The next few weeks went by in a blur. The entirety of Sith Squadron, their newest member included, spent almost all waking hours training. Reno himself hardly spent a moment awake that wasn't spent training one of the squad members. Instead of doing group training he preferred to do one-on-one sessions. He felt that, while the training process was a little slower, it was more effective. One-on-one sessions were a lot more personal and helped the Master and Apprentice develop a closer relationship. Although when you had to train six people who had different skills it was hard to keep a relationship personal.

But that was also why he had decided to do things one-on-one. Each one of his squad members had varying skills. ThunderingSilence had very strong telekinetic abilities, but her mind projection skills were practically non-existent. JeniViolet was the exact opposite. Her mind projection skills were stronger than anyone elses in the squad, Reno himself included, but she also had no telekinetic abilities. It was kind of like a trade off. But that was why it was better to train each person singularly, that way he could focus on each person's special talent.

So far the students were progressing nicely, some more than others. His Second-in-Command, ThunderingSilence, was by far his best student. She had discipline, motivation, and drive. She was committed to becoming a full Sith Lord, something that so far only Reno was.

His next best student was probably Palin, she had enough drive and determination to be a Sith Lord. And her mind persuasion skills were progressing nicely. She still couldn't influence Reno's mind, but then again, who could? She was, however, able to influence some of the other Sith Squadron members minds. Her first major test had been on Seven. The nineteen year old Bakuran had entered the training room, ready to learn how to harness his ability to read into the future. What had followed was an incident that Reno was glad he got on tape. Just one of those things you could watch for a laugh whenever you were down......

"Hey Palin," Seven had said as she left the training room. "Your session done yet? I wanna learn more about that reading into the future thing that Reno was talking about. I mean, if I can see the future in a dogfight....."

Palin stared intently at him. "But your session is already over."

"My session..." he started to say. "...nah, my session is scheduled after yours. It hasn't even begun yet."

"You're mistaken....your session just ended. You can go back to your quarters now," she said, trying to force her will on him.

"I'm mistaken?" he echoed. "My session is o...over......wait a second, no it's not! You! You're trying to influence my mind with the Force, aren't you!? Ha ha, you couldn't do it! My mind is too strong for you. Too strong...for you! I mean..."

Palin's right hand lashed out and hit Seven so hard it knocked him off his feet and into the back wall. Seven slumped against the wall, his hand shooting up toward his bruised jaw. When he looked up again he saw Palin storming towards him. He immediately covered his face again, preparing for another blow. Instead he felt a hand grab his tunic behind his neck and drag him towards his feet. Palin pulled Seven back towards the door and stood him where he had been standing when she had assaulted him.

"Now," she grunted. "We're going to try this again. Your session.....is already done. You can go back to your quarters now!"

Seven seemed genuinely scared. "Uhh...yeah, my session is already done..umm..I'm just gonna go back to my quarters now."

"Damn right you are," Palin muttered, but it was her that turned and stomped off, leaving Seven standing there with a blank expression plastered on his youthful face. Reno slowly walked out of the training room, a look of pure amusement on his face.

Reno chuckled. "Ya know, if you had been more in tune with the Force then you would've sensed that blow coming and could've blocked it. Your danger sense still needs improvement."

"Well no kidding," he muttered, rubbing his jaw.

.....of course, that didn't really show how strong Palin's Force skills had come along, but Reno thought it was damn funny.

The rest of the squadron was coming along nicely, also. He still hadn't found out what particular skill that Jace was adept at was. The kid seemed fairly well rounded. Decent TK, decent mind control...nothing really stuck out above the rest.

JeniViolet was his biggest challenge, not only because of her bad attitude, but because she was powerfully adept in a skill that not many Jedi possessed. It was hard for Reno to teach her a skill that he himself didn't know to well. The ability to project images into a person's mind was no easy task, nor was teaching it. It took it's toll on Reno, more than any of the other lessons.

Her attitude didn't help her either. Not only did it get on Reno's nerves, but since she was still preoccupied by the Bothan she could concentrate on improving her Force talents. She should've been much further along than she was, and the fault wasn't on Reno because of poor teaching. Reno had seen the looks she had shot Narska in the mess hall. Her mind was being consumed by Narska Plo'kre. Why, Reno couldn't figure out. Yes, he had killed a Sith, but everyone else in the squad had accepted and welcomed him....why couldn't she?

