Cas's head snapped up to stare directly into the eyes of the enemies leader. In her hand, she held a long melee weapon. A sword of some sort. Sneering at her he bent down to a fallen soilder at his feet and pulled free the bloodied sword, still held tightly in his death grip. Swinging it around, he leveled it behind himself in a half remembered fighting style.

An enemy jumped infront of the crazed Grand Admiral and immediatley lost his head to the swing blade. Three more enemies fell as Cas slashed, chopped, pierced and imbedded the sword wherever he could. "In the name of the Emperor!" he shouted as he charged forward to meet the Sergeant head on, blades clashing together in a cling of steel on steel.

* * * *

Kerld rolled madly on the floor, every part of his body ached tremendously and his nerves still spasmed from the forced treatment they had been recieving for the past few hours. It was torture with no mercy bearing leash holder to stop the pain once in a while. If it wasn't for his determination his lost body would have no doubt died hours before as had so many of his comrades, his friends, his brothers in arms. Death seemed so inviting, such a brilliant way to escape the horror that corsed through his veins. But how could he let himself give up? He had seen the oval shaped planet his race occupied swelling up infront of his eyes. Had it not been for the pursuing ships, one of which had placed itself directly infront of the Deforens trajectory, they would have probably plummeted into the Seshian homeworld sometime ago. Even a hulking mass of steel, ion drives, turbo lasers and tractor beams could not stop the insane Admiral from causing as much chaos as he could however. Kerld had half heard him and half seen him push the ships boundaries to make sure it would, at the very least, ram straight into the thousands of lives that made up the crew of the Quadratic.

In his line of vision Kerld watched helplessly as Cas nad the enemy leader swung into a titon clash of blades that quickly turned into a mad dance of thrusts, jabs, sweeps and parries. No matter who the victor would be Kerld would find a way to get his revenge on Cas. Pushing himself off the floor he staggered towards an empty and half destroyed helm unit and begun fiddling with controls. Maybe he would kill Cas, maybe he wouldn't. That was of litle consequence right now. All that mattered was that the Deforen did not kill millions in it''s final flight.

The battle on the bridge was turning out to be short but bloody - the sort of fight whereby no one has time to finish off their enemies, and so the ground was littered with groaning wounded from both sides. Combatants were now grappling with each other, and swords were being replaced by knives as the struggle became more and more tangled. In the middle of it all, Cy and the admiral dueled, blade on blade.

Cy hurled herself into every blow, each sweep a threatening force just narrowly avoided. Undeterred, she continued to drive at the Imperial commander as the ship continued it's descent. The admiral was beginning to wilt somewhat in the face of the blows, and were Cy paying attention, she would have noticed he was maneauvering towards a small, unguarded door just behind the command chair, but she wasn't - she just kept swinging, barely noticing the duel move around and away from a struggling Seshian.

Panacka realized the battle was at the point of no return. Unless something miraculous happened, the enemy ship was going to collide with them in the next few moments. His crew looked to him, waiting for any indication that they would move out of the way to save themselves, but Panacka knew if they did the planet below would be devastated. Every crewmember aboard the ship had sworn themselves to the ideals of the Coalition, as had he, and Panacka had no intent on backing out now.

"...Brace for impact." he said, as the careening enemy cruiser drew near.

The Deforen's engines continued to press forward as hard and fast as they could. Glowing sub-lights showed the tenious strain being placed on the ion drives. Black space was lit like a night sky by the luminous white glow they shedded. So powerful was their light, it almost appeared that the very stars around which the ship was created were placed inside them.

On the bridge of the capital ship Captain Kerld continued his mad mission to stop what could be a decimating impact. Activating his comlink he issued the orders for a small team of Seshian infiltrators to destroy the main engine. As to if the spasming aliens would be able to break out of their tortorous fits in time for it to make a distance was an entirely different story. His scaly arms reached forwards to pull on a multi-tude of levers and press a consitancy of buttons. If the right timing could be achieved and the final section of the engine destroyed then the crazy plan in his mind might work. Several minutes passed in which the enemy ship grew so large it filled the entire view screen. Finally, when it seemed all hope was lost, a roaring explosion reverberated through the bowls of the Star Destroyer. It issued from the engineering room, travelling down corridors in which Stormtroopers fought to the last breath, through empty quatres and up turboshafts. It was just as loud as it had been when the detinators had gone off, when it reached the bridge. All heads snapped up, puzzled expressions and bemused faces struggling to make sense of the situation. Seshian, Imperial and Coalition alike wondered silent thoughts as to what had happened. Kerld knew that now was the time. Pulling a long round lever, the Deforen shot forwards and hastily begun to point it's nose upwards. Green shields smashed tremdously into the blue of the Coalition capital ship. Both vessel's rocked madly back and forth. Mini explosions ruptured the hulls of both command ships, sending hapless crew members into the harsh, cold of an infinite space. In a large tumult the ships finally seperated, the Deforen lumbering off in a direction parallel to the Seshian planet, the Quadratic on it's own course. Sweat dripped from Kerlds head to land on the cold floor beneath his un-clothed feet. It was done. The planet and the enemy ship were both sparred. Now to find Cas.

