Main Hangar Bay
The Remembrance of Seher
Retreating from the Collective

The light emanating from the wall mounted console reflected off the tinted eye of R2-B9 as its interfacing arm spun back and forth. The little jet black droid beeped as he went about his normal maintenance upon the Endor’s Triumph.

The owner and captain of this jet black GX1 Short Hauler was always away from the helm. While the ship was in hyperspace he spent most of his time in meditation in his captain’s quarters, which Talis had converted into his own little meditation chamber. Its walls were covered in vines he bought from a florist on Florrum. He had ferns in the corner and he had various flowers throughout. He even had a small fountain that recirculated water.

The space was tranquil, you could even say it was serene, but all good things must come to an end.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The reverberations from the continual onslaught shook the shuttle and snapped the Jedi knight from his meditation. He jumped to his feet and grabbed his phase II clone trooper pilot helmet and popped it on his head. The Gray Jedi stepped up to the door and smacked the control panel, with a hiss of air the door rushed open. Talis stepped out and immediately went to his left. He heard Beenine behind him as the energetic little droid loudly protested the shaking of the ship.

“Beenine,” Talis barked back to the R-series astromech, “Get comms up and tell me what is going on!”

“BREEEEP WOOOOOOO!” Beenine replied back.

“What do you mean the Remembrance of Seher has been critically damaged?” The blind Miralukan took a deep breath and reached out, searching for emotions that emanate from all living things.

Like a tidal wave of feelings: fear, sorrow, anger and rage flooded back to the young Odanite. A somber look came over his face as he felt power start to surge from elsewhere on the ship. He knew that feeling from his past, from New Tython. He knew what must be done, The Remembrance of Seher was dead and the only thing to do now was get as many souls off the ship as possible.

“Beenine, hail the bridge.”

“BREEP BROOP BROOP!”

“What do you mean the bridge isn't answering?” Talis thought for a second before speaking again. “Beenine, hail all nearby vessels and all communications bandwidths. Hack into the intercoms or the emergency announcement system, I need you to give an evacuation order to all personnel, the reactor is beginning to go.”

Talis ran to the rear of his ship and pushed a button on the panel that opened his entryway hatch. The smell of death was almost overwhelming as the tainted atmosphere washed over him. A flashback of New Tython tried to fight its way back up but the astute Knight pushed it back down and gathered his wits. Suddenly the normal “to battlestations” alarm cut out and a woman's voice came over the ship wide intercom.

“This is a ship wide emergency evacuation order for all personnel. Reactor one has begun to meltdown. I repeat, this is a ship wide emergency evacuation order for all personnel. Reactor one has begun to meltdown, abandon ship.”

The monotone voice continued on a loop as yells and screams could be heard from the other side of the hangar, in between the intercom systems announcement. A small group had congregated around the door and seemed to be struggling getting the bulkhead open. It appeared to be jammed.

Talis did not even register that he was running until he was almost right on top of the group of mechanics working furiously to get the door to open. It was no use. It looked like some debris had wedged itself on the other side and it was not getting opened the conventional way.

Talis reached down to his hip where his lightsaber was and brought it forth, igniting the blade. He slowly pushed the amethyst beam into the giant durasteel door and began twisting it back and forth.

A yelp on the other side followed by some curses told the Marauder that his plan was working. He felt a little give but made sure to keep himself steady so that he didn’t impale anyone on the other side of the door.

Talis reached deep within himself and then began pulling in power from the world around him. He felt a surge of energy enter his body and give him a familiar feeling of unmatched strength. He began to push the blade in an oval shape to cut a doorway through the bulkhead.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

“I wonder if they realize they have won, the ship is dead.” One the mechanics was looking up at the ceiling of the docking bay as he spoke.

“They won’t stop until we detonate like a grenade,” Talis snapped. “We already have one reactor melting down, pray we don’t have two.”

As if on cue the emergency evacuation order paused.

“This is a ship wide emergency evacuation order for all personnel. Reactors one and two have begun to meltdown, I repeat, this is a ship wide emergency evacuation order for all personnel. Reactors one and two have begun to melt down, abandon ship.”

“And now we need to cut faster.” Talis took a deep breath and pushed the blade as fast and as forcibly around to make a large enough doorway to get people through. After a few more tense moments and a lot of exertion and pushing himself to the limit, the durasteel chunk dropped. A void appeared where there was once hardened metal. The Odanite lifted his hand and felt as if an extension of his body grasped the large chunk of steel. He pulled hard but it barely moved.

