[Outside of Vuultran, Brentaal IV, Brentaal System, 0747 Hours]

Yuwe Ivlen took the pair of micro-binoculars her executive officer gave her and looked through them to the defenses of Vuultran, the capital city of Brentaal IV. It was still night on this part of the planet, but that wouldn't last long. Already she could see the faint glimmers of dawn approaching from the east. The time she had was limited; she had to go now before it got to be too late.

"Alright," she whispered to her exec, the black combat fatigues she wore making her almost invisible in the night. "It appears as though they've got most of the wall defended with ground troops, anti-infantry weapons, and some heavy guns for good measure. Intel was right, this isn't going to be a job that we can just walk up to and complete, it's going to take some finesse."

"I didn't know that finesse was a part of your operating procedure, General."

She glared at her exec for a moment, silencing any further comments that he had to make. "Stow it, Jav, we're not on a cake run. This is serious; if you can't put up, then shut up and get out of my unit." She turned back to the micro-binoculars and focused on the target zone. "That building, one point three klicks away. That's our target."

Jav took the binocs back and looked at where she was pointing. "It's not as heavily defended as we thought it would be, but it's still got some strong support from the ground troops. And it's close by to the other defenses, which could mean taking it and holding it would considerably difficult."

"If you have another suggestion, Colonel, you should have brought it up in our mission planning stages. We're ready to go now, and now is the only time that we have." She hefted herself up off the ground and turned to the other troops in black fatigues, each hoisting a combat pack and a rifle. They were some of the best the New Republic Army had to offer; her own Black Ops team, Red Talon.

She just looked at them and started giving a series of hand signals in their direction, conveying the plans she intended to act upon for the mission she had been assigned. When she finished she turned back around and sat in a crouching position, holding up her left hand while she held onto her rifle with her right. When she was as certain as she could be, Ivlen lowered her hand in a rush and moved forward at an incredible speed.

The rest of her troops, a number totaling roughly twenty in addition to her and Jav, followed behind her, spread out in a fashion so that if one was spotted it was likely the rest would not be discovered right away. It didn't take them long to move through the night and soon they were poised up against the durasteel wall, weapons at the ready. Ivlen took a deep breath, turned her head around the corner of the wall, and saw three Imperial Army soldiers standing guard at the only entrance into the planetary defense computer network, their target. She lined up the one in the middle while Jav and another soldier aimed at the other two, and four more covering the various points from which return-fire were likely to originate.

She squeezed the trigger lightly and a red light too fast to be seen by a passer-by flew out of the barrel and hit the Imperial soldier right in the thorax. The soldier instinctively reached for his throat while his two companions looked at him in shock for half a second before searching the night for where the shot came from.

Another shot went out and hit one of the other soldiers in the head, instantly killing him and knocking him onto his backside. The third soldier, now aware that he was in serious trouble, reached into his pocket and pulled out what looked like a communications device while he continued to peer into the darkness around him. Ivlen started to sneer, wondering what was keeping the third shot from coming.

Despite all her training, she turned to look and notice Jav still had not fired a show, his barrel looking completely clean. "Fire," she whispered to him, "fire before he signals!"

He just smiled, not taking his focus off the target before him. The remaining soldier had just turned their way, his eyes looking directly into Jav's barrel, and the communications device dropped to the ground as he swung his rifle around to be able to shoot as his would-be assassin. Just as the Imp finished bringing his weapon to bear, Jav pulled the trigger and the soldier fell backwards, a smoldering hole present where his left eye had been. Jav turned to look at Ivlen and gave a dark grin.

"Don't you ever do that again, Colonel. We don't need casualties, or alerted personnel. Do you understand?"

He simply nodded, the smile still on his face.

Ivlen heard the other soldier gasp a "dear Force" under his breath after the entire exchange took place. She couldn't help but agree, even though she didn't believe in such an entity. She took a few deep breaths and stared at the now-dead soldiers, making sure that no one had received a transmission alerting the facility to the presence of a potential threat. When a full minute passed and no alarms or heightened security alerts began she moved forward, the other six following her.

They reached the opening and she signaled the remaining troopers to move in so they could secure the position. Quietly they surrounded her position, each positioning themselves to cover but an external and internal assault.

She looked down at the soldier she had shot, his hands still grasping at his throat in an attempt to keep breathing. He wasn't going to last much longer, so she started about her business. "Computer, open door."

"Retinal identification required."

She pulled up the maimed and dying soldier by his uniform and pressed his face against the ID station. A white light began to move across his eyes and then the door popped open. Knowing that she was no longer in need of the Imp, she took out her vibro-blade and expertly ran it across what remained of his throat, severing the blood flow and putting him out of his misery. She cleaned the blade against his tunic before dropping him to the ground and put it back in her pouch.

"In teams of four," she whispered to her soldiers. "You, you, you, and you, go!"

Four soldiers started sweeping up into the corridor, their weapons clenched tightly to deal with any Imps that cross their path. When they were far enough ahead, Ivlen motioned for the next team of four to move in. Finally, she and three others hefted their rifles tightly as they prepared to sprint forward as well.

"Colonel, keep this position secure and make sure that we're not flanked. Use the micro-transmitter if you need to contact me, but try to keep all things short, I don't feel like being picked up by Imp communications."

"Understood, General, good luck, and may—"

"Don't you dare say it," she said. She and the others sprinted forward, leaving the other twelve soldiers at door.

[Planetary Defense Computer Center, Brentaal IV, Brentaal System, 0802 Hours]

Colonel Justen Travs stood at his command station inside the planetary defensive computer network's center. All of the automated facilities on the planet were each controlled by their own regional computer network center, but this facility was the one that linked them all together for a coordinated and cohesive force, able to repel even the largest of assaults. Thankfully, such a situation had never occurred, but because of his service record and abilities, Travs had been placed in operational command of this center to ensure that if one occurred it would be met with all deliberate force.

However, given who his commanding officer was, the prospect of being able to effectively and efficiently defending the center was incalculable.

It was no secret that Admiral Isoto was a military idiot, and that his posting as commander of Brentaal Operations had left many to wonder just what the state of the Empire truly was. Known to the Rebels as Isoto the Indecisive, the middle-aged admiral had no real tactical strategy other than to protect himself, much like many other corrupt flag officers in the Imperial military. Travs often wondered just why he had joined the Imperial Army, and he often wondered what the price would be if he were to defect to the Rebels.

However, due to the current situation in which the Rebels were attacking Brentaal IV's defenses, Travs pushed the thought aside. To many others under his command, defense of the system was just another assignment, but to him it was a personal pledge, an oath he had made to himself to not let the world be ravaged by war. His world.

"Colonel."

Travs turned to his left and focused on the young operations technician, being no older than twenty and fresh out of training. "Yes, Corporal?"

"I just queried the emergency exit in the south wing, but I am not getting a response. I've tried to access the data-feed from a nearby surveillance camera, but all I get is a blank picture. However, records show that one of the guards, Sergeant Hasok, used his clearance to gain entry into the facility ten standard minutes ago."

Travs sighed a little and moved over to the station, leaning over the young man. "Corporal, when there is no response to a standard query, as well as a blind surveillance camera, that usually means there has been an intrusion into the facility."

As he finished the last words he heard the doors to the command station open behind him and a flurry of footsteps rush in. Without turning around he put his hands on his head and closed his eyes, already knowing that the battle for the planet was out of his hands. "Corporal, if we live through this, I'm going to recommend you be put through rudimentary training, because you just ended up getting us captured."

"Don't be too hard on the young man, Justen, he didn't know that the Empire didn't complete his training."

The familiar voice caused Travs to swing around abruptly, his eyes widening with surprise as he focused on the lean and small woman in front of a group of at least ten soldiers in black fatigues. Though a pair of magnification goggles covered her eyes, he noticed the familiar features of her jaw line and the small, almost contemptuous smile that was on her lips. "Yuwe?"

"That's Brigadier General Ivlen to you."

Travs couldn't be sure due to the goggles, but he was almost certain that he could sense her glare at him. "I see that you've done well for yourself, General. Apparently the Rebels are treating you better than when you were part of the Empire."

"The Rebels never tried to kill me, Justen. Unlike the Empire, they don't execute officers for making mistakes. Which leaves me to wonder, why are you still alive, being as how you are still an incompetent officer. I mean, leaving only three guards on station around an emergency exit? That's just stupidity."

"Was I supposed to just leave it completely unguarded?"

"It wouldn't have made a difference for my team if you had."

Travs frowned and cursed himself for getting into the old pattern that he had established with Ivlen long ago. It had been a while since they had last seen one another, and while they were now on opposite sides of the war, they still should have been able to treat one another with civility and appreciation. However, his pride had gotten the better of him and he had acted like a fool.

He took up a very non-threatening stance, his hands still behind his head in surrender. "So, what will you do with me? Put me on trail? A public execution?"

"You've been serving the Empire a little too long, Justen. No, we'll give you every opportunity to prove yourself a useful person. If we discover you have nothing we need, we'll transfer you to a P.O.W. facility where you'll remain until the war is over."

Travs burst out laughing, he couldn't help it. The very idea that the war would be over was ludicrous; it would continue, for years to come, each side paying the cost in blood and materials. No war that pitted half of the galaxy against the other half would ever end within a five-year span. "End?! You have gone mad! There's no end to this, Ivlen, there will never be an end to this, it will continue for years to come. If by chance one side would finally win, that side would still have to deal with a guerrilla war fought by the remnants of the losing side. It will never end!"

The sound of a safety-switch being turned off interrupted his rambling. He focused on the blaster rifle staring him in the face and felt a lump in his throat as he tried to swallow.

"Shut up, Justen, before I shut you up."

He looked at her and sighed in reservation, consigning to the fact that he will, no matter what, end up a prisoner in one fashion or another. "Why did you have to be the one leading this operation, Ivlen? You must have known that I was the officer in charge of this center."

"Indeed, I did know. Our Intel is very good at finding out details such as that."

"Then why?"

She gave him a cold smile, the kind he was used to seeing from her long ago, the kind that her troops had received when they had done something to displease her and she was already thinking of a way to have her revenge upon them. "Because I wanted to see my husband again, Justen. Now shut up."

[Main Bridge, Independence, Brentaal System, 0814 Hours]

Admiral Ackbar, Commander-in-Chief of the New Republic Armed Forces, watched the battle for the Brentaal system continue on his tactical screens and suppressed a small smile on his face. Despite the presence of the 181st Fighter Group, his bombers were making great strides at picking away the defenses around Vuultran and the small contingent of Imperial starships in the system.

The ground troops, on the other hand, were having a more difficult time of it. It appeared that while the Naval aspects of the Imperial garrison were not very formidable, the Army was more then able to deal with the invasion forces that had been landing outside of the major cities. A few Special Ops units had been deployed in hopes of weakening the defenses, but so far only two had been able to even get near their intended targets.

"Admiral, we've just received an encoded burst transmission from Red Talon, they've disabled the defense computer center and taken prisoners."

"Excellent," replied the Mon Calamari, his deep voice reverberating through the bridge. "Pass it along to Colonel Slam's wing, and have them continue on with their primary mission."

"Aye-aye, sir."

He turned back to the tactical displays and noticed a large number of small blue dots converging on the boundaries of the capital city of Vuultran. Soon they would be using their ion cannons to disable what remained of the computerized defenses, allowing the ground troops to move in and secure vital structures without much resistance.

This time he did smile to himself, his eyes blinking. The battle was nearly over, and soon Isoto will be in their custody. While the man was an idiot, he still had vital information about the Empire, and information gained was always a goal to be sought after.

[P.O.W. Camp Four, Brentaal IV, Brentaal System, 1707 Hours]

Travs stared at the wall in the small compound. He had been here for several hours, having been moved to this place immediately after the Rebels had finished setting up the facility. It looked relatively unimpressive and uniformly depressing, much unlike the cells that the Empire used for their prisoners. Those cells usually had built-in electrical fields so that an interrogator could shock his subject with the press of a button; such was the way of the Empire.

He should have been angry with the Rebels, and especially Ivlen, for capturing him and attacking his world, but he wasn't. As he was brought to the holding facility he had noticed that the Rebels had left the city largely intact, and that their assault against the Imperial garrison had been strictly a military operation in which very little civilian lives were lost. He had heard rumors about the Rebels being compassionate, but he had often dismissed them, going back to the stereotype that the Rebels were nothing more than barbarous felons who wanted nothing more than to inflict harm on the worlds of the galaxy.

