Agent 120 stared balefully at the black-clad civillian defector. The man was a human, of about thirty-five to forty, and had immidiately turned himself over to a squad of Sovereignty troops just before the gas attack. He had promised the Rangers the location of a 'key command center'. He had been provided a gas mask and then had lead 120 on a winding tour of the city, to the location he said he knew the leader of the enemy forces to be hiding.

"Which way?" 120 asked.

The defector pointed up a street, to a nondiscript building. The building was not visibly guarded, but 120 motioned to the Defel and the other Shi'ido that they were to go into stealth mode, the two Shi'ido shifted into snake-like creatures and the Defel crept along, nothing but a shadow - literally.

"Stay here, and do not move." 120 said as he pulled his comlink out and reported his location and requested reinforcements...



ORS Command - Orbiting Transport, Taloraan


"Sir, all sectors are secure." One of Drall's subordinates said, smiling triumphantly at the Major.

Drall smiled, "Excellent, begin-"

"Sir!" He was interuppted by another subordinate, this time a captain, "Scouts within the city have reported hearing explosions." He said.

Drall frowned,"Explosions?" He asked.

"Yes sir."

He nodded to the first captain, "Get me a diagram of the city. And point out where these explosions have taken place."

Both subordinates nodded and stepped over to the holopad as a three-dimensional diagram of Taloraan City popped up. The second captain pointed the the spot where the scouts had heard the explosions.

"What is that area?" Drall asked.

"...I beleive it is the repulsor generators..." The captain said.

Drall's eyes widened, realizing the Imperial's plan, "Get every transport in the area to get everyone off of that city!" He shouted.

"Our troops?"

"Everyone - civilians included. NOW!" Drall almost screamed.

Dozens of transports descended upon the city, Samurai Gunships and a motley collection of shuttles included. Most of the transports and shuttles had been docked with the city, or hovering a safe distance to disembark wounded.

Thousands of people - ORS and civilians alike rushed towards the awaiting transports, the latter being carried by the ORS forces.

Drall watched, but not before ordering the captain of his own orbiting transport to get to the city as well. After a few seconds (the time a credit to the captain's skills) the transport docked with the city and Drall himself rushed out, down the landing ramp.

A Shocker handed him a sleeping girl - only about three by the looks of it. He rushed back up, set the girl down and headed back out. The evacuation, he knew, was hopeless in the long run, but they still had to try.

In orbit, the admiral in charge of the fleet was notified of the situation and sent out a Galaxy wide distress call, requesting assistance - but was also of no use.

Still, Drall continued his efforts, along with thousands of ORS forces.

Cloud City,
Bespin

Unmistakably, Two had repeatedly turned his helmeted head towards Dej, casting what might be considered an uncertain look at him. This was most unnatural behavior for a Conclave Executor, Dej knew, and so, for the first few moments, he simply ignored it.

The halls were, for the most part, utterly deserted, and filled only with the sound of that repeating message, blaring to every inch of Cloud City: “Attention, attention. This is the Administrator of this facility. The occupying forces have critically damaged Cloud City’s reactor…”

Dej glanced around a corner, and then beckoned Two forward. Seemingly, he had a great deal of experience at this sort of shadow-lurking, presumably from a long history of seeking the story at all costs. Two’s stealth skills were also highly developed, but he lacked a certain empathy and intuition that Dej possessed. Yes, it certainly would be unfortunate.

One of the Executor’s claws slid silently from its sheath as he quickened his step, approaching the exposed back of the INS agent. Yes, it would be quick, and painless. After all, he did not deserve this…

Did not deserve this?

Did not he deserve it merely because Theren Gevel had willed it so? The master had spoken and he would answer. That was how it worked. That was how it was supposed to work. These thoughts were not even supposed to be occurring. There was no thought involved, only obedience. Only obedience.

The wrist claw slid back into its sheath.

Dej glanced back, again, and they continued on. Cloud City shuddered beneath them, shifting lower in a very tangible way. “We’re almost there,” the INS agent commented somewhat nervously.

Two did not respond for a moment. “Everything is prepared onboard the Blastboat?”

“Yes.”

“All that you will need?”

“Yeah.”



Taloraan City,
Taloraan

One slashed downward one last time, not with viciousness, nor with remorse; simply cold, determined cunning. Til had put up more of a fight than had been anticipated. But the necessity for his permanent silence had been implied in Theren Gevel’s clear orders; no word was to escape.

He needn’t actually leave Taloraan City; in fact, it was imperative that he did not. Duty required of him that he stay. But the Skipray Blastboat was equipped with

The Executor detected minor abdominal bruising and some lacerations to the chest, caused by the vibroblade Til had pulled. Nothing of consequence. The time lost fighting Til had been more important, and it was with a hurried step that One now left the room, and rushed towards the landing platform.