Talis bent over and took some deep breaths before he attempted again and failed. He had tired himself out by relying on the Force so much to cut the door that he forgot to save the energy required to get the lump of steel out of the way.

The reinforced bulkheads were multiple layers thick to avoid someone boarding through the cargo bay and assaulting the ship. They could seal the boarding party in the cargo bay and it was the perfect prison. Now those doors that were supposed to give the crew some safety were becoming the doors to their death sentence.

“Hey Master Jedi.” A younger mechanic stepped forward and pointed at his belt. “Is that a Denton charge?”

Talis smacked himself on the forehead of his helmet before grabbing the charge off his belt and placing it properly as to eject the large hunk of steel out of the way. The exhausted Jedi Knight yelled his instructions to the people on the other side of the bulkhead to move back a safe distance.

He felt them breath a big sigh of relief as everyone retreated from the door. Hope had refilled their minds. It made the Miralukan gain a step back from his fatigue as he set the timer. He took cover and counted down to himself before the denton charge detonated.

The blast that reverberated the entire area ejected the hunk of steel some 50 meters down the hallway and into a pillar where it lodged itself for the rest of the life of the ship. Some of the mechanics began yelling down the newly opened doorway to freedom and droves of people came through that three foot wide four foot tall oval in the bulkhead. Shuttles were packed to the brim and all the life pods were loaded and jettisoned. Anyone with fighter experience took what fighters they could get in the air and got underway.

All except one ship that was crammed with all manner of folk waiting for its drained captain to return to it. Talis was just barely able to squeeze onto his ship and shut the door. He reached over and pushed the button on the doors console and hailed the bridge.

“BOOP BREEP BRAAAP WHIRRRRRR!”

“I know Beenine, we are cutting it a little close for comfort but I promise I will pay you back little buddy. Just get us off this dying behemoth!”

The comm cut out and the engines could be heard spooling up. The ship lurched into the air and spun around before it made a hasty exit from the rear of the Remembrance of Seher and plotted a course for home. They had all had a horrible day. To this day, Talis had never seen any spaceship detonate but he did feel it when the two reactors finally went critical mass. A multitude of dazzling waves of energy bombarded him and the ship.

This was the second time in recent history that their enemies had sunk one of their naval vessels.

Low Orbit
Aboard the Endor's Revenge
Glee Anselm

Talis sat in quiet contemplation. His wounds that he sustained during the Polyphemous Operation had completely healed. Currently his ship was on its final approach to a set of coordinates he had obtained from a long time contact. They were coordinates to a small island on the planet Glee Anselm. The home world of the Nautolans. His contact was extremely excited when he gave him the coordinates but would not divulge his reasoning. He just told him. “You will know when you get there brother.”

“Captain,” A voice broke through the silence of his cabin.

“Yes, what is it?” Talis replied dazed.

“We are coming into optical range and will be landing shortly.”

“Roger that I will make my way to the landing ramp.”

The Jedi Knight rose and adjusted his armor. He didn't know if he was walking into a trap or not so he decided to be cautious about it.

The Miralukan arrived at the foyer of his ship where the entryway was and waited. He could hear the engines rev and felt the steel around him lurch a little before it lightly set down. The door's locks could be heard clanking open and the pressurized hiss of the door pistons activating echoed in the seemingly empty vessel. An R2 unit rolled up next to him before stopping just shy and beeping at him.

“I will call for you Beenine when I know it is safe.” The astromech's depressed response cascaded back at the Sentinel. He placed his hand on the droid's dome and offered an apologetic smile.

Talis exited his ship and entered the warm humid air of the planet. He made his way down the ramp of his ship and up the causeway of the landing pad to the island. Four beings well armed waited for him. All of the men were Nautolans. They wore matching armor with blaster rifles in their arms and a vibrosword on each of their hips. The leader of the security detail stepped forward and presented his hand.

“Your lightsaber please.”

“Not until I know what this is.” Talis readied himself as the security detail raised their weapons an waited for him to comply.

“That is enough Captain Altre!” A voice erupted from behind the group. One of the security detail flinched hard and accidentally squeezed off a shot. Talis reacted on instinct, spinning away from the shot and drew his lightsaber before igniting it and holding the point up to the throat of the captain.

“Everyone weapons away!” A second voice could be heard. This time a woman. Her voice was strong yet nurturing. Something about it felt welcoming.

