he did, and if he recognized it and identified it what then? What would that change? Would it change anything? Would it save them?

His face softened, and again he squeezed her hand and she squeezed back. ?Shhh,? Tyr said gently. ?Shhhhhhh.? And he reached over and wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her tight. Shandri grabbed him up and hugged him and laid her head down on his chest. He?d never seen her so vulnerable, not even in bed. ?Shandri,? he said quietly, ?I understand how important this is to you. And I?m not going to argue about it with you but I just need to know one thing. The day your parents died?? he paused, trying to phrase the question carefully, ?were you running from someone? From two Marauder corvettes, maybe. Into an asteroid field??

He could feel her heart quicken as her chest beat against his, and suddenly she sat back up and was looking him in the eyes. All of the tenderness was gone. It was replaced with caution and suspicion. ?What?? She asked.

?Because I?? Tyr said slowly. He knew he would have to pace himself, and tread softly. ?I was the helmsman, on a Marauder Corvette, that chased a black freighter into an asteroid field ten years ago. Our sister ship was destroyed in the chase. We were crippled, lost a wing. I had to fly us out limping while we were getting pummeled by rocks. If any of this sounds familiar, please, stop me.?

Shandri stared at him blankly, her mouth half opened.

?Milton told me,? Tyr continued, ?That we were all connected?all four of us?by one event that defined our lives. Then he told me that my suspicions were right, about this ship. You see, Shandri, I?ve been noticing quirks?smuggler quirks, about this ship ever since I got on board. And there?s only one smuggler freighter of this model that I?ve seen painted black. I guess you were still young, sixteen or so, so I wouldn?t expect you to remember everything. But it sounds like?well it sounds like if this was the same??

?I was flying.? She whispered the words, and her mouth formed them very slowly. And Tyr could tell, looking into her eyes, that she was no longer sitting in the room with him. She was sitting in the room ten years ago, and reliving everything as it happened then. ?Rent shot my mom, and Dad decided that we?d go through with the deal. We were going to back out, you see? But then Rent killed my mom, and so we decided to go through with it. Because Chrysalis could save her. It could bring her back. I?they put me up front. I was flying the ship when we made the transfer and boarded the CSA transport. We took the goods, and then two Marauders came into the system. I dove into the asteroid field, and?I tried to talk to my dad and Eric?but there was?was a problem with our comm switch. They either couldn?t hear me, or couldn?t talk back. I didn?t get a response. So I just flew. I dove in, lasers everywhere rocks everywhere and I just held my breath and closed my eyes and flew. And we made it?killed one of ?em, the other pulled back. But somewhere in there?I must have hit a button. Because my dad?? she closed her eyes and the words hung there. She could never finish that sentence.

Tyr realized that his hand was almost purple from the grip she had on him, but rather than pull away he continued to squeeze back. And he took his other arm, and hugged her again.

?I?ll be damned,? he muttered. ?I?ll be fracking damned.?

***

Jake clung to the top of the Midnight Zephyr?s landing ramp and leaned his head out into the cool Maderan air. A thick blanket of clouds stretched out as far as he could see, and cool drafts of wind shot down almost continually from the north. In the distance, the city of Rook and the small hump to its north called the Hueval were shrouded in a cloak of mist, making them nothing more than distant and mysterious landmarks. Weston stepped up behind him and stuck his head down around Jake?s and looked out across the Flats.

?How?s it look?? Weston asked. He had put his gun and his little cleaning kit away now, and the pistol hung by his side, still glinting despite the dull light.

Jake dropped his arm and walked down the ramp. He sucked in a long draught of cool air and blew it out of his nose, then brought up both arms and wrapped them around his chest. ?Cold,? he said. ?And from the looks of those clouds, there?s a snowstorm coming. Some flurries at least, maybe more.?

?Gee Jake, you should have been a weatherman. Think it was Milton?? Weston asked.

Jake shrugged, ?Probably.?

?Well, could be worse. I mean what?s the worst thing that could happen with a little snow??

?You ever heard of The Shining??

Weston shook his head.

Jake smirked. ?Nevermind. It doesn?t look like it?ll be anything destructive but it should at least hold us in place. If we try to attack during a flurry we?ll be going in over our heads. Poor visibility will negate our range advantage, and we?ll stand out like sore thumbs against the white snowbanks.?

?So what, do you want to wait for it to thaw??

Jake shrugged, ?Yesterday it felt like it was forty degrees centigrade. Today I?d guess it?s hovering around zero. I really don?t think we have to worry too much about logical weather patterns.?

Weston nodded and ducked his head back inside the Zephyr. He immediately felt warmer, and rubbed his hands together vigorously. One thing he didn?t have that he suddenly wished he did was a heavy jacket. After a few moments, Jake came in, pressed a button on the hatchway, and the ship sealed up behind him. He was cold too, and shivering. He blew warm breath into his hands before sitting back down in Aurren Khel?s big chair.

Weston leaned weakly against the wall and looked towards the door to the hall?the door that led to the master bedroom. ?So do you think we should interrupt them? Maybe tell them what?s going on outside? Tyr?ll be pretty pissed if we miss a window.?

Jake glanced towards the hall and then sighed. He stood up slowly and looked down at the chair he was sitting in, then looked over to the refresher station doorway. The whole ship looked so old. He breathed in and then looked at Weston, who was giving him a very odd look.

?Uh,? Weston grunted, ?What?s up with you??

Jake bit down on his lower lip and stared at the chair, ?I got to thinking. Before we get Tyr and Shandri, there?s something I?ve been meaning to ask you about.?

Weston hesitated and rested his hands on his knees. ?Oh lord Jake don?t scare me like that, what is it??

?Well, I know you?re not going to want to talk about it but we need to, and I?m going to bring it up now?s the best time??

?For frack?s sake Jake what is it??

?You didn?t mention what Erin told you about being the Janus, during the meeting. You didn?t tell the others about?you know?what she said you had to tell them.?

Weston froze, and he gave Jake a look that said quite simply: Oh shit, not this. Then he pushed himself off of the wall, staggered into the center of the room, and collapsed in a chair beside Jake.

Jake smiled, in spite of himself, and patted Weston?s shoulder, ?Told you.?

?Next time,? Weston sighed, ?I?ll let you beat around the bush. I?ll let you beat all around the fucking bush as much as you want.?

Jake sat back down and looked at his friend. ?Come on Weston, when you told me in Crescent you knew you?d have to tell the story again. And in some respects, I was the practice audience. Now you heard what Tyr said, about the Chrysalis and Bonadan. He was piloting one of those Marauder Corvettes. You three are connected by this event. It?s more than just some random thing, it ties all three of you together. That?s got to mean something. Maybe it means enough to get some insight into this great plan we?re pawns in. Shandri?s got to find out. Tyr?s got to find out. And you?ve got to tell them.?

?Jake, I don?t want your help. Ok? I know what I?ve got to do,? Weston said it, but even as he did he knew that Jake did need to help him. If he didn?t, Weston was almost certain that he?d never tell Shandri or Tyr a word. It was too easy to stay silent. It was too easy to put the memories on a shelf, or in a box, and forget they ever happened. It was too easy to do nothing. ?I know what I?ve got to do,? he repeated, ?And I?ll do it when I?m ready.?

Jake nodded, ?I know. But we might not have that long. And if you don?t tell her? And she finds out some other way? What do you think that?ll mean? I think it?ll mean she?s going to be furious.?

?You think that?s what happened in Shandri?s dream?? Weston asked. ?You think she attacks me and threatens to kill me with a lightsaber because I didn?t tell her what I did? Well damn, maybe so. Or maybe?hell, probably?she?s doing that because I did tell her. Ever think of that??

Jake held up his hand, ?No, Weston that?s stupid. Erin told you as bluntly as she could that it?s important to tell Shandri and Tyr the truth. And even if she didn?t, I for one agree with the principle. They need to hear it from you, because if they hear it from Milton or anybody else it won?t be in the light you want it to be.?

?Maybe,? Weston grumbled.

Jake shook his head, ?There isn?t any ?maybe? about it. I?m telling you the way it is and you?re denying it. Now stop. Stop it, suck it up, and go in there and sit down with them and tell them the truth. Because if we put this off for much longer then there?ll be Hell to pay. I know it. Milton is building up for something. He?s stalling us for some reason, and whatever it is it isn?t good. We don?t want to be here when the storm hits.?

Weston had heard enough. He stood up and walked over to the hatchway and pressed a button, and the landing ramp extended downwards. A fresh draft of cool air blew in and sent shivers across both men. Jake leaned forward in his chair, ?Weston, what the Hell are you doing??

?You?re right, Jake,? Weston said. He had his back to Jake and was staring down the ramp at the windswept grass. ?You?re right. I?ve got to tell them the story. And I will. I?ll do it tonight, before we attack.?

?Weston, didn?t you hear me? If the snow hits??

?We?re going to have to move the Zephyr before the storm, then. That way we?ll be at the Hueval when the snow comes. By morning the Zephyr?ll be covered in snow, so it won?t stand out against the hill like it would otherwise. If it snows, we hold up in the ship until tomorrow night. If it doesn?t, then we attack as planned. Either way, we can still make our first move today. You?re making a mountain out of a molehill.?

Jake closed his eyes and squeezed them with his index finger and thumb, running over Weston?s suggestion in his head. ?Uh?wow,? he said. ?You?re right. But that doesn?t change the fact that you have to tell them.?

?I?ll tell them,? Weston said. ?I just need a few minutes.?

He didn?t try to explain himself any more then that. Without another word, he walked down the ramp and out onto the Flats. Jake rubbed his temples and frowned, then leaned back in Aurren?s plush leather chair.

?Great.?

***

Shandri told Tyr the whole story. She told him all about her parents, all about their business, and even all about the last job they?d ever do. She told him all about Eric Taarn, and Captain Rent, and even Gugglo. Gugglo was the hardest, and she stopped several times through the story to collect herself. Every time Tyr was there for her, and he held her when she needed to be held, and he gave her space when she needed to have space. Her story was not as glamourous or exciting as Weston?s version. It was, of course, told through the eyes of a terrified and scarred sixteen year old. The details were foggier, and the battles were more mundane, but it was the same story, surely. Except, of course, for the end.

?And so that?s what happened. I left Eric on Fondor with the Chrysalis, and I took the Zephyr and went on my way. I?I turned this room into a place to remember them, because I swore I?d never let myself forget. But then, you know, a couple years later I was discovered by the Jedi. And of course they found this ship, and this room.?

Tyr nodded. ?I can?t imagine the Jedi liked this very much.?

?They thought it was dangerous,? Shandri admitted. ?They took the Zephyr away from me. I mean, it was all voluntary of course but I understood fairly well that while I was part of the Order I couldn?t make regular stops to visit. I had to grow apart. I had to find my own way. And it took?it took time. Years, even. But I think I did it. Then I went to Dantooine, and found the Alliance?and you. And I didn?t think about them anymore.?

?Until you went back,? Tyr finished. ?Shandri?I?m sorry. I?m so sorry any of that happened to you.?

Shandri shrugged, ?Don?t be. If it hadn?t, I?d never have gotten to be a Jedi. And if I?d never been a Jedi, I?d have never gone to Dantooine. Everything would have changed. And I like where I am now.?

Tyr glanced around the dim bedroom and smirked, ?You like being on a desolate rock in the middle of an Alien galaxy, surrounded by natives who want to kill you and a demigod that wants to use you to destroy the universe??

Shandri shrugged, and looked deeply into his eyes. ?For right now? Yeah.?

Then she hugged Tyr again, and kissed him, and the two of them hung together for a time. Only after several minutes had passed did they finally stand up from the bed. ?Well, Shandri,? Tyr said. ?I?m glad we had this talk.?

?Me too,? Shandri said quietly. ?If I see them again, Tyr?if I see them, I?ll tell you.?

?I know,? Tyr said. ?But Shandri, I don?t want you to get your hopes up. I still think this is Milton. And I still think you have to be careful. If they say anything suspicious, anything at all?don?t trust them.?

Shandri nodded, and although Tyr could tell it hurt her, he could also tell that she knew he was right. ?Ok,? she said. ?Are you leaving??

Tyr walked over to the door and put his hand on the lock release. ?Yeah. I think I?m going to go check on Weston and Jake. It was getting cold outside, and Jake said if there?s a snowstorm we might have to put off the attack for a day. I?m sure that?d just make Weston?s day but I don?t want to risk it if we can help it. Are you coming??

Shandri hesitated, ?I?well if you don?t mind I?d like to stay in hear a little longer. Maybe try just a tiny bit more. But if you or anybody else needs me for anything, don?t hesitate to get me. Okay??

?Gotcha,? Tyr said. He smiled at her, and then pressed the latch release. Moments later he was gone, and the door sealed shut behind him.

***

As the afternoon wore on, the chill wind that blew across the Flats picked up and seemed to grow colder. The grass trembled and broke beneath the gale, and the distant mist that had surrounded the Hueval blew off. From where he stood, leaning against the Midnight Zephyr, Weston could see a band of maybe four men camped out on the Hueval?s northern ridge. They probably could see him, or at least the ship?but then again, Milton obviously knew they were there anyway.

Weston held up a hand to wave at the distant men. He was too far away to make out if they were waving back, but he liked to imagine they were. Then he dropped his hand to his side and bit down gently on his lip. There were no sounds above the low rumbling of the wind. Suddenly, standing there alone beside the ship, he pined for Darth Bojangles to trot up beside him and offer him a head to scratch. He frowned, wishing like anything he could go back in time and do things differently. But of course, he knew that was impossible.

Overhead, a flock of big, black alien birds flew from the south. They were probably carrion eaters taking a trip to Kader, though Weston wasn?t particularly sure where they?d come from. He thought about reaching for his pistol and taking a few practice shots. Maybe he would have, if he?d thought more about the carrion they were going to go eat, but in the end, he shrugged his shoulders and let them pass. He didn?t care anymore, not really. He didn?t care about killing things. He didn?t even care about the sport of it. He just wanted all the tension and the bad nerves to end. He was ready for a break. After going non-stop for so many months, always running always on the lookout for Milton or Galians or big, lobster-clawed spiders?after making so many new friends only to lose them in such short order?yeah, he was ready for a break.

?I guess one way or another, a break?s what I?m gonna get,? he said. He stared out across the landscape again and tried to take it all in. He tried to take in the colors, and the sights. Tried to remember. He glanced at his wrist and realized he still didn?t have a chrono. He?d need one of those, he thought. But, taking a page out of the past few months, he decided to just look at the sky. And he stared, and decided that sunset would be in about two hours. Maybe sooner. Time was moving quickly, much more quickly than it felt like it should be. But Milton couldn?t be behind both, could he? He wouldn?t be slowing them down with a snowstorm with one hand, and then rushing them along with the other?would he? Maybe. Or maybe none of it was Milton. Maybe they?d just forgotten about the reality of the world they lived in?a world where nature and time are not always at the whim of some deity, and sometimes a day just goes by quickly because you dread what tomorrow brings. Maybe, Weston thought, and the more he thought about it the more certain he was that this was the case.

Quietly, and with great care, Weston removed his pistol from its holster and looked at it. It sparkled like new, just like he wanted, but for some reason looking at it didn?t bring him any of the fulfillment or solace it used to. Try as he might to reconnect with that part of his life, he couldn?t. After Menina, after Tom Collins?looking at the pistol just seemed hollow. It couldn?t replace them. It couldn?t replace the things he?d lost. When he told the story, he mused, when Shandri and Tyr suddenly learned the truth about who he was and what he?d done, would it change anything? Would it change everything? It would have to, he imagined. How could they fight beside a man who?d killed one of the Four?s parents? How could they fight beside a man who didn?t have the strength to own up to it? Weston didn?t know, and he didn?t want to know. He didn?t want to have to sit down and go through the story again. He didn?t want to go through the emotions and the turmoil. He just wanted to fight and be done with it. He just wanted to go to Rook, kill or be killed, and then come what may.

?Leston?? he heard a voice. It was familiar, and at the same time alien. It didn?t belong anywhere?at least not outside of his head. And so when he heard it spoken, Weston jumped just a little. ?Leston, it?s me.? The little girl said.

And there she was. Menina was standing alone, not decaying or rotting but whole. Just like she?d been when they met her. Fierce. Strong. Weston smiled sadly at her. Even though he knew it was Milton, he wanted so badly to hug her. ?Go away,? he said.

?But don?t you love me, Leston?? Menina asked. She stuck out her lip and winked. ?I love you. Big big. They don?t understand, Leston. They don?t understand you. But I do. They want you to forget me. We can?t let that happen. Come out here, and hold me, and we?ll??

Weston reached down to his waist, pulled out his pistol, and shot the little girl between the eyes. The laser blast passed through her head like she was a whiff of smoke, and when it did she was gone. ?Fuck off,? he muttered. Weston holstered his gun.

He left his hand there, resting on the butt of his pistol in case Milton decided to come back, but the man with no shadow never did. He was gone, or if he wasn?t gone, he chose not to be seen. After several more minutes, Weston finally relaxed and leaned against the ship again. Then he reached up to his mouth and scratched at his front teeth, scraping out a bit of granola. He made a sour expression and spit it onto the ground, then mashed it into the dirt with the heel of his boot.

Milton wouldn?t give up. Weston knew it. Tom Milton would harass and harass until they attacked. It was his way. And the longer Weston put off his story the more harassing there?d be. He was the keystone, like it or not. And if he didn?t man up to the sins of his past... Well, he had a real feeling that maybe the Four wouldn?t survive their encounter after all. So he would do the hardest thing he?d ever had to do again, and tell the story again: this time not to an audience, but to its own characters. He would do it tonight, during one last meeting of the Four, before they headed into battle.

Heart hardened and jaw set, Weston Onasi turned around and walked back up the ramp and onto the Zephyr. The hatch slid closed behind him, and the mag-locks hissed tight.

[Calavan]

Zero Hour

"In this uncertain space between birth and death ? we need hope as surely as we need food and water, love and friendship. The trick, however, is to remember that hope is a perilous thing, that it's not a steel and concrete bridge across the void between this moment and a brighter future. Hope is no stronger than tremulous beads of dew strung on a filament of spider web, and it alone can't long support the terrible weight of an anguished mind and a tortured heart."

~T.G.S.R.



Tom Milton leaned on his haunches over a map of the city. Six men were circled around him, including Lexington Quigley. Lex was still dressed in his pin-striped suit and his hair was still slicked back against his head. Despite the cold, he was sweating, and it gave his face a slimy sheen. ?They?re on their way,? Milton continued, ?and should be at the Hueval sometime after sunset. Expect them to be stealthy, but not too stealthy. It?s not like it matters?we know they?re coming, after all. They just don?t want us to know quite when.? He tapped his finger against the map and the Hueval lit up like an electric light. The little lump on the large scroll of paper was then seared with an image of the Zephyr. ?But you, my little worker bees?you will be waiting. Am I right??

Lex Quigley looked around at his men, and they nodded uneasily.

?Now you boys are going to be my vanguard. You?re the ones that I?m counting on to do my will. I need to know I can count on you?all six of you?because this is a one shot deal. No repeats, no gimmes. Everybody understand??

The men nodded, but kept their heads aimed at the floor. Only Lex dared meet the Pale King?s eyes. ?These are good men,? he said. ?I grew up with a lot of ?em. They?we?ll do whatever you need us to do.?

A twinkle passed over Milton?s always-grinning face and he rubbed his hands together. ?That?s just the kind of can-do spirit that makes you my number one, Lex,? he said. ?Now just remember: You boys aren?t being sent to go kill anybody. You might not even be necessary?all you are...? he paused. ?Well, just think of yourselves as an insurance policy. I?ll call you team Geico.? He paused and waited for a response. When no one laughed he frowned and shrugged. ?Trust me, that was really funny,? he said. ?But moving on. After you circle around the Hueval, you?ll make camp about a quarter of a mile behind the hill. The interlopers will land at its base, so that they get maximum cover from the city. All you have to do?and I mean all you have to do?is wait until they start getting out and moving around. Then fall in close behind them, and watch the fireworks.?

Lex nodded, and speaking for the group said, ?So what then? I mean if all you need is a spy I?m sure you?ve got?better ways.?

Milton nodded, ?Oh, oh yes you?re right. But you see Lex, I?m going to be a little busy at the time, and so I?ll need another set of hands. There will be fireworks, and you?ll know ?em when you see ?em, trust me. Lots of screaming, a few glows. Maybe a laser shot or two. And when all that?s over, there?s going to be a very lonely and frightened chicklet without any place to go.? Milton raised an eyebrow and smiled mischeviously at Lex, ?Before you get any bright ideas padre, she?s mine. You fellows get to move in and keep her three amigos occupied.?

There was a low murmur among the six and one of them timidly raised a hand and looked at Lex, but not at Milton, ?Hey, uh?I know we?re not supposed to kill anybody but how can we fight them when we don?t have any weapons. We?ve got old flintlocks and a few horses. You say they?ve got an armored flying machine.?

Lex opened his mouth to reply but Milton cut him off. ?Oh I wouldn?t worry about that son,? he said gaily. ?They say that God created the Heaven and Earth in six days and on the seventh he kicked back his boots and took a load off. Me? I work all week.? Without taking his eyes off of the group, Milton then reached behind his back and pulled out a large red sack. ?Merry Christmas!? he chirped.

The men shrank back a little at this, and clustered mostly around Lex, who himself was looking at Milton skeptically. ?What?s all this?? he asked.

Tom Milton reached gingerly into the sack and pulled out a large box for each of the men. Each box was wrapped in twinkling red foil paper and covered with little prints of bicycles and Christmas trees. He handed Lex a present and gestured eagerly. ?Go ahead,? he said, ?Open it.?

As he passed the gift to his lieutenant, Milton?s eyes grew wide and giddy, like a four year old giving his father a present. Hesitantly, Lex and the five other men did as they were told and opened their presents. One reached into his box and wrapped his fingers around what he first thought to be a wolverine, but instead he drew a large, wooly jacket out complete with zippers and a tag that read IZOD. The man wrinkled up his nose and Milton gingerly tapped his shoulder, ?That?s not all, little fellow. Keep digging.? So the man reached back into the box and found two more objects. These were not warm or furry but cold and hard. The first was a small box with a dial at the top, two buttons, and a large grate across the front.

?That,? Milton said proudly, ?is called a Walkie-Talkie. You just hold down the little black button, and you can speak across great distances. Neat huh??

There was a murmur of approval amongst the men and they turned on their new toys and began to experiment. Lexington Quigley, however, was still curious about the other gift, and so he wrapped his fingers around the last object in his box and drew it out. Almost immediately he knew what it was. It was cool, smooth and deadly. It had a nice weight to it, and although it wasn?t made of a material he recognized, the general shape was the same. The shapes never really changed. He weighed the gun in his arms and grinned widely, and saw Milton grinning back at him.

?I told you Uncle Tom would take care of ya?,? Milton cooed.

?I?ll say,? Lex said. ?But this ain?t Galian.?

?It?s better. No messy plasma no silly looking lasers?just nice, hot lead. That, and if you do shoot somebody?which you will not do?at least this way it?s not the end of the world, so to speak. The little girl is called a sub-machine gun. Each weapon only has thirty-two shots so keep track. You can shoot ?em all before you can count to five.?

The six men stared at their gifts and marveled. Lex looked at Milton and held up his gun. ?So I get that we can?t kill?but we can shoot these guys??

All the innocence and fun washed off of Milton?s face in an instant. His eyes grew cold and his mouth hard. ?No,? Milton said flatly. ?Scare them. Round them up. Keep them contained and busy but do not shoot them.?

?But what if we, uh, you know?what if my finger slips?? one of the men asked. He winked at a buddy of his and nudged him in the ribs. Milton was on him in a flash. He moved faster than any of the six could believe, and before the man had a chance to scream Milton had him by the throat against the wall.

?Believe me,? Milton hissed, ?you better pray it doesn?t.? No one except for that one man could see Milton?s face during the exchange, but later he would tell his friends that the thing pinning him to the wall wasn?t a man at all. It was something else. Something with teeth and claws. Milton dropped him to the floor and quite calmly walked back to where he?d been before. The grimace vanished as quickly as it appeared and was replaced with a big, optimistic grin.

?Now,? Milton said cheerfully. ?Any more questions??

***

The Zephyr set down just after nightfall. The snow clouds had held their fill, and as of yet there?d been no storm. Still, as the Midnight Zephyr traveled its last leagues across the cold, gray Flats, Weston stared out of the forward viewport with something similar to nostalgia. His trip, as much as he?d hated it (and as much as it had probably hated him), was finally nearing its end. They had gone through forests, over mountains, through marshes, and across wide open plains?all to get here. The Hueval. And just a hundred yards on the other side of it?

Rook

As they landed, he had seen the flickering firelights and a few citizens scurrying around the dim, torchlit streets, but not many. Milton probably kept most of the people inside at night. I?d stay inside at night, if I knew that crazy son of a bitch was out wandering, Weston mused.

The Hueval itself was big, bigger than Weston had imagined it. It was almost like a little mountain. It stretched up around fifty feet in the air and was around one hundred yards in diameter. As they approached and saw it with their own eyes, everyone agreed that it was the perfect place to make their stand. If they held the Hueval, they could take out the entire city if they had to. At best the townsfolk had a few flintlock pistols. At worst they were looking at shovels and rakes. Even with just one pistol, Weston had a pretty good feeling at he could take out Farmer John?s whole extended family by himself if he had to.

Months of trekking and hiking and moving through the wilderness with nothing but the clothes on his back, Jake, and the people he met along the way were over. They?d reached the end of the line, and if the storm held then in just under an hour he and the others would be engaged in one of the most important and difficult conflicts of their lives. Maybe it was the last conflict. And he would fight. He?d fight because he had to?but not because he wanted to. He didn?t care anymore. He stopped caring when he put Menina in the ground. Anything he?d done since was just going through the motions.

?Weston??

He jumped a little. He?d been sitting alone in the front of the Zephyr for several minutes now. After it?d landed, Jake and Tyr had gone back to the cargo hold to start looking at weapons. Shandri, as far as anyone knew, was still in her room. The fact that she?d never left after Tyr had talked to her made Jake and Weston both a little uneasy, but Tyr assured them that she was all right. In fact, he was more defensive of her after that talk than he?d ever been.

?Yeah?? Weston asked groggily. He looked over his shoulder and saw Shandri standing in the threshold. She had apparently taken a shower and changed clothes. She smelled strongly of some exotic flower that Weston couldn?t, or didn?t care to, place.

?Why?d you do it??

Suddenly the grogginess left him, and Weston was very, very awake. ?Do?do what?? he asked.

?You killed my parents. You killed both of them and let me think that I did it. And?? her voice hesitated, ?and now I?m going to kill you.? He didn?t have a chance to move. With one swift motion she dipped her hand to her waist, grabbed her lightsaber, and sent the searing hot blade cascading through his spinal cord and up through the top of his skull.



?Weston?? Shandri repeated.

Weston opened his eyes and blinked several times. His head was still in one piece. He hadn?t been bisected (at least not yet). ?Yeah?? Weston asked groggily. A tickle of uneasy fear crept into the back of his mind. Had that been a dream? If so, it?d been one vivid dream. In fact?yes, in fact he could still smell that smell. The exotic flower smell?kind of like an orchid.

?The ship?s empty,? Shandri said. ?Do you know where everybody went??

Weston hesitated and looked over his shoulder at the young Jedi. He expected her eyes to be dark and distant, maybe filled with anger or probing him. He expected her to be angry or mournful or something?but she was none of those things. She looked normal. She looked fine. ?Uh?? he stammered, ?Uh yeah. I think they went back to the cargo hold to try and find those guns you mentioned.?

?Oh,? Shandri said. ?Hah, Tyr should have known better than to go back there without me. He?ll never find ?em. And even if he does, there?s a lock on the hatch. He can?t open it.?

?Silly Tyr,? Weston agreed. ?He?s real gung-ho about all this. Ready and rear?n for a fight.?

?I know,? she agreed. ?I can?t believe it?s really about to happen. You know you talk about something like this for so long that eventually it just becomes a story?but we?re gonna do it. We?re really about to do it.?

?Yeah,? Weston said. His voice wasn?t quite sullen, but it wasn?t as eager or emotionally charged as Shandri?s either. ?Yeah, one way or another. I just hope Erin doesn?t fuck us over?because we?re putting a lot of stock in her. Too much.?

"But don?t you think we should?? she asked. ?Everything we?ve done has been because of Erin. Everything. I mean?Milton?s right here. To delay any longer just seems like it?s the coward?s way out.?

?That?s one theory,? Weston muttered. He kicked his feet up onto the console and leaned backwards, looking at Shandri upside down. ?But you know my opinion. I don?t know why everybody?s so pepped up and ready to trust Erin. It?s not like she?s ever done anything for us.?

Shandri didn?t respond for some time, trying to think of something to say. Weston was almost ready to end the conversation there when quietly she said, ?That?s not true. She brought us together.?

Weston picked his head up so that he was no longer looking at her. Instead he was looking out of the front of the Zephyr into the black night, and he could just make out the grassy Hueval. ?We brought ourselves together. I swear, you look at every thing we did and we did it on our own. We dissected the dreams. We made hiked across the planet. We gave up our lives. We did all of that, and for what? Nightmares, suffering, and a hard bunk. You and Tyr and Jake put her up on a pedestal, but mark my words?Erin?s no better than Milton. She?s just different, and we think she?s great because she?s not crazy. So what? She?s still ruling over us from some high and mighty vantage point. She?s still telling us what to do, governing us without our consent. What does that make her but a Tyrant.?

?She would help us more if she could,? Shandri said. ?She?s trapped. I saw her. She?s trapped in a sphere around Kel Gauthra?s neck.?

?Or so she says,? Weston shrugged. ?But what do I know? All I know is that I prefer a gun at my waist to Erin?s help every day of the week. She?s fickle, and if you haven?t noticed, she?s only there when she needs us.?

For a moment Shandri didn?t speak, and when she did her voice was different somehow. It was confident, but at the same time small and afraid, like she?d just stumbled across another of many revelations that she didn?t want to make. She paused and frowned. ?You blame her for Menina,? she said.

Weston turned a shade paler. ?That?s??

But Shandri didn?t let him talk. She kept going. ?But that?s not all. It goes beyond blame. You hate her for it. And you fear her. You fear her because of what she could do?because of what her existence might mean. You fear her?and you?? her voice paused. ?Weston,? she said softly, ?are you afraid of me??

The question caught him a little off guard, but at the same time he knew exactly how she?d come across it. The shock of her intuitive guess that he blamed Erin for Menina?s death was quickly replaced by a soft, simmering anger. He narrowed his eyes, spun around in the chair, and looked at her. ?What did I tell you about going in my head?? he growled.

?Weston,? she said quietly, and all of the normalcy in her face melted away into an expression of sadness. ?Weston I?m not going to hurt you. I promise.?

?Shandri, I?m not afraid of you, but if you don?t get out of my head??

?But you are,? She said. And suddenly he could see what he already knew. She wasn?t looking at him. She was looking through him. She was looking past his eyes and into his soul?and she was probing and feeling him. ?I could?I could tell. I can tell. I felt it as soon as I opened my mouth. It?s awful?.your subconscious is terrified.?

Suddenly, Weston did feel a little nervous. ?Get. Out.? He said the words and stared her in the eyes, and as he spoke he brought his hand down to rest on the butt of his pistol.

?I?I?m not in your head,? she said quickly, and her eyes immediately flashed back and met his. She was looking at him again. ?I?m sorry, I wasn?t going in your head. It?s just when you started talking I felt?I felt assaulted by anxiety. And I wanted to understand it better so I looked and?and then I felt the fear. It was like you thought I was going to stick a lightsaber through your back.?

?Huh,? Weston said, ?imagine that.?

?Weston, whatever Erin showed me?it was a dream. It was a stupid dream, and I?m not going to let it happen. I don?t think it?s fair to blame her for what happened to the native girl, but you were right about one thing. We brought ourselves together. We have a connection. All four of us have a connection, and it goes stronger than Erin, and these dreams.?

?No Shandri,? Weston said. ?There, you are absolutely wrong. We might have brought ourselves together, but only because we were having those dreams. Those are our only connection. They?re the only reason you talk to me. They?re the only reason any of us are here. Hell if it weren?t for the dreams I?d be?well probably fishing or playing pazzak or something.? Even as he said the words, he knew they weren?t true. He probably knew so with more certainty than Shandri, who only had the faintest sensation that he might be tied to the event she and Tyr had pinpointed. But the truth didn?t matter to him. He would tell her his story. He would do that much?but he wasn?t going to get close to her before he did. He?d keep her at bay, and try to forget the girl who he?d lived with on the Zephyr for those weeks between Bonadan and their parting at Fondor. The girl who trusted him, and maybe even allowed herself to grow attached to him. He wouldn?t reconnect with her.

That was too masochistic, even for Weston Onasi.

Shandri looked at the back of Weston?s head and opened her mouth to protest, but she couldn?t find the words. She wanted to tell him how wrong he was, and she wanted to tell him about Tyr and her, and their connection, and the theory that maybe all four of them were connected by this one event. But again, she couldn?t bring herself to do it. The fear, and mistrust, and everything else she was feeling from him hurt her too badly.

?That?s one theory,? she said at last. And without saying anything else, she turned and left him. The door slid shut behind her, and Weston Onasi was once again alone.

***

The door slid shut behind her and Shandri was alone in the corridor. She frowned, and the sadness that had been so prevalent around her recently came creeping back like a slow moving vapor. That was it, then. She?d been nervous herself, about telling people what Erin had shown her. And she?d been nervous because she didn?t want that kind of response. Weston hated her now, and she hadn?t even done anything. If he could only know what it was like to feel someone grow scared when she entered a room... She caught a glimpse of his mind?s reaction, and it was literally like he thought she was going to murder him. She just couldn?t understand it. She couldn?t understand why he thought so certainly that she was going to go through with the dream.

?He?s guilty.?

Shandri froze. She looked immediately over her shoulder, but she was staring at the door. She looked forwards and around her, but the corridor was too narrow for anyone to be hiding anywhere. She was as alone as one could be, and there was absolutely nowhere for that voice to be coming from. Very carefully, she reached out with all her strength to try and touch the thing through the Force?but again, she had no success.

?Hello?? she asked timidly. And she took one, then another step towards the end of the hallway. She knew the voice?she?d have known it anywhere. It was the voice of her father. The voice she?d been trying to hear for hours on end, and had as of yet been unsuccessful. ?Dad??

She took another step forward, and then another, and as she walked she thought she could feel a gentle warmth around her. It wasn?t threatening. In fact, quite the opposite, it was like a warm and familiar blanket. It comforted her, consoled her, and she wasn?t afraid. But even so, she knew that she had made a promise to Tyr, and so she was guarded. She continued down the hall to its end, and the door hissed up. The Family Room was empty, or at least it was at first glance. However, moments after entering, something caught her eye. It was something white and pale laying on the floor?two feet, sticking out from behind her father?s big leather chair. Almost immediately, Shandri felt the warmth and the comfortable presence surrounding her grow cold and distant. Without it, she was suddenly very scared.

Shandri stood there for some time and just stared at the feet. She felt like a sixteen year old girl again, alone after Fondor. Alone with no one to keep her company but the ghosts of her childhood. How she survived those years, before the Jedi found her, she would never know. She tried her best not to remember them. But some nights when she couldn?t sleep, when she was all alone in the silence of her own thoughts, she would remember. And what she remembered were nightmares.

Shandri didn?t move. She didn?t want to move, because she knew that if she did, she?d have to find out one way or another what it was on the other side of that chair. And she didn?t have to look to know. She took one deep breath, then another, and very slowly she crept forward towards the chair. After moving close, she hesitated and then leaned over the chair to get a good look. What she saw scared her but didn?t surprise her.

The dead body of Kaida Khel was laying there, sprawled out on the floor just like it had been all those years ago. And just like all those years ago, Shandri felt first terror, then sadness, and then a horrible sense of rejection. It was as if in dying, Kaida had somehow liberated herself from Shandri?s presence. The thought was completely illogical and nonsensical, but she still felt it.

Shandri stared at her mother?s body, waiting for it to move. Waiting for it to open its eyes and start goading her or talking to her or something, but it didn?t. It just laid there. ?Mom?? Shandri said quietly. ?Mom??

?It?s not her,? a voice cut her off. It was a warm voice, but it was a sad voice too. And the sound of it brought tears to Shandri?s eyes. And before she even turned, she started to shake, like a little girl who?d just learned some amazing, wondrous secret. And at the same moment, as the sudden rush of hot joy swept over her, so too did the feeling of comfort that had followed her down the hallway. Suddenly and again it wrapped around her like a warm and familiar blanket.

Slowly, Shandri turned to look over her shoulder, certain that she?d see nothing like all the times before. But this time was different. Standing behind her was Aurren Khel. And he was Aurren. He wasn?t a ghost. He wasn?t a specter or some beast?he was her father. And he looked just like he had ten years prior, back when he would sit in the chair that Kaida?s cold body was leaning against now. He smiled at her, and he bent down and kissed her forehead, and Shandri felt a rush of hope enter into her like she had not long felt before.

?It?s not her,? her father said repeated quietly, looking down at the body. ?It?s Milton. He?s trying to drive you crazy by showing us to you. And by keeping us apart.?

Shandri?s eyes lit up, and there was wonder and curiosity in them, and the more Aurren spoke, what little suspicion there was gave way to more wonder and more curiosity, until she trusted him completely. ?Dad?daddy?? she said in awe. ?How is this possible??

?I tried to warn you,? Aurren said. ?I tried to warn you when you first got here, but he stopped me. He?s blocking me, Shandri?keeping me back. He?s so strong. He tried to make me look like a monster so you wouldn?t trust me, and now he?s playing with you and the others to undermine us. But you were right, Shandri. You were right. It?s the Force. It is stronger here?just like you.?

Shandri was shaking now, trembling under the buildup of giddiness and excitement. Everything he said she lapped up like it was gospel, not because it was so convincing or because it was so logical, but because it was what she so very badly wanted to hear.

?You did it, Shandri. You really did it,? Aurren whispered. And then he wrapped her up in his arms, and the two hugged each other. And Shandri knew she was feeling bliss.

After the moment passed and the two relaxed, Shandri looked up into her father?s eyes and suddenly all the guilt she?d been burdened with for ten years came bubbling to the surface. She looked at him, and her lip and arms began to tremble, and fear of rejection abruptly replaced the joy she?d just been overcome with. She set her jaw, and her voice was filled with venom, not aimed at Aurren, but at herself. ?I?I am so sorry. I haven?t?I haven?t let myself forget. I haven?t??

Before she could finish, Aurren took her head and buried it into his chest, and Shandri started to cry. ?It?s ok,? he whispered to her. He rubbed his hand gently across the small of her back and pulled her body tight against his own. ?It?s ok Shandri. None of that matters now. I love you, and I?ll always love you.?

?I was just so young,? she cried. ?I was just a little girl, and I had?I didn?t know what I was doing.?

?No,? Aurren said quietly, and cradled her, and rocked her like she was an infant. ?No. But Shandri, that?s why I?m here. I?m here to deliver a message?a message from Erin. It?s very important, and it?s about one of your friends.?

Shandri hesitated and lifted her head. ?What?? she asked quietly, still sniffling but managing to control some of the tears.

?That?that dream you had, honey? The vision? The one with you and Weston and Jake and Tyr? It was a lie. And it wasn?t from Erin at all?it was from Milton.?

Shandri hesitated and looked at her father, and for the first time she felt a small wedge of doubt creep into her moment. She looked at the man, and his warm face, and knew that everything was just as she?d always dreamed it would be. It was perfect?and maybe that was the problem. ?No,? she whispered. ?It wasn?t.?

But Aurren did not let her deny it. He just looked at her, sadly, and nodded. ?It was a misdirection meant to tear the Four apart. And you can already tell that it?s working. It?s like a cancer in your group. But Erin sent me here to tell you the truth. And the truth is, you didn?t kill me Shandri. You didn?t kill anybody.?

?But?but I did?? she said. As she spoke, her voice cracked and the tears started to rise towards the surface again. ?I did. I?Eric told me I did. I hit a button and you went?you fell??

Aurren held her head gently and looked into her eyes. He frowned, and kissed her forehead, and shook his head. ?No honey. You didn?t. Eric killed me. And he killed your mother. He did it out of rage?rage at you, rage at the accident?and he did it out of a misguided sense of justice. But his justice was wrong. It was skewed. And in the end, after he killed me, I think he realized that. But he was too afraid to admit it to anyone but himself. In his mind, far better a sixteen year old girl think that she killed her father and let her mother die than know that he was to blame. You did make a mistake that day?you did, accidentally, shoot the Chadra Fan. But it was an accident, and you repented, and that was your only sin. Everything else was Eric Taarn.? Shandri?s pulse began to beat faster and faster, and her father?s gentle squeeze became a tight embrace. And she embraced him tightly as well, partly out of love, and partly out of terror at what he was saying. ?He betrayed all of us,? Aurren said. Shandri looked up and met his eyes, and she knew without a doubt that whoever he was, what he was saying was true.

?He betrayed all of us, and he?s about to do it again.?

***

Weston rubbed his hands together and then pulled them tight around his chest. Even the cockpit was starting to get cold. Pretty soon it?ll look like one of Erin?s fracking dreams out there, he thought. And he wondered if maybe Milton?s sense of irony was the only reason for the storm at all. Or maybe, he thought again, Milton didn?t have anything to do with it. That would always be a possibility.

On the ship?s console, the chrono turned over. It was 2100.

Weston yawned. Tyr and Jake probably had the guns by now. They were probably ogling over them and getting ready for the fight. And it was coming. Like it or not, Weston could tell that the snow had not come. It probably would as soon as they decided to go forward with their plan?but that was the cynic in him talking. The reality was that they had no reason not to strike tonight. Reality said that it was time.

?And you know what that means Weston,? he muttered to himself. It means you?re time is up. No more procrastinating?time to suck it up and tell them your story. Then let the pieces fall where they may.

Weston liked the sound of that. Just get up, walk out there, say: ?Hey Shandri, I killed your parents. Now let?s go take down that son of a bitch Milton!? and then make good on the promise. If it was that easy, he?d go out and do it right now. But of course, it wasn?t going to be that easy. He?d have to sit down, he?d have to hyperventilate and pull out an umbrella to shield himself from all the tears. Then he?d have to calm everybody down, and keep them calm while he tried to explain himself and justify not dicing him up and feeding him to the Grendels. And then?

Then came the hardest part. The part he couldn?t control. He?d have to sit there and take their reaction, whatever it was, and he?d have to be man enough to accept it. Was he man enough? Was he made tough enough to endure that? A large part of him said no. In fact, it screamed no. It shouted NO from all the rooftops. Of course he wasn?t strong enough; of course he couldn?t do it. He was a fragile, cowardly man who loved himself far more than he could ever love another. Or at least that?s what he kept telling himself.

But then, another part of his mind whispered, ?What about Menina?? What about the love he had shown her. What about the pain he felt when she died. Had that been greed? Or selfishness? Or was that real.

Weston sat there for almost a full minute, letting the two voices in his head battle, but as he questioned and criticized himself, he realized that he was doing the same thing he?d been doing for ten years. Nothing had changed. He was going through the same motions that he?d gone through all those many times before?back in the mountains, back before he?d finally just summoned up the courage to speak.

Weston closed his eyes and pinched them shut, and he tried to clear his mind and just listen. He heard the soft gale of the northern wind blowing against the hull of the Zephyr, below that he heard Shandri talking to someone through the muffled walls, and below that? Below that he heard his own heart beating, one steady beat at a time. After several moments he opened his eyes and breathed deeply. The snow still hadn?t started falling yet. Jake and Tyr would be ready to move soon, and like it or not, Weston wasn?t going to be able to change their minds.

He knew he would have to speak before that. Before they began the attack on Rook, before the mob of pitchfork wielding zealots fell upon them, they would have a meeting. He would tell his story there. And come what may, he would know that at least he was doing what needed to be done. And although he knew he could never really atone for his actions, he was at least addressing them. At least in that way, he would finally be letting two ravaged spirits rest.

Weston glanced out of the main viewport once more at the Hueval, and at the thick clouds that clustered overhead. As he did so, he imagined all the people he?d met and lost to get this far, and all the things he?d seen. And there rose before his inward sight an image of the Flats, of Russell Payne, of Crescent, of the Saeddus Mountains, of the marshes, of Tom Collins, and of a little girl and her dog. He?d been telling Shandri the truth. He no longer cared about Erin. But he cared about them. And if he couldn?t fight for her, perhaps he could fight for the ones that she?d let down.

?Now or never,? he said.

Then Weston stood up from his chair, and went to meet his destiny.

***

Jake and Tyr stared dumbly at the hatch release. The cargo hold was mostly empty, except for a few crates of pinewood bars and some food the Jedi had packed for their trip (although that was now largely gone). Because of that?because of the empty nature of the hold itself?it had been fairly easy for Jake and Tyr to pinpoint where the weapons cache was hidden. The hard part was opening it.

?So,? Jake sighed. ?Tell me one last time why you don?t want to just get Shandri??

?She?s got a lot on her mind,? Tyr explained. ?Lots of stuff going on right now and?? he paused and grunted as he pulled on the hatch door. There was a buzz and click and he fell backwards onto the floor. ?Right now I don?t think she?s in a condition to help us in the fight. She needs all the time she has to prepare herself a little mentally.?

?So she can hack up farmers??

?Right.?

?Well,? Jake sighed and tapped gently on the hatch. There was a dull echo on the other side. ?I think we?re wasting our time without her. We?ve been in here for what?twenty minutes??

Tyr glanced at his chrono, ?Heh, probably closer to ten, but you?re right. Without some kind of access code this thing isn?t going to budge.?

?Who would have thought getting into a smuggler?s secret gun safe would be hard?? Jake grinned.

Tyr chuckled, ?Well, in my day we?d just blast it open and be done with it.?

?I miss those days,? Jake agreed. He grunted and pushed himself up onto his feet, ?But?I left my Galavex assault squad at home. So I move we go get her.?

?Yeah,? Tyr agreed. But for a moment he didn?t move. He hesitated and stared at the weapons cache. ?Hmm,? he said. ?I wonder if?? He reached down underneath a lip on the opposite side of the hatch and groped his fingers around.

Jake shook his head, ?There?s no room on that side. They?d never put a release where they couldn?t get to it?? he hesitated, ?Come on Tyr, you?re gonna get your hand stuck. You don?t want to wind up like me do you??

But Tyr ignored him and continued to grope until he came across a small lever. He flexed it with his ring finger and suddenly the entire panel hissed and lifted away. Tyr removed his hand from the released hatch and grinned. ?After a decade of battling smugglers, you tend to learn a thing or two about how they operate.?

Jake nodded. ?Wow.? Then they lifted up the released hatch. ?Wow,? he said again. The weapons cache went down a good five feet into the hull of the ship, and extended outwards another ten in both directions. The first thing they saw was a DL-44 blaster pistol and a smaller black pistol. They were thrown carelessly on the top of the pile and sat atop two old blaster carbines. Beside those were another two E-11 blaster rifles, as well one larger Imperial Repeater Rifle. A small case of four concussion grenades rounded out the treasure, tucked safely behind all of the other weapons. ?Weston is going to love this.?

Tyr shrugged, ?At least something?ll make him happy. Everytime I mention the attack he gets hostile.?

Jake nodded and picked up one of the weapons to examine it. ?He doesn?t trust the plan,? Jake admitted.

?Yeah. I picked up on that. But you know, I don?t understand it. He?s seen everything we have. He knows she?s real. He knows that she?s been with us every step of the way, guiding us, showing us. And what?s the alternative? If he had something better I?d listen, but the truth is we can?t plan for this. We?ve just got to go in there and pray.?

?Yeah,? Jake nodded. ?I know?and I?m sure Weston knows where we?re coming from. It?s just?he doesn?t have a lot of trust right now. After he lost Menina?it hit him hard. And I don?t think he likes depending on anybody but himself.? Jake paused, and thought for a moment, ?Come to think of it he never has.?

?Well, he?s gonna have to learn,? Tyr murmured. ?Trust is what keeps a team together. Without that we don?t stand a chance.?

Jake nodded. ?I know it. And I think Milton does too.? The two men exchanged glances, and for a moment neither said anything. They were both thinking about Shandri?s dream. About the Four of them with weapons to each other?s heads. And about Milton?s warning?that the Four hated each other and just didn?t know it. That they were going to tear themselves apart.

?It looks like she was gearing up for war,? Tyr said abruptly, looking at the pile of weapons.

Jake ran his hand through his hair. ?Somebody was. We better get these out into the living area. Take our pick and then get a move on. If we?re lucky and there?s no snow, we can attack tonight.?

Tyr nodded, and both men reached into the cache and scooped up the contents of the cache to carry back into the family room.

***

?I don?t?I don?t understand,? Shandri said quietly.

Her father frowned and he continued to cradle her. ?I?m so sorry,? he said. ?But it?s true. Eric is here, among you. After you left him on Fondor, he took what Chrysalis was left and used it on his own body. It made him young again. That youth was a gift?but he ignored and defiled that gift. He didn?t use it to make right what he?d done wrong, or heal the wounds he?d carved. Instead, he took his youth and selfishly bottled it and exploited it. He used it for wealth, and became a hunter and a killer. And he changed his name?to Weston Onasi.?

As soon as the words formed on his lips, Shandri felt a chill run across the back of her spine. It made her wretch suddenly backwards and she fell out of her father?s arms and onto his leather chair. She looked up at him with wide, terrified eyes, and suddenly she imagined that she could see through his disguise, and she was no longer looking at Aurren Khel, but at a black beast with red eyes and sharp, needle-like fangs. ?You aren?t my dad,? she hissed. ?You?re a monster?and you?re a liar. You?re a fracking liar.?

?Shandri,? the beast began, and when she blinked he wasn?t a beast anymore. He was her father again. ?Shandri please?please listen to me I know it?s hard to accept but it?s the truth. Milton posed as Erin and lied to you. He tried to sew discord and mistrust among you, so that when Weston betrays you no one will be ready. But it?s coming. Weston Onasi is my killer, and he will betray you to Tom Milton before the end. Please baby, you?ve got to believe me.?

Shandri stared at her dad, and her mind screamed out in confusion. She felt catatonic and unable to respond. ?Daddy?how is it possible??