The most fun part was going to be seeing them fly together. All of the flights in his squadron had at least two people, except for Jen's three flight. Reno had Thunder and Jace in one flight, Seven and Palin occupied two flight, but Jen was all by herself in three flight. So when Narska Plo'kre had joined the squadron he immediately assigned him Sith Twelve, making the Bothan Jen's wingman. And that had infuriated Jen more than anything else. But Reno was fairly sure that she wouldn't accidentally vape her wingman....fairly sure. Accidents do happen, after all. But Reno had already made it very clear that if said incident happened then Jen wouldn't live through mistake. Or maybe Tyros wouldn't live through it......

Narska Plo'kre was a quick learner, which made it much easier to train him. He seemed to have an innate talent for working machines, which automatically made him the squadron mechanic. Reno hadn't told him to make a lightsaber yet, though, it was way to early for that. He was more focused on getting Narska to understand how the Force works...and why. His telekinetic powers were progressing better than anything else. He had Plo'kre practice lifting JeniViolet's bottles of Whyren's Reserve. The Bothan knew that if he dropped those bottles and they broke.....man, not even Reno could protect him from Jen. But the Bothan had proved an apt pupil and didn't drop even one of the bottles.

Reno smiled as he stared out of the viewport of his SSD. Everyone was going as planned. Narska Plo'kre had joined him, and the rest of the Siths were well on their way to becoming Sith Lords. They just needed to get five more replacements to fill the holes in their roster, then they'd be at full strength. Reno knew, of course, how hard it would be to find five Force-strong people in the galaxy. He did have a device that could sense if someone was strong in Force, but he couldn't just go planetside somewhere and start taking people off the street.

But even that was okay. Reno was so full of confidence right now that nothing could've brought him down. The Sith were returning....of this he was sure. His Sith Squadron was going to be the forefront of a new revolution. The Sith Empire had been stagnant for over four thousand years......far, far too long. Soon....very soon. He could feel it...he could sense it! With him as the head of the serpent, they would strike the very heart of the New Republic. And once the Republic was toppled Reno would concentrate on destroying the last remnants of the Empire. Or maybe he should go and see if the the Imperials in charge wanted to join him. After all, as much as he believed in his squadron, he knew it was going to take a helluva lot more ships to destroy the Republic than just one Super Star Destroyer. He was going to need allies...and powerful allies at that. The Empire, while not even close to as strong as it used to be, still possessed an impressive array of Star Destroyers. They would be a powerful addition to his new Sith Empire.

But Reno didn't really think that the Empire would join him, nor did he really want them with him. Besides, that wouldn't really make the rest of the squadron happy. As much as his pilots hated the New Republic, they all hated the Empire even more. No, the Empire wasn't his group. He would just have to find other allies....

"Lost in thought, sir?" a voice said behind him. "That would be a first."

Reno turned around sharply and let out a think smile. Standing behind him was JeniViolet, a look of wry humor on her face. "Ah, JeniViolet. This is an unexpected surprise. To what do I owe the pleasure of you joining me on the command deck? I hardly ever see you up here. You're usually either in the sims, at the bar, or with Tyros."

Jen sobered slightly. "Yes, well, I needed to say some things and I figured you were up here, since this is where you spend most of your time these days."

"When I'm not teaching, yes. I love watching the stars...so peaceful, relaxing. Do you ever look at the stars, Jen? I mean, really look at them?"

"No, not really."

"They're beautiful things, really. Brilliant balls of light just sitting there against a backdrop of darkness. When I was a boy I always wanted to control the stars...I wanted to reach up and grab them out of the sky. I wanted to hold them in my hand and decide whether to throw it back into the heavens...or to close my fist and cover it's light in darkness. It's one of the greatest feelings you'll ever have...to control the stars......"

Reno glanced at Jen's face. She looked almost uncomfortable, which probably shouldn't surprise Reno. Ever since he had started re-training Sith Squadron Reno himself had been more in tune with the Force. He started seeing things more clearly, seeing which paths they should and shouldn't be taking. He was also getting a little more philosophical in his speeches, which surprised the rest of the Siths.

"I'm sorry," he apologized. "You came up here to tell me something, not listen to me babble about dreams long lost. So..."

"Well, to be honest, I wanted to apologize myself."

This is interesting, he thought to himself. Offhand he couldn't ever remember Jen apologizing for anything.

