Part 11

Tyi watched from his flagship as drop ships began heading to the surface. They would destroy the academy on Yavin IV. He did not want to wait too long to attack just in case the Jedi were more prepared. He was hoping to catch them off guard.

"Well, it looks like you've done it," Draco said.

"Yes, it does," Tyi said with a smile. "I know that Darth Rizon would never had tried such a thing."

Draco did not say anything. He still was not sure if this was such a good idea. Their troops were still largely untrained compared to the Jedi and the forces of the New Republic. There was little he could do now however as the attack was now fully underway.

"It will be a glorious day Admiral," Tyi said watching as another drop ship headed on down to the planet's surface.

"I hope so," Draco replied. "I really do."

A dark figure crouched in the hidden parts of the hanger waiting until the time was right. Slowly with precision it slowly made its way out of the area. It was heading to the bridge to see for sure what was going on.

"It's an attack," the officer in charge said when Luke came into the command room.

"From where," Luke asked.

"Ten ships just dropped out of hyperspace. Within moments they were launching ships. The first ship should be arriving any moment now," the man said.

"What about fighters," Luke said.

"Silver and gold squadrons are already launched and engaged with the enemy fighters," the officer said. "We count ten drop ships right now."

"Hm, with each ship having between ten and fifty men we're looking at an invasion of a hundred to five hundred right now," Luke said.

"As a first wave," the officer said. "You can bet credits on it that this is only the first wave."

"All right, sound the invasion alert," Luke said leaving the room to get ready for a fight again.

Kyle watched as the first ship landed not that far away from where the training grounds were. He had instructed the group in the way they should fight. Many had blasters drawn ready for the upcoming fight. Lightsabers were also nearby just in case they were needed as well.

Troops raced out of the ship with a mixture of weapons. About half had blasters while the other half had lightsabers. Kyle knew that was not good as he fired off a couple of shots with his blaster while ignited his lightsaber in his other hand. Several others followed suit as well.

The soldiers noticing that there were lightsabers in the mix backed off a bit allowing the Jedi room to fight while they could take care of their opposite numbers.

Another ship dropped down and more enemies added to the numbers that were near the field. Kyle estimated that the ships were carrying about thirty troops in each one. As it was they were outnumbered on the field by almost two to one at the moment.

Kyle used his lightsaber to block an opponent's lightsaber then with a twirl sliced though the enemy defenses. The enemy dropped as Kyle turned to the next person. He could see out of the corner of his eye others doing the same thing. He saw two students fall in the attack but more attackers were falling right now. He could only hope that the battle did not last too long.

Luke noticed the group on the training field. Kyle was leading them but they were going to be overrun by sheer numbers as another ship dropped nearby. Jumping off the ledge using the Force to help him he dropped lightly to the ground. Then he was running towards the battle.

He arrived just as the third group of soldiers were arriving as well. Luke used his incredible skill as a Jedi to quickly slice though the invaders.

Kyle sensed when Luke arrived and was glad. With him there he felt a bit better about their chances. The ordinary soldiers he did not think too much about, it was the Force users that he had needed a bit of help with.

Tyi continued to listen to the reports. They were losing men but that was to be expected. He wanted to know that the Jedi were also falling. There was a report that two of the better Jedi were fighting in the training fields. It was reported that one of the Jedi was the legendary Luke Skywalker.

"Send two more to that location," Tyi said. "If we can kill Skywalker then the battle will be much easier."

"Of course," Draco said relaying the information. That would be another sixty men to that location. He knew that they already had ninety men there against perhaps thirty. He hoped that the odds would be in their favor.

"Perhaps you should send some up here. After all you're going to need them," a voice said from behind them.

Draco's blood went ice cold as he heard the voice. He did not want to turn around but knew that he had to. He did not even bother looking at Tyi as he slowly turned around. He hoped that he was mistaken somehow but the figure that was standing in the middle of the bridge and he knew that there was no mistake.

The figure was dressed in black with a hood on. He could not see the face but already knew that there were ice blue eyes looking at him.

"My lord, you're alive, that's good news. Admiral Draco planned all of this and used me to get to you," Tyi said suddenly causing Draco's mouth to drop open.

"Silence fool," the figure said as Force lightning suddenly burst forth catching Tyi and sending him into the wall.

"Lord Rizon," Draco finally managed to say. He finally managed to shake his stupor off as she looked right at him. He knew that he was dead anyways so he raised his pistol. He would not go down without a fight.

Two shots rang out but both were effectively blocked by a red lightsaber. Two guards slumped down as the laser shots were deflected to them. They had a stunned expression in their face as the life faded from their eyes.

