Chapter Thirteen Bless God, he went as soldiers, His musket on his breast; Grant, God, he charge the bravest Of all the martial blest. Please God, might I behold him In epauletted white, I should not fear the foe then, I should not fear the fight. -- CII -- Emily Dickinson Fate, show thy force: ourselves we do not owe; What is decreed must be, and be this so. -- Shakespeare -- Twelfth Night Two hours after dawn the following morning Serena sat in the pilot's seat of the _Corellian Sunrise_ as it went through hyperspace. The New Republic's forces had left an hour before them. So, once they reached the Kanat system, hopefully, the Star Destroyer, _Evening Death_ would be disarmed. When they had left, Coruscant had been one gleaming beam of light. The sun had risen in all its majestic splendor, the rain had disappeared as if for good. The sun had belied the feelings raging on within Serena. In the back Serena was able to hear Shal'lyindraa's sweet laughter echoing through the ship. She'd been laughing alot after her reunion with Antilles. Serena smirked. At least someone was happy. Ever since she had told Kyp and Wedge that she would take care of Kayro herself it had been hard for her to talk to anyone, let alone be happy and laugh. Of course Serena could act happy, but deep down inside she knew that she wasn't fooling anybody. She hadn't been really happy since she had been taken away from her mother and home, but she had always been able to take care of that. Every now and then she would be happy, but now, it was impossible. Yet, the future that lay ahead was certainly a bright one, and one without Kyp. Why had she even let herself fall in love with him? That had to have been the dumbest thing that she had ever done, yet she knew against her better judgment that she would do it all over again if given the chance. Though, she corrected herself, should not think about that. She would not get in contact with Karrde for a while, at least not until she was finished with her training. Serena just needed to concentrate on her mission. Once it was completed she could let go of her entire past and start a new life, a better life filled with adventure and happiness. The kind of life she had always dreamed of, but hadn't it been Kyp who had told her that her future would be totally different from what she was expecting? "Serena." Serena let a smile dance across her lips for a moment. "Kyp, hey." Serena stood up, and crossed over to Kyp. She let him wrap her in his arms. Kyp wrested his head on top of hers; her hair tickled his face. "Why don't you come to the back with us." "I need to think." she said, her voice muffled against his shirt. "About what?" "Nothing, really." Kyp was about to tell her he knew that she was thinking about something, but he decided against it. She would tell him. "Uh-huh." He said slowly, giving her time to think over what to say to him. "My father," She said simply, but with a great melancholy weight in her voice. "You know, Wedge and I " "No, I have to do it, I _have_ to." Kyp closed is eyes and sighed. "I understand. Regretfully, I understand." Serena pulled herself far enough away so that she could look Kyp straight in the eye. "Don't worry, Kyp --" "I'm trying not to." " -- I'll be okay." "You're going to go no matter what I say, aren't you?" "Yes." Serena said. The _Sunrise_ lurched forward, and then came out of hyperspace a few hundred meters from a Star Destroyer. Immediately they were surrounded with green and red laser beams spitting out of TIE fighters, TIE bombers, TIE interceptors, X-wings and A-Wings. Serena's mouth dropped open. Two more Star Destroyers appeared beside the huge ship looming ahead of them. They began to throw out more and more TIE fighters. "Shal'lyindraa!" Serena yelled, flinging herself into the pilot's seat. "Kyp, you and Wedge get to the turrets 'case we have trouble." Kyp ran out of the room, and Shal'lyindraa ran in seating herself quickly into the copilot's seat. "Turn shields on to maximum power, and even them out." Serena said calming herself with the breathing technique she had long ago mastered. She slipped on her headset. "Find the frequency with Admiral Ackbar." Shal'lyindraa obeyed Serena's commands. Serena sent her Corellian ship down into a tight spiral, and jerked back, sending the sleek ship up. She came out of the spiral as Kyp and Wedge began shooting at TIE fighters left and right. "Okay," Shal'lyindraa mimicked Serena's calmness and said, "Star Destroyer is out. They still have workable tractor beams and minimum shield power, but that's about it. This baby was easy to hit down. Looks to me like it's gonna be hitting that red planet pretty soon." "Yeah." Serena veered the ship quickly to port as they came closer to the luminous ship. The _Corellian Sunrise_ flew