Dawnbreaker Episode III/Part 5

CHAPTER 13: I don't think I've seen you before...

THE EXCALIBUR

A black shadow slid against the hull of the Excalibur, last known location of the man called Assailant. It had been easy to find out where he had been, but nearly impossible to discover where he was. The Spider latched onto the ship like a parasite, the hatch locked onto the hull, sealing instantly so it was airtight. Sparks flew as a laser cut through the metal, penetrating Excalibur's cargo bay. The pilot slipped easily through the new entrance she had installed and looked around. Reassured that there were no witnesses, she retrieved the perfect circle of cut metal and placed it over the hatch to her stolen ship, concealing the evidence of her arrival completely.

Three days later...

The intruder trailed silently behind an officer, slipping in and out of cover. She had chosen her prey carefully, watching his movements until she knew exactly where and when she could get him alone. The officer was heading towards the ship's gym, which at the moment was unoccupied. She slid up behind him without a sound, waiting for the perfect moment and then laid a hand on his shoulder and cleared her throat.

"Hello, sir? Can I ask you a question?"

The officer turned, and saw someone who was he did not recognize as a member of the Confed. How this person got onboard bothered him as he considered making for the comm panel on the wall.

The young woman tucked a strand of her white-blond hair behind an ear and smiled disarmingly, "I am so sorry to bother you sir, but there is a slight problem with your room pass codes. I am with tech security and I have pretty much fixed the problem, but you need to set a new code." She smiled again, "It will only take a moment, sir. Here are my papers." She handed him a small stack of very well forged documents and waited expectantly.

The officer looked at the woman with skepticism.

"Is there a problem here Lieutenant?" Said a voice coming from behind the woman. The officer looks looked over the woman's shoulder and sees Lt. William English, one of the pilots from the Black Knights. The woman turned her dazzling smile on the officer, "No problem, sir. This officer's quarters have a small technical problem that needs to be taken care of."

William looks over the woman. "I don't think I've seen you before..." he said slowly, a bit of confusion showing through, "What's your name?"

"Corporal Marci Collins, sir. At your service." She lied without hesitation. "I am usually in Tech so I don't get out much." Her smile turned slightly wistful.

"You wanna get something to drink?" William asked. There was something about her that seemed a bit off, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

The young lady blushed and looked down for a moment before meeting his eyes, "I'd love to." Inwardly, she speculated that perhaps this plan would work better than her original...or much worse. "But, sir, what about the technical problem..." Her voice trailed off and she made her tone a little reluctant, that of someone who would love a break from a dull job but doesn't want to get in trouble.

"I'm sure they can spare you for a while," William said, putting on his best smile, "Besides, they got a problem with it, they can take it up with either me or Rattler. Preferably Rattler."

She smiled at him hesitantly, "OK, then."

William motioned for her to follow him, and led her to Pilot's Country. After chasing off another pilot who was getting a little too close, he ordered some drinks.

"So... been with the Excalibur long?" he asked, trying to start up a conversation.

"Not very. I am still learning the ropes around here. I will say it is different from any other ship I have been on."

"Really?" He asked, sounding interested, "So... where were you assigned before getting a post here?"

"The Pinnacle." She replied instantly, naming a ship she had found in the files that had transferred several dozen people a couple of months ago.

"Huh... She's one of the new Southampton class Destroyers, right?" William asked. "She was also in some rather heavy fighting in Vega Sector..."

"Yeah," she was very glad now that she had taken the trouble to carefully research a ship just in case this sort of question came up. "It only has a skeleton crew now while it is getting repaired, that's why I came here. They didn't need my skills at this stage."

"She was almost destroyed in Ariel from what I heard," William added, "Lost most of her crew in that battle. You must have been pretty damn lucky to survive a Cat ambush."

"I was wounded pretty badly but I do consider myself to be very lucky. Most who were wounded died before they could get medical aid."

"So... after you were all healed up, you hopped on a transport to hook up with the Expedition here in this Galaxy instead of sticking around back home to help with the repairs," William summarized.

"Like I said, they didn't need my particular skills. Plus, I wanted to get away for a bit. I lost a lot of friends." Her face was hidden by her hair. She looked up with a forced smile, "But enough about me, how did you end up here?"

"Been with the Excalibur since I graduated from the Academy," William said. "Some of my friends were assigned to different ships first though. We got split up for a while." He took a drink, then set the bottle down. Something was still bothering him about her.

"It's a great ship, I think I will be able to start a new home here, " she smiled at him. "with new friends."

"You should have been around when we first met the Cornerians," William said with a smile. "That was a blast. And we also got to have Shore Leave on a planet in the Lylat System, Sauria."

