Home is where you hang your hat……….and Blaster!

By Captain Master

Master’s Tie Defender exited Hyperspace near Dathomir. His back ached from being in the cramped cockpit for about 25 hours, he would have taken the Vornskr but it required some replacement parts because of the damage it had taken in the last few weeks. He had entrusted his ship to Narm and Hippie, he wasn’t sure if leaving it near Narm was a good idea with all the gambling he did, he might try to gamble away his ship, but he trusted Hippie and knew he wouldn’t let Narm, anyway Kristy and Hippie was due to bring it to Dathomir in two weeks anyway so she could meet Master’s family and see his home and Hippie could fly his T/D back to the Intruder. Master flew the T/D towards the Singing Mountain where the Singing Mountain Clan lived, where he was born and grew up.

Master parked the ship not to far away from the village, just enough so he could stretch his legs before reaching it. Securing his lightsaber, a blaster and a commlink Master locked up his T/D so incase anyone decided to have an up and close look couldn’t get in. After a short walk Master reached the village, not much had changed in the last year and a half or so he had been gone. A few noticed his arrival and greeted him. Kirana Ti came forth and hugged him. "I thought you were training with Master Skywalker Kirana Ti"? Master asked. "Yea I was, he proclaimed me a Jedi Knight and I said I’d come back here for a while to see if I could make a difference, Its lucky your back though, I could use your help.

Kara then emerged from one of the huts and hugged him "We have missed you, I have missed you" she said. Master blushed "And I have missed you all, it has been too long", Master then noticed his mother Augwynne or Old Rell had not come forth to greet him. Kirana Ti noticed his confusion and looked away "What is it"? Master asked. "Several moons ago, we were attacked, your mother Augwynne was captured and Old Rell was killed" Kirana Ti answered with a heavy heart.

"Somehow I knew but didn’t know Rell had been killed, who did this crime against our clan"

Master asked. "The Nightsisters" Kara answered.

Master was shocked enough not to pull away at first but did so when his head stopped spinning. "I’m sorry but I cant do this" Master blurted out. "Have you forgotten the night we spent together in the forest after you came back"? Kara asked. Master shook his head "No and I never will, but my heart belongs to another, and I love her more than life itself, I’m sorry". Kara smiled "She is lucky then to have you" Master smiled. Kirana Ti came back in, "The Elders thank you for your help and agree you are now the leader of the Singing Mountain Clan". "Yea I just got told that" Master said with a grin. "So I think I should see where they have made there base then" Master said "Ok, We recently found out where it was" Kara answered.

"That’s where they have made there base, the New Republic dropped some self erecting buildings and a few ground based weapons for the engineers incase they were attacked by the imperial warlords, the Nightsisters used it to there advantage and took over the base, killed the engineers and now control the weaponry" Kara told Master who was sitting on the back of a Rancor next to her, Kirana Ti sat next to Master on the other side. "Kirana Ti, You have had some success fighting Exar Kun back on Yavin Four as well as fighting the Nightsisters here before, do you think we have a chance of getting in, getting back my mother then getting out" Master asked. "Yes I do, but they have the advantage of being in there own surroundings, we also don’t know how many there are of them, then again we have the element of supprise, so I think we can get her back, but not defeat the Nightsisters at the moment, we need more Jedi for that task" she replied. Master got off his Rancor, the others joined him. Master thought then said "Ok, say we go at dusk, we work our way down the cliff, the towers will probably be manned and they will have glow rods, we work our way between them staying out of the light, and clear of the ground based weapons, How do we get in from there, cant just walk in the front door"? Master asked. "On the far side there are some air ducts with grates on them, if we are quiet we should be able to get into one of the ducts, then we could get into the facility and find where Augwynne is being kept" Kirana Ti suggested. "Sounds like a plan, after the sun goes down, we sneak in, get back my mother, and escape back to the village, we will deal with the Nightsisters later, ok with that

Kirana Ti"? She nodded. Kara interrupted "What about me, I want to go, I’m not helpless", Master replied "No your not helpless, but you are also a lot more at risk to the Dark Side than us, Kirana Ti has already rejected it, I am more at risk than her and I know it, but I’ve also had training from Luke Skywalker which means I am a considerable foe, I don’t want you getting hurt for my sake, if you really want to do something you can wait and guard the Rancor’s for our escape cause its need to be a quick one". Kara wasn’t happy but she agreed. They went back to the village for a few hours to finalize the plans before dusk.

Master and Kirana Ti went in low and fast being wary of the spotlights shining every so often around the plain. One thought rolled around in Master’s head "Why, why did they capture my mother instead of just killing her like old Rell, it doesn’t make sense". Kirana TI could sense something was up, "What’s wrong"? she asked as they came to the wall. "Nothing, just doesn’t add up that’s all, why would they capture my mother instead of killing her"?