"I don't like revolutions," Rizon said suddenly moving with speed that Draco was sure no mortal could process. Then she was standing in front of him with a smile on her face. It took him a moment to realize that he was sliced in two. He slumped to the floor in two pieces as she turned to look at Tyi.

"My lord, I only wanted to serve you," he said.

"So you had me killed, how obedient of you," Rizon said attacking the man who had been one of her most trusted. "I should have watched you more carefully," Rizon admitted.

"Well, get her," Tyi said suddenly.

Rizon watched as the guards seemed a bit hesitant. She decided to make the decision for them. She attacked with the same speed she had Draco. Within moments the only person still alive on the bridge was Tyi. Rizon walked up to him with a calm walk. With a quick slash she had ended this rebellion.

There was no telling how many were against her in this group now. She looked down at the planet's surface as she thought about why she was doing what she was. There was only one thought on her mind. She grinned a bit as she realized there had been only one thing on her mind now for while. It just took losing it to realize it. She turned to the control center making one adjustment she then calmly walked off the bridge.

Gaia had watched as the ships had landed from where she was sitting. She knew what they were even before the attackers came rushing out of the landing craft and quickly rushed towards the group in the field. She could see laser fire and the clash of lightsabers as well.

There was a part of her that was aware that she should be helping out with the battle. Another part of her just could not muster the effort or the emotion to really care about what was going on. That part really just wanted one of those bolts to hit her and end what she was feeling. At least in her mind that would be better than what she was going through right now.

Master Skywalker had jumped into the battle now and was wielding his lightsaber with skill and precision that she had seen so often in training. He was working with Kyle as the two twirled their lightsabers in a deadly duel that made sure nothing came near them. They seemed unstoppable in the face of the overwhelming odds.

Gaia was not too surprised when another couple of landing craft made their way down to the field area. She was still watching when she heard sounds coming from nearby. Turning she noticed a group of invaders heading around the area she was in.

It was strange she thought as she watched the group enter the area firing all around. There was a large part of her that just did not want to live anymore. She never raised her defenses or tried to stop the figures that were coming. It was almost surreal as she watched a pistol aimed at her as the finger squeezed the trigger. It was slow motion as the laser was fired and went straight for her.

Gaia slumped down not even felling any pain at all. The world slowly faded out as she lost consciousness.

Luke knew that the ships coming down held more men in their holds. They were already fighting odds about three to one, the two landing craft would tilt the odds to probably around five to one. The doors to the ships opened and men rushed out of one but out of the other only one figure stepped out. Eh could see the power this one was radiating and could only hope that he and Kyle had whittled down the odds enough for one of them to face off against this person.

In a strange twist however he noticed that several of the attackers that were armed with lightsabers suddenly stopped their attack. They were looking at the figure in a way that was strange to Luke.

It seemed to be strange as the fighting died down a bit as the figure approached. A dark red cape flowed behind the figure. As the figure approached Luke was able to tell that it was a woman that was approaching. The hood was thrown back to revel a beautiful woman with blue eyes and black hair. She looked at the attackers who all seemed to flinch when her eyes met theirs.

A red lightsaber came to life as Luke and Kyle looked at each other.

"Any idea as to who this is," Kyle asked not taking his eyes off the woman.

"She must be the Sith Lord that I thought Gaia had defeated," Luke replied back.

"Great," Kyle replied as they both kept a defense up against the woman not sure what to expect. What happened next however did shock them.

The woman suddenly attacked the ones who had attacked her. The battle suddenly started up again this time they had a demon on their side. Her red lightsaber slashed her way though any obstacle that prevented her from what she wanted.

The officer watching the sky noticed with astonishment that suddenly one of the ships made a strange erratic turn. It was heading right into one of the other ships. He knew that they had not damaged the ship to that point so he wondered what had happened.

A flash appeared in the sky to indicate that the two ships had destroyed each other causing mass confusion in the fleet above the planet. The remaining ships were not sure what to do as the command structure had been destroyed. The main commanders of the fleet had died on board the two ships.

Then suddenly the appearance of several New Republic warships caused even more panic. The individual captains of the ships lost their nerve and turned the ships. There were no indictor ships in the area yet to prevent the ships escape.

The ground personal were suddenly without any support. It would take them a while to learn that their air support was gone though.

Jessica strode though the ranks of her former army slashing at anyone who dared come near her. She had a gut feeling that she was needed close by. Part of her mind wondered why she was doing this, helping the Jedi in this battle. Another part of her realized that she was not doing this for the Jedi, but for one Jedi. She had to know what happened to the small Jedi.

Luke watched as the woman wielding the red lightsaber continued walking though the training field. He was still in battle but there was not as many. He could only hope that he would get to where the woman was going before heavy damage began.

