"Seven, Eight, break hard port!" Lord Baron Reno said as he dropped his TIE Defender in a tight spiral, narrowly escaping the guns of the A-wing on his tail. Reno quickly glanced at his sensors, checking for the Corellian freighter that the Siths were after. Where....ah, there it is.

The Corellian YT-2400 transport Downward Spiral was making a break for the planet, hoping to escape the Dark Side pilots somewhere in the atmosphere. But you can't escape a Sith. Too bad for the pilot he didn't know who he was facing.

Their mark was Rent Salazor, a former kingpin in a smuggling ring. He had been captured by the Empire four years ago and sentenced to death, but with the aide of some hefty bribes he had been able to escape Imperial justice. The Empire had placed a huge reward on his head, but after several years the bounty had dropped considerably. Somehow he had been able to elude capture for four years. That was going to change today. The amount on Salazor's head wasn't extremely large, but it was big enough.

The mission had started off fine. Sith Squadron's seven pilots had jumped into the system and gotten the jump on Salazor, who had just been sitting in space waiting for something....or someone as it had turned out. As Reno led his squadron towards Salazor his danger sense had tingled. They went evasive and seconds later an entire New Republic A-wing squadron had jumped out of hyperspace and started protecting Salazor. Reno assumed that years on the run from the Empire had finally gotten to Salazor so he decided to defect, though why he hadn't just found one of the many New Republic bases and just flew through the front door Reno didn't know. Probably paranoid that if he went through normal channels the Imperials would find out and kill him. Probably wise of him, Reno thought in hindsight.

Before the A-wings had attacked, though, they had tried to communicate.

"This is Captain Pash Cracken of Ace Squadron, you are hereby ordered to break off your attack and hype out of the system. Failure to do so will result in your immediate destruction."

Reno had of course responded by targeting the first A-wing that came into his crosshairs and blowing the fighter out of space. Not Cracken, he had thought solemnly, bummer.

And now here he was, neck deep in A-wings and losing his mark. If Salazor escaped he was never going to hear the end of it. The rest of the squad would hound him and berate him for weeks, maybe even longer. He wasn't going to be subjugated to that kind of humiliation. He was a Sith Lord, after all.

"This is Twelve, I've got a slim on my tail," Narska Plo'kre reported. "I need some help here!" Plo'kre was a Bothan from Bothwaui, and the newest member of Sith Squadron. Only weeks ago the Bothan had been a rebel, a member of Rogue Squadron. But the Siths had captured the alien and Reno had twisted his mind inside out. Now Plo'kre belonged to Reno.

Reno sighed. By now Plo'kre's wingman, JeniViolet, should have responded. But she wasn't. "Eleven....help out your wingman," he ordered.

"But.."

"No buts. If Twelve gets vaped because you weren't covering your wingman I'll cut off your supply of Whyrens for a year, or maybe I'll just cut off your supply of Tyros." Tyros Dakon was JeniViolet's "secretary". A former member of Palpatines Royal Guard, Dakon now served Jen in whatever way she desired. Not the worse job there was in the galaxy, he conceded, but it wouldn't' have been Reno's choice of lifestyle. He didn't like having anyone control him, no matter the situation.

"Copy. I'll be there in a second, Twelve," she muttered. "Hold on."

Reno allowed himself the barest of smiles. Leverage, that was all one needed in the galaxy. With leverage you could do anything, control anyone. As was shown here. Leverage....what a great thing.

Reno checked his rear sensors. The A-wing, Cracken he assumed since no one else in Ace Squadron could keep up with him, was still on his tail, closer probably. And his mark was getting away. If the Spiral reached the planet then it would be hell to hunt down. He couldn't let that happen. Reno flipped the comm switch.

"Two, you read me?" he asked ThunderingSilence, his wingman.

"I read you, Lead. What's up? Just wanna chat?"

Reno suppressed a sigh. "With you, no," he shot back. "Now I need you to break off and go after the Downward Spiral."

"Copy that, Lead. I'm on it."

ThunderingSilence's X-wing veered off and headed down towards the planet below. Normally the YT-2400 transport could easily outrun an X-wing, but early into the battle the ship's engines had been hit. That slowed her down considerably. Enough for Thunder to actually have a chance to catch her. The Spiral was definitely losing ground to Thunder....hopeful the Sith pilot could catch him.

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

ThunderingSilence glared through the cockpit at the Corellian transport in front of her. The only thing that she and the other squad members, besides the Lord Baron that was, was the name of the ship. Reno was notoriously vague in his briefings, telling the squadron only what he felt they needed to know....which normally wasn't much. And as was the case on this mission. The only thing their fearless leader had told them was the system they were jumping into and the name and description of his ship. No name or history on the pilot, nothing that would give the Siths an edge.

"Digger, are we anywhere near those A-wings?" she asked.

Her astromech tooted a negative. They A-wings were all far behind them.

"Good, then take off our rear shields and shunt them into the engines. The Spiral is a fairly fast ship, even with an engine out."

Digger whistled again and her speed increased.

Normally flying without rear shields was a mistake, especially in a dogfight. One lucky shot to your stern would do you in, but Thunder had the added benefit of being Force-strong, and that gave her the advantage. As long as she had the Force she would never have the disadvantage.

Thunder played her hands across the panel in front of her, switching her cannons to duel-fire. She could've used torps, but she only wanted to disable him, not kill him. Truth be told Palin would've been a more practical choice to hunt down the Spiral, her B-wing had an ion cannon that would disable a ship better than a careful targeted laser. But a B-wing, even a modified one, couldn't keep up with, let alone catch, a Corellian transport.

ThunderingSilence smiled as she put the transport in her crosshairs. The ship was a YT-2400, an easily modified Corellian transport. Thunder had actually spent a little over a year serving as the copilot on a YT-2400 several years ago, before she had joined Sith Squadron. They were nice ships, but Thunder preferred the YT-1300's, like Han Solo's Millennium Falcon. Pressing the firing stud Thunder sent out several scarlet blots lancing towards the Downward Spiral. The blasts impacted against the stern of the freighter, doing almost more cosmetic damage than internal. That would have to change.

This time as she fired she targeted the starboard engines of the transport. The port engines had been hit earlier, and without the starboard the ship would crash to the ground. Hopefully the pilot would be able to keep her from breaking apart and exploding before the ship nose dived the ground.

Thunder watched closely as the tail end of the freighter lit ablaze. It careened out of control, leaving a trail of smoke behind it. Thunder kept on the freighter, however, not letting the ship get out of her sights....or crosshairs.

Then to Thunder's surprise the Downward Spiral started to break apart. Hull plating started to tear loose as the ship dove down through the treacherous atmosphere. I know this trick, she thought, slightly surprising herself. Parts of the ship would break off and distract the pursuing ship. It made the pursuer think that the ship was in danger of blowing at any second, luring the attacker into a false sense of security. It also tossed wreckage at the pursing ship, some of which were big enough to cause an X-wing to explode. Where do I know that from?

Thunder banked her fighter to the right as a large piece of the Spiral's hull shot past her cockpit. Close call....

Putting her X-wing back on course Thunder locked her jaw and pressed her fighter to full speed. The Downward Spiral was still tossing debris at her, and still crashing towards the ground at an alarming rate. It would hit the ground in about one minute. But the angle it was at was not good. If the pilot didn't pull up a little when the Spiral hit the ground it was going to explode. And that just wouldn't do. This may not be the heftiest bounty the Siths had collected, but they also sort of needed it. Not for the money, of course, but for the honor. If the Siths couldn't pull off a simple mission like this....talk about a morale buster.

So ThunderingSilence had to find a way to bring up his ship a little bit. She could always fly underneath him and tip his nose up....but that was unbelievably risky. If the pilot dropped his freighter even a meter than Thunder would be in big trouble. A YT-2400 was a lot bigger than an X-wing...if he rammed her than her ship would crash to the ground alongside his. So that ruled out that possibility. Unless....

Unless she was the ship on top. If she flew into his blind spot, which should be pretty big right now because his rear sensors were most likely gone, she could bump his stern and force his bow up. But that would create the same problem. If she rammed the nose of her fighter into the Spiral it would knock out her main systems: guidance, weapons, sensors...

Unless she lowered her forward landing gear. It might mess up her landing gear, but her fighter would still be operational. It was risky, but it was the only solution that presented itself. Taking a deep breath she went to work.

She slowly guided her fighter to the Downward Spiral's aft. There was about thirty seconds left until the Corellian freighter crashed head first into the ground. Thunder cut her acceleration a bit and dropped her fighter back a few meters, just so the nose of her fighter was above the aft of the Spiral. Reaching over Thunder flicked a switch and her landing gear lowered. Gently she lowered her fighter until the landing gear of her fighter pressed down against the Spiral's hull.. There was a loud clank, followed by a screech as metal scrapped against metal. She pushed her stick forward to lower her fighter, forcing the other ship down, but her X-wing wouldn't budge. She had made a slight error in her judgment...she needed to get a little bit closer.

Fifteen seconds.

She raised her fighter again and throttled forward. Just a little bit more....a little bit more.....there!

Ten seconds.......it was now or never! She pushed her stick forward again and her X-wing dropped suddenly. This time she wasn't so careful about it. The sound of the two ships colliding midair was akin to a gunshot heard at point blank. Despite having her landing gear down, some sparks shot out from her targeting computer and her X-wing wobbled. Yet she continued to press down.

The freighter was very large and very hard to force down, or even force up. Thunder pushed the stick as far front as it would go, but still the freighter wouldn't budge. She had to hurry and do something or else the Downward Spiral would crash into the ground. Maybe......maybe if she used the Force.

She didn't have time to debate it, she needed to act now! She focused all of her energy and looked at the bow of the freighter. She concentrated and closed her eyes. Thunder pictured the freighter's bow lifting upwards.....pictured the ship picking itself up....

When she opened her eyes again the Downward Spiral had flattened out a bit, enough that when it hit the ground it would so at a skid instead of nose first into the dirt. Unless the pilot wasn't wearing his crash web and flew through the viewport when his ship hit the ground he should survive. Now she just had to follow him down to the ground and capture him.

The impact between ship and ground was no more spectacular than any other time Thunder had seen it. When the Spiral hit the open plain it kicked up dirt and grass. The Corellian freighter skidded for about one hundred meters before it finally came to a halt. Even if Thunder hadn't seen the ship crash she could easily follow it. The skid mark it left was huge!

ThunderingSilence landed her X-wing about ten meters from the downed Corellian vessel. The damage to her landing gear was evident when it broke as she landed. The nose of her fighter was sent crashing to the ground. She popped the hatch on her canopy and snatched her lightsaber and blastsword.

"Digger, do me a favor," she said.

The droid tooted.

"Keep the weapons systems powered up and locked on the freighter. If it looks like I'm in trouble feel free to fire on it. Just don't hit any of the critical systems. At this range if that ship blows up we're going to go along with it. Got it?"

The droid warbled an affirmative.

"Good. Now watch my back."

ThunderingSilence jumped off the side of her fighter and landed on the ground next to it. Holding her deactivated lightsaber in her hand she carefully crept forward. If he was anything like a normal smuggler than he'd have some type of proximity defense system to keep intruders out. Most likely some type of underside swivel blaster...ah, there it is. Just as she thought of it a small repeating blaster lowered itself from the hull of the Downward Spiral and fired several shots in a row. Thunder quickly activated her jade green lightsaber and brought the blade up. She lowered, then raised her saber, quickly deflecting the oncoming blaster bolts. They shot straight back at the swivel blaster and destroyed the small gun.

Ha! That wasn't so hard, Thunder thought, I'm almost disappointed...

She wasn't disappointed when the belly quad laser suddenly hummed to life, did a quick 180 and pointed directly at her. Thunder's eyes widened and like lightening Thunder swung her blade in front of her. Even using the Force to help, the impact of the powerful blaster bolt hitting the lightsaber knocked her back a foot or so. She continued blocking bolt after bolt, all the while her X-wing sat dormant off to the side. Why the hell wasn't Digger doing something! No time to worry about it. Deflecting the blaster bolts was keeping her focus too much for her to attempt ripping out the turret with the Force...she'd just have to try and deflect the bolts back at it. Her first several attempts ricocheted off the hull of the ship where it left black scorch marks, but by the fifth try she got it right. The large red laser blast echoed back at it's point of origin, leaving nothing but a smoldering pile of metal stuck to the hull. With the immediate threat gone she snatched her comlink.

"Digger what the hell were doing!? I told you to fire on the ship if you say me in trouble?"

Thunder looked at her wrist, where a small wrist screen was attached. The screen, which anyone else with droids in the squad possessed, translated each of the droids bleeps and bloops into words. Digger responded by giving off several short bleeps.

"What do you mean "You knew I could handle it?"?"

The droid tooted rudely.

"Well I know the statement is self-explanatory, but do you realize how much easier that would've been if you had just fired on the ship? Ah, never mind. But the next time I tell you to fire on something you damn well better fire on it, or I'll just cut off your supply of Whyrens,"

Digger whistled nervously and promptly begged for that not to happen.

ThunderingSilence smiled. Digger and Spanky, Jen's R5 unit, were the only droids that Thunder knew of who actually drank Whyren's Reserve...it was an unheard of phenomenon. A drunk droid? At least Thunder knew that if she ever left Sith Squadron she could get a job promoting Digger at a traveling circus.

Shaking her head and putting the droid behind her she cautiously made her way to the entrance of the Downward Spiral. She was probably going to have to cut her way into the ship. That's okay, no hull in the galaxy could stop a lightsaber. Thunder moved in to cut open a new door when much to her surprise the main hatch on the Downward Spiral opened. Thunder, instantly on guard, took several steps back. She had figure the man would hole himself up in his ship and make a last stand in there...instead he was coming out to make his last stand. Whatever...either way it would result in the same outcome. One way or another she was going to carry his carcass off this rock.

Suddenly remembering that the bounty on the man is for "alive" Thunder put away her lightsaber and un holstered the pistol she kept on her leg. Clicking the setting to "stun" she pointed it at the front of the boarding ramp.

"You have five seconds to come out before I go up there and drag you out of your ship. And if you force me to go all the way up there and do that I guarantee you it won't be pleasant. You'll be feeling the bruises for days...." She didn't add, "if you live that long." but it was pretty much understood by both sides.

"All right, I'm coming out," came a deep voice from inside of the ship.

"First toss your blaster down the ramp." Thunder's command was met and several seconds later a blaster and holster were tossed down the ramp. "Very good...now walk down that ramp real slow and keep your hands where I can see them."

Seconds after her command a tall figure emerged from the Corellian freighter. He had his dark hair cut short, almost military style. He wore a pair of dark brown trousers, accented by a green shirt and white vest. A black sash crossed his waist, possibly covering a hidden vibroblade. Best to be careful, she thought inwardly. Then, smiling, she answered herself. As always.

It was when the man stopped at the bottom of the ramp did the realization of who he was hit ThunderingSilence, and ditto to her mark. Years ago, after she had left Adumar but before she had joined Sith Squadron, Thunder had been a part of a smuggling ring for a year. The leader of that operation was a man named Rent Salazor. But the smugglers, Thunder included, had all been captured by the Empire and sentenced to death. Thunder had escaped, but to her knowledge she had been the only one. She had been sure that all of her old smuggler friends had been killed...but here stood Rent Salazor, looking fit, trim and healthy. And from the look on his face he recognized her too.

