Omega Sqadron Black Knights







Chapter 26

Flight Engineer Lori Enilra wandered through the hangar, checking on her crews as they worked to refit and repair the Omega Squadron X-wings. The mood in the hangar was sombre and reserved, devoid of the usual banter that lightened the stress that her engineers worked under after the Knights returned from a firefight.

Xen Edraa had informed her of Commander Hawkspar's arrest before she had left the hangar to inform the Omega pilots, but Lori had kept the information to herself until after the Knights had launched. Only then had she gathered her crews together and given them the bad news.

At least one crew, she knew, would be drinking themselves under the table once they finally got off shift.

She glanced across at Aryes Drayke, seeing only his legs, his upper body buried in the belly of an X-wing. Crossing the hangar, she sought out Andi Sedalbi, enquiring softly, "How's Ary doing?"

Andi shrugged, shaking his head, admitting, "I'm really not sure. You know what he's like, doesn't wear his heart on his sleeve. And we haven't really had much of a chance to talk..."

Lori nodded then offered, "I've got a bottle of Blue I've been saving..."

Andi smiled, touched by the Flight's offer. "Thanks... But it's okay," he assured her, "There's two bottles of Sullustin Glid wine that need to be opened..."

"Oh..." Lori commented slowly, remember the bottles of wine that she threatened Ary about when he had risked his butt saving them earlier. She smiled softly.

Andi watched the smile that slowly spread across the Flight's face. He tilted his head, quirking an eyebrow, asking quietly, "How are you doing? About the Commander, I mean..."

The smile faded and Lori sighed, admitting," I'm waiting for her to walk through that door and tell us it's all been a terrible mistake." She shook her head, quipping, "It's typical of the Commander, though... She still owes me for blowing her engines out on me!"

Andi smiled at her. Voice full of mock derision, he demanded, "And you expected a pilot to pay up?"

Then his attention was drawn to movement behind her. "Flight," he warned, "We've got a visitor..."

Lori turned, frowning in irritation as the unfamiliar woman walked straight across the hangar towards the nearest X-wing crew.

"Thanks, Andi," she offered, heading off to intercept the newcomer.

The woman was small, certainly smaller than Lori was, with dark skin; her red hair pulled back into long lengths of slender braids that hung past her shoulder. Lori watched as the woman got the attention of one of Redav's crew: who stiffened, threw the woman a salute and pointed in her own direction. Intrigued, Lori quickened her pace.

The woman turned, thanking the engineer before heading towards her. She smiled at Lori as she approached, asking, "Flight Enilra?"

Lori nodded, "That's me. What can I do for you?"

The woman held out her hand, introducing, "I'm Commodore Bieebenn."

Lori swallowed, all irritation disappearing as she recognised the name - the new Commanding Officer of the Home Two. She took the Commodore's hand shaking it, telling her, "Welcome aboard, Commodore."

Tienna smiled, "Thank you." Then she admitted, "I am afraid that this is a morale boosting exercise shamelessly disguised as a wander around my new command..."

Her expression grew serious and she continued, "The thoughts of the entire Rebel Alliance lie with the Home Two right now, Flight, especially with Omega Squadron." She paused, looking round the hangar, "Is there anything I can do? Anything you need? Or is making myself scarce and leaving you to get on with your job the only thing you need from me at the moment?"

"Thank you, Commodore," Lori told her, a smile pulling at her lips, "but everything is pretty much in hand now that the supply ships have arrived..."

Tienna nodded, "In that case I will get out of your way."

She paused for a moment then went on, "I believe that I operate along the same lines as Admiral Notrahw did. My door will always be open," she explained, "for any worries or requests you may have."

She quirked an eyebrow, admitting, "Of course, I may not always be there, but I will ensure that your concerns are passed on to me..."

"Thank you, Ma'am," Lori told her. "That's good to know."

Tienna nodded in acknowledgement, "Keep up the good work, Flight. And let your engineers know that my thoughts are with them, especially Commander Hawkspar's crew..."

