Talon Squad - Chapter 3 The Saga Continues

The Eagle rose from it's perch, carrying all of Talon Squad. General Kevin Ski didn't bother to do a head count. If someone was left behind, let it be.

The insertion of the main team would only take a few minutes. The snipers would move alone, taking up positions on nearby buildings.

The Eagle flew towards the main complex, a building merely one third the size of the Imperial Palace. Kevin ran up to the cockpit and pointed to an outcropping on the side. "That's where we want to go," he told Kaiba. She nodded and steered the craft towards the building.

The insertion was flawless. The only gear Kevin carried was his single laser rifle, energy packs, two Class 2 thermal detonators, a small blaster pistol, and his lightsaber. He led the team to an entrance. He looked around and counted heads. Yes, everybody was there. The snipers were moving out, the Eagle was flying away.

Wait. Not everybody was here. Where was Quis? The mission was doomed without his trusted technology expert. No turning back now,though, he thought.

He pulled up his commlink. "Talon Lead to Eye in the Sky One. We may have forgotten a bird. Fly home and pick up the chick." This kind of comm talk was necessary to prevent the enemy from understanding his orders. It wasn't exactly necessary, because the channel was shielded and encrypted, but it made Kevin feel better.

"Eye in the Sky One, here. Roger that, Talon Lead." That was Ty-gon. He was helping Kaiba pilot the lumbering craft.

Kevin saw the big ship veer away from it's combat pattern and head home. Then all of the sudden laser fire strafed the area.

"Take cover. Suppression fire now!" He rolled behind a crate and took cover with Captain Kit. All over the landing pad, Talon Squad scrambled and started to lay suppression fire. The enemy snipers were good, targeting each member with pinpoint accuracy.

His squad was better though, especially with the invisibility devices Q had come up with. The squad could safely use an arm to fire and aim with. The enemy would never see it.

He picked up his comm and switched frequencies. This had better work. he thought. "Talon Lead to God One and Two. Are you in position to receive instructions, over?"

Jaren answered for both he and Telia. "Yes, sir. God One standing by."

Telia pitched in, "God Two standing by."

"Good. We have company at coordinate 203.7 and 33 meters. See what you can do."

"No, problem boss," they answered in unison.

In less that two seconds, sniper fire from Telia and Jaren strafed the enemy position. He heard the screams from the mercenaries as they were fried by the laser bolts fired by Jaren and Telia.

"God One to Talon Lead. Target is destroyed. Feel free to move on, boss."

"Roger that God. Good work. Talon Lead, out."

And with that, Talon Lead motioned his squad to move out.

[This message has been edited by Talon Squad Leader (edited 02-28-2000).]

 

Trika had been assigned with Captain Kit' to scout out the area. So far, the area was clear. The snipers had taken care of the few guards that were standing by the doors. What was a heavily guarded building was now vacant.
Or so it seems...
Kit' looked calm as she studied the structures and any hidden tricks that weren't clearly visible. "See anything, Trika?"
"Nothing catches my eye."
Kit' made a quick call to General Ski.
"Nothing there, you sure?"
"Nothing visible to the eye, sir. The outside is clear."
"What about the inside?" Ski asked.
"That's another story, sir. I see the two Senators, but they seem unharmed."
Ski raised an eyebrow. "What are they doing?"
Kit' shrugged. "They're just standing there, sir.
Trika interrupted. "Let me see those binoculars."
Trika zoomed in several times before focusing inside the window. "Oh my gosh..."
"What is it?" Kit' asked.
"They're not standing there...they're hanging there...Detos and Nesti are dead..."
******************************
Ok, I'm in one of those really weird moods, so if you didn't want me to change the way they were going to die, I'm sorry...

 

<<I like it, Trika. Good plot.>>

 

<<Cool, true, but it will just give me another reason to kill you. >>

"Interesting," Mulder admitted. "What a unique way of killing two Senators, Scynof."
Scynof was smiling. "Why thank you, sir."
"Everything's in place, correct?"
"Yes, my Lord."
"What of our friends on ground?"
"The squadron's snipers hit them first. Half are dead."
Mulder cocked an eyebrow. "Only half?"
"Yes, sir."
"Make sure they're ready. I smell rebel blood in the future."