"Tundre?" he quietly said. "Tundre ya Silens? Is that you?"

"Rent..." she muttered. "I thought you were dead."

"Likewise," Salazor said, "I thought I was the only from our group that survived. How..."

"That's not important," she cut him off. "Slowly, very slowly, put you hands behind your back. And no funny business. I know about that vibroblade in your sash."

Salazor looked almost hurt when he realized that despite their history Thunder was going to turn him in. "Never could fool you, Thunder. You were always too sharp. But it's not my vibroblade you should be worried about...it's this!" In one fluid motion he thrust his hand down towards a snap on his trousers. He unsnapped the lock and revealed a hidden sword that was sheathed on his leg. Twirling around he held the sword in front of him and stared at Thunder, a look of hurt betrayal on his face. But Thunder wasn't entirely focused on Rent Salazor's face, she was instead looking at the weapon he held in his hand.

An Adumari blastsword.

Thunder narrowed her eyes. He hadn't had a blastsword when she had last seen him, which meant that sometime after his escape he had gone back to Adumar and picked one up. And from the way he swung it around it looked like he might actually know how to use it.

"Rent, you don't want to do this...trust me."

"What else is there left to do, Thunder? I'm at the end of my rope here. I'd rather die at your hands then be captured. At least this way I can go out fighting."

ThunderingSilence shook her head. "I'm not going to kill you, Rent, if I do that we won't be paid."

"And who is we?"

"C'mon, Rent, you know better than to ask those kind of questions. Just put the blastsword down and surrender."

Rent Salazor shoot his head relentlessly. "No chance, Thunder. If I give up you'll take me back to the Imperials. I don't have the money to bribe my way out again. They'll kill me for sure."

Thunder shook her head. "I'm sorry, Rent, but that isn't my problem anymore. I have a job to do. Drop the blastsword...this is the last time I'm going to tell you that."

Rent Salazor responded by thumbing the power on his blastsword and saying "Honor or death."

So be it....

ThunderingSilence holstered her blaster and snatched the blastsword off her belt. She flicked the power on and swung it experimentally, leaving a green arc of light in the air behind her. As Thunder reached down to grab her knife Rent went on the attack. He charged clumsily and held his blastsword in an unceremonious way. His gripping was all wrong, and you should never charge like that in battle. It leaves you open for this...

Thunder dodged to the left as Salazor swung downwards. That was Salazor's main problem...he was treating the blastsword like a lightsaber or normal sword. It wasn't. The tip of the blastsword wasn't sharp, instead it was a small nozzle that when hit threw out something akin to a blaster bolt.

Sidestepping to the left again, Thunder parried several swings. Salazor's unskilled attacks were starting to get on Thunder's nerves. He frankly wasn't deserving enough to carry a blastsword...proof that anyone on Adumar could buy one if they had the money. Thunder had bought her first blastsword when she was only ten years old, while she was still working at a broadcap manufacturing factory in the providence of Yedagon. She still used that same blastsword today.

Thunder lunged forward and tried to jam the tip of her blastsword into Rent's chest, but the smuggler jumped to the side. The tip did, however, make contact with his vest. The tip ignited and a small laser bolt shot out. It tipped through the back of Salazor's vest, leaving a burning hole in the cloth.

Not wasting any time she continued her assault. Thunder took several steps forward and thrust her blastsword at Salazor's chest again. He blocked the blow and counter attacked with a low sweep designed to hit Thunder in her legs. Once again he assumed that the blastsword was just a simple sword....

Thunder blocked the attack and the two blade tips connected, both letting out a sharp crack and both shooting out a blaster bolt. Both bolts let scorch marks on the dirt. Thunder took a step back and quickly set up a new attack plan. Salazor was untrained, unprofessional, and was a horrible swordsman....there were so many ways to dispatch him that it wasn't even funny. Best to go for the quickest way, though.

Moving as quick as a blaster bolt ThunderingSilence let out a quick series of jabs and thrusts, each one aiming for the middle of Salazor's chest. Just one good bolt in the middle of the chest and Salazor would be down on the ground. But Salazor awkwardly blocked each blow, parrying them any which way he could.

Thunder did a quick turn and swung at Salazor's head, but she did it slow enough that he could duck. She didn't want to kill Salazor...just render him unconscious. And she was also trying to lure him in a certain direction. Each thrust and swing was designed to lure him to closer and closer towards his ship. Once there...

Each of Thunder's swings knocked back Salazor a foot or two. Not because they were especially powerful, but because Salazor had the mistaken impression that he could find cover behind one of the Spiral's landing gear. Rent Salazor ducked another high swipe at his head and scurried behind the port landing gear of his ship. Thunder smiled as she approached the landing gear. Although the large leg stood between her and her target, she had him exactly where she wanted him.

Rent Salazor had one hand gripping his blastsword, while the other rested on the leg of the landing gear. Narrowing her eyes she rested the tip of her blastsword on the landing gear, setting off a blaster bolt in the process. The durasteel gear acted as a lightening rod and quickly absorbed the charge sent into it. The shock was sent all throughout the ship, but it was strongest near it's point of origin...right where Rent Salazor's hand was. Because of the size of the landing gear the shock absorbed wasn't particularly strong, but it was powerful enough to knock Salazor about five feet back and onto his butt. Now it's time to finish this.

As Salazor slowly climbed to his feet ThunderingSilence took one of her hands off of her blastsword and grabbed the dagger she kept hidden on her. She held it backwards against her arm and let out a feral grin. Rent didn't have a dagger to pull out of his sleeve, but he did have a hidden hold out blaster. As he jumped to his feet he whipped it out and clicked off the safety.

Damn....should've anticipated that. My mistake....

Pointing the weapon and Thunder, Rent took a few steps back and let out a grin of his own. "I'm sorry it had to be like this, Thunder...I always rather liked you. You were a great pilot and an invaluable asset to my organization. But things are different now. If I let you live you'll hunt me down again and you'll take me back to the Empire. I can't let you do that."

"Rent, there are other members to our group. If you kill me they'll gun for you for sure, but it won't be for reward. They'll want revenge, and they'll take it from you slowly and painfully. Do yourself a favor and surrender."

"Hmmm...let me think. How about......no. I'm sorry, Thunder, but now you must die."

As Rent Salazor leveled the blaster at Thunder, she prepared herself to use the Force and yank the weapon out of his hands. But just as she was about to do that two large scarlet laser bolts shot our from behind her and exploded against the ground about ten yards behind Salazor. Rent Salazor was sent flying forward, his blaster and blastsword dropping to the ground in front of him. Thunder likewise dropped to the ground, but she did so more out of caution than because she was thrown there. If one of those blasted A-wings was attacking it would make things difficult. She would have to call in one of the Siths, because there was no way she could reach her fighter in time. And even if she did it would take Digger at least five...

That was when it hit her.

She quickly checked the sky and confirmed her suspicions that there was no attacking A-wing. In fact, the only thing she saw up in the air was the purplish sky. She checked once to see if Salazor was still on the ground and was pleasantly surprised to see him face down in the dirt. Unconscious, she sensed, not dead. Good, that gave her a minute or so.

Snatching her comlink she thumbed the switch and started yelling. "Digger, what the hell were you thinking!"

The droid warbled over the comlink, it's high tones and squeaks hurting Thunder's ears. Thunder glanced at her wrist screen as the words scrolled by.

"Oh, so now you decided to help out. I had the situation completely in control."

Digger tooted harshly, once again followed by words on her screen.

"Well yes, he was pointing a gun at me. But I was about to rip it out of his hand when you fired that laser blast. And speaking of which, you cut that blast awful close. Almost knocked me out along with Salazor."

Her astromech tweeted several times.

"Fine, just be more careful now."

Digger hooted an affirmative and ended the comlink transmission.

Stupid droid. Maybe a day away from Whyrens would sharpen him up. Thunder reached behind her and unhooked a pair of binders from her waist. She cautiously strode over to Salazor, keeping a careful on him. He may look unconscious but that doesn't necessarily mean he is.

Thunder unsheathed her pistol and pointed it at Salazor's limp body. If he so much as twitched then she was going to fire. Luckily for him, though, as she reached down and attached his hands he didn't move. She snapped them together and wiped a drop of sweat from her brow. Thunder sighed and grabbed her comlink again. Instead of calling Digger, though, she punched it to the frequency the rest of the Siths were using.

"Sith Lead, this is Sith Two. Do you copy?"

"I copy," came Reno's voice through the comm, though it was a bit distorted because of distance.

"The package is secure," she reported.

"Good work," Reno said. "We downed six of the A-wings, but they're retreating now. Unfortunately Cracken was one of the few who escaped. Too bad. Lots of honor in a kill like that."

"Yeah, if that's what you're looking for. Anyway, I'm gonna need pickup. My fighter won't fit two and Salazor's ship is a little banged up."

"All right, once the slims hype out I'll call in the SSD and bring a shuttle down. In the meantime just keep him subdued."

Thunder smiled. "Will do, Lead."

Pocketing the comlink ThunderingSilence stepped over Salazor's unconscious form and picked up his fallen blastsword. A nice weapon, nicer than hers in fact. The hand guard was very finely crafted, with intricate designs carved into the handle. It also had a name inscribed on the bottom of the hilt. The name was...

Thunder's jaw dropped ever so slightly and her eyes widened. It....it was her brother's name. Her brother had been the one to produce this sword. In most circumstances that wouldn't surprise someone, but....

....but her brother had been dead for over 17 years!

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

ThunderingSilence eyed Rent Salazor. He sat bounded to a chair at the opposite side of the interrogation room. He had some minor scraps and cuts on his face from the laser blast that knocked him unconscious, but otherwise he was okay. Interrogation time...

He smiled grimly as he saw Thunder. "Ah, Lord Pilot Thunder. How long until we revert to Imperial Space and you turn in the man that saved your life?"

Thunder ignored the question. "Lord Pilot no more. It's ThunderingSilence again."

"What? No more Lord Pilot?" he asked. "I always thought that sounded so cool. Lord Pilot Thunder..."

"That doesn't matter," she cut him off. Thunder lifted up the blastsword and tossed it on the table in between them. "Where did you get this?"

Salazor snorted. "Adumar, obviously."

"Do you recognize the name on the bottom of the hilt?" she asked. She lifted it up enough for him to see.

"Parstach ya Silens," he repeated slowly. "Relative of yours?"

"My brother," Thunder stated flatly. "My dead brother. The company that produced this blastsword has my brothers name attached to it. What do you know about it?"

"What do you mean "what do I know"? I don't know anything. Why would I? You think I am involved in Adumari business? Heh, no. While I was still on the run from the Empire I tried hide out on Adumar...I thought since I was such a great pilot it would be a nice place to duck my head until the Imps broke off pursuit. Trust me, the Imps weren't what I should've been worrying about.

"During the year or so you crewed for me you neglected to mention several things about Adumari culture that I had to learn the hard way. You failed to mention their love for dueling...something I thought was important to know. Do you even know how many people I had to run from, how many people were trying to kill me for some reason or another? I bought a blastsword to defend myself, but it really didn't do any good. I hightailed it out of there the first chance I got."

"Yes, Adumar can have that affect on an outsider. So this place where you bought your blastsword..."

"It was just a normal blastsword store. I didn't know there was any special name attached to it, I just bought the nicest looking sword I could afford."

"Where was this store located? Yedegon or Cartann?"

Rent smiled, a hint of amusement creeping onto his face. "Uh-uh, my friend, I'm not saying anything else. Unless..."

Thunder grimaced. "Unless what?"

"You need information on Adumar, I want off this ship. I propose a trade. I guide you on Adumar, you let me go. We both win."

Letting out a short laugh Thunder stared harshly at Rent. "I don't need a guide on Adumar, I lived there. This deal benefits only you."

"That's where you're wrong, Thunder. Adumar isn't the same since you left. Different people in power, different situations. I lived there for a few months recently, you haven't been there for years. I know who is in power, who I can rely on to get info, and who is running which companies these days. Now, while you could just go there and figure out that stuff by yourself, it might take you a few days. And trust me, you might not last a few days there..."

Thunder narrowed her eyes. "What are you talking about?"

"You are still wanted by Adumari authorities for the murder of Nolicra ya Russah and his little brother Olnora ya Russah. Remember, the Authorities know that Ground Champion Tundrin ke Silant was also Tundre ya Silens, murderer of the owner of Yedagon's Shummakte Pierces-the-Ground Explosive Manufacturing Company. If you go back there they'll hunt you down. But..."

"But...?" she asked.

"...with my connections I could keep you safe. Or at least safer. And all I ask in return is that you don't turn me into any Imperial officials. Just drop me off somewhere in space and let me be. I'm not even asking you don't pursue me again. I just want a fair chance."

Thunder shook her head. "I can survive by myself. No deal."

"Your loss," Salazor. "But it's always nice to have someone watching your back, isn't it? You know how Adumar is, Thunder. If you don't watch your back you can get a blastsword rammed into it."

"I've got the Force...that's all that I need." Thunder turned around and headed for the door. As it opened and she departed she heard Salazor call out one last time.

"You don't know what you're doing, Thunder...without me you won't survive a trip to Adumar. You may have the Force, and you may be one damn good pilot, but you still don't know the fringe. That's where I've spent my entire life. Sneaking into places without being seen or ID'd is how I made a living. There are hardly any better. Even with your Force skills, even with your piloting abilities, you can't fight off all of Adumar by yourself. And you know that."

The thing that stuck with her all of the way to Reno's office was that deep in her heart she knew that Rent Salazor was right.

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

Thunder barged into Reno's office, unannounced of course. Reno sat behind his desk, his attention on the datapad in front of him. She also noticed that his hands were gripped on a joystick. Reno dodged back and forth, completely oblivious to Thunder's arrival and completely absorbed in what appeared to be a video game.

"Sir?" she asked, trying to get him away from his video game. Reno's head snapped up.

"Huh? Oh, ThunderingSilence. I was just...uh..."

"Were you playing a video game, sir?"

Reno's face brightened slightly. "Yeah, it's called X-wing Alliance! It's really cool! I can fly a TIE Defender, and fight against the Viraxo smuggling group, and the best part is that I can fly the Millennium Falcon during the Battle of Endor! Isn't that cool!?"

Thunder raised an eyebrow. "Uhh, sir, you already fly a TIE Defender...a real one. And the Viraxo are our allies, why would we fight them?....Arnot Viraxo is one of our old pilots...they supply our Whyrens Reserve."

"Yes, but did any of us fly in the Battle of Endor?"

"Well, uh, I guess not. But you do realize that is just a game, right? You're not really flying in the real Battle of Endor...that's just a simulation. And just a game sim, too. If you wanted to fly a much better version you could just go down to our simulator complex. It's so lifelike you'd swear you were actually there."

"Perhaps, Thunder, perhaps, but those are free. I forked over forty five credits for this bad boy."

Now Thunder was just confused. "So...you'd rather pay forty five credits to play a game version of the Battle of Endor than take the lift down a level and jump in the Sims and actually fly it?"