"Oh," she said, lifting her eyebrows, "I have never been to the Lylat system. What was it like?"

"Well... it's... different," he replied, "For one thing... most of the natives are furry. We visited Corneria, which looks a lot like Earth. Then... we went to Sauria for Shore Leave. Although we never set foot on Corneria itself. The system itself is rather unusual, almost every planet is habitable. The only reason we knew about it at all was because of Chris and his Tachyon fried Jump Drive."

"Hmm, technologically impaired, are they?"

"Actually no. Chris ran into a Kilrathi Battlegroup, and they used some sort of Tachyon based weapon on the Jump Point," William explained. "Basically... it was a freak accident. The Kilrathi were trying to develop a weapon to basically close a Jump Point, or make it hazardous to jump. The Cornerians are about our level, with some advances in Interstellar Drive tech. Granted they really haven't ventured outside their own system., but they really haven't had to."

"Sounds like life on this ship is very...exciting. I heard you saw some action in the Entrada system a few months back. Something involving an alien ship, I believe?" She was finally working around to her true reason for conversation.

"Interesting wouldn't be the word I'd use," William sighed. "Closest thing to Repleetah I've ever seen." He cringed at the thought of the bloody fighting taking place on that planet. Something hits him then. Confed never really named the system they were in. Why would some no name rookie tech call out a system she'd never heard of by name?

"Yes, I heard it was nasty. A couple of the guys in tech always refer to it as ‘The Battle' as if it was the only one. They aren't exactly helpful when it comes to details, though, so I only have a vague idea of what happened." she hinted.

"Last I heard, it was like World War I all over again. Trench warfare," William said with a cringe. "I wouldn't be surprised if the planet was stained with blood after this is all over."

"What happened?" she inquired. "After hearing so many rumors I don't know which parts are true and which are exaggerations."

"I'm not really sure," William admits. "All I know is that all Hell broke loose on Repleetah, and it's been going on for two years now."

"Oh, sorry, I meant the battle on the Excalibur a few months back." She kept her face polite and interested, though internally she was rolling her eyes. Maybe she should have gone for the more direct approach of more...intense interrogation. But the longer her presence was concealed, the more she should be able to learn and the closer she would get to finding the 'Assailant'.

"Oh... that... One thing about that battle I will never forget is seeing the Kyushu take a shot at the lead enemy ship with her Phase Transit Cannon, only to watch that ship's engines, which were shredded, regenerate like nothing happened," William replied. "We were damn lucky to survive, let alone with so few casualties. I heard the Sith and Shadow forces got mangled in that battle pretty bad in the fighting. Then again... they were fighting each other earlier. We just happened to be there. Wrong place, Wrong time I guess."

"I heard there were a lot of...interesting people in that battle," she prodded.

"I never really met any of 'em," William admitted, "But I heard Chris actually threatened to punch the leaders of the two opposing factions because they wouldn't stop posturing when some guy in armor tried to get them to stop fighting."

"Oh, really? Some guy in armor? Would that be the mysterious Assailant people keep talking about? Doesn't it seem odd that nobody knows his name?" She was getting much closer now; jumping into a fight sounded like something the Assailant would do.

"Like I said, I don't know. I wasn't there," William said as he took a drink. "I took part in the recon mission that got us caught between two warring fleets, and the FUBAR battle when everyone teamed up. You want to hear about what happened in between, you'd have to find Rattler."

CHAPTER 14: I just hope we aren't already too late...

Pellaeon, after a difficult night of sleep, was awaiting Remus inside the command room.

Quickly making his way back, Remus join Pelleaon.

"Anything to report?" he asked.

"Nothing interesting yet." Pellaeon responded dryly, "We appear to have stabilized the front lines."

"Good," Remus responded, walking over to the spot where he stood the previous day, "That's progress. Now we just need to hold out until reinforcements arrive..."

"I spoke with some of the Moffs earlier;" Pellaeon stated, "they'll be getting their factories working at top ability to produce new ships."

"Hmm... the collective wisdom of the Moffs may finally have hit on something," Remus said casually.

"They'll be operating individually, directly interacting with foundries in their respective sectors." Pellaeon added, "But if I find them to not be producing what they are capable of, I may have to make some "adjustments" in the balance of powers."

Remus was about to respond, when an officer came in.

"Yes?" Pellaeon asked, turning to face the new arrival.

"Sir... Coruscant has fallen," the officer said, holding out a Holonet report.

Pellaeon quickly snatched the report and read it. His face turned grim.