forward, and Serena let go of the controls unwillingly. She turned the power down. No use in trying to get out of a tractor beam, especially since she wanted to go into the ship. "Rena, I can't get Ackbar!" Shal'lyindraa's excited tone fell into a melancholy one, "They're jamming us, Serena." Out of the corner of his eye, Luke saw a small, sleek ship come out of hyperspace. It slightly looked like the _Millennium Falcon_. That meant it was most likely Serena and the others. Hopefully, they would be safe until they made it to the Star Destroyer. Looking down at the heads-up display he realized he already had a lock on another TIE fighter. Its image was highlighted green. Luke hit the button, and two bursts of red laser fire flew out and hit the TIE. Luke flew the X-wing forward and up, flying through the fire and remains of the TIE. Laser fire from a second TIE surrounded Luke's stern and aft shields. From above Luke, R2-D2 whistled over and over again. Luke did not have to look to the screen where the droid's words were written to understand what Artoo was saying. "I know there's one behind me, Artoo. Give me a second to get it off my tail." Luke tightly spun the X-wing up in a ninety-degree angle and leveled off behind the TIE. Luke closed his eyes and concentrated until he could _feel_ that he had a lock on the TIE fighter. He sent out two bursts of laser bolts. The first set hit the fighter dead on, and the other hit it on one of its solar panels. Luke accelerated his speed and flew away from the remains of the destroyed fighter. His path brought him closer to the _Corellian Sunrise_. He noticed that someone had to be at both gun turrets because laser beams were spitting out of them hitting most of the TIE fighters that they approached. Luke also noticed that three more TIE interceptors and four TIE bombers were heading towards the _Corellian Sunrise_. The TIE bomber, Luke remembered, was slower than a TIE fighter, but it was also more dangerous than a fighter. A TIE interceptor was faster than an average TIE fighter and its solar panels were dagger-shaped, unlike the elongated solar panels of the TIE bomber. TIE interceptors were also harder to target, but to Luke that meant nothing. Just then, two more Star Destroyers entered out from hyperspace. Immediately swarms of TIEs flew out of them, and attacked the New Republic ships. Luke, though, continued his course towards the _Corellian Sunrise_. If the ship were destroyed, the mission would fail. "Rogue Leader, Two, sorry for leaving your wing. Need any help?" Luke heard a distorted voice speak over his comm. "Sure Rogue Two, back me up." "I'm your wing." As Luke reached the Corellian ship he cut down on his speed so as to stay near it and not over run it. Just as he and Rogue Two reached the ship, the TIEs began bombarding it. Luke brought up the torpedo-targeting program and instantly, with the Force, locked on one of the fighters. He pushed down the trigger, and one of the TIE interceptors blew up as the torpedo hit it dead center. The _Corellian Sunrise_ flew on, it seemed that its communications were jammed, otherwise Luke was sure Serena would have contacted him by now. The X-wing next to Luke shot out a double burst of laser beams. One red bolt missed a TIE bomber entirely, but the second hit one of the solar panels. Two more bolts flew towards the fighter, and they hit the second solar panel, blowing it off the ship. The TIE bomber spun out of control, hitting the fighter's wingman. Both ships blew up, sending parts of the ship everywhere. "Rogue Leader, you have a TIE bomber on your tail, better put some more shield power back there until I can take care of it." "Thanks, Rogue Two," Luke spoke back as he flicked a switch so as to put more shield power towards the stern of the ship. Feeling a sense of danger, Luke pulled back on his throttle, and began to loose altitude. Above him, a barrage of green laser beams flew overhead. Artoo squealed loudly. "Sorry, Artoo. But don't worry, I really doubt they're actually aiming at you." The TIE bomber did the same as Luke had done; except this time, Rogue Two was right behind him. He must have known that the TIE was going to make that move to keep on his tail. Since the fighter had no shields, it would be easy for him to destroy it. Luke turned around, and up. Below him was the TIE bomber, and he saw it just in time to enjoy the explosion. "Rogue Leader, we'd better head back. We're getting a little too close to the ship." Luke looked up and saw that they were coming closer and closer to the Star Destroyer. The _Corellian Sunrise_ seemed to already be caught up in a tractor beam. "You're right, let's go back." Luke turned the X-wing around, and Rogue Two followed him. Just as they turned around another group of TIE fighters bombarded