"Yes," Reno stated matter-of-factly.

"Ooookay. "

Reno tossed the joystick to the side of his desk and looked back at Thunder. "Now I assume you came here for a reason...what was it?"

Thunder cleared her throat before speaking. "I request permission to travel to Adumar."

Reno made a weird face. "Might I ask why?"

"Have I ever told you about my brother?" she asked.

"The one who died in that factory explosion?" Reno responded. "I remember you mentioning his name once. What was it...Parsley...no....Pistachio...no, that wasn't it..."

"Parstach."

"Yeah, that's it. So what about him?"

"I...I don't think he's dead."

Reno narrowed his eyes. "Why do you think that?"

"The blastsword I took off of Salazor was made by a company that has my brothers name attached to it. If my brother is somehow alive, I have to...I don't know, I just have to find out for sure. So can I go to Adumar?"

"Of course, Thunder, I'll call Gimmer now and get your X-wing prepped for immediate departure."

Thunder took a deep breath. "That isn't necessary, sir. I don't need my X-wing."

Now Reno just looked stumped. "It's an awful long walk to Adumar from here..."

"I'm going to take the Downward Spiral...and Rent Salazor."

Reno jumped to his feet and slammed his palms down against the wooden desk. "What!? You are not taking Rent Salazor anywhere! He's our bounty, might I remind you...without him we do not get paid. If we do not get paid then we do not get any Whyrens Reserve. And if we do not get Whyrens Reserve then...well, you know what happened the last time we ran low."

"I know, I know...but I need Salazor. Consider it a calculated risk. I realize we could lose Salazor, but...he can help me on Adumar."

"Is that your reason? You want me to give up the bounty on Salazor because he can help you find your dead brother? No way, Thunder. Ain't gonna happen."

"Okay, look, I'm not asking you to give up the bounty...just postpone it. When did you tell our contractor we'd deliver Salazor?"

Reno grimaced and leaned back slightly in his chair. "We're due at Orinackra in about a week."

"That's perfect. I already calculated the distance...Two days to Adumar, a max of three days on planet, then two days back. It fits perfectly. Look, I swear I won't lose him or let him escape..."

"Or let him be killed?" Reno asked with a sigh.

"I promise."

Reno rubbed his temples gently with his fingers and softly muttered, "Oh man, I'm gonna regret this."

Thunder's face brightened. "Does that mean yes?" she asked eagerly.

"Take him," Reno said while letting out a long sigh. "But if anything happens to him...ANYTHING...then I'm going to nail your six to a wall and allow the Siths to get drunk and play pin the tail of the dewback with their lightsabers. You remember what happened to Grish, yes?"

Thunder recalled the incident very clearly and had no intention of winding up like poor Grish. "I understand completely, sir. I will allow no harm to come to Salazor, you have my word."

"Fine, then I'll call Gimmer and have him start fixing up the Spiral. You realize this could take a few days...maybe even longer?"

"Actually it won't, sir," Thunder put in meekly. "I kinda already called Gimmer, sir. He's down there fixing it as we speak. He told me he won't be able to bring it up to 100% in such a short amount of time, but he can get it operational. And that's all that I need."

Reno cocked an eyebrow upwards and gave Thunder a hard stare. "A bit presumptuous, don't you think?" he asked her.

"No sir, not at all. I know that for a Sith Lord you are surprisingly magnanimous and generous. I knew that you would never be so callous as to deny me the chance to find out about my history, or not allow me to bring along the means that will keep me alive. You are wise beyond your years, and..."

"Okay okay," Reno interrupted. "Stop sucking up, it's disgusting. Besides, I already said yes. Just grab Salazor and get out of here before I change my mind. And Thunder..."

"Yes?"

"Lock the door when you leave. I'm about to play the Battle of Endor and I don't want any distractions."

Thunder smiled. "Of course, Lead, will do."

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

ThunderingSilence strode into the interrogation chamber and grabbed Rent Salazor by the hair, yanking him out of the chair and to his feet.

"C'mon, Salazor, we're going."

Her old associate looked almost amused. "Have a change of heart, Thunder? Not at all like you. But, I guess with a guy as good looking as me, how could you possibly keep me here..."

"Shut up, Salazor, and follow me." Thunder let go of Rent's hair and let him drop into step behind her.

As they made their way down to the docking bay Rent suddenly spoke up.

"You know, Thunder, we're not both going to fit in the cockpit of your X-wing. Now, while I really wouldn't mind being that close to you...it would be a very tight fit."

Thunder sighed. "We're going to be taking the Downward Spiral."

"You do realize that you guys completely kriffed up my ship...I doubt if it's even flight worthy right now."

"You'd be surprised at what Gimmer can do when I threaten to cut his knees off with my lightsaber and replace them with thermal detonators."

"Never change, do you Thunder?"

Thunder stopped dead in her tracks and shot a look at the smuggler behind her. She could actually see the fear growing in his eyes and he took a short step backwards. Thunder then closed her eyes and lowered her head ever so slightly. For a second she just stood there, staring at the cold deck of the SSD.

"Everyone changes," she finally whispered. Then she turned back around and headed for the hanger.

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

By the time ThunderingSilence and Rent Salazor reached the main hanger, Gimmer was putting the final touches on the Downward Spiral. She ordered Salazor to go inside and prep the Spiral, an order that he promptly followed.

"Ship ready to go, Gimmer?" she asked the tech. Gimmer was the Sith Squadron chief mechanic...a middle aged man that had been with the Siths since the very beginning. Although he had never been open about his past, Thunder did know that prior to working with the Siths, he had been an Imperial. He actually still wore his Imperial uniform, though it was stained with oil and grease.

"As ready as she's going to get in such short notice," he said dubiously. "Look, I'm going to be honest with you, Captain Thunder...if I were you I'd take another ship. We've got lots here you could take...newer ships....working ships...ships that aren't old junked up pieces of crap..."

"Sorry, I need this ship, Gimmer. It'll just have to do."

"If you say so, Capt'...let me at least give you a rundown of what works and what doesn't work."

"That you can do."

Gimmer sighed. "Hyperdrive motivator is working fine, that wasn't damaged in the attack. Shields are working at about 70% optimal...no exactly prime when going into a possible war zone. Weapons are....iffy."

"Iffy?"

"That's about as technical an explanation I can give you. Sometimes they seem to work...sometimes they don't. I tried to pinpoint what was wrong, but I just didn't have the time. So if you can avoid it, don't get into any dogfights."

Thunder let out a small sigh. How could you go to Adumar and NOT get involved in a dogfight? Talk about impossible...

"Also...you really messed up the hull, Thunder. I welded on some scrap metal...but nothing that is going to last long. You'd have a better chance flying a Preybird."

Thunder gave Gimmer a hurt look. "Oh come on, Gimmer, no one here is stupid enough to fly a Preybird!"

Gimmer let out a laugh and agreed.

"Will it get me to and from Adumar?" she finally asked. "That's all I need."

Gimmer closed his eyes, then opened them slowly. "Assuming you don't try to do any strenuous flying, don't take it into any space battles, and don't try to bank port..."

Thunder narrowed her eyes and she quickly said, "What was that last?"

"That last was just a joke, Captain. Don't worry, you can turn both port and starboard. You can't go up or down, but..."

"Gimmer..." she warned.
"She's all ready to go, Capt'...only thing left is for me to wish you luck. You're gonna need it."

ThunderingSilence smiled and clapped Gimmer on the back. "I don't need luck, Gimmer," she stated.

"No, but you do need a miracle."

Thunder looked at the broken down, patched up Corellian freighter that was going to take her to Adumar, a world that thrived on dogfighting.

"That...I may need."

Thunder turned to go off to the ship when a loud warbling stopped her. She turned sharply and stared as Digger, her R2 unit, came rolling up to her. He warbled loudly and Thunder glanced at her wrist screen.

"No, Digger, I'm sorry. This time it's just me and Salazor."

Digger squealed.

"This one is too dangerous, Digger...I'm not going to risk losing you."

Once again the droid bleeped at her, a long and sad sounding tone. ThunderingSilence stooped down, as if she were speaking to a child. She whispered so only he could hear...which in hindsight was kind of silly thing to do...but she cared about Digger, even if he was only metal and circuits.

"Digger, there's a good chance I'm not going to come back from this mission...regardless of what I find out there. I'm not going to risk you on a mission where I'm probably going to die."

Digger's response was short and Thunder could tell what he was saying, even without looking at her wrist screen..."Then don't go..."

Thunder shook her head. "I have to, Digger...I have to settle my past. There are too many loose threads...too many x-factors...I need to settle up with everything...and everyone. Do you understand?"

The response sounded like an affirmative.

"Good, then get on out of here...go find Spanky and get drunk. I'm sure you can find that little guy at the bar...go show him who the better model droid is..."

Digger whistled one last time and Thunder looked at her wrist screen. Then the droid rolled off, not looking back. For a long second she just stood there, staring at the words on the screen. Thunder smiled and the beginning of a tear formed in her eye. She quickly wiped it away before anyone could notice, then turned for the ship. As she walked up the ramp she thought one last time of her loyal droid Digger's message...

...I'll be waiting for you.

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

His window of opportunity was shrinking. Time was of the essence for this operation. The second she was up the ramp Digger did a quick 180 and wheeled towards the Downward Spiral as fast as he could.

When ThunderingSilence was in a ship it was his job to protect her and help her...that didn't change just because she was in a bigger ship and didn't need an astromech. He knew his job, and he wasn't going to let anything happen to Thunder.

The second his wheels hit the ramp it started to lift, tossing the little droid forward at a rate that was quicker than he wanted to go. He kept himself upright, though, and he was really quiet...no one noticed him!

It was always nice to know that you had succeeded in your goal...be you Human, Bothan, Wookiee, or droid. Failure hurt...even if you were just metal.

Quietly wheeling to the back cargo area, Digger found himself a nice little hiding spot in a back locker. Now he just had to wait...eventually Thunder would need his help...and he wasn't about to let her down!

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

After running a quick pre-flight check list, ThunderingSilence and Rent Salazor began their journey to Adumar. The hanger bay was cleared as the Downward Spiral took off. They locked in the coordinates to Adumar into the nav computer, which Thunder knew by heart, and off they were!

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

Being trapped for two days on a small ship was not a fun thing to do...even with company. For much of the first day there was no conversation, nothing but awkward silence between the former friends ThunderingSilence and Rent Salazor. Nearing the end of the first twenty four hours there had been a little conversation, but nothing that lasted more than two minutes. After that Thunder told Rent to go back to the cabin and get some sleep. Thunder stayed up in the cabin and slept in the pilot's chair.

It occurred to her that she should be wary of Salazor, but she actually wasn't overly worried about it. Despite being a smuggler he was fairly honorable, and she wasn't sensing any duplicity in him. And if he did decide to betray her...she always had the Force. That was all she would need.

Smiling, Thunder drifted off into sleep...

...the adults were all running around screaming. There was confusion. Panic. Worry. And...pain. But not a physical pain...though at some times it did hurt her like a punch to the gut. Something was wrong but she didn't know what. How could she? She was only seven years old?

The last thing she remembered clearly was watching the Cartann Ground Championships on the flatscreen, watching the magnificent duelers battle valiantly with their blastswords, when suddenly the broadcast was interrupted.

There had been an accident at Yedagon's Shummakte Pierces-the-Ground Explosive Manufacturing Company. The company where both her parents and fourteen year old brother worked. Her parents were both home now, they were the ones running around crying, but her brother had been at the factory. Why were her parents crying? What was bad about an accident?

The flatscreen said that rescue teams had been sent into the factory to recover the survivors...they guessed so far that the fatalities had not risen past ten. Her parents cried more. Several minutes later two strange men came to the door took her parents away, leaving her all by herself to stare blankly at the flatscreen and wonder why the blastsword people weren't on anymore...

When her parents returned hours later they tried to explain to her that she was never going to see her brother again. It was the worst thing that Tundre ya Silens had ever heard, or ever would...

ThunderingSilence nearly jumped out of her chair as she woke up. Sweat was running from her brow and her heart was pounding rapidly. She quickly used an Sith breathing technique (yes, they have them too) and calmed herself down. Soon her heart rate slowed and she once again found herself at peace...or at least as calm as she ever was.

It's just a dream, she reminded herself. Just a dream, just a dream...

But it wasn't just a dream. That same exact scene had actually transpired seventeen years ago. Thunder had been at home watching the Cartann Championships on the flatscreen when there had been an explosion at the broadcap factory. One of the missiles, she learned later, exploded prematurely. Seven people died in the explosion, her brother Parstach among them.

Three years later Tundre ya Silens herself worked in that very same factory, in the very same section that her brother had worked in. Her life back then was horrible...every day she wished nothing more than to be killed in an explosion so she could join her brother. Her life meant nothing to anyone here. After her brother's death, her parents became angry and bitter people, though they claimed to still love Tundre. The only thing that kept Tundre going day after day was her dreams of escaping Yedagon and traveling to Cartann. There she was going to become one of, no, THE most famous blastsword dueler to ever live.

But soon she saw that that dream just wasn't going to come true.

Her parents found out that she had been planning on running away to Cartann. They cajoled her, begged her to stay with them. They didn't want to lose both of their children, they claimed. Many would see that as a sign of love...it wasn't. Her parents were trying to suppress her dreams to satisfy theirs. They purposely held her back. It was after that scene that Tundre decided her only chance of doing anything in life was to run away from Yedagon, a place with nothing but cruel memories.

She hid away and saved enough of her meager salary to purchase a very cheap blastsword at a retailer in Yedagon. She kept it hidden from her parents, of course, not wanting them to find out she still harbored dreams of Cartann. She practiced every chance she got. When she wasn't at the factory, late at night after everyone had gone to sleep...mimicking the moves she saw on the flatscreen. The blastsword felt so natural in her hand...like an extension to it rather than a weapon. Like her jabs and thrusts were being...guided. In hindsight she could now see that it was the Force guiding her actions.

ThunderingSilence looked over at the nav computer and shook her head. Still more than a half day till they reached Adumar. What could she do the rest of the time? She didn't really want to go back to sleep, if she did the dreams would just come back. But she also didn't want to go back there and talk to Rent Salazor. And believe it or not, there wasn't even any alcohol on board! What kind of smuggler didn't carry a good reserve of Whyren's on his ship!?

Well, sleep probably was the best choice. Maybe if she tried really hard, she could push the nightmares back into the darkest recesses of her mind again. The place where she had hidden them for so long.

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

Rent Salazor slowly crept up to the sleeping ThunderingSilence. Her head was leaned all the way back, her eyes closes tightly. Her hand was twitching slightly and it looked as if she was having a nightmare. Slowly, he reached out and touched her shoulder, only when he grabbed her she grabbed his hand, turned sharply in a chair and shoved a blaster in his face.

"You can't have me Nolicra!" she yelled.

"Whoa, take it easy, Thunder!" Rent pleaded. "It's me!"

It took her a few seconds of blankly staring at him for that fact to settle in. Beads of sweat were running down her brow and her hand was shaking like crazy. Eventually she wiped away the sweat and holstered here blaster.

"Sorry," she muttered.

"'Sokay. Don't worry about it," Rent said back. Rent took a seat in the co-pilots chair, even though it was his ship, and looked at Thunder. "Bad dream?"

