Reno looked out the viewport of the shuttle. Something was definitely wrong. They weren’t even being hailed. The SSD was just sitting there, almost dead in space.

“Well, at least it’s still there,” Jen commented.

“Yeah, you didn’t manage to lose it,” Thunder put in. “That must be a welcome change to your normal schedule.”

Reno ignored the comments for now, knowing he had much bigger fish to fry. Something was wrong on board, he could feel it. So many bad emotions boiling there: Anger, hatred, betrayal, fear, anguish....

“Take us in,” he said simply.

“I can’t wait to take some fur off the Bothan’s hide,” he heard Jen mutter. “I told you he was bad news even before we got him. Does anyone listen to me? No, of course not, why listen to the chick with purple hair? I hope you’re all satisfied now....”

Reno drowned out the unpleasant noise by dropping into a quick meditation. They would be docked in only a few minutes. And then...then Reno didn’t know what. But he had the feeling that whatever was about to happen, it wasn’t going to end on a very happy note.

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

Seven caught up to the speedy little Bothan just inside the Aft Engine Room. Narska, not paying attention to anything other than his precious bombs, failed to notice his approach. The Bothan was hunched over a bomb, furiously pressing away at buttons. How dare he--how dare he even try something like this....

“Damnit,” he heard the Bothan mutter, still oblivious to Seven’s presence. He squinted as he looked at the buttons on his bomb. “Too dark in here...”

Seven ignited his green lightsaber and basked the room in a green glow. “That better?” he grumbled.

Narska turned around quickly and produced a small blaster. He fired twice, but Seven deflected both of them. One hit the wall, the second was aimed at Narska. He tried his best to avoid hitting the explosives, and was rewarded when Narska took the bolt in his elbow. He dropped the blaster and bomb, and looked up at Seven in defeat.

“Bet you wish you had worked harder on training and less on your bombs right now, huh?” Seven asked. “Then you might actually have a lightsaber, and therefore might‘ve had a chance, however small, to live longer than the next twenty seconds. As it is, that won’t be the case.”

“I would advise against killing me,” Narska warned.

“So would I, under normal circumstances,” he told the injured Bothan. “Y’see, I don’t really like killing. I like drinking. I like pirating. I like bounty hunting. I like getting beat up by Palin... but killing is just something I do when necessary. Narska, you betrayed us. You betrayed our trust. That is a crime that just can’t go unpunished. You might as well have stolen Thunder’s Whyrens, at least then you could’ve gotten loaded before you were killed.”

Narska quickly reached to the ground and pulled something out of his backpack. A small, flat device with several buttons on it. Considering Narska’s chosen profession, it wasn’t hard to guess what the device did.

“You get one step closer to me and we all go to hell,” Narska told him, while standing up. “Now let’s make a deal. You let me leave the SSD, I leave behind the detonator. You live, I live, we’re all happy.”

Seven shook his head. “Counter offer. You hand me the detonator, and I’ll kill you right now and not keep you confined until Reno and Jen get back. I don’t enjoy killing for fun...they do.”

“Yeah, that just doesn’t work for me,” Narska said. “My deal or we all die.”

“Then we all die,” Seven said.

Narska looked into his eyes. “You don’t want that, Seven,” he told him.

“No, I don’t,” he replied. “But if that’s the way it’s gotta be, that’s the way it’s gotta be. I’m not afraid of death...are you?”

Staring into the Bothan’s eyes, he knew he was. He may have been a soldier for the New Republic, but above all he was still a Bothan, and that meant he would go to any extreme to save his own ass. He was afraid to die, and that was going to be his undoing.

Narska was bluffing, and they both knew it. Seven wasn’t bluffing, and they both knew it.

Suddenly, Seven planted his feet and dove at Narska in a very similar fashion to how Palin dove at Jace. Only difference was that Jace hadn’t been ready for Palin’s attack; Seven was ready for Narska’s. A swipe of his lightsaber later and there was a Bothan arm lying on the deck. Even short an arm though, Narska used his momentum to push his way past Seven and sprint past the hall. As he did so, Seven noticed he still carried with him the detonator for the bombs.

He deactivated his saber, clipped it back to his belt, and ran after the Bothan.

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

Failed. His plan had failed....