them. * * * Han, Lando, and Chewbacca stepped out of the _Millennium Falcon_ and onto the dry desert world of Tatooine. "Well, here I am again." Lando nodded. "Yeah. Now, tell me why we're here again." "Karrde's here." "Great, now why is that important?" "Serena is gonna work for him." "Really." Han, Lando, and Chewbacca walked out of the docking bays and into the dirt and dust filled streets. The twin suns beat down on their backs as they began to sink into the horizon. The trio walked across one of the many walkways in Tatooine and past the Mos Eisley Cantina stepping into a dimly lit, but rather nice, Cantina. "This is where Karrde said to meet him. The Heater." "Funny name," Lando said, as they walked into the cool building, "for a place that isn't so hot." The three walked to the back of the room and sat in a booth large enough to fit six people. Han studied the faces that turned their attention to them. The bar tender looked up from the drinks he was pouring long enough to see that they were of no interest to him. A group of two Devaronians and a Whipid sat at a round table in another corner playing a game of sabacc. Lando leaned back. "It's a shame we came all the way to Tatooine and can't even play a game of cards." "We'll do that another time. By the way, thanks for coming." Chewbacca roared, and Han laughed at him. "You, too Chewie, you, too." Around the rest of the room were groups of two or three aliens and humans. None of them looked like they were going to be any trouble, but Han never trusted anyone who he did not know, especially anyone from Tatooine. "Chewie, keep a look out for anything suspicious, all right?" Chewbacca gave Han a nod of acknowledgment and looked around the cantina studying every creature there. "I can't believe I came with you. We are leaving after we meet with Karrde, right pal?" "Sure thing, Lando. I just gotta do this for Serena. I promised her a while back that I would try and get her a job with Karrde." "And if Karrde doesn't want her?" Han shrugged. "I'll think of something else. Don't worry, she doesn't even know we came. If Karrde says no, we won't have to tell her." "You'll just let her find out the hard way." Lando smiled at Han, and nudged Chewbacca. "Finally, we have the old Han back, eh Chewie?" Chewbacca gave a low growl. Lando laughed. "I agree." "The 'old Han' never left." Han added once Lando stopped laughing. "Han, Karrde's here." Han followed Lando's gaze to the opening of the cantina. Through the door stepped an older, yet handsome, man. He stroked his black goatee as he walked towards Han, Lando, and Chewbacca. He pulled up a chair to the table and sat down in it. The man's pale blue eyes lit up as he looked at Lando and Han. "Well, well, well. Brought a friend have you?" Han nodded at Karrde's remark. "Yeah, I did." Karrde nodded at Lando. "Calrissian." "Karrde." Lando nodded politely back. Talon Karrde turned his attention back to Han. "So, you said you wanted to talk to me?" "Yeah, I have someone who might want to work with you." "Great, where is he?" Talon looked around the cantina for a moment, and then looked back at the man before him. "_She's_ not here." "Uh-huh." Talon said slowly. "Her name is Serena, just Serena." "Oh, yes. I believe I've heard of her. She's on Coruscant, right? I believe she's using the name Serena Maldrin, even though I can't seem to find any information about a Serena Maldrin from my sources." Talon spoke and a slight smile sprung to his lips. Han smirked. "Yeah she's on Coruscant, but maybe your sources are a little mixed up." Han decided to change the subject before he and Karrde got into an argument. "She's pretty talented, but I didn't know you knew anything about her." "I know she comes complete with the Force and everything, and she has something to do with Kayro Inin." Talon shook his head. "Is that bad?" Lando asked. "No, no, in fact I like it. I just don't know everything she's good at." Han held up his fingers and began to tick them off one by one. "She can use a vibroblade, blaster, knife; she can fly really well; she has the Force, and pretty soon she'll have a lightsaber." Talon knitted his eyebrows together and stroked his black goatee again. "Hmmm, sounds pretty good. I just need to see her in action." "I see." Han frowned. "If I could see some of what she can do, then I might hire her. I even have the perfect partner she can be teamed up with." "I bet that in a few weeks Serena will be back at the Academy. You could see her then." "If I take enough time off to go. I'll think about it, Solo. If I have the time, I'll stop by the Academy in three weeks or so." "Sure, that would be great. We'd be blessed to see you there." Han growled. Karrde smiled at him and stood up. "Good. Well, I'm sorry, but I must part. I have a meeting with