To skip this insanely long intro and go right to the story, scroll down past the tildes (~).

Since my RP on this didn't make it off the ground, I've decided to turn it into a fanfic. This story takes place in a parallel universe, in which Humans are facist, war-oriented race, bent on galactic conquest. The Jedi Order follow the path of the Dark Side, while they enslave the followers of the light, known as the Malatan (Mal-u-ton), which means "slave race". The Rodians and Twi-Leks are both extinct, hunted down by the humans for sport.

There are, however, some humans who disagree with the ideals of the Empire. This group, known as the Kuva'bach, are in danger of being wiped out by the Empire. There are barely 300 of them left, only about a dozen of which are capable of using the Force. They have fled to the relative safety of Russan, capital of the Empire's greatest enemy, the Mandalore Confederation. The Mandalorians are a cooperative instead of an army, and spend there efforts on Exploration instead of conquest.

In this universe, many of the events that Star Wars fans are familiar with are different. These differences vary in degree. For example, the Hyperscape war is far different from what we know it as. In this universe, Hyperspace travel was discovered by a race now known only as the Obra'Cy, which is the ancient basic word for Voyagers. The Obra'Cy refused to share their technology with the lesser developed human race, who declared war. Along with their Ithorain allies, they wiped out the Obra'Cy and stole the technology for themselves. The Hyperspace war is named so because it was a war over hyperspace technology.

Also, the Jedi Civil war was slightly different. It occured at about the same time, and still involved Revan. However, Revan was a young Jedi (remember, the Jedi are evil in this universe, but are not referred to as the Sith) who rebelled againt the Order and led a small army of freedom fighters against their Imperial slavers. The Order banished them, and they eventually sought refuge with the Confederation. Revan and his followers were labelled as the "Malatan", which means "slave race" in ancient basic.

The Mandalorian Confederation does not have a Mandalore the same way the clans of the true universe do. Mandalore is instead the name given to the leader of the Mandalorian council, the governing body of the Confederation. The current Mandalore is Canderous Ordo.

The Jedi Order is also organized idfferently. They operate under a single leader, known as the Mauj. The current Mauj is Dorak. His apprentice, the Del-Mauj, whose name will be introduced later. The Jedi Order are also slaves of the Empire, but do not consider themselves so - they willingly submit to their slavery.

There are other differences, but these are the main ones. The others will be discovered during the story. Since it is not relevant to the story, anything that takes place later than the KotOR era will not be explained at all unless I decide to do a mirror version of the Star Wars movies.

Please note that the Sith never existed in this universe. They are still called the Jedi Order, not the Sith Order. Their philosophy is different as well, as you will discover.

Please leave feedback, as this is my first real fan fic. Hope you like the theme song, too!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Prologue
Mauj Dorak sat in his chamber, meditating. The Jedi code flowed through his mind.

Hope is Death.....
Faith is Pain.....
Compassion is Suffering.....
Love is hate.....
Light is a Lie.....

He felt the words flow through his body, as if they were the very blood in his veins. His mind pulsated with there guidance, their wisdom. He could hear them speaking to him. He let them take dominion over his senses. He could see his people, those who served the almighty Empire. He shuddered as the image of Emperor Sorvad flashed through his mind, but after a moment it was gone.
He felt a stab of pain through his chest. He sensed Him. Sahri. The Final One. The One who would destroy the Empire.......
He could not let that happen. He reached out with the Force, willing the words to guide him again.

Hope is Death.....
Faith is Pain.....
Compassion is Suffering.....
Love is hate.....
Light is a Lie.....

The words were slipping away. He could feel his strength ebbing away with the effort of listening to them. He was forced to awaken, his senses flooding with reality. The dark stone chamber was filled with a faint red light, that reflected off his bald head. Then little bit of hair he had left was a dark grey, as were his eyes. He lifted a black gloved hand to his face. He felt the old scar his master had given him as a child. Hate flooded through him, threatening to take control - but no. He had to maintain control. His emotions would only distract him from his true goal. The destruction of the Sahri. The Final One.
He closed his eyes again, and repeated the words out loud.

Hope is Death.....
Faith is Pain.....
Compassion is Suffering.....
Love is hate.....
Light is a Lie.....

Chapter One (http://www.clivebanks.co.uk/Themes/STEnterpriseIAMD.mp3)

Cullah clung to his chair for dear life as the ship shook violently under Imperial attack. A console behind him exploded showering the ground with sparks. The poor soldier manining the station was thrown across the room, dead before he hit the floor.
"Report!" he barked as loud as he could.
"Deflector shields are depolarized! The hull on C deck is collpasing! Weapons are offline!"
"Evacuate C deck before the hull breaches! Rerout weapons power to the shields!"
"It's too late!" the ship rocked again as C deck depreassuized, leading dozens of Mandalore Officers to their death. The few lights that were still on went red.
"Captain, we're being boarded by Imperial troops!"
Cullah cursed himself. "Computer, freeze simulation!"
Everything stopped. The sounds, the movement - all of it stopped at Cullah's command. "What went wrong?"
"Microfractures. Again."
Cullah rubbed his eyes, realizing how tired he was. "We'll work it out in the morning. Get to bed, Drax. That's an order," he added, as the young soldier began to protest.
"Yes sir."
Cullah watched him leave, then sat down in the isomorphic captain's chair. Weeks of desogning, months of building, and they couldn't solve the microfracture problem with this new ship design. They had tried everything: inverted hyperdrive fields, tachyon particles... everything Cullah could think of.
He sighed heavily. "Computer, terminate simulation."
The battered bridge melted out of existance, leaving a room with black walls, floor, and ceiling. He walked towards the doorway that had, in the simulation, led ot the turboshaft, but now lead out of the isogrid.
Cullah ran into a young man with black eyes, eyes that seemed to be able to see through you.
"My apologies, Amol."
"That's alright, Captain, I was actually hoping to run into you. In a manner of speaking."
"Is there a problem?" he asked, hearing the tone of the young man's voice.
"Yes sir, I'm afraid there is. It's about Denara."
"Denara?" Cullah asked. Surprised to hear Amol mention his daughter. "What is it?"
"She's been rather... distant, of late. Even with me."
"Ah, yes. I'm not surprised..." he said, recognizing that he had to come clean with his young protege.
"Amol, there's something I need to tell you. I told Denara a few nights ago. She hasn't spoken to me since....." Amol stared at him, wondering what was coming. "I'm taking command of the Betasis when she leaves for Courucant."
"What?!" Amol screamed, suddenly foegetting that everyone else in the base was asleep. "What the hell are you thinking?!"
"Damnit Amol, I.... I need you to calm down and listen." he looked more tired than Amol had ever seen him. "I can't just sit here anymore. I need to do something. The Betasis' mission will get me out of here; let me do something for the Confederation. I knew Denara wouldn't understand, but I was sure you would. After all they've done to you... they killed your parents, Amol! Don't-"
"And I don't want them to kill you, too! You're like a father to me, Cullah! And you want to go on a suicide mission to the heart of Imperial space? I won't let you-"
"It's too late, Amol! The choice has been made!" he sighed again. He was touched by Amol's words. "I wasn't planning on telling you until the night before I left, but-"
"Well have they assigned a launch date?" Amol interrutpted.
"I leave in two days."
"Two days!? But-"
"No, Amol!" he said, and Amol fell silent immediately. "I want you to promise me something." he said, his voice grave. "If the worst should happen......" he stopped, not sure how to say what he wanted to say. "Look after Denara for me. Keep her safe."
Amol was filled with anger and resentment, but those emotions evaporated at the tone of Cullah's voice, the seriousness with which he asked.
"I will. I promise."
"Thanks you. Goodnight, Amol."
"Goodnight."

* * * * *

Mauj Dorak jerked out of meditation at the sound of his Del's voice.
"Master, you summoned me?" she asked, her voice calm and even.
"Yes. Take a seat," he said, indicating the space on the floor in front of him. She sat, casting her features into sharp relief. Her shoulder length brown hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and her skin was a pasty white. Her pale blue eyes scanned her Master's face, looking for some sign of what he was thinking. She saw nothing. Dorak seemed to know what she was thinking.
"You still have much to learn, Bastila. You do not shield your thoughts. Your Imperial Masters will expoit that."
"Yes, Master," Bastila muttered.
"Now, to business. Last night, during meditation, I sensed him again. The Sahri."
Bastila stared at her master, fear in her eyes. "If the Empire should fall..."
"Then the Malatan would destroy us." finished Dorak. "That is why I summoned you here."
"You have a plan?"
"Yes. Though it is..... dangerous."
"I have never known you to run away from danger, Master." Bastila said, smiling slightly.
"Be that as it may, I still believe we should act slowly. If Sorvad discovers my plan, he will surely execute me, as well as imprison you."
"What is your plan?"
"The Emperor does not consider the Sahri a truth, an certainly not a threat. He believes that he is nothing more than an illusion - a myth created by us for our 'own nefarious purposes'."
"Then he is a fool!" Bastila blurted out.
"Control, my young Del, control. Your emotions make you strong, but they can be exploited by the Empire if they are revealed. You must control them."
"I apologise, Master. It's just that-"
"Do not apologise, child. You are correct. He is a fool." Dorak stood, Bastila doing the same. "He sees nothing but his Empire. They do not have the benefit of our, shall I say, 'unique' abilities of perception. It is not to be unexpected."
"What can we do to convince him of the Sahri's importance?"
Dorak was silent for a moment. "Nothing."
"Nothing?! Then wh-"
"We must.... deal with his ignorance."
"You mean-"
"Yes. He must be removed, or the Empire will fall. That cannot happen."
"Of course not, Master. How do you propose to eliminate the Emperor, though? He has followers, those who will-"
"Betray him, for a price. You forget that I too have 'followers', Bastila. And much more powerful ones than Sorvad."
"I apologise, Master. I should not have been so ignorant."
"It is forgiven." Dorak walked to the far end of the chamber, facing away from Bastila. "You must shield this conversation from your memories, my pupil. If Sordav should discover this..."
"I understand."
"Good. You are dismissed."
Bastila bowed, then turned and walked silently out of the room, leaving Dorak alone with his thoughts.

Chapter Two (http://www.clivebanks.co.uk/Themes/STEnterpriseIAMD.mp3)

Denara lay in her bed, trying to sleep. Her mind kept wandering to her father's mission, and the Betasis. The door chimed. She ignored it, pretending to be asleep. She didn't want to talk to anyone. It chimed again. She picked up her pillow, jamming it over her head to block the sound. It was no good - she still heard the third chime.
"Go away," she whined.
A voice borke over the speaker. "It's me, Denara. He told me."
Sighing, Denara got out of bed, grabbed the robe was draped over her desk chair, and walked to the door. She keyed the lights on when she reached to door, then unlocked the door.
"It's open." she said, walking back towards her bed. The door opened silently, and Amol stepped through it. He looked tired. "What is it, Amol? I was trying to sleep."
"Look, your father told me about the Betasis."
"Great." she said, not really listening.
"Don't give me that," he said irratibly. "I'm worried about him too, you know."
"I know, I'm sorry, I... I've been having a hard time with this, that's all, I..." she paused. "My mother died when I was a child, and.... I don't want to lose my father, too," she said, her eyes brimming with tears. Amol moved towards her, wrapping his arm around her consolingly.
"I don't want to lose him, Amol." she said, tears ouring down her face. "Ever since my mother died, he's...." her voice trailed off.
"I know. Neither do I."
They sat there for a while. Suddenly, the lights running along the ceiling of the room went red, and klaxons (http://www.freewebs.com/doctor99/Sounds/alrred.wav) began to sound throughout the room. A voice broke over the comm system - it was Cullah.
"All fighters report to your ships. We have incoming Imperial ships."
Amol and Denara both stood up, their fatigue forgotten in the rush of adrenaline. They burst into the fighter bay, and ran towards there fighter, the Omega Dawn. Strapping into the pilot's seat, Amol began the pre-flight systems check, going through it faster than was normally recommended.
Behind him, Denara had already powered up the primary systems, and was ready for take off.
"All systems are operational and running at full capacity," she said over the din of the bay.
"Acknowledged. Beginning ignition sequence." Amol flicked a umber of switches in front of him, and the Omega Dawn's engined lit up, the cockpit shell sealing. After checking all systems again, Amol lifted off, bursting through the hangar bay doors like an al'hayat at a yelt mouse.

* * * * *

Swerving around a tight pack of Imperial fighters, Amol did a vertical loop as Denara opened fire on them from above, hitting one dead on, it's debris destroying the two next to it.
"Nice shot, Denara!"
"Thanks!"
They fought as a single mind, there every movement sychronized. Amol dropped suddenly, fighting to remain conscious against the gravitational stress, as Denara opened fire on another group of Imperial fighters. She made another exact hit, sending the other ships careening away to avoid the shrapnel.
Denara amlost lost consciounous as Amol sent the ship spiriling downward. She swung the laser cannons around, and targeted a lone Imperial fighter. She never saw the ship coming from starboard. It opened fire, cracking the durasteel cockpit, and taking out the engines. Denara struggled against unconsciounous again, this time due to the deep cut on her forehead.
"Amol, are you alright?"
"Ya, I think so. The engines are down, though! We're losing speed."
"Can you reinitialize?"
"The coils are fused together! I can't repair them in space!"
"Maybe we have enough momentum to make it back to base?"
"I'll try. Hold on, this may be a rough trip!"
He was right. The fighter rocked as it entered the atmosphere of Russan. An Imperial fighter was following them.
"Denara-"
"I see him!" She swung the cannon around again and fired. She nicked his engines, sending it spiriling - towards them. She fired again, but it was too clse. The explosion sent the Omega Dawn carrening off to port.
"We've been knocked off course!" Amol cried.
"Really? I hadn't noticed!" she responded jokingly.
"We're headed for the mountains! Brace for impact!"
She grabbed hold of the sides of her chair, her knuckles going white under her gloves.
The last thing she saw was the durasteel cockpit shell shatter to pieces, and the harsh mountain range approaching.

Very intriguing plot concept! And well written--already I feel sympathetic with Amol and Cullah and Denara. (Think she might give Bastila a run for her money.) I'm hooked! Keep up the good work!

Thanks, Jasra. I'm going to try to do a chapter a day, but I doubt that'll happen. It might be a lot less often, but I will finish this one. I promise.

This should be quite interesting. I'd like to see how this turns out, and the very different sides of good and evil in the story.

I've added a new alien species to this universe. They are known as the Monorhans, and although they look intimidating, they are pacifists. They are near extinction, another victim of Human bloodlust, just like the now extinct Rodians and Twi-Leks. The Monorhans refuse to fight with the Empire, and do not have enough weapons and ships to fight against them. They are a slave race to the Empire, usually found on large capital ships and flag ships.

Chapter Three (http://www.clivebanks.co.uk/Themes/STEnterpriseIAMD.mp3)

Emperor Sorvad sat in his chair, facing the large window opposite the rooms only door. He examined the Monorhan skull in his hand, the broad cheekbones angling back sharply. He crushed the skull into a powder, just as the door opened behind him.
"My apologies, your excellence. I bring news from Russan."
Sorvad threw the destroyed Monorhan skull to the ground, then turned his chair to face the new arrival. He was Monorhan, his blue skin shining slightly in the light from the outside moon, which was the only source of light in the room.
The Monorhan took this as permission to continue. "The fleet was forced to retreat, master. The Intelligence reports we received were..... misleading."
Sorvad smiled. Only Kaytok, his most loyal servant, could speak to him of failure without a look of terror on his face.
"Bring Admiral Onasi to me."
Kaytok left the room, his right hand balled into a fist and placed just below his left shoulder bone. He bowed while saluting, then turned around and left the room.

* * * * *

Carth stood at the front of the bride, staring out the large window. A young ensign stood behind him, shaking in fear. "Retreat, ensign?" he asked quietly.
"Y...Yes sir." he stammered.
"The Emperor does not like it when his fleet retreats, ensign!" he yelled, turning around.
"Sir, our intelligence reports stated that they only had a dozen fighters, with a handful of capital ships. Not enough ships were sent to-"
"ARE YOU SAYING THIS WAS MY FAULT, ENSIGN?!?"
A look of utter terror crossed the ensign's face. "No, No sir, not at all. You could never.. It was intelligence reports, sir. YOu were basing your decisions on faulty information..." he stopped, realizing how his words sounded to the Admiral.
Carth took a few steps forward, until his face was only inches from the ensign's. "You're brave, ensign, to argue with me." he said in a deathly whisper. "Luckily for you, bravery is a prized trait to the Empire." he backed away a step. "Now get out of my site."
The ensign didn't have to be told twice. He turned around and almost ran back to his post, running into someone on his way. "Sor-" he began, then noticed it was a Monorhan. He pushed the alien out of the way, then continued to his station.
Kaytok stared at the ensign as he left, then turned to address Onasi. "Admiral."
Carth turned around again, the golden war badges attaches to his black uniform glinting in the dark lighting of the bridge.
"What do you want, Monorhan?"
"His Excellency demands your presence in his chamber, Master." said Kaytok.
Carth sighed. "Very well," he said, then made for the turboshaft. Kaytok grabbed him by the arm.
"I am to take you there, sir."
Carth grabbed the hand hand, flipped it behind it's owner's back, and pulled the dagger at his belt out of it's sheath and to the alien's throat. "Touch me again, Monorhan, and I'll tear out your throat."
"Understood, Admiral." siad Kaytok, trying not to move, lest the dagger pierce his jugular.
Carth released him, pushing him forward as he did so. He turned for the turboshaft again, Kaytok following close behind.

* * * * *

Carth stepped throug the Emperor's chamber door, his eyes quickly adjusting to the relatively dim light of the Emperor's room. He walked towards the tall chair at the head of the room, which was facing away from him.
"You demanded my presence, your excellence?" he said, saluting and bowing just as Kaytok had earlier. He felt a strange sensation of forboading at what was to come.
"Yes. Kaytok, leave us."
Kaytok left the room, leaving Onasi and the Emperor alone.
Sorvad was silent for a moment. "Retreat, Admiral?"
Carth struggled to maitain his military control in the face of his fear. "Yes, my Lord. The intelligence we received was, shall I say, misleading. It-"
"You cannot rely on intellignece reports, Admiral." barked Sorvad.
"Yes sir, I... I apologise."
"You are forgiven, Admiral. You simply based your decision on the information provided by incompetence."
Carth gritted his teeth together in anger.
"Lieutenant Delk, is it?"
"Yes, my Lord." said Carth, in answer to both the asked question and the implied order.
Carth pulled a com link from his belt. "Onasi to Lieutenant Delk. Report ot the Emperor's chamber. Immidiately!"

* * * * *

Delk pulled his dagger out of the operatives stomach. "That is the price for failure."
His comlink beeped, and Admiral Onasi's voice broke through.
"Onasi to Lieutenant Delk. Report ot the Emperor's chamber. Immidiately!"
Drelk nodded to the ensign standing guard at the door. "Clean this up," he said, walking past the dead man and moving towards the door.

