As the sun rises over Courscant, a shuttle departs from the Imperial Palace of Empress Athena. Her apprentice, Nahema has been given orders that will help further the efforts of the Reconstructed Galactic Empire. Assigned by hapenstance to Nahema, a brash hot shot trooper named KC231. Nahema sits in the co-pilot seat reviewing the brief, and after setting coordinates, they take off and enter into hyperspace. Casey curiously, "Where to milady?"

She turns around to him and smiles. "No need for formalities with me trooper. Call me Nahema and we're heading to Bandomeer."

"Okay if you say so mi- I mean, Nahema. I'm Casey." They both smile at each other and Nahema puts on the holo for him to see.

Nahema pulls out a datapad that begins with a screenshot of Bandomeer and an outline of their mission. 36 hours later, a small sensor alarm goes off and informs Casey that they are near their destination. He brings the ship out of hyperspace and descends into the atmosphere of Bandomeer. "There!" Nahema points to a small clearing between some trees. "Land the ship there. That way we can stay away from prying eyes when we come back."

The ramp opens and Casey and Nahema walk out into the vast forest. Wild birds flying around making calls and off in a distance you can hear the great Sea of Bandomeer. Nahema looses herself momentarily and checks to make sure her blaster is still on, while Casey is trying to figuring out what else is small enough to hide in his outfit. Nahema looks over at him, and playfully hits him on the arm. "Alright pal, ready yet?"

An hour country walk and they finally get to the edge of town. Meerians, the native people walk around town the sprawling capital of Bandomeer. The streets are filled with vendors selling their items, children play and security forces are minimal. Nahema grabs Casey's arm and pulls him in and whispers, "Okay, just blend in. No showing off and keep your eyes open for anything that we can use." They walk through the busy crowd, looking at all the different stands and activities going on. Nahema laughs, saying the Casey "This kinda reminds me of Mos Esley."

They carry on walking until they notice a crowd gathered in the square. "Something's going on and it could..." Casey started but stopped when he feels Nahema dragging him.

"I'm already on it." They stand in the back of the crowd and Nahema stretched up her head to see who was talking.

"...Therefore, I will do whatever it takes to ensure the security of our planet. No violence will touch our city!" Cheers rise from the people surrounding Nahema and Casey. "This is what Athena needs to hear. She can use this to get them on her side." They continue standing there while the person kept his speech going, and then as the crowd began to disperse, Nahema catches a glimpse of the speaker.

She was a young girl, maybe Nahema's age from the looks of it, with dark brown hair. Nahema had to take a double look at the lady because the resemblance was similar. She was surrounded by an entourage of black suited men who were leading her into a speeder. "Come on Casey!" Nahema quickly grabs his hand and runs to the speeder but they were prevented by some stragglers leaving the square. Nahema approaches one of them, "Who is that lady? What is her name?"

The man looks at her and can immediately tell she is from off world. "That's Isabella ShiLira. She came into office last year. She's what we call..." the old man searches for the words, "President Queen. The man leaves cheering with his friends; they can be heard calling Bella's name far into the distance.

She shakes her head, getting the image of this Bella person and smiles. "Casey, we just completed part one of recon." She winks at him and starts walking again. "Come on. We need to stumble into the military." Casey heaves a sigh, and follows her away from the square.

Over the planet of Bastion, Lord Ire stands on the bridge of the Atrocity, looking over a datapad. Captain Orum, a Chiss officer and commander of the Atrocity approaches Ire with a command cylinder. "Milord, you have a priority one message from Empress Athena."

Ire takes the command cylinder and inserts it into the datapad. Ire takes his time to read the message from Athena. Ire turns to Orum. "Make ready to leave the system, Captain. The Empress has selected us for a mission."

"Where are we off to, milord?"

Ire shakes his head. "I am not sure, only that we have been selected to aid the Empress's apprentice on an important assignment for the Empire. She said she would contact me when it was time to go inform the rest of Shadow Fleet of our assignment. Alert six clawcraft and three scimitar wings for operation.