 

I'm bringing this to the top, since I don't want to post for Talon Squadron twice in a row...

 

Uh oh. Quis got left behind? She was there at the briefing with everyone. I guess I'll make something up, though we'll have to backtrack a little.

Talon Squad were gathered around General Ski as he delivered a brief rundown of the situation and mission. Something regarding Senators and an insert & retrieve mission. Quis stood at the back as the General raced through the outline, the rest would be confirmed en route.

She reached up to feel the breast pocket of her suit. It was empty.

Blast! Quis silently cursed herself. She tapped Kendrick on the arm.

"I've forgotten something, I have to go back for it."

"Don't you think it's a little late for that?"

"I can't go out on a mission without it," Quis said, her voice full of urgency. "Stall the launch. I'll be back in a minute."

She spun around and bolted from the hangar back toward the living area.

"...that is the current situation," the General concluded. "All squad members please get on board and strap yourselves in, we're moving out."

The squad moved hastilly up the ramp. Kendrick tried to talk to the commander.

"Sir..."

"Not now, Nine. We're on a tight schedule get on board."

"But, Sir. Quis isn't here..." Kendrick's voice was lost as the commander yelled at the hangar crew to disengage the restraints that held the ship securely down, then proceded to argue with them about how much fuel had been loaded onto the ship. Stone shoved Kendrick up the ramp and into the Eagle. He couldn't possibly hope to withstand the corpsman's brute strength and was pushed aboard the ship still trying to get the commander's attention.

Meanwhile Quis had arrived back at her room and frantically searched for her lost valuable. She found it amongst a pile of clothing in the corner. It was something her father had made especially for her; a small covert modem, no bigger than a credit chip. She'd played spy games with it as a child, pulling valuable 'secret plans' from her father's databases. It had become her good luck charm, and she never went anywhere without it. Sticking the tiny device in her pocket she raced back toward the hangar just in time to see the Eagle roaring into the sky. For the second time in as many minutes she cursed herself.

You certainly have a way of getting yourself into trouble Quis Heartilly...

She sat down against the hangar bay wall beside some empty crates as the ship steaked into the sky. She'd let her friends down. Quis hung her head and put her faith in the Force, hoping it would guide them safely.

Half an hour later the Eagle reappeared in the hangar bay, piloted by Ty-Gon and Kaiba. "Quis," came Kaiba's voice over the ship's loud speaker. "Get your cute butt in here, your squad needs you!"

Quis was already heading up the ramp as Kaiba finished the sentence.

[This message has been edited by Laguna (edited 02-29-2000).]

 

The rebels were taking longer than usual to get in the building. (Hint, hint, let's post, people.) Were they suspcious? Were they being extra cautious? Were they being bogged down with extra calculus homework? These were the questions he could not answer.
"The rebels have spotted us, sir."
"Us, or the Senators?"
"The Senators, my Lord."
Mulder looked at Scynof. "Creative idea, but not enough gore. Shoot them in the head."
Scynof snapped his fingers and immediately two stormtroopers went to carry on the task.
Mulder cocked an eyebrow as he stared out the window. "Bring Obi-Wan Jinn here. I want to see if his brother can feel pain as well as Jedi are supposed to."

[This message has been edited by Darth Agent Mulder (edited 02-29-2000).]

 

"So then I said to Higgs that he couldn?t keep down a shot of Rylothian Fire-Brew if his life depended on it. And do you know what that sucker did? Went and chugged the whole bottle, just like that!?

?How?s he now??

?Meds say he might start talking in another week. Therapy?s goin? pretty slow, you know.?

A pair of sentries patrolled the long corridors of the Senate building. Blaster rifles leaning on their shoulders, half-forgotten, they talked continuously as they went about their patrol route. Neither of the guards seemed to realize just how far their voices were carrying. Nor did they notice the man-shaped shadow gliding along silently in their wake.

One of the mercenaries scratched at his chest, pulling at the fabric of his gray tunic. ?Damn uniform,? he said. ?Why do they make us wear these anyway? Not like we work for ?em all the time.?

His companion rolled his eyes. ?As long as I get paid??