some very important men. I shall see you soon, you hope?" "I hope. But, it will be your loss if you don't take her." Talon Karrde nodded. "I'm sure it will be. Calrissian, Chewbacca." He nodded to each of them, and turned to leave. As he walked out of the building, two forms slid out of the shadows, and walked beside him. "Karrde, sir, are you gonna go?" The young boy asked, because he had overheard everything through a comm unit that Karrde had hooked up on him. Talon Karrde walked out of the cool cantina, and into the streets of Tatooine. The last sun was shinning its final rays, and a light, night breeze tousled Karrde's hair. "I will. I trust Solo, at least for now. I'll go, and hopefully I'll find a second person to be partnered with you." "Sir?" "Yes, Cjurn. You need two partners for what I've planned for you." There was a slight pause, then Cjurn went back to the problem at hand, "A girl? Are you sure a girl would be capable?" "I believe so. After all, she would have the Force. She might just be able to put up with you." The twenty-one-year-old shook his head. "Great," he muttered. "Hey, Cjurn, maybe if you're lucky, you'll have two girl partners." The other shadow, now an older man, said jokingly. "Very funny Herett, very funny." Cjurn spoke angrily through clenched teeth. * * * Serena grabbed her blaster out of the holster tied around her thigh. She held it with her hands and motioned Kyp, Wedge, and Shal'lyindraa to follow her. She slowly walked down the ramp of the _Corellian Sunrise_, and stepped out onto the Star Destroyer's ominous docking bay. There was no one around them. A tractor beam had taken them in, but no one had bothered to come and get them. In fact, no one was even near them. The halls and rooms around the four were deserted. The only people that were left were up in the bridge and helm trying to regain control of the falling ship, even though that was a pointless gesture. "It's been a while since I've been here, but I can still remember where the main computer is." Serena said turning to the other three. Their faces turned from pale to red and back and forth as the silent red alert lights throughout the Star Destroyer warned the people of imminent destruction. "I bet there aren't any escape pods left in here." Shal'lyindraa commented as she followed Antilles, Serena, and Kyp. Serena stopped at the first corner, and quickly leaned forward and over, so as to get a better look. The hall was deserted. The four of them ran forward and turned the next corner running smack into a gathering of stormtroopers. The stormtroopers began showering lasers at them. Wedge, Shal'lyindraa, and Kyp ran back around the corner that they had just passed. Serena scooted back, but did not go back around the corner. She fired her blaster into the crowd of white armored men. Red laser beams surrounded her, but the stormtroopers -- who were strangely without helmets -- had poor aim. Kyp came and stood beside her firing his blaster. He grabbed her upper arm with his free hand, and pulled her back around the corner. Wedge came up beside her with his blaster in hand. "Take care of Shal, Kyp and I will take care of the stormtroopers." "What?" Serena asked, just noticing her younger friend sitting on the ground, covering her upper arm with her right hand. "Oh, Shal!" Serena got down on her knees, and looked at Shal'lyindraa's upper left arm. "You are so lucky that shot did not hit you." Shal'lyindraa looked down at her bleeding left arm, and clenched her teeth. "What, did it graze me or something?" "Of course, if it hadn't your whole arm would be gone." Serena took the bottom of Shal'lyindraa's skirt and ripped a small part of it off. She tied it around Shal'lyindraa's arm to cover the wound. "There, that should last for now." She helped her friend up. "Thanks, Rena." Serena smiled. "No problem." The smile fell from Serena's face. "Those stormtroopers had no helmets." Shal'lyindraa frowned. "I wonder why." Serena shrugged and the blaster firing seized. All was quiet, like death. As if they were ghosts rising from the dead, Kyp and Wedge stepped out of the smoke. "Come on. Rena, where is it?" Kyp asked impatiently. "We're almost there." Serena answered, looking around herself. They hurried through the bodies of stormtroopers that littered the ground. None of them had helmets. They were all young. Serena took her eyes off the bloodied faces. She took a right, and then a left. The rest of the way they did not run into anyone but a few droids and scared workers. Outside a door that read 'Do not enter' in basic, Serena stopped. She pulled her blaster out of its holster, and shot at the controls to the door. The door made some clicking and whirring sounds as its power died away. Wedge pushed it open. "Let me see your lightsaber, Kyp." Serena