At first, everything was dark. Every so often, things would become a bit lighter, but it never lasted. Around her she could hear soft murmurs of things, maybe people talking, maybe droids communicating, but it never made sense and she could never be sure how long she heard them before she was pulled back into the comforting blackness. She didn’t really mind. Every time she was in the light, she hurt. Her head hurt, her shoulder hurt, but mainly, her chest hurt. Sometimes it was a dull ache that suffused every pore until she was unsure where the pain ended and she began. Other times it was a fiery inferno that eclipsed everything else. It continued this way for some time, she was never entirely sure if she was awake or asleep.

 

Eventually, she had noticed a pattern. When the light came, so did the pain. It was starting to get to the point that she was afraid of the light, afraid of when the pain would come again. So it was a massive shock when she saw the light come at one point and there was no pain. She blinked, trying to figure out what was going on and a soft voice came to her ears.

 

“She is awake.” She tried to turn her head, but it wouldn’t move. She panicked a little, but then something happened and she relaxed, almost against her will. Was she drugged?

 

Another voice spoke, this one harsh with pain and fear. “Part of me wishes she hadn’t woken.”

 

"Come on." The first voice spoke soothing. “It wasn’t her fault, you know that.”

 

"I know, but..." The second voice sighed. “Doesn’t matter. No matter what you or I might think, the crew will decide her fate.”

 

Crew. She thought about that word for a moment. She was a member of a crew, she remembered that. Everything was fuzzy, everything was distorted. There had been a… a gathering? An assembly? There had been a young girl there, an angry one, yelling at her. What had happened? She couldn’t remember. She tried to speak, but she couldn’t. She started struggling, trying to move, to speak, to find out what was going on. She couldn’t move, she was strapped down tight.

 

The first voice spoke to her now, soothing, calming. “Brianna, no, don’t struggle. We have you strapped down.” Something warm touched her brow, a hand. It brushed her hair. It calmed her slightly. “Easy, girl, we need to take the tube out. You will be able to talk in a minute. Okay?”

 

Brianna, that was her name, wasn’t it? It felt, right and wrong at the same time, as odd as that sounded. She wanted to nod, but she couldn’t. The hand gently traced her cheek and the voice spoke again. “It’s okay, Brianna. Now, this is going to feel weird.”

 

She felt a tugging, and then something was sliding out of her mouth. She gagged as whatever it was passed her throat, but managed to keep her bile down. Then whatever it was passed out of her mouth and she could close it. She opened her mouth to ask a question, one of many that were humming around her mind, but nothing came out. She blinked and tried again. This time, she managed a croak.

 

"Easy." The first gentle voice sighed. “Brianna, easy… Take it slow. You have been unconscious for some time. Here, drink this.” A straw found her lips and she sucked on it dutifully. The water was clear and cold, but tasted better than the best beer she had ever had. She sucked greedily on it, but froze as the straw was pulled from her lips. “Slowly, Brianna, slowly. If you drink too fast, you will make yourself sick. Drink as much as you want, but slowly.”

 

Brianna, that was her name she remembered, did as instructed. She drank slowly. It gave her time to focus herself. She knew that voice. Hawkir, his name was Hawkir and he was a Jedi. Finally, she had taken enough water that she thought she would burst. When she stopped drinking the straw was removed. Her throat was only slightly raspy when she opened her mouth and tried to speak again. “Hawkir…?” She barely recognized her own voice.

 

The man’s voice was soft and gentle still. “Yes, Brianna?”

 

"What...?" Brianna’s voice was scared now. “What did I do?” Patients in the medical bay were not generally restrained into berths. She remembered bits and pieces. She remembered Juli Shanas Kalenath’s trial. She remembered the arrogance of the Sith who had come aboard and tried to sell herself as something she obviously wasn’t. She… Her memories broke off at that point.

 

The second voice that she had heard spoke again, and this time she recognized it as her father. Jaing Makarian’s tone was sad, sick and worried. “What do you remember, Brianna?”

 

"I..." Brianna thought back, trying to figure out why she would be tied up in a medical bay. She blinked, trying to focus. “I was… I was on my way back to my work. After the trial, after Boss talked to me, berated me for shooting… I didn’t do anything wrong! That Sith was lying!” She paused and shook herself as best she could. “Was I hurt?”

 

"Ah..." Her father’s voice was neutral now. “Yes, you were hurt Brianna. You don’t remember taking Juli to the Detention bay?”

 

"Huh?" Brianna blinked again, her face furrowing as she tried to recall. “What? No… I had no business there. I was angry, with that little scamp but mainly with that Sith witch. Lying Sith scum…” Her face heated as she remembered the scene in the hangar bay where Will of all people had actually defended the barvette. She remembered the ignominy of being disarmed after she had shot the Sith witch and not killed her. She must have missed somehow. No one could take four shots center mass without falling, no matter what armor they wore. Not even a lying Sith scum.

 

"Easy, girl..." Hawkir’s voice was still calm, but focused. “Brianna, calm yourself. So you don’t remember coming to the detention bay and finding Mika, Jonas, Juli’s father and me in the cells?”

 

"What?" Brianna froze. Something in his tone... “What happened?”

 

"Brianna..." Her father spoke now, his tone oddly formal. “Brianna, it is very important. Do you remember anything about the detention bay?”

 

Brianna was starting to get scared now. “No. What happened?” She demanded. “Why am I tied up? Why are you treating me like a prisoner?”

 

"Because you are." A third voice spoke up and Brianna tensed as the voice of Stormhawk Boss spoke. “You killed Mika Kalenath and Jonas Kalenath, Brianna Makarian. You very nearly killed Juli Shanas Kalenath. I can understand you being angry with Juli, after what she said and did after the trial, but Mika and Jonas had done nothing to you.” Now Brianna was terrified. Boss’ voice was coldly furious.

 

Brianna stammered. “I… No… I couldn’t have. Mika is my friend. She is studying dance with me… I…” She broke off, scared out of her mind now.

 

For a long moment, no one spoke, and then her father broke the silence. “Was, Brianna. She was studying dance, and she was your friend. You killed her.”

 

"I..." Brianna felt her eyes burning. “No… No, that isn’t possible.”

 

Boss’ voice was just sad and sick now. “It wasn’t just you. You were set up by tech Jaken, and two of the marines, who have all paid for their crimes. But you killed two of your shipmates and may very well have destroyed the mind of a third. I don’t know. Cranna either won’t tell us or doesn’t know what happened to Juli. But as of now, you are under arrest for the murder of Mika Kalenath and Jonas Kalenath. Until you are healed you will be remanded to the doctor’s care. When you are, you will be placed in the brig until the crew can convene a trial that will not result in you being lynched on the spot. I will be back later, keep me apprised of her condition.” A door hissed.

 

"I..." Brianna tried to shake her head, but it wouldn’t move. “No… Please tell me I didn’t kill my friend, dad… Please…?”

 

"Oh Brianna..." Jaing’s voice was soft. “I wish I could, Brianna. But Hawkir was there, he watched you do it.”

 

Brianna was crying hard now. “No…”

 

Hawkir’s voice was soft and gentle. “It is not your fault, Brianna, you were set up by Jaken.” He sighed. “The artificial heart is working fine, so we can remove you from the plumbing, but you will not want to be awake for that.”

 

"A what?" Brianna blinked and spoke softly. “Artificial heart?”

 

"Yeah." Her father’s hand touched her. She could tell his touch, she always had been able to. “When Will arrived in the detention bay, he found you torturing his kids. He shot you, Bri.”

 

"He... He did...?" Brianna slumped in her bonds. “Then how am I alive?” Will would not have missed. She wasn’t sure the man could miss.

 

Jaing’s voice was quiet. “Hawkir saved you. So be nice to him. He is the only person on this ship besides me who does not want you dead right now.”

 

Brianna shuddered, but her voice was hard when she spoke. “If I killed Mika and Jonas then I want me dead…” She was fading now as something pulled her under, but she heard her father curse quietly and then a kiss landed on her brow. She was smiling sadly as she fell asleep.

Brianna Makarian had been through a lot of stress in her life. Between being captured by the Sith, used a plaything by a perverted Sith commander, then being rescued by her father of all people, someone she had hated… She knew she wasn’t stable, but usually it didn’t matter. Her job aboard had been as a logistics tech. It had mainly required a strong back and not a lot of brains. There were technical aspects, sure, but there wasn’t much brainpower involved in moving crates, or ordering droids about. She had wanted to a job where she didn’t have to think, where she could just lose herself in the work, and the crew had complied. But now…

 

She had never really thought about it. She had always railed against people when they disturbed her. When Stormhawk Nine, crew representative and one of the best pilots Brianna had ever seen, had literally grabbed her and pulled her into a rough and ready therapy session, Brianna had remained silent for the first three times. But Nine was patient as a rock and had about as much give. And it had been amazing when the girl had finally opened up a bit. She had always been an admiral’s kid. No matter where she had gone, in the military or out, she was always Jaing Makarian’s daughter, never Brianna. She had always been held to his standards, always looked at with concern when she could not meet the criteria that other people set for her from her dad’s reputation. It had made her hate him.

 

Only after she had finally broken down in one of the sessions had she begun to understand. It was her. It wasn’t her dad. Her own personality had colored her, had hindered her, and had actually worked to block her promotion on several occasions. Long talks with her father had brought that smoldering resentment out into the open and they had been dealing with it. But then…this.

 

As the two armed and ready guards escorted her from Medical to detention, she saw faces that she recognized in the halls. None would meet her gaze. She saw Stormhawk Nine at one point and opened her mouth, but Nine looked right through her as if she didn’t exist. That hurt more than anything else. More than the plumbing had coming out, more than the heart implant had. None of them saw her. She was… nothing now. A dead woman walking.

 

She shook her head as she walked. And then she saw it. An airlock, she stared at the door as she approached it, but the guard to her left shook his head and steered her into another corridor. She glanced back at it longingly. An end to her pain, her shame, her torment, her life… The same guard gave her a rough shove and she stumbled a bit, but continued. They were not going to let her take the easy way out, not now. They entered the detention bay and Brianna was shocked when the guards directed her away from the force cages that stood ominously at the side of the room. They moved her past the large cells, the force fields that were silent, deactivated and towards the… She froze in mid-step.

 

Her voice was terrified as she stared at the small door ahead of her. “No…”

 

"Don't try." The guard gave her a shove again. “Move, girl. You know the drill.”

 

Brianna was shaking her head, but the guards grabbed the binders on her wrists and bodily carried her towards the solitary confinement cell. It was used only for people who were dangerous to themselves or others, people who might throw themselves at the force fields of the more modern cells and injure or kill themselves either accidentally or deliberately. She was trying to fight, but now two more guards were approaching from an adjoining room. One of them held… Brianna screamed as the guard opened the straightjacket.

 

“No!” She was screaming, fighting, trying to get away, to get free. A heavy blow to the back of her head sent her to the deck, her head swimming.

 

“Easy!” One of the new guards cautioned. “We don’t want her dead. Not until after the trial.”

 

Brianna could only watch, stunned as they stripped her efficiently and professionally. Then they put the straitjacket on and wrapped it in place. Something went around her waist before the final strap was put between her legs and her guts turned to water as she realized it was a diaper. They didn’t trust her with a refresher! She was shaking her head, trying to get words out, as one guard produced a large ball on a strap. Her eyes went wide and she was trying to cower away, but the hands holding her were too strong.

 

“No… No… Please… No… You don’t have to do that… I will be good, I swear…” She was babbling but the guard shook her head and moved it over her mouth. Brianna clamped her mouth shut, and the guard sighed.

 

The female guard looked at Brianna the way a Krayt dragon might look at an insect, with the same level of dispassion. When the guard spoke, it was quiet, and impersonal. “Orders. We don’t want you biting your tongue. Open wide.” Brianna shook her head stubbornly and the guard sighed. Then a strong finger dug into the side of Brianna’s head and found a nerve cluster. When Brianna opened her mouth to scream, the guard popped the ball in and secured the strap.

 

Brianna was crying, cursing, trying to fight the hands that moved her now towards the small door. They shoved her through and she landed on a padded surface. She rolled to a sitting position in time to see the small door shut, leaving her in a small bare room. No furniture, no decorations, nothing but padding. And the padding was thick. Floor, walls, and ceiling were all padded with that same soft material that was well beyond her ability to damage.

 

"Take it easy." The guard’s voice came from a hidden speaker. “We will be back with your meal. Get some sleep.”

 

Brianna tried bashing her head against the wall, but the padding was too thick. Eventually, she wore herself out, and she lay still, crying.

 

Suddenly the door opened and a shocked female voice spoke up. “Aw, what the hell?”

 

The guard answered in a quiet, but adamant tone. “Orders, Ma’am. We don’t want her hurting herself before the trial.”

 

"You..." A small lithe form entered the room and shook her head. It was a small female Twilek, blue skinned, and irate. “Idiots… She is already stressed. How is she supposed to… Oh, I see. You don’t want her to defend herself. You are trying to drive her completely mad.” She sat down beside Brianna’s cringing form and laid a gentle hand on Brianna’s head. “It’s okay, Brianna. It’s okay…”

 

The guard protested. “Ma’am… My orders are…”

 

"Get out!" The Twilek snarled at him. “You are supposed to be getting her meal. Go get it. I will feed her if I have to. You sadistic bastards…” Brianna tensed as the Twi’lek’s fingers fumbled around her head. “Here, Brianna…” The strap loosened and the ball fell out of Brianna’s mouth. The girl immediately started wailing out her grief, pain and rage. The Twi’lek sighed and gathered Brianna up in her arms. “It’s okay, Brianna, it will be okay. My name is Mission. I don’t think it was you who did it.”

 

"I..." Brianna shook her head but calmed slightly. “I saw the recording, it was me…”

 

"Ah..." Mission sighed and laid Brianna out carefully. “Your body, yes. But not you in control of it.” Her touch was gentle and soothed the traumatized woman. “You told Hawkir that you don’t remember after the trial. You were walking back to your workstation. That is nowhere near where Juli was last seen. Do you remember anything at all?”

 

Brianna tried, but everything just cut off after a certain point. Now her voice was flat. “No… I was… I was passing section twelve. And then I woke in medical, they showed me the tape, I killed Mika and Jonas… And what I did to Juli… I deserve to die…” She cried plaintively.

 

"I don't know." Mission sighed. “That remains to be seen. For my sins and for the fact that I am the closest thing on this ship to a neutral party at the moment, they made me your advocate.”

 

"That doesn't make sense." Brianna was crying again, her heart and soul pouring out in streams that ran down her face like rain. “Advocate for what? I am guilty…”

 

"Maybe." Mission smiled slightly. “But it is my job to keep them from killing you and finding out exactly what happened may help. Section twelve you say? What is down there? I haven’t been through that area.”

 

"Ah..." Brianna shook her head. “Not a lot. Mostly storage, some of which hasn’t been opened since the battle of Coruscant. Not a lot of call for request forms or Republic uniforms these days. “

 

"True." Mission snorted and patted Brianna’s head. “No matter what I want, I can’t let you out of the jacket. But I can make you more comfortable.” The Twi’lek drew off her own uniform jacket and laid it over Brianna’s bare legs. “There, that should keep you a little warmer. Sheesh… Idiots. They could have at least given you a blanket.”

 

"No." Brianna shook her head. “Could…Could hang myself with it or…” She broke off as Mission tapped her nose. “What…?”

 

"Brianna." Mission shook her head. “Stop that, you are not suicidal. Or not…intentionally…”

 

"I must be." Brianna shook her head. “I lost it, Mission, I am dangerous, better off dead…”

 

"Maybe, maybe not." The Twi’lek’s eyes narrowed. “Brianna… I need to do something and it is going to frighten you. I need to take a blood sample”

 

"What?" Brianna shook her head, baffled. “What are you talking about? What do you mean it will frighten me? They have been drawing blood for quite a while.”

 

"Not like this." Mission sighed. “Not from inside your brain, Brianna. That is the only place where the traces of what I think happened to you might be found.”

 

Brianna went stiff as a column of ice. “In…Inside my brain?” She recoiled away from the Twi’lek and Mission let her go. She skittered across the padded floor until she fetched up against the wall. She shook her head, but Mission didn’t move. “Why?”

 

"Brianna..." Mission’s voice was soft. “What you described to Hawkir… I…” Mission looked away for a moment. “I recognize the symptoms. Paranoia, loss of memory, lack of inhibitions, heightened aggressiveness… Yeah, I recognize them.” Brianna stared at the Twi’lek, unable to speak. After a moment, Mission continued. “I need a sample from inside your brain because that is the only place I can be certain to find trace elements of Islanian toxins. They are the only thing I know of that might explain all of what you have been experiencing. Humans simply do not react as you have been, even after being traumatized as badly as you were. I should have seen it. I would have thought that Gaia would have seen it, but then again... She wasn't perfect and she was busy…”

 

"Islanian?" Brianna stared at the Twi’lek and then she scoffed. “All the Islanians are dead.”

 

"True." Mission nodded but then sighed. “Yes, but their knowledge did not die with them. Republic Intelligence Special Branch is using techniques derived from Islanian mind breaking practices. And some of the drugs they use are similar to Islanian toxins as well. If so…” The Twi’lek looked away, but her face was sorrowful.

 

"MIssion?" Brianna stared at the Twi’lek. “If so… what?” She asked when Mission did not continue.

 

Mission looked up and Brianna recoiled. The Twi’lek was crying! “If so, they learned all that from me.”

Brianna was bemused. Mission was…odd. She could be acerbic and judgmental, and in the next instant, be kind and gentle. She had spoon fed Brianna’s meal to her and was now easing the girl’s limbs with a gentle massage. Mission was good company, and funny. Most of the time, it was hard to believe that the mind inside the young Twi’lek was over nine hundred years old. Mission finished her massage and nodded to Brianna.

 

“How do you feel now?” The young looking female asked gently.

 

Brianna smiled at the Twi’lek a little cautiously. “Um… Better. You say you need a blood sample? Will it hurt?” She tensed a bit but then relaxed as Mission’s strong fingers started massaging again.

 

"No." Mission shook her head and her lekku moved in a slow dance, coming to rest on Brianna’s abdomen. But that didn’t bother the bound girl. Her voice was as gentle as her fingers when she spoke. “It will feel a bit weird. But it won’t hurt per say. The device I will use was designed not to hurt.”

 

"I don't get it." Brianna shook her head slowly. “You would think I would remember if someone who looked like Gaia had done something to me. She always creeped me out.” Mission nodded slowly.

 

The large jellyfish like being named Gaia had been horrific looking. Islanians had never been very physically capable, so they had evolved with incredibly good natural defensive systems in the toxins that they could secrete from their tentacle. Then they had spent millennia perfecting said toxins to produce whatever effects they wanted. Gaia had been able to calm, paralyze or do a myriad of other things via careful manipulation of the biotoxins on her tentacles.

 

"Brianna..." Mission sighed and patted the girl on the head. “If one of them did it to you, you might not remember. They could do that. And it could have been any number of ways. They got me in a drink. One moment I was drinking from my bottle, the next I couldn’t move a muscle. Talk about scary for a three year old…”

 

Brianna stared at the Twi’lek. “You were only three? And you remember…?” Her voice was horrified.

 

Mission’s gaze went far away, looking at something only she could see. “I remember everything, Brianna. It is part of what they did to me. Gaia was as gentle as she could be, but the process was… brutal. There is a reason Gaia called it ‘breaking a mind and then pouring it into a ship’. That is exactly what she did. They had to remake us after placing us in the machines, every single one of us. So they remade us as perfect slaves. The rebuilding process gave every one of us perfect recall. Better slaves after all, right? I remember every single thing that happened to me.”

 

"Oh, yuck." Brianna was curious in spite of herself. “Do you remember your parents?”

 

"No." Mission shook her head. “I remember everything from after they found me. I don’t know if I simply don’t want to remember or if they wiped that part of my mind, or if it was too traumatizing for me to remember. I was only three after all. And now, well, it’s been several hundred years. The chances of me finding out are remote to say the least. How do you feel now?” She asked again, gently.