When he entered the Emperor's chamber, he saw that Admiral Onasi was standing next to the Emperor's chair, both of them facing out the large window at the moon outside.
Onasi turned around, but the Emperor remained facing the window.
"Your intelligence reports resulted in the deaths of almost 150 Imperial troops, Lieutenant, not to mention their ships," barked Carth.
"The operative has been dealt with, Admiral."
The Emperor was much quieter - a sign of just how furious he was. "Now all that remains is for you to be 'dealt with'."
Delk began shaking. "My Lord, I beg you: Forgive me. It won't happen again, I-"
"KAYTOK!"
A blue arm came out of nowhere, a long dagger shining in it's hand. The knife dug into Delk's neck, piercing his spine. He fell to the ground, blood pouring from his head.
"That is the price of failure."

Oooh! Interesting to see Carth as a baddie! And so ruthless at that! Good work so far. Keep it up!

It an alternate universe. Carth has to be a bad guy. It just fits :)

Long Chapter:

Chapter Four (http://www.clivebanks.co.uk/Themes/STEnterpriseIAMD.mp3)

"Sir, the Imperial ships are forming a standard retreat pattern."
"Let them go," said Cullah, who had been commanding the battle from base.
"Sir, I'm picking up a distress beacon - it's from the Omega Dawn."
Cullah turned around sharply. "What's happened to it? Where are they?"
"I don't know sir, I've lost contact. Some sort of explosion."
"What?" asked Cullah, stunned. No, they couldn't be-
"The debris is Imperial, not ours. It wasn't them."
"Well what was their last known location?"
"Coordinates 2247, bearing 558.23. But they entered the ionishere just before the explosion; we have no way of knowing how their course was affected."
"Damn. Assemble a search party. I want them found!"
"Yes sir,"

* * * * *

He hurt. His arms hurt, his head hurt, even his earlobes hurt. Amol pulled himself out of the reckage, barely able to fight down the wave of nausea that threatened to engulf him.
He heard noise from behind him, and saw the Denara was waking up, too. She had a long, deep cut from her forehead to her chin, and part of her hair was charred. He assumed that he looked no better.
"Are you alright?" he asked.
"I-" she coughed hard, the smoke from the burning ship attacking her lungs. "I think so. What about you?"
"Fine. Just fine," he responded, rubbing his temple. He felt his hand grow warm, and pulled it away from his head to see it red and wet. He grimaced, pulling himself to his feet. He walked over to Denara, and helped her stand.
"Where are we?" she asked.
He pulled a small rectangular device from his belt, opened it, and scanned the display. "I can't get a clear reading. There's to much electromagnetic interference."
"Great."
Amol turned to inspect the damage done to the Omega Dawn. "It doesn't look too bad. We can fix her up back at base."
But Denara wasn'[t listening. "Amol, I think there's something watching us."
"What?" he asked absently. Then he sensed it. A non-sentient presence about to attack. He pulled a long, cylindrical device from his belt, and activated it. With a loud snap/hiss, a bright green blade emerged from the tip, which he swung around with the speed of a Haltek Wolf. He saw it. A large, hairy quadriped had emerged from behind the rocks, and was slowly making their way towards the crashed ship.
"Amol...."
"It's alright, stay close."
The animal moved forward, it's long teeth exposed as it growled at the bright light held by the intruder. It moved with a grace that marked a skilled al-hayat female.
"It's cubs must be somewhere nearby," he said quietly.
"What do we do?"
"It's ok," he said, lowering his lightsaber.
"What are you doing?!"
"We have to convince it that we aren't a threat. Just follow my lead."
He lifted his hands slowly into the air, his lightsaber somehow returned to it's place on his belt. Denara mimiced him, feeling very exposed without the calming light of the powerful blade.
The feline predator titled it's head slightly, confused. "Stay here." said Amol, as he slowly began to walk towards it. Even more slowly, he reached out his right hand towards the creaure, which simpoly stared at him. Amol touched it's face, his hands positioned so that his thumb was at it's chin, his forfinger just below it's eye, and his other fingers along it's forhead. His lips began to move, but she couldn't hear what he was saying. After a moment, it stopped growling, it's claws retracting as it closed it's mouth. It gave Amol one more suspicious glare, then turned away and walked off.
Denara exhaled, not realizing that she had been holding her breath. Amol watched the creature go, then walked back towards her. She stared at him.
"What did you just do?"
"I talked to it," he said simply.
She just stared at him.
"Come on, it'll be dark soon. We should set up camp."
She didn't way anything. She stared at him, her mouth slightly open.

* * * * *

Carth dropped down from the destroyed buidling, landing in a crouching position. He raised his Greth-tel (http://www.loveleaf.net/ts/image/GRHK406TS_s.jpg) up into the air, using the curved weapon to block an attack from a large, boar-like alien. He smacked it in the face with the length of the blade, then sliced through it's throat. He then turned around, ducking only just un time to avoid an attack from an identical alien. He drilled the hilt of the sword into it's stomach, knocking the wind out of it. He cracked it's skull open with another sharp blow, then kicked it away. His comlink beeped.
"What do you want?" he barked, angry at being disturbed.
"Sir, you're needed on the bridge."
"I'll be right there," he said. He turned off the comlink, then threw it to the side. "Computer, terminate program."
Everything in the room dissapeared - except for the now dead aliens."

Carth walked onto the bridge, his face shining with sweat. "This better be good, ensign," he said threatiningly.
"Sir, we're picking up some strange readings from the Jedi ship, the Relat."
"So?"
"Sir, I-"
But he never got to finish the sentence. His console exploded, sending Carth flying to the ground, the poor ensign certainly dying a most painful death.
"Report!" barked Carth, getting to his feet.
A lieutenant moved to the damaged sensor console, pushing the dead ensign's body out of the way as if it were a doll. "Hull breach on deck 22, section 6-alpha!"
Dark, cruel klaxons began to sound, filling the whole ship.
"Intruder alert! Deck 22!"
"Dispatch a containment team! Tell them I want one of them alive!"
"I can't! The comm relays running threw deck 22 have been completely destroyed! The system is down!"
"Then depressurize the entire deck! Get them off my ship!!"
"Sir, we have intruder's on decks 7, 6, 5, and 4."
"Seal of deck three! I don't care what you have to do, keep them off this deck!"
"Sir, secondary command processors are down! We can't activate containment fields!"
"Then draw your weapons! We'll fight them hand to hand!"
The door to the bridge exploded open, and a dozen red beams of light ignited, folowed by just as many large men carrying lightsabers.
"What the hell are you doing, JEdi scum? Get off my bloody ship!"
One of the Jedi turned to him, lifting up a gloved hand. Before the choke could take hold, Carth swung the Greth-tel that had been attached to his back at the man, who fell to the ground in a pool of his own blood.
"Long live the Empire!" he cried, as the rest of the bridge crew followed suit and began attacking the Jedi.

* * * * *

Dorak walked up to the door to the Emperor's chamber door, lifting his hand. The door exploded inwards. He stepped throught the opening, and saw that Sorvad was sitting in his chair, looking somewhat ammused.
"Welcome, Mauj."
"Greetings, your excellency," he responded.
"May I ask why you have blown a hole in my ship, Dorak?"
"You know why I am here. Even one as weak in the Force as you should have sensed it."
"Weak, am I? Perhaps I shall show you just how weak I am!"
Sordav jumped ten feet into the air from a sitting position, drawing a dark red lightsaber as he landed. Dorak drew his own, swinging it around in a large arch to block the attack. He countered with one of his own, a shart upper cut follwed by a series of strikes from random angles. Sorvad blocked them all easily, slowly moving back towards his chair. Dorak jumped through the air above the Emperor, swining downwards as he did so. Sordav barely blocked the attack. He pivoted around to face attack from the new direction. He swung down and to the left, Dorak deflecting the attack, then pushing back with enough strength to push over a Krayt Dragon. They fought for what seemed like hours, evenly matched, always countering the other's attacks with one of his own. Dorak reflected another attack, then pushed with all his might to break the saberlock. He took a few steps backwards, then began to walk in circles around his enemy.
"Surrender, Sorvad. If I don't kill you now, the Sahri will later, and I will take your place then. It is inevitable."
"You are weak, old man. You cannot stop me. No one can. And once I destroy you, I will see to it that the Jedi are wiped from the face of the galaxy!"
Dorak plunged towards him, twirling his lightsaber above his head, screaming in anger. He brought then lightsaber down at the Emperor's head. He was blocked, then pushed backwards. He was forced to jump into the air to dodge the counter attack.
"You see? You are a foolish being, Dorak."
"You are the fool. You cannot learn the power of the Force without a proper master. You will destroy yourself."
Sorvad ignored him, swinging his lightsaber around again. They fought for another ten minutes, neither one giving the other any ground. Finally, Dorak swung up and right, knocking the lightsaber from Sorvad's hand. He then dug his lightsaber into Sordav's chest. Sordav grunted, blood coming out in dolops from his mouth. Dorak kicked him away, deactivating his lightsaber. The Emperor fell to the ground at the feet of his killer.

Long chapter? It didn't seem long with all the wonderful action scenes. Looking forward to the next chapter. (Hanging on the edge of my seat, in fact!) Well done!

Well, you're in luck: I got rid of the minor writers block I had developed :D Now, there is a small part of this chapter that is taken right out of Star Trek: Voyager, but it fits into the story.

Chapter Five (http://www.clivebanks.co.uk/Themes/STEnterpriseIAMD.mp3)

Carth swung his Greth-tel down on to the skull of another Jedi, then ducked as a lightsaber came slicing at his face. He took out his attacker's knees, driving the blade into the Jedi's throat as he fell. Covered on blood, Carth looked around the bridge. It was littered with bodies, both Imperial and Jedi. As the last Jedi fell to the ground dead, he ran towards the turboshaft. The Emperor needed protection.

Carth burst into the Emperor's chambers, only to see a tall, bald Jedi standing over the body of Sorvad.
"NOOOO!!!!!" he cried. The Jedi turned suddenly, igniting his lightsaber.
"I suggest you drop yout weapon, Admiral," he said, gesturing at the Greth-tel in Carth's hands.
"I swear Jedi, I will not rest until you have drowned in your own blood!"
He threw the dagger at his side at the Jedi, who held out a hand and caught it.
"You cannot kill me, Admiral," he said calmly, throwing the dagger to the side.
"Then I will die trying!"
"If you kill me, the Empire will collapse! Is that what you want?"
"The Empire will live forever! You are the one who will bring down the Empire!"
"NO!" hollored Dorak. "No, Admiral. I have killed the Emperor to save the Empire. I do not want to see it collapse any mroe than you do."
"Then why kill the Emperor?"
"because he is a fool! He refuses to acknowledge the danger of the Sahri, the Final One!"
"What the hell are you talking about?" yelled Carth, confused. This was news to him.
"I was afraid that he had not told you. It is time you knew of the danger of this Final One," said Dorak. "Come closer."
Carth didn't want to get any closer to the man who had killed the Emperor, but he seemed drawn to him. Before he knew what he was doing, he was standing in front of Dorak, whose hand was on his face. He could barely hear the words coming from his barely moving lips.
"Akuchimoya. We are far from the sacred palce of our ancestors; far from the bones of our people. Show this man the one whom he should fear, and give him the answers he seeks."
Carth's mind was flooded with images and colours. He saw a man in black robes, the Imperial crest, a sword driven through a sun, on his chest. A flash. He saw an Imperial Warship explode in a ball of flames. Flash. Mandalorian soldiers were boarding the ship, their colour coded uniforms the only colour in the image. Flash.
He was looking at Dorak, his eyes wide in fear. Dorak looked into his eyes, his gaze unflinching. Carth screamd in pain, and Dorak released him. Carth stumbled back, hos hands on his face.
"Now you see what is to come, Admiral. The Sahri. The Final One. He will destroy the Empire!"
Carth fel to his knees at Dorak's feet.
"What must we do to stop this from happening?"
Dorak looked down at him. "Join me, Admiral, Together, we will destroy the Sahri, and expand the Empire throughout the galaxy!"
Carth was panting, the pain of the vision not forgotten.
"Yes.... your excellency."

* * * * *

Denara shivered, moving closer to the fire. She was tired, she was hungry, and she wanted to go home. Looking ninto the fire, she asked Amol the question she had been burning to ask for years.
"Amol, how were you trained in the Force? I mean, you were a slave, I know that, but...." she trailed off, not wanting to make him angry.
Amol sighed. These memories were painful. "I was trained by an undercover Malatan operative. His name was Vrook. He blew his cover and gave his life so that I could escape." he didn't want to go on, but Denara was looking at him intently.
"Well, you know that when I was 6 years old, the Empire attacked my homeworld," he said, trying to take as long as he could to stay away from the topic she wanted to discuss.
"I was captured by the Imperial troops that invaded what was left of the planet. I was taken to the Triallan maines, where I was forced to drag shipments of ore through kilometer long tunnels. Vrook was there to. He was undercover - he was my guard. He trained me in the ways of the Force, saying that I had some kind of destiny." he paused. "He was like a father to me: I barely knew my real father before he was killed. But, they killed Vrook, too. He was killed in the escape that he was told to plan, so that some Rebel commander could escape - I think he died in the attempt. I was 16. I watched as the guards shot a hole in his chest. I barely escaped myself."
He fell silent. "I swore to avenge him. I swore to kill the man who murdered the closets thing to a father I've ever had."
Denara sat there, not knowing what to say. "I'm sorry," was all she could manage.
"It's in the past now."
Neither of them said another word the rest of the night.

Another relatively long chapter.

Chapter Six (http://www.clivebanks.co.uk/Themes/STEnterpriseIAMD.mp3)

Dorak stood at the head of the Emperor's chambers - his chambers. The doors opened, and Bastila walked through them, her pasty white skin reflecting the dim light of the blue star outside the window.
"You summoned me, Mauj?"
Dorak was silent for a moment. "Yes, my Del. I have sensed Him again."
"The Sahri?" she asked in horror.
"Yes. When I melded with Admiral Onasi, the range of my perception was hightened. I know where He is."
"Then we must send the fleet at once! He must be destroyed!"
"Unfortunately, Sorvad has just attempted to do so, unknowingly, of course."
"You mean Russan?"
"Yes. He is definately on Russan. And He is not alone. There is another with him. She is just as important."
"How, my Lord? Is she another Malatan?"
"No. But He will protect her at all costs, Bastila. We must use her to get to Him."
"I understand, my Lord."
"Do not kill either of them, Bastila. They are both is needed alive. She is just as dangerous as Him."
"Yes, Mauj."
"Go. In the name of the Empire."
Bastila saluted Dorak, the bowed herself from the room.

* * * * *

The Ebon Hawk glided across the landscape of Russan, it's black Imperial markings glingting in the morning sun. The sensors picked up two human life signs. Bastila came about, looking for a place to land. She saw a small plateau, just large enough for her to land. She brought the ship down, hooking her lightsaber to her belt. With a gentle rocking, the Hawk touched down, it's primary systems going into lockout mode.
"Computer, activate the security grid."
a harsh male voice responded.
"Acknoweldged."
The lights in the cockpit all went red.

Disembarking from the Ebon Hawk, Bastila raised a set of electrobinoculars to her eyes. She scanned the landscape, looking for any sign of the humans she had detected. There they were. She was too far away to see which one was the Sahri, and which was his companion, but they were definately there, and they were moving quickly. She walked back into the Hawk. The sound of a speeder bike filled the plateau. Bastila flew out of the garage bay on a black speeder, the docking hatch colsing as she left.

* * * * *

Amol stopped dead.
"Denara, we have to start running!"
Denara looked up. She saw it, too. A small ship with Imperial markings had landed only a few kilometers away.
They ran. They ran as fast as they could, adrenaline pumping through their vains.

* * * * *

Bastila flew across the landscape at 150 kph, her hair flying unruly behind her. The cool air invigorated her after months of being cooped up on a space ship.
She was gaining on the fast. Moving to the left to avoid a large outcrop of rocks, she increased speed to 200 kph. The engine whined, but she wouldn't stop. She was coming up to them fast. She unclipped her lightsaber from her belt, and prepared to jump.

* * * * *

The whine of a speeder bike engine met Amol's ears.
"Get down!" he called to Denara, who promptly dropped to the ground where she stood. A figure in a black Imperial Commander's uniform jumped off, igniting a lightsaber as he flipped through the air. No. She.
Amol ignited his own lightsaber, the green blade humming loudly. It met the red blade of the Jedi, filling the valley with a loud hissing sound. He brought his lightsaber down and around, blocking another attack from the woman. He pushed her away, sending her flipping through the air. She landed about 5 meters away.
"Mauj Dorak was right: you are powerful, Sahri. But you cannot defeat me!"
Amol, confused, blocked another attack as the woman came flying through the air at him. She attacked quickly. Amol was barely able to block them all, let alone get an attack of his own in. He blocked another series of attacks, then pulled his lightsaber down slightly, locking their sabers together. She triedpulling away, but he wouldn't let her. Her muscles screaming in protest, Bastila managed to push him back, breaking the saber lock, and once again creating a 5 meter space between them.
"Who are you?" he asked. "What do you want from me?"
Amol was forced to swing his lightsaber to the right, blocking her attack. He then swung it to the left and circled it up, trying to clip her saber arm. She blocked it, but only just. He tried again, this time aiming to hit her elbow. She had to twist around, but she blocked that as well.

Bastila blocked two attacks on her saber arm, then pushed back. She swung her lightsaber in a fast arch, in an effort to push him back. He took a step backwards. Then another.

Amol was forced to take a step backwards as the Jedi swun her lightsaber in fast archs aimed at his face. He stepped back again. He blocked her one more time, then kicked out with his leg. He hooked it around her shun, then pulled back. She fell to the ground at his feet, his lightsaber grazing her arm. He then pointed it at her chest.
"Who are you?" he asked her.
"She grunted in anger, her face livid.
"Who are you?" he asked agian, more forcefully.
"I am Del-Bastila Shan, pupil of Emperor Dorak."
"Dorak? What are you talking about?" he asked - the Emperor was named Sorvad, as far as he knew.
"There has been a change, Sahri. The Empire is now ruled by Mauj Dorak. The Jedi are in control now, and we will destroy you, Final One."
Amol was confused again. "What is Sahri? What do you mean by 'Final One'?"
Shan kicked out with her foot, hitting him hard in the chest. He doubled over, gasping for breath. Bastila jumped to her feet. She ran off - he was in to much pain to see where. He was gasping for air; she must have craked a few of his ribs. He distantly heard someone call his name, but he couldn't respond. He fell to the ground, clutching his broken ribs.

Denara watched as the woman kicked Amol in the ribs. She called out to him, but he didn't hear her. The Jedi did. She ran towards her, her lightsaber drawn. Denara pulled out her blaster, but never got off a single shot - the barrel was sliced off, and she was pulled to her feet, screaming Amol's name.

~Now I'll leave you hanging there for a few hours before continuing with the next chapter.