Thunder shook her head. "Not a dream," she finally said.

"The past?" he asked her.

But Thunder just looked forward, ignoring his last question. For not the first time Rent wondered what Nolicra ya Russah had done to Thunder, or had been planning to do, to make hate him. He knew that she had killed him, even though she had never told her. On his second trip to Adumar he had pieced together some of the facts of the murder of the ya Russah brothers...and all evidence pointed straight to Thunder. But he still didn't know why. Thunder wasn't a cold blooded murderer, she never was. She might be some bad ass Sith, but wasn't the type to kill without reason.

From what he knew of the story, shortly before what would have been Tundre's thirteenth birthday, a saboteur sent by Cartann's Challabae Admits-No-Equal Eruptive Manufacturing Concern had snuck into the broadcap factory where Tundre's parents had worked and set explosives. The bombs destroyed a small part of the factory. Sadly, it had been where Tundre's parents were working. Their bodies, and those of the other four in their section, had been incinerated.

That left Tundre all alone. Rent knew from Adumarian tradition that it would now be the responsibility of the factory owner to take Tundre into his household, seeing as she had no other family. Well, that was the official version. The plant owner comes off as looking like a hero for rescuing a kid from poverty. The truth of it was the kid became a slave. And knowing Tundre, she wouldn't allow herself to become a slave.

In his research, he read that the day after the explosion, the body of Nolicra ya Russah and two guards, had been found dead at the warren of the ya Silens, who were also deceased. There had been no trace of the sole surviving ya Silens, the youngest daughter Tundre. He checked Yedagon news after that for mention of a Tundre ya Silens, but he found none.

He did find, though, mention of a Tundrin ke Silant in Cartann news only a few months later. Thirteen year old Tundrin had emerged out of oblivion and defeated a seventeen year old boy by the name of Ulash ke Telackans. She had come out of the crowd and challenged him in a match, which she easily won. She took his pride, along with his life.

Over the next two years Tundrin had gone undefeated, becoming the youngest person to ever become Ground Champion, as well as holding the best record for her age. But although the honor she accumulated was admirable, she suddenly and unexpectedly signed up at Giltella Airbase to fly with the newly constructed Strike-the-Moons Flightknife. Also joining at that time was Liak ke Mattino, who would also go on to become quit popular. Many people questioned the Ground Champion's choice at first, but she soon proved just as deadly in a Blade as she was with a blastsword. After less than a year of flying, Ground Champion Tundrin ke Silant became Lord Pilot Tundrin ke Silant.

But disaster soon struck.

Olnora ya Russah, younger brother to Nolicra and the man who had taken over Yedagon's Shummakte Pierces-the-Ground Explosive Manufacturing Company, traveled to Cartann. He confronted Tundrin about being his brother's murderer after her and her flightkife landed at Giltella. The end result was another dead ya Russah. But this time there had been witnesses. Everyone knew Tundrin's secret, and she quickly became a fugitive.

A few weeks later was when Rent , who had been fleeing Imperial Authority, had crash landed somewhere in a forest outside of Cartann. While fixing his ship he met a girl who couldn't decide whether to call herself Tundre ya Silens of Tundrin ke Silent. She had been hiding out in the woods for some unknown reason. They quickly hit it off, and he agreed to take Tundrin with him when his ship was fixed. He hated, however, trying to choose between the names So instead, Tundre ya Silens became ThunderingSilence, which stuck around for about a day or so. She liked the Thunder part, but she didn't like the absence of her title of Lord Pilot.

So in the end Tundre ya Silens became Tundrin ke Silant, who became ThunderingSilence, who became Lord Pilot Thunder, who eventually had to have changed back to ThunderingSilence for some reason. Why she apparently had psychological problems really wasn't a big mystery to him. As many name and identity changes as she's had...poor girl.

After he and Thunder left Adumar...

"I'm going to the back, Rent," Thunder interrupted. "Tell me when we get close to Adumar."

"Will do, Captain," he said. Thunder then stood up and walked to the back, leaving Rent alone in the cockpit. Rent shook his head. Poor girl.

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

Thunder retreated to the only cabin on the Downward Spiral. When she got there she sat crossed-legged and tried hard to fall into a Force meditation. Although she personally didn't like them, Reno said they were good for her. It helped calm her down and make her more open to the Force. Thunder countered that meditating was a whiney Jedi thing to do. Reno simply said to shut up and meditate. So she did.

Instead of getting the future, her mind flashed back to the past, to a time right after she had left Adumar with Rent Salazor. His smuggling operation had never been incredibly large or horribly profitable, but it had been big enough. Big enough to attract attention from Imperial Authorities, that is. Thunder hadn't crewed with them for more than a year before an Imperial Star Destroyer had attacked their ship. Thunder had jumped in a Z-95 Headhunter and tried her best to fight back, destroying half a squadron of TIE fighters before being hit by an ion cannon. When she woke up she was all alone inside a room on the ISD. She had assumed everyone was dead.

To her surprise the Imperials didn't kill her outright. In fact, they gave her a choice. Fly for them, or die for them. After a little "Imperial Persuasion", she chose to fly with them. They put her through countless sims, trained her to be one of the Empire's millions of TIE pilots. Thunder, however, had other plans.

Using her intuition and instincts (the Force, she realized in hindsight), Thunder stole an Imperial Assault Shuttle and made a break for it. She wasn't expecting, or was she?, two squadrons of rebel fighters to hype in. Knowing her assault shuttle was too slow, she targeted a rebel X-wing and shocked it. Donning an EV suit, she forced the pilot out of the snubbie and did a cold start. Zipping her way in and out of the dogfight, she jumped into hyperspace at the first opportunity. After a few years of trudging around the galaxy, she eventually met up with Reno, who taught her everything she knew about using the Force. And now...she was here. Going back home to search for a brother that she thought was dead.

A wave of nervousness washed over her, but she quickly pushed it back. There was nothing wrong with being anxious or nervous, but this wasn't the time for it. She had to be strong. She couldn't allow herself to break down. Not again. She had broken down twice before in her life, and both of them at times when her life had suddenly come to a halt. The first time was after her parents had been killed and Nolicra ya Russah had come to claim her. The second time was when Olnora ya Russah had publicly claimed her as the murderer of his brother, and she knew then that her life as a pilot was over. Both times resulted in a dead ya Russah.

But what about this time? To her knowledge there weren't any ya Russah's around. Who would be forced to face her wrath if she broke down again? Who would be hurt because of her? Rent? Her brother, if he was alive? Innocent Adumarians? That's why she didn't take any of the Siths along with her, especially not Digger. If she was going to destroy herself, she didn't want to take any of them with her. And she had the worst feeling that when she reached Adumar, lots of things were gonna be destroyed.

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

Without warning, the Downward Spiral shot out of hyperspace. ThunderingSilence smiled as she looked at Adumar. Home...

"Adumar," Rent announced dumbly. "The entire planet is fricken' crazy."

Thunder turned and stared sourly at him. "Gee, thanks Olie. Now why don't you tell us where Chancellor Valorum's shuttle is and that Senator Palpatine is here to greet us."

"Huh?"

Thunder shook her head and sighed. "Nothing. Just take us down outside of Yedagon and try to keep off their lightboards."

"Will do, Captain."

Rent took the ship into atmosphere and kept it low as he skimmed the tops of forests. Although he didn't think the Adumarians had strong enough sensors to pick them up, or lightboards as they called them, it was always better to be careful.

"Lower," Thunder suddenly said.

"What?"

"Fly lower. I can sense people near by."

"Could be campers," Rent pointed out.

"It's not campers," she shot back harshly. "They're pilots. Now drop your altitude before..."

Suddenly there was a burst of static. "Hail unidentified ship! Running Crimson Flightknife issues a challenge! Answer!"

On the sensors six red blips showed up on the screen, getting closer and closer as each second went by.

"Stang!" Rent swore. "Better power up the lasers."

As Rent reached over the control panel Thunder slapped his hand away. "Don't! This isn't bad. They issued us a challenge, that means we can decline. It'll cost us honor, but who cares about that?"

Rent nodded and flipped the comm switch. "Uh, Running Crimson Flightknife, uh....denied."

"Unidentified ship, Running Crimson Flightknife issues a challenge! Answer!"

"We did answer!" Rent yelled at Thunder.

This time Thunder hit the comm switch. "Running Crimson Flightknife, denied!"

There was more awkward silence, which was eventually broken by the approaching flightknife. "You dare show us disgrace by refusing to answer? Consider the challenge accepted!" With that the six blips, all Blade-32's, broke off into three groups of two. The fanned out into an diamond formation and immediately started firing.

"What are they deaf!?" Rent shouted as laser blast ricocheted off their forward shields and illuminated the cockpit.

Thunder swore to herself. "No, but our comm system is probably malfunctioning. Shavit!" Gimmer had said that lots of the systems were going off and on...but he neglected to mention that the comm system was one of them.

"Can I power up the lasers now?" he asked sarcastically.

Thunder shook her head. "No, we can't out fight them, not in this ship. Put all power from weapons into engines. And whatever is left over put into our shields."

Rent nodded and went to work, his hands playing over the controls. Thunder took control of the ship and hit the accelerator. The Spiral shot forward and went straight through the diamond formation made by the six Blades. As soon as the Spiral was past them, the Blades circled around and chased after them, their formation tightening.

Thunder banked sharply and dropped the Spiral in a tight weave, barely avoiding the incoming laser fire. The missed shots incinerated portions of the forest below, reducing trees to burning ash.

The ship rocked violently as one of the blasts connected against the backwater. "Shields down 30%," Rent announced. "We can't take anymore hits like that."

"Take some power out of life support," she told him while slamming the ship hard to starboard.

"But without life support we'll die!" Rent squeaked

"And without shields on our stern we'll be just as dead," she shot back. "Now do it!" Rent grumbled something and did as he was ordered.

"What's our position?" Thunder asked as they came up on a large canyon.

"We're about 50 klicks from Yedagon territory. I doubt we'll make it there before those Crimson bastards blow us both to hell."

Thunder nodded in acknowledgement. He was right. They just couldn't outrun the Running Crimson Flightknife...the Spiral was just in too bad of shape. And ejecting would be just as suicidal. The pilots of Running Crimson would shoot them as they floated down to ground. Their only real choice here was to attack and hope that...

"...Hail Running Crimson Flightknife!" a voice said through their comm. "This is Liak ke Mattino of Strike the Moons Flightknife! You are in Cartann territory! We issue a challenge!"

Thunder's heart jumped when she Liak's voice. It had been so long since she had seen or heard him. She was glad to know that he hadn't been killed in a duel. She was about to hit the comm switch to say thanks when she remembered that it wasn't working.

"This is Geil te Harsach of Running Crimson Flightknife! We accept six, your choice! Another time, unidentified ship! Frothing disease to your foes!"

With that the six Blade-32's turned and headed straight for the Strike the Moons knife, which was coming from the opposite direction. Thunder let out a sigh of relief and sagged in her chair. That was way too close. If Mattino hadn't come along at the last moment they would've been dead. And that brought up a good point. She had head of the Running Crimson Flightknife before. It was a squadron of Blades located out of Yedagon. But...why had they been in Cartann territory? It wasn't normal for Yedagon knifes to venture into Cartann territory, or vice versa.

Whatever, she finally decided. If they had been a Cartann flightknife then Mattino most likely wouldn't have interfered, and Thunder would be debris right now.

"We're in Yedagon now," Rent said. I'm going to land her out in a forest clearing. We can walk to the rest of the way. If we get too close to the city they'll pick us up."

"Roger that," Thunder said, but slightly distracted. What had the Running Crimson been doing there? Just flying around looking for challenges? Looking for someone specific, maybe? Them? Had they been there waiting for the Spiral? Thunder tossed a side glance at Rent as he lowered the ship into the forest. Could this whole thing just have been a ploy to lure Thunder back to Adumar? She hadn't thought of it before, but now it was all she could think of. She instantly put herself on guard. She knew before that she couldn't fully trust Rent, but now she had to be even more careful.

With a loud clunking sound, the Downward Spiral touched down on Adumar.

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

Digger let out a small whistle of relief. He didn't know for sure, but that rocking and banging a few minutes ago sure sounded like blaster fire. And not from small arms...starships, definitely. But why would someone want to shoot at them? And what had happened to make them stop shooting?

That isn't important. His only care is that nothing happens to Thunder. He had to protect her. It was his duty. It was his only mission. Thunder had to be protected. Even if it cost him his life.

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

The trip to Yedagon City from the clearing where the Downward Spiral sat took about two hours on foot. Thunder thought it might've taken longer, but the brush and foliage wasn't half as thick as she had thought it had been. Rent had spent the whole trip in front of her. Thunder had spent the whole trip with one hand on her pistol, the other on her lightsaber.

Yedagon City really hadn't changed much since she left. It had expanded, of course, but no considerably. She saw the traditional large balconies, as well as the large cables that connected them together. Much like a scaled down version of Cartann.

"So where is Parstach's headquarters?" she asked Rent as they made their way down the streets.

"Pretty obvious," Rent casually said. "He's the biggest producer of blastswords in Yedagon. He owns a huge broadcap manufacturing company, and he's undoubtedly the richest man in Yedagon...why don't we try there?"

He pointed over at the tallest building in the city, and the one with the logo at the top that said "ya Silens Company".

"I believe," Rent slowly said. "That this is where one of you would say "No shit, Olie."

"Bite me," she shot back, striding forward and leaving Rent in the dust.

Rent smiled as she walked away. Calling out, he yelled at her, "Was that a threat or an offer!?"

Rent's smile vanished when he looked over head and saw a wounded Blade-32 landing at the top of the ya Silens Co. building.

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

Parstach ya Silens frowned as he circled his large office. In front of his desk, standing at rigid attention, was Geil te Harsach, leader of the Running Crimson Flightknife. Or...what was left of them. They had all but been destroyed by the Strike the Moons Flightknife. Only one of the six he had sent out had returned. Geil had actually lost a considerable amount of honor by turning tail and fleeing back to Yedagon instead of staying and dying in combat. But that was only in the eyes of those Cartannian fools, and Geil was much more practical than them. Most people in Yedagon were.

"The mission was a failure, then?" he asked.

"The fault was not ours," Geil responded. "The intervention of the freighter, and then later that of Liak ke Mattino is what caused the mission to fail."

"You could have ignored the freighter," Parstach said sharply.

Geil shook his head. "It was suspicious."

"Suspicious?"

"Yes, sir. It had a scrambled code preventing proper identification. Plus it was of unknown design."

"Say again?"

"The ship is not like anything that I have encountered before. I thought it might be some kind of Cartannian spy ship. It also did not respond to our hail, and ran when provoked. I did what I did only to preserve the safety of our nation."

"At the cost of your mission, though?"

"The mission can be postponed."

"Well it has to be now," he shot back. Parstach walked around to the back of his desk and took his seat. "I trust you have pictures of this "mystery ship"?"

"Of course," Geil said. "My on board flight recorder has full documentation of the encounter. I will give it to you as soon as possible."

"You had better," Parstach shot. "Your running cost us the mission. In Cartann that might cost you honor, but here failure like that will cost you your life. Now get me that information or don't bother coming back."