 

"Ugh." Brianna slumped, she was procrastinating. “No time like the present. I am sort of tied up though.”

 

"Yep you are." Mission snorted a laugh. “Okay, I need you to stay still. This is not going to hurt, but it will feel very strange. I need to put this…” She held up a small thing, it looked organic, almost like a worm. “…in your ear.”

 

Brianna stared at the thing in Mission’s hand. “No needles?” She wasn’t sure about this.

 

"Nope." Mission smiled gently. “No needles. It will feel weird, but it won’t hurt.” Brianna took a deep breath and then turned her head to allow Mission easy access to her ear. Mission smiled as she took Brianna’s head in her free hand. “Good girl. Here we go…”

 

Brianna felt something wet slide into her auditory canal and gasped as the cold thing wiggled its way in. “I…” She fought to remain still.

 

Now both of Mission’s hands were on her head, holding it gently in place. “Okay, Brianna. Now comes the rough part…”

 

Suddenly Brianna felt whatever the thing was push into her ear. It didn’t hurt, but suddenly she was violently nauseous. She gasped out. “I… I am going to be sick…”

 

"Shh... Easy, easy..." Mission’s hands were gentle and her voice was kind as she held Brianna tight. “No you are not, just hold on a moment…”

 

Brianna squirmed in her straitjacket, she was sure that she was instants away from spewing her last few meals. Then, like someone had flipped a switch, her nausea vanished. She blinked in astonishment. “What the heck just happened?”

 

Mission put a finger over Brianna’s lips. “Shhh…Brianna, don’t talk. Just relax, just relax, that’s a girl…” The Twi’lek had started her massage again and Brianna relaxed a bit. “Let the probe do its job. It won’t be long. It deadened some of your nerves so it could pass your auditory apparatus without disturbing things. That is what made you feel sick, your balance center was out of alignment.”

 

Brianna gasped again as something pressed on something else inside her head. It didn’t hurt. But it felt very, very weird. She tried to focus on Mission’s face instead of the odd sensations inside her ear. She tried not to think of that small…thing…pushing into her brain and tasting her. She grimaced at that image and Mission gave her a squeeze. The Twi’lek smiled at the human woman. “Almost done, Brianna. You are doing a lot better than I did. I was screaming and yelling like crazy every time they did this to me.”

 

Brianna looked at the Twi’lek and opened her mouth, but Mission put a finger on it again. “No, don’t talk. If you move too much, you may dislodge the probe. And who knows where it would wind up?” Brianna looked a bit sick at that, but subsided and tried to ignore the feelings inside her skull.

 

After a few more minutes of pressure, Mission smiled and held her head to the side of Brianna’s head. “There, all done.” She pulled her hand away and Brianna could see the small thing in it. It really did look like a worm, or a tentacle… Brianna realized.

 

"Uh?" Brianna’s voice was somewhat scared. “Can I talk now?” She asked carefully.

 

Mission smiled at her. “Yeah.” But her gaze was on the object in her hand and her eyes were narrowed as if she were puzzled by something. Brianna shook her head and regretted it instantly as nausea flared. Mission was instantly back at her side. “Oh Brianna, I am sorry. Here…” Something touched Brianna’s neck and she felt better instantly. “I should have done that immediately. I was… distracted…” She looked at the object in her hand again, and now her gaze was pensive.

 

Brianna didn’t dare move, but she spoke softly. “What?”

 

"I think I know." Mission bit her lip. “But... Brianna, I cannot tell you that. Please… You have to trust me. I know it is a lot to take in, and a lot to ask. But you have to trust me.”

 

Brianna blinked. That tone was not one that she had heard from Mission. Fear? “Mission? What is going on?”

 

"Brianna, it's okay." The Twi’lek embraced her. “I know what happened to you now. It wasn’t Islanian toxins. But I don’t know how to fix it. I need to talk to some people. Will you be okay here for a while? They won’t bother you. I am about to put the fear of death into the sadistic bastards outside.” Something in her tone though, had Brianna recoiling.

 

"Mission?" Brianna stared at the ancient mind in the young Twi’lek body and her eyes were wide. “What happened? What did you find?”

 

"I..." Mission shook her head and snarled. “I can’t say, Brianna. Until I know more… The less I say, the better… For you.”

 

"Mission..." Brianna shook her head, stubbornly fighting the nausea that still threatened. “I don’t care about me.”

 

"I know, but..." Mission smiled and hugged her. “I do. You didn’t kill them, Brianna. But I don’t know who did. And until I do, you are in danger. So, please… For the love of the Force, can you stay here and stay quiet until I can figure that out?”

 

"Ah..." Brianna stared at the Twi’lek, baffled by this sudden change. “Uh… Sure… I can do that…”

 

"Good." Mission’s face took on a hard aspect and suddenly, Brianna could see that this being had been an ancient and powerful starship once upon a time. “Someone is going to pay for doing this to you. I swear it.” the Twi’lek hugged her again, and then strode to where the door was concealed and hit the wall three times. The door opened and then closed, leaving Brianna to stare after the Twi’lek, bemused.

Edited August 10, 2012 by kalenath

Brianna kept hoping that Mission would come back. The kindness that the Twi’Lek had shown her had been a welcome balm for the tormented woman’s soul. But when the door opened again, the guards were there, beckoning her out. Brianna had slept for a while. The nausea had passed quickly, and she had been left with nothing to do. So she had slept for a bit. Then she had jolted awake when the door had opened and the guards were there. This time, however, they were polite.

 

“Easy does it.” The female who had been so angry and hostile before actually held Brianna upright as the girl tried to stand and couldn’t. Brianna would have fallen, except the woman caught her in a gentle grip and held her until Brianna had her balance back.

 

"Right." Brianna nodded, aware of the four guards that surrounded her now, but… This was odd. None had blasters. As a matter of fact… Only one had a stunner holstered! The other three were unarmed. And all were female! Brianna looked around, scared for some reason. “I… What…?”

 

"Brianna." The guard who had held her upright nodded to her. “We have one of your shipsuits for you. Will you be able to change into it, or will you need help?”

 

"A shipsuit?" Brianna stared at the guard. “Why? All I am for is a trial and then an airlock, why dress me?”

 

"Because it is the right thing to do." The guard smiled a bit sadly. “We didn’t know, Brianna. I swear we didn’t know.”

 

"What?" Brianna stared at the woman, was she about to cry? “Know what?”

 

The guard sighed and started undoing the straitjacket. “You will see, Brianna. Here…”

 

Brianna was shivering as the guards carefully removed her from the straitjacket. Ordinarily, the sight of the full diaper that they removed from her would have filled her with disgust, but here and now, it was a minor inconvenience. They were gentle in helping her get into position to get into the shipsuit, one of hers and…

 

"Wait!" Brianna stiffened a bit as the guards started to pull the heavy fabric over her head. “Wait… this is an armored shipsuit… Prisoners don’t wear armor…”

 

"Well..." The guard smiled a little sadly. “They do if people might shoot at them between the detention bay and the where you are going.” Brianna collapsed at that, and the guard sighed. “Ah, sorry, girl… I didn’t mean to scare you. Come on, let’s get you dressed.”

 

Brianna didn’t resist as the guards eased her arms and legs into the proper places and then zipped up the suit. She didn’t resist as the guards put her wrists in binders. And then, they put a helmet on her head! Now Brianna was very afraid. She was shivering as the guards helped her stand again. She staggered as the female guard laid yet another layer of armor over top of the ship suit but didn’t cry out or protest. She was too scared to speak.

 

"Easy." The female guard patted her shoulder. “It will be okay. Come on, we have an appointment.”

 

The guard took Brianna’s arm in a gentle grip and led her from the detention bay. To Brianna’s amazement, the hallways were deserted. She had expected to run a gauntlet of insults, or at least hostile glances. She turned towards the hangar bay that was customarily used for trials, but the guard shook her head and led her on. Suddenly, a group of beings strode from a cross corridor. Brianna stiffened, but none of them acted hostile. All were wary, but none were angry, and none had weapons in hand. They all wore armored flightsuits. Were they pilots? They were not people that Brianna knew. Of course she had never really mingled with most of the crew.

 

The one in the lead, an older human female, spoke to the guard. “Anything?” The guard shook her head and the woman sighed. “We have it.”

 

The guard patted Brianna’s shoulder again. “Good luck Brianna.” Brianna stared after her, stunned by the change in the woman. Then the guards strode off back towards the detention bay.

 

“My name is Minerva. I am Guardian Two.” The woman said as she came close. “We will keep you safe.”

 

"I don't understand." Brianna shook her head, conscious of the heavy infantry helmet that covered her head and most of her face. “What is going on? I mean… I am to stand trial, then be executed, right?”

 

"Well..." Minerva sighed. “Yes, you are going to stand trial, but not yet. As to being executed, well… We don’t know. Right now, though... We need your help, Brianna.”

 

Brianna stared at the older woman, who was a lot older than she looked. Like Mission, this woman had been the mind of a starship until just recently. Everyone aboard the Stormhawk knew about the Guardians, beings who had been enslaved by an evil race, programmed to obey, and then downloaded into machines to serve essentially forever. One Islanian had managed to break free from the brainwashing and had rebelled, taking many of her ‘children’ with her. Through an odd set of circumstances, the Islanian and her fellows had wound up on the Stormhawk and become part of the crew. Then Gaia had died, helped along by a merciful blaster shot from Will Kalenath.

 

"My help?" The prisoner, she was still in binders, shook her head. “What? Why do you need my help?”

 

"Because...": Minerva slumped. “You are the only one who can likely get past the barrier that Mission is dying behind.”

 

"What?" Brianna froze in place, her face a study of shock. “What happened to Mission?”

 

"Lets go." Minerva waved a hand and the group moved around Brianna, like a living wall. “We don’t know what happened, Brianna. Mission contacted us. She said that you were innocent, a pawn.”

 

"That is not true." Briana was shaking her head, shocked. “I… I saw the recording… I did it… I wish Will had shot me in the head…” She was crying now, her body shaking as she wept. Then she froze as Minerva embraced her.

 

"No, Brianna." Minerva’s voice was soft. “No you don’t. That is part of the programming. Be strong, girl. You are better than this.”

 

Brianna stared at the older woman. Then she broke down and the tears that had been falling redoubled. “Why is everyone suddenly being nice to me? I am evil! A monster… I killed my friend!”

 

Minerva sighed and embraced Brianna again. “Brianna… I know about being a puppet. We all do.” She waved a hand at the bodies around her. “Mission in particular was… adamant about it. She said she was trying to find out who had used you. She was trying to find out who had set you up. Then she screamed. We all ran to where she was, but we cannot get past a barrier. We think you can.”

 

Brianna stared at the pilot who had been an ancient starship. “Why?” She asked through her tears.

 

Minerva held Brianna and shook her head slowly. “Because you have been there before.” She started moving, drawing Brianna gently with her. “Come on, Mission does not have a lot of time.”

 

Brianna allowed herself to be led. Her mind was whirling. She wasn’t sure what was worse. If she was a monster, then she deserved to die. But if she was a pawn, a puppet…? Her eyes were drawn to a group nearby, all their eyes were on her and they were hostile. She averted her eyes quickly.

 

"Easy." Minerva gave her a squeeze. “They don’t know, Brianna. Boss has clamped a security lockdown in place. Better that people remain at their posts, at least for the moment. If they knew the truth, they would panic. Come on.”

 

She led the girl through the bowels of the Stormhawk, through areas that hadn’t been touched in some time apparently. Then they came to a well lit area. The lights had apparently been recently activated, because the whole area was dirty, as if not touched in some time. Ahead, Brianna could see a cluster of forms around a table, one of whom looked up as the odd group approached.

 

Brianna stiffened as Stormhawk Nine nodded and strode to meet them. But then she was shocked when Nine embraced her. The Cathar’s eyes were glistening. “I am sorry, Brianna. I thought with my gut, and not my head.”

 

Brianna shook her head. “What are you all… talking…?” Her voice trailed off as she saw a force field ahead of them and behind it…! She cried out. “Mission!” The Twi’lek lay on her side, just beyond the force field, and she was bleeding from a pair of visible wounds on her chest. The female alien was unconscious and lay in a pool of what looked like blood. Brianna turned to Nine and her face was scared. “What happened?”

 

Nine slumped. “We don’t know. We haven’t been able to get to her. That forcefield was apparently built as part of the original ship. We are trying to trace the power conduits to shut it down that way, but are having a hell of a time doing it. Whoever built this was paranoid and probably a certified wacko as well.”

 

"I..." Brianna stared at the Cathar and then something seemed to click in the girl. She stood up straight. “You think I can get past it?”

 

"Yes." The Cathar nodded. “We found a couple of cameras that Jaken apparently didn’t manage to find and got recordings from them.”

 

"Okay." Brianna nodded, but her gaze was on the force field. “What do I do?”

 

Another voice answered her. Brianna did not flinch as Stormhawk Boss walked up to her. “All you have to do is deactivate the force field. We can take it from there.”

 

Brianna nodded and stared towards the field. But Minerva held her for a moment. “Mission asked us to watch out for you. So be careful.” She hugged Brianna and then stepped back.

 

The impassive visor of Stormhawk Boss was on her as Brianna stepped forward. Then Boss reached out and deactivated the binders. “Good luck One Eighteen.”

 

Brianna froze. To be called by her ship number… She shook her head. “I have not earned the right to be called that yet. Not until I am tried for my crimes.”

 

"Okay, Brianna..." Stormhawk Boss sighed. “You need to know. That pool of blood is not from Mission. That pool is from the marine who tried to get to her first, before we knew what was happening.”

 

Brianna stared at the armored form and then at the green field ahead of her. There was nothing left of the marine. Nothing but the pool of bodily fluids. She swallowed convulsively and then paused. An armored marine? Could it be that simple? She reached up and undid the helmet.

 

Boss spoke, started. “What…?”

 

"No armor..." Brianna dropped the helmet as she started forward, undoing the heavy armor. It also fell by the way side. “If I was here before, I wasn’t wearing armor or a helmet. The shipsuit, yes…” She paused just outside the field. She could see the slow rise and fall of Mission’s chest. The Twi’lek was still alive. Brianna took a deep breath and spoke evenly. “Tell my dad I love him and tell Will I am sorry.”

 

"Bri..." Nine’s voice answered her. “Tell them yourself, once you are done with this.”

 

Brianna didn’t reply, she was focused on the force field ahead of her. Then she took a step into it.

For a moment, Brianna Makarian was unsure of whether or not she had passed the field. She didn’t feel any change. It didn’t feel any different. It didn’t hurt, she felt some pressure that she had to push against, but other than that, nothing. Then a tingling started in her finger and toes. Again, it didn’t hurt, but she was sure it SHOULD have. Something was… eerily familiar about this. She felt something in the back of her head, something that told her to turn around, to run away as fast as she could. But she couldn’t, Mission needed her. She took another step, forcing her foot forward against the steadily increasing pressure. Then the pain started. She gritted her teeth and kept her eyes shut as she pushed forward, trying to get a foot to move. The pain was excruciating, but she had to get through the field, she had to help Mission! She could barely feel anything now, and she was screaming as the power arced through her. Then suddenly, she was free. She landed on her hands and knees, and shuddered, trying to get her limbs to work. She opened her eyes and froze.

 

“What… the…?” Brianna looked around in wonder. This was not what she had seen through the energy field. The room that Mission and the remains of the marine had lain in had been a storage room, full of packing crates and boxes. This was a medical lab. Mission lay nearby, and the pool of blood that the Twi’lek lay in was the same, but everything else was different. Brianna stared around, everything looked new, high tech and well maintained.

 

She staggered, trying to get to her feet, but her hands didn’t work. She looked at them and tried not to scream. Her left one was a blackened ruin, the right…was gone. There wasn’t even bone left. She grabbed her right wrist with the burned hand, trying to staunch the flow of blood that started pulsing from the artery as she stared at it. The pain increased, but she had to hold on or she would bleed to death. She rolled towards Mission.

 

“Mission… wake up… Please wake up…” She begged as she crawled towards the unconscious Twi’lek. Something stung her on the neck and she gave a small cry as she fell over, her limbs not working.

 

“Unauthorized access.” Brianna looked up to see a small droid hovering on silent anti-gravity waves nearby. A manipulator with a hypo was retracting into its housing. A mechanical voice sounded from it again. “Experimental subject 1-H recognized. Repair required.” A cool spray and the stump of her right wrist was covered in some kind of liquid bandage.

 

Repair…? What the…? Brianna asked herself as she was rolled onto her back. Another droid had her now. Its manipulators were padded, as if not to harm organic flesh. As if it was designed to do this! She could not move so much as a muscle; she couldn’t even close her eyes as the droid lifted her up and carried her. She could see part of her body and… She was naked! The ship suit she had worn was gone and her skin was blackened by whatever had happened, not to mention the hands. She tried not to look at them, but she could smell scorched meat now. Her.

 

Brianna was trying to control her terror as the droid laid her down on something soft. She was trying so hard to calm herself, she never saw the droid extend a mask that settled over her nose and mouth. She screamed and tried to throw it off, but it seemed to latch into place. Cold metal restraints latched into place around her and she screamed again into the mask as her arms were raised onto other sections as if for surgery.

 

“No… No.. Not again! Please… Anything but this… please don’t hurt me…” She was babbling as yet another droid appeared. The droid came close, sharp implements shining in the bright light. A saw started to whir and she closed her eyes, praying for anesthesia.

 

A startled voice spoke up. “What the… Code sigma six nine override! Cease!” The droid beeped and the saw stopped whirring. The voice spoke again, worried sounding. “Ma’am…? Can you hear me?”

 

"Just..." Brianna was crying as she kept her eyes screwed shut. “Just kill me, please don’t hurt me anymore.” She begged.

 

The voice sighed. “Ma’am… You are hurt. We can help.” A soft hand touched Brianna on the forehead. “Ma’am… Let us help you.”

 

"No..." Brianna kept her eyes shut and tensed until her entire body was rigid. “Just kill me; I am sick of being a monster. I am sick of being crazy. I just want to die…”

 

The same voice spoke, gently this time. “No you are not, and no you don’t. It’s okay, Brianna, it’s okay. Shh... It's okay... Shh...” The touch on her head was stroking now. From the feel, her hair was all gone, probably burned off. The hand avoided the painful spots, gently stroking, promoting calm.

 

Brianna froze. She didn’t know this person, did she? “Who are you? Do I know you?” She asked carefully.

 

The voice sighed. “No. No you don’t. I wasn’t awake when Jaken was here last. If I had been, I would have stopped him. Scumsucker.”

 

Brianna tried to shake her head, but it wouldn’t move. Her voice was muffled by the mask. “I… I don’t understand.”

 

The voice sighed. “I know, Brianna. And you need medical care now, not the kind that these droids would provide either. I guess… I guess it’s finally time to show ourselves. Here…” A tingle at the back of her neck and all the pain she had been feeling vanished.

 

Brianna exhaled sharply in relief as her pain dissipated. She opened her eyes to find a man in Republic Navy uniform standing beside the bed she was in. He was unlocking the restraints that held her. She tried to sit up, but the man shook his head and held her down gently.

 

His voice held just a hint of sternness now. “No, don’t try to move. You are still hurt, you just don’t feel it.”

 

"I..." Brianna blinked and spoke carefully. She stiffened in memory. “Mission… My friend… She is hurt as well… I don’t know what happened to her.”

 

"She is okay." The man nodded. “We found her first. Her injuries are not as bad as yours. I am sorry, Brianna Makarian, we were still waking when you entered the field.”

 

Brianna felt something odd now. She was floating. Drugged? Or dying? “Waking? What?”

 

"Well..." The man sighed. “It’s a long story, and I don’t know all of it. But I have you at a disadvantage. My name is Marc Scarran, Captain, Republic Navy. Also know as Dragon Leader.”

 

"But..." Brianna’s eyes went wide. “That is impossible… the Dragons are dead…”

 

"Dead?" Dragon Lead smiled at her. “We Dragons are never more dangerous than when we are dead. And the impossible is our stock in trade. Sleep, Brianna. It will be all right.” Briana took those kind words into slumber with her.