Master replied when they reached the building and the entry point which was a grate in the ventilation system in which they were going to crawl through. Master turned a few knobs on his saber and ignited it into a short thin blade and sliced through the bolts holding on the grate. "Probably just want to make an example of her that’s all, your over-reacting, maybe your time in Intruder Wing has made you paranoid" She said smiling, Master chuckled "How did you find out I was with Intruder Wing"? They went sliding through the ducts. "I saw your speech to the Senate a month or so back about the Hive Virus or whatever it was" Kirana Ti replied. "Oh, forgot about that, had a lot on my mind after that, what ever happened to Senator Hydra by the way"? Master said as he squeezed through a narrow part of the duct. "She was arrested for treason and thrown in jail I believe why"? she answered after thinking for a moment. "No reason, hope she rots and dies in that cell". "Not very Jedi like" she said smiling. "Yea well my forgiveness level is low after what her kind tried to do to Intruder Wing, we are here I think" Master said as they came up to another grate. "Just when I was starting to like this place" she said sarcastically.

They made their way around the compound as quietly as possible and attracting as little attention as possible, they walked pass one Nightsister at one time but a quick grab for Kirana Ti and pulling her towards the wall, as well as a projection into the Nightsisters mind solved that problem of them being seen. "Nice trick with the mind, lucky you were quick, didn’t even feel her coming" she said. "Neither did I which disturbs me, this is too easy, and the trick I learnt in my travels at one stage" Master replied.

They entered the prison area, dark, dank, that’s it really, after a bit of searching and avoiding the few guards that were around they finally found Augwynne, she was chained to the wall but Master’s lightsaber made short work of that. She was pretty beaten up, but would live if they got her out of here. She rested on Kirana Ti’s shoulders while Master scouted a few meters ahead.

They reached a T-junction and headed to the right which was towards the way out, and they had yet to see any guards which was a good thing, all of a sudden Master stopped. And ignited his saber. "Go back and go the other way at the T-junction a while back, cant go this way" Master told them. Three Nightsisters came into view. Augwynne and Kirana Ti went as fast as possible back the way they came while Master stared at the Nightsisters "I’m warning you, abandon the Dark Side now, or I will have to destroy every one of you" Master warned. The three Nightsisters laughed, "We will toy with you, then our leader will take care of you", one of them said as they held up their hands with a menacing gesture. Master could feel his neck tighten, become short of breath and the blood slowing down towards his head. He concentrated on the force which would stop the dark side power "Is that the best you have got, HA, Nightsisters bah" Master gloated as he forced them away from him, they hit the corridor wall and were stunned, Master took this opportunity to go and help the others escape.

Kirana Ti was worried, herself and Augwynne had reached an open door to the outside but were waiting for Master to catch up. "Don’t worry Kirana Ti, I have faith in my son, he will be here soon" Augwynne said as she placed a hand on Kirana Ti’s shoulder. She just smiled, but it still didn’t take away the worry. A few minutes later Master came running around the corner towards them. "Think we better go, they wont be far behind with re-enforcement’s" Master said as he reached them. Kirana Ti nodded and they as fast as possible ran towards the Rancor’s were. As they reached them, they helped Augwynne on one of them with their levitating skills. Then Kirana Ti turned to Master and said "Um, where’s Kara"? Master looked around and couldn’t see her while Kirana Ti used her senses to find her but to no luck. "Dammit, I told her not to follow us" Master said. "Take my mother back to the village, ill go in and rescue her and meet you back at the village". Kirana Ti was about to object when she was hit with a stun bolt as well as Augwynne. Master turned and felt the force flow through him but was too hit with a stun bolt, Master groaned "I hate when that happens" as he slumped into unconusisness.

Kristy walked up to the Vornskr which was on the repair deck onboard the Intruder. She looked up the open ramp and called out to see if anyone was in there, she got no reply, well that was until Maj. Hippie stuck his head out from one of the access hatches under the ship. He was upside down. "Hey Kristy" he called. "Hi Hippie, or do I need to call you Major" she replied joking, "Now that you mention it" he replied laughing. "I’ll talk to you in a sec, just let me get out of this cramped hole, you think they could make it easier to reach the fuses" Hippie grumbled as he put his head back in and climbed out the top of the ship, he jumped onto the flight deck next to Kristy. "How come your working on the Vornskr anyway, I thought the Tec’s were doing it"? Kristy asked. "They are, but Master wanted me to watch them incase they did anything they shouldn’t, so I thought id use the time to change two of the fuses for the lights while they were on their break, also would save them the trouble" Hippie answered as he wiped his hands on a cloth that was attached to his belt. "How paranoid Master is when it comes to his ship, I’m suprised he is letting us fly it to Dathomir and you fly his T/D back here Oh I’m supposing it will be all fixed before we have to go in two days time" Kristy asked. "Yea, it will be ready don’t worry, I’m suprised Master is letting anyone touch it but himself, guess he just couldn’t wait to go home" Hippie said laughing. "I cant wait to go, Master said it was a beautiful planet with forests, mountains and wide open plains as well as tame Rancor’s, I’ve always wanted to see a Rancor close up" she said. "It’s a very nice planet, I’ve only been there once, I was in a mission and we stopped to change our Hyperspace course over it, I meant to go back to visit but it wasn’t the right time with the trouble they had with Warlord Zsinj a while back" Hippie replied. Kristy looked confused "What trouble, Master never told me about that", "Ok, lets go aboard, we will grab a drink from the Vornskr’s prep stations and ill tell you all about Master’s past or at least what I know and where it fits in" Hippie said and started to head up the ramp. Kristy nodded and she followed him.

