By Dario Pozo
Pictures also by Dario Pozo
 

Part Three

The Prisoner

[Onboard an Imperial transport flying through the Kessel system]

Lieutenant Stephen "Psycho" Proud looked at the forward visor. The space was covered with Imperial ships. Two Imperial Class Star Destroyers were already orbiting the small grey and green planetoid. There where also several Nebulon B Frigates, Corvettes and Escort Carriers. The last transports and shuttles had taken off from the planetoid carrying troops and personnel from the destroyed facilities. Psycho had been able to introduce himself into the Imperial network and had altered slightly the scheduled flights between the planetoid and the Fleet surrounding it. There was one additional transport allowed to travel through that space, and he was piloting it. He didn't know what would be discovered first: his illegal access to the Imperial computers, the disappearance of one of the transports assigned to the facilities or the dead pilot, but Psycho hoped to be far from there when any of those three things happened. He was impatient to be very far from the Kessel system for personal reasons too. That was the place where he had been a prisoner of the Imperials. Some nights his nightmares insisted on bringing him back to those days, the interrogations, the tortures ...

The further away from Kessel the better.

"Transport Ballard Two, this is Delta One." The sudden call interrupted Psycho's thoughts. He saw a TIE Interceptor some feet up to bow, flying in the same direction as he was. The scanner showed three more on his tail.

"I copy you, Delta One." Psycho replied trying to seem bored. If any of the TIE's pilots suspected of him he would be killed in a matter of seconds.

"Cargo and destiny, please."

"I'm carrying solar panels for the new TIE model." That was true. He had checked the transport's cargo before hacking the Imperial data base. He had no doubt that the TIE's pilots were using their sensors to confirm his words. "My destiny is the Space Platform Sienar-201, in Thoriam system. I suppose that they are trying to continue with the work there."

There were some seconds of silence. Psycho crossed his fingers.

"All right, Ballard Two." Psycho sighed when the answer came through. "That is what my computer says. Don't lose those pieces, I'm eager to change this Interceptor for one of the new TIEs."

"I would change this transport for your Interceptor, Delta One." Psycho joked. The Imperial pilot laughed.

"Of course you would do." Psycho knew that the Imperial fighter pilots considered themselves like the Imperial Navy elite, very high over the rest of pilots. "Good journey, Ballard Two."

"Thank you, Delta One. Good flight to you too." The four fighters had broken their formation around the transport before Psycho finished his sentence. He consulted the computer and saw that he was only thirty seconds from his jump point. The planetoid was now behind him and he couldn't see it any more. He thought of the colonists. It would be impossible to rescue them with so many Imperial ships in the area. He almost lamented to have informed Shok'wave about their situation. He hoped that she had obeyed the orders and returned to Alliance space. If White Squadron tried to do something for the small colony they would be killed.

Psycho made the last checks before the jump into hyperspace. He had a rendezvous with two officials of Alliance Special Ops. They were very interested about what Psycho and his friends of White had discovered in the Imperial facilities before destroying them. He suspected that the real reason was to commend him a new mission behind Imperial lines. Psycho was always living dangerously.

But Sherry is so obstinate... He thought again. Psycho knew White Squadron's Commander since some years ago. When she decided to act nothing could stop her.

"Oh, damn it..." In a sudden impulse he changed the jump co-ordinates for the last known position of White Squadron's Frigate. The transport accelerated and disappeared in the hyperspace.
 
 

[On the other side]

The Singer was introduced into the transport's bay. The external doors closed and the fighter was softly landed on the small hangar. Joan removed her mask and rose the glasses. She wouldn't need them inside the ship and furthermore she was going to need as much visibility as possible. She let her head fall to the left, like if she was unconscious. She heard the metallic sound of someone placing a ladder over the Singer's right flank, and somebody climbing to the cockpit. The external opening mechanism was activated and the canopy rose with a hissing noise. She felt a blaster pushing her right shoulder. The man said something in Bretalian and a second guy also climbed to help his partner to get Joan out of the fighter. She waited until the Bretalians released her seat belts, and then pushed the light sabre's contact button.

The blue ray grew before the stunned men's faces. One of them tried to shoot but he lost his blaster and one of his hands in the attempt. The man cried out with all his strength and fell from the ladder, ramming his partner with his body. Joan jumped directly from the cockpit to the floor, flexing her legs to soften the fall. Two more soldiers tried to catch her. With a quick movement of her light sabre from right to left she wounded them both seriously. A laser shot passed near her head. She launched herself under the Singer and rolled to the left side of the fighter, just in time to avoid new shots that hit the ship's hull. She looked around looking for an exit. There was an entrance very near of her. If she was able to reach it she could get to the bridge and force the crew to fly towards Republic space... It was a very small chance, but she had to try.