Chapter Seven (http://www.clivebanks.co.uk/Themes/STEnterpriseIAMD.mp3)

Denara struggled against her captor, but couldn't escape. The woman smacked her hard, and she almost fainted. Her head was spinning - the Jedi had hit her right where she had smacked her head during the crash. She vomitted, then everything went black.

Amol stood up slowly, shaking his head. She had Denara. The Jedi had Denara.
Adrenaline pushed the pain out of his mind, as he ran at impossible speed after the speeder bike. It was getting too far ahead - he couldn't catch up. He slowed down, falling to his knees. the last thing he remembered was his lightsaber falling to the ground with a dull thud, and the grassy plain rushing up towards him.

* * * * *

Bastila hit the struggling woman hard on the head. She went limp almost instantly. No longer having to control her prisoner, she accelerated to a gut wrenching 250kph. The Sahri fell behind quickly. Spotting the Ebon Hawk up ahead, Bastila began to decelerate, lest she crash into the opposite end of the garage bay. SHe rushed up the docking ramp, which had opened upon her approach. She dismounted the speeder, draggin the unconscious woman behind her. She threw the hostage into the small brig, just between the engine room and the battle room.
"Computer, activate containment field."
The harsh male voice spoke in acknowledgement, followed by a sharp click and a deep buzzing sound eminating from the field. "Begin ignition sequence."
The engines kickind into life, and the lights along the cieling went white, the computer having recognized her voice and deactivating the lockout mode. Bastila entered the cockpit, the lights on the consoles having returned to their normal blue, green, and white colours. She sat in the pilot seat. "Initiate launch sequence."
"Launch sequence initiated. Awaiting final command."
"Go." Bastila said irratibly - how she hated these damn computers.
The Ebon Hawk lifted off, creating small whirlwinds in it's wake.

Denara awoke to the sound of engines. She opened her eyes, her vision blurry. She sat up, rubbing her head.
"Stupid woman," she said out loud, not knowing whether she was reffering to Bastila or herself. How could she let herself be taken by this Jedi? Her training should have prevented that - her commanding officers would be ashamed of her if they could see her now.
"Especially Kelborn," she said out loud. She looked around the brig, studying in particular the containment field generators. They were not standard Imperial design, so she couldn't reliably tinker her way out. She dug into her pockets anyway, searching for her field kit - only to find that her pockets had been emptied. She swore, looking around the cell. She needed something to manipulate the circuits. Something long, thin, and non-conductable. She reached into her hair in sudden inspiration, pulling out her hair clip. She pulled the metal pin out, her long blonde hair cascading down her back. She put the rest of the clip in her pokcet, then, using the metal pin, pryed the primary circuit board out of it's place. She began tinkering with the wires, but they were a completely different system than she had ever seen before. Even she couldn't figure out which wire did what. A shadow fell over her, and she looked up. The Jedi had returned, and was smiling at her cruely.
"You might want to partition the flow regulation control circuits before you try cutting the power. You wouldn't want to burn off that pretty little face of yours."
Denara stood up, staring right into the woman's eyes. "I'll remember that. Where are you taking me?"
"Oh, you're going to help us capture your little friend."
"Amol? What do you want with him?"
"He is a threat to the Empire." was all the answer she got.
Denara was already getting frustrated. "Why me? You could have taken him if you wanted to. I don't believe you."
"He is far to powerful to be taken prisoner in the way you have been. No, you are bait. He will come for you."
"No he won't!" Denara cried. "He's smarter than that! He'll know this is a trap!"
"He will be too blinded by his feelings for you to to anything buy rescue you," Bastila said darkly. "Even if he does see it for what it is, he will still come."
"You're wrong," Denara said, trying to believe it herself. Her worries must have shown on her face - or the Jedi was reading her mind. Judging by the dark smile palying across Bastila's face, the latter was true.
"I hear everything you think, small creature. He will come, and you know it."
Denara stared into thise cold blue eyes, denying it with every fiber of her being - but knowing all along that it was true.

* * * * *

Amol stirred, his breathing slow - an regulated. His eyes shot open, his heart rate doubling. He realized that he was in a kolto tank. He couldn't make out faces or uniforms of the doctor's monitoring him, but could tell from the symbol on the wall that it was a Mandaloian Base. His heart rate returned to normal, and he felt the soothing heat of the kolto tank seep into his wounds, speeding the healing process. He breathed deeply through the oxygen mask, the combination of kolto and pure oxygen calming him beyond imagining.

He felt himself rising, and soon his head breached the surface of the liquid health restorative. He shook the kolto out of his eyes, as a doctor came towards him.
"Careful there, young man," he said, smiling. "The kolto has no doubt left you weaker than usual. Your strength will return momentarily.
"Thank you," he said, as the mask was removed from his face. The peacful cam was subsiding, and was tossed to the side as his memory rushed back.
"Denara!" he called, trying to stand. But his legs woudn't hold his weight, and he collapsed to the floor, his knees smashing against the metal floor.
Cullah came up to him, a look of deepest concern on his face.
"Amol, are you alright? What's happened?"
"Denara... taken. A Jedi calling herself..." he struggled to remember the name.
"Shan. Bastila Shan."
Cullah straightened. A young man in an ensigns uniform approached, holding a data pad in his hand.
"Captain, we've detected an Imperial ship in the system. It's a small craft, registration number 75983. Records indicate that it's the ISS Ebon Hawk."
"Send a squadron of fighters! That ship has my daughter on board!"
"Aye sir." he said, turning around and leaving the med bay. Amol stood, fighting the urge to fall over and sleep.
"Where is the Omega Dawn?"
Cullah shook his head. "You're not going anywhere, Amol. You're staying here so Doctor Pell can monitor your condition."
"No," argued Amol. "No, I have to go after her. It's my fault. Besides, if your troops manage to board her ship, they'll need my help."
"They'll do fine on their own," said Cullah.
"Not against a Del-Mauj, Cullah. I have to help them."
Cullah didn't like it, but Amol was right. Even his most skilled troops coudn't stand agains a Jedi, let alone the Del-Mauj herself. "Alright," he conceded. "But be careful. The Omega Dawn is in docking bay 3."
"Thanks you," Amol said. He took the clother the doctor handed him. He out them on, then ran as fast as he could to the docking bay.

* * * * *

Carth walked onto the bridge, his Greth-tel held in his hand. He tossed it to a lieutenant, who barely caught it by the handle.
He took his position at the head of the bridge, staring out at the blue star, which the natives of the system had dubed the 'Blue Eye', he thought of the vision that Dorak had showed him. Captain Fitlar came up to him.
"Admiral? What has happened? The Jedi have-"
"The Jedi are here under my protection, Captain," he said menacingly.
"I understand that Admiral, but-"
"But what, Captain?"
Filtar fell silent for a moment, then pressed on. "Sir, they have taken over the ship. They are-"
"They are acting in the best interests of the Empire, Captain," said Carth, even more menacingly. "We need the Jedi. There is a threat that Sordav had not forseen. He died for his ignorance."
This was more than Filtar could take. "What?! THe Emperor is dead? How.." it dawned on him. "Sir, have you clai-"
"NO CAPTAIN!" yelled Carth. "Mauj Dorak has taken Sorvad's place."
Filtar stood there, dumbfounded. "Sir, I-"
"I tire of this, Captain. Return to your position." he looked at the unmoving Filtar. "NOW!" he hollored.
Filtar saluted, then turned and walk to the command module.

Chapter Eight (http://www.clivebanks.co.uk/Themes/STEnterpriseIAMD.mp3)

Amol lept into the cockpit of the Omega Dawn, closing the cockpit seal behind him. Without going through the preflight sequence, he ignited the engines and took off faster than was recommended in a docking bay. He was the first one out of he bay, travelling as fast as the small fighter would go. He searched the on-board database for all knowledge the Confederation had on the EBon Hawk. There wasn't much; only a few schematics. He pulled up the most detailed one he could find. There were no blind spots large enough to hide the Omega Dawn. He swore. There had to be a way onto that ship. There had to be.
He hailed the base.
"Omega Dawn to base. Are we to far away to use the transporter?"
Cullah came over the channel. "It's to dangerous, Amol. It's not designed to handle life forms as complex as a human."
"Transport me over to that ship!"
"It's not safe, Amol."
"I don't care! If you don't transport me to that ship then your daughter will die!"
There was a silence. Amol knew he had gone too far, but he didn't care/
"Cullah, please."
There was silence for another moment. "How do you plan to get off that ship once you've-"
"I'll worry about that when I need to. Right now, all I want to do is save Denara! transport now!"
For a moment, nothing happened. Then, Amol felt a tingling in his spine, and he was surrounded by a purplish shimmer. He felt his body being taken apart piece by piece, molecule by molecule. The Omega Dawn, now on autopilot, dissolved in front of him, replaced by the dark interior of an Imperial ship. He heard klaxons around him, but he ignored them. He was in what looked like a storage bay. Taking his lightsaber off of his belt, he readied himself for another battle with that Jedi woman, walking towards logic told him the cockpit would be. He had to face the Jedi first, or Denara would just be in more danger. He turned left out of the cckpit, and followed the hallway around a curve, finding himself in a large open room with an isomorphic projector in the center. He heard a woman's voice speaking to the computer - it wasn't Denara. He walked slowly towards the cockpit, shielding his mind from detection. With any luck, the Jedi wouldn't hear him until he was right behind her.
A deep male voice startled him. "Intruder detected."
After a moment, the Jedi came around the corner, her lightsaber drawn.
"So, you followed. Much sooner than I expected, but not an unwelcome development."
"Where's Denara?" he asked harshly.
"Your lady friend? She's quite safe. For the moment." a small smile formed on her lips.
"Release her to me now, Jedi scum!" He ignited his lightsaber.
"Don't be a fool. A battle here would destory this ship, and kill your precious 'Denara'. No, you will surrender, give me your weapon, and join her in confinement."
Amol raised his lightsaber, pointing it at her chest. "I don't think so," he said simply. "You will give me your weapon, and the you're the one going into confinement."
"You really think you have an advantage? With a single command, I can fill your friends cell with denebian nerve gas, killing her within seconds," her smile grew wider and crueler. "You don't have a choice, Sahri. Surrender."
Amol knew she was right. He wanted to end this now - just lunge forward and impale her on his lightsaber. But she would have enough time to signal the computer to kill Denara. He couldn't let that happen. Slowly, he lowered his lightsaber, then deactivated it. He threw it to the ground at his feet.
She pointed her lightsaber at his face. "Move," she commanded.
Amol turned around, walking slowly towards the brig. There was Denara, the gash on her head a faint green. Bastila lowered the forcefield, pushed him in, and activated it again. Amol bent down and checked Denara's pulse. It was steady, and she was breathing normally. He closed his eyes, his hand just above the wound on her head, and will the Force to wrap itself around her wound. It cleared up slightlly, the green fading to the dark red of dried blood.

Denara felt a stinging pain in the cut on her head and opened her eyes. Someone was crouching over her, their hand only inches from her forehead. She felt a gentle tingling on her head, as the wound closed up. The hand moved away, and she got a clear view of his face. It was Amol.
She sat up, throwing her arms around him. She breathed in his scent, feeling his strong arms wrap around her. They broke apart, his hand still around her waist.
"Where are we? What's-" she noticed that the forcefield was active, and her heart plunged into her stomach. "They have you, too," she said dully.
"Yeah. It's ok though, we're going to get out of her."
"Amol, you should have let her take me," she said. "She was using me to get to you."
"I know. But I don't care. I wasn't going to let the Empire send you to some mining colony for the rest of your life."
She sighed, turning away from him. Tears began to well up in her eyes. She wiped them away, trying to hide them from him.
It didn't work. He reached out and put a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, it's ok. It's not your-"
"Don't say it's not my fault, because it is!"
"How is it your fault that I care about you?"
She pulled away from him, tears pouring down her face. She didn't say anything.
"Denara, we're going to get out of this, ok? I promise."
She couldn't stop crying. She turned back to him, throwing herself into his arms.
After about ten minutes, the ship rocked a few times, then lurched forward, the engine whining sharply.
"We've entered hyperspace."

* * * * *

Bastila sat in the cockpit, her mind dwelling on the man who had risked his life to save that useless woman. She gritted her teeth. There was once a man who had done that for her. He was died for his foolishness, and his followers had been forced to flee from the wrath of the Empire.
How could this man bring down the Empire? He was no older than her, and he was a fool. She heard the woman crying, and could only assume that the weak excuse for a man was comforting her. Any real man would let her cry. Hell, no real woman would cry like that. Crying was a sign of weakness.
The Ebon Hawk rocked sharply as the fighters pursuing her caught up. She executed evasive maneuvers, calculating the hyperspace jump back to her Master's ship.
The nav station behind her exploded, sending pieces of metal in all directions. She pushed one of a course for the back of her head, then returned to her calculations. She punched in the numbers the computer fed her, then pulled the black lever in front of her. The Hawk lurched forward, and the stars shifted into starlines, the into the dark, blotted tunnel that was hyperspace.

* * * * *

Lashowe lay in the Admiral's bed, waiting for him to get home. She hated having to submit to that foul beast of a man, but she didn't have a choice. He had been considerably quicker to anger than normal since that Jedi, Dorak, had claimed the Imperial throne. Word travelled fast, especially when it concerned a new Emperor. She rolled over on her side. I hate these nights, she thought, as the door opened and Carth walked into the room.

Carth stood in his quarters, staring at his reflection in the mirror. He examined the scar running down his left cheek, and the old plasma burn injusy on his left arm. He put his hands under the tap, which released a stream of ice cold water. He threw it in his face. He couldn't get the images Dorak had shown him out of his head. He dryed his face with a dark, somewhat moldy smelling cloth. He threw it to the bathroom floor, then walked towards his bed. Lashowe lay there, rolling over as he sat on the bed, his back to her.
"What is it?" she asked.
How he hated nosy concubines. "Nothing," he snapped.
She wasn't detered that easily. "It's Dorak, isn't it? He's done something to you."
Carth stood up, turning on her. "He's opened my eyes. Now I see how foolish Sorvad really is - was."
"What are you talking about? How is a Jedi Emperor going to help us in any way? Their an inferior form of life, Carth."
He ignored the use of his first name - normally he would have hit her for it, but he let it go for now. "You don't give the Jedi wnough credit. Their... mutations... have given them abilities we could only dream of! Imagine being able to kill someone with a single thought. The Confederation would fall to us in a matter of days! I can't explain how, but I know that Dorak is acting in the best interests of the Empire."
"What did he do to you? This isn't like you."
"He showed me the Empire's true enemy. It's not the Rebels, or even the Confederation. It's one man. One man could take down the entire Empire. Dorak and his Jedi have the power to stop that from happening."
Lashowe sat up and crawled towards him, grabbing his hand and pulling him onto the bed. She wrapped her arms around him from behind, kissing his back.
"I hate answering to a Jedi, but I don't have a choice. Defying him would be treason."
"Well, if you're going to commit treason..." Lashowe started carefully. "Why not go all the way?"
Carth turned his head slightly. "What do you mean?"
She smiled, putting her head on his shoulder. "Maybe we don't need a Jedi Emperor for very long. Once the threat to the Empire is eliminated, you could..." she kissed his ear. "Take matters into your own hands, as it were."
Carth grabbed her arm, which had been massaging his neck, and turned around to face her. "Kill Dorak?"
"Why not? He's not Emperor material," she said with a smile. "Imagine it: Emperor Carth Onasi."
These words stirred something in his soul. He inhaled slowly. "Emperor?"
"Yes. You could rule the galaxy. Unopposed. Let Dorak have his fun chasing some stupid rebel. He won't be watching you."
"Yes," he said slowly. "I could rule the galaxy."
Lashowe smiled, kissing his neck. "The Confederation wouldn't stand a chance againt you. Your excellency."
Carth looked at her intently. "I knew I kept you around for a reason," he said.
Lashowe smiled, then lay down on the bed, Carth laying on top of her.

And the plot thickens!! And what an evil Carth. Just Ee-ville! I love it. :)

And the music is just perfect!

The plot will thicken considerably, I promise!

Chapter Nine (http://www.clivebanks.co.uk/Themes/STEnterpriseIAMD.mp3)

Dorak stared at the white dwarf star outside the window, which was glowing with a faint blue light. The bright light, tinted to a safe level by the transparasteel window, seemed to hypnotize him. He stared into it's depths, his thoughts straying to his childhood. He cringed as he remembered the beatings. Hate rose up insode him, threatening to engulf him. He hated his father, and his lowlife mother was worse - at least his father wasn't a filthy halfbreed like her. He despised the alien DNA pumping in his blood. He turned from the window, the chair tipping over, even though he didn't touch it. He felt the Force rolling through him in his rage. He stopped, trying to regain control. He couldn't let his emotions control him. He forced himself to remember his teachings. His Master had been just as bad as his father, but again, at least he had been human. He smiled in satisfaction as he remembered the day he had killed his master. The thought of that achievment filled him with pride, crushing the hate that had filled him. The comlink beeped.
"Admiral Onasi, please report to the docking bay."
Dorak pushed down the emotions that were consuming him, and stepped out of the room. Bastila had returned.

* * * * *

Carth rolled off of Lashowe, panting. The comlink beeped.
"Admiral Onasi, please report to the docking bay."
He grunted, then sat up, pulling on his uniform. Lashowe watched him get dressed.
"You aren't going to turn me in for treason, are you?" she asked him jokingly.
He smiled. "Of course not. Why would I want to get rid of such a wonderful consort?"
She smiled. He kissed her, then stood and left the room.

* * * * *

Bastila keyed the com panel, opening a frequency to the flag ship.
"Ebon Hawk to Endar Spire. Do you copy?"
A female voice responded. "Ebon Hawk, we are receiving your transmission. Stand by for docking clearence."
Bastila waited for three heartbeats before responding. "Is there a problem?" she asked.
"No ma'am, you are cleared for docking."
Bastila guided the ship into the docking bay, landing it smoothly in section A. She signaled for prisoner assistance, then waited for the acknowlegment. When it came, she stood, locked out the computer, and left the cockpit.

* * * * *

Amol stood as the ship rocked gently again.
"We've landed," he said. "Stand up, we don't want to give them any reason to get mad."
Denara stood, standing close beside Amol. She was terrified, but would never let him know.
Three men in black uniforms carrying large blaster rifles approached the brig, two taking up positions on each side of the cell, the third, who, judging by the number of glod bars on his collar, was the leader, stood at the end of the hall, waiting for Bastila. They heard his voice.
"Admiral Onasi wants them taken to cell block 3. He want's to interrogate the male personally."
"Very well," said Bastila. She walked to the control panel, keyed the release conbination, and stood back as the force field vanished. The soldiers aimed their weapons at them, their trigger fingers ready.
"Put your hands on your head, rebel scum," the leader said, pointing his rifle at Denara's face. She raised her hands slowly, then placed them behind her head. They were lead down the hall to the docking ramp.