"Of course, sir." Geil te Harsach bowed respectfully, then turned and left. Parstach sighed and shook his head. Geil's mission had been important to their cause, and his failure was a severe setback. But only a setback. Once this new information was checked out they would gather more pilots, perhaps from a different flightknife considering the Running Crimson's failure, and they would go again.

But what about this "unknown" ship? Could it be some new type of warship? A spyship? Maybe the Perator was up to something. Perhaps he was planning an invasion of Yedagon. Definitely possible. He shook his head again. Things had been going smooth for years, ever since the death of the last of the ya Russah's. That was when he had taken control of everything. The only problem with the death of the Olnora ya Russah was that it had meant the disappearance of his sister, Tundre. Olnora had found out that she had been living under an assumed name and approached her for the death of his older brother. She killed him and then vanished, not to be seen again. Such a shame, too. Olnora hadn't known. If he did...

But that was all in the past. Nolicra was dead. Olnora was dead. Tundre hadn't been seen in years, which probably meant she was dead. But like he said, that was all in the past, and from now on out, everything was about the future!

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

"Well, security is definitely tight," Thunder said as she looked through her macrobinoculars at the headquarters of her brother. "At least ten guards in the lobby area. Maybe some more hidden."

"Figure ten guards a floor and that's over two hundred guards to deal with," Rent pointed out. "But like you said, probably more."

"It's okay," Thunder said. "I've handled more."

"Ha...sure you have," Rent said back. "Okay, look. We came back, your bro is alive, his company is thriving...can we go now? Before something bad happens?"

Thunder shook her head. "We're not going anywhere until I see him with my own eyes, and talk to him. To find out..."

Rent sighed and hung his head. "At the risk of sounding cliche...I've got a bad feeling about this."

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

"Still nothing on that mystery ship, Lord Pilot Mattino?" asked Eegah ke Mitchell, one of the pilots in the Strike the Moon Flightknife.

Ke Mattino looked up from his station and shook his head. "I've been checking the archives, but nothing yet."
"You still think it's some type of Yedagon spy ship?"

"I don't know what it is," he said back. "I thought it might be at first, but the battle records show that the Running Crimson was firing at it. It might've been going to Yedagon, but I doubt it originated from there."

"Well then where did it come from?" te Mitchell asked him.

Ke Mattino smiled as he stopped on one of the files. "Here."

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

"You say this ship blasted it's way off of Adumar shortly after Olnora's death?" Parstach asked Geil, who only moments ago had handed him the report.

"Yes, sir. The ship is not from Cartann, it's from Out There. Somewhere else in space."

"I see," Parstach said while leaning back in his chair. "And there was another instant with this same ship here?"

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

"Yes, it seems the...Downward Spiral...was chased off of Adumar a while back by several flightknifes. The captain was a man named Rent Salazor. He tried to get several jobs here, and in the process offended some people. He ran away from the challenges presented to him. Not only does he lack honor, but he is also a coward."

"So it seems," Te Mitchell said.

"There is a bounty on this ship," Ke Mattino said. "A healthy one. There would be much honor in killing such dishonorable scum. I am now wishing we had not intervened on the Running Crimson's attack."

"They should not have been in our territory, though," Te Mitchell pointed out.

Ke Mattino nodded. "And that is why we did. Gather the rest of the flightknife, Eegah. We will venture into Yedagon territory and appropriate this man and his ship. And when we return here with his body, they will shower us with praise! Prepare to bath in glory, my friend, for we shall reek of admiration!"

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

"A bounty, you say?" Parstach said. The ship disappeared off of Adumar shortly after Olnora had been killed and Tundre had vanished...it couldn't be a coincidence.

"Yes, sir."

"Find this ship, Geil. If you do, you will be the envy of every man in Yedagon. And trust me, I will make you a very rich man."

"Of course, sir. I shall find this ship, and destroy it. Along with it's captain."

"No," Parstach said. "Keep him alive and bring him to me."

"As you wish."

Geil bowed, then turned and left.

"Could you be back here, Tundre?" Parstach asked no one. "Could you be alive? If so, then this changes everything."

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

Thunder continued to watch the building from her spot in an alley across the street, Rent at her side pacing nervously. They had been scouting out security on the building for hours now. Thunder had to know just how many guards were there, when they were there, and where they were standing. If she was going to storm the place, any advantage in her favor could save his life.

"C'mon, Thunder, let's get out of here," Rent muttered impatiently. "If we stay any longer we're going to run the risk of being caught."

Thunder grumbled. "I still need to do some recon. But if you want to go back to the ship by yourself, you're welcome to."

Rent blinked in confusion. "Really? You'd let me go back all by myself? You trust me not to run away?"

"Of course," Thunder said, while smiling. "Just one thing." She reached into her back pouch and pulled out what looked like a small writing utensil. She pushed a button, then grabbed his hand. She stabbed him in the hand quickly, then let him go.

"Ow!" Rent yelled. "What the hell did you do that for!?"

"Safety."

"Cripes, Thunder! You didn't need to put a kriffin' tracker inside my body!" he shot back. "Don't you think that's a bit of an overkill!?"

"Oh Rent, I would never do that to you. I didn't put any kind of tracker in your body." Thunder reached back again and put the gadget back in her pack.

"Then...what was that?"

Thunder smiled as she looked back at him. "That, my friend, was a bomb."

"A WHAT!?" Rent erupted.

"Shhh, I'm not going to use it...well, I hope I don't have to use it."

Rent's face was now pale and his eyes wide. "Then..."

"Go back to the ship, Rent. But keep this in mind, when I get back, if you're not there..." Thunder opened her hands, mimicking an explosion. "...boom."

"Boom?" he asked nervously.

Thunder nodded. "Boom." Rent nodded and slowly turned around and walked away. Thunder called out to him as he walked away, "Have a safe trip!"

Once he was gone Thunder turned and fled down the opposite end of the alley.

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

With two of his spare pilots following him, Geil te Harsach left the ya Silens headquarters and was about to jump into a ground car when he spotted a man walking slowly out of the alley across the street. He looked...familiar. He wasn't from Adumar, Geil could tell that. For one, the weapon slung at his hip was not of Adumari origin. He hadn't seen anything like it. And his clothes...for the sake of honor, did he have no sense of fashion?

Wait a second...

Geil opened up the file he was holding and sifted through the papers. After a few seconds of searching he found what he was looking for. Dossiers on two people. One was Rent Salazor, the smuggler who he was after. The other was Tundrin ke Silant, or Tundre ya Silens, the woman who had killed the ya Russah brothers and mysteriously disappeared at the same time as Salazor. If this Salazor character's ship was back, it made sense that he was. And if he was back, then maybe this Tundre was, too.

Tundre ya Silens. She had the same last name as his boss. A relative, no doubt. Parstach would probably give him some sort of reward if he brought her in as well...but that was if she was back. He didn't see her anywhere around. And he hadn't even mentioned her during the meeting, even though Geil was sure he saw the file on her. But his orders were to bring in the Salazor, not someone he wasn't sure was even here.

Geil turned to one of the men behind him and handed him the file. "Brak, get everyone assembled at the hanger and have them ready to go airborne on my notice. I believe our mark might be headed back for his ship. I shall confront him on the ground, and if he escapes, you shall take him out in the air."

"Yes, Lord Pilot Te Harsach."

"But make sure not to kill him if this resorts to fighters."

"Of course." With that Brak te Yen ran off in the opposite direction. Geil turned to the other pilot with him.

"Come with me."

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

Rent kicked the dirt on the ground as he left the edge of the city and started for the forest. A bomb...she put a kriffing bomb in him!! What kind of person did that to an old friend!? Despite what she might say, she really had changed.

He was about fifty yards into the forest when he heard a twig snap behind him. Rent whipped around quickly and drew his blaster. No one was behind him. An animal, probably. Just some little furball running around...

BAM!

The blow to the back of the head came so quick that Rent didn't have any time to block. He fell to the ground and dropped his blaster. As he reached over for it, a pair of feet stepped in front of his face. Not looking up to see who was assaulting him, Rent grabbed the person's feet and pulled, knocking the assailant to the ground. Rent grabbed his fallen weapon and sprung to his feet. On the ground in front of him was a young Adumarian male. Definitely a pilot, judging from his clothes. And a dead pilot at that, too. Rent raised his blaster at the man on the ground and took aim...

...when he suddenly felt a strong surge of energy course through his back. Rent bellowed out in pain and fell to the ground again.

Blast it, he thought to himself. My carelessness finally got me killed.

Rent rolled over and looked up, only to see a dark haired Adumarian pilot standing above him with a blastsword in his hand.

"Tie him up, Kelt," the man said.

"Yes, Lord Pilot Te Harsach," the other said, bending down and grabbing Rent by his arms. Rent tried to struggle, but the electrical discharge from the blastsword left him weak and hurting. When he was arms were fully tied, Te Harsach bent low to look at him face to face.

"You have much to answer for," he told Rent. Then to Kelt he said, "Bring him."

It was then that Rent lost consciousness.

***********

So the back part of the building isn't as heavily guarded as the front, Thunder thought to herself, interesting.

It was about an hour after Rent had left for the ship. The first thing she had done upon his departure was to grab a quick bite to eat. She hadn't had Adumari cuisine for years. It was still as bland and tasteless as she remembered.

The second thing she had done was what she was doing now, scouting the rear of the building. For whatever reason, there weren't any guards in the back. Not that they'd really need any, she thought in retrospect. This isn't a normal planet, it's Adumar. If there was going to be an assassin, he'd announce himself at the front gate. Someone who would sneak in through the back to kill someone would be a man without honor. Or woman. And considering the heavy security in the front, it looked like she would have to go for the back.

That's where she was now, crouched down low a little bit away from her brother's headquarters. Thunder raised the macrobinoculars to her face and looked up.

The problem was that there wasn't any kind of door or entrance in the back. She would have to use a grappling hook to scale the side. Parstach's office would probably be on the top floor. Tall climb, but she'd done worse. But her climbing gear was still back at the ship, and nightfall was approaching. It'd still take her two hours of walking to get back to the ship. She should head back now. Assuming Rent headed back to the ship, he would arrive there an hour before she did. And if he wasn't there...

Before she could finish her thought some movement inside the tower caught her eye. It was at the very top level, which she had assumed was Parstach's office. The lights flicked on and a man entered. She couldn't really distinguish any facial features, though. It was still kinda dark. The man walked over to what looked like a desk and sat down. He sifted through some papers, then was interrupted. Another man entered, followed by a second. The first man she could tell was tied together, or chained, or something. Either way, his walk and posture, and the way the man behind kept a pistol on him, suggested prisoner.

Then, unexpectedly, the guard left. For a short while the prisoner and the man she assumed was her brother talked. At times it seemed like the prisoner balked or protested, but ultimately he just stood there. Eventually Thunder got bored of watching the exchange and just left. She smiled as she got up from her crouch. Thunder slid carefully across the side of the building, checking to make sure no one was around. Once she was satisfied that no one was spying on her, she walked casually down the street and off towards the ship.

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

Parstach ya Silens strode into his office and flicked the lights on. He walked over to his large desk and took a seat. He smiled. The Salazor man had been caught already. Geil had seen him snooping around the headquarters. But what could he have wanted here? Nothing, that was the answer. He couldn't think of anything that an offworld smuggler could want at the offices of a blastsword and broadcap manufacturer.

Which led him to believe that it wasn't his choice to be there. Someone had put him up to it, or forced him to be there. The man had to have known that if he came back to Adumar then he'd have all sorts of people going after him. It didn't make any sense for him to come back here. Which meant that it wasn't his choice to be here! And there was only one reason he could think of that the man had been snooping around his offices...

Rent smiled. "You've come home to me, haven't you Tundre?"

Suddenly the door burst open and Rent Salazor was kicked into the room. He stumbled forward, still tied and bound. Behind him was Geil, who kept a pistol trained on the man's back.

"I see the prisoner is finally awake. Geil, untie him and stand guard at the door. Mr. Salazor and I have much to talk about."

Geil nodded and undid the ties at Salazor's hands. He then turned around and exited the room, leaving Parstach alone with Salazor.

"You must place a lot of trust in me to tell your guard to leave," Salazor said. "What makes you think I won't just jump this desk and strangle the hell out of you?"

Parstach shrugged. "This." He quickly reached under his desk and produced a small round remote control. "Trust me, my friend, you can't do a thing to me. Now I want answers. Are you going to be cooperative?"

"Why should I be?

"Because I'll blow your head off if you aren't."

"Empty threat and you know it," Salazor shot back. "For whatever reason, you need me and..."

"Check the back of your head."

Rent slowly reached to the back of his head and searched his hair. Parstach saw his eyes widen as he felt something small and metal placed firmly on the back of his skull. Salazor tugged at it fiercely, but it wouldn't come off.

"A small explosive, Mr. Salazor. Small enough not to hit me, powerful enough to wipe that ugly head off your shoulders. Now..." He fingered the button on the remote. "...are we going to cooperate? Or should I just call the cleaning crew now?"

"It doesn't matter if I cooperate or not," Salazor stubbornly said. "If I'm not back at my ship soon I'm going to blow up anyway."

"What are you talking about?" Parstach asked.

"You're not the only one who likes to play with bombs," Salazor commented. "My..."partner"...Thunder, put one inside of me. If I'm not back at my ship when she gets there..." He opened his hands, mimicking Thunder. "...Boom. And when that happens. your building goes boom along with me. So you can return me to my ship now."

"Thunder?" Parstach repeated. "Thunder. Don't you mean Tundre? Tundre ya Silens, perhaps?"

Salazor didn't say anything. He just kept his mouth shut and stared at the ground.

"Thank you, Mr. Salazor, you've already answered one of my questions. Care to answer some more?"

"Bite me."

"Very well." Parstach rested his finger firmly on the control button. Salazor gasped and stepped forward.

"Wait! What do you want to know?"

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

Thunder stepped over the fallen tree and continued on. She had made good time in the forest. About another hour till she reached the ship, if she was judging her distance right. After that she'd lock Rent in his quarters for the night, assuming he was even there. A good night sleep, and tomorrow she could go and confront her brother. After that hightail it back to the Spiral, and take in Rent for the bounty. Done and done. Why did she doubt it would go that smoothly?

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

After the guards had taken Salazor away, Parstach called in Geil. The dark haired pilot stared at him from across the room.

"Are we good to go, sir?" he asked.

"Yes," Parstach said. "Mr. Salazor was kind enough to divulge some information. Take him back to his ship and let him go. Leave for a while, but mark that location. Keep a watch posted. When his partner returns, I want you to take them both...alive. No, change that. I want the female alive. Him I don't care about. Kill him, if you want. I've already gotten everything I need out of him."

"Of course."

"Go, don't waste anymore time."

Geil saluted, then ran off.

Parstach stood up and walked over to the huge wall window in his office. It was dark now. They should probably wait for morning to attack, but by morning they could be gone. And Parstach couldn't lose this opportunity. It seemed that his sister had finally returned, he couldn't let her get away. Not this time.

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

Rent spit the dirt out of his mouth as he landed hard on the ground. Geil walked down the ramp of the transport they had flown him in on. He wore a look of contempt on his face.