It was all he could think of as he sprinted towards the closest docking bay. Even with only one arm, he was confident that he could pilot a shuttle and escape. And if he ran into more trouble, well.....he still had the detonator. If he had to...if he absolutely had to....he could use it. If he was sure he was going to die anyway, Narska was pretty sure he could push the button.

He didn’t know where Jace was, didn’t care. The man wasn’t his problem anymore. He didn’t think he had betrayed Narska, but he had obviously failed in his job. One of the Siths got past Jace, and because of that Narska’s entire plan was going down the ‘fresher. All there was left to do was steal a shuttle and arm the explosives. Even though the final one hadn’t been fully planted because of Seven’s interruption, he was pretty sure the SSD would still blow up. And even if it didn’t, it would be in absolutely horrible condition. He could call in the New Republic fleet and they would wipe it up. He would be a hero for it. The New Republic would honor him... the Bothan people would honor him... they’d probably let him paint an entire SSD kill silhouette on his X-wing, in fact. What an honor that would be! The other pilots would be green with envy...

He was close to the docking bay, he knew. One way or another, it would all be over soon.

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

The shuttle touched down in the docking bay gently. Reno didn’t wait one second. He unbuckled his crash web and immediately went for the hatch.

“Hey, race you out there, Thun,” Jen challenged as she got up from her seat.

Thunder shot her a glance from the co-pilot’s chair. “I don’t race. Anywhere.”

Jen shrugged and followed Reno out the hatch. Thunder powered down the shuttle, then went to follow them. As she was leaving, though, she saw someone entering the hanger bay.

Great, welcoming committee. Better go see who it is....

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

Narska couldn’t believe his luck. He had actually planted every bomb on the SSD, minus one, against all odds. He had been capture by Seven and subsequently lost his arm, but he still escaped with the detonator. And now he finally reached a docking bay with a shuttle, and what should happen but Reno, Jen and Thunder walk out of it. It was at that point that Narska decided his life was forfeit. He was lucky when he escaped from Seven. It would be impossible to escape from these three. He could try, though... what did he have to lose?

Before they could even say a word, he held up the detonator with his only hand. “You take one step further,” he warned them, “and everyone dies.”

“Why, Narska?” Reno asked. “We took you in. We made you one of us.”

“You did nothing but lie to me, and don’t even pretend it to be otherwise. Let me get on that shuttle and leave... I’ll give you the detonator... we can all go home happy still. There‘s no need for this to end in fire.”

Thunder tried to take a step forward, but Reno held out a hand and stopped her. “You know we can’t allow that,” he calmly said.

That’s what Narska figured. Oh well, guess that was it then. Everyone dies sooner or later. He might not be able to brag about it later, but at least he could die knowing he took out an SSD and a squadron full of Sith with him.

“Then I guess we really have nothing left to discuss. Goodbye.”

And with that, Narska ordered his finger to push the button. But the most odd thing happened--his finger betrayed him! He tried to push the button down, he really did! Tried for all he was worth! But his finger wasn’t moving, something was holding it back, forcing it still!

He heard footsteps and everyone turned to look behind Narska. There, striding into the docking bay, was Seven, a grim look of determination and anger plastered on his youthful face. It was an anger that didn’t belong on someone so young. Regardless, Narska continuously tried to push the detonator. But the Force-grip Seven had on his finger was just too strong. His own body had betrayed him.

Seven walked up to him, lightsaber still in hand. Behind Narska, the other three Sith just stood there watching.

“You’re right Narska...this doesn’t have to end in fire,” he said, as he jammed the hilt of his lightsaber into the Bothan’s chest and activated it. “Blood will do just fine.” The emerald-green saber went clean through his chest and Narska let out a gurgled cry. Seven held the blade there for a few seconds as it superheated his blood and organs. The pain was unbearable and his final seconds seemed to last an eternity. Narska dropped the detonator, which harmlessly fell to the deck with a clank. Then Narska, too, fell to the deck, dead before he hit the floor.

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

Seven stood quietly in the docking bay, staring at the dead Bothan at his feet. Reno, Thunder and Jen stood only a few feet away, but it could’ve been miles for all he cared. Narska Plo’kre had put into motion a plan that had injured Palin. And even more than that, he had betrayed the Siths. He deserved to die for his crimes, and die he did.

