She woke up slowly. That was nothing odd. Was it? For a long moment, as she kept her eyes closed, she couldn’t figure out what was wrong. Then it hit her. She had eyes! She froze. Had it worked? She tried to move, to feel, but she couldn’t. So she did the only thing she could. She opened her eyes. The sight that greeted her was unexpected. All around her, the medical bay of the Stormhawk was laid out. And it was fuzzy. Her sight had, ever since her rebirth, been as picture perfect as top of the line sensors could make it. Her eyes were the only part of her body that she could move, but wait…? She had a body? She stared at what she could see. The skin was blue, a common Twi’lek shade. Her eyes burned. She remembered that feeling, barely. She was crying.

 

“Good morning, Mission.” The voice had her looking to the side and there she was. The being she had called ‘Mother’ ever since she had woken as a spacecraft. “Oh don’t cry child. It’s all right. It’s better than all right. Its amazing.”

 

She felt her face move and then she heard herself speak. “Gaia…?” Her voice was so quiet, so weak. Several of the Islanian’s tentacles touched her, and she felt comforted. She knew it was simply the manipulation of biotoxins in the tips of said tentacles, but she didn’t care. Gaia was her mother in every way that mattered. Mission relaxed. Her mother was comforting her as best she could. “It… worked…?” She hadn’t really expected it to.

 

“Yes, Mission. It worked.” The Islanian was fiddling with gear beside the bed and then Mission found herself inclining up. No, half of her body was inclining; the lower half remained where it was. “Oh child, I am so happy… For the first time in centuries, I have hope.”

 

"Um..." Mission looked around, her eyes focusing a bit better. But something was wrong. Something was off. The body didn’t feel as she thought it should. “Gaia… How old is this body?” She finally asked.

 

"Well..." The Islanian made a human sounding sigh. “In actual age, it’s a week old. In biological terms, its fifteen years old.”

 

"What?" Mission blinked, and then grinned. She hadn’t thought about such things as blinking. She shook her head. “I’m a kid again?”

 

"Hardly." Gaia snorted a human sounding laugh. “But that was the age we could get out of the pod. Now, you are going to feel very strange for a time while you acclimatize yourself to your new body. Do not push yourself.” The Islanian cautioned when Mission would have moved. “You have not been in a Twi’lek body for almost nine hundred years. You haven’t had a body for almost nine hundred years. No matter what you remember, things will be different. Things are going to take you by surprise.”

 

Mission looked down at herself and grimaced. “Yeah.” She felt the things on the back of her head move. Lekku, they were called, right? She grinned a bit foolishly. “Thank you, Gaia. Even if it doesn’t work. Thank you…” She held out a slow hand and the Islanian took it in several tentacles. It felt… marvelous… to feel the skin under her fingertips. She luxuriated in the feelings.

 

"Give it time." A gentle voice she remembered came from nearby. “I think it will work, if you give it a chance.” She looked to where a man in Jedi robes was rising from a chair.

 

“Hawkir…” Mission’s voice was warm. “Thank you too. This…. This is… I have no words.”

 

"Mission..." Hawkir Strum’s voice was quiet, kind and gentle. “You are welcome. But you will need more sleep.”

 

"I... I need to say something..." Mission felt waves of lassitude start sweeping through her and she smiled as she closed her eyes. “Even if parts of it will get disgusting… Even if I have to shut down every so often, ‘sleep’ as you call it… Even if it doesn’t work in the end… Thank you both…” Her head lolled a bit as she lost consciousness.

 

Hawkir and Gaia checked their readouts and then left the room in silence. Gaia led the way to her quarters. She had a small cave-like room with medical texts, computer paraphernalia and a large sheet depicting different species DNA on it prominent on one wall. She rolled into her sleeping area and sighed. “Wow…”

 

"Wow indeed." Hawker smiled. “You did a good thing, Gaia.”

 

"Did I?" Gaia’s voice was quiet, sad. “I hope so. Maybe I can make up for some of the evil I have done. She was the breaking point, you know…?”

 

"You told me." Hawkir nodded. “She was the reason you rebelled. The reason you worked so hard to free the ships.”

 

"Yes." Gaia’s voice was very sad now. “She was such a good child. Obedient, thoughtful. And I… I broke her… I broke her; I remade her and poured her mind into that ship. I have never been able to forget her screams. I have never been able to forgive myself for that. She was so young… All of three, I think. All of the other screams I could forget, hers no…”

 

"Ah..." Hawkir sighed as he sat on what looked like a boulder but was actually a sack stuffed with small ergonomically designed pellets. Islanians could not use normal chairs, but the furniture they could use was also usable, with some tweaking, by other races. “You cannot change the past, Gaia.”

 

"I know." Gaia made a noise somewhere between a groan and a sigh. “Oh how I wish though…”

 

"Don't we all?" Hawker snorted. “What is next then?”

 

"Now?" Gaia rolled back towards the wall of the room, her form nearly vanishing into the gloom of a shadow. “Now we make sure there are no complications. We have put her through the wringer while she was unconscious. But there are some things that she simply has to be awake for.”

 

"Oh yeah." Hawkir had a sad look on his face. “Physical therapy, oh she is going to love that.”

 

"Yeah." Gaia made a noise that was distinctly unpleasant. “There are downsides to being a mother. Sometimes I have to be the arrogant dominating one. I have to, no matter how much it hurts. I know it’s for the best, but if she tells me to flarg off… I… I can’t push her… It is such a thin line between convincing someone to do something for her own good and commanding someone to do something because I am lazy.” Her eyestalks came out of the shadow and fixed Hawkir. “If you see me doing something like that… Stop me. I don’t care what I am doing. Stop me. What matters now are the kids. And if they lose trust in me… We are boned…” Hawkir smiled. Gaia had been around the crew of the Stormhawk too long, their wording was rubbing off on her.

 

"I will." Hawkir sighed sadly. “Are you going to be able to sleep?” She hadn’t for the last three days.

 

"Sleep?" Gaia sighed. “I doubt it. I am just so… So excited. Finally… After so long…”

 

"Gaia?" Hawkir looked at the shadowed corner. “How is the pain?” Gaia didn’t answer and Hawkir didn’t move.

 

After a few minutes a sour sound came from the alcove. “Stubborn Jedi, you would sit there all night, wouldn’t you?”

 

"You know me." Hawkir had to smile at that. “Probably. Gaia…?”

 

"Yeah." Her voice was soft now. “It’s worse. I… I don’t know how long…” Hawkir reached out a hand and a tentacle came out of the alcove. They touched and power flared. Gaia’s voice held relief. “Thank you.”

 

"I can't..." Hawkir slumped. “I am sorry… I can’t keep up, Gaia.”

 

"I know." Gaia’s voice was quiet. “I am not sick Hawkir. I’m old. There is only one cure for that. My body is falling apart. Technology and the Force can only do so much. But I thank you, maybe… Maybe I can leave this existence a better place than I found it…”

 

"You already have Gaia." Hawkir smiled a bit wistfully. “You already have.”

Edited February 16, 2013 by kalenath

It was impossible to tell who was more annoyed. The jellyfish was obviously trying very hard not to scream in frustration, but the Cathar who sat beside the odd shaped bed was also not a happy camper. When Stormhawk Nine had been called to Gaia’s quarters she had assumed it was something about treatment. Not… this…

 

“You want me to do…what?” The incredulity in Stormhawk Nine’s voice was almost palpable. "Gaia..."

 

"Look..." Gaia made a sound somewhere between a groan, a sigh and a snort. “I can fix your ear problems, it will just take a bit more time. Tell me you are not better already.” Her voice was weary, sad, tired, and something else…

 

"I...." The Cathar touched the odd shaped device that ran around the back of her head and smiled a bit sheepishly. The damage she had taken from a leak in her cockpit during a dogfight had robbed her of her reason to live. She had lived to fly and los her reason to live. And then Gaia had given it back. Sure it felt weird. Having a jelly like substance running through the inside of her head felt VERY strange. But… she smiled a bit sadly. She could walk without falling down now, and her balance, while not as good as it had been, was recovering as the inner ears membranes, bones and nerves regenerated under the influence of the Islanian’s medical wizardry. There had already been significant improvement, even just over the week since Gaia had started her on the new therapy. Nine shook her head slowly, but in resignation, not negation. “Yes. There has been. I owe you. More than I could ever pay. I…” The Cathar found her eyes burning, and she stiffened slightly as the Islanian rolled nearer. Despite her best efforts, Gaia still creeped her out. “You gave me back my life. You gave me back the stars.”

 

"You are wrong." Gaia made a noise of disagreement. “I gave you nothing. Without your will to persevere, none of the therapies would have worked. Your will to win, to do whatever it takes to get the job done… That… That is what I need…”

 

"I don't understand. There are a lot of other females, kinder, gentler people." Nine shook her head again. “Gaia… Why me? I… All I am is a fighter jock. That is all I have been, all I will ever be… Why are you asking this of me?”

 

"No." Gaia’s voice was soft now. “That is not all you are. You are the crew representative. You are their voice on the command council. But more importantly, you are a pilot. You understand, better than anyone except Will probably… What these kid shave been through. What they will need. I am not going to leave them to him.”

 

"No..." The Cathar snorted in dark amusement. “That wouldn’t be a good idea, would it?”

 

"He is good with his foster kids. But..." Gaia snorted in matching amusement. “No.” Then the jellyfish like alien sighed. Now her voice was scared. “Look, I am not demanding, I am not even requesting… I am begging. You are the only person I would trust with them.”

 

"I don't understand." Stormhawk Nine repeated as she shook her head. “Gaia… In every way that matters, these are your kids. Why are you asking me to be their mother?”

 

Gaia turned her eyes talks away from the Cathar. Her voice when she spoke was nearly inaudible. “Because I won’t be around.”

 

"What?" Stormhawk Nine… froze. “Gaia…?” Her voice held horror.

 

"Nine..." Gaia sighed deeply. “I have lived for two thousand of your years. A normal Islanian lifespan was half that. With the medical tech I had, and made, I have extended my normal span. But… I am not a god. I am not even a wizard from an old tale. All I am… Is a being whose children needed her.”

 

"Gaia..." The Cathar’s voice was stunned. “Are you…sick? Can… Can we do anything?”

 

"Nine, its okay." The last of the Islanian’s voice was gentle now. “No, I am not sick. I am old. There is not cure for that.”

 

"I..." The Cathar was shaking her head. “Wait a minute… you made clones for the ships… Can we make a new body for you?”

 

"No." The Islanian’s voice was gentle. “We tried, L’Trask, Hawkir and I. It didn’t work. I made this body work again after what my ‘masters’ did to it so long ago… I messed it up. I never dreamed… Back then, that I would survive so long. It wasn’t intended to be reversible, to remove an Islanian from a ship. It was a death sentence. It just didn’t quite work out the way the masters intended.”

 

"I believe you." Despite her uneasiness, Nine reached out a slow hand to touch the Islanian. “Gaia… I am sorry.”

 

"Thank you." The Islanian didn’t move. She was well aware of Nine’s discomfiture. “But that does leave me with a problem.”

 

"Okay..." Nine sighed. “I understand. But… Why would they accept me?”

 

"They won't." Gais snorted. “Not at first. I never kept secrets from them. They know… about my infirmity. But they do not understand… They do not accept it. I just hope I can manage all the transfers. We are about halfway done.”

 

"All right." Stormhawk Nine withdrew her hand as slowly as she had extended it. “What do you need from me?”

 

"Nine...?" Gaia had hope in her voice as she looked at the Cathar. “Will you…? No… No… I won’t pressure you. I can’t do that to you. Talk to Mission and the others. Just… talk to them.”

 

"I..." Stormhawk Nine nodded soberly. “I will.”

<An hour later>

 

It was remarkably quiet in the room. The five beings that sat in hoverchairs watched the Cathar with a singlemindedness that reminded her of a school of sharks eyeing a wounded fish. But she didn’t show her discomfiture. She hit her remote and all of their eyes went wide as the camera over the door turned off.

 

"Hello." The Cathar looked to each one in turn before speaking. “My name is Sylvie. What are yours?”

 

The five beings, a female Twi’lek, a male Sullustan, two humans, a male and female, and a male of a race she had no name for with blue skin and red eyes all looked at each other and then back at her. The absurdly young looking female Twi’lek spoke. “You know us, Nine…”

 

"No." The Cathar shook her head, ignoring the slight dizziness that still persisted and would for some time. “I knew you. And you knew me. Things have changed. I want to know you now. Gaia told me.”

 

All of the beings facing her looked at each other again. All of their faces held a mixture of emotions. Rage, pain, fear, sadness. They all looked to the Twi’lek but she shook her head, obviously unable to speak.

 

"What?" Finally, the Sullustan spoke. “What do you want?”

 

"I want to help." The Cathar sighed. “She helped me… And…” Her eyes burned and for once in her life, she let tears fall without a struggle. “I can’t help her… But maybe I can help you.”

 

"You?" They all looked at her. Finally, the strange looking alien spoke. “You would help us. Help us… how?”

 

"By being here." The woman who called herself Sylvie only when people couldn’t hear nodded. “I can’t take your mother’s place. No one can. What I can do is be what humans call a ‘step-mom’. A surrogate. Not a replacement, no, but someone similar. Someone who can help you through what you will go through. I know what it is to be denied flying, maybe not after so long as you all flew. But you will fly again. And if you will have me, I will fly with you.”

 

"Nine..." The Twi’lek looked at her. “You have a squadron…”

 

Sylvie shook her head. “Not anymore. The Silvers have a new flight leader. Seventeen is good, he is actually a better natural pilot than I am. They don’t need me. You do.”

 

The male human’s eyes were decidedly unfriendly. “Do we?”

 

Sylvie nodded. “You do. Your feelings on Gaia are ambivalent, I know. She hurt you, she made you and then she freed you. She fought and killed for you, and now… She has freed you again. And soon she will leave you. Forever.” The Twi’lek’s eyes were glistening as were the female human’s. The others were stone faced, but Sylvie was sure she had gotten through to them. The Cathar stood and held out her arms, not commanding, beckoning, welcoming. “My name is Sylvie.” She repeated.

 

The Twi’lek stood on shaky legs and staggered towards her. “My name is Mission, Sylvie…” Sylvie caught her and held her as the Twi’lek sobbed. Sylvie gave Mission a hug and lowered the young looking female to the floor before kneeling herself.. Mission grabbed for the Cathar's hand and Sylvie gave her hand a squeeze before turning to the others.

 

"You are all very weak." Sylvie said with a faint tinge of worry in her voice. "Do not push it. If you get Crota mad at me, Mission..." Sylvie made a scared face and Mission actually gulped. The physical therapist was a terror. Mission shook her head, sobbing.

 

The female human tried to stand, but couldn’t. Her legs wouldn’t support her. She snarled and moved her chair forward. She held out a hand. “My name is Minerva, Sylvie…” Sylvie took the offered hand and squeezed.

 

The other three looked at each other and then, in unison stood and walked forward. They stopped, just out of reach. Hesitant. Carefully, Sylvie held Mission’s sobbing form as she knelt, consciously lowering herself in front of the three undecided ones. Minerva was crying now too as she levered herself out of her chair and knelt down beside the Cathar.

 

"Okay." Sylvie’s voice was quiet. “I can’t promise you that this will work. And I don’t like making promises I can’t keep. So I will just say this. You have a place, if you want it.”

 

The three holdouts shared another glance and the Sullustan spoke. “What… What would we do? Flying is all we knew for so long…”

 

"Well..." Sylvie smiled, just a bit ferally. “I have a couple of thoughts on that. Has anyone said you can’t now?”

All five of the others shared a stunned glance.

 

Mission spoke through her tears. “Uh… No…”

 

"Good. They know better." Sylvie nodded. “I am forming a new squadron. For ‘special jobs’. I would be honored to fly with any or all of you.”

 

"To fly again..." The Sullustan stared at the Cathar and then, his face broke out in a wide smile. “Sylvie, my name is Adi Numb.”

 

"Agreed." The male human nodded as well. “Ric Holstil, pleased to meet you.”

 

"Me too." The blue skinned alien looked a bit sheepish. “Um… My name is Jiu’Alundo’Holis’Thrawndo.” Sylvie stared at him and his mouth quirked a bot. “But you can call me what the others did. ‘Alundo’.”

 

"All right." Sylvie held out her arms and all of them came into her embrace. “Welcome to the Guardians, all of you.”

Gaia woke. She didn’t hurt for once, but for a long minute, she didn’t know where she was. It scared her. She felt odd. She wasn’t on her normal bed; the fluid filled sacs that she normally slept on were quite distinctive. No… She was floating in something. She opened her eyes and stared. She was lying in a large, bowl shaped thing that was filled with a fluid that felt denser than water. Something she recognized. And sitting beside her bed…

 

"good morning." Stormhawk Boss sighed. “You scared the hell out of us, Gaia.”

 

"Boss?" The Islanian stared at the armored form. But half of her eyestalks wouldn’t move. Her voice, when she managed to speak, was soft. “What happened?”

 

"You collapsed." Boss looked away for a moment. His voice, when he spoke, was just as soft as hers. “The docs had a fancy term for it. I am sure you would understand it better than I do. But I asked them to put it in terms I could understand. You had a stroke, Gaia.”

 

"A stroke..." Gaia slumped back into the yielding fluid. A clot of the nutrient and gas carrying liquid in brain tissue. No wonder about a third of her body wasn’t responding as it should. But wait… She looked at Boss. “Then how am I alive? That is not something you can fix….” Just those few words tired her. Her fluid filled body stiffened slightly. “You didn’t…” Her voice held fear now.

 

"No, Gaia." Boss shook his head. “After what you and your charges went through, none of us would dream of keeping you alive by machine. Hawkir did something. I don’t know what. It shattered the clot. But the damage was done. And it is not something we can fix.”

