Project Boussh: From a Personal View
by Vickie Boyd

The stun cuffs hurt. My arms got a jolt every time I moved. The next
time, I swear my arms are going to fall off. I looked over at Dorset.
Impassive as always, though in her eyes I could see something... I'm not
sure what, but it was projected towards Brad.

Sighing, I tried to fiddle with the cuffs again. Ouch, another stun. I'm
glad they set them on 'annoying' and not heavy stun. The ysalamiri were
even more annoying than the cuffs. I know it's not their fault, but I
really could use a bit of the Force right about now.

A commotion caught my attention. Two stormtroopers and an Imp were
marching in two more prisoners. I recognized Corran immediately. He and
a woman were ushered over to where we were immediately. Getting a better
look at the woman, I deduced it was Becki.

"Amazing," Corran said as he moved beside me.

I looked at him curiously. "What?"

Before the conversation could go further, both of us were poked with
blasters. "Quiet."

I spun around to face my captor. "Is that the only word you know how to
say? I am getting SO tired of being poked with a blaster."

The trooper looked at me indifferently, not a hard feat with that helmet
on. "Would you rather be shot with it? I can easily do that."

Corran lay a hand on my arm. "Just calm down," he whispered to me.
"We'll be out of this soon."

I frowned, but nodded, turning back to pay attention to the fight
outside the viewport. Oh how I wished I was out there. An X-Wing flew by
chasing a TIE. I recognized the ship at being Tycho's. Green blasts spit
from the S-Foils, striking the other ship. The TIE's port wing
disintegrated. Inwardly I cheered.

The volume on the bridge suddenly rose. I looked out to see why.
"Holy..."

"That's the _Lusankya_," Corran said in answer to my unasked question.

I stood openmouthed, realizing we had somehow caught Thrawn in his own
pincer. Thrawn was angry. Even through the ysalamiri bubble, I could
feel it. He said something to Brad, who turned and moved towards
Dorset.

The prisoners were forced to our knees. I landed hard, the cuffs
stunning me yet again. I cursed under my breath and regained my senses
quickly.

Brad stood beside Dorset. His blaster was in his hand. *No, he can't.*
He raised it to Dorset's head. *NO,* I screamed in my head. *How could
you!*

I heard Thrawn speak to Wedge. The General answered just how I would
have expected. He was right. The real Thrawn would not execute prisoners
in order to escape.

Thrawn turned to Brad. His thumb flicked the switch on his blaster to
kill. All I could do was watch helplessly. And then Brad said something
that caught us all off guard.

"All your base are belong to us."

*Why you sneaky little Aussie!* A grin cracked my face for a moment
until I saw the blaster shot hit Thrawn. His face was obliterated. I
clinched my eyes shut.

Suddenly, I found something cold and familiar in my hands. I ignited the
blade to the first setting and sliced the cuffs around my wrists. I
looked up into the eyes of Brad's droid, Drake. Nodding my thanks, I
quickly turned to dispatch Dorset, Corran and Becki of their bonds.

Blaster shots cris-crossed the room. I pushed the switch on my
lightsaber up to full power. "Get behind me," I shouted to Becki and
Dorset as I sliced through the guards behind me.

I could feel a tingle as Drake shot the ysalamiri on the bridge. Corran
would be alright. One of the guards behind Becki pulled her behind him
and began firing on the Imps.

*He's with us,* I heard Corran say in my head.

Nodding, I turned back and covered them as best I could. The purple
blade flicked back and forth causing blaster bolts to ricochet around
the room.

There was more commotion near the doorway. I turned to look, expecting
reinforcement troops. What I saw was something quite different.

I was looking into my own eyes. "It's me." Amazing.

Dorset dropped to one knee and pulled out my other lightsaber. She
tossed it to my twin, who, without thinking, ignited it and began to
deflect shots.

We stared at each other for a few moments, somehow continuing to block
shots. *Side by side,* I asked her.

She nodded and moved to my side. We mirrored each other's stance, her to
the left and me to the right. The closer we were, the better my control
seemed to be. I could return bolts to those who fired them.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a vibroblade come down towards my
double. She spun out of the blade's way, but it cut into her leg. I
hissed in pain, feeling it as well. She turned on the Royal Guardsman, a
feral scream coming from her throat.

I watched as she battered him with the milky white blade. He fought
well, but she clearly had him outmatched. It was unbelievable that I
could do something like that.

A sudden surgence of multiple minds caught my attention.
*Reinforcements!* My twin looked at me as she skewered the Guardsman.
Pulling the blade from the red armor, she pointed it towards the door. I
noticed the firefight in here had begun to lessen. Without a word, I
dashed to the exit.

Brad got there before me. It was strange. Bolts seemed to deflect away
from him, much like my Force shield. Is he Force sensitive as well? No
time to ask, only time to act.

Brad dropped a power cell from his blaster and reached for another. He
had no more. A defeated look crossed his face. I pushed him aside and
moved into the hall. My twin was quickly beside me.

A sea of white and black surged towards us. My twin turned to me. "Force
push on three."

I grinned and nodded. Excellent idea. That would slow them down enough.
Focusing on the Force, I prepared myself.

"One..."

"Two..."

"THREE!" We both pushed our hands forward. Those watching must have
thought it strange to see two identical people working in tandem.

Within the Force, I could see the wave lash out towards the troopers.
The ones in the front suddenly lost their footing, flying back into
those behind them. Like dominoes, the front ranks fell back.

I turned and high-fived my twin. "Yes! That was cool. Now what?"

She looked at me and shrugged. "I thought you might have a plan."