Perhaps it was mild exhaustion from the fight. Perhaps it was the hurry he was in. Perhaps it was the injuries having their effect. But One never really noticed the shapeless shadow as he passed it. Nor did he notice it, as it slipped out behind him, seeming to change form into some sort of alien beast. One never even knew precisely what beast it had changed into. A Wookiee, perhaps. The time during which he was actually cognizant was not great enough to determine that.

He was one conscious of the claws, as they slid into his back, and the breaking of his bones, and the damage done by that fateful bone fragment, as it slid into his Yevethan heart. In seconds, he reached out with his implant, touching the waiting Skipray Blastboat. Its engines had already been warming, and it took off.

And then, as his suit’s very small amount of carefully packaged and armored baradium was triggered by a simple thought, he was conscious of nothing at all. In seconds, his body was obliterated.



Cloud City,
Bespin

“Why do you keep looking at me like that?”

Two glanced away, as he hit several more buttons on the Skipray Blastboat’s console very quickly. The city now shuddered every few seconds beneath them, the occasional explosion ringing in the distance, and hundreds of ships visible above, departing.

“Two?” Dej asked again.

“It does not matter. I trust you know the way back to Coruscant?”

Dej blinked. “What do you mean?”

“I cannot go. I must ensure the operation is carried out as planned.”

“Two,” Dej said, rushing down the length of the narrow ship, hitting a few consoles as he went. “You can’t be serious. There’s no point. Not even the Emperor himself could stop this thing from going down now.”

“Duty demands of me what it demands of me,” Two replied, the hatch sliding hydraulically aside before he stepped through it. He glanced back again. Though his eyes and face were hidden by his helmet, there was something about the cant of his head, his posture…

“Why do you keep looking at me like that?”

A sound Dej had not heard from the voice replication speakers in Two’s suit came forth; a sigh. “Do you not understand?” He asked in his metallic voice. “You, too, were scheduled for termination. One and I decided that everyone involved must be eliminated, including ourselves, if only to ensure that the plan was executed to its finale.”

Dej’s eyes narrowed. “You were going to fucking kill me?”

Two lowered his head. The city shook violently. “I could not. The ship is equipped with advanced automation; it is only by unhappy coincidence that you are able to pilot it to Imperial Center yourself. I have failed, in that respect, but I do not need to fail in this one.”

“No!” Dej shouted. “Get the fuck on this fucking ship now, or it isn’t taking off.”

“I can kill you and send it on its way.”

“You already said it; you can’t kill me,” Dej said. “You’re not like the others, Two. You don’t have to fucking be like the others.”

Two looked away. “You do not understand.” His claws slid from their sheaths. Now, Cloud City shook more and more with every passing second, a violent earthquake rattling beneath them, as if a volcano were about to erupt. The Executor raised his arm, preparing to plunge his claw into Dej’s chest.

The human simply met his gaze firmly, standing his ground. “You won’t kill me, Two.”

They stood that way, the Conclave Executor with his claw threateningly raised, for several moments. Finally, Two lowered his arm.

And stepped on the Skipray Blastboat.



With one final, grandiose demonstration of bravado, the failed engines of Taloraan City gave one last heave of fire, filling the atmosphere below it with an orange glow. More and more ships streamed away from it, thousands upon thousands evacuating. Many had escaped. Some had not. But at this point, it was far too late.

Instead of exploding, the great floating city began to slowly lose its altitude. At first, it was a gradual process, wind resistance and residual anti-gravitational forces slowing its descent to what seemed like a crawl. But in moments, it had accelerated, Taloraan City diving down into the endless clouds of Taloraan.

Those departing vessels quickly lost sight of her as she disappeared into those billowing clouds. And slowly, but surely, pressure on the falling city increased as it tumbled down near the end of the safe zone within Taloraan’s atmosphere. It began to implode, durasteel crumpling in upon itself, buildings that had once housed women and children crumbling in on themselves.

Then, as Taloraan City reached the very border of gas which separated the hospitable safe zone from the swirling vortex of nothingness below, the pressure at last became too great, its remaining reactor fuel, tibanna and other gases having been compressed too much, its mechanical inner workings dangerously manged.

And it exploded.

But a vessel like Taloraan City does not simply explode. It does not simply combust and disappear into a cloud of vapor. Larger than most spacecraft, and loaded with a variety of powerful equipment and the most dangerous gasses in the universe, it went of with the force of hundreds of hydrogen bombs, all of its many explosive properties feeding off one another until the blast had grown to a size multitudinous to the station’s former volume.

From it, shot the most brilliant light and greatest emission of heat that Taloraan’s atmosphere had ever seen.