The young woman ran desperately evading the laser bolts by mere inches. The screams from the injured soldiers sounded in her ears, but she forced herself to ignore them. She was about to touch the door when the hangar started to fill with some kind of gas. She looked back and saw how some of the soldiers fell unconscious. Joan pushed the door controls again and again, but the door remained closed. A blind shot hit the wall above her. Joan tried not to breathe the gas, with her lungs about to explode and her head aching. Without knowing what else to do, she destroyed the door controls with the light sabre. Cables and mechanisms were now accessible. She tried to guess how they worked, but the device was too complicated and she just couldn't think clearly, her whole body pleading for air. Finally her instinct was more powerful than her will and she couldn't avoid to open her mouth and breathing. She coughed, feeling a sudden weakness. Joan fell on her knees. The light sabre slipped from her hands and turned off when touched the floor. She stretched to reach it and then everything turned dark.
 

When Joan finally awoke discovered that she was chained. She could hardly make a single movement. Her body was rigid and she was suffering from a strong headache caused undoubtedly by the gas effects, but at least she had slept something and had recovered some strength. She was laying on a narrow bed, inside a dark room. A background noise of engines told her that she was still onboard a ship. Joan wondered for a second how much time she had been unconscious. Then she felt that she was not alone.

"Nice to meet you at last, Joan d'Arc." Joan raised her eyes to look at the man who had spoken. She found a strong man in his forties, dressed in a Bretalian General's uniform. She recognized that face from the holos.

"I would shake your hand, General Bedenford, but somebody has chained me. They must think that I'm really dangerous."

General Bedenford laughed. He was in Command of the Bretalian Fleet since the first days of the war. He had put a price on Joan's head, and now someone was going to receive the reward.

"You are as brave as I had been told. Too bad that we are enemies."

"If your people had not invaded..."

"No time for that, milady." Bedenford interrupted her. "Now I must introduce you to some gentlemen."

Joan forced her neck to see who stood behind General Bedenford. There were four men. She knew one of them pretty well.

"Ah, Captain Lamorny. It seems that you are going to be a rich man. A coward traitor without honour, of course, but a rich man after all." Joan's words were full of scorn. Bedenford smiled and glanced at Lamorny watching his reaction.

"You can insult me all you want." He said trying to seem indifferent, but his eyes showed the opposite. "I'm convinced that the Bretalians are the future. I've chosen to join the winning side."

"Do you really think that they are going to trust a traitor like you?" She said with sarcasm. "Those who betray once, can betray again. If they are smart, hey will eliminate you and your dear friend Smeigger when they can't use you anymore. Maybe that will be soon..."

"Shut up! You are talking nonsense." Joan saw the doubt in his eyes and smiled.

"You should know that Smeigger is not a traitor." Bedenford said. "He is a Bretalian and has acted following my orders." Joan stared at Lamorny and grinned. General Bedenford had not said anything about Lamorny, making clear that Joan was not so wrong about him. He was about to protest, but Bedenford didn't let him talk.

"I think you've got something to do in the hangar, don't you, Captain Lamorny?"

"Of course, sir. It's time to prepare the attack against the Harmony." He said looking at Joan with hate. She had to struggle to remain smiling when she heard that. Lamorny left and Joan observed the other three men better. Two of them turned out to not be entirely unknown to her, but she couldn't remember where she had seen them before. The third man was different. He was completely dressed in black, and his face was almost hidden under a hood. She felt cold when she looked at him, the same coldness that she had perceived the night before...

"These gentlemen are Senators Tremoulin and Borgonne." Bedenford said waving a hand towards the first two men. They inclined slightly their heads and smiled. Senators, of course. Joan had seen them in the Senate Palace, talking to Senator Carless. Everything was starting to get clearer now. There were people in the Republic who had seen in the Bretalians a good chance to reach a higher position, one that they wouldn't have obtained with legal methods. Militaries, like Lamorny, and politicians, like these two. And probably there were not the only ones. Joan ignored them and watched the third man.

Bedenford noticed Joan's glance and smiled.

"Well, Joan d'Arc, the famous Alderaan's Jedi." He said. "I thought that you might be interested in meeting a real Jedi Knight. This is Master Calhuch."

He advanced a step and Joan could see him better. She then discovered why he used a cloak. His face was full of scars and strange deformations. The young woman understood at once that those were the effects of using the Dark Side of Force. He was carrying Joan's light sabre in his hands.

"Master Jonderiis' light sabre." Calhuch said. His voice sounded unnatural, like if he was talking inside a cave. When he stared at her, Joan felt as if a frozen hand touched her soul. She couldn't avoid a sudden shiver.

"The stories about you were true." He continued. "You are powerful, but you are nothing but a girl, not a Jedi at all."

Joan didn't want to reply. She didn't even want to be in the same room as this monster.

"But you have come to be a symbol for the Republic. Everybody follows you wherever you go, and with your insistence in combating us, you have become an obstacle we just have to eliminate."

"You are not a Jedi." Joan said at last. "Jedi Knights don't help tyrants and murderers. Jedi Knights don't use the Dark Side."