Travs was utterly shocked to discover that he was wrong. In fact, the care in which he had been given far exceeded what he expected, and when compared to that of the Imperials, it was vastly superior.

"Why?" he kept asking himself. Why did I defend the Empire?

Almost as if there was an answer to his question, Ivlen appeared in front of his cell, three guards standing behind her.

"Come to see your former husband interrogated? Or do you plan to be the one doing the interrogation?"

"Stow it, Justen. I'm better than this treatment you're giving me. So tell me what I want to know and I'll do my best to go easy on you."

He sighed inwardly and closed his eyes, rubbing them with his hands. When he opened them again he saw that she had not moved the slightest, she was still the same. "I'll defect."

That had apparently been a shock to her. He noticed she took a step backwards, blinking hard as she focused on him. He grinned at her, not the grin of a predator, but the warm and gentle grin he used to bestow upon her when they were still in love.

"No mind games, Justen, please."

"No mind games." He looked at her intently, his eyes focusing on hers. "I'm tired of living lies, I'm tired of having to fear for my life in battle and in reports given to my superiors. I no longer want to be a part of a system that consigns itself to brutality and harshness when a more suitable fashion could make things better." His voice wavered a little as the emotions he was opening up flooded into him. "You and I joined the Empire to change it from the inside, feeling that we could make a difference. Neither of us could do that, and look at where we're at now. I'm a prisoner because I gave in to the corruption of the Empire, and you're a Rebel leader because you discovered it more efficient to take arms against the government than it was to change it from the inside, seeing as how that was an impossible task."

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Run me through whatever loyalty tests you wish to have, bring in a Gotal if you feel the need to, Sith, bring in that Jedi of yours and have him try and read my mind. I'm telling the truth. And more so than that, I can offer the New Republic access to a weapons research development facility. Surely that must be worth the price of accepting me into your fold."

Ivlen stood there in silence. Without a word she turned and walked away from the cell, the guards following her. Travs knew she would take this to her superiors and then, Force willing, he would become a Rebel.

[Ackbar's Personal Quarters, Independence, Brentaal System, 0906 Hours]

"Your task force did a good job at containing the Imperial fleet, Admiral Ull. For a brief period of time, I was afraid that the events I had witnessed at Endor were an anomaly, a singular aspect in a commander who otherwise did not have such drive and capabilities. I am pleased to see that bringing you in on this battle was a good decision."

Corben Ull sat in front of Ackbar's desk, his posture that of professionalism. The battle had been over for a few days now, and the New Republic forces were securing and fortifying their hold on Brentaal IV in case the Empire were to respond with a counteroffensive. The prospect had been suggested by Intelligence, but because of the internal difficulties that had arisen for the cabal of leaders running the Empire, it was a small prospect.

Corbin's task force had been assigned as orbital defense duties, making sure that if any Imperial starships and star fighters remained to threaten the suppression movement would be dealt with accordingly. Thus far there had been none, and for that Ull was thankful; it allowed his people to take a relatively small pause in the war, to not be at a constant battle-readiness.

After he had received his orders, Admiral Ackbar had called him over to the Independence to discuss something of importance, but Corben had no idea as to why the superior officer would bring up the action of Endor. While the admiral might praise him for his duties at that battle, Corben knew that the real praise should belong to Generals Solo and Calrissian and Captain Antilles, who took down the defense shield and destroyed the battle station. His involvement was mostly engaging the overwhelming Imperial fleet and inflicting as much damage as he could.

"Rear Admiral Corben Ull," said Ackbar in a most formal fashion. "By discretion empowered me as Commander-in-Chief, and with the consent of the High Command, I hereby promote you to the rank of Vice Admiral and bestow upon you command of the New Republic's Third Fleet."

Corben just sat there for a moment and glared at the Mon Calamari officer, almost as if he were in shock. He shook his head slightly and cleared his throat. "I'm sorry, sir, what did you say?"

Ackbar gave an almost Human-like smile at the man. "You've been promoted, Corben, and you now have a fleet at your command, a fully functional fleet."

"Sir," said Corben, shifting uneasily in his seat, "we don't have a Third Fleet."

"We do now." He hit a button on his desk and a holographic display appeared in the air. "Thanks to the new resources we've achieved from Brentaal, as well as captured and newly completed starships, the size of the fleet has increased dramatically to be broken into at least three operating fleets. There are, of course, some other ships and minor task forces that operate independently of a fleet command, the so-called patrol and autonomous vessels." He pointed to the holographic representation and focused on several ships. "Most of the fleet will be ships that are part of the main force, though there will be a couple of new starships assigned. Your task force will be fully integrated into the fleet, so you won't have to worry about taking the time to establish a rapport with new officers. The Maria will continue to be your flagship. You'll also be given some additional personnel, such as a CAG officer and an Intelligence liaison."

"Just what I need," he commented, not bothering to keep his disdain for Intel personnel out of his voice.

"I'll have none of that, Admiral. Intelligence is a vital part of our fight for the galaxy."

"Understood, sir."

Ackbar clicked off the holographic display and settled back in his chair. "Your first assignment will be providing tactical and strategic support for an insertion operation being undertaken by Red Talon."

"So General Ivlen is still under my command?"

"For the time being, yes." He cleared his throat again and brought up another holographic display of the planet Fondor. "This is the supposed location of a top-secret weapons plant providing advanced weapons for the special operations units of the Empire. It is our hope to do one of two things: either raid it and obtain a specific weapon for our own engineers and designers to examine, or destroy the main lab and all the weapons in it to impede the actions of the Empire."

Corben took a look at the display, studying it intently while he sat in the chair. "Sir, from the looks of things, this is a highly guarded facility with anti-armor, anti-air, and anti-infantry gun platforms. It's in the middle of a highly populated city, surrounded by factory and industrial buildings. And, it's near an Imperial garrison that could respond within three minutes. It would take a full division of armed ground troops to infiltrate, occupy, and subsequently destroy the weapons plant. Not to mention that Fondor is an extremely large port-of-call for Imperial starships; the place will be populated with at least three cruiser-class ships."

"Admiral, need I remind you that you now have a fleet of ships at your disposal?"

Corben fought the urge to look stricken. He had, indeed, forgotten that he now had an overwhelming force at his command, from starships to starfighters to troops. "Er, yes, sir, I apologize." He studied the holographic display again and this time, remembering what he had to work with, devised a rough plan of operational procedure in his head. It could work, he told himself. It would require that he depend heavily on resources such as Intelligence, but he was confident he could do it. "How long do I have before we're to strike?"

"One month's training. The Empire doesn't know we have the location of this facility, but that could change if we take too much time. Because we don't want to alert the Empire to a possible operation, your fleet will not be assembled until the last possible moment before the operation. Each ship will remain where they currently are stationed, couriers bringing messages back and forth to cut down on possible leaks."

"Is there anything else I should know?"

"Most of your orders have been uploaded to your cabin aboard the Maria. There is, however, one slight issue that you should be made aware of. Red Talon will be having an observer along with their mission, a former Imperial officer who is responsible for providing most of the intelligence that helped us confirm the location and specifications of the weapons plant."

"An Imperial, sir? Can we be sure that this officer is giving us adequate information?"

"General Ivlen has personally vouched for him. They happen to have a past association that allows her to be able to tell if he's telling the truth or not. So far the High Command is satisfied that he is telling us the truth. However, being as how you will be operational commander, you do have the authority to act should the circumstances show that he is being less than truthful."

Corben nodded, knowing that it would be pointless to argue. "Understood, sir." He stood up and snapped off a salute. "And thank you for the promotion, sir, I won't let you down."

[Ivlen's Personal Quarters, Maria, Brentaal System, 1327 Hours]

"Do you trust him?"

Ivlen looked at the woman sitting across from her desk, her long golden hair reaching down past her shoulders and to her abdomen. The features of her face were smooth and almost hypnotic, giving the impression that the woman could have been a fabled sorcerer or a Jedi of long ago, at a time when beautiful women had been considered to be the cause of great sorrow and conflict in the galaxy. Ivlen had to admit, Gweanith Houselin did, indeed, look like she could have been an actress.

Instead, she was the Maria's Chief Medical Officer and long-time friend of Ivlen.

She hooked her had slightly then stopped and ran a hand through her hair. "To be honest, I don't know anymore. I've known the man for most of my life, Sith, we both joined the Academy and got married. But after the attempted ‘punishment' against me, things fell apart drastically."

"Let me ask another question," said Houselin as she took a sip of the caf in her mug. "Do you still love him?"

Ivlen was taken aback by the question. Houselin had always been very blunt with her discussions, feeling that it was best to get past all the Hutt-drool and get to the heart of the matter. She said it was what made the difference in the time it took to establish a prognosis for a patient, particularly when that prognosis was of an imminent fashion and need.

"Yes," she whispered softly, closing her eyes as she sat back in her chair. "Despite everything that I've seen about the Empire, and despite the fact that he stayed with them instead of coming with me when I fled the service, I still do love him." She stared up at her friend for a moment, compiling her thoughts. "It's not as if love just disappears, Doctor. It's an emotion that stays with you for a very long time, if not forever. There's no simple way to expel that emotion, no matter what the cost might be."

"You're aware of the situation in which this puts you, yes?"

"I may be emotionally detached, Gwean, but even I know that this presents a very large problem for me." She sighed and rested her head in her hands, leaning forward. "I don't know what I should do," she said, her voice muffled.

"Well, why not spend some time getting to know him again? You haven't seen him in years, and while you were both on different sides of the war, that personal battle seems to be over with now." She gave a small smile to Ivlen. "If people like Darth Vader can change at the last minute, so can an Imperial colonel. He might be worth a chance."

Ivlen just sat there, her hands still holding her head. She wasn't sure what she should do, and she knew that whatever happened she was going to end up regretting some aspect of it.

She reached out with her right hand and hit the communications button on her desk. A moment later the brisk and all-business voice of a young woman came back.

"Security."

"Present location of Colonel Justen Travs, please."

"He's in his quarters."

"Thank you. Please inform the security detail assigned to him that General Ivlen will be visiting momentarily."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Ivlen out." She hit the button again and the communications system turned off. "Well," she said to Houselin, "it looks as though I'm about to find out if I am, indeed, able to trust Justen."

[Jak Uav's Personal Quarters, Maria, Brentaal System, 1603 Hours]

Lieutenant Colonel Jak Uav sat at his small desk and looked over the datapad that was in his hands. Normally he left such mundane and busy work to his XO, but three days ago, during the battle of Brentaal IV, he had lost his XO to a dogfight with the 181st. He would always look upon it as a disaster on his part, having not taught Alix what he needed to know in order to survive, as well as not teaching the foolish pilot when not to engage in a dogfight.

The real thing that bothered him, however, was that when he lost his XO it was as if a glimpse of his own future had been seen. The life expectancy of a pilot was very low, even lower while being a combat pilot in a galactic war, and Jak knew that at some point his number was going to come up.

He shook his head slightly, pushing the idea from his mind. It did no good to spend his time wondering about what could be when there were more pressing matters to undertake. He had just been promoted, a "well-deserved promotion" Starfighter Command had said, but he had been around long enough to know that when they promote you they also expect you to see action soon.

He had not been told anything conclusive, but from the rumors he had heard they were going to be hitting a very large target. Normally that would mean that Jak would be at the forefront, in his X-wing, but when they promoted him, they also changed the classification of his unit to an Interception & Suppression squadron. Normally this wouldn't be such a bad thing, but Command had also did one other thing that changed his view on their intelligence dramatically; they gave him A-wings.

Many pilots had a fondness for the A-wing; indeed, Jak had flown some of his first missions with Alliance in an A-wing, but after moving onward to an X-wing unit, he had found that he preferred the well-balanced ship rather than an interceptor that had no astronavigation unit and limited shields and weapons. When he took command of Bantha Squadron he made sure to keep it as an X-wing unit, stating to both his subordinates and his superiors that the Incom X-wing was the backbone of the New Republic starfighter armada and could do anything from reconnaissance to interdiction to heavy assault.

However, Command had seen fit to ignore his suggestions this time around, and now he was stuck with ten A-wing interceptors, and with only eight pilots to fill them.