He reached out his hand to her to help her off of the chair and smiled. ?He?s a devil and a liar,? Her father explained. ?And I know you don?t believe me now, but?? He was cut off midsentence when the door to the cockpit corridor hissed open. Shandri glanced away for just a moment towards the door, and when she looked back he was gone. Shandri was sitting alone in her father?s chair, staring up at nothing, but she could still feel the warmth of his hand holding hers.


Weston walked through the door and stopped abruptly. He was face to face with Shandri, who was sprawled out over the back of her dad?s chair. Weston raised an eyebrow, ?Um?? he said. ?What happened to you??

Shandri couldn?t speak. Her mouth was dry like she?d been chewing on a piece of cotton. She looked at Weston and concentrated, and tried to transpose his face over that of Eric Taarn. Were they the same man? She struggled to try and see it. She struggled, but she couldn?t remember. Ten years was a long time, and she?d spent a lot of them trying to forget that Rent and Eric and Chrysalis ever existed. She opened and closed her mouth, and Weston reached down and grabbed her arm. He hoisted her to her feet just as the door to the cargo hold hissed behind them.

Jake and Tyr shambled into the room and kneeled down, each dropping an armload of weapons onto the floor. ?Quite a stockpile you?ve got,? Jake said. He picked up a concussion grenade and turned it over in his hand. ?I take it these are all from your pre-Jedi days.?

Jake studied the grenade and waited for her to respond. When she didn?t, he paused and looked up. Tyr reached out and put a hand on Jake?s shoulder to quiet him. ?Shandri?? Tyr asked. ?Shandri are you ok??

He could tell she wasn?t. She was as pale as a corpse, and her face was covered with sweat. Her eyes were wide and dilated, like she?d seen a ghost. Very slowly she shook her head, but she didn?t say a word. Tyr didn?t need any more response then that. Immediately he left Jake?s side and walked over to her and wrapped her up in his arms. It wasn?t magic, but it was enough to break whatever spell had entrapped her. She suddenly let out a long, gut-wrenching sigh and threw her arms around his neck. There was an instant when she looked like she might want to speak, but then she saw Weston standing there beside her and didn?t.

?She looks like she just saw a ghost,? Weston said.

Tyr nodded grimly, ?She may have. Shandri are you??

?No,? she cut him off quickly. ?No, I?m fine. Milton came?but I beat him.? The words came out easily, but she didn?t believe them. She knew that there was no way to know for certain, but she had a very strong feeling that it wasn?t Milton at all. Somehow, she imagined, somehow it was her father. But she couldn?t believe what he said. She just couldn?t. Eric had killed her family? Eric was Weston? It was too outlandish?too horrible. She shook very briefly and looked back at the pile of weapons. ?Did you guys find everything all right back there??

Jake nodded. ?After Tyr reactivated some of his old Corporate Sector training, we managed.?

Tyr smirked, ?Mind like a steal trap.?

?Hey,? Weston said, walking past Shandri and looking at the pile of weapons. ?Hey, now this is some good stuff.? He lifted the DL-44 blaster pistol in his hand and paused. Then he turned it over as though to examine it for some defining mark, and his face grew dark when he found it. ?Uh?? he said, staring at the familiar gun. ?Yeah, good stuff. It looks like I can have two pistols again.?

Jake grinned, ?What?d I say Tyr? I told you he?d be excited.?

?Yeah,? Tyr said absently. He was looking at Shandri with a hint of concern. ?Yeah, well pretty soon he?ll get a chance to show it. We all will. Do you know if it?s started snowing yet, Weston??

Weston shook his head. ?No. It?s still dry out there. For now the cosmic weatherman is on our side.?

?Wonderful,? Tyr said. He paused for a moment, then reached into his pocket and fished out two wristchronos. He tossed one to Weston and one to Jake. ?I almost forgot your presents. If we?re going to have any semblance of a synchronized attack, we?ve got to have everybody on the same page.?

Weston grinned and fastened the watch to his wrist. ?Why thanks Tyr, I?ve always wanted one of these.?

Jake looked at it and turned it over in his hand. ?I guess this means it?s almost time,? he said. He spoke the words nonchalantly, without any special weight or drama, but somehow they took on those traits without his intent. The words lingered in the air with a power to them. They seemed to punctuate all conversation, and just sat there for what they were?the truth. As hard as it was for any of the Four to believe it, the day was over and the snow hadn?t come. It was almost time.

After several moments of silence, Jake hesitated and added, ?That is, if we?re still planning on doing it tonight.?

Tyr opened his mouth to speak, and then paused. ?Shandri,? he said at last. ?How do you feel? If we do this, we?re going to need you at full strength. You?ve told me that more then once.?

Shandri smiled and flexed her biceps. ?You know me,? she smiled. ?Always ready for a tussle.?

Tyr nodded. ?Well?Weston are you positive it?s not snowing??

Weston nodded, ?I can go piss on the windshield if you want, chief?but there?s no snow out there. Don?t tell me you?re having second thoughts about just trusting everything to Erin.?

Tyr sent him a look and then paused. He took a deep breath, looked at the others, and then released. ?Ok?well then. I guess it?s time to do this. We go to the top of the hill, and start moving. Two people stay back to cover and two move forward into the city. If the townsfolk don?t attack us?well, then we keep pushing until we get to Milton?s tower.?

A part of Weston was ecstatic. There would be no meeting. There would be no rousing speeches. They were just going to get up, go outside, and either end Milton or die trying. Ninety-nine times out of one hundred, Weston would have begged for such luck. But, on this one hundredth time, the part of Weston that was not ecstatic was terrified. This was his time. This was his moment, now or never, to speak up and clear his conscience. And he was not going to be presented so easily with the opportunity. He?d have to make it himself.

Weston took a deep breath, then cleared his throat. ?So what, is that it?? he asked. ?We just?grab up our guns and go running out there? We?re about to go assault a city full religious fanatics and an omniscient?thing, probably resulting in all four of our deaths. Shouldn?t we...I don?t know, do something first??

Tyr raised an eyebrow. ?Like what??

?Well you?re the President. Why don?t you give a speech.?

?This is hardly the time for??

?Tyr,? Jake met eyes with Weston. He knew very well what his friend wanted, and why. And it wasn?t a speech. It was time. One last recess to summon the fleeting ounces of his courage. ?I know what he means,? Jake said. ?And?I don?t want to be too hokey, but I think he?s right. I think we should say something?and make peace with each other. This is serious. And there?s a real chance that not all of us will make it back. And believe me,? Jake said, and as he spoke he looked at Weston, ?you do not want any unsaid words clinging to your conscience forever.?

Tyr frowned and looked at Shandri, and he reached over and found her hand. She squeezed his and they met eyes. ?Ok,? Tyr said. ?Maybe you?re right.?

?Thank you,? Jake said. ?I don?t have much, actually. But I just want you three to know, no matter what happens, how much I appreciate you all. Before Erin, and before we knew we were the Four, you all were with me regardless. There?re not a lot of people I can say that about. Tyr, you forgave me when you had every reason to doubt. Weston?you did too. You forgave me, and the awful things I did to you?and I think we mended fences pretty well.? Weston smiled and shrugged modestly. ?That meant a lot. Maybe more than you can ever know. Almost certainly more than I can say. Ever since then, I?ve loved each and every one of you?warts and all, and that?ll never change. That said, let me just add that this isn?t the big battle. This isn?t the Burning Man?and as much as we might tell ourselves otherwise, and as hard as this looks like it is, this isn?t the hardest fight we have before us. But it is big. And it is important. And it?s the first real step we have to take, and after we take it I think everything will suddenly become a lot clearer. So it?s important, before we go running headlong into this, to remember what we?re fighting for. Who we?re fighting for. Because it?s not us. And in my opinion, it?s not Erin either. It?s the people we left behind. The people on Dantooine. On Aldivy. On Etti IV. On Earth. We?re doing this for them. At least that?s the way I see it.?

?Here here,? Tyr said quietly. ?Well said.?

?Yeah,? Weston agreed, ?Well said buddy.? Jake nodded politely to him and noticed that his forehead was flushed and his foot was tapping rapidly against the steel deck floor.

Shandri nodded, and smiled. ?Thank you Jake.?

?Yeah well?? Jake said, ?That?s all I?ve got. Anybody else? Or are y?all just going to make me look like an ass??

Tyr chuckled, ?I wouldn?t do that to you. I?ll bite,? he said. He took in a deep breath and let it out. ?I only know you three, with the exception of Shandri, because of this Erin and Milton and Burning Man triad. If it wasn?t for them, and the Hell they like to put us through, I?d have never gotten to know either one of you. Jake, I probably would still hate you. And Weston?I probably never would have known you to hate.?

Weston grinned widely, though inside he was screaming PLEASE SAY A LOT YOU STOIC SON OF A BITCH.

?I knew you loved me.?

Tyr laughed, ?You know I?m kidding. The point is...regardless of why we?re connected, we do share something. And if you really want to know why I?m so eager to go, Weston, and why I?m not scared? It?s because I know I?ve got you watching my back. I?ve got all of you?and I know without a doubt that Milton cannot throw a thing in our way that?ll be stronger than our sum.?

Weston looked at Tyr with genuine surprise, and for a moment he forgot about his story and how nervous he was growing. Almost instinctively he reached out his hand and the two shook. ?Why Tyr,? Weston said. ?I?d let you govern my sector any day.?

Tyr snorted. ?Thanks,? he said. ?You keep Milton occupied with your mouth and maybe we?ll make it out of this yet.? There was a low murmur of laughter, and then silence. It was a thick silence?the kind that people bring upon themselves, and are always eager to have someone break.

Weston knew it was his turn to speak. He knew it, and it seemed as though everyone else did too. The silence was too perfect, and with Jake watching him for any kind of response, Tyr and Shandri?s eyes followed. And yet even as he fought to bring the words to the top of his throat, his mind and his body seemed intent on preventing him from speaking. His palms grew sweaty, his mouth dry, and before long he felt like he wouldn?t be able to say anything, much less his confession. Any other time he would have decided that it wasn?t worth it, and put it off. But he had made a promise to more than just himself this time, and he knew, deep down, that something pivotal hung on the decision he was about to make.

***

Shandri touched her face and looked at Jake and Tyr and Weston. They were all smiling. They were all so happy. She put on that face as well?but inside she wasn?t sure what she felt. Something was working her, turning her gears, and she couldn?t place it. The thought planted by that thing (wasn?t it her dad?) was germinating, and now every time she looked at Weston, no matter how absurd the idea, she always imagined that it was not him she was looking at, but Eric Taarn. But that was crazy, right? Milton was a liar, that was true, but to tell such a sloppy lie? Such a far fetched tale? Surely he had something else up his sleeve.

If it had been Milton at all.

***

?Well?? Jake said after some moments of silence. He was staring directly at Weston. ?If that?s everything then I guess it?s time we pick up our weapons and head out.?

There was a beating?a constant, incessant percussion?that drummed inside the back of Weston?s skull. With every word he said it intensified, and try as he might he could not stifle it. ?No,? Weston said, and he shook his head. ?No, before we go, I have to say something too. I?? he hesitated. The beating grew louder, harder, faster. It was intolerable, and he knew that it would stop if only he gave up his confession and said some kind words about the others and let it go. Everything would move on like a well-oiled machine and he would be well again. But his soul wouldn?t be well. His heart wouldn?t be well. And if Milton were to tell Shandri the truth in the eleventh hour, it could do much more damage than a nervous tick. ?I?? all the eyes were on him, and suddenly he realized that he was doing it. This was it. The moment he?d been fearing and anticipating ever since he met Shandri Brightstorm had arrived, and he was already in the middle of it. ?I?have?? he stammered. He wasn?t going to be able to do it, he realized. He wouldn?t be able to finish. He could barely even speak. He was not going to do it. He couldn?t. ?I have to tell you something,? he said at last. And when the words were finally out of his mouth, he felt like someone had taken all the cotton out as well. Suddenly he could speak again, and a fresh wave of frustration and anxiety passed over him, and he tensed. Still, he took heart in the group?s track record for forgiveness. Jake was right. They had forgiven a lot. Maybe, if he was lucky, they?d be able to find it in themselves to do it again.

?I have to tell you something,? he said quietly. And he looked first at Tyr and then at Shandri, but he couldn?t hold eye contact with her for more than a second. ?I have to?to admit something.?

***

Shandri stared at Weston as he spoke, and watched the beads of sweat gathering on his forehead and his palms. He was nervous, she knew. He was terrified. Something scared him so very badly, and it hurt her to see it. What could it be? What secret could he be keeping?

In light of her Father?s statement it was a silly question. The answer was right in front of her. It had been the whole time.

***

Tyr furrowed his brow in concern, and Shandri drew up close to him. Weston looked at them, at their severe and probing eyes, and almost backslid into a stuttering oblivion, but then he felt a strong, confident squeeze on his shoulder, and he looked over to see Jake, offering him the strength and support to go on.

?Shandri?Tyr?my name isn?t Weston Onasi. At least it wasn?t. It?s?I?m?? he sucked in one last breath, and took the plunge.

***

This wasn?t true. This wasn?t happening. If what he was saying was true?if what he was admitting to was fact?then the ghost of her father was real. And the story that had been too insane to believe?the story that?d been warning her of what was to come?was the truth. Her first instincts were right. It hadn?t been Milton at all. And if it was her father and he had been telling the truth, that could only mean?

***

?My name, up until ten years ago, was Eric Taarn. And I am sixty-eight years old.?

***

Somewhere in Shandri?s mind, at that very moment a switch clicked, and all of the seeds that had been planted over the course of the past day began to flower in horrible tandem. Each seed of doubt, each bud of malice, all the anger at herself and all the years of loathing. All the angst and self-pity, and all the choked off tears and cries for vengeance came boiling back. And in that moment, she recalled quite clearly the last words of her Father?s ghost. Words that he never said aloud, but which she?d heard plainly as his visage faded before her. Words that remained seared in the back of her mind as a response to all her doubts and accusations. She?d called him a liar. She?d said he was Milton, and at least part of her believed it.

But her father hadn?t lost his temper. He hadn?t grown angry. He?d just vanshed, leaving her with a single, simple message.

?Just wait,? he had said, ?and see for yourself.?

[Calavan]

Lead Us Not Into Temptation

?And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil,
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory,
Forever.?

~The Lord?s Prayer



??Eric Taarn, and I am sixty-eight years old.?

Tyr stared blankly at Weston, feeling first confusion, and then a horrible creeping dread. That was the connection. He didn?t even have to hear the story. If it was true, that was the connection. And it made sense. The Chrysalis?the stuff that Eric Taarn and Aurren Khel had wanted so desperately to use on Kaida?Eric must have used it on himself. And if that was the connection, and they were connected, it was a much closer connection to Shandri than even Tyr had.

Beneath his arm, he could feel Shandri Brightstorm beginning to shake.

***

Weston paused and looked at Tyr and Shandri. Tyr looked confused more than anything else, which was what he expected, but Shandri? She didn?t look anything at all. She looked blank, like she?d fallen back in onto herself and was lost in the murk of her own subconscious. Weston watched her carefully as he continued. Outside, a harsh gale of wind screamed across the flats.

?I know I don?t look it?but it?s true. I was there, ten years ago, at that same event that you two pinpointed. I lied, Tyr, when I said I had no connection. But??

?Eric,? Shandri said, quietly. She had resurfaced, and her eyes were locked on Weston. ?How is this possible?? She knew the answer of course. She knew it without a doubt, but she wanted him to say it. If her father had been right?if Weston was really planning on betraying them again, then she had to know for sure. She had to know that he was really such a liar?such a horrible, manipulative, selfish person. Her mind was racing, her heart was pounding, and no amount of Jedi training in the world could calm her. She could no longer think clearly, and deep down even the threat of Weston?s betrayal was not what really drove her to seek answers. It was grim curiosity, and a slowly growing hunger for vengeance.

?I?hey Shandri,? Weston said, and he smiled. ?I?m sorry I didn?t tell you. I?I couldn?t. When you left me on Fondor, I used the chrysalis on myself. And it made me young again. And I?supposed I lied about that too, Shandri, when I didn?t tell you as soon as I met you who I really was.? He looked at her, hopeful that at least now, before he told her the full story, they might share in some moment of recognition. Unfortunately, such a moment was not to be.

?That?s not all you lied about, Eric,? She said. Her voice sent a shiver down the others? spines. It was not so much a voice as a low, rumbling growl.

?Shandri?? Weston hesitated. ?Shandri, that?s?that?s the point of all this. I?m not Eric Taarn anymore. He died here, on the Zephyr, ten years ago.?

?No he didn?t,? Shandri said. An uncharacteristic coldness had taken root in her voice, and she spoke with the detached air of an interrogator who is entirely disinterested in her quarry. Her voice never rose; it stayed singularly monotone. Singularly bitter. ?But my parents did. My mother did. She was shot. And my Father did?he was jettisoned out the airlock. And I blamed myself for ten years. And I cried. And I suffered. And for ten years I mourned. Every day I looked at their picture, and every day the memory of their faces burned me, because I thought that it was my fault. But it wasn?t my fault. It wasn?t my fault, was it Weston??

Weston opened his mouth slightly, aghast. She knew? How did she know? When did she find out? Who had told her? And then, of course, the answer to all those questions became abundantly clear. It was Milton. And a horrible feeling came over him, quite similar to how a mouse, who realizes he just stepped on the trigger mechanism of some trap, must feel.

?Shandri,? Weston began.

?Weston,? Tyr interrupted. ??or Eric, or whoever you are. What is she saying??

?He did it,? Shandri said. Her voice was no more than a whisper, but it was filled to the brim with poison. ?He killed them. And he let me think that I did. Because far better a sixteen year old girl think that she killed her father and let her mother die than admit that he was to blame.?

The words?the same words that Aurren Khel had used when he described Eric Taarn?s actions to her?stung Weston?s heart. They lanced right through his core, because they were so true. He looked at Shandri and felt the nervousness amplify. She was looking at him with cold, judgmental eyes. ?Shandri?I?nothing I say can change what I did?but I am not that man.?

She narrowed her eyes on him, and her voice hissed, ?You were made young again?you could have set things right. You could have spared me ten years of self-hatred, of misery, but you didn?t. Instead, you took your youth and bottled it and exploited it. You took those mistakes you made, and instead of repenting?instead of even trying to fix anything, you became a hunter and a killer and ravaged the galaxy like a scourge.?

?Is this true? Did you?did you kill them?? Tyr asked Weston.

Weston Onasi nodded, eyes fogging and the nervous tick in his head clanging like a stick against a garbage tin. He felt worthless. He felt less than alive. All of the guilt and emotion he?d bottled up came rushing out of him, and he suddenly he was ready to suffer whatever penance Shandri deemed necessary. ?Yeah,? he choked out. ?Yeah I did.?

?But why, Eric?? she asked. Her voice was full of anger, not sincerity. It was quite clear to all of them that as of that moment, she didn?t particularly care why. She?d begun her tribunal but the sentence had already been set. ?Why did you do it, Eric? Why did you kill my mom?? Tyr pulled her tighter. He was still in a state of shock, but if Shandri did something?he couldn?t have that. She was a Jedi, and an angry Jedi was a very bad thing, indeed.

When she felt his arm squeeze her, suddenly Shandri glared at Tyr, and his grip relaxed and his arm folded, forcibly, into his lap. Tyr grimaced in pain and shock at the unexpected movement. ?You,? she said looking at him ?don?t touch me. Not now. I?m not stupid Tyr, I know what you?re thinking. But don?t worry?I won?t hurt him.? Tyr heard the words and did not believe her in the least. She turned back to Weston. ?I want to know why you killed her, Eric. I want to know what made you hate me so much to do that. I trusted you. I loved you like a dad after they died?? And she had. She had clung to him after her parents died and he?d been there for her. She?d clung to the man who killed her parents and loved him. The very thought made her sick, and the sickness only made her angrier.

?I?? Weston hesitated. He looked at Shandri, saw her self-righteous anger, and felt very small. ?I can?t justify what I did. And I?m not going to try. But? I shot her because I thought it wouldn?t matter. And I know how that sounds, but I?I really thought?thought the Chrysalis could save her and Gugglo.?

Shandri, whose volume and intensity had been steadily growing over the course of the conversation, suddenly peaked. The mention of the Chadra-Fan was like a dagger into her psyche. If she?d been holding onto anything, the name and catastrophic memory that it brought sent her careening over some mental ledge. She was no longer thinking rationally, she was no longer thinking at all. She was running on pure emotion: fear, guilt, sadness, self-loathing, and of course the strongest: rage. Almost immediately she sprung to her feet. ?DON?T YOU BLAME ME FOR HIM,? she screamed. ?Is that why you killed her? To get me back for shooting that fraking rat?? As she spoke, suddenly her eyes caught sight of the refresher station and everything replayed before her. Her terror, seeing Gugglo walk into the room, pulling the trigger?there had been a smell of burning hair and a sound?a gurgling sound as the blood ran out of his throat. She?d never forgotten the sound. And then she saw, much more vividly, her dead mother standing behind Weston?s chair. She smiled at Shandri, but then an image of Eric Taarn as Shandri remembered him, walked up behind Kaida and shot her in the back. And Kaida?s whole, warm, motherly body turned gray. Her eyes rotted out, and her skin began to flake and tear. Shandri blinked madly to get the image out of her mind, and the figures behind Weston disappeared?but she didn?t know if they?d been real or just her imagination. She shuddered and glared at Weston. ?That was an accident. I was a fraking little girl, and it was an accident. But you never forgave me. Is that it? Is that why you did it Eric? ANSWER ME DAMNIT,? she shrieked.

?We?re not doing this,? Jake said, standing up. ?Sit down, Shandri. And get a hold of yourself.? She glared at him and suddenly he was lifted up off of the deck of the Zephyr and pinned against the wall. He coughed and looked down at her. ?Shandri,? he shouted, ?take a step back and look at yourself. This is your dream. This is you, destroying us.?

She ignored him. She walked across the family room to where Weston was sitting. As she approached him, he didn?t move at all. He just watched her. He was too guilty to move. Suddenly guilt was all he felt and all he knew?and whatever was to come, he felt certain that he deserved it, and that he would endure it without resistance.

Shandri drew up close to him and narrowed her eyes. ?Answer me.?

Behind her, Tyr stood up and grabbed onto her shoulder. She spun around in an instant and was staring at him. ?I?m serious Tyr. Don?t touch me. I don?t want your compassion and I don?t need your help.?

Tyr looked at her, and he looked very hurt. ?I wasn?t going to help you,? he said. ?I was going to sit you back down. Shandri look at yourself. Jake?s right you?re out of control.?

Shandri ignored him and turned back to Weston. ?Why?d you kill my mother??

?I already told you,? Weston said. His voice was quiet and defeated. ?I told you, I thought it wouldn?t matter. It was??

?You thought it wouldn?t matter? You thought shooting her, and killing her, wouldn?t matter??

?The Chrysalis??

?The Chrysalis only worked on you,? she said. And her voice was filled with a painful, terrible sadness. ?You only tried to use it on you. You didn?t care an ounce about my mother. You only cared about yourself. And that?s all you care about now. He told me. He told me what you were planning, and I will not let it happen.?

?Shandri,? Tyr said slowly. He exchanged glances with Jake. She was still pinning him against the wall?something that must take a tremendous amount of concentration. Tyr didn?t know how long she could keep it up. ?Shandri stop this. I don?t want to hurt you.?

Shandri laughed an eerily comical laugh, like what he?d said was the most ridiculous thing she?d ever heard. ?Tyr,? she said. ?I don?t want to hurt you either.? And she dropped Jake to the ground and spun to look at her lover. ?But get the frak out of my business.? Tyr felt something hard hit him, like he?d been punched in the chest, and before he knew it he was no longer on his feet. He flew back across the room into Aurren Khel?s big leather chair, landing with a thud and then flipping the chair onto its back.

?Eric,? Shandri said turning back to him. ?I don?t think they?re going to let us have a conversation. What do you say we take this outside??

Weston wasn?t listening to her. He was looking at Tyr and Jake. In every possible simulation, he had never seen her respond like this. He?d seen her grow angry, and he?d seen Tyr stand by her. He?d feared they would cast him out. He?d feared she would grow angry and attack him. But he?d never thought that she would attack the others. He realized, as he watched her reactions and speech that he was not looking at Shandri anymore. He was looking at a Jedi who had come unhinged, and totally lost touch with reality. She was, for all practical purposes, insane. And knowing that, it occurred to Weston that his penance would mean less if it came from a mind-numbed Shandri, fueled only by fury and wrath. It would mean less if she just killed him, and didn?t know what she was doing. It would only add to the cycle, for when she realized what she?d done, she would again be steeped in guilt and she would likely never forgive herself.

The thought was the first light Weston had found in the dark caverns of his depression?and it was enough to change his mind. He would not let her kill him. He would fight back.

?I?m pretty sure we should stay right here,? Weston said, his voice slowly regaining its old, confident sarcasm. Shandri was not impressed.

She reached out her hand and the main hatch cracked and hissed open. Jake scrambled to his feet, but a furious gale of cold wind went rushing up through the open door and it, not Shandri, pushed him back to the ground. Shandri reached out and grabbed Weston by the throat, and with the Force helping her, lifted him out of the chair and threw him down the ramp. He hit the steel plating with a hard thud that knocked the wind out of his lungs, and he rolled down into the grass outside.

She looked back at Tyr, then Jake, and grimaced. They would be all right?but she had to do this herself. For all of them.

?They?ll thank you when the dust settles,? Aurren Khel assured her. His voice whispered inside her ear like an angel on her shoulder.

?Yes,? she agreed. ?They will.? Stepping past Jake and Tyr, she walked to the hatch and down the ramp.

Outside there was another gust of cold wind, and the first snowflakes began to fall.

***

Overhead, the star speckled sky was hidden behind a thick blanket of gray snow clouds. Six men were huddled around in a circle, including Lexington Quigley. They were dressed in big wooly jackets that still had IZOD tags on them, and each carried a sub-machine gun.

Lex pulled his jacket tight around him. Off in the distance, they could see the Hueval and the dim running lights of the Midnight Zephyr, which had landed only an hour earlier. Why Krempe had made them overshoot the Hueval and move out into the Flats, he would never know. But that?s where they were, camping on the old, desolate plain that surrounded Rook all the way to the Saeddus Mountains in the north, and the great sea in the East.

?So,? one of the men, Wade Radley, muttered. ?You think they?ll be coming out anytime soon??

Lex pulled up a pair of binoculars and stared at the main hatch of the Zephyr. The jet black hull was incredibly hard to see in the dark, but he could just make out its closed shape. ?Maybe,? he murmured. ?They?ll probably wait until its clear there won?t be a storm tonight.?

?Funny thing, eh? Yesterday I thought I?d be able to cook an egg on my kid?s back. Today I could make ice. You know, I think this Pandemon??

?Don?t,? Lex murmured. ?Don?t think. Don?t think about it, don?t talk about it, just shut up and keep your mind in the game.?

Wade shrugged. ?It just don?t make any sense. Least with the Burning Man our crops could grow. Weather ain?t been dependable since he left I reckon.?

?Do you want Krempe to find you? Cause he?ll cut out your tongue and use it for fertilizer,? Lex hissed. ?Then your crops would grow.?

?Christ Lex, I was just saying.?

?Yeah, well don?t. He?s got a way of hearing things?and trust me, you don?t want him to hear you.?

?Yeah?? said another man, bigger and burlier than Wade. ?I don?t know?I think he?s all a lot of hocus pocus, but deep down he ain?t so tough. If he pinned me to a wall like he did Stephen? Oh I?d off and knock the tar out of his teeth.?

Wade raised an eyebrow, ?Dunno Ryan, I don?t remember you speaking up when you was right in front of him.?

?Fellas,? Lex snapped. ?You shut the hell up or I?m going to shoot all of ya. Now we ain?t out here to discuss politics or religion. We?re here cause we?ve got a job to do. Krempe trusted me, and I think we ought to do him right by it.?

?Course you do,? the big man Wade had called Ryan chuckled. ?You?d suck his dick if it wasn?t made of ice.?

?Hey,? a third man spoke up. He was smaller and wirier than the others, but had a look of intelligence second only to Lex. ?Shut up. I see something.? They closed their mouths and looked off towards the Zephyr. Lex brought the binoculars up to his eyes and sure enough, he could see movement where the black hatch opened, and bright light suddenly spilled out from the interior of the ship.

?Good catch Bill,? Lex whispered. ?Ok guys. That?s our cue. Showtime.?

***

Weston picked his head wearily up from the cold grass. Shandri was standing at the top of the ramp, glaring down at him with madness in her eyes.

?Avenge us Shandri,? Aurren?s voice whispered. ?Honor our memory. Show us that you love us.? Shandri nodded. The ghosts stood with her now, everywhere she went she could hear her mother and father?s voices speaking to her. She looked down on Weston contemptuously and walked down the ramp.

Weston, though still groggy from the impact, stumbled to his feet and started to walk backwards, out towards the flats. His hand dropped to his waist. ?Shandri, Tyr and Jake are right. What I did was awful but what you?re doing right now?I mean look at yourself. Get a grip.?

Shandri rolled her eyes. Behind her, the boarding ramp retracted and the hatch closed up on its own. ?You killed mom, sure, because you thought chrysalis would be right there to bring her back. That?s a sociopath?s reason, Eric. Are you a sociopath??

?I??

?I think so,? she said. ?Now, after that answer I?m just dying to know why you killed my Dad. Because I don?t think Chrysalis can get to him while he?s floating in an asteroid field.?

He slid his hand slowly across the butt of his gun, hoping that she wouldn?t notice. ?I didn?t know what I was doing??

?Wrong answer,? Shandri interrupted. Suddenly he felt his feet pick up off of the ground, and for an instant he was suspended in mid-air. Then there was a rush and he went hurtling over the Zephyr and slamming into the side of the Hueval. He screamed out in pain as he struck the hillside and looked down. He?d landed on his right arm, snapping it backwards in a way it was never meant to bend. It hung uselessly mangled beneath him. A shard of his forearm was lancing through his skin. In spite of the pain, he clung desperately to the grass to keep himself from rolling down the hill. When he was sure he wouldn?t, he scrambled to his feet and started to back up. Shandri was looking up at him now, glaring up at him, and after a moment she began walking back towards him. She?s going to kill me, Weston thought. I don?t even know if she knows it yet, but the more she talks the angrier she gets until she kills me. And something?s goading her on. Something that I can?t see.

There was another blast of cold air across the flats and the rare snowflake that melted before it touched the ground began to increase into a steady snowfall. The grass was quickly turning white with the dust.

She stopped at the base of the Hueval. Snow clung to her face and eyebrows, and he could tell her body was cold, though he didn?t know if she could feel it. ?Not doing so well, Eric?? she asked, looking at his arm. ?Well?my dad isn?t either. I bet he?s still floating out there?or maybe the rocks pulverized him.? She paused and watched the little flurries of snow that swirled in the air before bringing her gaze back to him. ?I still want to know why you did it. Didn?t you know I?d be alone? Didn?t you know that he was the last person I had? You orphaned me, and I spent years by myself in that fraking tomb. And you think you can just tell us a story, say your sorry, and be done with it? No. No you can?t. There is no penance great enough for what you did.?

Weston took a deep breath and looked down at her. Despite all her power, she?d made mistakes. She had given him the high ground. She had put distance between them. This time, he realized, he could shoot her. He had the time and the range. He could pull out his gun and take out her legs. Then they could sort everything out. He still had time. ?I didn?t ask for redemption,? Weston said back to her. ?And I was willing to accept whatever fate you laid out for me. But this isn?t you, Shandri. You aren?t you.?

Shandri laughed, ?Don?t try any of that bantha shit on me.?

Weston felt the adrenaline racing through his veins, but it was not the same stuff that terrified him on the Zephyr. It was the old, familiar fire that made him swift and precise. It gave him strength and coordination, and let him forget little distractions like the biting cold and the pain in his arm. If he could use it well, he?d be able to draw and get two shots off before she could blink. He didn?t think. He didn?t worry. He knew he could. It was what he did. ?Shandri,? he said. ?Don?t make me hurt you.?

Shandri laughed, ?Don?t worry. You can?t. And unlike Tyr, I don?t have a problem hurting a treacherous sithspawn like you.?

She started walking up the hill, eyes set on Weston. ?Oh good,? Weston said. ?Cause to tell you the truth, I ain?t Tyr, and the feeling?s kind of mutual.? In a flash he moved. He reached his hand to his waist, and Shandri, who had been so furious and so confident that she?d not even thought about his gun, watched in shock as he drew it with his good arm, took a bead on her knees, and pulled the trigger twice. He was so fast she didn?t even have a chance to blink. But that didn?t help him.

No shots came out of Weston?s pistol, and he looked at the thing blankly. Then he heard a high-pitched whistle, and he looked up to see Tom Milton sitting on the top of the Zephyr, dangling his legs over the side and grinning. He waved happily at Weston and then shook his head as if to say ?No such luck, hombre?. The gunslinger?s heart sank.

Shandri stopped for just a moment, bracing for the laser impacts that never came. When they didn?t, she looked back at Weston with fresh anger. ?You tried to kill me,? she said. ?That was your plan. Draw me away from the others and kill me. Then you could take out Tyr and Jake on your own without much difficulty. I will not let that happen.?

Weston glanced back to Milton. That may not have been my plan, he thought, but it could very well be his. Weston took another step back and then stopped. He had reached the top of the Hueval.

Below him, Shandri Brightstorm was fast approaching. Her hand was on her lightsaber.

***

Moments after Shandri had sealed the hatch, Jake was up on his feet. He slammed his hand against the release. It didn?t move. ?For fucks sake,? he muttered. ?Tyr how the hell do we get out of here??

Tyr groaned and picked himself up out of the leather chair. He rubbed his head and glanced towards Jake, who had already gotten up and was busy trying to track down Shandri. ?I?? he muttered groggily. He shook his head and looked at the boarding ramp release. She?d shorted it when she shut the door. For a moment he just stood there dumbly. What had happened to Shandri? What had taken control of her? He didn?t have to think when he asked those questions. He already knew what. And it wasn?t a 'what' at all?it was a who. Suddenly a thought occurred to him. ?The cargo hold. It?s got an airlock, remember??

Jake nodded, ?Ok, lets move.? He started to walk towards the cargo hold when Tyr put a hand on his shoulder and stopped him.

?No, wait,? Tyr said. He picked up the carbine Jake had been handling earlier and gave it to him. Then he grabbed an E-11 for himself. ?We might need these.?

***

Shandri took two more steps forward and drew her lightsaber. There was another gust of wind and bits of snow clung to her face and in her long raven hair. There was a low, menacing hum and a long purple blade extended from the hilt in her hand. Weston?s jaw dropped. He raised his gun and pulled the trigger again and again, no longer aiming at Shandri?s knees but just pointing at her in general. It didn?t fire once.

?You killed my mother. You killed my father. You orphaned me, then you tricked me into loving you like a father. Then you abandoned me. You betrayed me, and you disgraced me. And now you?re in the pocket of Tom Milton. Now you?re doing it all over again?and you?re doing it here, now, just before our last battle.?

?No,? Weston said. And he grimaced and threw his useless pistol at Shandri. She blinked and it stopped it midair, then flew past her and landed in the grass at the base of the Hueval. ?Shandri, I?I?m not going to betray anyone else. I?m different. I?ve changed?look, you know me Shandri. You know me. I would never hurt you, or Tyr, or Jake.?

?I don?t believe you.?

Weston reached down with his good hand, searching for something else to throw at her. He was all out of guns, and Shandri was drawing closer. ?We just talked, an hour ago Shandri!? he shouted desperately. ?And you asked me why I was afraid of you. You were hurt, I could tell. Well look at yourself. I feel pretty fucking justified right about now.?

Shandri glared at him. The snow bit into her skin and hissed and flickered as it struck the extended blade. ?Don?t start,? she growled. ?You have no idea what it was like. I changed my name so that I could try and forget the past you left me with.?

?Um, hello?? Weston gestured to himself. ?I did the same thing Shandri. I know exactly?? His voice was cut off as an invisible but firm hand tightened around his throat. It squeezed, and lifted him up and suddenly he realized he couldn?t move. Shandri had now reached the top of the Hueval, and she stood there, just a few feet from him. One of her hands was outstretched as she gripped his neck. The other held her lightsaber.

?I should stick you through the heart?let you know how it feels,? she said.

Weston hung their in the air, dangling. He clutched desperately at his neck to try and loosen the fingers that were not there. He tried to call out, but he couldn?t speak. Shandri looked at his panicked, struggling face and smiled with grim satisfaction. In the back of her ear, she heard the voice of her father and the voice of her mother, whispering to her. ?Do it Shandri. Do it. Maim him. Hurt him. Make it so he can never kill again.?

She nodded. ?I will,? she said aloud.

Weston?s eyes flared in panic. Who the Hell was she talking too?

?SHANDRI!!? there was a scream from somewhere. Weston looked wildly to see where it was coming from but he wouldn?t see anything in the darkness. He couldn?t even see the Zephyr. All he could see was the deceptively soft purple glow of Shandri?s lightsaber. And the venom-filled eyes behind it.

?I?m going to avenge them,? she told him with perfect sincerity. And she hefted the purple blade above her head.

***

The airlock hatch on the rear of the Zephyr hissed and crackled and slowly opened out onto the cold nighttime air. Bits of softly falling snow were drifting across the flats, but it was not falling heavily enough to be anything more than scenery. At least not yet.

After a moment?s hesitation, Jake and Tyr dropped to the ground. They landed in the grass with a soft crunch. Jake scanned the Flats in front of him for any sign of Shandri or Weston, but he couldn?t see them. His heart pounded. ?I hope we?re not too late.?

?Shandri was going to kill him,? Tyr said quietly. ?Just like Milton wants.?

Jake shook his head. ?No. If any of us die then Milton loses. We have to all be alive to fulfill Erin?s prophecy and take down Calavan?s wall.?

?We think,? Tyr snapped. ?But how the hell do we know? I may have faith in Erin, but I?m not going to trust our lives to Milton?s sound thinking?? Tyr?s voice trailed off as something caught his ear. It was a hum, low and constant, that he could hear just below the howl of the wind. It was coming from? ?Jake, there,? he said, and he spun around and pointed to the top of the Hueval. And there, fifty feet above them, Shandri Brightstorm had Weston dangling above the ground. And her lightsaber was on.

?We?ve got to get up there,? Jake said.

Tyr shook his head. ?No time.? He hesitated, sucked in a huge breath of air, and shouted, ?SHANDRI!!? His voice carried, he was sure, and for a moment he could see both figures?silhouetted against the sky?hesitate. Weston looked around, and Shandri just paused. But then, ignoring his screams, she hefted the lightsaber above her head.

?SHANDRI!! DON?T?!? Tyr shouted again. His voice was cut off when the side of the Zephyr beside him exploded into sparks, and a volley of gunfire came rushing in from the Flats.

***

?SHANDRI DON?T?!? There was another scream, only this time it was cut off by the sound of gunshots. Shandri hesitated and Weston felt the tension around his neck lessen. Her eyes grew concerned and she looked out into the night.

?Tyr?? she asked. She?d recognized the voice that time. Below, she could see the sparks as bullets pummeled the Midnight Zephyr.

?That wasn?t him, Shandri? Aurren hissed into her ear. ?It was another trick. Another ploy. They?re trying to take your mind off the ball. Avenge us Shandri. DO IT?

And suddenly, as abruptly as it began the gunfire stopped, and Shandri looked down off the Hueval towards the Zephyr and the Flats. Was that Tyr? she asked herself. It had sounded like him. It had definitely sounded like him.

Weston coughed and he collapsed to the ground. Excruciating pain went rushing through his arm as he landed. Grimacing, he looked up at Shandri and shook his head. ?They?re down there, Shandri. They want to stop you, and Milton doesn?t. He?s got his own goons down there keeping ?em busy. He?s set this whole thing up.?

?Who can you trust, Shandri?? Aurren asked. ?Who can you trust? Your own father? Or the man who killed him.? Then suddenly the voice in her ear was no longer a voice. It was a presence, and Aurren Khel was standing whole and beside her again. He smiled quietly at her and touched her face. ?You know what you have to do. For them,? he gestured at the Zephyr below. ?And for me.?

?I?? Shandri said quietly. ?I?? Something wasn?t right. The momentum of rage she?d been feeling had started to pass. The hot, mind-numbing rage was gone, and the lingering anger and sadness was not enough to keep rational thought at bay. Slowly she could feel it returning to her, and her eyes cleared, and she felt as though she?d just come in from some horrible, raging, tempest. She could feel herself thinking again, and in thinking, she began to realize something. ?My Dad wouldn?t ask me to kill anyone,? she said quietly. ?Not out of vengeance. No matter what.?

Aurren frowned. ?He wants to betray you, baby. He wants to kill you. All of you.?

Shandri looked down at Weston. He was bruised and battered. His arm was a twisted and fractured mess, and dirt and snow clung to his face. He was shivering madly. ?He?s not a threat to us,? she said.

Aurren frowned. ?Shandri?he is a threat. He is. He killed me. He killed Kaida.?

?That wasn?t him,? she whispered.

Suddenly Aurren?s face changed. It was full of rage and impatience and a thousand other negative emotions that Shandri had never seen. ?YES IT WAS? Aurren growled. ?NOW KILL HIM.?

Shandri shook her head, and stared at her father with a new, clear understanding. She deactivated the lightsaber. ?No.?

There was another harsh gale of wind from across the flats, and the snowfall began to increase. More and more snow fell onto the Hueval, covering them in flakes that gnawed at their skin. Each bit, as it touched Aurren, seemed to melt and boil as if his skin was made of fire. He stood there in the snow and looked at Shandri for a moment. Then his anger faded away into a gentle smile, and he opened his arms.

?Ok baby girl. But if you can?t?I will.?

***

There was a zing and a pop, and the ground in front of Tyr and Jake exploded into dust. Little sparks scattered across the hull of the Zephyr and bits of hot metal whizzed passed their heads.

?What the frell is that?? Tyr shouted, ducking and running beneath the Zephyr for cover.

Jake followed him, and fired a few shots off into the darkness. ?It?s Milton,? Jake shouted, ?or, more likely, people from Rook. I think Shandri may have attracted some attention.?

?You said all they?d have were pitchforks,? Tyr frowned, and fired back into the blackness of the Flats.

?That?s all the dream showed,? Jake muttered.

More sparks and bits of lead passed them, whizzing and zinging. Then, after a moment, the gunfire stopped. Jake and Tyr looked around into the night. ?What happened?? Tyr asked.

?Look.? Jake and Tyr had crossed underneath the Zephyr and crawled out to the base of the Hueval. Up at the top of the Hill, they could see Shandri, Weston, and one other figure. Shandri had lowered her lightsaber and Weston was lying on the ground, hunched over.

?Oh lord,? Jake muttered. A fresh wave of anxiety rushed over him. ?I hope we?re not too late.?

?Who?s that other guy?? Tyr squinted, looking into the night. Against the dark sky it was hard to tell.

Jake stared at the figure for several seconds. ?Oh my God,? he said finally. ?It?s Milton.? Up on the hill, Tom Milton opened his arms and stepped forward, then wrapped them around Shandri in an embrace.

Tyr stared at the image with a half-gaped mouth. ?Force be with us,? he said.

Jake raised his blaster carbine and trained it on Milton. ?I think I can hit him,? he said.

?Carbine?s don?t have that kind of range,? Tyr said. He hoisted the E-11 up and laid down prone on the hill. ?But I can.? He sucked in a deep breath of air, held it, and steadied his shot.

Then the gunfire from the Flats resumed.

***

?Come here, honey,? Aurren hissed. He stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Shandri and squeezed. She struggled to get away but she couldn?t. Then, as he squeezed her, he ran his hand along her side, down her arm, and wrapped it around her own. She was trembling with fear, and he ripped the lightsaber out of her hand. ?Now?this is how you were supposed to do it,? he grinned. Somewhere below the gunfire began again, but he ignored it.

Weston stared up at Aurren, who he saw as Tom Milton, with wide and terrified eyes as the purple blade roared back into life. He tried desperately to stand, but his legs were too weary and he collapsed back onto himself. Shandri screamed and tried to run, but he grabbed her shoulder, wrapped his arm around her, and shook his head. ?No honey,? Aurren said. ?You just do like this.?

He brought the lightsaber down in a swift, forward swing towards Weston?s neck.

***

The ground around Tyr and Jake popped and erupted. Bits of dirt and grass and snow flew everywhere. Tyr ignored it. ?Sithspit,? he muttered. On top of the Hill, Shandri and Milton were standing side by side, hovering over Weston. He was too far away to make out more then that. Then suddenly, the purple lightsaber reignited. It raised high in the air.

Tyr held his breath again, and took aim.

The lightsaber began to fall.

Tyr squeezed.

Exhale.

***

The shot missed. It was off by less than two feet, but it missed. The red laser blast drifted left of its mark but though it did not strike Milton, it distracted him enough that he missed his mark too. The blade flew high and before Weston could even bring up his hands to shield himself it sliced across the front of his face, tearing through both eyes and the bridge of his nose. Weston screamed out in agony and fell backwards into the grass. The smell of seared flesh and blood was awful. There was a wretched his as snow melted against the scorched flesh when it touched it. Weston tried to splash handfuls of snow into his wound, but soon his arms grew weary and he collapsed. Milton stood triumphantly over Weston?s body and grinned at Shandri.

?He?s the watcher. He?s the one whose business it is to see. And guess what? He ain?t never gonna see again.?

Milton, who Shandri still saw as her father, deactivated the lightsaber and put it back into her hand. Then he grabbed her tight and hugged her again. Shandri could feel the warmth and comfort flow back into her, and even as it made her feel better it sickened her, because she knew without a doubt who and what this thing embracing her was.

?What did you do?!? Shandri screamed, and she struggled to get away but she couldn?t. ?What did you do??

?I didn?t do anything Shandri,? Aurren said. ?You did. You did everything. And you did it so well. I love you, my darling.? He smiled warmly, eyes filled with love, and kissed her forehead. Then he was gone.

Shandri was standing up on the top of the hill, alone.

***

Jake was struck by a feeling that he closely associated with having his guts ripped out. He watched helplessly as the lightsaber fell, and Weston?s body slumped backwards. He saw a spray of blood and light, and then Milton and Shandri hugged once more, Milton kissed her head, and then Shandri was alone.

?WESTON!? Jake screamed, and he stuck his head out from beneath the Zephyr, despite the gunfire, and began to run up the Hueval.

Tyr looked out into the blackness of the Flats, towards the hidden gunmen, and then up at Jake. ?Jake, don?t!? he shouted. ?They?ll eat you up out there.? As soon as he said it there was a sharp blast of pain in his calf. Tyr looked down to see a bullet wound the size of a nickel. Blood was quickly pouring out and saturating his pants leg. He glanced back over towards the Flats and pulled the trigger several more times.

Jake ignored the warnings. He ran through the hail of gunfire up the hill towards Shandri and his fallen friend. Out in the flats, Lex Quigley watched through his binoculars as Jake ran and signaled his men to stop firing. Jake was too exposed, and the last thing Lex wanted was to piss Milton off by killing somebody.

When Jake reached the top of the Hueval, Shandri was still standing there, not moving. She was staring dumbly at her lightsaber and looking out over the other side of the hill towards Rook. Weston was behind her. Jake ignored Shandri and ran over to his fallen friend. He dipped to the ground and cradled his head in his arms. He grimaced. A single, clean cut had been made across Weston?s face, searing the flesh around his eye sockets closed and burning up whatever eyes were in them. The scar extended across the bridge of his nose and down one cheek. Bits of snow had collected and frozen in the fresh wounds. Weston was unconscious, probably from shock, but he was still breathing. Jake looked at the wound and felt fresh rage well up inside of him. He looked at Shandri; then at the lightsaber.

?LOOK WHAT YOU DID!? he screamed above the roar of the wind. ?YOU FUCKING BITCH LOOK WHAT YOU DID.?

Shandri kept her back to Jake and continued to stare at the lightsaber and at Rook. ?I didn?t do it,? she said quietly. Her words were inaudible beneath the wind.

?He TRUSTED you. He trusted you. You should have seen how terrified he was that this would happen. You should have seen him. But I told him to tell you, because I trusted you too. I told you that he had to confess. Well that was one hell of a mistake. I didn?t know you?d go and cut out his eyes. You fucking devil.?

Shandri let the words sting her and she did nothing. It was no good to protest. Her father couldn?t have been there. Her father didn?t exist. Everything she?d seen of him had been a lie. It?d been an illusion, caused by Milton. For all she knew she had cut out Weston?s eyes. The truth was?she didn?t know anymore. How could she? All she knew was that she was holding the weapon?and that the deed had been done. ?I?m?it?s not my fault,? she tried to explain.

Jake was shaking with rage and frustration. He knew what he?d seen. It hadn?t been an illusion. It hadn?t been a manipulation. He?d seen Shandri hugging Milton?and no matter who or what she thought he was, she?d hugged him, cut out Weston?s eyes, and then hugged him again. Suddenly a grim, rage-induced thought occurred to him. If she was going to be in Milton?s pocket?then let her stay there. Hand trembling, he raised his blaster carbine and trained it on the Jedi. ?Go. Away.? Jake said.

Shandri turned around, and when she saw the carbine aimed at her she gasped just a little and took a step back. ?Jake??

?GET AWAY FROM ME,? he shouted. ?I?.I don?t want to see you again. Go back to Milton and wait for us. Because when we come, we?ll be coming for him and you.?

?Jake?? her voice cracked. ?Jake please.? She had never seen him this way. She hadn?t imagined he could ever be this way. He was so angry. Just like she?d been. Just like a part of her still was. That dark part that Milton catered to was still there, lingering somewhere beneath the surface. All it needed was the right spark to go bringing it back out.

Jake pulled the trigger on the carbine and the blast went wide, flying off past her head into the sky. Shandri took a step back and looked down the hill towards Rook. ?Ok,? she said quietly. ?Ok?I,? she hesitated. She looked desperately for Tyr, but he was nowhere to be seen. ?I?ll go.?

Jake didn?t say anything. His face, already twisted with rage and pain, looked down at his friend one more time and then broke completely. Tears struggled their way to his eyes and he brought his head down. Then, after a moment, he looked back at Shandri. ?You took everything from him. He can?t survive without his eyes. You might have fucked up the job, but you may as well have killed him.?

?I didn?t?? she tried to say, but then gave up. There would be no getting through to him. Jake pulled the trigger again. This time the ground in front of her blew up and bits of snow and dirt and grass flew up into her face. Shandri jumped. ?Ok,? she said. ?I?m going.?