Two hooded figures approached Talis. Something about them made him calmer and safer. He waited a few moments before he put away his lightsaber.

“Who are you and why am I here?”

“I am Anillan,” The male robed figure replied.

“And I am Sablis,” The female robed figure followed suit.

“Why are you wearing hoods in this muggy weather?”

“Our people have grown accustom to the humidity and today is quite cold in comparison to our normal days here.” The male replied.

"I do not usually do business with people who hide their identities under a hood." Talis shifted uncomfortably.

“It is only fair that you remove your helmet as a show of faith, if we are to remove our hoods.” The woman's voice was smooth.

“Sure.” Talis removed the phase two clone trooper helmet revealing his eye wrappings to the group. The feelings of shock and embarrassment from the four sentries made the current altercation even more confusing.

“I knew I sensed someone new in our enclave.” The woman pulled back her robe revealing a regally designed eye cover and Anillan removed his to reveal a simpler eye covering. The Miralukan stood in shock. “You must have many questions for us.” The woman's excitement could hardly be contained.

“That's an understatement.” The Jedi snapped back unintentionally. For some reason Talis felt ashamed of that and apologized to the woman. “Sorry ma'am.”

“It is nothing to have taken offense to,” Sablis replied with a smile, “I can only imagine the shock new comers get from meeting us here.”

The trio made their way through a wall of trees and into a clearing. On the other side of the clearing a small town became visible. They spent the walk in silence as the young Knights mind raced. He had thought his people were wiped out by the Brotherhood after Grand Master Pravus took over.

'How could there be a city of Miralukans? What had happened to lead them to Glee Anselm?' the young man thought to himself.

The trio entered town and people turned and looked in awe at the imposing figure of the armored Miralukan Jedi. More people poked their heads out of their homes and the trio grew into a small mob of inquisitive faces.

They came upon a temple structure that had the planet and twin moons emblem of the Luka Sene. A group of force sensitive Miralukan not unlike the Jedi. Their emblem was of Tython and its two moons, Ashla and Bogan. Talis spent countless hours researching his peoples history in the Jedi archives on New Tython. He had never lived with his people so he only knew what the holorecords told about it. The crowd stopped short of the base of the stairs leaving the trio alone in the opening created by the vacuum. The Odanite tossed a gaze back over his shoulder at the group. Who all stared up at the temple entrance in awe.

Three figures stood at the top of the stairs. Their power in the force was awe inspiring even at the distance they stood from him.

“We wish for an audience with the Grand Master of the Luka Sene.” Sablis bowed deep and held it. Talis turned to Anillan who was also bent over at the waste in a bow to the three. The Gray Jedi stood there like a statue, unmoving and emotionless, staring up at the three white haired beings above him. He would not bow to these men. He had never bowed to any being and he was not about to break that ongoing record.

“Why do you not supplicate yourself before us,” The figure on the right motioned to the other two, “the Masters of this temple.”

“When I broke my bonds of slavery I swore to never bow to another person.” Talis never turned his gaze away from the man in the center. “I do not plan on breaking that oath.”

“If you do not supplicate.” The figure on the right was silenced by a fourth being who had emerged from the temple behind him. A weathered old man meandered up next to the man in the center. His aura was blinding but soft. Talis relaxed a bit upon seeing him. He had no clue who the man was but he felt that he could trust him. The old man didn't say anything he just waved the young man forward. The collective feelings of awe and confusion swirled around those in attendance. The Odanite followed the old man into the temple.

They walked for some time before coming out into a cave. Creeper vines clung to the walls and a small spring sat in the center. It fed into a small creek that dug its way out of the cave through one of its walls. A stone tablet was set into the wall across from the entrance. On it was engraved the emblem of the Luka Sene. Instead of just being stone the two moons were large gems. Both about the size of a mans chest and perfectly round and smooth. One was red and black swirling together, representing Bogan. The other was a opalescent white with no other colors, representing Ashla. On the floor sat two pillows a few feet apart. The Old man took the seat under the Bogan stone and motioned for the Jedi to sit under the Ashla stone.

The two sat in silence staring at one another. The old man broke the silence when he reached into his cloak. This caused the wary visitor to rest his hand on his lightsaber hilt. The man pulled out a bag and pulled some rock candy out and tossed it into his mouth. He smiled at the tense warrior sitting across from him before reaching out and offering him some. Talis reached forward and took a few and tossed one in his mouth. They were surprisingly delicious for something so simple.