* * * * *

Carth stood at the bottom of the docking ramp. There were armed guards around the room. Three of them walked up the ramo to assist Bastila with her prisoners. Dorak walked up behind him.
"Can you feel him, Admiral? The Sahri. We have him!"
"I can feel it," said Carth, amazed. "I can sense him. The power he holds."
"Everyone on the ship can feel him. That is how powerful he is, Admiral. Now do you see how foolish Sorvad truely was?"
"Yes," hissed Carth, anger towards the late Emperor rising in his chest. For the first time since it had happened, Carth was glad that Dorak was now Emperor - for now. He quickly buried this thought.

* * * * *

Amol stepped off the ramp. He saw a number of soldiers flanking a man whose face had been burned into his memory since he had joined the resistance - Admiral Carth Onasi. A Jedi stood beside him. Amol recognized him too, but he couldn't place him. He was from the southern continents of Korriban, judging by the dark colour of his skin. He was bald except for a little bit of hair along the side of his head. The hair he did have was grey, as were his eyes. He had a scar over his right eye. The guards stopped them in front of Onasi and the Jedi.
"Greetings, Sahri," said the Jedi, his voice cold and gravelly. "I have waited a long time to meet you."
Onasi stepped forward. "Bow to the Emperor, Rebel dogs!" The guards kicked Amol in the back of the knee, forcing him to the ground. Denara fell beside him, gasping in pain.
"Let her go, Jedi," said Amol, looking straight at the Jedi. "It's me you want. I'm the Malatan."
"YOU WILL ADDRESS HIM AS 'YOUR EXCELLENCY!" yelled Carth, pulling his dagger from his belt and slicing it across Amol's cheek.
"Stand down, Admiral," said the Jedi calmly. "No. She will stay with you. I would hate to seperate such... close friends," he continued, looking Amol right in the eye, a cruel smile forming on his dry looking lips.
"Commander, take them to cell block three," ordered the Admiral.
"Yes sir."
Amol was pulled to his feet. He felt the business end of the guards blaster rifle in his back, and walked in the direction he was guided.

* * * * *

He tentatively reached out his hand, palm flat and facing outwards. He pulled it back sharply as the air buzzed and crackled, sending a sharp pain down his arm.
"This is more powerful forcefield than the one on the Ebon Hawk," said Amol, walking towards the bench and sitting next to Denara. "We'll never be able to break it down without tools."
"That Jedi took my kit before you came on board," said Denara dully. The doors to the brig opened, and Onasi entered, flanked by two Imperial soldiers in full armour.
Elite Warriors? Amol thought. They must really be scared of me.
"Lower the forcefield," ordered Carth. One of the soldiers walked over to the trminal, the other raising his weapon and aiming it at Amol and Denara. Amol stood, walking to the edge of the forcefield. He knew what was coming.
The forcefield dropped, and they were both pulled out of their cells.

First off, I've finished Chapter Nine. You should read the rest of it first.

Chapter Ten (http://www.clivebanks.co.uk/Themes/STEnterpriseIAMD.mp3)

Amol screamed as the hilt of Onasi's curved sword hit him hard in the chest, cracking his ribs. He tried to brace himself for the next, but it came too quickly - this time in the face.
"This would be much more productive," he said thickly, blood coming from his mout. "If you happened to be asking me questions. That's the whole idea behind an intero-"
he groaned as the sword hit him again in the chest.
"You're really starting to piss me off, you know that?" hissed Onasi, only inches from his face. He kicked him in the stomach, then hit him in the face with the hilt of the sword again. He passed the sword to one of the guards, reared back, and punched him hard in the jaw.
"Now," he said, massaging his knuckles. "You're going to tell me what I want to know, or I start breaking bones."
"Foget it, Admiral. I'm not answering any of your questions. You can do whatever you want to me."
Onasi punched him in the jaw again. "Where is the Betasis?" he demanded.
"I don't know what you're talking about," lied Amol.
"Allow me to refresh your memory," said Carth, throwing another fist at his face. "The Imperial cruiser that went missing in the Yavin Badlands. Where is it?"
Amol said nothing for a moment. "I forget. I think we lost it."
Carth growled, kicking him in the stomach. "I won't tolerate that for much longer!"
"And I thank you for putting up with me so far."
Carth cracked his knuckles, but didn't attack. "You're strong willed, rebel. But I will break you."
"Not before you break your wrist. Learn to punch like a man."
Carth took his Greth-tel again and slashed it across bare chest, leaving a bloody gash.
"You can't take this forever, Malatan."
"I can try."
Carth turned around, throwing the Greth-tel back to the soldier. "Yes," he growled. "Yes, I suppose you can."
He snapped his fingers, and the door opened. Two more guards entered the room, pushing Denara through before them. She fell to the ground, the guards pointing their weapons at her. Her
"If you refuse to answer my questions, she will suffer."
Amol stared at Denara. She stared right back at him, a fierce look in her eye.
"Don't do it, Amol," she said darkly. "Don't answer him!"
Carth kicked her in the side of the head. "Shut up, woman! You will speak only when spoken to!"
Denara struggled to stay concious for what felt like the hundredth time in a matter of hours. She was getting quite good at it.
Carth turned to Amol. "Now, where is the Betasis?"
Amol continued to stare at Denara, who lay on the floor, barely concious. Amol's two basic instincts waged a war inside his mind: his desire to protect Denara, and his refusal to aid the Empire in any way. He had to protect her. He had to.
"I'm waiting!" snarled Carth.
I'm sorry, Denara.... he thought. "It's.... it's in the Dyboli system," he said.
Carth smiled darkly. "You think you can lie to me?" he whispered. "We searched the Dyboli system!"
"Then I was lied to," said Amol.
Carth made sto strike him again, but a harsh voice stopped him. "He's telling the truth, Admiral."
Dorak had walked into the room. "I sense no deception from him," he continued. "He is telling the truth - or, what he believes to be the truth."
Amol was again struck by the familiarity of the voice, the recognition of his face. He knew this old Jedi, but he didn't know how.....
Dorak looked at him. "Besides, he would not lie when the life of the woman he loves is in danger," he said.

Denara's head snapped up. "What are you talking about?" she asked. Carth struck her again. "I WILL NOT WARN YOU AGAIN, FEMALE!" She fell back to the deck, holding her head. Carth turned to Amol. "What is the Confederation planning on doing with the Betasis?"
Amol didn't want to answer, but he had to. "They're.... studying Imperial technology - trying to find a weakness in your ships."
Carth laughed triumphantly. "They won't find any!"
"That doesn't mean they can't try," spat Amol.
"They will fail! They will fall to the Empire!"
"They will find a weakness, Admiral. Trust me," Amol said, laughing. "Even you can't stop them!"
Carth swung his fist again. Amol felt his nose begin to bleed as well as his lip. The comlink beeped, and a voice came over the ship's speakers as klaxons filled the ship.
"Admiral Onasi and Lord Dorak, please report to the bridge. We are under attack!"

~Cameo coming up! Just a heads up! Sorry to her fans, but she's only a minor character in this part of the story! Stay tuned for the (POSSIBLE) sequel!

Chapter Eleven (http://www.clivebanks.co.uk/Themes/STEnterpriseIAMD.mp3)

Carth and Dorak both left the room at a run, leaving Denara on the floor and Amol trapped. The guards approached Denara, ready to pull her up and throw her against the wall, where she couldn't escape without going past them.
A purple shimmer appeared behind them, and six Mandalorian Marines opened fire at the guards, sending the falling to the ground. Denara looked at them, stunned.
"Ma'am, are you alright?" the leader, a Major, asked her.
"Yes, I'm fine," she said, trying to stand up. She fell to the floor again as a sharp pain went up her back. One of the marines knelt down beside her with a medical scanner.
"She's got a few broken ribs, and she's taken a few hits to the spine by the Force knows what kind of Imperial weapons."
"This one's got it worse," said another, who was examining Amol. "He's got a few broken ribs - one of them has pierced his left lung. He has multiple broken bones, and a solid concusion. I'm reading massive internal bleeding. He need immidiate surgery."
"Let's get them back to the ship," said the Major.
"How did you-" Denara began, but the Major stopped her.
"We don't have much time. Any minute now, Onasi and Dorak will find out that there is no attack, and they'll come running back here. We'll explain back on the ship."
He helped her up, then activated his comlink.
"Major Hayes to the Brightwing, we've got them. Eight for transport."
The door opened again, and a dozen Imperial troops entered the room, their weapons firing. One of the marines fell to the ground, but a second later, all of them vanished in a swirl of purple light.

* * * * *

Carth stepped onto the bridge, pushing a lieutenant out of his way.
"Report Captain!" he barked.
The Captain looked at him curiously. "All systems are normal, Admiral."
"What about the attack, Captain?"
"Attack, sir? There is no-"
"Sir, weapons fire. Deck 8, section 6," interupted the operations officer. "Security teams have been dispatched."
"THE PRISONER! Ensign, scan for Confederation ships. NOW!"
The ops officer turned back to his console. "I'm not reading any- hold on. I'm reading a light cruiser coordinates 663 mark 9."
"Weapons! Spacial torpedos, full spread! Fire when ready!"

* * * * *

Cullah held on tightly to his chair as the Brightwing took three torpedos to the port engine.
"Transporter room to bridge, we've got them!"
"Helm, get us out of here, maximum speed," ordered Cullah. "Go to hyperspace as soon as we're out of the Endar Spire's gravity well."
"Aye sir. Firing engines."
The Brightwing shook again as another volly of Imperial torpedos struck it's hull. The coolant vents running in the cieling ruptured, spewing coolant all over the place.
"Report!" barked Cullah, trying to make himself heard over the din of the coolant pipe.
"We've lost secondary systems! Deflector shield are down to 64 percent!"
"Helm, how soon can you get us out of here?"
"Give me one more minute." she responded impatiently.
"You're doing fine, Mission. Just keep us steady."
"Aye sir. Plotting hyperspace course. We'll reach hyperspace in five.... four.... three.... two.... one...."
Nothing happened. Cullah looked at Mission.
"Give or take," she said. The Brightwing lurched forward slightly as the stars outside stretched into starlines, then became the blotted tunnel of hyperspace.

* * * * *

Carth stared at where the Mandalorian ship had been a few seconds ago. The bridge was deathly quiet. He turned to the Captain, who had been trying as hard as he could to prevent their escape.
"Captain. My ready room. Now. Commander, you have the bridge," he snapped at the first officer, who saluted before taking a seat in the captain's chair. My chair, now he thought to himself. He didn't know if it was a good thing or not....

Chapter Twelve (http://www.clivebanks.co.uk/Themes/STEnterpriseIAMD.mp3)

Denara lay on the bed in the Brightwing's medical bay. She let the doctor's scan her without complaint, something she had never done before - she hated doctors. She even let them pump her full of drugs for the pain.

She looked over at Amol's bed. His eyes were closed, and an oxygen mask had been secured around his face.
"Why isn't he in a kolto tank?" she asked the doctor standing over her.
"This ship isn't equipped with one," she said darkly. "It's meant to be a short range science vessel - it's not designed for any kind of mission that warrants one."
"Then why send it to rescue us?"
"It's the fastest ship that was available," she said. "Now you need to rest. He'll be alright, don't worry."
She tried sitting up, but the doctor pushed her gently back down. "I mean it, Denara," she said sternly. "Your father would have my head on a plate if I let you get up."
"What's his condition?"
"He fine, Denara. We're on a course for Telos - it has one of the most advnaced medical laboratories in the Confederation."
Denara was still worred, but she let it go - there was nothing she could do. The doctor injected her with another greenish drug.
"Thank you, Celia," she muttered, her eyes drifting shut.

Every bone in his body ached. He inhaled deeply, then coughed - he wasn't expecting pure oxygen. He opened his eyes, and saw the tip of an oxygen mask over his nose. He looked around the room. The doctor was standing by another bed, presumably Denara's. He tried to speak, but couldn't get his voice to work. He tried sitting up, but stopped as a wave of nasuea hit him. He managed a groan of pain, catching the doctor's attention. She cam over to his bed, checking the readings on the console.
"It's alright, you're safe now. I'm doctor Grales. You're onboard a Confederation ship."
Amol struggled to make himself heard through the mask. "Denara....."
"She's here. She resting. SHe wasn;t to badly injured," she said consolingly. "You, on the other hand, are in bad shape. You have six broken ribs, and you've lost a lot of blood. I've stopped the internal bleeding, and I've repared most of the cosmetic damage. But your left lung was pierced by one of the broken ribs, and I can't repair that kind of damage. You'll have to stay here until your other lung can adapt and pick up the slack."
Amol tried to understand what she was saying, but his brain wasn't operating well enough to distinguish one word from the next. He tried to speak again, but all that came out was a gasp of pain as he accidentaly shifted his weight onto one of his broken ribs.
"Just lie still. Neither of you are in any danger anymore. Just try to relax - we'll be arriving at Telos in a few hours. They can do more for you there than I can."
Amol tried to stay awake, but he couldn't. His eyes drifted shut, and he fainted.

* * * * *

Commander Kalton stood as Admiral Onasi returned to the bridge. He had blood on his shoes, and his greth-tel was not in it's holst on his back. He looked at a soldier standing outside the ready room, the gestured violently towards the ready room. The soldier left to clean up the Admiral's mess.
"Captain. Extrapolate their course. I want that ship found, no excuses!"
Kalton saluted. "Yes sir thank you Admiral!"
He turned to the operations officer. Time to show the Admiral what I can do.... he thought. "Ensign! You heard him! Find that ship!"

^ Sorry for the short chapter. I had writers block. I'm working on getting it out of the way, but it's harder than it sounds.

Chapter Thirteen (http://www.clivebanks.co.uk/Themes/STEnterpriseIAMD.mp3)

Bastila watched as the Republic ship dissapeared from their scanners. She looked over at Onasi. His jaw was cleched, and he was staring into space, almost exactly where the ship had been seconds before. She watched as he lead the Captain into his ready room. She hated to think about how the Captain would die.....
She turned and left the bridge, entering the turboshaft. "Deck 7, crew quarters," she said sharply. The pod began moving. After a moment, it opened, and she stepped into the familiar hallway that led to her quarters. She reached her doorway, keyed the lock, and entered.
God, I need a shower, she though to herself. She walked into the bathroom, removing her uniform. She turned on the water, waiting for it to reach the right twmperature, and stepped in. She revelled in the warm water cleansing every scrap of filth out of her skin.
After almost twenty minutes, she turned off the water, grabbing a clean towel from the rack. She dried off, walking to her bed. She put on her nightgown, then stared out the viewport at the white dwarf they were in opbit of.
She jumped as the door chimed. "Come," she said, adjusting the night gown so that it covered her better.
The door opened, and Admiral Onasi stood in the doorway. "Is this a bad time?" he asked, smiling, as he noticed the nightgown she was wearing.
"As a matter of fact..." she responded. Oh, how she hated that man....
"Come one, it's nothing I haven't seen before," he said, stepping in, the door closing behind him. She picked up her robe, throwing it on.
Carth laughed. "Give me a break," he said, ripping it off of her and pulling her towards him."Remove your arm, or I will remove it for you!" she yelled, grabbing his wrist.
He laughed, not letting go of her. "You know, you're almost as bad as Lashowe."
"Don't compare me to your pet female!" she spat.
"But you are my pet female," he said. "Sorry," he said, seeing the look on her face. "Dorak's pet female."
She yearned to pull her lightsaber on him and slice into his throat - but she didn't dare. Admiral Onasi had friends in high places.
"Tell me," he said carefully. "Are you loyal to the Empire?"
Bastila stared at him. "Of course I am," she said.
"And does that mean you give your loyalty to the Emperor, or Commanders who serve him?"
Where is he going with this? she asker herself. Out loud, she said "What do you mean?"
Carth laughed. "I'm just saying... perhaps.... perhaps you should consider where your loyalties lie..." he reached up and stroked her cheek. "Dorak may not be Emperor for very long."
Bastila swatted the hand away. "Fiesty, aren't you?" he said. "Just how I like them..."
She reached out her hand, and her lightsaber came flying to her. She held the hilt at his throat, and placed her finger on the activation switch.
"Give me one good reason, Onasi," she said bitterly. "And I swear I'll rip out your throat and feed it to you."
Carth just looked at her, a small smile on his lips. "Go ahead," he tautned. "Kill me. You'll only be killing yourself."
She didn;t move. He took advantage of her moment of indecision, grabbing her hand and forcing the lightsaber to fall to the ground. He twisted her hand behind her back as he had with Kaytok, and once again pulled his long dagger from it's sheith on his belt. "Think about it, Jedi," he hissed into her ear. "Dorak may not be around for much longer."
He ran the knife gently across her shoulder, leaving a shallow cut. He turned her around, kissed her, and threw her to the floor. He turned around, kicking her lightsaber across the floor, and left the room without looking at her again.

* * * * *

Bastila stood and walked to the mirror in the bathroom. She examined the cut on her shoulder. She spat on the floor, trying to rid the feeling of his kiss from her mouth. She activated the sink and washed the cut. She took a small cylindrical device from the drawer and ran it over the wound. It closed up almost instantly, leaving only a faint scar along her shoulder and neck. She replaced the device in the drawer, then returned to the bedroom. She pulled her lightsaber out from underneath the bed, and placed it on her nightstand. She moved to the door, and locked it with a heavy excryption code, just in case Onasi decided to pay her another visit.
She toyed with the idea of going to Dorak and telling him about what Onasi had said - he would certainly want to know. But something held her back. She couldn't explain it, even to herself, but she knew it had to stay between her and Carth.
But oh, how she loathed that man. She regretted ever letting him touch her. Her thoughts strayed to Him..... Revan....
She mentally shook herself. Stop! she ordered herself. He was weak. He deserved his fate.
But did he? She moved to the window, once again staring into the depths of the white dwarf. According to the database, the inhabitants of the thirs planet, the only sentients in the system, reffered to it as the Blue Eye.
What a beautiful star.
The thought came unbidden into her mind. She shook her head again, trying to remain in control. But she couldn't. She kept thinking about her time with Revan.... she remembered Mission, the mouthy little Twi'Lek who she had hated like a daughter.... the Cathar female - the one she had killed, forcing away the man she had loved...
she fought back tears. I can't give in to my emotions, she told herself. Love is hate. How true those words seemes to her. She had killed another woman for the man she loved, but that action had made him hate her more than andything in the galaxy....
She couldn't hold it in any more. She fell onto the bed, her face buried in her pillow, tears puring freely.