Calhuch's laughter was nasty.

"Those who you call Jedi Knights are nothing but cowards who are too frightened to use the power they have being given. They are limited to observe the Universe, to let the things happen, when they could be constructing their own destiny. They don't deserve this power."

"But you are different, aren't you?"

"Of course. And I'm not alone. We will construct a new order in our conquered worlds, and if your pitiful Republic oppose us we'll finish with it forever. And you are going to help us.

"NEVER!!!" Joan shouted.

"Ah, but you are helping us even now, as we speak." Calhuch was hideously grinning. "We have agents infiltrated through all your dear Republic. They are telling everybody who has ears that all your triumphs have been obtained using the Dark Side of the Force, that you are just a traitor who was only trying to get the power for yourself. You will be blamed of every disaster, for every catastrophe. People have bad memory. After not much time most of them will believe the accusations. The Republic will be divided because of you, and we'll succeed thanks to you."

"You are not going to succeed!" Joan said with tears streaming down her face. "None of your lies will convince anybody that I'm like that!"

"That is what you think? You will soon discover how wrong you are."

"Bye, Alderaan's Jedi." Bedenford said. "We'll see you later."

When they finally left her alone in her prison, Joan remembered Lamorny's words about the attack on the Harmony and her heart filled with fear for her friends. For Tobb. If Calhuch was telling the truth the entire Galaxy was going to suffer because of her. Her premonitions had been telling her what was about to happen, but she had ignored them. Now it was too late. Joan cried in silence till she fell asleep.
 
 

Joan opened her eyes again. She noticed that she was in a different room and that the chains had disappeared. It was evident that they had used some kind of drug on her or the gas again before moving her to this new place. She put a hand on the wall. It was made of stone. There were no vibrations, not even the slightest sound. She was not in a ship anymore.

She got up and stretched her limbs. It was nice to move again. Her wrist and her ankles still had marks from the chains. And she was terribly hungry. Joan didn't need too much time to inspect the room. There were no windows, only a metallic door. She checked it, but it was closed. Of course. There was scarce furniture in the room. The bed, a little sanitary device and nothing more. Not even a table or a chair.

After some hours Joan heard a metallic sound. A few seconds later the door opened. A little creature appeared in the entrance holding a tray with some food. Joan looked behind him, but there was another metallic door firmly closed.

Joan observed him better. He was very small, not much higher than half a metre. His skin had a pale green colour. He had big ears and big blue eyes, and his head was covered of dark hair. He also had an small beard on his chin. Joan thought that nobody with this aspect could be bad.

"Who are you?" She asked.

"Well, I'm the one that food brings to you, hehe, but if my name is what you are asking Yoda is."

"You speak in a very strange way." Joan said smiling. She had immediately taken a liking to the little creature.

"Do you think so? Hehe, a relative thing that is. I think it is you who speaks in a strange way!" Joan laughed for the first time since her capture. "But now time to eat it is, yes, time to eat."

Joan took the tray that Yoda offered her and sat on the bed with the tray on her knees. The food was not any wonder, but Joan was really hungry.

"Where are we?" She asked with her mouth full of cooked vegetables.

"This is the fortress of Compadigne, on the planet Loire. You are deep in Bretalian territory, my girl. If thinking of escaping you are, your mind you should change, I fear."

Joan looked up sadly.

"They told me they were going to attack the Harmony, my ship. Do you know something about what has happened?

"Sorry I am. They don't inform poor Yoda about war matters, my girl. Help you I can't with that."

Joan was suffering intensely thinking of Tobb and the rest of her friends. Yoda was looking at her with sympathy and tenderness. She decided to talk about something else.

"It's the first time I've seen somebody from your race, Yoda. Where are you from?"

"Oh, very far from here my home is, yes, very far. Never there have you been, I bet!"

"No, I suppose I haven't." Joan thought that Yoda didn't want to talk about his origins, but she was still curious. "Could I ask how old you are?"

"Of course you can. You have done it, hehe! Well, I am almost a hundred standard years old. Hehe, I see in those eyes that you thought me younger, but you must know that I'm very young for my race. Most of us live beyond eight hundred years."

Yoda noticed that Joan was very impressed.

"Yes, eight hundred years or more we can live. But other intelligent species in the Galaxy there are who live even longer."

Yoda was amused with Joan's surprise.

"You have lived among humans all your life, haven't you?" He asked pointing at her with his little finger.

"Well, during the year I've been in the Republic Fleet I've met people from other races, but basically I think you are right."

"That is not so strange, my girl. The human race is with difference the more extended throughout the Galaxy. Have you ever wondered why this is so?"

"No, I haven't ." Joan replied feeling embarrassed.

"The main reason is that you have one of the shortest life spans among all the other intelligent forms of life. Your only hope to survive as a species is to multiply yourselves as much as you can, even if that means invading the natural space of other people, hehe. No matter if they are humans too. The majority of the wars that this Galaxy has seen have been started by humans. Bretalians are humans, as most of the Republic soldiers are. Aggressiveness is the main characteristic of your race." Yoda's expression had become very serious.