“Miralukan are a lot like these candies. Not always inviting to the eye but once you try them you fall in love.” The old man's voice was soft like a pillow but stern with wisdom. “I am sure you have many questions. Feel free to ask all of them.”

“Okay.” Talis eyed the old man. “After Pravus took over the brotherhood I heard they bombarded the planet of Alpheridies and slaughtered the survivors. If that is true, then how are you all here?”

“This temple has been here as an enclave for centuries. It was only known of within the upper leadership of the Luka Sene. We sent out an invitation to all of the survivors.” The old man demeanor changed to sadness. “We were not quick enough to get to them all. Our Luka Seekers were sent out and brought in who they could find and freed others that were in slavery. Every soul counted. Our race is on the verge of extinction.”

“So the Luka Sene have been pretty active across the galaxy?”

“Yes. We have Miralukans from all over the galaxy here from all walks of life.” The old man paused and smiled. “Sablis was a Jedi like you. She never completed her training but she has been an immeasurable help to us here at the temple.”

“Why isn't Sablis a member of the Luka Sene?” The Odanite leveled his gaze at the man.

“Well,” the old seer sighed, “those who are not strong enough in the force to avoid the temptation of the darkside have their force sensitivity suppressed for their own good.”

“For their own good?” the Jedi's tone darkened, “and how exactly do you make that decision.”

“We don't, she made it for herself.”

“Fair enough.” Talis ate another one of the rock candies and mulled over the answer a little. “Why have you not attempted to contact the Jedi order. Clan Odan Urr could use your help. We are still in this fight.”

“And you may be.” The old man crunched down another candy. “But we are not.”

“I saw your city. There are at least a thousand strong fighters here.”

“What you saw where men and woman who fled here from the persecution of the Grand Master of the Order your Clan followed.” The old man's gaze stabbed through the younger man. “They would not fight for or with you. They wish to be left alone.”

“I.” Talis stopped and thought about it. “Thats fair.”

“Any other questions?” the Grand Master's cheery tone returned.

“I was wondering if you wouldn't mind if I stayed around and learned more about my people.”

“Ah an inquisitive sort, are we?”

“I have just never been around my own kind. There are other Miralukans among the Jedi but they don't really know that much either. I would like to learn more about the Luka Sene and the Ashla and Bogan if you would give me leave to study.”

“You are welcome to learn as much as you would like. We would have to find a place for you to stay.”

“I have my ship and its comfortable and will keep my up to date with the Jedi and the current war effort.”

“That works, makes my day easier, keeps me from having to talk to much to those wet blankets.”

“Wet blankets?”

“The three masters.” The old man offered Talis another candy but he politely refused. “Suit yourself, and do not worry. They are not mentors. Think of them as the deans, they are more a political group of pains in my joints.” The two shared a hearty laugh before Talis made his way back to his ship.

It wasn't until he returned to the ship that the realization of what he had found hit him. He would have to buy his contact a couple rounds after this.

The Odanite made his way to his comm and sent a message to Junazee. He kept his real meaning to himself but sent her the coordinates hidden among the Garza Cipher that their unit used.

Manually added by Commander Alethia Archenksova

Original entry placed 8th in the below competition. This is the story in terms of the medic’s perspective

https://www.darkjedibrotherhood.com/competitions/10113

Talis knelt behind a large boulder with the rest of his squad. His first day and he had let his squad get pinned down by a marksman. Talis heaved a heavy sigh as he shook his head and passed his gaze upon the three remaining members of his squad. Corporal Clevis’ aura was drenched in red and Talis could hear his strong breathes as the rage filtered through the man. The two privates were both pretty worse for wear as Private Gillis’ aura was turning blacker by the second. He was slowly dying from the blaster shot that had hit him in the chest.

Talis knew it was only a matter of time and so did his third comrade, Private First Class Tawney, the squad’s medic. His aura was a swirl of yellow and orange. He was nervous about Private Gillis and his anxiety was mounting. Talis knew he had to muster them or they would not win out the day. A scream from the field on the other side of the rock broke his attention away from his squad mates to the wounded man out in the field.

Talis turned towards the noise ignoring their cover and looked straight through it at the man laying a few meters from the bombs they had laid to clear out a rocky path. Sergeant Palov laid with the contents of his stomach in his hands as a rainbow of emotions swirled over him. Above him, ten meters, was the sniper that had dropped a frag grenade upon the unsuspecting squad.