~*~

For once, under Bluesky's gentle endorsement and considering their present circumstances, Ettei Soosaan had relented in the rigid policies by which she usually ran her medical section. Besides, neither she nor Bluesky had had the heart to turn away the Omega pilots who had, understandably, gravitated towards the med section when they'd been recalled from active duty. She and Bluesky had done some hasty rearranging and now the two injured Omega pilots had been placed in a private room, away from the main medical area.

The last time Ettei had checked on the injured pilots there had been at least another ten Omega pilots in there.

Dav sat on the bed behind Triona, her back resting against his chest, one of her hands tucked protectively in his as she breathed the Bacta spray that would completely heal her injured lungs. Arla, Pink and Poom-Bar were perched on the edge of the bed beside her. In the far corner Kirixchi had purloined another chair, Sha Aegis leaning on the wall at her side.

Chezz lay flat on his back on another bed, his torso encased in a brace, tubes running from the various pieces of medical equipment around him and disappearing under the sheet that covered him. He was having to concentrate hard on the conversation, the painkillers and anti-inflammatories leaving him feeling slightly detached from reality.

Arms crossed, chewing on an unlit cigar, Arny was propped against the wall beside the door, Hobbie beside him. Lainy Kal'Ten sat back, balancing her chair on the back two legs, her feet braced on the edge of Chezz's bed. Shei sat on the cupboard behind, Xen Emmar and Jon Alpelor standing either side of her.

"They definitely know she's on Coruscant?" Chezz asked, his head turned to the side to look at Lainy.

Lainy nodded, "Our guys managed to hack into the surveillance system of the main detention area beneath the Imperial Palace. I saw the footage. It's definitely her..."

She said nothing about Morrit. That was one of the few things the Major had asked her to keep quiet about.

"Was..." Arny began tentatively. "I mean... was she..."

Lainy knew what he was trying to ask. She refused to look at him, still uncomfortable with what had happened in the hangar earlier. She studied her hands instead, admitting, "She was moving under her own power... just..."

"So we need to go in to get her soon," Triona commented, voice muffled slightly by the respiration mask.

"Getting onto Coruscant let alone into the Imperial Palace is going to take some doing," Arla put in, frowning in thought.

"There..." Chezz began, hesitantly, "There's the Wild Thing..."

Lainy smiled at him, knowing just how much Chezz loved the Wild Thing and how big an offer that was from him. "We'd need a pilot," she reminded him, mocking gently, "And I bet a month's drinking money that you've rigged her in some way that you'll forget to tell us about and we'll all end up getting self destructed..."

"There's the Troubadour..." Poom-Bar suggested. "The Boss and Rishard Bess have worked together before... I'm sure he'd be willing to be part of the plan..."

"The Troubadour is bigger than the Wild Thing," Shei added. "No offence, Chezz..."

"None taken..."

"It ain't what you've got, mate," Arny quipped with a grin, stabbing the cigar towards Chezz, "it's what you do with it!"

There was a mild ripple of laughter that faded back into thoughtful silence.

"So if Bess agrees, then we've got a ride to Coruscant. Then what?" Sha Aegis asked. "There's going to be too much firepower and security for a smash and grab..."

The soft murmur of concurrence died into another long bout of silence, everyone sitting deep in thought. "Oh come on, guys," Kirixchi put in finally, "Skywalker and Solo's crew got the Princess Leia off of the Death Star! How hard can this be?"

"If we could get hold of uniforms," Shei suggested, "would Xen's cousin be able to forge us security clearances?"

"Maybe," Lainy ventured.

"Oh, Laruna's a dab hand when it comes to forgery," Emmar commented, not quite able to keep the edge out of her voice.

Arny and Dav glanced at her, but none of the other pilots appeared to have noticed. Emmar shrugged, dropping her attention towards the toe of her boot.

"Does this mean Lainy finally gets to live up to her delusions of grandeur and hold the rank of Major?" Chezz asked.

"Watch it with the wise cracks, buddy!" Lainy shot back, grinning and warning, "I'm within ripping out distance of your IV tubes!"

He grinned at her and she poked her tongue out at him.