Jessica twirled her lightsaber as another person blocked her path. She really did not care if it was Jedi or Sith at this moment. She was on a mission and nothing would stop her. The person who blocked her path right now was a Sith who had witnessed the destruction the former Sith Lord had caused. They had been told that Darth Rizon's ship had been sabotaged and she had been killed by the New Republic.

The look in Darth Rizon's eyes however told another story. The eyes were ice cold as she looked at him. He swallowed a bit but knew that he was engaged in combat with her. There was nothing that he could do to stop this battle.

Her attacks were swift and deadly as the man found himself falling to the ground in just seconds. He barely had time to think about death when it occurred.

As Jessica strode into the temple she noticed that the Sith army was beginning to become disoriented. She figured that had to do with the fact that she had destroyed two of the ships in orbit. The ship she had targeted had held the second in commands of the ground troops. Without the commanders they men in the army would dissolve into the thugs they had been.

She continued to stride along the corridors making her way along until she felt that she was near. She was not able to explain it but she knew she was near. Taking a deep breath she looked around taking everything in. There had been a battle here as well. That was when she spotted the blonde hair by a wall. Quickly running over to the wall she spotted the form that she was looking for only now she was not sure she wanted to find it.

With shaking hands she bent down to find out the truth. She turned the body over to see that she had been struck in the chest. The features were pale but the skin was still warm to the touch.

"My lord," a voice said causing her to turn. She looked to see a group of Sith standing there looking at her.

"The ships had left what should we do," the one asked looking around nervously.

Rage filled Jessica as her vision washed in red as she looked on. Her lightsaber sprung to life as she charged the group. They were caught off guard by everything that was going on. The last thing they expected was to have the Sith Lord attack them. It would not have mattered if they had been prepared as Jessica's attacks were raw power and unstoppable.

Jessica stood in the middle of the room as the last one fell to her attack. Glancing back over at the form she walked back on over. Placing a hand on the cheek she was surprised when the lips of the small Jedi parted a bit. Hope sprung into her heart as she quickly checked the woman out. She was alive, but barely.

Luke had finished off the last of the group and was headed into the temple when he felt the wash of the Force. It was the Dark side that was for sure and the power of it surprised him. He glanced at Kyle who looked back at him.

"I think we should be careful," Luke suggested.

"Right, I haven't felt such raw power in a long time," Kyle said.

"I haven't since the Emperor was destroyed," Luke said and even then he was not sure if this new power was not more powerful than the Emperor.

They approached with caution as they walked down the corridor. They were joined by Master Fie-Tel who was wielding his own lightsaber. He told them that they had backed the remainder of the attackers into that area. Luke nodded his head as they prepared to storm the area. It was then that a figure appeared in the doorway. It was holding another figure and Luke could see that it was the woman he had seen earlier in the battle.

She continued to walk forward without fear as she approached the group of Jedi.

"Where are your healers," the woman asked in a tone that seemed rough with emotion.

Luke looked on until he realized that it was Gaia in the woman's arms. He quickly motioned for the medical teams to come forward. It seemed strange but the woman was not about to let Gaia go for some reason.

As the tall woman passed Luke he suddenly realized where he had seen the woman. He had a vision of her and Gaia and wondered why she was there. He was sure that this woman was the Sith Lord that they had been after. He would keep a close eye on her.

Luke walked into the med lab a short time later after organizing the clean up from the attack. The doctor came over to him to report on the injuries. He came to Gaia last.

"I'm afraid that the news is not good. She has suffered severe trauma to her system. We've done all we can but we are still losing her. She just doesn't have the energy to heal," the doctor said.

"Nonsense," a voice said from behind them. They both turned to see a man standing there. Luke recognized the man right away but wondered what the man meant.

"I am a doctor sir, I know my job," the doctor said slightly miffed at being countered from his expert opinion.

"For a normal human, and perhaps even a Jedi yes, but she is more than just a human or a Jedi," the man said looking around. "Ah, there is her savior," he said walking over to where the tall woman was standing just holding Gaia's hand.

The doctor and Luke exchanged a glance then walked with him.

Jessica did not care who was approaching as her entire focus was the pale face she was looking at. She was holding the hand of the small Jedi even thought it was slowly becoming more cold indicating that they were losing her.

"You want her to live," the man asked suddenly causing Jessica to look up at the man. "Lie down with her, hold her."

Jessica looked at the man like he was crazy. What would that do to help. She wanted to spend as much time remaining with the small Jedi as she could.

"Do it and she will live," the man said. "She needs your help."

Jessica was not sure what the man meant. She was hesitant to do anything that could mean she would miss something with the small Jedi.

The man sighed then walked up to Jessica as he could see the look in her eyes. "Look, you two have a special bond," he whispered in her ear. "Doing this will trigger what is known as a healing sleep," he told her.