But there was someone else who also deserved to die, perhaps just as much as Narska, maybe even more. He finally looked up at the other three people in the docking bay, and noticed for the first time they had been talking to him.

“I said, what the hell is going on here?” Reno bellowed.

Yes, Jace deserved to die as well. Without answering Reno, Seven turned and around and dropped into a dead sprint. He had to act quick--he had already saved the SSD, now he just needed to save Palin. He heard footsteps and yells behind him, but at the moment he didn’t care. Reno was irrelevant, and so were Thunder and Jen. They didn’t matter, only Palin did.

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

Jen smiled and turned to face Thunder as they chased Seven down. The Adumari woman shot her an odd look.

“What?” she asked.

“Look who’s racing now,” Jens shot at her, with an evil grin.

Thunder didn’t even bother dignifying it with a response, she just kept on running.

“AH! Damnit that hurt!” Jace yelled as he pulled himself up and over the edge of the crew pit, with a little help from Palin. He clutched his broken leg as he rolled on the deck. Eventually he staggered to his feet, and reached a hand down inside, to help Palin out. He didn’t think she trusted him really, but since he could’ve killed her at any time, he was sure she knew she wasn’t in any immediate danger.

Just as she was about to take his hand, though, a loud yell caught his attention. He turned his head to the right and saw Seven standing in the doorway, his green lightsaber in his hand, and a look on his face that Jace had never seen before, and one he never wanted to see again. He had never seen Seven enraged before, and now he was thanking Sadow he hadn’t. If Jace had been 100% he would have trouble taking him out in a duel. And right now, Jace was at something less than 100%.

“Seven, just wait a second, let me explain!” he tried, but to no avail. Seven charged right at him, lightsaber up and ready to go. Jace reached, activated his own blade and brought it up in a purely defensive form. As Seven viciously attacked him, Jace staggered backwards. The pain shooting up his leg as he walked wasn’t even describable. It made walking a challenge, dueling almost impossible, and staying alive... well, he wasn’t Corellian but he wouldn’t take those odds for anything. Jace just tried his best to keep from getting killed.

Jace thought about trying to explain as he talked, but the look in Seven’s eyes told him that he was beyond explanations. He just didn’t care anymore. He was angry, furious. He had been betrayed and he wanted blood, not justice. More than that, Jace had hurt Palin. Seven wasn’t exactly going to be in a very open-minded mood.

Movement caught his eye, and he looked at the door to the bridge. Standing there, almost out of breath, were Reno, Thunder and Jen. The hell? They shouldn’t have been back for days. Must’ve been that ship they picked up on the sensors.

Jace then cursed himself as he caught his mistake, and more importantly, as Seven caught it. He let himself be distracted by the newcomers, at a time when distractions could kill. Seven dropped down low and swung out with his leg. It crashed into Jace’s broken leg and sent him to the ground. He dropped his saber and it deactivated and rolled a few feet away from him. Jace quickly caught his wits and called his saber back with the Force, but Seven was a step ahead of him. He swiped at the lightsaber hilt and cut in in half in mid-air. The two dead pieces of useless machinery landed on the deck near Jace.

Seven now stood above him, his saber inches above Jace’s throat, and a look on his face that suggested there was no turning back now.

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

Finally, all shall be avenged, he thought to himself. Surely no one but Narska had died yet, but Jace’s betrayal of the Siths had been enough to warrant death.

You betrayed our trust... you hurt Palin... you hurt me... and now you die....

“Seven, wait!” he heard Palin yell. He risked a glance to the side and saw Palin struggling her way out of the crew pit. Normally he would’ve listened to her, but this was different. By now he wasn’t choosing his actions, his actions were choosing him. And his actions said that Jace’s time had come. He raised the saber high above his head, waiting to strike...

“Brink, damnit, listen to me! Stop!” Palin yelled as she crawled towards him.

Something snapped in him, then. Brink... she had called him Brink. She’d had never called him by his real name before, only his call sign. It was... odd. He wasn’t used to hearing his real name. When he became a Sith under Reno’s command, as was ordered, he ditched his old name and chose a new one. Brink Hacker had no more meaning to him, he had decided. He didn’t need it anymore. It was a sign of who he used to be in his old life, not who he was now. Brink Hacker had died a long time ago. Why would she call him that?