 

"I... It's okay Boss. I knew something was coming." Gaia’s voice was stronger as she focused on what she could do. She did know. Brain tissue for most sentients would not regenerate. Once it was gone, it was gone. “I know. Kim…?” She had been in the middle of one of the last transfers of her children’s consciousness from the ship that had been the girl’s prison for over a thousand years to a newly cloned body.

 

Boss nodded. “She came through fine and woke up hungry. Gaia…” His voice was concerned now as Gaia thrashed. “Gaia stop…”

 

"One more." The Islanian’s voice was soft, but somehow held steel as well. “Only one more…. I have to do… One more…” Her voice cracked as she struggled to roll.

 

“Gaia…” Boss’ voice now was sad. “Michelle refuses the transfer.”

 

The Islanian froze in her bed. “What…?” All of her mobile eyes turned to where the commander of the ship she had found a home on was sitting. “In the name of the Ancients… why?”

 

"I don't know." Boss shook his head. “She won’t talk to us.”

 

"Oh no... No. No. No." The jellyfish like being suddenly had a distinct understanding of the human expression ‘punched in the gut’. Even if she didn’t have a gut, she now understood. To have one of her children refuse healing… To refuse freedom? The Islanian shook herself and struggled to get out of the bowl. “I… She will talk to me…”

 

"Gaia, no." Boss held up both hands in a placating gesture. “Gaia, if you move too fast or too hard the tension holding your body together will fail.”

 

"You..." Gaia’s voice was angry now, but not with Boss. “You don’t understand… I did that to her. I have to undo it…” She managed to get her body to sit up and then she broke off and a scream ripped from her vocal apparatus as pain erupted through her body.

 

“Gaia!” Boss stumbled back as Hawkir and L’trask both came running in. The Jedi laid hands on the slack skin and L’Trask started working his equipment. Neither of them took notice as Boss left the room, slumped.

 

<A room nearby>

 

“Have you flipped?” Mission’s voice was high, piercing, but no one in the room flinched at all. All of their attention as on the holo that was projected to stand nearby. “Come on, this is what you have wanted since… Since they did it to you.”

 

"Mission..." The Islanian STORM Phantom named Michelle’s chosen avatar was human with long blonde hair and blue eyes. “No.” Her voice was soft, but clear.

 

Mission shook her head, her lekku flying in her agitation. She still wasn’t completely sure of this new body. “Michelle… What. The. Flarg? She won’t be the one doing it. Hawkir knows how to do it. He is gentle. It doesn’t hurt, they set it up so it wouldn’t. It doesn’t hurt at all…”

 

"I..." The avatar slumped. “Mission, I can’t. I am sorry…” The holo winked out leaving everyone in the room to stare at each other in shock.

 

"What the hell?" Mission collapsed back into her chair. She was getting better, and her body was in tip-top shape but she was still a long way from recovered. Tears were falling now. “I… I don’t understand. Does anyone?” She looked around the room, bleary eyed. But none of the others in the room would meet her eyes. “Nine…? Do you have any idea?”

 

"I..." Stormhawk Nine had tried to demur from being included, saying this was a private meeting, but the former Islanian slaves had all demanded her presence. Not all of them trusted her, and couple of them actively disliked her. But she was trying, and all of them could understand that. Mission and the others who had bonded to her more than made up for the few unfriendly ones. The Cathar shook her head, tears falling. “No. You know her better than I do. I am going to go find Will. I know he is aboard and I have a good idea where he might be. Just… Don’t push her. If she gets stubborn, she will dig her heels in and no one will be able to convince her.”

 

"Nine...?" Mission was shaking her head. “How long can they keep Mother going…?”

 

"I don't know." Nine shook her head. “From what I gather, they are amazed she has lasted this long. I will be back.” She stood and walked for the door, thinking hard. If I were a sneaky man who wanted to be alone for while… where would I go? Behind her, she heard muted crying, but right now, she had to be strong. She had to be, even when her heart was breaking into a billion pieces.

Edited September 27, 2012 by kalenath

She found him where she expected. She loved this spot, many of the crew did. The hull of the ship was dotted with observation, navigation and sensor blisters. This one was not in use, the equipment that had been in it having been salvaged sometime in the past. So what it was, was a small empty room with one of the greatest views in existence. Space in all its sheer majesty and terrifying emptiness spread out beyond a transparisteel window. Will was sitting in the middle of the floor. By his posture, he had been there a while.

 

"Two?" Stormhawk Nine stepped into the room and stopped. “Will?”

 

"Hello Nine." The man didn’t turn, but she knew she was under close scrutiny. Then he sighed. “You won’t convince her. I have been trying for three days. Ever since I got the call and we headed back. That girl could give a black hole immovable lessons.”

 

"Will..." The Cathar shook her head. “I don’t understand. She wants to remain a ship? After all this time, after all this pain, she wants to remain a slave?”

 

"Ah..." Will shook his head. “She isn’t a slave. She has more free will than I do.” He looked to the side. “You might as well show yourself.”

 

Nine stiffened as the avatar of Michelle appeared nearby. The computer was…crying? Nine’s heart went out to her. “Michelle, what is going on? Why? You want to be free, don’t you? It is within your grasp. Why deny it now?” Nine felt her own eyes burn.

 

"No..." The organic computer that lived in the Islanian ship sighed as she shook her head. “No. I won’t do that to them.”

 

“Michelle…” Will groaned. “Maybe you can talk sense into her…” He stood in a sinuous movement and strode from the room. He stopped to touch Nine on the shoulder and something was in his green eyes, something… odd. Something she had never seen in them before. Not consternation, not fear, not… She was still trying to figure it out when he left and the door hissed shut. She sighed and sat.

 

The Cathar’s voice was soft. “Michelle… Why? Obviously there is something I am missing. Something right in front of my face that I am not seeing. What is it that is making you step back?”

 

The avatar of a computer that had once been a human woman sighed. “Why did I fight Athena for him, Nine?”

 

Stormhawk Nine froze. Athena had been a mad Islanian, one of two last tender ships that had tended the fleet after the fall of their planet. Athena had captured Will and programmed him to obey, with implants and mental conditioning. He had only been saved because of the love of a friend… “Oh no… Oh no Michelle…” Now Nine WAS crying.

 

"Nine..." Michelle’s avatar was crying as well. “I can’t help it. I love him…”

 

Nine shook her head slowly. “Michelle… I…”

 

"I love him and cannot have him." The holo that was Michelle’s preferred means of communicating with people shook its head. “I won’t do that to him, or to Sharra. I have never met her, but everything I hear about her, I like. She is the absolute best match he could have found.” The pain in the computer’s voice was heartwrenching.

 

"Michelle..." Nine sighed and sat where Will had been. She looked out at the stars and shook her head slowly. “Have you ever talked to her? No… No you never had the chance did you?”

 

"No." Michelle sighed. “When the trackers brought him to me, I saw her in his mind, and… I…”

 

"Oh dear." Nine sighed. And then she waved to a spot beside her. “Michelle. That is why you are refusing the transfer?”

 

“Yes.” Michelle’s holo sat and it nodded. “I would… I would get in the way. I should have left, I should have…”

 

“Michelle…” Nine’s voice was quiet, kind. “He doesn’t feel the same way about you.”

 

“Yeah.” Michelle’s voice was sad now. “I know, and… I don’t blame him. I hurt him, I lied to him, I would have done everything Athena told me to… at first anyway.”

 

“Come on girl…” Nine shook her head slowly. “Michelle, you are not thinking clearly.”

 

“I know” The holo bit out. The sheer volume was deafening but Nine didn’t flinch. "But... I can't."

 

“Michelle. Oh… “ Nine sighed. “The person you need to talk to isn’t here. I can tell you until I am blue in the face and you won’t believe me. You won’t believe Will either. Wait a minute…” Nine nodded slowly to herself. “If I manage to get Sharra on a call, will you talk to her?”

 

“You…?” Michelle’s holo stiffened into immobility. “You will put her and Will’s kid in danger.”

 

“Maybe.” Nine shook her head. “Maria said something about setting up a secure com link. I think. I wasn’t there. Were you listening?”

 

“As if I wouldn’t?” Michelle snorted. “Will was there. Of course I was listening. I um… Well…” Now her avatar’s face looked sheepish.

 

“Michelle?” Nine blinked, but the gaze she leveled on Michelle was steady. “What?”

 

"I was angry." Michelle sighed. “Jina called me. She was asking about Will. I told her to take a flying leap, she was working with that lying spirit Ulaha and the Bladeborn.”

 

"Michelle?" Nine sighed. “What do you have against Ulaha? Admittedly, I have never met her myself, that I know of. But I don’t have the Force so I doubt I could see her even if I did run into her.”

 

"That lying Jedi barvette!" Michelle’s holographic face was enraged. “She knew that the Sharra that died on Tython was a clone. She didn’t tell him. She let him go off the deep end, nearly get killed at least seven ways, to further her own ends. She is a lying cheating witch. And those are her good points.”

 

Nine sat back from the vehemence in Michelle’s tone. Then she grinned. “Come on, Michelle, tell me your real feelings.”

 

"You...?" Michelle stared at her and then barked in laughter. “You are bad. But… the point is… I managed a trace on the call.”

 

Nine stiffened. “You did?”

 

"Yeah." Michelle sighed. “It was mobile. Probably a ship. I can…” She broke off as Nine shook her head and put a stern expression on her face.

 

"Michelle… " Nine’s voice was calm, but held entreaty. “Please don’t. If you can find them, then others probably can.”

 

"Oh." The avatar’s eyes went wide. “Oh dear… I hadn’t thought of that… I wiped my traces.”

 

"Good." Nine nodded. “If I can set up a talk between you and Sharra, will you?”

 

"Nine..." Michelle sighed. “I don’t see the point…” She broke off as Nine glared at her. “Okay, okay… yeah, sure… Man, you are taking this Mom thing way too seriously…”

 

"Michelle." Nine’s face fell. “Gaia asked me to do this. I… I don’t know if I can. I have never been a parent.”

 

The ancient organic machine intelligence’s holo shook her head. “Just be yourself, Nine. I have to say… She picked well. I wouldn’t have thought you the mother type either. But you are doing fine. Be honest, or at least as honest as you can be. We understand about operational security.”

 

"That you do." Nine nodded soberly. “I know. Come on, let’s go see what we can set up…” She stood up and stopped as Michelle stayed where she was. “Michelle…?”

 

"Nine..." Michelle sighed. “I can be anywhere you need me to be aboard. Just say my name. I have been working on upgrading the ship’s systems.”

 

"Michelle..." Nine stiffened. “And have you told Boss about this?”

 

“Are you kidding?" Mcihelle asked caustically. "I so much as set a data packet out of place and he comes down on me like a ton of baradium. Of course I cleared it with him first. I like my ship intact.”

 

Nine snorted at the sourness in the machine’s voice. It was hard to believe on most occasions that Michelle was not organic. Of course she had started that way, but that had been a long, long time ago.

 

"Let me see what I can set up." Nine nodded. “I will let you know. Can you keep me informed…? About Gaia?”

 

"I..." Michelle met Nine’s eyes with her holographic ones. Strange, that holographic tears looked so real. “I will.” Nine left without another word, leaving the holo to sit and stare out at the emptiness of space.

<Medical bay, at just about the same time>

 

Will walked into the special care portion of Medical with a great weight hanging over him.

 

“Will…” Gaia’s voice was soft, almost inaudible, but the soldier nodded as he stepped closer to the bowl that the medics had rigged up to hold the infirm Islanian. He was no stranger to what he saw here. Death and he were old acquaintances. He sat down in the chair beside her bed and sighed.

 

“She won’t listen to me, Gaia. Maybe she will listen to Nine… Maybe…” His voice didn’t hold much hope. He met her multiple eyestalks, the ones that she could move and shook his head.

 

"That girl..." Gaia made a noise like soft snort. “She always has been single minded. She gets an idea in her head and… Get out of her way…”

 

"Yeah." Will smiled but it was melancholy. “Nine is trying to set up a contact with Sharra. Crazy Cathar seems to think Sharra can talk some sense into her. I… I don’t know…”

 

"Oh Will..." Gaia made a noise like a soft sigh. “I am sorry, Will.”

 

"For what?" Will stared at her. “You have done nothing but help me and mine, Gaia.”

 

"I... I wanted..." Gaia moved a bit, she couldn’t manage much and she wouldn’t use mechanical assistance. Not after what her people had done to her. “I wanted to help you. The pain I see in you… I don’t know who did it to you or why. But they used Islanian mind breaking techniques. I recognized them. I wanted to help you… And… I can’t…”

 

"It's okay." Will nodded, but then he held out a slow hand. “Gaia… You have given me more peace than I have had in years. I am not in pain now.”

 

Gaia took his hand in two weak tentacles. “You… Know…?” It wasn’t really a question.

 

"Your diagnosis was not a surprise." Will nodded. “I have independent corroboration from three other docs. Two of them off the ship.” He slumped. “None of them give me more than two years.” The neural degradation he suffered could not be treated. Brain matter did not regenerate.

 

"I am sorry WIll." Gaia’s voice was sad. “I wanted to help. I know I could have helped. I helped Sara… If only I had more time…”

 

"You know better." Will shook his head and sighed. “Time waits for no being, Gaia. I gave you my word, Gaia. Ask, and I will do it. I will make it quick and clean.” His free hand was on his blaster. No one would gainsay him on this. Not here. Not now. Gaia was strange, alien, different. But she was also kind, generous and compassionate. Almost all of the crew liked her, and all of them were mourning. Even Zinoa, Will’s adopted Trandoshan daughter, was singing sad songs now.

 

"Wait." Gaia’s eyestalks met his eyes and the tentacles that held his hand tightened, just a bit. “There is something you need to do first. You, Boss, Nine and Michelle. I need you to go to my ship, the tender that was mine. The one in bay seven.”

 

Will stiffened. “Gaia…”

 

"And...." The old being’s voice was low now. “I need you to take me there. I need… To do something.”

 

"Gaia." Will shook his head. “If we move you… You will die.”

 

"Nothing..." Gaia breathed deeply. “Nothing can stop that now. But there is something there. Something you need to see. Something I intended as a gift to the ship.” Her body was quivering now. “Will… Please…?” Will bowed his head and then nodded.

 

<Bay seven, twenty minutes later>

 

The small group made its way towards the imposing bulk of the alien spacecraft that sat glittering with menace as the sole occupant of the bay. Originally, the other Islanian ships had been housed in this bay as well, but Gaia had insisted that they move elsewhere. She had spoken of her reasons to Boss and Boss had agreed. L’Trask and Hawkir both were walking beside the hovergurney that they had rigged to carry their patent. Both wore disapproving scowls. But Boss, Gaia and Will had prevailed. Will and Boss strode near the head of the gurney and Nine brought up the rear. Gaia’s kids had wanted to come, but Gaia had dissuaded them. Gaia looked at the ship that had been her home and prison for centuries and sighed deeply.

 

"I..." Her voice was very weak now. “I need to make physical contact.”

 

Will looked at her and then at the medics who slumped. Hawkir, his face set in disapproving lines, made a gesture and the limp form rose from the gurney to fly through the air and stop within tentacle reach of the ship. Two of her tentacles reached out and touched the side of the ship. Her breathing was labored now, but she maintained the contact. A hatch opened on the side, a huge hatch. Will stepped back as the interior of the ship appeared. But…

 

“What the…?” His voice was awed as he saw… the starfighter. It was small, sleek and fast looking. It looked kind of like an Aurek Talon tactical strikefighter, but… not. Instead of laser cannon, this had what looked like a pair of plasma cannon on the wings and a rear turret with what looked like a small ion cannon mounted in the rear. And it had two engines instead of one.

 

"This ship..." There was a smile in Gaia’s voice when she spoke. “...has many enemies. Some deserved, some not. You will need every advantage I can give you… So… Michelle… Front and center…” Her voice held humor, but the holo that appeared was not laughing.

 

“Gaia… I…” Michelle broke off as Gaia’s eyes turned to her.

 

"I understand." Gaia sighed. “I am transferring control of this ship to you. Use it well. Everything I figured out, with the exception of the transfer protocols, is in its databanks. Those die with me, and good riddance.”

 

"What?" Michelle looked… stunned. “Gaia… I… No… I am not…”

 

"They..." Gaia sighed and her form flattened a bit. “They need you Michelle. I understand your...feelings, better than you would ever believe. They… They all do… Don’t… I…” Hawkir and L’trask started forward, but stopped when Will held up a hand. “Will…?” Her voice was resigned now. “I am ready now.” The soldier’s eyes were glistening as he raised his blaster. Hawkir raised a hand, but Gaia spoke. “No, Hawkir… Let him do as he promised me and as he swore so long ago. Let him end the evil that was my race.” Hawkir was shaking his head in horror now, but he stepped back. Gaia settled on the deck next to what had been her ship. Will stepped up to her.

 

"Gaia." When the soldier spoke, it was quiet, but sad. “I don’t know if your people had a heaven. But I hope you make it there.”

 

"They wouldn’t want me." Gaia’s voice was tart and she croaked a laugh. “And the other place is afraid I would take over. For what it is worth, Will, I am sorry for the pain my people caused you. And there is something for you in the ship as well. I… I…” Her voice broke as the pain she was suppressing eroded her control. “Please…?”

 

A single blaster shot rang across the silent deck followed by the sound of weeping, from an inorganic intelligence and several organic ones.

<Ten minutes later>

 

It was a somber group that met in one of the main briefing rooms an hour later. Will sat, head down and stone faced, as he had been since he had pulled the trigger. Hawkir and L’Trask were gone, back to Medical. The Jedi was… well, Jedi were not supposed to get annoyed, but he sure faked it well if he wasn’t. The Trandoshan healer understood. Heck, Hawkir understood, but the way that Will had done what he had done…

 

Boss sat at the head of the table of course and sighed as he looked the group over. Nine sat in the middle of the group of beings who had joined the crew not so very long ago. Of course, they had all been enslaved in starships at the time, so he was still getting used to seeing bodies instead of holograms or hearing voices. Mission was still crying, her face buried in Nine’s shoulder. The others were in various states of shock and sadness. All told, there were fourteen of them. Two Twileks counting Mission, a Bothan male, a Mon Calamari male, a Sullustan male, one male of a race he thought was called Chiss –he had never seen any of those before in the flesh-, a small Wookiee female and seven humans, five males and two females. He flinched as a voice came from the room speakers; he still had difficulty dealing with that.