* * * * *

Carth walked down the hallway away from Bastila's room. He needed her help. He had tried to come up with a way to do it without her, but he couldn't. No matter what he did, he was going to need her. How to get her to cooperate when she despised him so much?
"Deck 3, officer quarters," he said. The pod began to move up. It stopped, the doors opening. He walked down the hallway, trying to formulate a plan to gain her trust...
He entered his room to find Lashowe asleep. He walked past the bed and straight to the window, looking at what the crew now refferred to as the Blue Eye. He heard movement behind him, and moved his hand slowly towards his dagger.
"It's ok, it's me," said Lashowe groggily. He turned to ee her now sitting up in the bed, yawning at him. "What is it?" she asked.
He didn't answer right away. "It's Bastila," he said shortly.
"What about her?" asked Lashowe. "I though you were going to kill her along with Dorak?"
"I can't," he said birtterly. "I wish I could, but I need her help. I can't kill a Jedi without the help of another."
Lashowe looked at him curiously. "Why not let this prisoner of your kill him> He's a Jedi, isn't?"
"A Malatan, but close enough," said Carth. "I can't do that either. He's escaped."
"What?!" said Lashowe, untangling herself from the bedsheets. "How?!"
"I don't know," he said sourly. "They managed to hack into the communications system, and-"
"Who?"
"Don't interrupt me!" he yelled. "A Confederate ship, who else?"
"I'm sorry, your excellency."
He laughed. "You certainly know how to gain favour, don't you?"
"I certainly do," she said flirtasiously. "Come to bed."
Carth turned away from her and walked to the other end of the room. "How the hell," he said. "Am I going to do this?"
Lashowe sighed. There was no way to distract him from this. "I don't know," she said.
He unsheithed his dagger and threw it at the wall in anger. It dug into the wall almost four inches deep. He walked over to it and pulled it out easily. It hit him That's what he needed to do.
"What?" asked Lashowe eagerly, seeing the change of his expression. "What is it?"
"The Sahri. I can get him to help me!"
Lashowe rolled her eyes. Didn't I just suggest the same thing? Luckily for her, Carth didn't see it. "What do you mean?"
"He wishes to destroy the Empire. Why not let him? if he kills Dorak, as he is destined to do, Bastila will seek vengence! She will destroy him, and submit to the new Emperor!"
"Whoever that may be," said Lashowe cautsiously.
Carth inhaled deeply. "Can you feel it, my rih-hara-tan?" he said. "The galaxy will be mine!"

It will be interesting to see how Bastila eventually decides to deal with evil Carth. I imagine that whatever she has in mind, it won't be pleasant. Good chapter!

This chapter takes place three weeks after the previous. The Endar Spire has left the area of space containing the 'Blue Eye' in the region of space known as the Deltic Expanse. It has stooped in orbit of a planet known as Cartalia.

Chapter Fourteen (http://www.clivebanks.co.uk/Themes/STEnterpriseIAMD.mp3)

Bastila walked across the surface of Metibelis III, her cloak up over her head. She looked around quickly to see if she had been followed, then entered a ratty looking building with a large sign over it reading "Wounded Yelt".
She opened the door, and the smell of stale alcohol nearly knocked her over. She pushed on - oh, how she needed a decent drink.
"Hey baby," said a man at a table near the door. "How about you an-"
"No," she said fermly.
"Come on. You-"
She waved her hand, reaching out with the Force. "You don't want anything to do with me," she said.
"Ahh, you're not worth my time," he said, turning around and returning to his drink.
Bastila proceeded to the bar. The bartender didn't seem to notice her. She knocker on the bar, and he loked up, startled. "What the he- Oh, what can I do for you, little lady?"
"Give me a Tarkalian Brandy," she said. "No. Make it a double."
The bartender pulled a dusty looking bottle from inder the bar, and an equally dusty glass.
"For a lady like you, that's 15 credits."
She handed over 20 credits, then turned her attention to her drink, the bartender turning his back to her.
A small little man in a dirty cloak walked up to her and spoke so quietly that she wasn't even sure at first that he was speaking to her.
"I have information that might interest your Imperial master."
She didn't look at him, but looking at her drink. "What make you think I have Imperial masters?"
"Any broad wearing a cloak like that on this planet is a Jedi," he said. "You want to blend in, dress as a prostitute. You'll actually get less attention."
"I'll remember that," she said. "Now go away."
He laughed quietly. "I think you'll want to hear this. Admiral Onasi would... appreciate it... if you could bring this to his attention..."
"Admiral Onasi," she said bitterly. "Appreciates me enough."
"I see. Well... then perhaps I should take my business... elsewhere."
"You do that," she said.
He didn't move. "Are you sure you don't want to know this?"
This guy won't give up! she thought to herself. "Alright, if it will get you to leave, then tell me."
The bartender brought a dark green drink to the man - he must have been a regular. "Have you ever heard," he began. "Of the Deltic Expanse?"
Bastila rooled her eyes. "No," she said sarcastically. "Everyone's heard of the Deltic Expanse, worm."
"Then you know about the odd... singularities?"
"Of course I do," she spat. It sounded like he was wasting her time.
"Then you'll know of the ship disapperarences?"
She rolled her eyes. "You expect Admiral Onasi to be impressed with the fact that I can state common knowledge?"
He laughed. "Alright, point taken. But... there are some.... events.... that are not common knowledge. Events that-"
"Are you done yet?" asked Bastila.
"Alright. I'll get straight to the point," he said. "There are more than ship disapperaences. There are also apperances. Most of them are destroyed by the singularities, but not before-"
"The Imperial Science directorate has determined that those are nothing more than sensor ghosts."
"The Empire is wrong!" he said, louder than the rest of their conversation had been. "I have seen one with my own eyes."
"Really..." said Bastila skeptically. "Let me guess. You want to sell it to me?"
"No," he said, as if he were insulted. "I do not actually posses the ship. But I can show you how to get to it."
"For a price, of course."
He blushed sligtly. "Nothing that the Empire cannot afford."
"Alright, I'll humour you," she said, looking at him for the first time. "Name your price for this... information."
He looked her right in the eye for a moment. "10 000 000."
Bastila laughed. "The Empire is not a charity. You will not get that much simply for imformation that may or may not be true."
"I give you my word that it is true!"
"And how much is your word worth to us? Who are you, anyway?"
"My apologies. I am known as Sgale."
"Well, 'Sgale'. I'm Bas-"
"Bastila Shan, Del of first Mauj Dorak." he finished for her.
"So you know me," she said, arching an eyebrow.
"Everybody knows you," he said with a peevish grin.
"I would feel better about this," she said. "If you could give me some kind of proof."
"You know," he responded. "I was hoping you'd ask."

* * * * *

Carth walked into the briefing room. "This'd better be good, Shan. I-" he stopped, seeing the small, dirty little man sitting in the chair, Bastila standing behind him.
"Admiral Onasi. This is Sgale. He has some... information... that he beliefs you might want to hear."
Carth eyed the little man. "I don't have a lot of time, runt," he said. "Make this quick. I'm not in a good mood."
What else is new? Bastila thought to herself.
"Well?!" barked Carth, as he sat at the other end of the table.
"Well Admiral, I assume you know a great deal about the Deltic Expanse?"
Carth looked at Bastila. She knew what he was thinking.
Is this a joke?
"I do," he said, restraining himself from throwing his dagger at the little worm.
"As you know, there are numerous anomolies affecting that particular area of space, do to the influence of what the natives of the system have so lovingly dubbed the 'Blue Eye'." He stood, walking over to the computer terminal on the wall and punching in a few commands.
"The 'Blue Eye' is a white dwarf star, emitting intense radiogenic particles, which-"
"I have an education in basic particle theory, mr Sgale!" spat Carth.
"Of course, Admiral," he said apologetically. He punched a few more commands into the console. "Do you know what this is?"
He pointed to the screen at a small body of rock and metal ores. Carth was barely able to keep himself from jumiong across the table and ripping the man's eyes out and replacing them with his genitles.
"You are trying my patience, mr. Sgale..." he said warningly.
Sgale punched in another few commands, and the view of the asteroid expanded, filling the screen. A large fissure could be seen, in which appeared to be....
"Is that an Imperial ship?" asked Onasi, squinting.
"No. But it is... human."
Carth couldn't control himself. "ALL HUMAN SHIPS ARE IMPERIAL SHIPS!"
"Not this one," said Sgale simply.
"Admiral, he is correct," interrupted Bastila. "The ship does conform to Imperial construction protocols, but it is not an Imperial ship."
"How is that poss-" he stopped. He understood.
"The Rebellion."
"Nope," said Sgale. "It's built by a group known as the Galactic Republic."
Carth's hands balled into fists. "There is no such thing as the 'Galactic Republic'."
"No, there is not."
Carth stood, throwing his dagger across the table. Sgale caught it with remarkable skill, then placed it gently on the table. "I understand your position, Admiral," he said. "The reason you have never heard of the Galactic Republic," he explained. "Is because it is not from this reality."
Nobody said anything for a long few seconds. "What?" said Onasi, breaking the silence.
"It is not from this reality," repeated Sgale. "I believe," he said, pulling up a map of the Deltic Expanse, the Blue Eye at it's center. "That the anomolies in the Expanse... are tears... in the fabric of space-time."
"How did it get here?"
"I believe," he repeated. "That these tears in space time are tunnels. Tunnels to another dimension. A mirror dimension. That would explain not only the strange ship disappearences, but what ms. Shan has told me are 'nothing more than sensor ghosts'."
Carth stared at the map. It fit. It all fit. As he stared at the calculations in front of him, he noticed something.
"What class ship is it? I don't recognize it. If it's from a... mirror universe...."
Sgale smiled. "I was hoping you would ask me that," he said. He pulled up another set of numbers and calculations. "These are the results of the carbon dating tests I was able to perform before I was... removed... from the nebula."
Carth studied the numbers. "That's not possible," he said. "The resulting figure is negative."
"Exactly," said Sgale.
"So you mean to tell me..." he said slowly. "That... this vessel... is from the future?"
"Yes, Admiral. To be precise.... almost over four thousand years in the future."
Carth stared at the ship on the display. Imagine what I could accomplish with technology that advanced! I could take over the empire in a day with a single ship!
His face remained neutral. "How much will this information cost the Empire, mr. Sgale?"
Sgale smiled.

* * * * *

His face remained neutral, but she knew what was going on in his head. Bastila saluted the Admiral, leaving him to... negotiate... with Sgale. She knew what he was thinking. With a ship like that, he could take over the galaxy within a matter of days. And he knew it.
Bastila stepped into the turboshaft. "Deck 7, crew quarters."
The turboshaft began to move. She idly counted the number of times the light on the com panel blinked. What if Carth managed to take - what was it called? The name Outrider came to mind. He would surely challenge Dorak within seconds of securing the ship!
The turboshaft stopped. The door opened, but she didn't go through it. She keyed for the door to close. Now, if ever, was the time to go to Dorak.
"Locate Mauj Dorak," she said out loud. The computer's deep male voice responded. "Deck 22, section 3. Meditation chabers."
"Deck 22, section 3. Meditation chambers," she ordered. The turboshaft began to move again. It stopped, and the doors opened. The stone room was dark and quiet, and there was an eerie fog floating about an inch off the floor. She walked into the room. Dorak sat in the center.
"Good evening, my Del," he said. His voice seemed deeper than the last time she had heard it, and had a strange echoing quality to it.
"I have news, Mauj," she said. "Important news."
"I'm sure you do..."
She was suddenly struck with a bout of terror. Terror the like of which she had never known was possible. The change in his voice made her skin crawl.
"What is it?" he said distractidly, obviously not really paying her any attention.
She shivered. She didn't want to tell him. She was afraid of what he would do.
"I..." she began, scrambling for something to say. "I have been sent by Admiral Onasi, Mauj, to inform you that we have still not been able to find the Brightwing," she lied. "They seem to have masked their hyperspace wake using a-"
"It is irrelevant," he said, his voice again making her skin crawl. "The Sahri will fall to us. The Empire will thrive, and I will rule over the galaxy!"
"Yes, my Mauj," she said, bowing and taking her leave.

Chapter Fifteen (http://www.clivebanks.co.uk/Themes/STEnterpriseIAMD.mp3)

Bastila threw herself onto her bed. She was trapped. On one hand, she had her Mauj. He was being consumed by power, and she didn't know what she could do to save him. On the other, she had Onasi, who was blinded by his lust for dominion over the living galaxy.
She rolled over, a wave of nausea hitting her. What could she do? Between the two of them, the Empire would collapse, and the Jedi would be vulnerable! She fell into a restless sleep, plagued by nightmares.

* * * * *

~Another time jump. The following takes place approximately two days after Carth's meeting with Sgale. They have set a course back to the Deltic Expanse, the system containing the white dwarf star known as the Blue Eye.~

Carth stood at the head of the bridgte, Sgale standing behind him. He had been granted crew quarters, and had therefore been able to shower and get into some clean clothes. That takes care of the stench, Carth thought. He turned to the operations officer. "Ensign, are you detecting the asteroid mr. Sgale indicated?"
"No sir," responded the ensign immidiately, apparently expecting the question. "At least not at the projected coordinates."
"Carth scowled at Sgale. "If we don't find that asteroid exactly as you described, I will personally-"
"Admiral, I've got it," said the ensign. "Approximately 30 kilometers from the projected coordinates. Bearing 336 mark 249."
Onasi smiled. "Bring us about, bearing 336 mark 249."
"Aye sir," said the helmsmen. The view from the front window shifted as they turned around to face the asteroid. It loomed in front of them, almost twice the size of the Endar Spire. The large fissure seemed like a gaping wound in the side of a terelk. There it was.
"Sir, we're receiving a transmission from-"
The ship rocked as weapons fire bit into the deflector shields.
"Return fire. Spacial torpedoes, full spread. Fire!"
The attacking ship was hit by six glowing balls of evergy. They deflector shields dropped, and escape pods began to launch.
"Stop those pods!"
Bastila walked quickly towards him. "Admiral. We should let them go. They aren't a threat. Isn't recovering that ship more important than-"
"Fire!" yelled Carth, ignoring her. One by one, the escape pods were destroyed. Carth turned to address the helmsen. "Lay in a course for the asteroid. Bastila, Lieutenant Telkan, and Ensign Gilch, you're with me. Captain, have three security teams meet me in the shuttle bay."
"Three?" said the Captain incredulously.
"We're securing a new ship in the name of the Empire, Captain," he said simply. "Do as I order."
"Yes sir!" he said, placing his right fist on his left shoulder in salute. Bastila fell into step behind Carth, Commander Telkan and Ensign Gilch following.
"Deck 24, shuttle bay," said Bastila, once they were all inside. The pod began to move through the ship. The doors opened, and they stepped into large room with multiple shuttles along the wall. Four dozen soldiers were boarding their ships, ready to claim their prize in the name of the Empire.

* * * * *

"The Outrider's docking clamps are active, sir. We won't have to use the transporter," said Bastila.
"Excellent. We'll dock first. The security teams can transport in. Their ships should remain ready in case the Endar Spire is attacked again."
"Aye sir, transmitting instructions now," she responded. Ensign Gilch guided the shuttle in gently. The ship rocked ever so sligtly as the clamps locked in. The airlock hissed as the pressure equalized, and they disembarked, weapons ready. They walked into a dmily lit corridor, then halted. A purple haze formed in front of them, and a dozen Imperial marines faded into existence in front of them, their disruptor rifles ready.
They moved towards the bridge. When thyopened the door, a stream of yelt rats came swarming out. The marines opened fire on them, covering the ground in a dark blue paste.
"You're cleaning that up, Major," said Onasi, irritated. He stepped onto the bridge. The controls were dead. Lieutenant Krelkan walked over to the operations terminal and brought main power online.
"Power distribution systems are active, Admiral," he said. "Sensors are coming online now."
"Scan the ship for non human life signs, lieutenant. I don't want any alien scum playing around with our new ship."
"I'm only detecting 16 life signs on board. All human," he said with satisfaction. There was a silence. "Sir, I'm picking up weapons fire. It's the Spire. She's under attack."

* * * * *

Captain Kalton sat in his command chair, awaiting for orders from the Admiral. Out of nowhere, the ship rocked - hard.
"Sir, I'm detecting numerous alien ships assuming an attack formation,"
"Shields! Now!"
"Generators are down, sir!"
"Sir, we're being hailed."
Kalton waited a moment, considering his options. He could surrender, and be killed by the Admiral upon his forced return, or he could be kill by the aliens now. He didn't likie either of those options.
He decided to stall for time. "Put it through."
The window at the head of the bridge was suddenly filled with the image of a large, ugly alien with horns along the side of it's head, and particularly large eyes. It spoke in a series of clicks and buzzes.
"They say: lower your shields and surrender your ships. You have invaded Telerite space. The ship you have boarded belongs to the Telerite mining cooperative. Any attempt to-"
Kalton made a slicing moment with his hand. The image snapped back to the view of the asteroid.
"Commander, charge all weapons. All ans," he said, activating the ship wide comm system. "Report to your stations and preapre to engage the enemy."
The ship rocked again as they were pelted with weapons fire. "Sir, I'm reading almost a dozen ships out there! We can't-"
"Targe the lead ship!" yelled Kalton, ignoring him. "All weapons, fire when ready!"
The lead ship was hit with every weapon that the Endar Spire had, exploding spectacularly. The other ships swerved to avoid te shrapnel, but continued their assault of the Spire. Consoles all over the bridge exploded, showering the entire room in sparks. Coolant pipes burst open, power lines snapped, and cables hung from the celing as they fell out of their place.
"Return fire!"
"We can't! Targeting scanners are offline!"
"Then target the sons of bitches manually! Destroy them!"

* * * * *

"Admiral, the Endar Spire is taking heavy damage."
"Bastila! Get us out of here!"
"Aye sir, I'm on it," she said from the helm.
The engines kicked into life, and the ship lurched forward as Bastila manipulated the unfamiliar controls. They burst from the asteroid, flying directly into battle.
"Raise shields," ordered Carth. "And power up the weapons systems. I want to be ready when we enter battle."

Chapter Sixteen (http://www.clivebanks.co.uk/Themes/STEnterpriseIAMD.mp3)

~This chapter should be of better quality. I typed it up in Wordperfect before posting it. There should be fewer spelling and grammatical errors in this chapter.