He saw that Joan wanted to argue and grinned, showing an array of white teeth.

"A lot of good things you have too, of course." He said rising his hands. "Yes, the ability to adapt yourselves to many different environments you have. To many of those places you have taken civilization and culture. Although sometimes the native forms of life have not survived too long after your arrival."

Joan didn't know what to say. She analysed what Yoda had said and thought that everything was probably true.

"Do you think there is some hope for us?" She asked.

"Oh, of course there is! When you meet humans alone you can find them interesting and even adorable people at times. When there are many humans together is when the problems start, hehe. But you have an immense capability for love, too. You love intensely. That is what makes you worth knowing."

Joan smiled and looked at Yoda with increasing respect. His big eyes seemed illuminated with knowledge and wisdom. Joan wondered how a being like Yoda would be with those eight hundred years of experiences. Then a question appeared in her mind.

"Why are you with the Bretalians? That is something I can't understand after all you have told me."

Yoda sighed as if he was suddenly tired.

"A good question that is, my girl. A good question, yes. Sometimes our lives take strange ways." He paused a while before continuing. " I've always felt intensely the presence of the Force around me, and my desire has been to know its mysteries, to follow its path. I came to Loire looking for a Bretalian whom I had been told about. Someone who could help me to understand all those things that I ignored. That man was Master Calhuch."

"But he is a Dark Jedi!"

"Yes, he is now." Yoda's smile had disappeared again, and his face showed a sad expression instead. "When first I met him a respected Jedi Knight he was, and many things from him I learned. But too eager was he to discover all the secrets of the Force and so he began to experiment with the Dark Side. Try to prevent him I did, but listen to me he would not. Now trapped I am among him and his followers. Looked down I am because declined to be instructed in the Dark Side I have. I've lost all hope of returning them back to the Light Side, and not strong enough am I to fight against them. All I can do is try to soften the lives of their victims, like you. I'm allowed to stay here, cooking and bringing the food to the prisoners. I've cooked too the vegetables you are eating, so I hope you are enjoying them!" He said laughing again.

Joan looked at the food that she had not considered too well. She laughed also and continued eating, deciding not to leave anything on the plate. When she finished, Yoda took the tray and walked towards the door.

"They won't open the second door until this one is closed, and they will check first that I'm alone in the space between, so..."

"Don't worry, Yoda. I understand. Thank you very much."

"You are welcome, my girl! I'll see you for dinner, hehe!
 
 

The days passed slowly. Yoda was the only people whom Joan saw and her only company. A big friendship had started to grow between them. He spent some time teaching her things about the Force, answering her questions, showing her tricks and sharing with her pieces of Jedi wisdom. Joan visibly enjoyed these lessons, but from time to time her gaze seemed lost, and more than once Yoda had seen her wipe away a tear. Yoda knew all too well what the concern that caused that her smile was every day harder to see was. He had tried to obtain some information about Harmony's fate but had failed every time. Before his eyes, sadness was consuming the poor woman. And he couldn't do anything to avoid it.
 

Joan had been prisoner for three weeks the day the door opened and general Bedenford entered accompanied by Senator Tremoulin. This last one was carrying a small case.

"Well, how is Alderaan's Jedi this morning?" Bedenford asked grinning.

"I just couldn't be better." Joan replied getting up. "My rooms are wonderful and the food is excellent. I'll have to congratulate the hotel manager when I leave."

Bedenford and Tremoulin laughed.

"Ah, you are so lovely! Well, I've got good news for you."

"Something about the Harmony?" She asked anxiously.

"I told you that Yoda was not making those questions of his own curiosity." Tremoulin said.

"Yes, it was obvious." Bedenford agreed. "You'll have to continue wondering." Joan repressed her anger, but Bedenford noticed her gesture and smiled. "Well, do you want to hear my news or don't you?"

"Go ahead." Joan said laconically.

"All right, milady. You are going to be allowed to send a message to Senator Carless." General Bedenford informed. "A message asking for your freedom. If the Republic accepts to pay, let's say a reasonable ransom, and they set their Bretalian prisoners free, we'll let you go."

Joan thought that the war must not going very well for the Bretalians if they were approaching her with such an offer. They must really be desperate to obtain new resources to continue with their military operations.

"And what does your friend Calhuch think about this?"

"He doesn't agree, but he doesn't care either." Senator Tremoulin was who answered. "He says that Carless won't move a finger for you, and sincerely, I'm of the same opinion."

"We'll see." Bedenford said. Joan noticed that he didn't like the idea of giving her that opportunity, but he was following someone else's orders. "Are you going to send that message?"

Joan stood in silence thinking about it. Surely the Bretalians' demands would be very high, and she didn't want to put the Republic in such a difficult situation, but the time spent in prison had weakened her will. She wanted to be free again, to see Tobb, her friends, whom she deny to think they could be dead, and her parents. She had thought a lot about them those last days.