This time, when Brianna woke, she did so quickly. She hurt. Every part of her body hurt. She managed to keep her scream down to a groan as she opened her eyes. As she had expected, she was back in Medical.

 

“Good morning.” Hawkir said from his place beside her bed. The Jedi looked totally calm and in control, as always. Brianna had always envied that.

 

“Morning…” Brianna mumbled as she tried to see her hands. The left one was covered in burn dressing and… Wait a moment… She stared at her right hand and then slowly raised it to her face. It was intact. It was burned, but not as badly as the other hand. “What… What happened?”

 

Hawkir shook his head and took her right hand in both of his. His grip was gentle, but firm as he laid it down at her side. “You went through that weird field. Do you remember that?”

 

Brianna nodded slowly. “Yeah… I was… I was burned.” She was fuzzy. She had to be drugged. Just from what she could see, there were burn dressings over much of her body. She had to be drugged, or she would have been screaming her lungs out. She stiffened as memory returned. “Wait! Mission… Is she…?” She would have struggled to sit up, but Hawkir shook his head and held her down gently.

 

The Jedi’s voice was kind. “Mission is alive. You got the field down in time.”

 

Brianna stared at the Jedi. “I… What?” She shook her head, conscious of pressure and a rustling on it; apparently there were burn dressings there as well. “No, I didn’t.”

 

Hawkir shook his head again and his voice was gentle. “Brianna, you are confused. Between your injuries and the drugs…” He broke off as Brianna shook her head violently. “Easy, girl!”

 

The hurt girl was very confused now. “I didn’t do anything. Did you find the lab? Did you find them?”

 

Now the Jedi looked confused. “Brianna, you were not in a lab. There are no labs anywhere near that section of the ship. The storeroom you were in had seen set up as a workshop, and trapped by Jaken.” The Jedi actually looked like he wanted to spit.

 

Brianna was trying to understand, this was making no sense at all. “When I went through the field… It was a lab, there was a lab there. A droid had me… I was… My hand was gone, burned off… or something…” She was breathing hard in memory, memory of pain and fear.

 

Hawkir laid a hand on her brow. “Easy, Brianna, easy… It’s okay, you are okay. You are past your fear, you have passed your fear, I know that. Be calm girl, it will be okay now.”

 

The girl was struggling to get up now. “You don’t understand. I went through the field… My hand was gone…” She raised her right hand and touched it with her bandaged left one. It felt normal. She put a finger in her mouth and bit down. It hurt as it should. She was nearly in tears. “This doesn’t make sense. I didn’t imagine it…”

 

Hawkir pulled her hand from her mouth. “Stop that.” He sighed and stroked her head. “Brianna, the mind is a strange thing. Easy…” He was trying to calm her as she was getting steadily more agitated.

 

The hurt girl slumped back in her bed. “Have I gone mad? I… I felt everything. I…” She was crying now.

 

Another voice answered her. “Brianna, it’s okay.” The door to the room opened and Mission walked in. The Twi’lek was not her normal dapper self. For one thing, her skin was pale, and her eyes were sunken pits in her skull. For another, the bandages that covered much of her upper chest left no doubt that she had been very badly hurt.

 

Brianna could barely see through her tears now. “Misson, did you see it? Did you see them? The droid…. It was a lab, it had me. I was locked down, it was going to do something to me. Tell me you saw it, please…”

 

Mission came close to Brianna’s bed and shook her head. “I didn’t see anything after the droid shot me. I got it, but the next thing I knew I woke here. I remember the field, yes. It snapped on as soon as I passed it. Then the droid attacked me. That storeroom was an evil place. The table, the equipment in there…” the Twi’lek took a long calming breath.” I understand you not wanting to remember it. You saved my life, girl. I owe you. I will help you as I can.”

 

Brianna was shaking her head, totally confused now. “This doesn’t make sense. When I went through the field, it was a lab. Not a storage area. You were on the floor there. I was hurt… My hand was gone…” She stared at her right hand again. “I tried to wake you, but couldn’t. Then I was blindsided by a droid. I couldn’t move…” She was crying hard now and Hawkir took her right hand in his again, giving what support her could.

 

Brianna took a moment to collect herself before continuing. But now her voice was scared. “Another picked me up and took me…” She was breathing hard now. “It put me on a table… Just like… Like when the Sith had me… I…” She was shaking her head slowly. Hawkir moved slowly and sting on her arm barely registered. Then she was fading. “There was someone… Someone there… he said… he said he was a Dragon…” Now she was too weak to speak, and slumped as darkness started crowding her vision. She felt someone, probably Mission, give her hand a pat.

 

As she drifted off, she heard Mission’s voice, scared and sick. “My god, what happened to her?”

 

Hawkir’s voice answered the Twi’lek. “The pain from the field must have unbalanced her. I can’t say I am surprised, given the injuries she sustained. We will help her.”

 

Something at the edge of her mind seemed to speak. Sleep, child, it will be all right… Then she was asleep.

This was beyond tiresome. Brianna was getting fed up. Hawkir and Cota, the other doctor aboard, were kind, too kind. They were treating her as if she were made of glass. She slept a great deal, she had no idea at all how long she had been in Medical. She knew she had been in the kolto tank at least twice, she had woken in it twice anyway. Her burns were mostly healed now, only a few of them still twinged when she moved a little. Everything else was fuzzy though. She was drugged.

 

They had finally explained. Her father, Nine and Stormhawk Boss had all come to her bedside and told her what they had found in the records that Jaken had left. Apparently the man had not JUST been a jealous tech. He had been an agent for Republic Intelligence’s Special Branch. Just the thought of sharing the same space with one of the scum who thought it was a good idea to kidnap people and experiment on them against their will made Brianna feel a bit sick to her stomach. But then the fuzziness in her head increased as the machinery noted whatever the heck it noted and increased the dosage of the drugs. She managed to grimace a bit, but that was all. She couldn’t fight the feelings of lethargy that swept through her so she relaxed as best she could, strapped down as she was. At least the straps at her wrists and ankles were padded. They didn’t want to hurt her.

 

She understood, she really did. When Boss and Nine had told her that Jaken had injected her with some kind of microscopic droids, Brianna had not believed. But then they showed her the scans, the tiny devices that lay, even now inside her skull. She had freaked, and who could blame her? Boss and Nine had been kind, but adamant. She was a threat now. Brianna had asked, begged, cajoled, threatened, everything she could think of, but they refused to kill her. Mission had been back a time or two, and her father had been there as well a few times. But no one dared touch her. All of her medications were done by droid. All of her feedings and cleanings were done by droid. She just wanted an end, this was beyond horrifying, beyond torturous. Even without the drugs, she was numb now. She wanted an end. She wanted to die.

 

She was dozing again, there really wasn’t anything else to do, when a large warm mass jumped onto her bed.

 

“Holy hell, One Eighteen… What the flarg happened to you?”

 

"Who?" Her eyes shot open and she stared at the large furry creature that now sat beside her, his eyes concerned. Brianna’s voice was soft, scared almost. “Jikirt…?”

 

The Kushiban was a mess. His head was bandaged, and his fur had been shaved in a number of places. Healing injuries showed in most of those places. The mechanic had been in the ICU for some time, unconscious. No one had known if he was going to wake again after the serious injuries he had sustained trying to keep a young and insanely gifted weapon designer from being captured by the Sith. He had failed, but through no fault of his own, he had been overmatched.

 

"Ah..." Brianna shook her head. “I… I am not One Eighteen, not anymore… I…”

 

"Crap." The Kushiban mechanic snorted. “Don’t you give me that kark, girl. I have ears.” He twitched his long furred ones expressively. “You did something awful, but it wasn’t you in control. That demagolka Jaken was.” His voice held hate now and he took a moment to calm himself and smooth his fur and his voice was humorous. “Look at me, all munking fuzzy…” His voice turned serious. “You look like hell, girl. How you doing?” His furred hand touched her cheek and she shied away as best she could.

 

"No!" The girl bound to the bed stiffened. “No, don’t touch me! I… I don’t know how they spread.” Brianna said in a tone that was barely one step removed from begging.

 

"Mirk it, girl." Jikirt snorted derisively. “If they spread by touch, idiot child, both the brixing docs would be dead or infected. And they ain’t. So the tiny pieces of osik don’t. Here…” He stroked her face gently with a furred hand. “How long has it been since someone gave you any flarging comfort, girl?” The profanity could not cover his worry. And Brianna didn’t mind, this was just how Jikirt was. He was an incredible tech, a good friend and had the foulest mouth of anyone Brianna had ever met. Not to mention he was a terror when he got his huge wrench out. As an attitude adjuster, nothing else even came close to seeing a meter long Kushiban wielding a two meter long wrench as a sword. It was hilarious as long as you were not facing it.

 

"No." Brianna was shuddering now. “I… No… Jikirt… Please…”

 

"Ah..." Jikirt sighed again, and suddenly he jumped up onto Brianna’s chest. “Girl, it ain’t your fraking fault.” To her amazement, he curled up there. “Here, you are cold.” His voice was soft and wonder of wonders, free of profanity. Brianna was stunned speechless. First of all, Jikirt never spoke without profanity. Second, he never acted like this…

 

She finally found her tongue. “Jikirt… What…?”

 

"Ah, One Eighteen." The Kushiban’s voice was muffled as he laid his head on his paws and sighed. “You know I failed Val. I… I know about wanting an end, girl. I know it well.” Brianna was stunned to see tears forming on the Kushiban’s hard face. “It ain’t your fargling fault. Jaken did this kark to you. You are brixing strong girl, stronger than that son of a barve. You can’t munking help Mika or Jonas now, but that doesn’t mean you should give up.” His face took on a pleading aspect. “Please don’t fraking give up.”

 

"I..." Brianna shook her head. “I am tired, Jikirt, so tired. Cold… I never can get warm anymore. It’s always so cold in here. I know they raised the temperature, but… Something is wrong, Jikirt. I don’t know what, but something is wrong.”

 

"Huh?" The Kushiban stared at the bedridden girl and then turned his gaze to the medical gear nearby. “What the…?” He said in a tone of shock, and then he was diving for the call button that lay under Brianna’s hand. He hit it and shouted. “Doc!”

 

The door hissed open and Hawkir came in, his face serene until he saw Jikirt. “Jikirt…what…?” The Jedi asked, but the Kushiban cut him off.

 

"Doc!" he mechanic’s voice was scared. “Something is flarging wrong with Brianna, look at her munking core temp!”

 

Hawker came to the side of the bed and stared, first at the monitor and then at Brianna. Then he blanched.

 

"Good." Brianna was fading. Something was wrong. She smiled a little. “An end to pain… Don’t… Don’t grieve for me… I won’t be a monster anymore…”

 

"Brixing idiot girl!" Jikirt shouted at her. “Dammit Brianna, don’t you dare farkling die on me!”

 

Hawkir’s voice was soft as he took Brianna’s hands in his. “Jikirt. Move.”

 

"No!" Jikirt shook his head stubbornly. “I frelling lost one shipmate, I ain’t losing another!”

 

Brianna’s breath was coming in gasps now. She smiled as warm suffused her being, the last thing she saw before blacking out was Jikirt’s angry face inches from her own. His voice was quiet, or was it in her head?

 

I ain’t going to lose you girl!

 

Something answered the irate Kushiban. No you won’t. Rest Brianna.

 

She took those oddities to slumber with her. But she wasn’t afraid now. She knew she should be, but she wasn’t.

Without sense of transition, Brianna was sitting in a comfortable chair and covered by a warm blanket. She stared around herself bemused. The room was… She blinked, she recognized the room! It was the den of her family’s home on Coruscant. This was odd, she hadn’t been there since she enlisted. She shook her head slowly. Her father had told her that the apartment building had been smashed by a stray round from a Sith battleship during the Sacking. So how the heck…?

 

She sat up slowly, checking each… She froze. Her right hand was gone! She shivered a bit, but then explored the stump of her wrist with her left hand. It felt… She shook her head. It felt like skin and bone, but… This wasn’t possible. She stood up slowly, hyperaware of her surroundings. The room was exactly the same as she remembered. The fake fireplace on one wall, the painting that her mother had done of a seascape on another, these she remembered. The couch with the stain that she had managed to get onto its ‘unstainable’ surface was where she remembered, she smiled in fond memory. Her parents had been less than enthused, but it was a fond memory nonetheless. She walked to the fireplace and stopped short. It wasn’t fire in it! It was… What was it? She held out her left hand to it.

 

“Don’t do that, Brianna.” She spun in place as the voice sounded behind her and her arms came up in warding gestures. The man in Republic uniform stood near where in her old home would have been the door to the eating area. And she knew him!

 

Brianna shook her head. “Captain Scarran?” Her voice was bemused. She could feel her sanity eroding.

 

The onetime commander of the Republic’s premier fighter squadron smiled gently at her. “One and the same, Brianna.” He didn’t move, as if he knew how fragile her mental state was.

 

The girl was afraid to move. “They say I imagined you. That there was no way I could have seen you. So…” She took a deep breath. “Am I going mad?” She asked plaintively. “They think I am going mad, well, crazier.”

 

"You are not." The man in Republic uniform sighed. “What Jaken did to you was intended to drive you mad. That way, if you survived, you could not implicate him.” He blew out a deep breath. “You mind if I sit?” Brianna shook her head, confused. Captain Scarran sat on the couch. “This is a mess, girl, and no mistake.”

 

Brianna didn’t move. Truth be told, she wasn’t sure she could have moved, as stiff as she was. “I… I imagined the lab, I imagined you… This is just my mind playing tricks on me while my life ends…” She broke off as the captain scoffed slightly.

 

When he spoke, it was quiet, but held ironic humor. “In order: No, you did not imagine the lab. No you did not imagine me. And no, you are not dying.”

 

Brinna gulped a bit at that. She felt her eyes start to burn. “I… I want to… I hate being crazy. I hurt people, I hurt my friends. I killed my friend…” She was wailing now and… Wait, how had she gotten onto the couch and whose arms were around her? There were more than one set now. They were warm and gentle as she wept. She looked up to see the captain had his arms around her… She blinked but the image didn’t vanish. Jikirt’s arms could not go all the way around her, but he was purring?

 

The captain sighed as he saw Brianna’s gaze on the Kushiban. “Never the easy way, huh Jikirt? You shouldn’t be here.”

 

"Oh?" The Kushiban laughed sourly. “And you munking should? She is my flarging shipmate. I won’t lose her.”

 

"No." The captain shook his head in resignation. “You are not going to lose her, Jikirt. We won’t let her die.”

 

"Wait..." Brianna looked from the man in Republic uniform to the Kushiban who had stopped purring now that’s he was calmer and spoke carefully. “You two… know each other?”

 

"Yeah." Jikirt snarled. “Flarging crazy pilots, always breaking things. Yeah, I knew him.”

 

Captain Scarran smiled a bit wistfully. “You can tell the truth here, Jikirt. No one else will hear.”

 

"Wha-?" Brianna stared at the man and then at the Kushiban. Her eyes went wide. “You never asked about him. You never asked about what I had seen. You… knew…” She had told everyone else, and had assumed that someone had told Jikirt. But when they have been able to do it? The Kushiban had been unconscious.

 

Jikirt smiled at her and his whole demeanor changed. It was softer, gentler, older, wiser and when he spoke there was no profanity. “I am sorry, Brianna. It has been… A long, long time since I could act out of my cover identity.” He gave her a squeeze. “I have… well… I have come close to blowing my cover a number of times. It has made me…wary.” He sighed. “I am sorry.” Brianna stared at the Kushiban and then at the human who held her.

 

"Brianna..." Captain Scarran nodded. “His rank is lieutenant. He works for Republic Intelligence, as a deep cover agent on the Stormhawk.”

 

Brianna was shaking now. Her whole world was rocking on its axis. Not only was she… somewhere that couldn’t be, but someone who she knew so well, wasn’t who she knew. “I…” She gasped and huddled up on herself. She felt wetness on her face but couldn’t look up.

 

Jikirt sighed and hugged her again. “Brianna, listen to me.” He nudged her head with his until her eyes met his. “We are inside your mind. The reason you lack a hand here is because the security systems had to take out part of you to stop the microscopic machines from spreading any further than they had. They are deactivated now, they can’t hurt you or compel you anymore. I hate to say it, but the Dragons do good work.” He grudgingly admitted.

 

Captain Scarran snorted. “Why thank you.” He said deadpan.

 

Brianna couldn’t help it, the sheer ironic humor in the man’s tone had her giggling. Then she slumped. “Why was I so cold?”

 

"Reaction." Jikirt nodded. “The tiny machines were trying to remake your body. We think we have stopped them, but some damage was done. The docs will do what they can, but...” He broke off.

 

Brianna felt faint again. “Remake me into what?”

 

Captain Scarran sighed and gave her another hug. “Into one of us, Brianna. One of the Dragons. The implants that they put into us were highly intrusive, and visible. This… This is new. New tech, experimental I think.” He shook his head. “It was bad enough what they did to us, and we all volunteered.”

 

"Well." Jikirt snorted loudly. “That shows you were all crazy before they did that to you.”

 

Captain Scarran smiled. “Guilty as charged.” Then his face became remote. “Jikirt… did you get a response?” He asked quietly.

 

"Yeah." Jikirt frowned and nodded. “They were fake.”

 

The captain relaxed for a moment, but then stiffened. “How the hell can someone fake Republic Intel orders? And on a one use pad at that?” A one use cipher pad was essentially unbreakable. Even Imperial Intelligence with its supercomputers would take years to hack said encryption.

 

Jikrit sighed. “I should rephrase. The transmission was sent through official channels, and therefore, it was official. But it was sent by a rogue agent. When I asked for corroboration, my bosses…well, freaked is probably the best term.”

 

The captain’s eyes went wide. “Oh my god…”

 

Brianna looked from one to the other. “What am I missing?”

 

The captain and lieutenant shared a glance and then both turned to face her. Captain Scarran spoke softly. “When Jaken woke me the last time, he had a set of orders for me. Orders are orders, even if they are insane.”

 

"Dumb pilot." Jikirt looked as if he wanted to spit. “You do know that is what got you killed last time, right?”

 

Captain Scarran shrugged. “I am a soldier, Jikirt, not an intel geek. I get orders and I obey them. Will may get away with ah…’interpreting’ his orders to suit himself. I don’t. If they are unlawful or downright insane, I can question them, given time, which we didn’t have at Coruscant.”

 

Brianna stared at the captain. “What were the orders… Oh wait, you can’t tell me can you? Or are they ones where you would have to kill me after telling me?” She made it sort of a joke.

 

Captain Scarran didn’t smile. “These would have been like that, Brianna. Except that Jikirt says they are fake. We will need your copy of the transmission, lieutenant.” Jikirt nodded and the captain sighed. “We were ordered to take the Stormhawk, and neutralize everyone aboard.”

 

Brianna felt herself falling. “Neutralize… Kill…” It wasn’t a question. “And you could have and would have.”

 

Captain Scarran nodded. “Easily. The ship is set up to defend against intruders. If we took control of the internal security…” Brianna was struggling now and Captain Scarran held her tight. “Brianna! Listen! It won’t come to that.”

 

But Brianna was struggling hard now. And she was fading again. Jikirt’s face came into her field of view.

 

“Its okay, Brianna." The Kushiban said gently. "Sleep…” So she did.

Something was very wrong when Brianna woke in her bed in Medical again. She had forgotten something, she was absolutely sure she had forgotten something. But she couldn’t bring the thought to mind. She wasn’t tied down now, and she wasn’t hooked up to plumbing, so she could not have been unconscious for very long. She opened her mouth to cry out, to speak, but… She couldn’t articulate words. She knew, in her head, what she wanted to say, but nothing would come out. Fear suffused every pore as she tried to get words to come out. But all she managed to do was groan.

 

A soft voice spoke for nearby. “Brianna?” She turned her head to see her father sitting beside her bed. His face was worried.