~Another time jump. This chapter takes place two days before the meeting between Admiral Onasi and Sgale. The Endar Spire is still in orbit around Metibelis III, but Bastila has not yet met with Sgale in the Wounded Yelt.~

Amol opened his eyes, squinting against the bright light from the large window beside where he lay. He tried to sit up, but his muscles wouldn’t respond. He tried to speak, but found his throat was to dry. All he could do was gasp dryly.
“Here, drink this,” said a woman’s voice. She held a cup to his mouth, and he allowed the cool water to flow down his throat. He felt a little stronger, and managed to turn his head a little to see who was there with him. It was Denara.
“Denara... where-”
“Telos,” she said. “We’re safe here.”
Amol managed to force his muscles to lift him into a sitting position. “How long have I been out?” he asked, almost afraid to hear the answer.
“Almost three weeks,” she told him. “There was a few times when I thought... well... you came close to...” she trailed off, unable to finish the sentence.
“Three weeks?” he said incredulously. “How is that possible?”
“You were badly wounded. We had to keep you sedated - every time we tried to wake you, the internal bleeding would start again.”
Amol rubbed his forehead. He had a killer headache, and his ribs still hurt a little. Then he realized how hungry he was. He swung his legs over the bed, and Denara stood up.
“Where do you think you’re going?” she asked.
“To get something to eat. I haven’t eaten in three weeks - more, if you count the time we spent on the Endar Spire.”
“I’ll bring you something. You stay here.”
“No. I’m not going to lie here while you serve me! I can do it myself!”
“Amol, sit,” she said. Her voice was so reminiscent of her father’s that he sat down immediately. “I’ll get you something,” she repeated. “Stay here.”
She turned and left the room, leaving Amol alone. He lay back down, his head pounding, “God, she can be a pain in the-”
“May I assist you, sir?”
The mechanical voice made Amol jump. A protocol droid had walked over to the bed. It was looking at him with it’s head titled slightly, awaiting a response.
“Where the hell did you come from?” he asked, clutching his chest.
“My apologies, Master Kotay,” it said. “I am AC-19. I apologise if I have startled you.”
Amol rubbed his chest. “It’s alright,” he said. “Just... just don’t do that again.”
“Understood, Master Kotay,” it said. “Now, is there anything I can get for you?”
“No, thanks anyway,” he said. “Denara just went to get me some food.”
“Perhaps you require entertainment? I can bring you a wide selection of novels, as well as activate the information feed for you to view at your leisure.”
“No,” repeated Amol. “It’s alright. Thanks anyway.”
“As you wish, Master Kotay,” it said, turning away.
“Oh, a Aysee - drop the Master Kotay thing. Please. Just call me Amol.”
“I will attempt to do so, Master Kotay,” he responded. He walked to the other side of the room, and returned to whatever it was that droids did in their spare time.
Denara returned carrying a tray laden with Amol’s favourite foods. She placed it on his bed side table, then sat down in her chair again. “There. Now quit complaining,” she said with a smile.
“I wasn’t complaining,” he said, pretending t be insulted. “I was-”
“Whatever,” she said, still smiling.
“Thanks,” he said as she passed him the tray. “But I could have gotten it myself, you know.”
“Not as long as I’m here.”

* * * * *

Cullah examined the sensor reports. “Are you sure?” he asked.
A tall man in a Commander’s uniform stood at attention behind him. “Yes, sir. These scans were picked up by the Dalatet approximately sixteen hours ago.”
“But... how did it get there? Who would bring their ship into an asteroid? And why?”
“We don’t know, sir. All we know is that it’s there, and that it’s human. But...”
“But what, Commander?”
The Commander was silent. “Sir, it’s human... but the engine emissions - they’re nothing like that of the standard Imperial ship. It’s hull signature is different, too. It’s not an Imperial ship.”
“Could the Jedi have built it?”
“No sir,” he said. “The Jedi use Imperial ships that the fleet don’t want anymore - ships that are outdated. This ship... it’s not like anything any of our top scientists have ever seen before?”
Amol returned his gaze to the readings. “This chronoton flux - what could it mean?”
The Commander didn’t say anything for another moment. “Sir, this is going to sound...” he trailed off, not sure how to continue. “We believe that this ship... is from... another reality.”
Cullah stared at him. “Another reality? What do you mean?”
“Sir, the ship doesn’t conform to any design we’ve ever seen before. There are rumours that ships appear at random in the Deltic Expanse... it’s said that most of them are destroyed by the anomalies, but-”
“And this carbon dating report! What are you saying? That this ship is from another time, as well?”
“Yes, sir,” he said. “To be specific... future. Four thousand years into the future.”
Cullah stared at him.

~I'm saving these chapters into a Wordperfect document and editing them from there. Once the story is complete, I will post it on my website, which is coming soon.

Just as an update, I've created a site where you will be able to download the entire story when it's done. To visit my new fanfic site, click here (http://www.freewebs.com/thelucasforumsdoctor).

Thanks to Bob Lion_54, I now have a coat of arms for the Dark Empire. It's also now the official Dark Mirror logo, as well as my new avatar:D

The three swords are symbols for the Empire (center), the Human Race (Left), and the Jedi Order (right). Thanks go to Bob Lion_54, who actually made the symbol, and who put up with my multiple requests, finally deciding on this one:D
Thanks also go to JasraLantill, who, aside from coming up with the ship name Omega Dawn, she also came up with the concept of the three swords symbolizing aspects of the Empire. Thanks, Jas, and I hope you don't mind how I altered your idea ever so slightly;)

This is awesome, doc. Hope my own story is as captivating.

Farewell, writers block! Nice knowin' ya!

Chapter Seventeen (http://www.clivebanks.co.uk/Themes/STEnterpriseIAMD.mp3)

Amol stretched to relieve the cramp building in his arm.
“Why make my stay in bed for three weeks?” he asked grudgingly. “You know I hate just sitting there and not doing anything useful.”
“Sorry. Doctor’s orders,” Denara responded. “He said that he didn’t care how bored you got, you weren’t leaving bed,” she said. “He was even ready to keep you sedated if you tried arguing.”
“Nice guy,” said Amol jokingly. He fixed the collar of his uniform in front of the mirror and pulled it at the bottom, trying to get rid of the wrinkled. He heard Denara laugh behind him. “What?” he asked, smiling slightly.
“Nothing,” she said. “It’s just...” she giggled again. “My father does the exact same thing. You know, with his uniform. It’s cute that you try to imitate him.”
“I’m not imitating him,” he said.
“Sure,” she said, still smiling. “Come one. We should get going. They’re expecting you.”
“I know,” he said, turning to her. “I’m just a little nervous.”
“Why? You’ve delivered reports before.”
“Sure. But not to a room full of Mandalorian Admirals,” he said. “I hear Dalmanec can be tough,”
“Dalmanec?” asked Denara incredulously. “He’s sweeter than a yelt runt.”
“You do know that if those things bite you, even the runts, it’ll kill you in a matter of days?”
Denara laughed. “Relax,” she said after a moment. “You’ll do fine. I’ve met Dalmanec. He’s alright. It’s Gulthan you have to watch out for,” she said. “He uhm... he doesn’t like Jedi.”
“Nobody does,” said Amol, turning back to his reflection, smoothing out his hair. “Good thing I’m not a Jedi.”
“Even Malatan. He doesn’t believe that a Jedi could ever really turn away from the Order.”
“Well, I’ll have to convince him otherwise,” he said, turning back to her. “Alright, let’s-” he stopped at the look she was giving him. “What?”
She jumped slightly, then shook her head. “Nothing. Let’s go.”

* * * * *

Admiral Gulthan sat and watched the young man take his seat across the table form him. He was stricken by how amazingly... normal he looked. He didn’t look capable of murder, like his Jedi brethren. He looked like an ordinary soldier, with his neat hair, and spotless uniform.
“You are Amol Kotay?” he said, his deep bass voice booming across the table.
“Yes, sir,” he said.
Gulthan sighed. “Alright. Let’s begin,”
Cullah stood. “Amol, are you aware of the rumours surrounding the Deltic Expanse?”
Amol arched an eyebrow slightly - this wasn’t a debriefing. “Yes, sir.”
“Please - tell us what you know.”
“Well, I’ve never been there myself, but I’ve heard it’s a rough area of space in the Teleria system. There are strange anomalies in the region created by the white dwarf star in the system.”
“And what about ship disappearances?”
“Well, there are stories about the Telerites attacking and raiding ships that enter the Expanse. But nobody really knows what happens to them.”
“What do you think happens to them, Mr. Kotay?” said Dalmanec, speaking for the first time.
“Well, I guess the anomalies tear them apart. I’ve always avoided the entire system, myself.”
“And, have you heard of ships simply appearing?”
“It’s said that ships sometime reappear months later, the crew dead and the ship badly damaged. I know those are destroyed.”
“I don’t mean reappearances, I mean appearances.”
Amol laughed slightly. “With all due respect, Admiral,” he said. “Those are nothing more than solar reflections. Sensor ghosts.”
Dalmanec smiled, and Cullah even chuckled, but Gulthan was not impressed. “You know nothing of this, boy!” he barked. He closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. “My apologies, mr. Kotay,” he said quietly. “I did not mean to-”
“No harm done, Admiral,” said Amol.
“Mr. Kotay. What would you say if I told you that these appearances are not simply solar reflections, or sensor ghosts,” he asked. “That they are a fact.”
“Permission to speak freely, sir?”
“Granted.”
“I would say you’re crazy, sir. There are reports from dozens of science ships. All of them saying that they’re nothing more than a solar reflection of the scanning ship.”
Gulthan stood, and walked over to the computer terminal. He punched in a security clearance, and the monitor snapped into life. It showed a large asteroid, with a long gash in it’s side. “What do you see here, mr. Kotay?”
Amol looked at the monitor. “An asteroid, sir. Class 3, by the looks of it.”
“Class 4,” said Gulthan. “And what about now?” he said, tapping the console again. The image zoomed in on the fissure on the one side. There was a small shape in the dark fissure. Amol squinted, trying to make out the figure.
“It’s a ship, mr. Kotay,” said Gulthan.
Amol stared at him. “A ship?”
“That’s right. And not just any ship.” He pulled up a data analysis report. Most of the numbers made sense to Amol, but some of the ending figures...
“You’re trying to tell me,” he said. “That this ship is from the future? About-” he glanced at the numbers again. “Four thousand years into the future?”
“That’s right, Amol,” said Cullah. “This ship... it’s not like anything we’ve ever seen before. From what we can tell, it’s similar to the Imperial Galat class warships. However, it’s energy signature, hull markings - they’re not consistent with standard Imperial design.”
“What does that mean?” asked Amol. “You’re saying it’s from a time when the Empire no longer existed?”
Gulthan and Cullah looked at each other. Dalmanec spoke first. “Not exactly,” he said. “We believe that this ship..... is from another dimension.”
Amol stared at him, his mouth open slightly. “Another dimension.”
“That’s right. To be more specific, a parallel dimension.”
“Ok,” said Amol. “Why are you telling me this?”
“We want you to take the Omega Dawn and investigate. At maximum speeds, it should take you about two days to get there.”
Amol stared at the ship on the display. For a long moment, he said nothing. Then “Alright. I’ll do it.”
“Excellent. Prepare the Omega Dawn. You leave in six hourse.”

* * * * *

“What?” yelled Denara. “You’re going to the Deltic Expanse?! Amol, that’s an Imperial system. One small ship can’t-”
“Denara, it’ll be alright. I can slip past the Imperial patrols no problem. They chose me because I’m the best pilot in the fleet. I can do this!”
“Not alone you can’t,” she said. “You’ll need a gunner. No offence, but you’re not that great with a turret station.”
“No. You’re not coming,” he said. “You’re staying here, with your father, where it’s safe.”
“The hell I am,” she said stubbornly. “I’m coming, Amol. There’s nothing you can do to stop me.” she said, glaring at him.
“Denara, it’s too dangerous!” he said. “And I can’t always be there to protect you!”
“I don’t need you to protect me!” she yelled. “I’m quite capable of taking care of myself!”
“I know that, Denara, but... it’s just...”
“What?” she said angrily. She continued more calmly. “I want to come with you, Amol.”
He didn’t know what to say. “I could shoot you, and leave right now,” he said jokingly.
“You could. But then my father would drag you back by your ankles. He wouldn’t want to have to clean it up.”
“Denara, please,” he said quietly. “I-”
“Amol,” she said. “I’m coming. Face it.”
He sighed. “I just... I just don’t want you to get hurt.”
She walked over to him. “Believe it or not,” she said. “I can take care of myself,” she repeated. She put her arms around him, and placed her head on his chest. “And I’m pretty good at it.”
He wrapped his arms around her, smelling her hair. They stood there for a while, then she pulled away. “We should, uh... we should get going,” she said.
“Ya,” he said, straightening his uniform. “Come on. They’re prepping the Omega Dawn. Let’s go.”

Chapter Eighteen (http://www.clivebanks.co.uk/Themes/STEnterpriseIAMD.mp3)

Amol climbed the ladder into the Omega Dawn’s cockpit, Denara climbing into the copilot’s seat behind him. “Initiating preflight sequence,” he said.
“Acknowledged. Activating navigation system,” she responded, throwing a line of switched in front of her.
“Bring the ion cannons online. I want to be ready in case the Imperials decide to show up while we’re scouting out the system.”
“Acknowledged,” she said again. “Ion cannons online.”
“There’s something different about the computer core. What-”
“It’s been upgraded. It was running on a system that Colmes said he hasn’t seen in almost ten years,” she said, smiling.
“When we get back, he’s fixing it,” said Amol.
“I’m sorry I changed your ship. I asked you first, though. You didn’t seem to have a problem with it.”
“I was unconscious at the time,” said Amol, smiling. “Well, we’ll see how she operates first. If I don’t like it, he’s changing it back.”
“Aye, sir,” she said jokingly.
“Teril 6, we are ready for takeoff,” he said.

* * * * *

Cullah stood in the control room, listening to Amol and Denara make idol conversation as they prepared for launch.
“Teril 6, we are ready for takeoff.”
Cullah keyed on the intercom. “Acknowledged, Omega Dawn, you are cleared for launch,” he said. “And Amol?”
“Yes sir?”
“Good luck.”
“Thank you, sir. Don’t worry. I’ll have her back by midnight.”
Cullah smiled. “Be careful, Amol. You too, young lady.”
“Don’t worry, Daddy,” came Denara’s voice.
The Omega Dawn floated for a moment a few feet above the deck plates, then shot forward, breaking into the mid morning sky.

* * * * *

“Slow down, Lead-foot,” said Denara.
“It’s a two day trip at maximum speed,” he said. “I don’t know about you, but two days stuck sitting doing nothing is as much as I can take.”
“The Expanse will still be there. We can stop somewhere before we enter Imperial space. Which reminds me, we had to change the ID Codes. They wouldn’t tell me why at the time, but now I guess it's obvious - from a distance, we should read as an Imperial freighter.”
“What? My ship is transmitting Imperial codes?”
“I tried to talk them out of it, but they said that the Dawn has too much of a reputation with the Empire.”
“Alright. That’s another thing Colmes can change when we get back,” he said. “Denara, can we talk?”
“We’ve got time - two days, remember?”
“Denara, on the Endar Spire... Dorak-”
“Amol, it’s ok,” she said.
“No, it’s not,” he said. “Denara, the thing is-”
“Amol, I understand! Look, you and I both know that Dorak is insane. He’s a Jedi, what do you expect?”
Amol nodded slowly - that’s not what he wanted to say at all.
“Amol?”
“Denara, I-”
“No! Amol! Check your scanners. Am I seeing what I think I’m seeing?”
Amol glanced at his scanners - a Darex class Imperial warship had appeared on the scanners. “I see it. Looks like we’re taking the scenic route,” he said, making the calculation for a hyperspace jump around the ship.
“The ID codes should keep them from coming over here, but if they get too close...”
“I know. Calculating the jump...”
He was thrown back against his chair as the ship lurched into hyperspace, the stars blurring into the familiar red glow of hyperspace.
“How much time is this detour going to add to the trip?” he asked her, fearing the answer.
“Twenty-two hours, 56 minutes. Another day.”
Amol sighed. “Looks like stopping in our turf is out of the question. We don’t have time.”
“Agreed,” said Denara regretfully. “I’m calculating a jump that should cut about four hours off our trip. I’m feeding it to you now.”
Amol glanced at the course she had plotted and frowned. “That course will take us pretty close to Mannan. The Selkath don’t like humans, especially since the Imperial occupation. Even our new ID Codes won’t get us past them without their turrets taking a few shots at us.”
“I’m game if you are. Might add some excitement to the trip,” she said, smiling.
“Oh, I’m game alright,” said Amol. “I just don’t know if the Dawn is, what with everything you’ve done to her in your so called ‘upgrade’,” he said jokingly.
“I had to make sure she had what she needed to make up for what her pilot puts her through,” she joked. “Us girls have to watch out for each other. Especially since we know you”
“Just as long as you two don’t talk about me, you can spend as much time watching out for her as you want,” said Amol.
They fell silent for a while, both of them staring out into the crimson field of hyperspace.
“Amol?”
“Yeah.”
“What do you think of this ship? The one we’re being sent to find, I mean.”
“Well... it’s hard to say. It’s definitely not like anything I’ve ever seen or heard of before,” he said. “Maybe... maybe it is from another reality. I can’t say.”
“What about the... temporal deviance? Do you think it’s possible that...”
“That it’s from the future? Possibly. I don’t know if it’s both from another time and another dimension - it’s possible that it’s only one of them, and we don’t know how to scan it properly.”
“Which do you think makes more sense?”
Amol laughed at her.
“Alright, which do you think is more insane?”
Amol shook his head. “I don’t know. They both seem... out there.”
“Just a little, huh?” she said.
“Hopefully we’ll get a better understanding of what’s going on when we get there,” he said, though he didn’t really believe that.
They fell silent again, Amol’s thoughts leading him back to the Endar Spire...
He wanted to tell her. Ever since that experience, he wanted to tell her what had been eating at the back of his mind since they were teenagers. But he couldn’t. He didn’t know how she would react. He forced his train of thought away from Denara, once again focusing on the mottled ruby tunnel of hyperspace.

* * * * *

Denara sat in the copilot’s seat, staring out into the hyperspace corridor, watching it fly, from her perspective facing away from the pilot, away from her.
Why is Amol being such an idiot? she asked herself. why won’t he...
She had thought about being the one to initiate a relationship - she had thought about it since they were sixteen, getting tired of waiting for him. But she had never worked up the courage to do anything about it. She mentally kicked herself for the way she had chickened out earlier. That wasn’t how she had intended that conversation to go...
She gave her controls a half hearted scan, not really seeing the readings.
Why is he being such and idiot?
She wanted to say it now. Just let it burst out to relieve the weight from her chest. But she fought the urge down - they both had to stay focused on the task at hand. This ship could help in the fight against the Empire. She knew that. She knew that it was quite possibly the most important scientific discovery since the discovery of hyperspace. But she wouldn’t be able to focus if...
She shook herself, and closed her eyes, eventually falling into an uneasy and restless sleep.

I'm sorry the 19th chapter has taken so long. Lots of homework lately, and this is a long one.

Chapter Nineteen (http://www.clivebanks.co.uk/Themes/STEnterpriseIAMD.mp3)

The Endar Spire shook, consoles exploding, as another wave of fighters opened fire.
“Return fire!” ordered Kalton. “All weapons!”
“We can’t,” responded the tactical officer. “Weapons are offline!”
“Captain, we have a hull breach on deck 18! Emergency bulkheads are offline! We’re venting atmosphere!’
“Seal of that deck now!”
“Sir, I’m detecting another ship!”
Kalton slammed his command console in frustration. “More Telerites?”
“No. It’s Admiral Onasi. He’s hailing us.”
“Put him through,” he ordered.
The window at the front of the room was filled with the Admiral’s face. “Report, Captain,” he said calmly.
“We’ve sustained heavy damage, admiral. Weapons are offline. We’re trying to get them back now, but-”
“Don’t worry about it, Kalton,” said the admiral. “We’re on our way.”
The channel was cut. “Sir, I’m detecting an odd power signal coming from the Outrider. I don’t know what-”
At that moment, a blue projectile launched itself from the nose of the Outrider. It flew at on of the larger Telerite ships. They collided, and the Telerite ship was blown to tiny bits of shrapnel.