Much had been said of the volatility of tibanna gas. But little had been done to test those theories until then, until the very thing that causes the precious gas to react tore through a great deal of Taloraan’s lower safe-zone – energy. Heat, and light, in vast quantities.

Lucky it was for the ships still escaping Taloraan that tibanna did not permeate the whole of the gas giant’s atmosphere, or they would likely have been obliterated as well. But the small pockets of tibanna gas that were anywhere in the general proximity of that massive blast went off, like candles lit by a forest fire. More heat and light shot through the atmosphere, penetrating the clouds that surrounded the pockets of tibanna.

Scientists would, for years to come, argue over the exact amount of time it took to happen. Some would argue minutes. Others, dozens of minutes. But there was little mistaking that from orbit, a dark cloud seemed to billow forth in small pockets of Taloraan’s atmosphere, as pockets of tibanna continued to erupt.

When it was over, almost all of the precious gas that had once been Taloraan’s claim to fame, was utterly spent.

And away from the mammoth world, with the thousands of civilian ships and thousands more military vessels, crept a Skipray Blastboat, its flight covered by the mass exodus. In moments, it was beyond Taloraan’s atmosphere. Most of the fleet that had once threatened the world was now gone. In a few more minutes, the Skipray had jumped from the system.

"Sir, the city is ours!" Someone shouted. Cheers went up in the command room.

Drost stared sullenly out the window at the wasted durasteel gridwork of Taloraan City. The city was in smoking ruins, with sleeping people scattered all about it. He had ordered the complete evacuation of the city a little while ago and the thousands of soldiers were busily administering the antidote to the sleeping gas and escorting the many civilian fighters to transports.

One of Drost's subordinates, a Captain by the name of Kyian, walked up to him and stood at his side. Drost continued to gaze out at the city.

"What is the count?" Drost asked, and Kyian handed him the casualty report. It was longer than Drost ever expected, it listed thousands of names.

"The total count is two thousand three hundred eighty, sir." Kyian said.

Drost was silent as he continued to read the names, "War really is hell." He muttered.

"We also received a report from Bespin, their mission was successful there as well. Although the suffered more than we did." Kyian said. Drost simply nodded.

Suddenly, a huge explosion was heard. Drost had to shield his face from all the light. When he finally could, he looked back down. The city exploded again.

He turned to the Captain, "Get them off! Get them off!" He shouted, shoving Kyian violently as the captain ran to one of the comm stations.

"Trojan three this is Base Command. Evacuate the city at all possible speed. I repeat, Trojan three, this is Base Command..." Kyian almost shouted into the comm receiver unit.

Two reporters, who had accompanied the Sovereignty force to document the occupation of the city, rushed to the viewports and began filming the evacuation of the city. The thousands of Sovereignty forces ushered along the panick as all of the civilians began rushing to the various landing sites. Samurai gunships landed in the city streets, evacuating soldier and civilian alike.

Kiyan approached again, "There is no time." He muttered hopelessly.

As the two watched, the City exploded one final time as the transports lifted off. The transport carrying the Sovereignty commanders also lifted off, and headed to the atmosphere. And in his mind, Drost could almost hear the screams.





"Mr. President..."

Griff woke with a slight start, his eyes adjusting to the sharp light that penetrated his otherwise darkened chambers. He glanced at the chrono.

"It is three in the morning." He said sternly as he tried to focus on the figure standing in his doorway.

"Yes sir, I know. But there is something we thought you may want to hear." Griff realized it was an officer of about thirty years old, and held a captain's rank. Griff sat up and put on his robes.

"What is it?" He asked.

"Taloraan and Bespin, sir. We have taken them." The Captain said.

"That is good news." Griff remarked, turning on the room's lights.

"Cloud City and Taloraan City were both destroyed, sir." The captain said. Griff froze, turning around slowly.

"What...?" He asked, hearing his voice echo in his head, "Was it us?" He asked.

"I do not know sir. It could have been random weapons fire. But we think it was an Imperial plot that did it." The captain said, "And there are already programs on the Holonet about it."

“I want to know how this happened…” Griff said, managing to get out of his bed and stand up on shaky legs.

“We are not sure yet, and it is impossible to tell. All of our cameras were focused on the top of the city, not to it’s underside.”

“Is it possible that we did this?” Griff asked.

“No, our bombing runs were on the top of the city, never under it. There were no Imperial air support to speak of, we had no reason to go down there. All of our pilots were interrogated and they came up clean. It had to be the Imperial forces.” The captain said.

“Is it possible that our scouts or internal forces did it?” Griff asked.

“No. Our scouts did not even get to the engineering level, they were several floors above and heard the noises coming from the repulsorlift generators, that was the first sign something was wrong.