He never got to finish his sentence. He and his partner whirled as they heard the distinct sound of a blaster-safety clicking off, rifles in their hands. They didn?t get a chance to snap off a single shot before a barrage of blue stun rings mowed them both down.

Even as the mercenaries fell to the floor, their assailant was already crouching next to them, relieving them of their weapons and tucking them into his own belt. Scanning the surrounding corridor for any unwanted witnesses, the third man hefted the sentries? senseless bodies and toted them into a nearby utility closet.

A few moments later, he reemerged, zipping up the front of a newly acquired gray tunic. Kendrick Quinn checked his reflection in a nearby mirror and contorted his features into an appropriately mercenary-like sneer. Propping his blaster rifle up against his shoulder, he meandered casually back from where he?d come.

As he walked, Ken grimaced. The guards had been right about one thing.

Their uniforms were indeed uncomfortable.

 

The squad was hiding out in an alcove when Lt. Ken came back. He was wearing an enemy troop uniform. He did a little dance as he walked towards them.

"Whaddya think, Commander?"

"I think your crazy. But brave. Good work." Talon Leader heard his comm beep a silent buzz. He picked it up. Captain Kit was on the other end.

"Lead?"

"Lead here, Scout One. Go ahead."

"Lead, the Senators are dead."

"What? Who? Where?"

"Level 34, Block C."

"Okay, Scout One. Abort mission. Report back here ASAP." Then out of the midst of his talking, several stormtrooper legions came out of the hallways and started shooting. Kevin took cover and began shouting orders.

"Take cover! Suppression fire now! Get those crates over here for cover." Blaster bolts contintinued to fire over his head and he shouted. He picked up his comm and connected to Captain Kit.

"Get here NOW! It's an ambush. A trap." He switched frequencies. "Talon Lead to God. Do you guys have a good shot from where you are? We need cover, NOW!"

Jaren spoke. "God One here. Sorry Lead, no clear shots. You are too far inside the building."

"Thanks God." He switched channels again. The blaster bolts continued to whiz by. He was nicked in the arm by one, but it was not fatal. He spoke once more.

"Talon Lead to Eye in the Sky One. We need support. Call out for support. And get your butts here as soon as we can. We are under fire and I don't know how long we ca-" His commlink was hit by a laser bold. The comm was utterly destroyed. That made him mad.

He handed his prized laser rifle to Lt. Kenobi and plucked his lightsaber from his belt. He ignited it and stood up.

---------

<<On board the Eagle, a.k.a. Eye in the Sky>>

Kaiba had heard General Ski's orders. He sounded like he was in danger. A blaster must have fried the circuitry because his voice had cut out. She was worried. Was he okay?

Jinn was currently relaying his orders via comm to HQ. Quis was sitting behind Jinn, polishing her blaster and getting ready for battle. She was piloting the craft towards the target building at full throttle. He tried General Ski's frequency again. She got only static. She udjusted the modulator a tad. It worked! She could here the sounds of the battle as it ensued. She tried talking, but all in vain. The comm wasn't totally destroyed. She could hear, but she couldn't talk. The battle was still raging as she heard a very prominant sound over the speaker. The sound of a lightsaber igniting.
She worried about General Ski even more. The lightsaber could have been his, but it also could be one the Sith's. How could she know?

 

" Don't worry, Quis," Kaiba said and put a comforting hand on her shoulder, reading her thoughts. " It's his lightsaber."
" You're a Jedi, too?" Quis asked. Kaiba nodded-
" Almost- my Master taught me before I joined the squad, and I shall return to him later, when all the battles have been fought."
" You're not going to be seeing him for a long time, then." Quis said. Kaiba smiled. Just then, a loud sound filled the ship. An irritating alarm went off- a mob of TIE fighters circled through the sky- but they just passed by them, without shooting.
" What are they doing?" Quis asked.
" Probably," began Ty-Gon, " They're trying to trick us. They'll fly behind us, stay out of reach of our scanners for a while, then zoom to us, shooting." Ty-Gon set all sheilds for rear.
" Why don't I go in the X-Wing packed in the compartments?" Kaiba suggested.
" Be careful, Kaiba. And May the Force be with you." Ty-Gon said.