said. Kyp handed his prized possession over. "What do you need it for?" "Luck." Was all Serena said. Kyp surprisingly left her alone about it as he entered the room. It was a small, darkened room with a large computer in the center. Shal'lyindraa pulled out a chair from the corner of the room, and sat before the large screen. "This is it, huh?" "Yeah." Serena nodded. "Well, here we go." Shal'lyindraa began typing on keys as words flew up onto the screen. Serena backed up to the door and stepped out of the room. Now it was her turn. She ran through the hallway, and took a turbolift up. Stepping out into another familiar hallway, Serena ran forward. Thinking back to her childhood, Serena knew that she had been on this ship for a few months when she had returned from Carida. She had spent the entire time exploring the various hallways and rooms; since she was Kayro's daughter no one complained if she bothered them or went into a place she should not be in. With the help of those memories Serena was able to remember each and every place the passageways led to. She had severely doubted at the beginning that she would be able to tell her way around. Yet, once she had entered the ship, memories of her childhood had flown at her as if some invisible force had kept them stored away until she could return to the place that had once been her home. With these memories came the remembrance of her way around. 'Not this one . . .Or this one . . ._This_ one.' Serena stopped before a large white door. This was it. Her farther was in this room, she could feel it, and he was waiting for her. A chill went up and down Serena's spine. When Serena lifted her hand up to open the door she saw that she still had Kyp's lightsaber. With lightsaber in hand, Serena opened the door and stepped into a dimly lit room. A red glow pulsed through the room, but made no sound. Through the large observation window at the other end of the room Serena was able to see Deneratin's atmosphere looming closer to the ship. "Ahhh, my darling, darling, daughter." Serena's father laughed as he stepped in front of the window, with his entire form covered in shadow. "Father." Serena said sarcastically. "Come to talk with me?" Serena ignored the fear that had begun to creep into her heart. "For the last time, you're duplicity astounds me, Father," she said, the shaking in her voice barely audible. "Duplicity? In what way have I betrayed you?" "Mother's death. You betrayed mother by telling her lies, by telling her you loved me . . . when all you wanted was my death. I _hate_ you," Serena said vehemently. Kayro let out a derisive chuckle. "Touche, touche, my dear. So you're not going to join the winners? You're going to stay with the losers?" Kayro said, tauntingly. 'He is right, the New Republic is going to be defeated . . .' Serena shook her head, what was she thinking? "Look outside the window, Father." Serena pointed behind Kayro Inin with her empty hand. "You're ship is destroyed, and soon your other Star Destroyers will be gone also." Kayro stepped out of the shadows and laughed at her. "I destroyed this ship my dear, not your little friends." 'Who said the New Republic was my friend?' Serena paused before saying anything. Those weren't her thoughts, but then, whose were they? What was wrong with her? She had never had something like this happen to her. Sure she had _thought_ things to Kyp and he had _thought_ things to her, but she had never had what was supposed to be her own thoughts put in her head when they weren't her own. "Then you must be very smart . . . crazy." Serena frowned. What had she just said? She hadn't meant to say that either, and she hadn't thought that thought . . . something was wrong, but she did not know what to do. "I am very smart my dear, very. Thank you for the compliment." "Oh, you're welcome." The sarcasm in Serena's voice was gone, that surprised her the most. Dark tendrils of fear and anger slipped through Serena's mind, making her narrow her eyes and grit her teeth. She was afraid of this man who was her father, and she was angry at him for killing her mother. 'Fear leads to anger, anger leads to aggression, aggression leads to the dark side,' Serena told herself over and over again. During her second week of training Kyp had recited that to her. He had had no reason then. Maybe he had a premonition that it would help her in the future, Serena did not know. However, right now it wasn't helping, she was still afraid. Afraid for her life. Kayro stepped closer to his daughter; he looked at her with cold eyes. "Now, you will join me, correct?" "No . . . I mean yes . . . no!" Serena shook her head. 