"And what are you apologizing for?"

"For my attitude of late. I've let anger cloud my mind and guide my actions. And because of it I think my training is lacking somewhat."

"I noticed that, too," Reno said back. "And..."

"And even though I don't like Narska Plo'kre, I'll accept him into the squadron."

Reno smiled sardonically. "Well that's very mature of you, Jen. I'm so very proud of you. And I'm sure Narska will like not having to hide from you from now on. Still, it's better that you learn to trust him..."

"Wait, who said I trust him?" Jen blurted out. "I still don't think that he's fully gone over to us. He's going to betray us, I know it."

Reno sighed. "I sensed no duplicity in him. Neither when he first joined, nor now. You're fighting shadows JeniViolet....."

"Perhaps, but as you always said, shadows move when you're not looking."

"Touche," he replied, while smiling thinly again. "But the difference lies in that you're fighting shadows that don't exist. Keep in mind that having too much suspicion is just as dangerous as having none. You'll end up fighting against enemies that you don't even have."

Jen was about to retort when someone yelled out to him. It was Captain Vanicus, the captain of his Super Star Destroyer when Reno wasn't on the bridge.

"Sir, we've got an unauthorized encrypted transmission."

"Coming or going?" he asked.

"Definitely going," Vanicus said.

Reno caught a side glance at Jen and saw an I-told-you-so expression on her face. "Can you pinpoint it?"

Vanicus shook his head. "No, the signal is being sent from all comm stations on the ship. There isn't any way to pinpoint which one it originated from."

Damn! "Do you know where it's going?"

Vanicus leaned over a computer terminal and scanned his finger down the screen. "It's heading for a relay station near Ord Trasi...no way of knowing where the station is going to send it."

"Rebel relay station, or Imperial?"

"Neither, actually," Vanicus said. "The station is used for civilian communication. There isn't any way to tell whose sent it or who it is for."

"I know who sent it, and who it was for," Jen grumbled. "That damn Bothan is calling his buddies in the New Republic. We'd better leave right now because very soon the entire New Republic is going to be here!"

"Calm down, JeniViolet," Reno said. "Captain Vanicus, set a course for the Cron Drift and hype out at your convenience...we'll stay there for the time being."

"As you wish, My Lord."

Reno turned back to Jen. "It appears we might have a spy aboard."

"Well gee, I wonder who that could be" she uttered, mustering up every bit of sarcasm as humanly possible. "Perhaps it's our newest member, the rebel agent you so casually let join the squadron without even proving his loyalty. Hmm?"

"Perhaps," he agreed, as he turned and started to leave the bridge. "Come with me." JeniViolet smiled and followed Reno.

The first place they checked for Narska was the most obvious place: his quarters. Suffice to say he wasn't there, nor did the two Siths find any incriminating evidence that would have led them to believe that the Bothan had sent an unauthorized message to the enemy. They just found an empty room.

The next place the checked was the mess hall. It was about time for evening meal and Reno wouldn't be surprised to find him there. But the only people they found in the mess hall were Seven and Jace, who were sitting at the same table talking about Sadow knows what. No Bothan.

On their way back to the bridge they crossed paths with ThunderingSilence, who was leaving the simulator room.

"Man, that Bothan is one hot hand in a pointer," she said casually. "I can see why the Rogues wanted him."

"Do you know where he is?" Reno asked impatiently.

"Yeah, he's inside the simulator room," she said, jerking her thumb backwards. "Why?"

"We've got a traitor. Someone just sent a transmission from this ship to a relay station out in Ord Trasi," Jen interrupted. "You want to take bets on who it is?"

Thunder narrowed her eyes. "Well I know who it isn't," she firmly stated. "It's not Narska Plo'kre. He's been with me in the simulators for the last three hours. There isn't any possible way he couldn't sent a message. Hell, there isn't even a comm station in there. It wasn't him."

Reno closed his eyes and thought for a moment. If it wasn't the Bothan, then who? There was almost no point in thinking about it. He had thousands of crewers aboard this ship...it could have been any one of them. And Thunder's word carried a lot of weight with him, so if she said that he didn't do it, then Reno believed he didn't do it. But still......

"Go get Plo'kre," he told Thunder. She nodded in response and turned back into the simulator room. She emerged a minute later, the Bothan Narska Plo'kre trailing. He had abandoned his dark brown civilian clothes in favor of a pitch black TIE fighter flight suit. He looked smugger than he did when he first joined, more confident.