 

She tried to speak again, and again, nothing would come out. She gasped and tried harder, trying with all her might to get her mouth to work right. Her father leaned close. “Brianna, Brianna, listen to me… Please, you have to listen. You are hurt, that is why you can’t speak.” She was crying now as he embraced her. “It’s okay, it will be okay. The docs are working on therapy. There is nothing wrong with your voice. There is something wrong with your speech center, inside your brain. They didn’t want to monkey with that until you have recovered.” He hugged her again.

 

Brianna calmed slightly and her father laid her back on the bed before speaking. “I am glad I was here when you woke. We have been taking turns, me, Nine and Hawkir. I need to get back to my post.”

 

Brianna’s lower lip was trembling despite her best efforts as her father stood up. He smiled at her. “Hey, we won’t leave you alone. It will be all right.” He kissed her on the brow and she smiled at him a bit forlornly as he stepped back. She was trying to keep from crying as he strode from the room. As he left, a form in Jedi robes entered. The two men shared a nod and Hawkir came to her bedside. Her father stood one moment, framed by the doorway and then he was gone. Brianna looked form the door to the Jedi and a question as writ large on her face.

 

Hawkir smiled at the bedridden girl. “I hope he gets some sleep. I don’t know when the last time he slept for real was.” He laid his right hand on her brow and his left cupped the back of her head. “Let see if I can fix this…” Brianna tensed, but his hands were warm.

 

Then it was as if a switch had been thrown inside her head. She remembered. She remembered the captain and Jikirt talking to her. And the captain had said something about taking the ship! She was babbling. “Danger! Trouble… Jikirt… I… I have to…” She was struggling to get up.

 

Hawkir held the girl down gently. “Brianna, you have been through one heck of an ordeal. You need time to recover.”

 

Brianna was shaking her head, but knew better than to try and fight. Hawkir may have looked like a strong wind would pick him up and carry him away, but the wiry Jedi was strong. “You… You don’t understand. I need to…” A sting on her shoulder had her pausing, and she looked at Hawkir, befuddled.

 

Hawkir smiled at her gently as he withdrew the hypo. “It’s okay, Brianna, you need to sleep again now.” Brianna was still trying to articulate her warning as she fell asleep.

 

***

 

When next Brianna woke, she was alone in the room. The room was darkened and she could see the chrono on the wall. She had slept for six hours. She shook her head. She had to do something. She had to warn somebody. She sat up, aware of a buzzing in her head, but she ignored it. Pain was no stranger. Someone had laid an armored shipsuit, one of hers, beside her bed. She threw off the patient gown that she was wearing and clambered into it. Then she froze. She patted the belt and stared, dumbfounded as her hand came up with a hold out blaster. She checked. It was hers, and it was charged. She stared at it, who the heck would leave a gun for her? She shook her head… She had to warn someone.

 

She walked to the intercom box, but when she hit it, nothing happened. She stared at it for a moment and then sighed and moved towards the door. When she hit the control, nothing happened. She stared at it and shook her head again.

 

“What the hell?” Then it hit her. The security camera that was normally whirring over the door wasn’t moving. She stared at it and then blanched. “Oh my god… no…” Massive malfunction or enemy action, either was bad.

 

She hit the manual override on the door and it opened, far more slowly than normal. Her blaster was in hand as she entered the main medical ward. No one was there. She stared around. There was ALWAYS someone here. Either one of the docs, one of the nurses, a patient waiting for treatment, someone… She shook her head and started for the door. She had to warn someone.

 

She made it into a nearby doorway before she was aware of movement coming closer. Boots on an armored deck were not quiet normally. She stopped, and then hid herself. Whoever these were, either Stormhawk crew or possible intruders, they likely would not react well on seeing her loose and armed. She stared as a pair of humans she didn’t know walked by. She didn’t know all the crew of the Stormhawk, of course. Both of these wore Republic flightsuits. But that was not what made her pause. Their faces, and indeed, their whole skulls were covered by metallic…things. But their eyes were visible. And their eyes… Brianna curled herself into a ball. The look in their eyes was the same one that she saw every time she looked in a mirror. Madness. One was male and the other female, and neither looked at where she was hiding. They entered Medical and Brianna was in motion, running the other way. Behind her she heard a shout, but she was gone.

 

Brianna knew the ship fairly well. She had made it a point to get to know all of the major thoroughfares, and many of the not so travelled ones. But everywhere she went, she saw more of those weird masked beings. There were at least ten of them, and she hadn’t seen any of the rest of the crew. So far, she had always managed to see them first, but her luck wouldn’t last.

 

“Brianna! Stop!” Came a voice she recognized. A masked being came out of a doorway nearby. Captain Scarran? His voice was sharp, but… not with command, with worry? She was in motion however. He didn’t give chase, he called after her. “Brianna, no. It is not what you think…”

 

But now every corridor seemed to be filled with the masked forms and they were closing in. She darted away, and her hand came up with her blaster. She looked wildly from side to side as the ring of masked forms started closing. She was no markswoman however, and a hold out blaster was not conducive to long range shooting anyway. She snarled. “I won’t be a prisoner again!” She brought the gun up and the ring paused. Her aim point shifted rapidly from a Wookiee to a Twi’lek, to another human, and then back to the Wookiee.

 

"Easy..." Captain Scarran’s voice came from where he stood. “Brianna, put the gun away. You are not a prisoner. You are one of us. Come on girl, it will be okay.”

 

"What?" Brianan snarled at the man. “What have you done to my shipmates?”

 

"Brianna..." The masked being with Captain Scarran’s voice slumped. “We haven’t done anything Brianna. We told them what was happening. Your dad freaked, and I can’t blame him.” None of the beings moved. “Brianna, listen to me. None of the Stormhawk crew are injured. And we wanted to keep it that way. You were not supposed to wake up for another twenty minutes.”

 

"Just..." Brianna shook her head savagely. “Just let me go!”

 

Captain Scarran sighed again, this time sad. “We can’t Brianna. You are a danger to anyone you encounter right now.” He froze as Brianna brought the gun up and pointed it at her own head. “Brianna! No!” He shouted.

 

The muzzle of her blaster nestled into the hollow behind her ear and she was squeezing the trigger when a throat cleared nearby. Then everything stopped as a black armored form appeared in the middle of the corridor. Will Kalenath’s eyes bored into Brianna’s and she couldn’t move. His hands were empty however and his face was…sad?

 

“That won’t help.” He said quietly.

 

"Will?" Brianna felt her bowel turn to water as the man whose adopted family she had killed stood in front of her. “How…?”

 

"How did I get here?" Will grinned a bit sourly. “I helped build this ship, and when people I think are dead start asking for help… well… I listen.”

 

A snorted laugh came from Captain Scarran. “Sometimes.”

 

"Yeah." Will shrugged and kept his eyes on Brianna. “It wasn’t you. I didn’t know that when I pulled the trigger. I am not going to apologize, because I would do the same thing again.”

 

"I..." Brianna stared at him. “I wish you had aimed for my head. I just want an end.”

 

"Yeah." Will nodded somberly. “I understand, Brianna. But shooting yourself in the head won’t work. Not now.”

 

"What?' Brianna stared at him, uncomprehending. “What do you mean?”

 

Instead of answering, Will produced something from a pocket and held it out to her. It was a mirror. She stared at him and then looked at herself… She saw… She screamed. The metal face that stared back at her didn’t move. She was conscious of screaming and of falling and of warm arms that surrounded her now. Multiple sets.

She never did -quite- lose consciousness. Brianna was aware of movement around her, of hushed conversations just beyond the edge of her awareness. But she was so numb it was next to impossible to comprehend whatever was being said. Finally a door hissed and a raised voice pulled her from her stupor.

 

Her father was using his ‘I am trying to be patient’ tone. “…look, I know she is dangerous. I dealt with you all before. But she is my daughter. I don’t give a flying what you think, captain. I want facts, not speculation.” She could just see his face, even with her eyes closed. She had seen him often enough in that mood growing up.

 

Brianna spoke softly. “Dad…?” She barely recognized her own voice. Her voice was scratchy, painful. She remembered screaming until she was hoarse and then someone had picked her up and carried her here, wherever here was.

 

Her father gasped. “Brianna… What…” He snarled. “Let me go, you…” Brianna opened her eyes to find herself lying in a medical bed, in a room she didn’t know. She wasn’t restrained, but she was so weak it just wasn’t funny. Her father was a few steps away, trying to get out of the grip of the being that Brianna knew was Captain Scarran, even without being able to see his real face, she knew him… somehow.

 

Captain Scarran was shaking his head. “Admiral, please listen to me.” The captain’s voice was respectful, but adamant. “We don’t know what psychosis, if any, she will have. I would rather not explain to Boss why she killed and ate you if I can help it.”

 

"Ate?" Brianna scoffed at that, but then froze. The captain was serious. Dead serious. When she spoke, it was scared. “I… What…?”

 

Another voice she knew answered her. “What you went through drives most people mad.” Brianna turned her head and found Will Kalenath sitting beside her bed, an oddly shaped pistol in his hands.

 

Her voice was calm when she spoke. “And you are here to keep me from being a danger.” He nodded and the gratitude in her voice was heartfelt. “Thank you.”

 

"Will." Her father was snarling again. “I don’t care what you say, you are not going to shoot my daughter, Will. Not… Not again.”

 

"What?" The sheer pain in his voice had Brianna freezing. “Were you… Oh my god, Dad. Were you watching when he came to the detention bay?”

 

The Admiral swallowed and then, for the first time since she had known him, his on duty façade cracked and the man underneath shone through. He had emotions, everyone did. But when he was on duty, he never let them rule. But now… He bowed his head.

 

"Bri..." Her father's voice was sick. “I had to stay at my post. Everything was going to hell and hand basket. I had to stay at my post…” Brianna nodded, that was his way. Duty was everything for him. He struggled again, but the captain’s grip was strong.

 

Captain Scarran’s voice was soft. “Will?” For a moment, Brianna was not sure what the captain was asking but then… something touched her mind. It was cold, but at the same time, it was warm, as odd as that sounded. Brianna gasped, but didn’t move as thought s that were not her own seeped through her skull. Finally the feeling ebbed.

 

Will sighed. “It is always hard to tell. But I find no signs of the bad ones. I can’t tell if she is simply good at hiding who and what she is, or what.”

 

Brianna surprised herself with a snarl. “I am right here. What are you looking for?”

 

Will met her eyes calmly. “I am looking for mental illness. Most people who go through that kind of thing develop some… odd quirks.”

 

"Odd?" Captain Scarran laughed aloud at that. “That is the understatement of the century.”

 

"You mean..." Brianna stared at him. “You… You are insane?”

 

"Insane?" Captain Scarran shrugged, but did not lose his grip on her father, despite the man’s struggles. His posture stiffened as if he was going to lecture. “'Insane' is such an improper word. I have a disorder, thank you very much. It is one I know about, and deal with.” But despite his stance, his tone was humorous. But then his voice became serious. “We don’t know if you are going to have one, or what it will be. So… Better safe than sorry.”

 

"Uh..." Brianna stared from the metal faced being to Will and her vocie was terrified. “That wasn’t a joke then, about killing and eating?” Will shook his head. “My god…what do I do? How will I know?” She asked plaintively.

 

“That is my job.” Another voice answered her and another metal faced being walked in. In form, this one was a human female. Her eyes were…

 

"Uh." Brianna stiffened as best she could. “You were one of the ones I saw in the hallway outside of medical.”

 

"Yes." The woman nodded and moved towards the bed. Her voice was gentle and her hand was as well as she laid it on Brianna’s. “My name is Surioa, Brianna Makarian, and I am the medical person for the Dragons.” She sat down opposite Will and nodded to him. He nodded back. Surioa sighed and spoke to the admiral. “You probably won’t want to be here.”

 

Admiral Makarian snarled. “She is my daughter. I am not leaving.”

 

Will replied quietly. “And if she has something like nymphomania, or some kind of paraphilia? Do you want to know if she is attracted to…?” A hard slap from the medic interrupted him.

 

Captain Scarran snarled at him as Jaing Makarian went white and Brianna felt faint. “Will, enough!” The captain snapped.

 

"Four..." The new come woman’s voice could have frozen liquid helium. “Will. You are scaring my patient. Leave.”

 

The soldier nodded to her and rose, his pistol vanishing to wherever it lived. “I will be watching.” Then he walked from the room.

 

"Man..." Surioa waited until he was gone before sighing. “He is getting worse, isn’t he?” Her question was not directed at anyone.

 

Brianna answered when no one else did. “He… he has always skated the edge, from what I understand. But now… Yeah… Because of what I did…”

 

Her father interrupted her. “You didn’t do it girl.”

 

"Dad..." Brianna would not meet his eyes. “I… I remember now.” Three voices gasped as one. Brianna felt burning in her eyes but tears did not fall, she wasn't sure she could cry now.. “I… I enjoyed it. I enjoyed hurting them, I enjoyed causing them pain… I… What am I?” Surioa patted her arm and sighed.

 

The medic’s voice was soft but clear. “That is what we will find out. Both of you need to leave.” She spoke quietly but firmly to the admiral and the captain. Jaing Makarian stiffened in instant rebellion, but the medic’s voice was soothing and soft. “We won’t hurt her, admiral, but we need to know, and so does she. She will be more comfortable with you not here.”

 

Jaing Makarian looked like he wanted to cry. “Brianna… I…”

 

Brianna slumped but then met her father’s eyes. “It is all right, dad. They won’t hurt me.” The admiral stared at his daughter for a moment before allowing the captain to lead him from the room.

 

Suroia slumped. “Okay, Brianna. This will take a while, about five hours for a normal session. We will start with the icky ones. I am going to show you a series of images, and I need you to answer me truthfully how you feel about them.” Brianna stared at her and then nodded. The medic touched a control panel and a wall monitor lit up showing…

 

"Oh..." Brianna stared at it and felt her gorge rise. “I am going to be sick…”

 

"Yeah, me too." Surioa blanked the screen. “Thank goodness you are not that.” Her voice was kind. “We have enough problems without people having to lock up the graveyards.”

 

Brianna’s voice was small. “What is yours?”

 

"Me?" The medic nodded to the girl and had a smile in her voice that did not show on her mask. “I am a pyromaniac. Which is why they made some else the demo specialist.”

 

Brianna surprised herself with a genuine laugh. “That works… Next?” The medic nodded and keyed the screen alive again. This time Brianna stared at it, trying to figure out what was going on. When she did, she felt her face heat with embarrassment, which was impossible, wasn’t it? Her voice was clinical however. “Dismayed and disgusted. I don’t want to know where you got these do I?”

 

"No." Surioa nodded. “No you don’t. Like I said, the icky ones first.”

 

Brianna sighed and looked ta the screen as Surioa keyed it, bringing up another image. This would be a VERY long day.

It was, indeed, a very long day. And much of what they did was indeed, a bit on the icky side. But at the end, Surioa nodded and patted Brianna’s hand. “You have PTSD, girl. Nothing more. Thank the maker.”

 

Brianna stared at the medic who she was starting like. “What is PTSD?” She asked carefully. She had learned not to ask some questions. Surioa was a kind and generous soul, but she had a heart of steel on occasion as well as a wicked sense of humor. Now if she would just stop dropping hints about enjoying burning enemies alive…

 

"Its a fairly common disability." The medic nodded and then stretched a bit. “Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Given what I understand you went through after the Victorious was hit, it is nothing surprising. Mood swings, erratic behavior, all the classic symptoms.”

 

Brianna nodded. Her time as a prisoner of the Sith had been horrifying. But… She shook her head and looked around. They had moved since Brianna’s day had started. She had been sick of the bed, so, with a little bit of help from the medic, Brianna had used the refresher and now they were sitting in a small room that was set up as a lounge. Both of them were sitting on a comfortable couch, but the décor was… odd. One wall had a painting that seemed to be fish, or was it Correllian ducks? One side was fish and by the time the eye got to the other side, there were ducks. There was a small chiller that was stocked with drinks, non alcoholic, Brianna had checked. She did not want to get drunk again. It caused all kinds of problems. One wall was painted with soothing colors, another with bright and garish ones. She shook her head.

 

“This room is…” She broke off, unwilling to give offense.

 

"Odd." Surioa chuckled sourly. “I know. This is our recovery room. The colors actually help some of us. Some of us have difficulty managing day to day things, so this is our ‘Time Out’ area. We can come here if we get too stressed. You notice that nothing in here is easily breakable.”

 

"Uh..." Brianna hadn’t noticed that, but now that Surioa had said it, she realized it was true. She felt like she was biting her lip, but of course her face didn’t move. “Where are we?” She asked quietly.

 

"Well." The medic nodded to the question. “Not far from the storage room where you passed through the security field. None of this complex is on the ship’s blueprints of course.” Brianna nodded, still bemused by all this. Surioa sighed. “It is going to take a while to sink in fully. I am here to help. Talk to me.” The kindness in the other woman’s voice brought tears to Brianna’s eyes.

 

"I..." Brianna shook her head slowly, trying to get her mind around things. “Am I one of you then?” She asked finally.

 

"Yeah." Surioa embraced Brianna and gave her a hug. “It sure looks that way. I swear girl, if Jaken were still alive, any one of us would tear him apart piece by bloody piece. I personally would douse him with accelerant and light him up.” This was delivered in a tone that suggested that Suroia would not only enjoy it, but gain certain other kinds of satisfaction from doing such a thing.

 

"Surioa?" Brianna’s voice was soft now. “Why did I enjoy it? What I did?” The feelings that she remembered now were horrifying to her. Just the memory of watching in glee as she tortured people she knew to death made her want to be sick.

 

"You were programmed to." Surioa gave her another squeeze. “Jaken may have been a crap for brains in some regards, but he was a competent tech. Those miniature droids are… evil is probably the best word for them. He did a number of things to you over a period of time. You got better every so often, didn’t you? And then you relapsed?”

 

"Yes." Brianna stared at the metal face of the medic. “How do you know that?”

 

"I read his notes." Now Surioa sounded as if she wanted to be sick. “What he did to you… My god, girl. The only thing he didn’t do to you was abuse you physically. Because that would have been detectable.” She hugged Brianna again. “But you are going to be okay.”

 

“Okay?” Brianna asked in disbelief as she put a cautious finger to her face and felt hard metal. “You are kidding, right? How do I eat?”

 

Surioa chuckled and then hastened to explain as Brianna tensed but her tone held humor. “No, no, I am not mocking you. It’s just, that is the first question every single one of us asked.” She touched Brianna’s metal face and nodded. “Yours is different from ours, we were prototypes. We actually have to take parts of our faces off to eat. And we can only eat certain things; our throats are not made for some things anymore. You however… Hmmm…” She explored Brianna’s lower face with her hands. The touches were gentle, but thorough. The girl let the medical professional work. Then the medic nodded. “Ha, there we go.” Something went ‘click’.

 

Brianna felt something odd. As if part of her face had suddenly moved. “I... what the…” She froze stiff as part of her face moved. “What just happened?” She asked carefully.

 

Surioa’s voice was an odd mix of sadness, triumph and loathing. “They fixed a design flaw with you. They were ‘supposed’ to fix us, but they never did. You will be able to eat normally. The metal is actually just thin covering over your real face, which is still there.” She patted the younger woman’s shoulder. “You will be fine. Well, as fine as you can be.” She qualified.

 

Brianna shook her head, stunned by all this. But when she moved her jaw, something moved with it. She explored her face with her fingers and the lower section moved when her jaw did. But it still felt like metal. “So… what now?” She asked after a minute of soul searching.

 

Suroia nodded and her voice was as gentle as ever. “If you are up to it, you can meet the rest of us. I warn you though, we can be a bit… overwhelming at times.” She sounded as if she were understating the case fairly completely.

 

Brianna nodded slowly. “If this is what I am now… Then I guess I better.”

 

Suroia nodded and had a smile in her voice when she spoke again. “That’s the spirit. Word of advice though, do not let Jone touch you.”

 

"Oh?" Brianna stared at the other woman as the medic stood up. “Uh… Do I want to know?”

 

"Jone is..." The medic sounded a bit…sick. “He is a great pilot, but…” She groaned slightly. “He thinks himself a ladie’s man. And his particular…disability manifests as a need to… well…” She sounded as if she were trying not to spit.