He wasn’t Brink anymore, he was Seven. Nothing could bring Brink back, and he didn’t particularly want him back. Brink had been weak, a coward. He let himself be pushed around by his parents, by others. Brink couldn’t have done what Seven had done today. Brink probably would’ve found some place to cover up and hide, to ride out the storm. And if he had done that, they would’ve all been dead by now. Brink Hacker was a shadow of the past, and one that didn’t deserve to ever see the light of day again. Brink Hacker wouldn’t have had the guts to kill Narska Plo’kre, and he certainly wouldn’t have the guts to kill Jace Sidrona. He pushed the thoughts to the back of his mind. He could debate his psychological problems later... first, business.

He raised his saber again and looked Jace in the eyes... and then stopped. He deactivated his saber and took a few steps back, his mind whirling. He now understood why she had called him Brink. She knew the kind of feelings it would bring about inside of him. She knew him well enough to know how he would react to that kind of personal information. She had known. Known that if she found a way to appeal to his conscience, found a way to remind Seven of who he used to be, Jace could maybe survive the day. She knew that Brink Hacker wouldn’t have killed Jace, and she was trying to remind him that despite changing his name, he still was Brink Hacker. It was a gamble, but it had worked. He no longer felt the desire to kill Jace. He looked over at Palin, who wore a bleak looking smile on her face. She could tell that she had gotten through to him. Seven didn’t know why she would want this traitor alive, but she must’ve had good reason.

Seven dropped to his knees and lowered his head. In front of him, Jace signed in relief as he realized that he wasn’t going to die. To his right, Palin collapsed on the deck in exhaustion. To his left, Reno, Thunder and Jen just looked dumbfounded. For once Reno seemed to be at a loss of something to say. The silence was welcomed.

Exhaustion started to settle in on Seven as well, and he could feel himself getting tired and heavy. It was a struggle to stay awake and balanced.

At least it’s over, he thought to himself. And I did it... I saved the SSD and the Squadron... saved Palin....

Seven deserved a nap, and didn’t try to fight it when his body failed him and he fell to the deck.

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

It was two days later, and for the most part things seemed to have calmed down. There was still a lot of bruised egos (not to mention bones), but the temper flares had passed and things seemed to be gradually returning to normal.

As Seven made his way to Palin’s quarters, he for one was glad.

Things couldn’t ever be totally the same as they used to be, though. Despite Reno clearing him, and Jace showing technicians were every bomb Plo’kre planted was located, he didn’t think anyone here would trust the man from Tatooine again. His story was pretty tight, though it obviously had a gap or two in it, but most people weren‘t buying it. In fact, Reno seemed to be the only one who truly believed it.

Thunder had never really trusted Jace, and this incident sure didn’t do anything to bridge the gap. Jen kept about as much distance from him as she usually did. If she cared one way or another, she didn’t show it.

It probably hurt Star the most. Her feelings for him were obvious, and he violated her trust by assaulting her. Despite his motivations and “good intentions,” he didn’t think things would ever be good between them again.

Sky had woken up the next day with such a bad hangover that she didn’t even remember the previous day. Although she had been told later of Jace attacking her, she swore up and down she couldn’t recall a damn thing happening.

Fox claimed he understood Jace’s choice in actions and agreed with them, which surprised some of the Siths. The kid claimed it was a gamble that had luckily paid off, though not in the way expected.

Skate was pissed, there was no two ways about it. She almost had to be detained and sedated, such was her anger at Jace. No one on the SSD really blamed her, though. Whatever his motivations, he had betrayed and assaulted them. She said that she would never forgive him for attacking her, and that for now she would just try to forget it. The unsaid implication was that he better stay the hell out of her way. Hell hath no fury like a Sith Chick pissed off...

Ryvo seemed pretty hurt by the incident, but more by the fact that Jace had called PWG fake than the subsequent attack. Apparently he had previously been under the impression that Jace was a closet-wrestling fan. The news that Jace considered it lower and more hick than Monster Speeder Rallies really hurt him. He claimed to have enjoyed their fight, though, and gave it a Three Star rating. Would’ve been higher, he said, if he hadn’t had to job to a sleeper.