* * * * *

“Fire.”
The man at the Outrider’s tactical station pressed the key sequence, and a blue projectile appeared on the screen. It hit a large Telerite ship, which was destroyed on contact. “Direct hit, sir,” said the officer with satisfaction.
“Again,” ordered Carth. Another volley escaped the weapons array, and two more Telerite ships were destroyed.
“They’re falling back,” said Bastila.
“Take out as many as you can before they get out of range, Lieutenant,” said Carth. “But... make sure you leave at least one ship intact - someone has to spread the word about this ship,” he added, smiling.
“Yes, sir,” said the Lieutenant, smiling back. “Resuming fire.”
“Bastila,” he said. “Get me the other Grand Admirals. We have... business... to discuss.

* * * * *

Bastila guided the Outrider into a parallel course with the Endar Spire. With a soft bump, the two ships locked together, granting the crews of both ships access to the other. She stood, turning towards Onasi.
“Admiral, with your permission, I would like to return to the Endar Spire,” she said.
“Why?” asked Carth.
“The interface on this ship is... unfamiliar to me. I would like to return to my quarters on the Endar Spire. I can work more effectively there, and perhaps I can study the Outrider’s database.”
Carth scrutinized her. “Permission granted. But I want you to study the control systems of this ship, as well - you’re going to need to be familiar with them.”
“As you command, Admiral.” she said, saluting with her fist at her shoulder. She turned to the door, and walked toward the docking hatch. She stepped through the airlock, and felt a soft rush of air as the hatch opened and the pressure equalized. She was met by three Jedi, all with their lightsabers in their hands.
“What’s going on?” she demanded.
The didn’t answer. They stood there, staring at her.
“What is this? I order you to get out of my way!”
One of them spoke, but she couldn’t tell which one through their masks. “Mauj Dorak has summoned you, mistress.”
“Very well,” she said. “Why sen you to get me? Why not use the comm system?”
“We do not question the Mauj,” said the Jedi.
Bastila sighed. Maybe that’s your problem.
The thought came unbidden in her mind. She buried it, replacing it with a cold fury. “You are dismissed, Calquon,” she said. They didn’t move. “Go!” she yelled.
“We are to escort you there, my Del,” he said. “The Mauj is concerned for your safety with all the repairs.
I don’t buy it, she thought. Aloud, she said, “Mauj Dorak’s concern is appreciated. Lead on.”

* * * * *

Dorak sat in his chamber, in deep meditation. He sensed Bastila approaching. He slowly lifted himself from the trance. He opened his eyes just as Bastila entered the room, flanked by three Knights.
“You may leave us.”
Bastila shuddered. His voice has changed further, she thought. It had become deeper, and the strange echoing had gotten more pronounced - it didn’t sound like the man she had known since she was a little girl. “Bastila. Welcome home.”
She suppressed another shudder, and stepped forward. “Thank you, my Mauj.”
“I trust that the mission went according to plan?”
“Yes, Mauj. The Outrider is secured.”
“Excellent,” said Dorak, his resonating voice sending yet another chill down her back. He laughed coldly. “Can you feel it, Bastila?” he said. “The entire galaxy will be mine!”
Not sure how to respond to this, she simply said, “Yes, Mauj.”
He laughed again. “You are skeptical. I am not surprised. You were always too skeptical for your own good. You have a very scientific mind, my Del. It is... unfortunate.”
She didn’t say anything. She felt fear rising in her chest. She tried to keep her heart rate and breathing in check. Dorak didn’t seem to notice.
“The Sahri. He is coming. He is approaching the system. No doubt he and his... ally... have been sent here to retrieve our new ship. When he arrives, you will bring him to me. Alive.”
“Yes, my Mauj,” she said. “Is there-”
“Anything else?” he finished. “No. Leave me.”
“Yes, my Mauj,” she said again, saluting and bowing.

* * * * *

Bastila sat at the desk in her quarters. She adjusted her robe so that it stayed closed as she sat, then activated the monitor.
“Computer, call up the data retrieved from the Outrider’s computer banks.”
The screen flashed to the Imperial coat of arms, then a schematic of the Outrider appeared on the small monitor. “Give me an overview of the ship.”
Data began scrolling past her. She rubbed her eyes. “Pause.”
The information stopped in place. “Return to the beginning.” It did so. She read under her breath.
“Class YT-2400 medium freighter... Captain Dash Rendar... military grade ion engines... two heavy double laser cannons... two forward-firing concussion missile launchers.. Powerful little ship.”
She studied it’s most recent sensor logs. “It looks like it almost collided with a Falleen ship... that can’t be right... the Falleen have been extinct for decades...” she muttered. She read on. “Last recorded entry in the ship’s log is in... what in the name of the Force does ABY mean...?”
She slammed her fist on the table in frustration. She stared at the monitor. It hit her. An urge to learn more about it. She couldn’t explain it. “Computer, tell me more about this... Galactic Republic,” she said.
The Imperial Coat of arms appeared on the screen again as the computer loaded the information. It was replaced by a similarly sized blue Emblem, with a golden ring around it, a number of golden stars between the ring and the symbol. Her eyes lingered on the symbol, and she felt a surge of emotion rise to the surface of her mind. Hope, fascination... love.
She accessed the information. “This Republic... it looks somewhat similar to the Empire... the same planets, for the most part...”
She ran across mention of a Luke Skywalker - there was a Skywalker in the Order. Landric. She accessed the page on this ‘Luke’, and a middle aged man appeared on the screen, wearing a black tunic, and a lightsaber attached to his belt. He was a Jedi! She read about the other universe’s version of the Jedi, and her heart skipped a beat. The Jedi Order were a group of pacifists. Peacekeepers. She shook off the surprise, and scanned the information on this ‘Luke Skywalker’.
Important man... she thought. He defeated the - Galactic Empire!
She accessed all the information she could on this ‘Galactic Empire’, as well. It wasn’t anything like the Empire she knew - it was completely different. She relaxed - she had been ready to destroy Landric Skywalker now.
She had an idea. “Computer, show me all information available on a ‘Landric Skywalker’.”
A message appeared on the screen. No information available. The data was lost.
“Alright,” she said. “What about... Revan?”
The screen showed a tall man with broad shoulders and a kind face - it was him. Fighting back her emotions, she studied the information. His life was different in many ways from that of the Revan she knew, though there were significant similarities. She saw her name in the text, and accessed it. She saw herself on the screen - though this version was less pale, and her eyes were less cold.
She saw another familiar name - Carth Onasi. She accessed it. A Republic War Hero... she read. Cross of Glory... Gold Heart... definitely not the man I know...
She examined the face. It was softer, more friendly than the face she knew - it was disturbing, yet comforting at the same time.
“Computer, access all information on the Dark Empire.” she said. She read the message.
Term ‘Dark Empire’ not found.
“Try ‘Infinite Empire’.”
An alien she didn’t recognize appeared on the screen - it definitely wasn’t human, though. She looked at it’s odd eyes, protruding from the side of it’s head.
“Computer, show me all you can on a man known as ‘Amol Kotay’.”
There was no picture, but there was a short paragraph. It told of a legendary Jedi, a man so strong in the Force that he was made a Master at the age of 26. There was little other valid information, other than some mention of him being banished from the Order for getting married - to whom, it didn’t mention.
“What about ‘Denara...” she then realized that she didn’t know the woman’s last name. “Just do a search on the word ‘Denara’.”
She got some results, but none that seemed valid. Then she saw it. Denara Klintar, daughter of Cullah Klintar. She accessed the information on Cullah first, intrigued. He was nothing more than a street merchant in the Y’Toub system. A slave for the Hutts.
She accessed the data on Denara. Her jaw dropped, and her blood turned to ice.

Hmmm...could Denara in the normal SW universe be...? Suppose I'll just have to wait and see! Good chapter, and again, ANOTHER CLIFFHANGER!! grrr..... :) Keep up the good work!

And this one is going to leave you hanging longer than the others! I need to work out chapter 20! And don't guess: it ruins the surprise ;)

Wow. Long time since I posted a chapter. Sorry, guys. New semester is hell.

Chapter Twenty (http://www.clivebanks.co.uk/Themes/STEnterpriseIAMD.mp3)

Bastila burst into Carth’s ready room without signaling.
“What the hell are you doing here?” he asked. “Get-”
Bastila ignored him. “Computer, access the Outrider’s computer database and transfer it to the Admiral’s console.”
The console lit up, and the Republic insignia appeared on his screen. “Access information on an Admiral Carth Onasi.”
The screen flicked to an image of Carth, in a strange uniform. His face was less cruel, and the eyes seemed warm and caring, instead of the usual cold and calculating.
“What the hell...?”
“This is you,” she explained. “Your counterpart. He’s... much different than you are.” She moved in front of him and pressed a key. “This is me. Our counterparts have a similar relationship to ours, except... they’re more... friends, than anything else,” she said tentatively. “He is the admiral, but the Jedi Order are not slaves of this... Republic. They’re allies.”
“What the hell is this?” asked Carth. “You’re married?”
Bastila blushed. “Apparently so. In the parallel universe, Revan... we...”
“And this!” he continued, ignoring her. “Who the hell is this?”
“That would be... our... our son.”
Carth stared at her. “Your son?”

“I know. It’s ludicrous. But it’s there,” she said. “But that’s not why I came.”
She spoke to the computer. “Computer, access all information on an Amol Kotay.”
“Amol Kotay?” said Carth. “This... ‘Sahri’?”
“Yes,” she answered, as the requested data appeared. “Apparently, he’s a Jedi Master, who was banished from the Order for marrying.”
“So that’s not allowed for a Jedi in their universe, either?”
“No,” she said. “Emotional attachments lead to clouded judgment, and what they call the ‘Dark Side’.”
“Who did he marry?” asked Carth. “It might be a useful advantage...”
“There’s no specific mention of her name, but I put together some clues. But I’ll get to that. What I really came up here to show you... was this.”
The Malatan’s female companion appeared on the screen. Her hair was a less vibrant colour, and there was a lightsaber at her belt.
“Denara Klintar, daughter of Cullah Klintar, a Hutt slave in the Y’Toub system. She’s a Jedi, Admiral. A powerful one.”
“So?”
“Admiral,” she said, wanting to driver her lightsaber through his skull. “This woman is more powerful than Amol Kotay himself.”
“It’s another universe. There’s bound to be-”
“Admiral, Amol Kotay is not the Sahri.”
Carth stared at her. “Yes, he is. I saw him, in the vision Dorak...” he stopped. “No... I never actually saw him...”
“Exactly. Amol Kotay is not the Sahri,” she repeated.
“So are you saying that it’s...”
“Denara Klintar. The one to bring down the Empire. The Sahri.”

* * * * *

Denara sleepily opened her eyes, greeted by a beautiful star cluster a few kilometers off the port side.
“Amol... where are we?”
“So, it lives, huh?” he said jokingly. “We’re just outside the Expanse. I didn’t want to drop out of hyperspace smack dab in the path of an Imperial tractor beam. I’ve been waiting for almost two hours for you to wake up.”
“Well, let’s go,” she said.
The Omega Dawn lurched forward slightly as Amol engaged the engines. Denara charged up the weapons systems, and prepared for battle.

After nearly half an hour, Denara picked up a large asteroid at the edge of their scanning range. “I’m reading the asteroid,” she said. Her heart sank as she examined the readings. “I’m also detecting at least a half a dozen Imperial battleships in the vicinity - as well as a large amount of debris. Looks like the remains of Telerite combat ships.” Her console beeped at her. “Amol, I’m reading a strange energy signature. It looks like a weapons signature, but... I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“Me neither,” he agreed, checking his scans. “I don’t like this...”
His console began emitting an alarm, and he checked another monitor. “Incoming fighters!” he said. “Imperial dragon’s teeth. Six of them.”
“We can’t fight off that many dragon’s teeth on our own!” said Denara worriedly. “We would stand a chance against three, maybe four, but not six!”
‘Hold on!” he responded. “I’m laying in a course for a dense pocket of spacial distortions.”
“What?! Are you insane?!”
“They’d be insane to follow, wouldn’t they?”
“Amol, we can’t-”
“Look, would you rather be torn apart by a squadron of dragon’s teeth without a chance of survival, or rely on me to get us through these distortions?”
She hesitated. “Well, to be honest...”
“Just hold on!” he yelled.

* * * * *

“We must inform Mauj Dorak,” said Bastila. “He needs to kn-”
“No,” said Carth, grabbing her by the arm. He spun her around to face him. “You will not tell Dorak.”
Bastila stared at him. All the pieces suddenly clicked into place. She knew what was going on.
“You will not tell him,” he repeated. “Or I will drive you through your own lightsaber.”
She stared into his eyes. She understood everything.
“He will already know of your plans, Carth,” she said. He visibly bristled at the use of his first name, but she didn’t care - this went beyond protocol. “He’ll know, and he’ll already be planning your... removal.”
“He doesn’t know,” said Carth. “Because he’s too blinded by his desire to rule the Galaxy. You’ve noticed it - he’s changed. Before, he was concerned solely with destroying the Sahri. But now... now he wants to rule the Empire. He wants power. He has no idea. And he’s not going to, is he?”
Bastila looked into his eyes. There was a deep fire there that she didn’t recognize - or like. For the first time, she was genuinely afraid of him.
“No,” she said. “He will not.”
He released her arm. “Good,” he said. She turned around, and left the room.
As she walked across the bridge, she made up her mind. The Endar Spire was no longer safe for her. With both Dorak and Carth wanting to use her in their plans to rule the Empire, she couldn’t guarantee her safety. She had to leave - where she would go, she had no idea. But one thing as clear: the Empire was not the place for her to be.

* * * * *

The Ebon Hawk’s engines sprang to life, and T3-M4 fired the laser canons, blowing a whole in the docking bay door. The Hawk shot out of it, dodging the laser bolts being fired at her. Inside, Bastila’s hands moved across the controls with remarkable speed, maneuvering between the laser bolts. With T3 in the turrets, Bastila ignored the pursuing fighters - no, they weren’t following her. She was heading towards them. She looked at her scanners - they were dragon’s teeth. Damn...

She flinched as the fighters opened fire, her deflector shields being torn to pieces. T3 managed to take down two of them, forcing them to regroup. That gave her some breathing room. She scanned her consoles again, and noticed another ship - it was broadcasting an Imperial freighter code. She knew better. There were no freighter routes in this part of the system. She opened a channel.
“Federation ship, this is... the Ebon Hawk,” she said. Using her name would not gain her their favour. “I am in need of your assistance. I have stolen this vessel. I am a refugee of the Empire. Please respond.”

* * * * *

Amol sat in the cockpit of the Omega Dawn, readying for battle.
“Amol, we’re being hailed. It’s an Imperial frequency. It’s the ISS Ebon Hawk. They must be able to see through our new codes somehow.”
“Damn,” he said. “Put it through. It might buy us some time.”
“Understood. Opening a channel,” she said. “Channel open.”
“Federation ship, this is... the Ebon Hawk. I am in need of your assistance. I have stolen this vessel. I am a refugee of the Empire. Please respond.”
He recognized that voice....
Keying the comm, he spoke into the speaker. “ Ebon Hawk, this is the Federation ship Monumento,” he lied quickly. “State your iden-”
“Amol!”
He looked up in time to see three dragon’s teeth darting towards them. He swung the steering control to the right, but too late. They opened fire, and the cockpit shell cracked. The Ebon Hawk opened fire at the dragon’s teeth, destroying two and sending the third into retreat. But the Omega Dawn spun out of control, Amol and Denara barely able to hold on.

* * * * *

Bastila ordered T3 to open fire on the dragon’s teeth. Two of them were torn to pieces, and the third headed back to the rest. She watched as the Omega Dawn hurtled towards her, out of control. She activated the tractor beam, trying to slow them down. She was successful - to a certain extent. The two ships collided, shaking the Hawk, sending Bastila falling to the floor. She shook the fog out of her vision, and stood slowly. She scanned the sensors, and saw the Endar Spire bearing down on her. She activated the engines, and lay in a course for leading out of the system. The Endar Spire opened fire, pelting the conjoined ships with blaster fire. The Hawk shook again, and Bastila fell to the floor, unconscious.

Peril, danger, explosions and everyone's in danger.... I like! Great chapter, keep it up!

Chapter Twenty One (http://www.clivebanks.co.uk/Themes/STEnterpriseIAMD.mp3)

Amol was barely able to remain conscious after the collision with the Ebon Hawk.
“Denara, are you alright?” There was no answer.
“Son of a bitch,” he muttered. “Denara, if you can hear me, try to hold on. I’m going to-”
The Omega Dawn lurched as a tractor beam latched on to them, pulling them towards the Endar Spire. He tried breaking free, but his controls wouldn’t respond. He felt a strange tingling sensation, and the cockpit flickered out of existence.

* * * * *

Bastila slowly stood, massaging a large lump on her head. She moved over to the controls, stumbling as both the Hawk and the other ship were nabbed by the \Spire’s tractor beam. One of her consoles started beeping at her, sending stabs of pain through her forehead - definitely a concussion. She keyed the console’s report function, and noticed the transporter signal. They were still far away, but they would be able to get them one at a time. Moving quickly, she set the deflector shields on a one second burst, to blind the Endar Spire’s sensors. She punched the console as the life sign signal from the other ship dropped from two humans to one. The shields flashed, and the tractor beam flickered. She punched the engine controls, and the Ebon Hawk lurched forward, like an Al’hayat with a dagger in it’s side. Even in her crippled state, the Ebon Hawk was still capable of outrunning the Spire. Her Imperial pursuers fell behind, and she set in a course for Russan. It would take a while, without hyperdrive, but all she needed to do was get herself and the one on the other ship into Federation space.
She opened a comm channel to the other ship. “This is the Ebon Hawk. Are you injured?” There was no response. She tried again. “Repeat, this is Bastila Shan aboard the Ebon Hawk to Federation vessel. Are you in need of assistance?”