'What am I saying?' Serena looked around herself frantically, trying to think of a plan, but her mind was empty. Her mind was blank, she could not think of anything but the fear and anger pulsing through her veins. Kayro laughed, and stood in front of Serena so that she could feel his strangely cold breath against her cheek. "The New Republic is going to fall, you know that, right?" * * * Shal'lyindraa frantically pressed in more keys. "I can't find it," she said softly. She turned her head to Wedge and Kyp. "I can't find the file. If I don't find the file, we're all dead." Shal'lyindraa turned back to the screen. Words flew up before her pale face; her blue eyes scanned each line. "I can't find it." Shal'lyindraa's arm began to burn again. Her hands faltered across the board. "I give up, I knew that I shouldn't have taken this on. We should have had professionals take care of it. I just let my ego get in the way." "Shal, ever heard of this: 'To seek, to find, and not to yield'?" Kyp asked. "You don't understand, this is impossible." Shal'lyindraa took her gaze off the screen and turned to Kyp and Wedge as she spoke. "Nothing is impossible. There are only possibilities waiting to be encountered, remember that?" Kyp asked Shal'lyindraa. Shal'lyindraa turned back to the computer screen, gritting her teeth. "I don't know what else to do, what other files to look in." Shrugging helplessly, Wedge asked, "Machinery Files? Shield Files? Fire Support Files?" Shal'lyindraa sat still for a moment, then she typed in something. "Brilliant, not what you said . . . but this might work. You know Wedge, you might have just rid the galaxy of Kayro Inin for good." Shal'lyindraa said as her hands flew across the board under the screen. "I just gotta hack into it . . .Wait, wait a minute," Shal'lyindraa paused for a moment as the words she had been looking for appeared on the screen, "by the Force, I found it! I have the code!" Shal'lyindraa grinned. "Ohhh, thank you Master Skywalker." Wedge smiled. "I knew you could do it, Shal." Shal'lyindraa typed in the code and entered it. "That's it. All the power in the Star Destroyers are gone. I still don't understand how this all works, but it's gone." "I do." Wedge said. "It's simple really. A great way to destroy this thing and the other Star Destroyers. You see, all the power from the other Star Destroyers will come to this one, but since all power cells except the shields are destroyed, then all the power will just go to the shields." Kyp nodded his head. "I see, and even if the shields get stronger, they're not going to do this ship any good once it hits the planet." "Right." Wedge agreed. * * * "The New Republic will fall." Serena nodded. "No, wait, it won't, I--" her voice cracked. Serena broke out into a cold sweat. "It will, won't it, Father?" She had nothing else to say, nothing she could say. All thoughts were gone from her head, all that was left was the fear, anger, and blackness. "It will." Kayro laid his hand on Serena's cold cheek and moved it back to her hair. He grabbed a wad of her hair, and pulled it, hard. Serena let out a short scream. "It will fall. I will help it fall, and you will be beside me." He said roughly, with all human emotions gone from his voice. "I will, oh, I will father!" Serena yelled, wanting him to let go of her hair. 'I want him to let go of my mind . . .' the thought that had broken into the fear, anger, and darkness, the thought that had almost broken her out of the trance, was grabbed by an invisible force and shattered into a million pieces. As quickly as it had formed in her mind, it disappeared. Kayro let go of Serena's hair, and she fell to the floor. "Good, I knew that you would." As she stared at her reflection in the black polished floor, Serena figured that she did not feel right. Her eyes were empty of emotion, of life. Something was definitely wrong, she was slowly becoming angry, almost furious. She had been angry many times before, but this burning anger and hatred was new to her. Serena tried to fight the rage that was building up inside her, but it wasn't her own, the thoughts of hate that were flying through her mind were not her own, but there were no others. Kayro pulled his daughter up off the floor. "Now, let's go find your little friends, and I'll let you take care of them." Serena nodded numbly. There was nothing else she could do, her thoughts, her feelings were telling her to do what he said, for there was nothing else she could do. It was hopeless. 