"What sort of security clearance would we need to get into the detention cells," Arla asked. "And how many of us are we talking about actually going in to get the Boss out?"

"Three at the most," Dav suggested. "The rest ride shotgun... And if Xen's cousin can't get the security passes, I know a man who could help us... For a price," he went on as everyone looked at him, "but he owes me a favour."

"Okay, so if we get the passes sorted, who goes in?" Hobbie asked.

"Not you mate," Dav told him. "You're too tall for a stormtrooper and, no offence, but the Imperials love big blue guys about much as they love Wookiees... And," he went on, "not any of our lovely ladies here..."

"Now, wait a minute," Lainy began sitting up, dropping her feet on the floor.

"A female officer would draw attention," Dav told her flatly, "there not being many of them in Imperial ranks!"

"He has a point..." Hobbie commented softly.

Lainy glowered and crossed her arms grumpily, muttering under her breath but acknowledging Dav's logic. The last thing they needed was something bringing attention to the rescue party and them ending up in the detention cells beside Kaz.

"Leaving me, you, Sha and Jon..." Arny supplied. Then he grinned, "I always fancied being an Imperial Major..."

"I'm up for that," Sha volunteered.

"Me three," Jon added.

"Two Majors, two troopers?" Arny asked, looking at Dav.

Dav grinned at him, "Hell, yeah. I wouldn't miss this party for anything!"

"Perhaps," Triona cautioned, "something not just as high ranking would be better..."

"Won't they need the rank to get them past the security?" Arla asked.

"Janitors..." Pink announced, lost in thought.

Everyone turned to look at her. Suddenly aware that all attention was on her and suddenly bashful, she explained, "My uncle works in a munitions factory as a janitor... He has access to areas that many of the other workers don't..."

Chezz started chuckling, finding the thought incredibly funny, "What, you mean they grab a ladder and a sack of light bulbs and blag their way into the Palace?"

Dav and Arny exchanged looks, then a slow grin spread itself across Dav's face. "That's so ridiculous it might just work," he commented.

"You're not serious?" Lainy demanded.

"They must need to change light bulbs even in the detention cells," Arny countered.

"It does have a certain, twisted justice to it," Sha agreed.

"And janitors would have trolleys of some sort," Dav added. "We've got no idea what shape the Commander's is going to be. We may need to carry her out. We could take her out inside the trolley..."

"Three janitors and one rescue pilot," Triona suggested. "That way you can load her straight onto a waiting shuttle..." She had to stop and take another breath before continuing, "...and rendezvous with the Troubadour either at a port or off world..."

"And as we know she's injured, you'll need a medic on the shuttle," Poom-Bar added. "So I guess that means me tagging along," she grinned.

"Off world," Lainy decided, "We'll rendezvous with you off world, where the rest of us will be riding shotgun. Eight X-wings ought to even the odds..."

"Against how many Star Destroyers?" Xen Emmar asked, acidly, but either the others didn't hear her or they ignored her.

Arny grinned, pushing himself off the wall, "Well... if this Rishard Bess agrees to let us use his ship, it looks mighty like we've got ourselves a plan!"

~*~

Xen Edraa sat in the semi-darkness of Kazlyn Hawkspar's office. A single lamp pooled light on the desk, illuminating the data pads in front of her. She looked at them, knowing that she needed to be signing things, checking reports, but not having the heart to start on any of it.

She reached out, running her fingers along the edge of Kaz's desk.

Part of her desperately wanted to be getting drunk with Lainy... but another part of her was telling her that she didn't have the luxury of doing that any more. She was the Omega Squadron Commanding Officer...

No...

They would get Kaz out. They would put their heads together, they would think of something and the squadron would get Kaz out. There was no question of them not getting her out.

Xen closed her eyes, running her hands across her face, remembering the conversation she had interrupted in the corridor after she had told the Squadron about Kaz. Hobbie and the new guy: Mason was it? They had already been planning something...

The door chime rang and Xen pulled herself together, picking up a pad, wrapping the cloak of Commanding Officer around her and announcing, "Come in!"

The door opened and Xen looked up, surprised to see that it was the Rookie. Baz walked across the floor towards her, looking uncomfortable, refusing to look at her directly.