If it had not been for Sergeant Palov’s quick actions, the entire squad would be out there mortally wounded or dead. Talis took a deep breath of the sulfuric air and calmed himself as he devised a plan to take down the sniper. It came to him suddenly and it was so simple he couldn’t help but laugh. The three remaining squad members looked on in bewilderment.

“Young Master Jedi?” Gillis rasped out through a cough that covered his hand in blood.
“I know what we need to do,” Talis replied with an evil grin.
“I don’t know if I like this idea already,” Corporal Clevis retorted as he adjusted his rifle uncomfortably.
“Just follow my lead,” Talis paused and pointed at Clevis, “You come with me Corporal and stay close.”

Talis stood and made his way to the edge of the rock and began reaching out with the force towards the swirling pools of water just below the surface. He kept his gaze turned towards the ground for a good minute as he watched the swirling energy of the planet. Corporal Clevis knew he was waiting for something so he stood close to him and readied himself. With a rumble and rush of steam, a geyser about ten feet away and off to the left a bit exploded with energy. Sending a plume of hot sulfuric water into the air.

Talis bounded to the base of the geyser and looked up at the ledge where the sniper was perched. The shot that Talis had been expecting never came, confirming his suspicions that the marksman had an infrared scope. He was clearly waiting for the cloud to dissipate. Talis would use that moment to remove the sniper from the equation as he began pooling the force in his right hand while brandishing the hilt of his lightsaber in his left. He tossed a smirk at Corporal Clevis.

“You might want to cover your eyes Corporal.” The Corporal looked confused at first until Talis lifted his right hand. As soon as Corporal Clevis’ eyes were shut Talis jumped through the cloud activating his lightsaber and took a defensive stance. A blaster bolt echoed down at him causing him to leap to the side as he batted the shot away from his concealed companion. Talis knew the sniper was looking at him and was not going to be expecting what was coming. With a snap of his finger the Miraluka summoned a bright, blinding flash. The exclamation of surprise and pain that followed told Talis that his gamble had worked.

He cleared the last twenty meters quickly as he scooped up Sergeant Palov in his right arm while deactivating his lightsaber. A few more paces put him at the detonator. He slammed his fist down on the trigger detonating the blasting charges that were set in the mountain side. One after the other the explosives detonated like a stairway up the mountain. A yelp of fear cascaded down at the squad as Talis turned and summoned what little bit of the Force he could muster into his legs and feet. He sprinted back towards cover past Corporal Clevis who provided rear security for the duo. Talis came to a sliding stop behind the rock and a few moments later Clevis came trotting around the stone.

The look of the squad improved immensely and then dropped heavily as the realization of the Sergeants predicament washed over them. Talis could feel their fear and sorrow at the sight of their mortally wounded squad leader. Immediately Private First Class Tawney set to work on putting Sergeant Palov’s stomach back together. The sight was too much for the other two as they both fell ill in unison. Talis shook his head as he tried to push through the pain and sorrow. He had to keep the squad in the fight. The medivac would not approach without a safe landing zone.

This was supposed to be a simple mission. Go in and secure a viable landing zone for an expeditionary force to set up an outpost. Now he was down to one combat effective squad member and two wounded. Tawney wasn’t going to be much use and Talis wasn’t sure if Clevis was going to be able to pull himself together to finish the fight. Talis could hear the landing shuttle off in the distance holding its flight pattern. Something would have to be done and it would have to be done soon. Talis felt the exhaustion creeping over him with every breath. He only had one more trick up his sleeve. Talis turned to Corporal Clevis.

“Corporal I need you to help me finish this fight,” Talis forced a smile through the fatigue. He felt the sweat dripping down the back of his neck and the burn in his lungs. He had to push through like so many days he had spent training with this squad.
“Yes sir,” The corporal wheezed out, “What do you need?
“I need you not to miss.” The statement clicked as a dark blue wave washed over the corporal. Talis nodded as he looked through the stone for his quarry. The sniper hadn’t moved very far from where he had been dropped to. He was perched on the rise of some stones with a minimal silhouette showing over the rocks.
“He is about ten meters out from us on the rise of some rubble.” Talis paused before he looked back at the Corporal. “Don’t miss Clevis.”
“I won’t,” The tone was calm and the aura was focused. He was more ready than Talis for this escapade. The Miraluka smiled and drew strength from the man’s feelings as he prepared himself. Talis positioned himself just behind the sergeant as he began pooling the Force in his hand again.