Master woke up with a groan, "Dam I hate stun blasts" He said to no one in particular. "wwwhat did you say Master" Kirana Ti said as she rubbed her head. "Nothing, I dislike dungeons, I seem to be in a lot of them recently" Master said as he stood and looked around. He walked around a bit trying to shake off the stun blast bit being chained to the wall prevented him moving to far. "Any thoughts on how we should get out of here"? Kirana Ti asked. "Working on that problem right now" he replied looking around.

The first thing Master noticed was that Augwynne was no where to be seen, and that the door to the cell was directly opposite them but because of the restricted movement thanks to the chains prevented them to reach it or even getting anywhere close to it. "DAMMIT, I think we are stuck until someone comes for us" Master said after a few moments. "Suppose, I just want to know what happened to Kara", Kirana Ti thought out loud. "Yea, leave us, wait till I get my hands on her" Master said sitting down next to Kirana Ti in a huff. She looked at him strangely "Keep your anger in check, it leads to the Dark Side and cant help us get out of here, anyway you don’t know why she wasn’t there, she might have been spotted and caught and is a prisoner like us". "Yea I suppose" Master said calming down.

The door slid open. "You don’t know how far from the truth you are Kirana Ti". Kara came into view wearing Nightsister robes and had two Nightsisters behind her. "What the, you betrayed us" Kirana Ti said angrily. Master stood and calmly said "No she didn’t, she betrayed the Singing Mountain Clan, she is the one who now leads the Nightsisters, I can feel the Dark Side energy escaping from her". Kirana Ti had a shocked look on her face but she remained silent. "Didn’t think you would be so easy to deceive as the rest of my former clan, you are highly trained in all aspects of the force including the Dark Side which we follow which makes you a powerful addition to our cause, more than any of the others on this miserable planet" Kara said with no emotion. "Your right, I can be a powerful addition even dwarfing your power but I choose to be a powerful enemy, now open up these binders and we gunna get real personal" Master replied "Gethzerion would be appalled that someone like you would lead the next band of Nightsisters". Kara approached him and he was held back to the wall by the force from the two Nightsisters still at the door. Kara ran her hand down Master’s chest then spoke softly "I offer you one last chance to join us or you will be killed before the tomorrow is out", Kara then kissed Master who could do nothing but take it. When she pulled back Master spoke "Come get me when I’m to be killed until then bother me no more". Kara took two steps back and struck him across the face leaving a deep scratch which started to bleed "Do you not fear death, because you will die then"? Master looked at her then said "I was once told Death smiles at us all, all we can do is smile back". "Touching to say the least for I will be smiling when you are both killed" Kara replied as she turned to leave and started walking out, Master called "You forget something I told you long ago, Death is only the Beginning".

Being stuck in a cell was the least of their worries, getting out was the first on there lists then rescuing Augwynne and getting the hell out of there. "I give up, I cant make the components in the shackles move, they are made of non-living matter so they aren’t part of the force" Kirana Ti said in a huff. Master smiled "Giving up so easy, not the Jedi way", "They don’t exist as far as the force is concerned" Kirana Ti replied, "Your right they don’t, but I’m sure there are other ways to move them than through telakaneious" Master as he sat and started concentrating on the force. "Give it a try then" Kirana Ti said as she watched him, "I thought Luke drilled into you There is no Try, at least he did to me" Master replied, Kirana Ti laughed "Indeed he did".

The Force is in all things even though you can not control Mechanical objects there are other ways. Master could see the insides of the shackles, pretty complicated but Master knew the only part that mattered, the lock. Concentrating on it Master wondered how he would open it, then it hit him, he might not be able to move the lock but the air flowed around it, if he could move the air with enough force he could turn the lock and the binders would open. "Help me Kirana Ti, I need your help to move it" Master said deep in concentration "How, we cant move the metal" she replied. After a moment Master replied "We don’t need to, help me move the air and we can turn the lock". Kirana Ti nodded and closed her eyes concentrating. Master could feel the increased energy of the force with Kirana Ti helping. Master could feel the air move inside the shackles, slowly turning the lock. PING. Master’s shackles opened and fell to the floor "One more to go" Master said still concentrating. A few moments later Kirana Ti’s shackles fell to the floor as well.