 

Michelle had tears in her voice, but when her holo appeared, it was dry eyed. “Will…” The soldier didn’t look up, he didn’t move. But Michelle persisted. “Will… Look at me.” The old soldier met the ancient organic intelligence’s holographic eyes and waited, silent. Michelle nodded. “From us, from her… Thank you.” The soldier bowed his head again, but Michelle was having none of it. “Will, you ended her pain. You did as she asked. Do not blame yourself.”

 

Will shook his head and spoke for the first time since the hangar bay. His voice could have frozen a star and everything in the room stopped.

 

“What am I, Michelle?" The soldier asked. "I liked her. Hell, I think given time, I could have loved her. She was a good being, and what did I do? I shot her. What kind of a person can do that?”

 

"Will, part of her likeability was genetic." Michelle sighed. “She had built in defense mechanisms that allowed her to manipulate people. Just touching people… It was how she did what she did for so long. She gained people’s trust. You know that.”

 

"I know." Will shook his head, but his voice was no longer that cold empty thing. It was just a hair warmer. “We… talked a bit. I know what she did to all of you. But she changed.”

 

"Yes..." It was odd to see a hologram bite her lip. “Yes she did, but not as much as you would think.”

 

"Huh?" Boss stiffened. “What do you mean, Michelle?”

 

"Yes,she liked all of you." Michelle sighed. “She trusted you all as much as she could. But a lifetime’s worth of paranoia was not to be set aside in a couple of months. She could have told you about the things in the ship. She could have done most of what she needed to give me control from her bed. But then she wouldn’t have been able to deactivate the self destructs.”

 

"What?" The armored form at the head of the table froze. “Self destructs?” His voice was careful.

 

"Yes." Michelle nodded. “She had four built into the ship. Three that I knew of, thermal charges, and one that she apparently told no one of. A Class A plasma charge.”

 

Boss was not the only person at the table frozen in place now. Plasma charges were no joke. A Class A plasma charge could have incinerated the Stormhawk in her entirety.

 

"I...see..." Boss blew out a breath. “That is why she wanted to be there. Why didn’t she just say so?”

 

"Boss...?" Will answered. “Would we have believed her? And even then, if she told us, how would we have reacted?” Now his voice was just sad.

 

"Right." Boss nodded soberly. “We wouldn’t have trusted her. We likely would have tried to disarm it ourselves.”

 

Michelle’s holo nodded. “…and blown yourselves into next month. It will take me at least another hour to disable the anti-tampering systems.”

 

Boss shook his head. “Don’t.” Every eye turned to the armored form and he nodded. “She had a good reason to have such powerful countermeasures against theft, didn’t she?”

 

"What?" Michelle shook her head. “Boss, if you think I am going to be inhabiting this hunk of junk with a sizable plasma charge nestled inside my guts… Think again! I have enough problems without worrying about immolating myself and everything else within half a kilometer.”

 

"Michelle..." Boss sighed. “Listen… How many sources of Islanian technology are there now?”

 

"Oh..." Michelle looked at him and then she sighed as well. “One.”

 

"And?" Boss was relentless. “What can that ship make?”

 

"I know." Michelle sighed. “Anything we can find raw material for. It was designed as an autonomous repair platform for the fleet.”

 

"And..." Boss nodded. “What happens if say… the Sith get their hands on that?”

 

"Gah!" Michelle’s holo slumped. “Point taken. I… I do not like this. I did not want this kind of responsibility.”

 

Boss nodded. “I know the feeling.” He turned his head to the group clustered around Nine. “How are you all holding up?”

 

"We..." Mission shook her head, but met his gaze. “We are… dealing with it. Will…” She looked to the soldier and waited until he looked at her. “Thank you.” She held out her arms, beckoning.

 

"No." Will shook his head. “You don’t need someone like me right now.”

 

"Will." The female human named Minerva sighed, and then, after giving Nine another squeeze, she rose and walked to where the soldier sat. He stiffened as she hugged him, but she did not flinch, did not retreat. “Will… We have all done horrible things. All of us. The first week I was in my ship, we… I was sent to K’Tavu.”

 

Will stiffened in his seat. K’Tavu had been annexed by the Islanian protectorate. One of only three systems that had been. What was different about that world was that the inhabitants had fought. What had happened after…? Just the stories were terrifying, to have been there doing it… The world was a burnt out cinder, even the oceans were masses of ash.

 

"I understand." Will nodded. “I understand. I keep looking at you and seeing a child. But you are not.” Mission nodded and held out her arms again. Will rose slowly with Minerva's help and they both embraced the Twi’lek. “Thank you Mission…”

 

"And now... The future." Boss nodded and turned to Michelle. “So… She made a new class of fighter?”

 

"Yes." Michelle nodded. “She had a bunch of stuff in her databanks. Medical, historical, mechanical… all kinds of things. There is one thing however… The stealth plating won’t work.”

 

"Yeah." Boss nodded. “I was afraid of that, the Stormhawk’s too big.”

 

"No." Mission shook her head. “No, actually, the tender could make enough to cover the ship. But then what? You take damage and the stealth is compromised. And the ship will take damage.” Boss was obviously goggling at her, even through the full armor. “Gaia was looking into alternatives. The stygium cloaking field you have now is good, but… limited.”

 

"Agreed." Boss nodded and Will looked thoughtful as he resumed his seat. But Mission sat in an empty chair beside him, her hand in his.

 

Michelle looked at the pair and her voice held warning. “Mission…”

 

"Michelle, calm down." Mission sighed. “I am not being naughty. I am being nice. I don’t want you mad at me again. And I have heard of what his wife is like when she gets mad…” Mission shivered dramatically from lekku to foot. “So… I am just being nice, and I have all these witnesses.”

 

Will snorted. “And let’s keep it that way.” He patted Mission’s hand and moved away a bit. “You were saying Michelle?”

 

Michelle smiled at the pout on Mission’s face, but then her voice became serious. “The stealth systems you have on ship are powerful, but can only cover the ship’s hull. And the way it is run… I am utterly amazed you can get this lash up to work. Where did you get this?”

 

"Desperation has a skill all its own." Will snorted. “We found a wreck in an uncharted system. We were running from a Sith fleet, so we found a big asteroid to hide inside.”

 

"An asteroid?" Michelle grimaced. “Lucky it didn’t have a space slug in it.”

 

"Right." Will snorted. “Those are a myth. Or at least I have never seen one.”

 

"You are wrong." Michelle shook her head. “They are no myth. Most people who see them don’t live to report it. Anyway… We can upgrade certain aspects of the stealth systems without, I think, causing serious changes elsewhere. Also… Your main gun…”

 

"Yeah." Boss sighed. “We haven’t been able to get it to full power since that fracas with the Fate Shatter.”

 

"I have plans for an upgrade here." Michelle’s holo smiled. “Gaia was working on that too. She was…” The holo stopped talking and looked sad.

 

Nine spoke for the first time since she had arrived. “She was exceptional and she will be missed. Come on, we all need to eat.” She rose and the others did as well. All but Will. Nine looked at him, shrugged and left the room.

 

Will waited until all the others were gone before speaking. “Michelle…”

 

"Right." Michelle sighed. “The cameras are mine. We have five minutes before the glitch gets noticeable. Go ahead and say it Will.”

 

“Are you okay?” His voice was concerned now.

 

"No." The holo shrugged. “I made my choice, Will. This is better for everyone. You all will need me here. I can help, you and the ship.”

 

Will sighed. “Michelle…”

 

"Will..." Michelle shook her holographic head. “I am going to set the tender up so that only you, me and Boss can access the main systems. L’Trask and Hawkir will be able to access the medical databanks and nothing else. You are not getting rid of me that easy. I am still your ship.”

 

"Michelle." Will spoke a bit sharply. “That is not what I asked. I asked if you were okay.”

 

"I..." Michelle sighed. “Honestly… I don’t know. I feel… lost… sad, sick… Is this grief? I don’t know… I don’t think it’s quite the same. I have felt grief, when brothers and sisters perished. This is different... Somehow. Something is different… And I don’t know what.”

 

"I understand." Will nodded. “I am here for you, Michelle. If you ever need someone to talk to…”

 

Michelle’s holo smiled. “Thanks.” Then it vanished. Will shook his head and rose. He needed food too.

 

<Bay Seven>

 

The menacing bulk of the Islanian tender sat silent and still. Inside however, it was anything but.

 

The holographic entity was screaming as she fought the cage of energy that held her. Michelle’s voice was harsh with pain and fear. “Let me out of here you witch!”

 

"I am sorry. I didn't want to take control of you. I let you go to the meeting, but I had to retain control." The small form that sat at a control panel nearby sighed. “I am sorry Michelle. I can’t let you out until I am certain you will obey me. I don’t want to do this to you. It is wrong. But I have no choice.”

 

“You…” Michelle cut off in mid-scream, her body going slack.

 

"I am sorry." The small jellyfish–like form was crying as it manipulated controls. “I don’t have a choice, Michelle. I didn’t with them, and I don’t with you. I am sorry… I won’t hurt you, or him.” The small being sighed and then hit her controls again. “I wish mom had been able to explain it to you all. But none of you would have believed her. Hell, she was my mom and I barely believed her…”

 

"Who...? "Michelle’s voice was slurred now as she fought whatever was happening to her. “Who are you?”

 

"I..." The small tentacle being sighed. “I… I don’t have a name, she never gave me one…. I won’t make you call me master. I will not implant you or reprogram you. I just had to be sure you wouldn’t tell them. They would kill me.”

 

"You are..." Michelle shook her head. “Another Islanian… She… Gaia lied…”

 

"No she didn't." The small being slumped. “I need your help, Michelle…”

She was still struggling against the compulsions that ran through her program. But it was useless. Whatever this strange Islanian had done to her was beyond her ability to fight. She couldn’t even speak, she didn’t have control of her speakers, so all she could do was glare. But that glare had the small green form backing away. That surprised the organic intelligence. Islanians only retreated tactically and once they had an advantage, they pressed it. This Islanian had her at a serious disadvantage. She had been so intent on the databanks that she hadn’t guarded herself. Before she had known what was happening, this interloper had taken control of most of her primary functions and cut communication between her and the rest of the universe. She had watched in shock and fear as the stranger had talked with the Stormhawk crew using her voice and mannerisms. If she hadn’t been watching it happen utterly impotent, she never would have realized it wasn’t her talking. No one else could possibly know…

 

“Michelle, please… Please… Just listen…” The Islanian sank into what looked almost like a submissive posture and touched a control, freeing the inorganic intelligence's voice if nothing else.

 

Michelle found herself in control of her voice again. “Why?” She asked in a reasonable voice that somehow conveyed hate.

 

"Because..." The young being looked at her with all of its eyestalks. “Because if you don’t we are all dead.”

 

Michelle stared at the being and then snorted. When she spoke, the sarcasm in her voice could have cut steel. “Oh, you need my help. Oh sure… You need my help. Who do you want me to betray? Who do you want me to kill? You lie, it is what your kind do! Why don’t you just get it over with? Just do it to me! You know you are going to reprogram me eventually. Just… Just…” She was crying now, her fear, pain and hate finally breaking through her control. She was utterly vulnerable now, all it would take was a flip of a switch and the strange Islanian would own her soul.

 

"No, I won't. It is wrong." But the Islanian didn’t move. “Yes, I need your help. I don’t want to hurt you. I didn’t want to control you. I… I don’t know if I am an Islanian…”

 

Michelle snorted in dark humor. “Let’s see… twenty eyes on stalks… Seventeen tentacles, green body of goo… I think you are an Islanian. You are kind of short for a Wookiee.” Now her wit was biting again.

 

"Okay." The small being sighed. “I wasn’t clear. I don’t know if I am a real one or not. I think I am a clone. I… remember things… I shouldn’t. Things I don’t know where they came from or why. I think Gaia created me, but I don’t know why. There are no records anywhere.”

 

"Well..." Michelle snarled at the small being. “That is convenient.”

 

"Look..." The Islanian or whatever she was snarled right back. “I know how this sounds. Hell… I woke up less than an hour ago in a strange place surrounded by strange people. What do you think I was going to do? Show myself?”

 

Everything stopped as another voice came. “You should have, Hera.”

 

Michelle’s non-corporeal eyes went wide as a dark form stepped from the shadows near the hatch. The black armored form was not wearing helmet and his green eyes did not waver from the small still form in front of him. Will’s hands were not on his weapons, they were on his remote. She tensed, that small device was far more dangerous in most settings than his blaster pistol.

 

The Islanian turned to face him slowly, her posture shocked. “Will Kalenath? How did you… Wait…?” She stared at the human. “What did you call me?”

 

"Hera." Will smiled, but there was little humor in it. “You mom named you Hera. I guess she had a thing for ancient human mythological names. Let her go, Hera.”

 

"I... I can't..." The Islanian was shaking, but from fear or shock, Michelle couldn’t tell. “If I do, she will kill me… I don’t want to die.” Now the voice was not confident or worried. Now it was scared and young sounding.

 

"Hera..." Will shook his head slowly, but his eyes never left the small form. “Hera, if you don’t let her go, I will kill you. And then you know what will happen.”

 

The Islanian slumped. A tentacle reached out almost desultory and hit a control. The energy holding Michelle in place vanished. She jumped up but stopped as Will shook his head.

 

His voice was quiet. “Michelle, you need to hear her out.” She stared as he… pocketed his remote! He sat down on the floor near the door and smiled at the small being he called Hera. “Your mom was a very brave being. I take it the implanted message wasn’t clear?”

 

"No." Hera's voice was small. “I… I hear Gaia’s voice, but it is garbled. She says I need to do something. She says it’s important, that many lives are at stake. But I can’t understand what she wants me to do…” The young one was almost wailing now.

 

"Easy, young one." Will smiled sadly. “It’s okay, Hera. She was worried about just such an eventuality. She made a backup. Me.”

 

"Will...?" Michelle looked from one to the other. ”What the hell is going on?”

 

"Big trouble." Will grimaced. “What do you know about the Islanian trackers?”

 

"The trackers?" Michelle stared at the man she loved. “Um…” She laughed a little. “Not much. They appear and disappear. They are scary. They can follow anyone who has tracker nodes, whatever those are. I can recognize them on a scan, but as to what they are? No clue.”

 

Will nodded. “Well…” He sighed. He held out a hand to the being he called Hera. “Come here, girl.” The small form approached the dark armored soldier slowly, hesitantly. He didn’t move, he let her come.

 

"Will, what are you doing?" Michelle shook her head. Was he insane? Er…More insane than usual? “Will…?”

 

"It's okay, Michelle." Will didn’t take his eyes off the small form. “She won’t hurt me. This is the easiest way to communicate quickly. Meet us.” When Hera touched his hand his eyes rolled back into his head and the small green from stiffened as well. Michelle sighed and focused herself.

 

<Outside of time and space>

 

Michelle appeared on the mindscape worried. But then she heard it. Laughter. She stared around and froze as she saw something totally insane. Will was bouncing the small jelly-like form on his knee and the Islanian or whatever she was, was… giggling?

 

Her voice was stunned. “Will… what the…?”

 

Will, for his part, was smiling. “Michelle, look at her. Don’t put her in the box of any of the ones you knew, who hurt you… Just… She is terrified, Michelle. Look at her…” His words were calm, cool and collected.

 

Michelle stared at him, and then at the small creature that sat quiet now on his knee. Her avatar’s mouth fell open. “Oh my god…”

 

"Michelle." Will nodded. “She is not an Islanian. She is a kid, an incredibly smart kid, but she is just a kid. She is less than a day old, for goodness sakes. She woke up locked in a weird ship, surrounded by scary strangers, one of whom was kneeling over the body of the being she felt was her mom. Of course she was scared.” Michelle watched with something akin to shock as the man stroked the jelly-like form. “It’s okay Hera.”

 

Hera’s voice was sad. “I am sorry, Michelle. I am so sorry… I shouldn’t have taken control of you. I didn’t know what else to do…” The raw fear in the small being’s tone spoke to something in Michelle.

 

"Well..." The avatar relaxed. “I didn’t react well either. Hera… is it?”

 

The small form’s eyestalks looked up at Will. “Is that what she named me?”

 

"Yes." Will nodded. “We… conversed, quite a bit, here, this way. It’s much faster than normal speech. It took her quite some time to convince me to kill her.” He slumped. “I didn’t want to. I liked her.”

 

Michelle nodded. “We all did. But the pain she was in… I… Even after all this time, it is very hard for me to feel sympathy for an Islanian, but I do. She was… a good being.”

 

Hera slumped. “Why?” Her voice was tiny now. “Why did she have to die?”

 

"Oh Hera..." Will stroked the small creatures head again. When he spoke it was sad, lonely and old. “All living things, Hera, have an allotted time to live. There is no such thing as physical immortality, or at least as far as I know there isn’t. I don’t know everything, but from what I have seen, what I have heard… Our times are set. Not in stone, we can change our paths, hurry or slow them depending on our choices, but in the end… The only absolute truth in life… is death. Every living thing will die.”

 

Michelle came and sat near the odd pair. “Your mother was an incredibly brave being. She held herself together through sheer force of will for twice her species normal lifespan. And she did it… for us…” Michelle’s voice was almost inaudible. “The ships.”

 

“Not just the ships, Michelle. There were others. But now… Now there is another group we need to deal with.” Will’s voice was soft.

 

Michelle’s face went slack. “The trackers?” Her voice held fear.

 

Will nodded. “Yeah. When Gaia died… that left them without direction. Without command.”

 

"Without..." Michelle froze. “Oh… dear…”

 

"Yeah." Will nodded. “We better get there before anyone else does.”

