Twist of Darkness - Chapter 25

The most needed medical supplies were already being unloaded from the supply ships, the wounded who could be moved were being transferred to the Home One, and the Home One had also taken on most of the wounded from Pryatt, all of which was easing the situation on the Home Two.

Which was why Ettei Soosaan was here, waiting for the Omega Squadron rescue shuttle to land.

That and the fact that there had been two soldiers that she had insisted in accompanying down and onto one of the waiting transports. Technically they had been too ill to be moved, but the Home One had bacta tanks ready and waiting for them. Without the bacta the boys would die... so moving them had been the lesser of two evils.

Then the pilot of the rescue shuttle had announced that she was inbound with more wounded. So Ettei had stayed, waiting for the shuttle to arrive.

A klaxon warbled softly, a female voice announcing the imminent arrival of the ship. It sailed in through the entrance and glided forward, hovering for a moment, turning gracefully in mid-air before sinking downward.

Lieutenant Catterin Poom-Baar settled the shuttle onto the hangar deck as gently as she could, hitting the door release before she began the engine shutdown procedures. She turned, shooting a grin at Chezz.

The smile faded as she saw the pallor of his skin. His eyes were closed and she could see that he was in pain, concentrating simply on breathing.

"Chezz?" She reached out, touching his neck, feeling his skin cold and clammy, swearing as she recognised the telltale signs of his body going into shock. "Stretcher!" she shouted to the medical droids moving up the ramp. "I need a stretcher here now!"

She reached for the medipak, slipping off the chair and kneeling beside him, "Chezzie?"

Chezz opened his eyes, looking at her. "Stay with me!" she ordered.

He forced a smile, telling her, "Not going... anywhere..."

"You'd better fragging not!"

Ettei Soosaan pushed past the droids, heading for the front of the shuttle. She dropped to her knees as she reached Catterin and Chezz, asking "What happened?"

"He had to eject from an X-wing..." Catterin began.

"Mid-air..." Chezz supplied through gritted teeth. "Hit a TIE..."

Soosaan pressed a mediscanner gently against his neck, frowning, trying to clarify, "You collided with a TIE fighter? In your X-wing?"

Chezz winced, "Yeah..."

Soosan nodded, reading the information the scanner threw up. He was slipping into shock. He had fractured the vertebrae in his lower spine, wrenched the muscles, cracked some ribs and, from the look of his blood pressure, might be bleeding internally... She could get him re-hydrated but there was no way she was going to even try and move him without some form of bracing. She turned, issuing orders to a medi-droid who trundled away.

"Erm..." Chezz tried, then moaned softly as a wave of pain rapped down his nerves. "I can't... feel my legs..."

Soosaan saw the look the Omega SAR threw her and summoned a reassuring smile for the dark-haired X-wing pilot, telling him, "You've damaged some of the vertebrae in your back. The injured area is swelling..."

Catterin saw the horrified look that spread across Chezz's face and reassured him, "It's the swelling that's making your legs feel funny. Right?" she finished, looking at the doctor.

Ettei nodded, not completely comfortable in confirming that assumption without further tests but knowing that the pilot needed to be reassured. "It is. And once we bring the swelling down we'll be able to assess the damage... but first," she went on, delving into the medpak, "we need to give you something to help with the pain."

She smiled back up at him, assuring, "Don't worry. We're going to take good care of you. I promise..."

~ * ~

Major Elhen Anders took a deep breath and walked through the door. The young aide looked up then stood up, telling her, "Mon Mothma is expecting you, Major..."

He pressed a button on his desk then moved to the door to Mon Mothma's office, stepping in as it opened for him and introducing, "Major Anders, Ma'am..."

Mothma nodded, finding a small smile from somewhere. "Thank you Wendl. Show her in..."

Elhen nodded her thanks to the young man as she walked past him into Mon Mohtma's office. The figurehead of the Rebel Alliance rose gracefully to her feet, and for a moment Elhen saw the weariness behind the other woman's eyes. Then it was gone, replaced by the calm, quiet dignity that always surrounded her.

"Please," she invited as Elhen walked towards her. "Sit down..."

"Thank you, Ma'am," Elhen acknowledged, walking across to Mon Mothma's desk and sinking into the seat opposite her.