"Now the door" Kirana Ti said opening her eyes. "That’s the easy part, hope they don’t hear this" Master said as he put his hand on the door and it flew off is hinges and just before it hit the opposite wall it was caught by an big invisible hand made from Kirana Ti. "Thanks" Master said as the door which was made of heavy wood and would have made a very large noise to the floor. "No Problem, in return for the shackles" she said as they ran out of the cell.

Kristy was sitting on a padded chair sipping some sort of cocktail that Hippie had made from the Vornskr’s prep stations, it was sweet yet sour at the same time. Hippie had just finished telling her the story of the Nightsisters. "I wonder why Master never told me that story"? Kristy said thinking out loud. "Well he never said anything but I think he was ashamed that he couldn’t help because he got caught up with things offworld so he could get back there and when he did the battle had just ended" Hippie said "He shouldn’t be, he has done a lot since he left a few years ago, more than I could ever dream of doing and I love him for it" Kristy replied then after a moment blushed at what she had said. Hippie chuckled "I know you love him and I know he loves you, its so obvious that me and Narm have got beats going on how long its going to take you to get married" Hippie said laughing. "Id expect that from you two" she said as she kissed Hippie on the cheek "Thanks for the drink, I better get back to work and so should you" Kristy left the ship and Hippie got up to do a bit more work on the Vornskr before he would have to go down to the simulators and show a few new pilots how to fly.

Kirana Ti and Master made there way through the facility, so far they had been very, very lucky and had yet to see any guards or Nightsisters. They had found Augwynne close by and had got her out of the cell and were heading for the exit, they had also found there weapons close to the cell area with a guard watching over them, but the force made quick work of him. They came across the door leading to the outside but there was a Nightsister guarding it. "How do we get past her"? Kirana Ti asked quietly.

Master thought for a moment then grabbed a Nightsister Adept cloak they had nabbed as they were walking through the corridors, "Watch and learn" Master said as he put it on and strode up towards her. The Nightsister noticed him as Master got closer and nodded at his arrival because she believed he was a Nightsister Adept (from the cloak). Master bowed low in front of her and as he came up he threw a chop to the side of her head hitting her temple region, knocking her out.

Kirana Ti and Augwynne ran up to him as Master threw off the cloak and opened the door showing the outside. The sun came over the mountains in the distance. Kirana Ti started walking out the door when Master stopped her "Wait, something’s not right, this is too easy" Master said shaking his head. "Well I don’t see anyone out there in the plain, in the towers or not, they must still all be asleep" Kirana Ti replied as she stuck her head out of the door way and had a quick glance. "It would appear so, but I still think something’s up, yet I don’t feel the Nightsisters at all" Master said having a look of his own. "Well we cant stay here, we have to take the chance" Augwynne said adding her opinion into the conversation. "Have to agree, but still be on your guard as we get across the plain" Master said as he took a few steps out of the doorway, Kirana Ti helped Augwynne and they moved as fast as Augwynne could across towards the ridge where the Master could feel the Rancor’s presence.

They had made it about three quarters of the way then several shouts came from behind them and Master turned to see several Nightsisters and guards give chase, but they wouldn’t catch up Master thought if they keep going at there speed. Kirana Ti helped Augwynne onto a Rancor and got up behind her, Master jumped upon another. "Go, ill slow them down" Master told Kirana Ti, so they steered their rancor and got it to run as fast as possible back towards the Singing Mountain. Master stood ontop of his Rancor and raised his hands into the air, he noticed Kara ontop of the building glaring at him and the other Nightsisters and guards were almost at the ridge. ‘Perfect’ Master thought as he called upon the force making the wind speed up picking up the loose sand on the plain and ridge, it increased in speed until it would hinder pursuit and was battering the buildings. Master shouted out and used the force to amplify his voice "I shall return and the time of the Nightsisters will be at an end". He steered his Rancor away and it went as fast as possible back home.

At the Singing Mountain Augwynne was asleep in her hut recuperating from her vicious injuries sustained from the hands of the Nightsisters. Master spoke to the elders "You agreed to make me the leader of the Singing Mountain Clan until my mother returned which she has done, but she will require several days rest before assuming leadership once more, Kirana Ti has already spoke to you that Kara is the leader of the Nightsisters, I have come to ask a favor". The elders nodded. "That you trust my leadership until she is well" Master replied. "We already do, if you have any of the wisdom of your mother and you remember any of what Rell taught you then you will lead us to victory" one of the elders spoke up. "I do, and when I have finished the Nightsisters will be no more, you have my word" Master said turning and he left the hut and headed towards his T/D. Kirana Ti caught up with him, "What’s the plan"? she asked. "More Jedi just like you said" Master replied as he climbed into his fighter, Kirana Ti climbed up the top and watched him. "Wont the call take a very long time to get through to Yavin IV"? Master replied and hit a few buttons on a console "Normally yes, but not when you have a link to the Holonet like I do". Master picked up the mic and hit a few of the buttons but got nothing but static, "Huh, what the hell, I’m being jammed" he said as he looked up at Kirana Ti. "They must have a jammer at the base that can block all communication’s" Kirana Ti said thinking. "Well looks like its up to us then, two jedi against a few Nightsisters shouldn’t be too bad, hell we might get out of it alive" Master said joking. "Not like we have a choice" Kirana Ti replied forcing a smile.