"Now get out of here, you contemptible scoundrel. Don't return to Adumar! We don't tolerate people who have no sense of honor."

"Oh, you hit me right where it hurt," Rent muttered sarcastically while still on all fours. "My lack of honor."

Geil frowned and gave him a sharp kick to the gut. Rent grunted in pain and fell back on his face. "Maybe that was closer to hitting you were it hurt," Geil shot back. The Adumari started to walk up the ramp, but Rent yelled back at him.

"Hey, ain't you forgettin' something!?"

"Oh, yes," Geil said dryly. He walked back down the ramp and fished a small tool out of his pocket. He grabbed Rent's head and pushed it forward. He sorted through Salazor's hair until he found the small explosive attached to the man's skull. Digging the sharp end none to gently into Rent's head, he pried it loose and yanked it off. Rent cried out in pain, but was silence by a backhand to the face.

"Stop your incessant whining, you despicable, shameful excuse for a man. Now remove yourself from our sight, and our planet."

"Fine, fine..." he muttered. "I didn't want to come to your stupid planet anyway. Crazy backward, bumpkins...you realize you people should all be in a kriffin' asylum somewhere!? Locked away for everyone's good. Oh wait, you pretty much already are. Serves you right. Tucked away in your own little corner of the universe...hmph...probably for the best. Who would want Adumari lose in the galaxy anyway?"

Geil didn't respond, other than kicked Rent in the face. Salazor fell backwards and landed on his back. Geil stepped forward and grabbed Rent by the neck. He hoisted him to his feet and punched him hard in his gut. Then the Adumari pilot threw Rent to the ground, turned and stormed up the ramp. Rent slowly climbed to his feet and walked over to the Spiral. Dust blew about as the Adumari transport lifted off and flew off into the night sky.

Rent coughed several times and grunted in pain. For a bunch of sissy pilots, those Adumari clowns sure did a number on him. Broken ribs, probably. Ditto to his nose. He hadn't looked at himself in a mirror, but he didn't doubt probably having a black eye or two. Plus the bump on the back of his head, and his body was still kind of tingly from the powered down blastsword shock he took hours earlier.

Hours earlier...oh hell!

Rent checked his chrono. Phew. If Thunder wasn't ahead of schedule, she would be back at the ship in fifteen to twenty minutes. Rent pushed a button and the boarding ramp for his ship lowered. What a day...hell with that, what a bloody week. Kriffin' rebels didn't get him to a safe house like he asked, these blasted Siths caught him and dragged him to Adumar, Thunder put a bomb in him, Parstach put on bomb ON him...

Fifteen to twenty minutes...he could be in hyperspace by then. And no small range bomb Thunder coulda put in him would have a remote control with that kind of distance. And since Geil had taken off their bomb...

Rent smiled. He was home free! Nothing could stop him from leaving now! Rent sprinted up the ramp and headed for the cockpit, blissfully unaware of the flat, black piece of metal now attached to his neck.

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

"I got it on him, sir," Geil told Parstach over their flatscreen communique. "I took the fake one you put on him off, and when I grabbed his neck to beat him some more, carefully placed it on his lower neck, right below his collar. I doubt he'll know it's there till it's too late. And you've got the real remote?"

"Of course," Parstach said back, producing a small square remote. "Any sign of his partner?"

Geil shook his head. "No, sir. But it...oh blast it all...for the sake of honor!"

"What!? What is it, Geil!?" Parstach yelled.

"Salazor is preparing for takeoff!"

"That must mean Tundre already showed up!" he yelled back.

Geil shook his head. "No way, boss. She isn't there yet! He's taking off without her. His lack of honor astounded me, and his indifference about acquiring honor baffled me...but this!? There is just no honor with these people."

"Forget that now, Geil!" Parstach admonished. "Call in your flightknife and tell them to hold on standby. Since Tundre isn't with him, if Salazor makes it to the air, shoot him down. And if his ship lands safely, make sure it doesn't take off again. Is that clear?"

"As a newly polished blastsword, sir."

"Then stop wasting time talking to me." Parstach then abruptly ended the communique, leaving Geil to stare at the black flatscreen. He turned back to the other two men who were standing near their Blade-32's. "Brak, get on the horn. Running Crimson is clear to fly on my mark."

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

Thunder's mind raced with questions as she got closer and closer to the Spiral. What was she going to say to Parstach when she saw him? What was she going to do with Rent? How was she going to sneak off of Adumar? She shook her head. Too many questions right now. The best thing to do would be...

Off in the distance she heard a loud rumbling. Underneath her the ground started to slightly shake. What?

Stang it all to hell...

Thunder started off in a dead sprint as she realized what was going on. Rent was taking off, he was going to leave Adumar without her. She couldn't allow that to happen. The Spiral was the only hyperspace capable ship she knew of on the planet, and she couldn't allow it to leave. While the SSD would eventually come to pick her up, she didn't want to be stuck here any longer than was necessary. It may have been her home at one time, but now the SSD was her home. Sith Squadron was her home. Adumar was just another mission.

That was, if she could get back to the Spiral before it ditched her here.

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

Rent frantically pushed buttons and levers, not wasting a second. He had to get out of here. Thunder would be back any second, and he had a sinking feeling that he couldn't quite trust Parstach. Rent was fairly sure he would have to get out of here full speed, which sadly wasn't that quick. There was just one big problem....

The blasted ship wasn't taking off!

Everything was right. Everything was in green! Why wasn't the ship responding!? He was sure that Thunder had been close enough to hear the ship starting up, likewise to Parstach's forces. They would probably both be here shortly. Why the bloody hell wasn't his ship working!!!???

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

If Digger could smile, he'd have a have grin on his face. Well, if he had a face, that was. Instead he just settled for whistling quietly, but triumphantly. He had been powered down in the back when vibrations from the ship roused him. At first he thought that maybe Thunder was back and they could go home, but that wasn't the case.

Digger had rolled towards the cockpit, but he only saw the Salazor man there. And judging by his hurried movements, he was trying to leave in a hurry. Digger was sure he had been planning on leaving the planet without Thunder.

He couldn't allow that.

He plugged himself into the computer outlet in the back and hacked into the mainframe. He hadn't really done anything special to keep the ship on the ground, or anything complicated. Killing the power to the thrusters was all he had to do. Without them Salazor couldn't take off. And making the ship think everything was in the green was even easier.

Digger rolled to his spot in the back cargo bay and powered down. He had gone through a lot of trouble for Thunder. He just hoped she appreciated it.

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

Thunder was amazed that the Downward Spiral was still in the clearing when she finally fought through the last of the foliage. He had to have been powered up and ready to lift off for at least five minutes now. Was he waiting for her? Not likely. Had he been waiting for her there would've been no need to power up the engines. Unless...he was trying to run from some crazy Adumari after his hide. Heh. But there wasn't anyone in the area. At least not that...

Then she sensed them. Thunder closed her eyes and stretched out with the Force. They were closing in. At least one flightknife coming in from the east, and maybe another coming in from the west. Plus at least two people on the ground near the ship. She sensed them the best, because of their proximity. But...she didn't really sense much of a threat directed towards her from them. They wanted her, she could tell that much. But they didn't want to harm her. They just wanted to...

Thunder slapped the controls panel on the outside of the Spiral and dashed up the ramp as it lowered. Just as she suspected, Rent was in the pilot's chair, frantically smashing his fist against the control board.

"C'mon, you stupid piece of crap!" he swore at, unaware of Thunder's presence. "I swear this is the last time I buy Corellian. Overrated pieces of slag!"

"Salazor!" she yelled. Rent turned around sharply and his eyes widened in horror.

"Uh-oh," he quietly said.

"Uh-oh is damn right!" she yelled back. "Where the hell do you get off trying to leave me here!"

"Look, Thunder, you don't understand!" he stammered.

"What's there to understand?" she barked. "You tried to ditch me!? Did you forget about the little device I put in you?"

Rent hung his head low. "I was hoping to be out of range before you realized what I did."

Thunder took out the remote and held it in her hand. "This thing has range like you wouldn't believe. Add that to the hyperspace relays." Thunder shook her head. "You couldn't get far enough away. You're lucky this ship is a piece of crap, Rent. Otherwise you'd be dead."

"I'm dead anyway," he shot back. "I doubt I'm going to leave this planet alive. What does it matter how I die?"

Thunder grabbed Rent by the hair and made him face her. "You're going to get out of here alive, but ONLY if you do as I say. I promised that you wouldn't die, and I'm not going to fail. Just do as I say and I promise you'll leave this planet alive. Okay?"

"Promise?"

"I don't lie," she said.

"Fine." The ship suddenly lurched and lifted slightly. "What the...thrusters seems to be back online. Odd. Whatever, doesn't matter. Let's get out of here right now..."

"Not yet," Thunder said.

"What?"

"This is what's going to happen. There are some guys outside looking to take me to my brother. I'm going to go with them. I want you to take the Spiral and find another place to hide. After three hours, if I haven't called you, come and get me. They're going to take me to his headquarters. Fly there and strafe their base."

"But how will I find you? What if you're captured, or dead?"

Thunder stared at him harshly. "I'm a Sith. I only let happen what I allow to happen. If it comes to that, though, pick me up on the roof. That's where I'll be waiting."

"But..."

"No buts, Rent. Do it." Thunder turned away and started for the boarding ramp. "And remember, if I don't see you out there to pick me up..."

"Yeah yeah, I know. Boom, right?"

Thunder nodded. "Boom."

Then she walked down the ramp.

***********

Digger had seen Thunder walk up the ramp, which is when he reactivated the Spiral's main thrusters. The she had said some things to Salazor, then walked back down the ramp. What was she doing?

Suddenly the ship lifted off and shot away. What was happening? Was Salazor leaving Thunder behind again? If so, he had to do something! Even if it meant crashing the ship into the ground and destroying both Salazor and himself.

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

Two men stood about ten feet away from the base of the ramp as Thunder exited the Spiral. After she stepped off the ramp ascended and the ship started to take off.

'Tundre ya Silens?" the lead man asked. "I am Lord Pilot Geil te Harsach of the Running Crimson Flightknife. I have been ordered to take you to my boss. Come now and you won't be harmed."

Thunder let out a short laugh. "Yeah, right," she muttered sardonically. "I'll go with you, but only if you call off the rest of your flightknife."

Geil smiled naively. "I don't know what you're talking about. I'm here by myself."

"There isn't any point in lying, Te Harsach," Thunder pointed out. "We both know the truth. Call them off and let my friend go. You do that and I'll go with you."

Geil nodded and pulled something from his pocket. He raised it to his mouth and spoke into it. "Running Crimson, abort and return to the barn." He put the device back in his pocket and looked back at Thunder. "Come with us."

Thunder nodded, but instead of following them to the ship, she took lead and walked in front of them. So this was it...she was finally going to see her brother. After so many years of thinking he was dead. Thunder took a deep breath and she walked into the transport. No matter what had already happened, she had the worst feeling things weren't going to get any better.

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

Rent was pleasantly surprised not to see any fighters coming after him. It seemed that Thunder had been able to keep them off him. So now he just had to duck low for a few hours, which should be easy to do considering it was night and not many people were out, and wait for her signal. Then he could pick her up, and they could be out of here. And since he hadn't known her to break a promise yet, after they leave Adumar she would let him escape. Then perhaps he could hightail it somewhere safe. The Empire wanted him dead, the Rebs couldn't keep him safe...that made the galaxy awful small. Well, he could always run to the Corporate Sector....

BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.

Sirens suddenly started to blare and Rent looked at the scanners. Six ships were coming in from the north. Cartannian ships, no doubt. Some damned glory hounds. Stang it all to hell! Why couldn't he just go one hour on this forsaken planet without someone trying to kill him?

Rent kicked his engines to full power and did a quick 180. He couldn't fight off six Blades by himself, at least not in this bucket. He had a sizable lead as it was. Maybe he could outrun them. Hell, it was his only real choice at this point.

Better stick close to Yedagon City, though. Who knows when Thunder would call and asked to have her ass picked up. Rent smiled at the thought of that.

Not now, though, he reminded himself. Maybe he could ask later...for now he should just worry about not getting blown out of the sky.

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

"Lord Pilot Ke Mattino, I've picked up something on my lightboard," Eegah ke Mitchell suddenly said.

"What is it?"

"Unknown," Ke Mitchell said back. "Probably our target. He's heavy into Yedagon Territory. Do we pursue?"

Ke Mattino looked at his lightboard, where a red blip had suddenly appeared on the other side of the border. There weren't any rule or laws against going into Yedagon, it was just that the two countries didn't associate much. "Affirmative. We shall destroy him for the glory of Adumar!"

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

The inside of Parstach's headquarters was a lot nicer than the outside had suggested. Sure the building was big, but the inside was lavishly decorated. Parstach's office was no different. Paintings and sculptors lined the room and beautiful tapestries clung to the walls. He must have a lot more money than she expected.

She was led into his office by Te Harsach, as well as his fellow pilot lackey. Both kept pistols trained on her. She had to work hard to hold back the laughter. If they only knew what she could do...

Parstach was behind his desk writing when they came in. His head shot up in immediate anger at being disturbed, but his expression softened somewhat when he saw who it was. Thunder's eyes widened and she took a deep breath as she realized that it was her brother...she could tell. Not just his face looked familiar...his presence was, too. Her...brother. This was the first time she'd seen him fin over seventeen years. He looked so...alive.

And she could read in his eyes, too, that he was thinking the exact same thing.

"Leave us," Parstach whispered to Geil. The dark haired pilot nodded, and then he and his companion left. For a long while they just stood there staring at each other. Thunder couldn't believe it. The shock was almost too much. She was standing in front of her brother...her dead brother.

Parstach walked up to her until they were standing about a foot apart. "Tundre..." he whispered.

Thunder looked him in the eyes. "Parstach..." So many things she wanted to say. Questions, so many questions. She couldn't think what the proper thing to ask was, though. So instead she simply reared back her right hand and punched him so hard in the jaw that it hurt her own hand. Parstach fell backwards, but caught himself on his desk.

"What did..." he started.

"What the hell are you doing alive?" she asked. "You died in the explosion. They said you were dead."

"I was never dead, Tundre. I am, in fact, quite alive. I'm sorry, but the faking of my death was necessary." Parstach rubbed his jaw and walked back over towards the back of his desk, where he took a seat. "You didn't have to punch me."

"You didn't have to make me think you were dead for two decades," she shot back.

Parstach shook his head. "It wasn't my intention to do that," he said. "You're the reason you didn't know I was alive."

"Care to run that by me again?"

Parstach nodded. "It's really quite simple. When I was fourteen years old I realized that life in a factory would get me nowhere. I had ambitions of becoming great, and our parents were holding me back, refusing to let me do things. I may only have been a kid, but I wasn't stupid. Surely you know what I'm talking about. I saw them already showing the same signs with you."

Thunder nodded. "Yes, they did hold me back."

"I knew I could be more than what they wanted me to become. So one night I snuck out and went to Nolicra ya Russah's home. Security caught me eventually, just as I knew they would. And they took me to Ya Russah, just as I knew they would."

"Why would you want to see Ya Russah?"