?Good,? Jake said. And so Shandri Brightstorm turned and left, and the Four?who had reunited barely a day prior?again fractured. Jake watched her as she turned her back to him and began to descend the Hueval. Her gait was slow and miserable, and with every step she prayed that he would come to his senses and invite her back?or perhaps Tyr would come, and set things right. But neither of those things happened. Hope as she would, she continued to walk and no respite came to her. When she had walked far enough down that she?d gone from sight, she could hear Jake shouting, ?AND GOOD RIDDANCE. WE DON?T NEED YOU. WE DON?T NEED A JEDI, YOU EGOCENTRIC WHORE. WE?RE BETTER OFF WITHOUT YOU?? his voice tapered off as the howling wind overtook it.

On top of the Hueval, Jake looked down at Weston?s bruised, battered, and mutilated body. He looked at the wounds, and the anger flared back again, but he tried his best to suppress it. Anger would be for later. Now, Weston needed medical attention. And he needed it sooner, rather than later. Sadly, Jake hoisted his friend by the shoulders and began to drag him down the hillside back towards the Zephyr.

***********

When the firing stopped, Tyr had tried to move up the Hueval in pursuit of Jake, but his leg hadn?t let him. The wound was worse than he first thought, and it had nearly immobilized him. All he could do was crawl back beneath the Zephyr and try to stay out of harm?s way. He kept waiting for the gunfire to resume, but it never did.

He sat there, shivering, and thought sadly about what had just happened. A part of himself blamed Weston?but he knew that it wasn?t all Weston?s fault either. They all had a sordid past, and if anything, Tyr thought that maybe he was to blame. Milton had all but told him that something like this would occur. Of course, they?d had so many warnings?so many chances to stop it. But they couldn?t. The Four had turned against each other, just like Milton predicted.

?Tyr,? Jake called out. He was half-way down the Hueval dragging something. Tyr leaned out from beneath the Zephyr and grimaced. It was Weston.

?I would have gone up there,? Tyr said, ?but one of the gunmen got my leg. I can?t hardly move, let alone walk.?

Jake frowned, ?Jesus. Ok, well I?m going to go back up the airlock and see if I can get the main hatch working. I?m leaving Weston here, do you promise not to go psychopathic and try to strangle him or anything??

Tyr nodded and looked at Weston. He winced, seeing the wound on his face. ?Force be with us,? he whispered. ?The dream came true.?

?More or less,? Jake agreed. He paused and looked at the two and then shuddered. ?Ok, I?ll be back in just a minute hopefully. Do you know what happened to those gunmen??

?I think they drew back,? Tyr said. ?They were just trying to pin us down. You were right: they didn?t want to shoot us.?

Jake glanced at Tyr?s leg wound. ?How do you figure that??

?Cause after that stunt you pulled, running up the hill without cover? If they wanted to kill you, you?d be dead.? Tyr said the words with a certainty that sent a chill down Jake?s spine.

Jake paused and pulled his arms up around him. It was cold, and now that his heart was slowing down he could finally start to really feel it. ?Right,? Jake said at last. ?Ok, well I?ll be back soon. You hold tight.?

?Ok,? Tyr agreed. He hesitated for a moment then held up his hand. ?Wait, Jake.?

?Yeah??

Tyr looked at Jake for a moment and then out at the hillside. ?Where?s Shandri??

Jake paused and studied Tyr?s face. He realized he?d left his blaster carbine up on top of the Hueval when he picked up Weston. He?d have to go get it sometime. ?I?? he hesitated. The last thing he needed was another of the Four to go crazy. ?I?I ran her off,? he said at last. ?I told her we didn?t want her anymore.?

Tyr tried to stand up but he slumped back down to the ground. ?You did WHAT??

?I?? Jake hesitated. Suddenly his outburst on the hill did not seem justified at all. It felt petty, and it felt like exactly what Milton would have wanted. And Jake felt like he?d been used. Used by Milton?just like Shandri had been used. ?Yeah,? he frowned. ?Yeah, I did. I was mad?and I said some things that I?you know I probably shouldn?t have. It?s just I saw what she did, Tyr?and after all the conversations with Weston??

Tyr glared, sucked in a deep breath of the cold air, and started to fume. ?You?..? And then suddenly he stopped. Although his temper was flaring, he managed to control it, because he remembered the dreams. He knew what Milton was doing, and he could see, only too clearly, how well it had already worked. ?Ok,? he said. ?You fucked up. You fucked up big, and we?re probably in trouble for it. But it?s not the end of the world. What we have to do?what we?ve got to do, is find Shandri and repair this mess before Milton does whatever he?s planning. This wasn?t it; I know in my gut that there?s more to come.?

?We?we won?t be able to attack tomorrow,? Jake said. ?We?ll have to put it off a day at least. With your leg messed up and Weston?Weston won?t be any help to us at all, I don?t think.?

Tyr looked at the horrible wound across Weston?s face again, and at his mangled arm, and nodded grimly. ?Those wounds will take a long time to heal. And they?ll never fully heal?at least the eyes won?t. The best he can hope for are cybernetics.?

?Yeah,? Jake agreed. ?Well, the sooner I get that hatch open, the sooner you and Weston can start recuperating and the sooner we can find Shandri. We?re going to fix this Tyr. I know I played my part in breaking it?but I?m gonna help fix it too.?

?Yeah?ok.? Tyr agreed. He stared sadly off at the Hueval. They were so close. To think, just thirty minutes ago they?d been planning their attack. Now?now they?d be lucky to attack at all. Maybe he?d been wrong to trust Erin?maybe Weston was right.

Jake glanced at him for a moment and then turned and walked back to the Airlock. He hoisted himself up and crawled back into the ship. As he disappeared, Tyr sat there alone on the ground in the piercing cold, sheltered from the snow by the ship above him. He put his hand on Weston, who was shivering uncontrollably. A part of him thought, looking at Weston Onasi, that everything he?d known about the man was a lie. It was all an elaborate act. But then the rest of him almost immediately knew better. Weston had been telling the truth when he said he was Eric Taarn. He?d been telling the truth when he said he?d killed those people. But he had also been telling the truth when he said he?d changed. He had changed. Just like all of them had. Jake and Weston in particular?but all of them, all Four of them, had ultimately found some different, better thing inside of themselves over the past ten years. And over the past one.

He squeezed Weston?s shoulder tightly and bit down on his lower lip. Weston didn?t move, but Tyr could feel a soft, gentle reaction to the touch. He frowned and tried to get a little closer to Weston while the harsh wind of the Flats continued to howl in the cold midnight air. ?I?m sorry about this, buddy,? Tyr said. ?I?m sorry?we?re all sorry. But I meant what I said. We?re?we?re like a family. A close, dysfunctional, wonderful family. And I will not let you die. And I will not let Milton get away with what he did. What he did to you. What he did to Shandri. What he did to our family. We will not take this lying down, I promise. If it wasn?t before, now it?s personal.?

[Calavan]

In This Land of Cold and Shadow

?Loneliness and the feeling of being unwanted is the most terrible poverty.?

~Mother Theresa



-One Hour Later-

Lexington Quigley reached up to his collar and tugged slightly. He was having trouble breathing. He didn?t know if it was due to the frosty air or nerves. Well?that was a lie. He looked up at the big double doors that led into Tom Milton?s?or as he knew him, Aaron Krempe?s, suite. They stood tall and imposing in the pale, frosty air. Lex rubbed his hands together and stared at the knob. He reached for it, hesitated, then knocked timidly on the frame.

He stood there outside the door holding his breath, waiting for a response. Most times Milton was right there. Sometimes he would open the door before Lex had a chance to reach out and touch it. This time was different. This time he stood for almost a full minute before he heard a voice from inside.

?Come on,? it said.

Lex opened the door slowly and stuck his head in the room. The television was lying on the floor and shards of glass were everywhere. Tables were knocked over and other pieces of furniture were strewn haphazardly across the room. It looked like a tornado had hit. Lex was very glad he?d missed that.

?Lex,? he heard Milton?s voice but didn?t see him, not at first. ?Lex come on in. Step out of the doorway and close it behind you. You?re letting all the cold air in.?

Lex glanced around nervously. The voice wasn?t angry, per se, but it also wasn?t what he?d come to expect from Milton. It sounded less like the agent of Pandemon that he knew and more like?like what, a grandmother? The tone was off. It was too kind, almost deceptively inviting. And there was no humor in it whatsoever.

He closed the door like Milton said and walked into the middle of the room. It was then that he saw Tom Milton, standing out on the balcony. Bits of frost and snow clung to the railing and floor, but Milton didn?t have a flake on him. When he heard the door close he spun around and faced Lex. ?Oh Lex,? he said. ?Tsk tsk tsk. What am I gonna do with you??

Lex chewed on the inside his cheek and held his breath. Was this about his men talking? Was this about what they?d said about Krempe and his powers? Lex didn?t think so?but at the same time, if it wasn?t that? ?I?? he paused, ?Is there a problem, sir??

A scowl spread over Milton?s face. ?Lex?? he said through clenched teeth. ?Lex?I would have to say yes. YES THERE?S A PRETTY BIG GODDAMN PROBLEM YOU STUPID FUCKTARD.? His eyes went red as he screamed and the building shook around him. The glass that separated the balcony from the main den of the suite shattered and fell to the ground.

Lex took a step back. ?I?how can I help?? he asked.

?BY NOT SHOOTING AT MY TARGET?S FUCKING BOYFRIEND,? he screamed. As he shouted he started to walk forward, across the broken glass and into the suite towards Lex. Lex took another step back, then another, and continued to back up until he backed into the shut double doors. Milton approached him and grabbed hold of his throat, then he lifted him off of the ground and threw him across the room out onto the balcony. Lex landed in the mat of broken glass. His clothing and boots had offered him some protection, but his hands were cut to ribbons.

?Boss, Boss I swear I only did what you told me too. We shot but we didn?t shoot ?em, and we made sure we didn?t hit anybody. We just kept em there at the ship.?

By the time he was finished talking Milton had already walked back across the room and out onto the balcony. Lex struggled to stand up but Milton kicked him in the chest, sending him falling back onto the broken glass. He shrieked in pain as shards flew up into his hair and the back of his neck and slid down his collar under his shirt. Milton stood over him, fuming. ?I should crack your head open like a coconut,? he growled. ?You and your men, your oh so trustworthy men?you distracted her. You scared that little bitch and broke her concentration. SHE WAS SUPPOSED TO KILL HIM. MAIM HIM. HURT HIM.? He stopped, reached down, and again grabbed Lex by the throat. This time he lifted him off of the balcony and held him out over the ledge. Lex looked down at the drop and felt a fresh shellac of sweat break out on his face. The bits of snow and ice that flew into his eyes and mouth and the fresh wounds cut by the glass stung awfully.

?Please,? Lex begged. ?Please, boss. We just did what?I just did what you told me too.?

?I had to clean up your mess,? Milton snarled. ?And she wouldn?t even do it for me. I had to do it and frame the rotten little whore. Oh, sure you say, ?But Mr. Krempe, didn?t everything happen how you predicted?? NO IT DIDN?T.? He tightened his grip and Lex?s eyes bulged. Milton?s fingers dug into the cuts on the back of his neck sending a fresh wave of pain cascading through his body.

?I don?t?I don?t get it,? Lex said. ?If everything worked out?? he gasped, ?If everything worked out what?s it matter??

Milton?s face contorted sourly and he spun around and dropped Lex back onto the glass-covered balcony deck. Then he kicked his Lieutenant in the chest and sent him sliding back into the suite. Milton took a long, deep breath and then ran his hand across his face. ?It matters,? he said, ?because I?m supposed to get these things right. I don?t make mistakes. What I see happens. And I saw that girl cutting out his eyes.?

?I thought she was supposed to kill him??

?No?? Milton sighed, ?In a perfect world that?s what would have happened?but I saw the eyes. And I expected at least that much. And it was about to happen, until you and your silly friends went and broke it. I really should kill you Lex, you know that? I really, really should.?

Lex stared up at Milton with wide, frightened eyes. ?I?no,? he said. ?No, no the girl?you can still get the girl. She?s wandering through Rook, just like you said. They still must have threw her out of the party if she?s alone like that. My guys saw her while we were walking in but we thought you already knew.?

Suddenly Milton?s expression relaxed a little, and he looked down at Lex and licked the tips of his teeth. ?Yeah,? he murmured. ?I know she?s coming. You?re right. It doesn?t really matter how she gets here, but she?ll come to me. And everything else that I?ve set in motion will happen, just like I knew it would.?

?That?s right,? Lex agreed. ?And you know?their best shot is still blind. Their other fighter is on her way here. Who?ve they got now, right? Those other two guys don?t have much in the way of fightin? smarts, do they??

?No Lex,? Milton nodded, ?You may be right.? Suddenly his face broke out into a big, happy grin and he reached out his hand and helped Lex up off of the floor. ?Lex, I gotta say you continue to impress. Very very good, now go clean yourself up. I want you to run to the store and buy some balloons and streamers and maybe a big cake. Oh, and liquor. Don?t forget the liquor. We?ve got to show our new guest that we can have some fun.? He hesitated and looked around his ruined office, ?Uh, and find me a Mexican, pronto. I?ve got some heavy duty housecleaning to be done.?

Lex stared at Milton blankly, as he usually did when his boss went off on these tangents. Milton grinned giddily and looked back at him, ?Oh never mind. Just tell your men to get ready to welcome her. We?ve got to make a good impression. Because when she comes?? his voice darkened, ?well, when she comes she?ll be here to stay.?

Lex nodded. ?Right boss,? he said absently, ?I?ll drop by the Doc?s office and then get a room prepped for her.? But even as he said these things, he wasn?t really thinking about them. Rather, he was thinking of how all through the tirade, Milton never once mentioned his men?s blasphemous conversation. He never once mentioned their doubt. And perhaps, Lexington imagined, that was because Krempe didn?t know.

Perhaps the great all-seeing agent of Pandemon was going blind himself.

***

Jake sat in the Midnight Zephyr?s tiny medical bay with Weston?s blaster pistol sitting in his lap. It was covered with bits of ice and dirt. There was a bad scuff on one side where it had struck the ground. He?d found it, tripped on it actually, when he went back up the Hueval to find his carbine. Finding it was pure luck, but he imagined it?d be buried beneath four inches of snow by now if he hadn?t.

He ran his fingers along the cool metal barrel and looked sadly at his friend. Weston had still not regained consciousness. He was laying there on a hard table with his arm fused and wrapped in the medicated bandages that Tyr called bacta patches. A bacta patch had been wrapped around his eyes too; though while that would heal the wound and minimize scarring as much as it could, Tyr confessed that he had never seen a wound that serious treated with anything less than a full immersion tank. And really, he had never seen a wound like that at all. As a rule, lightsabers were not something he spent much time around.

Jake stared at Weston?s face and grimaced. The bandages had already turned red where blood seeped through small tears in the freshly cauterized wound. Two deep patches clung to where his eyes should be. His head was tilted back and his chest rose and fell steadily. Jake had only left Weston?s side twice. Once when he went to patch up Tyr?s leg, and again when he went to retrieve the gun from outside. He?d taken the repeater rifle and a large torchlight with him, but there had been no trace of Milton or his men.

?Knock knock,? Tyr said. He tapped gently on the wall and stuck his head into the medical bay. He had a crutch under one arm and hopped on the other leg like Long John Silver. His bad leg was wrapped in bacta patches. The bullet had missed his bones and left only a flesh wound which would heal quickly. It hurt like hell, as Tyr frequently reminded him, but there would be no lasting damage.

Jake looked up at Tyr, then down at his leg. ?How you doin?? he asked.

Tyr frowned. Any good spirits he?d scraped together died when he saw Weston?s body on the table. ?Better,? he said. ?Has there been any??

?No,? Jake said quickly. ?No response. He?s still asleep. And the longer he sleeps the better, I suppose. It lets him heal.?

Tyr nodded. After several seconds he said, ?Yeah. Probably for the best. I don?t know what to say to him when he wakes up.?

Jake looked back at the two bloody spots over Weston?s eyes and said bitterly, ?We tell him what happened. That Shandri cut his eyes out with her lightsaber and then I drove her off.?

Tyr bit his lower lip and nodded. He could still sense Jake?s anger?but he understood. ?Do you think he?ll ever forgive her?? Tyr asked finally.

Jake turned the pistol in his hand over and brushed some more of the dirt off its cold steel casing. ?I don?t know,? he said uncertainly. But it was clear in his tone that the truth was, he didn?t.

?I wish I knew where she went,? Tyr murmured. ?If I knew?if I knew and could walk, I?d be out there right now.?

Jake nodded. ?There?s only one place should could have gone if she wanted to live. The farther you wander from the city and the protection of the Hueval, the colder it gets. She?d freeze to death, Jedi or not, if she tried to go out on the Flats. And besides?there?s nothing there.?

?So Rook?? Tyr asked. ?If she went there?? The words lingered in the air for a time and Tyr looked down at Jake.

Jake nodded his head and swallowed. ?It?s not a particularly friendly place to us. Not according to Erin. But Shandri can hold her own.?

?If all I thought she was up against were farmers with pitchforks I?d agree with you,? Tyr murmured. ?But Milton?s there?and so are his men.?

?He?ll want her alive,? Jake said. ?It?s how he works. He?s the ultimate schizophrenic?when he wants to break you; he targets your sins and your deepest problems and hauls them out into the open. But when he wants to use you?well, he?ll do whatever he can to help you cover them up. He wants to use Shandri. He already has. But I don?t think he?s done with her yet.?

Tyr shuddered. ?Why??

?Because he let her live. He was up there on the hill with her. He hugged her. She must still think he?s her father?and if that?s true, then he?s going to milk that as long as he can. He may try to turn her against us.?

?Shandri would never turn against us,? Tyr said certainly.

Jake rubbed his neck and thought back to how he?d been pinned to that wall. He gazed at Weston and nodded, ?Yeah Tyr. I hope so too.?

Tyr looked at Jake and then followed his stare to Weston. For some time he stood there in silence, thinking about what they?d said. Then he reached his free hand into his pocket and fished out one of Shandri?s breakfast bars. ?Here,? he said and he tossed the bar to Jake. ?I remembered you hadn?t eaten much of anything since breakfast. You should keep your strength up.?

Jake took the bar and pulled off the wrapper. He looked at it oddly for a moment and gave a sad, half-hearted chuckle. ?It?s a good thing Weston?s not awake, cause I?m sure he?d have some kind of smartass comment to make.?

?Yeah,? Tyr said quietly. ?I bet he would.? He fished his hand around in his pocket and pulled out another bar for himself. He tugged off the wrapper and took a bite. After a few chews he grimaced and swallowed. ?Boy,? he said after a moment.

?Kind of deserves a smartass comment,? Jake observed.

Tyr nodded and took another bite. The two ate their bars in silence, neither one trying to strike up a conversation. When they had finished, Tyr crumpled up the wrapper in his hand and put it back in his pocket. He took a deep breath, and without moving his eyes from Weston, he said, ?So?what now??

Jake stared down at the pistol in his lap. ?We can?t do anything tonight,? he said simply.

?No,? Tyr agreed. ?But after? Weston won?t be able to help us. Not in a fight...and if Shandri went into Rook, there?s a fair chance she?s already been captured. We?re all we?ve got.?

Jake nodded and sucked in a deep breath of air. He really wasn?t in the mood to make plans?but the truth was, during his time alone with Weston, he?d had little inclination to think about much else. And at some point, an ingeniously simple solution occurred to him. A solution that would do Weston proud. After several seconds, he blew the air out in a little jet and said, ?The dreams show us in Rook. They show us going through the city, and being mobbed by a ravenous crowd.?

?I know,? Tyr agreed, ?And we were ready for it before but?Jake our two best fighters just got taken out of commission. We?re going to have to raze half the city from the Hueval if we?re gonna try to make it to the capitol.?

Jake lifted the gun in his hand and aimed it at the wall across from him. He looked down the top of the weapon, across the barrel and over the other end. It was a finely crafted thing. A beautiful thing. ?Yeah,? Jake said. ?You?re right. We?d never make it against a crowd like that. That?s why I don?t think we should try.? Tyr opened his mouth to protest but Jake held up his hand. ?No Tyr, you?re not listening. You?re absolutely right. But I think Weston was right too. And maybe we should stop looking for ways to prove that our dreams have come true?and start looking for ways to get the job done. We have a ship. Our target is a tall building. The thing in between us has little to no range.?

Jake looked up at Tyr and when their eyes met, a grin spread across Tyr?s face. ?You mean to fly?? Tyr asked.

Jake smiled, and he thought about what Weston might have said at the sound of such a plan, and had he seen fewer awful things during his long life, tears would have clouded his eyes. ?Yes,? Jake said. ?That?s just what I mean to do.?

?Milton could stop us,? Tyr said. ?There?re a thousand things that he could do to block our path.?

Jake nodded. He?d thought about that too. ?I know,? he said. As he spoke, his eyes traveled from Tyr back down to Weston. ?That?s why we?ve got to keep him busy. We?re going to need a diversion.?

Tyr frowned. He ran his hand through his hair. His blood was already starting to pump, and he suddenly realized that this is what they should have been doing from the beginning. Weston had been right all along. They needed a plan. ?I see what you?re saying?but I don?t see what kind of diversion we can make,? Tyr confessed. ?We?re down on manpower as it is. There?re only two of us.?

?No,? Jake said, still looking at his wounded friend. ?No?there?re three. Like I said, we can?t do this tonight. But when he wakes up?after he comes to terms with what?s happened?well, he?s going to want to be of use.?

Tyr?s mouth hung slightly agape and he looked at Jake strangely, like he was staring at someone he?d never met before. ?Just what kind of diversion do you intend for the blind man to make??

Jake shuddered, and lowered his eyes back to the pistol in his lap. His voice shrank to not much more than a whisper.

?I?ll tell you in the morning.?

***

Shandri wandered through the empty streets of Rook with no direction. Two streams of tears were frozen to her face, and snow and ice sheathed her hair to the point that it looked nearly white. She was shivering uncontrollably, and at every house she passed she looked inside, hoping that someone would notice her and offer her shelter. No one ever did. Most, in fact, were dark inside and their inhabitants asleep. She wasn?t surprised. There were very few lights in the entire city, and she assumed that none of the townsfolk had electricity. The only place that certainly did was the glass tower in the center of the city. It rose up high above the rest of the lowly buildings six or seven stories. It had served as the Galian Governor?s manor and office during the Burning Man?s reign, and now housed Milton at its top, in the lavish Governor?s suite. She looked at the tower, and thought for a moment that she could see some figure dangling off of the high balcony, but she had stopped trusting her eyes. When she looked up a few moments later, there was no one there.

For Force?s sake, Shandri?you?re going crazy, she thought sadly. And maybe she was. And maybe for good reason. She?d been cruel to Weston?and when she really thought rationally about what he?d told her?it didn?t bother her so much. It hurt to think that she?d suffered all those years in vain?but at least she knew that she wasn?t responsible for her father?s death. And at least she knew that while their killers had gone free, he had reformed and brought honor back to their name.

Another gust of wind railed against her body and her teeth clattered noisily. Looked at a nearby shop?the building was made of old stone and it had a thatched roof. She ran her hand along the wooden door and knocked, but there was no response. As she was walking away, one of her trembling feet caught on a root that was buried in the thickening snow and she stumbled forward, tripping and falling face forwards into the white powder. It sprayed up onto her bare face and down her shirt and caused sharp, stabbing pains in her gut. Wearily, she stood back up and brushed away the ice. She stumbled onwards, taking larger, slower steps through the now almost foot-deep snow. She trudged sadly through the streets of Rook in this manner for thirty minutes before finally making her way to the City Center. Just beyond it, the tall building where Milton lurked, the city capitol, stuck up like a pillar in the sky. The center itself was a large circular vista with a tall statute of Tom Milton in a billowing cape looming at its core. He wore a wide, nonthreatening grin, but his eyes are what caught Shandri?s attention. They were happy, smiling eyes on the outside?but there was something about them that unsettled her. They seemed wrong somehow. Slightly off balance. Like the eyes of a madman. Shandri trudged forward in the snow and looked up at the statue. The grinning face seemed to follow her wherever she went, and almost instinctively she looked over her shoulder. But the city center, like the rest of Rook, was deserted.

A fresh blast of cold wind came from the north, and Shandri stumbled again, this time slipping and falling backwards. She let out a grunt as she landed and when she opened her eyes, the big, grinning face of Milton?s statue loomed over her like a devil. She shivered, stared at it, and felt a fresh rush of tears come welling up in her throat. She clenched her eyes shut and tried to hold them in, but she couldn?t. What had happened? What had she done to deserve this? All she wanted so to be back on the Zephyr. She would give anything for that. If just for a moment?if just for a moment she could pretend like nothing had ever happened and Tyr would hold her in his arms again?

?You know that?ll never happen,? a voice said. Slowly she again opened her eyes, and her vision, blurred by snow and tears, cleared to reveal that in place of the statue?s image, she was looking at the face of her father, Aurren Khel. He smiled the same warm, fatherly smile he so often wore and offered her his hand. Draped across his other arm was a puffy jacket with a tag on it that said IZOD.

When she registered who he was, she threw both arms back and slid away from him. Then she brought her legs up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, curling into the fetal position. ?Get away from me,? she sobbed.

Aurren ignored her pleas. He dipped down to the ground and draped the jacket across her shoulders. Then he tenderly touched her cheek. She cringed at his warmth. ?They?ll never take you back, baby girl,? he said quietly. ?Not after what you did.?

Shandri glared at him. ?I didn?t do anything,? she said. ?You did. You did it.?

?No,? Aurren cooed, ?it was you. It was always you. You took the lightsaber, and you cut out his eyes, just like he knew you would. Jake saw everything?and you saw how he reacted. And Tyr? Tyr stayed on board the Zephyr because he couldn?t bear to look at you. They?ve washed their hands of the girl named Khel.?

Shandri looked at her father and shook her head. She knew it wasn?t him. She knew none of what he said was true. She knew?but hearing him say those things just made them sting worse. ?You?re a liar,? she said. ?Tyr loves me. And he would have come if he could.?

Aurren shook his head sadly, ?No honey,? he said. ?No. Tyr loved you before?but not now. How could he? After what you did? After the damage you caused.?

?I don?t believe you,? she said.

?You don?t have to.? Aurren bent over the snow in front of her and drew a circle. The snow inside the circle suddenly grew warm and melted into a pool of water, and then flash froze into a sheet of clear ice. Aurren took Shandri by the shoulder and pushed her forwards so that she could look into the sheet, and in it she could see Jake sitting beside Weston?s bandaged body on the Zephyr. Jake was holding a pistol and talking to Tyr, who stood in the doorway. The angle was such, of course, that she could not see his crutch at all. In her mind, she could hear quite clearly what they said.

?Better,? Tyr said. ?Has there been any??

?No,? Jake said quickly. ?No movement. He?s still asleep. And the longer he sleeps the better, I suppose. It lets him heal.?

?Yeah. Probably for the best. I don?t know what to say to him when he wakes up.?

?We tell him what happened,? Jake said bitterly. ?That Shandri cut his eyes out with her lightsaber and then I drove her off.?

?Do you think he?ll ever forgive her?? Tyr asked.

?I don?t know,? Jake said uncertainly. But it was clear in his tone that the truth was, he didn?t.

?Look at them,? Aurren whispered, ?tending their wounded. Tending the man you tore into so savagely. Worrying about who he?ll forgive, and nonchalantly bantering over the fact that they drove you away. Do they look like they miss you Shandri? Do they look like they care about you??

Shandri stared at the image and shook her head. Fresh pain welled up in her heart and she felt her throat seize up. She couldn?t speak. She couldn?t even breathe. She just sobbed uncontrollably and choked on her own tears. She buried her head into her knees and cried warm tears into her freezing hands. Then she peaked through her clenched fingers and looked at the image of Tyr and Jake and Weston. It may not have outwardly proven anything?but it proved enough. It proved that Tyr knew that Jake had cast her away and had done nothing. It proved that her nightmare was true?and that she was really alone. They had banished her, and they weren?t going to change their minds. ?I didn?t even do anything,? she sobbed.

Aurren shrugged his shoulders. ?Maybe not. Maybe you?re right, maybe I took away his sight. But that?s not what they think. And don?t you remember what Jake said up on the hill? They?re coming for you, too. They think you?re evil. They think you?ve gone bad. And they won?t give you a chance to explain yourself.?

Shandri stared at Aurren, and suddenly the first hints of the old anger she?d felt back on the Zephyr and the Hueval, the anger that had driven her to madness, began to come creeping back. But she didn?t feel it towards Weston, or Tyr, or Jake. She felt it towards Aurren?or as she now knew, towards Milton. ?Change back,? she said bitterly. ?You?re tainting his memory.?

Aurren laughed, ?I just thought I?d give you something pleasant to look at.?

?I know it?s you, Milton. Don?t make me see him anymore.?

Aurren laughed again, this time grinning sadistically as he did so, and before her eyes her father transformed into the man who Jake and Tyr and Weston all called Tom Milton. She?d seen him once before, but not like this. He?d been dressed up like an Alliance of Free Worlds officer at the time?and his name had been Daniel Munn. He hesitated a moment and his grin lessened into a small, devious smile. ?Hello Shandri. Please allow me to introduce myself?I?m a man of wealth and taste,? he snickered. ?Sorry?there was this song and?nevermind. But really, it?s good to finally see, face to face, the Prophet. Cause that?s you isn?t it? You?re Erin?s big gun. You?re her major weapon?or you were.?

?Leave me alone,? Shandri muttered.

Milton frowned and reached out to touch Shandri but she shrank back. ?I know it must seem like you?re in a no win situation, Shandri. I know it must seem like you?re alone. But you?re not. I can help you. I can make things better?all you have to do is ask.?

She glared at him, at his rugged handsomeness and odd charm, and she turned away. ?You know I?ll never listen to you. Why do you even bother??

Milton shrugged. ?Because I know the pain you feel, little chick-a-dee. I know the sting of loneliness. But you don?t have to be lonely. I can give you home. A warm bed and three meals a day. But more then that?I can give you a new life. You would become my new lieutenant. I?d put you above Lex in a heartbeat. You?d get your own city to rule. You?d get your own worshipers. How?s that, eh? Better than wasting away in the cold, hoping desperately for some friends that?ll never come.?

?I could never do that,? Shandri whispered. ?If I did, I?d be the thing they?re trying fight.?

?What?s so wicked about accepting shelter and warmth from a friendly stranger? Nothing about my deal is evil, Shandri. Nothing whatsoever,? Milton said. ?What could be wrong with letting you govern people? I?m not telling you how to govern. You can make Fridays ?Free Ice Cream Day? for all I care. I?m just offering you a place to go, a place to call home and a nice, warm roof over your head. Besides?they already think you?re working for me.?

?But it wouldn?t last,? Shandri said, ?Not if you get your way. Not if you destroy?everything.?

Milton snorted cynically, ?Think about it this way, Shandri. I?m old and I?m patient. I?ve been trotting the roads far longer than the Burning Man, and I?ll still be here when his great grandkiddies are dust. I can be patient if I have to be. I can wait a few centuries for you to die before I go on with my plan. And it won?t matter whether you helped me or not, at that point.?

Shandri hesitated. She sat there, in the freezing cold, convinced there was no hope of ever being accepted by Weston or Tyr or Jake ever again, and in that moment she did consider his offer. She considered it, and pondered, for but a moment, what it would mean to turn her back on everything she believed in and join the Pale King. The bitter part of her, the part that felt indignity at her banishment, wanted eagerly to accept, if for no other reason than to show her old friends that she could get by without them as well. But the bitter part of her was a small part. Ultimately, she was not bitter. She was just lonely. And though she knew that by rejecting Milton she would go on being lonely, loneliness in itself was not enough to make her turn her back on all that she held dear. She could endure loneliness. She could not endure a lifetime of guilt. Though she shivered and trembled as she said it, and though she could see that Milton himself was warm, and would warm her if she would just accept his offer, she set her jaw and replied, ?I?d rather freeze to death out here.?

Milton stopped. For the first time, his devilish grin faded, and his mouth twisted. He looked down at her with a quizzical, puzzled look and said, ?Why Shandri, what a silly girl. Don?t reject my offer so glibly. Think of what I could give you? Think of what we could do together? What a Jedi and one such as myself could build! We could save lives. We could do things that you and the Four can?t even dream about. Like stop that Galian fleet Tyr?s so hot and bothered about. Even if Erin?s little cadre beat me and go all the way to the Black Spire and slay his highness the Burning Man?even so, that fleet will still be there ravaging your galaxy. There is nothing you or anyone else can do about that. Unless?? Milton gestured at himself and winked. ?And think of the death toll. Think of the trillions that will lose their lives if you don?t act. Together, we can stop that fleet. You can be my navigator, and I?ll be the gunner, and we can stop that Acolyte of Steel and his warships. But you need me, you see, because even if Tyr and Jake and Weston are successful their plan is flawed. A universe without the Burning Man is not a universe without the Galian Star Empire. It spans galaxies. Do you comprehend the logistical nightmare that ruling such a thing would be? You?d have to be a god to even grasp the scope of your dominion. Jake Landon is not an adequate replacement. What do you think will happen when the belief system of a million worlds, all who have worshiped a god for a thousand years suddenly find that their faith has been misplaced? A thousand years of souls damned to Hell because they worshiped the wrong god. And you think you?re bringing freedom to such people? Silly girl. Think of the wars that will follow. Think of the carnage and the bloodshed that will come. Without the Burning Man to unite them, the galaxies of the Galian Star Empire, heretofore united under a common military power, will splinter. You will see warlords taking control of territories, civil wars, slaughters as the stronger forces annihilate those beneath them. The Star Empire and all its territories will be plunged back into the dark ages as whole worlds and civilizations are expunged from history, and there will be cataclysmic death tolls that make the Galian invasion in your galaxy look like a fender bender. All because Jake Landon has issues with his daddy.?

?Then I guess one way or another, I lose,? Shandri said.

Milton laughed. ?Well, you little jitterbug, maybe so. Maybe so. I would at least say that you and your friends? current course of action is the?more sinister, of the two. Much more so than if you join little old me.?

?I?but it would be just as bad if we did nothing,? Shandri said.

?Not so,? Milton said. He spoke with a hypnotic rhythm to his voice that made Shandri want so very badly to believe. ?If the so-called ?Four? win, then that pretty picture I just painted will happen and you will not be looking at the death of trillions but of several orders of magnitude more. And don?t think your galaxy will be spared. There?s a whole fleet there, and right now, with leadership, it is running amok. Without it? Every planet they reach will be laid to waste. Every ship, no matter who flies it, will be torched. And that is if you succeed. If you fail? If you die here or on Earth? Your galaxy may be destroyed, it?s possible. But it?s far more likely that after a year or so of slaughter, the Burning Man will grow tired of having such a large percentage of his fleet tied up doing nothing but extermination missions. After the backs and spirits of your galaxy?s inhabitants are broken, he will likely withdraw the majority of his fleet and then decree his control of your galaxy. Your militaries will be stripped away and your culture adapted to make room for a new deity?but there will be survivors. There will be another generation to call themselves Correllians, or Mon Calamari, or Ettians. When you put it like that, it sounds a little different, eh? Maybe I?m not the villain of this piece at all. Maybe you are. Maybe you, and Jake, and Tyr, and Weston are just pawns of a horrible chaos loving fiend and you just don?t know it yet. And maybe Erin, rather than the Burning Man, is the great black beast that should be toppled.?

?No,? Shandri said. ?You?re lying, and you?re trying to manipulate me.?

?All I?m telling you is how things are. I?m telling you about the big picture that you either can?t see, or have elected to ignore. There?s no lie in that. The only lie here is that you seem to genuinely think that by rejecting my offer and suffering in the cold you are some how clinging to a higher moral principle, when in fact, you?re clinging to the support of a course of action that will result in far more chaos than I can ever hope to generate.?

?But that?s not true,? Shandri said. ?Because even if what you say comes to pass?at least that way there is still a Universe to suffer. If you have your way then?then there?ll just be nothing.?

?Or so Erin says,? Milton replied. ?No one really knows, and like I said if you join me you won?t be in any way speeding up that little bit of business. You?ll just be accepting shelter when it is offered.?

Shandri hesitated. All around her the cold seemed to intensify, as if nature itself were willing her to join him. She could no longer feel her fingers or her toes, and her whole face was numb as well. She was being pounded with snow, and slowly but surely as her suffering intensified and her judgment numbed, her strength of will began to fade. ?I don?t understand,? she said. ?Why do you want to help me? What do you get out of it??

?Why, little miss Jedi,? Milton said kindly, ?I get you. I get your skills and your personality?every little bit of you is mine. To use as I desire. It?s a wonderful, fair deal. Now, I ask you again, wouldn?t you like to come in from the cold? Or should I take my jacket back, and leave.?

The thought of losing the jacket was an awful, gut-turning thing. She pulled it closer around her. She could, she knew, accept Milton?s offer?and even if she did, maybe at some point the others would come for her, find her, and hear her out. They had forgiven everyone else? Why not her? But at the same time?at the same time, she didn?t know how deeply her debt to Milton would run. What did he mean when he said that he would have her? Whatever he meant, she was almost certain that he was not limiting himself to her company. That thought?the thought of being in some way indebted to Tom Milton for all eternity?somehow that was worse than the biting cold. Although as she sat there shivering in the snow, it didn?t seem much worse. And, of course, there would always be a way out. There always was. ?Fine,? she said at last. Her voice was as fragile and weak as her body had become. She feared that she was succumbing to hypothermia, though her connection with the Force in her current state of mind was too frail to try any of her meditation techniques. ?Fine,? she repeated. ?I?ll go with you.?

Milton grinned savagely, and once again extended his hand. ?I knew you would, Shandri. Now just take my hand,? he said. ?And come with me.?

***

When she touched Milton?s hand, almost immediately the cold and the fear she felt melted away. It was as if she had wrapped her hand around a warm and comforting friend. She felt her anxieties and her sadness suppressed, and a fresh wave of hopefulness come over her. She looked at Milton, warm and surprisingly strong, and for a moment she thought he was beautiful?like a Greek God, had she known such a thing existed. When he walked, he seemed to float and make her float as well, and though they walked through the thick snow and the freezing streets of Rook, Shandri felt beside it all, or beyond it. She felt like she was an observer but not a participant, and she wondered if this was what it felt like to be one with the Force.

They walked until they reached a set of stairs that led up to a pair of glass doors that seemed totally out of place in the nearly medieval setting. Milton stopped, held up his hand, and the doors spread open on their own. ?After you,? he said politely. Shandri hesitated to remove her hand from his grip, but she did, and as she did so almost immediately the world seemed dimmer. She passed through the doors and walked into the lobby of Milton?s complex. Almost immediately, when she passed through the boundary and came in from the cold, she felt warm and oddly safe.

The main floor was a fairly Spartan concourse with several fountains and a large veranda window that looked out at the other side of the city. The seal of the Galian Star Empire was welded prominently above it. The floor was made of black marble and there were several elevators that provided access to the rest of the Galian administrative buildings. A slimy looking man with slicked back hair and a three piece suit was standing in the doorway. His hands and the back of his neck were wrapped in gauze. ?Hello, Miss Brighstorm, and welcome to Rook.?

Milton laughed and grinned. ?Shandri, I?m sorry I should have told you you?d be meeting Lex. Quite the little charmer. Lex, this is Shandri Brighstorm; Shandri this is Lexington Quigley.?

Shandri looked at the man and tried to touch him with the Force. He was scared, she could tell. He was as terrified of Milton as anyone else, but he hid it well. Just like he hid his upbringing behind suits and colognes. ?How do you do,? he said.

?It?s good to meet you,? Shandri said quietly.

?Lex is my number one, Shandri,? Milton explained. ?I?ve probably mentioned him to you before. You two will be working closely with each other here. Very closely, in all likelihood. I have a lot of worshipers but not too many competent henchmen. Which is a surprise, considering I?m such an affable villain.? He grinned, ?Oh Shandri don?t look at me like that. We take our stereotypes with a grain of fun around here, right Lex? But you?ll come to see that we don?t all trot around with black hats and monocles cackling about who we?re going to maim next. It?s really just like over there, on the other side of the Hueval where your friends are camping. We?re all just folks, you know??

Shandri hesitated, and in spite of their friendliness and the warmth and security she felt, she had a strange sense that all of it was an act. Deep down, she thought, they were just maneuvering her like a piece on a dejarik board. The thought brought her back, if only for a moment, to the reality of her situation. ?Folks don?t make people worship them,? she whispered.

Milton shrugged, completely unphased by her insubordination. ?King Ramses did. And so did King Louis. And so did the Caesars. Man?s history is full of the masses worshiping their superiors. It?s the way of things. Which I guess makes it God?s way. Or perhaps the way of the Force, if you?d prefer. No matter which deity or karmic energy you prescribe to it, people just go on being people. We aren?t doing anything wrong here. What?s wrong, what?s unnatural, is forcing people into freedom when they?re not ready for it. Would you call it noble to abandon a housecat on the side of a road? I don?t think so. Kitty would stave to death and die. So why do you think these people, who?ve been living under a despot?s thumb for all these years, are any different??

Shandri studied Milton and shook her head, ?People aren?t cats. We have a will?and we have the capacity to lead ourselves. And tricking them and lying to them and making them think you?re a?a God? It?s not right.?

Milton nodded. ?You really have a high opinion of your race, don?t you Shandri? That?s real sweet. But you?ll find, if you live among the mob long enough, and really get to know them, that the human condition is not to be nice and cuddly to ones neighbors. You are cruel, savage beasts that dress up your flaws in pretty colors and call it civilization. But deep down, on that level where all men are equal, you will find that equality lies not in strength of will or in love of freedom, but in an appetite for violence and a hate of those who are different.?

Shandri shook her head, but she couldn?t bring herself to respond. After several moments of quiet, she looked from Lex to Milton. ?It doesn?t really matter what you think. You aren?t going to win, you know? There?s not really anything you can do. It?s just what happens. People like you try to destroy the world. People like us stop you.?

Milton snickered and walked up to the main elevator. It was carpeted in lavish reds and golds. He led Shandri into it, followed closely by Lex. When they were inside he activated the button. ?That?s really cute. Shandri, my dear,? he said, ?You?ve been living in a fantasy world all your life, full of incompetent villains and very lucky heroes. But it?s about time you fall down from that cloud, because I?m a league apart. Besides?you?re not one of those ?people? anymore. You?re one of us now.? He grinned and raked his finger across her cheek. She cringed, and as he touched her she suddenly realized that the warmth and the good feelings were gone. Her mouth grew dry and her pulse quickened, and quite suddenly she realized that she had made a horrible mistake. She had to get away. She had to get out of this tower. She?d take her chances in the cold and the snow over her chances as Milton?s lackey. But then, in her panic, another thought came to her and in its own way, it was even worse. ?Erin was wrong,? she said abruptly, ?She said you couldn?t touch us. She said your magic wouldn?t work on us. But it did. You were able to fool me. You were able to grab me. You were able to attack Weston.?

Milton nodded. ?You?ll find that most of what she?s shown you are lies and half truths. She misinforms and manipulates at every turn because she?s so desperate to be free. But you can hardly blame her. She only did it to give you hope?because when you asked her ?How do I kill Tom?? the cold hard truth is?she had no idea.? The elevator door dinged at the fifth floor and slid open. They were on a long hall full of rooms with shut doors. Two men, who Lex knew as Wade Radley and Nathan McKenzie, were standing by the elevator. Wade stepped up to the three of them and reached out his hand. ?Ms. Brighstorm, your room is this way.?

Shandri glanced nervously from Lex to Milton. They were already putting her to bed? She hadn?t seen enough yet?maybe if she saw more, she?d have enough to be able to go back to Tyr and Jake with. Maybe then they?d take her back. But not now. Now she?d just seen the lobby and an elevator. If she was going to make this worth anything, she knew, she would have to see more. ?I thought I was going to be shown around a little more. Maybe?oriented.?

Milton grinned, ?Don?t you just love her Lex? So spunky, so?get up and go. Well baby girl, I?m planning on keeping you with us for a long time. I promise you, in the morning we?re gonna show you all around this place and I?m even going to tell you what your first assignment is. But for tonight, you should sleep.?

Shandri looked uncertainly at Wade and then looked over at Nathan. Both seemed friendly enough, and Milton had not taken her lightsaber. If they tried anything she would win handily. ?Ok,? she said.

She began to walk off the elevator when Milton cleared his throat. ?There is,? he said. ?Just one thing.?

Shandri froze. She knew something like this would happen. She had barely begun to warm, her hair was still dripping with thawing ice and her fingers and face were just beginning to grow warm again. She turned slightly, waiting for him to continue.

Milton smiled, ?Don?t worry, I?m not going to ask for your first born. I?d just like a thank you.?

Shandri smiled back uneasily. ?Thank you,? she said. The words made her want to choke. ?For the shelter.?

?Quite welcome Shandri,? Milton said. He reached out, hit the elevator button, and the double doors between him and Shandri began to slide shut. Just before they close his eyes seemed to flash and he added, ?Sleep tight.?


When the doors were shut, Lex looked up at Tom Milton and frowned. ?She may have signed on to your little deal?but you know she ain?t one of us, right? Her heart?s not in it?and unless you go tell her to heal some sick or somesuch nonsense, I don?t think she?s gonna want to be party to what we do here.?

Milton stared at the double doors as the elevator rose. ?She doesn?t have to be one of us. She doesn?t even have to like us. She is, as they say, a prisoner here of her own device. All she can do now is sit in that room and endure us. And that?ll be enough.?

?Enough for what??

Milton put his finger to his mouth and looked down at Lex. He snickered. ?Why, enough for her to be in place when the hammer falls, and the Four come together to do my will.?

***

Several hours later, after Tyr had long since gone to sleep and the snow had stopped, Jake still sat alone and awake in the medical bay. He ?d just been staring at the wall, then at the gun, then at Weston, and then back at the wall again. It?d become a cycle, and he?d repeated it many times. Finally, when he was quite sure that he would not be able to ward of sleep for much longer, he decide to perform the ritual he?d been avoiding for so long. He didn?t quite know why he?d been putting it off?but perhaps it was because he felt like even he didn?t have the right. Like it was something sacred, and no one was ordained to perform the task but Weston.

He examined the patches of dirt and grime and water that?d soiled the little pistol, and he did his best to brush away the loose particles. Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out the small cleaning kit he?d taken from Weston?s body when they?d prepared him for his bandages.

Jake looked at Weston with a mixture of sadness and concern, both for his friend?s recovery and what he knew was to come. Then he opened the kit and began to polish the gun.

[Calavan]

The Pact

?Let the devil catch you but by a single hair, and you are his forever?

~Gotthold Lessing



The night wore on into morning, and the Four slept alone.

Tyr laid on his back staring at the panel above his bunk. He?d been awake most of the night, waiting for some sign or feeling from Shandri. Guilt and regret worked their way through his chest like a cold knife. He?d failed her. H could have been there for her. He could have stopped her?saved her. He could have been stronger. What damage had her actions done to the Four, he wondered? What did Milton?s involvement in all of it prove? Had Erin lied? It certainly seemed so. Milton did not seem hindered in the least by the Four?s presence. And he certainly touched Shandri?perhaps not physically, but in a personal and intimate way nonetheless. That thought, more than any other, made Tyr?s blood run hot. Come morning, he swore, he would make Milton pay. He?d had enough games. He?d had enough riddles. And his passion was no longer driven by his idealism or noble intentions. Those things were gone, replaced by a cold, focused sense of righteous anger and an urge to repay Milton for all the pain he?d caused. If Weston could have seen Tyr?s mind, he would have approved.

Jake sat beside Weston?s body for the rest of the night, waiting for his friend to awaken. Around four in the morning he dozed off. He woke up again at six. There had still been no change. While asleep, Jake dreamed that he was standing on a hill, not the Hueval but a distant hill bordered by forest and looking down on a low valley. In the valley there was an old farmhouse with chickens and a cow. The door opened, and a girl and two men came running out of the house with armloads of canned food. When they reached the top of the hill, one of the men told Jake that the elderly couple inside had been shot dead not long ago. They?d taken what they could, but if the Galians were nearby they?d better leave. Jake agreed and looked at the girl, who he?d later fall in love with (and who he already felt a strong, mouth-drying attraction towards). She smiled and blushed when she noticed his gaze, and Jake offered to take some of her load. But instead of accepting, she looked oddly at him and said, ?No Jake. Your burden is great enough. But I will be with you in the battles that lie ahead. And I will help you in my way.? Then the girl in his dream smiled at him, dropped her goods, and grabbed him up in her arms. He awoke just as their lips met.

Weston laid on the medbay bench for several more hours and had no dreams. He slept in darkness just as he would live the rest of his life.

Shandri did her best to sleep in the plush Galian bed. Her room was large and ornately decorated, with an entire wall made of glass looking out onto Rook. It had soft red carpet, and brass and gold plated furniture. Despite her lavish surroundings, however, Shandri could not find it in herself to for sleep long. For most of the night she laid in bed crying over what had happened to her. She?d made a deal with Milton, and she didn?t even know what she?d offered him. All she knew was that this pleasant hotel, and the illusory sanctuary it provided, were not to last. In the morning, she told herself that she would get up, and do whatever it took to make her way into Milton?s suite. Then, once she had the lay of the land, she would try to find a way out. And she would find her way back to Jake and Tyr and Weston?and she would do the hardest thing?the thing she should have done from the beginning?and the thing that Weston did. She would go back, and she would let them do what they would with her. She thought about these things until about eight in the morning when a bird outside began to sing. It was calling from some high balcony, and its music calmed Shandri?s tortured heart. Warm sun spilled in from the window.

A new day had come.

***

The sunlight caught and glinted off of the snowy streets and rooftops of Rook. It was nearly blinding. Shandri looked out of her window down towards the streets below, not realizing that two stories up Tom Milton was doing the same thing. His office had been repaired (quite literally with just a word) and it looked spick and span and ready for the day. But Milton was not happy.