The Next Day.

Master emerged from a hut he had been given wearing his usual black flightsuit with a IW patch on his Right shoulder and a version of a Jedi Robe but it was black and made of different material, light enough to quickly remove anything from his belt like his Lightsaber. Kirana Ti came out of her own hut wearing her Dathomirain Red and Green reptilian armor with a jedi robe over the top, a lightsaber could be seen dangling at her belt. "I didn’t know you had a Lightsaber" Master said. "Yea I made it a while back and it got damaged, I finished repairing it last night" Kirana Ti said as she ignited it, it had a strange color, if you looked at it from a different angle it seemed to change color. "Wow, that looks great, where did you find the gem or gems"? Master asked "its one of those gems from the heart of Yavin, when I saw it I knew it was right for my saber" Kirana Ti replied "So what’s the plan" she then asked. Master was worried, his plan sounded like suicide, but that wasn’t what was worrying him, what was…..was that Kirana Ti would agree to the plan, it would be hard enough for him to pull it off let alone both of them. "We get into the facility and destroy the reactor that supplies power to the buildings, the resulting explosion will take out the base and anyone inside". Kirana Ti nodded then said "What do you suppose we do about the Nightsisters not all of them will be in the base when it blows and once they find out we are in there they will come after us". "Yea I thought about that but could come up with no answer, suppose we will have to cross that bridge when we come to it" Master replied. "Suppose, so how do we get into the base" Kirana Ti asked. Master grinned "Ingeniously" he said as he motioned for her to follow him. They reached the top of the plateau where Kirana Ti saw two hastily made gliders. "You serious, we are going to get in using them, how"? Master replied "Very simply, we will be accompanied by two trained in there use, we fly over the base and use the force to drop onto the roof using the force". "Providing they don’t see us" Kirana Ti replied. "Leave that to me, Leave that to me" Master said grinning.

Major Hippie dropped in on Narm before he was set to leave, Narm had wanted to come along but was busy helping FA Eucilid training some newer pilots that were replacements for Diamond Squadron, Admiral Macintosh was also busy training some Dream replacements. Walking down to the flight deck Hippie bumped into SA Kevin who wished him luck. Hippie walked up the ramp where Kristy was waiting "You all set"? Hippie asked her. "Yep, all ready to go" she said looking up from the co-pilots seat smiling. "Ok then, lets go and not keep Master waiting" Hippie replied as he sat down in the pilot seat and began checking the systems. "Intruder Control this is the Transport Vornskr requesting permission to take off" Hippie said speaking into the comm. After a few moments they replied "Request granted Vornskr, good flying". Hippie turned off the comm and powered up the engines, "Thank you" Kristy said to Hippie "For what"? he asked. "For coming with me, when Master asked you, you agreed, I think he fears for my safety after that Hydra thing" Kristy replied. "I don’t mind, it will give me a chance to have a quick look at Dathomir while I’m there and to get out of the cooped up Intruder anyway I was sick of playing professor to the green kids weave been recruiting" Hippie said as he piloted the Vornskr out of the hanger bay and headed for the Hyperspace point, "Thank you the same" Kristy said smiling at him as they entered Hyperspace.

The wind blew through Master’s hair and cloak as he and & Kirana Ti were high above the ground attached to the gliders flown by two of the Singing Mountain Clan. They came to the ridge and the facility came into view. Time for that diversion, Master thought as he concentrated on the force letting the wind pick up creating a sandstorm that battered the facility masking the gliders. Master nodded to Kirana Ti as they flew over the buildings. Master pulled one of the ropes holding him releasing him from his harness and made him drop from the glider towards the ground, Kirana Ti did the same on the other glider. Because the large drop would kill them they concentrated on the force to slow their descent. They landed on the top of the buildings as if they had jumped no more than a few feet. At once Master felt the surrounding area for any Nightsisters because visibility was low due to the sand storm he was creating. Master could feel no-one on the top of the building, then again there wouldn’t be anyone stupid enough to be out here. "Lets get inside" Master shouted to Kirana Ti over the sandstorm, she nodded and followed him inside.

Master shaked any loose sand off his cloak and checked to make sure his Lightsaber was still at his belt which it was, "Ok Power room should be this way" Kirana Ti said pointing left down a passage. "Left it is then" Master replied as he started heading off in that direction. They made there way down the halls taking out a few guards that were seen but they had yet to see any Nightsisters which was disturbing Master. They reached the power room after taking a few wrong turns with out seeing any Nightsisters "Where the hell are they all" Master said to himself as they entered the power room and made short work of the guards in the room. Master could feel a evil presence in the levels above so he tossed the bag of proton grenades to Kirana Ti. "I don’t know what’s going on, but this is too easy and I know Kara has something planned, plant these and ill be back, if I’m not back in the next 30 minutes assign a timer of 10 minutes on the grenades, that should give you enough time to get out before it blows sky high". Kirana Ti was shocked at what he was saying, "You expect me to leave you if your not back". Master turned to face her "If this doesn’t work, the Nightsister will attack the Singing Mountain clan in retaliation for what we are trying to do, our forces will need someone to lead them, you are the best person to do that, do as I ask". Kirana Ti nodded then hugged him and said "Good Luck and may the Force be with you".