************

Kaiba powered up, turned shields on, and prepared heself mentally by concentraiting. She didn't get to do that for long. Luckily, Quis had let her borrow one of her dissapearing models, she forgot what they were called. Her X-Wing was unseen.

Kaiba shot, they fired back at the invisible source of the shot. This process went on for a little while, until a TIE came closer to her and shot absently at the air. The X-Wing tumbled.
When it finally landed, nothing was damaged, Kaiba was fine. The Eye in the Sky was still in the sky, undamaged, too. She thought of a plan.

How 'bout this-

I try to contact Eye in the Sky and Commander Ski, asking them for help. If all else fails, I'll go to plan B- go looking myself. Kaiba took out her comm. General Ski wasn't there- apparently, Eye in the Sky's comms were partically damaged, too. Uh-oh. She walked up to the court yard and saw a bunch of stormtroopers gaurding the area. She hoped they were weak-minded, if she'd ever be able to get in the building. You couldn't get very far in neon-orange without someone noticing you.
She set her blaster for stun and pointed it at the various troopers.
BLAST!
BLAST!
BLAST!
BLAST!
She took 'em down. Her choice of uniform was that of a man's about her age. The uniform was very stiff- but putting on an uncomfortable clothes was worth it for her friends.
She snuck down the halls to a shooting masacre <sp?>. Her friends, and enemys, were in the group, a lightsaber flashing in- was it- yes, it was! Commander Ski!
She ran toward him and her squadmates- they were suspicious at first, but when she snuck her helmet off behind a wall, they recognized her. She started shooting- they didn't ask her why she wasen't at her post.

Suddenly, a bunch of shots went at the commander- one hit him. She helped him to the corner. It would be okay- but Kaiba was to devistated to realize it.

"Commander Ski," she said, " You have to be okay!" she paused a moment.

" I love you."

 

Lieutenant Mara Jade saw the shot hit Commander Ski. Horror bubbled inside her as her feelings for him surfaced once again. No! Please let him be all right... She turned to run to his side- and fell in agony as a blaster bolt struck her shoulder.

Almost immediately, a second shot got her in the stomach. It was a wonder it didn't kill her, but he fiery pain was enough to bring tears to Mara's eyes anyway.

Somehow, the young hacker managed to drag herself out of the line of fire, but not before being hit a third time, this time in the thigh. With the pain of her other injuries, she barely noticed it.

With the last of her strength, she dove for cover, taking refuge behind a large metal crate. She lay with her back against its cold surface, panting to restore oxygen to her painwracked lungs. After a moment, she reached out to the Force in an attempt to stifle the agonizing pain in her belly. It was futile; she lacked the training and the concentration for such a task.

She coughed violently and tasted blood on her lips. For a second, the world seemed to spin slightly. One thing was for certain: she wasn't going to be able to move from that spot without assistance. Even the thought of moving was enough to make her nauseous.

Mara fumbled for her commlink, thumbed it on. "This is Lieutenant Jade," she said through clenched teeth. "If anyone can hear me, I'm injured and I need help. I repeat, this is Mara, I'm hurt and I need help." She closed her eyes again. "Please... help me." The last three words were lost as she broke into another fit of coughing up blood. Somehow, she didn't think that this was a good sign...

But she didn't have much time to dwell on the subject, because the world suddenly blurred and faded into black. With one last gasp of pain, Mara Jade passed out.

 

<<Does anyone know where I am? Cos I don't I'm just gonna grab a bulldozer and chug over to everyone else. Hope I don't step on any toes!!>>