A knock on his door brought his attention away from his thoughts and he looked at the entrance to his quarters. "Enter," he said, informing the computer to allow the visitor access.

In walked a Bothan woman, her entire body covered with black fur except for the area around her eyes, which were white. She, like him, was dressed in a variety of civilian clothes since it was their off-duty hours, though her native attire was more colorful than what Jak was wearing. In fact, almost everyone had a more colorful ensemble than he.

She remained quiet the entire time she walked into his quarters, her demeanor and attitude professional to the extreme. He took a brief look at her and then returned to his datapad. "Yes, Major?"

"Colonel, permission to speak freely."

He frowned inwardly and looked up at her. Janea Yak`ney preferred to be considered nothing but a military officer and asked that everyone treat her as such. She had followed that ideal to the extremist capacity she could; she didn't sit and eat with people, she spent all of her free time reading technical manuals and combat tactic reviews, and she flew as many simulated battles as she could in the sims. While such attitudes made for an efficient pilot in combat, it made for a poor companion off-duty.

"Granted, Major, though you don't have to ask every time."

"Of course, sir," she said in a very formal fashion. "Sir, while the A-wing is a respectable interceptor, for the past few months I, as well as everyone else in this squadron, has been piloting an X-wing starfighter. The change-over is not exactly an easy one, and I ask why we are no longer piloting a multi-purpose fighter craft."

"Command has seen fit to reclassify us, Major. As to the reason why, well, that is beyond my understanding and as such I have neither the ability nor the desire to find out more about it." He made a small gesture to one of the ejection seats in front of his desk. "Please, have a seat."

With an obvious degree of self-control, the Bothan woman sat down, her posture still registering nothing but professionalism.

"Major, I think you should take some time off for a few days, get some rec time in." Jak watched her for any sign of protest or outrageous contempt for his suggestions. "Maybe there's a way you can go see your brother, I believe he's a deck hand on some frigate."

"Sir, with all due respect, we're in the middle of a war."

He shook his head and placed his right hand over his chin. "Janea, this war has been going on for years, and it most likely will continue to go on for years. One should not pass up the opportunity to take some leave and visit what little family they have left in this universe."

"Are you giving me an order, sir?"

Jak looked at her for a long a moment and he felt sorely tempted to do just that, but he knew that if he had to order her to do something of that nature, he would lose the respect she had for him. Besides, it's not the right thing to do. "No, I'm not giving you an order to visit your brother. But I do believe you would be better off if you spent some time with him."

"Sir, I'm not very close to Frask, and I would just be in the way. Besides, a ship of war is hardly a place for a vacation."

He gave a small grin. "Of that I can attest to. Okay, then at least ease up around here, Major. You're going to run yourself ragged, and I don't need an flight leader who'll burn herself out. Understood?"

"Aye, sir, understood."

"Good!" Jak placed both his hands on the desk loudly with much enthusiasm. "Well, then, if there's nothing else, I have a ton of paperwork to go over. I never thought that being in command of a starfighter squadron would weigh me down with bureaucratic necessities, but it appears that the New Republic wants a nice trail of reports and reviews as it makes it's transition into a governing body."

"Of course, sir." Yak`ney stood up and snapped off a sharp salute to which Jak returned loosely. She then gave a slight bow and left his quarters, the door sliding shut silently behind her.

He looked at the door for a few moments, remembering a time when he was annoyed with Yak`ney's manner, but now could not seem to believe that such a time could have really existed. It did, after all, make her who she was, just as what he did made him who he was. Or, he thought sarcastically, just as what the Emperor did made him who he was.

[Command Briefing Room, Maria, Brentaal System, 0907 Hours]

Corben looked around at the assembled officers and gave a brief sigh of nervousness as he settled into the chair at the head of the table. Most of the beings gathered he knew form personal experience while commanding his task force, but there were a few that were new to him, such as the Third Fleet's CAG and the NRI liaison. There were no doubt more commanders and staff officers that he had yet met due to the fleet still being dispersed among their respective positions, but because of the sensitivity that the upcoming operation required, some had to be ferried out to the Maria for a face-to-face with the fleet commander.

"Now then," he said as he settled into his seat, resting his hands on the table. "We've all had a while to review the operation specifics and the plan that we've formulated for it; I'd like to now hear if there are any improvements or recommendations that any of your commands have for me." He turned his attention to Commodore Olash, the commander of the initial force that would be hitting the outskirts of Fondar for the operation. "Jack?"

"Well, sir," answered the short man with dark complexion, "considering the relatively small force at my disposal, I feel that a frontal attack as outlined in the operational procedures is a bit too risky. We're not rookies, that's for sure, but even hitting the outskirts of a system that's as heavily defended as Fondar is asking a bit too much for a six-ship flotilla. Especially when the largest ship at my disposal is a light cruiser." Olash leaned back in his seat and looked as if he was about ready to put his feet up on the table. "Can you give me at least another ship, one that I hope is outfitted with fighters?"

"I'll have to look and see if I can shift anything around, Jack, but I'll be sure to get back to you on that." He then turned to his Commander, Aerospace Group and frowned slightly; not because he had anything against her, just that he knew she had recommendations that she wished to voice. Recommendations she's been hammering into me for the past three weeks. "General Uve`lon, if you please?"

Brigadier General Kaflen Uve`lon's white fur bristled as she leaned forward in her chair. "Sir, after reviewing the situation, I don't believe that there is enough fighter units to effectively take on the defenses of the system with an acceptable loss-to-gain ratio. While we have enough ships to account for the amount of units for such an operation, we only have three-fourths of the pilots needed. Recent operations have cut our pilot corps down all across the board, and I cannot in good faith recommend that we enter battle in such a handicapped state."

"General, while you, or I for that matter, might consider this mission to be near to impossible, I would like to point out that we have at our disposal the best pilots that the New Republic has to offer. Are you telling me that you have no faith in your wing and squadron commanders?"

"No, sir, not at all. I have the utmost faith in my commanders, and they in turn have faith in their pilots." She placed the palm of her right hand on the table hard enough to cause the water decanter in the center to shake slightly. "However! Sometimes quality does not outdo quantity. Sir, we're talking about one of the most heavily defended systems that the Empire has in existence. It is not only improbable to win in a situation like this, it is down right impossible."

"Least I remind you, General, that we are not trying to invade Fondar, or even win a victory in space; we're to provide a distraction large enough to take attention away from a covert mission of vital importance and the highest level of secrecy we can manage. Ours is not to defeat the Empire this day in space, but to ensure that we defeat them on the ground."

"Understood, sir," replied the Bothan woman with a glare. "However, I still reserve the right to recommend that we have as many pilots as possible for this operation. Is there any way we can ‘barrow' a couple of wings from First Fleet? Surely they don't need the entire pilot corps to watch over Brentaal IV."

"I will make inquiries to High Command, but I cannot guarantee any such reinforcement. Despite our recent acquisitions, we are still stretched mighty thin in areas." He gave a sigh and leaned back in his chair, folding his arms over his the breast of his uniform tunic. "But, I'll do what I can." Corben sat up straight again as he turned his attention to Colonel Cawalske, commanding officer of the Fifty-Third Marine Expeditionary Unit. "Raf, it's good to see you again. How are things shaping up in the Corps?"

"About the same, sir. Though I can tell you that a lot of my people are not too keen on the idea of letting this operation be the responsibility of a bunch of ground pounders; this is a job for the Corps!"

Despite the seriousness of the operation, Corben couldn't help but smile at the marine. "And I'm sure if some Corps special ops unit was given the mission than the Army would say the same thing about you jarheads. However, given that you're here at all shows that you have a part to play. So do you have any recommendations about your objectives?"

"Negative, sir. We know the drill, and we'll move in quick to take our primary. Secondary will take a bit longer given the scope that we'll be dealing with, but I feel confident that we can get it done. Just make sure, ma'am," he said as he turned to Uve`lon, "that my people will have their rears covered as they head towards their DZ."

"I don't think I much care for your tone, Colonel," responded the Bothan.

"I don't rightly—"

"Enough," cut in Corben sharply, hoping to squash the problem before it got too far out of control. "We're here to work together; don't let anyone forget that. And I will not stand for petty departmental and branch fights between us; understood?" The others at the table nodded slowly. "Good. Now then, Raf, are there any other points you wish to discuss?"

"Negative, sir, we're five-by-five all across the board."

"Good. Admiral Joon?"

Rear Admiral Ulic Joon cleared his throat and fidgeted with the color of his uniform. "We're good to go, sir, the task force has been kept on it's toes thanks to the current assignment of watching the orbital defenses. We won't have a problem when our time comes."

"Excellent." He turned to the last remaining fleet officer in the room and cleared his throat. "Admiral Maxe, I assume you're equally ready to go?"

"Yes, sir," came the response of the woman in the naval uniform. Everyone's checked out and we're ready to make our move."

"Excellent!" He looked around at the officers and gave a smile. "Then, I don't see any reason for us to delay any longer. Ladies, gentlemen, be sure to inform your commands that we launch operations in exactly week. Assemble your personnel and prepare to move out when called upon. Dismissed."

[Main Bridge, Maria, Deep Space, 1327 Hours]

Corben Ull looked out of the forward viewport on the bridge, eyeing the various silhouettes of the combined forces of the New Republic Third Fleet and felt a surge of pride go through him. Never had he imagined that he would be in charge of such a force, and even after Admiral Ackbar had informed him, and all throughout the planning stages of this operation, he never once thought it was actually real. He had spent a lifetime commanding smaller forces, nothing bigger than the Maria Task Force, and while that wasn't something to look down upon, it still wasn't as expansive as a fully formed fleet.

He walked back towards the center of the bridge and gave a nod towards the communications officer, a young Devorian male who looked to be the equivalent of his early twenties. "Fleet-wide if you would, Lieutenant."

A moment later, the Devorian nodded in his direction. "Hot mike, sir."

Corben cleared his throat and then took a deep breath. "Attention all personnel, this is Vice Admiral Ull. By now, all of you have been informed of the operation that we're about to undertake. I know that for many of you, this will be your first coordinated operation since Endor, and for many others, it will be your first operation under a flag officer. Now, I'd like to remind you that despite the importance of this mission, and the desired outcome that we have planned, none of that is above the sanctity of life and liberty that we strive to bring about in the galaxy.

"Many of you don't know me, so you don't know what to expect of me, so let me make this as succinct as possible to curtail any future misgivings. I am a fair man, who would not ask anyone to go into battle if I were not there myself. I do not consider myself to be above the regulations or rules regarding the Armed Forces, but do not believe in blind obedience to them, either. And I have an open door policy in regards to anything you wish to discuss concerning the betterment of the fleet, so you can come to me with a problem you're having with your tactical officer, or some misgivings you might have about your flight leader, but keep in mind that I will not arbitrarily dismiss or transfer someone based on the word of another.

"Finally, I wish to address all of you who have been veterans of this war far longer than you would have wanted. Five years ago, the Alliance to Restore the Republic began their operations in a guerilla warfare fashion; today, we are the New Republic's Third Fleet, fully staffed and operational, a threat to the very well being of the Empire itself, and a force to be reckoned with. It is because of everyone who ever stood up against tyranny, shouted out against injustice, and fought back against governmental criminals in the guise of bureaucracy that the New Republic was born. And while this mission is not as glorified as the liberation of a planet or the destruction of a fleet, it is nonetheless important, for each victory against the Galactic Empire brings about a new era for peace and justice in the galaxy."

Corben took a deep breath and let it out slowly, seeing that all eyes on the bridge were focused on him. "In a few minutes, the first allocated forces will depart for their striking position, followed shortly by the second, and finally the third. I wish you all luck, and may the Force watch over you. Vice Admiral Ull, Third Fleet Command, signing off."

The communication pickup went dead and he turned towards the middle aged Human woman standing beside the tactical console. "Commander," he said after a moment, "you may begin the clock."

"Aye, sir, clock is running." She hit a button on her console and two separate countdowns began to start just below the main viewport. "Time is T-minus two hours to mission start, t-minus two minutes until Orion Flotilla enters hyperspace."

Corben watched the seconds tick by slowly until he felt he was going to burst from his standing position and try to physically force them to go faster. It didn't take long, however, for the seconds to finish their countdown, and soon he saw the ignition of several engines, and the starships they belonged to racing through space until they made the jump to lightspeed.