Master managed to get above the Nightsisters meeting room, he was on the wooden part which he could see everything and hear everything. "My sisters tonight we have a very important matter to discuss, the Jedi named Master" one of the Nightsisters who was standing said to the others who were sitting around a round black wooden table. "He will not be a problem" Kara said as she entered the room and sat down on a larger chair that could overlook the rest of the Nightsisters. "He will come to us and we will destroy him" she continued. "How do you know he will come to us"? one of the Nightsisters asked. "We will take something important to him and when he comes for her we will defeat him" Kara replied. "What" Master thought "If she is talking about Kristy, she wont arrive for another two days, but I suppose Kara has all the time in the world to wait".

Then a explosion rocked the room. Some of the Nightsisters fell off their feet but it was not big enough to knock everyone down. Master also not expecting it almost fell through the roof but he caught himself just in time. Kara spoke too four of the Nightsisters "Find out what that was, if it was sabotage bring the person to me" with that the four ran out of the room. Master looked at his wrist crono "What the…..grenades aren’t meant to go off for another 21 minutes". With that Master slowly made his way back to the crawl way which would get him down, the remaining Nightsisters slightly rattled continued with the meeting.

Hyperspace can be a very boring place, with no stars or planets out of the viewport there is also nothing to look at. Kristy and Hippie tried to pass the time with out getting bored, Hippie tried to teach her Holo-chess with some success as well as Sabacc but Sabacc was Narm specialty, Kristy watched a few of the slightly delayed News transmissions over the Holo-net and Hippie caught up on some sleep which he had been lacking from his busy schedule on the Intruder. Because the Hyperdrive had been slightly damaged in the recent battles it was only running at a One Class meaning it would take longer than the normal 0.6, but still relatively fast.

Master made his way through the halls back towards the Power room looking and hoping to sense Kirana Ti but with no luck. Master entered the Power room to find it empty but what struck him as odd was that one part of the room, the wall was blackened as well as debris all over the place. "Must have been that explosion that happened earlier" Master said to himself. After searching around a bit Master found the box of Proton Grenades only of which half had been used so using the force he quickly spread out the rest around the reactor and any other equipment hoping to make as big a boom as possible, "Narm would be proud" thought Master.

Master ran as fast as possible towards what he sensed & he believed was Kirana Ti. Master reached the door leading out of the building and had a look. The sight shocked him, there were all the Nightsisters in a half-circle with Kara at the front, Kirana Ti was on her knees facing towards the buildings. "MASTER" Kara said from behind Kirana Ti, her voiced was amplified so you could hear it no matter where you were in the building. "If you do not come out of hiding in the next minute Kirana Ti’s death will be on your head".

Master pulled himself back into the building "Oh shit" he said to himself. What to do, Master thought. Then it came to him.

The wind slowly blowed across the open area gathering loose sand, the Nightsisters looked directly at the building expecting Master to come forward. The wind picked up more and more sand blew around, when there was enough wind the sand blew up into a tornado shape, it remained perfectly still, yet still spinning without any show of stopping. Kara ignited Kirana Ti’s Lightsaber and held it ignited behind Kirana Ti. "You want to play games, your times up and I’m not playing" Kara said as she raised the lightsaber high above Kirana Ti ready to strike. "Wait" the voice came over the wind from towards the buildings. A figure appeared in the sand tornado but all that could be seen was a shadow. Well that was until Master stepped out of it and looked directly at the Nightsisters. This seemed to startle most of them, exactly what Master had wanted.

"Your fight is with me, let her go" Master said to Kara.

The tornado dissolved into thin air.

"I do not want to fight you, I want you to join us" she threatened with the saber over Kirana Ti.

"If you let her go, I will………..join you" the last part came out weakly from Master.

Kara smiled, "I agree, but if you decide to kill me, you will regret it".

Master nodded "Now let her go".

Kara nodded and the two Nightsisters on either side of Kirana Ti let her go, Kirana Ti slowly staggered up to Master. "You ok" he asked, "Yea, I’m fine, I’ve been acting out of it so I could listen what was going on, your not seriously going to join them"? she asked looking at him.

"I gave my word I would not kill her, so I will not" Master said looking away. Master smiled and projected a thought to Kirana Ti. ‘Trust Me’, Kirana Ti looked up at Master and smiled then let him go and looked back at the Nightsisters.

"Do you have anything more to say before you submit yourself to the dark side and our ways" Kara taunted.