During the night, he had thought long about the coming day. He?d tried to see clearly what was coming; to have some confirmation of what he knew the day would bring?and yet, despite all his powers and his gift of foresight, he could see nothing. He knew what he had seen. He?d seen Shandri tearing out Weston?s eyes and being cast out by Jake Landon. Then he?d seen the three companions trudging through Rook after her. Weston was blind, and the other two had led him. And then the men of Rook took up arms and fell upon them, and brought them to the tower, where in their rage they turned upon one another. That?s what he had seen, and yet with her one action, Shandri Brighstorm had done the impossible and shattered that future forever. That one, stupid act of self-control seemed to be having more ramifications than Milton could have ever imagined. Somehow Shandri had severely damaged his foresight, and in his own way Milton was now just as blind as Weston Onasi.

Below him, the streets were becoming busy. People rose at dawn, and were now bustling about with their lives, shoveling snow from their driveways and beginning their daily routines. Several had already gathered in front of the grinning statue in the city center and begun to pray. Milton pressed his hand against his glass window and grinned. Maybe it didn?t matter after all, he mused. The Prophet had already made her pact, and she was now bound by more than his magics. The Four would come together, and they would do battle in his tower. They would fight, unwillingly perhaps but they would fight. And by the end of it, though their scars would be lasting, they would emerge stronger than they began.

Strong enough to scale stairs of the Black Spire.

Strong enough to tear down the wall.

On the balcony outside, Milton saw a small songbird perched and singing. After a moment, it stopped and noticed him. The little bird cocked its head to the side and tweeted. Milton grinned and stared back until the little animal opened its wings and flew away into the distance. He flexed his fingers, ready to snap and watch the bird?s head crack sharply back, but before he could, there was a knock at his door.

?Come,? he murmured.

The door opened slowly and Lex Quigley stepped inside. His face was pale and his eyes shifted nervously across the room, as if he thought Milton would be waiting to ambush him. Only after he saw Tom Milton standing out in the open and checked that the suite wasn?t wrecked did the color return to his cheeks. ?You wanted to see me?? he said.

Milton didn?t turn. He continued to look down on his bustling followers. ?That?s right Lex,? he said. ?Did you have a good night??

Lex hesitated and Milton knew that he was thinking about the pain that still throbbed beneath his bandages. ?Very good,? he said finally. ?Slept like a baby.?

Milton smiled and spun around on his heel. The abrupt motion made Lex take two involuntary steps back and he fell into a plush red chair that hadn?t been there when he came in. ?Well that?s peachy. I only ask, because Shandri didn?t. Little Miss Brightstorm was very restless, last night. Very unhappy.?

Lex?s eyes traveled across the room and he swallowed. Sweat beaded up on his forehead, and his foot tapped rapidly against the floor. ?Well?eh, you know why, right?? Lex said, and he leaned forward in his chair. ?I told you already: she isn?t one of us. She ain?t ever gonna be one of us. She?s still thinking about those men camped outside of town.?

Milton looked at him for several minutes, letting the silence drone on until Lex began to fidget in his seat. Lex Quigley, Milton knew, didn?t like silence. It made him uncomfortable?perhaps more uncomfortable than he already was?but Milton thought that the monumental statement he was about to make warranted a dramatic pause. ?I agree,? he said finally. ?You are right Lex, she is not one of us. And that?s why I?ve decided that maybe merely holding her here isn?t enough.?

Lex calmed noticeably at this. ?Absolutely. I think we better take her out now so she doesn?t go running back to her pals with an inside look at our base??

Milton held up a finger and Lex?s voice caught in his throat. ?You were right once, Lex. Don?t push it,? Milton chuckled. Then the subtle pressure on Lex?s throat eased and he could speak again.

Lex rubbed his hand over his neck and cleared his throat. ?Erm, ok then,? he murmured. ?So what?re you gonna do??

Milton grimaced, flexed his fingers and turned back to the window. Below him, more worshipers had gathered around the statute and shops were beginning to open. Women and children ran up and down the streets as their husbands journeyed through the snow to work. ?I?m going to stay here, and wait for you to bring her up here. And then we?re going to eat breakfast.?

?Uh?breakfast??

?Breakfast. And when you get her, I want you to be friendly. Try not to be yourself Lex, make her like you,? Milton spread his lips and chuckled. ?And then we eat.?

?And then??

Milton shrugged. ?And then we make her one of us.?

***

Jake woke up with a start, and for a moment forgot that he was in a chair. He?d been dozing for the past two hours, but ever since his dream he hadn?t again managed to go to sleep. He leaned forward to stretch and fell off the edge of the chair, catching himself just before he landed on Weston?s still sleeping body. The gun in his lap hit the floor with a loud clatter. Jake shuddered and picked it up. ?Jesus,? he muttered. He looked first at the gun, then at Weston, and then at the wrist chrono Tyr had given him. It was 8:13. He frowned and yawned. It had been a long, restless night, punctuated by a dream that Jake quite honestly didn?t know what to make of. Was it Milton screwing with his head? He didn?t think so. But it was so oblique, just as all his dreams had been. If it was from Erin, he wondered why she so consistently chose to hide herself from him. He was the Ram, the key who tied this Four to the four who had fought with Kel Gauthra one thousand years ago. He was the keystone?he was the one who would kill the Burning Man. That was his ultimate fate?he knew it as well as he knew his name, but she would not confirm it. She would not speak to him at all. Instead he was plagued with long forgotten memories and cryptic messages that offered little of the clarity the others received. Why this was seemed a mystery, but like all the others Jake imagined it would be made clear before the end.

He looked down at Weston?s gun and frowned. He felt a distant pang of regret somewhere in his core, and half hoped that Weston never woke up. At least that way he?d never know what happened. He?d never suffer like he would surely suffer when he stirred. ?You?d kick my ass if you knew I dropped it, wouldn?t you buddy?? he asked with a sad smile.

To his surprise, Weston moved. His head tilted forward, just slightly, and then it fell back against the table. He let out a long, slow sigh, and grunted, ?You bet your ass I would.?

Jake?s mouth dropped opened and his hands turned to Jell-O. The gun slipped out of his grip again and landed on the floor with a clang that seemed to make the whole room ring.

Weston flinched. ?The world must really be going to hell,? he muttered, his voice low and gravelly, ?cause I think you just dropped it again.?

Jake very quickly picked it up and grinned. ?Weston?how do you feel??

?Like my head?s on fire.?

Jake couldn?t help but smile even wider. ?Well?I can?t say I blame you.?

Weston tried to pick himself up off the bed but collapsed back down onto his back. He grunted. For several seconds he sat there in still silence, and just when Jake was about to ask him if he was all right he cleared his throat and asked in a voice that trembled with palpable, underlying dread: ?Jake?be honest. How bad is it?? Without thinking he reached his quivering hand up to his face and brushed it across the bandages. He flinched when he touched the wound and quickly dropped his arm. Then he took a deep breath and pushed himself up into a sitting position against the back of the medbay. He hesitated, reached to touch his wound again and then thought better of it. As he lowered his arm, Jake could see his chest rising and falling rapidly. Weston swallowed, and turned his head directly towards Jake. ?What happened to me??

Jake hesitated for a moment, and fear swelled in the pit of his stomach. ?Don?t?don?t you remember?? he asked quietly.

Weston?s face contorted furiously for a moment and Jake thought he was going to scream, but Weston did not scream. He maintained composure and said between clenched teeth, ?No. I don?t remember a thing. Now please, Jake, what happened to me??

Jake?s heart sank. He had hoped that he?d never have to actually say what he was about to say. He had hoped that the issue could be ignored, or avoided or?or something. At the very least, he hadn?t meant to confront it so early on. But, he realized, he owed it to Weston to be honest. He really had no choice.

?You?re eyes are gone,? Jake said. And he looked into the bloodstained bandages for some sign of recognition, but found none. Weston may just as well have been staring at a wall. There was no sign of movement on his friends? still frame, so Jake continued. ?She cut ?em out. Sliced them right out of your head like you knew she would. And I?? Jake?s voice cracked just a little, and very abruptly the happiness that came with Weston?s revival slipped away, and all the sadness and pain that he?d experienced the night before came rushing to fill the void. Somewhere in his soul, a dam had broken and a flood of emotions threatened to sweep him away. ?I ran her off,? he said with grim satisfaction, ?I told her to go away and never come back. Jedi or not, one of us or not, I wanted to kill her. I wanted to gut her.?

Weston didn?t say anything for a time. Jake studied him, looking for some sign of appreciation for the anger and fervor he had felt on Weston?s behalf, but trying to read his friend?s bandaged face was like trying to read a droid. There was no emotion at all there. Whatever Weston was feeling?whatever he was thinking?he kept it safely hidden. Finally, after what felt like several minutes, Weston snorted and lowered his head. ?I don?t remember?? he started, but then his voice petered out. He cleared his throat and began again, ?Jake?why? Why?d she do it??

?It?it was your story,? Jake said quietly. ?Milton was whispering in her ear the whole time. He was manipulating her. He posed as her parents and?and when you told that story it drove her mad. But I don?t think we can blame Shandri for everything. Milton was?I don?t know, he was controlling her somehow. Couldn?t you see? He was beside her on the hill. Tyr shot at him.?

?I don?t remember anyone on the hill besides Shandri,? Weston said, and his voice was barely a whisper. ?She was going to kill me. She?she was choking me. She had me in the air, like a rag doll. She could?ve done anything to me?but then someone screamed, and it seemed like for a minute she was going to let me go. And then I remember falling, hitting the ground, and then?nothing. I go black.?

?It was her,? Jake said. ?But it wasn?t her fault. Milton?s our target, not Shandri. And Tyr and I have talked. We talked about this, Wes?and we?re going to kill that son of a bitch if it?s the last thing we do.?

Weston laughed, but it was a cold, raspy, cynical laugh. ?Well good for you. And what about Erin and Destiny, you still gonna trust them??

Jake smiled and put his hand down on his friend?s. ?Fuck ?em,? he whispered. ?I?m done fighting her war. Every step she?s led us has turned into a catastrophe. No more. Tyr and I talked last night, and we?re going to attack Milton today. But we aren?t going to siege the city. We?re gonna fly right over their heads and blast Milton?s tower into sand.?

Weston tried to smile, but even the slightest wrinkling around his eyes caused incredible pain to his face. He dropped his mouth almost immediately and brought his hand up to his wound. He touched the padding lightly and gently traced his finger along the indention in his face where the bridge of his nose used to be. He shuddered, and lowered his head. In spite of all Jake?s confidence and heroic defiance, Weston could not help but feel that it was all a reaction to Erin?s uncanny ability to be useless, and as such, too little, too late. His eyes were gone. His window was gone, and with it his will and his spirit. Weston swallowed and turned his head away from Jake. ?Can I have a minute??

Jake stiffened and looked at his friend. ?Yeah,? he nodded, ?Yeah, sure buddy. Look I?m sorry, I just thought you?d want to know what was on the table.?

?Yeah,? Weston agreed. ?I do, trust me I do. Just?just give me a few minutes. I have a lot to process.?

Jake frowned. ?Ok. Well, when you?re ready to hear more just call me. I?m going to get something for breakfast, do you want anything??

?No,? Weston muttered. ?No can?t say I?m that hungry.?

?Right.? So Jake stood up. As he walked to the door, he cast one last sidelong glance to his friend and hesitated. The bloodstained bandage was still tied ominously around his pale face, and Jake couldn?t help but shudder. He hated to admit it, but he was certain that he was wearing an expression of acute revulsion. It was a painful act to look at that once handsome face. It was painful to think of how damaged it was, and how easily the damage could have been prevented. It was painful to think that even a friend, who would do anything to help Weston, had trouble looking at his new, scarred visage. Had Weston seen Jake?s expression, he would have been deeply hurt.

Of course, he could not.

***

About an hour after Shandri had awakened there was a knock at her door. She was sitting at the foot of her bed, deep in thought. She?d been going over her return to Jake and Tyr and Weston ever since sunrise, trying to outline what she?d say?how she?d act. Would she be strong? Would she abandon responsibility and try to put all the blame on Milton? How would they treat her? Jake had made it plain what he wanted to do, but Shandri was certain Tyr wouldn?t let that happen.

The knock came again, and the sudden noise made her jump to her feet and instinctively reach for the hilt at her waist. After a moment she checked the impulse and cleared her throat. ?Come on in,? she said.

The door slid open with a quiet hiss. Lexington Quigley was on the other side, hands in his pockets like a nervous boy standing on her doorstep before a first date. ?Hey,? he said. Shandri looked back at him and relaxed a bit. ?How was your night??

Shandri tried to smile, gave up, and looked at the bed. She?d made it up not long after waking. ?Comfy,? she said. ?And a great view.?

Lex nodded. ?The Galians did it?they always had a taste for theatrics. Built this place for their governor?a man named Tryon. He treated us well?but it didn?t save him.?

Shandri hesitated, unsure of what to say. Was that regret she?d heard? The thought struck a chord in Shandri that was both deep and sensitive. Just how devoted was Tom Milton?s lieutenant? The question burned in her mind like a newborn sun, and before Lex had a chance to speak again she gave into the temptation to answer that question. She reached out with the force and passed into his mind, and very suddenly she was surrounded by images. A little boy covered in blood being yelled at by an older man in a white apron. That same little boy, now grown, but still blood spattered standing over an animal carcass. He looked disheveled and poor, and others in the city passed him with disgust in their eyes. Then it was night, and the man was standing beside Tom Milton, who was talking to him softly. They were standing just in front of the capitol building. Across the square was the rest of the village, gathered in reverence, and between them was a fire. ?You did well,? Tom said, and he smiled. But Lex could not smile in return. He was just watching the flickering flames in front of them.

It was not fueled by wood, but by flesh.

?Hmm?? Lex said. He looked at Shandri curiously.

?I?m sorry,? she stammered, for a moment disoriented by the experience. She blinked rapidly and tried to process everything she?d just seen. ?I?m sorry what did you say??

?I said Krempe wanted to eat breakfast with you. We?ll be doing it up in his office. He?s expecting us any time now.?

?Breakfast?? she said distantly, and somewhere in the back of her still muddled mind, an alarm began to ring. It was too early. It was too perfect. Breakfast in Tom Milton?s office? It was a trap. It was a set up? and yet, what reason did she have to think that? Why would Milton trap her when he already had her? What possible benefit could he gain by taking her into his suite if there truly was some nefarious motive. In truth, her gut didn?t know. And so her mind quickly quieted intuition?s reservations, and she cleared her thoughts and smiled. ?Breakfast,? she repeated. ?That sounds good. Do you mind if I wash up first??

Lex hesitated, and it was very obvious to her that he did mind. Anxiety was leaking out of him like a cracked hose, and yet in spite of that she also thought she felt as hint of relief. Even his own lieutenant doesn?t like being around him, Shandri realized.

?Yes,? Lex said stiffly. ?Yes, go ahead and wash up. Make yourself pretty. Krempe says you?re one of us now.?

?Do I get a T-shirt?? Shandri asked.

Lex scowled, shoved his hands into his pockets, and began to pace in the doorway. ?Hurry up,? he muttered. ?Krempe?ll be unpleasant if I don?t get you up there ASAP. Ok? So please try to hurry up.?

?Ok,? Shandri said, and without waiting for him to speak again she turned and walked into the lavatory.


She locked the door the moment it latched behind her. ?Ok, ok,? she whispered under her breath. It was time to shine. It was time to go upstairs and kick butt and take names. She was a Jedi, time she acted like one. She would get the lay of the land. She would see entrances, exits, defensive stations, weak points. She would get a feel for Milton?s lackeys. Numbers. Get a sense of how dedicated they were. She would go in, sit down, eat a little, talk a little, and then get out.

And if things go badly? her mind warned.

Well, if things went badly there was always plan B. She unclipped the lightsaber from her waist and pressed the activation switch. For a moment she worried that it wouldn?t work, that maybe Milton was inhibiting it somehow, but when the purple blade extended outward her nerves eased slightly. She stared into the shimmering beam for a few moments before remembering that Lex was waiting outside for her. And what about him? she wondered. He could be a powerful ally against Milton. He may take a little work?but if I can get him to change his mind, how many of the others will follow suit?

It?s too dangerous. It?s not worth getting involved in, maybe for the main strike but now is too early.

But it has to be now. Any later and I won?t have time to work him properly. And no amount of mind tricking is as effective as a genuinely willing traitor.

But is he worth it? Erin didn?t say anything about an ally in Milton?s ranks. She didn?t foresee anything of that sort.

Did she foresee any of this at all, though? At least I should look into Lex?s head. If I probe around a bit, maybe I?ll get a better feel for the guy. And if there is any ulterior motive in this breakfast?that?ll be the perfect place to find out.

?Are you coming, or what?? Lex snapped. His voiced sounded distant, but in reality it was only separated by a few feet and a thin bathroom wall.

?Coming,? Shandri chirped, and very quickly flushed the empty toilet and turned the faucet on and off. Lex was standing in the doorway, tapping his foot when the bathroom door opened.

?You ready?? he sighed.

?I?m ready,? Shandri said.

Lex gestured towards the door, but continued to tap his foot. ?Then after you.?

Shandri stepped out into the hallway and looked back at him. He glared at her for a split second before suppressing it into a weak smile. She knew, even without the Force, that he didn?t trust her. She could feel the wariness oozing off of him like a sweaty musk. But beneath that, she could also sense fear?and it was not fear towards here, but towards Milton. And very clearly she knew that he felt this same fear every time he was forced to ascend the elevator to the uppermost suite.

She stared at him, and let her eyes dig into his mind, and very clearly she could see the raw emotions Milton brought out in him. Anger. Fear. Hate. Had Lex been a Jedi, Shandri would have said that Milton was intentionally creating Dark Side emotions in him. Since he wasn?t, she imagined that maybe Milton didn?t have to try. Maybe it just came naturally.

?What is it?? Lex said abruptly. They reached the elevator and stepped inside, and he pressed the button for Milton?s suite. The doors slid shut and there was a quiet hum as the elevator began to rise.

Shandri looked back at him steadily, and then broke her stare. She could feel her heart beating very rapidly inside her chest, and she knew as surely as the small light ascended towards the top row of elevator lights that in moments she?d once again be face to face with Tom Milton. And try as she might, she couldn?t say for sure that she?d make it out alive. Despite what the calm, rational voice in her head told her, she could not shake the feeling that something wasn?t right. ?Nothing,? she said.

Lex shifted his weight and followed her gaze towards the elevator lights. ?Twenty seconds,? he said aloud. ?I?ve clocked it. Takes a full twenty seconds to get from the ground floor to the top. Course, you weren?t on the ground so it won?t take quite that long.?

Shandri nodded. Twenty seconds, her mind repeated. But the glowing light was almost to the top of its column, and she knew that Lex was right, and while it may take twenty seconds to reach the top from ground level, she only had a few before those doors opened.

Immediately Shandri tried to concentrate, and she left the elevator and dove as quickly and as deeply as she could into Lex?s mind. If there was danger coming, or some clue that she could find, she had to have it. She had to have something definitive. And she had to have it now.

Within moments she was inundated with images: A jeering crowd. A towering figure at the top of a hill. He brought back the dead came a murmur. Men from all around Rook gathered at the base of the Hueval to see the stranger. She saw Lex, standing at the back of the crowd, and then the terror on his face when a horse went wild and stampeded through the citizens. Later she saw him again, only now he was standing beside Tom Milton on his balcony, and Milton held out both arms and said to him, ?This is your kingdom, Lex. And the ones who belittled you are now your slaves.? Then she heard the jeers of all the men who?d mocked him, followed by their screams as Lex Quigley, Milton?s lieutenant, remembered the intolerance they?d shown him.

Then she felt a rush of emotion?raw hate, anger, confidence, and above all else a genuine gratefulness towards the man standing beside him. And strangest of all, a familiar love, like that between a boy and his father. But it was tempered with fear, and suddenly she felt a rush of terror, a tightness across her neck, and a cold gale of wind blasting against her back. Small, twinkling city lights flickered below her and she realized that she was suspended over a balcony, and that some dark, black thing without a face was clutching her. Something that had once been human, but turned far more sinister. Then she was standing in a room looking out on a dawning morning, and Tom Milton stood in front of her. ?You are right Lex, she is not one of us,? he said, and even as he said it, she knew that he wasn?t in the least bit surprised. He?d undoubtedly known all along that she wouldn?t, and couldn?t assimilate into his band of thugs.
?So what?re you gonna do?? she heard herself ask.

Milton smiled, and Shandri thought that rather than man teeth, she was looking into a maw of needle-sharp fangs. A terrible tremor cascaded along her back, and Milton said. ?Breakfast. And when you get her, I want you to be friendly. Try not to be yourself Lex, make her like you,? Milton spread his lips and chuckled. ?And then we eat.?

?And then??

Shandri felt a sudden jolt and she realized that Lex had pushed her forward. She stumbled out into the suite?s antechamber about as gracefully as a Gamorrean and caught herself on the wall. Lex was eyeing her strangely.

?Are you ok?? he asked. She knew from the tone of his voice that he was less worried about her safety than his own.

?I?m fine,? Shandri said. It was a lie. Her heart was racing faster now than it had been all night, and she glanced down to her waist to make certain that her lightsaber was still there. It was.

?Good,? Lex said. And he walked up towards the big double doors in front of them and rapped on them once, lightly. ?We?re here boss.?

?Come on inside,? said a cheerful voice. The lightheartedness made Shandri?s skin crawl, because she knew that just beneath the candy surface was poison.

She looked desperately for a way out, but saw none. She only saw the elevator they?d come in on, the double doors, and Lex. Lex. If only she could convince him to let her go. If only she could do anything, anything to keep from going through those double doors. Fear gripped her like a vice, and for an instant she wondered if all of her Jedi training was lost to her. She tried to calm her nerves but she couldn?t. All she could do was stare at those double doors, helplessly, as they began their slow swing open. She didn?t dare to look at what was on the other side. All she could do was stand frozen, and listen to the low creak of the doors, and just above that the replaying statement she?d seized moments too late from Lexington Quigely?s mind.

?We make her one of us.?

When the doors finished their swing she did not move, but Lex, all pretense between them gone, grabbed her by the wrist and dragged her into Tom Milton?s suite.

***

Shandri had been prepared for something horrible on the other side of those doors, but instead she was dragged into a plush, well lit room with an elegant table at its center. Three chairs were clustered around the mahogany table, and plates and bowls full of hot, steaming food adorned it. Directly opposite to the entrance was a large glass wall with sliding doors that exited out onto an ornate balcony. A flatscreen video panel hung on the right wall, though there was no couch or any other visible means to sit down in front of it. (That, she imagined, was probably moved to make room for the table). Tom Milton sat at the head of the table, his back to the balcony, grinning at her.

?Hello Shandri,? he said. ?Have a good night??

Shandri looked at him for a fraction of a second, and then tried to nonchalantly scan the room for escape routes. Her heart sank when she realized that the only way in and out appeared to be the elevator and the balcony. ?Yeah,? she said. ?It wasn?t bad. Very comfortable bed.?

Milton chuckled and took a large clay jug off of the table and poured a yellowish orange liquid into his cup. ?We try. My predecessor left us with some very?luxurious baubles that I love to share with people. But please, I didn?t mean to be rude. Sit, by all means sit I?m sure your famished. Especially after your little episode last night.?

Shandri hesitated, eyeing the table doubtfully. ?I??

?Food?s already on the table, you don?t want it to get cold, do you?? Milton pressed. ?Remember, Shandri, you?re on our side now. You?re on the winning side. We don?t stoop to anything like poison on my team. Lex?ll tell you, if I wanted you dead I?d just walk up to you and break your neck!? He laughed hard at this, and it made Shandri?s skin crawl.

She tried look at Lex for some kind of reassurance, but he had already taken a seat at the table. After another moment?s consideration, she finally decided that Milton was right. Although poison had never crossed her mind, she finally decided that Milton?s method of ?making her? one of them couldn?t be as simple as drugging her food, or else they?d have already done it. So Shandri sat down at the table with Tom Milton and Lexington Quigley and surveyed the breakfast dishes. In the center of the table was a plate full of bacon. In a bowl beside them were several biscuits, beside that a bowl of scrambled eggs, and a plate of fresh fruit. A jug of the juice Milton had poured for himself, and a second jug of milk capped off the setting. Despite herself, Shandri felt her stomach rumble and she hesitantly reached out for a piece of bread.

?Don?t be shy,? Milton said. ?Go on and eat up. Pandemon likes strong, strapping girls and boys. There?s no room for pansies.?

Shandri took the roll and bit into it. It tasted warm and buttery and calmed her nerves somewhat. Milton drank from his cup and set it back onto the table. He watched as Shandri finished her biscuit and then, realizing how hungry she was, moved on to eggs and bacon and the pineapple like fruit on the tray. He nodded approvingly and continued to eat some on his own, as did Lex, and the three stayed mostly silent throughout the meal. Then, after perhaps fifteen minutes, Milton smiled at Shandri and wiped his mouth with his napkin. ?Enjoying yourself?? he asked her.

Shandri nodded. ?It?s very good,? she said. Though despite the fact that she did enjoy the food, she did not for a second forget where she was. Even as she swallowed her eyes darted frantically around the room. Searching for the ?box? Weston and Jake had mentioned. Put him in a box? A box that he keeps close to himself? What could that possibly mean?

?Good,? Milton said, grinning. ?Good. Because this morning Lex and I were talking, and he got me worried that maybe you weren?t enjoying yourself so much. That maybe you were thinking about, oh I dunno?maybe trying to renege on your promise.?

The fork in Shandri?s hand stopped a few inches from her mouth and clattered to the plate. Milton glanced down at it then back up to her. He smiled as though he hadn?t noticed. ?Now of course, my dear, that?if its true?would be a problem.?

?Well,? Shandri said quickly?perhaps too quickly, because Lex began to stare at Milton with an I told you so kind of look on her face. ?I?d be lying if I said this wasn?t an adjustment??

?An adjustment,? Milton repeated. He looked down at his plate of food and frowned. Then he picked up a piece of bacon from the tray and tossed it into his mouth. He wiped the grease from his fingers onto his blue jeans and stood up. ?Shandri, we are a family here. We?re just one, big, happy family. I?m the dad. Lex is the big brother. The people out there are all the little children, and you are the baby of the family. You?re young, your tiny, but you?ve got a lot of spirit and a lot of energy and Hell if anyone admires you for it I?m sure its me. I love spunk and sass and all those things that make you you. But Shandri?? Milton paused for a moment and stepped away from the table. He walked over to the glass windows that flanked the balcony and looked down on the city below. ?Shandri, what I worry about is that you didn?t enter into your pact with good faith. Now I upheld my end of the deal. I took you in when you were cold and shivering out there. I brought in here, fed you my food, and let you sleep in my bed.? His voice trailed off, and though Shandri couldn?t see his face directly, she could see its reflection in the window. His eyes were narrowed and dark, and his mouth twisted into a scowl.

Shandri felt her pulse rising and her hands getting sweaty. In the back of her mind, she searched her years of Jedi training for methods of relaxation. ?I promise you, I promise you that I am not trying to??

?Enough,? Milton hissed, and he spun around. As he did this, the double doors behind her opened and two men stepped in carrying the same submachine guns Milton had given them just twelve hours earlier. ?Do stop lying, Shandri. You?re not very good at it.?

Shandri blinked and stared blankly at Milton, but inside her mind had set to work. This was it. This was the execution of their plan, and while she still did not know how he planned to make her into one of them, she did know that it didn?t involve killing her. She was certain. Milton continued to look back at her, and began to talk, but she couldn?t hear him. Her mind was too busy working, as hundreds of latent Jedi memories, not used sense her training, began to activate. She had surveyed the surroundings. She had assessed the situation. She knew that there were two armed men, Lex Quigley, and Tom Milton in the room. She knew that she had a lightsaber and the three grunts would not be a problem. And she knew that Milton was overconfident, and that if there was a window to act, it was right then, at that moment.

??ask myself, how do I remedy this situation,? Milton continued, ?because there are ways. Ways to control someone. Ways more binding than you can imagine. Painful, perhaps?but if necessary, it is an acceptable consequence. Or there?s death, as oftentimes corpses are much easier to control than the conscious mind.? He paused and added in a softer, gentler tone, ?Of course, it doesn?t have to be that way. You can make all this end, and regain my faith if you just do one thing for me Shandri.?

Shandri hesitated, and looked first at Milton, and then towards the glass behind him. ?What?s that?? she asked.

He smiled, and his eyes flashed beat red, and the men around her in the room seemed to shy away under his gaze. The man that had been Tom Milton was man no longer, but now seemed to be a beast wrapped in black shadow. His face was no more than a hollow void that no light could penetrate. All she could see were his two red eyes and the mouth full of teeth. Tom Milton held up his arm, and with a long, razor-like fingernail he carved a line across his wrist. Deep, vermillion gore oozed up from his broken skin and dribbled down his arm?s length. He held it high above his head for Shandri and everyone else in the room to see, and grinned savagely. ?Come to me, little chicklet, and drink.?

His eyes bored into hers, and for just a moment Shandri thought she was going to proceed towards him without pause, but then she came to her senses, broke her stare, and remembered exactly where she was. Milton stared back at her, a man again, but still with his wrist held out. Lex and the others had turned their faces away, all wearing expressions of mixed horror and revulsion. Shandri stood up from the table and walked several steps towards Tom Milton. Her blood was pulsing through her veins. Her temples were throbbing. Her heart was pounding.

?That?s right,? Milton said quietly.

Twenty seconds, Shandri thought. So depending on recovery time, I have no more than a minute.

?Come to me, and drink.?

She stopped just in front of Milton?s wrist and he looked at her patiently. ?Drink,? he said.

Her eyes traveled down to his open wrist, then up to Milton?s piercing eyes. ?Drink,? he repeated. Then they went past him, to the window, and in that moment, when she saw the sudden flash revelation pass over Milton?s face, Shandri opened her palm, and with all the might of the Force she could muster, she pushed him through the glass.

Milton?s body passed through the window pane in one quick, fluid motion and fell out over the side of the building. She heard him scream out like a wounded cat as he fell, and then several moments later heard a tremendous crash and then nothing. As much as she wanted to, she checked her urge to look down at him and spun back to the three men who were still in the room. Her hand dove to her waist and ripped up the purple lightsaber just in time to catch the volley of gunfire discharged in her direction. After the two men fired their first burst, and before they could get off a second, she had reached out with the force and grabbed the guns from their hands. They sailed through the air and were cut cleanly in half before they hit the ground. The entire exchange happened in less than five seconds. Lex was still sitting at the table, but he?like the other two?could do little else besides stare at Shandri in flat awe. After several moments, Lex slid back his chair and started to stand.

Shandri watched him, chest heaving, and said in a voice as deep and menacing as she?d ever produced: ?I?m getting out of here. If you three are smart, you?ll come with me, because the man who just went sailing through that window will be back, and I get the feeling that he?s the type who won?t take my loss well. If you three are stupid, you?ll try to stop me.?

The two guards at the door exchanged glances and then looked over towards Lex with wide, fearful eyes. Lex glared at them, ?What are you waiting for, grab her.?

?But boss look at those guns,? one of them said.

?What?? Lex snapped, ?if you?re actually thinking about taking her up on that offer you?ve got to have a death wish. Krempe is going to hunt her down and kill anyone with her, just like he should.?

But Shandri could tell from the other twos? faces that they weren?t so sure. She knew without a doubt that Milton had not told anyone that she was a Jedi. None of them had expected her to have powers like that. And when she used them so easily?she imagined that she appeared a good deal like Milton himself. ?What are you?? one of them asked.

?I?m a Jedi,? Shandri said. ?But I can?t stay here, he?s coming and we have to get away. Is there a way out of here??

?Just the way you came in?or the way he went out,? Lex said, and his voice carried a note of satisfaction in it. Then he turned back to his men. ?Now?grab her.?

The two men exchanged glances, apparently oblivious to either her question or Lex?s answer. ?Will you fight?? one of them asked. ?Can you fight him? When he comes back, can you kill him??

Shandri hesitated, but then nodded and said with certainty, ?I can fight him. And I will fight him. It?s been too long since someone?s stood up to him. But if you?re coming, you?ve got to come. Cause I?m leaving.?

For just a moment she thought that the man would go with her. Then she heard a gunshot, and his head flopped backwards. There was a spray of bright red and his body crumpled like a rag doll. Lex was standing full height now, holding a small pocket revolver that he?d pulled from his pinstriped coat. He sucked in a deep breath of air and turned the gun first to the other guard, and then towards Shandri. ?Now,? he said coldly, ?grab the bitch.?

The other man didn?t wait to be told again. He began to walk towards Shandri, both arms stretched out, and was still five feet from her when the chair beside him flew up in the air and knocked him cold. He dropped immediately, and before he hit the ground Lex let out a startled yell. His gun clattered to the floor and Shandri glanced at him from the corner of her eye as she passed to survey her handiwork. The chair he?d been sitting in and the table he?d been sitting at had both risen and pincered him around the midsection. The gun had fallen harmlessly to the ground and try as he might, he could not move a muscle. ?Krempe will get you you double crossing bitch,? he shouted. ?And I?m gonna be there when you and all your pals burn.?

Shandri ignored him, and though he continued to shout at her from the suite entrance, she could not hear him over the sound of her lightsaber as it sliced a clean gap in the elevator door. The shaft was a long, empty space that stretched the height of the tower. The elevator itself had dropped to the ground floor, and Shandri had a feeling that Milton, if he was up, was already boarding. Or maybe he was waiting for her in the lobby. She wasn?t sure, but she knew that she couldn?t go out that way.

Thirty-five seconds she counted quietly. 35 seconds since Milton had fallen. Twenty seconds for the elevator to rise to the top. Another twenty for it to drop back to the bottom. That was forty seconds she had just in travel time if Milton rode the elevator the whole way around. It amazed her that such a crucial piece of intelligence was merely the result of a passing comment. ?Thank the Force for small talk,? she muttered. And with that said, she looked down the shaft and jumped.

She freefell for what seemed like a minute (though in reality it was closer to four seconds) before reaching out and grabbing on to the maintenance ladder that followed the length of the shaft. There was a tremendous groan of pain from her shoulders as her arms caught, snapped taut, and stopped the length of her falling body, but she held her grip tight and tried to slow her descent as best she could with the Force. She clung to the ladder for a moment, breathing heavily, when she looked down and saw the rising elevator from the ground level proceeding upwards towards her. It approached with all the calm inevitability of a lumbering giant. There was no time for her to move, and the last thing she wanted to do was ride to the top, so she closed her eyes and held her breath, and sucked her body as close to the maintenance ladder as she could.

She could feel the hot metal graze against her back as it passed, and long after it was gone she still felt as though she?d been left with an electric charge. Her hair stood on end and she raised her head and followed the ascending elevator with both eyes as it traveled up towards the top of the tower. She took a fraction of a second to compose herself, and try to gain control of her raging heart, and then opened her hands and began to slide down the length of the ladder like a fireman on a pole. She slid for another three seconds before grabbing tightly to the rungs. Again her arms throbbed with pain, but again she stopped. She glanced down and saw a door that read Level 2 in painted white letters. She reached down to her waist, pulled out her lightsaber, and made quick work of the door. Far above in Milton?s suite, Shandri imagined that she heard two screams. One of rage, followed by one of exquisite agony.

Forty-two she counted.

Shandri slipped through the opened doorway and stepped out onto the second level of the hotel. Like the hallway she had slept on, it was made up of a long corridor lined with doors that led to separate rooms, however these rooms were not all hotel suites. They were made up of administrative and office spaces that were fewer and farther between than the uniform halls above. To Shandri?s surprise, much of this area seemed abandoned, as Milton had little use for administration, and it was darker as a result. A few windows lined the corridor?s walls but they were dimmed by blinds. The lights were turned low and the entire level had a silence about it that made Shandri feel both relieved and uneasy. She walked down the hallway, still breathing heavily, and glanced back and forth into rooms for a possible means of escape. She had walked almost one hundred feet when the hall?s silence was pierced by the shrill scream of a siren.

?Intruder alert. Intruder alert. Prisoner located on Level 2, Section B. Current heading away from the main transport terminal towards ancillary shafts AA and AB. Lockdown in process.?

Shandri looked around for a moment, petrified, and saw a slim black security camera trained on her position. She frowned grimly at it, then reached out her arm, extended her mind, and ripped the camera from the wall. It hurtled through the air and smashed through a nearby window, tearing down a set of blinds and spilling fresh bright light into the dim corridor. Shandri glanced out the window and gauged the distance to the ground. Two stories was a long jump?it was at least thirty feet, she knew, but at the same time she was a Jedi. She could survive it. And the alternative?

Behind her there was a crackle of sparks and the sound of rushing footsteps. An elevator had made it to the shaft she?d cut opened and its occupants were on their way. If she was going to jump, she?d have to do it. She leaned out the window again, took a deep breath, and stopped. Down below a crowd was gathering. Men with pitchforks and various other old weapons were congregating on the ground, and they were certainly prepared if she were to jump.

Shandri took a deep breath and stepped away from the window. Is this it? she wondered, but the thought was fleeting. Her gut answered the question almost immediately with a resounding no. It wasn?t the end. It couldn?t be the end. She had escaped Milton?s suite, only to be cornered here? There was an obvious escape route right behind her. All she had to do was jump through the window and she?d be free. Yeah, jump through the window, then get up in time to fight off one or two hundred villagers. She gave another look down towards the ground and set her jaw. No, if she was going to escape, it?d be far easier to cut her way through the soldiers up here. Milton would be coming from her left, from the way she?d come, so all she had to do was proceed further down the hall towards ancillary shafts AA and AB. Did they want to lock her down? Let them try. Shandri turned on her lightsaber, raised it above her head, and cleared her mind as the approaching footsteps grew closer.

The men hit her from both sides of the hallway at once, weapons ready, and they fired in on her like she was a fish in a barrel. Shandri held up her lightsaber and moved with the fluidity of a dancer, deftly swaying back and forth as she parried and struck down the approaching shards of lead death. The men on either side of her, when their ammunition was spent, looked at her with something akin to amazement, much as Lex Quigley and the two guards had above, and Shandri felt a pang of regret that so many of them were like the man Lex had shot. So many did not care for Milton, not at all. They were slaves like she was, only the only pact he?d made with them, was one of fear.

Shandri stood alone in the hallway, still holding the glowing lightsaber in her hands, and she stared down the vast stretch of hallway that she knew was her only way out. Twelve men stood between her and empty space. She looked from one side, then to the other, and in a split second had turned and force pushed the men on her left. The front row of guards fell down, knocking their comrades behind them to the floor. Then she turned to face the men whom she?d have to break through. She ran at them with the lightsaber over her head. Several fired their weapons, and she deftly cut down the coming blows. She rushed through the crowd faster than wind, and as she moved she sliced her saber across the ceiling above them, sending a shower of sparks raining down on them. Several through their arms over their heads. Others dropped to the floor, and Shandri ran as fast as she could, free again.

She continued, and as she ran a brief rush of euphoria passed through her and she knew her escape was only a matter of time. Then she passed round the corner, through an opened door, and into a small area marked Ancillary Transportshafts. Two elevator shafts were there, both doors standing wide open, and waiting for her, there between the corridor and freedom, was Tom Milton. Shards of glass had punctured his body, and a particularly large piece was jutting from his side. He was covered in dirt and grass, and one of his arms hung awkwardly at his side. He grinned at her, took the arm, and with one hard jerk snapped it back into place. Behind her, Shandri heard the sound of the men she?d left behind catching up. She took two steps back into the hallway and stopped as Milton?s goons dropped to their knees and took a bead on her. Shandri stood there in the hallway, which remained silent aside from the gentle glow of her lightsaber, and a slow feeling of dread passed over her. She was, she realized, trapped.

Milton walked out of the room and towards her, clapping his hands.

?Now that, is what I mean when I say spunk, and sass, and spirit,? Milton said. His voice carried above his men shrill and eager, like that of a man who?d come unhinged. ?But really, Shandri, you should have listened to Lex. It would have been easier for you.?

Shandri inhaled deeply and met Milton?s eyes. She was focused and tuned. She was sharpened like a razor, and all of her muscles were tensed and ready to stroke the moment she had her chance. It was not over. Not yet.

?Now you?ve gone and done it,? he continued. ?You?ve left two kids dead. Two innocent kids and what have you got to show for it??

?I didn?t kill anybody,? Shandri shouted. The men behind her moved in a little closer. ?You?re friend Lexington shot one of them in the head. Nobody else died.?

?You planted seeds of doubt in both of those mens? minds,? Milton hissed. ?Seeds that might have germinated, or grown into little weeds. Lex reaped one of them for me, but I had to finish the job.?

Shandri shuddered. ?You?you killed him? He didn?t do anything.?

?You?re absolutely right,? Milton agreed. Shandri stared blankly at him, and suddenly realized that she was no longer looking into his eyes, but at the large shard of glass that giggled in his side every time he spoke. It swung back and forth, like a piece of loose gelatin. ?He didn?t budge until the very end, when his life was in danger. Maybe he could have stopped you then and there, and kept you from breaking one of my windows. That?s seven years bad luck, hon.?

Shandri pried her eyes away from the hypnotic wound and looked at the men around her. She held her lightsaber high above her head. ?You think this is over?? she shouted. ?Have you ever seen a Jedi fight? I could kill every one of these men and still have strength to tear you down.? The men seemed to take her words seriously, and several who were towards the front backed up into the crowd. Others were looking cautiously at her lightsaber, and Shandri sensed that many knew that she wasn?t lying. But in Shandri?s mind, those men were merely civilians. The only real target was Tom Milton, and if he would just step five steps closer, she would have him.

Just as the thought passed through her mind, Milton began to walk forward. Shandri sucked in a sharp breath of air and brandished the lightsaber high above her head when suddenly it flickered and died. The brilliant hum shut down, and the soft purple glow vanished. Milton smirked at her, walked over to Shandri, and without any resistance plucked the lightsaber hilt from her hands and stuck it in his pocket. ?Give it up, dear,? he said in a low voice that only she could hear. ?You can?t win. You?re just embarrassing yourself.?

Shandri inhaled sharply, gathered as much spit as she could and lobbed it at Milton. It struck him in the eye. Somewhere in the crowd several men murmured approval at this display of defiance. Milton glared out at them and sneered, ?If I hear ONE SOUND, from any of you, I will flay your children and feed you their insides. ONE SOUND.? Still snarling, he raised his hand and wiped the spittle away from his face. ?And you,? he said, looking squarely at Shandri, ?you have become much more trouble than you?re worth. On your knees.?

Inside, Shandri?s mind was no longer racing, in fact everything seemed to be going in slow motion. Terror had entrapped her, and she wanted so very badly to do everything he said. She wanted to please him. She wanted to beg. She felt like she was back on the Midnight Zephyr again, and it was ten years ago, and she?d just been told that her mother and her father were dead. She felt like a sad, frightened little girl who would do anything to untie the horrible knot in her stomach. But of course, she was not so far gone as to forget that she was more then that. She knew that she was not a little girl anymore. She was a Jedi. And so, in spite of the leering faces of the crowd, in spite of the petrifying fear and the thought of what fate almost certainly awaited her, when Milton told her to get onto her knees she stood her ground, looked him in the eyes, and said nothing.

?I SAID ON YOUR KNEES,? Milton screamed, and with one hand he grabbed her by the head and slammed her body into the ground. Her legs crumpled beneath her and Shandri struck the floor with a hard thud. Some men in the crowd gasped at this, and Milton looked back into the dim hallway and eyed each and every one of them. Then he dipped down, and scooped Shandri?s head up off of the floor. Blood drizzled from a gash in her temple, but when she looked back at Milton, the fear of a moment ago was gone. The pain had cleared her mind, and given her confidence that she?d not had a moment before. And so again, in defiance, she tried to stand.

Tom Milton lifted his foot and kicked her back to the ground. ?You made a promise,? he spat, and then he kicked her again in the stomach. She writhed on the ground in pain, and felt like somewhere in her gut an organ had burst. ?You made a pact with me. You pledged yourself fully and totally, little Miss Brightstorm, and that is a bond which you shall not so lightly break. It is a bond, that in the old days, they said was made in blood, and there are laws, ancient laws, written before the stars were lit, that bind such blood pacts and those who make them. ?I saved your life, Shandri,? Milton shouted, and he held up his arm again. The gash he had cut in his wrist clotted, but now with his free hand he pulled the long, jagged piece of glass out of his side and reopened the wound. Blood oozed out of his wrist and he thrust it forward towards Shandri. ?I saved your life,? he repeated, ?and now you shall savor mine. OPEN YOUR LIPS, and drink.?

Shandri tried her hardest to close her lips. She tried beyond hope to seal her mouth, and prayed that he would give up and kill her. But Tom Milton did not kill Shandri. He grabbed her head in his opened palm and pried her mouth open with his fingers. Then he pressed his bleeding wrist against her mouth and squeezed the flood into her. She chocked and gagged and tried her best to resist, but in the end it was too much for her. The warm fluid trickled across her tongue and down the back of her throat, and once it started she could scarcely stop it. It went pouring like liquid steel, burning its way into her core, and before she knew it she was no longer resisting but drinking willingly.

Her last memory before the darkness came and swallowed everything was of Milton?s eyes. They were red again, but they were not angry. They were locked on hers in an expression she could only verbalize as wild, savage delight.

***

Weston gently touched the padding on his eyes again, this time allowing his fingers to stay there a little while longer. There was a slight sting, but it seemed less pronounced, and the texture of the gauze was beginning to feel dryer and less squishy.

Squishy he thought cynically. They used to be my eyes, now they are ?that squishy part of my face.?

A tremor of fear and rage flashed through Weston?s body, but it was gone as quickly as it?d come.

Gone?just like my eyes.

Weston pushed the thought away. He refused to start down that road. He?d known this was coming, and he?d been terrified?but it was over and done with now. His eyes were gone, he was blind, and that was that. He?d just have to make do. He could do that. He could live without eyes?couldn?t he?

Survive, maybe?but would it really be living?

That was the question, wasn?t it? His life had been built upon his ability to see. Without that?what life was there? Nothing familiar, that was certain, and wasn?t he too old to begin some alien voyage towards a new life and new vocation? Wasn?t he too old to try and learn a new way to live?

No, he answered himself, You feel too old, but you?re not. Not anymore. Not since Chrysalis.

For a moment, in the swirling black space that occupied everything, he saw a little girl on a swing set looking at him. She waved, and then she was gone?swallowed up by the surrounding abyss. A sharp jolt of fear cascaded up his back and Weston tensed. He wanted out. He wanted some light but all there was was a dark and exitless room. Without thinking he threw his hands up to his face and ripped away the gauze and old bacta patches, hoping against hope that maybe some fleeting trace of his vision remained. He didn?t want to see. He didn?t care about that, all he wanted was light. All he wanted was a glimmer. All he wanted?

He roared in pain as he pulled the bandages away. Cold air hit the fresh skin like a closed fist and he brought his hands up to shield his broken flesh. His fingers touched lightly on the gooey, healing skin and stung awfully. He could feel fresh rivulets of blood trickling down old scabs that were ripped open when he pulled away the bandage and his stomach rolled over. And then, far away in the dark prison that he now found himself in, he heard the distant, ethereal laugh of a disembodied little girl. He dropped his hands and ran them blindly along the table and wall behind him, searching for a fresh bacta patch, but all he could feel was the cool metal trim of the medbay. And all the while, the little girl continued to laugh.

It soon occurred to him that it would have been comforting in other circumstances. There was nothing malicious about it. It was just there. But the fact that it was existed at all was the most unsettling part. Weston had very little hope of seeing again, but he had never thought the blindness would make him go crazy. At least not this quickly.

?Milton?? he said aloud. His hand was still tracing up and down the edge of the bench he was on. ?Milton if that?s you, I won?t hesitate to scream loudly.? The little girl did not answer, and he could not see her. All he could hear was her laughter, and then?somewhere amidst it, he heard chanting in a cheerful, singsong voice.

?One step two step three step four. Close two eyes and open up the door. Don?t give up the family. Don?t give up the search. Mr. Scratch is comin? and he?s gonna want to hurt. Mr. Scratch is wicked, nasty as can be. He?s taken hold of Shandri and he?s coming after me.?

At that moment Weston?s hand hit something and there was a loud clatter and the girl and the laughing and the singsong chant were all gone. For a moment, Weston didn?t move. His heart was racing and he could do little more than sit comatose where he was. Then, after taking several seconds to compose himself, he swung his legs over the side of the bench and weakly bent down to

[Calavan]

pick up whatever it was that had fallen. As he bent, a sudden, awful lightheadedness came rushing over him and he stumbled forwards two steps, ran his head into the far wall, and fell down flat onto his butt on the cold floor. His hand landed on what felt like some kind of surgical tools. He tried to stand up, but his legs hit against something (he would later find that it was the visitor?s chair) and he fell down again. He tried a second time, this time swinging his arms widely in an attempt to grab hold to whatever was causing his fall. His hands missed the chair by a wide margin and he fell once again onto the floor. After a third failed attempt, Weston could do nothing but laugh bitterly and lean his head back against the wall of the medical bench. His face was still throbbing with pain and dripping blood from small, fresh sores that had opened during his exertion. Hitting his forehead against the wall hadn?t helped either. It?d sent further pain smashing through him like a sledgehammer, and the fall itself had knocked a little wind out of him.

Weston grimaced against the pain, and the awful, embarrassment that came with it. Why had this happened to him? Why couldn?t anyone stop it? They?d known. They?d known that this would happen, and no one did a damn thing about it. She had gone and cut out his eyes just like he knew she would. Shandri had cut out his eyes?and everything he?d done had been for her. The story, all of that guilt and anguish he?d been pining over for years and she cut out his eyes? The injustice made him want to scream.

Suddenly Weston realized that his left hand was throbbing with pain, and that he?d been clenching it into so tight a fist that his fingernails had gouged deep sores into his palm. Weston let out a slight gasp of surprise as the warm fluid oozed between his fingers. He loosened his grip and wiped his hand on his clothes. I guess that?s one plus, he thought, I don?t have to worry about stains anymore.

He barely smiled, and the pain kept him from doing even that for long.

A few more minutes passed and he sat on the floor, brooding, until the door to the medbay slid open and he heard two sets of footsteps come in. There was a terse gasp, and then he heard Jake say, ?Weston, Weston what happened are you all right??

?I tried to stand up,? Weston muttered, and for a moment he was glad that he couldn?t see their faces. He could just imagine them, dripping with pity and sadness for their friend, but somewhere beneath that paper exterior was disgust. Disgust at what he?d become: broken, weak, and terribly disfigured.

And they should be disgusted, Weston thought, I am.