"Very good, Sir?" Orum salutes and turns to the communications officer, who begins sending the other commanders of the fleet information about making preparations for departure of Bastion orbit. Ire makes his way off the bridge and to his quarters.

On Bandomeer, Nahema and Casey walk from the square. Nahema feels something strange in the area. She turns and sees some people, who were once laughing and having a good time eyeing them suspiciously. By instinct, Nahema grabs Casey's arm and whispers to him, "Play along. We are being watched." Before he could respond, Nahema starts skipping ahead of him, still holding his hand and smiles, "Look over there babe! We should get this for our house."

Casey comprehends what she's doing, and rolls his eyes. "Dear, I am not made of money. That wedding was so expensive; I had to sell body parts to pay for it. I'm in debt, I owe and extra arm!" Nahema laughs, taking a quick glimpse to see the people who were eying them staring and continued with their activities. She looks around and still feels a disturbance. She pulls Casey into an alley and pushes him against the wall. "Whoa! I knew we have something here but this is too soon."

Nahema takes out the small box and hits Casey hard on the chest. She taps in some codes and looks at him. "Hush! I have to report in."

Static can be heard from the comlink as she tries to gain contact. "Hello? Can you hear me? Athena?" Nahema starts shaking the comlink and hitting it a few times.

Casey grabs it from her after the 10th hit and looks at it. "Did you forget this was a short comlink? It only transmits for a few minutes. You have to let it charge up again."

Nahema looks at it and sighs, "Oh well, once we get back to the ship I can try again. Come on."

The blast doors to the Atrocity's bridge open and Ire enters, making his way to Orum who is conversing with a small group of bridge officers. "Captain, make for Bandomeer. We are being sent on a diplomatic mission."

Orum chuckles "Diplomatic mission? What diplomacy does the Empire implore besides brute force?"

Ire quickly puts Orum in check with a stern tone. "Listen, Captain, Empress Athena wishes us to use a diplomatic approach and we will do as such. The Knights of Ashla are on Dantooine near Bandomeer. This situation might get worse as things develop, this also might turn out to be a blue milk run. I will be meeting with our contact on Bandomeer. Hopefully, she can shed light on all this, but until then, we act as she has instructed." Orum is taken back by Ire?s words. Ire then says to Orum. "Besides, if they give us too much of a problem, we destroy them."

Orum enthusiastically, "Very good, sir."

"Make the fleet ready for departure, Captain." Ire goes to the view port and stares out on Bandomeer. The bridge crew begins to make preparations for their jump. Once the last station reports ready, Shadow Fleet departs Bastion orbit and disappears from the system.

Casey watches a bit as the Imbats surround Nahema and his clone instincts tell him to go back and help, but his clone engineering tell him he has an order and must fulfill it. He turns and starts running towards the ship. He faintly hears the shooting as he lowers the ramp and runs in to the control panel and sees the red light blinking. He checks the message, seeing it was her father and quickly sends another message back. "I hope this Darth Ire person hurries up." Nahema dodges the Imbats's giant attacks by back flipping and other acrobatics. As she jumps, she shoots at them with her blaster, but to no avail. It only stuns them a bit. Nahema uses the force to make her a blur as she speeds to hide behind a tree. Out of breath and slightly shaken, she can?t help but think to herself, "I wish I had kept Starkiller's saber. It would really com in handy."

Unexpectedly, branches from the tree she was hiding behind start falling on top of her. One of the big branches hits her hard and pins her. The simple minded creature looks pleased with it self and gives a call as it waives its arms. Nahema glares at the brutish creature and finds new strength and she uses the Force to whirlwind to remove branch and send it flying towards one of the Imbats. It cracks the beast in the head, knocking it out of the tree.