"Time is T-minus one hour, fifty seven minutes, thirty seconds to mission start, t-minus twenty minutes, thirty seconds until Lexington Task Force enters hyperspace," said the tactical officer.

Corben turned around to head back to the rear portion of the bridge and noticed General Uve'lon standing in the doorway of the rear hatch. "General," he said pleasantly as he came to stand beside her. "Nervous?"

"Quite the contrary, Admiral," she stated, her black fur standing up on end to augment the excitement in her voice. "The only time I've ever been this excited about a mission was the Battle of Endor."

"I would hardly equate this little operation with that of the turning point of the war, General. If that were the case, then your pilots have a lot to live up to."

"Oh, they'll get the job done, Admiral, you can count on that." She gave him a toothy grin and Corben felt himself cringe despite his conditioning. "They'll hit their marks, or else they'll answer to me, and I don't think anyone would ever want to do that."

"Yes," he murmured to himself, "I can believe that." So, he thought to himself as he watched the mission clock tick away, this is what it's like to be in command of a force large enough to require a planet for shore leave. I'll have to talk to Admiral Ackbar about the prospect of retirement.

Several more minutes flashed by and then the bright telltale ignition of engines caught his eye as the small flotilla of starships entered hyperspace, leaving his group to depart the staging area.

"T-minus one hour, thirty seven minutes to mission start, t-minus two minutes until main force enters hyperspace," commented the tactical officer.

Corben nodded and walked back up to the command chair of the bridge, hovering over as the Maria's captain sat in it. Technically, the Maria was only his flagship, and he had no command authority over the internal operations of the starship, but everyone knew that if a flag officer really wanted to take direct control of their flagship, no one would stop them. However, Corben long ago realized that it made a whole lot more sense to keep the Fleet Commander and the Ship Commander separate for reasons of logistics and sanity, and while Captain Haswue had been almost to the point of insistent about Corben taking command, the flag officer declined ever to do so unless it was an absolute emergency situation.

"Signal departure stations," came the gruff voice of Haswue. "And coordinate with all other ships for simultaneous departure and arrival."

"Aye-aye, sir," responded the Devorian lieutenant.

Corben watched the viewport and found himself smiling as the seconds ticked by, and then, with a wide eyed grin as the seconds hit zero on one of the countdowns, the stars bled together until a white wall shone back through the ‘port.

"We're committed now, sir," commented Haswue.

"That we are, Captain. And let's hope that what we're committing isn't suicide."

[Main Bridge, Injustice, Fondar System, 1533 Hours]

Lieutenant Commander Ulic Evverit walked along the command walkway of the bridge in silence, peering down into the crew pits every so often to check on the progress of the third watch crewmen and officers so as to make sure they didn't let the fact that they were on the graveyard shift diminish their efficiency. While he was the executive officer of a Victory-class Star Destroyer Mark II, he was still obligated to put in his time as officer-on-watch, and he usually picked the third watch to meet those requirements; things had a tendency to be somewhat quieter than that of the other watches.

He was about to turn around and return to the security foyer at the rear of the bridge when his attention passed over the helmsman on duty. He peered around the man and gave a slight smile as he recognized what he was doing; taking in a small sigh, he walked over to the station and cleared his throat. "Helmsman Delgato, I don't believe that your duties include plotting courses in the navigation console while we're in a station-keeping orbit. Care to enlighten me?"

The younger man shifted slightly and half-turned, giving Ulic a roguish smile that one would expect more out of a pirate than an Imperial crewman. "Begging your pardon, sir, but I was just taking the opportunity to practice my astronavigation skills. I don't get a chance to really utilize them during third watch, and since nothing really happens this time of the day, I thought it would be a good time to practice. Sorry, sir, I'll change it back."

"No need for that, Helmsman," said Ulic in a cool voice. "Just don't let the captain catch you doing that, there'll be hell to pay. I don't mind so long as you keep an eye on your actual duties."

"Thank you, sir."

Ulic patted the man on the back and then turned back towards the security foyer. There wasn't a whole lot going on, so he decided he would run a random audit of the communication protocols. It would take a couple of hours, but it would certainly prove invaluable should the need to review his performance ever come up.

"Sir!" came an excited voice from the other end of the bridge, and Ulic turned to see the on duty tactical officer waving him over. "I'm picking up a hyper footprint!"

"What?!" was all that Ulic could say as he rushed over to the man and looked at the tactical display on his console. "That's the normal approach vector for new commercial arrivals, but we're not expecting anyone. Have you identified the ship classification?"

"Yes, sir, two Nebulon-B-class frigates, one light Mon Calamari cruiser, and three Corellian corvettes, all in a standard battle box formation. Transponder codes are identifying them as Rebel starships, equivalent to the size of a flotilla."

"Can you get an ID on those ships?"

There was a moment and then the officer shook his head. "Negative, sir, they're too far out for a complete recognition. I'm lucky to have identified them as Rebels."

Ulic turned to the communications station and raised his voice. "Comm, send an alert message to the Flag, inform them that we have an incursion of six Rebel starships coming in on a commercial approach vector. Request orders for engagement."

"Sir," said the tactical officer beside him, "shouldn't we wake up the captain?"

"Negative, not until we know for certain that we're going to be committed."

"Sir," came the voice of the communications technician, "Admiral Hasse commands us to go to full alert status and to prepare to move to engage the enemy ships."

Ulic nodded and then spoke again, slowly. "Better wake the captain, then." He then turned around looking for the watch chief and noticed the porky middle-aged man was already standing behind him in a parade rest position. "Chief-of-the-watch, signal alert status one and an order to full battle stations. Officer Welsh," he continued on, this time addressing the starfighter operations officer, "signal a scramble-ready for all pilots."

"Aye, sir," they both said and then turned to do their separate duties.

"New contact alert!" stated the tactical officer beside. "Fighters launching from enemy ships."

Ulic was about to say something in response but the communications technician spoke before he had the chance. "Commander, we're receiving a communication coming in on the HoloNet. It appears to be a unidirectional transmission, there's no way to detect where it's coming from."

"Let's hear it," came the gruff voice of Captain Overton as he walked past the security foyer and onto the bridge, his hands still adjusting his uniform tunic. A Clone Wars veteran, Overton was tall, lean, and had a full set of graying red hair, but other than that there was no way to determine how old he really was. He was fit, was seen in the recreation area constantly while off duty, and was rumored to be a dueling expert in some obscure Alderaanian martial art; he had a tendency to put even the Imperial Army stormtroopers to shame.

Ulic glanced his way and gave a sharp salute that Overton quickly returned. "Sorry to wake you, sir, but Admiral Hasse thought we might be moving to engage the Rebels and I doubt you wanted to remain asleep during such a venture."

"Damn straight." He nodded to the communications technician. "Put the transmission on."

"Aye, sir."

A moment later the hologram of a relatively young man stood in front of the captain and Ulic, the uniform he was wearing making no mistake that he was indeed a Rebel. "This is Vice Admiral Ull of the New Republic. I direct all Imperial forces orbiting Fondor to stand down immediately or face summery destruction."

Ulic turned to the technician to ask a question, but the man already shook his head. "It's fleet-wide, sir, not directed to us solely."

As if on cue, a hologram of an old man dressed in Imperial gray appeared next to that of Admiral Ull's. "This is Admiral Hasse of the Galactic Empire, commanding officer of this sector of space. Negative, Admiral Ull, it is you who will stand down immediately, or else you will face complete destruction by our forces. You haven't the firepower to take on all of us, sir, and even a Rebel such as yourself would know that. Your pathetic flotilla is not sufficient to even be considered a real threat."

"Oh, but I do know that, sir. However," the hologram grinned viciously, "the threat is very much real. I suggest you surrender, Admiral, unless you want to face death in a vacuum."

Ulic frowned at Overton and saw his expression was mirrored in the older man. No Admiral, not even a stupid one, would make such a statement unless he was sure he had a sabacc card up his sleeve.

"Negative, we will not surrender," responded Hasse. "This is your last warning; stand down, or be destroyed."

"I'm sorry it's come to this; I was willing to take your surrender at face value, but now I don't see how it's possible. Very well, Admiral, you brought this upon yourself."

"Enemy ships are accelerating and moving in towards our position," stated the communications technician. "Starfighters are forming up by squadrons and moving in an escort formation. Flag reports to stand by for our own starfighter deployment."

"Then let the battle begin, Admiral Ull. And I'll see the whites of your eyes while I ram through your flotilla."

"Oh, that would be a problem," said Ull, and his hologram flickered several times as if the transmission was having some sort of problem.

"Multiple hyper footprints!" came the shocked voice of the tactical officer, and Ulic could see Hasse's hologram look off to the side, as he no doubt got the same report. "Rebel task force coming in on our eight o'clock!" Hasse's image snapped back aground towards the front where he most likely had to be addressing Ull's own image. "More footprints!" came the TacO's voice again. "Two task forces and a flotilla forming up at our four o'clock!"

"For you see," said Ull, his imagine once again coherent and stable, "I'm not aboard any of the ships in that flotilla." The hologram faded out of existence, leaving nothing but a bewildered Hasse on the Barricade's bridge holo-projector.

Ulic turned to Overton and was about to ask how Ull could have been making the transmission from hyperspace when the captain spoke, cutting him off. "He hung his ships at the edge of the system, beyond our sensor range, and microjumped into the system proper to spring his trap. Very clever."

"New contact alert!" shouted the technician. "Multiple inbound starfighters, bombers, and transports from almost every single enemy ship."

"We're in trouble," muttered Ulic.

"No Sith," was all Overton said in response.

[Cockpit, Gal, Fondor System, 1542 Hours]

Ivlen peered out the cockpit viewport at the vast sea of starships in orbit above Fondor and gave a small intake of breath as she noticed the first specks of laser and ion fire being exchanged between the starfighters of the opposing sides. She had never been a pilot, and in all honesty she could not see herself as ever being that reflexive in a high-gravity starcraft, but she certainly had a high respect for the men and women who put their lives on the line simply by stepping into the cockpit of a fighter.

She looked out at the blue-green form of Fondor itself and did a brief visual scan to verify that no one was nearby the entry vector. The plan had been simple, although the execution of it was still being determined: Ull and Ivlen had decided that the best way to infiltrate the defenses of the planet was to draw attention away from it completely with the entire Third Fleet staging a run against Fondor's shipyards while Red Talon and a full company of marines as backup hit the weapons facility from a completely different point of origin.

Thus far, the plan seemed to be working, but any good soldier knew that no plan would ever be as effective in reality as it was in the planning stages. The ever present improbability factor that existed in any confrontation tended to make even the best laid out plan a surprise to everyone involved; one only had to look at the Battle of Endor, in which both sides believed they had a sure-fire plan, both of which went to hell due to the improbability of the other side. So, while the plan for Fonder seemed to be going their way for the moment, Ivlen made no indication that she was willing to accept it as all but accomplished.

She looked back at the security door leading to the rest of the transport and felt her focus shift slightly. Back there were twenty-four men and women of various worlds, battle-hardened and experts in their field. Twenty-three of them were the members of her Red Talon Special Ops unit, but the twenty-fourth was a man she had once loved, who had abandoned her to her fate, and who she had since loved again. It was complicated, to say the least, but the last couple of weeks had taught her that if she couldn't trust her feelings in this matter, then she had no place in the galactic civil war.

She had known all along that his coming along on the mission was going to interfere with her feelings on the subject, but it was because of him that the mission was going forward in the first place. He had inside knowledge about the facility, the security it had, where the prototype weapons were being stored, and even had a somewhat-recent duty roster. The thing that surprised Ivlen the most about the situation, however, was that he so readily gave that information to her and the NRI; she surmised that he had really just given it to her, caring little for who she worked for so long as it meant a chance to get out of the Imperial Army once and for all.

"We're about to hit planetfall, General," came the steady voice of the assault transport pilot.

"Thank you, Lieutenant." She turned and walked through the sliding doors and stopped just outside the cockpit, the doors sliding shut behind her. She looked up and down the sides of the transport, seeing the members of her unit going over their gear with careful efficiency. "Okay, people, listen up," she said as she walked up the aisle. "We're about to hit planetfall, and after that we'll land and disembark. Everyone is clear on the plan, and everyone should know what to do, but I'm going to go over the relevant areas once again."