"Patience, Tundre, let me talk," he said. "Ya Russah questioned me, and in doing that I told him why I had come. We struck a deal."

"A deal?"

"I needed to get away from my parents so I could make something of myself, he needed an heir to his company. He knew that with time and education, he could teach me to run his company after his death. It was win-win for both of us. The problem was that there was no way our loving parents would let me go. So..."

"So you faked your death so you could live nice and fat in your comfortable mansion while we, your family, lived in the dirt?" Thunder angrily spouted.

"If you want to be negative about it, yes."

Thunder grunted sarcastically. "I find it real hard to put a positive spin on that. But then, I'm not real positive on many things these days. Except for violence, of course, I'm real optimistic about that." Thunder walked forward and placed her palms on Parstach's desk. She leaned forward and looked him dead in the eye. "Speaking of violence...you haven't exactly given me reasons not to beat the living hell out of you. You'd better start finding some real quick."

Parstach smiled and leaned back, looking very smug for someone who must've known he was in a lot of danger. "You don't understand," he told her. "I was going to bring you in on it."

"What?"

"After a few years of living at Nolicra's, I began to realize that I really missed you. You were my little sister and I loved you. And I wanted you to be with me. But, just as I knew our parents wouldn't let me come here, I knew they wouldn't let you come here. I told Nolicra about my feelings and we...had them dealt with."

Thunder stood straight and her jaw dropped as the realization of what Rent was telling her hit her. He...

"You mean..."

"Yes, Tundre. The bomb placed by the "saboteur" from Cartann's Challabae Admits-No-Equal Eruptive Manufacturing Concern was actually placed by one of Nolicra's men...specifically aimed to kill our parents. With them out of the way, by Adumari tradition..."

"I would become the property of the factor owner," Thunder finished for him. "I'd essentially become his slave."

"In normal cases that would be true, Tundre," Parstach said. "But this wasn't a normal case. Nolicra was going to bring you back to his house and we were going to be together! You wouldn't have been a slave, you would've had slaves working for you! You wouldn't have been in rags, you would've been in riches. You were going to have it all. But..."

"...I killed Ya Russah when he came to take me away. I thought he was going to make me a slave. I couldn't live with that. Why didn't you come with him? I would've gone with you."

"I wanted it to be a surprise," he softly said. "You were thirteen years old. I seriously doubted you'd kill three grown men, two of which were trained guards. When reports of Ya Russah's death came back to me, I cried. That was a sad day for me, Tundre. I lost a man who I had come to think of as a real father, and I also lost my sister for the second time."

"You'll forgive me if I don't burst into tears," she sardonically muttered.

"I don't expect sympathy from you, not after all that has happened. But don't think I'm lying. I had a hard time after Ya Russah's death."

"Why? You inherited his company. Must be so terribly hard to be so rich."

Parstach stood up from his chair and walked over to the window at the dark night sky. That's just the thing, I didn't inherit it. After Nolicra's death, and man named Olnora ya Russah stepped forward. He was Nolicra's younger brother. I don't know where had been all this time, but it made HIM the heir to Nolicra's company, not me. Though he did keep me around as his advisor and second-in-command."

"Wow, second-in-command," she repeated. "Must run in the family."

"Huh?"

She shook her head. "Nothing, continue."

"I searched for you, Tundre, I really did. I sent out feelers all over Yedagon, even some into Cartann and the other nations. But I never found any trace of a Tundre ya Silens. I wanted to get a hold of you before authorities did. They don't take kindly upon murdering the head of a corporation. Well, since it wasn't in a duel, that is."

"It wasn't murder, it was defense."

He waved his hand. "Semantics. Either way, I, nor anyone else, ever found Tundre ya Silens. And after a while, people stopped looking. Years went by before I heard anything. I didn't pay attention to what happened in Cartann because it had no effect on us. They were too into their petty duels to be concerned with the real issue."

"Do tell," Thunder mocked. "What is the real issue."

"In due time," he responded. "Eventually news was brought to Olnora about the glorious Lord Pilot, and former Ground Champion, Tundrin ke Silant. Olnora thought the name was too much of a coincidence, so before I even knew about it, he set out to Cartann. How you got by with that name for so long without someone figuring it out is beyond me."

"I'm just that lucky, I guess."

"Must be. Anyway, by the time I learned Olnora was going to confront you, he was dead. I wasn't sad about his death, I never liked him."

"Of course you weren't sad," Thunder pointed out. "With Olnora out of the way the company is yours. I bet you were elated."

Parstach didn't answer the question. "I was sad, though, that I lost you again. Soon after they say some unknown ship leaves Adumar. I assumed you were on it and I gave up all hope of ever finding you. And...here you are."

Thunder smiled, although she was feeling anything but happy. "Here I am," she agreed.

Parstach returned to his desk and sat down. He leaned back and rested his hands on his lap. "I guess the only question left at this point, is what to do with you."

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

Once the sky started to rain green laser blasts, Rent was pretty sure he couldn't outrun the Blades. He dodged and weaved, throwing his poor banged up ship into maneuvers that really took it to the limit.

The ship rocked hard as more laser fire erupted off the backwater. The ship couldn't take much more of this. He had to get out of here...he had to...

The comm to the Spiral started to beep, indicating that Thunder had to be picked up. Whew, well it was about time! He couldn't take much more of this abuse from these blasted Adumarians. Maybe Thunder and her little Force powers could get them off their backs.

Either way, he turned hard port and headed for Yedagon City.

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

Parstach was not aware that she had reached down and pushed her comlink button, summoning Rent and the Downward Spiral. She had gotten all she had wanted from this trip. She now knew the truth behind everything. Her brother's "death". Her parents death. Her life in the gutter. Everything. She knew the truth now. There was only one problem.

Someone had to pay. And it sure as hell wasn't going to be her.

"So, what are you going to do with me?" she asked. "I would advise against trying to kill me."

"So would I!" he suddenly said. "But I have never had any intention of ever harming you, Tundre. You're my little sister. I only want the best for you."

"Oh, gee, I guess I was wrong about you..." she said with mock surprise, and a lot of melodrama. "You're not a total jackass."

"Think what you will about me, dear sister, but I only want what's best for everyone. For you. For me. And for Adumar." Parstach leaned forward across the desk. "There is a mission, Tundre, one that will change Adumar forever."

"What are you talking about? What mission?"

"The one you so rudely interrupted earlier. A few of the ships in my Running Crimson Flightknife are equipped with something you call a hyperdrive. I believe you are familiar with it."

"No shit, Olie," she sharply shot back.

"Who?"

Thunder shook her head. "Nevermind. So your boys were going on a scouting mission into the galaxy?"

"Yes. But when they saw your ship they broke off and attacked. That ended up if five of them being destroyed by the Strike-the-Moons Flightknife. The only hyperspace capable ship of the six I have left is Te Harsach's."

"Gee, I'm all broken up. What does this have to do with me?"

"You have been out there, you know what to expect. You can advance our cause by years! With this knowledge, we can build new weapons and crush Cartann, making ourselves the top nation. You can help me in ways I couldn't have imagined before, Tundre. Perhaps all that stuff with our family happened for a reason. It happened so we could be here, now, in a position to destroy our enemies. It was fate that brought you here, fate that made you into what you are today."

"The only enemy I have here, brother, is you."

"What?" he balked.

"You killed our parents. You destroyed my life. You said everything happens for a reason...you might be right. But the reason I'm here today isn't because of fate, or prophecy, or anything else. I am not here because someone decided I should be here, or because some put me here. I'm here because I worked to be here, because I chose to be here. I'm here because I wanted to find out the truth."

Parstach nodded and grimly smiled. "And now that you know the truth...what? Are you going to kill me? I would advise against that."

"Why?"

"Because of this." Parstach reached into his desk and took out a small round device. She recognized it instantly as a remote to a detonator. "I trust you know what this is."

"Oh come on, Pars," she balked. "Do you really think I'm going to fall for the old "put a bomb on you" routine?"

He shrugged. "Mr. Salazor fell quite easily for it."

"Well he's a moron," she pointed out.

"Yes, so I gathered. He did fall for the decoy bomb I placed on him," Parstach said. "He didn't even notice the real one I had placed on him."

Thunder's eyes widened. She quickly scanned him to see if he was telling the truth. He was. Geil te Harsach had placed one right under his collar on his neck. He didn't even know it.

"Ah, I see that got your attention," he said. "Now, are you going to help us in our cause, or does your friend get to see what a small bomb does to a big head?"

Thunder took a deep breath as her few choices ran through her head. There was only two choices she really saw. Try to kill Parstach, which in the process will kill Rent. Join Parstach, which in the process will keep Rent alive...

Wait...

"Well, what have you to say, Tundre?"

Thunder shot her head up and glared daggers at her brother. "My name isn't Tundre...it's Thunder. Lord Pilot Thunder, to you."

"Changing your name won't help you escape your past. Or your future. Decide now."

"I'm not escaping from anything," she told him adamantly. "I'm simply telling you who and what I am. I am not a Ya Silens. I am not a Ke Silant. I am Lord Pilot Thunder of Adumar..." Thunder unsheathed the blastsword that she kept at her waist and pointed it at her brother, "...and I challenge you."

Much to her surprise, Parstach smiled. He set the round detonator remote on the table and withdrew a blastsword from under his desk. Standing up, he said "A duel? With me? Do you even know what you're doing? Despite being the head of a corporation, I'm highly regarded as the best blastsword wielder in Yedagon."

Thunder smiled and mocked him. "Despite being the best pilot this planet ever produced, I was highly regarded as the best blastsword wielder in Cartann. How fitting."

Parstach shook his head as he walked around his desk. "My dear Tundre, or Tundrin, or Thunder, or whatever you wish to call yourself...you cannot beat me. It would be futile to try."

"I was about to say the same to you."

Parstach got up in Thunder's face. "I did not want it to come to this. But if it is a fight you desire, so shall it be." Parstach took a step backwards and went into a fighting stance. "Honor or death."

"Screw honor," she muttered. "I'll just give you death!"

With that she charged.

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

Rent smiled as Yedagon City grew in the distance. He wasn't far away now. Another few minutes and he'd be there. Of course, he didn't have that many minutes to spare. The Blades were on him like wildfire. It was a miracle that he had survived as long as he did.

He would reach Yedagon City, though. And hopefully by that time these Cartannian clowns would back off. Knowing this luck, though, once he got to Yedagon City things would just blow up.

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

Thunder could see that Parstach used all his strength to push her blade off of his. He immediately swiped at her midsections, which she blocked easily.

Thunder gave off a series of four blows, high, mid, low, then back to high, all of which Parstach blocked with ease. It seemed his bravado wasn't all false. He could back up his words.

Parstach smiled when he saw the strained look on Thunder's face. "You can't beat me, Thunder...I was taught by the best."

"Funny, I don't ever remember giving you lessons!" Thunder gave a straight jab, which he blocked. The blow was powerful enough to set off her blastsword, though. The bolt shot out and hit the glass window, blowing it away and exposing them to the harsh wind outside.

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

The first building in Yedagon City that Rent saw was the largest, Parstach's headquarters. He was probably a few minutes away from it. Just a little bit longer...a little bit longer...

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

Most of the glass fell down outside, but some shards remained on his floor. They were so high up the wind blew through the office like a hurricane. It made it hard to stand, and even harder to fight.

Because of the wind everything was getting blown around the office, including Parstach's large desk. And the detonator that lay on top of it. They both saw this at the same time. Both Thunder and Parstach temporarily forgot their duels and sprinted for the small round remote on the desk. She was surprised by his quickness. She knew that she couldn't beat him to the remote, but Rent's life was gone if she didn't get there first. Speaking of which, she could already see his running lights off in the distance. The Spiral was headed straight for the tower.

She had only one hand left to play. He reached into her tunic and produced her lightsaber, which she had kept hidden until now. Using the Force, she hurled it through the air. The saber made a clean hole through his chest and continued to fly right out the window and towards the ground below. She could've perhaps grabbed it, but her immediate concern was Parstach. With the Force, she grabbed the man and threw him backwards and across the room. He collided with the wall and slumped down to his butt. No blood flowed from the now cauterized wound.

On the other side of the room, Thunder grabbed the round remote and smiled. That was it...now Rent was safe. But if that were true, why was she getting this dreadful feeling from the Force?

"Congratulations," Rent weakly said from the other side of the room. "You...successfully grabbed the...decoy, proving that you are in fact as dumb as Salazor."

"What...?"

Parstach pulled a small square remote out of his pocket.

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

So close, Rent thought as the Spiral drew closer and closer to Parstach's base. I'm so close. It won't be long now...

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

He looked up at Thunder and weakly grinned. She didn't have time to do anything, and they both knew it. "You lose, Thunder."

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

Rent looked at his scanners. Just as he predicted, the Blades behind him broke off when he actually reached Yedagon City. Which meant he was more or less in the clear. Heh, he had did it. He didn't think he could've, but somehow he had managed to survive Adumar.

Feeling cocky, Rent leaned back and his chair and rested his hands on the back of his neck. His heart dropped when he felt something small and metal. He knew instantly what had happened. His whole body started to tremble and he was having a hard time breathing.

"Bloody hell..."

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

Using the last of his energy, Parstach pushed the button. Thunder turned around sharply, just in time to see a large explosion rock the oncoming Downward Spiral. The transparisteel windows blew out and fire erupted from inside. The whole cockpit then broke off from the main ship and fell to the ground below. Because of it's forward momentum, though, the ship kept barreling towards them. But now it was out of control. Nothing could stop it before it hit the tower.

"Hidden....Blade..." she heard from behind her. Lying against the wall, his life quickly fading, Parstach was whispering to her. "...hyperspace capable...on roof. Get out."

"Why?"

"You wanted....to fight, Tundre, not me. I wasn't lying. I...I only wanted what's best....for you. For...Adumar."

With that his head fell forward and he died. Thunder didn't waste anytime. She threw open the doors to the office, found the staircase, and sprinted up.

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

Digger was in trouble, that was all he knew. The ship, or at least part of it, had exploded. He could tell from the way it wobbled, but stayed on course, that no one was controlling it. He didn't know what had happened to Salazor, but he was sure that he was dead. The explosion seemed to have originated from the cabin, which would also explain why the ship was out of control.

Digger rolled his way to the escape pod and rolled in. He used his manipulator arm to manage the controls and close the pod door. Then he pushed the large red "eject" button. Only nothing happened. He did a quick systems diagnostic and found out that all power in the ship was gone. The blast had effected the power system. He couldn't even divert any of the ships power to the pod because it didn't have any power!

Which meant when the Spiral crashed, he was going to die.

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

Parstach was right. Up on top of the building, under a camo net, was a gorgeous looking Blade-32. Thunder threw the net off the fighter and jumped in the cockpit. The controls were slightly different, and she did see a panel for a primitive hyperdrive, but she knew she could fly it.

She revved the engine and took off. In about thirty seconds the Spiral was going to hit the tower, and Thunder had no desire to be there when it happened. She wouldn't mind seeing it from a safe distance, though.

She got a good distance away, then quickly turned around so she could witness the fiery end of both the Downward Spiral and her brother. Seconds before the Spiral hit, however, and ejection pod shot out. Normally that would be good, but this close to ground it was dangerous. The pod wouldn't have enough room to fly, it was just going to crash to the ground. But...who was inside it? She reached out with the Force, but couldn't sense anything.

