> Defense officials denied reports of starships engaged in combat just beyond Daroga's orbit, though several independent observers contradicted the statements from the Chieftess's office. According to Inusagi Skywatch, their Gazer Five orbital observatory detected 'two or three' vessels exchanging fire, along with smaller craft suspected to be starfighters. We'll keep watching this story and bring you more details as they become available.

- Zirash Ganev

Temal Dihrai News Service

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41:03:31 GrS

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Lyra let out a loud grunt and a louder curse as she shimmied into Ajakeet's narrow pilot's seat. Tetris stood behind her, plugged into the ship's systems. She sealed the rear hatch and detached from the Chimera. Tetris beeped and whistled as she banked the courier around in a hard turn and shoved the throttles wide open.

"I'm sorry, Tetris," she said, reading his translated comment. "The astromech clamp is for an R-series. Uncle Shin didn't plan—"

From nowhere, sudden tears stung her eyes. "Rutting hell!" She flipped her visor up so she could wipe them away. "He didn't build this ship for either of us," she finished, utterly miserable.

Tetris trilled a despondent reply.

"I know, Tetris. I can't believe he's gone either." Her voice failed her and it took most of her will to keep the tears away. She coughed, making her ribs ache terribly. "I need to find the ship that Taz is on. Can you help?"

Tetris whistled and started a sensor sweep. A few seconds later he erupted with urgent whistles and chirps.

"The Korvis is attacking it?" she exclaimed and punched in a frequency on the comm. "Korvis, this is Lyra Nimor in Ajakeet. You need to cease firing on that ship. There are friendlies aboard!"

"This channel is for official communications," responded the overstressed voice of a comm officer.

"What part of 'there are friendlies aboard' doesn't sound official?" she snapped.

Indrus's voice came over the speaker. "Nimor, get off this frequency. You did your part. This is an enforcement matter now. If you interfere further, I'll intercept your ship and have you up on charges of obstructing an official investigation. This is your first and only warning." The channel went dead.

"Indrus!" she yelled. Clearly, whatever forbearance he'd allowed her had evaporated, probably when the Korvis got rammed and torpedoed. "Beshkhat!" she screamed into the pickup, but in the back of her mind she knew she'd be feeling the same if it was her ship. Nevertheless, her hands shook. Uncle Shin was dead, Rendix was a mess, and every stabbing breath made her question her sanity in even attempting a rescue.

But Taz was out there along with any number of abducted Rayeths, captured by some madman for who knew what reason. They could be suffering torture like Sera did, or... Lyra cleared her head with a sharp shake. She couldn't let fear of the unknown paralyze her. Think, Lyra!

Now that she was in visual range she could see the exchange of fire between the two ships. She only needed a second to see how one-sided the contest was. The Korvis was half the size of the other ship, but even after the damage it had taken from the Ammon Night, the Customs cruiser outgunned the other. It was fleeing, but its only advantage had been its cloaking technology. She didn't know why that had failed, but without it, the bigger vessel wouldn't last long.

Nevertheless, they were still fighting, firing their lateral batteries and launching missiles against the Korvis. A few of the Ammon Night's fighters were rocketing around, too. She keyed in another frequency. "Officer Renosi, it's Lyra Nimor. If you can hear me, please respond."

There was a long pause, then the smooth feline voice of the Neablu said, "Miss Nimor, are you alright?"

"Renosi, you have to call off the attack. Oktos is on that ship!"

"That's unfortunate," rejoined the ranger, "but there's not much I can do. I'm little more than an observer. Plus—" there was a pause before she continued, "I'm engaged with the enemy fighters."

"Tetris, find out which of those ships is Renosi's." Lyra watched her tactical scope and one of the contacts turned green. Two of the fighters were fencing with her, looking for an opening.

Lyra banked into an intercept vector. "Where's your wingmate?"

"He took a shot, had to peel off. These sleemos are like aspinflies. Nasty stings, but not very smart. Annoying, though."

"I'm inbound at one forty-two mark twenty-nine, five seconds out."

Ajakeet swept beneath the two Cascade fighters as they maneuvered to bracket Renosi's bigger ship from above and astern. They looked like the result of some unholy dalliance between a couple of Old Republic ships. Broad s-foils tipped with long cannons flanked thin tubular engine pods and a stubby hull.