Xen frowned, putting the pad down, asking, "Baz? Is everything okay?"

He stopped in front of the desk, still refusing to look at her, then handed her a handwritten piece of paper. Xen took it, intrigued, asking, "What's this?"

"My resignation..."

Xen blinked, opening her mouth, closing it again, asking finally, "What?"

Still refusing to look at her, stuffing his hands deep into his pockets, he repeated, "My resignation... I need to leave... I..."

Xen put the letter down, asking, "You need to go home? We could arrange some sort of compassionate leave..."

Baz said nothing, keeping his attention firmly on the floor.

The last few days had been hard on everyone, emotionally and physically. Pryatt wasn't the worst firefight Xen had ever been in, but it was his first action... Dalhanyo and Thieer were dead; Triona and Chezz were banged up in sickbay; the rest of the Squadron were exhausted...

Xen stood up, walking round, telling him, "Look... It's been a hard few days. Why don't you take some time, think on this? We can talk again tomorrow."

He shook his head, backing away from her, still refusing to look at her. "No..."

Xen stopped, watching him retreat from her. Nothing she could do or say, she realised would persuade him to stay. He had already packed his bags and deserted them...

Cold, hard anger swept through her, followed by a wave of disgust. Fine! If that was the way he wanted it, she wouldn't stop him!

She stepped back, turning away, walking back round the desk, telling him flatly, "Resignation accepted. Stow your stuff and move out! Your bunk's needed. I'll inform the SAR and she'll arrange a new doss for you until you find passage off the Home Two..."

She turned, looking at him, her voice derisive, "I'm assuming that you don't want to stay aboard..."

He shook his head, turning away, heading towards the door. She let him go without a word, waiting until the door had closed behind him before sinking slowly into the seat.

Frustration and grief combined in a tight knot that wound itself round her throat, threatening to overwhelm her, tears pricking at the back of her eyes. She took a deep breath, pushing herself to her feet, crossing to the dispenser for a large mug of kaffin. She took a deep swallow of the hot liquid, feeling it ease her throat, but it didn't ease the dull ache that was spreading itself across the front of her head.

She walked slowly back to her desk, taking another swig of the kaffin, sitting down at the desk, picking up a pad.

Baz was gone... as were Thieer and Dalhanyo; Triona and Chezz were still grounded. So that left who?

Lainy, Shei, Hobbie...

The rest of the names refused to come... She couldn't even picture any of the faces...

Instead, all she could picture was Kaz, the last time she had seen her, wrists secured in binders as Anders' men took her away...

It didn't help though, did it Kaz? All those carefully laid plans came to nothing because you walked straight into a trap...

The pain in Xen's head tightened. She squeezed her eyes shut, taking a deep breath but she couldn't stop the tears that spilled down her cheeks. Crumbling, she dropped her head into her hands, giving into the tears and the grief...

Almost giving in to the grief...

Instinct told her that if she let go completely she would lose it, and she couldn't do that: not here in Kaz's office.

The tears eased the pain in her head, though. The tight band slowly disappeared as her sobs subsided; leaving her feeling exhausted but clear headed and in control of both herself and the situation once more.

The door chime called softly a second time before she heard it. She lifted her head, dashing away the tears with the back of her hand, calling, "Come... Come in..."

She didn't recognise the woman who walked through the door. She stood up, ordering, "Lights up!" walking round the desk as the illumination in the office reached a more sociable level.

Tienna Bieebenn walked toward her. The dark haired woman in front of her had obviously been crying, but under the circumstances Tienna wasn't particularly surprised. She chose not to comment or ask if she was all right, deciding on a business like approach, at least to begin with.

Holding out her hand, she asked, "Lieutenant Commander Edraa?"

"Yes," Xen confirmed, taking the offered hand.

"I am Commodore Bieebenn," the woman introduced. "The Home Two is my new command. I came to offer my regrets at your losses and ask if there was anything I could do."