 

Brianna stared at the other woman. “Procreate?”

 

"I wish." Suroia looked at the floor. “No.” She sighed and continued baldly. “His disability manifests as the need to hurt beings of the other gender. We will try and keep him away from you. You have enough problems.”

 

Brianna felt faint. “Uh… Yeah…” After what she had encountered as a plaything of a particularly nasty Sith base commander… Yeah, she had issues with people like that.

 

"Right. We understand." Surioa nodded. “We will try hard to keep him away from you. If he does corner you, hit him in the balls with whatever you have handy and come get me or Captain Scarran.” The medic’s tone was vicious now. Brianna stared at her and the medic shrugged. “He is scared of me for some reason. I threatened him once, once…”

 

"Doc..." A soft voice sounded at the door and Brianna jumped, but relaxed as she realized it was Captain Scarran. “You threatened to inject his family jewels with accelerant and light him on fire from the inside out. I would be scared of you too. Heck I am scared of you.” The captain’s voice was humorous rather than scared though.

 

"Uh..." Brianna looked from one to the other and slumped. “This is going to be…”

 

“Weird.” The other two chorused. The captain continued. “You ready to face some Dragons, Brianna?”

 

"No, but..." Brianna nodded slowly. “No time like the present.”

 

"Right." Surioa gave her another hug. “Good girl. Let’s do this.”

Whatever Brianna might have expected when meeting a legendary group of fighter pilots, the last thing she would have expected was to hear a Wookiee yell as soon as she entered the room. Surioa stayed close as Brianna flinched back, but Captain Scarran strode forward.

 

“Officer on deck!” Someone called and the whole bay froze into immobility. Brianna could seen a number of beings, of various races, all with metal covered faces. All of whom were staring at the Captain. But now, she could see that not all the metal was the same gray color as her mask, Surioa’s and Captain Scarran’s.

 

“As you were.” The captain spoke evenly. “Finnerroo… What…? Aw nuts…” He groaned. “Jikirt, you evil little rat.” Brianna’s eyes were drawn to the side where Jijirt sat beside a chair, a smirk on his face. Then her gaze was pulled to the ceiling where a Wookiee hung from the light fixture. The Wookiee’s face was obscured by the mask of course, but her posture as she clung to the ceiling was one of sheer terror.

 

"What can I fargling say?" Jikirt shrugged expressively and arced his tail. “I open my brixing mouth and she fraking jumps.”

 

"Be very glad you are not in my chain of command." Captain Scarran’s voice was oppressive now. “You know how she reacts to small furred forms. And you know why. So, let me guess. You snuck up on her before speaking. Just to see her jump.” It wasn’t really a question. “Back off, Jikirt.” This time there was bite to the man’s tone and the Kushiban nodded and walked away. “Finnerroo, it’s okay, it’s just Jikirt being a jerk.”

 

Brianna had to chuckle at the sheer humor in the captain’s tone now. The Wookiee stared as Jikirt withdrew a bit further, then snarled and let go. She landed and immediately snapped to attention. Her voice was soft for a Wookiee. <Sorry Sir.> Brianna understood some Shirwook, it was useful on the Stormhawk, but she had learned It during her time in the Republic navy as well.

 

Captain Scarran sighed deeply and then shook his head. “Not your fault, Finnerroo.” He laughed a bit sourly. He turned back to where Brianna was standing with Surioa close at hand. “People, this is Brianna Makarian. You all saw her. She has PTSD so go easy on her, clear?” This last was with a distinct tone of threat. More than one of the beings who were looking at Brianna relaxed bit at what the captain said, even with the threat. The captain waved at the team. “Brianna, meet the Dragons. Finnerroo, you have heard at least.”

 

The Wookiee tensed up even further. <No excuse sir.> She said quietly in Shirwook.

 

The captain shook his head. “Not your fault, but anyways... Brianna?” He asked gently as he turned back to the girl. “These are Finerroo, Kix, Lojut, Mak, Lisa, Sean, Lia, and Jone. You know Surioa, and myself.” Each one nodded in turn with their name. But there was no way she would remember the names so quickly, was there?

 

Brianna surprised herself by speaking in an almost normal tone, she had expected a fearful squeak. “I am pleased to meet you all. I think… Well… Things have changed. And I need to figure things out a bit. The captain says I am like you all, but… not. So I need to figure out what happened and why.”

 

A figure nearby spoke quietly and compassionately. “You need some help?” He reached for her. She thought hard, had his name been Jone? Yes, he had nodded when the captain had introduced him as such.

 

Brianna looked at him and noted that Surioa had stiffened beside her. Brianna spoke softly. “Are you Jone?”

 

The man had a smirk in his voice as he closed the distance. “They told you about me then?” Then he curled up on himself and crumbled to the floor as Brianna kicked him hard in the gonads.

 

Everyone in the room stared at her as she stepped back, and then, as one, all of them but the one on the floor applauded. Brianna smiled savagely, although it would not show on her metal covered face. “Yes. They did. Try to touch me and I hurt you.”

 

The group closed on her slowly, and she let them come. More than one being’s posture showed caution. The Wookiee however, threw her arms around Brianna and hugged her. Finerroo’s voice was soft still. <You have guts, Brianna Makarian. You will need them if you hang around us.>

 

"I..." Brianna shook her head. “I was never a pilot. I don’t know what good I will be.”

 

"So?" Captain Scarran snorted and more than one of the beings who were crowding around her, ignoring the man who was writhing on the floor still, snorted as well. “Who cares? You are one of us, and that is all that matters.”

 

"But..." Brianna was holding tears back as best she could. “I… I am a monster. I killed my friend. I might do it again… You can’t be sure that I don’t have programming or…” She broke off as a small form nearby in the group hug that held her now laughed derisively.

 

“I’m Kix.” The small alien being -Was this a Dug?- said in a sour tone. “Whoever programmed those things was a complete amateur. I went through their security in under ten minutes. They are offline.”

 

"Yeah." Captain Scarran nodded. “Kix is our resident computer wiz. Kix, what are the chances of them coming back online?”

 

Kix laughed again. “What is that the force wackos say? Anything is possible. Probable? Not a chance in hell. I scrambled them completely. Pity, they did look interesting.”

 

Brianna stiffened. What little she remembered of when Jaken had injected her with the things had been… She relaxed as more than one set of arms hugged her again. Kix’s voice was apologetic. “Sorry, Brianna. They are dead, they are gone. You are free.”

 

"I don't feel free." Brianna was shaking hard now. “Am I?”

 

Another voice answered her and another set of arms joined the hug. Jone didn’t actually touch her though and seemed only to be touching the male Dragons. “Yes, Brianna Makarian, you are free.” And for the first time in a long, long time. Brianna felt at peace.

It had been a very eventful day for Brianna, and it wasn’t over yet. She felt very strange hooked up to the machinery as she was, but didn’t move as Surioa puttered about. The medic had been kind and gentle, but at the same time, adamant that Brianna not move. Something about possible cerebral hemorrhages… Brianna wasn’t sure exactly what that meant, but she was sure she didn’t want to find out.

 

"Okay." The medic finished what she was doing and sat down beside the chair Brianna was ensconced in. She smiled fondly. “This is going to feel a bit weird, Brianna. Are you ready?”

 

"Ready?" Brianna snorted. “You are about to connect my brain directly to a computer system and you ask if I am ready?” She asked incredulously. “No, I am not ready. I doubt I ever will be. But you may fire when ready, doc.” She sighed and slumped back into the chair. At least she wasn’t restrained.

 

Surioa shook her head and knelt down beside the chair. Her touch was gentle as she stroked Brianna’s hair. “Brianna… Look at me.” When the girl did look up, the medic sighed. “It doesn’t hurt, per say. But… You have to understand. They didn’t know what they were doing when they created us. They had no idea what they… what we… were doing…” The shame in the woman’s voice cut Brianna to the quick and she reached up with the hand that was no festooned with IVs and medical monitors to take Suiroa’s.

 

"Surioa..." Brianna’s voice was soft and worried when she spoke. “You were part of the medical team that created the Dragons?”

 

"Yes." Surioa nodded and spoke quietly. “I was. What that scum Jaken did to you… I…” The medic looked away. “There were so many things that we did. We were desperate. That is no excuse, but…” She broke off as Brianna gave her hand a squeeze.

 

Brianna’s voice was still soft and gentle. “It’s all right Surioa.”

 

"No." The medic shook her head. “No it’s not. I was a healer, a medic, a specialist in emergency medicine. What we did… I…” the woman sounded as if she were about to cry and Brianna struggled up from the chair to embrace the medical person.

 

"No." Brianna’s voice was stronger now, but no less gentle. “Surioa, that is the past. You can’t change the past. If there is one thing I know, I know that. Will is never going to forgive me, and I can never forgive myself for what I did. We have to move on, learn from our mistakes.” She felt her eyes burn, but she stayed where she was until Surioa returned her embrace.

 

"Brianna." The healer sighed. “It wasn’t your mistake girl. You were a puppet as surely as any of us were. You didn’t have any choice in the matter. Now, sit back and we can show you why.”

 

Brianna could not keep a small flutter from starting in her belly as she did as instructed. Something went click behind her head and then she heard Surioa’s voice inside her head. That had happened a few times, so she didn’t freak as she had the first time.

 

Final connections complete. Hold on girl, here we go.

 

Suddenly Brianna was engulfed in something, something warm and soft swept through her. She stiffened. It didn’t hurt at all! In fact… She stiffened further as her body reacted to the overwhelming pleasure that roared through it. It didn’t hurt, but it was eroding her mental defenses. Then with no sense of transition at all, she was standing in an empty room. Her stomach rebelled and she collapsed to her knees, retching. Warm arms encircled her.

 

Surioa’s voice was calm and comforting. “That’s a girl. This was the rough part. It gets a bit easier with practice.”

 

Brianna finished retching and a gentle cloth wiped her face. “What was that?” She asked plaintively.

 

Surioa ‘s voice was clinical, but held anger now. “They didn’t want us to become addicted to the feelings of merging our minds with machinery. So every time we do, it feels very good, and then we get sick.” Brianna stared up and froze. The woman holding her looked normal. Surioa grinned and her grin as urchin like. “Do I meet your approval?” The brown haired, green eyed woman asked in a humorous tone. She was very pretty.

 

Brianna felt suddenly soiled, dirty, utterly unclean in comparison. She bowed her head, unable to speak, butt Surioa shook her head and embraced her again. “Brianna… Look at me…” When the girl did look up, the medic smiled a bit thinly. “This is an illusion. Watch.”

 

Suddenly the pretty woman vanished and in her place was a matronly older woman. She looked about fifty and her brown hair was streaked with gray. Her face may have once been pretty, but now it was lined from worry and stress and her face was sad… so sad. Brianna stared at her and then, with a soft cry, embraced the older woman hard. She was crying as she tried to explain her worry, fear and rage. Her mouth opened and closed, but nothing came out.

 

Surioa recoiled a little, but then returned the embrace. “Hey, hey, girl. It’s all right. This is the real me. Or the real me that I was at Coruscant. The clone is not quite a perfect copy. And a good thing too. It’s younger, fitter, stronger and basically better looking than I ever was.” The medic gave Brianna a hug again. “You can appear however you want here. But remember, it is only an illusion. Most of us change something about ourselves for our virtual forms.”

 

"Change?" Brianna shook her head, unsure. “How do I do that?”

 

Surioa smiled and that smile contained years of experience. “Well, first of all, you have to…” She broke off and flinched. “Oh… Captain…” She seemed to wilt a little as a form that Brianna recognized appeared nearby.

 

Captain Scarran was scowling, and Brianna recoiled little. But the fighter pilot immediately schooled his features. “Sorry, Surioa, Brianna. I wanted to give you both some time to adjust, but something has come up.”

 

"Of course." Surioa snarled at him. “Something always comes up.” She sighed. “What is it this time?” She asked in a long suffering tone.

 

"Trouble." Captain Scarran shook his head slowly. “Will did not come alone when he arrived. He brought someone along with him.”

 

Surioa stiffened and Brianna stiffened as well on feeling the medic’s worry. “Who?” The medic asked quietly when the captain did not continue.

 

Captain Scarran sighed and when he spoke there was weariness in his tone. “Sigmundson.”

 

Brianna felt herself go faint. Markus Sigmundson had been a Jedi Knight tasked with aiding the defense of Coruscant during the Sith attack. She was not sure exactly what had happened, just that the Sith had overwhelmed the Dragons and killed most of them, barring Will. The Stormhawk had been ordered to cover his retreat and they had refused. Admittedly, it HAD been a lawful order, a cowardly one, and illogical, but a lawful order. So the Stormhawk had become renegades. For the next ten years after that, the Jedi had essentially gone on a rampage, hunting the Stormhawk and her crew. What was worse was that he also had persisted in hunting members of families of crewmembers, and on at least two occasions, killing said family members. The crew of the Stormhawk had a special place in their hating hearts for the Jedi, Dark Jedi, whatever he was. If he was aboard, all hell was going to break loose.

 

"Oh dear..." Surioa held Brianna tight, as if afraid to let her go. “Leader… The orders he gave…”

 

"Were legal." Captain Scarran nodded. “I know. He had the legal authority, if not the experience to use said authority. What he did with the authority was wrong. But it was a legal order at the time.”

 

Brianna shook her head. She had been a member of the Republic navy. She understood about following orders. But the Stormhawk had taken her in, given her a place after the horrors she had endured. “Captain… I…” She slumped. “I am too emotional. I cannot see this clearly.”

 

Captain Scarran shook his head and gave her shoulder a squeeze. “Brianna, you are the only being aboard who is even remotely impartial in this. They want you to sit as judge.”

 

"Me?" Brianna’s eyes had to be the size of mess hall plates and her jaw had to make some kind of noise as it fell off her face and hit the floor. “You have got to be kidding me…” She managed to squeak out after a moment. Then she shook her head. “I can’t do it. I am not a member of the Stormhawk crew anymore.”

 

"Yeah." Captain Scarran nodded. “Your trial is first, and then his.”

 

"Captain..." Surioa was shaking her head. “Leader, she needs time to adjust. You know how this crud unsettles a person the first few times.”

 

"Six..." Scarran shook his head. “We don’t have any time. The longer we wait and someone is going to plug the guy, and any chance we have for a reasoned solution goes out the airlock. I think we can do some good here, Surioa, Brianna. The Stormhawk has been out in the cold for so long, maybe we can help get them back to the warm again.”

 

Brianna was shaking her head. “I… I don’t think I can… Leader…” She said quietly.

 

"Brianna, you are one of us now." Captain Scarran nodded to her. “You will do what you have to. Now, however… The really hard piece comes.” Brianna looked at him and he sighed. “As good as it felt to get in here? It feels just as good when you go out. And then you puke again, in the real world.”

 

Brianna stared at him and then she flinched. “In the mask?”

 

"Yeah." Surioa shook her head. “The mask is designed so you won’t aspirate the gunk. But… Yeah. That is why we all have vacuum cleaners and bags for the stuff in out cockpits.”

 

Brianna shook her head slowly. “Eeewww….”

 

Captain Scarran patted her shoulder. “You haven’t seen messy yet, girl.”

She hadn’t expected to be able to sleep, but somehow, as soon as her head had touched the pillow on the bunk she had been assigned, she was out like a light. Her dreams were odd, people she had known looking at her, some with condemnation, others with pity. She saw her grandparents, who she had only met twice, staring at her with revulsion. But what really hurt was the look on her mother’s face. Her mother had died when Brianna had been fourteen, and had left a huge hole in the girl’s life. Anne Makarian was backing away, horrified, as she stared at her daughter. Brianna was trying to reach her mother, to explain, to get her to understand. Words floated to her ears.

 

“Monster, murderer, liar…”

 

Brianna was crying, trying to speak, trying to get the people who surrounded her now, all with condemnation on their faces, to understand. But she couldn’t make words come out. She was still crying when someone shook her gently and she woke.

 

“Easy, easy…” Surioa’s gentle voice came to Brianna’s ears as someone held her. Brianna was sobbing and a gentle hand started a massage. “It is all right, Brianna, it was a dream. Just a dream. It is all right.”

 

It took several minutes for Brianna to calm down enough to speak. “I… What was that…? I…” She gasped out.

 

"Brianna, it's okay, just a dream. I saw part of it." Surioa’s voice was sad now. “Your mind was playing tricks on you. You think yourself a monster. Your subconscious pulled images from your memory to reinforce that. Your mother would not have done that. Anne was a good woman.”

 

"What?" Brianna’s body went as stiff as a plank. “You… You knew my mom?”

 

"No." Surioa sighed and continued her massage. “Not really. I met her once. But I liked her, everyone did.” Brianna was shuddering now and Surioa hugged her again. “Go ahead and cry, girl. I know it hurts. Tears are not weakness. You can let it out, Brianna. Your mom is not here to help you, but we are… That’s a girl… let it out…”

 

Brianna found herself with her head pillowed on someone’s shoulder as she cried. Warm hands stroked the girl’s shoulders as Brianna cried out her pain and loss, something that she had never allowed herself to do before. She had always had to be strong, always had to be tough. She had never allowed herself to grieve for her mother, school and the war had consumed everything in her life. Now, finally, almost seven years later, all of her defenses had come down and the tears just kept coming.

 

She gasped out words between sobs. “I… I don’t want…to be like…this. I…don’t want…to be…a monster.”

 

"Oh Brianna..." Surioa’s voice was soft and as gentle as a newborn nerf’s fur and the gentle massage continued on her shoulders. “You are not a monster, Brianna. You have survived a number of horrific experiences, any of which could have killed you. You are strong girl, but here and now, you don’t have to be. Just let it come, girl. Let it out.” The medic repeated.

 

Brianna’s voice was hoarse now, from crying, but she managed to croak out a question. “Why? Why me? Why now? What is happening to me?”

 

Surioa’s voice answered her, and a gentle hand rubbed her scalp, even through the metal covering, Brianna could feel the touch. “You are going to do something today that terrifies you. Small wonder you have nightmares. You never grieved for your mother did you?”

 

"No." Brianna was floating now, buoyed up by a wave of emotions and the kindness that the medic was showing her. “Never any time. Always had to… Had to be strong.”

 

Another voice answered her and she tried to stiffen as she heard Will Kalenath’s gentle words. “You don’t have to now, girl. Easy, Brianna…” She stared up and exhaled sharply as she realized that he held her, not Surioa. He had been holding her, massaging her, comforting her as she wept. She stared at him and she felt the flood gates opening again. He pulled her close and rocked her as she wept out her grief, pain and rage at the universe. Tears were not physically falling, but everything else was happening.

 

Eventually, she had cried herself out. She felt… empty now. She lay back in her bed and tried to figure this odd set of circumstances out. She heard Surioa speak. “Are you okay with this?”

 

"Me?" Will answered her. “No. But like you and Boss said, this is for the best. We both need to move on.”

 

Brianna turned her head and found Will sitting beside her bed. The man’s normally remote face was sad and tired as he looked at her. Brianna managed to speak. “What…?” She asked slowly.

 

"Brianna..." Will shook his head slowly and patted her arm. “Boss and Dragon Six here…” He nodded to where Surioa was sitting nearby and the medic nodded back. “Have decided that you need a defense counsel. And they have decided that I am it.”

 

"What? But..." Brianna felt her eyes go huge. “I…I killed your…”

 

She broke off as Will shook his head. The soldier’s voice was soft now. “Doesn’t matter. Mika and Jonas are dead. The ones responsible for their deaths are dead. You are a victim as surely as Juli, Mika and Jonas were. I will defend you.”

 

Brianna shook her head again, stunned. She managed to get out the words after a few minutes of trying. “I… I am guilty…”

 

Will shook his head. “Of being angry, yes. Of shooting Istara, a guest, yes. Of murder? No. I don’t think this kind of thing has happened before. None of the records I have perused have said anything about it anyway. So I am going to go with a soldier’s defense. You could not disobey the orders that Jaken gave you. It was physically impossible for you to.”