"The New Republic has been routed." he muttered, "Only a third of their systems remain in their control. With them a reduced threat, the SE will no doubt turn more attention toward us."

"Not good," Remus said under his breath.

"Your orders, Sir?" the officer asked.

"Attempt to raise communications with whatever Republic forces are left. Notify when that has been done." Pellaeon ordered, "That is all, dismissed."

The officer gave a salute, and walked off toward Communications.

"There may be no time to build up our forces at our current rates, unless your reinforcements are of sufficient quantity." Pellaeon observed.

"We do not have as many ships as we would like," Remus admitted, "Between defending our own territory, helping defending yours, and offensive maneuvers, we have roughly ten fleets of 100 ships left. Keep in mind that we lost our main battle units due to the economy, as well."

Pellaeon clearly didn't like the way things were suddenly shaping up.

"And even if I can persuade the Republic to agree to an alliance, they can do little now to help us. Perhaps we should consider moving forces into the unclaimed sections of the galaxy and attempt to acquire additional resources there?"

"That may be our best bet. I guarantee you the SE is preparing invasion forces as we speak. We may not be able to hold them off for long here," Remus said grimly.

"Then we should move quickly." Pellaeon suggested, "I'll get our reserve fleets mobilized."

"I'll comm Patricia..." Remus muttered, pulling his comlink and stepping away.

"I just hope we aren't already too late..."

~

ES reinforcements, consisting of older, outdated but refitted ship designs, had arrived several hours previously, and Pellaeon was out on his Super Star Destroyer, directing traffic, while Remus had taken over for Patricia, who had returned to undisclosed locations, aboard the Despair. Remus had been trying to contact Ron Repelon and the TEC for several hours now, with no success. All he got was static on every line. The last he heard from his best friend was that he was under heavy attack in the Terrania System itself, and then contact had been shut off abruptly...

Something inside Remus just knew that he was dead. It wasn't like Ron to do that. Fully convinced that he had lost his last true friend, Remus was overtaken with grief, anger, and sadness. He was so lost in his own world that he didn't hear the report that just came over the comlink from Ron himself...

Meanwhile, one of Pellaeon's officers rushed into his quarters, frantic. "Sir, long-range scanners have detected a massive SE armada heading this way! Also, the skirmishes have intensified along the borders. It's like SE forces are preparing to make moves there as well!" the man blurted.

"Any estimates on the size of this armada?" Pellaeon inquired.

"Enormous sir! You had better get to the bridge!" the officer exclaimed.

Following the officer's advice, Pellaeon left his quarters and took up position at the bridge. As he looked out, he could easily see hyperspace lines begin to form in front of him, indicating something was coming,...

Then there they were. Hundreds of Star Destroyers.

"Sir! Estimate 300 Gladiators, 150 ISD4s, 200 other ships!" a crewman shouted.

Then a Sovereign Super Star Destroyer exited hyperspace, on the other side of the gravity well from Pellaeon's SSD.

"SIR! BATTLESTATION INCOMING!" another crewman shouted as the fighters began to deploy.

To the Remnant's horror, the Gatekeeper's ultimate weapon, the Death Star III, exited hyperspace at the back of the SE fleet, with the Gatekeeper himself on board...

All at once, Pellaeon realized that Bastion was lost. The combined fleets of the Remnant and ES couldn't stand against what they were being faced with in direct combat. And there was no information about any weaknesses in this SE Death Star that could be exploited as the Rebels had done years before.

"All forces engage the SE fleet!" Pellaeon ordered, deciding it was best to get his ships mingled with the SE ships as quick as possible so the Death Star couldn't pick them off one-by-one. "Evacuate the Capital immediately!" he added, "Command staff first!"

The gathered Remnant fleet, knowing full well that they were going to be slaughtered, did as they were told, and moved forward. The Death Star slowly but surely turned itself so it was facing the Despair...

"You may fire at will, Commander."

"Commencing primary ignition..."

"Target locked... Fire!"

The Superlaser shot out from the array, obliterating the ES flagship in a massive green fireball, in which the Gatekeeper knew Remus had been moments before. With the loss of their command ship, the ES fleet was on its own. Copying the Remnant, they began to move forward as well.

The first evacuation ships began to exit the planet's atmosphere and head toward their hyper jump points. There was one major problem: The SE Sovereign, with hyper-dampening gravity wells, was preventing any craft from making the jump and escaping.

Pellaeon noted this as his vessel moved in to engage several enemy Star Destroyers.

"All evacuation craft, move as far from the planet as possible! Once you can, hyper to Staging Area Beta-92!" he commanded.

