Operation Darkness: To the Batcave! By Sylvana Lorrdain The corridor didn't stay empty for long, surprise surprise. We hadn't gone three metres when we were met by another set of those creatures. I stood, frozen for a moment in surprise, as I watched Cochran's lightsabre seemingly bounce off the armour of the first creature as though from another sabre itself. Then another came at me, and I shook my head clear. At the moment, Alisky's sword was still in my fighting hand, and I automatically swung it around, backhandedly, from right to left across my body, not really expecting it to do anything. I was then reminded why she called it her 'super sword'. It felt like I was setting a hot knife through a brick of butter straight from the icebox. I looked up in surprise as the creature before me slid on itself with a look of what I took to be surprise on its dead features. I cracked half a smile, "Cool." I looked up to see Josh punch his lightsabre through the left eyeball of his assailant, and the creature fell, already dead, to the ground. "Efficient...." I half mumbled as he grabbed my arm and pulled me along at a dead run. "Hey," I gasped, "Your legs are longer'n mine, I can't run that fast!" He shook his head sharply, as though to rid himself of an unpleasant thought. From the strickenly determined look on his face, I didn't want to know what that thought was. The touch of evil brushed my spirit again just before we reached the crossway and I dug my heels into the plates, causing us to bounce a bit in the low gravity as I tugged him back. God must have been watching out for us, because we bounced back just in time to keep from running into two more of the creatures, who, miraculously, kept running down their hall, not looking down the one where we stood breathless. "That was a stroke of luck if I ever saw one..." I whispered to the Jedi beside me. "No such thing as luck," he mumbled absently. "Right...." Without another word, he pulled me along and we continued our mad run to the landing bay. A hole dropped from the ceiling before us, causing us to scatter to either side in avoidance of being squashed like bugs. Three creatures dropped through in quick succession, one turning on me, the other two ganging up on Jedi-boy. After learning the power of Alisky's sword, I did not hesitate employing it in stead of my blaster, at this point. Besides, a blaster at close range? How cowardly. Unfortunately, in the mad dash to keep from being turned into a Sylvana-pancake, I lost my balance, and fell to the floor in front of the creature. I rolled to the side as its staff-like weapon came down, barely missing my head. The brief flash of the Tusken Raider from A New Hope crossed into my mind, but I determined not to pass out like Farmboy had. As it went to correct itself, I rolled into its swing, it barely missing me, but not missing my bringing Alisky's sword around to cut through its knees. It let out an inhuman scream as it fell jarringly to the floor; I rolled to my knees and brought the sword down on its head.... it fell to either side of me. Letting out a shuddering breath, I looked up to see how the Jedi was doing. He was fighting magnificently; well, better than me anyway, as he deflected repeated blows from the two staffs raining down on him. Blue-seeming sparks came with each blow and slide of parry. I lunged forward to cut one diagonally from shoulder to hip, the black gore splashing me as I passed through the halves. I looked to my right to see yet another parrying blow..... and screamed as pain lanced through my right thigh. "Watch it!" I screamed as I spun on my left leg, bringing the sword around to decapitate Josh's attacker. "You alright?" I could see the worry on his face. I grimaced and nodded, "Come on, I need to go blow something up before I lose my mind." "You really *do* like Hobbie," he half-chuckled, shaking his head. We hop-ran side by side, and I half-punched his left shoulder with my off hand. "Shut up, Sir," I smirked at him. In the back of my mind, I wondered how Hobbie was doing, and whether at this very moment back in the GFFA, he also was fighting these creatures for his life. We were just about the enter the hangar, when we saw a few of the creatures incinerated by the _Bat-wing's_ thrusters while she escaped through the magcon field. Well, at least we wouldn't have to worry about that batch. "Looks like we're not the only ones getting away." I muttered as I pushed Josh toward the two-seater X-wing. "Start up the _Double-header_, while I go get something ready to blow up, to cover our tracks." He looked at me curiously. "What, just cause I can't fly doesn't mean I don't nickname things." I shook my head and started limping toward the _Gaia_. "Sylvana!" His voice seemed shocked. "Sci'll kill you for blowing up his ship!" "Somehow, I don't think he will," I called back over my shoulder as I passed from his line of sight. I headed toward the weapons locker and found a few thermal detonators. I set them for seven minutes, figuring that would be more than enough time for me to get into the _Double-header_, and besides, the draft may help blow us out the magcon. I hop-ran to the two-seater training X-wing, and pulled myself into the back seat. I saw the distinctive markings of Hyper behind us, and chuckled as I put on my helmet, the transparisteel canopy coming down to cover us. "You fly, I shoot, it'll be like that movie," I said as I strapped myself in. "Huh?" "You be Indiana Jones, and I'll be the Dad." "He shot off their tail." "I don't have a swivel seat," I retorted as he lifted the repulsors. "By the bye, we have about a minute left to get through the mag-con before _Gaia_ blows..." "What!?" He kicked in the repulsors and headed toward the mag-con. The explosion behind us rocked the starfighter and we burst through a ball of flame, just like Wedge would through a recent kill. I grinned and pointed randomly, "To the Batcave!" He groaned. "Hey, I always wanted to say that," I pouted as he swerved around, and dove toward Terra. ******* I never got to demonstrate my gunnery skills. As he flew us down through the atmosphere toward Mendellia, I pulled out the small med-kit beside my seat. I bypassed the bacta-patches, and grabbed a gauze roll to bandage tightly against the severe sabre-burn on my right thigh, then I taped it into place. I watched out the canopy as clouds swirled to blackness, then covered the sight of the unblinking stars, and the rapidly destroying moon-base. After a short bit, I turned to see the lights of Mendel City rapidly approaching and the, now usual, fear that we were going to crash gripped me once again. My heart rate quickened, my breathing grew shallower.... "I don't know why you insist to keep on thinking you're going to crash, Sylvana. Trust me, we'll land just fine." I could imagine his sinister grin as he dove to the city, accelerating our rate of descent. I could also imagine my fingers digging holes into the sides of my seat as I froze in place, gritting my teeth to keep from crying out. We leveled out just before we hit the ocean beside the island, and quickly flew to the small-ship cave-hangar. I didn't let go of the seat until we'd landed. If I'm honest, I'd say that I didn't let go of the seat until the craft was shut down, and Cochran was already out and on the ground. I peeled my fingers from the seat, absently noting that there *were* in fact, finger-imprints on the material. Shakily I unstrapped myself and slid down the ladder, favouring my right leg a bit as I walked up to stand just behind and to the side of Josh, before the King and Queen. I bowed, as I'd seen the Mendellian people do many times, and then saluted jauntily, with a smirk, as I attempted to conceal the effects of my going into emotional shock from their sight. "Agent Sylvana Lorrdain, report-" I shook my head and drew a half-shaky breath to calm myself, "Reporting... for...." I failed, and never felt my body hit the ground.