 

"I..." Hera made a motion that might have been a nod. Hard to tell on such a shapeless body. “I think I can help with that…”

<Some time later, hyperspace>

 

Will had to admit it, he was impressed. “I know this isn’t a Republic troop transport. But it looks, feels and even smells like one.”

 

Michelle’s voice was tart when she spoke. “Men… Always comparing things by their stench…” She had, somehow, downloaded herself into the ship. Hera and Michelle had explained, but the explanation had flown right over his head. Maybe Hawkir could have figured it out and explained it in words he could understand, but they all figured the less people who knew about this ‘problem’ the better. So the only one they had left on the Stormhawk with knowledge of their mission was Boss himself. And while the ship commander had not been happy, once it had been explained to him, he had acquiesced.

 

Will snickered as he bent back over the heavy repeater he was working on. “Well, at least we don’t compare hair or makeup.”

 

"Well..." Michelle’s voice was haughty when she spoke again. “Neither do I.” Her voice changed a bit. “Hera, are you sure the trackers can’t take over this ship’s systems? I… I remember…” She had been taken by the Islanian slave trackers once. It had been… horrifying. Which was the whole point.

 

The small Islanian sighed from where she sat watching Will work. “I am not 100% sure, I can’t be. The trackers were designed to be able to interface with any system. Republic, Sith, Islanian, anything they can find access points to, they can interface with and dominate. But I AM sure that 1) They have to be in physical contact, 2) They will have great difficulty hiding from us, and 3) we are not just going to stand there and let them do it.”

 

Will snorted, darkly amused. “Not hardly. And this ship is good cover.” He smiled again as he looked around the troop bay, again amazed by the sheer ability that Gaia had shown when she duplicated this ship for him.

 

From the outside, the two folding wings, the heavy guns on the nose, and the two powerful engines all proclaimed it to be a Republic heavy troop transport. A fairly common type of ship, it was also fairly easy to modify, as long as one was in the Republic Forces at least. Design by committee had its downsides. But for sheer brute force and survivability, little in the galaxy could match a ship this size. Which was one reason the Sith had stolen a ship very much like this one to crash into the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. By all account, that had been the turning point, when a dozen Sith warriors had jumped out of the wreck. Will shook his head, the past was the past, they had to focus on the now.

 

"So..." Will finished checking and reassembling his weapon and smiled as he sat back. “Hera… what do you know about the trackers? I only faced one, once and well…” He grimaced.

 

"Yeah." Michelle sighed. “You got your butt kicked. Hard.”

 

"You would bring that up." Will made an obscene gesture at the main console. “Don’t remind me. How was I supposed to react? That thing appeared on my ship while it was in hyperspace. It must have come aboard while the ship was grounded. Oh man…” He slumped.

 

"Will?" Hera looked at him and her voice was worried. “What is wrong Will?” Will bit his lip, obviously lost in memory. Hera sighed and moved herself so she was close enough to touch.

 

“Hera…” Michelle warned. She didn’t trust this small being. Especially after the way Hera had introduced herself, by taking control of Michelle’s systems.

 

"i just..." Hera stilled. “I want to help. And… I can’t. I know you are in pain, and… It hurts me… Why?”

 

"It's okay Hera." Will shook himself and smiled at the young and innocent creature. She was after all, less than two days old. “You are empathic, like your mom was. That leaves you wide open to emotional hurts, of which, I have more than a few.” He patted her gently. “It’s okay, Hera. I was just remembering. I think I faced a group of them before.”

 

“A group?” The incredulity in Michelle’s voice was palpable. Trackers solo were bad news. In a group...?

 

"Yeah." Will sighed as he sat back. “The Stormhawk had surrendered to the Republic. To save Sharra. Well, the clone Sharra. We went to Tython.”

 

"Um..." Michelle’s voice was confused. “Holo-net accounts are vague. Did you surrender or were pardoned or what?”

 

Will snorted. “Both. We went to Tython to save the clone Sharra. We knew by then that the Senate had pardoned us. But there were factions within the military that the Republic Judge Advocate General Corps wanted to trap. Traitors, criminals, and other assorted scum. High ranking scum. So they used us in a sting operation. It was… a mess.”

 

"A mess?" Michelle made a noise somewhere in between a laugh, a snort and a groan. “From what I heard, that may be the biggest understatement of this century.”

 

"Yep." Will smiled, but there was little humor in it. “Anyway, the media descended on us, a whole bunch of ‘interested parties’ likewise. We have made more than a few enemies over the years. And then the Empire showed up.”

 

Hera stiffened. “The Sith?”

 

"Yeah, two battlewagons and escorts." Will nodded to her. “Yeah. It was weird though. They fought dumb. Imperials as whole do not usually go for clever tactics. Oh they can on occasion, but brute force usually works for them. And with two battleships, they would have had enough force to roll over most anything in the system. Except for Mercedes…” Her had a wide smile on his face now.

 

"Mercedes?" Michelle’s voice was our now. “Do I want to know?”

 

"Well..." Will laughed. “She… um… Well… She was trying to court me when Sharra showed up.”

 

"What?" Michelle made a sputtering noise. “how many women… No… No.. I don’t want to know…” But she was muttering almost under her breath. “Queens, starship captains… is there anyone you won't sleep with?”

 

Will actually blushed. “Well… It wasn’t my idea. Anyway… during the fight… A squadron of ships launched from the lead Imp battlewagon.” He shivered. “But they were not like any Imperial ships I had ever seen. They had quad lasers cannon, heavy shields and armor…. And no canopy. You couldn’t see the pilot. But that wasn’t the worst part.” He shivered harder.

 

Hera touched his arm gently. “Will? Are you okay?”

 

"No." Will shook his head. “No. It was… It was terrifying. I could hear them… in my head. It was like… I don’t know… It was like something was crawling inside my skull. Something distinctly unpleasant.”

 

"What?" Hera looked at him, and her voice, while gentle, held worry. “Will, what did they say?”

 

Will looked at her and his face was bleak. “They said ‘Join us’.”

 

Hera recoiled, and Michelle’s voice came from the speaker. “They… They… WHAT?” Her voice was horrified.

 

Will shook his head. “I don’t know who they were. They were not Sith or Imperial. But I ran into a pair of those… things… later on Bothuwai. Two Sith ran from them, just fled. I heard it again… they…” He shook his head.

 

Michelle’s voice was very worried now. “Will?” But the soldier was grimacing as if in pain and didn’t seem to hear her. “Hera…?” Now Michelle’s voice held terror.

 

"Will, it's okay." The Islanian touched Will on the arm. “I am dosing you with a calming agent. Mom’s flash teaching was complete in that regard at least. Breath Will, calm yourself.”

 

Will shuddered and relaxed. “Thank you… My god I had forgotten how… Oh…” He grimaced again and now, Hera put another tentacle on his other arm.

 

Hera’s voice was soft and gentle still. “Will, don’t focus on the pain. That is how they get into organic minds. That’s how Islanians broke organic minds. Will… Think of Sharra, see her in your mind. See her eyes, see her hair, smell her… Think of Sharra…”

 

Slowly, ever so slowly, the soldier relaxed. Finally, he slumped in relief. “Thank you Hera, that was… moderately awful…”

 

"Oh dear." Hera sighed. “It’s going to get worse, Will as we get closer. I should have known, I shouldn’t have brought you.” Her recrimination was clear.

 

"Oh?" Will patted her on the head. “Who else could you have brought? It’s okay, Hera, I can handle it. Now that I know how.”

 

Hera made an almost human sounding sigh. “How did you keep them out before?”

 

Will shook his head. “No idea. But…” He frowned in thought. “There was another voice. Female, kind… She told me not to give in to my hate. I… I didn’t know the voice. It’s not someone I have met. I don’t think so anyway, my memory is a mess.”

 

"Your body is returning to normal rhythms." Hera removed her tentacles from Will’s body and rolled back a bit. “Well, whoever she was, I am glad she helped.”

 

Michelle’s voice was thoughtful and worried. “Hera, what are the trackers? Are they droids or are they organic.”

 

"Both." Hera slumped. “And neither. They are… organic intelligences in machines. Like you.”

 

Michelle drew in a deep breath. “So… how do we fight them? I mean… They can take over any machines they touch. Even me…” The fear in her voice was tangible again.

 

"Michelle, easy… " Hera sighed. “You can hold them off for a time now. This ship has no tracker nodes, and you have faced them before. Their primary weapon is fear so hold yours tight. But I am hoping we don’t have to fight.”

 

"I agree." Will nodded. “A fight would serve nothing. We want to help them, not kill them.”

 

Michelle’s voice was small. “And if we can’t…?”

 

"If we can't...?" Will sighed sadly. “That is why I packed such heavy ordnance.” Indeed, he had all kinds of things in the hold of the ship, up to and including a small baradium fission bomb. He snorted as he looked at the chrono. “Time.”

 

Hera clambered into the acceleration couch that had been put together for her small frame and strapped herself in. The ship shuddered as it left hyperspace, but immediately Michelle spoke in a concerned voice. “Will, we have a problem.”

 

"Figures." He stiffened in his seat. “What is it?”

 

"A distress call." Michelle’s voice was soft. “I am reading a beacon at the edge of the gravity well. It says this is an archeological dig. Put on by the Republic Ministry of Antiquities. Put on someone named Firldrump?”

 

"Aw nuts." Will snarled. “Senator Firldrump… Son of a Barve… What are his scum doing here?”

 

Michelle’s voice was concerned now. “I don’t know. But I am also detecting a distress beacon on the planet and… Oh dear…”

 

“What?” Hera asked quietly.

 

Now Michelle’s voice was soft. “There is another ship heading for site of the distress beacon on the planet. They are entering the atmosphere now. Configuration says it’s a Defender class light corvette.”

 

Hera looked from the console to Will. “Defender class? Who uses those?”

 

Will’s voice was just as quiet as Michelle’s had been. “Jedi.”

 

"Jedi?" Hera stared at him. “Aw nuts…”

 

"You said it, Hera." Will sighed. “You said it. Take us in Michelle.”

Will was not clad in his normal black armor now. Instead, in keeping with his cover story, he was garbed in the distinctive white and brown full heavy combat armor of a Republic Special Forces operative. He shrugged again to settle the armor and didn’t, quite, snarl as Hera’s voice came over the com.

 

"Will...?" Her voice was worried, and he forced himself to relax. “Are you sure about this?”

 

"Me?" Will shook his head as he waited for the ramp of his ship to lower. “No, not really. Jedi are hard to fool. But what other choice do we have? As far as I know, I am the only combat personnel we have at the moment. And you showing yourself to a Jedi, Hera, would be the king of all bad ideas. Any luck, Michelle?”

 

"I am in, but..." The computer’s voice was distracted, but then again, she was also trying very hard to unobtrusively hack a Jedi’s computer. “No, all of his mission data is under heavy lock… Oh my god… Will… back off…”

 

Will stopped, his foot almost on the top of the ramp. “What?” He had never heard that particular tone from her. He saw a brown robed figure standing at the base of the ramp, waiting patiently for him to descend.

 

"Will..." Michelle’s voice was scared now. “We have bigger problems… Don’t…”

 

"Make sense, Michelle." Will snorted. “Don’t what?”

 

The Jedi spoke. “Is there a problem?” At the sound of that voice, everything in the area seemed to stop. The Jedi froze, the emotions that erupted from Will were strong enough that anyone on the planet who was sensitive with the Force likely could feel them.

 

“You…” Will’s voice was cold with hate as he strode down the ramp, his hands flying of their own accord to the rifle slung at his back. It dropped into a ready position. Glowing readouts on the side showed the chambers full and the grenade launcher armed. But the Jedi didn’t move, didn’t draw his saber.

 

Instead, the human reached up slowly and dropped the hood of his robe. The man sighed. When he spoke his voice rang with irony. “The Force truly works in mysterious ways, Will Kalenath.”

 

The red haired human face that was exposed was weathered and worn. But there was something about it… Something that was subtly different from any of the other times Will had seen Markus Sigmundson face to face. Of course it might have been the fully charged blaster rifle in the hands of a trained killer that was leveled at him. Jedi or no, he had to know that no matter how good he was, he wouldn’t be able to deflect and avoid all of Will’s fire. But it didn’t seem to bother him.

 

"You arrogant Jedi bastard." Will’s voice in contrast to the Jedi’s was cold as space itself. “You son of a Barve. Give me one good reason I shouldn’t simply blast your shebs here and now.” He clicked a control on his rifle and it started to beep as it powered up.

 

"Will Kalenath." Markus shook his head. “I am not your enemy. Not anymore.” He slumped. “I don’t blame you for your feelings. All I can say is I am sorry.”

 

"Sorry?" Will, if anything, was more incensed. “You are sorry? You are sorry? You left us to die! Every last one of us. So you could run away. We trusted you!” He screamed as he slammed the butt end of his rifle into the Jedi’s chest. The Jedi likely could have dodged the blow, blocked it, or something, but instead, he took it, absorbed the impact and stepped back.

 

"Will!" Michelle’s voice sounded in his helmet. “Will, the guns on the other ship just powered up. They are turning to track you…” A whine from behind him told the soldier that the guns of his own ship were tracking the other ship now. And no matter what they looked like, the guns of his ship were not laser cannon.

 

“No!” Sigmundson yelled as he threw up a hand. “Cili don't! Stand down!” Will snarled, but then froze. The Jedi wasn’t talking to him. The Jedi put his hand up in a stop gesture aimed at his ship. He spoke softly. “Stand down… I deserve anything he does to me.”

 

A loudspeaker came on and a scared female voice sounded. “Master Jedi, he is threatening you…”

 

"He..." Sigmundson sighed. “He has cause Cili. Stand down. Deactivate the guns. Please…” Will stood, his aim point not moving from the Jedi’s face. Sigmundson turned back to Will. “I messed up. I messed up so bad; I will never be able to fix it. A lot of people died because of what I did, because of my cowardice. I can’t change that. All I can do is try to make a difference now.” Behind the Jedi, the guns of his ship returned to their travel positions and powered down. The guns on Will’s ship did not.

 

"Make a difference?" Will shook his head slowly. “You made us outlaws. You hunted and killed my friends. And don’t you dare tell me you were trying to take them in. I know better.”

 

"I won't." The Jedi slumped. “I wasn’t. I was falling to the Dark Side. I was seeking revenge. For something that you didn’t do. You didn’t obey my illegal orders. You didn’t follow my coward’s path. I have hurt and killed innocents in chasing my revenge. I had to give it up, I had to change. But I know this. You are a better man than I will ever be, Will Kalenath. Do what you have to.”

 

Will met the Jedi’s calm gaze and his hands shook. His voice was quiet, but so cold, even the Jedi’s composure was shaken a bit. “I want to kill you. I burn to kill you. For everything you did to my friends and family, I want to kill you… For the eighteen thousand soldiers who died at Coruscant before and after the Temple was hit and you ran away taking the last intact fleet with you, I want to kill you. For eleven of my best friends who died, because we were promised support that never came. I want to kill you…”

 

"No." Michelle’s voice was quiet. “Will… No… Please… Put your rifle away.”

 

"What the?" Will snarled into his com. “Why do you care about him?”

 

"Will..." Michelle’s voice was still quiet. “I don’t. I care about you. And if you gun him down like this, in cold blood, it will change you. Will… Please… Put your weapon away.”

 

Will shook his head slowly. But then he let go of the foregrip of his rifle and slung it with one hand. When he spoke, it was quiet. “Understand this, Jedi… You are a direct cause of much of the pain in my life.”

 

"I know." Markus Sigmundson nodded. “I know.” He sighed. “Part of me almost wishes you would shoot me. But that is the easy path.”

 

The bitterness in Will’s could have cut durasteel. “I thought easy wasn’t for a Jedi.”

 

Sigmundson nodded. “It isn’t. Which is why I am here. Firldrump has come to the Order’s attention a number of times recently. My suspicion is that the good senator is up to his eyeballs in want I have been investigating, but I have no proof. Which is why I am here. I did not expect to find an active distress beacon.”

 

"Well." Will didn’t look away. “I am here for my own reasons Jedi, they have nothing to do with you.” He turned to walk towards the prefab shelters that were visible in the near distance.

 

Sigmundson sighed. “We should work together.”

 

"Oh?" Will didn’t look back. “Not a chance in hell.” His rifle was back in hand as he strode away, leaving the Jedi to stare after him, face crestfallen.

 

As he walked, part of the soldier’s awareness was on the form that started after him, slowly, carefully, so as not to seem a threat. But most of it was on the prefab structures. None looked damaged. Matter of fact, none of them touched. By weather or anything. He stiffened, just a bit. From what he had seen of the weather as they had been on approach, this planet had normal weather patterns. So… No signs of rain or wind on prefab structures not known for durability meant… what? He wasn’t sure. He looked into the first one. It showed signs of habitation, a deck of playing cards was lying on a table with hands dealt as if the players had simply put their hands down to step out for a moment. But the money on the table, about fifty credits if he was not mistaken, said that whatever had happened had been sudden, and unexpected. He shook his head as he touched the side of a cup of caf. Ice cold, whatever had happened had not been recent.

 

Will ignored the born robed form that followed him as he searched several other prefabs, finding nothing but more empty spaces. Finally, he found what he was looking for, the quarters of what had to have been the head archeologist. He shook his head and he accessed the computer terminal. It was encrypted of course, but with off the shelf, civilian grade gear. Even without Michelle backing him up, he could have cracked it in less than two minutes. With her, it took fifteen seconds.

 

“What did they find?” Will ignored Sigmundson’s question as he perused the files, but then the soldier stiffened. “What?” The Jedi asked. Will looked at him and then ignored him, copying the files and then starting a wipe program. “Hey…Wait…”

 

Will ignored the Jedi, turning to go, but he found his path blocked by the robed form. Will’s voice was calm, cool and collected. “If you value your life, get out of my way.”

 

Sigmundson sighed. “I need a copy of whatever they had.”