She stopped and touched the index finger of her left hand with the thumb and index finger of her right. "One, we're to infiltrate the facility with a minimum of bloodshed and while trying to be as discrete as possible; it won't do us any good to get into the facility if we're seen and are immediately captured by the guards. Two," she continued as she touched the middle finger of her left hand, "we'll make our way to the prototype testing areas, which is several levels underground and thus a bit harder to directly assault; we'll split up into two groups, each taking one of the two main ways to the testing areas. And three, we will maintain radio silence at all times unless of an emergency; such emergency is to be determined by either Colonel Neilson or myself. If you get separated from you team, head back to the surface and meet up with the Jarheads watching our backs. Are there any question or comments?"

Several of the troopers looked between Ivlen and Justen, as if anticipating him saying something to challenge him, but no one spoke up. She gave a brief now and then gestured with her right hand. "Okay, stand ready!" Almost as if they were choreographed to do so, all twenty-four of them stood up and turned to face the ramp at the rear of the transport and each placed their hand on the shoulder of the person in front of them—save the two at the front, or course. "Equipment check! Sound off!"

On either side, the second person in the column tugged on the person in front of them, checking their gear. "Two Clear," and "Three Clear," were shouted. The two behind them did the same, then shouted out, "Four Clear," and "Five Clear." This continued on down the line until Ivlen moved up behind Justen on her left and a Bothan woman on her right. She tugged each of there's and gave the shout of "Twenty-Four Clear," and "Observer Clear," then walked up to the front and stood just in front of the ramp and watched the monitor that was hooked up to the sensor readout in the cockpit.

It didn't take long for the transport to finish its descent through the atmosphere of the planet, and it immediately came under fire from the ground-based laser and ion cannons. The escorting starfighters—a full squadron of A-wing interceptors that went by the moniker Bantha Squadron—broke away from their formation and started a dive towards the incoming fire, weaving about to avoid a direct hit to their shields. Moments passed by and suddenly an explosion report filled the monitor, and Ivlen knew that at least one of the cannons had been destroyed. Soon several others went the way of their companion, and shortly the whole sky seemed to be clear of defensive fire.

A few more minutes went by without any more interference and Ivlene couldn't help but make a mental criticism of the Empire. Their defenses had been designed against a large-scale assault against the shipyards—like the one that Ull was undertaking—while the planet itself was somewhat undefended. Granted, the planet itself wasn't of much use in a strategic sense, but if the Empire were going to put a secret weapons testing facility on it, they should at least adequately protect it.

She felt a rumble as the transport touched down on the durracrete surface of the facility's rooftop and the ramp quickly opened. She acted fast, jumping out of the transport and moving along stealthily in the blackness of night towards the only entrance to the building itself. Behind her came the rest of her troops while four more transports landed around her, either on the same building or on nearby ones, and several marines from the M.E.U. took up defensive positions.

She stopped short of the entrance and took up a crouched guard position beside it while Neilson did the same on the other side, the rest in various positions maintaining security but within and without their established perimeter. She turned around behind her and motioned Justen forward; he moved up silently and then placed his palm against the identification scanner of the door. A moment later there was a soft metallic click from the direction of the doorknob.

"So far so good," whispered Justen as he moved away from the door.

Four of the Red Talons swept past him and through the doorway, sweeping the immediate area for any sign of opposition. "Clear!" came the whispered shout from the darkened hallway and the rest of the team poured in through the doorway.

Ivlen gave one last look in the direction of the transport and then moved into the darkness and towards her objective.

[Main Bridge, Maria, Fondor System, 1558 Hours]

Ull looked at the tactical hologram of the battle before him and gave a thoughtful sigh. He knew that there would be no possible way he could outright win the engagement—and that wasn't even his primarily objective, either—but he knew that he would hurt the Imperial forces significantly. He had spent the better part of the last couple of weeks reading up on the various engagements that Admiral Hasse has been involved in, and found them to be surprisingly small. He would have thought that the Imperial military high command would have left someone far more capable in charge of such a strategic asset to the war effort. After all, one didn't want such an important military facility to under the command of an idiot.

Of course, that line of thought didn't seem to ring true at Brentaal IV, where Isoto was the commanding officer and had bungled the defenses.

"Sir," said the tactical officer, "most of our starfighter squadrons have engaged enemy opposition, and all of our boarding transports are past the outer layer of flak fire. Bomber squadrons report that they are ready to begin their run."

"Excellent. Comm, inform the bombers to begin their attacks against their primary targets."

"Aye, sir."

Ull watched the display again as several green blips moved forward at an increased speed towards the shipyard facilities. Most were of the older Y-wings, though there were some that used the newer and more heavy-hitting B-wing. Personally, Ull didn't care which fighter was used so long as they got the job done with a minimum of lost lives; he had never been a fighter jock and couldn't really understand the abilities that pilots had, but he knew how to tell when someone was doing something stupid.

He looked at the display with a bit more intention as he focused on the boarding transports and their escorts. In particular he paid attention to the transport that had most of the marines aboard it as it made it's way through the defensive fire of the Barricade, taking only minor damage as its escorts did surgical strikes against the turrets. Ull grinned to himself as he imagined Hasse's expression as the man was being told that he was being boarded; no one wanted such an action to happen to any ship belonging to their fleet, least of all the flagship. Disabling it would be a boon to the operation, and if they could destroy it, it would certainly be a boon to the war effort in general.

"Sir," said the tactical officer, "we're entering weapons range of the nearest group of Imperial starships, two strike cruisers and Mark I VicStar."

"Very good, Captain." He looked turned away from the display and walked over to the center of the bridge. "Comm, tell the fleet to break by flotillas and to focus their firepower on a concentrated target at a time. Helm, bring us about on a heading parallel to the VicStar and prepare to initiate roll on my mark. Tactical, coordinate with the other ships in the flotilla and prepare to initiate weapons fire in a broadside fashion, staggered shots so that while one ship isn't firing, at least another is."

"Aye, sir!" came the response from all three.

Ull turned back towards the display briefly to see all eight flotillas forming up and moving forward. It would certainly be a battle to remember; he just hoped that someone would be left alive in order to remember it.

[Jak Uav's A-wing, Contested Space, Fondor System, 1613 Hours]

Jak Uav watched the marines take up their positions as he did another sweep of the surrounding area. Thus far, the Imperials hadn't seemed to notice the small force on the planet—which he considered a blessing—but he knew it was only a matter of time before they got wise to the situation. Despite the fact that the fleet above created a more critical situation for the Imperial military, the fact that their secret installation was being busted into wasn't going to get past them for long.

He frowned as he ran through his threat display systems again, checking up what Intelligence had identified as the barracks for the garrison closest to the research facility. So far there hadn't been any noticeable activity—which he found odd. Had he been in command of the forces in the system, he would have made sure that everyone—even if they weren't currently involved in the fighting—was up and ready for action in case something unexpected happened.

Like a strike against a secret Imperial weapons research facility.

A bit of movement caught his attention and he whipped his head around to see four H-shaped silhouettes moving towards him from the northeast. "Heads up, Banthas," he spoke into his headset microphone. "We've got company coming in from the northeast quadrant. Three, can you confirm?"

"Confirmed, Lead," came the calm and serene voice of Frak`ney. "I read twenty-four, repeat, two four TIE starfighters coming in from the northeast in flights of four. They appear to be in single file, and from the way they're flying, they are very skilled. Tactical analysis suggests that we withdraw to a more advantageous position."

Jak hated the idea of running, but also knew that his exec was right. They were outnumbered by a factor of two, and while they did have shields, that did not offer enough protection in a prolonged engagement. He quickly scanned the area, trying to find a way to spring some sort of trap, and then his mind thought back to the very reason why they were in atmospheric escort to begin with. He gave a slow grin and then turned his fighter around in a slow arc towards the Imperial research facility.

"Okay, Banthas, here's what we're going to do. Fall in behind me and as soon as I give the order, kick in your gyros and do a one-eighty flip." He switched the tactical frequency over to the one that the transports used and cleared his throat. "Aggravation One, this is Bantha One, over."

A brief hiss of static sounded in his headset speaker before a gruff male voice responded. "This is Aggravation One, go ahead Bantha One, over."

"Ag One, we have a swarm of eyes coming our way and we need some suppression fire. Please prepare to give an underside barrage, over."

There was a short pause, no doubt the pilot confirming with his fellows, and then his voice reappeared. "Acknowledged, Bantha One, Ag Flight will be ready to give underside barrage as targets pass overhead. Going to silent operations to avoid giving away the ambush. Just bring to us and we'll light ‘em up, over."

"Confirmed, Ag One, Bantha is on the way, over and out." He switched back to the shared squadron channel and cleared his throat. "Okay, people, we'll soon be coming over the LZ; do not, I repeat, do not fire on anything below the designated Alpha arc above our transports. We don't want to be hitting any friendlies down there, and I dare say that we're going to see a light show. Do not chase opposition into field of fire directly above transports; break off if you have to, but avoid the field of fire, we don't want anyone getting shot down by one of those turbolaser platforms." He checked his sensors again and took a breath in slowly, letting it out between clenched teeth. "Range to LZ is one kilometer away and approaching fast; distance from opposition is two kilometers and opening slowly. Prepare for one-eighty flip." He clicked the communications over to the general band shared with all planetary assault forces except Red Talon, knowing that they were specifically blocked due to the nature

of their current assignment. "Stand by to execute ambush."

He glanced at his sensors one last time and waited five more seconds until they were exactly one kilometer past the LZ. "Bantha, flip!"

All twelve A-wings suddenly stopped in midair and flipped one hundred eighty degrees to aft, and began to move again at an accelerated pace, the H-shaped starfighters clear in the morning sunlight in their cockpit viewports. They closed in fast and Jak could tell that the Imperials were about to break off and try and sweep around them. Well, they're going to be in for a surprise. "Ag One, now!"

A barrage of green laser fire swept up from below and crashed into the middle of the oncoming swarm of TIE starfighters, intersecting with the continuous volley of red laser fire coming from in front of them. It didn't take long for the two squadrons worth of Imperial fighters to try their best to break away from the onslaught and back to relative safety, but they were caught in a pincer movement and were unable to get free.

Shortly, the red dots on Jak's sensors began to blink out one by one, sometimes in quick succession, until the sensors were near clear. He glanced over and saw one of the A-wings creeping too close to the turbolaser fire of Aggravation Three and quickly snapped into the headset. "Ag Three, Hold your fire, repeat, hold your fire, friendly is too close!"

But it was too late; a double-sized green bolt of energy impacted the A-wing, evaporating its shields and giving significant damage to the hull integrity. "This is Bantha Three, I am declaring an emergency! Repeat, Bantha Three is declaring an emergency!" The calm voice of Frak'ney was no more; a very panicked Bothan had replaced it, and Jak couldn't blame her given the circumstances. "Ejection systems are fried and I'm leaking fuel! Fire control systems are destroyed!"

Jak yelled into the microphone. "Three, try for a dirtside landing! Head for dirtside, you read me?"

The damaged A-wing dipped towards the planet below, and for a moment Jak believed that she would be able to survive a crash, but that hope faded into a bitter taste in his mouth as the fighter exploded twenty meters above the intended crash site. Jak instinctively winced and covered his eyes and head as fiery debris started to rain down on the ground.

He cursed loudly in Huttesse and did quick scan of the area to make sure there were no more enemy fighters to deal with. The sky and ground were clear of any Imperial contacts; his unit had done well, along with the pilots and gunners of the four marine transports, but that didn't wash away the taste of loss in his mouth.

"Banthas," he said quietly into the headset, "return to patrol pattern and standby to deal with any more opposition should they arrive."

No one acknowledged with voice, just clicks on their headsets. It seemed that no one was in the mood to talk, and Jak couldn't really blame them. Frak'ney might have been a by-the-book tactical thinker and more-or-less a pain in the rear when it came to trying to have any sort of fun, but she had still been a part of the squadron. She would, without a doubt, be missed.

Oh, Sith, what the hell do I tell her brother?

[Imperial Research Facility, Fondor, Fondor System, 1620 Hours]

Ivlen stopped as she felt the vibration of an impact ripple through the walls and floor around her. She frowned and considered breaking radio silence to inquire about what was going on topside, but pushed the thought aside quickly. The jarheads and fighter jocks knew how to do their job, and she knew how to do hers, which was to find the weapons testing labs. And she wasn't likely to find them while worrying about other things that were not her responsibility.