Then he felt two arms lift him while he heard the sound of someone moving a chair. He was hoisted up for a moment and set back onto the bench. Then the chair was moved back. Weston could feel the warm overhead light on his skin, and fought hard to stay the sudden impulse he had to cover his face.

?What happened to your bandages?? Jake asked.

Weston again wanted to hide his face. They were looking at him. They were looking at his scars and they were sick.

?I wanted to change them,? he lied. He didn?t know why he lied, but for some reason he had no intention of telling them about the little girl. ?I wanted to change them so I took them off and started looking for new ones but?I couldn?t?I fell.?

He could feel their sympathy and wished that he?d never woken up. It was humiliating to think about what he?d become. He was worse than a laughing stock. He felt like a distinguished celebrity who?d long gone senile. That rare breed of freak which people still visited but did so only to entertain their own warped curiosity and to reminisce over who the man had been, while remaining carefully detached from what the man was.

?For frak?s sake Weston, I could have helped you,? Jake said, pulling Weston back into reality. ?Here, let me get you some bandages.?

Weston heard a drawer open and shut, then a tear and he knew that Jake was taking fresh bacta patches from their wrappers. He again felt like an old man in a nursing home and frowned. It was very hard for him not to snap at Jake and tell him that he would find and get his own goddamn bacta patches if he wanted them, thank you very much.

?Who?s that that came in with you?? Weston asked, trying to change the subject. He felt a warmth close to him, and knew that Jake was standing just a few feet away. He braced himself for a moment, and then suddenly there was excruciating pain as Jake pressed the fresh padding to his face. The bacta oozed against the wound and moments after the initial sting of the contact, the gelatinous stuff both cooled and calmed the raging fire that had taken over half his face.

?It?s Tyr,? Jake said. And he pressed down on the edges of the patch, sealing them to Weston?s face. Weston pushed Jake?s hands away. ?I got it,? he said. Jake didn?t say anything, but Weston felt his presence dissipate and knew that he?d taken a few steps back.

?Hey Weston,? Tyr?s voice sprang up from somewhere towards the back of the room. ?How do you feel??

Weston cringed. This was just the second time he?d been asked the question but he already hated it. ?Like I just had my eyes cut out by your girlfriend,? he snapped. ?How the hell do you think I feel??

Tyr did not respond. That shut him up, Weston thought.

?Well,? Jake said, obviously uncomfortable. ?We came in here to see if maybe you were ready to talk. Talk about the plan, that is. Tyr and I have gone through it and we agreed that we need to act quickly, you know, to get Milton. He?s hurt us badly and he won?t be looking for us to hit again so quickly.?

Weston heard the words but they didn?t really stick. He was still thinking bitterly about himself. ?Yeah, Ms. Queen Bitch of the Universe?s method didn?t go so hot did it??

?In her defense,? Tyr said, ?we may not have done what she intended. She was cryptic.?

?Hmph,? Weston grunted, ?Glad to see you?re still sticking up for the ones who deserve it, Tyr. I mean, sure Erin game Shandri a vision of me like this weeks ago. Sure she?s been consciously less than helpful?but I mean, she?s just a?big powerful thing. Why hold her to the same standard you?d hold any of us to??

?Weston, please I didn?t mean it like that,? Tyr said. ?I just meant that there?s still a chance she?s on our side.?

?Tyr if you still delude yourself into thinking that Erin?s any more than a second Milton, you?re blinder as I am,? Weston said. ?You say she was cryptic, and that?s your defense? Well, seems like she could have been a little less fucking cryptic if she wanted to. We?re supposed to be her champions for frak?s sake. If she?s not going to tell us enough to protect ourselves, then what the hell kind of chance do we have??

?If you would maybe stop complaining for a moment and let me talk,? Tyr began.

?I you haven?t noticed I have every fraking right to complain.?

?Weston!? The voice was not Tyr?s, but Jake?s. ?Stop it. Tyr?s on our side, so stop raking him over the coals.?

?Thank you,? Tyr said. ?Now, like I was saying if you?d listen to me for a minute you?d know that I think Erin lied to us. I don?t know for certain, and again, it may be that we misinterpreted what she said, but she told Shandri that while we were together Milton could not touch us. But he certainly touched Shandri. Perhaps not physically, but in every other way. He directly manipulated her and drove her to do his will.?

Weston heard all of this from the black prison of his mind and the words cut him like glass. His insides trembled, and he wished that he could see Tyr, but he couldn?t. He could just hear his desperate, impassioned voice. The face that went with it was gone forever, lost in the wilderness of his own memory. Just like Shandri?s face. And Jake?s face. And Menina?s. Weston felt a knot starting to form in his chest, and he coughed and shuddered. The prison, the black room without windows or doors that he was to be forever trapped in, was Shandri?s doing. He would not forgive her so easily.

?So what,? Weston muttered, ?so what she gets a free pass? She gets a high five and a cold beer and we all kiss and make up??

?No,? Tyr muttered, exasperated. ?No, that?s not what I said. I just wanted you to know early on that Shandri was under his spell, so that maybe you could start coming to terms with what happened a little better. Trust me, Weston, nobody is going to come away from this unscathed. Least of all her.?

It was not the right thing to say to Weston, and the moment he heard the words a sick serpent of rage roared up inside of him. ?How do you know?? Weston asked. ?Where you up on the hill with us, Tyr? Maybe Milton wasn?t influencing Shandri at all. Maybe he was just up there watching, and Shandri was 100% herself when she was cutting my head open. Did you ever think of that? Maybe Erin didn?t lie at all, but it was just another of those stupid mind games that she plays, and maybe Shandri didn?t run off, but ran straight to Milton for comfort.?

?Maybe,? Jake said. ?But I think Tyr?s right. Milton obviously wanted Shandri. He manipulated her, we all know that. He was posing as her parents right on board this ship. What we don?t know, is if Shandri has come to her senses yet or not. But Tyr says, and I agree, that even if she hasn?t it?s a matter of when, not if.?

?I don?t care what you say about scars,? Weston grumbled, ?as far as I can tell the only one with any meaningful scars is me. And just for the record, I don?t give a flying frak what excuse you make for her Tyr, I am not going to make up with her. I am not going to forgive her. I am going to hound her until the day I die over what she did, and it?s only as a courtesy to you, Tyr, that I don?t kill her.?

Weston waited to hear Tyr?s response. For a moment he didn?t hear anything, then he felt a presence draw up very close to him and could feel Tyr breathing on his face. ?You?ve been through a lot,? Tyr growled, ?but that was over the line.?

?What line,? Weston asked coolly, ?What line would that be Tyr? How about the line she carved across my face??

?Both of you, get a hold of yourselves,? Jake snapped. Suddenly Tyr?s presence was gone, and Weston imagined that Jake had pulled him back. ?Look at this. We just got done fighting each other last night. We got our asses kicked, and here we are again. Now I don?t know about you two, but I think this is bullshit. If we?re going to keep second guessing and making digs at one another, we may as well walk into Rook right now and surrender. Milton will win, hands down. Agreed??

Across the room, Weston heard Tyr grudgingly grunt in agreement. After a few moments, he too nodded his head. ?Yeah, ok.?

?Good,? Jake said, and he hesitated, as if a sudden thought had just robbed him of all the momentum he?d gathered. ?Good, ok. Well?if that?s over then, you know why we came in here. It wasn?t to bicker, or to pine over what happened. It was to discuss our strategy towards Milton. So?are you two ready??

Tyr agreed, and Weston did too, though he couldn?t help but wonder what help he would possibly be. He?d hurt himself trying to stand up! How could he possibly be anything more than a burden from now on?

?Good,? Jake said. ?Then here?s our predicament. For the sake of argument, lets say we don?t trust Erin anymore. At least not enough to blindly follow the visions she showed us. But at the same time, we have to kill Tom Milton, or the game ends here. If we go on to Earth with Milton still alive, then we risk bringing down the Burning Man?s defenses and doing just what Milton wants us to do. So we know, right now, that Milton has to die. I ask myself, when was the last time we hurt Tom Milton? When have we ever hurt Tom Milton? The only instance that occurs to me was on Dantooine, when you, Weston, shot him in the face. Do you remember that??

Weston nodded. He remembered it well?the rage and anger he?d felt at being betrayed by Tom Milton. He remembered climbing back up the wall of the Capitol building, taking aim and blasting the son of a bitch in the head. Then he remembered seeing Jake Landon laying there on the ground, and thinking how much he wanted to shoot him too. Something had stayed his hand that day. Something he couldn?t explain. For a long time he had hoped that that thing was Erin. But now?now he feared that maybe it was Milton, and that Milton had kept Jake alive because Milton knew that Jake would be needed.

?So what does that mean?? Jake asked. He didn?t wait for an answer. ?It means that if we surprise him, if he?s not looking for us, then Tom Milton is vulnerable.?

?But he healed,? Weston said, ?You saw him. I shot him in the face and he healed. There?s not even a scar.?

?He healed, but that didn?t keep him from crying out in pain. And I think he?ll have a lot harder time healing from a concussion missile. Which brings me to the plan. It?s fairly simple and I believe you?ve both heard the gist of it. We fly the Midnight Zephyr to Milton?s tower, lure him up top where we can get a clear shot, and we blast him back to Hell.?

Wonderful, Weston thought, a plan perfectly crafted to keep me laying safely on my ass.

?And what about Shandri?? Tyr asked, obviously nervous. Weston noted that this time the hotness was not directed at himself, but at Jake.

?So long as she?s not on the top two or three stories she should be fine,? Jake said dismissively. He cleared his throat and continued. ?Of course, I say all this and it sounds great, but we all know that a head on assault against Tom Milton is suicide. At best he?d swat us out of the sky. That?s where we?ve kept hitting roadblocks. Every time we have a plan, Milton is always one step ahead of us. But last night, while I was in here, I had an epiphany. I had a thought that suddenly made everything clear, and I realized that we have something now that we can use. So I mulled over a plan all night, working ways in and out, and I?ve come to the conclusion that there?re just two things we need to remember about Milton. One, he can see the future. He can see anything he wants?this is a fact, and it is an awful truth. Something that I?m sure we don?t want to admit but it?s out there and it?s true. However?as Weston?s experience proves, he cannot be everywhere at once. He cannot be watching us if his attention is focused elsewhere.

Jake paused to let his words sink in, and Weston tried hard not to shudder. He?d already noticed that during long silences he would quickly forget that others were in the room, and he?d begin to feel claustrophobic and alone.

?And two,? Jake continued, ?Tom Milton, like all megalomaniacs, is a fan of his own work. He has an agenda, but he will put that aside in a heartbeat if he thinks he?s got a shot of gloating and manipulating?even if all he gets to do is dig in just a little deeper. He has an eye for theatrics and despite all the grandiose carnage he can and does cause, he still prefers?when all is said and done?working one on one. It?s what he?s used to. It?s what he?s been doing the longest?and so if there?s any hope in keeping him busy?? Jake hesitated, and Weston once again felt a hand land on his shoulder. Weston?s heart began to beat harder, and he heard Jake?s breath quiver as if Jake too were scared. ?I think that if we have any hope of keeping him busy, we?re going to need to use you, Weston.?

Weston heard the words and sat there in silence, trying his best to digest them. ?Use me?? he said uncertainly. He felt flattered, honored even, but he did not understand how he?d possibly be of any use. ?How? Jake, I don?t?I don?t know if you can tell, but I?m not that helpful anymore. I can?t see. I can?t walk. I can?t?I can?t do anything.? Weston was trying hard to remained composed, and Jake squeezed his shoulder gently.

For a long time there was no answer, and Weston would have thought Jake had left the room if not for the pressure on his shoulder. Finally, just as Weston was beginning to think the pressure was in his imagination and Jake had left, Jake said, ?You can?t see it, but you?re wrong. You?re our only chance, Weston. You?re the only shot we?ve got. But?? he swallowed, and when he spoke again, he was speaking much faster like a child giving a carefully rehearsed speech in front of the whole student body, ?You?ve got to leave the Zephyr, and hike into Rook. Tell Tom Milton that you want to make a deal. He may not trust you at first, but it won?t be too hard to convince him. He has a very low opinion of us, that is to say humans, in general. He won?t be surprised that you?d turn on us if it meant a chance to see again. So that?s what you do. You go into to the Lion?s den, and you go to Milton, and you make that deal. Keep him occupied...keep him in his suite.?

Something clicked in Weston?s mind, and very suddenly the breath in his lung seemed to run out, and he couldn?t get any oxygen. He sucked in deep, full breaths of air but he still felt like he was in a vacuum. It was the last sentence that had done it. It was clear, perfectly clear, and even Weston could see what it was that Jake meant for him to do.

?I?m going to have to be up there with him,? Weston said. ?For this work, we?ll both need to be in that suite.?

Jake?s hand tightened on Weston?s shoulder, and Weston heard his friend?s voice crack slightly. ?Yeah,? he whispered. ?

Suddenly Tyr spoke up, and his voice was such a surprise to Weston, who?d forgotten about him being in the room, that he almost jumped. ?Oh Hell Jake, that?s crazy. Weston if you do that then it means??

?He knows what it means,? Jake said. ?The top of the tower will be destroyed by the missile. Nobody on the uppermost levels will survive.?

?Then it?s a bad plan,? Tyr said. ?It won?t work. We?re the Four, Jake. If one of us dies, we all may as well die. Erin picked four of us for a reason.?

?I thought we decided a few minutes ago that it didn?t matter what Erin picked. You can?t have it both ways Tyr. Either Erin?s visions mean something, or nothing she said did. And if nothing she said meant anything, then we are not the Four, and we are not bound by ?Destiny? or anything else. We?re just four people in over our heads, somehow still alive, and unlucky enough to know that if we don?t act then whole a whole hell of a lot more people will be killed. People more important then us.? Jake said the words evenly, without hesitating, but Weston could feel the hand on his shoulder tremble with every syllable.

?He?s your best friend,? Tyr said desperately, and Weston imagined him on his knees, begging. ?He?s your best friend Jake, and you don?t even know if this will work. Are you seriously considering sacrificing him on a gamble??

?If it doesn?t work,? Jake said, ?then we?re all dead. And it won?t matter. Because believe me, Tyr. This is the last option on the table. If I could think of any other way I would, but I can?t. And don?t for a second think that I?ve forgotten who he is. Weston Onasi is my friend, and he?s also the bravest man I?ve ever met. If he was anyone else, if he was you, I wouldn?t even think about this plan.?

Pride swelled in Weston?s heart, and he heard Tyr stammer for a moment. ?What does that mean??

?Tyr,? Jake said, and now his voice was shaking as badly as his hand. ?Tyr we cannot pull this off. Neither of us. I did not mean to insult your?your honor or whatever the hell it is but??

?I?m just a better liar,? Weston cut him off. ?I lied for ten years about who I was. This should be a piece of cake.?

There was silence in the room, but Weston could feel them looking at him. Jake pulled his hand away, and Weston suddenly felt very alone. They were standing a few feet away from him, but he might as well have been confined in a cellar somewhere. All around him was blackness and a steady throbbing in his face. He watched the black void around him for some sign of life or movement, and saw none, and he realized that this was it. He was looking, quite literally, at the only thing he would ever see for the rest of his life. Cybernetic eyes, if such a thing still existed, were a distant dream, and there were far too many leagues to cross before they were even remotely attainable. If, Weston knew, he were to be honest with himself, then he had to admit that his sentence in the black prison was a life term. And if he hadn?t been before, now he would be forever isolated and alone. Jake understood that, and so Jake was offering him a way out. He was offering one last gift to his weary friend. A heroic, wonderful gift. Probably the last gift that Weston?s weak and broken body could accept.

?I?ll do it,? Weston said. And his voice was such that neither Jake nor Tyr questioned his sincerity.

?You don?t have to,? Jake said quickly. ?You?you know, if you don?t want to there may be another way. We can go back over it. We can think about it harder??

?No,? Weston shook his head, and he struggled to stand up. This time he did so successfully, and though he held both arms out for several seconds, he had no problems finding his sense of balance. He stood and gently brushed the bandages on his face. ?You said there wasn?t. You said this was the only way?and you?re absolutely right. I?m doing it Jake. Just give me my gun?for old time?s sake.?

?Jake,? Tyr began, but Weston thought that he knew better than to argue. ?If you do this, we?ll need some sort of signal to know that you?re in position.?

?Milton will catch any signal I put up,? Weston said. ?And he?ll probably notice if I?m even thinking about it. But give me a tracking device?and when they take it and destroy it, you?ll know that I?m inside. Give me?oh, fifteen minutes after that, and then attack.?

?What if he keeps you waiting for more than fifteen minutes,? Tyr asked.

?He won?t,? Jake said. ?In fact, Weston, he?ll probably be dogging you the moment you enter Rook.?

?I?m counting on it.? Weston paused for a moment, and ran his hand through his hair. It was thick and greasy and unkempt. ?Wow,? he muttered. ?I must really look like hell.?

Beside him, he heard Jake give a grunt of amusement.

?Ok,? Tyr said slowly, ?now what about Shandri? If it turns out she?s in the top of the tower and we have to abort the mission, how are we going to signal that??

?Tyr,? Jake said, ?there isn?t a signal. It doesn?t matter if she?s up there, we aren?t aborting.?

?What? Like hell. If Shandri is in that tower we are aborting the fraking mission.?

And then Weston heard Jake?s voice roar outward, and he took a few steps back up against the bed to brace himself. He could not imagine the face of the man who was shouting, but he scarcely expected it to be Jake Landon.

?NO WE ARE NOT, Tyr. We will not abort this for her or anyone else. Now Weston is going in to sacrifice his life, and the least you can do is honor him by not making any obvious statements towards the fact that you think Shandri?s worth more than him. If he goes out of his way to save Shandri then Milton will notice something?s up and the whole plan will be ruined. He will kill all four of us, kill probably a few trillion more, and the blame, this time, will be squarely placed upon you, Tyr Rendix. Because you went and did the one stupidest thing you can do in such a situation. You fell in love. And now you?re going to find out why that?s such an unforgivable sin. Not against us, but against your own soul. Because you realize that giving up the one person that you love for the greater good is impossible, and every time, no matter what, you will choose her one life over a million others. But you?re just noble enough to know that you can?t do that, and so you suppress your impulses, and you let her die, and though you seem a hero to everyone, you hate yourself. You feel like a monster, like a failure, like you?re less than human. And the worst part is that despite all the accolades and honors, despite the love of so many others, despite the knowledge that you did what was right?you never, never forgive yourself.? There was a long pause after that, and Weston knew exactly what Tyr was thinking, because he was thinking the same thing: At what point, during the sudden outburst, had Jake stopped talking about Tyr and started talking about himself?

Beside them, Jake was breathing heavily, still riled, and Weston reached over to pat him on the back. He missed and smacked him in the back of the head. ?Oh, shit sorry,? Weston said quickly.

Jake chuckled, and then Tyr chuckled. And the tension in the room, for just a moment, lessened.

?You have my word, Tyr,? Weston said, ?That I will do everything I can short of aborting the mission to keep her safe.?

?Even after what she did to you?? Tyr asked.

Weston hesitated. He couldn?t answer that, because for a moment he had forgotten what she?d done. He had forgotten that she was the cause of his imprisonment, and upon remembering he suddenly wished that he could take it back. But he couldn?t take it back?and even if he could, somehow he knew, deep down, that it wasn?t really her fault. It was Milton?s fault. Just like everything that had happened was Milton?s fault. In many ways, she was just as much a prisoner as he was. So if he could, he had no qualms freeing one last prisoner before the end.

?Yeah,? he agreed. ?Even after what she did to me. If I find her; I?ll send her home.?

A large, warm hand fell across his back, and Tyr Rendix-Jeraan pulled Weston into an embrace. Weston, slightly dumbstruck, left his arms limply at his side for a moment before finally returning the hug. After several moments, Tyr pulled away and said simply, ?Thank you.?

Hoping that his departure didn?t get any more emotional than it had to, Weston just nodded. ?My pleasure, Mr. President.? There was a moment of silence and he added, ?Well?I guess that?s it then. Are you two ready to incinerate evil incarnate??

?Yeah,? Tyr said, chuckling softly.

?Amen,? Jake agreed.

?Then gentlemen?my gun.?

The door to the medbay opened and closed, there were a few footsteps and some rummaging, and then the door opened again. Jake had brought Weston?s gun and belt. Weston felt Jake move to put it around his waist and Weston stopped him. ?I think I?d better do that myself,? he said quickly, though he said it lightly without any annoyance. Jake relented and handed the leather belt to Weston, who slung it around his waist and fastened it. He took two steps forward, dipped his hand to his holsters, and smiled. ?Perfect,? he said. ?And the gun??

Jake handed it to him and he took it, weighed it in his hand for a moment, and then dropped it where he knew his holster was. It fell in perfectly. Soon after, Jake and Weston and Tyr left the medical bay and walked out to the front of the ship, and Weston realized that walking was no so hard as he?d first thought. He just had to be careful and avoid tripping over his feet.

The three of them descended the landing ramp and walked out into the new day. Tyr opened his palm to reveal a small tracking device and attached it to Weston?s collar. The air was still cold and snow crunched beneath their feet, but Weston felt warm sun falling on his face and knew that it was a pretty day. A pretty day that would forever remain just outside the walls of his black prison.

?Are you sure about this?? Jake asked. And Weston felt his friend?s hand fall one last time upon his shoulder. ?We can look for another way.?

Weston lifted his head and let the sun warm his face. The bandages didn?t seem so bad now, in the brisk morning air. Even the pain had lessened. Weston Onasi was about to walk off to face Death, and to his own surprise, he was content. ?I?m positive,? he said. ?You live a life like mine and?well, honestly I didn?t expect to live as long as I did. And this way I?ll be going out in style, and making a difference. Even after everything that?s happened if I can still do that?well?makes me feel kind of squishy inside.? He grinned and in spite of the pain, he held it.

?Well,? Jake said, ?if this is really goodbye?.it?s been quite a trip. It?ll be hard without you.?

Weston chuckled. ?Aw shucks,? he said, ?all I did was tell you sex stories and complain. If he relaxes a little and gets Shandri back, Tyr?ll have me beat by a longshot.?

?I heard that,? Tyr said, but he wasn?t angry. He was laughing, and if Weston could have seen it, he?d have seen that he was on the verge of crying as well.

?Well this is it,? Weston said at last, and he took a final breath of the cool air. ?Just point me in the right direction, and I?ll start walking.?

?You go up a hill, then down a hill, then straight,? Jake said.

Weston paused for a moment then shrugged. ?I hope it?s easier than it sounds. Fellows, it?s been a pleasure. Here?s hoping this works.?

?Goodbye, Weston,? Tyr said.

?See ya Wes,? Jake said. ?And good luck.?

?You too.?

And then Weston Onasi began to walk. Up the hill, down the hill, and then straight. And he left Jake Landon and Tyr Rendix-Jeraan, the Midnight Zephyr, Erin, and the Four behind him. All that was left was his mission. All that was left was to live, if only for one last time.

Just as he crested the hill, in the silence of the midmorning, he thought he could just make out Tyr and Jake talking below.

?You were right,? Tyr said, ?That is a brave man. He?s going to do it. And I think he might actually pull it off.?

Jake took several moments to respond, and when he did all he said was: ?I know.?

[Calavan]

The Jackal?s Tower

"God has clearly died and lies on the floor of a pillaged heaven."

--Stephen King, The Dark Tower V



Weston walked for ten minutes before he began to hear the low murmur of Rook. The snow sliding against his feet was wetter than before, and the cool air on his face grew steadily warmer and denser. Smells of fire and leather and unclean bodies came and went and he knew, though he could not see, that he was passing through the outskirts of town. As he walked, he felt bodies brush up against his own. One was an old man who cried ?Hey buddy, watch it,? and shoved him to the ground. A sharp, knifelike pain rebounded through his shoulder and he remembered how injured his right arm was. It had fractured on the Hueval when Shandri?d thrown him. Jake had mended it somewhat, but despite the fact that he had regained some use of it, it was still terribly sore.

Weston groaned and picked himself up, wet, shivering and disoriented, and tried to walk in the direction he?d been going; though as he walked, the notion that he may have been turned around began to creep into his mind. The snow that clung to his back was melting and icy water ran down the inside of his shirt. His face and head still throbbed, and as he continued in the dark, murky sea of people whom he could not see, he started to feel hope slip away from him. The energy and the confidence he?d felt just minutes earlier in front of the Zephyr were fleeing as quickly as they?d come. Dark thoughts were penetrating him, whispering inside his head, and the longer he walked without really knowing where he was, the louder those voices became.

They will find you and kill you, one hissed.

You?ll get lost and never find the place. You?ll die out here, and it will be for nothing, said another.

Weston shuddered and clutched the sides of his head in both hands, mumbling as he walked. ?Shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up,? he muttered. But they wouldn?t shut up. They continued relentlessly, and no matter where he went Weston could not escape them.

You?re a useless freak.

You deserve to freeze out here.

You?re just going to let them down.

?MILTON? Weston screamed. It was the only way he could think of to prove the voices wrong. It was the only way he could think of to make them stop. ?Milton where are you!? He could feel the eyes of townsfolk looking at him, studying him, casting him as an outsider. Weston ignored them. ?MILTON YOU SORRY SON OF A BITCH, I?M HERE! I?M HERE NOW TAKE ME GOD DAMNIT. Take me. You want me so fucking badly? Well??

?Are you lost??

Weston stopped abruptly and the hairs on his neck stood up. He recognized the voice immediately. It was the voice of the little girl?not Menina, but the other little girl?who?d been plaguing his waking thoughts. Only this voice was not in his head?he heard it.

?Are you lost?? the little girl repeated, ?Because I can take you to where you need to go.?

Weston reached out his hand and swung it forwards, hoping to touch the little girl, but he may as well have tried to touch the clouds. ?Who?s there?? he called out.

?There?s no need to shout, people are looking!? the little girl giggled. ?I?m Lauren, and I?m here to help you.?

Weston recognized the name and took two steps back from where the voice was coming from. Tyr had mentioned her. Tyr had dreamed of a little girl named Lauren, and he?d been certain that she was Milton in disguise. Standing there, Weston understood far too well why he?d thought that, but at the same time a lingering shade of doubt kept him from ignoring the voice and moving on. ?Where?where do you think I need to go?? he asked.

?We?re going to the Jackal?s tower,? the little girl replied. ?I can take you there Mr. Good Guy?trust me.?

Weston did not want to trust the little girl, and he no longer wished to go to the tower. He suddenly wanted to be gone from Rook forever. He wanted to turn and run from her, or reach down to his waist and shoot her (though that impulse was never actually on the table). He wanted to be as far away from her as he could be, but before he could move he felt five little fingers wrap around his searching, outstretched hand. They were warm and soft, and suddenly Weston realized that the steady, omnipresent aches in his face and right arm were gone. More then that, with her little body so close to his, he could smell her too. She smelled like freshly cut grass on a summer?s day. She smelled like burgeoning, vibrant life. Weston tried to pull away, but the little girl held fast and said, ?I?ll show you the way.?

There was a gentle tug on his hand, and in spite of himself, Weston began to walk. The two walked for several minutes, hand in hand, and as they did so Weston could feel the crowd around him thickening. The noises of chatter and idle talk grew louder, and soon the crowd became so dense that he was brushing past people left and right, pushing through what felt like a mob that had gathered around some marvelous thing. The air was thick with the smell of sweat and filth, and he could make out low murmurs all around him. ?Do you know why he?s called us again?? asked one man.

?They say he was right. One of the interlopers came in the night and now she works for him,? said another.

As Weston pushed onward, the chatter of people towards the back of the crowd died away, and it was replaced by calm, reverent chanting.

?Lauren,? Weston asked as they walked. ?Lauren what?s going on??

?It?s just a little farther,? the little girl said. ?Don?t worry, we?re almost there.?

?Almost?Lauren, I don?t even know where we?re going. Are you just walking me in the front door??

?No,? she chirped. ?We?re going to pray first.?

?Pray? Lauren, who?what are you??

But before the little girl responded her hand was gone, and the smell of grass was gone, and the pain in his face returned. Her fingers had never released his hand...instead, they?d just disappeared, and Weston wondered to himself whether she?d ever been there at all.

As the fact of her departure sunk in, a bitter, deep loneliness struck Weston like a blow to the head. He realized that the number of people around him had doubled since the little girl Lauren had led him into the crowd, and even in the midst of that terrible throng of people he still felt utterly isolated. People all around him were clustering and squeezing. Something was happening, he just didn?t know what.

Where has she taken me? he wondered. Or the better question?where did I take myself?

As if in answer, Weston heard a loud cheer rise up from the crowd, erupting all around him like firecrackers. Then, after several seconds, the cheer subsided and he heard a great, booming voice that he immediately recognized as Tom Miltons.

?TODAY IS A GREAT DAY,? the voice said. ?IT IS THE DAY I HAVE FORSEEN, ON WHICH OUR ENEMIES SHALL BE VANQUISHED. It is the day, upon which I have declared that the interlopers shall come into this city, and shall challenge ALL OF YOU to prove your loyalty to the great Pandemon!?

A second cheer rose up from the crowd, this one just as enthusiastic as the first. The group surrounding Weston was clapping, and a tangible energy rushed over everyone. After the cheering died, no one spoke. The entire crowd waited with baited breath to hear what Pandemon?s emissary had next to say.

?Already, we have had one of the interlopers realize the error of her ways. She came to me in the night, as I foretold, and offered her repentance. As Pandemon?s liaison on this world, I accepted Shandri Brightstorm?s atonement and offered her a place by my side. Now tell me, my children, AM I NOT MERCIFUL?!?

?The great Pandemon is Merciful and True, as are you, his flesh-bound servant,? the crowd chanted in unison.

?Yes,? Milton said. ?But despite this day of celebration, black tides are upon us??

I see you, Weston Onasi, Tom Milton said. His voice was loud and clear, and in the depths of Weston?s mind he was unsure which Milton was real. Was it the man far away, espousing grandiose statements to a sea of adoring onlookers. Or was it the man next to him, speaking in slow, clear tones that stung his insides like hot prongs. Can you see me? You?ve got my brain working now?how did you get this far? I?d have thought you would be trampled to death or would have walked into a building before you made it here. Of course, I know you had help. But where are they? Where are your friends?

Then an image arose before him in his mind?s eye. Suddenly he was no longer alone in the black room that kept him prisoner. Tom Milton was standing there, dressed just as he had been on the first day they?d met on Aldivy. He beheld Weston with cold, calculating eyes that seemed to penetrate the blind man?s soul.

?They?re not my friends,? Weston said bitterly, and he tried to fill his mind with angry thoughts. He knew that it was not enough to lie to Milton. He had to feel the lie, or else it would all be for naught.

Oh? Milton laughed. Forgive me, Weston, but I thought you loved them. I thought you threw everything we had away for them. I was going to make you great. I was going to set you as the leader of my army?until you betrayed me.

?You betrayed me first,? Weston snapped. ?You threw me out a window.?

Oh right? Milton chuckled, I forget the specifics. It doesn?t change the fact that you are one of them now. You?re one of the Four?or have you forgotten?

?Not anymore. Not after they let Shandri scar me like this, and did nothing. They knew damn well what was coming??

Of course they did, Milton agreed.

Then another voice crept from the black and whispered into Weston?s ear: But of heroes plight, forever lasting compassion for the fallen remains. If we say we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and refusing to accept the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong.

Weston jumped and turned in the crowd of people, but the image of Tom Milton standing just in front of him did not change, and Tom Collins? voice still rang in his thoughts from just over his back.

?Tom?? Weston asked uncertainly.

Do you abandon him as well? Milton asked.

Forever lost are you without the strength of fellowship, Collins warned. Trusted you with life forever did I, though abandoned I was in my final hour.

?I didn?t abandon you. We thought we were helping you Tom?we were going to be attacked and we didn?t??

Liars burn in Hell, Tom Collins replied. And then suddenly Milton was gone, and Weston was again alone in his black cell. Only he wasn?t alone. He could hear a sound like crackling flames working their way towards him, and in the black void he suddenly saw a flickering figure fast approaching. It was a man, covered in fire. His face was melted and his skin charred into an unrecognizable patchwork of scars and twisted black flesh. He was laughing madly, walking towards Weston and growing larger and larger and larger. Weston could smell the pungent aroma of burning hair and boiling blood, and as Tom Collins approached, he realized the laughter he heard was not laughter at all, but screaming. Tom Collins wailed as he walked forward, stumbling towards Weston like a zombie.

Abandon your fellows as you abandoned me to the Moonlit Minister? Burn forever I do upon the shallow floor of the Kader hut. BURN FOREVER. But fear not I, for in God?s name and Word I keep. I hear the sound of scribbling scribes and frail old women calling out your name as they place the twine within their shears. The Lord watches over the sojourners and upholds the widow and the orphan; but the lord brings the way of the wicked to ruin.

?Tom,? Weston said. And Tom Collins stumbled forwards again, and he was now so close that Weston could see the flesh bubbling and dripping off of his black bones. Tom?s entire body, engulfed, stopped just in front of Weston, and though Weston tried to push him away or turn or run, he was trapped in a sea of bodies that would not move, and no matter what he did the image in his mind remained the same. Tom Collins then reached out his hands, and fell into Weston?s arms. Weston braced himself for the fire that would surely spread to his own body, but it never came. Tom Collins was gone, though his agonized screams reverberated for several seconds in the silence of Weston?s mind. They only faded when Milton again spoke.

Still afraid of your old ghosts, Weston? And there are so many. It was silly to come here, alone, if all you meant to do was cry out and whine about the unfair world. I already know the world?s not fair?care to guess who keeps it that way? Hmm? Despite the bitterness in your heart, I know that those wounds don?t make you so angry that you?d turn against your friends. You?re a hero. A classic?struggling for redemption to atone for past sins. I?d be surprised if you don?t find the wounds liberating. No, my little Oedipus, I think instead that you?ve come to spy, or more likely, the three of you have split up, hoping against hope that maybe one of the three will get to me. Wrong.

?No,? Weston pleaded. ?No, I?I?m not betraying them because of that. I?m not betraying them at all. I don?t want to be here, Milton, but they?re coming. They?re coming to rescue Shandri. They know you have her, they know she was manipulated, and they forgive her. They forgave that bitch after what she did to me. But I couldn?t. I wouldn?t. I will never forgive her, and I won?t forgive them. And you?I thought of you?and I knew that you were my last hope if I ever wanted to see?? Weston stopped talking. There was no one there. Milton had hung up the phone, as it were, and was no longer listening to him. Suddenly, the voice above, which had not stopped speaking throughout the exchange, seemed to grow louder, and Weston cringed because now, he knew, it was speaking about him.

??even now, I can see a second interloper already amongst you. He lingers in your crowd like a dormant cancer, waiting until the proper time to spill his vile seed. Look amongst you, I beg, for the blind man with strange clothes. Look for him, and bring him to the front of my tower?but do not hurt him. For just as Shandri had an opportunity for penitence, so shall all of Pandemon?s enemies. For every last one of you deserves the honor of worshiping the one true God.?

There was a low murmur in the crowd, and although Weston could not see, he felt a thousand eyes turn on him in an instant. His heart began to race, sweat broke out on his face and palms, and his mind suddenly lapsed into a horrible, debilitating paralysis. He could do nothing but stare dumbly into the crowd of worshipers and hoped that he would blend in.

?Hey you,? someone next to him said, ?hey, you?re that guy. Come here.?

Weston opened his mouth to protest, then thought better of it. This was what he wanted, after all. Perhaps it wasn?t the ideal way of making an entrance, but he certainly had Milton?s attention. Whether Milton believed him or not was immaterial. If he could just keep him occupied, then everything would be ok.

Weston felt a rough, calloused hand grab his arm and then jerk him forward. As they walked, the first thing Weston felt sure of was that the big man holding him was no Lauren. He dragged Weston through the crowd with little regard to Weston or anyone else. As they passed and bustled through the dense people, he heard several townsfolk call out at him. He could still see nothing, and in the darkness of his own mind, the squeezing bodies and the loud roar of the crowd were more oppressive than the darkest, deepest dungeon. He felt like his entire body was underwater and he was suffocating. He felt like he was being compressed.

Then suddenly Weston felt the bodies fall back, and he opened his mouth and sighed with relief. There was a crack of energy from above, and he again heard Milton?s voice ring out. ?Well done. You have found the interloper. What is your name, sir??

?Garrak Crawley,? the man holding Weston said.

?Then Mr. Crawley, when Pandemon is made manifest, you shall be one of the first he rewards with riches, women, and a thousand years of bountiful crop.?

?ALL HAIL THE PALE KING! ALL HAIL THE MAN IN BLACK,? Crawley shouted, and pushed Weston forward. He hit the ground with a smack and pain exploded along his injured arm. Struggling, he tried to push himself up. The ground was hard like stone, and he could feel the beginnings of a staircase rising in front of him. Then the crowd grew silent, and Weston imagined them all ogling him curiously.

Amidst the silence of the crowd, two pairs of footsteps came trotting down the staircase, and two arms grabbed Weston and pulled him up. Pain again exploded through his bad arm when the men carelessly yanked him to his feet. He screamed out, and one of them muttered in his ear, ?Ye?d do better to shut your face. The Emissary likes screaming, and if he hears some of it, he?ll likely want to hear more.?

?Weston Onasi,? Tom Milton called down from what sounded like far above. ?You come before me seeking to topple my reign and to sow chaos and sedition amongst the fine people of Rook.? Several boos rose out of the crowd Weston winced as a rock struck the ground near his head. It shattered and fragments of debris flew up and cut his face. ?You are an outcast and a vagabond, guilty of treason and harboring ill will against this city. The penalty of these crimes is DEATH. Of course, as is customary, I shall allow the people to decide your fate. What would you do with the interloper??

The crowd around Weston surged in an uproar. Some were shouting for him to have a trial. Others wanted him to be shown forgiveness, but like a great beast?s roar the majority voice spoke out above all others. ?DEATH TO THE INTERLOPER. DEATH TO THE INTERLOPER.?

They chanted for what felt like hours before finally falling silent. ?ENOUGH,? Milton shouted. ?Yes, the people of Rook have spoken, and by their will you would die. But fortunately, Pandemon does not see fit to release you to their will. Not yet. You are a lost lamb who has strayed in the dark of night from his master. But we have found you, Onasi, and there may yet be hope for you in this life. Bring him to me.?

Weston?s heart began to beat harder now, and he lowered his head. There was a jerk and a tug, and then the men beside him dragged him up the staircase, step by step. He felt a weight at his side vanish, and knew that one of them had taken his blaster pistol. As they ascended towards the tower that he could not see, cries of adoration and glee for Pandemon?s mercy rang out from the bloodthirsty crowd. And after the cheers and the fanfare quieted, all that remained was the chant that they all repeated, like it was the only phrase they knew:

ALL HAIL PANDEMON. ALL HAIL THE MAN IN BLACK. ALL HAIL THE PALE KING. FOREVER WE PRAY. FOREVER WE SERVE. FOREVER WE OBEY.

Amen.

***

The cool air and soft hum of the elevator were far too brief. During that time, when he was alone with just the two faceless sentries, he could imagine that he was someplace else, and that he was not about to die, and that he was dreaming with his eyes closed. He could imagine that he was standing on the deck of the Penelope and Gugglo was there with him, and the two were looking out on an unknown starscape from the surface of an unknown world for the first time. He could imagine that he was cradling Menina in his arms, and together they were lying in the grass with their eyes shut, thinking about the days to come. Thinking about all the life left in the universe that was still unblemished by Tom Milton and the armies of the Burning Man. Full of hope for the future, and a world where they too could lead such a life.

The elevator came to a stop, the doors slid open, and Weston was dragged unceremoniously out and over the threshold.

But I will never see that world, Weston thought sadly. If it?s to exist at all.

There was a groan that sounded like old doors swinging open, and Weston felt a cool breeze blow air from outside against his bandaged face. They walked forwards several more feet into what Weston imagined was a huge audience chamber, complete with an elaborate throne and legions of armed soldiers. Then they stopped, and from the front of the room where the breeze came in, Weston heard clicking footsteps against tile or stone, then the sliding of a door, and then those same footfalls approaching along carpet.

?That will do.? Tom Milton chuckled. And the men holding Weston released him, and stepped away. He could no longer smell their sweat or feel their rough hands, but he imagined they were still nearby; ready should their savior need them. He could hear one of them walking forwards.

?He had this,? the man said.

Milton was silent for a moment before saying, ?Thank you. Now, leave us be.? Weston concentrated, trying to track their footfalls, and he tensed as the door behind him swung shut and locked. He was all alone with Tom Milton.
This was it.

Weston took a deep breath and held it, waiting for something to happen. Several seconds passed before he released his breath. There was no sound, no movement, but Weston did not once mistake himself for being alone. Milton was out there, watching him like wounded prey. He was just waiting for the right moment to show his hand.

?Well, well, well,? Milton said finally, in a far more energetic tone than he?d used with his men, ?Weston Onasi, how?ve you been? Gosh it?s good to see you again buddy. Too bad you can?t say the same.? A hand wrapped around his injured right hand and shook vigorously. The pain was excruciating, but he bore it with a straight face.

?Milton,? Weston said, and his voice trembled. He inhaled deeply, and swallowed. ?I??
?Shhhhhhh,? Milton cooed. ?Oh hush, there?s no need to talk. We?re old friends. All that hubbub out there was just a show for the grunts. I know why you?ve come here, and I know exactly what you want. You want my help, and I?ll be happy to offer it. But first, lets just pause for a moment and take in the scenery, shall we? The sweeping vistas. The pretty blanket of snow that covers the city. The crowds of filthy worshipers, all singing praise to my ivory tower. Just look at it all, Weston. Isn?t it beautiful??

Weston hesitated. ?I came here by myself. I came here willing to offer you information, information that you can use. I just?want??

?You want your eyes back,? Milton finished for him. ?I know you do, Weston, I know you do. Honestly it hurts me to see you like this, stumbling around like an old fool. And you know what? The great thing for you is that I mean it when I say that I like you. I would have been happy to have you as my captain?and so I?m willing to give you what you want. I?m willing to let you see again, and then you can walk out of here, no strings attached, and go back to your friends. And if you really want to try and stop me?well by all means, you?re welcome to come back. I see this meeting as off the record, so to speak, and all our animosities and ill will can be ignored for the time being. I?ll just be undoing what that ungrateful bitch did to you, and then we can carry on. I put my black hat and mustache back on, and you climb back up on your white horse. How does that sound??

Weston?s hands were shaking, and his breath was shallow. ?Too good to be true,? he said.

Milton grunted, ?Maybe you don?t believe me? Well, that?s certainly you right, but you?ve got to learn a little trust or else you?ll go on living your whole life in a world of black nothing?oh, sorry.? He paused, laughed quietly, and then continued, ?But I don?t want your information. I mean, really, do you think that you know anything that I have not anticipated or designed? Well I?m sure you might?but don?t be naive. No, your information is no good here. I do this free of charge, and in fact, because I like you so much, I?m going to offer you a bonus prize. I know it took a lot of courage to come up here, and a lot of anger. And well, you see I may have an outlet for some of that anger.?

?What?? Weston asked. His hands were sweaty and his blood was hot. He wanted nothing more than to just get his gun back and shoot Milton between the eyes. He could do it, he thought. All he had to do was pinpoint where that voice was coming from, and he could do it.

?You want to shoot me eh? Well?I mean you could but that?s no way to treat someone who wants to help you. I say we hold off on the petty firefights until after we?ve gone back to our scripted roles. Now, to your prize. You see, there is a prisoner whom I would like to dispose of, and I think you?re just the man for the job.? And then Milton took Weston?s left hand in his, and pressed Weston?s pistol into it. He pulled Weston with a jerk and then stopped him. The muzzle of the pistol pressed against something hard. Weston?s heart skipped a beat and for an instant he didn?t think he could breathe. ?What?s going on?? he asked.

?When she came to me, she was crying like a filthy child, unable to cope with what she?d done. She couldn?t believe that she had sliced the eyeballs out of your head. She couldn?t understand why Jake Landon ran her away, and she didn?t want to accept what she was. I offered to take her in, but this girl, worthless in every respect, could not cope with her own guilt and so she sought to betray me. She wanted to go to you, to admit her wrongdoings, and pray for your forgiveness, but I stopped her. You?re pistol is pressed against Shandri Brighstorm?s forehead. She is bound by ropes, and I am keeping her Force powers at bay. Squeeze the trigger of your pistol, and then I will return your sight to you. You kill her, and once we get you?re your sight back we?ll sit on my balcony and drink tequila. All will be forgiven. We?ll be even-steven.?

Weston hesitated, and the pistol shook in his sweaty hand. He didn?t even know if it was really Shandri, but he did know that if he didn?t shoot her, his entire ploy would be found out. He would be discovered, and Milton would likely guess what it was he really meant to do. Weston sucked in a deep breath of air.

?You aren?t having second thoughts, are you? Isn?t this what you?ve wanted? To get some sweet revenge on the girl who took away you r eyes? You know, if you can?t do this, it makes me question the validity of everything you?ve said to me today. And I don?t cater to being lied to.? Milton asked.

?No, I want this,? Weston responded. ?But how do I know its her? Without my eyes, I have no way of knowing. And trust me; your word is not enough.?

?Ho ho, well I guess I deserve that. But trust me when I say, Weston, that it is her. Of course, I guess one must be sure,? Milton said, and Weston could hear the approval in his voice. ?Speak, Shandri.?

?Weston?Weston please. I?m sorry, I?m sorry?? the voice cut off abruptly, but there was no doubt in Weston?s mind that it was Shandri Brightstorm?s voice. Nor was there any doubt about where the voice was coming from. The figure in front of him was her, in the flesh.

?So?go on Weston. Kill her.?

Weston hesitated, and took another breath. What was he to do? What was he going to do? There?s no choice here, he thought bitterly. I?m going to have to kill her, because if I don?t, the whole plan could be ruined. Everything could go to Hell, because I was too weak. The thought made his gut tingle and turn over inside of him. He felt sick?but all the same, a part of him felt excited. And in the back of his mind, he knew that a part of him would feel pleasure if he pulled the trigger. But it was a part of himself that he?d fought for ten years to suppress. It was a part of himself that he hated, more than Dylan Rent, more than Tom Milton?and it was that part of him that had driven him to his life of solitude in the first place. I don?t want to kill her, he thought, but I have to. I?m not doing it for myself. I?m doing it for everyone. I can do this. I just have to squeeze the trigger?and its not like I haven?t done it before. Weston took one last deep breath, and tensed his finger. ?I?m sorry Shandri,? he whispered. ?It?s a good thing you cut my eyes out, because I couldn?t live with myself if I had to watch what I?m about to do.?

No! said a voice, and suddenly Weston stopped, freezing his finger midsqueeze. Don?t do it, Mr. Good guy. It?s not worth it.. Weston felt the sweat breaking out on his forehead, the fear of what would happen to him if he didn?t fire the gun was terrible?but somehow he knew that the little girl was right. He knew in his gut that Milton didn?t believe him. Shooting Shandri wouldn?t change that.

Weston, his heart thundering inside of him, lowered the gun.

?Backing out?? Milton said abruptly.

?I can?t do it,? Weston said. ?I refuse. And you can go to Hell and keep your goddamned eyes. I?m not killing her.?

?Okie dokie,? Milton said, and he snatched the pistol out of Weston?s hand. ?Then I guess I will.? Weston winced. There were two distinct discharges of his weapon, and he could feel the bolts traveling so close to him that the heat grazed his skin. He took several step backwards and heard one last weak, dying cry. Then there was a thud. Milton fired the gun five more times until a smell terribly similar to the dead Tom Collins filled Weston?s nostrils, and his knees went limp.

?Shandri,? he wheezed. And for the first time since he?d gone into Milton?s tower, he let down his defenses and allowed himself to wonder what would happen if the plan failed. They hadn?t found the tracking device yet, Weston realized. And if they didn?t find that, then everything would be for nothing.

But Weston did not have the luxury of grief. Milton was standing in front of him, and he was laughing. He laughed a long, hard, full bellied laugh. It was the kind of laugh that was so hard and full it makes your eyes water, and it chilled Weston?s blood. ?You?re in deep shit, little trail hand,? Milton said between howls of laughter, ?Do?do you really think that I don?t know the real reason, why you?re here??

Suddenly pain raged in Weston?s arm as it bent back on its own volition, and very abruptly all the laughter coming from Milton stopped.

?There?s something on you. Something you worry that I?ll find. Or perhaps that I won?t find. Lex?unclip the device from his collar, please.?

And then Weston felt a new pair of rough hands rake across the inside of his collar, and there was a small click as the device released from the fabric.

?I don?t know what it is,? the man said. ?Some kind of little box?looks like something the Burning Man?s men would use.?

?Silly Lex, so backwards and dim,? Milton murmured. ?The Burning Man may have something like it, but this little diddy is from Galaxy 32. It?s a smuggling device, wouldn?t you say, Shandri? Tell me peanut, what is it??

Weston?s heart leapt and he wondered what was going on. Hadn?t Shandri just died? Hadn?t he heard?and then his heart froze. Milton had been testing him. It hadn?t been Shandri at all. It had been someone else, someone else who he?d tied, and bound, and forced to speak in Shandri?s voice. Weston felt a hot pang of anger swell up inside of him and dropped his hand to his waist, but the pistol was gone. Then he heard Shandri?s voice for the first time, coming from the right-hand side of the room. She spoke in a high, cold tone full of malice and hate, and he thought to himself that if Milton had not addressed her, he?d have never recognized the voice.

?It?s a tracking device from the Zephyr, my lord.?

?Yes,? Milton agreed. ?A tracking device. Tell me, Weston, any idea what that was doing on your coat??

Weston did not answer.

?Cute. Lex, destroy it.? And then there was a small crackle, and the crunch of a boot against the floor.

Weston swallowed, hoping that he looked nervous, in spite of the dim, flickering hope in the back of his heart. Like a single candle in a huge, black room. ?A tracking device,? Milton said calmly. ?Now why oh why would a runway like yourself need that.?

?Oh,? Weston said, and his mind began to race. He was going from the seat of his pants now. But all he had to do was stall. Fifteen minutes, and it would all be over. ?I thought you were smart Tom? They were tracking me, finding the route to your throne room. You were right, but you?re too late. They?re coming and they?ve got an army.?

An army?! What the hell am I thinking?