A few frigates, cruisers and Victory Star Destroyers had remained back from the rest of the fleet to cover the withdrawing transports, which now only could move away from the battle at sub-light speeds.

As the TIEs engaged each other from the two Imperial factions, the ES fighters, a hodge-podge of older models, rushed to join the fray, but early on, it was clear that the SE had an advantage: They had the opposing fighters outnumbered nearly 20-1, from the Star Destroyers alone, and the Death Star's battlegroup hadn't yet reached the battle. Two ISD4s found themselves targeted by an ES Mandator MKI. Despite the ISDs superior design, the ES craft was easily outgunning both of them with its masses of Turbolaser barrages. But as the first ISDs shields went down, the Sovereign unleashed its special weapon: an axial Superlaser, obliterating the massive Star Dreadnaught.

Nearly 20 Gladiators began an approach to Pellaeon's Super Star Destroyer, escorted by TIE Hunters, Scimitars, and one ISD4. Without Pellaeon giving an order, the SSD moved up to intercept. Unleashing its heavy Turbolasers, the Executor-class made quick work of the front two Gladiator before they got in range, but the rest of them, packed together in a formation, entered firing range a split second later.

Ion cannons shot from the 18 remaining Gladiators and into the SSD's shields, not doing that much damage individually, but as a group, the effect was more pronounced. Another Gladiator was destroyed from a critical hit via concussion missiles, and then the ISD4 entered firing range.

With far superior firepower, the ISD4 opened up on Pellaeon's flagship, its weapons, unlike the Gladiator's, made for heavy assault, proving effective against the superior ship's shields. Scimitars finally joined the fray, and, while the TIE Hunters distracted the defending fighters, began to target the shield generators with their proton torpedoes.

With the ES taking the brunt of the attack once again, the Remnant was proving more effective, with their lesser Victory Star Destroyers having gotten several kills against superior SE ships. But the Remnant ran into a wall when they hit the ISD4s in the pack. The Sovereign began to move up toward Pellaeon's SSD, in an effort to provide attack support to the inferior craft already attacking it.

As the hulking carcass of the Despair took a nosedive toward the planet...

"Commencing primary ignition..."

The Death Star fired again, this time obliterating an ES Praetor-class Star Destroyer.

As the three fleets engaged, Pellaeon began to realize that they were not going to hold off the SE forces for long. His forces, with the losses of the two ES super capitals, were now being targeted.

The line of ISD4s moved up with the Gladiators, while in the back, Tyrant Missile Cruisers continued their barrage. Their target: Pellaeon's SSD.

As the lines moved up, the line of Remnant ships tried to hold them back, but the SE craft were just too much for them. VSD after VSD was destroyed by the ISD4s Turbolasers, with only a handful of ISD4s even losing their shields...

Pellaeon's SSD was taking some heavy fire. Although it had dispensed with 12 of the Gladiators and crippled the ISD4, it's shields were almost down, and the shield generators were heavily damaged. Too damaged to regenerate the shields. To make matters worse, the shorter, but bulkier Sovereign had entered firing range, and was unloading on the Executor-class, battering the damaged ship further. Then, Pellaeon noticed the looming shadow of the Death Star turning to face him...

At the same time, a flight of civilian transports had just left Bastion, but SE ships had already blown past the Remnant/ES defense and were bearing down on them. As the SSD's hull began to crumble, most likely unable to last but a few minutes, Pellaeon came to a grim decision. He had to destroy that Sovereign so the rest of the Imperial fleet could escape.

"40 degrees starboard and full speed! Re-route all power to the engines!" he bellowed, his voice stronger than anyone had ever heard before.

"Sir! That's straight into the Sovereign!" one of the bridge officers exclaimed in near panic.

"I'm well aware of that corporal! DO NOT QUESTION MY ORDERS!" Pellaeon snapped back.

Many of the crewmen immediately ran off the bridge, wanting to save their own skins. But they were wasting their time; the SSD's hull was already so critically hit that it wouldn't last much longer continuing its current route as it would on a collision course with the Sovereign. Most of the remaining bridge crew had long ago resigned themselves to the inevitable and the helmsman steered the ship directly toward the Sovereign.

"Take evasive action!" the Admiral in charge of the Sovereign snapped upon seeing the SSD bearing down on him.

The helmsman of the Sovereign did what he could, turning the ship away from the Executor-class, but that only opened up the broadside of the ship to the kamikazi.

With a metallic screech, the Pellaeon's SSD plowed into the Sovereign's midsection, splitting the massive craft cleanly in two. The SSD continued to drive forward for a few seconds, until the Sovereign's power core exploded, incinerating the entire midsection and stern of the vessel, including the bridge...