"Yea one thing, how long do you think you will survive without a base of operations" Master said as he pulled out the remote control to the grenades. The look on Kara’s face meant she knew what it was, but she could do nothing about it until it was too late.

Master flicked the switch, the resulting explosion blew away the power generators, as they exploded it took away 90% of the buildings.

After the explosion had calmed down Kara glared at Master, "That was the last mistake you will ever make". "Yea I’ve heard that before from people who wanted to kill me, and I seem to still be here" Master said smugly but saying that didn’t take away the bad feeling he had. The Nightsisters drew lightsabers, Master’s feeling went from bad to worse.

Master ducked under one of the blades from an oncoming Nightsister, Kirana Ti nearby jumped back from three of them as they all swung blades at her, one knicked her arm but she ignored it and kept up her defense. "Kirana Ti, CATCH" Master shouted as he threw his lightsaber to her, Kirana Ti caught it and ignited it in one swift motion pushing the Nightsisters back.

"Not a smart move, how do you expect to defeat them without a weapon Master" Kara laughed.

Three of the Nightsisters re-advanced at Master

"A true Jedi does not need a weapon" he said raising his arms in defense towards the advancing Nightsisters. As soon as they came into reach Master kicked the closest one with a shot to the kidneys, the kick landed a little high but still did some damage knocking the wind out of her forcing her down, the second came in close behind and she swung her lightsaber towards Master’s chest, but Master felt her come dropped to the ground and brought his legs around wrapping them around the oncoming Nightsisters own making her fall to the ground with a crash, Master brought his boot down on the side of her head knocking her cold. By this time the sister who he had knocked down originally had got her breath back and was up and was re-advancing, she swung her saber towards Master’s head, he just sensed it in time and dropped a few centimeters so it missed his scalp, unfortunately this was not enough and it burned some of his hair. The burnt hair smell was not pleasant, "Thanks I needed a haircut, don’t expect a tip" Master said as he punched her in the stomach knocking her back, a quick kick to the head put her down for at least a while. The last Nightsister, Tamith Kai was more clever learning from the others mistakes and had hung back to see Master’s reaction with them. "Come on Tamith Ka, I haven’t got all day" Master said. "What eager to die are we" she said with an evil smile.

"No actually I’m getting board"

"You wont be much longer, time to meet your maker"

She ran towards him bearing the saber in front of her torso making a kick or punch impossible to hit. She swung the saber in a horizontal slash which would have dissected Master between the shoulders, that was if it had another few centimeters on it. Master spun around the blade and brought his elbow up into the jaw of Tamith Kai knocking her back and the lightsaber out of her hand to the ground where it deactivated on the ground. Tamith Kai glared at Master and clenched her teeth concentrating on the Dark Side. "Oh Fodder" Master thought. Dark Force Lighting shot from her fingertips and hit Master square in the chest knocking him flying. Master’s head hit something hard like a rock as he hit the ground and his head spun, the blood oozed down his cloak mixing with the sand. Tamith Kai walked up to him and looked down about to deliver the killing blow.

Kirana Ti caught Master’s saber and spun igniting it forcing the oncoming Nightsisters back. The burn on her left arm hurt but she shunted away the pain. The first Nightsister came swinging wildly with her blade but she had not much control over it, she was just swinging hoping to get a shot in, which she didn’t. A punch to the head put her down. The second and third Nightsisters attacked at once from either side of her, Kirana Ti kicked the one to her left in the wrist hoping to get her to drop the saber whiles she blocked the blow from the others saber with her own. It almost went to plan, the Nightsister to her left did drop her saber and Kirana Ti blocked the blow from the one to her right and counted with a slash of hr own, but the sister at her left kicked her in the stomach knocking Kirana Ti down. As soon as she hit the ground she used the force to push away as hard as she could the one without the saber, she keep going till she hit the wall with a thud. Kirana Ti launched her self up in a backflip bringing her feet into the chin of the Nightsister knocking her down. Kirana Ti landed on her feet and pushed the blade of Master’s lightsaber through the Nightsisters chest killing her. Kirana Ti looked up from the now dead Nightsister towards Master only to see him on the ground with Tamith Kai above him.

Tamith Kai was about to shoot the force lightning to kill Master when Kirana Ti ran in and kicked her in the side causing her to loose her balance and fall, Master slowly got to his feet. Kirana Ti was about to bring the saber down to kill Tamith Kai when Master stopped her "No, its one thing to kill in battle another to kill when the person is down, a punch or kick always works just as well", Master punched Tamith Kai in the side of the head knocking her out. "See, just as effective".

Kirana Ti nodded, "Your right I was close to the Dark Side".

"I noticed, and its understandable I was close my self, now appears there is only one Nightsister left and she is all mine" Master said.

Kara drew her own Lightsaber and waited for Master to come for her. Kirana Ti gave back Master his saber and he ignited it and walked towards Kara.