Mon Mothma gave her an appraising look then stated softly, "You are not the bearer of good news..."

Elhen shook her head, reaching forward to hand Mon Mothma one of the data pads that Laruna had given her. Mothma took it but didn't look at it, her eyes fixed on Elhen.

"It's as we feared, Ma'am," Elhen told her, coming straight to the point, knowing that Mon Mothma was not a woman who appreciated people beating around the bush. "Commander Hawkspar's mission on Coruscant was compromised. Both Commander Hawkspar and the engineer she was sent in to extract, were arrested. The engineer was killed while trying to escape. Commander Hawkspar is currently being questioned in the detention cells beneath the Imperial Palace. The plans of the shield generator on Endor were not transferred to us. We have no choice but to proceed with the planned infiltration of the dockyards on the Bothan homeworld..."

For a long moment Mon Mothma said nothing, almost as if she was waiting for Elhen to go on. Then she pushed herself to her feet and walked across to the view port, gazing out at the damaged silhouette of the Home Two lying to the right. The only chance the Rebel Alliance had of destroying the new Death Star the Emperor was building, hinged on the destruction of the shield generator. While that shield was protecting the Death Star, they had no hope of destroying the space station...

Nor did they have any hope of destroying the Death Star once it was completed.

The Lord Darth Vader had escaped the destruction of the first Death Star and would have supplied the Emperor with enough information about that attack to ensure that the second station did not carry the same vulnerability. With his new Death Star, the Emperor would be almost unstoppable. History, Mon Mothma knew, was written by the victors, and from the moment the new space station went operational it would only be a matter of time before the Rebel Alliance and everything it stood for was written out of the history books.

"At our last meeting you said you would start putting the Bothan contingency plan into action..." Mon Mothma commented quietly, turning to look at the Major.

"Yes, Ma'am," Elhen nodded. "Give it a few more days and our operatives will be in position to start the operation.

Mothma nodded, "When everything is ready to launch, I would appreciate a briefing on the operation."

Despite the wording, Elhen knew that was an order, not a request. She nodded, "Yes, Ma'am."

Mon Mothma turned away again, looking back out across at the Home Two. "Do her Squadron know?' she asked softly.

"They will soon, Ma'am," Elhen told her. "Xen Laruna, the officer who took Commander Hawkspar's distress call, her cousin is Lieutenant-Commander Xen Edraa, the Omega acting-CO... I've asked Laruna to break the news..."

"Good," Mothma commented quietly.

"Ma'am..." Elhen began. "We... I... Commander Hawkspar's father hasn't yet been informed..."

"I see..." Mothma commented, simply, then dismissed softly, "Thank you, Major..."

Elhen pushed herself to her feet, saluting before heading out of the office. She sighed softly as the door sliced closed behind her, rubbing her hands across her face. She had her own troubles, but the weight of the whole Rebel Alliance rested on the shoulders of the small, dark-haired woman who now sat alone on the other side of the door...

Straightening her uniform jacket, Elhen smiled at Mon Mothma's young aide then walked out into the corridor, heading towards the shuttle that would take her to the Home Two.

~*~

A reassured Dav Elyob was sprawled across two chairs in the rec room, grinning like an idiot, on a high of relief. Mon Mothma herself had sent a message to let them know that Triona was recovering in the medical section of the Home One with no lasting ill effects from her tussle with the malfunctioning X-wing.

On the chairs beside Dav, Kirixchi Kenobi and Sha Aegis were recounting details of the Imperial blockade of Pryatt to almost all of the rest of Omega Squadron; describing the number of Walkers that they and the other Aryad pilots had managed to bring down before Omega had come to their rescue.

Taking in every detail of their account, Hobbie commented, "Sounds exactly like the way they attacked on Hoth. Doesn't it Arny?" he continued, turning to the older man.

Mason Arnwald nodded, "Sounds like..."

But he hadn't really been listening to the account. Instead, his thoughts had returned to the incident in the hangar and the way Shei Redav had reacted to what had happened. It was as if Shei had somehow known that the Omega Second was having some sort of a waking dream and that he was somehow sharing it with her...

Deep down Arny had a feeling that Shei Redav held answers to some of the questions that had bugged him almost all his life – like how he knew what other people seemed to be feeling, even when their feelings contradicted the expression on their faces.