Kit' swore She had seen Mara go down. Two down so far, the general and now the hacker. Not good, well, Kaliba was with the general and Mara seemed to be badly hurt, she made eye contact with the rest of the squad. For her life as well as the rest she hope it read Stay together, what ever happens next forget about it. Kithera bunched herself ready to spring she glanced to herside to make sure that Mara was still there. She didn't want to miss, she gathered herself into a spring. Rini would love to see this, take him back to old times. The next second Kit' screamed, the sound tore from her lips and the for a slight second the mercanaries stopped in there attack, her team didn't though.
Must be use to my rants by now she thought, but in reality she didn't have time to think. Kit ran and eventually slid to where Mara was. Her legs hurt but she was too busy worrying about the hacker. Blood was bubbling from her lips and she was unconcious. Kit peeled away the girls hands and felt like being sick, it was a blaster shot to the stomach. The only thing Kit could do was use her5 little healing knowledge to keep her stable and get her out to Rinin.
She picked up her comm unit.
"Hey, I can't be stuffed using code names anymore. They know your out there people. Healerboy I need you to get your butt down here. NOW" Kit made the final word a yell.
"how do you think you'd manage that?" someone on the ground quieried "you've got more Imps then lives Kitten."
That name was only one Rinin knew and she would kill him if had spread it around.
Kithera just pointed up, leapt and knocked the grate off, she uncerimoniously hoisted the hacker onto the top of one of the crates that still offered good protection and then climbed into the air-vents. She hauled the body the rest of the way before she was safely in.
Remember last time you were in here? her mind told her and Kit shrugged it off, and began to drag the unconious girl down the corridor towards where she hoped the ship would be.

***
<< sorry if I trampled on toes I shall delete if one asks>>

 

Quis engaged her personal stealth device as the Eagle hovered a meter above the landing platform. She called up to the cockpit where Ty-Gon sat at the controls.

"Cover me when I disembark. I'll be back here with the squad in five minutes."

Quis flicked a switch on her chrono and it began to count down from five. She leapt down from the Eagle drawing her blaster and falling to a crouch. She ran across the platform and into the building.

Quis knew the squad was in trouble. When she arrived at the area they were barricaded, her fears were realised. The situation was worse than she had imagined. The commander was injured and Mara seriously wounded. The squad were unable to fire back and the enemy was steadilly advancing down the corridor. Scores of stormtroopers, their blasters deafening. Talon squad were looking down the barrel at defeat once more and Quis didn't like it. When she'd signed on for intelligence she'd expected skulking around in the shadows, not facing an army of stormtroopers.

"Seven to God. Jaren, Telia, we need to make an emergency witdrawl. You'll have to cover our escape back to the landing platform."

"Roger. Don't worry Talons, we've got your back."

"Understood."

Quis reached deep within herself to pull a cry louder than she thought she could ever have managed.

"FALL BACK!"

It was as she prepared to withdraw that Quis noticed the echoing clash of lightsabres. Looking back down the corridor, Quis saw Ty-Gon Jinn. Her momentary relief was destroyed when she noticed the sinister dark-robed figure approaching him. The evil Sith Lord Mulder engaged Ty-Gon once more with his lightsabre.

Great. As if we didn't have enough troubles. Jaren and Telia, where are you? We need help down here!

[This message has been edited by Laguna (edited 03-01-2000).]

 

Kaiba watched sabers clash as she stood with her fellow squadmates- she had changed out of the stormtrooper gear, out of the flightsuit, and now wore a light-fabrib white jumpsuit- yet, she felt hot, her stomach twisted.

It's probably because of Commander Ski- that blast hit him pretty hard, she told herself.

You said you loved him- you really, truely do- then as a friend, now you are in love with him!

But this is no time to be showing it!

She sat down at the table- the food about to be served was probably baked with a truth serum- she wouldn't eat it, although it looked tempting.

This meeting is not about food, Kaiba! It's about a Sith Lord trying to destroy your friends!

She decided just to sit back and watch- she had her sabre if needed. So she swept back her brown-gold braid out of her face, and watched.

You think the Commander will sa he loves you? I'm not sure. Now, I'm worried about Mulder....

Whats his next plan?

 

Darkness swam before Mara's eyes, then lifted as the hacker managed to open her eyes slightly. She groaned in pain, then coughed up more blood and choked on it. She tasted it in her mouth, felt it running down her chin. Mara shivered convulsively. Never in her life had she been this scared of dying.

I don't want to die. Please... don't let me die.

She was too dizzy with fear and pain to discern where she was or what was going on, but the small part of her mind that could still function could feel through the Force that something was terribly wrong. She tried to reach out and find the source of the problem, but it was too much for her. With another soft groan, Mara lost consciousness again.