The Atrocity appears over Bandomeer and the fleet takes up their positions. If not for the Aing Tii technology, it would have taken hours instead of seconds. All seems well, but Ire senses trouble on the planet below. He senses that Nahema is in some sort of danger. "You are in command, Orum. Keep ever watchful." Ire feels Nahema's force trail and teleports himself to her position. Noticing the Imbats surrounding Nahema, Ire's lightsabers spring from their concealment and ignite. His eyes shimmer with the joy of a fight. Ire wastes no time, and begins to slaughter the impudent creatures while whistling a familiar tone.

Nahema turns around and sees Lord Ire cutting down the Imbats with ease. She is inclined to laugh when she finally realizes what Ire is whistling. "Firgin D'an and the Modal Nodes? You got to be kidding, right?" Nahema reuse the force to hurl a boulder at a couple Imbats, crushing them.

Ire chuckles as he grips an Imbat and crushes its head with the force. "You have another selection, young one?" As Ire turns his attention back to the task at hand, an Imbat comes at him with a slash of its massive arms. Ire blocks the beasts attack grabs it by the wrist. The speed and strength Ire shows lasts but microseconds as he hurls the Imbat into a near by boulder that had already claimed two others. The sound of a sickening crunch can be heard as the Imbat connects with the massive rock. Ire grins and continues the fight.

Nahema continues shooting at and throwing debris at the Imbats. She hears someone coming and turns her blaster quickly. Just beyond the noise of the blaster, sees Casey running towards them, blaster up and shooting "Stupid Casey, I almost shot you!" Nahema yells.

Casey runs towards Nahema, shooting at the beasts as he goes. He gets and looks at Lord Ire. "I see reinforcements finally decided to show."

"You knew?" Nahema exclaims

Casey picks off an Imbat with his rifle and nods in response. "Your father left a message saying he was coming and that you knew what to do next."

Ire notices two Imbats in a tree waiting to pounce on Nahema and Casey. He throws one lightsaber towards them that cleaves their heads in a flash of death. As he catches the lightsaber he sees Casey with Nahema. "Who is that and can he fight"

With his attention diverted, an Imbat seizes the opportunity and lunges Ire. Ire becomes furious at the Imbats feble attack and grabs it by the throat. It is then Ire notices the cut below his eye and begins to squeeze. The sound of small neck bones being crushed can be faintly heard, mixed in with the blaster fire. Ire releases the Imbat and its lifeless body falls to the ground like a sac of duracrete bricks. Ire can feel the rage inside himself swell. "I am really starting to hate these things..."

Nahema sees the Imbat attacking Ire and they both go running to help him out. Shooting at the Imbats, Nahema turns to Ire, all bloody from the attack. "He's Casey and yes he can fight!" Nahema motions to Casey and he goes running off to the other side of the trees, to draw away some of the Imbats. Nahema looks at Ire, intermittently shooting and tossing things at them. "Are you okay?"

Ire looks at Nahema as the wound on his face begins to heal on its own; his eyes seem to be glowing slightly. "I am fine..."

"Where is the rest of the crew? You wanna call them down to help us out or would you rather have these things kill us?"

"We will not need them." Ire looks around and observes more Imbats coming in to join the fight. "I suggest you get behind me..."

Ire pauses; he seems motionless as he begins feeding from the dark side. His eyes burst open revealing them to be glowing red. He seems to be bathed in red energy for a split-second; as the Imbats all turn their attentions to him. They lunge at Ire, trying to pile on him and are immediately caught by the force. As the Imbats are floating in air, Ire turns to Nahema. She cannot miss that his eyes are glowing. "Tell me, young learner what should we do in this situation?"

Nahema stands behind Ire and watches him closely, studying his moves and powers. When he turns around she sees his red eyes and instantly knows that's how her eyes got during the spar with Athena. She then realizes what Ire said. "I am not a learner, Lord Ire." she looks at the Imbats floating in the air. "Crush them except for one. I need it to lead us to the ionite mines."