"Yes, I'll do it." She said at last.

"All right." Bedenford nodded.

Tremoulin opened the case and extracted a little recording device. He held it before Joan.

"You can begin. Be careful with your words or we'll have to repeat the entire recording."

Joan breathed deeply and started to talk.

"Senator Carless, I request you help me. I was caught in a trap and was made a prisoner of the Bretalians. Now they have decided to offer you my freedom if the Republic accepts to pay a ransom and set their Bretalian prisoners free. I know that these are tough demands, but I beg you accept them. You must know that I've always served the Republic well. Please, don't believe the lies that you might have heard about me. May the Force be with you, Senator Carless."

"Perfect." Tremoulin said stopping the recording. "We'll send him your message with our detailed demands. You will know the answer as soon as it arrives."

They exited leaving Joan alone again. A small hope lived now in her heart.
 
 

[Surface of planetoid labelled KS-31, in the Kessel system]

Alvar Parix observed the Imperial personnel of the facilities boarding a shuttle. He was partially hidden behind the demolished peripheral wall. It seemed that all the Imperials were leaving. All the wretched colonists had got very nervous when the arrowhead shapes of the Star Destroyers were seen over their heads, very high up in the sky, like the omen of even worse calamities for them. But if they had come to take their troops from there it might be an occasion for joy.

"Hey, you! What are you doing there?"

The reflexes produced from several years of slavery under the Empire made Alvar raise his hands up. The stormtrooper was at his back. They are always at our back. He thought angrily.

"Eeer..., I was just wondering when we are expected to return to work."

"Stupid colonists!" The stormtrooper said. "Can't you see that the facilities had been destroyed?"

Alvar didn't answer. He turned very slowly, lowered his head and looked at the stormtrooper's boots. That used to work with them. Alvar imagined himself for a second attacking and disarming the soldier, but he knew he would be shot before he could get closer to him. His friend Petier had tried it the first month. When the Imperials finished with him there was not too much left of his friend to be buried.

Another stormtrooper was approaching.

"Do you want to stay here with them?" He asked his partner. "That 's the last shuttle!"

"No, of course not. I prefer to see the fires from the ship. Bye, you dumb."

The two stormtroopers left towards the shuttle. Alvar saw how the ship took off and disappeared in the sky. He wondered what were the soldiers talking about. To see the fires... What fires? He thought worried. The young man ran towards the small colony.
 
 

[Onboard White Squadron's Frigate]

Foxfire pushed the button that communicated the bridge with the medical facilities.

"This is Flight Officer Agar." Joker's voice could be heard clearly.

"Hi, Joker, this is Foxfire. Is there any change?"

"Nothing at all, I'm sorry." Foxfire hit the console with her fist. She had hoped to hear some good news, even the smallest.

"Tell Angelrose to relieve you." She ordered. "You need to get some sleep."

"And what about you, Avery? You are the only person onboard who has not rested since yesterday."

Joker was right. Foxfire felt that her eyelids were closing without her being able to do anything to prevent it. She should ask Shadow to come to the bridge for some hours. But not too many.

"I know. I think I'll follow my own advice too. Do you know where Shadow is?"

"The last time she called to know how Sherry was, she was with Vyper in the secondary hangar."

Ah, yes, the Interceptors.

"Thank you, Joker, I'll pick her up there."

Foxfire took the elevator which lead to the secondary hangar landing. During the short journey she was thinking about the possibilities they had to rescue the colonists. Maybe it was the weariness, but the pessimism was beginning to dominate her. There would be too many enemy ships there, and there were no chances of getting any reinforcements. High Command had already decided. She had had to give them a lot of apologies the last time they had received a communication from them, one hour ago. She didn't want to leave the colonists to die, but probably that would happen anyway, even if they sacrificed their own lives trying to save them. Foxfire sighed noisily. To be in Command means a heavy weight on ones shoulders. She thought. Now I understand Sherry's early morning moods a lot better...

When she got to the hangar she couldn't see Vyper nor Shadow, but she heard their voices. Guided by them she found them in one of the Interceptors. Shadow was occupying the pilot's seat, and Vyper was behind her with half of his body inside the cockpit and his legs dnagling out. There was not enough space in the cockpit for them both, so Vyper had adopted that precarious posture in order to teach Shadow about the TIE Interceptor's controls.

"Are you going to abandon the A-Wings for those cans?" Foxfire asked.

"Ouch!" Vyper hit his head on the fighter's door when he tried to face the woman. "Hello, Avery..." He said rubbing his head with a hand.

"Are you well?"

"Yes. This bump won't kill me... Well, answering your previous question, I thought that if we are going to use these Interceptors I'll better give you both some theory lessons."

"Eh, who said that I'm going to pilot one of these things?" Foxfire protested.

"Shadow and you are the best A-Wing pilots around, and that is the Alliance fighter with the most similar flight performance to the TIE Interceptor."