However, Pellaeon's final mission was a success. The Gravity Well Generators were down, and the remaining ES/Remnant ships quickly broke off from their engagements, with a lucky few able to jump to hyperspace before being destroyed, with the rest having to fight their way out. But eventually, about 30% of the surviving ES forces, and 60% of the Remnant's, escaped. The battle was over...

But the Death Star was not done there.

"Commencing primary ignition..."

For the third time, the Superlaser was fired from the DSIII, only this time, the effect was much more severe. Bastion itself was destroyed. Like Alderaan before it, Bastion was now nothing more than an asteroid field...

CHAPTER 15: Just you and me now...

VJUN SPACE STATION

The enviro suit the Assailant had given him looked unlike any that Ty had seen before, but it was simple to equip and move around in. The Assailant walked in wearing the same Mandalorian armor from the last time they met, only it had a few alterations, and was repainted from a blood red color, to grey and black, with lines of gold. He looked out a window at the space station. Only one ship, an LY-3000 Luxury Yacht, was in the hanger, presumably Rowans.

"You ready?" He asked Ty.

"Ready. Let's go." Ty replied.

The Assailant nodded, and put his helmet on. "We're ready." He said to the pilot via a comm link in his helmet, as he handed Ty a metal clip-like object. The boarding ramp opened, and they stepped out onto it. There was a tow cable connecting the two ships. The Assailant used his own clip, and attached it to the cable, so he wouldn't fly off into space.

"Well...Here goes nothing." He firmly held the clip, and kicked off the side of the ship, sending him flying towards the space station.

Ty followed suit, having closely watched everything the Assailant did.

"I find myself trusting my life to his guy way too often." he thought as he floated through the vacuum.

The Assailant reached the station, and once he had both arms and feet on it, he looked back to make sure Ty was following. Satisfied, he unclipped himself and began crawling towards the nearest hatch.

Ty did likewise, although a bit more slowly. The Assailant reached the hatch and opened it, before entering. Ty was right behind him, and the merc closed the hatch behind him. Once safely inside the station and through an airlock, Ty removed his helmet.

"Now, do we try to find out where this meeting is to take place?" the mercenary asked.

"Right, but lets keep this one quiet...For now." The Assailant responded as he activated the thermal sensor inside his helmet.

"Of course." Ty acknowledged, fingering a knife just in case.

"I think I've found them." The Assailant said after a moment. "Looks like...Nine people in the main room. They don't seem to be doing anything..." He looked around the room he and Ty were in, looking for a way to that room. After one hallway and a stairs down, they found themselves directly above the group.

In the center of the room there was a large grate, which was part of the stations vent system. Although the group below was not visible, their conversations could be heard fairly clearly.

"This is taking too long boss." a gruff voice could be heard saying.

"Be patient, they'll be here soon." a slightly high-pitched voice replied, "Sit down and shut up or I'll cut your pay!"

The Assailant swore under his breath. "Ty, we've got a problem." He whispered. Ty looked back to the Assailant, to see him looking straight at a wall. "There's someone in here with us."

"What do you mean?" the mercenary asked, raising his knife slightly.

The red shape the Assailant was watching with his thermal scanner unsheathed two objects from his belt, presumably weapons.

The Assailant removed his helmet and pulled out a blaster pistol. "He's not here to pay Rowan - He's here to kill him!"

"No!" Ty growled, putting away the knife and pulling his shotgun off his shoulder, "We can't let him do that."

"Yo!" The Assailant yelled as he suddenly stood up and kicked the grate, allowing himself fall through. He landed on his feet in front of the crowd of thugs, with his hands in the air. "I come in peace!"

The sound of cocking blasters immediately follows the Assailant's words, as the thugs turned and pointed their weapons at him.

"Who the hell are you?" Rowan asked, his own pistol out of its holster and in his hand.

"For the time being, I am your new body guard, as there is someone in the ceiling who wants you de-" As if on cue, the other grate in the ceiling flew open and the intruder leaped out, and charged the group.

The thugs turned in surprise, a couple firing poorly-aimed shots at the quick-moving figure.

Meanwhile, Ty put the helmet of his suit back on, not wanting Rowan to recognize him, before he also lets himself down, landing beside the Assailant.

There was a loud scream as one of the thugs was gutted by the assassin. It was hard to tell whether or not it was even human, as it moved in a blur across the walls. Unable to get a clear shot at whatever it was, the Assailant ran closer to Rowan, in an effort to protect him from the assassin.