She waved three of her troopers forward behind her and the trio moved around the corner cautiously. So far they hadn't come across any kind of resistance—in fact, they hadn't come across a single worker, human or droid, since they made insertion. A part of her was wondering if perhaps Justen had been lying to her, that it was really all just a set up in order to get rid of a special operations team, but she pushed that thought aside just as quickly. Had it been an ambush, the best thing to have done would have been to destroy the transport with a well-placed bomb or a laser barrage, and there certainly was no way that the Imperials could have known that a full-sized fleet would be accompanying them.

No, he's on the level, I'm sure of it.

As if that was all the assurance that she needed, she brought her rifle up and sweep the hallway slowly before advancing to the next corner, a quintet of four troopers and Justen taking her previous place, and the rearguard quartet taking their previous place. She looked back at him and used hand signals to communicate with him. [How much further until we get to the testing lab level?]

[Two more levels down, then about ninety meters towards the east,] came his response.

She nodded slowly and turned back around. She slowly turned the corner, her eyes focused on the darkened hallway—

And then several bolts of red blaster fire swept past her and hit the wall behind her. She pulled back instantly just as a bolt singed the place where her head was. She turned to the rest of her troops and started signaling them to take up positions and to have the rearguard contingent keep an eye out for a flanking maneuver.

So much for the element of surprise.

She counted off silently from five and then turned the corner quickly, lashing out with a barrage of heated light along with the rest of her point team. She heard several groans as the shots hit home, but had to quickly duck behind the corner again when they intensified their return fire.

"This is getting us nowhere fast. Who's got a thermal on them?" One of her point team passed her one and she quickly armed it for a short burst. Taking a deep breath, she turned the corner again and lobbed the object as far as she could before ducking back behind the corner; the only sound she had to make sure it had come close to the target was a loud "clunk!" as it appeared to impact blaster armor, and then a few moments later a loud rumbling from an explosion.

The quartet of troopers rushed up fast, firing nonstop into the direction of the explosion until they reached the charbroiled corridor walls and dead stormtrooper bodies. Ivlen quickly did a scan before advancing to the next corner and peering around. She didn't see anyone in the hallway, but was still cautious as she and the rest of the point team moved forward towards the stairwell leading to the level below. Once she was satisfied that they weren't in any immediate danger, she gave a nod to the rest of her troops and started down the metal stairwell as quietly as she could, hoping to ambush anyone who was waiting for her.

She about opened fire with a group of twelve black-clad soldiers—all with their weapons pointed at her—came into view. She quickly held her impulse, however, as she recognized them as the remainder of her team. "Colonel."

"General," came the response from Nelson. "I take it that rumble I felt a few minutes ago was your doing?"

She nodded, and then glanced around behind him. "Problem with your route?"

"They're doing some sort of remodeling; we had to double back and came over to this stairwell once we felt a rumble a level up. Glad to know it was something friendly and not the other way around."

"Well, considering we can't use our original plan, best to continue to move in small squads of four. Colonel, take over as rearguard with a squad; the rest of you, form up follow my lead. We're only one level above the testing areas, so expect there to be some heavier resistance once we make ourselves known."

"Begging the general's pardon," came Justen's voice, "but I believe we've already made ourselves known."

"He's got a point, boss," said Nelson. "If I was able to feel that rumble, you can bet your Clone Wars memorabilia that some Imps did, too."

Ivlen frowned at both of them and then slowly nodded. They were right; you can't detonate a thermal charge and not draw the attention of someone nearby, and the way the structure was, a vibration like that could be felt a few levels away. Whoever designed this facility knew how to give the advantage to the home team. "Okay, then we'll do our best to make sure that we don't let them know just where we are…unless we have to. I don't want to walk into the testing area and be faced with a full regiment of stormtroopers with a couple of AT-ATs thrown in for good measure. So keep it quiet, understood?" All the troops around her gave a short nod. "Good, then let's move out."

[Main Bridge, Injustice, Fondor System, 1639 Hours]

Ulic watched as a brand new ISD Mark II blew apart from inside, the result of Rebel boarders having sabotaged the main drive systems. He had never expected his career to be full of glory—especially when assigned to a heavily defended and virtually impregnable fortress system such as Fondor—but now he was in the middle of a battle for his very life, as well as everyone else around him. He still didn't know just how the Rebels had been able to amass a force so large without leaving several key systems and sectors unprotected, but knew full well that this Admiral Ull was not that stupid; brash, bold, and courageous, sure, but not outright stupid.

The same, however, could not be said of his own fleet commander, Admiral Hasse. The way that he moved the Imperial forces around showed that he had no real tactical sense about him. And the mere fact that his flagship had just been blown up spoke volumes about his competency.

"Sir," came the communications technician's voice, "Admiral Hasse's shuttle is requesting permission to land in our hanger bay."

Ulic turned to glance at his captain who gave him a shrug and a nod. "Very well, inform the flight deck to provide brief honors for him, but emphasize that we're in the middle of a battle and it would be best not to stand on ceremony too long. If the admiral has a problem with that, make sure they inform him that it was my decision, not the captain's or anyone else's."

"Strike that last, Signalman," came Overton's voice. "Be sure that if asked they inform the admiral that it was my decision, per ship commander's discretion." He then faced Ulic and gave a small smile. "After all, it is my ship."

"Understood, sir," came the response.

Ulic just shook his head with a smile for a brief moment before turning his gaze to the tactical display in front of him. "Okay, we've just lost our first and third squadrons, which leaves only the second squadron as our fighter screen. They've got Interceptors, which means they're faster than most Rebel starfighters and can pack a bigger punch, but they're still just one squadron. If this group of ships," he said as his finger indicated a close-knit group of red icons, "comes near us, we're going to be in a world of trouble. I don't care how often this ship's been in refitting and retrofitting slips, there's no way we can stand up against the onslaught of a flotilla focused completely on us."

"I concur," said Overton, his chin resting in his right hand. "We should think about relocating to the Golan defense platforms; it'll give us some covering fire to work with, and we'll be able to be a sort of mobile defense for the shipyards themselves."

"That could be tricky. There's a good deal of space between where we are now and where we want to go. Microjump?"

"Not a chance. There's too much variables to work with in the calculations, we could easily end up inside the hull of a star destroyer or one of the shipyard slips. No, the only way to really get there is to make all deliberate speed, diverting all power to engines with the exception of shields and point defense systems."

Ulic glared at the man for a moment as he tried to find his voice. "You want to take the ship into a ballistic velocity? There's no guarantee that we'll be able to survive that!"

"Survival is not exactly high on the guarantee list today, Commander."

"Is this a conversation that I should be aware of?"

Both Ulic and Overton turned around to see Admiral Hasse standing behind them. Ulic didn't think the man had even come aboard yet, let alone have the time necessary to travel from the flight deck to the bridge. Yet, here he was, in full Imperial gray with the red and blue rank insignia clear on his left breastplate. "Admiral, sir!" said Ulic out of instinct as he snapped to attention.

"At ease, Commander, we certainly don't have the time to ‘stand on ceremony,'" said the admiral with a sideways glance to Overton. "Now, then, might I inquire about the conversation I just caught the tale end of?"

"Well, sir, we were just going over the tactical situation and found ourselves in a rather, uh, disadvantageous position. We were considering the wisdom of a tactical withdrawal towards a more friendly surrounding, such as that cluster of Golan defense platforms near the shipyards. We've already lost two-thirds of our fighter compliments, and the last might be good enough to help keep the Rebels off of us in the short term, but they can't stand up against a heavy concentration of bombardment, such as the one that our sister ship, the Glee, is taking." He cleared his throat slightly as he looked at the admiral with dark eyes. "If it meets with the admiral's will, of course."

Hasse gave him a sideways smirk and shook his head. "Sucking up will not endear you to me, Commander. However, I cannot condone the course of action that you are suggesting. We're in a battle, gentlemen, and I mean to do my best to make sure we win the battle, even at the cost of our lives."

Ulic looked at the admiral with a newly formed awe. He didn't really know the man outside of official channels, and didn't know what the officer was really like, but he could tell that he had greatly misjudged the man. We might not survive, but we'll win.

"Now then," continued Hasse, "due to the unfortunate incident concerning my previous flagship, I will have to use this one. I'll try very hard not to get in your way, but please remember that I am your boss. So, let's try and rectify the situation, shall we?"

[Imperial Research Facility, Fondor, Fondor System, 1648 Hours]

Ivlen slowly approached the doors to the testing labs and did a sweep with her rifle. Frowning from the lack of enemy contact, she motioned for the rest of her force to move up and take a defensive position around the doors while Justen went to work on the keypad station. It didn't make sense that there weren't any guards or patrols near the labs, and the more she thought about it the more her stomach began to churn with unease.

A few silent beeps later and the doors slid open. Ivlen did a quick scan of the main lab before moving in, the low lighting making it evident that it was—indeed—still during the graveyard shift. She wasn't entirely surprised at the lack of personnel in the lab; scientists rarely worked so early in the morning unless they were close to a breakthrough—or execution—but, even still, it seemed strange that the facility would not have someone as a guard, especially in light of the attack on the shipyards.

She motioned for the rest of the unit to take up a classic guarding position behind cover and then put her rifle down in a ready-alert stance. "Okay, Colonel," she said, still finding it difficult to call him by his name, "where's the weapon?"

Justen moved through the doors and walked along the right wall, staring at various equipment. He stopped until he came upon a section of wall that looked completely innocuous, then reached into the wall and pulled out what looked to be a cross between a BlasTech E-11 rifle and the classic Wookiee Bowcaster. "General, I present to you the prototype of the R-7 Light Particle rifle."

Ivlen carefully took the weapon into her hands, giving once a glance to her husband and to the "wall" that the rifle came out of, and then handled it as if she was giving it an inspection check. It felt light in her hands, about the same density of her own blaster rifle, but she noticed that the settings on it had a few more selections. "Hmmm," she said to herself, "it feels a lot lighter than I would think it would. Do you know the range on this thing, the specifications?"

Justen shook his head. "I was just in charge of security; I don't know anything about the specifics of the weapon itself, just that I've seen it being tested. It's unlike anything else that's currently being deployed by either the Empire or the Allia—the New Republic—for their infantry."

"I'm tempted to fire off a shot just to see what it would do."

"I would advise against that," came an electronically sounding voice from behind her.

Ivlen spun on her heel and searched for the origin of the voice. She did short scan of the room and then looked up as she noticed that someone was in the Observer's Room above the testing lab. She cursed herself for her forgetfulness to completely secure the area and tried to focus on the shadowy figure standing behind the shatterproof glass. "So, you finally decide to stop playing the game."

"Oh, no, General," the voice continued over the intercom. "In fact, the games are just beginning."

The lights in the corridor and the lab suddenly went to full power and what looked to be a full platoon of Imperial Stormtroopers came rushing out to cover all points of escape. Ivlen cursed silently and did a full sweep with her eyes, taking in all of the new arrivals in a glance. "Colonel," she said towards Newlin.

"Not a single point, Ma'am," responded Red Talon's executive officer.

Ivlen shook her head and then aimed the particle weapon at the closest group of troopers and pulled the trigger. She frowned with nothing happened and pulled it once again, but still there was no reaction.

"That won't work, General," continued the voice. The shadowy figure was not fully revealed by the lights in the lab; he was a tall, lean man to be in about his early fifties, wearing the uniform of a full general of the Imperial Army. "We couldn't take the chance that you would have found the weapon, despite how I was reassured that no one knew exactly where the prototype was hidden." There was a slight pause and then the Imperial general continued, but this time his attention focused on Justen. "I'm curious, Colonel Traves, just how did you know about the wall cloak? I didn't even know about it until you reached in and found the weapon; I was simply told that it would be impossible for someone to find it."

"Simple," said Justen, a touch of cynicism to his voice. "I learned an important lesson while in the Imperial Army: don't trust anyone. I never allowed my security to be done without me knowing about it first hand. That wall cloak," he said with a nod towards the wall, "I'm the one who personally installed it."

"Interesting," said the general. "Our records don't mention that. You're a resourceful man, Colonel, it's a shame that you turned your back on the Empire and became a traitor. But, I suppose that if your wife were able to do it, than it shouldn't have come as a surprise that you did, too."

"Enough of this mindless drivel," spat Ivlen, frustrated with all the idle conversation going on around her. "What do you want?"