Lyra didn't spare any brainpower to ponder the architect's odd design sensibilities as she energized Ajakeet's laser cannons and lined up an attack. She squeezed the trigger, steering the dragon moth's nose as her target jinked to the side. The shots went wide and the cannons fell quiet after only a couple of seconds.

"Tetris, what's wrong with the guns?" She maneuvered away while her target yawed his ship around, bringing the fight to her.

Tetris whistled a sharp reply. Lyra glanced at the readout. "It's normal?" She was annoyed and confused until Tetris's follow-up. "Small storage coils, huh? Guess I shouldn't be surprised in a ship this size."

She scowled and dropped along her vertical axis before rolling out on a diagonal course. She'd drawn the Cascade's attention from Renosi and its pilot wheeled toward her in a sweeping arc while Renosi exchanged fire with the other one.

"He's either a rookie or that ship's a piece of crap," Lyra mumbled. The opposing pilot peppered Ajakeet with a sloppy volley of laser blasts. Most missed and her shields took the brunt of the punishment, but a relay overloaded somewhere, knocking her environmental controls offline and darkening the cockpit.

Tetris beeped and hooted as he began rerouting the circuits.

"Yes, his power reserves do seem better than ours, thanks for pointing that out." She jerked the ship into a hard tumble, making her astromech shriek as he bounced around the tiny compartment behind her. Lyra ignored his electronic protests, taking advantage of Ajakeet's agility and powerful ion turbines to close on the other ship's tail. She triggered the lasers under the chin, using short bursts this time. The snub fighter's starboard engine blew apart, sending the ship careening. There was a brief, spectacular flare as it disintegrated.

"Renosi?" Lyra called. "You still out there?" The question was unnecessary; the Ranger's ship kept glowing on her tactical scope. Her nemesis was burning hard on an escape vector. Apparently, he had no stomach for facing both of the women. The fighter winked out of existence as it transitioned past lightspeed.

"Of course, Miss Nimor. That was nice flying. You have combat experience?"

"I did a year of starfighter training before I joined Customs." A smile flickered across her face and Lyra squeezed the controls, feeling more confident.

"I could've handled those amateurs myself but I appreciate the assist!"

"Don't mention it," Lyra retorted, making sure her scowl came through her tone. She didn't need to work very hard at it with the pain and dread burdening her. A ship nearly twice Ajakeet's size with a clear TIE lineage settled into formation off her port wing. Instead of a spherical cockpit it had a tapering cylinder with wrap-around viewports. The hull was dominated by three angular solar collectors wings in a radial arrangement. "V Thirty-eight?" Lyra queried.

"Good eye, Miss Nimor. Modified to my personal specifications, of course!"

"Of course," Lyra echoed. "Look, I have to get aboard that ship."

"I wouldn't recommend that. With the pounding it's taking, I don't think it'll last much longer."

"Renosi— Naktiya." Despite her best effort, Lyra couldn't keep the strain and fear out of her voice. "We rescued Rendix, but I lost someone who meant a lot to me. Sera's badly hurt and honestly, I'm not in the best shape either. The man I love is on that ship. I have to try to get him out of there. I don't have anyone else, and I... I'm not sure I can do it alone. What I'm saying is I could really use your help."

When she answered, Renosi's voice lacked her normal light-hearted verve. "I understand, Miss Nimor. Stand by." There was silence on the comm for a few seconds. Lyra was surprised to see the Korvis's turbolasers stop firing, though its forward ion cannons kept up a steady barrage. "Commander Indrus has agreed to try capturing her. They're assembling a boarding party."

Lyra shook her head. "I'm grateful, Officer Renosi, but a boarding party will take too long."

"I know," answered the other woman. "I suppose I can't talk you out of going in there alone?"

"No, you can't."

"I knew there was something about you I liked, Miss Nimor." She sounded more like herself that time. "Let's go get your mate. I'll follow you in."

"Thank you." Lyra's voice shook with gratitude and relief. Now she just had to get aboard that ship and hope she could find Taz. She angled toward the vessel. You better not die on me, Oktos.