Like right now... The Aryad rookie, Darius, was smiling, but it didn't quite touch his eyes. Arny could tell that the lad was really uncomfortable and more than a little disquieted by the apparent bravado of the other two Aryad pilots when so many of their colleagues had been killed...

He couldn't blame the kid. Rookies were all the same, at first... before they learned that you didn't have the luxury of dwelling on your grief when the Empire was breathing down your neck. He'd have a word with Ravenclaw later, he considered, explain that it was only their way of coping with what had happened.

In the corner of the room, feet propped up on a table, Lainy Kal'Ten nursed a cold mug of kaffin, unable to rid herself of the images from the vision, or whatever the hell it was that she had experienced when she had all but passed out in Arny's arms in the hangar...

It had unnerved her and she was trying to convince herself that it was nothing more serious than being totally stressed out...but she saw the way that Mason Arnwald kept glancing over at her and then to Shei. It was unnerving her and, more importantly, beginning to convince her that whatever was going on with her was more than simply being stressed...

There had been the attention lapses before that too - out in the X-wing when she had had to force herself back from a daydream, to force herself to concentrate on what had been going on...

Lainy sighed, discarding the mug, rubbing her hands across her face before peeling open another choco-kandy stick as she shoved herself to her feet.

Xen had been waylaid before they had even left the hanger and pulled aside for some sort of debrief... She'd walk down to see if she could find her. Maybe stretching her legs would help to clear her mind...

Deep in thought, Lainy almost ran straight into Xen as she walked into the corridor. Grinning, stepping back, Lainy commented, "So they finally let you go?"

Xen swallowed, unable to find the words to tell Lainy what had happened, her mind still reeling from the enormity of the information she had just been given. Lainy's smile faded as she saw the haunted look on the smaller woman's face.

"The Boss..." Xen began.

Stomach flipping, the images of Kaz Hawkspar lying in a detention cell slammed back at her. Hands clenching into fists, Lainy fought for control. "It went wrong, didn't it?" she demanded softly, willing Xen to tell her she was wrong. "The damned mission went wrong..."

Xen took a deep breath: then nodded.

Lainy closed her eyes, sinking back against the wall, suddenly exhausted. "How..." she began. "How long? How long have they had her?"

Now that it was out, Xen found the words coming more easily. "Laruna... She wouldn't... she couldn't go into all the details, but..." She sighed, continuing, "She said that it went wrong almost from the moment Kaz hit Coruscant..."

Lainy swallowed, digesting the information. She wasn't going mad. Everything she had seen was suddenly, potentially, making sense... If Kaz was in such deep trouble, was it possible that she had somehow communicated with her? Some sort of telepathy?

Telepathy...

That rang bells... Stories her mother had told her about the knights who had once policed the galaxy... The Jedi... The Jedi had had powers like that, hadn't they, before they had been wiped out?

Lainy struggled to remember everything that her mother had ever told her about the former galactic peacekeepers. They could read minds; they could make people do things...

Was it possible that Kaz Hawkspar had the same powers as the Jedi had had? Was she calling for help?

We won't leave you... We'll come to find you. You just need to rest and be strong...

Lifting her head, Lainy looked at Xen, asking, "Can they get her out?"

Xen sighed softly, choosing her next words carefully. That had been the first question she had asked of Laruna. Now she all but echoed her cousin's words, "They've only just confirmed that she's been caught... but... there are no plans to mount a rescue mission..."

Lainy nodded, looking back at the floor, her mind working overtime. Part of her screamed that Kaz would roast her alive if she did anything as stupid as to go into Coruscant on a rescue attempt... but the other part of her clung to the theory she was still formulating in her mind...

We won't leave you... We'll come to find you.

Xen Edraa had expected Lainy to scream or shout at the news; throw a tantrum; jump up and down cursing Kaz; anything - except this calm acceptance.

Astounded, Xen looked at her, taking strength from the other woman's quiet composure, finding the control to overcome the shocked grief and tuck it behind the duty of a Squadron Commanding Officer.

She glanced across at the door of the rec room then looked back at Kal'Ten, dropping the next bombshell, "You're grounded, Lainy. Major Anders wants to interview you as soon as she comes over to the Home Two. Laruna says it's important."