"Damn Imperials." Griff muttered.

The captain saluted and left.

And Griff was left alone.

Bakura

“Ladies and Gentelman, it is my personal pleasure to introduce the Vice-President of the Outer-Rim Sovereignty, Marth Meer.

Marth Meer looked out over the assembled crowd. Thousands of people were here to listen to him speak. It was one of the aspects of political life that he still wasn’t used too. He was getting better, but on occasions like this the sheer number of people sometimes overwhelmed him. Before he spoke he glanced at his notes even though he knew the speech by heart.

“Three years ago the Outer-Rim Sovereignty was founded the provide protection against outside threats that would threaten harm to any of the citizens of the galaxy. The Department of Defense has made it their mission to help free the oppressed people of the galaxy. Today the galaxy is standing on the edge of a slide into the dark years of the original rule of Palpatine’s New Order. During that time there was massacres, acts of terror and widespread corruption. Recent events in Bespin and Taloraan have just made it that much more obvious that the galaxy needs a peaceful influence like the Sovereignty.

A great act of evil has been committed and it shocks me just as I’m sure it shocks all the good people of the galaxy. However we will emerge strong, we will emerge victorious and ready to take the fight to the enemy. Know this, the Sovereignty will not back down in the face of acts of terror. We will not passively sit and watch as the Empire rolls over the citizens of the galaxy slaughtering at rim. Alderaan, Caamas, Honoghor and others I don’t know of. And know we must add Bespin and Taloraan to the list of massacres committed by the Empire. These tragedies happened in the past and there is no way to stop them now, we can however prevent any more of these massacres happening again. We intervened and stopped the “Followers of Varan” and their “Prophet” from committing further massacres and we will do the same thing here. The fleet is ready and prepared, we will strike hard and there will be no recovering from our attack.

I have a dream. Do you know what the dream is? My dream is that someday, the galaxy will be free of terror and massacres, free of death and war, there will be no need for these massive fleets that orbit out planets protecting us from these same massacres happening to us.

However there is a long way to go before my dream becomes a reality. We must defeat the forces of evil whether they call themselves a republic, empire, protectorate, coalition, federation or even sovereignty.

I speak of great deeds that shall be accomplished abroad however we also have great deeds that need to be accomplished at home. There are many refugees of Bespin and Taloraan that will need homes and shelter. Currently the worlds of Varonat and Ison are both open to refugees however that may not be enough. I call on all the citizens of the sovereignty to open their arms and the doors to the poor people that have been damaged by the ravages of war. These people are in dire, very few have anything more than the clothes on their backs.
A great tragedy has occurred however we will remain strong and fight so that this doesn’t happen again. The sovereignty will remain and emerge from this storm strong and un-weathered. Thank you.”

Marth turned away from the podium and began to walk towards the exit stage left. The audience was silent suddenly a few people scattered around the room started clapping. The clapping spread like a storm quickly encompassing the whole room. As he exited the room through what was supposed to be sound-proof doors he could still hear clapping. In the hall stood his bodyguard one of the elite soldiers of the Praetorian Guard. She stood stiffly at attention showing no emotion on her face.

“Somebody needs to replace those doors.”

The guards face twitched into a smile for a second before coming back under control…



Marth entered his office to find somebody waiting for him. Sitting in the chair reserved for visitors sat a tall man wearing the uniform of a Legion-General. Marth went over to his chair and sat flopped down. Reaching into the bottom drawer of his desk he pulled out a small bottle liqueur and two glass tumblers. He poured himself a drink as well as one for his guest. Leaving the bottle open and out he pushed the tumbler across the table towards his guest.

“So what brings you here?”

Legion-General Khlan cleared his throat.

“I just got back from meeting with some of the refugees from Bespin and Taloraan.”

“And?”

“You do know the Empire’s going to blame this on us.”

“Of course they’re going to blame this on us. That was the whole point of their blowing up those cities. They’re defence had nothing to do with stopping us, they just wanted to get good footage for their propaganda machine. I wouldn’t be surprised to turn on the Holo-vid tomorrow and see some piece by some blithering idiot at INS screaming about how we’re murdering terrorists. I wouldn’t be surprised if we’ll end up blowing up Alderaan even though there wasn’t even a sovereignty then, or a federation for that matter. At least you’ll be able to get away from it. The Kathol Province is just about as remote as you can get.”

“True.”
Marth finished his drink and poured himself another offering the bottle to his companion.

“Sorry sir. I’ve got to be on duty in a few minutes.”

“Alright. Is there anything you want to ask?”

Khaln paused for a second.

“Yes there was. I just want to say that I believed what you said today. We will win.”

Khaln saluted and then spun and left the room.