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Taz heard alarms going off somewhere. Lighting panels dimmed at random or were entirely dark, and he could just detect the smell of fried circuits and fire retardant. He allowed himself a small grin. Maybe the power he'd released in his short fight with Agonis had done some real harm.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

"Your ship seems to have suffered damage, my lord."

Agonis didn't seem too concerned. "A result of your earlier... outburst. It is of no matter. The Misery is a powerful and resilient ship, like her master."

"You were cloaked on the planet."

"A gift from someone who believes himself to be my patron."

"Zann," Taz supposed aloud.

"Indeed, whelp." The Sith furrowed his brow. "How did you guess that?"

"He's distributing a drug that's made from the isolate you're harvesting from the Rayeths, isn't he? That woman, Sykes, is part of his operation. I saw her on your ship before I was captured."

Now that he paid attention, he could hear the sounds of combat and feel the impact of turbolasers. Someone must have found them, or perhaps Ranger Renosi had come. That could also mean that Lyra and the others were out there.

Lyra. He felt a deep pang when he thought of her.

Your love for her is nothing beside the Force.

Throw off carnal desires and embrace true power!

That didn't feel quite right to him. After all, he wanted her. Shouldn't he just take what he wanted?

Yes. Possess her. There is power in domination.

That sounded better, though he felt weirdly uncomfortable with the notion. The Misery lurched and he had to catch himself to keep his balance. "You're... we're under attack?"

"An agency called Customs has ordered us to surrender and to submit to arrest."

A smile twitched at Taz's mouth. "You'll do no such thing, I suppose, my lord."

"A mighty Sith bow to mere functionaries?" bellowed the taller man. "My work is much too important to be obstructed by petty bureaucrats and their constabulary."

The Misery shook under a sustained barrage and the power fluctuated wildly for a few seconds. Over the loudspeakers he could hear orders being issued in an alien dialect. The ship surged, changing course.

"May I ask where we're going, my master?"

"A sanctuary where we may continue my valuable work unimpeded by these Republic fools."

"Shouldn't you be on the bridge my lord, commanding the Misery's defense?"

Agonis turned sharp eyes on Taz. "I exercise total command wherever I am. Even now, my ship and crew are under my direct control."

"I understand, my lord." Taz gave the Sith a solicitous grin, but he could see the subtle signs of strain on the man's face. He probed with the Force. Agonis was ablaze, enveloped in a dark, lustrous corona that was physically painful for Taz to look upon. Even the afterimage was disquieting.

He let go of that perception. Agonis was indeed a powerful presence in the Force, but commanding the crew by direct mental control was definitely taking a toll on him. The more he has to focus on commanding them... He filed that thought away. It could prove useful at the right time.

"May I ask about the creatures who attacked when I came aboard the Misery?"

"My Appendages," answered the lanky Sith.

"Appendages?" Taz repeated.

"Extensions of my will."

"I don't think I've seen their species before."

"They are my own creation, youngling. Unthinking brutes, bred to be utterly servile to me and deadly to those who oppose me."

Taz looked thoughtful. "You say they're unthinking but in the hangar they moved with purpose, assembled a sonic weapon, and used it. To great effect," he added, screwing up his mouth.

"Of course they did!" Agonis snapped. "Did I not just tell you that I am in total command aboard my Misery? They obey my every directive unfailingly, for I command each of their minds."

Taz shrank, ducking his head. "Of course, my master. Please forgive my ignorance. The sweep of your mental power is all-encompassing. It's... awesome."

Such power can be yours.

You have but to embrace the Dark Side, body and soul.

The thought was more and more appealing and he smiled to himself, considering how best to tap into it.

The impacts from the space battle weren't diminishing but Taz could tell they'd switched from turbolasers to ion cannons. The power fluctuations grew worse. Agonis stroked his tentacle. "The fools!"

"My lord?"

"They attempt to invade my ship." His crimson eyes bored into Taz. "Let us meet them. We will show them the might of the Sith."

"And if they resist, my master?"

"Then we will separate them from their mortal lives. Come!" he ordered, his robe swirling behind him.

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As Lyra approached, the alien ship shimmered, fading in and out, sometimes so much that she could hardly see it. "You were right. Their cloak isn't working."