 

Brianna suddenly had an image of the tech bending over her, a hypo in hand and speaking. The man was saying ‘You will kill them, and you will enjoy it’. She screamed again and Will suddenly had her in his arms again.

 

Will held her, trying to give her strength by osmosis. “Easy, easy, he is dead. Push the image away... It s a remnant of the programming, nothing more.,”

 

Suddenly Brianna felt something. Something odd. She stared at Will. “What?”

 

Will smiled sadly and it was as if a even larger floodgate than hers opened before her. She could see… She was crying again as she saw the pain, the horror, the fear, the rage, all of what made up Will Kalenath. But then, she saw the rest. The love, the tenderness, the care, the compassion, the empathy, many of which he had to bury deep to be able to continue. And then the calm resignation and she froze as she saw the cause…darkness seeping through his brain tissue.

 

Brianna’s felt her artificial heart suddenly fall to pieces. “Oh my god… Will… I…”

 

Will held her close. “Yeah. I know. The neural degradation can’t be fixed. The docs give me less than two years.”

 

Brianna reached up slowly and hugged the man who had nearly killed her. “I am sorry.”

 

"Well." Will sighed softly as he held her close. “I am not. I AM a monster Brianna. I have done things that would turn a Sith’s stomach. I have killed more people in my lifetime than you will likely see in yours. The galaxy will be a better place without me.”

 

Surioa snarled at him and embraced both of them. “Bull malarkey. We all have our monsters, Will. Yours is just more apparent.”

 

Brianna shook her head as she squeezed Will again. “I am sorry, Will. For Jonas, for Mika, for what I did to Istara, to Juli, I… I don’t know what to do.”

 

Will’s voice was gentle as he laid her back on her bunk. “For now, sleep. Early day tomorrow. It will be rough, Brianna.”

 

Brianna was drifting off, but she managed to speak. “You and your gift for understatement.” A soft chuckle followed her into the swirling blackness. But she wasn’t afraid. Not now.

Edited August 10, 2012 by kalenath

Brianna stood, surrounded by warm bodies, waiting to be called in to defend herself to the crew of the Stormhawk. Part of her was not sure she wanted to however. She wasn’t scared now, she had gone somewhere beyond her fear and terror, somewhere where she could function without shaking. Part of that was the black armored form that stood right beside her. Will’s face was remote now as he scanned the corridor for threats. She shook her head slightly. She had argued with him, but it didn’t work. She had tried to get him to understand her feelings, and while he had seemed to understand, he had flatly refused to let her plead guilty. She hefted her wrists, encased in heavy binders and sighed. One way or another, her torment would end today. Innocent or guilty, she would have an end to this waiting.

 

Mission smiled from where she stood nearby and patted Brianna’s shoulder. “It will be all right, Brianna.”

 

Brianna shrugged helplessly. “I… I don’t…” She broke off as the hatch ahead of her opened. No one came through it. That was their cue.

 

Will nodded to her, patted her shoulder and spoke softly. “It’s time. Courage, Brianna.”

 

Brianna took a deep breath nodded back. She started towards the hatch with strides that seemed too long and at the same time, too short. She strode through the hatch and into the bay. The absolute lack of noise was what hit her first. The eyes of everyone in the bay were on her as she walked in with Will beside her. Over a hundred and fifty beings of various races were drawn up in formation before the table that Stormhawk Boss sat at. She felt rather than saw the rest of the Dragons come in behind her and take up places near the formation, not far removed, but separate. Her eyes did not waver from the impassive armored form of Stormhawk Boss as she walked slowly up to the table. She stopped at the required spot and waited. Will stopped a step behind her, and she didn’t have to see him to know his head was moving, roving, seeking targets. No one moved, no one talked, probably they were all afraid to draw Will’s eye. He was very much NOT a member of the crew at the moment. His face was remote, stern even as he took his place beside Brianna.

 

Stormhawk Boss spoke evenly. “This court martial is now in session. Brianna Geli Makarian, you are accused of the murder of two shipmates, and of causing willful harm to two other shipmates.”

 

Brianna winced, she hated her middle name. It always made her think of ‘jelly’ for some reason. Of course her legs felt like jelly right then… She sternly ordered her body to obey and it did. She could feel Will’s eyes on her as she nodded to Boss.

 

“I...” Her voice was soft. She bowed her head and shook it. “I think I am guilty. I… I remember doing it… now…”

 

Boss’ voice was stern, but held something else now. “That is for the crew to decide, not you. You have evidence, Will Kalenath?”

 

"Yes." Will nodded. “I do. We have recovered datafiles from Jaken’s lab. And we have Brianna’s memories as well.”

 

Brianna froze. Oh god no… She thought, trying to control her emotions.

 

Boss visibly flinched. He shook his head. “You Dragons can do that? Pull out memories to look at them?” He asked incredulously.

 

"YEs." Will nodded again, and his face was cold, so cold. If not for the feelings that she was just starting to understand that she could feel from him through the link with the other Dragons, she would have thought him disinterested. “We can. It was not widely known, but since the Dragons can access equipment by touch, we can pull memories out to examine.”

 

Boss shook his head. “We all know memories are subjective, can this be faked?”

 

"Well..." Will blew out a long breath. “Yes, it is possible to fake them. However…” He raised a hand as murmuring started in the crowd. He continued in that same calm voice. “It takes both time and experience. Brianna does not have the experience nor has she had the time.” The murmuring stopped.

 

She turned to face Will and her eyes were scared. “No…” She begged.

 

Will shook his head yet again, and his voice was soft. “You need to do this, Brianna.”

 

"Please..." Brianna felt herself start to collapse and managed to land on her knees. “Will… Boss… I can’t… Just shoot me! Please for the love of the Force, just shoot me, space me, anything… Don’t make me relive that… Please…?”

 

"This is the only way for justice to be done, Brianna." Will shook his head and spoke to Boss. “Do you have the projector feed cable? I can set it up.”

 

Boss sounded a bit dazed when he spoke again. “Will… If she doesn’t want to do it…”

 

"No." Will sighed and bowed his head. When it came up, his eyes were glistening. “It is the only way you all…” His gaze swept the assembly and more than one person gasped as they saw him crying. “…will understand what happened to her. Brianna… I am here. It’s okay.” He patted her shoulder.

 

“No, it’s not!” She almost shrieked. “I am guilty, damn it! punish me!” She shouted.

 

"Idiot girl!" Will snarled at her and his voice was clearly audible. “You are guilty of being a victim. Pull yourself together girl, you are strong. Act it.” His cold words had more than one person in the audience flinching back.

 

Brianna calmed down slightly, pulled back to lucidity by Will’s cold clear words. Even the reassurance that she felt from the Dragons barely dampened her terror as a tech came forward, dragging a cable. Will took the cable and with a quick flip, connected it to something on the back of Brianna’s head. She felt normal, but the projector overhead suddenly came on. Her hard fought control evaporated as she saw what was projected. The detention bay! She was…

 

She watched, too dazed to speak, as the past version of herself entered the bay, dragging a semiconscious form behind her. Juli had put up a fight, but with no arms, the girl hadn’t had a chance, even if Jaken hadn’t drugged her first. Brianna watched in tears as the recorded image of herself tortured Cole Shanas again and activated the punishment circuits in the Force cages. The present form of Brianna was crying and looking at the deck as she heard Hawkir escape from his cage and try to calm her. Then she heard the whine of a blaster and looked up to see the projector dark. Of course, her memory would end after Will had shot her.

 

"I..." Her voice was clearly audible in the silence that took the bay. “I did it.”

 

Someone shouted from the assembly. “She admits it!” Others hushed the loudmouth, but he persisted. “Shoot the witch!”

 

"Anyone who draws, dies." Brianna didn’t look up but she could see Will out of the corner of her eye. The soldier spun in place, his hand on his blaster. His voice was cold and clear. “She is no more to blame for what happened than my blaster would be if I decided to shoot you Seventy Six. You need to see the rest.”

 

"No." Brianna was shaking her head. “Oh god, Will… No… Please… Just let him shoot me…” She begged in a horrified voice. Will patted her shoulder but did something. The projector came on again and more than one person gasped as they saw tech Jaken’s gloating face inches from the screen. He was talking.

 

“So… Brianna Geli Makarian… Stupid of you to take that service tunnel alone. So young and tough. So proud. So… ripe for the plucking. You are perfect.” He reached for her with a hypo in hand. “Now, this will sting a little.” The memory wavered and Brianna recoiled, reaching her hands up to her head in memory of the horrific pain that had soared through her skull.

 

The scene changed. Another room and she could only see the ceiling. Jaken’s face came into her field of view. “…you will kill them and you will enjoy it. Those tiny machines will make sure you obey. Afterwards, if you survive Will’s wrath, you will go mad. My bosses will be pleased. Will separated from the Stormhawk, the Jedi dead, the crew in shambles. This ship will be ripe for takeover.” A gurgling cry came from the speakers and Jaken smiled. “Go ahead, girl. fight. It won’t do any good. Even if you do manage to tell anyone what happened, no one will believe you. After all, who trusts a madwoman? Even if the only reason you are mad, is I won’t let you be sane…” He cackled evilly. “The perfect weapon is someone who doesn’t know they are one. Too bad that Sith witch survived what you did, I had such high hopes for you killing her. Ah well, I will get that little brat and you will take her to detention. Then you will kill her. The orders I faked will have the others there, ready for your arrival. By the time you are done, this ship will be ripe for my masters to come in and take over. I will never be a suspect, because you are going to confess to it, if you survive.” The projector clicked off and there was dead silence in the bay.

 

Brianna’s jaw was all the way down on her chest now and tears were falling freely. She managed to choke out words. “I did it.”

 

Boss’ voice cut through her pain and grief. “What says the crew? Is Brianna Geli Makarian guilty of murder?” She couldn’t look, she wouldn’t look. Boss sighed. “Stormhawk One Eighteen, a majority of your peers find you not guilty of murder.”

 

"What?" Brianna froze in place. “What…? No!” She turned her head to see much more than half of the crew had strode the customary pace forward to signify they disagreed. “I… I did it…Punish me!” She shouted.

 

The commander of the Stormhawk sighed again. “You are being punished, One Eighteen. It wasn’t you, but you will believe it was for the rest of your life. Nothing we can possibly do to you could hurt you worse than you have been. I am sorry One Eighteen, I…” Boss slumped. “All the evidence was right in front of me, and I just thought you were being difficult.” Someone else came up and touched Brianna on the shoulder. She looked up into the sad eyes of Captain Scarran. Boss spoke again. “She is remanded into your custody, Dragon Leader. Take care of her.”

 

Captain Scarran nodded. “We will. It’s okay, Brianna. It’s okay.”

 

“No it’s not!” Brianna protested. She froze as another form knelt beside her.

 

"Brianna..." Will’s face was sad and he held her close as she sobbed. “It is not your fault, Brianna. You believe it is, and we cannot undo that without doing irreparable damage to your mind. This will haunt you for a long, long time. But we are here for you.” Brianna gave an inarticulate cry and buried her face in the armored man’s shoulder.

 

She barely heard Boss speak again. “This court is in recess. We will give her time. She needs to be calm.”

 

"It..." Will was stroking Brianna’s head as the binders came off and she hugged him tight, trying to stave off her pain. “It may take a while, Boss.”

 

"I know." Boss spoke softly. “Take what time you need.” Then Brianna was surrounded by warm bodies again, many of whom were hugging her, trying to help her cope. But all she could see in her minds eyes were the faces of the friends she had killed and the gloating face of the tech who had caused all this horror.

Brianna wasn’t sure how long she had been asleep. She had vague memories of being carried, of being put in a bed and covers tucked around her. Of someone singing. But then the darkness had taken her again and she had been grateful. She hadn’t been able to stop crying. She couldn't actually physically cry anymore, but everything felt the same. Well, except her eyes didn't leak. Just seeing what Jaken had done to her again had been bad enough, but she had felt it again as well. The searing pain that had travelled through her body at the time had not been dulled by time. And then…seeing what she had done to her friend. Mika had been her friend. The Mon Calamari girl had begged Brianna not to hurt her family and Brianna had done it anyway. She could still see the look of confusion and pain on Mika’s face as the girl’s heart had given out and she had died. Brianna hadn’t been in control of her body, but it hurt, it hurt so badly. Despite what everyone had said, she was a monster. She knew what she had to do. She cracked her eyes and found herself in her old quarters.

 

Brianna shook her head slowly. The Stormhawk was so big that the crew rattled about in it like peas in a pod. Anyone who wanted private quarters could have them, and far, far nicer quarters than Brianna had ever possessed in the regular Republic Navy. She didn’t move, the security camera over the door was humming along its track. She paused, thinking. What had Will said? She could access machinery. Did it need a touch? She stared at the camera and then hissed in surprise as she could feel it! Was this like using the Force? She didn’t know. She focused on the camera and then froze as a throat cleared nearby.

 

“Don’t do that, Brianna.” Brianna spun her head to see a small form that uncoiled from a chair nearby. Brianna took one look and then was out of her bed and running for the door. It was an islanian! All of them were supposed to be dead! The small ball of jelly spoke again, hurriedly. “Brianna… It’s okay… Come on girl… It’s all right. I am sorry I startled you.”

 

"No!" Brianna slapped the hatch controls and they didn’t respond. She stared at the panel and then at the being who hadn’t moved. “Let me go!” She snarled.

 

"I..." The small Islanian didn’t move. “Brianna… You are not a prisoner. You were distraught. I soothed your dreams as best I could. My name is Hera, I am sorry I scared you.” The voice was low and calm, and despite her fear, Brianna felt… Brianna snarled again and hit the hatch controls again. This time something happened and the hatch popped open. The girl was out the door quick as a flash, the small alien behind her calling after her. “Brianna, No!” But she was gone.

 

As she ran, Brianna heard the general alarm klaxon start going off and she dove through one intersection just in time to keep from being mashed by an emergency bulkhead. She knew exactly where she was going, it was just ahead. The airlock controls beckoned to her, promising an end to her pain. She touched the panel. It was locked, but she thought…yes! She could feel something inside the control panel, she could open it. Airlocks were designed to be able to open, even in an emergency, even without power. Emergencies, by definition, were not generally able to be planned for, so the builders of airlocks tried to make them as stupidly easy to use as possible. All of her focus was on the controls, so she was taken completely off guard when something slammed into her from the side. She was stunned as part of her mind seemed to be elsewhere for a moment, then she came back to herself and started fighting.

 

It was quickly apparent however, that whoever had hold of her was much better at hand to hand fighting than she was and was trying not to hurt her. And the… She froze as claws closed on her arm, holding her in place. Claws…? She stared at the face that was bare inches from her own and her eyes filled with tears.

 

“Zinoa…?” She asked slowly.

 

“Hello, One Eighteen.” Zinoa Trask Kalenath held the now slumping girl in tight claws that were somehow gentle at the same time. The Trandoshan shook her head and her voice was calm. “Killing yourself is not the answer, girl.”

 

Brianna slumped, but she knew how strong Zinoa was. There was literally no way at all that she could break the Trandoshan’s grip. “I… Please, just let me go. I am sick of hurting. I am sick of being in pain. I am sick of being like this. I just want an end. Please?” She begged in a plaintive tone.

 

"I can't." Zinoa sighed and held Brianna out a bit. “Brianna, you want your pain to stop. I am sorry, it won’t. But if you kill yourself, then Jaken wins, even though he is dead. You don’t really want to die, you want your pain to stop.”

 

Brianna was shaking her head, but didn’t try and break free. She wouldn’t be… Wait a sec… Why was Zinoa acting like the Trandoshan was in danger? Brianna froze in place. Something was very wrong. “Zinoa… let me go please…”

 

"No." Zinoa shook her head. “You will try and kill you… Your- yourself…” The Trandoshan seemed to hesitate in midword. “I… I don’t…want you to die…”

 

Brianna was staring at the Trandoshan, and she hadn’t thought she could be more scared than she had been before. She would have been wrong, now she was terrified, and not for herself. “Zinoa… Something is wrong. I am hurting you somehow. Let me go. Please… I promise I won’t do anything… Just let me go… Please?”

 

Zinoa seemed to think about that for a moment and then let her claws fall. No, she was falling! Brianna caught her. “Zinoa!” She screamed as she lowered the shuddering form to the deck. “What have I done?” Brianna screamed as she tried to find an injury, anything she could treat.

 

Zinoa smiled up at her friend. “Not… Not your fault, One Eighteen, no… You are Brianna… Not your fault…” Her eyes lidded themselves and she went limp.

 

"No!" Brianna could do nothing but stare at the still form in her arms. And then she screamed. “Help!”

 

Something touched Brianna on the back of the head and she froze as a voice she had never heard spoke in her head. I will. Do not move child. The voice was kind, but adamant and despite her fear, Brianna felt something comforting in the presence.

 

Truth be told, she couldn’t have moved as a huge form stepped around her and then lowered itself to look at the still form of the Trandoshan. Somehow, Brianna dredged up enough energy to speak softly to the huge insect that now was reaching for the Trandoshan. “Don’t hurt her…”

 

Now the bug spoke aloud. “I won’t.” She, because the voice sounded female and old, and had bronze colored skin that glistened slightly in the light of the corridor. The bug made a very human sounding sigh as she touched the still Trandoshan on the scalp. “Nestlings, always so impetuous. Wake up, Zinoa Trask Kalenath.”

 

Brianna watched with wide eyes as Zinoa coughed, then sputtered a little before opening her eyes. Zinoa looked form the bug to Brianna and smiled. Then she looked back at the bug. “Hello Nana. Fancy meeting you here.”

 

Brianna stared at her friend and then at the bug. She laughed, a bit hysterically. Something happened and she was falling. Or was she? Something touched her on the arm and she was back. She gasped. “What…?”

 

She was pillowed on someone. Someone with hard scales held her as she shuddered. The voice of the bug, Nana, came from nearby. “The Dragons cleaned most of the programming out of your head, girl, but not all. Thank the maker they called for assistance. I have sequestered the programming behind some special blocks. It will take time and effort to clean you out, but it can be done. How do you feel, girl? Do you still want to die?”

 

Brianna opened her eyes and stared at the horrific looking face inches from her own. Her face lit up. “No… No I don’t. I… I don’t hurt…I….” She broke down and cried. “I don’t hurt anymore…”

 

Zinoa’s voice came from behind her. “Rest, Brianna.” The Trandoshan was singing something and Brianna felt her heart ease for the first time since she had woken in medical after the horrors in the detention bay. It was something about… ‘In the House of Stone and Light…’ She was smiling as she nodded off, she loved hearing Zinoa sing.

Brianna was lying quiet while the huge bug worked. She wasn’t sure exactly what the bug was doing; just that it had to do with the mess inside Brianna’s brain. Holianahyatoujikaimnana, or as Zinoa called her, Nana, was incredibly patient and kind. Doubly incredible for such a huge and obviously dangerous being, she was gentle. Of course it helped that Zinoa hadn’t left Brianna’s side for an instant. They had brought her back to her quarters and had been working in her in a place of comfort and security. It surprised her that they hadn’t taken her to Medical, she had spent enough time there to be sort of comfortable there.

 

Brianna sighed as Nana walked off to do something nearby. She was lying on something odd. It felt squishy under her, but was uncomfortable, far from it. Sort of like a waterbed maybe? She had never actually been in one of those, but she had heard of them. Her friend smiled at her. Trandoshan smiles were not normally for the faint of heart, but Brianna knew this being well. “Why such a great sigh, Brianna?”

 

Brianna took a moment to collect her thoughts before speaking. Captain Scarran and Boss had both been by to see her. Her father had not, but then again, he was on duty. She didn’t expect him to come by until off duty, it was the way he was. Finally she spoke slowly. It was as if she were speaking across a great distance. She felt oddly detached.

 

“I understand now. Jaken was working for Republic Intelligence’s Special Branch, the evil scum who took Will’s family and experimented on them. The ones who kept Maria for over ten years experimenting on her and killed his father. The ones who experimented on his sister Sara from the time she was born. They created copies of Will as super soldiers. Jaken was working for them as an agent aboard the Stormhawk. He injected those tiny droids into my brain, to make me a puppet.” Even now, just the memory scared her. She flinched a little as Nana’s huge shadow loomed over her.