Hope sparked in Lainy's stomach, sending a ripple of anticipation through her. Maybe there was going to be a rescue mission after all...

She pushed the expectancy away, turning her attention back to the job at hand as Xen continued, "Laruna's going to tell Triona about Kaz. She and Major Anders are bringing Triona over in the shuttle with them from the Home Two. The SAR's shuttle has just landed. Can I leave you to break the news to her and Chezzie? I'll tell the others now, before we launch..."

Lainy nodded, pushing herself off of the wall, warning, "Don't try anything stupid while Chezz and I aren't there to watch your back."

Xen shot her a sad smile, quipping, "I think I'll be safer without you and Chezz watching my back."

"Hah!" Lainy shot back, brushing her fingers against Xen's arm as she moved past her. "At least you have Shei there... Fly safe..."

Xen nodded, watching Lainy's retreating back for a moment before taking a deep breath and turning, walking into the rec room. She stopped just inside the door, wondering what to do, how to get their attention, but almost as if they all knew there was something important going on, the volume in the room faded away as one by one the pilots saw her and turned their attention to her.

She looked around the room, at the new faces and the not so new, realising that most of them wouldn't have a clue who Kazlyn Hawkspar was... She hadn't even had a chance to grieve at Kaz's loss and the universe was already moving on...

"Break's over!" she ordered. "Everyone stays in the pairs they've been allocated. Pink, you fly wingman to Kirixchi. Arla," she continued, "you and Arny pair up for the moment. I'll leave you to sort out the positions between you..."

She groaned silently, rolling her eyes at the inevitable chuckled comments at her choice of words, letting it roll on for a moment longer before ordering, "Keep it down, people!"

The light laughter ebbed away, everyone's attention turning back to her. Once more, Xen felt the full weight of being the Squadron CO settling around her shoulders. She looked down at the floor, drawing strength from aspiration of not letting Kaz down. Then she looked back up at the faces of the Squadron pilots, beginning, "Some of you..."

Words failed her and she stopped, swallowing, starting again.

"It is my unhappy duty to inform you that we have received information indicating that... Commander Hawkspar was apprehended and detained by Imperial personnel... after the covert operation she was taking part in was compromised..."

There was stunned silence for a moment. Then, softly, Shei asked, "But... but wasn't she arrested by our side?"

"Her arrest was a cover..." Xen told her. "To protect her..."

"That worked well..." Jon Alpelor quipped softly, fear stabbing through him. If Hawkspar had been taken prisoner then she would be interrogated and forced to give up every piece of information she had on the Rebel Alliance. They would question her about the Richlo's Rest incident and that would include information on the pilots who had been taken prisoner by the Rebel Alliance.

He took a deep breath, fighting down the sudden wave of nausea. It was only a matter of time before the Empire knew that he and Mas had changed sides...

Hobbie Gee-Em closed his eyes, cursing softly, trying hard to push away the horror that wrapped cold fingers through his belly. Long suppressed memories flowed to the surface, threatening to overwhelm him and he took a deep breath, holding it in for a moment before letting it out slowly, fighting down the dread.

He knew, better than most, that fate that awaited Kazlyn Hawkspar. He had been there, done that... Not even the shock and panic of attack on Hoth had come close to the terror he had experienced in those few, dreadfully long, lonely days before he joined the Rebel Alliance...

Now the Boss was in the same position as he had been... and all he hoped for her was that it would be over quickly.

Dav Elyob licked his lips, swallowing hard, only half listening to all the comments, questions and answers that were suddenly filling the air around him. The carefully laid plans that he had had to postpone after Hawkspar's "arrest" were now shattering and falling around him. Everything that could possibly go wrong was going wrong.

He ran through all the possibilities left to him, only to find them severely limited...

Triona had altered things, because he knew now that he had fallen in love with her. He had broken the first rule of bounty hunting – never get personally involved with the mark you are using to access your targeted objective...

So here he was, deep in quandary when it had all seemed straightforward. Get in; scout out the lay of the land; grab Kazlyn Hawkspar and get out; claim the bounty.