 

Jaren crawled forward and eased the small mirror around the corner. All clear. He motioned Telia forward and then followed her around the corner, sniper rifle held at the ready.

The two snipers were inside the building, looking for their squad. So far they had evaded detection and were on their way to the last known location of their friends.

Jaren mirrored another corner and saw two guards posted at a large door. He crawled back and whispered to Telia. "Two guards. We'll have to find another way around."

Telia looked thoughtful for a moment. "What about the air vents?"

Jaren nodded. "Lets go."

 

All Kevin could remember was saying, "I love you," to Kaiba. That's all. He knew he was unconscious, which was strange. An "in" body experience,he thought. He could see all around him. Kaiba was yelling orders. Mara was hurt. Ken was screaming on the top of his lungs.

Kevin look up again and closed his eyes. He fell into a deep sleep. He dreamt he was flying, way above the clouds and stars. A place with no limits this was. A place created by the Force itself...

[This message has been edited by Talon Squad Leader (edited 03-01-2000).]

 

Mulder had to control himself so he wouldn't laugh out loud. His plan was going well. Really well.

Ty-gon Jinn was a worthy opponent, but it was not difficult to find a point to exploit. His attacks were so systematic and patterned.

Darth Agent "Spooky" Mulder executed a perfect arc swing, faking to the left and coming down hard on the right. At the exact moment of his "defense", Mulder Force-pushed the Jedi and struck him with Force-lightening.

A whole squad of stormtroopers had positioned themselves around the Talons. The rebels were his.

"Scynof," Mulder spoke into his comlink, "get the Sixth Extinction here. I've got some rebel prisoners."

"Yes, my Lord."

Mulder looked at the pitiful rebel scum cower over their wounded. He couldn't control laughing this time.

"Lead?"

One of the stormtroopers walked over and saluted the Sith Lord. "Yes, sir?"

"Take the wounded to the A-block cells. Make sure they're healthy enough for interrogation. Take Ty-gon Jinn to B-block, Trika Kenobi to C-block, and move their leader to D-block."

"What about the rest of the squadron, my Lord?"

Mulder merely chuckled. "Kill them."

 

Kaiba felt that the Commander was deep within the world of the Force- a dream, so peaceful. But she had to wake him.
" Commander Ski- Darth Mulder." She pointed. He then spoke,
" Mulder, what do you want now?"
" Oh, your squad, thats all. Your pathetic intellegence is nothing compared to the Dark Side!" Mulder took him by the arm.
" Where are you taking me?" Kevin said and ignited his sabre. He swung at Mulder, but with all the Dark Lord's power he pushed him back, extinguishing the blade. A bunch of Stormtroopers came in and took him into the dungeon.
" Nooooo!" Kaiba yelled.
" Ahh, now, to deal with the rest of you." he walked over to Trika. Kaiba ignited her yellow-green sabre and pointed it at Mulder.
She swung at him, he swung at her. She blocked, he blocked. This process went on until Kaiba used the last of her Jedi strength to cut into his stomach.
" OWWW!" Mulder yelled. " Put her in the cell with the Leader. Now!" Kaiba was dragged to the cell.

*************

She looked at him, lying there, asleep. She took his hand- and he woke up.
" Kaiba-" he began.
" Yes, I know," she finished, " I came on a little strong. But the truth is- I love you."
The Commander stared a minute, then...........

 

Kaiba felt that the Commander was deep within the world of the Force- a dream, so peaceful. But she had to wake him.
" Commander Ski- Darth Mulder." She pointed. He then spoke,
" Mulder, what do you want now?"
" Oh, your squad, thats all. Your pathetic intellegence is nothing compared to the Dark Side!" Mulder took him by the arm.
" Where are you taking me?" Kevin said and ignited his sabre. He swung at Mulder, but with all the Dark Lord's power he pushed him back, extinguishing the blade. A bunch of Stormtroopers came in and took him into the dungeon.
" Nooooo!" Kaiba yelled.
" Ahh, now, to deal with the rest of you." he walked over to Trika. Kaiba ignited her yellow-green sabre and pointed it at Mulder.
She swung at him, he swung at her. She blocked, he blocked. This process went on until Kaiba used the last of her Jedi strength to cut into his stomach.
" OWWW!" Mulder yelled. " Put her in the cell with the Leader. Now!" Kaiba was dragged to the cell.