Ire concentrates on the Imbats as he begins to crush them with the force. One by one the Imbats scream as they implode on themselves. Ire spares the last Imbat and turns to Nahema, his eyes return to normal as he grins. "Forgive me, milady. It just did not seem appropriate for me to call you apprentice when you are not my own..." Ire brings the last Imbat closer to him and Nahema. While studying the creature Ire continues. "... and we are all learners."

"It's okay Ire. Just that my father always says that to me and I..." Nahema shakes her head and pushes the thought from her mind. "Anyway, apology accepted."

Nahema concentrates and calms the creature with the Jedi technique of animal friendship. The Imbat tries to shake away from them at first, but eventually calms down and relaxes. She feels the Imbat submit and taps Ire's shoulder. "Release it. It will take us to the mines." Ire releases the Imbat and begins to follows it. Nahema cuts off Ire and takes the lead of the group as they walk off into the wilderness.

Ire looks at Nahema as she cuts in front of him "Lead the way, milady." Ire takes notice of Nahema, her strength and spirit. Obviously Jedi trained. Ire leans in and whispers to Casey. "Does she always take charge like this?"

Casey simply nods. "Ever since we got on the ship."

Nahema, still walking ahead yells back. "I HEARD THAT TROOPER!"

Casey thumbs at Nahema and whispers back to Ire. "See what I mean. So, did you bring any men with you or are you a one man army?" Casey nudges Ire.

"Yes, there are six squads of men waiting in orbit along with a two scout squads. My fleet is also overhead if we need additional support."

"Good. Luckily since we were fighting in a secluded area, no one heard the noise. We should still have the element of surprise." Nahema chimes in. Ire once again takes notice of her presence, her tactical thinking. As they continue on through the forest and they are able to see the mountains in the distance. "Thanks for helping me out back there. If you hadn't shown up when you did, those Imbats would have killed me before Casey returned."

"No one should stand alone, unless by choice." Ire speaking like a wise master should. They continue walking and Nahema thinks about what he just said.

"What brings you out here?" Nahema asks inquisitively.

"Empress Athena sent me here to aid you. I was awaiting orders for another mission when she contacted me to come here." Ire replies as he continues his alertness as the group makes their way to the cave. "I was told you would have intelligence on the planet. Do you know what we are looking at?"

"Basically we are checking out these mines. We need to see how much Ionite is moved and how big the quantities are. If we can find a glitch in the system, something that we can exploit, we have a better chance of gaining their allegiance rather than obtaining it by force." Her mind quickly changes to the messages she told Casey to transmit and she turns back quickly to him. "You sent out the messages right?"

Casey rolls his eyes at her. "Of course."

Nahema turns back around and continues to the caves. "As soon as we get close enough, Ire and I will go inside to investigate the caves and check the mine. Casey, you stay outside and keep watch and use the comlink if you see any unusual activity outside. Got it?"

Casey nods, "Sure thing boss."

The Imbat stops in front of the entrance to the cave and looks at the group behind it. Nahema stands in front of the Imbat, still using Animal Friendship, she tells it to take them inside. The Imbat turns and starts heading inside. As she enters the deep damp of the cave, she turns to the two chatty hawk bats. "If you guys are done talking about me....Ire send our position to your scout troops so they can make their way up here."

Ire activates his comlink and calls to his ship. "Ire to the Atrocity."

Captain Orum answers the call, "Atrocity, go ahead sir."

"Send the landing party to these co-ordinances. I want to see nothing but shadow when I return to the surface."

"Return to the surface?" Orum asks.

"Why do you always repeat me?"

"Sorry sir"

Ire deactivates his comlink and puts it away. "Done."

"Alright, I'll be the greeter. See you guys when you come back." Casey says sarcastically while walking towards a boulder. "Why don't I get to go into the cave?"