 

The bug -Brianna had heard the race was called Sitolon- approached slowly, so as not to frighten. “Easy, Brianna. Be calm, child. It is all right. Almost done.”

 

Brianna sighed, but didn’t move. She wasn’t restrained, but something was connected to the back of her head. The tube that ran into her nose tasted funny, almost as if it were organic rather than a plastic. The odd sensations from her scalp said that whatever was connected to the back of her head, she really did not want to see it. Brianna smiled sadly. “Zinoa trusts you, and she is a better judge of character than I will ever be. Of course she liked me for some funny reason.” She grinned little forlornly.

 

"No." The Trandoshan who had been the singer of the act that they had put on together laughed sourly. “Not really. I lucked out finding a friend in you.”

 

Brianna closed her eyes in sad memory. “Did you? I killed your foster siblings, Zinoa. If you had been there I would have killed you too.”

 

Zinoa sighed and then, quick as a whip, her right claw danced out and slapped Brianna lightly across the arm. Enough to sting, not enough to cause actual damage. “You really are stubborn aren’t you?” Zinoa said in a caustic tone. “It was the programming. I know Will told you, I know the Dragons told you, I know the Guardians told you, heck even BOSS told you, and now Nana and I have told you and yet you persist in believing you are at fault. You are not!” The Trandoshan gave a long suffering sigh. Brianna recoiled a bit and opened her mouth to retort, only to freeze as a claw the size of her head moved between the two.

 

Nana’s voice was sour now. “Children…” The Sitolon sighed and then something changed. Brianna froze as the sensations at the back of her head vanished. Nana’s voice was triumphant now. “There you are Brianna, all done.”

 

Brianna stared at the huge insect. “I don’t feel any different.”

 

“Hopefully you won’t.” Nana’s voice was kind as she touched a control and the tube that was down Brianna’s nose retracted. It felt really weird, as weird as it had going in. The girl went stiff as the sensations peaked and then vanished. Then she relaxed. “But the programming is gone. The nanites are not just dormant now, now they are dead and will excrete from your system over time. How do you feel now?”

 

Brianna thought about that for a moment and then nodded. “Tired and a bit sore in places. But no pain inside my head anymore. Thank you.” She said gratefully.

 

Nana bowed to the girl. “You are welcome, Brianna Makarian.” Then she hesitated. “You… You are needed in Medical.”

 

Brianna stiffened. “More tests? Geez, you would think they…” She broke off as both Nana and Zinoa shook their heads in unison.

 

Nana looked at the Trandoshan who slumped. The bug moved away, giving the two unlikely friends space. Zinoa’s voice was soft and gentle. “Brianna… You were hurt by the fact your dad hasn’t come by. He couldn’t.”

 

Brianna shrugged. “He has duties, I under…” She broke off as the Transoshan turned away for a moment. “Zinoa…?”

 

"Bri..." When Zinoa spoke, it was husky, as if she were fighting back tears. “You are needed in Medical.”

 

Brianna stared at the Trandoshan for a moment, unable to understand. Then she froze. “What? What has happened?”

 

Nana’s voice was soft. “Your father collapsed on the bridge two hours ago, right before we arrived and right before you woke in your quarters.”

 

"What?" Brianna felt all the breath leave her body in one solid whoosh. “Why didn’t you tell me?” She demanded as she sat up. Too fast, her head spun.

 

"Brianna." Zinoa held her friend while she regained her equilibrium and then helped Brianna to her feet. “It was his wish. He didn’t want to stress you any more than you were. He wanted you healed. He never expected you to run. None of us did. Thank the Scorekeeper I was close enough.” Brianna could see tears falling from the tough lizard woman’s eyes now, a grave dishonor for any of the proud warrior race to be seen crying in public.

 

"But...?" Brianna didn’t care. “What happened? Is he all right? Zinoa…?”

 

Nana touched her gently on the shoulder with a small hand like claw. “Your father is dying, Brianna. There is nothing we can do. We… tried.”

 

It took a moment for the words to sink in and then Brianna was in motion. Zinoa kept pace easily with the human woman, and neither spoke as they ran from the room towards the main medical ward of the Stormhawk. Ordinarily the trip from her quarters to Medical would have taken five minutes for Brianna. The time seemed endless. What was worse was the looks of the people they passed. None would meet her gaze, none. She was shaking for exertion and fear as she ran into medical and found a somber group waiting for her. The Dragons stood by one wall, and the other odd fighter squadron -the Guardians- stood near them. The Cathar who was Stormhawk Nine stood almost as if she had been playing negotiator between the two groups. Will Kalenath stood with Stormhawk Boss, and they had obviously been talking before the two females ran in, Boss beckoned to Brianna. Brianna walked towards the commander of the ship, breathing a bit hard. She had not been exercising enough.

 

Boss’ voice was soft. “One Eighteen… You made it.”

 

"I..." Brianna’s voice was scared. “Boss, what happened?”

 

Boss turned to the door of a private room. Another voice answered her and she stiffened as the form of the former chief medic of the Stormhawk strode towards her from that door. L’trask’s face was somber as well, and his posture spoke of resignation. “It was an aneurysm, Brianna. If he had been anywhere else, he never would have woken. As it is… I think he is waiting for you.”

 

Brianna shook her head slowly, the full horror of this just now seeping in. “No…” She paused as another form stepped out of the private room. She froze in place as she saw the brown hair and eyes of Sharra Kalenath, Will’s wife, the adoptive mother of the two beings she had killed. She couldn’t move as Sharra came close. But then she gave a small squeak as Sharra embraced her.

 

"Brianna." Sharra’s voice was soft. “You are strong, girl. But strength has its limits. Come on. I am with you.” She took Brianna’s shoulders in a gentle grip and guided her towards the room she had come from.

 

"No..." Brianna stiffened in fear and shock. “I can’t do this… I can’t… I don’t want to be alone…”

 

"Brianna." Will came up on her other side and took her arm in gentle hands. “You are not alone. The Dragons and the Guardians both call you squad mate.” He looked at Zinoa who came up behind Brianna and gave her a small shove.

 

She allowed herself to be led to the room, but then she froze anew. Someone else was sitting beside the bed her father lay in. It took a moment for Brianna’s overwhelmed brain to recognize the small being who sat there and when she did, her voice was stunned. “Juli…?”

 

Juliana Shanas Kalenath looked like hell, her face was pale and drawn from stress and pain, but she beckoned Brianna close. Brianna didn’t want to look, but she had to. She looked and could not restrain a gasp. Her father’s eyes were open and lit on her, but the rest of his face was slack. His entire body was limp and from the tubes going under the sheet, he had no control over it. His head was swathed with bandages. His mouth opened and he spoke.

 

“You took your sweet time, girl.” His words were a joke. A joke?

 

Brianna could not understand. Her father almost never joked. And never about time. Time was always the single most important thing for a soldier. There was never enough of it.

 

“F…Father…?” She asked in a trembling voice as Sharra led her towards the bed. Will and Zinoa stopped at the door.

 

"Brianna." Jaing Makarian’s voice was a hollow copy of his normal vibrant tones. “They say you will make a full recovery. I am glad.”

 

"I..." Brianna reached the bedside and stared at her father, a man she had hated for so long and then had only been starting to love again when this mess had happened. And now, this… “Dad… What can I do?”

 

"Do?" Her father sighed. “What do you ever do, Brianna? You go on. Death is a natural part of life, Brianna. I wish I could be there to see you fall in love, marry and give me grandkids. But like the song says, ’You can’t always get what you want’. At least it doesn’t hurt.”

 

"No." Brianna was shaking her head. “Dad… No… I just found you again… I don’t want to lose you. I don’t want to be alone again…” She took his hand in hers and gave a squeeze. It didn’t move.

 

"Alone?" Jaing Makarian smiled a bit sadly. “You won’t be. Sharra, Will… Come forward please…” Will and Sharra came close to the bed and nodded to the man. Brianna’s father sighed again and his voice was weaker. “Brianna, this will be hard, the hardest thing you have ever done I think. But you can do it. You have always made me proud, Brianna Geli Makarian.” Brianna was shaking her head, but her father continued. “Will… I… tell her please…”

 

"Brianna." Will bowed his head. “Your father has asked me to take you in. He was the only reason I came back. He wanted a reconciliation between me and the Stormhawk. And he knew he was sick, just not how bad.”

 

"I... What?" Brianna recoiled. “No… No I… I killed two of your kids… There is no way… I…” She stammered, shocked out of her mind, only to freeze as a pair of small hands found hers. She stared at Juli whose face was sad but determined now.

 

"No." Juli spoke softly and her speech was odd, but understandable. “Your fault, not, it is. Hurting, you are. Give help, we can. Sorry am I… Pain caused, did I… Your fault, not…” Juli was crying as she hugged Brianna tight.

 

Brianna stared at the small earnest face and then at her father. But… his eyes were open and did not see her. “Father…! No! No… I…” She collapsed against the bed, grabbing her father’s limp hand, aware of several warm hands upon her now as she wept.

 

"Be..." Jaing Makarian’s voice was almost inaudible now. “Be well, Brianna Makarian Kalenath.” He stiffened slightly. “No light… They always said…there would be…a…” He slumped in place and the medical monitors attached to him all went off in unison. They almost covered up the sound of Brianna’s keen.

Brianna Makarian Kalenath sat with her head bowed. They had finally acquiesced to her wishes and let her have some time alone. She had cried for what had seemed ages, but had probably only been a few hours. The Kalenaths, Will and Sharra, Juli and Zinoa –even Hala and L’Trask, and that had been a shock- had not left her alone. They had plied her with comfort and care until she had been sick of it. But struggling didn’t work. Every time she had pushed them away, snarled at them, even hit them, they had simply closed ranks again and plied her with love and comfort again. It had taken some time, but she had finally calmed enough to eat and sleep. She smiled little in memory of Will holding out a full spoon. She had snarled a very foul obscenity at him and Sharra had spanked her! Brianna was almost twenty three and the tough old soldier woman had turned the younger girl over her knee and spanked her right there. It hadn’t hurt so much as it had startled. It had startled Brianna so much that she had stopped crying, relaxed a bit and ate what was offered.

 

Brianna shook her head slowly. Her new family was…a bit much. As bad as the Dragons were, the Kalenaths were worse. But she could not deny the fact that they loved her. Her! The crazy girl who had killed two of their number and hurt another. Brianna bit back a sob. Juli was as bright as ever, but what she had endured had permanently damaged her brain. She was unlikely to ever be able to talk normally again. But she didn’t hate Brianna, no matter that Brianna hated herself for doing such an awful thing to such a great kid. Juli was a steamroller. Once Will and Sharra had finished feeding Brianna, Juli had taken hold of the woman’s hand and led her to a bed. Brianna had been shocked out of her mind when Juli had climbed in with her, but the fact that Juli didn't hate her helped, it helped a lot. She had fallen asleep to the sound of Zinoa singing a lullaby and to the soft sound of Juli’s breathing. Part of her felt wrong at sharing the bed with someone she had hurt, and someone so young, but it also felt…right too. She had never had siblings so this was totally outside of her experience.

 

She had to smile again. When she had woken, Juli had taken her in hand, and despite Brianna’s half groggy arguments, had not the woman out of her sight. Juli had led Brianna to a refresher, had taken a shower with her, and had held her when Brianna had started to cry in the middle of it. Juli’s calm acceptance of Brianna didn’t make any sense. So finally, after Juli had sat the girl down, she had asked why.

 

Juli had smiled. “Your fault, not.” The girl had said in her strange, halting speech. “Strong you are. Admired you, I did.” Brianna had tried to demur, but Juli hadn’t been stopped. “Hurting you are. Pain sources, many. Leave you, we will not. Understand pain, we do.” Then she had held up a filled spoon. “Be stubborn again, you will? Sharra sleeps, I know where.” Her grin had been urchinlike and Brianna hadn’t really had a choice but to give in gracefully. Even if it had been very odd to have a fifteen year old spoon feeding her, she had been grateful. The sheer shock of the Kalenath family’s care and affection had kept her from thinking about…other things.

 

Her father, as always, had been prepared. His will left everything he owned to her. He had left itemized lists of what he owned, of where it was and how much it was worth. She had been a bit stunned at how much he had amassed, but in fifty two years of service, he had amassed a great deal of savings. As to possessions, well, he didn’t leave much. Being a Navy man had taught him not to travel heavy. But what he did leave had been significant to her. Two paper books, rare and priceless in a world of high technology, a couple of paintings –one she remembered liking and one she remembered her mother liking- and… then the capper… A collection of holos. Of her. Her at play as a child, her in her school uniform, her after she had scorched the couch with a grin on her face, her after her first date, her after graduation from school with a scowl on her face as she had looked at him, her in Republic uniform in an assembly, and then her in medical after she had been rescued. He had cared all along, she realized finally. But he had never known exactly how to show it. He had wanted to be cremated and then tossed into space to float where he had spent most of his life, among the stars. The crew had handled it, and Boss had allowed Brianna to the bridge to give the order that sent the capsule that contained her father’s ashes on its final trip. But then, she had come here.

 

If there was one thing she understood, having Jaing Makarian as a father had taught her about duty. And this was her duty. She studied the oblong slab of carbonite that was standing against one wall of the otherwise bare compartment and sighed. It would not get any better for waiting and would likely get worse. She had to do this alone if she was going to remain objective. She didn’t want to be swayed by either side before speaking to the subject of the furor that even now was racing through the Stormhawk.

 

She shook herself and walked to the slab. She perused the controls for a moment and then nodded. She keyed in the proper sequence and stood back. A high pitched hum came and she watched dispassionately as the carbonite over the man’s face melted away. His lips moved as he took his first breath in more than a month. She watched, silently as the rest of the metal holding the man in place and in hibernation vanished. Then he crumpled out of the shell that had been his home for some time. She moved up and checked his breathing as she rolled him over. Wouldn’t do for him to die now.

 

Jedi Knight Markus Sigmundson was shivering uncontrollably and Brianna was moved to speak. “Just relax, you are free of the carbonite.”

 

The Jedi recoiled slightly from her, his eyes open, but not seeing her. He spoke softly. “I can’t see. I have hibernation sickness?”

 

Brianna nodded even though she knew he couldn’t see her. “Your eyesight will return in time.”

 

Sigmundson nodded and slumped a bit. “Where am I?”

 

Brianna sighed. “The Stormhawk.”

 

Sigmundson nodded again. The Jedi responsible for the Stormhawk’s renegade status sighed and spoke evenly. “Who are you?”

 

Brianna thought about various things and then chose what came to mind first. “Someone who hates you.”

For a long moment, there was silence in the small compartment. Then Jedi Knight Markus Sigmundson shook his head. When he spoke, his voice was old and tired. “You are too young to have that much hate in you, what I can feel about you. I am sorry for what I sense you have suffered, but I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. You are one of the crew, aren’t you?” He asked in a quiet voice as he rolled into a sitting position.

 

Brianna squatted on her heels where she had been standing. She didn’t want to get close. “Yes, I am. My name is One Eighteen.”

 

"Yes." Markus nodded slowly. “I remember. You use numbers instead of names for security purposes. Am I on trial, Stormhawk One Eighteen?”

 

"Well." Brianna spoke slowly and evenly. “I suppose I can answer you. Yes. I am to be your judge.”

 

"Oh?" The Jedi nodded as if not surprised. “And my executioner?”

 

"I don't know." Brianna shrugged, not really caring that he could not see her. “That remains to be seen. Lots of people on this ship want you dead for what you have done.”

 

Sigmundson slumped in place. “Yeah.” He said quietly. He snorted a bit wistfully. “This seemed like such a good idea at the time. Now, however… I have to say I am scared.” His voice was calm as he stretched slightly.

 

"That is odd." Brianna stared at the man, curious despite herself. “I didn’t think Jedi felt fear.” She was not expecting Sigmundson to laugh heartily.

 

The Jedi chuckled for a few seconds and then sighed again. “Now that is a load of nerf droppings. Everything mortal feels fear. Jedi are just supposed to be better at controlling theirs. Of course, I never was…” He said quietly. “A good Jedi that is.”

 

"Oh?" Brianna tilted her head to the side. “What happened at Coruscant?” She asked evenly. “I get multiple viewpoints from people, and mostly colored by their hate.”

 

Sigmundson raised both eyebrows at her calm tone. “Dang, girl, you would have made a fine Jedi yourself with that ability to move beyond your emotions and to see that there are other points of view.” He took a deep breath before continuing. “What happened at Coruscant? I screwed up is what happened.”

 

Brianna shook her head. This was not going as she had envisioned. “The Dragons say your order was legal...” She broke off as Sigmundson turned towards her, an odd look on his face.

 

The Jedi’s voice was stunned. “What did you say?” He asked incredulously. “The Dragons are dead, all but Will.”

 

Brianna smiled a little savagely. “The Dragons are never more dangerous than when they are ‘dead’ . They are back. Cloned, but back.”

 

“What?” Sigmundson stared at her, his blind eyes seeing deep, deep into her, and then, he gave a small cry and buried his face in his hands. “You are one of them. I… Oh my god… I am sorry girl… I am so sorry.”

 

"Yes I am, now." Brianna shrugged again. “I will deal with it. It is what Dragons do. But I need to know your view on what happened at Coruscant. I have read reports, and seen the record tapes. But they tell me facts. I need causes, reasons.”

 

Sigmundson took a deep breath and spoke slowly, obviously trying to remain calm. “I didn’t know what I was doing. That is no excuse, they gave me the authority, but I should have listened to the admiral. I thought it would be like the strategy simulations I played and won regularly. I forgot… Real life is not a game. Any simulation, even an AI driven one, is only as good as the programmer makes it. I saw a weakness and I moved to exploit it. I thought the Sith had thrown everything into their first offensive. I should have known… I mean, it was such a stupid mistake. Looking back, everything the Sith did was to draw us out, get us out of position, beyond the fixed defenses, so they could hit us hard.”

 

Brianna grimaced slightly, and gave the Jedi a little shove. “What happened?”

 

Sigmundson sighed. “I threw a third of the fleet into an offensive formation. The Dragons were busy, harrying enemy command and control. I received a call for escort, ‘The Best’, Master Vandar asked for.” He broke off as Brianna exclaimed.

 

“Vandar asked for an escort?” Her voice was sharp.

 

"He did." Sigmundson nodded slowly. “He was on a transport that was trying to escape the battle zone. The Dragons were the closest fighters. I… I didn’t realize what would happen. I didn’t have a clue. I was a nerd, not an actual combat commander. The admiral tried to tell me, and I overruled her. I sent them out, they obeyed, like good soldiers do, and… When the transport had jumped, they were all alone out there… I couldn’t help them…” He shook his head slowly. “The Sith threw a dozen fighter squadrons at them. Without support, even the best pilots can’t beat odds like that. And like the idiot I was, I hadn’t bothered to give them support. I mean, they were the Dragons! They didn’t need support.” He slumped. “But they did.” He continued lamely. “Of all my failures that day, that one cut the worst, watching them die that way. It was so stupid. I think… I think I was losing it by then, I am not sure.”

 

Brianna looked at him, her eyes wary. “Losing it?” She asked carefully.

 

"Yeah." Sigmundson nodded. “I was falling to the Dark Side. It became personal. The Republic crews tried. But then the Sith reinforcements came in, and I panicked. Only for a moment, but long enough. But… what I did next was unforgivable… I told them to break formation and run. ” Brianna hissed in disbelief and the Jedi nodded. When he continued his voice was clinical, but held self hate. “Which was like throwing a pile of bloody meat into a school of Manaan sharks. I got them all killed, all the beings whose only crime was believing that I could help them win. And then… The Stormhawk…” He curled up on himself. Then he threw his head back and sighed deeply. “What was I thinking? Was I thinking? I don't know. The battle was lost. Part of me wishes I had been at the Temple, instead of on a command ship. At least then I could have fought. At least part of the fleet got out, due in no small part to the actions of this ship.”

 

"Oh?" Brianna stared at him, was that satisfaction in his voice now? “What do you mean?” She asked slowly.