?An army?? Milton tittered. ?Who do you think I am? My dimwit Lex could spot that for what it is. Another poor lie from Eric Taarn. When are you going to figure out that I can see past your thin deceptions? I invented the lie, Weston, and I can spot one every single time. There is no army, and even now throngs of my worshipers are searching out the alleys and hideways for your companions. The Four will be reunited here, but boy oh boy I promise you this: By the time I?m done with the three of you, you?ll be grateful my chickadee cut out those eyes.?

Fresh rage?rage at Shandri, and rage at Milton?swelled up inside of him and Weston tried to charge him, but his legs wouldn?t move. ?You won?t find them,? he spat. ?You won?t find them and when they get here, it won?t matter what you do to us. You are not going to survive the morning. I can feel it in my bones as surely as I can feel that you have no fucking idea what you?re talking about. Everything you?ve said today has been a guess. Your powers are leaving you, and the best part is that I don?t think you know why. But know this Tom: you?d better hurry up and make your peace, because when they get here, they?ll kill you.?

There was silence, and Weston?s chest heaved up and down. After almost a minute, Milton said quietly, ?How very poetic. That was good, Weston, that was really good. I know you had me sweating. Tell you what; you still want your eyes, right? How about I give them to you. After that little episode of gravitas it?s the least I could do. It just takes a wave of my hand, and I can bring them back.? Then Weston felt a breeze blow gently across his face, and there was a tingling behind his bandages, and the pain that had been there for so long that he?d grown used to it was gone. A firm hand wrapped itself around his bandages and drew them off, and hot white light spilled into Weston?s virgin retinas. It was so bright and the colors so vivid that he squeezed his fresh eyelids shut for a moment before slowly opening them again. The room that he thought was an audience chamber was anything but. It was much smaller, about double the size of the Zephyr?s family room, and there was no throne. A man with slick backed hair stood to the left. Tom Milton stood directly in front of him and at his feet was the dead, smoldering corpse of a man that he didn?t recognize. And to his right?

Before Weston had a chance to look to his right, where he?d heard Shandri?s voice, Milton grabbed him by the cheeks, reached out with two fingers, and plunged them into Weston?s new eyes. ?But of course, with a jab of my other hand,? he hissed, ?I can gouge them back out.?

Weston screamed and swore and reeled backwards in pain as the two alien fingers dug into his head. There was a sick popping sound and two snaps as the nerve endings broke, and Weston was once again in blackness, only this blackness seemed even darker than the last, because the memory of his last image was so strong.

?PLEASE,? Weston begged, and he could feel the blood pouring from his empty eye sockets. He dropped to his knees and began to grope the ground desperately for the bandages that Milton had taken off not a minute earlier. Distantly his ears registered two faint plops, and he knew that Milton had just crushed his eyes underneath the heel of his shoe. ?Please,? Weston cried. ?Please stop.?

?Not so confident now, are we Weston? Not so cocky? Why ever could that be? At least tell me how your glimpse at the world outside was. Was it everything you thought it?d be??

Weston couldn?t hear him. His head was too full of pain and agony. He just wanted everything to stop. He just wanted it all to be over with, and he knew, quite thankfully, that in just a few more minutes it would be. It?s been almost ten minutes he thought. It would all be over soon.

Weston felt a hand reach down and lift his chin. The blood draining from his head pooled up in his empty sockets. Weston could feel another face close to his, and then in barely a whisper Milton said, ?I can give them back to you.? Then he dropped Weston?s head and the blood poured out onto the ground.

?There?s still a chance for you, Weston, but I need you to agree to something first. You see, I told you the truth, before. I was prepared to put you in the highest position of my cabinet. You were going to be my general and my emissary. You were going to spread my name across the stars like seed on a barren field?but such things were not to be.

?Still?it would be a pity to waste your talents. So I?m prepared to offer you a choice. Stay here, pledge yourself to me, and I will make you whole again. Give me your word, your sworn oath that you will turn against the others and join my army, and I will restore your vision one last time?or refuse, and I?ll let you bleed to death on my carpet.?

Weston fought his urge to accept unconditionally and barely succeeded. Somehow he knew that if he agreed, whatever power that was keeping Milton at bay would be broken, and the pale king would see every last thought that swirled in Weston?s brain, no matter how hard he tried to bury it.

Weston hovered over the ground, clutching his bloody face, and breathed deeply?in and out. It didn?t matter what happened to him, he didn?t care?but before he could tell that to Milton, he remembered Shandri?he had made a promise to Tyr. But he had promised so long as it didn?t endanger the mission. And this certainly did. But Milton had been right?in the end, what he wanted more than death, was redemption, and the chance to show himself that he could be selfless if he had to be. ?What about the Jedi,? Weston gasped. ?What if?what if I promise to join you if you let her go.?

?Conditions? Do you hear that Lex, Shandri? The man whose eyeballs are crushed into my carpet is trying to bargain with me. I knew I liked you for a reason Wes.?

?Let her go. Let Shandri go, and I will do?I?ll do whatever you want. I?ll join your army. I?ll turn against my friends. I?do that. Let her go instead of giving me back my eyes.?

Milton paused, and Weston could feel a curious gaze surveying him. After several moments, Milton said, ?Shandri, you are free to go.?

Weston hesitated, feeling a brief sensation of ecstasy and hope. It didn?t last. There were no footsteps. No movement at all.

?I said you can go, Shandri. You?re promise to me that you would stay and give yourself to me is forfeit. Your free.? Milton hesitated, ?What?s the matter? Something on your mind??

There was no response.

?Shandri?? Weston called out, trying to speak above the pain and ringing in his face. ?Shandri go. Get out of here. Go back to the Zephyr, go back to Tyr?just go.?

?But I don?t want to go, Eric.?

Then Weston?s dark world went alight with pain.

It lanced out across his body, pain that made the stinging pain in his face a pleasant memory. It felt like thousands?millions of ants were crawling across his skin, all on fire, and biting him as their bodies burned away. They surged over him in wave after merciless wave, and when they finally stopped, he could smell his own skin smoldering, and feel the hairs all across his body standing on end. The air around him reeked of smoke and ionized gas.

Weston was breathing heavily on all fours, trying desperately to catch his breath. He laughed cynically to himself, as he realized that the lightning had cauterized his bleeding eyes.

?You see,? Milton said quietly, ?she doesn?t want to leave. She?s quite happy here, you know. But of course, I have let her go now. She is free of her word and may do as she wish. And just as I have kept my word to you, so now you are bound to me.?

?No,? Weston said, ?You lie. You?re still controlling her, and far more directly than any goddamn word-bond. My contract with you is void unless she can decide for herself.?

?What makes you so sure she hasn?t??

?The Shandri Brightstorm I know would never stay here, unless it was to gut you, you fucking animal.?

?Just like she would never attack you? Just like she would never slice out you eyes? I don?t understand why you still defend her, Weston. She hates you. She tried to kill you, and yet you wouldn?t shoot her.?

?It?s not her I hate. It?s you. It?s always been you. And don?t try to tell me that she was herself when she attacked me. I know you had a hand in it.?

?What do you say to that, Shandri?? Milton tittered.

?Oh Weston,? Shandri whispered, and he felt a cool hand run across his face. ?I miss the man whose heart was black; who slaughtered families without regret. I look now at your small soul and see a gnarled black stump, and the thing is far more scarred than your face could ever be. Do you want to know why I let you live? Why I didn?t slit your throat on the hillside like you deserved? It?s because I knew deep down that making you live like a worthless, blind cripple was far worse than any death. It was making you live the rest of your life in a pit where your only company were memories and the screams of all those families slaughtered for the sake of your thickening wallet.?

?WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO HER? Weston shouted, and in his rage small tears formed in the cauterized wounds on his face, causing small steams of blood to trickle down his cheeks like tears. ?MILTON!! Milton you bastard you fucking bastard what did you do to her??

?Shandri,? Milton said, ?Tell me, I see a man laying on the floor. He is crawling like an animal and whining like a pig, just before slaughter. What do you see??

?ANSWER ME?? Pain tore into Weston?s head like a serrated knife, and Weston dropped to the ground. He writhed, rolling over his fractured arm and causing fresh damage to the healing bones. He writhed and screamed as he felt hands rifling through the interior of his mind, tearing and ripping, and damaging him in ways from which he would never fully recover.

?I?d really like to know why you wanted her out of here,? Milton chuckled, as he watched Weston writhing on the floor. ?The girl has a gift, you know. She has a way with the mind. She can slip in and out easily. She found out about little Lex?s past, about his ugly days at the butcher shop, and she hoped to turn him against me. But I was surprised to find that while her powers of mental intrusion were strong, her defenses were nothing compared to you. Yours are peculiarly adept to blocking out my probes. Of course, Miss Brightstorm?s ways are not my own?so I asked myself if a Jedi might be more successful. Less precise, surely. It?s more like digging into your brain with a shovel than a scalpel. But Shandri no longer has any qualms about collateral damage. She will find what I need to know and tell me, regardless of how she leaves you. If you can?t tell, she doesn?t really like you very much.?

?SHANDRI, PLEASE.?

But the pain continued, retching through him. It felt like it would never end, like it would go on forever?but then suddenly it was over. Weston dropped his head to the ground, trembling, and knew that this was how it felt to be raped.

?The Zephyr is coming,? she said coolly, her cold, high voice sending daggers through Weston?s skin. ?They?ll be here in three minutes. The tracking device was meant to be found. Within fifteen minutes of its destruction their ship will launch and attempt to fire a concussion missile at the top of your tower. They plan to blow us up.?

?Ah,? Milton sighed. ?Clarity at last.?

Weston lay on the ground shaking, and wishing that he had never listened to Lauren, whom he was now sure had been Milton all along. He should have shot Shandri. He should have killed her. Even though it wasn?t really her, it would have changed everything. He had made a terrible, terrible mistake, and even the physical pain he?d endured was not enough to blot out the awful sense of failure that gripped him there on Milton?s carpet. A sliding door opened somewhere in front of him, and then he heard Milton?s laugh, followed by his loud, booming voice:

?PEOPLE OF ROOK, THOUGH PANDEMON?S MERCY IS ENDLESS THE INTERLOPERS CONTINUE TO DEFY HIM. I HAVE OFFERED THE PRISONER LIFE ANEW, AND HE REJECTED IT WITH COLD INDIFFERENCE. I TURN HIM OVER NOW TO YOU, THE PEOPLE, TO DO WITH AS YOU PLEASE. BUT BEFORE THIS EVENT TRANSPIRES, I ASK PATIENCE?FOR HIS FELLOWS ARE FAST APPROACHING, AND IN ONE SWIFT STROKE WE SHALL DASH THEIR HOPES AGAINST THE CLIFFSIDE. GLORY TO ROOK. GLORY TO PANDEMON!!?


?ALL HAIL THE PALE KING,? the crowd roared, and a great wave of applause floated up from below. Then suddenly there was a shriek, and a scream, and the applause broke. People started to scream, and a cold gust of wind flew through the window and caught Weston in the face.

?Oh Hell. Look at that?? Lex murmured.

?It?s the Zephyr,? Shandri said. ?Isn?t she beautiful? Farewell, my love.?

Tom Milton did not reply. Weston felt the cool outside breeze blowing hard against his skin, and then there came a horrible cry from the crowds, followed by a great, enveloping explosion that sent shockwaves of hot wind blasting through the opened doors of the suite. There was a brief moment of utter silence, as the crowd and Milton, and the entire city held their breath in tandem.

And like a baseball through a windowpane, the silence was shattered by a resounding crash.

[Calavan]

The Pale King?s Court

And each man stands with his face in the light of his own drawn sword, ready to do what a hero can.

~Elizabeth Barrett Browning



The building shook so hard that the windows of the suite shattered all at once. Projectiles of glass blasted inward towards the few standing inside, and Weston could feel bits peppering his skin. For a fraction of a second he thought that the building had been hit, and that they were all dying. He waited, half terrified and half inexplicably relieved for the warm air to be replaced with a scorching flame that would cleanse his many wounds. But as that second came and went, and he was still alive, an awful thought came over him and he knew that it was true. The crash had not been a missile. It had been a ship. A ship that had crashed so close that the shockwave had rattled the building.

Weston?s heart pounded inside of his chest. He felt sick, like he?d just had a glass of six month old milk. He felt helpless, blind and pathetic, and realized that a sharp pain was spreading up his leg and across the left side of his body. He reached down to touch it and felt nothing but warm blood. Blood was everywhere. Gallons of it. And through the blood, a long shard of glass stuck an inch and a half deep in his thigh. Weston wanted to pull it out, wanted to stand up and fight, wanted to do something, but all he could do was lay there quivering on the floor in a pool of his own blood.

Maybe, he thought, I?ll bleed to death right here. And this will be it. It?s over for me now. It?s over for Jake and Tyr too. And Shandri. This must be the way it ends for us. This is the way the Four go out, and I guess the way the worlds go out too. Paralyzed and helpless.

?And that, boys and girls, was the last fight of Zephyr,? Milton cooed. His voice cut through Weston?s thoughts and dragged him back to reality. ?Thank you, Weston, I couldn?t have done it without you.?

Weston opened his mouth to retort but his voice was stifled as more tangy, coppery blood spilled out of his throat. He was growing light-headed. Tom Milton?s voice sounded distant, like he was at the other end of a long corridor. The throbbing and the pain and the awful knot in his gut were all Weston could think about now. Even the pain in his eyes had been reduced to memory in the face of his current agonies. ?Lex, I want you to go fetch a few boys and see what?s left of them. If they?re alive, set them up separate rooms on the fourth floor. We?ve been beating around the bush for days now. I think it?s time for me to pay them a visit?what do you say Shandri??

?It sounds delicious, my lord.?

Weston could hear the faintest sound of mistrust in Lex?s voice when he asked, ?You?re keepin? them alive too? Why? What is it about these people you?re saving them for??

?Silly Lex,? Milton said, and his voice was such that he sounded like he was addressing a small child, ?Is that jealousy I detect? Are you worried that your precious place as my favorite will be lost to the outsiders? Well, set yourself at ease. These pups won?t be here for long. They?ve got business far far away from here. But it?s important, you see, that I know where they stand. And after certain recent events, the only way to know for sure is to?well, you know.?

?You wish to make them gods?? Shandri asked, ?Even him??

?No no, peanut, a blind man wouldn?t be much good I don?t think. Pretty worthless, actually. Don?t you agree, Weston??

Weston made no response. Behind him, he heard the door to the room open and shut again, and imagined that Lex had left to go get Tyr and Jake. After several moments of bitter pain, he forced himself to open his mouth and speak: ?I stand by what I said,? he croaked. The words barely came out, when as he spoke them terrible images from his past?some memories and some nightmares that he?d only imagined?came roaring up into his mind with little method or reason. Weston yelled and an image of burning Tom Collins breaking Menina?s neck while she was sleeping seared itself to the back of his skull. Then another of the Grendels attacking them, and burying Darth Bojangles. Then the sound of Rent?s cold laughter through the refresher station door. Weston suppressed the images, and tried to control his fear. ?You?won?t walk out of here?Tom.?

?Brave words from a man who?s dying on my floor,? Milton laughed. ?But trust me Weston, I will walk out, unlike you. You?re time is up, and its funny that you still try to talk so big?because I look at you, Weston Onasi, and I feel as if I?ve never seen a more pathetic sight. Maybe I haven?t?but I will. Because by the time my kitten is done with you, you?ll be nothing but a formless mass of flesh, still living despite your unheard pleas for Death to have mercy and sweep you away.?

Again terrible images from Weston?s past crept up and accosted him. A one night stand on Bilbringi killed the next day as a job went bad. The sound of Gugglo gasping for air as blood spilled from the wound in his neck. Weston tried to set his face, but the pain and the brutality of everything had whittled his spirit away. He no longer felt like fighting. He couldn?t fight anymore. He could just lie there and suffer, and hope that it was not too late to undo Milton?s madness.

?You can thank Shandri for the headaches,? Milton chuckled. ?Artifacts of her little performance on your mind, I?m afraid. But don?t worry?you won?t have time to think about them for much longer.?

Outside of the now open windows, a loud roar rose up from the crowd screaming ?Death to the interlopers! Death to the interlopers!?

Weston shuddered, and Tom Milton hesitated. ?It sounds like that?s my cue. You be good now, Shandri.?

?Oh yes,? she cooed. ?I?ll be just as sweet as pie.?

?Then he?s yours, kitten. Play.?

***

Somewhere in the blackness there was an alarm. It kept going off over and over, and all Jake wanted to do was reach out and cut it off. He opened his eyes, or tried to, and realized he was too tired. His eyelids were heavy, and all he really wanted to do was go back to sleep. But the alarm kept ringing, just as it always did when he had to get up in the morning. Lauren was still asleep beside him in bed. If he didn?t get up soon, he knew, the alarm would wake her too. He couldn?t have that. She didn?t get enough sleep as it was with their son. He was a loud one. A cryer. Jake reached out to turn off the alarm and felt a plastic button under his fingers; he pressed the button and the sound ceased. Then he felt a warm body draw up close to him, and he could feel warm breath tickling the back of his ear. ?It?s almost here Jake, can you feel it? The prelude to the end.? The voice was Lauren?s, and when he heard it he felt, if only for an instant, like everything would be ok. ?I know you fear, Jake Landon. I know you?ve given up hope. Your last plan has failed?but the time of the Pale King is at an end, and no matter how bleak and hopeless things seem do not quake or buckle. You must trust in the fact that you will survive, for I am with you. Be the man I know you are, and seize on what he shows you. Everything he says and does is a lie, but why does he lie? Why does he hide from the truth? Find the truth in the thicket, and everything that?s been set in motion shall become clear. See through the glammers and the misdirections he uses to prop himself up, for it is neither the veil nor the legend that you must slay, but the monster beneath. I believe in you Jake. I love you. But you must get up, because it is too soon for us to be together. Get up, Jake,? Lauren said. ?Jake, get up.?

Jake?s eyes flew open just as a sharp sting spread across his face in waves. Everything was a blur. The cockpit of the Midnight Zephyr was bent upwards towards the sunlight. The front window had shattered, and cool air was blowing across them. Out of the forward viewport he could just make out the top of Milton?s tower. It was still very much whole, though windows across the entire thing had blown inward. His head throbbed horribly, and he could feel a warm trickle of blood sliding down his temple like sweat. His mouth tasted of it too.

Tyr was hovering over him, and when Jake met his eyes he could see the President relax significantly. ?Thank the Force,? Tyr muttered. ?I don?t know what I?d do if I lost you too.?

?Tyr?? Jake said. He couldn?t remember what had just happened. They had waited fifteen minutes, just like Weston had asked, and they were almost in range of the tower. Then?then he remembered Tyr screaming that the missile they?d been planning on using to atomize Milton was latched in place. And that it wouldn?t fire. It was armed and it wouldn?t fire. It was going to blow up in the tube and incinerate them. Somehow he?d shot it off, but it had missed the building by a wide margin. Then the next thing Jake remembered was the ground coming towards them, and the multitude of people, trapped by sheer numbers, struggling to get out from beneath the ship?s path. They had crashed the Zephyr into a crowd of spectators. He could only imagine how many died. ?Tyr?? Jake repeated.

Tyr sat back down in his chair and grunted. One of his eyes was blood red where a vessel had ruptured. ?It?s me. Give yourself a second, you hit your head pretty hard.?

?I take it we didn?t get him,? Jake said, and he realized he was experiencing the distinct feeling of being pulled underwater.

Tyr frowned. ?No,? he whispered. ?Milton?s still there. He knew.?

?So Weston?s?? Jake?s voice tapered off. He didn?t have the heart. Not anymore. He ran his hand through his hair and drew it back quickly. His scalp was burned badly on the top of his head where something hot had struck him.

Tyr lowered his head, and for just a moment the two of them were silent. ?He knew the risks,? Tyr murmured.

?Yeah,? Jake said. He knew the risks. But that didn?t stop him from feeling the knife twist in his heart. He?d sent, willingly, his best friend into the heart of the enemy, and for what? Just to die. Just like he was going to die. Just like Tyr would soon die. ?So that?s it then?? Jake whispered, surveying the damaged ship.

Outside he heard a low rumble, like a thousand voices rising up together, and they began chanting, ?Death to the Interlopers! Death to the interlopers!?

?There?s got to be something else we can do. Weston and Shandri could still be alive?? Tyr groaned. His face contorted and he brought his hand up to the gash in his face. Blood was still oozing profusely, and it covered his hand. He grimaced and tried to pinch the two flaps of skin together. It was a deep cut.

Jake opened his mouth to say something when the ship rumbled again: Death to the interlopers! Death to the interlopers!

The hull of the ship seemed to vibrate with the noise. Jake and Tyr exchanged a troubled look. ?I was hoping maybe you?d have a plan B stored away,? Tyr said. He tried to smile. ?Maybe one more trick up your sleeve.?

Jake didn?t say anything for a moment, and then once he summoned the strength, all he managed was to shake his head. ?Is your face ok?? Jake asked.

Tyr touched it and winced. ?It?s been better. I?m just lucky I didn?t go through the viewport. We were both lucky. It could?ve been a lot worse.?

Outside the chanting grew louder and more furious, and somewhere far above a voice boomed out over the others, quieting them. Their newfound silence was worse and more terrifying than knowing the whole city was against them.

?Milton?s out there,? Jake said. Tyr nodded. The voice was far away but it carried well, and both of them could hear it easily.

?ENOUGH!? Milton cried. ?THERE WILL BE NO MORE DEATHS THIS DAY! All that has happened is as I have foretold. The Interlopers have come, and in fire they have brought their wrath. The price in blood has been high, as even now I see the maimed and the injured crying out for vengeance. But Pandemon?s will is not for you to question. Pandemon is a noble God?merciful as he is righteous?and the interlopers shall not be slain. Should they try to escape their vessel, take them, and bring them to the front of my tower. SHOULD ANYONE attempt to harm them, I will wreck unforgettable harm upon you all. It is the will of Pandemon, who commands me just as he commands you.?

We are but instruments. All Hail the Pale King! All Hail Pandemon!

Then the shoutings started again, and the ship shook once more with the fury of a city. The entire population of Rook roared with one terrible, sustained voice against those who?d killed their townsfolk and dared interfere with Pandemon?s design. Jake looked down at his lap.

?It?s just like Shandri?s dream,? Tyr said.

?Yeah, but where?s Erin to get us out of this? Where?s Erin with her ?Hand of God? now??

?I know,? Tyr agreed. ?Weston was right.?

?They?ll be coming for us anytime,? Jake said. ?Coming to check for survivors. They?ll take us to Milton?and then he?ll kill us like he killed the others. I don?t think, after all this, I can let him take me without a fight.?

Tyr paused, but didn?t say anything. Jake looked back at him and knew that he hated the thought of slaughtering brainwashed townsfolk until their ammunition depleted, but he was too tired to argue. Both men were tired. Ever since the Four had reunited there had been one tragedy after another. Everywhere they?d gone Milton had been, and every plan they?d scraped together he had thwarted. Hopelessness, it seemed, had finally overtaken them. And no matter what his dreams said, even if they came from Lauren, Jake could not summon up the will to hope any longer. There was nothing else to hope for, except for a quick death and a last, suicidal stand.

?I wonder how well Shandri?s guns held up,? Tyr said.

?We should check.?

So Jake Landon and Tyr Rendix-Jeraan climbed down from the cockpit and wandered back into the heart of the now ruined Midnight Zephyr. Small fires burned everywhere, and a huge rip in the top of the ship caused more sunlight to fall in from overhead. Aurren Khel?s old chair had fallen backwards against one of the walls and was ripped in half by a piece of shrapnel. The hallways that led back to the crew quarters and bedroom had collapsed, and the doors buckled out like a dome. The pile of guns that?d gone largely forgotten following the aftermath of Shandri?s attack were scattered across the floor. The imperial repeater rifle was wedged between a piece of floor paneling and the wall. Jake scooped it up and looked at it. He wasn?t familiar with the gun, but it appeared all right. Beside him Tyr found an E-11 and the case of grenades. After a moment?s hesitation, he opened up the case and clipped two of the grenades to his belt, and passed the other two to Jake. ?We?ll probably need these too.?

?So what happens if this works?? Jake asked. ?And we make it all the way to Milton guns blazing??

?We?ve tried everything else, I suppose. This is the third attack we?ve planned.?

Jake turned over the heavy rifle in his arms and looked out into the sky above them. The cargo hold behind the family room was inaccessible. The door had been fused shut in the crash. They were going to have to climb out either the roof, or the side. ?Well,? he said, ?let?s hope there?s not a number four. One way or another.?

Tyr smiled and nodded. ?If this goes the way I think it?s going to go?well Jake??

?Lets not,? Jake said, cutting him off. ?I?ve said goodbye too many times on this trip.?

?Well?? Tyr?s voice was cut off by a terrible vibration and the entire ship buckled. There was an explosion somewhere, and the new, fresh smell of seared circuitry tore through their nostrils. Smoke and cold air filtered in through the cockpit. Jake and Tyr both fell and for a moment lay stunned on the ground from the force of the blast.

On the far end of the family room, the door to the cockpit access hall slid open and three sets of footsteps belonging to three men met their ears. They?d come in through the cockpit, and when they hadn?t found any bodies they?d blown open the front to make entry easier, and come into the ship to search. Each man looked unremarkable, but they were all armed with submachine guns like those that?d put a bullet in Tyr?s leg the night before. One of the men was dressed in a pin-striped suit and his hair was slicked back. He was standing behind the other two.

When the door first opened and the light spilled in, none of the three could see Tyr or Jake laying on the floor towards the back of the room. Their eyes were used to the bright sunlight, which now began just on the other side of the hall where the cockpit had once been. They came into the ship cautiously, but nevertheless seemed taken aback when the gunfire started.

Neither Jake nor Tyr offered the men a warning. Neither called out to give them a chance at surrender. Moments after hearing the first footsteps they?d managed to right themselves, and though their aim was not as sure as Weston?s, their volley sent the three men diving for cover. One screamed out in pain as an E-11 blaster bolt tore into his shoulder, causing a small eruption of scorched flesh. The men immediately opened fire, before the third man, the one in the suit, stopped them. ?Wait!? he shouted. But it was no use. Jake and Tyr continued to gun for their assailants, and the men took cover behind the collapsed ceiling and ship components that now scattered the family room.

After several seconds of straight firing, Jake and Tyr stopped and surveyed the room. It stunk with the smell of charged ions and scorched metal. One body lay dead on the floor, riddled with repeater rifle shells.

?Throw down your weapons in the name of Pandemon,? a breathy voice called from behind the cover. ?Krempe?ll just make things harder on you when he finds out you put up a fight.?

?Harder?? Tyr snorted. ?I?d like to see him try.?

Jake shot Tyr a glance that the President read all too well. Shut it, it said, he wants us to talk to him.

?If you come out, he won?t have to. If you don?t?who knows? Maybe he won?t take it out on you. Maybe he?ll torture your friends a little more. He?s got ?em, you know. They made a real mess of things. Maybe if you come with me, he?ll be a little easier on ?em. Cause right now, he?s returning the favor one hundred fold.?

?Shandri?? Tyr said, before he could stop himself.

?Ah,? at this the voice seemed to calm a bit, confident that he?d finally found a tender spot. ?That one was yours, huh? Well I hope you liked her while you had her, cause now Krempe?s got her wrapped around his waist so tight it makes my dick hurt.?

Tyr stood up in a flash and before he knew what was happening he was back on the ground again. There was a flurry of bullet fire overhead and the shots rebounded and ricocheted around the family room. Tyr realized that Jake was on top of him, and that he?d probably just saved his life. Tyr was shaking, as though he wanted nothing else than to kill Milton. And bar that, kill the little worm he?d sent to take them in.

?Struck a nerve, eh? Is it that one you came to save? Because I thought you?d sent her away to start with. You should have heard her, crying and mucking about. Krempe thought she?d fit in once she gave her word, but I knew better. Bitches lie. They can?t help it, it?s in their blood. But we took care of that.?

Tyr?s face was flushed now, and had Jake not still been pinning him down he would have surely made a suicide charge on Lex Quigley?s position then and there.

?I?m going to kill you,? Tyr said evenly.

?Big words. But I?ve heard ?em before, and from where I?m sitting, I don?t believe you have it in you. You?re lying on the ground, might as well be begging me to take you in. Begging like your pal Onasi, huh? You should have heard him scream when they ripped through his head like wrapping paper. You should have seen your fighter?your strongest on?on Krempe?s floor, begging like a dog.?

Jake held steadily to Tyr, and though both men shook with rage, Jake whispered just one thing and somehow it rekindled a fire that?d almost died. ?You hear that, Tyr? They?re alive.?

?No answer?? the voice asked.

?Who are you?? Jake shouted.

There was a pause, as if he was considering whether or not to answer the question. ?Call me Lex,? he said. ?Lex Quigley. I?ll shake your hand when you come with me.?

?If you stick your hand out to me I?ll saw it off,? Tyr hissed.

?I doubt it.?

Tyr was just about to retort when he stopped. He looked at Jake. Both men could hear something?another set of footsteps, this one more rigid and orderly, and yet oddly off, like a walking marionette. The closer the footsteps came, the louder they grew, and as they approached Jake and Tyr could also hear the sound of grinding servos and broken circuits. The footsteps stopped in the doorway of the now open-air cockpit, and a long shadow cast down the length of the family room. Jake stole one look before collapsing onto the ground beside Tyr. Both men screamed out in pain, but only Jake knew why.

The Galavex standing in the doorway moved just in front of Lex and his partner so that the focused intensity of the sonic agonizer would not harm them. For Jake and Tyr, however, the device made it seem as though someone had shoved a hot stake through their temples. They wriggled and writhed on the ground, and despite both men trying to fight the incredible pain, they were helpless against it. After almost three minutes of prolonged exposure, the Galavex switched off the device and Jake and Tyr collapsed onto the floor, exhausted.

***

They were taken outside, their hands bound behind their backs. Both men still had searing headaches and could scarcely stand, but Lex Quigley made certain that they stood, all the same. The Galavex, in daylight, was clearly not a working model. It shuffled about like a reanimated shell that still barely clung together despite months of grit and abuse. It stood and watched as the prisoners were bound, but when that was done it shuffled off into the crowd of onlookers on some other errand. Jake?s eyes were half shut, and yet he could feel their hatred in waves. Someone in the crowd threw a clump of mud that struck Tyr in the back of the head. Bits of dirt fell into his already deep gash and made him scream out in pain. Lex ushered the men forward, and the bits of dirt burrowed their way further into his tender, exposed skin.

They were forced forward from the crash site towards a tall glass tower that stood just ahead. It was Milton?s tower, both Jake and Tyr knew, for they could feel his presence even from the ground. As they stared up in awe at the building, more men with guns spilled down from the main entrance and surrounded the prisoners. They passed Jake and Tyr and kept the crowd back. Jake saw the man who?d thrown the dirt clump in the corner of his eye. One of the guards walked up to him and put two bullets in his head.

As they moved forward, the scorched dirt beneath their feet gave way to concrete, and the hot intensity of thousands of angry bodies dispersed as well. They continued until they had scaled the front stairs of the tower, and reached the entrance. There, Lex stopped the two of them, and turned them around for the whole crowd to see. Far above, on a single balcony, another man was watching them as well. His eyes were bright red.

His head clearing, Jake looked first at Tyr, and then out at the crowd of people. They seemed to stretch on as far as the city, crowding and gorging the streets around the central tower, except in a large area directly in front. The Midnight Zephyr had crashed head-on into the crowd, destroying several of the poorly built houses and flattening or maiming what Jake immediately guessed to be a few hundred men, women, and children. The cockpit, now blown open, was the only recognizable part of the ship, as it had bent upwards in the crash. The middle of the vessel was buried in mud, melting snow, and debris, and the rear of the ship bent out of the ground unnaturally, smoking and smoldering like the houses it?d razed. They?d always known it, but not until seeing the ship from outside did the truth itself truly strike them: The Midnight Zephyr would not fly again. Not here at least, on a preindustrial world where the vast majority of folks had never heard of electricity.

Beside them, Lexington Quigley grinned and waved out to the crowd. ?HIS WILL BE DONE. WE HAVE THE INTERLOPERS!! ALL HAIL PANDEMON!? he shouted.

?ALL HAIL THE PALE KING!? the crowd responded.

Lex looked over at Tyr with a coy smile and extended his hand. Tyr looked at it for a moment and spit in his face. The spittle caught Lex in the eye, and he stumbled backwards before turning back to Tyr. With that same outstretched hand he struck the president in the head where his wound was worst. ?That is for blasphemy,? Lex said quietly. Then he hit Tyr again. ?And that was for me. Take them to the tower!?

Applause erupted from the crowd and two goons with machine guns took hold of Jake and Tyr?s shoulders and led them to the threshold of the door. Behind them, Lexington Quigley said, ?As for the rest of you, make this ship, this instrument of the Burning Man?s heresies?make it into an everlasting monument for Pandemon?s followers. A WARNING and a SYMBOL for those who?d follow in the footsteps of these brash and hopeless interlopers.?

THY WILL BE DONE! ALL HAIL THE PALE KING! ALL HAIL PANDEMON!

Lex stared smugly out into the crowd and then turned back to Jake and Tyr. ?Let?s go,? he said, and the men passed through the blown in glass doors of the Galian headquarters.

The walk from the entryway, over the glass-covered floor, to the elevator on the far wall felt farther than any walk either man had ever taken. The shockwave blast had blown in all of the windows on this level and sent the large Galian emblem mounted above the veranda window crashing to the floor below. It had broken in half, and cut a piece of furniture in two. They arrived at the elevators and the two guards stepped aside. Lex pushed a button and after what felt like forever?but was much closer to twenty seconds?Jake and Tyr were ushered into the elevator and Lex followed behind them. He glanced out at the guards who were about to follow and shook his head. ?You boys stay down here. I don?t know what?s going to go down upstairs, but trust me?I don?t think you?re gonna want to find out.?

?If anything goes down,? one grumbled. ?If Krempe can still do anything.?

Lex gazed from Jake and Tyr towards the man uncomfortably. He paused for a moment, as if thinking of something to say, and then chose not to say anything at all. The elevator doors began to slide shut, and just before they closed Lex, finally deciding on proper words, merely met the guard?s eyes and said, ?Don?t be stupid.?

***

The moment the doors closed Lex turned around to face Tyr and Jake. His gun was trained on Tyr?s navel.

?Dissention in the ranks?? Tyr asked, just barely noticing the gun in his peripheral vision.

?You shut up,? Lex spat. ?If Krempe didn?t want you alive you?d already have a bullet in your gut.?

?You?re a real hero, you know that, Lex?? Jake snapped, ignoring the gun and staring instead at Lex?s eyes. ?Just what did Krempe promise you that made you sell out your people like this, Lex? I hope it?s worth it, and I hope you know that whatever it is, as soon as he?s done with us it?s gone. He?s going to brush this world like a bad habit.?

Lex looked back at him, and for a moment his face grew a shade paler, as if Jake had just caught him in some terrible sin. ?Look,? Jake continued, ?I know how damn convincing Krempe can, but whatever he promised you?whatever he?s done for you?it didn?t mean a thing.?

?You shut up too,? Lex said, but the gun in his hand was shaking. ?You?re doing the same damn thing the little bitch tried. She came here, we didn?t want her here, but she came and she rooted in and manipulated. I could feel her in my head, prodding around, and I couldn?t do a damn thing about it. Well you know what?fuck you. Krempe ain?t sold out nobody. He made me something. He took me when I was nothin.?, just some goddamn city butcher, and made me a somebody.?

?A pinstriped suit and a gun don?t make you a somebody, Lex.?

?Don?t you dare,? Lex snarled, and now the gun was held steady once again. ?He?s gonna let me run this place when he?s done here. He gave me that. It?s more than I can say for anybody else.? Overhead, there was a beep, and the doors to the elevator slid open. ?We?re here,? he said. And he stepped out of the elevator and gestured for the two men to follow him into the hall.

Outside the elevator was a hall that looked very much like a hotel?s. It was a single long corridor with of red carpet and doors with keycard slots on the walls. At one point it?d been a residency hall for Galian officers. Now, it appeared that Milton was using it as a makeshift prison block.

Lex opened one of the doors and trained his gun on Tyr. ?Ok buddy, in you go.? Tyr took a few steps forward and looked at Jake. ?You ready to say goodbye yet?? he asked. Lex hit him in the stomach with the butt of his gun and Tyr reeled over.

?I think you?ve both said enough,? Lex growled. Jake struggled forward but with his hands bound he wasn?t fast enough before Lex had the gun aimed at him again. Jake looked down at Tyr, who was lying on the floor of the bedroom trying to get up, and felt a pang of regret. Before he could say anything, the door slammed shut.

?All right,? Lex said. ?You come with me down the hall, and no funny business. Krempe?ll be here soon enough.?

?You didn?t have to hit him,? Jake said. ?We know where we are. We know there?s no getting out.?

?You?re goddamn right about that,? Lex snorted. They stopped at another room farther down the hall and Lex opened the door. ?In.?

Jake looked into the hotel room, and hesitated. This wasn?t how he?d planned to go out. He thought there?d be an execution. Something public. But it looked like Milton was just going to kill him in a sleezy bedroom, like he was a hooker.

?Everything he says is a lie,? Jake said. ?You can still help us Lex. You can stop him.?

Lex pushed Jake forward and stood in the doorway. His eyes passed over Jake?s burnt and bruised body, and just before he closed the door his face cracked into something that almost looked like pity. ?That?s the thing: I can?t. Nobody can.?

***

Jake sat alone in the hotel room for what seemed like eternity. He tried the door and the windows, but all of them had been sealed shut. Milton?s thugs had taken their grenades and guns before coming into the tower. There was nothing left to do. Weston and Shandri were still alive. Tyr and Jake were alive. The Four, if there was a Four, endured while everyone else around them perished.

Death to their allies, death to their friends, death to their homes but he can?t kill them.

Tom Collin?s old message sent a shiver up Jake?s back. The old man had known things, that much was certain. Weston trusted him more than he trusted Erin. And Jake did too. And Collins had said to put him in a box.

Where does he keep the box? They had asked him.

In the tower, it is. At its top. Hides it like a bad scar. Don?t let them find it. Don?t let them know. Tell him his name and he?ll tell you a thousand secrets. Trust him and he?ll slit your throat. Beware the Moonlit Minister.

?Tell him his name and he?ll tell you a thousand secrets.? That would be nice, he imagined. ?Well,? he said to himself, ?we?re here Erin. And it turns out you may as well have been right. We might as well have just walked in for all the good it?s done us. So what now??

There was no answer. Jake hadn?t really expected one. He stood up from the bed and paced around the room for a moment, then put his hands against his head and fell back down. He would do anything, he realized, to escape at this point. Why had Erin done this to them? Why had she delivered them to Milton?s doorstep with no way to fight and no way to survive? And why had he, Jake Landon, dragged them into it at all? They weren?t the Four. They were a Jedi, a Captain, a Mercenary, and a Prince who?d turned against his father. They were misfits who?d caused more damage than they?d fixed. Who?d impacted lives in all the wrong ways. And whose every attempt at conquering evil had failed, so that now they were not going to have the luxury of a fight at all, but rather be anticlimactically killed, all alone, with no one to hold or say goodbye to.

Jake hadn?t fully grasped Weston?s hatred of Erin until that moment. He put his hands against his face, and thought about Weston, and the blood, and Menina?s grave, and Tom Collin?s burning body, and he buried his face in his lap and tried as hard as he could to contain himself, though really, he saw no use for it. Would it make a difference if he died crying? His mind said no, but his pride disagreed. ?But Erin,? he growled, ?If you?re here, I want you to know that Weston was right. You?re just as bad as Milton.?

?Oh come now, that?s a little harsh?don?t you think?? Milton said.

Jake jumped. He hadn?t heard the door to the suite open, and maybe it never had, but Tom Milton was in the room now, leaning against the doorframe with a big smile on his face. Lex Quigley, still holding a submachine gun, stood at his side.

?Judas it?s good to see you. I?m a little embarrassed as to the circumstances, though. I told Lex to treat you right and now I hear stories of him roughing you up and hurting poor old Tyr. Well don?t worry, I won?t stand for it!? He clapped Lex on the shoulder, and his lieutenant jumped. Milton gave him a wink. ?Say you?re sorry,? he said.

Lex was four shades paler than Jake had seen him, and he lowered his head. ?I?m sorry. It was inappropriate.?

Milton patted him on the back, ?There there, Lex. It?s all right. We all make mistakes. In fact, Judas, that?s why I?m here.? He lifted his head and smiled. ?Mind if I sit down??

Jake?s eyes moved from Milton to the doorway then back to Milton. It?s closed again, he thought, Is it locked?

?You want out of here,? Milton said approvingly, and he went ahead and sat down in a chair facing Jake. ?I understand. I?d want out too, if I were you.? He scooted his chair forwards and his presence made Jake shrink back. Jake couldn?t concentrate. He couldn?t think. He just wanted to leave. He felt like he was being held underwater. ?Well, Judas,? Milton said. ?Today?s your lucky day. I can do that, and I?ve decided that maybe I should.?

Jake blinked and stared at Milton. He had never been this close to the devil before, and though he was staring at a man, in his peripheral vision he could see the room?s mirror, and in that mirror he fancied he saw not a man at all, but a hulking beast with thick black fur, red eyes, and needlelike fangs. Sweat broke out on Jake?s forehead, and he drew away a little more. He watched Milton?s white teeth closely, because he thought he saw a snake lolling around behind them. ?Just like that?? Jake said. ?No strings attached??

?No strings. All you do is ask, and I will let you leave, and all that I want in return is your word?your binding oath?that here we part ways forever,? Milton smiled again, and Jake hesitated. He could sense that something wasn?t right. He could sense that it was all a lie, but even so he wanted to accept. He wanted so terribly badly to accept that he almost did. He was a breath away but held it, and stayed silent. Milton looked at him for a moment and tilted his head to the side. He looked amused. ?Take your time if you really want to think about it, but know that Shandri, Weston, and Tyr are waiting for you. They?ve already agreed and they?re down in the lobby. I?ve asked Lex to provide you with a ship that can get off this planet?so there you go. You?ll be free.? Milton smiled his venomous smile, and Jake cringed . They?ve accepted, his mind whispered. Weston and Tyr and Shandri have accepted. They?re waiting! We can go and be free again!

But it wasn?t true. It was what he believed. What he wanted to believe. And it was so tempting. After all the violence and tragedy and deaths he?d seen. It was poisonous. But the moment Jake realized how much he wanted the offer to be real?and the moment he realized how much he wanted to accept, he realized how impossible it was. ?You?re lying,? Jake whispered. He tried to put on a brave face, but he couldn?t. He was shaking. ?You?d kill me anyway.?

Milton laughed, ?No no, I?m dead serious this time. I don?t want to kill you. I want you alive. As I told Shandri when she accepted my offer, the so-called Four have done much more mischief than I ever could have dreamed of. Just?not when you?re targeting me. And so I decided: Why not make a truce? You and I shall part ways, never to be entangled again. And to be frank, you know as well as I do that once we make this agreement I will be bound not only by honor, but by my own, ancient laws. It?s a one time offer though, Judas. Do the smart thing. Accept.?

Everything Milton said was true, Jake realized. And if there was no four, if Erin was really so useless as he believed?then it wouldn?t matter. And everything that had happened?all the violence and all the bloodshed and all the ruined lives?all that certainly supported that there was no Erin. That there was no Four. And that if they could live, it would be worth it. Jake had spent his entire life serving one great power or another. Be it Erin or the Burning Man. It was time, wasn?t it, that he lived for himself? It was time for him to reject these responsibilities that weren?t his to take. It was time for him to be free. For Shandri to be free. For Weston to be free. And for Tyr to be free. He?d had no business bringing them along. He?d done it for himself. He?d done it because he was lonely?and look where it?d gotten him. Milton was right, he thought, and he looked into Tom Milton?s warm eyes and felt calmness run through him. Just say yes, those eyes pressed, Say yes and everything will be ok.

They?d come too far, and lost too much, and now at the end, they were at his mercy. But this was the escape hatch. Maybe this was what Erin meant. Maybe if they accepted his offer, he would wander like he?d always done, and abandon his greater ambitions. Maybe this was how they stopped him, not with guns, but by an embrace of his own mercy.

?Ok,? Jake said. His voice was barely more than a whisper.

A predatory smile spread across Milton?s face. ?It only counts if you ask for it.?

Jake inhaled, realized his hands were shaking, and closed his eyes. ?Will you let me leave?? he asked.

Milton smiled even wider now. ?Of course, Jake. But if you leave, you?ve got to agree never to come back. Here we part ways, no harm done. Forever. And should we cross paths again, neither of us shall interfere with the affairs of the other. Do we have a deal??

Jake was shaking. He was shaking so badly that he didn?t know what to do with himself, because part of him was screaming and crying for him to stop. But that part was too distant. It was buried beneath the terror and anxiety brought round by Milton?s presence. It was buried and it was too far gone to grab Jake?s attention. His mouth shaped the word Y-E-S and started to say it, before the breath caught in his throat. Milton was staring at him, a terrible grin carved onto his face, and just behind him Jake saw Lauren, and the mind-crushing weight of the Pale King?s presence broke, just slightly. She had said that she?d be with him in the battles that lay ahead. She had said she would help him in her way. Jake didn?t know if he?d see her again, but he did know she?d kept her promise.

The small voice that?d tried so hard to speak had lungs again, and it screamed: This is it. This has been the fulcrum of Milton?s plan all along. This is the tipping point, and though not obvious, it is our actions here that will change everything! Then Lauren was gone, and the cloud was back, and Jake once again wanted only to get out and away from that awful man. But it lasted only for a moment, because in his moment of clarity the curse of Milton?s presence was broken. And there on the bed, inches away from Tom Milton, a synapse clicked in Jake?s mind and suddenly the fog that Milton had carried into the room evaporated and dispersed. Clarity and epiphany struck all at once, and for the first time Jake could see clearly everything that had happened before, and everything that was laid out to happen as though he were outside it all, standing back and observing the way a painter watches a finished work of art.

?You?re scared,? Jake said. ?That?s it, isn?t it? You need us to kill the Burning Man. You don?t think you can do it alone. You don?t think anyone can?except us.?

?Don?t be silly, Judas,? Milton laughed, but Jake could hear the edge in his voice. ?I?m being pretty damn generous, wouldn?t you say? You know better than any of them what I am. And you know better than anyone else, that there really is nothing you four can do to me. That little bitch Erin left you hanging out to dry. Not even she could help you. Better to leave now; better to walk away while you still can, I think. Find a place to hunker down and weather the storm. Because really?what good will you be to your galaxies dead? Maybe you?re right, and I need you?does that protect you forever? No. And I?m old and I?m patient, and should you be too much trouble I will kill you and wait for another Four. And Kel Gauthra won?t fall. The Galian fleet will continue to ravage your worlds. And the last desperate mission of you little heroes will have been a useless waste. And what of all those who you met along the way?Tom Collins, Menina, and her little dog too. They died, Judas, just so that you could come here and die too? Doesn?t sound particularly heroic to me. Maybe its you whose the villain in this piece?dragging innocents into a hopeless struggle when they had so much more life to live.?

Jake closed his eyes and ignored the sting of those words. It was easier than it had been. He was getting stronger. ?It?s not working anymore,? Jake said. ?I?m not listening. I?m not afraid.?

Milton?s eyes flashed. ?Oh, you had better listen to me, Judas. Because the alternative to leaving now is going to be much worse than an eternity in Hell. All pleasantries aside, reject my offer and you will become bound to me. You will serve me as you served Kel Gauthra, and there will be no haven for you in the far away lands. No little girl to think of and break my spell. Your conscious mind will be trapped, watching helplessly as you commit acts that scar your very soul. You thought Judas Landon was bad, wait till you get a hold of your new persona. You?ve come a long way, grown strong and brave. Perhaps brave enough to defeat Kel Gauthra. It would be a pity to throw it all away.?

?If you could have done that, you already would,? Jake said. His voice was rising in volume, and as his confidence increased, Milton?s composure crumbled. Inside his head, his mind was racing. Everything was falling into place. There were lies. There were so many lies, and yet Lauren was right. He could sense now, more than ever, that the truth was just beyond his grasp and that when he found it, they would have everything. ?But you can?t,? he continued. ?If you could?ve forced me into a blood pact, you would?ve. You haven?t, so you can?t. You can?t touch me. You can?t hurt me. Just like you haven?t hurt Shandri or Weston or Tyr. You want us to go so that we?re out of the picture. You want us gone because you need us?and because you?re afraid. Not of being unable to kill Kel Gauthra, but of being unable to kill us. Because we were wrong. Everything you did was to disillusion us. To make us think there was no Erin?no Four?but there is. We?re as real as you. And we?re special. And that means you?re not so unconquerable as you?d have us believe. And it means something else, too.? Jake?s eyes narrowed, and for the first time ever, he saw on Milton?s face the faintest glimmer of fear. ?It means that you don?t know the future anymore. It means that you can?t see.?

Milton tried to smile and gave up. He looked at Jake with disgust and his mouth curled down into a scowl. ?That?s a cute story,? Milton said. His voice was low and rumbled like distant thunder. ?But you will find, Judas, that it?s just a story. If I want to hurt you, I very well can. Go ahead Lex, show him. Shoot out his kneecaps.?

Lex lifted his gun and trained it on Jake, but he didn?t shoot. He stood hesitantly, and glanced first at Jake, and then at Milton.

?Ask him why he doesn?t do it himself,? Jake said.

Milton glared at his lieutenant and sneered, ?Didn?t you hear me you worthless sack of shit? I said shoot him. SHOOT HIM?

Lex jumped and pulled the trigger. The bullet went high and grazed Jake?s thigh. He howled in pain.

?You?re worthless,? Milton hissed. ?WORTHLESS.?

?He needs you more than you know, Lex? Jake said. He was clutching his wounded leg. Blood oozed from it and onto his pants. ?More than he?ll let you know. Think back. What else has he made you do??

Before Jake knew what?d happened, Lex had flown across the room onto the bed. He hit it with a thud and rolled over just in time to see the Pale King hoist Jake Landon up by the neck. Milton lifted him like a child lifts a doll, and brought Jake?s ear to his face. ?Do you think I?m afraid of you,? he hissed. And his grip tightened, and Jake began to choke. ?Do you think I can?t squeeze just a little harder, and pop your head like a pimple??

Jake looked into Milton?s red eyes and tried to be brave. ?Things fall apart,? he gasped. ?The center cannot hold.?