With a nod to Corporal Clevis, Talis stepped out from behind cover and threw his hand out. Instead of the brightness of a thousand stars erupting from his hand, a few feet in front of him a small black orb popped into existence. It was blacker than a cloudy moonless night. Talis began pooling more of the Force into his arm as he took off sprinting. The sniper cursed and shifted for a better shot. Talis tossed up his hand and reached out with the Force. The black void of unconsciousness met him before he hit the ground.

After what seemed like an eternity Talis awoke to two figures kneeling over him. A Kel Dor draped in near black Jedi robes and a human Talis had only ever seen in fleeting glimpses. His short military style hair and thin beard made him unmistakable paired with his broad shoulders and overall height. Seraphol’s robotic hand that was pressed to Talis’ chest had a slight golden glow to Talis’ sight. He felt his vigor restoring as the Kel Dor next to him stood and looked back toward the collapsed hillside.

“You made quite a mess with those explosives Padawan.” Sa Ool stated flatly as he gazed across the battlefield.
“How are?” Talis was stopped by Seraphol’s raised hand.
“Sergeant Palov didn’t make it.” The grief struck Talis’ like a mountain at Seraphol’s words. As he felt the tears dampen the cloth that covered his vestigial eye socket Talis heard a familiar voice.
“But you saved Private Gillis’ life with your quick thinking,” the Miraluka’s gaze was tore from Seraphol’s upraised hand to the Togruta woman standing over the covered remains of the enemy sniper. Aaleesha’s visage was stern as she ran the battle through her mind.

“So why did you waste an entire armament of explosives on that one sniper?” Sa Ool cut in. Talis paused as he tore his gaze from his battle team leader and looked at the alien aura for a moment before answering.
“We didn’t seem to have much of an option with Palov screaming in agony and Gillis moaning in pain,” Talis stuttered out before he paused and sat up to better talk with the Sentinel. “My primary job was to get my injured behind cover while providing any form of cover I could find.”
“And what cover did you use to accomplish your mission?” Sa Ool’s tone turned to ice as he stared down the Miraluka.

“I utilized the geyser to bring up a rear guard to a point, then I broke cover drawing his fire towards me and blinded him.” Talis paused as he looked from Sa Ool to Aaleesha, then to Serephol who stood up. His gaze came back to Sa Ool after he rose to his feet and wobbled a little. “Then I detonated the explosives and ran with Palov in my arms. We utilized what little power I had left to distract the sniper and then I stunned him giving Corporal Clevis a shot.” There was a long pause as the three Equites stood there silently.

“That was reckless and stupid,” Sa finally broke the silence, “There were multiple other avenues of approach, that could have gotten you to the assailant that would have mitigated the damage to the squad and yourself.”
“I didn’t exactly see them while I was being shot at,” Talis paused for a moment before muttering under his breath, “not to mention I don’t have eyes so I can’t see.”
Talis’ statement drew a laugh from Seraphol as he walked towards the dropship.
“What was that?” Sa demanded sternly.
“Nothing Master Sa Ool.” Talis replied quickly.
“I thought so,” Sa leveled what Talis reckoned what was a glare in his direction. “Did you learn anything from this?”
“Be patient?” Talis answered sarcastically as he tromped past the Kel Dor. His exhaustion still present, but lessened by Seraphol’s assistance.
“Where do you think you are going Padawan?” Sa shouted as the engines of the drop ship spooled up to speed. Talis just pointed and continued towards the ship. He was too tired to argue with anyone. If his master could have been here for this moment Talis would never have lived it down. He could just hear the Zabrak’s voice now. Talis missed his master dearly, but this was war and their enemy would require both of their full attention.

Talis deposited himself on the bench in the dropship and looked over at Corporal Clevis.
“Good shot Clevis!” Talis yelled over the hum of the engines giving the Corporal the thumbs up.
“It wasn’t me sir.” Clevis was barely audible over the engines as they revved a little.
“What!” Talis shouted at the Corporal over the roar of the engines. Clevis pointed at a figure hunched over Private Gillis. Private first class Tawney held in one hand the clenched fist of his friend and ally and in the other, the rifle of the late Sergeant Palov. A little shocked at the news, Talis just smiled and sat back as the dropship lifted off.