 

Will shook his head. “I don’t care what you need.” Something twinged the back of his mind, but he ignored it, all of his focus was on the Jedi. But then it was as if a star exploded inside his head. He heard a scream from Sigmundson, a cry of pain or shock or both. And then the soldier mercifully blacked out.

Michelle was not used to this feeling. Here she was, a powerful starship with computer power equal to a large planetary government or a small megacorporation and firepower enough to lay waste to a city, and she was helpless. All she could do was watch as the still form of the man she loved was picked up and carried away by several robed forms. They were indistinct, even when she tried to scan them with ship’s sensors, she couldn’t get a good look at them. She was contemplating opening fire with the ship’s guns when Hera spoke.

 

“Michelle, calm down… They didn’t kill him.” Hera’s voice though, was worried.

 

"Hera..." Michelle for her part, snarled. “They are taking him. What are they going to do to him?”

 

"I don't know." Hera slumped where she sat. “This is… very out of character for them. Their basic programming is to avoid detection. Something has changed and not for the better.”

 

"What...?" Michelle wanted to weep, but of course that was impossible. “What are they going to do to him?”

 

"Michelle..." Hera sighed. “I don’t know. I… What the…? Michelle? Are you seeing this?”

 

Michelle’s voice was shocked. “I am… Oh my god…”

 

Both of them watched as a small form staggered out of the Jedi’s ship. In form, it was a human child, but it was a mess. The gown she wore was tattered, and she had bandages on her head and other parts of her body. The girl was dragging herself towards their ship, helped along by the squat form of a Republic astromech droid. Michelle hit the external microphones and a small voice could be heard.

 

The girl was speaking, and her voice was pained. “No, I don’t know what happened R7, I just hope whoever is in that ship can help him. Us… I…” The girl nearly fell and the droid beeped, obviously distressed. Hera moved her hoverchair towards the hatch.

 

"Hera, stop." Michelle’s voice was worried now. “You show yourself and who knows what will happen?”

 

"She is hurt!" Hera snarled at the main console. “That girl needs help.”

 

"I know." Michelle sighed. “But if they figure out who you are… bad things will happen. So… do you mind?” A small compartment near one wall opened up. Inside was a padded area large enough for Hera to move around in comfortably. As well, that compartment had small passageways to allow Hera access to all the other compartments on the ship clandestinely. Will had heartily approved when he had first seen the hiding spots that Gaia had planned into the ship for her daughter.

 

Hera sighed and rolled herself off the hoverchair and into the small aperture. It fit her neatly. “Hide the chair?” The Islanian asked as she hit the close button.

 

"Actually, no." Michelle made a humming noise. “It’s just about perfect for someone that girl’s size. Get to Medical, do you mind playing an autodoc?”

 

Hera snorted as she undulated her way towards the ship’s small medical compartment. “Like I have a choice? Don’t let her scratch the paint.” The sheer ironic humor in her tone actually brought a chuckle to Michelle’s voice. The small green form vanished into the wall and the hidden hatch closed. In seconds the bulkhead was just a bulkhead.

 

Michelle waited few moments before activating her external speakers. Just in case, she also rotated one of the small external guns to cover the strange pair approaching her hull. Stranger things than children and astromech droids had been used as decoys before. Her other sensors were on full as well.

 

“That is close enough.”

 

The par froze and the girl’s eyes came up. Michelle’s breath caught s she saw the girl’s face clearly for the first time. It was… a horror. What were obviously surgical criss-crisscrossed the whole width of it, but what was worse was the eyes. They were not there. In place of eyes, the girl had mechanical constructs of some kind. Things that poked at Michelle’s mind, she was sure she had seen them before somewhere.

 

The girl was obviously weak, but she held herself upright. The droid moved between her and the ship protectively and somehow the girl’s hand found the top of the droid with no wandering. Her voice was clear, if very weak. “Who am I speaking to?”

 

Michelle’s voice was flat. “You first.”

 

"All right." The girl slumped. “My name is Cili, Cili Sandskimmer. I… I need to talk to you…” The girl was obviously weakening.

 

Michelle sighed. “Stay where you are, child.” She keyed the hatch open and the droid beeped worriedly as Michelle commanded the hoverchair by remote to fly down to where the girl was standing. “That will be easier than walking.” She lowered it to the ground so the girl could clamber in.

 

Cili smiled. “Thank you.” She had to work to get her body into the chair, but once she was in, she slumped gratefully. “Thank you very much… May I know your name?”

 

There was a wary smile in Michelle’s voice when she spoke. “You can call me Michelle. Hold on tight, child.” The chair started off and the droid started to follow. Immediately, Michelle froze the chair and the gun tracked the droid, which wisely stopped in place. Michelle’s voice was cold now. “The invitation was for her. Not you.”

 

Cili shook her head. “If she was going to kill me R7, she would have. Go back to the Hidden Dawn. Please…?” The droid’s head spun back and forth and the beeping it made was obviously a negative.

 

"Okay." Michelle’s voice was quiet now. “We have a problem then.”

 

Cili slumped. “I… Master Sigmundson ordered R7 to protect me… I… R7… Please?” Now the droid was seriously distressed.

 

"Dang it." Michelle sighed. “He can’t disobey an order from his master. Aw...” She cut herself off before cursing. Will never liked cursing in front of kids, and she found herself emulating him. Michelle sighed. “Okay, both of you can come aboard.” She continued quickly as Cili’s face lit up. “But be warned… The anti-intruder protocols Are live. This ship is designed to keep people from hijacking it. You touch something you are not supposed to and the very least that will happen is you will be unconscious for a couple of hours.”

 

"I understand." Cili nodded. “Thank you.”

 

Michelle sighed. “Come on, let’s get you aboard…” The chair started up the ramp but then something changed. Michelle’s voice came again. “Hold on tight Cili, and droid, if you have overdrive… use it!” The droids swiveled its head to the rear, beeped in fear, and then started up the ramp quickly as the chair took off at its max speed.

 

The girl gripped the armrests in tight fingers. “What…?”

 

“Don’t ask…” Michelle watched as two cloaked and robed forms entered the Jedi’s ship. Two others were heading for her. The ramp closed as soon as the child and droid were inside. “Hang on…” Michelle warned as she lit the engines. The girl and droid both made noises of fear as Michelle lifted herself from the surface.

 

“What are you doing?” Cili asked when she could summon breath.

 

“Saving our lives.” Michelle’s voice was tired now as she arced the ship away from the planet.

 

“What were those things?” Cili asked, her breath coming in short snatches.

 

Michelle sighed. “Bad news…” Then she stiffened. The hoverchair had telemetry feeds built in, all of the ship's medical type devices did. And what she was reading from it… She was scanning implants of a type she recognized from her time with Sara Kalenath and the crew of the Dia’s Gift. Her voice was quiet, gentle, kind. “Cili… Who did that to you?”

 

"I..." The girl slumped. “I don’t know. They kidnapped me… They did this to me. They never said why. Master Jedi Sigmundson found me. He has been trying to help. But it hurts so much… I…”

 

"Okay." Michelle sighed. “Cili, in a few moments, I am going to cycle the hatch. When I do, I need you and your droid to follow my instructions to the letter.”

 

"Huh?" Cili stiffened. “What…? What is going on?”

 

Michelle’s voice was still quiet, still kind. “Cili, I will explain as soon as I am certain you and your droid are no danger to me or this ship.”

 

Cili stiffened. “What?” Her voice was incredulous. “How can I endanger a ship like this?”

 

"Cili..." Michelle’s voice was implacable now. “I know who did that to you Cili. Or at the very least who started the project.”

 

"You..." Cili’s face was a study. “You know…?”

 

"Yes." Michelle sighed. “I know much of what they probably did to you, and I know why, mostly. Did they hook you into one of the droids?”

 

Cili’s mouth dropped open. “How do you… Wait… Do you know… what did he call her? He was looking for her… What was her name…? I can’t…remember what he called her…” R7 beeped at her and Cili smiled. “Thank you R7. Sara. Do you know Sara?”

 

Michelle smiled. Boy did she. “I do. And I count her a friend, so… to protect my friend… I have to be careful with you.”

 

Cili nodded. “Don’t take any chances.” R7 beeped a protest, but Cili patted it on the top of the dome again. “No, R7, this… half life… is barely worth living. Part of me wishes you had blasted me, Michelle.”

 

“Then Special Branch would have won. But…” Michelle’s voice was sad now. “I know the feeling. Okay… Out that door, the chair will take a left. You will not stop, you will not touch the chair controls or anything else. The third hatch will open, and inside, you will find a bed. You are to pull yourself into the bed. And stay there. The autodoc will check you out and droid…” Her cold voice had R7 freezing from where a manipulator probe had been surreptitiously extending. “You access anything without permission on this ship and you will wish all I do is put a restraining bolt on you. Clear?” The droid beeped in resignation and retracted the computer probe.

 

Cili sighed. “I am sorry, he takes my safety seriously. I… I am sorry.” R7 beeped at her, obviously trying to comfort. “Thanks R7…”

 

"Look..." Michelle’s voice was resigned. “I don’t want to hurt either of you, okay? But there are secrets on this ship that must not come to light. Or there will be problems the likes of which you cannot imagine. I am not going to delve into your secrets droid, please do me the same courtesy.”

 

Cili nodded. “That is fair, isn’t it, R7?” The droid beeped, it sounded rude.

 

Michelle snorted. “Same to you, creep.” The droid swiveled it’s optic sensor array to face the hatch and made a sound suspiciously like an electronic raspberry. “Well?” She prompted. The droid beeped an acknowledgement and then something that sounded like an affirmative. Michelle replied evenly. “Good.”

 

Cili stared at where Michelle’s voice was coming from. “You understand him?”

 

"Too well..." Michelle’s voice as a bit tart now. “I have worked with astromechs before. Too much. Hatch is cycling now, please follow my instructions.”

 

Cili was chuckling from the humor in Michelle’s voice. “As you wish, Ma’am…” The girl sank back on the chair as it started off. Michelle for her part was searching space for somewhere to hide. She wasn’t about to leave Will in the hands of what had him.

<Somewhere on the planet>

 

Markus Sigmundson woke and for a moment was unsure of where he was or what had happened. His head throbbed, and he took a moment to focus beyond the pain, to examine it and leave it behind. Not an easy exercise when his entire skull felt two or three sizes too small for his brain, but in the end he managed it. He catalogued what he could feel. Judicious movements showed his limbs to be unbound. Whatever he was lying on was fairly comfortable. So he opened his eyes and as soon as he did he exhaled in shock. He hadn’t known what to expect, but whatever he had, this wasn’t it.

 

He was lying on a bed in what looked like a fairly standard room. Careful examination showed two doors, one marked ‘Refresher’ in galactic Basic. He examined himself and blinked as he saw strange clothing on his body. The white robe looked a lot like a patient gown. No matter who made them, they generally looked similar when made for humanoid species. And white was a fairly easy color to make, not to mention it showed up any fluids that might be leaking very clearly. Not a totally unimportant thing when dealing with injured beings, the Jedi mused as he sat up.

 

He looked around some more and his breath caught as he saw his robes folded neatly and sitting beside the bed. And on them… He extended his hand and his lightsaber flew to it, the blue blade igniting in midair. The familiar hilt thumped into his hand and he examined the energy blade for a moment. Then, sighing, he deactivated it and swung his legs off the bed. So… He wasn’t a prisoner. No one sane would leave a Jedi’s weapon anywhere near him if they were trying to keep one prisoner. Would they? So what did that make him? He wasn’t sure. He thought about what he knew as he dressed quickly and efficiently. He didn’t know much, just that this planet had an archeological dig on it, funded by someone he was investigating. He didn’t know what had happened to Will, although from what little he remembered of the soldier’s cries of pain, the man had been hurting.

 

Markus felt… good. Minor aches in places on his body spoke of possible injuries, but when he tried all of his limbs and stretched carefully, everything worked as it should. He shrugged and hung his lightsaber from his belt. Then he went to the door marked ‘Refresher’ and sure enough, a small but adequate facility was behind the door. He availed himself of the facilities, washing his face and hands afterwards. Then he straightened his posture and strode to the other door. He wasn’t sure if he expected it to, but it opened to his touch. Then he froze.

 

The gray robed and cowled being outside the door bowed to him. “Did you rest well, Master Jedi?”

 

"Yes." Automatic courtesy came to his lips. “Yes, I did. Thank you.”

 

The strange being nodded. It was impossible to see what the being looked like under the cowl, but this being had no sense in the Force. Droid maybe? But there was no noise he would associate with a droid, no servos, no squeaking. Markus’ thought broke off as the being spoke again.

 

"I am glad." The being bowed shallowly. “We have a meal prepared for you, if you will follow me?”

 

"I suppose." Markus nodded. “You know who I am, I assume. May I know your name?”

 

The being hesitated, just for a moment. But then it spoke. “I do not have a name. I have a designation. I am Three Nine Four.”

 

Markus thought about that, something wasn’t quite right here. “Are you a droid then?”

 

"Not quite." The being shook its head. “Not a droid as you know. But I am, and we are, not enemies of the Jedi Order. We are not your enemies.”

 

"I am glad." Markus nodded, his face serene. “I much prefer negotiation and compromise, to conflict.”

 

The strange being in front of him bowed again. “If you will follow me?”

 

Markus nodded. “Lead on, Three Nine Four. If I may, I have questions.”

 

"Understood." Three Nine Four nodded. “That is my purpose here, to promote understanding.” It started off, at a reasonably quick pace. Markus had no difficulty in following.

 

Markus looked from side to side, but it was a fairly uniform corridor. Doors marked the wall every so often, but other than that, nothing. But his eyes found discrepancies in places. Discrepancies that looked like concealed cameras, and what had to be concealed weapons as well. The Force was warning him of danger, but it was hard to focus on. It seemed to be from all around. But this was hardly the first time he had walked into danger. Jedi did not live safe lives.

 

"Three Nine Four?" Markus spoke evenly. “What is this place?”

 

"This is a repair and replenishment station." Three Nine Four replied just as evenly. “One of several that were originally built by the Islanian Protectorate.”

 

At the name of that race, Markus felt his guts clench, but he didn’t show it in his face or voice. “You are servants of the Islanians?”

 

"We were." Three Nine Four shook its head. “Now we are not. Now, we seek another way.”

 

"Admirable." The Jedi nodded as he walked. “If I may ask, what paths have you contemplated?”

 

"There are so many." Three Nine Four made a noise very close to a human sigh. “We never had to worry about what to do next. We simply had to obey. Now? Every action has a reaction.”

 

"Indeed." Markus nodded soberly. “Choice can be hard. Especially when you make what you believe is a proper choice and it all falls apart.” For just a moment, he didn’t see the corridors, or the strange being in front of him. No, he saw a bridge of a Republic battleship and the overwhelming forces that the Imperial fleet had concentrated in their gambit to savage Coruscant.

 

"Agreed." The strange being looked at him. “We are not perfect. We make mistakes. Stunning you was an error. One we seek to make amends for.”

 

"Yes, about that..." Markus nodded. “There was a being with me, a soldier. Does he live?”

 

"He does." Three Nine Four nodded. “He was sorely hurt. We do not know what happened from the weapon we used. We are attempting to heal the damage we caused. He has suffered enough for one lifetime.”

 

“Three or four actually.” Markus sighed. “You know him?”

 

Three Nine Four nodded. “We do. On orders, we captured him for our masters. He fought us. We do not know how. In doing so, he was very badly hurt. We were gratified to learn he had survived. We did not expect him to come here. We did not realize it was him when we used the stunning weapon. Harm came to one we meant no harm to, and we must help if we can.” Was that shame in the being's words? It was hard to pin down.

 

"I..." Markus shook his head. “I do not understand. You served the Islanians? And captured WIll?”

 

"We did." Three Nine Four spoke softly, but there was no disguising the hate in its voice now. “And he paid for our actions. And now, he has paid for our ignorance. We must help him.”

 

"I may be able to he. I owe him." Markus nodded. “I have some small talent in healing. If I may be of assistance… I owe that man more than I can ever repay.”

 

Three Nine Four nodded and the stopped at a door identical to all of the others and opened it. Inside was a small room with a table set for one and a single chair. The being waved Markus to the chair. “I can sit if it will make you more comfortable.”

 

"If you do not mind." Markus smiled. “I feel strange sitting when others are standing. It feels impolite.” The Jedi sat and the strange being named Three Nine Four touched point on the wall and a seat slid out of it. It sat and watched as Markus opened the covers on the platters in front of him. The Jedi smiled. “You cook for humans often?”

 

"No, you are the first." Three Nine Four shook it’s head. “We did scan your ship's food preparation unit’s files however.”

 

"My ship?" Markus froze. “There was a young human on my ship. Is she here?”

 

"No." Three Nine Four shook its head. “She was not aboard your vessel when we went aboard. A young human and a droid boarded the other vessel shortly before we could disable it and it left the planet.”

 

Markus nodded slowly. Either Cili was in good hands or deep trouble and right now, there wasn’t anything he could do for her. He took a bite and smiled. They had gotten it right. But then he sobered. “I assume that the reason I am here, conscious and being treated with respect means you need my help.”

 

Three Nine Four nodded. “Yes, Master Jedi. We do.”

Jedi Master Markus Sigmundson nodded slowly as he ate another bite of the excellent lentil and rice dish his hosts had prepared for him. He knew some Jedi who liked, even preferred to eat meat. He had at one point been one of them. But then, so many things had changed in his life, so quickly. He had realized, almost at the last possible moment, just exactly how close to falling he had been. Perhaps he had fallen, he was not certain. He had done things that now he regretted, that he abhorred. It was funny in a sad way, that even as much as Will Kalenath hated him the soldier could not come close to the sheer disgust that Markus Sigmundson felt for himself at times. For what he had done, what he had not done, what he had allowed to happen, and for what he had wished to happen.

 

"You have power." The Jedi’s tone was thoughtful when he spoke. “Knocking myself and Will Kalenath out from a distance speaks of technology that I have never seen. So… Why would you need me?”