Nahema looks at Ire and takes out her blaster. "Are you ready to go?" She goes ahead of him and enters the cave. In fact, Nahema cuts Ire off to the entrance of the cave. "Ladies first." Ire says with sarcasm.

Nahema winks at Ire and walks into the cave. The cave smells misty and the floor is full of rubble. They continue walking into the dark the darkness began to grow around them, then the light from the surface starts to fade, and they find themselves in shadows of obscurity. Nahema stops when she can't see in front of her, and struggles to remember how to generate a force light. Focusing all her energy, she makes a small light start to glow from her hand. Ire feels Nahema's power swell and form the small light. It starts to flicker like a dying waxlite stick, and she concentrates harder, thinking of nothing else but the light. The force light gains in strength and finally gets strong enough to light their way. "The last thing that I practiced before turning dark." She laughs a little and continues to lead the way.

Ire grins slightly as he looks upon the turned Jedi and whispers. "Some of the Jedi teachings are worth having? but not all."

Finally they see some light ahead and come to the edge of the mine. Nahema puts her hand out to stop Ire. She leads him behind a pile of boulders and looks around. All she can see are about 25 miners. Most of the Meerians she saw at the square in town, were hammering away at the walls and boulders. Nahema leans back down and whispers to Ire. "Look at how much ionite they dig up. It's like this whole cave is covered with it! You know how many weapons and other things the military can make with one big boulder?"

Ire stops and looks at the cave walls. He had heard of the Ionite mines but it wasn't the same thing. Ire is taken back by the mines, "I can only imagine." Ire hears the slight sound of footsteps behind him. Ire turns and sees a small Meerian child holding a pick axe. The child looks frightened and scared. Ire waives his hand and plays a mind trick on the boy, gaining total control over him. The child now seems to be docile and calm. Ire grabs the child and pulls him behind the boulder. "Great, a local," Ire stops and thinks for a moment. "he might prove useful."

Nahema looks at the little boy and smiles at him. She leans closer to him and whispers. "Hi there little one. What's your name?"

The little boy, already developing the silver hair and paleness like the others, replies. "LirTan"

Nahema nods her head to the small child, "Nice to meet you LirTan." She looks at Ire and then turns back to LirTan. "We would like to be your friends LirTan. Little boys like you should not be in a dark cave working. You should be outside running and playing. Why don't you come with us outside for a bit?"

Nahema takes LirTan by the hand and starts to head for the surface. When the three emerge from the cave, they find Ire's Shadowtroopers maintaining their position at the opening to the cave. Ire approaches Lieutenant Vex. "Report, Vex."

"All six commando squads have secured the area. Two scout squads patrolling the perimeter. All is quite."

Ire turns to LirTan and kneels down. The boy is frightened by Ire's appearance and begins to turn away from him. Ire produces a small piece of Umgal blob candy, which LirTan takes quickly. Looks at Nahema and notices her giving him a funny look. "I have a sweet tooth..." Ire turns his attention back to LirTan. "LirTan, tell me, why are you working in the cave?"

LirTan responds while still chewing on the candy. "Because, I have to."

Nahema sits down next to LirTan and strokes his hair while he eats the candy. She looks up at Ire and laughs a little, but Ire can read the angst on Nahema's face. Her heart swells for the poor child. "Tell your scouts to continue patrolling the area and to look for signs of children out working. It might seem like the little ones work in the mines and the older ones become soldiers. I didn't notice any more children in the mines but send a couple guys inside to keep watch."

As Nahema gets up and starts to walk towards the others, she suddenly feels someone grabbing at her leg. She looks down to see LirTan holding on with a tight grip and his eyes full of tears, he cries "Please don't leave me! Don't go nice lady!"

Nahema kneels down next to him and wipes his eyes. "You have nothing to worry about LirTan. I am not leaving you but I need to talk to my friend real quick." She points to Casey and Ire. "I am not leaving without you okay? You sit here and finish your candy." She smiles at the boy and gives him a hug.