* * * *

As the loud explosion caught everyone's attention even the Coalition Sergeant was unable to stay her head from looking. It was in this brief moment that Cas acted. Pivoting on his left foot he used his right to knock her sword flying across the deck. Immeditley there after he launched a round punch to her stomach, sending her flying across the bridge to land in a tumult of Stormtroopers and Seshians. Even if she could have jumped straight back to her feet she would have had to fight her way through six mini battles just to be close to Cas. Practically yelping at his own ingenious moment Cas sprinted to the secret access way behind his command chair. He dove through the door, narroly missing a volley of lasers from a Coalition trooper. Rolling to his feet he ran in and out of criss-crossing corridors, kicking through half shut doors and knocking aside the random duelists who got in his way. He jumped over two Seshians who attempted to nip at his heels with small daggers, ran past a bleeding trooper who begged for medical assistance and shot round his final corner. Infront of him he could see the escape ship he had, had built almost two years prior. So intent was his gaze on it, he never noticed the black uniformed arm that ended in a brown, leathery, scaled and taloned hand shot out from a doorway at his neck level. His feet were taken out from under him as his windpipe was nearly crushed.

The hidious, enraged and maddening laugh that escaped Captain Kerlds lips was tentious sign of his dis-like for the Imperial Grand Admiral. Cas lay sprawled on his back. A look of pure horror over his aged face, a slight dribble of blood leaking from the corner of his pale lips.

"You belived that after everything I would let you esssscape? I who you had build thissss ssssecret craft? Your mind musssst be more warped from age than even I expected. You will pay for your crimesss."

Cas uttered an ear splitting screech of anger as he launched himself of the metal deck, his hands curling into white knuckled claws, desperatley reaching for the Seshians neck. Kerld shot to the side, his fist driving into the elderly mans stomach. He spun on his heel, elbow driving hard into Cas's face, a broken nose spilled blood over the crisp white uniform. Cas leapt backwards, turning himself round in midair so he now faced a corridor that ended in a salvational doorway. He pushed his leg backwards, catching Kerld in the shin and then ran for all his worth. As he reached the door his palm hit the pannel beside it and the metal flew upwards. Where there should have been a soro-suub Imperial yacht only the black of space showed. An explosion had destroyed the hidden hangar, leaving nought but cold. Cas's feet flew out from under him. Space it seemed, had turned into a hungry monster, determined on getting it's feast of a Grand Admiral. The stately man flew out of the doorway, his hand grasping it's edge to pull himself in. As his fingers uncurled and the beast gained more ground a reptilian fist closed Cas's bleeding hand and pulled as hard as he could.

Kerld looked monsterous, his clawed feet embedded so deeply in the deck that the metal was tearing into his heels. One arm was raised infront of his face, the other held a tight grip on his former commander. In an incredible display of brute strength he pulled Cas into the corridor and slammed his fist against the door controll. Immediatley the durasteel pannel slid back down, sealing the access way back to being air controlled. Cas was a terrible sight, his body scrunched up while he clutched at his chest and choked up more blood than one would imagine possible. He looked as if one of his lungs had been pierced.

"Why....why.....d....didn't you let......let....me die?" The Grand Admiral managed to just about stutter out.

"Death isss a punissshment unbefiting of you. You will be tried for all your crimesss and given the mossst ssssuitable punissshment that the you're enemy can think of. Do not belive I have sssssparred you, your ssssuffering shall be assss long asss my sssspecies was." Kerld was unsure as to whether he should be relived that it was over or nervous about what his own punishment would be. He had served under this fake ruler and commited a great number of hidious acts. Did he not deserve a fate similar to that of the monster he was now dragging back to the bridge.

He would present himself to the troopers that had incapacitated the men of this ship and let them decide. Whether he died or not, he had finally done his deed. He had saved his homeworld.

* * * *

On the far planet of Sakath the clean up operations had nearly finished. Hurrying through demolished streets, the Sakathians and Coalition troopers rounded up the last of the Imperial Stormtroopers. In the midst of it all stood Leader Vivisen Merento. The elected lord of the planet he had horrible feelings as he looked at the waste which had been laid to his golden world. He turned and looked to one of his junior aids.

"Callen, open communicationssss with the leader of our ssssaviourssss forcesss. Tell them we wish to open talkssss about joining together." The aid rushed off to make the transmission as Merento surveyed the cloudless sky above him. Somewhere out there, a Seshian had been responsible for his planets survival. He would personnally make a long thank you to that Captain. But now he had a meeting with the Coalition Captain. One that would hopefully result in the joining of his planet to the Galactic Coalition. It had been a long day.

(OOC: Having trouble with my computer again so I had to do it in the Steda account rather than the Kerld. Sorry about that.)

The two ships, which had once battled fiercly tooth and nail, now sat across from one another silently. On board the Quadratic, as the wounded were treated - for there were many - and the prisoners locked up, Panacka took this chance to wipe the sweat from his brow. He felt as if that battle aged him ten years, and wondered if it would be like that every time, but for now he allowed himself the slight thrill of victory. The thrill of making a difference.