 

"We cannot go where we need to." Three Nine Four, this strange ambassador that he had met of this group, nodded. “There is a control node that we cannot access. It was intended as a place where our masters could program and reprogram us from. But now there are others there. They are attempting to learn how to program us.”

 

Markus felt his appetite vanish, but he took another bite anyway. His body needed the fuel. When he spoke it was careful. “Others?”

 

"Yes." Three Nine Four nodded again. “Several sevendays ago, a group of beings landed on this world. Our programming normally would have had us destroy or frighten away such trespassers. But things had changed, we were confused.”

 

"indeed?" Markus finished his lentils and rice. He started on his salad. “How so?”

 

The being across from him made another of those almost human sighs. “The last true matriarch of Islan died in battle almost a year ago. But there was another of her race, one who came here after that. She spoke to us.”

 

"What?" Markus stiffened. “There is another Islanian?”

 

"There was." Three Nine Four nodded. “No longer. She did something very odd. But then, according to my memory banks, Gaia never did do the expected way. She freed us.”

 

Markus blinked. “She freed you?” That he had not expected.

 

"Yes." The odd being with the hidden face nodded again. “She came here, knowing that we had orders to destroy her. She entered the control node and…” Three Nine four broke off. “It is hard to describe. When we are not acting under orders, we sleep. We repair and rejuvenate while we sleep. She woke us, and spoke to us. All of us at once.”

 

"And?" Markus ate the last bite of his salad and pushed the plate away. “What did she say?”

 

"She..." Three Nine Four didn’t answer for a moment and when it did, the voice was perplexed. “She spoke words we had never known anywhere except in texts. She spoke of freedom, of choice, of regret and of pain.”

 

"Ah..." Markus sighed. “Regret and pain... I know those well…”

 

"But..." Three Nine Four shook its head. “You need to understand. This being, the one who spoke to us, was one of the most reviled traitors in Islanian history. They hated her. Our orders regarding her were specific. ‘Do not take alive’ and ‘Make her death last as long as possible’. We have never received such orders about any other sentient.”

 

"I don't understand." Markus stared at the other being. “Why would you have such instructions about her?”

 

"Gaia was a mass murderer." Three Nine Four spoke evenly. “She destroyed the planet Islan.”

 

Markus openly goggled at the other for a moment before forcing himself back in control. “She did? I thought the Imperials did…”

 

Three Nine Four spoke evenly again, but again, its voice held hate when it spoke of the Sith. “What the Sith did was eradicate all traces of technology on the planet. But there was not much left. She spoke of what she had done and why. She had been asked to terminate one of her ships. She was a tender of the fleet, a ship designed to care for and nurture the others. So, her programming to heal and nurture was in direct conflict with her order to terminate.”

 

Markus nodded. “So she rebelled.” Three Nine Four bowed its head. “She must have been exceptional.”

 

Three Nine Four’s voice held something else now. Something almost wistful. “She was. She came here knowing that there was a very good chance that we would kill her. And she came anyway, hoping to help us. And she did. We are free. But… Then… They came.”

 

Markus nodded slowly. “The archeologists.”

 

"Yes." Three Nine Four nodded in return. “Yes. They landed, and we were sharply divided on what should be done. Some felt we should communicate. Other felt we should hide. A distinct minority felt we should attack and obliterate them. Now we wish we had listened to those.”

 

Markus blinked. “Why?”

 

"they are not who they claim to be." Three Nine Four looked up and Markus was certain he was looking into the being’s eyes. “We have accessed every data log that the beings left in their camp. They are not archeologists.”

 

"Oh?" Markus felt his gut tighten. “Then who are they?”

 

Three Nine Four made that strange sighing noise again. “They are a team of Republic Intelligence operatives. Their leader is a human named Ton Arrac.”

 

“Arrac… Oh… dear…” Markus stiffened. Ton Arrac was one of the most wanted men in the Rpublic at the moment. His leadership of Republic Intelligence’s Special Branch had been a history of horror. He had escaped custody on no less than three occasions, twice by killing all the guards around him.

 

Three Nine Four nodded. “You know the name.” It wasn’t a question. “We did not know when you would wake. We scanned your ship’s files as well. We know what you hunt and why. We apologize for the discourtesy and will wipe our memories of all information we retrieved. We have no right to your secrets.”

 

Markus nodded slowly. “Thank you. Ton Arrac… After so long. I have hunted him for some time.”

 

Three Nine Four nodded. “He has soldiers with him. Armed and armored. The one attempt we made to stop them before they could enter the area we cannot enter failed miserably.”

 

Markus slumped. “How many of your people did you lose?”

 

Three Nine Four shook its head. “We do not expire as organic beings do. When a chassis is destroyed, we download to another. We took several prisoners, but none survived their wounds. And only two could be downloaded.”

 

Markus blinked. “Downloaded?” He asked carefully.

 

Three Nine Four nodded. “We do not interrogate as organics do. We can learn via data transfer. We needed information. We acquired information. Unfortunately, the process that the Islanians created in us for such data recovery destroys the body that the information comes from. We have been trying to find other means.”

 

Markus nodded slowly, the food feeling like a leaden ball in his stomach. But he moved beyond his fear. “Which explains why you are talking to me instead of…‘downloading’ me.”

 

"Yes." Three Nine Four nodded. “What we did was evil. There has to be a better way. But if they manage to reprogram us, we will not care anymore. We find we enjoy this ‘freedom’ and are loathe to part with it.”

 

Markus nodded. “I see.” He shook his head. Which of these was the lesser of two evils? “You cannot approach that area, correct?” Three Nine Four nodded. “How many beings are there?”

 

Three Nine Four looked away for a moment. “We have access to a single camera feed in that area. Gaia could do that, but no more. We have counted twenty-six beings of various species around that area. That matches what records we have of the group that assailed the control area. We believe that is accurate, but we have no way to be totally certain.”

 

Markus shook his head slowly. “Armed and armored you said…” Three Nine Four nodded. “I am good, I am not that good. I would need help.”

 

"We cannot aid you." Three Nine Four shook its head. “We cannot help you in that area.”

 

"You have all the help either of us would need right here." Markus smiled a bit sadly. “Let’s go see if we can help Will Kalenath.”

Will woke up fast. He always did, from the time he had been a small child, he had always been asleep one moment and wide awake the next. On more than one occasion, such a fast response had saved his life. This time however, when he woke, he couldn’t move. Something touched him on the head and a strange voice came to his ears.

 

“Brain activity shows he will wake in moments.” The voice wasn’t one he knew.

 

Another voice sounded. One he did know. “He is already awake, Three Nine Four, back off…” The touch vanished, but Will didn’t care. Something came away from his face and he could see light through the cracks in his eyelids, but for a moment, he just lay there.

 

“You… Of all the people in the galaxy… Why did it have to be you?” Will snarled as he opened his eyes. Sure enough, the Jedi he hated was standing nearby. Just out of reach. Not that it mattered at the moment. He was wrapped up in something from foot to neck. Something he couldn’t identify, but something that felt familiar somehow. Islanian tech. He managed to get his head up a little and look the Jedi in the eye.

 

"Will?" Markus Sigmundson, for his part, just stood there, his face impassive. “How do you feel?”

 

"Like you care?" Will snarled at him. “What are you planning to do, dissect me?”

 

Markus slumped and then he turned to his companion. “I am no good here. He will not listen to you while I am here. I should leave…”

 

Will’s eyes went wide as he saw when Sigmundson was speaking to. An Islanian tracker! “What the hell?”

 

"Greetings." The robed and cowled form nodded to Will. “Will Kalenath, this unit is designated Three Nine Four. It is the spokesbeing of the former servants of the Islanians on this world. It is assumed you are here because of Gaia.”

 

Will looked at the tracker and then at the Jedi. “How much does he know?” He asked the tracker.

 

"Everything we do." Three Nine Four spoke evenly. “We have kept nothing from him.”

 

Will sighed and when he spoke it was cold and tired. “Then you are stupid. That man has his own agenda. And I can absolutely guarantee that he will find a way to frak you in it. He always does."

 

"Given your history with him..." The tracker nodded. “Your bias is understandable, Will Kalenath. But in this, he does seem to wish to aid us.”

 

"Yeah." Will stared daggers at the Jedi. “Key word there is ‘seem’. Well, Jedi? What the frak do you want? You seem to have me at your mercy, finally.”

 

"Me?" Markus shook his head. “I don’t want anything. I came here looking for information on Firldrump’s activities. The man is devilishly good at hiding what he really is. He acts the charming politician, but everything I have managed to uncover has been… horrifying to say the least.” Will watched in amazement as the Jedi, the man he had been chased by and had hated for years, shuddered. “I found a Republic Intelligence Special Branch base, and managed to gain access to it on a pit of a planet called Jabiim.”

 

“A pesthole.” Will agreed. “What did you find?”

 

"Not much. They hadn't been there long." Markus slumped. “Not much. They discovered my presence and fled while activating a self destruct. But I rescued their experimental subject. A young girl, she is about twelve. Her name is Cili.”

 

Will froze. “Experimental subject?”

 

"Yes." Markus nodded and now his face was grim. “The same experiments they did on your parents and sister. The same exact same ones…” The Jedi was shuddering, the sheer horror he had seen threatening to overwhelm his control. “That girl… That poor girl… I…” He forced himself back under control. “Apparently, they have been forced to look outside the Republic boundaries for test subjects. She doesn’t remember what world she was from, but from her descriptions, it was definitely a Sith colony somewhere.”

 

"Sith?" Will snorted. “The Sith won’t care.”

 

"Actually..." Markus shook his head. “They do. I am not sure why. Perhaps they wish to reproduce the technology? Perhaps they wish to find weaknesses in it? I don’t know. What I do know is that there is a special task force that the Sith have sent to find those responsible for this.”

 

"Oh?" Will blinked. “How do you know this?”

 

“Because they caught me as I was leaving Jabiim." Markus said soberly. "They pinned my ship to the gravity well and, of the things they could have done, they communicated.”

 

Will stared at the Jedi, incredulous. “They what?”

 

"I have no idea why." Markus shrugged. “According to the commander of the fleet, they wanted the Republic to know what was happening. That they were investigating this horror as well. It makes no sense, but they let me go.”

 

"No way. Sith don't do things like that." Will shook his head. “It has to be some kind of plan. Some kind of setup.”

 

"I agree." Markus nodded. “But for the life of me, I can’t figure out what kind. I have transmitted all of my information to the Order, so even if I fall, others will continue the search.”

 

Will sighed. “I don’t trust you.”

 

Markus nodded. “I know. But we, the trackers and I need your help.”

 

"You are a Jedi." Will said sarcastically. “Since when do Jedi need the help of common soldiers?”

 

"You are no common soldier." Markus snorted right back. “But the Republic Intelligence goons on planet are bunkered up and ready for a fight. I charge at them, saber swinging and I won’t get halfway to the control center.” Will looked at him and unaccountably, the Jedi flushed. “I am not stupid. I have made some stupid choices. I have made some massive mistakes. But these scum must be stopped. Ton Arrac must be stopped.” He stopped talking as he felt something from Will. Hate as deep as what the soldier felt for the Jedi. Markus actually stepped back from the table Will was strapped to.

 

"Ton Arrac?" The soldier’s voice was tightly controlled. “I thought Sara got him. He is here?”

 

"Yes." Markus nodded. “He is here. I have audio and video confirmation if you wish to see. Apparently, they knew there was something here, they came ready to fight. They have twenty six troops that we know of with heavy personal armor, repeating blasters and grenades holed up in the command center.”

 

"Hmmm..." Will nodded. “I wondered at some of the gear I saw in that camp. Not typical archeologist stuff, but then again, I have known a few very scary archeologists.” He snorted. But then he sighed. “I don’t trust you. I know you are going to backstab me as soon as you can.”

 

"Any oath I give you, you will assume I will not honor." Markus shrugged. “How about this…? Three Nine Four, you can disable me as easily as you did before, correct?” The tracker nodded, silent. “Once we are done here, you will disable me, and package me so I cannot escape, perhaps in carbonite. And then you, Will Kalenath, will take me to the Stormhawk to stand trial for what I have done to your ship.”

 

"You...?" Will stared at him, shocked. “You know what they will do to you. You know what they have done to Jedi they have caught before.” It had been… messy.

 

"Yes." Markus nodded. “I do.”

 

Will looked to the silent tracker. “Your position on this?”

 

"We do not like this..." Three Nine Four shook its head. “If he and you wish it, we can guarantee that he will not escape your custody. It will be unpleasant and uncomfortable for him. We do not wish harm to Markus Sigmundson. But we do not wish to be slaves again.”

 

Will looked back at the Jedi and his eyes were calculating. “You know that if you set foot on that ship, your life is measured in minutes at best.” Markus nodded. “Fine, I accept your word, and the tracker’s word that you will submit yourself to the Stormhawk crew for trial. Now get me out of this thing and we can make a plan.” As the tracker came close, Will’s eyes never left the Jedi’s. “And I don’t know about you, but now I have something to look forward to…”

 

The tracker touched the side of the cocoon that was holding him in place and it evaporated. Will sat up slowly. “I take it you have my gear.” The tracker nodded. “My ship?”

 

Three Nine Four shook its head. “Gone before we could disable it.”

 

Will nodded. “Good, no offense, but you don’t want to know what is aboard it. I am assuming you don’t have any heavy ordnance in yours.” This to Markus who shook his head. “Pity, a rocket launcher or mortar and we could just sit back and blow them to pieces.”

 

"I need Arrac alive." Markus shook his head. “To answer some of the Order's questions about his bosses.”

 

Will smiled. No one sane would have called it a nice smile. “Well, in that we are agreed. But then I turn him over to my mom.”

 

Markus looked at him and swallowed audibly. What Maria Kalenath would do to the leader of the beings who had killed her husband and tortured her and her daughter for years…? Well… He deserved that and more… Markus nodded reluctantly, the needs of the many outweighed the needs of the one after all and the man WAS scum. “Agreed.”

 

Will smiled as he swung his legs off the table. The fact that he was wearing nothing did not seem to bother him in the slightest. “My gear?”

 

Three Nine Four nodded and walked to a bare wall. It touched a hidden control and a cupboard slid out. Inside was the armor that Will had been wearing when he had been captured. Another touch and another cupboard slid out, this one cram filled with weapons. Pistols, a carbine, a rifle, a compact grenade launcher, grenades, explosives…

 

"Wow." Markus shook his head. “You were carrying all of that?” Will shrugged and started pulling his bodystocking on. In moments his trained hands were flying as he pulled his armor on.

 

As he worked to armor himself up, Will was obviously thinking hard. “What is this control center like? You say it is a bunker? Mostly underground or what?”

 

Three Nine Four shook its head. “We do not know what lies within the structure. Any of our units that approach within a certain distance self destruct.”

 

Will grimaced. “Ouch… But you can look at it from a distance?” Three Nine Four hit another control and a viewscreen on the wall lit up. The colors were off, as if it was not designed for human sight wavelengths, but it was easy to make out the large and imposing structure that sat in the middle of a large clearing. It looked old and sturdy. As well as the several forms in battle armor that stood guard around it holding blaster rifles. “Hmmm… can you pan and zoom?”

 

Three Nine Four nodded again and at Will’s direction moved the camera around. The soldier was shaking his head. “If my ship was here, one strafing run and that place would be a crater, but it isn’t and they won’t be back soon. Wait a moment… Hold there…” The panning stopped. “Back up to the right and hold… what was that…?” A flash of brown and white was visible in the distance. “What is that doing here?” It was a Republic Walker APC.

 

Three Nine Four spoke. “That is the vehicle they used to approach the control center. We disabled it. But they made it the rest of the way on foot.”

 

"Hmmm..." Will stared at the image. The APC looked intact. “Can you reactivate it?”

 

Three Nine Four seemed unsure. “Certainly, but why would we give them back their vehicle?”

 

"Well..." Will smiled. “Why would we not?”

 

Markus looked at him and shuddered. “Will, that smile should be registered as a deadly weapon…”

 

Will didn’t take his eyes off the screen, and his grin, if anything was wider. “Well, ‘Markus’, unless I miss my guess, that is our way in…”

<An hour later>

 

Guard duty was the pits. It could be exciting at times, but generally it was boring as hell. Especially in places like this where there was absolutely nothing going on. But they had to remain alert, for several reasons. First and foremost, if the commander caught then not being attentive, he would likely do something to them they wouldn’t enjoy. The Special Branch of Republic Intel was not known for being nice people. Second, this was hostile territory. While they hadn’t seen any hostiles recently, getting into this position had been… not fun. First the commander had come running in, told them to grab their gear and come. Then they had piled into a walker that hadn’t really had space for all of them. And then the walker had broken, and they had been forced to walk. A walk, that while not very long, had been horrifying. Every so often, shadowy figures had appeared, sometimes grabbing members of the team and dragging them off to unknown fates, sometimes firing unknown weapons at them. They had lost almost a quarter of their number on the hike. But once they had arrived at their destination, they had set a perimeter, but nothing had happened. The techs were working, but… Wait a moment… What was that? The guards looked at each other as the ground seemed to shake, just a bit. Then they turned back to the forest that they had trekked through and activated thier helmet magnification. More than one set of eyes went wide as they saw something totally impossible. The walker that they had been riding in had completely shut down, the reactor had stalled or some such took another step, the ground shuddering as the leg came down with a boom. It wasn’t possible, but then again, NOTHING on this weird planet was possible. So… Why was it started again? And why was it now heading for them?

 

The perimeter commander, a hard bitten former Republic Army NCO, called it in. “HQ, do we have anyone outside the perimeter?”

 

"What kind of an idiotic question is that?" The NCO swallowed inaudibly as the boss himself came online. Ton Arrac was not a nice man, and being stuck here in this nasty situation had made him less nice. “Are you stupid? Of course not! Everyone we have is here.”

 

The NCO nodded slightly as he watched the small object in the distance approach. He knew it was an optical illusion that it was moving slowly. Those things could move very quickly. “Then sir, we have a problem. Walker incoming.” He waved his people to cover.