That's when it hit. The once beautiful YT-2400 freighter Downward Spiral, now nothing more than an overweight piece of scrap metal, crashed nose first into the top levels of Parstach's headquarters. The upper levels erupted with flames, as windows everywhere shot out and rained glass down below. What was left of the upper levels fell unto the lower ones, causing them to collapse as well. Within a minute the whole building was nothing but a giant pile of rubble.

For a long time she stared at it, thinking of her dead brother underneath who even knows how much debris. She was glad he was dead before the explosion. It would've been an awful way to die. He did die, though, at the hands of his sister, which might actually be worse.

No...no, he had died in a duel. He may have lost, but at least he went out fighting. Thunder was sure that honor could be found in that.

Wiping a tear from her cheek, she turned her Blade around and focused on the escape pod. She reached out and grabbed a hold of it with the Force. She raised it over to the top of another building and rested it there. The building top was big enough for her to land her new Blade on, and damnit that's what she was going to do. Chances are nothing was in the pod, it probably just malfunctioned. But who knows...

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

Geil te Harsach had retreated to his flightknife's hanger after being dismissed by Parstach. There he had been discussing what to do about the Salazor man when Parstach's tower had erupted in fire. They all watched in horror as the building collapsed on it's self.

He had been elated when he saw Parstach's personal Blade-32 in the sky. And he had been just as easily heartbroken when he saw it land on a nearby building and a woman emerged. Not just any woman, either. Her. The one he had captured. She had killed Parstach and destroyed his corporation...she needed to be dealt with.

"Running Crimson, get ready to fly," he sadly announced. "But be forewarned. This fight isn't about honor, it's about blood!"

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

Thunder cautiously approached the escape pod. She had her blastsword in her hand, but that was it. Her pistol was missing, probably lost during the scuffle, and her lightsaber was underneath the tower somewhere. Both lost forever.

She pushed the button to the escape pod and peered in. She gasped in both horror and surprise. There, lying seemingly dead on the floor, was Digger. She grabbed him with the Force and lifted him out. When she rested him on the ground she examined him. There was hardly any power left in him, he was totally drained. His exterior lights were dim. His squeaks were almost inaudible. Thunder reached to the back of her flightsuit and pulled out her translator.

"What the hell are you doing here!?" she yelled. "I told you I didn't need help!"

Digger softly whistled.

"That's it, I'm cutting off your Whyrens," she admonished. "Maybe this will teach you to listen to me. How am I supposed to get you back? The Blade doesn't have an R2 socket, and I don't think the Spiral is flight-capable anymore."

Digger tooted and Thunder grinned.

"Point taken, it wasn't flight-capable to begin with. Still.."

Digger tooted and Thunder looked at the Blade. Sure enough, just as Digger pointed out, there was a storage compartment underneath the fighter.

"For your sake that had better be big enough to hold your metal ass."

Thunder walked over and checked it out. Yes, definitely big enough. Not much room to spare, though. She called him over, and forcefully shoved him in. Digger squealed in protest.

"Hey, don't complain to me, pal," she yelled. "I didn't ask you to come along. Now stop that annoying whistling, I've got a bad headache and..."

Thunder looked over and saw a handful of ships approaching. Oh hell.

Thunder gave one last push on Digger, then slammed the cargo door shut. She jumped into her fighter and immediately took off. Seconds after her departure, the roof of the building was showered with green laser blasts.

Suddenly her comm was alive with static. She knew who it was before the man even opened his mouth. Geil te Harsach. "I'm throwing away all the pleasantries, Tundre ya Silens. You're a murderer, and you're going to die for that." She noticed it was on an open channel, which meant anyone nearby who was monitoring would hear. Which seriously threw away her chances of survival. Any glory hound with a ship was going to be after her if she didn't get out of here soon...but she still had one last piece of business to take care of.

She didn't think it was wise for the Adumarians to send scouts into the galaxy. Outsiders and Adumarians would be a bad mix. It would take someone of supreme genius and diplomatic abilities to be able to work this planet into either power, be in Empire or Republic. It might not even be possible. But she also didn't want to see it happen. The Adumarians weren't ready for outsiders. Maybe in a few years, but not yet. There were two hyperspace capable ships left on Adumar. She was flying one, Geil was flying the other.

"Oh come on, Geil...let's make it official," Thunder mocked. "Hail Running Crimson! Lord Pilot Thunder challenges you! Do you accept?"

"You challenge us all!?" Te Harsach balked, disbelievingly.

"I challenge any of you who have a death wish." Not surprisingly, all seven Blades continued to follow her. Well damn it to that. She didn't like seven on one odds, but she was sure she could take them all. Problem was, right now every fighter in the area was probably prepping for take off. And then she'd have more ships on her hands then she could deal with.

"All right, Lord Pilot Thunder...prepare to di..."

Her comm erupted with static again, and suddenly her lightboard had six more dots on it. "Hail Running Crimson, this is Lord Pilot Ke Mattino of the Strike-the-Moons Flightknife. Lord Pilot Tundrin ke Silant was a member of my squad, and therefore under my protection. You fire on her, I'll take that as firing upon me."

"I'm not backing down, Ke Mattino!" Te Harsach said. "She shall pay for her crimes!"

"To any of the pilots in the Running Crimson," Ke Mattino said. "Back off now and we will consider you friendlies and you won't be fired upon. Anyone who refuses and opens fire will be shot down. Understood?"

A new voice entered the conversation. "This is Brak te Manos. I am backing down, Ke Mattino. So is everyone else." Six of the seven Blades veered off, leaving Geil to chase Thunder by himself.

"Brak, you coward!" Te Harsach yelled. "After I destroy the traitor, you'll be next!" Brak didn't answer.

"Te Harsach, this is your last chance. Back down."

That was when Thunder burst in. She couldn't let Geil back down, she had to destroy his fighter. She didn't want any hyperspace capable ships left on Adumar.

"No, Liak," she said. "I appreciate what you've done, but let me and Lord Pilot Te Harsach duel. I shall kill him honorably."

"Very well..." he reluctantly said. Then, as an after thought, he added, "...Thunder."

Liak ke Mattino's six Blades veered off, leaving Thunder and Geil alone. She turned her ship around and headed straight towards Geil. She didn't wait for a lock of any kind, she just started to fire. Geil juked to the right and out of the oncoming fire. Exactly as she wanted.

She tucked in close behind him and let off a barrage of laser shots. Most missed, but one hit the stern, causing a small explosion on the hull. Another drawback to the Adumarian Blade-32 was it's lack of shields. That meant while she was a great pilot, a potshot could theoretically take her out.

But she wasn't going to let that happen.

Unexpectedly, Geil dropped into a tight spiral, which she tried to follow, but failed. She leveled out the best she could, only to realized that Geil's move had put him behind her. She was now on the receiving end of the laser blasts. Her ship rocked and Thunder knew that was a bad sign. From inside the cargo hold she heard some squeaking.

"Aw stow it, Digger!" she yelled back at him. "Not now!"

Her comm unit started to blare with static. "Good-bye, Lord Pilot Thunder," Geil hissed. "And remember as you go to your death, I do this not for honor, but for blood!"

Thunder suddenly spun her ship and raised it in a corkscrew, essentially the same move that Geil had pulled but going up instead of down. Again not surprisingly, Geil totally fell prey to it. She put herself right behind his fighter and locked her sights on him.

"Good-bye, jerk-ass," she said. "And remember...I do this not for honor, and not for blood. I do this, Geil, because I enjoy it."

With that she held down the firing stud and sent out green laser blasts. They pierced Geil's Blade and sent it to oblivion. The fiery debris fell to the ground. Thunder let out a sigh of relief.

"Congratulations on your kill," she suddenly heard Ke Mattino say over the comm. "Geil te Harsach was one of Yedagon's best pilots. You have accumulated much honor with his death. And since everyone that had a bounty on you is dead, the bounty is annulled. You have no reason to flee, old friend. Stay with us. You can rejoin our flightknife and bring glory to our people."

Thunder took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I appreciate that, Liak, I really do. But if it's all the same to you, I'd rather just go now. I have other things to do, things bigger than Adumar. I can't say what, though. Do you understand?"

"No," he said after some hesitation. "But I will honor your request. Have a safe journey, Thunder, and remember. You are always welcome on Adumar. Feel free to return to us anytime. I would love to drink and fly with you."

Thunder smiled. "In that order, Liak? Drink and then fly?"

The man laughed over the comm. "Of course!" he erupted. "I wouldn't have it any other way. Confusion To Your Enemies!"

Thunder smiled widely as she pointed her fighter towards space. "And Frothing Disease to Yours!"

Once in space, Lord Pilot Thunder put in the coordinates for the SSD and jumped out of Adumari space.

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

Thunder was not expecting a warm welcome when she got back, at least not from Reno. He had made certain promises to him about the safety of Rent Salazor and the Downward Spiral...promises that she had failed to keep. He had told her if anything happened to him she would end up like Grish. She was hoping that wasn't the case. She remembered Grish well...she didn't want the same fate.

Sadly, none of the Siths were on the deck to greet her when she landed, not even Reno. She had expected to be chewed out here...guess it would wait until later. Gimmer was there, however. He greeted her warmly, or at least as warm as a middle-aged disgruntled mechanic ever got.

"Oh my stars...what did you do to the Spiral?" he jokingly balked. "So many parts got blown away that now it looks like a....uh.....what is that? I've never seen one of her kind."

"It's an Adumari Blade-32," she proudly said. "And it's going to be my new fighter." What she didn't tell him is that it was her brother's old fighter. He may have been responsible for much of the pain she had experienced over the years, but he was still family. And she could honor his death by flying his ship.

That was why he gave it to me, she thought. This ship was his, it was a part of him, just like any fighter was a part of it's owner. Parstach may be dead, but at least a part of him lives on.

"You're choosing this over and X-wing?" he asked. "Seriously?"

"Yes, but it's going to need some mods. One, install a shield generator. Two, It's going to be hard and it'll take time, but I eventually want an R2 socket in there for Digger. Oh, speaking of which. Three, take Digger out of the cargo hold on the Blade."

"Uh, sure thing, boss," Gimmer said. "Oh, Reno said to meet him in his office."

Thunder closed her eyes. "Doh..."

Gimmer laughed and walked over towards her new Blade. "Yeah, that's what they all say," he yelled back. "They all say doh."

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

There were scarce few times she was ever actually nervous in Reno's presence. Despite being evil to the core, most of the time he came off as foolish or goofy. This was not one of those times.

"Let me get this straight..." he grunted. "Our bounty is dead. His ship, which I wanted for other operations, was destroyed. And on top of all that, you lost your lightsaber?"

Thunder nodded. "Yes, sir." Again, one of the few times she ever addressed him as sir.

"Did you at least accomplish your mission?" Reno asked. "Did you find out what you wanted to know?"

Again she nodded. "Yes, sir."

"So the mission wasn't a total loss?"

She shook her head. "No, sir."

"Yes it was a total loss!" Reno suddenly erupted. "I told you not to let anything happen to Salazor! I told you NOT to let him get killed! And where is he now? He's dead. Our bounty is gone. We are out money."

"We don't need money, sir," she pointed out. "We have more than enough credits to live like kings for hundreds of years."

"You're right, it isn't the money that I'm angry about. It's the loss of credibility. I told the Imps at Orinackra that we would deliver Salazor, and now I have to tell them that we don't have him. Do you realize how weak that makes us seem?"

"I do, sir. We could always just go to Orinackra and bomb it out of existence. I doubt they have anything that could stop a SSD."

Reno shook his head. "The Imps aren't targeting us now, and I don't want them to be."

"Like their whole fleet could stop us," Thunder said.

Reno nodded. "True, but stop trying to change the subject. You know what my other problem is, Thunder?"

"No, sir," she said.

"While you were gone we got two new female Siths. A doctor and pilot from Orcania named Star, and someone named Dalaz Skatell, now known as Skate. Both were placed in Three Flight because of their lack of pilots. They are Nine and Ten, respectfully. This gives them a full flight and means we're only three pilots light from a full squad."

Reno was right. All they needed now was a Three, a Five, and a Six. And then they'd have a full squad again.

"This is great news, sir. But...what's the problem?"

"My problem is that with so many new pilots, I wanted to promote my older ones so there wouldn't be any rank problems. Seven and Palin were going to be Lieutenants, Jen was going to be Captain, and you up to Colonel. But this is a huge failure, Thunder. I don't know if you're deserving enough to be a Colonel. I can't have an Executive Officer who fails missions."

Thunder took a deep breath. "Can I suggest a compromise?"

Reno leaned back and spread his hands open. "Shoot."

"I learn a lot on this mission. Not only about my past, but about myself. I had some doors open recently that were closed before. I don't even think in the same frame of mind anymore. I am not who I was when I left."

"Well then who are you?" he asked.

"I'm a Sith," she said. "And I'm an Adumari. That's who I am. I'm not one, I'm not the other. I'm both."

"That's all nice and dandy," Reno muttered. "But to be a Sith you need total commitment. Are you going to commit yourself to us?"

"That's what I need to work out. Make me a Colonel, but I'd like to, at least temporarily, step down as XO. Make Jen a Colonel as well, she deserves it. Let her be the XO for now, at least until I return, maybe even after that."

Reno sighed and leaned forward. "Thunder, I just gave you some personal time off, and in that time you cost us credits, and credibility. What makes you think I'd so quickly give you more time off?"

Thunder smiled sweetly. "Because you are one helluva guy?"

Reno shook his head.

"Because you're the greatest Sith that ever lived?"

Reno shook his head again.

Thunder sighed and stared at the ground. "Because I'll get the Siths to stop calling you Calculator Man behind you back?"

Reno nodded. "That's better. Now get out of here, Colonel Thunder," he ordered. "You can have your time off, but when you get back you'd better at least have a new lightsaber. And you'd damn well better know who the hell you are. Got it?"

"Of course, Calculator Man."

Reno frowned, his anger evident. "You said you'd stop calling me that," he grumbled.

Thunder seemed taken aback. "Oh no, sir. The deal was we'd stop doing it behind your back. I don't remember you mentioning anything about us saying it to your face."

"Colonel..." he warned. "Promotions go down as quickly as they go up."

"Understood, sir," she said. "I guess I'll see you when I see you."

"I guess," he said back. "Oh, and lock the door on the way out."

Thunder then noticed that his computer screen was still on. "Sir...you're not still trying to beat the Battle of Endor, are you? I swear, it seems like months and months since I went out on this mission, you couldn't still be trying to beat that?"

Reno let out a hearty laugh. "Oh no, of course not! I beat that game long ago. Now, uh...you can go."

Thunder smiled. "As ordered, sir."

The she turned and left Reno alone in the room.

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

Once she was gone Reno put his attention back on the screen. "Stupid Second Death Star..." he muttered under his breath. Then he started to mock Thunder. "Oh, you're not STILL trying to beat that thing, are you? Hmph...let's see her try to get out of the Death Star with fire chasing you...isn't so easy...she'd probably cheat and use the invincibility code...now hey, there's an idea...."

The End