 

"I was played." Sigmundson snorted softly. “Whoever was in command of those Sith fleets had my number. They knew what I was going to do; they played me like a Loo horn. Whoever it was, was good, and had insanely good intelligence on me. The Stormhawk disobeyed my orders, moved away from my planned evacuation route. I had ordered the remaining Jedi who were fighting in orbit to get away, to get to a place of safety. They protested, but did it. I had ordered the Stormhawk to cover the evacuation of the rest of the fleet, the battle was lost, but we couldn’t lose the entire fleet. I don’t know if it was cowardice or pragmatism and now, it really doesn’t matter.” Brianna stared at him as he laughed sourly. “Commander Shinn told me to flarg off. I wish I had half of that man’s courage. His delaying action threw the Sith into enough disarray that we managed to escape with few additional losses.”

 

Brianna stared at the deck and her voice was small. “Yeah.” She slumped and then squared her shoulders. “And then?”

 

Sigmundson’s voice took on a new aspect. Sadness. “And then I needed a scapegoat for my massive failure. And no matter what I said to the military, to the Senate, to my peers in the Jedi Council, it was MY failure. It took me ten years, ten years of searching, hunting… killing… to realize what was happening. I was falling, I had fallen. I could hide it from the Jedi, from the military, but not from myself. It took nearly getting vaporized by the main gun of this ship for me to realize exactly what I had done.”

 

Brianna stared at him, was that a smile on his face? “What happened?” She asked, curious in spite of herself.

 

"My trap got ambushed." The Jedi shrugged. “I cornered the ship over Alderaan. They were pinned against the gravity well. I had two battleships and three cruisers, I thought it would be enough. I had no idea that the tip that I received had come from Special Branch or why it had. All I cared about was that I could finally get the Stormhawk. Ten years of hunting, of having to kill people who would not surrender, of receiving reports of slain civilians caught in the cross fire of hunters I sent and Stormhawk teams, of sending Republic forces into hot spots on slim leads and never hearing from them again. And I had them, finally!” He shook his head. “I was so sure of myself. And then… They didn’t surrender, but they didn’t attack either! They launched troop ships! In the middle of a fleet engagement, they were dropping troops. I couldn’t understand why. Then it hit me. The troops that were dropping knew we could blow most of them out of the sky. And they didn't care! They were dropping to help someone, I found out later that Nia Korr, Will’s daughter, had been taken and implanted by Special Branch and they were going to rescue her. Which was why the Special Branch scum had used my obsession to try and keep the Stormhawk away. And why was I doing what I was doing? Selfish obsession.”

 

Brianna spoke softly. “The Dark Side of the Force. So you surrendered.”

 

Sigmundson nodded slowly and his eyes were focused on her now. “Yes. Ah child… So young to have such pain. I can feel your grief and rage, and I am sorry for it. What I did at Coruscant was wrong. What I did after that was evil. I want to try and undo what I did.”

 

Brianna nodded, but then she rose. “If you can see, then it is time.”

 

Jedi Knight Markus Sigmundson nodded slowly sand rose carefully, as if unsure of his feet. “Time indeed.” He held out his hands and Brianna reached behind her back and produced a set of binders. She latched them onto his wrists and then she reached into another pocket. The Jedi gulped a little as he saw what she produced. But he did not move as Brianna strapped the device that would hinder his use of the Force around his head. He grimaced, but then nodded to her. “I am ready.”

 

"Well." Brianna let out a deep breath. “I hope so, Jedi. For your sake. The crew is not as forgiving as I am.” With that, she led him from the room.

Brianna led the Jedi through the silent corridors, grateful that the crew had accepted her suggestion. The chance of someone ‘accidentally’ blasting the Jedi was too extreme. So, instead of the hangar bay, she led Sigmundson into a briefing room. He stiffened slightly as he entered and the two other beings in the room rose from the chairs they had been sitting in around the large table. Captain Scarran nodded to Brianna and the Jedi. Stormhawk Boss just stood, impassive.

 

"Uh..." The Jedi’s voice was soft. “I expected to be tried by the crew.”

 

"We want to. But..." Boss’ voice was about as warm as the inside of an ice cube. “We put you in front of a crew assembly and you will go down with about five blaster shots in you before you can open your mouth. The crew is watching and listening. But they have been told to stay away from this area of the ship. The Dragons, including Will, are making sure they do.”

 

Markus Sigmundson shook his head, as if bemused. “A real trial…? I… I didn’t expect a real trial.”

 

"Yes." Brianna nodded as she guided the man to a chair near one wall. “There are many aboard who don’t want to give you one. But we have to follow the rules we set for ourselves, or we are no better than common pirates.” She helped the man sit and then spoke again. “Would you like a glass of water? This will take some time.”

 

Sigmundson stared at her and then nodded slowly. “I would, thank you.” Brianna walked to a small dispenser, filled cup and brought it back to him. She placed it where he could reach and then sat in another chair, nearby.

 

Brianna shook her head. “This is not a court martial. You are not a member of this crew. But if anyone in the galaxy has the right to try you for what happened at Coruscant, I think they do.”

 

Captain Scarran shook his head slowly from where he stood. “I disagree, your honor.” It should have been mocking or at least a bit humorous, him calling her that. But somehow, it wasn’t. It was completely serious. “The Judge Advocate General Corps handles such things, not the line ships and squadrons. For very good reasons, they are detached, not emotionally involved.”

 

"Noted." Brianna nodded. “But we are not currently affiliated with the Republic.” Captain Scarran made a soft noise of disagreement, and Brianna sighed. “Ok, captain, point taken. The Dragons are, but the Stormhawk is not. I will remain impartial. I must.”

 

Stormhawk Boss spoke now. “Since the Jedi are not, in actuality, members of the Republic military, then the Judge Advocate General Corps would simply turn him over to the Jedi Order. And we all know what would result, don’t we?” His voice was calm, but underneath it lay hate as deep as space itself.

 

Brianna shook her head. “Stormhawk Boss, please control yourself. I understand your anger. But it will not help.” Boss sighed, nodded and sat. Captain Scarran nodded to Brianna and sat as well. Brianna continued. “This is not, strictly speaking, a court at all. I am not a judge, I am not nearly well versed enough in the law to BE a judge. What I am is a neutral party.” She laughed a little. “Funny, I am in a position many Jedi have been in, aren’t I?” She asked Sigmundson, who was looking at her oddly.

 

"Uh..." Sigmundson nodded slowly. “Yes. Many Jedi have been called to resolve disputes where one side hates the other. It is one of the primary functions of Jedi actually. We are not supposed to get involved in military matters.”

 

Boss snarled. “Because we see what happens when you do…” He froze as Brianna’s hand slapped the table.

 

Brianna’s voice was calm, but cool now. “Stormhawk Boss, if you cannot control yourself, I will have to ask for someone else to act as prosecutor. We want closure here, not a lynching. The whole point of this is to gain some kind of closure, yes?”

 

Boss nodded slowly. “Yes, I apologize, your honor.”

 

Brianna snarled at him. “Stop calling me that, I am not a judge. Like I say, I am just a neutral party who was dragooned into this. But I will do the best I can. It is all any of us can do. I am Stormhawk One Eighteen or Dragon Ten, call me one of those.”

 

Captain Scarran shook his metal covered head. “Begging your pardon, Ma’am, but no you are not. Right now, you are the judge here. So I am going to treat you that way, and I think Boss will as well for the same reason.” Boss nodded and Captain Scarran continued. “You are what we need here, a neutral mind, someone who is not clouded by hate or implants.” He paused as the Jedi raised his bound hands.

 

Sigmundson’s voice was quiet. “May I speak?” Brianna nodded and he spoke slowly, considering each word. “I came here, because I gave Will my word. I expected to die as soon as he thawed me. I can’t undo what I did, at Coruscant and after. I didn’t know what I was doing, when I ordered your squadron unto the breach, Captain. I thought I did, I was wrong. And you all paid for my stupidity. All I can say is I am sorry.” The pain in his voice shook Brianna, although she tried to hide it.

 

"Jedi Sigmundson..." Captain Scarran shook his head. “Soldiers do not sign up expecting an even break. We don’t expect that our orders will always make sense. We don’t usually have the perspective to see the big picture. We disagreed with the order you gave us, but we obeyed it. It is what soldiers do. It came as a hell of a shock when we woke in the cloning tanks buried deep in this ship. But it wouldn’t have made a difference if we had known we would come back. We were given an order, by a lawful authority. We obeyed it.” He looked at Boss who shook his head.

 

Boss shook his head. “I…I couldn’t. I couldn’t leave all those people to die, just so he could run away.” Boss waved a finger at where Sigmundson sat.

 

"okay." Brianna shook her head. “From what I see, there are three issues about Coruscant. First, Sigmundson’s orders to charge the Sith line. Second, Sigmundson’s orders to the Dragons to protect the transport, those orders pulled all of you except Will out of position to be supported by the rest of the fleet and resulted in your deaths. And last, the order to the Stormhawk to flee and leave all the civilians who were trying to get clear, the escape pods, the floating pilots, and the few remaining fighters to fend for themselves. The only one that is germane at the moment is the order to the Stormhawk. Was it a legal order, Stormhawk Boss?”

 

"I... Yes." Boss nodded slowly. “Yes, it was. It was verified as being sent through the chain of command. I requested confirmation and got it. He came on the com and told me to obey or be relieved. I disobeyed the order and take full responsibility for doing so.”

 

"You will have a hard time taking all the blame, Boss." Brianna shook her head. “The crew supported you and has ever since. If there is responsibility for it, then it is shared. However…” She bit her lip and shook her head again. “What happened after Coruscant is what concerns me now. Captain Scarran, your thoughts?”

 

"What he did was wrong, he was over the line, no question, but..." The commander of the Dragon Squadron shook his head slowly. “If I had been told that this ship had gone rogue, I would do whatever it took to get it back or blow it out of space. This ship is simply too dangerous to leave in private hands. Just the thought of some pirate or the Sith getting hold of this ship and all its advanced weapons and technology gives me goosebumps.” He raised a hand as Boss started to speak. “Yes, I know you have the best anti-intruder systems available. And I also know that nothing is impregnable. ” He had a smile in his voice that didn’t show on his mask of course. “Just ask the Imperials.”

 

"Yeah." Boss snorted and Brianna and the Jedi both stared at him. “True. Did you really rob a bank on Korriban?” Brianna felt her eyes go wide and she saw Markus’ go wide as well.

 

"No." Both of them stared at Captain Scarran who shrugged. “Wasn’t a bank. It was a payroll depository. And we did it under orders. We were told to find the most heavily guarded Imperial system we could, get in and hack their systems as a test of our hardware. Which we did, turned out the most highly secure place on Korriban was that depository. I do wish I could have seen the look on the Imperial’s faces when they logged in the next day and found all of their accounts cleaned out.” From the tone, he had an evil grin on his face now. “Of course we turned all the funds over to the Republic military.” Brianna just looked at him and he raised both hands in a warding gesture. “We did!”

 

Brianna was chuckling softly as she shook her head, but then calmed. “This is off the subject. Yes, I agree, Captain Scarran. This ship is far too powerful to have running around completely loose. Which is why Jaken and Jikirt were here, right? As agents of Republic Intel.”

 

The Jedi stared at her and then at the two impassive metal faces. Boss was shaking his head and Captain Scarran had slumped a little. Markus Sigmundson’s voice held shock now. “Are you telling me that the Republic had intel assets aboard this ship the whole time I was chasing it?”

 

Brianna sighed and nodded. “Yes. Jaken, a tech, was serving the Special Branch of Republic intelligence. There was another Republic agent aboard, apparently keeping an eye on Jaken.”

 

Sigmundson sighed and sank back into his chair. “Special Branch…Why am I not surprised? Every single time I turn around and find something nasty, Firdlump’s people are involved. I should have told him to shove it, I should have…”

 

All three of the others stared at the Jedi, but Brianna put it to words. “What do you mean?”

 

Sigmundson sighed. “Senator Firdlump ‘suggested’ my post with the navy. I wouldn’t have done it, except Master Vandar concurred with him. I knew I wasn’t ready, I just hopped I was wrong. I wasn’t.”

 

Captain Scarran shook his head slowly. “You mean the senator and the Jedi master put you in that position? One you knew you were not able to handle?”

 

Sigmundson nodded. “I don’t know what happened. There was backroom politics, I know that. I learned fast, and I listened to Admiral Gorna, until the actual battle anyway.”

 

Brianna shook her head slowly. “My father always said ‘Hindsight is always clearer than foresight, but nowhere remotely as valuable’. He was right. Vandar is a rogue.”

 

Sigmundson froze in place. “What?” His face went white. “That’s im-…” He broke off and shook his head, his mind obviously whirling. “Oh my god. Then we have problems…”

 

Stormhawk Boss spoke softly now. “It gets worse. Apparently, he is leading Special Branch now.”

 

Sigmundson shook his head slowly, as if pieces were falling together.”My god… He always was.”

 

Brianna stared at the Jedi. “What?”

 

The Jedi was so pale now that Brianna worried for a moment that he would faint. “He created Special Branch, he told me once, to fight threats to the Republic that normal forces, even Jedi or Special Forces, could not. I thought they had gone beyond his control, but if he is still leading them…” He shook his head and calmed. “We have to stop him, them.” His voice rang with conviction now, but he paused as all three of the others looked at him. “Er…” He paused, unsure.

 

Brianna nodded. “The Republic Senate, with some urging from you among other people, pardoned the Stormhawk for desertion and mutiny. So now we have to decide what to do about you. The JAG Corps won’t touch this, the Jedi have left it up to us.” The girl in the gray metal mask sighed. She scrutinized the Jedi. “You truly want to make a difference, don’t you?”

 

The Jedi nodded. “I always have. Yes.”

 

Brianna smiled under her mask. “Then I think we have a solution. You committed crimes you should be punished for.” All three of the others nodded, a bit dubiously in Captain Scarran’s case, but Brianna continued. “But killing you is a waste. You will work with the Dragons. You will have no contact at all with the rest of the ship. Surioa could use an assistant medic anyway.”

 

Boss stared at her and then Captain Scarran laughed. “Oh, Ten, that is evil… I like it.”

 

Boss stared from Brianna to Captain Scarran. “Can you do this? Keep him sequestered?” Scarran nodded and Boss sighed. “I feel cheated. But you are right, darn it all.” The eye slit of his visor speared Sigmundson who froze in place. “Step out of line and we will kill you.” The fully armored form rose and strode form the room.

 

Sigmundson shook his head as the other two rose. “Who is Surioa?” He asked.

 

Brianna snickered. “Oh you will like her. Just don’t get out of hand and she won’t light you on fire.”

 

The Jedi stared at her and then shook his head. “Just when I think my life can’t get any more complicated…”

-Breaking news-

 

This is Holonet Network News reporting from Correlian space regarding an incident that was just reported by one of our star reporters. We go now live to Kalisa Lani.

 

The image of a woman in a rumpled dress appeared on screen and she spoke excitedly. “Are we transmitting?”

 

The voice of the anchor came on, we can hear you Kalisa, what has happened?”

 

The reporter smiled widely. “It was incredible, the most amazing thing I have ever seen. We were travelling to the Correllia system when the Star of Janis, ship we were on, was attacked by the notorious H’sak Pirate band, well known as slavers as well.” A side window popped up on the screen with the image of the H’sak pirate band’s emblem

 

The anchor’s voice was worried, his control undone by the sheer horror of such a fate. “Did they board your ship, Kalisa?”

 

Kalisa smiled widely. “No, they did not get the chance. The captain tried fighting, but we only had a couple of guns, and the pirates took them out quickly. They disabled the engines as well. We believe they wanted prisoners. They were… Oh you need to see it… is the transmission going through?”

 

The anchorbeing spoke again. “Yes, we have received… Kalisa… This cannot be real…”

 

Kalisa was speaking excitedly again. “It is.”

 

The anchor spoke softly. “Gentle viewers, what you are about to see has not been seen for ten years.”

The screen lit up with a scene of deep space through a viewport. Two large vessels were surrounded by dozens of smaller ships. The voice of the reporter was heard in the background, scared, but defiant. “This is Kalisa Lani, reporting on the attack on the star cruiser Star of Janis by the H’sak pirate band. We are unlikely to survive this, but the record may be missed. Someone needs to know about this. We dropped in system and they were waiting for us. I have no idea why… Oh… the captain says they have a cargo of Corusca gems. But why so many? And a slave ship? I have no… Wait a moment... What are those?” the woman’s voice was sharp and the camera zoomed in. “No, no to the left…? What are…? Oh my god…”

 

Suddenly balls of fire blossomed in the pirate formation, both of the large ships taking multiple hits. The camera zoomed in and at least ten small points of light grew suddenly into starfighters. They were marked with Republic colors and moved so fast it was like watching a swarm of Correllian fireflies. They dove into the heart of the startled pirate formation, firing steadily. Just watching them, it was obvious that the newcomers were moving and maneuvering far faster than any of their adversaries. The camera tried to track them, but it was impossible, they flitted here and there so quickly that nothing that was fired at them came anywhere close. In less than a minute all of the pirate fighters had been destroyed and large ships were faring just as badly. Two minutes after the battle had begin, it was over, the last pirate cruiser was a drifting hulk in space. One of the small starfighters came close to the viewport and the camera had a close up view of the small Republic starfighter.

 

An incredulous voice was heard in the background. “That is an Aurek mark seven. No one has used those since the battle of Coruscant. Wait… What is…? Oh my god…” The symbol on the side of the ship became clear and a profanity escaped the censors. “Turn on the com!” The voice shouted.

 

The sounds of music came over the speakers. Something about ‘…With the heart of a dragon we ride…’ The small ship just outside the viewport seemed to wiggle a bit and then it was gone.

 

Kalisa’s voice was soft, scared almost. “Was that what I think it was, Captain Jetter?”

 

The voice of the other, Captain Jetter, sounded stunned. “If you think it was a Dragon, yes, Ma’am. But… They all died at Coruscant…”

 

Kalisa’s voice was awed. “Wow…”

 

This is Holonet Network reporting on the apparent return of Dragon Squadron

 

“Shut it off!” The small being snarled as he leaped down from the chair. “Son of a barve! Why now? Why now of all the times they could have possibly woken?” He shook his head and patted the cast that held his arm. He did not heal as quickly now as he had when he was younger. At least he hadn’t landed on his head when his ship had crash landed.

 

“Does it matter, Vandar?” A shadowy form asked. “We are on schedule otherwise.”

 

Jedi Master Vandar Tokare sighed. “Without the H’sak, we probably won’t meet the quota. Our recruiting efforts just took a massive hit. I wouldn't think you would be pleased.”

 

The shadowy form sighed. “I know. Okay, do what you can, but no strenuous stuff, okay? The docs said a week in bed, you were out of it in a day.”

 

Vandar made a rude gesture at him with his free hand. “I was luckier than everyone else on my ship. Any word on Ravishaw’s progress?” Vandar asked quietly.

 

The shadowy form shook his head. “Whatever the Bladeborn did to him was thorough.” He sighed. “I need to get back, people are getting restless. See if you can find that blasted Enclave. If we can find Naj Orh’s creations we have enough.”

 

Vandar sighed. “Lots of space to search. We have searched eighteen hidden Mandalorian colony worlds already. None match. They were incredibly paranoid about letting me there at all.”

 

The shadowy form rose and nodded to the Jedi master. It was a human, of average height and build. His clothing was of expensive cut and his eyes were deep piercing green. His hair might have once been black, but now, was gray. “Keep me informed and if you find Jina, call for backup before going after her this time.”

 

Vandar snarled at the human. “Yes, sir.”

 

The human smiled evilly. “Say it, Vandar.”

 

Vandar sighed and genuflected. “Yes… master.” The man smiled and left the room. Vandar slumped and only someone truly observant would have noticed the single tear that fell for an instant before he dashed it away.

((Beware evildoers. He who meddles in the affairs of Dragons will soon be lunch. Comments or suggestions always appreciated. Flames might meet some Dragon fire.))