Rowan's two bodyguards, a pair of Chiss women armed with disruptor rifles, moved closer to protect their boss. The other thugs started firing randomly at the attacker, but their shots missed wildly. Seconds later, another thug lay dead on the floor with his head sliced off his body. Another man was thrown against the wall with his throat slit, and the assassin charged at the next thug. Everyone caught sight of him, and opened fire all at the same time until smoke obscured their view.

The firing of weapons slowed down after a moment, then came to a stop. The Assassin was nowhere in site, and another thug lay dead on the floor. Eyes darted across the room, trying to find where he went. There were pillars, computer consoles, and scaffolding he could be hiding in.

"Did we get him?" One of the thugs asked. Ignoring him, the Assailant un-clipped a thermal detonator from his belt, and rolled it to the other side of the room, where the rows of consoles were. A second later, a knife embedded itself in one of the thug's chest, and the assassin flew out from behind the rows of consoles into the crowd. The deafening sound of blaster fire and screaming returned, as the group was shooting in every direction, trying desperately to hit something. Before the Assailant knew what was happening, he was face to face with the assassin, disarmed, and hurled against the wall. Whatever it was, it wasn't human.

Deciding to let the other men distract the assassin, Ty ran over to Rowan and grabbed his arm, brushing his bodyguards away in the process. Since it appeared Ty was only trying to protect their boss, the bodyguards did not stop Ty as he dragged Rowan out the room, but rather they attempted to cover his retreat from the skirmish. Ty pulled Rowan out of the room and locked the door behind him. Rowan's expression showed a mix of anger at being shoved around, mixed with gratitude at being removed from the battle.

"Get us to your ship." Ty growled in a partially disguised voice.

"It's in the hangar, follow me." Rowan responded, leading Ty, whom he did not recognize, down the station halls.

The Assailant pushed himself up, to see another thug get decapitated. He grabbed a blaster rifle off the ground, and stood up, just as one of the female aids got lucky and managed to grab the assassin by the arm. The Assailant charged at the assassin and the woman holding him, and watched as the assassin plunged his sword down her throat. Before the assassin had removed his blade, the Assailant had jumped onto his back, and wrapped his arms around his neck. The assassin dropped his sword and pulled out a small knife, which he used to impale the Assailant's thigh with. He twisted the knife, causing the Assailant to loosen his grip slightly, which was all he needed. The assassin threw the Assailant over his back, and onto the ground. He was about to kill him with his sword, when he was shot multiple times in the arm. It let out a hissing noise, just before leaping at a wall, and kicking off of it towards the thug that had shot him.

The Assailant rolled sideways, and saw one of the last two thugs getting torn apart by the creature. Thinking quickly, the Assailant raised his wrist blaster and shot the assassin several times in the back. The creature screamed, and started towards the Assailant, only to be kicked in the face by the last of Rowan's men. The assassin moaned, and started to get up, but the Assailant and the thug each grabbed an arm, and slammed the creature against the wall. The thug punched him the gut, hard, causing it to lurch forwards and spit out blood. The assassin stopped struggling, and lowered its head, as if ashamed for being defeated.

The Assailant finally got a good look at the assassin. It had black skin, and wore a tattered robe, with nothing more than rags beneath it. Most of his face was covered by a mask made from a skull of a creature the Assailant did not recognize, and the mask looked as if it was fused to the assassin's face somehow. The part of his face that was exposed, his jaw and mouth, had dark tattoos upon closer examination.

Rowan's thug pulled out a knife, and raised it, but the Assailant grabbed his arm.

"No! I need him alive."

"Alive?! You saw what he did to us, you saw what he did to them! He's too dangerous to be kept alive!" The thug said, gesturing towards the room of bodies with the arm that wasn't holding the assassin.

"And you'd be dead if it weren't for me, now put the knife down. I need to ask him some questions."

The thug just stood there for a moment, then grudgingly lowered his knife, but kept it in his hand. The Assailant turned back to the assassin, whose eyes were shut and head was still lowered.

"Who sent you."

The creature did not move or respond.

"Who sent you." The Assailant asked again, this time a little louder. Again, he got no response.

"Hey," The Assailant said angrily grabbing the assassin's head and lifting it to face him. "I asked you a ques-" The creature's eyelids suddenly snapped open, and his yellow eyes connected with his captor's. The Assailant suddenly heard the highest pitched sound he'd ever heard, followed by an incredible stabbing pain inside his brain. He was now seeing the inside of the Terran's Ship, the Excalibur. It was completely silent, besides the hum of the ship itself. Bodies lay throughout the corridors, and bloodstains splattered the walls. Around the corner, he saw a silhouette of a woman, walking down the corridor, her back to him. She vanished around the corner a moment later. Looking down to the floor, he could see someone who looked like...No. It wasn't possible. It couldn't be possible...The Assailant heard an unnatural screaming noise as he was pulled back into reality. His eyes opened to see Rowan's thug, repeatedly stabbing the assassin in the gut.