"It's the same that he told me." Shadow said from the cockpit.

"I'll instruct some of the others too, maybe Iceman."

"Michael, I'll be honest with you." Foxfire said seriously. "I don't know if this is such a good idea."

Vyper stood in silence for some seconds before answering.

"It's not. I'm trying not to think about it, but even with the Frigate and the Interceptors we won't be able to keep up the deceit long enough to evacuate the colonists. We have very few fighters and pilots. When the Imperials discover us, and they will, we'll all be dead in a matter of minutes."

"Then it's over." Shadow said. "There's no sense to die for nothing. But then... Why do I feel so bad?"

The looks of her friends showed that they felt the same.

"How much time have we left?" Vyper asked.

"Close to five hours."

"Then let's wait those five hours. And let's pray for a miracle."
 
 

[On the other side]

That turned out to be a very long day. Joan asked Yoda for news when he came to bring her lunch and dinner, but he couldn't give her any answers. Joan was unable to sleep that night. The next morning the door opened and Yoda entered sooner than on any other day. His hands were empty. His face was a mask of resignation.

"Good morning, Joan." He began. "The answer to your message has been received at last."

Joan knew by her friend's expression that the news couldn't be too good.

"Let's see it." She said sighing.

"It's not a recording, Joan. It's a written message." He said handing Joan a paper copy.

That was very strange. Why wasn't there either image or sound? Joan frowned and took the paper. The message was very short. She read it with just a glance.
 
 

"It's not him." Joan said crumpling the message into a ball and throwing it against the wall. "Admiral Rickermoon can't have written this."

"Is the message signed by someone called Rickermoon?" Yoda asked.

"Yes, but I'm sure it's a falsification. I know Admiral Rickermoon pretty well, and I'm sure he wouldn't believe Calhuch's lies." The young woman was furious.

"Do you mind if I read the message?"

"Read it if you want." Joan said sitting on the bed and hiding her face in her hands."

Yoda picked up the ball of paper and opened it carefully. He read the message in silence.

"Your instinct serves you well." Yoda said when he finished. "I was there when the original message was received. They didn't notice my presence. They never care too much about me, hehe."

"Continue, please." Joan demanded watching him with interest.

"Well, I could hear Senator Tremoulin saying that he had traced the message's source and that it had been sent from Senator Carless's private residence."

"That is absurd. If Senator Carless had written that, why would he sign it as Admiral Rickermoon? And why reply to a recorded message with only a written text?"

"That's what Senator Tremoulin said too, yes. He was sure that Senator Carless received your message, but he believed that somebody else wrote the answer. Both Tremoulin and Borgonne spies they have, he said, and they were sure that Admiral Rickermoon had not been in Senator Carless's residence for at least two months."

"Sorelnai." Joan said. "She wrote the reply."

"Yes, my girl. Senator Tremoulin said that too. But they decided still to show you the message." Yoda watched Joan's expression. "And who is that Sorelnai?"

"She's Senator Carless' fiancee. She controls him completely, it's clear now." Joan said thoughtfully. "I pushed him to accept the leadership of the Republic in those hard times, but he never wanted that position. Sorelnai has been using him to obtain the power for herself. I had suspected it but now I have proof. She saw me like a possible enemy and has managed to put me aside." Joan adopted a sad expression, her eyes brightening with tears hardly retained. "Tobb tried to warn me of that." She said with a smile full of pain.

"Is someone whom you love very much that Tobb, isn't he? Yoda said looking at her tenderly.

"Yes, he is. And now I'm not going to see him any more."

Joan had resisted just for too long. She started to cry like the first night after her capture. Yoda doubted for an instant, unable to watch her suffering like this, but finally he approached her and hold her in his short arms.

"Cry, my girl. Cry all you want."
 

Some time later the door opened and Tremoulin entered. Calhuch was with him. Joan got up and looked fiercely at the Dark Jedi. She had ceased crying, but her eyes still were wet.

"You were right, Calhuch. Nobody will pay a single coin for me."

The Dark Jedi didn't reply. He just stood looking at her with the shadow of a smile on his face. It was Tremoulin who finally answered.

"That's not entirely true, lady d'Arc. Maybe you are wondering why General Bedenford is not with us."

"I'm not." She said.

"Well, I'll tell you anyway. I know you were eager to know what had been the fate of your dear Cruiser Harmony. Well, they managed to run away." Joan didn't say anything. She knew that Tremoulin had not ended and waited for the rest. "That time." He added. "Only two hours ago, when we had just received the reply to your message, something unexpected happened. Some of your friends decided to ignore the orders and the danger. They have tried to rescue you..."

Joan was stunned. She moved her eyes from Calhuch to Tremoulin, and then back again to Calhuch. He was still staring at her. Darkness seemed to be a living being around the black figure. Joan felt a great fear growing in her heart.

"What has happened??!!" She demanded furiously, almost shouting. Tremoulin made an involuntary step backwards.