Tetris answered with a long string of chirps and whistles.

"Of course I believed you before, Tetris." His hooted reply sounded snarky.

"We should be thankful," came Naktiya's voice in her ears. "At least we can find it. I think I see a lateral hangar bay."

"Got it," Lyra seconded. "Looks big enough for us, plus a boarding shuttle."

"I'll send the data to the Korvis."

Lyra increased power to her forward shield. "I'm going in."

She waited until the last possible moment to engage her thrust reversers. The sudden deceleration threw her against the safety harness, eliciting a painful grunt and very colorful curses. She couldn't see any guns guarding the hangar's portal, but on a stealth ship they wouldn't really be needed.

The Syffid courier flew through the confinement field and immediately drew fire from an autoblaster turret on the ceiling. Before it had a chance to overload her shields she tilted Ajakeet and obliterated the emplacement with a burst from her ion blaster.

"Make sure there aren't any more surprises like that, Tetris." Her astromech ran a quick sweep and issued an affirmative beep. Lyra set the ship down and popped the canopy. Tetris hooted an interrogative.

"Stay here and keep the ship ready to go." Lyra tapped her wrist link. "I'll call if I need you."

Renosi's assault fighter floated in and landed five meters away. Lyra waited while the ranger descended through the ship's ventral hatch. She leaped gracefully to the deck before the lift finished lowering and tapped a control on her cuff to seal the vessel. "You might think they'd have taken more care to keep us from entering."

Lyra drew her blaster and kept an eye on the doors leading into the hangar, plus the catwalk overhead. "What do you think?"

"The boarding team moved faster than I thought they would. They're a minute out."

Lyra waged a little war in her head. She was desperate to scour the ship for Taz, but for all her earlier bravado, she had no idea even where to start. The ship was an unknown configuration, and even though it looked old, she was under no illusions about how dangerous it would be to go strolling alone through a maze of unfamiliar passages. She screwed up her mouth. "We'll wait."

The seconds seemed to take forever to pass by, but just as her pain-attenuated patience was about to give out, the gray double-pod fuselage of a TIE boarding shuttle poked its forward end through the containment field. The ramp at the front of the craft had just begun to descend when the big blast doors in the corner of the hanger slid aside. Burly, broad-shouldered creatures shambled through the wide opening. Lyra didn't need any prompting. From her position behind Ajakeet's impervium-covered cockpit, she began firing.

The creatures reacted instantly, diving aside with agility that belied their hulking physiques. A half dozen of them rushed the Customs troops dashing out of the shuttle. A vicious, close-quarter battle erupted, with the troopers firing their E-11s at the monsters who wielded blasters and vibro-axes on elongated shafts. Their long arms had four thick digits, each with a brutal claw that easily punctured the troopers' plastoid armor and ripped horrid wounds in flesh. Mere seconds after the first shot, the bay resounded with the screams of injured and dying troopers.

Lyra called for Renosi but the Neablu had already joined the fray. After a few ineffective strikes with her batons, she resorted to her fists. They were equally useless, but from each wrist extended long dewclaws that she used like spikes, jamming them into throats and eyes and ears. She staggered the gray alien beasts, then bounded lightly away to take a few shots with her blaster before closing again for more hand-to-hand work.

Lyra shouted an alarm. More of the monstrous armored aliens swarmed onto the catwalk, but over the din of blasters, the clang of axes and the injured, no one could hear her. She repeated the warning into her helmet microphone and started shooting at the new threats on the elevated platform. A trooper opened up with his repeater rifle, chewing through the steel walkway and blasting the creatures above. He stepped out for a better firing angle but one of the creatures nearby swept its long ax, cutting the man in half before Lyra could scream a warning.

The area before the boarding shuttle was a nightmare of bloody chaos. Lyra blanched at the desperation of the beleaguered Customs troops, but it paled against the wave of utter terror that washed over her when she turned back to the far door. Two figures strode into the hangar flanked by more of the huge troops. One was tall, red-skinned, and swathed in black body armor from head to toe. A pair of short tentacles dangled from his bony cheeks. A palpable aura of menace and power flowed from him, and for a few seconds Lyra felt weak-kneed and dizzy. She recognized him instantly— the one she'd seen in Brondvin's recording, leading the assault on Thrymenoly-Riv.

