Tal groaned as he slowly became concious once again. The blast had been close, and only his Beskar'gam had kept him alive. The earth shook slightly from the explosions that were slowly moving farther away.

Tal pulled out his comm unit. "Thren to Hunters. Does anyone copy?" Silence.

"This is Mand'alor Thren to any survivng verde. Can anyone hear me?" Once again, only static came through the comm. Tal sighed. "Shab."

Suddenly, the whine of a speeder moving at high speeds filled the air. Tal raised his blaster. The sound grew louder. It seemed to encompass the barren land. Sand begain to shift. Just a few grains rolling along, that was all. But soon, as the wind grew, it became a whirlwind of blinding dust.

And then Tal saw them. As first, they were barely distinguishable through the raging sand storm. But as they got closer, he could see that they were ships. Dozens of them. Maybe hundreds.

And they were coming straight at him. Tal stood there, until the ships were close enough that he could see every curve and line of the lead ship.

Holstering his 2-DD, he sent one final message out on his comm. "This is Thren. If anyone can hear me, I'm pulling back into the complex." He picked up a heavy assault blaster off the body of a nearby soldier. Then he pulled back through the entrance of the building behind him.

"I'm going to strike a blow for the Mando'ade, and for Manda'yaim. I'm staying to fight."