Now that he had lost his target, instinct was telling him that he had no place here. Only he found himself not wanting to leave - not wanting to leave the Squadron; not wanting to leave Triona – not when he had come so close to losing her.

It occurred to him, briefly, that his decision might have been different if Triona hadn't been injured in the X-wing malfunction... He sighed, running a hand over his face. Sentimentality - a bounty hunter's biggest downfall, and he had a bad case of it.

~*~

Admiral Ackbar watched the screen, acutely aware that they were running out of time. They couldn't wait any longer. He would have to give the order to move. First, however, he had some changes to make in personnel.

He turned, "Captain Bieebenn?"

Tienna turned, walking towards him, "Admiral?"

"Captain, you and I both know the seriousness of the situation in which we find ourselves. The Home Two crew have acted commendably but with Vice Admiral Notrahw and the rest of the command crew confirmed dead, we cannot leave them as they are...."

Tienna nodded, telling him, "Of course, Sir. Any of the Home One bridge staff would willingly transfer..."

She looked round, "I can suggest some officers if you would permit?"

"Leave me your First Officer," Ackbar told her. "You may take any other officers you wish..."

Tienna nodded. Then she blinked, suddenly realising what he had said. She turned slowly, looking at him, beginning, "Admiral..."

He chuckled softly, holding out a data pad to her. "Your orders, Commodore Bieebeen," he directed, stressing the rank.

Tienna looked at him for a moment, then she allowed herself the smallest of smiles before reaching out, taking the data pad, saluting him, "As ordered, Admiral."

He nodded, admitting, "I do not envy you your position, Commodore. There is much work to be done on the Home Two and to lend assistance for too long will endanger both our ships..."

"I appreciate your confidence in me, Admiral," Tienna told him, pride and nervousness washing through her in waves. "I won't disappoint you..."

"I have every faith in that, Commodore," Ackbar harrumphed good-naturedly before continuing, "Your transport is waiting for you. I'm sending Major Anders with you. She'll give you another channel of liaison with me. Take any officers you would like for the moment. You will have until our ships part company to make your final decision on which officers wish transferred with you..."

Tienna smiled, nodding, acknowledging, "Thank you, Admiral." That, at least, would give her time to think and give proper consideration to her options.

"Now," Ackbar pushed, his voice tinged with mock impatience, "choose your officers and get off my bridge! I have a First Officer to promote to Captaincy!"

~*~

Xen Laruna hurried down the corridor towards the hangar, struggling with the bag of data pads slung over her shoulder, an Artoo unit trundling along happily in her wake, burbling to itself.

She shot it a sour look, commenting, "What have you got to whistle about, bucket brain?"

It blooped at her and she glared at it, turning her back and moving more quickly towards the hangar, muttering under her breath. She almost collided with Elhen Anders as the smaller woman turned into the corridor.

Startled, Laruna stepped back, the Artoo unit running into her. It mewled, beeping apology, backing away quickly to the other side of the corridor. Elhen reached out, steadying her.

Laruna smiled, "Major! Am I glad to see you! There's news about Maggs Ronnoc! They've found her alive..."

Anders blinked at her, a slow smile sweeping across her face. Then it vanished as she asked, "Is she injured?"

The Lieutenant-Commander nodded, "Yes, but she's in a stable condition. She was trapped in her office, under a beam, when the Command Deck was destroyed. Dr Bluesky won't confirm anything at the moment, other than that she's in a stable condition..."

"Thank the Fates..." Elhen murmured. It was the first piece of good news in an otherwise barren day. Then she frowned, reaching out, not quite touching Laruna's shoulder. "Have you spoken to your cousin?"

Laruna nodded, the light-hearted mood vanishing again, "I did... And advised her that Lainy Kal'Ten was grounded for the moment... She asked if I would let one of the Omega pilots know, though. She was brought aboard the Home One but should be transferring back to the Home Two on the same shuttle as us..."

Elhen nodded, deep in thought once again about the Morrit Pon'Ton situation. It occurred to her, suddenly, that Maggs would have no idea that her husband, Griss Tinnan, was dead. Sighing softly, Elhen closed her eyes.

"Major?" Laruna asked, wondering if the smaller woman had been working herself too hard.

Elhen heard the concern in the Lieutenant Commander's voice and opened her eyes, looking at her, assuring her, "I'm fine..."