*************

She looked at him, lying there, asleep. She took his hand- and he woke up.
" Kaiba-" he began.
" Yes, I know," she finished, " I came on a little strong. But the truth is- I love you."
The Commander stared a minute, then...........

 

Kaiba felt that the Commander was deep within the world of the Force- a dream, so peaceful. But she had to wake him.
" Commander Ski- Darth Mulder." She pointed. He then spoke,
" Mulder, what do you want now?"
" Oh, your squad, thats all. Your pathetic intellegence is nothing compared to the Dark Side!" Mulder took him by the arm.
" Where are you taking me?" Kevin said and ignited his sabre. He swung at Mulder, but with all the Dark Lord's power he pushed him back, extinguishing the blade. A bunch of Stormtroopers came in and took him into the dungeon.
" Nooooo!" Kaiba yelled.
" Ahh, now, to deal with the rest of you." he walked over to Trika. Kaiba ignited her yellow-green sabre and pointed it at Mulder.
She swung at him, he swung at her. She blocked, he blocked. This process went on until Kaiba used the last of her Jedi strength to cut into his stomach.
" OWWW!" Mulder yelled. " Put her in the cell with the Leader. Now!" Kaiba was dragged to the cell.

*************

She looked at him, lying there, asleep. She took his hand- and he woke up.
" Kaiba-" he began.
" Yes, I know," she finished, " I came on a little strong. But the truth is- I love you."
The Commander stared a minute, then...........

 

Ty-gon parried another blow from the Sith lord, then looked over to see Mara and General Ski on the ground, being treated by Rinin.
He looked back at Mulder, and tried to bring the saber down on him.
But Mulder parried, and for several seconds, they just stared at each other through crossed sabers.
Suddenly, Jinn felt faint. He had to sit down. He took a final blow at Mulder, sending him staggering. Jinn doubled over, gasping for breat.
Something was wrong, he couldn't figure out what.
Mulder didn't attack. Instead, he only smiled.
All the other Talons had a look of horror on their faces.
Jinn looked in the direction they were staring, to see a young boy, 15 or 16, in a chair, about a hundred thermal detonators strapped to him. Scynof had a gun to his head.
Scynof tossed the controller back to Mulder, and said, "You dropped this back there."
Jinn only stared. It was Obi-wan, his brother.
He deactivated his saber, clipped it to his belt, and moved back with the other Talons.

Mara Jade began to come to. She looked around. She saw Rinin, and all the other Talons around them. Ty-gon Jinn was walking toward them. General Ski was still injured.
Suddenly, she saw someone. A person who held a gun. She knew it was the person who shot her. Her blaster went up, the person went down, and Mara went out cold.
All the other Talons whirled around to see Jane Jinn go down for the fourth time- for the third time at the hands of Lt. Jade.
Ty-gon Jinn began to remember something.
He and Mekial were in the New Republic Flight Academy. He had been friends with Jane Jinn for some time.
Recently, though, she had fallen in with a bad crowd.
Now, he was reading the day's news. There was one story on how "CLONES ANIMATED BY THE FORCE, ABLE TO ACT ON THE WILL OF DEAD JEDI". Under that was a small article on a body found on campus- that of Jane Jinn.
That was it. She had been dead at least 5 years- she was animating clones and Human Replica Droids from the Dark Side.
A blaster shot interrupted his thoughts, and all the Talons whirled around, to see Scynof's smoking gun next to Obi-wan Jinn's head.

 

General Ski...

Mara's eyelids flickered, but she didn't open them. All she wanted was for this to be a bad dream, a nightmare, and to wake up and find everyone alive and well. But that was a silly, childish wish. She knew this was real; the pain in her stomach was enough to tell her that. And she knew that in this reality, things were not well. They were far, far from well...

Her bloodstained lips twitched, but no sound came out. General Ski... Kevin...