"Good day, Lord Baron," Narska said formally. "What can I do for you?"

Reno thought for a moment about something JeniViolet had said. What could he do....? Yes.....yes that would do nicely. "It has been brought to my attention that in my haste to teach you I forgot to give you a very important test."

"What kind of test?" the Bothan asked, a hint of suspicion creeping into his voice.

Reno stared at the Bothan. He let out an evil grin and Narska took a slight step back. "The loyalty kind. You're going to help us set a trap for Rogue Squadron."

"Gladly. And how am I gonna do that?"

"We'll give you an X-wing and you can fly to a nearby system. Send out a distress signal and call in the Rogues. Tell them in the message that you escaped and stole the fighter. They'll come."

"And what?" Narska asked. "They hype in, then you guys come in the SSD and ambush them? Fine, sounds good to me."

"Not quite, my friend. After they jump in you're going to ambush them." Reno paused dramatically. "...all by yourself."

Everyone's eyes widened, even JeniViolet's. One pilot against Rogue Squadron? No one could survive those odds....maybe not even Reno.

"But that's suicidal," Thunder commented.

"Yes, I suppose it is," Reno responded dryly. "Nevertheless, if he wants to prove he's a loyal Sith then he'll do it. So Narska....are you a loyal Sith?"

The Bothan frowned and his eyes narrowed to purple crescents. "It would be an honor and a privilege to destroy Rogue Squadron....with or without your help.

Reno nodded his head. We'll see.....

Narska Plo'kre climbed into the sole X-wing fighter that sat on the deck of aft hanger of the SSD. The hanger wasn't really used much these days, except for storage. There were only four other starfighters in the immediate area: Two Y-wing Deuces, a Z-95 Headhunter, and a thirty year old Naboo starfighter. He laughed as he saw the old Naboo fighter. Naboo fighters....little, yellow, different.

To say that Narska was nervous about his upcoming mission was a gross understatement. Hell, to say that he had never been so scared in his entire life didn't even begin to come close to how scared he actually was. One person, no matter how good a pilot, could fly solo against Rogue Squadron. It was, as ThunderingSilence had said, suicidal. He was very likely going to die on this mission.

Which is really the point of it, he thought. If I am willing to not only fly against my former squad, but do it by myself, then I will prove that I'm not going to betray the Siths. At least that was what Reno had explained to him. Narska still wasn't buying it. He sensed JeniViolet's hand in it. He didn't know what she had against him....he had asked his other squad mates but they had just told him to drop it and let it be. So he had. But this was going too far. Because she was paranoid Narska had to fly a solo mission against Rogue Squadron, arguably the best fighter group in the galaxy. Suicide.....

"Sith Twelve, do you read me?" the voice of ThunderingSilence said through his comm. Narska flipped the comm switch.

"This is Sith Twelve to Control, I copy."

"Fighter checked out?" she asked.

"Four lit and in the green," he said back.

"All right then," Thunder said. "The Lord Baron has given you clearance to leave. And we all wish you good luck......well, most of us do." Most likely it was...no, definitely it was JeniViolet.

"Thanks Control." Narska sighed.

"Twelve, this is the Lord Baron Reno," a new voice said.

Narska straightened in his seat. "Sir?"

"I just wanted to get the facts straight for your mission. You are not to leave the area until you receive a signal from us. I don't expect you to destroy the entire squadron, but you will not receive a signal until at least one Rogue is dead. Do you understand?"

"Completely, sir."

"Good. Then I suggest you be on your way."

Narska nodded even though he knew no one could see him. "Very well, sir. I will be successful in my mission. I will show everyone that I am loyal."

"I'm sure you will. Control out."

Narska started his fighter forward and left the hanger bay of the mighty Super Star Destroyer. A solo mission against Rogue Squadron....what kind of odds did that pose? Not good for him, he knew. He wasn't a Corellian,he did have respect for odds. And he didn't like these odds...he didn't like them one bit.

"Are you happy, JeniViolet?" Reno asked as Narska Plo'kre's X-wing shot into hyperspace. The trip would only last an hour in an X-wing, but Reno's SSD could make it in much less time. They wouldn't need to, though. Following the snubfighter into the war zone was a small holocorder. The holocorder would leave hyperspace at a safe distance behind the Bothan and record the entire dogfight. "Narska is taking a loyalty test. Will this satisfy your hunger for vengeance? You realized that he will most likely die out there."