She forced a smile, "You should get to the hangar... The shuttle is waiting for us... I just need to collect some papers from my office. Don't let them go without me..."

~*~

Mason Arnwald dropped into step beside Hobbie Gee-Em as they headed along the corridor back towards the hangar. "So," he asked softly, "What's Edraa like? Is she by-the book? Or will we be buggering off on some training mission that's really a cover for getting Hawkspar out of whatever gods-forsaken hole the Imperial twitchers are keeping her in?"

Hobbie glanced at him. "We'll be buggering," he told him. "If Xen's not already hatching a plan then Kal'Ten will be."

Arny nodded, satisfied with the answer. If Hawkspar was even half of what Arla had told him, then she was too good to lose to the Imperials. The thought of anyone being in Imperial hands gave him the willies. He'd heard enough things and seen enough things to know that Kaz Hawkspar would be in a whole universe of hurt right now...

Which brought him back to Hobbie... Arny looked at the taller pilot, asking quietly, "You okay, buddy?"

Tight lipped, Hobbie nodded. Of all the people he had served with here, on Hoth and before that, Arny was the only one who knew the truth about what had happened before he had joined the ranks of the Rebel Alliance.

Hobbie had never been sure about why he had confided in Arny, that night on Hoth when they had both gotten drunk together. Arny had somehow known that he needed to talk and Hobbie had, for the first time, trusted someone enough to tell them what had happened... Not every single detail, just the bare outline.

The scars across his back could have told the story for him, but no one saw those... The last person to see those had been the medic who had treated him when he'd been brought in, half dead, by the Rebel assault squad who had stormed the outpost where he'd been held, to rescue one of their own.

"I'm fine," he told Arny, not looking at him, knowing that Arny would see the lie in his eyes if he looked at him. "We'll go out, do our stuff, then come back and talk business..."

"What business?" Shei Redav asked, dropping into step with them.

"Saving Hawkspar's butt business," Arny told her.

"That," she told them, "may be more complicated than you think..."

"What do you mean?"

"Commander Hawkspar is on Coruscant..."

Arny did a double take, his mouth falling open, "Do what?"

"How do you know?" Hobbie asked, pushing down the nausea that swelled in his stomach.

"Because Lieutenant Redav had brains enough to ask the only person on the squadron who knows!" Xen Edraa supplied from behind them.

Arny winced, pulling a face and muttering, "Busted!"

Xen quirked an eyebrow then rounded on them. Voice dangerously calm, she warned, "You spread the word! You let every Omega pilot know that Commander Hawkspar's current situation is irrelevant! Our job is to protect the cruisers and the supply ships! So they'd better put every thought of Commander Hawkspar out of their heads and concentrate on the job at hand, because if they don't then they, and the people counting on them, are going to die! Clear?"

Shei knew that they wouldn't have to spread the word. Shei could see that every single pilot in the corridor had stopped and had heard Xen's orders. She nodded.

Beside her, Arny and Hobbie both acknowledged, "Clear..."

Xen turned on her heel, striding through the pilots, heading towards the hangar, leaving a subdued silence in her wake.

Arny looked at her retreating back, watching until she turned out of the corridor into the hangar. Then he grinned, looking from Hobbie to Shei, commenting, "Well... bugger me if that woman doesn't already have a plan!"

Pink swallowed, turning to look at him, "Coruscant...?"

"A rescue mission to the heart of the Empire?" Arla smiled slowly, "That would take a desperate if not suicidal plan..."

"Desperate and suicidal plans are something the Rebel Alliance excels at pulling off!" Jon Alpelor commented.

The heavy grief that had swamped Shei since the news of Kaz's capture was slowly beginning to dissipate. She looked around the gathered pilots. Most of them had no idea who Kazlyn Hawkspar was, or if they did it was by reputation only. Yet Shei could tell, from the thoughtful expressions and the little smirks, that they would all happily volunteer to go on whatever hare-brained plan Xen may or may not have come up with.

She stepped forward, reminding them, "You all heard Lieutenant Commander Edraa! These thoughts have no place here right now... We..." She trailed off, trying to remember the expression she had heard Hobbie use, looking at him for support.