Xen shook her hand, finding a smile, touched not only by the Commodore's obvious and genuine concern, but also by the fact that the Commodore had sought her out when there were more important issues that could have been taking her attention. Suddenly, Xen didn't feel quite so alone...

"Thank you," she told the Commodore. "Please, sit down. Can I get you anything? Kaffin?"

"Kaffin," Tienna told her, the longing evident in her voice, "would be very gratefully received... Strong and sweet!"

Xen's smile widened and she headed to the dispenser, ordering a large kaffin for the Commodore, bringing it back and handing it to her before heading round the desk and sitting down.

Tienna sipped the warm liquid, making a warm sound of satisfaction and grinning at Xen, "Excellent!"

Then she put the mug down, beginning, "I have spoken to Flight Enilra so I am aware of what's happening on the engineering side. What about the flying side?"

Xen took a deep breath, letting it out slowly, telling her, "We lost two pilots to the Imperials. I have two pilots in sickbay, one serious. Another pilot has just resigned... but we've gained six; three were based at Aryad and three arrived on a freighter just before we jumped. So all in all, we're not too bad..."

Tienna nodded then asked gently, "I realise that it may be a little soon to be discussing this, but do you wish to hold your own memorial service for the two pilots who were killed? Or would you and your pilots attend the service we are planning for Admiral Notrahw and the other bridge personnel who were killed?"

Xen looked at her. Thoughts of a memorial service for Thieer and Dalhanyo hadn't even crossed her mind. She nodded, telling the Commodore, "I think it would be appropriate if we all attended the same memorial service, Ma'am."

~*~

Bluesky stepping into the room as the door slid open at her approach. "I regret that I must ask you to leave," she told the assembled pilots.

"Doc..." Lainy began.

"Sincere regrets," Bluesky interrupted then went on, "I do understand your wish to stay but Pilot Officer Elyob and Lieutenant Traykar need rest to recuperate! So, please... Leave..."

Grumbling softly, the assembled pilots moved, one by one, filing past her out of the door. Chezz sighed softly as the room emptied of the other pilots. Closing his eyes he stopped fighting the medication, letting it take him down towards darkness. As he fell asleep, though, he found himself wondering how he could get himself out of sickbay and into the Wild Thing in time to help the others bail Kaz Hawkspar out of the trouble she'd gotten herself into.

Dav stood up, kissing Triona's hand and then her forehead, telling her, "We'll get this sorted. You rest and get well..."

She smiled at him through the mask, telling him, "I will..."

In truth she desperately wanted to speak to Dav alone, to tell him about her son, but events with Kaz had overtaken them. She was exhausted and the concealment of the little boy's existence was weighing heavily on her now that she had made the decision to tell Dav about him...

Would he think she had lied to him? Would he accept the boy? Would he walk out on her?

He saw the pain and apprehension in her eyes and kissed her forehead, assuring her, "We'll get Kaz out! If there's any way at all, we'll find it. I promise you!"

Triona nodded, fighting back tears as he smiled at her again then turned away. He shot Bluesky a grin as he walked past her, turning to give Triona a quick wave before disappearing after the others.

Triona turned onto her side, turning her back to Chezz, curling up beneath the light covers, crying herself silently to sleep.

From Maggs Ronnoc's bedside, Elhen Anders watched the gaggle of Omega pilots heading out through the med section towards the corridors. Elhen had a nose for trouble and right now instinct was telling her that the Omega pilots were plotting something... and she'd lay bets that that something was some stupidly courageous plan to rescue their Squadron Commander.

When Lainy Kal'Ten had asked earlier, Elhen hadn't denied that there would be an attempt to rescue Kazlyn Hawkspar from Coruscant. On the other hand, she considered ruefully, she hadn't confirmed it either...

Sighing softly, wondering how the hells she was going to be able to foil any attempt Omega might make, Elhen glanced at the now sleeping Maggs Ronnoc, then pushed herself to her feet and headed after the Omega pilots.

Out in the corridor, Lainy was telling the pilots, "All of you, go get some rest. We're due to fly again in another six hours. We'll drink to Thieer and Dalhanyo tomorrow. And hopefully we'll also be drinking a toast to the success of our little Coruscant adventure..."