"Why, to kill you, of course. What else would I want?"

Ivlen quickly pulled out a detonation charge and placed it on the undercarriage of the weapon in her hands. "You'll lose your weapon if you try and kill us."

"Go ahead, detonate it," said the general. "We can always make another prototype with the research we've got."

Ivlen looked around slowly and then gave a grin. "Red Talons!" she shouted, loud enough so that she was sure everyone—even the Imperials down the corridor blocking their escape route—could hear her. "Reverse aim; target all of the terminals in the lab and the Imperials!" She saw several of her teammates turn around in a flash as she looked back up at the general. She was satisfied to see the look of terror on his face and answered it with an even wider grin. "So, I guess that means we can hurt you, eh? Tsk, tsk, General…the next time you lay an ambush, might I suggest not having critical equipment and records in the area?"

"You'll be killed in the ensuing blast as well, General. Surely you can see that it is more wise to live and fight another day than to through yourselves away for a meaningless combination of electronic wires and particle charge equipment."

"I think you'll find that I'm full of surprises, General, and that we ‘Rebels' have a knack for getting out of tough situations."

"So be it. Stormtroopers; fire!"

Ivlen and everyone else around her instinctively ducked as the bolts started to fly through the air, and some even had the chance to return fire, but chaos soon became evident in the lab and corridor. Blaster bolts shot past their intended targets and hit equipment against the wall while Ivlen and her troops fired volleys of their own towards the lab terminals. At least one of her team members got a lethal dose of blaster, as she heard the telltale scream of a woman in deep pain. She quickly ducked behind a terminal, Justen next to her, as a series of bolts went over her head. "This is not what I had in mind when I woke up this morning," she said.

"I'm not exactly happy about the situation myself, Yuwe." He looked around and Iveilne noticed that he was paying careful attention to the walls. "I think I know how we can get out of here."

"Now you tell me? You couldn't have said something about it a little sooner, like, oh, I don't know, before we came into the lab to begin with?"

"I didn't know, to be honest. You see those three terminals sitting in the corner over there?" he said, pointing towards a distance corner in the lab. "Those terminals are fake; nothing usable. Behind them is a secret passage to the roof."

"How do you know that, if you said you didn't know about a way to get out of here when we first got here?"

"The terminals must have been recently installed."

She looked back at him for a moment. "How do you know they are fake, Justen?"

"I'm the one who initiated the procedure for the Fondor system defenses; every lab that has three terminals like that, in that exact arrangement, has a secret escape passage behind them. They're so that a research center or lab came under terrorist attack, the personnel could get to the roof quickly for extraction instead of having to use the stairs or the lift systems."

She shook her head and poked her head around the terminal to fire off another series of shots towards the door, where majority of the stormtroopers were gathered. "You still do amaze me with your skills, Justen, even after all this time."

"I try."

"Okay," she said, "so we have to make to that point and get out of here, which means we'll have to hold them off long enough for everyone to get a good head start. I guess it's time for the typical heroic stand."

"I agree. I only wish you could see it."

"What's that supposed to me—" was all she could get out before the back of her head hurt and darkness engulfed her.

[Imperial Research Facility, Fondor, Fondor System, 1707 Hours]

Justen Travs looked down at the slumped body of his wife and sighed. "I wish we could have had our second chance, Yuwe, but I can't let you sacrifice yourself." He pocketed the small datapad he had in his hand and looked over to Jav Nelson, Yuwe's second in command. "Colonel!" he yelled, drawing his attention.

Nelson frowned and quickly moved over to the pair. As soon as he saw Yuwe's body of the floor he brought his weapon up and aimed it at Justen. "You better have a damned good explanation, Colonel, before I pull this trigger.

Justen recanted the plan to him and then looked back down at Yuwe with a sad expression. "She was going to be the one to stay, and I can't let that happen. The New Republic needs her more than it needs me, and the Army especially needs her leadership." Justen reached into his pocket and pulled out a small metallic ring and handed it over to Nelson. "When she awakens, please give this to her; tell her that I never stopped thinking of her, even after her defection."

Nelson took the ring and put it in his pocket, then looked to Yuwe, then back to Justen again. "Sir, I know we haven't gotten along, but are you sure about this? There has to be another way?"

The sound of someone screaming in pain caught both of their attention and Justen looked up in time to see one of the Red Talons double back, a black scorch where his face used to be. He then looked once again to Nelson and shook his head. "There's no time to find another solutions, Colonel; people are dying, and not just down here. The fleet's only here to provide a distraction for this operation, and while I have confidence that your fleet knows how to handle themselves, they're still greatly outmatched against the defenses of this system."

Nelson nodded slowly and then glanced over at the terminals. "Very well. We'll get on it." He reached into his field pack and took out several detonation packs and handed them over to Justen. "Give us a ten count and then hit the button; that should buy us enough time to get clear of the blast."

"Thank you, Colonel." Justen snapped off a salute to Nelson, who returned it. "It's been a… pleasure."

Nelson nodded then reached down to pick up the slumped form of Yuwe and raced over to the terminals in question. It fired off a quick succession of bolts into the false equipment and moved them aside, fast, then shouted something that Justen couldn't quite make out. The rest of the Red Talons began to fall back, and Justen moved up slowly, placing packs along the walls, floor, and equipment as he fired shot after shot towards the doors.

He looked up to see if the mysterious general was still present, but was disappointed to see that he had disappeared. Oh well, I'm sure Yuwe will figure out who he is.

He glanced back to see that the Red Talons were just about through; he grimaced, however, when he saw one of the troopers take a shot to the back of the neck and fall instantly onto the floor. Justen almost contemplated moving to help him, but knew that if he did so, he would lose his defensive point, and so he turned back around to face the hordes of Imperial troopers coming through the door.

"STOP!" he shouted to the Imperials as he held up the detonator. "If you come any closer, I'll hit this button and we'll all be a pile of rubble."

The stormtroopers seemed to take him for his word, and Justen thought that perhaps he might even make it out of here, but knew that it wasn't plausible. He took a short glance over his shoulder to make sure that the others had gotten away, then slowly counted to ten in his head. The Imperial kept their aim on him, but didn't seem to advice anymore, until the general—who apparently had come down to personally command the troops—walked through the door with a blaster carbine in his right hand. He fired a shot at Justen and the former Imperial stumbled back, but still kept his grip on the detonator.

The general took another shot and this time Justen fell to the floor, and the detonator dropped from his hand. He looked up at the general and said two words quickly: "deadman's switch."

He never got a chance to see the general's reaction as burning hot fire engulfed him from all sides.

[Imperial Research Facility, Fondor, Fondor System, 1715 Hours]

Ivlen felt a terrible rumble around her and she opened her eyes, groaning from the pain that was her head. She looked up and saw that Jav was carrying her and that he—along with the rest of the unit—was hurrying down what she surmised to be the hidden escape route that Justen had mentioned.

Justen!

She quickly looked around her for his presence, but didn't see it. "Justen?" she spoke softly, knowing already what had happened, but afraid to fully come to terms with it. "Colonel, where's Justen?" she asked Jav. "And why are you carrying me?"

Jav looked back over his shoulder to her. "You were…injured…and we had to get you out before the detonation packs went. We're on our way to the roof, General, where we'll be able to get out of here post-haste."

"You didn't answer my first question, Colonel," said Ivlen. She jumped off of his back and started to trot along behind him, but she stumbled somewhat. She was able to—more or less—move coherently, but the blow to her head had really messed up her equilibrium. "Where's Colonel Travs?"

Jav nodded over his shoulder towards the rear of their escape route. "He created a distraction to allow us to get out, General."

A cold lump formed in Ivlen's chest, and she struggled to get it under control. She had always been a very stable, no-nonsense person, even for the somber life of a soldier, but this realization—and her acceptance of it—struck deep into her being like a knife. She turned back slightly, saw the burning flames from what she assumed to be the "distraction" that Jav had said, and cursed loudly in every language she could think of. "Why!?" she screamed in Jav's ear, "why did you let him do that?!"

"Begging your pardon, Ma'am, but we were in a desperate situation, and he was able to take care of that situation with a minimal of lost lives. I don't like it myself, but when you come right down to it, it's a matter of numbers."

The lump in her chest seemed to multiply exponentially as she gave one more glace to the rear. She had lost him again, once more because of the selfish decisions that he had made, and—just like the first time—she began to cry from her loneliness.

[Main Bridge, Maria, Fondor System, 1720 Hours]

Corben looked out at the battle unfolding before him and gazed from one specific point to the next, focusing on the way the operation was taking place. He was actually surprised that it was going as well as it was, especially given that they were in one of the most heavily fortified systems in the Galactic Empire, but he also knew that the surprise advantage that he had created wouldn't last forever.

A blinking amber light caught his attention and he turned to look at the holographic overlay of the battle. Several new squadrons of Imperial TIEs had begun their engagement of his forces, and it looked as if Hasse was about to bring up some more of his heavier star destroyers. Corben gave a lopsided grin and punched in a sequence on the projector control, isolating the planet Fondor itself.

There was no real information from the insertion team other than they had landed and had begun their operation, but Corben couldn't help but wonder what was going on. Ivlen was as good as they came from his limited experience with ground operations, but it was still an "iffy" situation that she was walking herself into.

"Sir."

He turned around and saw the communications officer waiting. "Yes?" he asked politely.

"We just picked up some high intensive comm chatter coming from one of the Vics, sir; it appears that Hasse is aboard and has taken it as his new flagship. However, analysis suggests that his staff is not with him. He's calling the shots all by himself, sir."

Corben frowned slightly and looked at the tactical plot once again. The new moves that the Imperials were taking weren't as coordinated as they should have been, but that—again—might be due to the surprise to which the battle started. Sadly, New Republic Intelligence just didn't have much information about Hasse, so Corben didn't know what to really expect from the admiral.

"Inform our forward units to give that ship a wide berth," he said after a moment. "We don't want the admiral to think we're coming after him personally; he'll pull out all the stops to protect himself which will make him a very dangerous person."

"Aye, sir," said the officer, but didn't move yet.

"Then," continued Corben, "detach our flotilla and have them form up in a shoddy-looking arc towards the flagship, but not as a direct route; have them take a wide approach towards the Vic without appearing to actually be doing so. If we can pull this off, we can cut off the Imperial commander without him even realizing it until it's too late."

"Sir," said the officer, and finally moved away to return to the communications station.

Corben returned his gaze to the holographic overlay and allowed himself a very thin smile as he saw a third of his main body detach and begin their maneuvers. He was about to attempt something that hadn't been done in space-faring warfare for as long as he could remember…he just hoped that he had the chance to survive it.

[Imperial Research Facility, Fondor, Fondor System, 1732 Hours]

Jav Nelson looked back towards Ivlen and gave a slight sigh. He knew that this was going to be hard for her, but he also knew that he couldn't really do anything about the situation at the moment. He had to focus on the task at hand, which was getting to the rooftops and getting the hell off this planet—a task that was going to prove to be very difficult, if how their mission had gone so far was any indication.

He looked back over his shoulder at the end of the escape tunnel, checking to make sure that there were no pursuers. Travs certainly had done some good creating that explosion, and for that Jav was satisfied with his loyalty to the New Republic—or, at the very least, his loyalty towards Ivlen. However, they were far from out of the woods.

The lead scout motioned to him and Jav stopped, signaling the others to do likewise. He cautiously watched the scout as he ventured a little further up the escape tunnel, turning a corner; then, the scout turned back towards the troopers and gave an "all clear" hand signal, to which Jav responded by resuming his movement towards the front of the tunnel. "How much further," he whispered to the scout when he was close enough.

"It doesn't seem to be that much, sir. I'd say only a few more meters until we reach the access hatch. However, I can't be certain about what exactly we'll find on the other side of that hatch."

"You leave that to me, Corporal," responded Jav with a sense of confidence. "If there's a surprise waiting for us, we'll be sure to give them a surprise. After all, who would expect a full platoon of Rebels to come storming out of an access hatch that no one knows about?"

"If you say so, sir." The scout moved further back up the tunnel, resuming his duties as the lead point for the unit.

Jav looked back at Ivlen, limping along behind him. Her face was tattered with dirt, smudges, blood, and—finally—tears; the mere sight of her made him want to comfort her, a woman he had long looked up to as a friend and a role model. But, he knew that there was nothing he could do to assuage the feelings that were going on inside of her; she had to deal with them in due course.