And that left only him and Palin. He wasn’t sure exactly what Palin’s thoughts were on the matter. The last several days had been so hectic that he’d hardly had a chance to see her. If she was being debriefed, he was taking a dip in a bacta tank. If she was in a bacta tank, he was being debriefed. The one time he had see her, he had asked if they could just share a bacta tank to save time, though the prospect of floating naked with Palin in bacta appealed to him. That request had ended up with him getting a black eye. Luckily he had been heading into a tank at the time, so it was healed by the time he got out.

When he got to Palin’s door, he knocked and patiently waited. When she finally answered, all he could do was stand there. He was totally at a loss for words, for once, and didn’t have the faintest idea what to say to her. A lot had happened between them the last few days, and he personally didn‘t think that it should just be ignored.

“Hey,” Palin said.

Now he was really at a loss for words. She had never said “hey” to him before. Usually the first word out of her mouth was “no”, which was always promptly followed by “go away”. Until now he thought that “no” was preprogrammed into her brain, kind of her way of saying hi to him. Guess he was wrong....

“Yeah, hi,” he awkwardly said, rocking back and forth on his heels. “Uh, just came by to check on you. See how you were doing and all.”

“I’m fine,” she said. “You?”

Now she was asking him how he was doing? And sounding sincere while doing so? He felt like checking to make sure he was at the right quarters, or the right universe for that matter. Maybe he had emerged from that bacta tank into Bizarro World or something. Maybe this was Evil Palin--no, couldn’t be an evil twin from a parallel dimension, she didn’t have a goatee. Besides, wouldn’t her evil twin actually be a good twin, since Palin was already evil and all... Oh, whatever. This was the real Palin. She was just... showing concern for him.

“Fine, just fine,” he replied, wishing he hadn’t sound like such a dork. For a second they just stood there in an awkward silence. Finally, when he had the courage, he looked her in the eyes. “And, uh, well... I wanted to thank you.”

“For what?” she asked, a little of her old grumpiness sneaking back into her speech pattern.

“A lot of things, really. You took a blaster in the shoulder for me--”

“Don’t remind me.”

“You sacrificed yourself to get me off the bridge--”

“I had a moment of weakness.”

“You stopped me from killing Jace,” he evenly said. “And had I done it, I would’ve regretted it. It would’ve eaten at me inside. Killing someone in a starfighter is one thing, killing someone you used to call friend in cold blood is something else entirely. It’s not something I think I could’ve lived with. And for that, I owe you more than you can ever know. So, uhh... yeah, thanks.”

For a long while she just stared at him, and Seven felt decidedly awkward. It looked like she was sizing him, trying to decide something. But she said nothing. She held her tongue.

“Well, I’m going to go now. I’ll see you around.”

With that he started to turn away, but Palin stopped him. “What, no invitations for sex? Not going to try to hit on me, or give me some lame ass pick up line?”

Seven thought for a moment, then shook his head. “I think I’m past that,” he said. “I won’t lie and say I don’t have feelings for you, but you don’t seem to be very interested in me. And even though I actually won our deal and don‘t have to break off my pursuit of you, I will anyway.”

Palin nodded. “Damn straight you will. Besides, you really don‘t need to pursue me anymore anyway...”

Palin then turned and walked into her quarters, leaving the door open as she left. Seven blinked in confusion. Was that a sign? Was--

Suddenly there was a tug at his collar and for the first time in his life he felt himself get TK thrown into Palin’s quarters instead of out.

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

“Wow...” Seven said, as he and Palin laid under the covers to her bed.

“Tell me about it,” she responded.

“Wow...” he said again.

“Surprised me too,” she shot back.

“Wow...” he mumbled.

“Damnit, shut up,” she finally said. “Now get out of here, I need to get some sleep.”

“Aww, c’mon...” Seven said, leaning in close to her. “Don’t you wanna play hide the X-wing again?”

With that, Palin lost all control and TK-threw Seven right out of her bed. He landed hard on his back and started loudly complaining, but Palin really didn’t care. She just leaned back and, with a big grin on her face, fell asleep.

The End