* * * * *

Denara roused slowly, her head pounding. Someone was hailing them, but she couldn’t understand what they were saying, their words nothing more than a bunch of odd sounds. She could see nothing but a bunch of strange coloured blurs. She forced herself to focus on the words being spoken to her. She tried, but could barely make out three of the words.
“Bastila.....Ebon Hawk......assistance?”
She keyed the comm, and spoke weakly into it. “This is... Denara Klintar, of the Mandalorian Confederation,” she said. “I’m badly wounded. My companion... won’t respond to me when I call him. I think... I think he’s unconscious.”
“He’s not unconscious, he’s been transported off your ship,” came the response. “We can go back for him later, Right now, we have to get out of here. I’m going to transport you over here. I can treat your wounds....”
Denara tried to focus on the words, but she couldn’t hold on to them. They began to slip away. She saw a shimmering purple light, and the cockpit dissolved from existence, replaced by the view of a small black droid. A T3 unit. It injected her with something, and her vision began to clear. She looked over at the droid. It’s shiny black plating reflected what little light there was left after the impact, and the registry code on it’s chest gleamed in silver - T3 M4.
She tried to sit up, but a pair of hands grabbed her gently by the shoulders and foorced her back down.
“Don’t try to move,” said a woman’s voice. “Let T3 treat your wounds. You were pretty badly hurt in the crash.”
“Amol...” she muttered. “Amol... where is he?”
The voice sounded grim. “He was transported to the Endar Spire before I could get the shield burst operational. They have him.”
Denara knocked the droid’s small arm out of the way, receiving a mild shock from the little unit, accompanied by a deep screeching sound. She ignored the pain, and sat up. “We have to go back for him,” she said.
“No,” said Bastila, coming into Denara’s field of vision. “It’s too dangerous. For either of us.”
“What do you care?” spat Denara. “You want to bring him to your Emperor anyway.”
“Recent events have... altered my outlook on the situation,” replied BAstila. “Rest assured, I want Amol Kotay out of the clutches of Dorak as much as you do. But he’s not the real threat.”
“Kath spit,” said Denara. “You’re the Del Mauj. All you want to do is-”
“I am no longer Del Mauj of the Jedi Order,” said Bastila. “I have abandoned the Order and the Empire.”
“Kath spit,” repeated Denara. “No Jedi abandons the Order.”
“Have you forgotten where your... friend... comes from? He was a Jedi, once.”
Denara put her head between her knees, about to vomit. “He’s no Jedi. He never was. Not really. He never believed in the teachings of the Order.”
Bastila grinned. “So he says.”
Denara looked up at her. “This is a waste of time,” she said. “Alright, if you say you’ve abandoned the Empire, then I’ll believe you - for now. But only because I have no choice. If I’m going to rescue Amol, I’ll need help.”
“We can’t go after him yet,” said Bastila. “Not with two half destroyed ships.”
“We’ll go back to Russan then. With the amount of influence my father carries, we could have the entire Federation fleet assembled within a week.”
“In a week,” retorted Bastila. “He’ll be either dead, or serving in the Peragus mines.”
“Then what do you propose we do?” yelled Denara, her face going red. “I’m not going to sit here while your friends ‘interrogate’ him!”
“ I assure you, I have no ‘friends’ among the Empire.”
“Oh? I was under the impression that you and Dorak were... close.”
Bastila threw up a gloved hand, and applied light pressure to Denara’s jugular. Not enough to kill her, but enough to make her uncomfortable. “Dorak is a monster, bent on galactic domination. I’m no longer associated with him or the Order.”
“I thought... I thought that all Imperial scum were bent on... galactic domination,” gasped Denara, smirking amid the pain. “Jedi included.”
“A common misconception,” said Bastila, releasing her. She fell to the floor, gasping for breath. Bastila walked over to her, and stretched out a hand to help her up. “This petty arguing is doing neither us nor your friend any good,” she said. “We must cooperate if we are to have any hope of rescuing him.”
Denara stare at her hand for a moment, then took it into her own. “Alright,” she said. “But I want some assurance that you’re not trying to bring me back to the Empire. I want information.”
Bastila stared into her dark green eyes for a moment. That information would change her life forever. “Alright,” she said. “What do you want? Ship movements? Tactical reports?”
“No,” Denara answered. “I want to know why the Empire is so eager to get there hands on Amol? Why is he so important?”
“We believed that he was the one spoken of in the great Jedi texts, the one destined to destroy the Order and bring down the Dark Empire.”
Denara stared at her for a moment. “What? How is that possible?” she said incredulously. “Amol’s... he’s... wait a minute. You believed? Past tense? You don’t believe that anymore anymore?”
“No. Well, yes. But now we... I know... that he is not the one spoken of in the prophecy.”
“Then who is?”
Bastila looked into her green eyes again. So young, so innocent. No longer.
“You are.”

* * * * *

Amol fell to the floor roughly, four guards flanking him. He spat blood out of his mouth, and looked up. Admiral Onasi looked down at him, smiling cruelly. “Welcome back, Mr. Kotay,” he said. “Nice to see you again.”
Amol spat more blood onto Onasi’s shoes. “Go to hell, Onasi.”
Carth kicked out with the foot AMol had spat on, breaking Amol’s nose. Amol groaned in pain, clutching his face.
“That’s better,” said Onasi. “Now, Mr. Kotay.” He waled towards the window of the briefing room. “It’s come to my attention that your companion is... more significant than we originally believed.”
“Leave her alone,” he responded. “She’s nothing to you.”
“Oh, if only you knew, Mr. Kotay,” Carth said darkly. “I’ve recently learned from a recently departed Jedi colleague of mine, that you are... not as important as we first believed.”
Amol looked up at him. “What do you mean?”
Carth laughed again. “I mean, were not needed.”
“Then let me go. Send me home.”
“Oh, I don’t think so,” he said, walking towards the desk. “You may not be important to the Jedi... but you are important to me. You see... as long as ‘Emperor’ Dorak is looking for you, who he believes to be the Sahri, then he won’t be watching me.”
“So you think that by holding me without his knowledge, he’ll be distracted looking for me long enough for you to kill him and take his place.”
Carth smiled. “And they say that Malatan are stupid,” he said. “There is one other thing, Mr. Kotay,” he continued. “Denara Klintar. How long have you been training her?”
Amol was confused. “What? What are you-”
“Don’t lie to me, rebel scum,” spat Carth, dropping the false kindness he had temporarily adopted. “She’s being trained in the ways of the Force, and according to... certain sources... you two have a very close relationship.”
“I don’t know what you mean,” repeated Amol. “She’s not being trained by anyone. She-”
“Liar!” he yelled. He removed his curved greth-tel from it’s sheath and slammed the hilt into Amol’s back, almost shattering his spine. “Take him to the Booth. Tell Tucker that he’s authorized to use the Drenthl end of the scale.”
The guards picked him up by the arms, and pushed him roughly through the door.

~A little shorter than usual, sorry. Can't think straight at the moment - my brain is still in Cuba.

Chapter Twenty Two (http://www.clivebanks.co.uk/Themes/STEnterpriseIAMD.mp3)

Amol screamed in pain as a loud screeching sound met his ears, drilling into his skull, making his teeth rattle. He felt as if his chest was on fire, and someone was running a plasma torch down his legs. The pain subsided suddenly, and he gasped for air, leaning against the transparasteel wall of the Booth. His heart pounded, and his breath stung his burnt lungs. His vision was filled with the blurry silhouette of Commander Melrik Tucker, his face contorted in rage.
“I tire of these games, Mr. Kotay,” he said angrily. “You think that hurt? Just wait! I’m not even at half power! I’m authorized to-”
“Go to hell,” Amol said, for what seemed like the hundredth time. Tucker growled, then gestured to the invisible Booth operator. The searing pain returned, stronger than before. Amol screamed again, as if the lightsaber were now being drilled into his chest at maximum setting. He pounded the transparasteel wall with his fist. The pain stopped, leaving his nerves tingling unpleasantly. “You think.... I’ll betray the Federation? Or the Rebellion? That plasma must have leaked through to your brain, Commander.”
Tucker’s jaw twitched, the large plasma burn on the left side of his face wrinkling as he growled again. He gestured to the operator again, and the searing pain returned. Tucker had to yell over Amol’s cries of agony.
“Where is Denara Klintar?!”
Amol screamed something practically incoherent, but Tucker could discern fragments. “Go....Mother....son......bitch!”
Tucker moved over to the controls, pushing the operator aside roughly. He cranked the dials to three quarters, smiling cruelly as Amol yelled with renewed agony. He threw the switches back, and Amol collapsed to the ground, gasping for air, his ears and nose bleeding. He tried to stand, but his legs felt like hot wax, and wouldn’t hold his weight. He settled for sitting with his back against the Booth wall, facing Tucker.
“If you continue to defy me, I’ll-”
“You’ll what?” interrupted Amol. “You’ll throw those switches further up? You think I care? I’d gladly die to preserve the Rebellion.”
“Where is Denara Klintar?!” repeated Tucker.
“Go fu-” he screamed in agony again, but only for a moment.
“Bite your tongue, Mr. Kotay. Or I’ll remove it,” Tucker said maliciously, pacing in front of the cell. “You are a resilient man, Mr. Kotay. But I will break you.”
He threw up the switches again, and Amol screamed in torment once more.

* * * * *

“What do you mean, I’m the one that will bring down the Empire?!” said Denara incredulously, standing faster than she should have. “That’s.... that’s impossible!”
“No,” said bastila simply. “It’s not. You are powerful in the Force, Ms. Klintar. Very powerful. The Force flows through you like no one I’ve seen since Rev... for many years.”
“But... I’m not a Jedi, or a Malatan, or...”
“One must be trained to become one of the two,” said Bastila commandingly. “What you need... is a teacher. I assumed that Amol Kotay was teaching you, but I now see that this is not the case. Unfortunate - he would have taught you well, I’m sure. He is very powerful in the Force as well. That is why Dorak mistook him for the Sahri. But it is you, of this I am sure.”
“So... so you’re saying that... if I got Amol to teach me, I could become... I could become a Malatan.”
“Technically, you would not be a Malatan, as you did not follow Revan into war with the Order; but yes, you would be a Malatan, I suppose. But you cannot wait to be reunited with Amol to begin training. In fact, he will not escape until you rescue him. He cannot do it without you.”
“Then... where do I find someone to train me? Maybe there are some Malatan on-”
“There’s no time to search for a teacher. You must make do with who you have available.”
“But Amol isn’t here!”
“No,” said Bastila, folding her arms. “But I am.”
Denara stared at her again. “You?! Train me?! I...”
“You what?”
“I thought... Amol told me that the ways of the Malatan are different than those of the Jedi. The Jedi use their emotions more, and-”
“Mr. Kotay was not fully trained when he followed Revan into war. He knew very little about the ways of the Jedi - if he knew anything, he would know that the Jedi do not use their emotions. Emotions interfere, they cloud judgment. They lead to mercy, compassion, and similar-”
“You say that like it’s a bad thing,” interrupted Denara. “Like love and compassion are negative, like they make you a worse person.”
“Love is Hate,” recited Bastila. “The Jedi Code. It is... not as solid as it could be, but some of it does have merit. But perhaps you would prefer to be trained as a Malatan, and not a pseudo-Jedi. I had a... great deal of contact with Revan, shortly before he left the Order, and he often spoke to me of... his ideal, how he felt the Jedi should fight against the Empire instead of alongside them. He... attempted to bring me with him, along with the others, to leave the Order. I know his teachings, and Amol can clarify what I teach you are reunited.”
Denara paced for a minute, then turned to face Bastila. “Alright. How do we begin?”
Bastila smiled slightly. “We meditate. You must feel the Force flowing through you. See it’s currents passing through the galaxy. Your close relationship with Amol will make it easier to locate him. You will feel the Force pulling you towards him. You may feel what he is feeling, and hear whispers or fragments of what he is hearing or saying. I have no idea how deep your bond with him goes, but it might go as far as grant you the ability to communicate telepathically.”
“You mean... I could talk to him?” asked Denara hopefully.
“No. Not yet. You are not disciplined enough to control what he hears. But you may feel his emotions as if they were your own. And you may also experience his... physical sensations. Pain in particular will be easy to detect. And he will be in pain, I promise you that, Admiral Onasi is aware that Amol is not the one he seeks, and that you are who he needs to kill. He will take Amol as close to death as he can in order to find you.”
“Amol would never tell him anything. I know he wouldn’t.”
“I agree. He is quite strong willed. But I must warn you that it may be... disconcerting to make contact, if it even occurs.”
“I understand,” she responded, sitting on the bed again.
“Then close your eyes, and reach out with your thoughts. Feel my presence through your other senses.”
Denara breathed in deeply. She could feel her teacher’s presence, and could almost see her silhouetted in her minds eye. “I can see you... almost...”
“Good. Now, reach out beyond the ship. Allow the Force to guide your senses.”
Denara let her mind go, and she could feel Bastila’s presence more powerfully.
A sudden searing pain erupted in her chest, and she screamed in surprise.
“Amol!” she screamed. Her eyes shot open, and she found her face was covered in a cold sweat. “I could feel him... he’s in pain. Intense pain. He’s... he’s suffering for me. He’s suffering because of me...”
“He is doing what he feels is right,” said Bastila, surprisingly gently. “You cannot blame yourself. In fact... you should be grateful that you have someone who is willing to suffer so much in your name. That kind of... friend... doesn’t come along often.”
Denara breathed deeply, terrified. What is he doesn’t survive? What if they kill him? I can’t let him die, I can’t. I don’t want to lose him...
“You will not lose him, Denara,” said Bastila, reading her thoughts and emotions. “He will survive, of that I am sure.”
For some reason, Denara was calmed by Bastila’s words. “Bastila?”
“Yes?”
“When I go rescue Amol... do I have to go alone?”
“I would not recommend going alone, no. I will accompany you.”
“What if Onasi or Dorak find out you helped us? Won’t they try to kill you?”
“Yes. But that does not matter. You will need me. Both of you will.”
Denara looked up at her. For the first time, she looked at Bastila as something other than an enemy trying to kill her. She was an ally. They were silent for a moment. Then:
“Bastila?”
“What is it?”
She hesitated for a moment, then continued. “Thank you.”

I know it's been a while since I posted a chapter, and I'm sorry. I just haven't been able to write anything in a while.
Here's a short one. Sorry again.

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Chapter Twenty Three (http://www.clivebanks.co.uk/Themes/STEnterpriseIAMD.mp3)

Dorak sat in his chamber, his legs crossed, in deep meditation. The door opened, and a rather tall Jedi with dark hair stepped into the room.
“Mi-Lord?” he said, approaching the Mauj.
Dorak brought himself to the edge of awareness, enough that he could communicate. “What is it?” he hissed, his voice gravelly.
“It’s Del-Mauj Shan, Mi-Lord... she-”
“She has abandoned me. Abandoned the Order. She is no longer a Jedi. She is of the Malatan.”
“Mi-Lord, if I may... recently, there have been rumours of...”
“Of what?”
The Jedi sighed. “A movement. Admiral Onasi-”
“Admiral Onasi is of no concern to me,” spat Dorak, his eyes snapping open. They were solid black now, with only a thin ring of grey running along the edges. “All that concerns me is destroying the Sahri.”
“But sir-”
“Enough,” he yelled, sending the man sprawling to the floor with a strong Force push. “You are dismissed!”
The man stood slowly. “I....” he thought of refusing to leave, but thought better of it. “As you wish, Mauj.”
Dorak re-entered his state of deep meditation, the Jedi code, now twisted beyond recognition by the evil power that now held him firmly in its grasp, flowed through his mind.

Peace is a lie...

* * * * *

Denara sat in the co-pilot seat of the Ebon Hawk, scanning the system for the Endar Spire. It had to be out there somewhere....
Bastila entered the cockpit. “Any luck?”
Denara sighed heavily. “No. They masked their hyperspace wake. It would take me days to find it amongst all the spacial distortions in the area.”
Bastila crossed the room and sat in the pilot’s seat. “Perhaps we should try something else,” she suggested, turning to her. She overrode Denara’s console, locking all controls to the pilot’s station. “I want you to close your eyes.”
Denara gave her a curious look, but did as she was instructed.
“I want you to block out all distractions. Focus only on the sound of my voice.” Denara did as she was told, focusing all her attention on Bastila’s continuing words. “Reach out with the Force. Allow your feelings to draw your mind. Tell me what you see.”
“I see...” she tried to concentrate on the images the Force brought to her mind, but they were blurred. She forced them into focus, and saw an image of her father, sitting in his command chair aboard the Betasis. He looked concerned, and was speaking to a young female Twi’lek. “My father... aboard the Betasis.”
“Good. But that is irrelevant at the moment. Release your mind to the Force. Allow it to flow through you.”
The image of her father faded from her mind, and she felt her mind shifting through the Force, her emotions guiding her.
That’s when she felt him. She felt his Force signature before she could ‘see’ him, but eventually, he filled her mind’s eye. She could see him lying on the floor, Admiral Onasi towering over him.
“I see him...” she said. “Amol...”
“Good,” said Bastila calmly. “Now: reach out to him. Touch his mind. Speak to him through the Force.”
Denara did as she was told, reaching out to him with her mind. Amol? Can you hear me?
She breath became ragged under the strain of maintaining the mental link, and she felt sweat break out on her brow.
“I... I can’t... maintain the link... he’s slipping away...” she said, struggling to keep the link stable.
Amol... I’m coming for you... hold on... please, hold on...

* * * * *

Amol groaned in pain as Onasi’s foot crushed his nose. He felt warm blood pour down his face, and tried to stem the flow with his arm. He tried to push himself up with his other arm, but Carth stepped on his back, forcing him to the ground again.
“You’re beginning to anger me, Malatan scum,” he hissed, kicking him again, this time in the ribs. Amol felt one of his last whole ribs crack, and suppressed a scream of agony. He thought he heard a familiar voice, but after a moment, all he could hear was Onasi. “...where she is,” he was saying. “But you insist on refusing to give me the information I want.”
“I won’t betray Denara or the Alliance,” he said thickly. “You’ll have to kill me.”
Carth kicked him in the face again. “That can be arranged,” he spat.
Amol... I’m coming for you... hold on... please, hold on...
He lifted his head slightly as he heard Denara’s voice distantly. He almost spoke her name... but then he realized that he was hearing her through the Force. But how was that possible?
He focused his attention on Onasi again, afraid that he might notice something had happened. He tried to find Denara through the Force, but didn’t have the strength. His vision blurred, and he felt light headed from the loss of blood. Onasi glared down at him.
“Take him to the med lab. Treat the worst of his injuries. I need him alive for a little longer.”

Sorry this has taken so long. I just haven't had any good idea for a long time... this chapter is... mediocre, at best. Not my best work, I know, but at least it's something. It's not a full chapter, just something to let you know that I haven't given up on this story.

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Chapter Twenty Four

Amol sat in the brig, trying to heal what wounds he could while he waited to be tortured again. The voice he had heard while being tortured by Admiral Onasi still rang through his head.
Amol..... I'm coming for you.....
It was Denara. He was sure of it. But how was she able to communicate with him through the Force? Sure, he had sensed some potential in her, but there was no way she could have begun to harness it on her own. Not without help from him, or another Force sensative.
He spat blood on the floor, his head swimming. He had tried to reach her again, but found that her mind was closed - whoever was teaching her had already taught her how to close off her mind. Well. He would have to wait for her to come for him.

Excellent story! I'm looking forward to the next chapter. :)

As I said, I'm having difficulties. It's reaching a point where I'm about ready to scrap the whole thing and start over. That would probably not be a good idea, though...

Yeah, it isn't the greatest idea since you've got quite the immersive universe going on here. I have a question, could I borrow your idea of an alternate universe as you've portrayed? There'll be some diffrences, but the concept will be the same.

As long as you leave my characters alone (this includes the alternate Carth, Bastila, and Revan), and don't interfere with my story, I don't see a problem with it. It's not like the idea is the most original thing in the world. Have fun!

I hope you get the next chapter us soon, The Doctor. I really like this story.

Alright. This story is going nowhere. I'd like to request that a mod lock this thread, please. I'm going to start over - most likely with a new story. Same concept, but different plot.

Done! :lock: As per writers request!