He smiled, turning and walking down the corridor, calling back, "We go out! We do our stuff. And then we come back and talk business!"

~*~

The black-uniformed Major strode down the steps into the detention cells, a Lieutenant following in his wake. He stopped at the central console, holding out a datapad to the Captain stationed there, "Prisoner transfer!"

The Captain saluted, taking the pad, keying through it then turning to punch data into the screen at his desk. He frowned, double-checking, then looked up, telling the Major, "I'm sorry, Sir, but we don't appear to have received our copy of the orders."

The Major looked at him.

"I cannot release a prisoner without those orders, Sir," the Captain continued.

The Major drew himself up, fixing the Captain with a flat stare. "I do not believe you completely understand the situation, Captain," he began. "I have been tasked, personally, by the Lord Darth Vader to transfer this prisoner to the Executor! That you have failed to find the requisite orders within your system is neither my responsibility nor my concern!"

He smiled, coldly, "However, I am sure that the Lord Darth Vader would be only too pleased to confirm, in person, the orders he has issued."

The Captain swallowed, thinking quickly. The Lord Vader had been here earlier. He had paid a visit to the prisoner that this Major held transfer orders for, and had subsequently ordered the prisoner to be given medical attention.

Checking his data again, stalling for time, he told the Major, "The medical droid has not yet finished with her..."

"We," the Major told him, "will wait..."

The Captain nodded, sitting down and trawling through every file he could find, searching for the orders, hoping that they would turn up before the medical droid was finished and that he wouldn't have to act on his own initiative...

Drifting in the haze of semi-consciousness, the prisoner in question took a trembling breath, then another, floating slowly up towards awareness as the analgesic medication kicked in, taking the edge off the pain. Beyond terror, she simply existed; the enormity of everything that had happened crushing her ability to think, leaving her numb and unresponsive to anything but the pain.

After a time, something tugged at the edge of her awareness. Gentle and elusive, the sensation disappeared before she registered it. Then it returned, tugging at her again, insistent this time... like a memory of something important she had forgotten to do...

A voice, gentle and full of concern, floated to her through the darkness.

She listened, frowning slightly. She knew that voice... It was familiar...
She struggled to focus, to sort through the mire of memories, but the horror swamped her again and her mind recoiled, back towards the darkness.

"Kaz..."

The voice again... familiar, promising comfort and safety... She stopped her retreat, waiting

"Kaz..."

...Who...?

"Kazlyn..."

Was she Kazlyn? The term felt comfortable...

"Kazlyn?"

A name surfaced, connected to the voice. Lainy... Lainy Kal'Ten... An image flashed in her head, then another, of a tall woman, shoulder length hair framing a cheery face with a ready smile and an infectious laugh.

Other images flashed, up jostling for position, threatening to swamp her. Panicking, Kaz reached out, searching for the anchor that had dragged her out of the darkness. "Lainy..."

"Shh..." the voice reassured.

The panic eased to a disconcerted apprehension. The gentle touch in her mind coalesced into a tangible presence beside her. She dragged her eyes open, "Lainy..."

"Shh... Rest..." Lainy comforted, reaching out to brush the hair away from her face. "You need to save your strength..."

Movement behind Lainy drew Kaz's attention. The medical droid hummed softly as it pirouetted in mid air and moved towards the stairs. Dread swept through her, images of being marched down a corridor by two stormtroopers slamming into her memory.

She panicked again, "No..."

Lainy reached out, grasping Kaz's shoulders gently, bringing her attention away from the droid, assuring her, "Kaz, you need to be strong... We won't leave you... We'll come to find you. You just need to rest and be strong..."

"Lainy..." Don't leave me! Please! Don't leave me!

"We'll find you, Kaz... We'll get you out..."

Outside, at the console, the Captain breathed a silent sigh of relief as the elusive prisoner transfer orders finally appeared in his data-base, right beneath the blinking flag that informed him that the medical droid had completed its task and was leaving the cell.

He signed both sets of orders and, as the Major countersigned them, he heard the cell door open, the low hum of the medical droid fading as it retreated back to its niche. Handing over one set of the orders, the Captain supplied, "Your prisoner is in cell six three nine alpha... Third on the left."

The Major nodded, tucking the datapad back into his jacket as he strode past the Captain towards the cell.