"They have been rejected, of course." He said with a grin, but it disappeared immediately. Tremoulin had seen something in Joan's look. He moved back another step. He felt ashamed to feel frightened of a girl and forced himself to smile again.

"It was a very well planned attack." He resumed. "But suicidal. Nevertheless, your famous Miracle Squadron was able to cause a lot of damage to our Fleet before being destroyed. Pilot by pilot." He pronounced the last words very slowly.

There was no visible change in Joan's expression. But there was a volcano inside of her. Yoda was watching her with increasing concern. As Joan remained in silence, Tremoulin decided to continue.

"While all our forces were busy fighting them, a commando team almost succeeded in passing through our defences aboard an armoured transport. But they were discovered and destroyed too. None of them survived"

Tremoulin studied Joan's reactions before continuing. Calhuch didn't take his eyes off her. The traitorous Senator decided to do what Calhuch had suggested.

"Do you remember Captain Lamorny? Yes, of course you do. He has used his contacts in the Republic's Fleet to obtain something you might want to see. The casualty list of the attacking group..."

He handed a paper to Joan. She took it with the scorn reflected in her glance. What Tremoulin and Calhuch were doing was incredibly evil. But she forced herself to read the list. She owed that to her friends.

There were almost sixty names written there, separated in two groups, Miracle Squadron's pilots and the commando team. Thirty-four pilots had died or disappeared. Even more than a full squadron. Joan read name by name with increasing pain. One of the first names was Lieutenant Trillian's. Poor lad. He probably blamed himself for Joan's capture. She understood why there were more pilots than expected. Some of those names belonged to Wildcat's pilots. They had tried to clean their squadron's name after Lamorny and Smeigger's treachery. Most of her friends' names were there, but Joan had no more tears. She continued with the commando team. They were surely volunteers, she recognized some of those names. All of them were Harmony's officials. When she reached the last name she lost control of her legs for a second and almost fell to the floor. Yoda tried to support her, but she didn't noticed it.

Sergeant Tobb Santer.

Lamorny knew that too. He had told them about their relationship and they had placed his name the last one intentionally. Joan folded the piece of paper carefully and put it in one of her pockets. She looked up. Calhuch was still looking at her. Damned bastard she thought. All this is your doing. Hate grew more and more inside of her like a wave. She felt an immense power filling her body, just waiting to be used.

"Joan, no..." Yoda started.

All that hate came through like an invisible fist, launching Tremoulin and Calhuch violently against the walls. The Senator's body fell noisily to the floor and she could see the blood on his head. She understood everything in an instant. This was the Dark Side of the Force. Yoda had told her about that. Fear, Hate, Aggression, the Dark Side they are. Calhuch had wanted her to use the Dark Side. He expected to control her after that, to use her like he was using Tremoulin or Bedenford. She could now feel his own fear. Joan was more powerful than he had believed. She could kill him right now...

"Joan, please..." Yoda pleaded.

No. She wouldn't do it.

The external door had remained open for the first time. Joan jumped over her enemies' bodies and exited, ramming the two soldiers who were guarding the entrance. To escape. That was her only thought. Her instincts told her that she should avoid the elevators so she ran towards the stairs. There were soldiers coming up from the lower floors, attending the calls from Tremoulin and Calhuch, who had recovered from the initial surprise and were now pursuing her too. Yoda was trying to catch up with them, fearing that they would harm Joan when she was captured. She decided to try upstairs.

There were alarms sounding over the soldier's shouts. Joan was running as if she were blind, just escaping as fast as she could. Finally she exited to the higher level, with her pursuers almost on her heels. Joan blinked when Loire's sun's light hit her eyes, which were more accustomed to the shadows. There was no possible escape. She was on the fortress' roof, an open place that was used by shuttles and other vehicles carrying prisoners or supplies for landing, but now it was empty. The soldiers behind her and a jump of almost a hundred meters in front. She wouldn't become a prisoner again. Before the astonished soldiers the young woman jumped to the void.

And then something very strange happened. Her survival instinct was what made the call, with the Force as its messenger, and the trees growing around the fortress answered the plea. It seemed like if they stretched their branches to receive her body, holding her and softening her fall. Calhuch, Tremoulin and dozens of soldiers saw stunned from the fortress' roof how she disappeared amongst the dense foliage.

Calhuch used a transmitter to order the guards on the ground level to capture her. They found her under the trees. Alive. She was in shock, but a small wound on her chin was the only visible injury. Nobody could believe what they had seen. Yoda was not tall enough to see what was happening, but he heard the soldiers saying that the trees had moved to save Joan. He had felt Joan's call for help and knew that Calhuch had also done so. Yoda shivered when he heard what the Dark Jedi said to Tremoulin.

"I've never known anybody with such a connection to the Force. We can't leave her to live."
 