The scout gave a very low whistle and Jav turned his attention back to the tunnel ahead of him. Here was the scout, crouched beside the access point, waving Jav forward with haste. Jav moved up quickly, bringing his hand up to signal for a stop of the other troops, and settled in next to the enlisted man. "What is it?"

"There's a full company of Imperial troops on the other side of the hatch, sir."

"Force me!" He resisted the urge to punch the metal bulkhead wall of the tunnel, knowing that it wouldn't exactly improve the pain he was already feeling in his hands. "Are they facing the hatch, or away from it?"

"Away, sir. I don't think they really know the hatch exists. They seem to be in a pitched battle with our forces guarding the transports at the far end of the rooftop. We seem to have come out on the other side of the building in which we entered, sir."

"Of course; it would have been too easy for us to be able to get by without engaging more enemy combatants." Jav cursed silently under his breath, then looked back at Ivlen. "General?"

Ivlen looked up at him and muttered one word. "Radio."

Jav nodded and then clicked on his radio, tuning it to the shared frequency designated for ground operations. "This is Red Talon to Aggravation Command, over."

A moment passed by and then the crisp and sharp male voice returned over the channel. "Red Talon, this is Ag One. I take it that if you're breaking silence you must be ready for extraction, over."

"That assumption is correct. However, we've noticed that you're currently engaged in hostilities with Imperial troops. We are inside an access hatch that is situated just behind said Imperial troops and will need to coordinate with you for best option of engagement zone and fields of fire, over."

There was another pause and then another voice came back, female this time. "This is Ag Commander, Red Talon. You realize that the place you currently are at is clear on the other side of the rooftop, and that there is a rather large amount of distance between our respective positions, yes? Laying down enough cover fire to adequately shield your attempt to rendezvous with us would seriously put both our marines and yourself in jeopardy of an incalculable fashion, over."

"I am aware of the situation, AC. However, we do not have another option; there is no way we can possibly return to our original entrance point, and our position will soon be compromised. We have to do this, AC, and I suggest we do it sooner rather than later, over."

There was an even longer pause and then the female voice returned. "Very well, Red Talon, we will coordinate our plans of attack. I trust you have a portable computing datapad with you; please log into it so that we can go over our respective plans. And then, perhaps we can finally get off this retched planet…I hate sunny skies, over."

[Main Bridge, Maria, Fondor System, 1740 Hours]

Corben watched the tactical plot as his flotilla moved slowly towards the Vic that had Hasse aboard, as well as looking at the other flotillas and task forces of his fleet and how well they were venturing against the Imperials. Thus far, the Imperials hadn't been able to completely halt the New Republic's advance against their forces, but that was slowly changing; the plot showed that several Imperial ships and flotillas were moving forward to engage enemy forces, which did not bode well for the Third Fleet.

Well, it's not as if I ever really expected to win this engagement. However, I'm quite happy with the bloody nose I've given them.

"Admiral, we just received a communication from the marine commander on the planet; she says that Red Talon is almost ready for extraction, and that she expects to be able to pull them off the planet within thirty minutes at the outside."

Corben nodded towards the communication officer. "Very well, inform her that as soon as she's clear of the planet's gravity mass to enter hyperspace. And relay to all commands that we'll soon be pulling out."

"Aye, sir."

He looked back at the tactical plot and grinned as he noticed that the Vic still had not seen their approach. Hasse was not turning out to be a very inventive or tactical person—which made what he was going to do next all the more satisfying. "Tactical, I believe it's time we sprung our trap. Any sign of notice from the Imperials?"

"Negative, sir, they're not focusing on us at all."

"Excellent. Communications, signal the other ships in the flotilla to pour on bombardment of that VicStar, full power to weapons and shields, and have them slowly move forward to mask the Maria's approach."

"Aye, sir."

"Helm, move us about twenty degree to port and prepare to go to full power on the engines. Full power to the shields and weapons, and have all personnel from the forward section of the ship evacuate behind sealed bulkhead."

The helmsman looked at him for a moment, but then he turned back to his station and gulped a little. "Aye, sir, executing twenty degree turn to port, preparing to go to full engine power."

"Full power to the shields and weapons, Admiral," said the tactical officer.

"Evacuation of forward section is commencing, sir," said Captain Haswue. He then leaned over so that only Corben could hear and said, "Are you doing what I think you're doing?"

"You don't get to wear these pips unless you're willing to do something crazy and unexpected."

"Remind me never to play sabaac with you, sir."

The communications officer spoke before Corben could respond. "Flotilla is moving forward, sir, acting as a shield for the Maria. Bombardment of VicStar is commencing."

"Excellent. On my mark, have them break away and get the hell out of our way. Helm, Tactical, line us up on their bridge command tower, and prepare to execute on my command."

[Main Bridge, Injustice, Fondor System, 1748 Hours]

Ulic watched the small flotilla of ships coming towards him and cursed the admiral mentally for not paying attention to what he had said might happen. He knew that the ships had been moving around in a move to flank them, but he didn't expect it to happen quite so fast. Ull—whoever he was—was certainly a bold one.

"All batteries, I want those ships out of my sky!" yelled Overton from behind Ulic. "NOW!"

Ulic found it highly unlikely that Hasse had not see the approaching danger; the fact that the admiral had decided to transfer his flag to the auxiliary control room in the belly of the ship—which was closer to the hanger bay than the bridge ever could be—only went on to confirm his belief that the man was very selfish about his own life. It was not a characteristic that should be present in a commanding officer, especially one in control of several dozen ships, shipyards, and an entire planetary star system.

"Wait!" yelled one of the ratings in the tactical control pit. "The ships are breaking off their attack run!"

Ulic turned his head and looked out at the viewport and saw that the five ships were, indeed, breaking off their attack on the star destroyer. Now, why would they do something like that?

The answer came a moment later as he saw the bow of a cruiser take shape once the Rebel ships got out of the way. It began pouring volley after volley of turbolaser fire into the shields of the starship, causing the decks to shudder under the impact, but that wasn't what really caused Ulic to give a wide-eyed expression.

It was the realization that the cruiser was not going to stop its relative momentum.

"Brace for impact!" shouted Ulic as he ran over to a nearby console and did his best to secure himself. However, even as he did so, he knew it was a futile gesture; a Mon Calamari cruiser was designed to that the bow of the ship was almost like a curved point, which made this sort of action much easier to accomplish than if the roles of the two ships had been reversed.

As he closed his eyes, Ulic's final thought wasn't that of desperation, or of fear, or even anger about the fact that he was going to die. His final thought was that he hoped Admiral Hasse would be killed as well, as revenge for his stupidity that led to this situation in the first place.

[Imperial Research Facility, Fondor, Fondor System, 1751 Hours]

Jav looked at the troopers around him, all of them nodding their consent to the action that they were about to undertake. They all knew that there wasn't much of a chance of them getting through the Imperials, and that there really wasn't a need for the marines to wait for them given their failure in the mission, but they also knew that they wouldn't give up without a fight.

He nodded once again towards them and then gave the signal to the scout near the hatchway. The metal barrier opened—

And suddenly they were in the middle of a very loud battle, Imperial blasters going off right in front of them while New Republic bolds raced past the white-armored Stormtroopers. None of the Imperials seemed to have noticed that they were being outflanked, and that is exactly the way they had planned it.

The Red Talons took up position near the hatchway, aiming at specific targets and awaiting Jav's signal…who, in turn, waited for the signal from the marines.

It didn't take long; the signal—a single shot of emergency flare—was popped into the sky above the battle sight, and Jav took his own blaster and tucked it tightly under his shoulder. "FIRE!" he yelled, and suddenly the rear of the Imperial defensive line came alive with red light, bold impacting on the rears of Stormtroopers' armor at first, and then on their sides as several began to turn around. By the time the Imperials had discovered exactly what was going on, half of them had been outright killed from the Red Talons.

The return fire began to cut through the troopers around Jav, some falling back due to a fatal wound while others merely jumped out of the way to avoid such a fate. He watched as several of his troopers did their best not to get hit while they tried to fire back, but because they didn't have much in the way of cover it was not turning out to be a pleasant situation.

Then, the other part of the plan came into effect.

Marines from the assault transports charged forward, firing as they came. The Imperials, now focused on the threat that had appeared behind them, were cut down in quick ease, leaving only a handful of Stormtroopers left, who quickly surrendered rather than face the same fate of their comrades.

"That," said Jav to his troopers, "is how we get out of here. Okay, people, pick up the wounded and hightail it to those transports. Let's get out of here!"

[Main Bridge, Maria, Fondor System, 1759 Hours]

Corben grabbed the console in front of him and pulled himself to his feet. He shook himself slightly, trying to bring about a sense of composure, as he looked around the bridge and saw similar expressions from the rest of the personnel. "Report," he said gently, but his head was ringing and the sound reverberated throughout his inner ear.

Captain Haswue was looking over a console. "Forward section of the ship is in need of extensive repair, and we've lost weapon mounts on that part of the ship, but so far we have no reported casualties."

"Status of the VicStar?"

"Shields are gone, and there's extensive hull damage to the structural integrity. Command tower has been destroyed, and she's listing. The rest of the ship seems to be intact, and chances are the crew in those sections are alive, but there's no way the ship can function. She's been knocked out, sir."

"Excellent!"

"Sir," came the communications officer. "Report from the marines on Fondor. They've extracted Red Talon and are leaving the planet now."

"That's the signal. Communications, inform all forces to enter hyperspace as soon as possible. We've finished our job here, so let's get the hell out of Mos Eisley!"

"Aye, sir!"

[Auxiliary Control, Injustice, Fondor System, 1804 Hours]

Hasse stumbled back to his feet and reached over to the communications console near him. "This is Admiral Hasse to the Bridge." He waited for a few moments, but got no answer. "I say again, this is Hasse to the Bridge, come in Bridge." Again, there was no answer. He looked around and noticed that most of the other officers and ratings had been similarly knocked out, but a few were starting to come to their senses. "Someone tell me why the Bridge isn't answering!"

A young rating groaned and made his way to a console next to Hasse. He tapped a few commands into the system, and then looked at the admiral with an expression of horror on his face. "Sir, there's no longer a Bridge to contact."

Hasse's face went white, and he immediately went to the sensor console. He hadn't really used a control system himself in years, but he remembered enough to be able to bring up an external sensor scan. What he found, however, was not something that he wanted to see.

Several Imperial starships had been disabled, a few even destroyed, and now all of the Rebel forces were evacuating the area. He knew that—logically—had the Rebels stayed, eventually the Imperial forces would have prevailed…but that did nothing to make his situation any better.

He hoped that one day he would have the chance to get his revenge against Corben Ull…if Pestage didn't have him executed in the meantime.

[Command Briefing Room, Maria, Hyperspace, 0937 Hours]

Corben watched as Yuwe Ivlen walked into the briefing room, her head sagging slightly and the noticeable rings under her eyes displaying the fact that she had likely not been asleep since she returned from the mission on Fondor. He couldn't very well blame her, given what she had gone through, and he silently cursed the High Command for making this meeting a necessity for her to attend; were it up to him, she would be in her quarters still recovering from the shock of everything, but the New Republic had to push forward.

The others in the briefing room settled into their chairs and many of them tried their best to avoid openly looking at Ivlen, but it was very difficult to do. News of what had happened had spread fast, even for a shipboard rumor mill, and while Corben had done his best to curb it when he had encountered it, he knew full well that it would have continued even if he issued a general order not to discuss it. There was just no way that any group as large as the crew and troops aboard the Maria could keep a rumor that big under wraps. The one endearing factor that he had found, however, was that no one in Red Talon seemed to have been involved in the rumors, and he made a mental note to commend them on their loyalty to their commanding officer.

He cleared his throat gently and watched as the various officers around the table turned their attention to him. "First," he said without any pretense at a preamble, finding them little more than a waste of time in an effort to create "false small talk," "I'd like to commend all commands on their part in the mission, and to state that while we were unable to obtain the particle weapon for our own forces, we did deny the Empire from utilizing it as well. Second, the mission was seen as an overall success by the High Command, and I have been instructed to give a well deserved promotion to the officer primarily responsible for the operation."

All eyes turned to Ivlen and Corben gave an inner frown. What it must feel, to be congratulated on a mission that ended up tearing