Jen shook her head. "He won't die," she firmly stated. "He's a member of Rogue Squadron, they wouldn't vape their own man."

"Well, whether or not the Rogues will vape their own man really isn't the question," ThunderingSilence put in. "The real question is whether or not Narska will vape them."

Seven, who still had a bruised jaw from Palin's right hook, shook his head. "No question at all, Thunder," he laughed. "I've spent quite a lot of time around him, more than any of you have. He's a Sith, through and through."

"Perhaps, but you're not the one with strong mind reading," Reno stated. "That would be Palin." All the Siths looked over at Palin, who stood there with her arms folded across her chest.

"I haven't spent much time around him, but in what little conversations we've had I haven't sensed any duplicity or traitorous intent. Still, he's a Bothan....betrayal and treachery runs in their blood."

A smile lit up Reno's face. With so many different points of view here......yes....excellent......

"Does anyone care to place some wagers on the contest?"

The rest of the Siths smiled.

Narska Plo'kre dropped his fighter out of hyperspace and did a quick check of his sensors, just to make sure the system was clear of traffic. It was, except for the holocorder that trailed far behind Narska. The system he was in now was the neighboring system to Thanara, the planet where the Rogues were currently stationed. Once the Rogues picked up his signal they would be there in no less than forty minutes, half that time if they are already in space when the pick up his message. The chances of that were long, though. Either way, it was time. This was were he proved his loyalty. He slowly flipped the comm switch.

"This is Narska Plo'kre of Rogue Squadron, to anyone listening...." He tried to inject as much weariness and exasperation into his voice as possible. The more he sounded the part of an escapee the more they would rush to save him. ".....I need immediate retrieval! I've escaped from my captures in an unmarked X-wing, but my hyperdrive and nav computer have shorted out....I don't know where I am......my charts are all gone! All my systems are failing......even life support.........I..I don't think I can last much longer......Damn antique X-wing! Just like those ones on Exxtani. Couldn't have stolen one of the newer looking ones, could I? Please.....I need help......oxygen.....oxygen tanks are already on reserves. I've got maybe thirty minutes left.......maybe.......please..........I need help..............."

Then he cut the transmission abruptly.

And now, we wait....

"Well he certainly played the part of a distressed escapee," Reno commented.

"Eh, he overplayed it, if you ask me," JeniViolet muttered. "He acted too desperate. They're going to be suspicious."

Reno didn't answer, and neither did any of the other Siths. They just stood there and watched the viewport of the SSD. One of the other features the SSD had was the ability to change the main viewport into a big screen tv. Great for sports games and porno. But right now the image it projected was that of a lone X-wing sitting patiently in empty space. In no less than half an hour it wouldn't be empty space, though. The system would be littered with X-wings.....X-wing debris, that was.

But that was really the center of the bets Sith Squadron had placed. Would or would not Narska Plo'kre attack his former squadron? Reno had voted for the Bothan, as had everyone else. JeniViolet, of course, had been the only one to vote against him. The bet was this. The loser had to hand over a case of Whyren's to each of the winners. Which meant that if Jen won the bet....if Narska Plo'kre was in fact still a Rogue.....then the other five Siths would each have to giver her a case of Whyren's. If they won, however, then she would have to give each of them a case. She was either going to win five cases of Whyren's Reserve, or lost five cases. Risky, to be sure, but worth it if she won.

Reno glanced backwards. As a treat to some of the more loyal and hardworking members of Sith Squadron's support staff, he invited them to join the squad in watching the dogfight on his big ass tv. There was Gimmer, the squads chief mechanic, and their quartermaster Nuprin Karnes. Some of the other trusted members of their staff were also present, but they stood next to the Siths, not behind them. Captain Vanicus stood next to Reno himself, a glass of Whyren's in his hand and a smile on his face, and JeniViolet's secretary Tyros Dakon sat next to Jen, a glass of Whyren's in his hand and Jen plastered on his face. Normally he would condemn such a public display of affection or lust, but he let it go in light of this momentous occasion.

Okay, momentous was a bit of an overkill, but it was very rare when the Siths could enjoy a dogfight without running the risk of being killed. So he let go of some of the rules and just kicked back and relaxed. In about thirty minutes Rogue Squadron would be showing up and then the real fun would start!

Continued...