 

[Imperial transport exiting hyperspace]

Psycho glanced at the monitors. Nothing. The Frigate was not there. It seemed that he had arrived too late. Maybe Shok'wave had reached his same conclusion and had returned as she had been ordered.

Suddenly a weak signal appeared on his screen. An Imperial mark. He flew in that direction cautiously, waiting for a positive identification from the computer. Here it was. A Corvette. There was a second signal now. This took more time to be recognized, but now the computer was showing the figure of an Assault Gunboat. They were still in space. In the case of the Corvette this was not so unusual, but it was very strange for the Gunboat. Even more suspicious was to have only one Gunboat. The Imperial escorts were always composed of several fighters. Psycho decided to risk it and approached them a bit more.

From a distance of six klicks there were almost no energy readings. Disabled. He thought that there would be no danger using the active sensors to scan the complete area. There were no signs of more ships, but he discovered remains of several Gunboats. And some fragments of a B-Wing...

Evidently there had been a battle. The Imperial side had lost, or those disabled ships would not have been abandoned there. The other side could had been pirates, but they wouldn't have left the Imperials ships intact. They would have destroyed them after stealing their cargo. The Imperials had not received any reinforcements that would have made the attacking group escape. No, they had to be Rebels. But that theory had a weak point too. There were no Rebel forces in the area. They would have captured the Imperial ships, at least the Corvette...

But not if they were a small group with such limited resources that they couldn't capture them. He had come here looking for such people: White Squadron. They could have demanded support from High Command to board the Imperial ships. But not if they were disobeying direct orders and didn't want any contact with them. He had been right about Shok'wave. That woman must be mad.

They are going to need all the help they can get, Psycho thought. But where to find them? There was an obvious place: the Kessel system. If he tried to return there and wait for the Frigate's arrival, he would be immediately discovered. It was going to be hard to explain the Imperials why he had returned. That supposing they had not already discovered his last handiwork.

"Think, Stephen, think..." He said to himself. Shok'wave might be mad, but she was no dumb in any way. She wouldn't try to attack the Imperials and expect to live to rescue the colonists. She would have to make a more subtle approach. A "sneaky operation", as Foxfire would say. Psycho smiled thinking of the gorgeous Executive Officer, the sneakiest person in the Galaxy. Then he understood. They would approach the Imperial Fleet pretending to be one of their Frigates. Without any modifications and still sending an Imperial coded identification signal, it was identical to any other Imperial Nebulon B Frigate, of course.

"Which was the damned Frigate's name?" He said looking at the ceiling. "Watcher, yes!" He knew that nobody could change the name without destroying the identification coder device. It was inserted in an internal chip which couldn't be recorded over. They were provided directly by the Imperial Fleet High Command on Coruscant.

Psycho opened the rear hatch and launched the TIE's pieces out to the space. He ordered the computer to take his origin co-ordinates as his next destination and pushed the hyperspace motivators.

"I must be crazier than Shok'wave." He said as the stars elongated into bars and the transport entered hyperspace.
 
 

[Onboard White Squadron's Frigate]

Two A-Wings landed softly on the main hangar. Lieutenant Peter "Iceman" Kovessy and Captain Thorsten "Zeppelin" Wind's faces showed their weariness after a very long patrol shift. Cybercat and Vyper would do the next one and were already flying.

The two pilots noticed a lot of activity around them. All the technicians seemed to be there, working on a group of four B-Wings. Granite and Moose were among them. An utility vehicle was parked beside one of the fighters, full of Imperial proton torpedoes.

"Hey, you got it, you guys!" Iceman cheered.

"Of course." Granite replied. "Did you doubt us?"

"But we have found pieces enough for only four fighters." Moose explained while trying to remove the grease from his hands using an only slightly cleaner rag.

"This is better than nothing." Zeppelin said.

"Yeah, we can cause a lot of damage even with these babies." Granite was caressing one of the warheads with his hand.

"Am I the only one who is dying for a shower and a bed?" Iceman asked.

The four men abandoned the hangar together. Granite took a last look at the torpedoes that were being loaded on the B-Wing's modified launchers.

I'm also dying , but to shoot some of those... He thought with an evil grin painted on his face.
 

Flight Officer Lisa "Angelrose" Hull watched the 2-1B droid operating the instruments connected to Shok'wave's body.

"What's going on, 1B?" She asked.

"I don't know exactly, ma'am." The droid replied without stopping from checking the monitors. "Commander Krenzel is recovering surprisingly well from her wounds. I don't have an explanation."

"Then... She is going to be well?"

"I couldn't say, ma'am. Her body is almost re-established, but there are not signs of brain activity yet. I think there must be some irreversible damage to her brain, but I can't find it out with the scanners." The medical droid didn't have a facial expression, but Angelrose could have sworn that he was stunned.

She approached to Shok'wave's body and watched her Commander's face. She seemed the same as two hours ago, when she took over from Joker.

"Come on, Shok'wave." Angelrose said in a very low voice. "I don't know where are you, but we need you here. Come back, please..."

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