The man beside him seemed small, hunched and sallow. His face was strangely gaunt and his eyes were bloodshot, with a haunted look that nevertheless projected a menace of its own. His clothes were slashed and shredded. He seemed to both shrink from and cling to the taller one. For a few seconds, Lyra was confounded, but with a dreadful start she realized who she was looking at.

"Taz? Taz!" She cried, but across the distance, he couldn't hear her. He looked so changed, piteous and frightening at the same time. It felt like someone had reached into her chest and was strangling her heart, even though it thundered in her throat and roared in her ears.

A couple of the boarding troops broke free of the press and began advancing toward the tall alien. Taz made a flinging motion. It reminded her of what she'd seen the other man do in the recording. Both troopers hurtled through the air, swept aside like dry leaves in a storm. They crashed into the wall and dropped to the deck, stunned or worse.

He's done something to Taz. Lyra shuddered even as she advanced, firing wildly at the beings who took swipes with their long arms. "Taz! Taz, it's me!" she shouted as she slipped away from the clutching claws. He looked her way, but his face was blank and cold.

My helmet! She suddenly realized he couldn't see her face. Getting a hand under her chin, she ripped it off her head and tossed it aside. "Taz, STOP!" she screamed with such vehemence that he fixed his gaze on her.

He looked awful as he took halting, clumsy steps toward her. She raised her blaster, aiming past his shoulder at the taller alien. "Come on, Oktos! Let's get out of here!" she shouted, relief crowding out the pain of her battered ribs for a moment. They just needed to get back to Ajakeet...

She reached out to take his hand, but Taz grabbed her arm with an iron grip, making her cry out. In the next second he'd twisted it behind her back.

He snarled in a terrible voice. "My master says I'm to destroy you."

"My master?" she cried in alarm and confusion. He whipped her around and clamped his fingers around her throat. She gagged, her eyes dilated in disbelief. "What are you doing?"

His smile was feral and icy. His blue eyes had lost all their gentleness, and there was only stony dispassion in the bulging whites and angry red veins. He grunted and lifted her from the deck with a burst of strength. His fingers dug into her throat and Lyra choked. Tears sprang into her eyes, full of fear and incomprehension. "Taz, no," she managed to utter.

He stared hard at the woman he held aloft. She was begging and coughing all at once. Power flowed into him, raw and transcendent.

She binds you and keeps you from your true destiny. Destroy her.

The sensuous voice laughed and promised him even more power. He locked his eyes on hers. It would be good to watch the life go out of them. Then he'd turn his attention to his master. But as his fingers constricted around her throat, he remembered eyes like that. Bright coppery eyes that held onto him and wouldn't let go.

Lyra. That's her name.

Flashes of memories bubbled into his consciousness. They weren't very old, but somehow they seemed far removed from his present existence. Her hands, soft and warm; the scent of perfumed hair; the passion of her body against his. And a ferocious, defiant spirit that he couldn't turn away from. Even now she struggled, slapping at his arm.

"Lyra," he muttered.

"It's me, Taz!" she cried in a strangled, weak voice.

Something's not right. At the edge of his vision, the invading troops were putting up a valiant but losing fight against Agonis's Appendages. He turned back to Lyra. She struggled feebly now, her cheeks wet with tears. His grip loosened just a little.

"Taz, please," she pleaded, her voice ragged, "I need you. Sera and Rei, we need you." She barely managed to whisper, "Please, Taz, please come back to us."

Finish this! Agonis's voice crashed in his thoughts. Strike down those you love and seize the power of the dark side!

"Yesss," His reddened eyes blazed as the dark Force flowed all around him, stronger still. "I need to finish this." He turned toward his master. "How shall I finish it, my master?"

Lyra sobbed with despair. Agonis turned his sneering gaze on her. He held Aurora Ascendant in his hand.

"Demonstrate unending loyalty to your master! Kill them all, whelp."

Taz's face lit up at the sight of his lightsaber. With a savage thought, he reached out through the Force. The weapon was suddenly in his hand, hissing to life.

"Goodbye, Lyra."