On his bridge, still soaked in blood - mostly other people's - Cy tried to sit comfortably in a small chair brought for her while the meeting was being held. Other officers, pilots, and the like crowded around for a better look as the main players in the action that had just taken place sat about a table set up for this purpose - Panacka had requested a meeting of this kind, and they had accepted. On one side was Panacka, to either side of him sat Kerld of the Seshians and Leader Vivisen Merento of the Sakathianss, and on the far side - bound, gagged, and dishevelled - sat the former 'Admiral' Cas.

"I am glad you could come to this meeting." said Panacka "I feel I should introduce myself properly - I am Captain Panacka of the Coalition Battlegroup Quadratic. I acted on behalf of the New Galactic Coalition in response to a distress call recieved from this sector, and my forces and I were glad to lend every effort to the capture of this mad-man we have here before us.

"It is my understanding, however, that he has plagued you all for longer then this day, and for this, I assure you - he will pay. We will not execute him, but he will face the most terrible of war-crimes, and I am confident will never again see the light of day.

"That still leaves the issue of your two peoples, though. He has wounded you, and left you weakened. Not only that, but he and his men were clear servants of the Galactic Empire, which means any safety you might have felt from your obscure location has been lost - it is clear that they know you are here, and have designs on this place."

Here Panacka knew he would have to tread lightly - technically, this was not his place to promise, but he knew it was what command would have wanted "Therefore, in the interests of helping your peoples recover and defending you all from this threat, I would extend to you membership to the Galactic Coalition, on behalf of the authority of the Coalition House of Representatives. In return, we will be able to send you relief and protection from danger. We will punish this man for his actions, or perhaps leave him for you to deal with as you desire. We will do all we can to aide you, that I may promise."

With that, he turned to Kerld "And you, captain Kerld, to you I extend a particular thanks - your efforts saved my ship and all of my crew, as well as myself. Should you accept our offer, I am sure the Coalition would be glad to make you captain of your own ship - free, I assure of, of any scum such as this." he said, pointing to Cas.

Panacka finished, and leaned back into his chair. "Should you choose to accept, I can have the proper forms here in no time at all. Either way, however, it should be stated that the Coalition is honoured to have the responsibility of defending those in need, and should you requrie us again, you would need only to call. Thank you."

Kerld was suddenely findiing breathing hard. He had known from the second that he had saved Cas's life he would never be alllowed to return to his homeworld. It had been a saddening realisation, to know that he would never again step foot in his home, or take refreshing swims in Fraffen lake.

Now he could have a purpose. He could actually tour the stars he loved so much. If he had been able to cry, then the tears would have been streaming down his scaley muzzle.

"I would be honoured to ssssserve with sssssuch decent people. I not only thank you for the offer but accept." Kerld's voice was little more than a rasp. A broken reply from a heatened Seshian. A touched Seshian.

Panacka turned to the two government officials. Vivisen Merento and Shirst Halesh were sat together with curious expressions on their reptillian faces. Vivisen was first to speak up.

"On behalf of Ssssakath I would firsssstly like to offer our greatesssst thankssss. You have ssssspared our world from utter dessstruction, for thissss noble act we sssshall forever be indebted to you," at this Merento bowed his head, "to your offer of unionsssship I would like to mossst heartily accept. We will both proud and honoured to join your coalition. If you'll excuse me however I must return to my planet to oversee the details on how much damage was caused. Once again, thank you for your aid."

With that Vivisen stood up from the table and after shaking hands with the gavered officials, turned and strode from the room. Everyone's attention was now on the Seshian leader.

"While I would like to echo my friend Vivisen'sssss sssentimentsss I am afraid that our planet has recived too much harmful effectsss from outsssidersss. For now we would like to remain to oursssselvesss and see the return of the life we have so sorely missed. Thank you for your aid but at thisssss particular time we are going to opt to keep to ourssselves. Good luck Kerld. May the ssstarss hold for you the desssiress peace hold for usss."

Following Vivisen, Shirst stood up and shook hands with everyone. When it came to Kerld he briefly rubbed their snouts together before leaving the room.

One by one everyone began to file out. Before long all that was left was Kerld and Panacka. As Panacka raised himself up Kerld reached out and embraced his hand.

"You have brought hope to a race that had none, sssshould you ever require my aid don't hessitate to assssk. It will be a far cry from what you have done here today." Panacka nodded his thanks and left Kerld alone in the room. Turning to the viewport behind him, Kerld stared out at the seemingly endless stars before him. For the first time in many years, he was content. He was happy.


In life? In life you live forever by the deeds that you do. Two beings, an alien and a human had achieved this wonderful gift. They would forever be remembered by the gracious deeds they had committed. For their heroism and brave acts. On Seshia, Kerld and Panacka would forever be remembered in the form of statue's. Hands reaching out to the peace they had brought to the planet. For ever more they would exist. For ever more they would stay in peoples hearts. Panacka and Kerld would live forever.