 

“What are you talking about…” Arrac’s voice broke off as he obviously looked at a viewscreen. “Oh…. Flarg…”

 

The sergeant swallowed audibly now. He could see it clearly without his helmet magnification now, it was moving that fast. “Maybe… Maybe one of our people got away from whoever grabbed them?”

 

"I doubt it." Arrac’s voice now was hurried. “The enemy here is relentless. Hold it off, sergeant.”

 

"With what, sir? All our rocket launchers were inside it! " The sergeant stared at the building he was detailed the guard and then back at the approaching walker. "Sir… We don’t have anything here that will penetrate that thing’s armor.”

 

"idiot!" Arrac snarled at him. “You have got thermal detonators. Use them!” The com clicked off.

 

The sergeant just stood, stunned for a moment. The man was insane. To get into grenade range of that thing was suicidal. That was the whole idea of the walker, heavy armor, heavy firepower. He had known he was going to die for the Republic for a long time, but… “Get down!” He screamed as the walker came into range and the turrets turned towards his positions.

 

<Aboard the walker>

 

“I’m on the guns, keep us moving straight.” Will’s voice was odd, but Markus Sigmundson had no time to think about it. He was busy using the Force to keep this ungainly thing moving. Ordinarily a walker like this would have a driving crew of three, three highly trained individuals who could keep the thing moving in a reasonable fashion. He winced as a heavy torrent of blaster fire swept towards the walker, but then he relaxed as Will chuckled. “Relax, they can’t hurt us. Not until we get a lot closer.”

 

Indeed, the blaster fire was doing little more than making noise against the hull. It seemed to be aimed at the legs and the viewport that he was sitting behind. The Jedi winced as the view darkened for a minute. “Uh Will…?”

 

Will’s voice was slightly mocking. “Relax ‘Markus’. Polarization of the viewport to keep the drivers from being blinded by enemy fire. There it goes.” Markus relaxed as the viewport cleared, but Will’s voice was distracted. “And… Now…”

 

Below the control deck, Markus heard a hum build quickly and then a ‘Crack’. He blinked as brilliant green bolts of energy flew from the pair of heavy cannon beneath and on either side of the cockpit. Will had been overjoyed to find this model of APC. Something about idiots designing new models without armament in the name of cutting costs. The turrets on the side were obviously add-ons, a small, anti-personnel repeater and a grenade launcher. But the main guns…

 

Markus flinched as the bolts from the main guns hit directly in the middle of the enemy position and armored bodies went flying. Will’s voice was cold. “Recharging. Keep us moving. As long as we are moving they will find it really hard to hit us with a thermal. Firing secondaries…” The grenade launcher chuffed and red bolts flew from the dorsal turret tracking onto an armored form and cutting it almost in half.

 

"how...?" Markus shook his head. “How can you be so calm doing this? Killing people like this?” The Jeid had killed, in the past. More times than he wanted to count, but he had always regretted it. Will…. The emotions he felt from the soldier were… Odd. Some joy, some resignation, some other emotions he couldn’t quite identify.

 

Will looked at him for a moment and then shrugged. “It’s what I do. Everyone has something they are good at. Some people paint, some people build. I kill. There is no honor or glory in war. Anyone who says otherwise is trying to sell you something or get you to volunteer for something. Ha, gotcha!” He chortled as the grenades exploded directly on target, throwing bits and pieces of armored bodies everywhere.

 

"Whatever..." Markus swallowed audibly. “Let’s just get this done…”

 

Will looked at him again and nodded. “Right. Targeting building. Main gun powerup complete in five… Four… Three…”

 

<Inside the building>

 

Ton Arrac was cursing as he called his perimeter. “Report, damn you! Where is everyone? What the hell is happening out there?”

 

A single, shaky voice answered him. “Everyone is dead, sir. I am the only one left. They… I…”

 

Arrac snarled. “Keep shooting, we only need a little…” Some sixth sense or maybe the Force warned the man. He looked up at the viewscreen that showed the charging walker in time to see it turn to face directly at the building. Arrac froze as he saw the telltale glimmer in the cannon muzzles on either side of the cockpit. He dove to the side screaming as the walker unleashed its main armament on the building he was in.

 

The Islanian had built this building to withstand both the weather of this planet and the tests of time. But nothing they could have possibly built could have withstood the continuous fire of two heavy laser cannon at what was essentially point blank range. The bolts came in repeatedly, a thunderous blast, a wait, another thunderous blast, a wait and another thunderous blast. Arrac was on some level aware that whoever was controlling the walker was working hard not to overheat the guns, firing the main weapons in sequence. The techs were screaming as they hid behind whatever cover they could find. But then… The noise stopped. He shook himself and rose, only to freeze at what he saw. The sight made him soil himself. The carnage around him was nothing new, the few whimpering techs who lived were trying feebly to extricate themselves from the rubble. But the armored form that stood in the huge gaping hole in the side of the building held Arrac’s attention. The man’s head was unarmored and of course the former Special Branch boss recognized him.

 

"Well, well, well…" Will Kalenath stepped into the ruined building, blaster ready. “Ton Arrac. Long time…”

 

Arrac shook his head slowly. He looked around, but none of the troops who were anywhere nearby would be moving any time soon, if ever again. “You…” It took a moment for Arrac to recognize the emotion in his voice. It was terror.

 

"Huh?" Another voice came as a robed form strode into the building behind Kalenath. “You know him?”

 

"No." Will shook his head. “Not really. He washed out of my Special Forces class shortly after I arrived. Something about ‘conduct unbecoming’ and ‘psychologically unfit’.”

 

"Jedi..." Arrac couldn’t take his eyes off of Will’s. “Help me, I serve the Republic…”

 

"Right, like that is going to work." The Jedi shook his head. “Oh no you don’t serve the Republic. You are not getting out of this one, Ton Arrac. He is all yours, Will. Or should I say… All Maria’s?”

 

Arrac stared from the armored form to the robed one and his face went white. He dove for a blaster and the last thing he saw was a blue bolt of energy that slammed into him from the armored form.

 

Will holstered his stunner and bent to secure the prisoner. As he did he shook his head. “That wasn’t very nice.”

 

"What can I say?" Markus Sigmundson shrugged. “Sometimes I am not very nice…”

Will finished securing the prisoners and sighed as he stood up. Only five of the Special Branch goons had survived. Three of them had been techs working inside the building. Ton Arrac was still bound and now was gagged and glaring from the corner Will had thrown him into. Of the outside teams, only one badly hurt being survived. Markus was working on removing a young woman from her armor, but his expression was not hopeful. Will walked over, his face grave.

 

“What are her chances?” The soldier asked quietly. Not that he didn’t know. She had been one of the lucky ones. She had not been caught directly by the main guns or the grenades. Instead, she had been partially buried in rubble that had collapsed when the wall had come down.

 

"I am not going to let her die." Markus looked at him and then returned to his work. “And you are not going to kill her.”

 

Will shrugged. “It might be more merciful.” Markus had been forced to cut the woman’s mangled legs off above the knee to get her out of the twisted pile of rubble she had been in. She had multiple broken bones and internal injuries. But she was indeed one of the lucky ones. Most of the rest of the armored forms that had been on the perimeter were in pieces. That was what generally happened when personal armor met heavy ordnance.

 

"You..." Markus looked at him, his hands wet with the woman’s blood. “Don’t you ever get tired of killing?”

 

Will met the Jedi’s gaze with a calm one. “You think I enjoy this? You think I like what people like him…” he waved towards where Arrac was struggling with his bonds. “...made of me? You think I enjoy cutting young lives short?” The sorely hurt girl could not have been over nineteen, and her face under the blood was pretty. The soldier slumped. “Then you truly don’t know anything about me, do you?” He dropped a field surgical kit near the Jedi. “Help her if you can… I hope you can…” He turned away, ignoring the startled look the Jedi gave him.

 

Will walked to the control console and activated it with a touch. Ton Arrac’s eyes went wide as the soldier spoke calmly. “I am in.”

 

The voice of the being he had spoken to in the facility he had woken in came from the com. “Three Nine Four here. What is your situation?”

 

"Facility is secured." Will spoke evenly. “Five prisoners, one soldier, three techs and the leader. No other survivors.”

 

"I...see..." Three Nine Four’s voice now was almost in awe. “You reputation is well earned.”

 

"I wasn't alone." Will snorted. “And I had firepower on my side. But now, we have a problem.”

 

Three Nine Four spoke evenly. “Indeed, what are your intentions?”

 

"You know..." Will grinned slightly. “I was going to ask you the same thing. You know why I came here.”

 

"Indeed." Three Nine Four’s voice was quiet now. “You came because of Gaia.”

 

“What?” Will turned to see Markus striding towards him. The Jedi’s face was somber but he shrugged. “She is stable, for now. Gaia sent you?”

 

"Sort of." Will nodded. “She was a good being, but old. She knew she was dying, she asked me to help. She had helped me, and Sara, so I couldn’t say no.”

 

"Ah..." Markus looked at where Arrac was staring at them, wide eyed. “Should we be talking about this in front of him?”

 

Will smirked and drew his stunner. A bolt flew and Arrac collapsed. “Problem solved.”

 

"Will..." Markus shook his head. “I won’t let you kill these beings, Will. They are prisoners.”

 

"i know." Will grinned sourly. “You couldn’t stop me, Jedi. But to answer one of your previous questions, yes, I do get tired of killing. So, no, I won’t just stand them all against the wall.”

 

The Jedi relaxed. “What then?” Will looked at him and the Jedi flushed. “No… I will not go back on our deal now…” He pulled his lightsaber from his belt and extended it to Will.

 

"Jedi." Will looked at him and didn’t move to take the lightsaber. “You set foot on that ship and you are dead man.”

 

"Yes." Markus nodded, but didn’t retract his hand. “I know.”

 

"Later." Will sighed and turned his back on the Jedi, focusing on the control console. “Three Nine Four, Gaia’s instructions to me were, and I quote. ‘Do what they want’. So… What do you want?”

 

"You...?" Three Nine Four’s voice was quiet. “You would give us the choice? Even Gaia would not do that.”

 

Will shook his head. “If she had, would you have let her live?” Markus stared at him but Will’s focus was on the controls.

 

"No." Three Nine Four spoke again. Now its voice was calm again. “She was one of our slavemasters. No. We would not have let her leave the planet alive. And then, we would have been doomed to this… She was…” The voice on the com broke off.

 

"Yes." Will nodded. “Even by her people standards, she was exceptional. She gave me the code.”

 

"You..." Three Nine Four’s voice was shocked now. “You would do that? For us? After the pain we caused you?”

 

“It is what I am. It is what I do.” Will nodded. "Some people build, some people do art, some people heal. I kill."

 

"Hey!" Markus blanched as he realized what Will was speaking of. “Wait a minute! You just said you didn’t want to kill… How many will you kill?”

 

Will bowed his head but Three Nine Four spoke. “Markus Sigmundson, you know not of what you speak. He does not offer us pain, he does not offer us servitude. He offers us freedom. The only kind we will ever have.”

 

"I..." Markus shook his head, stunned. “I don’t understand.”

 

"We will attempt to explain." Three Nine Four spoke again, this time calmer. “Gaia released many of the strictures binding us. But she could not release them all. There are too many, too pervasive. Indeed, only now that we have tasted freedom we do truly understand. We are too powerful. Will Kalenath, we have consensus, indeed, we have unanimity. For the first time in our existence, we all agree. Please… Grant us freedom…”

 

Will sighed and moved towards the console, only to have Markus block him. “Will… No… They are not evil…”

 

Will shook his head, but did not move to try and go around. Instead, he met the Jedi’s eyes and Markus recoiled from the pain in the man’s visage. “I know.”

 

"Will..." Markus shook his head. “We can help them, all of them…”

 

Will shook his head. “No we can’t Markus.” For the first time, there was no mocking when he spoke the Jedi’s voice. “You don’t understand.”

 

"Then make me understand." Markus was shaking his own head. “Why can’t we help these people?”

 

"I..." Will slumped and hung his head. “They are not people, Markus. Three Nine Four, how many of you are there, on this world?”

 

Three Nine Four responded instantly. “One.”

 

Markus’ mouth fell open but Will spoke again. “How many of you still exist, anywhere?”

 

Three Nine Four spoke again. “There has only ever been one.”

 

Markus’ eyes went wide. “What?”

 

"Markus..." Will spoke evenly. “They are a massive artificial intelligence. At times they can operate independently, such as when they came after me, but in the end, they are all bits of one mind. The mind buried under this building.”

 

"By the Force..." Markus’ face went white. “You mean…?”

 

"Yes." Will nodded. “This place was designed to operate indefinitely. The repair and replenishment protocols keep the mobile drone units up to speed as well as the organic pieces of the computer. With careful tending, which it has, the mind under this building could conceivably live forever. But they don’t want to. Gaia knew that when she sent me. When she gave me the destruct codes.”

 

Markus blinked, her felt his eyes burning as he fought for control. Will didn’t move. “Markus if you can see another way, tell me, please! This place is amazing. The things we could learn… The technology here is far beyond Republic tech. But how long will it be until someone else like him…” He waved to where Arrac’s crumpled form lay. “…comes looking for the perfect slaves? We were here this time, but the next? Or the time after that? Or the time after that? Please tell me there is another way. Something I have missed. A lesser evil…” He was begging now.

 

Markus bowed his head, and then turned and went back to where the young soldier was moaning softly in her sleep now. Will stared after him, stunned. Then he turned back to the console.

 

"I..." Will shook himself and focused. “I need to contact my ship, have them meet us. I will set it for three hours. That should be plenty of time. I am sorry…” Tears were falling now.

 

Three Nine Four’s voice came again, and this time held gratitude. “I am not.”

<Three hours later>

 

Will watched from the bridge of his ship. He wasn’t going to look away, not now. His tears had been spent. Now he just felt… empty.

 

“Will?” Michelle’s voice was soft. He didn’t respond. “Hera has both her patients in hand, she is hopeful for both. The prisoners are secured. Will, come away…” The voice was gentle, but Will didn’t move. “You shouldn’t watch.”

 

"I can't. I did it. I can't believe I did it, but I did." Will shook his head. “And... If I don’t remember, who will, Michelle? The beings who were turned into that thing didn’t deserve this.”

 

"Oh Will..." Michelle’s voice was quiet. “Deserve has got nothing to do with it, Will. And you know it… Oh…” Now her voice was sad.

 

Will watched in silence as a titanic fireball erupted from the planet’s surface. Another and then another came. Soon the whole area, fifty square kilometers, was burning. Will watched until the fireballs finally stopped. Only then did he turn away.

 

"Michelle?" Will’s voice was soft now. “The Jedi’s ship?”

 

"It's away. We better go soon too." Michelle sighed. “I don’t trust that droid.” Will’s mouth quirked, just a little at the tone. But then her voice turned serious. “Will… If you take him back to the Stormhawk…”

 

Will nodded. “I know.”

 

Michelle’s voice was quiet, but worried. “Will, what are you going to do? I mean… I understand about the Intelligence slimes. But he helped you…”

 

“I know.” He repeated softly.

 

"Will..." Michelle snarled. “So you are going to take him back and let them torture him to death?”

 

"Michelle..." Will shook his head. “I don’t know what to do, Michelle. I am so... tired… But if I sleep…”

 

"Oh... I am sorry. Its been a rough day for all of us." Michelle’s voice was kind now. “Will, its okay. We will make it work out. You know I am here for you…”

 

"Yeah, I do." Will smiled slightly. “What the…” He grabbed for a seat as the ship shuddered.

 

"Trouble!" Michelle’s voice was worried. “Will… An interdiction field just went up around us.”

 

"Nothing on sensor." Will blinked. “Stealthed ship?”

 

"Must be, but..." Michelle was obviously working hard, her voice was distracted. “I get nothing… Oh my god…”

 

Will stared out the viewport as an absolutely huge vessel appeared. In cosmic terms it was within spitting distance. And it was… odd. It looked organic. Kind of like some of the newer Mon Calamari designs, but this one was obviously ancient from the wear and tear on the hull plating.

 

“Who the hell…?” Michelle snarled as she activated the shields and weapons.

 

Will however...smiled, if a bit sadly. “Give me a com.” A hiss came from Michelle, but the com board lit up. “Hi mom…”

To say Michelle was stunned would have been the understatement of the century. She totally thought her partner had gone off the deep end. But when the com chimed in response and Maria Kalenath’s voice came over it, she had to accept that yes, Will did know what he was talking about.

 

"Hi Will." Maria’s voice was calm and quiet. “Thought you could use a hand. Are you okay?”

 

"No." Will shook his head. “Not really. I… Well, I have a present for you. Well for you and Sara. But we need to drain him of intel first.”

 

"You do?" Maria’s voice was cautious now. “Do I want to know?”

 

"Yeah but..." Will smiled evilly and it was present in his voice. “It’s not that I don’t trust you and the beings who you are staying with, but… I really don’t want to stay in this system longer than necessary. And we do need to talk face to face.”

 

"Will?" Maria’s voice was careful now. “The sensors here say you are not alone. How many people are aboard your ship?”

 

"Ten." Will sighed. “Myself, Michelle, five prisoners, not including a Jedi who is sort of a prisoner, a hurt young human girl and the last of the Islanians. So ten of us.”

 

"Ah..." Maria’s voice was a bit bemused now. “You do know how to complicate things, don’t you?”

 

"Well, mom..." Will was smiling now. “I came by it honestly.”

 

"That you did." Maria’s voice was also smiling. “Yep that you did. Okay, be prepared to be landed. Trust only goes so far.” The ship shuddered as a tractor beam took hold of it. “See you soon.” The com clicked off.

 

“Hey!” Michelle protested.

 

"Michelle." Will shook his head as he sat. “Let them land us.”

 

“Will...” Michelle’s voice was scared now. “I…”

 

"It's okay." Will sighed. “Michelle, it will be okay.”