"NO!" The Assailant yelled as he staggered back to his feet, and threw the thug backwards, away from the assassin. The assassin, who still had the knife embedded in his body, was coughing and gasping for air. The Assailant grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him.

"What did I just see?" He asked urgently. He shook him again. "WHAT DID I JUST SEE!" The assassin just rolled his head up to face the Assailant, and laughed a raspy laugh between coughs.

"What have you done?!" The Assailant asked desperately. "Did she escape? What happened at Yavin?"

The assassin just shook his head, and tried to laugh again. "Poor human..." He said in an unearthly, echoing voice. He slowly raised a finger, as he spoke. "Why don't you try using your..." He touched his finger to the side of his own head, and smiled sadistically. "Head." He laughed again, before going silent, and collapsing against the wall. The Assailant sat there for a moment, trying to make sense of it, before slowly turning and slumping against the wall, next to the dead creature. The thug hadn't moved after the Assailant threw him to the ground, and the two men just sat without saying a word, the only noise being their heavy breathing. The Assailant finally broke the silence.

"Where's your boss?"

Rowan and Ty had reached the hangar where Rowan's ship, a YT-3000 Luxury Yacht, was docked. Ty glanced down the hallway behind him, to make sure nobody was following, before he and Rowan proceeded onto the vessel.

"I see you don't have much loyalty to your comrade." Rowan remarked as they started up the boarding ramp.

Ty remained silent, his thoughts centered on what he was about to do next. The ships pilots greeted their boss when he arrived, but when they asked about where the others were, Rowan ordered them to shut up and take off. Ty watched closely as the pilots had entered the cockpit.

"You could have a place in my organization bud." Rowan remarked, seating himself at a sofa and pulling out a cigar, "I suppose I owe you as much for getting me out of there."

Ty only smirked under his helmet as he looked back at the Chiss crime-lord.

"Oh no..." The Assailant said as he stood up, and nearly feel right back down as pain shot through his leg. He grabbed his thigh, where he had been stabbed. He had forgotten about the wound, and it was bleeding profusely. The Assailant leaned against the wall and began quickly wrapping the wound with cloth. "Where's the hanger?" He asked the thug between clenched teeth.

The thug stood up and pointed down the hall. "That way."

The Assailant winced from the pain as he picked up a rifle, and began limping down the hall as fast as he could, with Rowan's man right behind him.

As the boarding ramp began to recess into the ship, Ty took a seat opposite Rowan, who was still waiting for an answer. Remaining silent, Ty removed his helmet and revealed his identity, just as the door closed and the ship's engines began to fire up. Rowan's face turned pale, as he recognized the man who had tried to kill him days earlier.

"How did you fi..." Rowan stammered. "I... how co..."

Ty pulled out a knife and began examining it, but remained deathly silent, as Rowan pondered every possible way out of his situation. Ty could see the Chiss gangster's hand slowly make its way toward the blaster pistol holstered on his belt. But before Rowan could draw it, the blade Ty had been holding had been hurled into the crime-lord's hand, causing him to scream in agony. Anticipating the reaction of the pilots, Ty drew one of his pistols and pointed it at the door. As he expected, the co-pilot came out of the cockpit to see what was going on, only to have a blaster bolt strike him squarely between the eyes. The pilot followed moments later, with a blaster in hand, but suffered a similar fate. Ty turned back toward Rowan, to find him drawing his blaster with his good hand. Ty fired again, the shot striking the blaster and destroying it, leaving Rowan's hand charred and bleeding.

"Now it's just you and me." Ty chuckled sadistically.

The Assailant continued to hurry towards the hanger, when he remembered his comm link. He pulled it out of a pocket, and tried to contact Ty.

"Ty? Ty? Damnit Ty, pick up!"

"What's the matter?" The thug asked.

Ignoring the question, the Assailant switched channels to connect with the ship. "Aaron, get the ship to the hangar. Now." He switched the channel back to Ty's, in case he responded. The Assailant and the thug made it to the hanger, only to see Rowan's ship escaping. The Assailant's pleas never came through, as Ty had shut off his comlink long before.

"Why do you want to kill me?!?" Rowan screamed, as Ty got to his feet and began to move closer, "Whoever is paying you I'll double it!"

"I'm not getting paid to kill you." Ty responded, his voice steel cold.