Elhen watched surreptitiously from the sick bay door as the pilots dispersed, Lainy heading toward the hangar instead of towards the living quarters.

Coruscant adventure, eh?

Deep in thought, Elhen waited until they had all disappeared before walking out into the corridor and heading towards her new offices, deep in thought...

From the opposite end of the corridor, a droid trundled round the corner, rolling silently towards the medical section doors. It hesitated, checking left and right before rolling in and heading towards the room that had been allotted to the two, injured Omega pilots.

The door opened at its approach and it rolled in, stopping and looking at the beds. It moved slowly, sighing softly as it took in the medical equipment that surrounded Chezz Traykar's bed.

Backing up into a corner, trying to look as inconspicuous as possible, the little droid settled itself down to wait for Chezz to wake up.

~*~

Arny moved as quickly as he could without causing suspicion, heading after Shei Redav. Now probably wasn't the right time to be looking for answers, not when they were going to be flying early the next day, but he couldn't wait any longer. The whole incident in the hanger was bugging the life out of him, and when he needed answers more than he needed a drink, nothing short of blaster shot in the gut would stop him.

He dropped into step beside her. Shei glanced at him, her eyes changing colour from dark green to a bright, vivid blue.

"Need to talk to you," he told her quietly. "About what happened..."

"In the hangar," she finished for him, nodding resignedly, "I know..."

She looked at him, telling him, "I cannot explain everything you want to know, not now. That would take much time and we will both need rest before tomorrow..."

"No need to go into the fine print," he answered, "Just the quick summary will do... for now anyways..."

What she was about to do, by giving him the answers she knew he searched for, went against everything she had ever been taught about how to protect Tridactr from the horrors of the Past Time of which all knew but no-one spoke. Leaving Tridactr, however, had also gone against the teachings, and yet here she was.

When the call to arms had come, she had stepped forward believing, deep in her heart, that the Guiding Mentors sent their blessings to those who broke the age-old taboo and left Tridactr. If they did not have the Guiding Mentors' blessings then surely the news of the Rebel Alliance would never have arrived?

This man searched for answers. He had a gift that was causing him pain, a gift that he was trying to subdue with the use of alcohol... And Shei knew that she had some of the answers he searched for.

The Great Spirit would not have allowed his path to cross hers if she was not meant to answer those questions, but her fear of him, because of his gift, would not allow her to remain alone in his company.

"Perhaps some warm chokka, to aid our sleep," Shei suggested.

Confused, Arny realised that the other pilot was scared of him. He could sense her fear, but he could also sense her determination to tell him what he needed to know. He gave her what he hoped was a reassuring smile, telling her, "Sounds like a plan..."

Shei nodded and headed off in the direction of the nearest mess deck, Arny trailing in her wake.

He refused to speculate while he followed her, but the events of that afternoon kept replaying in his mind. He hadn't been able to see the woman's face clearly, but Lainy had recognised her. And he knew the inside of a detention cell when he saw it...

Then Xen had delivered the news about Hawkspar being arrested.

Kaz... Lainy had called the woman Kaz and Arny knew beyond a doubt that "Kaz" had been Hawkspar. So how the hells had Lainy known...?

He followed Shei into the canteen and across to one of the dispensers. The room was almost deserted, the few tired-looking personnel there obviously taking a quick break before heading back to work.

Arny took the chokka that Shei handed him, turning and walking over to sink into one of the nearby seats. Shei followed, sitting opposite him, sipping the chokka for a moment before taking a deep breath and telling him, quietly, "In another time, you and Lainy... You would have been Jedi..."

Arny blinked, looking at her for a long moment, and then he started laughing.

It wasn't quite the response that Shei had expected. She looked at him in confusion.

He made a valiant attempt to stop laughing, telling her, "Jedi? Jedi were all smoke and mirrors!"

She shook her head, contradicting, "They were much more than that..."

Still chuckling, he leant forward, "Look, love, I was ten years old when the Jedi Temple was attacked. I remember the vids of it! Okay, so my folks didn't fall for the whole "Jedi trying to kill Palpatine and take control of the Senate" deal, but if the Jedi had been all that powerful then they wouldn't have gotten wiped out!"