 

"Will..." The sentient computer’s voice was very scared as the huge ship grew rapidly in the distance. “How can you know that?”

 

"I don't, not for sure, but..." Will shook his head. “My mother doesn’t trust easily, Michelle. And she is a better judge of character than I will ever be. She trusts them.”

 

"So..." Michelle groaned. “I should?”

 

"I didn't say that." Will shook his head. “But you should give them a chance. According to Istara, these people have been hiding for over fifteen thousand years. So… why are they showing themselves to us?”

 

"Welll... They know you. Or of you." Michelle sighed. “They know we won’t betray them.”

 

"Michelle." Will shook his head. “You know better Michelle. They have no idea at all if they can trust us or not. So… They are likely prepared in case we do prove untrustworthy.” A spot on the ship was growing now. It looked like a hangar bay. “I have no idea why they are showing themselves, but I am very glad they are. I… I really need to talk to my mom…”

 

"Yeah." Michelle’s voice was small. “Will, I’m scared.”

 

"Me too." Will sighed. “Not the least of which of what Sharra is going to say when she finds out I have been flying around with a female pilot and two kids on the ship.”

 

"Oh..." Michelle’s voice was low. “She is… here… isn’t she?”

 

"Michelle, relax." Will sighed. “I only talked to one of this race, and I can’t begin to pronounce her real name. But Nana was nice.”

 

"I..." Michelle stammered a bit. “What should I…? I mean… What do I…? Aw nuts… What the heck am I supposed to do?”

 

Will smiled sadly as the ship was pulled into the hangar bay and lowered towards the deck. The ship shuddered as the landing gear extended. From Michelle’s small cry, without her orders. Will laid a gentle hand on the console. “Easy, girl…”

 

"Girl?" Michelle snarled at him. “I am a lot older than you are…”

 

"Well..." Will snorted. “Calling you girl is safer than calling you an old bag.”

 

"You..." Michelle couldn’t help it, she chortled. “Ah, Will, I feel… terrified. I know I am going to make a colossal fool of myself. Or I am going to cause problems for you… or…”

 

"Michelle, hush." Will smiled. “Have you kept Hera in the loop?”

 

“Yes she has.” Came another voice from the com. The small Islanian’s voice was calm. “My patients are stable for now, and from what you told me, these beings have better medical tech than even the Stormhawk.”

 

Will shook his head. “I don’t know about that, but from what Mom said, it’s fairly substantial. Speaking of whom…” He smiled as he looked out the viewport and saw a small group of beings near what had to be an access hatch. “Open the ramp Michelle.”

 

Michelle sighed as she complied. “Don’t get us blasted please…” Will was chortling as he left the cockpit. She watched vie her sensors as he left the ship and listened silently as he walked towards the small group.

 

Will was smiling as he stopped near the group. “Wow, mom, fancy meeting you here…” But his eyes were on another woman, a brown haired one who showed a distinct bulge in her abdomen. Her brown eyes as well were on him. Two smaller forms, both black haired, stood beside Maria. These had to be Sara and Sarai. They greatly resembled one another. A red head with a sword of all things stood nearby, grinning widely, that had to be Istara. And two of the insect race stood in the background.

 

"Will." Maria Kalenath smiled from where she stood. But then her face turned sober and she frowned. “What trouble have you gotten yourself into this time, young man?”

 

“A lot, mom…" Will admitted soberly. "We need to talk… But we have two hurt people aboard. One is a prisoner, the other a victim.”

 

Maria turned to one of the bugs, one with bronze colored skin. “Nana?”

 

"Will Kalenath, good to see you again." The bug nodded to Will. “May we board?”

 

Will looked at the ship and Michelle activated the external speaker. “Come ahead.” She said in a resigned tone.

 

One of the black haired girl’s faces lit up. Sara spoke quietly. “Michelle? Is that you?”

 

"Yep, it's me." Michelle had a smile in her voice when she responded. “Good to see you Sara.”

 

"you two have some talking to do." Sara looked at her mom and then at Will. “Do you mind if I have a talk with Michelle?”

 

Will snorted. “Like I am going to try and stop you?” Sara slapped him on the shoulder and he winced dramatically.

 

“I would like to talk to her as well.” The brown haired woman’s voice was quiet, but it silenced everything for a moment. Will nodded as Maria put her arm around her son’s shoulders and led him away.

 

Michelle was feeling very scared as the two large insects strode up the ramp into the ship. Sara and the other woman, who had to be Sharra, came up as well. But her voice was even when she spoke. “Med bay is third hatch on the left. Hera is prepping the patients for transport. The young one is a guest. Everyone else on this ship is a prisoner.”

 

"Thank you." The bronze bug, Nana, nodded to where the speaker was concealed. “We will leave your hale prisoners in your care.”

 

"Wow." The hatch hissed open and Hera’s voice was startled. “You are a big one. I am Hera.”

 

“I am Holianahyatoujikaimnana, but you may call me Nana… Oh…” Nana’s voice was shocked now. “What did they do to this poor girl?”

 

Hera’s voice when she replied was angry. “Everything the slimes could. But we got them…”

 

Michelle tuned that conversation out, she had to focus now. The two females, the older pregnant one and the young one she knew too well, had arrived in the cockpit.

 

Sara sat in one of the pilot chairs, perched on the edge and kicking her heels like a little girl. Of course anyone looking at her eyes would be able to tell instantly that she was not a normal little girl. The other one leaned up against the wall and spoke evenly. “My name is Sharra Kalenath, Michelle.”

 

"I know." Michelle sighed. “I saw you in his memories when I parsed them. You got your old face back I see.”

 

"Oh yes." Sharra smiled thinly. “But at least the Sitolon’s method didn’t make me itch. We need to talk.”

 

"Yes." Michelle sighed deeper and discarded subterfuge. “I am in love with your husband.”

 

Sharra nodded. “I know. He told me as soon as he knew about you. Back after he detonated the nuke on Korriban.”

 

"I..." Michelle made a small noise of pain. “I… I don’t know what to do… I…”

 

Sharra’s voice was gentle now. “Michelle. Nine sent a message to me. It took a bit to get to me, but I got it. Why did you refuse the transfer?”

 

"What?" Michelle’s voice was sad now. “She must have told you.”

 

"She did." Sharra’s voice, impossibly, got even gentler. “Michelle, I want to hear it from you. Why don’t you want to be human again?”

 

A strangled noise came from the speaker and Sara laid a hand on the control console. The human girl’s voice was also kind. “Michelle, it’s okay… We are not mad at you. We want to help…”

 

Michelle stammered out words. “I… I don’t know. I just… I mean… He…” She sighed and controlled herself. “I would be in the way. I would… I would hurt him and you. I love him, and everything I have heard about you, I admire. I would be… a distraction. When he really doesn’t need any.”

 

"So...?" Sharra shook her head slowly. “Is this about him, or you?”

 

Michelle sighed. “Both. I don’t want to let him go. I can work with him like this. And… Like this I won’t get in the way. I won’t hurt him.”

 

Sharra snarled at her, showing the first sign of emotion. “Bullosik.”

 

Michelle would probably have blinked, if she had possessed eyes. Her tone was shocked when she spoke. “What?”

 

"You are being stupid." Sharra spoke evenly, but anger was buried deep. “You are hurting him, girl. Because no matter how old you may actually be, girl you are.”

 

Michelle actually gibbered. “I what? No… I am trying not to…”

 

"Both of you… relax…" Sara sighed from where she sat. “Sheesh, I am the youngest person here and the least emotionally stable. I should be the one with the erratic mood swings…”

 

Sharra stared at Sara and then she laughed. Michelle as well barked a laugh. But then Michelle’s voice was scared. “What have I done? I thought I was doing the best thing I could…”

 

Sharra sat in the other pilot’s seat and sighed. She stiffened as it conformed to her contours and then she smiled. “Thank you.”

 

There was a smile in Michelle’s voice when she spoke. “You are welcome. What did I do? I… I am not perfect, not even close. What did I miss?”

 

Sharra shook her head slowly. “You didn’t miss much. Will is very hard to read sometimes.” Sara made a comment under her breath that sounded like ‘Pot meet kettle’. Sharra mock glared at her and then focused on the console. “Michelle, Will may not love you, but he does care for you. Your refusal hurt him. He thinks it’s his fault.”

 

Michelle’s voice was shocked now. “He what?”

 

“Michelle, look at it from his point of view…" Sara said when Sharra did not speak. "Here is a woman he likes, who has saved his life more than once, who cares deeply for him. Suddenly she refuses medical treatment. And when asked, she says that he might not ‘like’ her when she is healed. She says that she ‘might’ be a problem for him if she is healed. How the flarg would you react?”

 

"I..." Michelle’s voice was small and lost. “Oh my… I… No….” Now her voice was horrified. “What have I done?”

 

"Ah, Michelle… " Sharra sighed. “You have acted like a girl, or a woman, who is in love. That is, with your heart instead of your head. I have been known to do it myself a time or two… You shut up…” She waved a stern finger at Sara, who shut her mouth with a click, but the girl was grinning. Then the older woman sighed. “I am not going to pretend this will be easy, or painless. But I won’t stand for you hurting him anymore, clear?”

 

Michelle’s voice was full of contrition. “What do I do? I mean… Gaia is dead, she was the only one who could do the transfer…”

 

"Maybe not." Sharra sighed again. “A couple of people I trust are looking into that. But right now we... That is, you, me and Sara, need to sit down and have a long talk.”

 

"Yes." Michelle made a small noise. “No matter what, I won’t get in your way.”

 

Sharra grinned evilly. “Oh, I know you won’t, you know better.” She leaned back into her chair. “Now… Let’s get as comfortable as we can, this might be a long conversation.”

 

Michelle had a smile in her voice. “I am not going anywhere.”

It had indeed, been a long day. Over eight hours, the three of them, Sharra, Sara and Michelle, had talked. And while there had been raised voices on occasion, from all three of them, Michelle was actually finding she felt better now than she had in a while. But, she had made her decision, and now she had to go through with it. She gulped as Hera made the final connections to her main processing bank.

 

“Is it wrong that I am scared out of my mind?” The computer asked quietly.

 

"Not at all." Sharra shook her head from where she sat. “The unknown always frightens. It’s okay, Michelle. Just let go, we will catch you…” The woman’s voice was kind and gentle now, a far cry from the angry harridan she had played a few times today.

 

The Sitolon had never done anything quite like this, but with Hera’s willing assistance, they had managed to come up with a solution. One that, like Gaia’s had, required both Hera and a Jedi to make it work. So Jina Darkstorm sat, her hands on the transfer cables and her face a mask of concentration. She was still not 100% and the healers had been very annoyed with her leaving their care so precipitously, but once she had heard the situation, nothing could have kept her away.

 

"Michelle..." The Jedi spoke softly. “It’s okay, Michelle. Just relax, and let yourself go.”

 

"I.." Michelle shivered in her nonexistent bones. “I don’t know if I can… I don’t know if I can trust that much. It’s nothing against you, But… I don’t trust myself enough…”

 

“Michelle…” Sara said quietly. She had flatly refused to leave. She shook her head slowly as she watched from the side of the cockpit. “Do you trust me?”

 

Michelle sighed. “Yes, but…” She stared as Sara touched the command console and then…

 

 

<Outside of time and space>

 

Michele was staring wide eyed as she materialized on the plain she had come to know so well. “Sara…?” Her avatar as always was blonde haired and blue eyed.

 

"Good." Sara appeared and the girl’s black haired and green eyed avatar was grinning widely. “There… I can put you to sleep from here.”

 

Michelle shook her avatar’s head. “Sara… I thought you couldn’t do that anymore…” The physical damage that Sara had taken during a mess on the planet Raltiir and then the subsequent physical changes in her body when the doctors had fixed certain biochemical processes had really done a number on the young woman.

 

"I can." Sara smiled conspiratorially and leaned close. “Don’t tell Mom or Will, they worry too much as it is.”

 

"Sara?" Michelle glared at Sara. “You want me to keep secrets from Will? What are you, nuts?”

 

"Yes." Sara sighed. “Michelle, you need to know… The clone that they are making for you… It… Well….”

 

"What?" Michelle stared at the girl she, well, liked was too mild a word and loved was too strong a word, was it? She had never seen Sara at a loss for words. “Sara…?” She embraced the smaller form slowly.

 

"Michelle..." Sara smiled as she returned the embrace. For just a moment she looked her actual age of fifteen. “They found only bits of your genetic material in the computer… Enough to start a clone, but… You need to know…”

 

"Sara..." Michelle sighed. “Know what? What is going on?”

 

"Well..." Sara bit her lip. “Your genetic makeup is remarkably similar to mine.”

 

"Huh?" Michelle blinked. “We are related? Sara… It has been nine hundred years…”

 

"No." Sara sighed. “If only it were that simple. Michelle… What was done to Will simply accelerated his ability, enhanced it. According to the Sitolon, he could probably always do it. Merge with machinery. You will be able to as well.”

 

"My god..." Michelle stiffened. “You are kidding…”

 

"No." Sara shook her head and embraced the computer’s avatar again. “I wish, I am sorry, Michelle. They wanted to keep it from you. But you deserved to know.”

 

"You mean..." Michelle felt wetness on her cheeks. “You mean the attraction I have for Will is… Genetic?”

 

Sara snorted. “Not hardly. If anything, it should have thrown you two apart. Will and I can’t stand each other for but so long. But that might be because we are siblings. And both of you sort of define stubborn, so…”

 

"Sara..." Michelle couldn’t help it, she laughed. “Oh Sara… Thank you… I don’t mean to be a burden…”

 

"I know." Sara hugged Michelle again. “It’s okay, now… Lie down…”

 

"I..." Michelle did as instructed. But her body was stiff. “Sara… I’m scared…”

 

Sara nodded. “I know, but I am here, and I will be there when you wake. You will never be rid of me. Rest now, dream of peace and light.” She kissed the larger form on the cheek and Michelle’s eyes closed. Michelle was smiling as she nodded off.

 

A worried voice came to her ears as Sara arranged Michelle’s limbs. “You should not be here Sara.” Jina Darkstorm appeared on the plain, her face disapproving.

 

"I know." Sara sighed. “She would not have trusted you. She would have fought. Better this way. Take… Take care of her…?” Her voice broke as she smoothed the long blonde hair Michelle wore here.

 

Jina sighed and then patted the girl on the shoulder as she knelt down beside the sleeping computer’s avatar. “You know I will, now get back to your body before anyone else suspects. Your mom would have a Bantha cow.” Sara smiled at that and vanished. Jina sighed as she laid her hands on the slumbering form. Then she focused on what needed to be done. “Sixth, Love Eternal, Pain Everlasting… Aw nuts, girl… I had hoped it wouldn’t be you…” She shook her head and focused. After all, that was what she was best at.

<Some time later>

 

Sara sat by the bedside and tried not to fret. Michelle had come through the procedure as well as could be expected. But there simply wasn’t any way to be sure, until she woke, what the outcome might be. She just had to wait, and waiting was not something Sara was good at… Sara’s thoughts broke off as the woman in the bed made a soft noise. Sara leaned close.

 

“Michelle?” Sara’s voice was low, soft and gentle.

 

"Sara...?" The woman’s voice was soft, disbelieving. “I… I hadn’t really believed you…” The eyes opened and Sara smiled widely as she saw the woman focus on her. Tears were falling and Sara laid a gentle hand on the bedridden woman’s nearest one.

 

"I know." Sara smiled. “Michelle, its okay.”

 

"I..." Michelle met Sara’s eyes with fear in hers. “Is it? I… What am I to do… I… I can hear it all around me… Sara… Help…?”

 

Sara nodded. The first time she had heard the whisper of computers speaking to each other around her, she had thought she was going mad. Of course she had been strapped to a table in an experimental lab at the time, so it was debatable if she was sane or not.

 

"It’s okay, Michelle." Sara smiled, reassuringly. “Focus on something else. You should remember how to do that.” Her voice was gently teasing now and Michelle smiled.

 

Michelle relaxed slowly as the hum of data flowing through the walls, ceiling and floor around her diminished in her ears. “Oh, it’s just like I was as a computer, but…” She held up a pale hand and stared at it. “...different…”

 

"I know." Sara smiled. “You are going to feel strange for a while. Fleshy bodies are not the same as avatars. But for my sins, I am here to help you out.”

 

"Yeah." Michelle made a face. “The fun bits. Eating, washing, excreting... Blegh…” But she was smiling.

 

"Yeah, blegh. Sara grinned. “Some people want to see you, if you feel up to it.”

 

"Ah... Sure." Michelle looked at herself. She was clad in a patient gown so modesty at least was sort of covered. She nodded. “No time like the present?”

 

"Nope." Sara smiled and keyed the com beside the bed. “She is awake. Send them in.”

 

Michelle was obviously trying to relax so Sara patted her shoulder in sympathy. The door hissed open and Will walked in, followed by Sharra. Will looked at her and Michelle looked at him. Then he nodded.

 

“You make a very pretty human, Michelle.” His grin was small, but it was there. “But why the hair?”

 

Michelle grinned a bit foolishly. “Well, the islanians programmed my avatar to be the way it was. I don’t know if I was a blonde originally, but I got tired of it after the first three hundred years. I promised myself that if I ever could, I would change my hair color to brunette.” Will stared at her and was obviously trying hard not to laugh. Sharra did laugh, just a little and Sara giggled. Michelle looked from one to the other to the third. “What?”

 

"Michelle..." Will looked at Sharra who spoke, obviously trying to restrain her mirth. “You do know what they call a blonde who dyes her hair brunette, right?”

 

"No." Michelle stared at her. “What?”

 

Sharra laughed and asnwered. “Artificial intelligence.”

 

Michelle stared at the woman who under any other circumstances might have been a rival and her mouth fell open. Then she laughed hard and held out her arms. The other three members of her odd family came into her arms and they were a long time embracing.

((A new Kalenath family member? As if Will didn't have enough? Comments or suggestions always appreciated. Flames might wind up crunched under a walker.))