She began to cough again, and once more she tasted blood. There was less this time around, but the feel of it on her tongue was enough to make her sick to her stomach. She felt like throwing up, but she was afraid that if she did, she'd choke. Besides, it would make a huge mess, she thought, her bloody mouth curving into something that vaguely resembled a smile.

Kevin... where are you?

She wasn't sure where he was. Was he okay? Had Rinin been able to treat his wounds and heal him, or was he still injured? She reached out with the Force and searched for him. She barely possessed the concentration to do so.

She could feel his presence vaguely, but she couldn't figure out where he was. She couldn't even figure out where she was. Location didn't matter; all that mattered to her was that he was alive, somewhere. She clung to his presence fiercely, trying with all her might to maintain mental contact.

Kevin... Commander Ski... I know you love Kaiba... and she loves you... Mara's consciousness slipped a little, and she almost lost the tenuous contact she'd managed to make. She steeled her will and concentrated harder. I know how you feel about her, Kevin... and I respect that. I won't get in your way. But know that, always, I will care for you... I love you, Kevin.

She knew he heard her, but she never heard an acknowledgement or response, because the blackness she'd been fighting finally won out. For the fourth time, she blacked out.

 

This is kinda just a recap on everything so far, and a little more.
*************************************
Stupid stormtroopers! Trika screamed mentally as she shot not one, but two at a time, for several times. Whoever had the nerve to injure Mara and Kevin were gonna die...

...she'd make sure of it...

That's when everything turned downhill. To put it frankly, they were trapped. A whole squad of stormtroopers had surrounded them. Sithspawn!

Kevin and Mara were being tended to, but they didn't look so good. Ty-gon was fighting off Agent Mulder, but then he just stopped. A blaster shot alerted her to where Mulder's pet was holding a blaster to Obi-Wan Jinn's head.

Oh, Force, no...that's his brother...

Ty-gon choked out a cry to stop, but it was too late; his brother was dead.

Mulder grabbed Kevin by the arm. He was about to protest, but Mulder just pushed him back into the hands of the stormtroopers, who took him on board Mulder's ship.

"Ahh, now, to deal with the rest of you," he walked towards Trika. She wasn't exactly going anywhere without a fight, but Kaiba got to it before her. Kaiba ignited her lightsaber and wound up cutting into Mulder's stomach.

Then everything turned worse...as if it could. The ones he had named earlier were taken to his ship, and Kaiba was also taken.

Trika grumbled something in her native tongue as she was hauled into the Sixth Extinction.

 

Wait... what's going on? Where are they taking me?

Mara Jade could feel herself being roughly lifted. She tried to struggle, but her body wouldn't respond. No matter how she tried, there was nothing she could do to stop it from happening.

Wish they hadn't taken my blaster... then I could end this misery quickly and easily, and maybe take some of them with me...

Her thoughts lapsed in and out of darkness, until finally they faded and went black.

********

Consciousness returned slowly and exceedingly painfully. Mara's body still hurt terribly in the places where she'd been shot, but the wounds seemed to have been partially treated. But where the kriff am I?

Prying her sore eyes open, Mara managed to push herself up on her elbows and survey the room around her.

I'd like to say I've been in worse places, but... The room was small, dingy, and uncomfortable, obviously a cell. The only piece of furniture was the hard and uncomfortable cot she was laying on.

A vague recollection touched the edges of Mara's mind, something she'd heard while she was unconscious. "Take the wounded to the A-block cells. Make sure they're healthy enough for interrogation..."

Lieutenant Jade moaned as she realized what was going to happen to her. If she'd thought she'd experienced pain before... she had a feeling the enemy interrogators were going to do a great job of eclipsing that.

She remembered more... Darth Agent Mulder had also said, "Take Ty-gon Jinn to B-block, Trika Kenobi to C-block, and move their leader to D-block." Then, when his goon asked what to do with the rest, he'd laughed and said, "Kill them."

A rush of fear found its way to Mara. Where her comrades dead? She reached out with the Force to find them, but they were too far away. She could only feel the presense of Ty-gon, Trika, Kevin, and... Kaiba? Yes, Kaiba. She was with Kevin, and they were not far away.

Mara shivered and wrapped her arms around her sore body. They were doomed, of that she was certain. Lt. Jade could see no way out of this one. She was going to die here...