LirTan hugs her back and finishes his candy. Nahema gets up and walks towards her two companions. "Casey, I take things were good out here because I didn't hear you complaining while I was gone."

Casey laughs sarcastically, "Oh yeah I had TONS of fun out here. There was this big rock that I leaned against for and hour and..." Casey looks past Nahema and sees the boy eating.

Nahema once again cuts Casey off mid sentence. "Ire, how big is your main ship?"

Ire knows what Nahema is about to say and quickly responds. "It is big enough to do what you're thinking about, but I must advise against that."

Nahema begins to pace; thinking out loud, "We'll have to get the miners out of the danger zone, and ensure their safety..."

Ire moves in close to Nahema trying to keep LirTan from hearing. "We cannot take him with us; his place is here with his family."

"If he did, where are they? Why did they make him go out and work? From what I know about child labor, it's usually children with no families." Nahema states strong wiled, and undeterred.

"If we take him with us and he does have family, they will think of us as child thieves. The Jedi have already earned that title and they can keep it."

"I can't leave him to be treated like this, especially if Athena starts a war down here. That's not right and even though I'm a Sith, I still have some Jedi quality in me."

"Alright, we're taking him and some friends along with us, maybe. Ire, don't try to argue. Trust me; It would be a waste of atmosphere."

As Nahema walks back to LirTan, she swears she can hear Ire's faint voice in her head. "You would be wise to ignore those qualities?"

Nahema walks back to LirTan and kneels. "LirTan, you want to see a big ship that people live in?"

LirTan's eyes widen and he nods his head in excitement. "And more candy?"

Nahema smiles, while holding his small hand "Sure, if Ire has more hiding in his ship."

Ire walks off, talking into his comlink. "Orum, send the shuttles. We will be leaving soon, and prep for a massive evacuation of this area."

Captain Orum responds. "A massive evacuation of whom sir?"

"That does not matter right now, Captain. What does matter is that we are prepared for it."

"It will be done, milord. The shuttles are leaving now. Do you need additional transports?"

"No, just send the landing shuttles for now Orum."

No sooner had Ire deactivated his comlink, Ire feels a major disturbance in the force. A series of sudden explosions shake the ground as Meerian troops start to enter the meadow near entrance of the mine. Ire spots the troops and instantly a lightsaber springs from its concealment and ignites in Ire's hand. Ire yells over to Nahema and Casey, "Make yourselves useful! Vex get them to landing zone two, NOW!"

Vex turns to Ire. "Sir, what about you"

Ire humorlessly responds to Vex's inquiry. "Do I look worried?"

Vex instantly answers back. "Not exactaly, sir."

"Three squads will help you back to the LZ while three squads stay with us and provide cover for you as we fall back."

Vex sees where Ire is going with this train of thought. "Very good, sir"

Nahema sees the soldiers coming and pulls out her blaster. "Casey, go and take care of him. HURRY!"

Casey grabs hold of LirTan's hand and nods, pulling his blaster out and on his side. "Got it, Nahema."

Vex runs off towards Casey and LirTan as shells hit around the camp. Vex dodges and avoids an exploding power droid and two blasts from enemy fire as he makes his way to Casey and the boy. "Come on little guy, let's go and beat these guys to the candy."

LirTan, scared at first at seeing the soldiers coming and Ire taking out the strange glowing stick out, nods at Casey. "Yay! More candy for us!! Let's go!!"

Vex rallies his three squads and starts to fall back to the landing zone on the far side of the meadow. Ire makes his way to Nahema. He reaches behind his robes and produces a shoto lightsaber hilt and hands it to Nahema. "You have been taught how to use one of these, right?"

Nahema catches takes the hilt. "I think I can handle it Ire. Thanks." Nahema brings out the distinctive snap-hiss that a lightsaber makes as she draws on the force to activate its red blade. She stands back to back with Ire, deflecting the blasts and stands by him. "Where's your ground patrol, Ire? Where was the warning?"