Block…Strike…Block….Block….Strike, move after move, both were pretty well matched, one attuned to the light side the other to the dark. Kara erupted and launched a series of quick slashes towards Master's head, some hit leaving burn marks across his face but nothing serious enough to worry about. She cut downwards which was her mistake and gave Master a clear shot at her upper body. Master drove his saber through her shoulder, through bone and skin. Kara collapsed to the ground, Master deactivated his saber and stood over her, she held her shoulder as blood escaped through her fingers. "Its over, you have lost" Master said. "Yes your right, forgive me" Kara replied,

"There is nothing to forgive, the dark side is a powerful ally, but it is twisted and evil"

"Your right, I see that now"

"I’ll make sure you live, you have two choices you can either turn away from the Dark side and rejoin the Singing Mountain Clan or you can continue your Dark ways and ill take care of you for good" Master said starting to walk off letting her think.

Master and Kirana Ti walked towards a bag Master had brought which had a bacta-patch which would ease his and her pain.

Unseen Kara called a Lightsaber to her hand.

Master turned and in one motion ignited his saber and threw it towards her ignited.

It impaled itself in her chest killing her.

"Wrong Choice" Master said.

A Ghost like form emerged from Kara’s body.

"What the fu.." Master mouthed.

"You think you have won, HA, you will die by my hand" the ghost like form of Kara said.

Energy started to escape from Kara’s body.

"RUN" Kirana Ti shouted as started to run towards the ridge, the energy ran from Nightsister to Nightsister and lunged towards them. Master grabbed Kirana Ti and used to force to launch them as far away as possible.

The sand finished falling and Kirana Ti took a deep breath sticking her head up from the ground.

Master rolled over and groaned "Some time off, don’t get this beat up in Intruder Wing".

"Then where do you get all your fun" Kirana Ti said laughing.

"I’ll answer that when my head stops spinning" Master said sitting up to check a gash the energy had left when it hit him. Master winced at the site of it.

"She took all the Nightsisters with her" Kirana Ti said noticing there were no forms of the Nightsisters left. "Saves us the trouble I suppose" Master said.

"All but one it appears" she replied catching a glimpse of Tamith Kai running into the forest. "Oh well gives you something to do after I leave" Master said grinning. "I’ve decided to go back and train some more with Luke" Kirana Ti replied.

"What brought that on" Master said trying to stand but with not a lot of luck.

"I was too close to the Dark Side before, you felt it" Kirana Ti said.

"In that case I wish you luck" Master said "Now lets go home".

"Thank you for flying Vornskr spaceline, make sure your tray tables are securely fastened and your seats are in there full and upright position, then GET THE HELL OFF MY SHIP"!!! Master said over the Comm to the Vornskr. Hippie and Kristy both laughed.

The Vornskr landed close to Master’s T/D and Kristy ran out of the ramp and hugged then kissed Master. He winced at the pain from the hug but didn’t want it to stop. "I missed you, you miss me" Kristy said. "Well I would have but you know I’ve been really busy" Master said, Kristy raised an eyebrow "Of course I did, a minute didn’t go by when I wasn’t thinking of you" Master said laughing, Kristy smiled then kissed him again. Hippie emerged from the ramp. "Take care of my ship Hippie"? Master asked laughing. "Of course I did, its in better condition than you ever had it in, Narm wanted to gamble it away a few times but I wouldn’t let him" Hippie said grinning. "Thought as much, come on, village is this way" Master said laughing.

Few Days later.

Hippie left flying the Tie Defender back to the Intruder after seeing around the planet and meeting everyone from the Singing Mountain clan, Kristy thought he may have had a crush on Kirana Ti at one stage but kept quiet. Master told her all about what had happened with the Nightsisters because she wanted to know why he had several scars which were new. Two nights before they were set to leave, they were taking a romantic moonlight walk. "Kristy" Master said as they stopped under a tree. "Yes" Kristy replied. Master paused then said "Marry me". Kristy smiled the replied "Yes". Master smiled then he kissed her.

The party the next night had two meanings the first to say goodbye to Master and Kristy and the second to celebrate their marriage. The party went long into the night, and the people present had very little sleep, but this didn’t concern Master or Kristy, they were going to take a side trip back to the Intruder seeing a few of the planets on the way. Master had sent a message to the Intruder and told him the news, SA Kevin had sent his congratulations and given him an extra week off as that was all he could spare. Narm apparently was very happy for Master as was Hippie and the others, Narm though seemed somewhat more happy for him. Kristy later told Master that Narm and Hippie had a beet going for when they would get married, Narm must have won.

The Vornskr blasted away from Dathomir, Master engaged the Hyperdrive. "Next stop Ithor" Master said to Kristy who replied "That’s a long jump". "Yep, I still got two weeks before I’m meant to report back to the Intruder same with you, shouldn’t take more than three days to get to Ithor however, then we will work our way back from there" Master replied. "Sounds good to me, so what do you suppose we do to pass the time" she said with a grin, "I got some ideas" Master said also grinning.

END.