"That," Shei denied, her voice soft, calm and even, "is over two decades of propaganda talking!"

She watched him shake his head. Looking down into her mug, she began, "Have you ever seen any of my kind before?"

Arny frowned, the laughter fading, admitting, "No..."

Shei swallowed hard then went on, "That is because we have never before left our homes, not since... Not since..."

She stopped, switching track, beginning again, "My people cannot manipulate the Force as the Jedi can, but we are Force sensitive... Many centuries ago, a Jedi came to Tridactr. His mind was fractured by hate and grief. He subjugated my people. He visited unspeakable horrors upon them..."

Arny sat silently as she continued, "The Warrior clans rose up to protect the people. They failed... they died... The darkness that followed is called the Past Time. All know of it, but never speak of it..."

Suddenly, Arny realised how big a deal this was for Shei. He could understand, now, why she had been afraid of him, why she would never be fully comfortable now in his presence or in Lainy Kal'Ten's...

Not that he accepted what she'd said about him being a Jedi. It was ridiculous!

Softly, he denied, "Like I said, love, I remember sitting with my Dad watching the vids of the Jedi Temple burning! If I was Jedi, I'd have been there, on Coruscant, dying with the rest of them in the temple!"

She lifted her head, looking at him. "I am not Jedi," she told him. "I cannot answer that question. But you do have the ability. You and Lainy both... What you saw in the hangar, it is called a possible future."

"You know what we saw?"

Shei shook her head, her eyes changing colour as she supplied, "I sensed only the pain... The pain you felt... perhaps," she tried, "because you have had your gift longer than Lainy."

The pain...

Arny closed his eyes, images rushing back in. The pain and exhaustion... A woman alone in the darkness of a detention cell, so close to breaking point that it terrified him... Kaz...

"Commander Hawkspar was apprehended and detained by Imperial personnel..."

"...it was a possible future..."

Arny rubbed his hand over his face, muttering, "I need a drink."

"It will only dull the gift, not rid you of it..."

Arny shot her a look that said, Don't lecture me! Then he sighed, leaning back in the chair. "So," he asked, "how do I stop it?"

Shei shook her head, "I do not know..."

And if the Jedi are all dead like the propaganda says, then I'll never know, he thought sourly.

He sighed again, shaking his head, looking at her, telling her, "Thanks, Shei..."

"I am sorry that I cannot do more to help..."

He laughed, wryly, "You've helped me more than anyone else has so far. At least I know what's going on in my head now... sort of..."

He pushed himself to his feet, "Guess we'd better get some sleep..."

~*~

Elhen Anders stopped just inside the door, smiling slightly. Xen Laruna was asleep at the desk, her head resting on crooked arms. Elhen walked across to her, shaking her gently awake.

Laruna muttered something, shrugging Elhen off.

"Lieutenant Commander?" Elhen called softly, suppressing a smile.

Laruna sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes with the heel of her hands, muttering, "I'm up! I'm up!"

She blinked, glancing at Elhen. Then her eyes went wide and she snapped fully awake, apologising, "Major! I... Sorry... I..."

"No need to apologise," Elhen smiled. "Go and get some proper sleep..."

"No, there's something I need to show you," Laruna told her, searching the desk. "I managed to get some more data from the same detention cell surveillance unit that we saw Commander Hawkspar on... I haven't yet been able to confirm that the Commander was returned to the same cell, but if she was..."

Laruna found the pad, and activated it. Elhen watched the footage, frowning as the cloaked figure of the Lord Darth Vader walked away from the camera, and turned into the cell where Hawkspar had been held.

"I was trying to confirm..." Laruna apologised. "I just closed my eyes for a second..."

Elhen rested a hand on Xen's shoulder, telling her, "You won't be any good to me without sleep, Lieutenant Commander. Have a look at whatever you've managed to find so far then get your head down. Be back here by oh six hundred. That's an order!"

Laruna nodded, "Yes, Ma'am..."
Continued in Chapter 23