"Then why!?" the Chiss gangster repeated.

"You remember two bounty hunters you captured and killed a month ago? A Chistori and a Zeltron?" Ty asked, his tone not changing.

Rowan instantly remembered the two bounty hunters who had been trying to collect a bounty on one of his top men before being captured. Rowan had made them both die in very undignified and painful ways, after having some 'fun' with them.

"I don't know who you're talking about!" Rowan lied, hoping to distance himself from the incident.

Ty punched Rowan in face, breaking his nose in the process.

"Of course you don't." Ty responded sarcastically.

The Shrieking Kilik landed in the hangar bay, and the Assailant turned to the thug.

"What's the radio channel to your boss's ship?"

"What?"

"The radio channel code!" The Assailant snapped. "What is it?"

"Uh, 684421." The thug replied as the two men made it into the ship.

"Aaron, open a channel to 684421, and follow that ship!"

"Alright." The pilot complied. "May I ask what's going-"

"No. Ty, are you there?" He is greeted only by static, as there is nobody in the cockpit to reply.

Rowan desperately tried to negotiate with Ty, but to no avail, as the mercenary continued to torture him. Soon, Rowan lay on the floor face-down gasping for air, many of his bones broken and his face bleeding. Deciding he had had enough, Ty picked up his shotgun and pointed it down at the gangster's head.

"This is for Maccus, Karei, and everyone else who fell victim to you and your slime." he muttered coldly.

Rowan let out a garbled scream just before a single blast silenced him. Ty then slung the shotgun over his shoulder and went to the cockpit, casually stepping over the dead pilots in the entryway. There, he took control of the ship, which had been on autopilot.

The Kilik pulled up next to Rowan's ship, and the Assailant looked out the side of the cockpit to see Ty at the controls. Not taking his eyes off of the mercenary, he slowly raised the comm device again.

"Ty?"

Ty paused for a moment, surprised slightly to hear the Assailant's voice over the radio. It was then that he noticed that his ship was now alongside Rowan's.

"You caught up faster than I thought you would, Assailant. Impressive." Ty remarked into the radio.

"Where's Rowan?" The Assailant asked with an unchanged tone of voice.

"In the back." Ty replied in an emotionless tone.

The Assailant had still not moved a muscle since he asked the question, and was now silent. The pilot, Aaron, shifted uncomfortably.

"Is he dead?" The Assailant asked bluntly, still in the slow, steady tone of voice he used before.

"Ya took too long Assailant." Ty responded, before suddenly throttling down the Yacht and allowing the Kilik to shoot past it.

Ty then maneuvered the Yacht into position as he began to set hyper coordinates.

"Tell Deek he'll get his pay on Nar Shaddaa." Ty added into the radio.

The Assailant lowered his head and fell silent for a moment, before looking back at Deek and raising the comm again. "I'm not going to Nar Shaddaa. I'm going to Yavin." He said, speaking to both Deek and Ty.

Ty paused a moment, his hand hovering over the control to send the Yacht into hyperspace.

"Why?" he asked.

The Assailant wondered how he was supposed to explain his reasons for a moment, before answering. "It's something the assassin said." The Assailant lied. "I'm looking for something...Something I think might be with the Terran Confederation."

Ty suddenly remembered the Terran Confederation, who had been involved in the massive battle months before. After thinking for a moment, Ty decided it may be worth while for him to check out the Terrans again, perhaps asking for a job along the way.

"Hold on... I'm coming to." he stated into the radio, "I'll pay Deek when we arrive at Yavin."

"I'll meet you there." The Assailant responded, with a slight edge to his voice. "Set a course to Yavin." He told the pilot quietly as he put the comm device away. Without another word, he turned and walked to his quarters, where he began to remove his armor. Rowan's death didn't even matter to him anymore, as he had something far more pressing on his mind. If the vision was true...Than all he had accomplished in the last decade would be for nothing. He couldn't let this happen. He would do anything in his power to stop it.

But what if it has already happened?

No. Pushing those thoughts out of his head, he turned his thoughts to his leg wound, which he placed a bacta pad on. He sat down on his bunk, hoping to get some rest before they arrived at Yavin. Suddenly he began to feel lightheaded, and dizzy. He stood back up, and nearly fell over. He staggered over to a mirror, and looked at his reflection, to see the right side of his head was caked in blood. He touched the side of his head, and found that the wound was actually a strange hole, as if something had burrowed into his head, rather than a battle wound.

What was that thing back there? He thought to himself, as he quickly applied bacta to the wound. He let himself fall back onto his bunk.

It doesn't even matter if we don't get to Yavin in time...