"And how will that help," Jessica said not sure about this bond that he was talking about.

"She is using all of her energy just to remain alive but it is not enough. A healing sleep combines two people's energy," the man said. "Trust me on this one."

"All right," Jessica said. "But if she dies, so do you."

The man was not phased by the threat to his life but merely looked on in what appeared to be amusement. Jessica took off her cape and her boots then carefully slipped onto the bed with Luke and the doctor looking on. With one last look at the man Jessica carefully held onto Gaia.

The doctor, Luke and the strange man walked out of the room that Gaia and the strange woman were in.

"Now what's going on," the doctor asked wanting to know the truth.

"It's complicated," the man replied.

"Who are you," Luke asked.

"My name is Trona," the man said. "And those two women have something special."

"Special," Luke asked not sure what that was.

"Yes, it is something rare and not spoken of outside those who are part of it," Trona said. "Their bond allows one to help the other in a healing sleep when either is hurt."

"A healing sleep," the doctor asked.

"Yes, in this case the Jedi, I believe her name is Gaia requires more energy than her body can deliver. In this case the other woman can help provide the energy the body needs to both remain alive and heal," Trona said. "They will be hungry and thirsty when they wake up."

"You were the one who spoke to me earlier," Luke said.

"Yes," Trona said. "I cannot say any more about who, or what, we are without endangering us. We were hunted at one time for our abilities and killed."

"I understand," Luke said thinking about how the Jedi had been hunted down and killed by the Emperor and his father. "It's been a long day, I suggest we all return to normal hopefully that will last a while."

"No kidding," Kyle Katarn said having heard that last part. "Any idea as to who our visitor is?"

"Nope, but it will wait until later," Luke said.

Gaia felt herself being pulled into reality from the warm comfortable place that she was in. She felt surrounded by warmth that she just had not intention of leaving but something else was calling her. With a slight groan she opened her eyes as she recalled everything that had gone on. She realized that she was on a bed in what appeared to be the med lab.

Strangely enough the warm feeling did not disappear as she had thought it would. She was not sure that this made much sense to her as she moved a bit. Feeling arms around her she turned her head to see something she was sure she would never see again.

Laying beside her was the Sith Lord that had captured her, and helped free her. There was also the fact that she was sure that she had fallen in love with the woman as well. This line of thought was becoming complicated rather quickly Gaia thought to herself.

"Its good to see you're awake," the voice said as she looked into blue eyes.

"Am I dead," Gaia finally asked.

"Nope," the woman said with a smile. "And I can say I'm glad."

"This is going to require a explanation," Gaia finally decided.

"Later, when you're better," Jessica said not wanting to go into everything right now. Now that the smaller woman was awake there would be time for explanations later.

"All right, but I'm going to hold you to that," Gaia said as she looked around to see more of what was going on. "How did you survive," Gaia finally asked.

"That is part of the story," Jessica said with a gentle smile. "Right now I think that your masters are wanting to talk with me."

"Then the academy did not fall," Gaia asked wondering about that as we'll. If Darth Rizon was here, but they had failed then what was going on.

"No," Jessica replied to the smaller woman. "I promise to tell you everything."

"All right," Gaia said as her stomach chose that moment to rumble.

"First off I think we should get you something to eat," Jessica said with a smile.

"Haha," Gaia said as she blushed a bit knowing that it was the truth.

Jessica got up to see about getting something to eat for Gaia when she realized that she was also a bit hungry as well. She walked out to see what was going on and noticed when everyone outside the room stopped when she appeared.

"Can I get something to eat for two," Jessica said her voice rumbling across the silence.

Two people jumped before they even knew what they were doing to carry out the woman's request. The doctor snapped out from his stupor and walked over to where the tall woman was standing.

"Is everything all right," he asked.

"She's awake and is a bit hungry," Jessica said.

"Hmm," the doctor said walking past her to see his patient. Gaia was sitting up a bit having propped some pillows behind her and was looking at him with a question in her eyes. "How are you feeling?"

"Better," Gaia answered knowing that it was the truth. There was still a lot to do but the path was there standing by the doorway.

"All right, I'll send in some food that you should be able to handle. You got hit in the gut so we want to be careful with what you eat," he said to her then turned to walk out to order her food.

"I should probably go and talk to these Jedi," Jessica said speaking the word very hesitantly.

"They are nice people usually with open minds," Gaia said.

"Then I won't try and scare them too badly," Jessica said with a smile.

AS the food came up Jessica decided that it was time to go and get this talk over with. With one last look at Gaia she walked to get the meeting over with.

Gaia watched the woman walk out of the room then realized that she really did not know the woman's name. That would have to change that was for sure. She made a mental note to herself that she would ask that question the next time they were going.

End Part 11

Continued...