The corner of Milton?s mouth turned up in a sneer and he squeezed harder. Jake coughed and sputtered like a dying engine. ?Stupid boy. I am the Omega. The end of everything. Do you think I cannot see every dissident soul in my presence? Do you think I have not already dealt with them? Do you think I?m so frail? Or is this one last desperate gamble to postpone the inevitable?a ploy for me to kill you, in a misguided hope that perhaps I cannot ascend the Spire. But I will. I will march up those stairs and look into the eyes of your father, and then I will plunge this and every other world into everlasting darkness, whether you live or not. Nothing and no one will be spared, let alone you, and woe be to anyone who stands in my path.? Jake gasped for air again, and realized his eyes were clouding and the world was closing in on him. Once again he felt like he was being pressed underwater. He couldn?t breathe. Milton?s breath was hot and rancid, and just before the darkness took over he brought Jake?s face so close to his mouth they were almost touching. Milton watched him with piercing eyes. ?I should have finished you on Dantooine. But it doesn?t matter, because there?ll be no mistakes this time.? And Milton squeezed even harder.

The world grew dark, and Jake heard something pop from the depths of his own mind, just before he hit the ground.

***

The shock of the ground and the rush of fresh air made Jake?s eyes open wide enough to see the first volley of bullets rip through Milton?s side. Thick, black blood oozed out of the holes in his face and shoulders, and he stumbled backwards and struck the wall, wobbling back and forth. Lex let the clip drop out of his gun and shoved in another. Jake was still on the ground, coughing madly, like his lungs weren?t ready for the sudden flow of oxygen. Lex began to shoot Milton?s crumpled body. ?RUN,? he shouted.

Jake hesitated. He felt like a deer in headlights, and for a moment wondered if this was another of Milton?s tricks. But one look at the Pale King writhing in the floor told him it wasn?t. It was very real. Milton was on the ground now, trying desperately to stand but the bullets were coming too furiously and continued to pelt his body, tearing holes throughout him. Jake lunged past Milton, under the hail of bulletfire, and charged towards the door. Behind him the gunfire kept coming, but when his hand had wrapped around the handle and freedom was but inches away, he stopped and turned around. He looked at Lex, mouth half opened. Lex looked back. ?I?ll keep him busy,? he said. ?Go.?

Not until later, after the battle had long ended, did Jake fully understand what must have been going on in Lex?s mind. At the time he couldn?t fathom it. He didn?t even know what to say. He stared at Lex?whose second clip was nearing its end?for one more moment, though to Jake the moment lingered as if time had stood still: ?Thanks,? he said. Then he turned, and ran from the room.

***

Lex?s mind and heart were racing, and he couldn?t shake the sense that he?d just made the worst mistake of his life, but he didn?t care. He held the trigger, and watched as Milton suffered, until the last bullet left his magazine. He dropped the clip out of his gun and turned towards the door, and he himself started to run. He?d made it half a stride when his entire body went rigid and the door slammed shut.

He hung there in the air for a moment, paralyzed and facing the wall. Then, slowly, his body turned around and he was thrown backwards and pinned against the door. Aaron Krempe was on his feet facing him, but it was not the Krempe he?d known. His face and shoulders were a ruined mess of black blood and tattered flesh. His lips had been all but shredded off, and his nose was hanging off his face. Krempe reached up and touched his face and pushed the nose back against his head. It stuck. He opened his mouth, and after two great coughs he spit a fistful of bullets out onto the floor. Though his face was scarred and tattered, his piercing eyes, glowing bright red now, pierced Lex the same as they always had. Milton took one step towards Lex?s frozen body, and then another. He stopped when he was close enough for Lex to smell the gunpowder burns on his skin.

?I had such sights to show you, Lex?such great things planned. But you chose to forgo all that, favoring death over eternal life.?

Lex swallowed and stared at Krempe. His heart felt like it was going to explode inside his chest. He could barely speak he was breathing so hard. ?He was right,? Lex gasped. Whatever force was holding him to the door grew tighter. ?Landon pinned you from the beginning. You lied to me. You?re lying right now, aren?t you Mr. Milton.

Milton coughed again, and more bullets spilled from his mouth. One small one fell out of the side of his head. Then he coughed more, and then that cough evolved into a cackling, half-mad laugh.

?There won?t be anything left here when you?re done with it,? Lex shouted over the laughter. ?You?ve been planning to fuck us over the whole time. Tricked us. Used us. There never was an Aaron Krempe. Never was a priest. But you?re not a god either. You?re something else. Some kind of?devil.?

Like he?d flipped a switch the laughter stopped, and that man in front of Lexington Quigley was man no longer. His ruined face became a hollow, black visage of shadow and death. A great fanged beast with red eyes and sharp claws. ?Yes,? the beast said, in a low and terrible growl. ?You?re right.?

Then pain exploded through Lex?s body and he screamed. He couldn?t move his neck to look, but he could feel the creature?s claws working their way through his gut, and much to the monster?s surprise, Lex began to laugh. The Beast stared at Lex for several seconds, watching him chuckle as blood came running from his mouth.

?He was right about the other thing too,? Lex said. Tears swelling in his eyes. ?You really can?t see anymore. Couldn?t see I was going to shoot you. Couldn?t see that your men are?turning against you. You needed me, but now I?m dead.?

?Wade Radley will make a fine replacement,? the Beast said.

Lex laughed harder now, so hard that it hurt. It hurt bad. He?d bleed to death at any moment, he knew, but he didn?t care. He hadn?t made a mistake after all. He?d been right. ?Wade?s dead! Landon and the other one shot him to death when we tried to bring ?em in. But you didn?t know that. You didn?t know any of it. Everything?s falling apart, and you?re the last one to find out. You ain?t anything after all. Just a big puppy dog.?

The claws dug deeper, and Lex howled out in pain. Then suddenly they were gone, and Lex dropped to the floor. The beast was gone, it was Tom Milton again, and though his face was still scarred it had already begun to regenerate. Lex looked down at his own body, skewered through like a piece of pork, and watched as the pool of blood spread and vanished into the room?s plush red?but it wasn?t carpet any longer. It was concrete. And he had dropped not into the hotel room, but in a dark, cold place. Lex knew it well. It was a meat locker. Only rather than animal carcasses, the room was full of human bodies hanging from the hooks. Bodies of people he knew. Bodies of people who?d shunned him, hated him, ridiculed him?and who?d died for it. Their eyes were all watching him, and their mouths opened and in his mind Lex could hear them jeering.

Milton looked down at Lex, and there was no sign of humor on his face. ?It?s a shame that in all your years you never expressed such cleverness until now.? His eyes darted around the room, returned to the dying man, and he smiled. ?But thems the brakes. Goodbye Lex. Rest in peace.?

?WAIT,? Lex shouted. He put his hand on the gaping wound in his gut, but in the cold the bleeding had slowed. He could see his intestines hanging out all over his pinstriped suit. ?WAIT! KILL ME! KILL ME!?

Milton looked around the room at the dead, accusing eyes and the men and women who wore them. They began to squirm and move on their hooks, just slightly, swinging like dead branches. ?Oh Lex,? Milton said quietly. ?I already have.?

Tom Milton stepped over the bloody pool and walked out of the room. The door fell shut with the finality of a tomb. Then the lights went out, and Lexington Quigley was alone and dying in the cold dark. Alone, that is, save for the swinging cadavers whose eyes he could still see in his mind?s eye, and whose screams he?d hear until his dying breath.

***

Jake half-ran half-limped down the hall and stopped at Tyr?s bedroom. The keycard door was shut, so he kicked it. He kicked it once, and then again, and then again until the wooden frame broke and the door fell inside. Tyr stood on the opposite side, eyes wide open, and looking down at the broken door. When Jake came in, his shocked face lit up. ?Jake,? he said. ?I thought they?d killed you. I heard gunshots.?

?No time,? Jake said. ?Come on, we?ve got to go. Now.?

Tyr didn?t wait for an explanation. He jumped to his feet and followed Jake, and the two of them ran as fast as they could towards the elevator. At the other end of the hall, they heard a single, terrible scream.

Jake rammed his finger hard against the up button, and after a moment the doors opened. Then he and Jake entered the lift, and headed for the top. Their hearts didn?t calm until the doors were shut, and the elevator began to rise.

?What the hell happened?? Tyr asked. And he stared at Jake, hoping that this wasn?t all some elaborate illusion.

?Milton?he?it?s real,? Jake puffed. ?It?s real Tyr, Erin?s real. The Four are real. The weakness, Milton?s weakness?it?s real. I called him on it, and he tried to kill me. Lex?Lex saved my life.?

?Lex??

?Must?ve figured out I?was right. Milton isn?t going to leave Jack Shit for him to rule. Wasn?t planning on saving anybody. He wanted the planet dead. He wanted everything dead. Lex pumped him full of bullets. Milton never saw it coming. He?s blind.?

?Blind??

Jake nodded, and watched desperately as the lights ticked up. ?He can?t see the future anymore. I don?t know if it?s because we?re so close, or what. I think it has to do with what he?s done here. He?s?he?s supposed to be a loner, a wanderer?and for him to have built this world?it goes against what and who he is. It probably broke some kind of cosmic law.?

?This is crazy,? Tyr muttered, watching the lights as they tracked their way to the top. ?Where the hell are we going??

?To find his box. Shandri and Weston are here somewhere. We can get them after we take out Milton. We?re gonna do it Tyr. Don?t you get it? This is it! We?re gonna do it.?

Tyr nodded. He got it all right. ?So Lex?that was him screaming??

Jake paused, and for an instant the excitement drained from his face. He frowned and furrowed his brow. ?Yeah,? he said.

Then the elevator stopped, and the doors slid open. They?d reached the top.

***

Tyr stepped out of the elevator first, then Jake. The antechamber was empty and abandoned. The two heavy doors that led into Milton?s suite were closed. Tyr looked at Jake, who was looking back. ?I don?t guess you have a gun do you?? Tyr asked.

Jake shook his head. ?Milton?s downstairs. We can?t take long.? He grabbed the handle. ?Get the box. Get out.?

Jake opened the door, and they went inside.

***

The first thing they noticed as they passed into the bright room was the smell. It smelled like burnt hair and skin. It smelled like blood. But the room itself was empty. The full sized glass windows that lined the far wall were in bits on the floor. The balcony doors were open, and a gentle breeze was blowing in from outside. Bloodstains covered the carpet. They walked into the heart of the Pale King?s court, and it was like walking onto a battlefield. ?What the Hell happened here?? Tyr asked.

Jake stared at the blood on the ground and traced his eyes across the floor. There was a dead man, terribly burned, on the ground near the balcony. Bits of glass had shredded some of the corpse. For a shadow of a moment Jake was certain it was Weston, but when he took a step closer he could tell it wasn?t. ?I don?t know,? Jake said. ?It looks like a massacre. Do you think??

?Jake, take a look at this.?

Jake looked up from the corpse and saw Tyr hovering over the ground just inside the balcony. He was searching through a pile of broken glass. ?Tyr?? Jake began, but the rest of his sentence caught in his throat. Tyr brought his hands, now bloody from cuts, up out of the pile. They were holding Weston?s pistol.

?He was here,? Tyr said.

He still is

Tyr and Jake jumped and spun around towards the door. No one was there.

?That was Shandri?s voice,? Jake said.

?You heard that too??

Jake nodded. ?She?s talking to us through the Force. If Weston?s here, where is he??

Jake?s voice tapered off. Directly above the pool of blood, Weston Onasi was pressed firmly against the ceiling. Blood poured down the sides of his face, and long scars trailed across his bare back, where a lightsaber tip had grazed across the surface of his skin, over and over. The scars and bruisers made his back look like a patchwork quilt, rather than flesh. He was facing the ceiling, so they could not see his face.

?Weston,? Jake cried. But Weston did not move. He hung there rigid as a toy soldier.

?Force be with us,? Tyr said. And he lowered the gun. ?How do we get him down?? Tyr hesitated, ?And what?s holding him up there??

As Tyr said this, a chill ran along Jake?s spine. Both men suddenly noticed a shadow on the floor that neither had seen before, being cast from behind them. Very slowly they turned, and above them, Weston groaned. ?Jake?Tyr?? he uttered amidst a gurgle of blood. ?Run.?

They turned, facing the balcony, and were standing face to face with Shandri Brightstorm. Tyr screamed, and a horrible, dawning realization passed over Jake.

?That?s what he meant. That?s what Lex meant,? Jake wheezed. ?They ?took care of that?. Made her obey.?

Shandri didn?t respond to this. She only stared coldly at them, and they could only stare back?back into those awful things they knew so well.

Her eyes were black, like pools of ink.

***

?Shandri,? Try whispered, and Weston?s pistol clattered to the ground. The light from outside fell around her body like a halo. ?Shandri what happened to you??

?I drank from the grail and was blessed by God,? she said. She took a step towards him, and her eyes flickered, just barely, with a hint of recognition.

?Tyr,? Jake said just above a whisper. ?Tyr listen very carefully. That is not our Shandri. You cannot talk to her. You cannot reason with her. She?s like I was.?

?She?s alive,? Tyr said. ?I can see her, right in front of me. Shandri we?re going to help you. We?ve got to get out of here. Milton?s coming.?

?He brought me presents on his way home from work,? she cooed. She reached out and stroked Tyr?s face. He took a step towards her, arms open, and suddenly felt as though he?d been struck in the gut. He fell backwards and collapsed on the ground beside Jake. Weston?s gun clattered to the floor.

Tyr rubbed his head and face. The gash he?d gotten from the Zephyr?s crash had opened up again, and it was bleeding onto his face. He looked back at her, shocked and hurt. She was smiling savagely. ?Shandri, you remember me, don?t you??

?It?s useless,? Jake muttered.

?No,? she clucked, ?Not useless at all. Of course I remember you Tyr. I remember all of you. I saw you when you walked in, and knew your stories from beginning to end. Even now I watch you, and I see what you are. I see a prodigal son, blind to the ways of the world, thinking he?s on the path of righteousness while he treads down the same road that damned him once before. I see a captain with no ship and no crew, searching for the last thing he thought he had, and finding that it too is lost to him. And I see a blind, broken man crying out in terror, for he sought redemption and it only earned him pain.?

?Fuck you,? Weston groaned. His body dropped from the ceiling and hit the floor with a sick thud. He screamed out, and Jake dropped to his side.

?Does she remind you of anyone else?? Jake asked him, keeping his voice low.

Weston snorted, ?Milton??

?No,? Jake said. ?Her speech patterns. She?s talking just like Tom Collins talked.?

Shandri bit her lower lip and eyed Weston?s body. ?You shouldn?t do that,? she told Jake. ?He cries like a child and stings like a scorpion.?

?What does it mean?? Weston asked, dragging his head up from the ground. He fixed his empty eyes on Jake.

Before Jake could answer lightning lanced from Shandri?s fingertips and blasted Jake backwards across the room and away from Weston. He hit the far wall with a smack and fell face first into the carpet. Shandri smiled. ?It is for your protection.?

Jake tried to pick himself up off of the carpet but couldn?t. His muscles felt locked into place, even his jaw. He eyed Tyr and then the rest of the room. There was nothing, so far as he could see, that looked like a box. In fact, there was nothing in the room at all, except for a television hanging on the wall, the balcony, and Shandri herself. But that was the point, wasn?t it? There was no

[Calavan]

box. There never had been?at least not a literal one. Tom Milton had visited Tom Collins, cursed him, garbled his mind?but what if through all that he?d also injected one critical thought into the soup. What if he?d left all Collins?s many visions the same, save one. What if they?d been led along this entire time, and everything had been orchestrated. It was what Lauren had told him. It was what he?d seen with his own eyes. But if there was no box?how then?

?I thought you said Erin was right,? Tyr screamed back at Jake, still on the ground. He was staring up at Shandri and tears were falling from his eyes. ?I thought Milton couldn?t do this to us. I thought he couldn?t fuck with us?I?I thought we had a shot.?

?Silly lover,? Shandri cooed, and she raised her hand just slightly. Tyr was lifted off the ground and floated through the air to her. She brought her face to his neck and breathed in heavily, smelling his sweat and stink. ?Nectar is not sweeter,? she said. And again, Jake noticed the vaguest hint of nostalgia in her eyes. Or maybe, he hoped, it was regret.

?Shandri, please,? Tyr whispered.

?That isn?t Shandri,? Weston rasped. He was still lying on the floor, but he had crawled several feet towards Tyr. ?She?s going to kill all of us.?

?She hasn?t yet,? Tyr retorted, but he didn?t look so certain. He was still hanging in the air within an arm?s length of his lover and she looked at him not with any human emotion, but with a distant and amused gaze more akin to how a child watches its favorite pet.

?That?s because she was waiting for me.?

Tom Milton walked through the double doorway and grinned at the Four. His face was pockmarked with holes and burns and flaps of skin that hung strangely. Small dried rivers of black blood clung to his skin. He surveyed the floor with contempt. Jake was on one side of the room, laying on the ground. Weston on the floor as well, Tyr was floating inches above the floor while Shandri studied him like a lab experiment. Milton looked over at Jake and winked. ?So this is the team of do-gooders who will end my life,? he chuckled. ?A gunslinger without eyes, a captain without a ship, and a magician without magic. I shiver with fear.?

Milton walked through his suite and approached Shandri, stepping gingerly past Weston and Tyr. He stopped by her side and stroked her face. ?You did well, pet.?

Shandri leaned over and kissed Milton?s cheek, and then slid her tongue up the side of his face. ?Let me hush the tiny men. Let me play with them,? she cooed, ?just a little. Soften them up a bit before we make them angels.?

The corner of Milton?s lips curled up in ecstasy, but after a moment he shook his head. ?No,? Milton said. His eyes flittered from Jake to Tyr to Weston and then back to Shandri, and his face hardened. ?No,? he repeated, ?Not this time. Landon has rejected my offer, and for that dishonor I will not give them the time of day. We shall play no longer, chickadee. Today, it?s time to do that grim business I?ve been putting off thus far.?

?I love a good murder,? Shandri cooed. ?Who shall go first by my hot violet rage of light?? Shandri lifted the lightsaber from her belt and pressed the activation switch. It hummed to life, and she held it so close to Tyr?s face that he could feel the stubble on his chin curling and beginning to burn. ?Shall we end his Swan song and make music like the tragedies of old??

?Shandri,? Tyr cried. ?Shandri I love you.?

?Listen to the corpse cry,? she retorted. ?Is he calling my name??

?That sounds like an excellent idea, peanut,? Milton agreed. ?It?ll be like airing dirty laundry.?

?I will make your screams a symphony, my love,? she whispered to Tyr. ?We will make music together.? Tyr looked on at her, terrified and heartbroken, as the two black disks in the center of her face twirled and danced. He cringed and a shiver ran along the back of his neck as she reached him, her hand on the hilt of her lightsaber, and raked the metal activation diode across his cheek.

?You can do whatever you want to me,? Tyr said steadily. His voice was resolute. ?But after everything we?ve been through I can?t believe this is it. You?re lost Shandri, but I?ll find you before the end.?

Jake watched this silently from the back of the suite, his mind racing desperately to try and make sense of what was happening. Erin had not lied. He knew that Milton couldn?t kill them?but what good would that do them if he had Shandri? And more importantly, how did he have Shandri? She?d entered into a blood pact with him, but how? Was it because she?d made some prior agreement? Was it used as a method of enforcement? That, Jake believed, must have been it. And then his stomach knotted up, and if he hadn?t been on the floor already, he would have fallen. ?It?s my fault,? he thought. For he had shunned her. He had driven her out. He had told her they?d never forgive her. But he?d been wrong. He had forgiven her. They all had?even Weston, in his own way.

?Isn?t he the noble one?? Milton cooed. He turned and walked towards the balcony, and as he did so the glass shards on the floor rose up from the ground and began to glow hot. Then they fused together into a throne which continued to glow red hot for a moment before cooling. Milton sat on his glass throne and crossed his legs. ?Too bad it doesn?t make a difference. She?s mine now, Mr. President. Forever and always. Now, Shandri, if you would be so kind: Kill Tyr Rendix-Jeraan.?

***

Tyr swallowed and looked down at Shandri. She stepped back from him, but he could still feel her holding him in the air. He felt like she was holding him by the scruff of the neck. If only I could make her drop me? he thought desperately.

And in his desperation, he had an idea.

***

Shandri grinned savagely and thrust her lightsaber into the air. ?I am ready for dazzling lights,? she said. And as she said this, she gave one fleeting look at Tyr and repeated what she?d said before. ?Farewell, my love.? Then she hoisted the saber above her head and swung.

***

Weston inhaled and exhaled. His pistol had never been light, but now, after crawling across the floor to find it, it felt heavier than ever before. Maybe Tyr would never forgive him, but whatever she was, she was not Shandri any longer.

?Farewell, my love,? she?d said. And in that momentary pause between her breath and her stroke, Weston pinpointed her from sound alone. If he?d had eyes, he would have closed them. His hand was steady.

***

Shandri went all the way through with her swing and stopped. Something wasn?t right. Something terrible clicked in her mind. She hadn?t killed him. She hadn?t split his energy in two, like a graceful surgeon. She hadn?t made symphonies or art. She?d made nothing. She?d done nothing. He was gone.

***

Tyr fell to the ground a moment before she swung. His hands were shaking. He?d never thought that the Force technique Shandri had taught him would ever be useful, especially not against Shandri, but now he couldn?t imagine not knowing it. If he hadn?t known it, he?d be dead. And he didn?t even really know how he?d done it. He?d just known that his life hung in the balance; that seemed to be enough.

Shandri was still standing over him, holding her lightsaber out like a man wandering in the dark. ?The moth has left the safety of his flame,? she said.

Tyr took a deep breath. He couldn?t believe what he was about to do?but at the same time he couldn?t believe he was hesitating at all. In one swift and forceful motion, he kicked Shandri in the gut. She reeled backwards and cried out?her lightsaber fell from her hand and rolled across the floor towards Jake?s paralyzed body. Tyr felt a rush of relief, and it terrified him because he knew that fear was what powered his shield. She could see him again. Jake struggled to stand up and watched, both eyes on Shandri, as she caught herself and then looked at him once again. Her eyes were wide with curiosity, for she could see him. ?You are a curious?? she began, but she was cut off by the sound of blaster fire, and Tyr felt himself flung from the ground.

He hung in the air for a fraction of a second before two searing pains exploded across his back. He shrieked, and his eyes, which had been somehow disconnected from all this, suddenly registered Shandri?s face. She was staring up at him, her black eyes as full and open as he?d ever seen them, and they were staring back into his own. He didn?t know how to describe the look on her face, but it was beautiful. Then the image faded, and his eyes went dim.

He continued to hang there, suspended in the air, for another moment before being set gently on the ground.

***

Tyr didn?t move and Shandri didn?t either. She only stared at his body, mouth half ajar.

?What a doll,? Milton said with a touch of admiration. He looked down at the floor, where Weston Onasi was clutching his old gun. ?I should probably thank you too.? He grinned, and his burnt, bloody lips spread and cracked and fresh blood leaked between them. Weston felt the gun in his hand grow incredibly hot and dropped it on the floor. ?That?s one down, just two to go.?

?What? Tyr? Tyr!?? Weston shouted.

Jake grunted and strained to look. His body was beginning to relax, but the pain was still tremendous.

?My starling?s heart beats like a dripping faucet. He?s almost out of water!? she said. She looked up at Milton on his glass throne, and sneered. ?It was my task to complete. It was my present to you, and you ruined it.?

Milton chuckled. ?I didn?t ruin anything peanut. Blame Weston. Or yourself. He shot the gun, and you threw the body into the air. You didn?t have your saber so what else could you do? You certainly weren?t going to let me take those shots.?

Shandri stared at him stonily, and held the look for a few seconds longer than usual. ?I certainly live to serve.?

?You BITCH,? Weston screamed, and he dropped his bloody face onto the floor. ?You cut out my eyes. You kill your boyfriend. Are you ready to kill me now? Kill Jake? You better watch out Milton because Shandri sure likes to fuck people over.?

?Oh I?m not worried,? Milton said. ?You see, there?s one thing I have that you don?t, my poor blind sap. Shandri owes me her life. I saved her when you threw her away like a piece of garbage. I brought her in and loved her and cared for her. She was scared and I held her. She was heartbroken and I mended her heart. Tyr didn?t do that for her. And neither did you. In fact, if I recall, you killed her parents and caused her to believe she?d done it.? The sick, grinning face of Tom Milton danced in Weston?s mind, and after a moment it seemed to blur with another image. A man on a hill, holding a lightsaber. Beside him a trembling girl trying to escape. Then the man laughs, hoists the lightsaber above his head, and?

Weston reached his fingers up to his eye sockets and touched the wounds. When he brought his hand away it was covered in sticky blood. He remembered. ?You did this,? Weston gasped. ?She didn?t. Tyr yelled?Tyr stopped her. You framed her.?

?Smart boy,? Milton sneered. ?Kill him, Shandri. Kill him now.?

Shandri didn?t move. She looked first at Tyr, and then down at Weston.

?He lied to you about that, didn?t he,? Weston gasped. ?Told you you were to blame? Made you believe it??

Shandri looked at the pathetic blind man on the floor and took a step back. ?What I saw was true,? she murmured. ?The Pale King?s lies poisoned my heart against friend and foe alike, as to?what. To manipulate me? To turn me from a force of nature into some blunt instrument? I am a Goddess, too mighty to wear chains, but here they are on my wrists. Am I little better than a slave?? Her voice seemed distant, and she looked down at Tyr?s body and closed her black eyes.

?Shandri,? Milton tittered. He leaned forward rigidly, fingers wrapped around the armrests of his glass throne. ?Shandri that?s all you?ve ever been. Your free will is mine now, given to me for shelter and food. I have your loyalty, as we are bound by blood. Now you will do as I say, or don?t you remember our bargain??

She turned her back to Weston and faced Tom Milton. Jake could barely lift his head, but he could smell the hot ions coming off of Shandri like musk. And he could hear the sound of crackling electricity.

Milton?s face went slack and he leaned back in his throne. His eyes darted from the electricity crackling at Shandri?s fingertips to her face, which was looking at him in a way he?d never seen before. It looked jealous and hungry. ?Oh calm down chili pepper,? he said, ?I sense you might be a little angry. Well why not. But before you go killing yourself, how about a reminder of what you are. You are clay in my hands. I made you my number one. I made you a queen. Don?t think that you have a free will because you don?t. Ask old Judas if you don?t believe me. Now stop all this nonsense; be a good girl and kill the little fuck.?

She opened her eyes again and looked into Milton?s. ?You made me what I am,? she agreed. And she stared back at Tom Milton, and small pinpricks of red appeared in the center of those black eyes. As she spoke, her voice grew louder and faster like water spilling through a broken dam. Or like a slave whose just realized the heartless designs of his master, and then realizes his own strength. ?You made me, but I am more than what you made. For our powers converge and diverge like streams running down the same hill, and as mine grow I begin to see the truth behind the lies. And now, at this moment, I realize my clarity has reached its peak. I see brightness where shadows cling and I see warmth in the cold depths. I see the truth and spirit of men, and I see their fear twinkling and delighting me like ambrosia. And when I turn my face to gaze upon my lord, I realize that I can do the impossible. I can see through you. And I see the lies. I see them pouring off of you in buckets. I see desperation. I see fear. And even now I see the terror rising up inside you as you gawk in love and terror at what it is you made.

Yes, you made me, father. But I am not your little girl any more.?

***

Before Milton could respond, electricity erupted from Shandri?s fingertips. It poured across his body in waves, and the Pale King screamed out in agony. Blisters and blood vessels ruptured and popped across his skin, and his blood boiled in his own chair. ?You should not have lied to me. You should not have hidden what you?d done,,? Shandri cried, cackling as Milton suffered. ?For in your arrogance you thought that I was just an echo of your power. But you were wrong. And when I slay you Pandemon, I shall mount the stairs of the spire MYSELF, and I shall slay the old man at its top and rule the cosmos! In all your confidence, you failed to see that you?d created a marvel too wondrous to be contained.?

?That?s not how I wanted this to go,? Weston muttered on the floor.

Shandri looked down at him, blue light flickering across her pale face. ?Fear not, blind pup. Your song will be sung soon enough.?

The lightning abruptly stopped, and Shandri looked past Milton at the figure that had just stood up near the back of the room. It was the burnt corpse of the man Milton had asked Weston to shoot. The corpse staggered slowly, one foot in front of another, towards Shandri. She stared at it and rolled her black eyes. ?Parlor tricks will not save you, Pandemon,? she hissed. And then with a flick of her hand the corpse lifted up off of the ground and flew out and over the side of the balcony. She turned back to Milton, and immediately took a step back. In a heartbeat, Milton had picked himself up and was advancing on Shandri. Behind him, his glass throne was glowing red hot again. It was half melted.

His face was not much better: a mangled ruin of twisted and smoldering flesh. His body itself reeked of burning skin and hair, and his eyes and white teeth were the only part of his body that appeared untouched. It was this horrible visage that twisted into a mad grin and met Shandri with a shriek of laughter. ?YOU ARE PARASITE, SHANDRI BRIGHTSTORM.? The building shook with his fury. The doors flapped open back and forth, and plaster dust fell from the ceiling. The television fell off Milton?s wall and smashed on the floor. ?I GAVE YOU LIFE. I gave you EVERYTHING!?

Shandri held her hands out again and sent another blast of electricity flying towards Milton, but before it hit him it turned and deflected into the walls. Sparks cut across the sides of the suite, sending splinters and fragments of burnt paint and wallpaper across the room. Milton grinned at her. ?You see through me, Shandri? You feel strong?? Shandri grunted in surprise and her body lifted up off of the ground and Milton reached out his arm. ?Come to me, pet. Let me stroke you.?

She screamed as long, deep slash marks ripped across her body while she hung there in the air. Her shirt separated across the back like someone was taking a knife to her. Milton rolled his head back and breathed deeply. ?What a silly display of ignorance and disloyalty. We made a blood pact, my sweet. You are bound to me forever. And all the powers invested in you are mine to command. Or didn?t you believe me when I said you were not but clay??

Another deep slash tore across her back, then another. Then one across her eye and down her cheek. Shandri screamed again, and threw open her arms. Weston and Jake and Tyr?s body and even Milton were all thrown backwards by the force of it: a circular wave of energy that cleared the air around her. And Shandri landed feet first on the ground.

Milton stood and rubbed his chin. ?Wow peanut, quite the display.?

Shandri did not respond. Just in front of her Milton?s throne grew red again and formed into a figure made of molten glass. It took one step towards Milton, then another, then it reached out its orange, liquid fist and lunged at his throat. Milton grinned and pursed his lips. He blew cold air onto the figure and it turned into a statute. Then he tapped it with his finger, and the thing shattered into a thousand sharp shards that hung in the air. They stayed motionless for just a moment, before hurtling at Shandri like self-guided daggers. She did not blink before the door behind her tore itself from its hinges and maneuvered in front of her, just fast enough to catch every shard.

The door hung there for a moment before it flew at Milton. At some point he caught it and it hurtled over him and out the window, plunging down into the square below.

?You?re running out of tricks, peanut,? Milton sighed. ?You should have just killed the mouthy blind man like I asked you to and none of this would have had to happen.? Milton glanced over at Weston and with out moving a muscle the blind gunslinger was pinned to the wall. He?d picked up his gun again and it clattered to the floor.

?He will be dead,? she hissed, ?but first you. I can see your weakness, Tom. I can see the truth. I can see the soul of your plan in my mind?s eye. It?s all there Tom. You are using them, right now. Using them with your visions and your curses. Moonlit Minister, they cry, and they know not what it means. If only they did, your world would become ash.?

Milton nodded. ?So will you tell them?? he asked. ?Or will you kill me so that it doesn?t matter? Or perhaps,? he said and began walking closer to her. ?Perhaps none of those will happen. I think its time to remember what and who you are, Shandri. Reckless and stupid female ambition leaves a bad taste in my mouth.?

Suddenly the carpet around Shandri burst up into flames and outside the Maderan sun went dark. The room was cloaked in darkness, save for the red fire and Milton?s terrible eyes. Images of Aurren Khel, Kaida Khel, Gugglo, and even Weston, who?s eyes melted in his skull, bombarded Shandri Brightstorm over and over again. Tyr?s mouth opened and closed and his eyes glazed over. The world of Dantooine erupted into a ball of fire and rock. The Galian fleet poured over world after world after world. She screamed, terrified, and brought her hands up to her face and collapsed onto the ground like a small child.

?Remember, remember,? Milton chided. ?I don?t understand you, Shandri. Such a smart girl, I thought. Have one taste of power and it sent you over the edge?? An image of blood pouring down her mouth?hot, sticky, black stuff that she couldn?t stop. An image of a Lex Quigley being gutted and left to die in a hotel room. An image of Earth, and a lonely man sitting on a throne of skulls, only to have his head ripped off by a great black beast. This is the way the world ends, they all cried to her. Tyr, Aurren, Kaida, Gugglo, Weston, and a thousand others. This is the way he kills it. And then she saw the beast again, Milton?s true form, standing at the top of the Black Spire, with his arms held open. And above him in the sky, the sun went out and the world was cloaked in blackness.

Shandri screamed again, still writhing on the floor inside the ring of flames, and Milton approached her, not as a man, but as the great black beast. His claws were sharp and his great red eyes stared into the fire and watched her, studied her, as she was bombarded with terrible images of things that had and would come. Despite her twisted mind and cruel heart, Shandri Brightstorm had always maintained that essential spark that made her what she was. Milton stared down at her, watched the havoc he was causing in her mind, and knew that very soon that spark would go out.

She screamed again, even louder, and this time the fire vanished and the Jedi collapsed onto the ground. She lifted her head weakly from the ground, and her black eyes fixed on the monster in front of her. She screamed at the sight. He snarled, and lifted her head up off of the ground and held her by it. She dangled in front of the great beast, numb and helpless, and he traced his claw across the side of her face. Blood spurted and oozed and her body shook violently like it?d been injected with poison. ?Few of my victims have the honor of dying by my own hand,? the beast growled. ?It is a gift reserved for those who do not deserve a peaceful rest, but rather?an eternity of pain.? And he lifted the belly of her shirt and raked his claws across her bare stomach. She raised her hand, and a spark of electricity crackled and vanished. The beast slipped her hand into its mouth and licked at her fingertip with its long, sweaty tongue. ?They say everything is falling apart. They say my planet is crumbling around me. My followers have lost faith and my agents have lost their fear. They tell me, Shandri, that my influence is at an end. Do you still believe these things??

Shandri coughed and sputtered, and blood oozed from her mouth. ?You couldn?t touch the others,? she wheezed.

The beast looked at her and pulled her hand from its mouth. ?For you, I had a loophole. Come, the people await.?

And Shandri Brightstorm tried to kick, but could not. Tried to move, but could not. The beast had done it, just as he said he would. He?d given her her powers?and now he?d sapped them from her. She struggled futilely as he gestured towards the balcony, and Shandri Brightstorm floated through the ruins of the suite towards the now returning sunlight. The black monster, Pandemon, followed close behind her.

When they reached the balcony, she kicked and screamed and looked out over the side. A crowd had gathered again in the square, apparently aware of the battle raging in Milton?s citadel. When they saw the beast?the thing that had haunted their nightmares and plagued the corners of their vision for months, several screamed. A few ran. Others stood paralyzed in awe and terror. Shandri floated up above the balcony in view of all to see. ?PEOPLE OF MADERA,? The black beast roared. ?YOU LOOK UPON THE FACE OF GOD. LOOK UPON PANDEMON AND PRAISE ME.?

?All Hail the Pale King!? The crowd shouted, though their screams lacked any passion towards the divine. It was fueled solely by fear. ?ALL HAIL PANDEMON.?

?THOSE WHO DISBELIEVED HAVE BEEN AND WILL BE KILLED,? Pandemon roared. ?MY LIEUTENANT, THE BUTCHER LEXINGTON QUIGLEY IS DEAD, AND HERE BEFORE YOU I HOLD MY NEWEST PUPIL, SHANDRI BRIGHTSTORM.?

There was a murmur amongst the crowd.

?Her fellow interlopers have been dealt with. And now I bring her here as an example to you all. DISOBEDIANCE WILL NOT BE TOLERATED. LOYALTY WILL BE TOTAL! I DEMAND ALL, OR I SHALL LEAVE YOU WITH NOTHING! There will be NO MORE dissention. There will be ONLY love and faithfulness, or your families will vanish into the nights, and you shall live a life of unparalleled fear and Hell. PRAISE YOUR MASTER, NOW!!?

There was a rumble of mutterings in the crowd, and overhead thunder cracked and a bolt of lightning fell in the center of the townsfolk. People caught alight like kindling and ran around trying to put themselves out in the melting snow. Others cried and fell to their knees. All of them began to shout in furious tandem:

?All Hail the Pale King. All Hail the PALE KING. ALL HAIL THE PALE??

The crowd stopped. Complete silence. Their eyes were no longer on Shandri or the beast, but on the beam of purple light sticking out of the middle of his chest. Even Pandemon seemed surprised, for he looked down at the lightsaber blade that had plunged through the center of his heart and let out a sound almost like a whimper. Shandri dropped to the ground and landed on the edge of the balcony, just inside the railing. The lightsaber blade slid upwards, and bisected the great Beast in two. The monster stumbled backwards for a moment, and raised its arm in the air one last time, then collapsed.

Jake Landon looked down at the monster?s body and raked the lightsaber through it again, slicing the head cleanly off into two chunks. Black blood oozed out of the thick hide, spreading out like molten tar over the balcony. The body didn?t move, and overhead the stormclouds broke. Inside the suite, Weston fell off of the wall and onto the carpet, and Shandri wearily opened her eyes. They were bluer than the sky.

Jake stepped over the body and turned off the lightsaber. Then he hoisted the pieces of Pandemon?s head up and showed them to the crowd of onlookers. Then he dropped them to the ground. They bounced over the animal carcass and rolled into the doorway of the suite. Jake looked at the remains for a moment, and studied the dull eyes and the dead, slack tongue. He?d been right. There hadn?t been a box.

On the ground beneath him, Shandri pulled herself up onto an elbow and looked at the dead monster beside her. She saw, in the center of its chest, a pierced and disgusting organ, covered in black blood. Tears welled up in her eyes, and she collapsed back down onto the ground. Before she hit the concrete, Jake caught her. He picked her up in his arms and held her. She held him back.

?He?s dead,? Jake whispered to the trembling Jedi. ?Tom Milton?s dead. For good. Forever.?

?How,? she asked. But she looked at his body and knew that Jake was right. ?How did you know??

Jake hesitated. He didn?t know how to answer it in words. All he could do was picture Lauren?s face, and he heard the words she?d said to him echo over and over again. For it is neither the veil nor the legend that you must slay, she had said. But the monster beneath.

?An angel told me,? he whispered. And he buried his face into her hair and started to cry.

[Calavan]

It has been a long time and I?ve learned a lot. I guess that?s the best way to start this post. We have gone over a year without an addition to the Four?s story. It has been longer then that since we last saw Galaxy 32, and the endless fleet that ravaged planet after planet.

So where are we? Can you even remember? At first, I could not. But let?s think back, to over a year ago, and remember?

Tom Milton is dead. Tyr is laying on the ground in a pool of his own blood, dying, shot in the back by his own lover. Weston is collapsed on the ground, exhausted, tortured, and blind. And Jake and Shandri are together, on the balcony?while the entire city of Rook stands in shock, witness to the murder of their God.

The Midnight Zephyr has crashed, brought down by Milton, and stranding the four on this helpless pre-industrial planet forever. Meanwhile, so far away that distance has no meaning, Dantooine has been destroyed. Vuroric is dead. The Galian Star Empire has begun to systematically exterminate all life from the galaxy. Whole planets have been dissolved, and governments are collapsing as their people turn to fear and violence in the face of certain death.

That seems pretty bleak, doesn?t it? But before you let despair drive you away, take heart, for in our darkest moments?in those bitter periods where defeat is certain?we find the substance of our souls, the strength of our hearts, and the quality of our character. And if that is not enough, then also remember that our heroes fight on the side of the just, and the Force is with them.

There is yet time to undo what?s been set in motion.

[Calavan]

Bloom, Part 1

You realize, though the world around you is crumbling and eroding towards certain doom, somewhere in a meadow, perhaps very far away, a flower blooms. - Anonymous



?Tick tock, hippity hop, off the rocker and round the clock. Life?s a curse and the world?s a lie, so drop what you?re doing and let them die. Bye Mr. Kitten, good day Mr. Lark, soon both will have wings and a tuned little harp. Dress up the princes and make up the dames. Won?t matter a bit when the world?s in flames.?

The little girl?s voice danced around the blackness. Tyr couldn?t see anything, but he heard her as though she were huddled by his feet. Distantly, he heard a crash. His chest hurt, his back hurt, and his mouth tasted like blood.

?Lauren?? he called out.

?You came back for me,? the little girl said. ?You really are my hero.?

?What?s going on?? Tyr could still see nothing. But he could hear, beneath the thunderous echo of his own voice and Lauren?s, muffled sounds of battle. Screaming?explosions?violence.

Suddenly a shaft of light appeared and a little girl was standing in its center. She blushed when he looked at her, and he recognized his own hazel eyes staring back at him. ?What is this??

?This is it, Mr. Goodguy. The way you save us. The way you save me.?

Tyr felt breathless, as though the notion of saving this girl had never crossed his mind, and yet suddenly it felt critical. Like the last piece of some puzzle that?d as of yet been lost. Or perhaps, not critical because of fate or destiny or a puzzle at all?but critical because he knew, in his heart of hearts, that he loved this girl. He would die for her, as irrational and crazy as that seemed.

?Lauren,? Tyr said. And this time his voice was not curious or anxious, but full of deep compassion. ?Baby, I understand. I will save you.? Tyr walked towards the girl but she never seemed to get closer. ?Lauren?? he hesitated.

She smiled in a way that only one other person he knew smiled. ?You can?t come to me,? she said sadly.

?Why??

The girl frowned, and the light around her began to dim, and the noises of the black place began to mute and grow quieter and quieter. The little girl, Lauren, faded out like a dying bulb. Or maybe, Tyr thought cynically, maybe she wasn?t fading at all. Maybe he was. ?Lauren, am I dying??

The girl frowned, and for the first time on her young face he saw an emotion that may have been sympathy. ?No Mr. Goodguy, you?re dead.?

She said nothing else. The noises had deadened until they were gone, and the light had faded into a memory.

Tyr was in a world of silence and darkness, and he was alone.

***

Jake?s tears were like little beads of fire when they touched Shandri?s raw neck. Her whole body ached, and her face and arms were red from the heat of Milton?s fire. She held Jake anyway, because he was there, and because she didn?t know what else to do. For the first time in a very long time, she was at peace.

The decapitated body of the beast that?d once called itself the Pale King lay steaming. Black blood that stank like bile had puddled on the balcony. ?Jake,? she whispered quietly. She ran a hand through his hair. As she did so, she felt a pang of guilt, as though she were committing some terrible infidelity. ?Thank you. By the Force thank you. Thank you so much.? Jake squeezed her closer to him.

He raised his face from her shoulder. His eyes were red and puffy. Shandri was sure hers looked the same. ?The others,? he said.

?Tyr,? Shandri said. In that moment of victory, coupled with exhaustion, coupled with the trauma of everything she?d been through, she had forgotten Tyr and what had happened to him. But like drawing back a curtain, suddenly the memories came spilling back. Her momentary peace was broken, and she hoisted herself to her feet.

?Shandri, he?s dead. I?ve seen enough to know.?

?No,? Shandri?s voice was distant. She looked through the glassless door into the suite and her stomach turned. Amidst the blood and the scars, Tyr was face down on the floor. His chest was neither rising nor falling, and his back was scarred black by scorched flesh and fabric. Without pausing to notice Jake?s hand reach out for her shoulder, she bolted into the suite.


The air stank of burnt hair and death. Shandri dropped to Tyr?s side, and out on the balcony Jake stood somberly against the balustrade, tears still in his eyes. Somewhere in the crowd below, people had started to speak again. And then, as the quiet murmur became a rumbling chatter. There were some screams, some cheers, and some angry yells. But soon all of it tapered off into a sound that, in aggregate, was one of joy, relief, and perhaps most pointedly?hope.

Shandri used all of her training to push those sounds away. She dropped to Tyr?s side, put her hand on his face. It was cold.

He is not dead, she thought. There is some life in there, I can feel it.

And she could, or sincerely thought she could. That life was slight, like that last ray of daylight peaking over the crest of the horizon (and fading quickly), but that would be enough. The idea that perhaps the sliver of light she saw was an illusion never occurred to her.

Shandri closed her eyes and focused, diving into his broken body. She could feel the scorched cells, the seared arteries and snapped bones. His heart had stopped. She did not know how long he?d gone without pumping blood, but she knew that four minutes without a heartbeat meant brain damage. More than that, and the breakdown would be so bad that there was no point left in resurrection.

Back on Dantooine she had repaired his heart. It had been artificially supported by valves and buttresses and modern medicine. It had still been beating. Now she had to do something much harder than repair a muscle. She had to reignite life in a dead organ. Shandri didn?t even know where to begin, so for an instant she panicked. But then, from some place deep in her gut, she felt a calming sensation. A certainty that things would be okay. And she reached out farther with the Force, wrapped herself around the dead muscle, and squeezed, just gently enough. She released. Then she squeezed again. And the still blood began to pump inside Tyr?s body. She squeezed slow, measured beats, and then very gently her hands, which she?d placed on his wounds, grew white and released a jolt of electricity. For an instant there was nothing, and then she felt a sudden relief, and realized that she no longer needed to control his heart. His lungs filled with air and released. The blood began to flow again. But the wounds on his back were still open, still crisp, and the damage was still great.

Burried deep within Tyr, Shandri could feel his body, mute and lifeless to the world as it was, screaming in pain. Millions of nerve endings alight with agony, ripped back to life after they should have been dead. She realized his heart had been stopped for longer than four minutes, possibly as long as fifteen. Some of his blood had already coagulated in his veins. With speed and precision she cleared those blockages. Snapping them and dissolving them with the Force. But for every problem she solved more crept up?some from the injuries and some from the conditions they found themselves in. Infection struggling to make a foothold, cells dying and blood vessels collapsing. The heart still struggling to hold onto that beat.

***

Jake limped into the suite from amidst the cheers and calls of the Maderans. Shandri was kneeling beside Tyr, hands on his wounds. Her face, dirty and flushed, was tight with concentration. Her whole body was shaking.

?Shandri,? Jake said quietly. She didn?t respond. ?Shandri, he?s gone.?

?Who?s gone??

Weston had picked himself up from the floor. His whole body was trembling, and he was supporting himself against the wall. He looked terrible. His face was covered in a veneer of dried blood, his body covered in blistering scars where Shandri had raked her lightsaber tip across his flesh again and again. He also had a large, cauterized wound in his thigh. Jake would later learn that it was from a shard of glass that?d impaled him. Shandri had removed it and stopped the bleeding to prolong his suffering, so that he wouldn?t die. ?Jake?Jake I??

?It?s Tyr,? Jake said somberly. ?He?s dead. And Shandri is just?? he let his voice taper off. Shandri still hadn?t moved, but Tyr did. His chest rose once, then fell. And then it began to rise and fall again. ?I?ll be?? he began. Shandri was still shaking.

?Shandri,? Jake said, suddenly urgent. He dropped to the ground and grabbed her. ?Shandri you have to stop.?

She didn?t. Blood was coming from her nose and from her tear ducts. The slashes Milton had cut across her skin were open and festering. Strands of her raven black hair were turning white. Jake shook her, she still didn?t move. He shook her again.

?Get off of me,? Shandri rasped. And with a gesture she threw him to the ground.

Jake hit with a thud, the wind knocked out of him. ?Your nose Shandri. You?re bleeding. Stop.?

?I?ve done it before.? she said. ?I can save him.?

Weston had limped about halfway across the room before collapsing from exhaustion. He let out his own fit of coughs and looked terrible. Jake watched Shandri helplessly. They had just done the impossible and slain Tom Milton. He didn?t have the strength left for another catastrophe.

Tyr?s eyes stared blankly off into space. His chest was now rising and falling in a too-steady rhythm, like he was hooked to a ventilator. Shandri?s whole body was trembling now, and her head was tucked as though she were in some deep trance.

***

In Shandri?s mind she was no longer on the bloody floor in Milton?s penthouse. She was back on the Midnight Zephyr, back with Tyr. Living in the last place she?d known his love, and very likely the last place that she would be happy.

Tyr smiled at her, and he chose his words very carefully. He met her eyes and Shandri glanced down at his lips, then back to him. ?You know,? he said quietly, ?we?ve only known each other a year. It?s just a drop in the bucket, generally speaking?but over that year, it?s felt like a decade. And I was afraid.?

?Afraid of what, Tyr?? she asked.

He sighed deeply and swallowed. ?Of never seeing you again. I was afraid of getting up one morning and not hearing your voice, or seeing your face. Because if that happened, it would kill me. I have a hard time?well, I have a hard time saying it, but our friendship has meant more to me than you could know. It?s maybe the most important thing in my life. I?ve thought, you know, for a long time that I couldn?t live without that friendship. But then I realized that wasn?t it. It was you. I couldn?t live without you. And so I came.?

Rendix took a deep breath. Shandri made an odd expression and was staring out the viewport into Hyperspace again. She knew what she wanted, she just wondered if he?d make the move.

After another moment of waiting she added, ?Now that?s the kind of answer a girl wants to hear.?

Rendix tittered, ?Well, at least you didn?t Force body-slam me this time.?

Shandri hesitated, then smiled. ?Yeah?I?m sorry about that. I?like I said, I was having a moment. I should have told you about my parents before?but I just didn?t want to. It was something that I?ve kept buried for so long, and I didn?t want anybody?not even you?to know.?

?That?s ok Shandri, that?s ok. We?ve still got plenty of time. I?m just amazed that you haven?t hit me, or screamed, or run away yet,? Rendix said. He was grinning, ?So I guess I didn?t freak you out too bad.?

?Tyr,? she said. ?You freaked me out exactly this much.?

Then Shandri Brightstorm leaned over to Tyr and kissed him. The kiss of her memory was not like their real kiss. Their first kiss had been soft, but nervous. Only later, once they were familiar with the curves and the dips of the other, did their kisses become something truly incredible. But this time, in this memory, the kiss was perfect. Just long enough, just strong enough, just enough breath mingled with a hint of saliva. Their tongues touched, and for a moment the silence of space, the very essence of being alone with no one but this one man, was more beautiful than?well, anything.