'I can't fight him, I just can't.' Shal'lyindraa ran ahead of Kyp and Wedge, she turned the corner, tightening her grip on the lightsaber in her hand. Shal'lyindraa tried to ignore the burning sensation and throbbing in her arm. Something wasn't right, she could feel it. Serena was in danger. Rounding the corner, Shal'lyindraa almost ran into Serena. "Hi, Shal." Serena said, her gray-green eyes as cold as her voice. Shal'lyindraa backed up a step. "Serena?" Shal'lyindraa was immediately consumed by the desire to turn around and run away from her friend. The anger radiating from Serena was almost unbearable. It would be impossible for it to be her own anger. What was going on? Kyp and Wedge rounded the corner together, and skidded awkwardly to a halt as the huge ship began to tilt to starboard. The large corridor was empty of people, except for the five of them, the fifth being Kayro. Kyp and Wedge stood still for a moment, not moving, until Kyp quickly told Wedge to get to the _Sunrise_ and get it ready. Wedge ran back the way they had come, only looking back once at Shal'lyindraa. Shal'lyindraa's crystal blue eyes widened. "Serena? Serena, what's wrong?" Serena ignited Kyp's lightsaber, the violet and white blade cut through the smoke that was beginning to burn Shal'lyindraa's throat. Kayro stood behind Serena, smiling. "She's angry, very angry." Shal'lyindraa snorted. "Nice of you to state the obvious." Shal'lyindraa took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. This wasn't right, this shouldn't be happening. Serena was stronger than this. Wasn't she? Reluctantly Shal'lyindraa ignited her lightsaber and watched Serena lift up the glowing blade. Shal'lyindraa watched her red blade appear, and held it at ready position. Immediately Serena lunged towards Shal'lyindraa, who blocked just in time. Shal'lyindraa's lightsaber made a crackling noise as it clashed into Kyp's. The smell of ozone began to fill the air and Shal'lyindraa crinkled her nose up. Serena brought back the lightsaber and instead of bringing it down towards the Handerin girl, she brought up her foot and kicked Shal'lyindraa back. Shal'lyindraa grabbed her stomach with one hand, and with the other kept hold of her lightsaber, as she fell to the floor. She was vulnerable, she knew it, for her back was to Serena. Serena ran at Shal'lyindraa and brought down Kyp's lightsaber towards Shal'lyindraa's back. Shal'lyindraa rolled over to her right side just in time, and Serena fell forward as the lightsaber burned a small, black hole through the floor. Shal'lyindraa heard an angry growl move up through Serena's throat as she straightened up, pulling the lightsaber out of the metal floor. Shal'lyindraa straightened back up, and lifted her lightsaber over her head, expecting Serena to lunge at her again. Surprising Shal'lyindraa again, Serena brought up her right foot and rammed it into Shal'lyindraa's stomach again. Shal'lyindraa cried out this time more from sadness than from pain. She could take the pain, but she couldn't take the fact that her best friend was trying to kill her. Shal'lyindraa backed away from Serena. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Kyp with blaster in hand. He aimed it at Serena, holding it with both his hands. Serena slowly turned to Kyp and laughed. "Let me guess, it's set on stun? Sorry, babe, that won't work on me." Serena laughed again. Kyp stared at her with dark brooding eyes. His finger moved a small switch on the blaster down. Serena's laughter grew harder. "Now what? You're going to kill me? Shoot me then, my love." Serena stopped laughing and smiled evilly at Kyp. She shut off the lightsaber, waiting for him to shoot at her. It was obvious with his expression he could not decide wether to shoot her now or let her kill Shal'lyindraa. Kyp gritted his teeth as he watched Serena kick Shal'lyindraa in the stomach. Shal'lyindraa, surprisingly, made no sound. Kyp's dark eyes widened as he saw Serena running at Shal'lyindraa's back, preparing to ram his own lightsaber through the girl's back. Just in time, Shal'lyindraa rolled out of the way, all the time keeping her own lightsaber away from her body. Kyp risked a glance over to where Kayro was standing. Pure evil shown in his green eyes like a raging fire. Kyp was afraid to look back at Serena. He was fearful that he might see that same flicker of flame in her eyes. Instead, Kyp locked gazes with Kayro and made a silent promise to himself that he would do whatever it took to keep Serena from hurting Shal'lyindraa and herself further. Kayro grinned like the devil at Kyp. Kyp raised his blaster and aimed it at Kayro, intending to shoot the man. Kayro did not take his gaze off Kyp's face. He cocked his head to the side, waiting for Kyp to shoot him. _Daring_ Kyp to shoot him. Before Kyp could place his finger on the trigger of the blaster, Shal'lyindraa screamed in pain. Kyp whirled around, automatically switching the blaster to stun. Holding his blaster with both his hands, he leveled it at Serena. When Serena slowly turned to Kyp, she was too far away for him to get a good view of her eyes, he probably didn't want to. Serena laughed coldly, chilling Kyp to the bone. Serena spoke, "Let me guess, it's set on stun. Sorry, babe, that won't work on me." Serena coldly laughed again. Kyp took his finger off the trigger for only an instant, and Luke's voice appeared in his mind. . . . 