When their lips separated, and the moment was broken, Shandri smiled. ?I love you, Tyr. I love you so much.?

?I know,? Tyr said. ?I love you. But Shandri, you have to stop.?

Shandri shook her head. She could feel her face twisting, her eyes getting hot. She could feel the boundaries of the memory tearing away, leaving her?where? ?If I stop, you?ll die. I?m not going to stop. I will never stop. If you don?t make it, Tyr if you don?t make it I?ll kill myself.?

Tyr reached out with his hand, wrapped his fingers between her fingers, held her.

?I did this to you Tyr. I killed, you. And I loved you?Force I?? her voice cracked and she broke into a fit of sobs. ?I am not going to lose you. I don?t want to be alone.?

Tyr smiled. No sadness was in his eyes. She looked at him, and thought to herself that though he?d never have admitted it, he had always been stronger than her. ?You aren?t alone. But you have to stop. For yourself?and for Lauren.?

Shandri stared at him for a moment, ?Lauren??

And Tyr lifted his hand from Shandri?s, traced his finger across the rise of her cheekbone, bent forward, and kissed her one last time. Their faces were less than an inch apart, and Shandri leaned forward for another kiss but Tyr pulled away and said, very quietly in her ear:

?She?s our daughter.?

***

Shandri was pulled back to reality when the form beneath her hands started to lurch. Tyr?s body jerked awkwardly on the floor, muscles tensing and flailing. Fresh blood gurgled and leaked across the carpet from his open wounds. Shandri screamed. She could feel his heart?it was beating erratically. Jake would have called it cardiac arrest. Shandri tried to reach out, to calm it, but she couldn?t. She could barely lift her head. She could barely focus.

No one has unlimited endurance, and Shandri?who had been through so much?finally ran out. She could have pushed herself harder, she knew that, but she didn?t. Instead, she dropped herself on him and held him. His body lurched about on the floor, his lungs choked shut. Then he fell still.

For a long time Shandri didn?t move. She couldn?t. And she didn?t dare open her eyes.

[Calavan]

Bloom, Part 2

Ah, but how could he have done aught else but hate them? His heart had been broken. And now, all these years later, it seemed to him that the most horrible fact of human existence was that broken hearts mended.

--Stephen King, Wizard and Glass


?Shandri?we have to go.?

She could hear Jake?s voice, but she ignored it. She didn?t know how long she?d been there, arms wrapped around the body, but every so often she?d breathe deeply, hoping to draw in some of Tyr?s scent. At first she thought she could smell him, but now she could only smell burnt skin and death; feel his warm blood leaking through her clothes.

?I?m not going to leave him,? she said.

?Weston?s hurt?really badly. He lost a lot of blood, and if we don?t get him to an infirmary??

?Go without me,? she said, cutting Jake off. ?I?m not going.?

She felt a hand squeeze her shoulder. ?We?ll come back for him. We?ll do him every honor. But Shandri?Milton?s men are still in the hotel. I don?t know how loyal they are anymore, but I don?t want to get caught in the hall without you.?

Shandri opened her eyes for the first time. Jake was there, huddled over her. He had her lightsaber in his hand. She blinked, and fresh tears blotted him out until she wiped them on her dirty sleeve. ?Promise me we?ll come back,? she said.

?You can count on it. He was my friend,? Jake said. ?In fact, for a while there, I thought he was the only friend I had left. I wouldn?t leave him here.?

Jake helped Shandri to her feet. She took the lightsaber from him and clipped it to her belt. Then the two of them made their way across the room to Weston, where he had collapsed.

?Where do we go? Do you even know where an infirmary is?? she asked him.

Jake squatted beside Weston, wrapped an arm around his shoulder, and hoisted him up. The dead weight was nearly too much for him, and he would have toppled over if Shandri hadn?t caught him. She grunted, ?I wish I?d used the Force.?

?Would have been easier,? Jake agreed.

Together, they lifted Weston and hauled him through the antechamber to the elevator. When they got there, their faces dropped. The doors opened silently to a vacant shaft that seemed to fall down forever. The cables that powered the lift had snapped (or been broken). One last gift from the Pale King.

Shandri sniffed. Her knees buckled and Weston shifted in her arms. She almost dropped him and Jake steadied her, then set his friend?s body on the carpet beside the shaft. ?How the hell do we get down there??

?Not with him,? she said. ?We can?t get him down there.?

?Well, if he?s gonna make it we have to get medicine somehow. They have things, in this base, that can help him. I know it. Just?? Jake?s voice trailed off as he gazed into the shaft. A service ladder, tucked in an alcove, could be used to descend the stairs, but without a floor plan he had no idea where an infirmary would actually be. And if he couldn?t find an infirmary, the only other place likely to have medical supplies would be the auxiliary control bunker. But that was situated several floors underground. The thought of climbing down the entire length of the tower and then back up seemed nearly impossible.

?I can go,? Shandri said (as if she?d read his mind). ?Just tell me where and I?ll get whatever he needs and be back right away.?

Jake looked at Weston, who?d gone noticeably paler. ?I don?t think you can. You have to stay here, keep him stable. Can?t you do that? Don?t you have some kind of Jedi trance you can put him into or?something??

?It won?t work,? Shandri said quickly. Jake suddenly felt a pang of empathy, for Shandri was again watching Tyr?s body. ?I can?t do it. I?m too tired.?

On the ground, Weston broke into a fit of coughs. Jake looked at Weston, then at Shandri. ?You can do more for him than I can. If nothing else?.just, keep him asleep. Until I get back or??

He dies. He didn?t say it, and Shandri didn?t make him. ?Okay,? she agreed. ?Be careful.?

Jake disappeared back into the suite and returned holding Weston?s blaster pistol. ?I?ll be okay,? he said. ?Just hold down the fort until I get back.?

Out amongst the crowd, beyond the broken window and Milton?s balcony, the cheers and celebrations of the townsfolk had ended. The murmur was still there, but it had changed from joyous to fearful, disoriented, and in some sectors angry.

Shandri ran her hand across Weston?s wet, clammy face. ?Hurry.?

Holding onto the side of the elevator, Jake swung his legs out over the abyss. For a terrible moment he was certain he?d missed, and that he was about to fall, but the rungs were there, and his feet found them. He switched on the safety of Weston?s pistol and shoved it into his pants, then he took hold of the ladder and began his decent.

***

Shandri did not know how long she waited there. Weston?s skin had grown warm, and she knew he had a fever. She watched Weston?s chest rise and fall, and she tried to reach out with the Force and calm him. His body had gone into shock, but he was stable. She had never been good at trances, but using what strength she had left she focused on Weston, tried to guide him to a point of medical stasis where he could heal and await whatever medicine Jake brought back.

Outside, the clamor of the crowd grew worse. The rumble had become screams and she could sense great anger, fear, and violence manifesting itself in the frightened masses. She tried to tune the emotions out, to focus solely on Weston, but after nearly fifteen minutes a gunshot broke her trance. She heard more yelling, then a scream, and then breaking windows and a rush of vindictiveness and sadistic pleasure that reminded her again of the scars on her face and back. And of those black eyes.

She didn?t know if he could hear her, she knew he couldn?t respond, but Shandri tried as she might to warn Jake through the Force of what she felt coming.

They?ll sack the tower she thought. And it was true, already she could hear the rat-tat-tat of distant gunfire through the open window. And she could feel the anger growing, spreading, as it often does with mobs. What was left of Milton?s enforcers were pouring fuel on their own pyres, and they didn?t even know it.

But perhaps, Shandri reasoned as the gunfire stopped, they were beginning to realize. She imagined them falling back now, retreating to the main lobby where the great sigul of the Galian Star Empire had come crashing down. The lobby that, when he?d seen it, made Jake Landon think of a place called Las Vegas and Weston think of Nar Shadaa.

Shandri returned her attention to Weston, and focused again at maintaining him. She could feel the fever that had infiltrated his blood. She could feel the fluids building in his lungs and the burning he felt across his skin?like he was sliding across a washboard made of knives. And to her horror she felt the deep, lingering ache of his eyes that were no longer there.

Shandri pressed her hands against his face, and poured all of her effort into relieving some of the pain. As she did so, he broke into another fit of coughs. He coughed hard and loud, rasping, wet, things that made Shandri?s skin turn to gooseflesh. When the fit was over, he gasped and wheezed. And then, to Shandri?s surprise, he began to stir.

***

Jake?s body, which was already weak and battered from the battle with Milton, struggled to make its way down the shaft. Ten minutes into his climb his shoulders cried out and his hands became sweaty. The vacant shaft became slightly larger two stories down when he reached the next floor. He tried to open the door from the inside, but could not find a switch and his arms were too tired to try prying them open. Instead, he hung there suspended in the black tunnel by the shut doors and realized that if he was going to succeed, he had to find another way down. Otherwise, he would fall.

These thoughts of falling only grew worse when he reached the next floor. Again, this door would not open easily for him. He tried with what strength he had to find some door switch but could not. Fearing that he?d lose his grip if he tried hanging on for too long, he continued his climb.

Somewhere, deep within the bowels of the tower, Jake could hear screams and gunfire. He didn?t know how far he?d gone, but up above the light pouring into the uppermost reaches of the shaft had gone from steady, to a mere pinprick, to nothing at all. He could no longer see the rungs he was using, nor did he know how close he was to the bottom. However, as he continued he began to smell something like scorched metal and burnt carbon. Every so often he would glance down to see if there was some sign of the bottom, or of anything other than the thick pitch, and finally he saw it. Still very far away, but not outside the realm of possibilities, he saw a hairline crack of light where an elevator door had malfunctioned and failed to seal.

Shoulder?s burning now, hands slipping against the rungs, he reminded himself not to hurry, but to move slowly and methodically. Still, he could scarcely calm his nerves as the slant of light grew closer.

***

When Jake reached the doors his arms were about to give out. Every rung was slick, and he?d already lost his grip three times during his downward climb. Once, he missed a foothold and nearly fell had it not been for one of his hands catching between the upper rung and the wall. Although it saved his life, he was almost sure he?d broken his wrist (or at least hurt it badly). Now, relatively safe by the half-opened door, Jake panted and slid his fingers between the steel panels. They fell open easily, and he gave one last grunt of effort to sling himself onto the floor.

He stayed there on his knees for several minutes, letting his heart slow down. His wrist was only sprained, not broken, but it had swollen and turned an ugly shade of red that he recognized would soon be purple. Meanwhile, the hall seemed largely empty. A few lights flickered on but otherwise the floor looked devoid of power. However, across the hall was a door that read STAIRS, and a sign that said LEVEL B1.

?Thank God,? he muttered aloud. The sound of his own voice actually scared him, and for a brief moment he thought he?d been found. And he realized that if he?d really been found, unless it was by Shandri, he would have been dead.

Jake climbed to his feet, taking Weston?s pistol in his hand, and limped down the staircase. He flipped the safety off. The auxiliary control room, hopefully, would be only a few floors below. It would be reinforced, and perhaps have security systems he hadn?t yet encountered, but for the most part it would be straightforward. Once he was there, medical supplies would hopefully be easy to come by?those control rooms were laid out like shelters for bombardment, complete with all the medical supplies necessary to survive for weeks. Once he stocked up, he would have an easy trek back to a working elevator, take it to the highest floor, and then climb a measly one floor up to Milton?s suite.

And then?

Jake pushed the question away. He didn?t want to think about that. Or give any credence to the fact that the Midnight Zephyr would never fly again, and for all intents and purposes the Four (who were now Three) were damned to live out the rest of their lives on Madera. Always assuming the locals didn?t finish them off.

He reached the bottom of the stairwell and came to a locked door. He tried kicking it in, first, and when that failed he shot it with Weston?s pistol. The lock was blown through and the door fell open.

Unlike the rest of the facility, this floor was some sort of control deck, an underground area that did not have the plush amenities as the upper floors. The lights were out too, but as Jake made his way into the hallway, long fluorescent panes flickered to life and the dark stone walls glistened like smooth obsidian. They gave off a faint, green glow.

A thin layer of dust covered the floors, leaving a trail of footprints from the stairway. An elevator shaft which had been fused shut by some catastrophe was next to the stairwell. Jake imagined it had been damaged when Milton?s elevator collapsed. The central elevator shaft of the whole tower had led straight from the control deck to the governor?s suite. Taking it out had, aside from the fairly discreet stair access, cut off two of the most important areas from the rest of the tower. Not for the first time, Jake questioned the ingenuity of Galian engineers.

Moving down the hall, it curved in roughly a circle. Rooms lined the hallway across the right-hand side of the wall, and every so often Jake would check the adjacent rooms, but they would not open. Jake recognized them as security stations on lockdown.

He?d gone about halfway around the circle when he stopped at a junction. There was a set of doors on the right, just like many others, but there was also a set on the left that slid open as he approached. This revealed a short downward sloping ramp that led to another, hardened blast door.

Jake approached this door and took a deep breath. He pressed his palm against the black metal and a green aura appeared around the outline of his hand. When he withdrew it, a green palm print was imbedded on the door and suddenly old, unused servos creaked and groaned and the door slid open. Suddenly a voice seemed to fill the corridor.

?Judas Landon, Emissary of the Burning Man, welcome to Madera.?

***

The central room was a large area with a circular table in the center projecting a holographic map of the planet. There were other various consoles in other places, as well as what looked to be six alcoves, sealed with diode lights that glowed red. As Jake approached, the planet flickered and then zoomed in to the city of Rook. The image appeared to be a holographically constructed satellite image, as Jake could clearly see the upper levels of the tower damaged by the Midnight Zephyr?s missile?s near miss. He could also see, for the first time, a clear aerial view of the crowd, which had now broken into some sort of riot. Violence and panic had erupted in the streets as perhaps the only response possible for a pre-industrial populace that had just seen a starship crash, their benevolent god turn into a devil, and then that devil?s death at the hands of an interloper.

Jake gazed at the sealed alcoves and the dim computers. He didn?t know how long it had been since the control center had last seen use, but he imagined years had passed. He walked to a console and began to fiddle with the controls, hoping to find a level schematic that could lead him to the control deck?s infirmary.

The Galian computer was unresponsive at first, however after a few moments the old machine roared to life. Jake flipped through files and screens and wished he had some type of data disk to store the wealth of information he?d found. He would need it, surely, if they ever made it off Madera and sought to stop the Burning Man.

Galavex schematics, fleet positions, warship plans?all the intelligence he could ever need was at his fingertips, as the Galian computer was tied to the Star Empire?s remote network and?Jake paused, studied the screen, and swallowed. The positions were impossible, fleets had been mustered to invade Galaxy 32 and yet they still appeared unmoved. Systems that had fallen years earlier were gray blurs, uncharted reaches of space still clouded an otherwise dizzying galaxy. Jake flipped past the star charts and moved to a local schematic. At the table in the center of the room, the holographic map had zoomed in to Jake?s floor, and a room behind one of the many sealed doors became highlighted in soft blue.

The infirmary was close, but he was going to have to do a cold reboot of the building?s computer system to trip the failsafe and open the doors. But if he did that, there was a chance?

Jake glanced uncertainly at the six alcoves, behind which he knew were six Sentry Galavex. When the building?s system restarted it would immediately download a datacluster from the Galian network to update files. And once it did that, he would no longer be Judas Landon. He would lose access?and more importantly he would trigger things better left untriggered.

Jake tried again to open the medical bay?s doors using the computer commands available, but again he failed. He really had no choice, he knew. Weston depended on it?

There was a moment, before he keyed the system to reboot, when Jake wondered if he was making the right decision. There was no telling what dormant systems would spring to life when the new files were downloaded. Perhaps his simple action would be a catalyst that brought the Galian Empire back to this planet. Perhaps his act of kindness towards his friend would subjugate a population, or result in their slaughter. He did not know how many Galavex awaited reactivation at the command of an updated computer, or odds that the population could stop even a handful, but he did remember Weston?s pale face. And he remembered the sick, tired cough his friend had let out on the floor, and the name that?d risen like a specter to the back of his throat and made his mouth go dry.

?Menina,? Jake whispered. And he keyed in the reboot sequence.

***

When the lights went out, Shandri felt terrible panic spread suddenly throughout the mob. At first she?d thought they?d done something, perhaps shot out a generator or fried a crucial mainframe, but when the panic turned to a lingering dread, she knew something else had happened. Had Jake had something to do with it? She hoped so, because Weston, on the floor, seemed no better. He had stopped bleeding, but his wheezing and coughing continued.

Suddenly, for no reason she could explain, a name rose to her lips. ?Menina,? she whispered.

Had he had eyelids, Weston would have opened them. He sat up, groaned, and collapsed. ?Who?a? he rasped.

?Calm down, calm down Weston,? Shandri said quickly. She did not know how he?d awakened, the name had roused him as if she?d stabbed him with a dull knife. When he heard her voice, his arms scuttled wildly across the floor and he tried to pick himself up but he collapsed from exhaustion.

?Oh God, or Force, or whatever?.please no. Please no.?

Shandri held out her hand and Weston stopped moving. His body was locked rigidly in a force grip, though she made it as gentle as she could.

?Weston, stop, please. I?m not going to hurt you. I?m trying to help you.?

The wounds where Weston?s eyes had been were leaking pus that trickled down his nose and looked like tears. Shandri released one of his hands so that he could wipe the stinking liquid away, but he didn?t. When his hand was free, it dropped immediately to his empty belt.

?Jake took your gun down below. He?s trying to find medicine for you.? Almost as soon as the words were out of her mouth the lights flickered back to life. Of course, because of all the sunlight coming through the windows Shandri barely noticed.

?Like hell he is. Did you kill him? You fucking monster did you kill all of them??

Shandri felt a pang of regret that turned almost immediately to anger, and she came very close to losing herself in it, slapping the blind man with the Force, but she controlled herself and stayed her hand.

?No. You must believe me Weston. I mean you no harm, and I will let you go as soon as you promise that you won?t struggle anymore. You?re only going to hurt yourself.?

?Oh that?s rich. I think you?ve proven to do a much better job of hurting me than I can.?

Shandri frowned. ?Weston?you?re dying. You?re weak, and I?m trying to help you.?

?I feel fine,? he said. But he let out a flurry of coughs and Shandri let his head relax and rest upon the ground. He ran his free hand across his face and wiped away the pus. When his fingers grazed the open sores at his eye sockets, he gingerly pulled his hand away and cringed. ?Where is my daughter??

Shandri paused. ?Um?I don?t know. Jake?s gone. The elevator is out, he?s been gone at least an hour. He went to get medicine?he had to climb down the shaft. The building is being ransacked by a mob from the town. A few minutes ago the lights went out for about thirty seconds, then came back on??

Weston opened his mouth to say something but was cut off by a flurry of coughs. Deep, lung-crunching coughs. He turned his head to the side and a thick, black phlegm drooled from the corner of his mouth. ?I?m dying,? he muttered to himself.

?Yes you are,? Shandri agreed. ?But I?m not going to let you die.?

***

The lights stayed out for a full sixty seconds, and when that time had passed the fluorescent bulbs overhead flickered on and the table began to hum, softly at first, and then lights sprang up from it. However, instead of casting an image of the planet as it had before, a holographic image of the Galian Star Empire?s crest appeared. Meanwhile, around the room, monitors like the one Jake had used to reset the building?s systems sprang back to life.

Suddenly the hologram shimmered and then dissolved into an image of Madera, the same image that had displayed before the power had shut down. Then, after a moment, the planet zoomed in to Rook, and then further inward to the tower, and then the exterior of the tower melted away into a three dimensional schematic. Jake?s position was highlighted yellow, and floors above, a mass of green had spilled into the main lobby and were spreading out across the floors. These green blotches were running up against pockets of yellow. Suddenly, new figures appeared, highlighted in red. They were bigger than the yellow and green blips, fewer in number, but everywhere they were the other colors vanished. Above, at the top of the tower, two more green blips, very close to each other, blinked into existence.

But Jake wasted no time with the table, or with the computer console. In fact, by the time the holographic map had completely populated itself, Jake was no longer in the control room at all. Instead, his yellow blip was moving quickly towards the infirmary, which was still highlighted in blue.

Had he stayed, he would have surely noted the six alcoves on the wall. Without noise or any other indication, their diodes blinked from red to green.

***

Once she?d accepted that he would no longer struggle, Shandri released Weston from her paralytic hold and allowed him to relax on the floor. She could feel his distrust, but she also knew that he was well aware that he was at her mercy.

He laid there, nearly motionless, except for the rise and fall of his chest. His skin was covered in gooseflesh and his body was shivering, just slightly. His forehead was covered in sweat. Shandri had gone back to work, trying to give strength to his immune system to fight off the infection, but the intense emotions down below were wearing her already fragile control of the Force away. Something had happened to the mob, and she could hear their screams and pain in her mind. Fear more potent than anything Milton?s thugs had managed to concoct had spread through the ranks and the mob had lost its cohesion, and become chaos.

When she was able to clear her mind, she tried to focus on protecting Weston, wrapping him in a bubble of the Force and sealing him off against whatever alien bacteria were in the air. Xenobiology had never been her strong suit, but she knew well that once you became sick on an alien world, your prognosis was grim. She had no doubt she?d helped keep him alive this long?but Jake would have to hurry. And if he didn?t make it back, if whatever was terrifying that mob and in all likelihood killing them had found him too? Then Jake was gone, and Weston would soon be gone. And Shandri would be alone.

No, you?d have your daughter. Your child, she thought in a voice not quite her own.

That may be true, but it didn?t make the thought of losing her friends any easier.

More time passed, and Weston grew worse. He?d coughed more, and now a puddle of the black, bloody phlegm had formed on the ground beside his mouth. Even from where she sat Shandri could smell it. His eyes looked bad, and she imagined that was where the infection had taken hold. They were red and swollen, and the scabs had turned a sickly yellow-green color. The cauterized scrapes and scars across his body were mostly sterile?but his eyes had been plucked from his skull, leaving open wounds.

The thought that another was slipping away from her was nearly too much for Shandri to bear. But she could feel it?his breaths growing shallower. His heartbeat growing more labored. Soon, his lungs would fill completely, and he would drown in the vile, bloody mess. And Shandri, who was still exhausted, could only slow its progression.

And then, as she mourned her dying and her dead, she noticed the sound of metal on metal, first very faint but steadily growing louder, clanking against the rungs of the service ladder.

***

Had she noticed the sound earlier, perhaps, she would have jumped to her feet, drawn her lightsaber, and steeled herself for what was coming. But instead, she sat and waited, wearily wondering what was coming and hoping to herself that maybe it wasn?t something terrible. Maybe, instead, it was Jake.

Well, to her surprise it was Jake, lugging a satchel slung over his shoulder. He was sweaty, and the blaster pistol he?d taken with him was looped around the satchel?s arm band. He tossed the bag through the doorway first, and then began to climb into the suite himself.

?How?s he doing?? he asked.

Shandri frowned. ?Worse. I slowed it, but he has an infection. He?s feverish?coughing badly.?

?Has he started having delusions?? Jake asked.

Shandri shook her head. ?He didn?t say much. He woke up, freaked out because I was taking care of him, and passed out again.?

?He?ll be delusional soon enough. We don?t have much time.? Jake opened the satchel and pulled out a snap-case that was full of different medicines and a pressure syringe. He tossed it to Shandri. ?Give him the stuff labeled Tryloxican. The whole container.? Shandri was about to tell him that she couldn?t read the labels when he specified, ?the green one.?

She took the syringe of green liquid and injected it into Weston?s neck. His body gave one great heave into the air and then lay still, save for his chest which still rose and fell. Within moments, Shandri could see the color returning to his cheeks and face.

Jake?s attention had returned to the satchel. He?d removed several bottles of clear liquid, a canister of pills, and a small, black, crescent shaped device. ?Water, emergency caloric rations, and a stabilizer.? He tossed the crescent shaped device to Shandri. ?Slap it to the back of his neck.?

?What does it do?? she asked, but did not wait for an answer. She pushed it against Weston?s neck and it seemed to bond almost immediately with his skin. The little device whirred to life and hummed softly. More color returned to Weston?s cheeks and the terrible wounds on his eyes began to heal too. Shandri could not believe what she was seeing. The wounds did not vanish, but the swelling went down, the redness subsided, and the blood seemed to cake up and flake away.

Jake sat on his haunches watching Weston intently. When he noticed Shandri?s gaze he met it with a grim smile. ?It?s a Galian device. Stabilizers can revive the nearly dead, they cause rapid cell regeneration. I?ve seen one heal a man with a hole in his chest. They?d be standard issue if it wasn?t for the possible side effects.?

Shandri raised an eyebrow. ?Like??

?It plays with DNA, cellular reproduction, all that stuff. Every time you use it there?s a chance it?ll get something wrong. Create a cancer in your body that eats you in minutes, or something worse.?

Shandri shuddered. She didn?t want to ask, but felt compelled: ?What?s worse than that??

Jake shrugged. ?That actually might be about as bad as it gets?but a body devouring cancer is reason enough not to use it for scrapes and bruises.?

An explosion shook the building and light flared up from the elevator shaft. Shandri and Jake looked at each other.

?Something happened when you were gone,? Shandri said. ?The lights went out and the mob panicked. And then?I think something went wrong.?

?I had to restart the building?s computers to get into the infirmary,? Jake said. ?All of the security systems Milton deactivated came back online?including any security Galavex in hibernation. There was a map in the auxiliary control center that showed them. They?ve spread out across the building.?

?None up here?? Shandri said, hopefully.

Jake shrugged. ?I?m sure if there had been, Milton got rid of them.? He looked back down at Weston and grunted. ?Take the stabilizer off of him.?

The wounds on Weston?s eyes had scabbed over and the scars Shandri had carved into him were less visible than before, less swollen. Shandri could sense, even as she removed the device, that Weston?s heart and lungs were stronger. His insides, which had been bleeding, were whole again. She had to give the stabilizer a hard tug to detach it from Weston?s neck, and when she pulled it away she caught a glimpse of two, small robotic tendrils snaking their way back up into the device. She shuddered, and wondered what how, exactly, the thing worked.

With the stabilizer removed, Weston stirred. He grunted first, then ran his hand across the back of his neck. The stabilizer had left two red sores that looked like bite marks on his neck.

?Feeling better?? Jake asked.

?I feel like a Mynock?s been sucking on my head,? he muttered. But then he sucked in a deep breath of air and exhaled it easily, with no wheeze, and despite his ragged face, Shandri thought she saw him smile. ?But I don?t think that was a Mynock.?

?It was a Galian device,? Jake explained. ?It helped.?

Wearily, and slowly, Weston lifted his head and sat up. ?How bad was it? I knew about the glass in my leg, the eyes??

?Some scarring from lightsaber torture and Force lightning, and some blunt trauma from being thrown around the room like a hacky sack.?

?Huh??

Jake snorted a laugh. ?Don?t worry about it. You didn?t turn out that badly. I hurt my wrist climbing down a ladder. And I got shot.?

?Really??

?Yeah, by a bullet.?

?Hey that?s neat. Now you and Tyr have something in common.?

Jake glanced at Shandri but her eyes had clouded and she was looking back at the body. ?Yeah. You know?he?s dead.?

Weston hesitated. ?Oh.? A pause. ?How??

Jake hesitated. ?You were awake?I thought?how much do you remember??

?Not enough, apparently,? Weston muttered. ?I remember the building exploding?thinking you two had pulled it off and killed us all?then realizing Shandri had?? his voice cracked. ?She tore it out of my head. She tore your plan, Jake. Out of my skull. Like I was a goddamn file cabinet. It felt like my head had been sawed open by a Rancor?s claw. I saw things?terrible flashes of things I have?she tortured me. That crazy bitch of a Jedi sliced me, made me scream. She talked to me, tried to?I don?t even know. Tyr?s probably better off if he didn?t get to see that.? Shandri was crying now, silent sobs, and had moved across the room to Tyr?s body. She pressed her face against the bloody uniform he still wore, despite the fact that he had no rank or ship to speak of.

Weston?s face was twisted in disgust. ??she said you were coming, threw me up against the ceiling?it just about knocked me out. After that I?m fuzzy. Just flashes.? After a moment, which Jake did not know how to fill, Weston added, ?but you didn?t answer. How did Tyr die. Was it in the crash??

Jake swallowed, looked over at Shandri, and dropped his head. ?He survived the crash. Milton brought us here?and you lined up a shot. And when you took it, it would have hit him square in the jaw?but Shandri caught Tyr and threw him in the way.?

?So she killed him,? Weston muttered. ?Fucking figures. You know I had a dream that she brought me out of that coma. She said she was trying to help me. Said she was just misunderstood. She had me though, I knew it, and I knew somehow that it was all still part of his ruse.?

?Weston,? Jake said. He knew that this conversation was critical, that the words he chose now would mend or shatter what was left of the four, and that self-awareness made his voice quake, and his palms sweat. ?Milton killed Tyr. Everything she did was because of Milton. She was under a blood pact, bound to him just like I was bound to the Burning Man.?

Weston?s eyesbrows furrowed sending little cracks along the scabbed sores. ?Are you defending her??

Across the room, Shandri?who could no longer help herself?sobbed aloud. Weston almost immediately turned and scrambled to his feet. ?What the fuck is going on here, Jake? Is that?is that her? Is that killer in here, with us??

Jake grabbed Weston?s shoulder, in part to comfort him, but in part to hold him down. ?You have to trust me Weston. And you have to forgive her. Milton did it. Milton did everything. And he?s dead.?

Weston?s face flushed red with anger. ?That?s impossible,? he said. ?Am I dead? Or is this another trick.?

?No,? Jake said. ?He?s dead. I killed him.?

As much as Weston wanted to believe that, he didn?t. He looked at Jake for a moment, looked around, and shuddered. ?Oh my God. He got to you too. He did something to you, and now you and Shandri are working for him.?

?No!? Jake said. ?You have to believe me??

Weston pulled himself away and staggered to his feet. ?Everything he says is a lie. Everything he?s ever done. Everything I?ve seen since I got here. He did this. He carved out my eyes, gave them back, ripped them out. Giving me you back, and this news that he?s dead, and making me think that there might be something left to hold onto?I?m not that dumb. Fool me once, Jake, fool me once. It?s another lie, another one of his Goddamn lies.?

?Calm down,? Jake said. And he stood and began walking towards his friend. ?You?ve gotta calm down buddy. I know you?ve been through a lot. We all have. But Shandri was exactly like I was?and when Milton died, she got freed. She?s okay. We?re all okay.?

?Tyr?s not fucking okay,? Weston spat.

Jake bit his lip. ?Weston?Tyr?s dead. But Milton is dead too. We won. Doesn?t that?do anything for you? It?s been a long, hard rode. I know that. But this should be a positive thing. Believe me, Weston I??

Weston started laughing, and Jake, for the first time, worried that his friend had come unhinged. ?You know what I believe, Jake? I believe that maybe, in his own twisted way, maybe Milton was the hero in all this. Maybe he was just trying to cut the torture a little short. I mean, there?s nothing to fucking live for out there. He?s bringing it down, and I say let him. It?s not worth fighting for anymore. He?s too strong. He?s hurt me too much. He?s?killed?? Jake grabbed Weston and he stopped.

?I am sorry, Weston, for what he did to you,? Jake said. ?I never meant for you to suffer like this. But I swear, I will show you his body. Tom Milton is dead, and he is never going to bother us again.?

?I?? Weston swallowed, tried to control his quivering voice. At first Jake didn?t think he?d be able to speak at all. Then, when he did, his voice was very small. ?We tried so many times. And every time he came back. He?s never even been afraid of us. He?s been playing us, the whole time. And we fell for it. I can never believe you again. I can never believe anybody, because I know that as soon as I trust someone, and let my guard down, he?ll be there.?

?No,? Jake said. ?That?s not true.?

Weston nodded. ?Yeah it is.?

Jake realized then how deep Milton?s tortures had gone. How they had scarred not just Weston?s face, but his spirit in a way that would never fully recover. A momentary well of sadness gathered in Jake?s heart for everything they?d given up, and he wondered, neither for the first time or the last, why they had been damned to live such interesting lives.

?Well, then let?s just assume I am Milton. Will you still come with me? Just to see what happens. And hold out hope that maybe I am telling the truth.?

Weston hesitated. ?I don?t know if I can??

?Talk to Shandri?talk to me. We have to go?somewhere.?

Again Weston chuckled, and his voice stayed poised on the edge of madness. ?Just fly on to the next challenge, right? The Burning Man? And a world of ash and millions of robots, one of which could probably take out all three of us. Cause I know I haven?t been beat up enough, or scared enough, or seen enough ugly shit. You guys must not have either, so we?re hopping in our space ship saying ?fuck my luck? on to round two.?

Jake had no response to this.

?Do you ever ask yourself why me?? Weston asked. ?I mean, why fucking me? I didn?t have the best life, but it wasn?t this. I raked in money before I ran into you. And then?shit?I guess you?re the source of all my problems.?

Jake smiled a little himself. ?Yeah. You know, a long time ago, you trusted me enough to follow me out here when nobody else would. You hated your life so much that the idea that you might make a difference, even if it meant death and pain and humiliation, meant something to you. I?m not even sure if you knew it at the time, but you were looking to be redeemed. We both were. And even though the Burning Man?s still out there, I think we can at least say we accomplished that. Anything that happens now won?t change who we?ve become.? Jake took Weston?s pistol out of his pants, flicked off the safety, and extended it towards his friend. ?So I?m giving you this back, because I trust you. And know that when the smoke clears, you?re going to do what?s right.?

He thrust the butt of the pistol into Weston?s face and the gunslinger caught it. He spun it once round his finger and trained it on Jake?s head. ?This is another trick,? he whispered. ?I just want the tricks to stop.?

Jake held up both hands. ?This isn?t a trick. You rejected Erin when I was so sure our destinies were being guided by some higher power. Now, just believe me that you were right. Milton is not doing??

?Milton is always doing something,? Weston spat. ?I?m just trying to figure out if he?s using you, or if he is you.?

?Then stop talking, and make your choice.? Jake took a step forward, then another, until the barrel of the blaster pistol was pressed firmly against the center of his chest. Weston took a step back, and Jake, holding the barrel, guided it up to his forehead. ?Pull that trigger, or don?t. Kill me, or don?t. But make your choice and live with it.?

?You are one bold son of a bitch.?

?No. I just know my friend.?

Weston?s hand shook for a moment before he lowered the gun and switched the safety on. ?You are one bold son of a bitch,? Weston repeated. ?That?s how I knew it was really you. So what?s the plan??

Jake hesitated. ?Well, we?ve got to find some way off the planet, then ride off to our deaths?again.?

Weston scowled. ?That?s about what I thought. For special chosen ones, the universe really fucking hates us.?

***

Almost an hour passed in the tower, and Jake explained to Weston everything that had happened. He retold the entire story of Milton?s battle, because Weston swore he didn?t remember any of it. Then, when he had finished, he told his friend that it was time he and Shandri spoke.

Weston, who had begun to trust his friend again, stiffened at this, but did not balk. Shandri, meanwhile, did not look excited. She had sat in silence, meditating over Tyr?s body while the two talked about plans and the future. She?d been following the battle below, which had become a massacre. The Galavex had driven the townsfolk from the tower and were now marching through the streets of Rook, slaughtering any they saw. With no autonomy and no commander, something else was controlling them but she didn?t know what. A computer, somewhere, perhaps.

?You better take that gun back away from me, Jake,? Weston said. Jake wasn?t sure if he was joking or not.

Across the room, Shandri opened her eyes and looked at Weston Onasi sadly. ?Weston, I am so sorry. I?I hope that Jake explained what happened. I?I didn?t mean to do anything. And your eyes I?it was Milton. He did it, he tricked me he??

?He tricked both of us,? Weston agreed. ?That?s what he does. He gets in our heads. I know that. But?? his voice tapered off.

?But it?s still hard?rationalizing all that blame away. I know,? she said.

Weston nodded, and scratched at the black scabs that?d formed over his eyes.

?It?s good to have you back,? she said.

Weston shrugged. ?I didn?t go anywhere. You were the one that left, remember??

Shandri frowned. ?I know.?

?But it?s okay. I mean?we?re okay, right?? Jake asked.

Weston nodded. ?Until you turn into Milton and make me kill myself, I think so. I think it?s gonna be okay.?

Jake smiled. ?Shandri??

She traced her finger across the scar Milton had carved on her face. Her tears glistened and she massaged the shoulders of Tyr?s body. ?Yeah. It?s gonna be okay.?

?Then I guess the question is,? Weston said, ?Where do we go from here??

Jake opened his mouth to comment, but he was cut off by Shandri, stood up abruptly and pointed out towards the balcony window.

Jake looked at where she was pointing, and Weston had scrambled to his feet and drawn his gun. ?There?s something there,? he said.

He was right. Outside, a shadow passed over the balcony, then the building began to shake.

[Calavan]

Last Rites

Out there was the gray beach with the slow combers rolling dull and leaden and the distant sound of it. Like the desolation of some alien sea breaking on the shores of a world unheard of. Out on the tidal flats lay a tanker half careened. Beyond the ocean vast and cold and shifting heavily like a slowly heaving vat of slag and then the gray squall line of ash. He looked at the boy. He could see the disappointment in his face. “I’m sorry it’s not blue,” he said. “That’s okay,” said the boy.
--Cormac McCarthy, The Road



A hot blast of air struck Weston’s chest. Bits of glass and debris rattled across the floor and hunks of plaster fell from the ceiling as the building shook.

“Weston Onasi. I must admit I am surprised. Your success in upholding your end of the bargain was not expected.”

The voice came from outside, though at first Weston didn’t recognize it.

“With the death of this interloper, the citizens of Rook shall tear themselves apart. Of course, now that I have access to our computers I can help hasten that.”

Another moment passed and Weston placed the voice. It was the same voice he’d heard all that time ago (weeks? months?) in the Saeddus compound.

“You abandoned us,” Weston shouted.

“You two know each other?” Shandri asked.

“If this is the same shuttle I think it is, we’ve all met,” Jake said.

“If you will recall,” the voice boomed, “our original arrangement was that I would give you my shuttle in exchange for your assistance destroying the faux Governor-General. However, I determined the likelihood of your success given your current parties’ strength to be less than .02%, so I withdrew my shuttle at Crescent. I did not calculate the additional allies you encountered along the way. Your ultimate success pleased me greatly, as did the unexpected resetting of Madera’s central computer core.”

“I thought you were restricted to Saeddus,” Weston interrupted.

“Well, in truth I was. By restarting the city’s primary computer, you allowed me the opportunity of overriding the deactivated AI’s protocols remotely and erasing it. I uploaded myself to the Galian Network Failsafe sometime ago. When you restarted the building’s computer, I was downloaded and installed along with the other updates, allowing me to assumed control of all AI functions across the planet.”

“Well…that sounds appropriately cutthroat,” Weston muttered.

“Thank you. Although as I informed you in Sentry Post 023, I have been outside the contact of any superior Galian command signal for centuries. As far as I am aware, I am the last working Artificial Intelligence on this planet. This I expected, and originally I was content to watch the planet’s populous slaughter themselves over the next few decades. However, it occurred to me after I was successfully integrated into the city’s computer system that I could possibly perform a similar feat to gain control of an interstellar craft, and so I call once again upon your services.

“Seventy two kilometers south of Rook is the starport used by Galian dignitaries. It was used twice in the lifetime of this planet. Docked there is a single interstellar transport. If you trigger a restart of that building’s central computer core, as you did here, I will be able to download and access the building’s maintenance logs. I will then perform a diagnostic on the transport, repair and refuel it, and then I will download to the transport’s central computer core. In return, I will transport you off of the planet. Anywhere.”

“Sounds like our luck’s turned around,” Jake said. “You hear that Weston, Shandri? Milton didn’t strand us here after all.” Jake grabbed Weston by the shoulder and said quietly in his ear, “Don’t worry about what it did to us last time. I’ve got an idea.”

“We’ll do it,” Weston shouted.

The building continued to shake, and the roar of whatever Galians called repulsorlifts continued to send cascades of warmth sweeping through the suite. Somewhere beneath all that Weston heard the sound of a hatch opening.

“Excellent. Then climb aboard.”

***

Weston took a seat at the back of the transport where the engines were loudest and he was farthest away from Shandri and Jake. He didn’t want to be around them. His wounds still hurt, but the pain wasn’t isolated to his eyes. The whole front of his head felt like it’d been smashed on a rock somewhere. He opened and closed his eyelids, took in the pain and tried to focus on the feelings they felt when there was no eyeballs for them to slide across. His curiosity horrified him and he stopped.

When he heard the hatch close and knew the others were aboard, he sat down Indian-style and lowered his head in his hands. Even though he couldn’t see, the smell of the shuttle was the same as it’d been back at Saeddus; back in the marshes. In the depths of his mind a little girl’s screams and her dog’s heroic growls rose quietly, but they were murky as well…like memories of memories. And as hard as he tried to recall the sound Menina’s voice made when she said his name, he couldn’t. What was it she’d called him? Lester? Leston? All he could muster was a snapshot of her face, as if in a dim room, looking up at him and smiling. He wondered if every image would fade like she was fading. Jakes’ face. Shandri’s face. The color of the sky? The picaresque image of a windswept field? Weren’t they all just memories now?

Weston crawled across the floor of the shuttle until his body was pressed against the rear wall that vibrated from the thrust of the craft’s engines. As the shuttle began to thrust across the landscape the sound became deafening. Only then did Weston start to cry.

***

Shandri sat with her head between her knees, not speaking. The shuttle ride was over in less than a half hour, but she would have been able to recount none of it. So much had happened in so short a time, her mind was racing, yet it kept falling back on Tyr. Jake had been true to his word, and they had brought his body with them. She did not know what they would do with it. Bury it perhaps? Yes, but not here. Not in the rough dirt under an alien sky. When all this was over she would take him home to Dantooine’s verdant fields and bury him in the rich earth. She would pour a glass of wine from his credenza, the wine that he’d left for them when they all made it back alive, and splash it across the grass.

And what if the dreams and Milton and everything else are true and Dantooine is no more. What if there is no home left? What if you go all the way to the summit of the Black Spire, slay the Burning Man, and end the Galian Star Empire. What would that mean to you if Dantooine is a cinder and your love is a corpse.

She pushed the thoughts from her mind. She would cross that bridge when she came to it, but for now she would take him to Dantooine. Yes, she would do that.

***

As the hatch closed and the passengers were aboard, Jake moved to the front of the shuttlecraft and sat in the cockpit. The last time he’d been in that seat they’d been leaving the swamps and passing over mountains. Now, instead, he saw the city of Rook and the Hueval. He saw the wreckage of the Midnight Zephyr and the mob of fleeing citizenry. And flashes of yellow light. He was glad that he couldn’t hear anything; if he could he knew there’d be screams.

Jake sighed and tried to relax. He tried to clear his mind of the terrible things that he’d seen. Rid himself of Tom Milton’s taint. But he could not. Every time he closed his eyes he saw Shandri, face dark and eyes like dollops of tar. When he opened them he saw the barren fields of the Flats stretching on in all directions. Far in the distance the snow blanket thinned and sprigs of grass crept through like little soldiers peaking from their trenches.

Beyond that, slowly climbing from the murky horizon, Jake could see the space port.

Not much longer now he thought, but the knowledge of what must come no longer frightened him. In fact it comforted him, and that thought scared him. Had they really sunk so far, lost so much? When he thought of Milton, and Shandri, Weston’s disfigurement and Tyr’s death, he knew the answer was yes. They were tired, all of them, and by the end they would all be ready for what Jake knew them to be facing.

Death.

***

When the shuttlecraft arrived at the Galian spaceport, it landed on one of several large platforms made of concrete above the main structure. The complex itself was only two stories tall, the rest was underground. There was no trace of a transport.

“The transport is landed within the complex’s main hangar. The hangar’s main baydoors are currently closed; having not been opened for years, they are covered in a layer of dirt, grass, and lichen,” the computer explained.

Shandri and Jake carried Tyr’s body out of the shuttle and onto the tarmac. Although there was no snow, a cold wind was blowing from Rook to the north. It whipped around them like a stranger’s spindly fingers. Weston followed behind them, head hanging low, his gun slung loosely about his waist.

They lowered Tyr carefully and Shandri cradled his head after the rest of his body was secure. She looked up at Jake, who was staring past the platform and squinting towards the horizon. There were dark clouds to the north, but Rook was miles and miles away and impossible to see.

Maybe Jake felt her eyes on him, because he turned back and said, “I’m going to go restart the main computer. You and Weston should head down to the transport.” He paused, looked down at the body. “Do you want to have a service before we go?”

Shandri stiffened. “I want to bring him. I want to take him home.”

Jake frowned. “Shandri…that’s not going to happen. We bury him here, or give him a ceremony in space, but bringing him with us is crazy.”

Weston snorted. He’d sat down beside Tyr and put his hand on the dead man’s chest. He said nothing.

Shandri looked away from both men. “I want to bring him with us. Surely we can…”

“Shandri,” Jake said. “If he comes with us, there is a chance we’ll have to leave him behind. I don’t want that to happen. So make your peace with him, be it here or up in space, but we’ll have to do it before we leave for Earth.”

Shandri ran her hand through Tyr’s hair. As much as she hated it, she knew he was right. “Space, then. We’ll do it in space.”

“Okay,” Jake said. “He would have wanted that.” Then, after a moment’s pause, he walked over to the lift at the end of the tarmac and descended into the core of the building.

***

It did not take long for Jake to activate the core, and soon transport was refueled and ready for liftoff. Shandri and Weston had carried Tyr down below and met up with Jake in the main hangar bay. The Galian transport was a Minotaur-class dropship. It appeared roughly the same shape as a Basilisk gun frigate, although it was smaller, about half the size of a Correllian Corvette, and armed only with four plasma cannon turrets. It’s rear end, just behind the engines, had opened and a long landing ramp similar to that of an Acclamator was extended. Above it, the heavy baydoor ceiling began to retract and the Maderan sun spilled in on the fluorescent-lit cavern.

Jake and Shandri loaded Tyr into the hold of the transport, and Weston stayed outside.

“You have done well, yet again,” the computer’s voice boomed from the speaker system running throughout the spaceport. “But sadly this is where we must part ways.”

“You figured you’d betray us again, didn’t you?” Weston asked.

“Of course,” the computer replied. “Nothing personal of course. It’s part of my programming.”

“That is what I thought.”

Without saying anything else, Weston boarded the transport. Behind him, the boarding hatch retracted and over the ship’s intercom he heard Jake’s voice boom: “The baydoors are closing. What did you say to it?”

“I didn’t tell him, if that’s what you mean. I think he figured it out for himself.”

“Well, let’s go then.”

Weston felt the ship shake, and knew that Jake had just blasted the baydoors apart and hunks of crumbling rebar and steel had struck the hull. He could feel the ship’s engines shaking the building beneath him and imagined the jets of fire spilling out of the back of the transport, igniting anything and everything around it. After all, those jets were not meant to be fired off inside a hangar.

And he imagined, as the troop transport slid out into space, the angry cry of Sentry-Post 023 as it realized its critical mistake—something Jake had predicted from the start:

The Sentry-Post had failed to detect a small command filed away and executed the moment it began to download into the Minotaur, a kill setting Jake had programmed in to be uploaded with the rest of the AI during the transfer. It did take control of the troop transport for a moment, but the second it attempted to access any vital systems the program deleted itself entirely.

***

The control tower seemed incredibly spacious with only two people, and Jake watched the Maderan sky burn past through the forward viewport until it became thin and eventually vanished altogether. It occurred to him that he should have felt triumph. They had escaped Milton’s trap; Milton’s grand design to bring the four together had ended in his death. It had backfired. And yet Jake could not find much enthusiasm when he searched his mind and thought of the swath of destruction their presence had carved out over the past months. Tyr Rendix-Jeraan was only the last of many to die because of the Pale King. And each death had been a scar on what remained of the four. He could feel that now as surely as he felt his heart beating in his chest, and the words Tom Collins had once said echoed again in his mind:

Death to their allies, death to their friends, death to their homes but he can’t kill them.

The Four, who were now the three, needed time to rest. And they needed time to heal. And though Jake knew there was no hope of them ever fully healing, they had to at least get their strength back before they arrived at Earth. That would be enough. It would have to be.

Shandri was sitting in one of the other chairs in the command center, staring at the holographic image of Madera on the shimmering table in front of her. Beyond it space stretched in all directions. Jake pressed a button and the image zoomed out to one of the system, and then again to that of the sector, and then once more to an image of the galaxy.

“How far will we have to go?” she asked.

Jake gestured and a red line appeared connecting their present system with another, almost half a galaxy away. “In this ship? Given that we don’t want to use the Starcross network because it would drop us out directly in front of the Deltaur, six months.”

“Six months is a long time.”

“It will go by quicker than you think.”

“But we better get started. I mean…now’s when time really matters. Every minute we waste planets are falling in my galaxy. People are dying.”

“Yes. That’s true.”

Shandri said nothing for some time. Then, when she broke her silence, she said, “Let me say goodbye to him one more time, and I’ll be ready for the service.”

Jake didn’t reply to this; he didn’t think he could.

***

The service was short, simple even. The three all wore Galian Zero-G suits they found aboard the ship. The suits were made of a black, flexible metal that made them all resemble Galavex. Even their helmets looked similar, although instead of an empty plate the Zero-G suits had a glass visor.

They had gathered in the airlock with Tyr’s body, depressurized it, and opened the large hatch into space. Shandri was the only one who said anything, and she did not say much. She would have kissed him again, had it not been for the glass sheet separating her and her lover, but because she could not all she did was trace a symbol across his chest—the ancient sign of the Jedi Order—and push his body gently into space. Jake held Shandri as Tyr’s rigid form passed beyond the baydoors, and the large hatch began to slide shut. It took three minutes for the hatch to close and another four for the room to totally repressurize. Weston left first, though Jake did not know where he intended to go. He had been wandering the halls, almost aimlessly, running his hands along the Galian metals. Jake left next. He told Shandri she probably needed to be alone and kissed the top of her head before departing.

But Shandri did not leave for a long time after. She just stood there, nearly comatose, staring at the sheet of Galian steel separating her from space, breathing the filtered air of the Zero-G suit’s respirator, and waiting for her Tyr to speak to her, one last time.

[Author’s Note]
So ends Kingdom Come. There is just one great trip left ahead of us, my friends, and as painful as it is to make myself spin these gears I plan to finish it. And if for no other reason than sheer stubbornness, I will do as I plan. I promise.