'For as a Jedi Knight you will be not only . . .' Kyp remembered that these were the exact words his Jedi Master had spoken to him when he had confronted himself and Dorsk about having to teach their own student '. . . Guardians of freedom and justice, but guardians of others . . .' Kyp moved the switch from stun down to kill . . . 'and their lives.' Kyp raised his blaster slightly and aimed it at Serena's head. He lowered it to her heart, then her stomach. Finally, Kyp lowered it to her legs. 'No, this is the only way to keep her from killing Shal,' he told himself forcefully. Kyp raised the blaster back up to Serena's chest. Serena's chilling laughter grew into ice. "Now what?" She asked him tauntingly, "You're going to kill _me_? Shoot me, then, my love." Serena abruptly stopped laughing, then she smiled. _Smiled_. Serena turned her body fully to Kyp and shut off his lightsaber, waiting. Luke's words echoed in Kyp's head . . . his heart. 'But guardians of others and their lives. Their lives . . .' After a moment, when Kyp did not do anything, Serena sneered at him. "You could not kill me if your life depended on it. We share too much, don't we?" She bit out coldly. Serena laughed coldly again and spoke happily. "You know, that must mean our dream did come true! Of course, you're too afraid to finish it." Serena whirled around, facing Shal'lyindraa, she re-ignited Kyp's lightsaber. "Let's go perfect doll, let's see what happens when I cut your pretty little head off." Serena smiled again, but held back her laughter. She ran at Shal'lyindraa, putting all her strength in the first blow. She twisted the lightsaber up and brought it down full force at Shal'lyindraa. Shal'lyindraa bent her knees, and brought up her lightsaber horizontally, falling as soon as Kyp's lightsaber clashed against hers. Serena pulled back and Shal'lyindraa stood up. She braced herself. She would only block; she would not attack her friend. Thrust, parry, thrust. Shal'lyindraa blocked each movement, ripping her skirt in the process. "Serena! Don't do this! I love you!" Kyp yelled at her, his voice barely audible over the noise of the lightsabers. Serena swung her lightsaber down diagonally, dangerously close to Shal'lyindraa's face. Shal'lyindraa blocked again, and again, thanking the Force that she had good reflexes. Kyp's voice seemed suspended in time and space. "Rena . . ." Shal'lyindraa stared into her friends eyes. "Rena, stop." she said softly, turning her lightsaber off. She kept her hand on the button that would activate the blade in case Serena decided to try and kill her. Serena pulled back again, staring intently at Shal'lyindraa. Kyp's voice suddenly reaching her. Serena flipped off Kyp's lightsaber, and slumped to the cold floor onto her knees. Kyp ran forward and helped her up slowly. Shal'lyindraa nodded to Kyp as he motioned for her to go to the ship. She left running at full speed half a second later. "Serena, are you okay?" Kyp asked her, holding onto her shoulders. Her hair no longer smelled of mint, but of smoke and ashes. "Wait." Serena whispered. She turned around and handed the lightsaber back to Kyp. Serena faced Kayro, who was now only a few feet from her. The smile had fallen from his face, and fury filled its place. Anger flashed through Serena's eyes. 'This is for my mother.' Serena pulled out her blaster, and leveled it to Kayro's chest. "I have to complete the mission." She quietly told Kyp. Serena lowered the blaster, and pulled the trigger twice. Two red laser beams, guided by the Force, shot out and hit Kayro in his legs. He fell to the ground without making a sound. Serena watched as he grabbed his legs, and closed his eyes in pain. After a moment he opened his eyes, raised his bloody hand, and pointed at Serena. "It's not over yet," he said hoarsely. "Your so-called government will collapse. Not by me, but I will surely help. And you, you will die . . ._slowly_." The bow tilted forward as the Star Destroyer, the _Evening Death_, began to fall even quicker towards its destruction. "I can't kill him, Kyp." Serena whispered wearily. "It's okay, come on, let's go." Serena did not move. She stared at Kayro and Kayro stared back with the most hatred and loathing that she had ever seen. Somehow, Kyp's reassurance did not help, it could not. Serena felt as if she had betrayed everyone whom she had loved. Everything she had built had collapsed in one final fall. Kyp seemed to understand. He brushed his fingers across her livid face and picked her up preparing to carry her back to the _Corellian Sunrise_. He whispered softly in her ear, "We'll build you a new future, together."