"If I knew that I would know who to kill." Ire sends a shot back at a Meerian soldier and drops him. As the Shadowtroopers engage the remaining soldiers, Ire charges into the skirmish. Ire goes into a Jung Ma as he reaches three Meerian soldiers. As begins his spin, Ire comes around with his right hand saber, brining it in an upward motion, and taking the first soldier's weapon arm. As he finishes the spin and follows through, Ire whirls around and catches the second Meerian in a freeze and plunges his left handed lightsaber into the soldier's chest. He withdraws his lightsaber and goes into an offensive posture, but keeps his sabers up for defense. The third Meerian soldier is so visibly shaken; he appears to have turned three lighter shades of white. Ire drops his guard and studies the soldier. Ire raises his sabers quickly into the air, "BOOGA, BOOGA, BOOGA!" The Meerian runs of screaming. Ire scratches his head in amazement. "I did not even have to use force fear. Very interesting?"

Vex, Casey and Lorton make their way towards the ramp, an incoming blast hits near the shuttle. Vex, Casey and LirTan, along three Shadowtroopers are caught in the blast and thrown from explosion. The bodies of the dead lay on the ground outside, while the conditions inside the shuttle are less than optimal. A medic picks himself off the deck and runs over to Vex. "Are you alright, trooper?"

Vex grabs the medic and points to LirTan and Casey. "HELP THEM, YOU FERGLUTZ!"

The medic rushes over to Lorton and begins to check him. He finds no pulse and immediately begins CPR. Vex gets to his feet and begins to shake the static out of his helmet. He comes to and sees Casey still on the ground. He reaches over and shakes his shoulder. "Hey, you alright trooper?"

Casey lays there for a moment, and then he opens his eyes to see Vex over him. "Whoa? What...happened?" Casey sees the medic working on LirTan. "Oh no!"
Casy quickly stumbles over to him and holds his hand. "LirTan? Oh Nahema's going to kill me if something happens to you. Wake up!" he looks at the medic. "What's wrong with him?"

Medic looks over to Casey. "No pulse and his breathing is shallow. Help me; out take over chest compressions while I hook him up to the EAD unit"

Casey moves over and continues the chest compressions on LirTan. "Come on, give us something little guy. Someone will be very sad if you leave her."

Vex leaves the shuttle to regroup the remaining men and get them on board. He helps the last trooper aboard and rushes to up to the pilots. "Take off now!"
While he's doing the compressions, Casey yells at Vex. "What about Ire and Nahema? Are they on a ship?"

Vex turns to Casey and reassures him. "Trust me trooper, Lord Ire has been left behind before. Don't worry, he's a big boy and he knows how to get home."

As Ire watches the shuttle break for the atmosphere, six Meerian soldiers surround him their guns fixed on him. Ire lowers himself into a defensive stance, his sabers held in reverse. Ire begins to focus his rage and sends both sabers flying around him in a circle of red death. One by one the Meerians fall. Ire stands up after his sabers return to him. Ire looks at the bodies and as he steps over them, "Nothing personal."

Nahema, angry and feeling something has gone bad with the group, releases a huge Force Whirlwind, which decimates a group of Meerians. She runs to Ire, who just took care of his circle of friends. "I think that takes care of things around here Ire. Let's get on a ship before more come our way." Nahema takes one last scan of the area and starts heading towards the shuttle, only to see it take off less than twenty feet away.

Ire feels Nahema's anger over being left behind and grins. The remaining Meerians make their way towards them and surround Ire and Nahema; bringing their weapons up. Ire with his back to Nahema. "These ones do not startle as easily."

The Meerians smell of fear. Ire senses the soldiers next move and turns quickly towards Nahema. He reaches out for her and grabs hold. He shields her from incoming Meerian fire and in a heartbeat; they both instantly appear on the bridge of the Atrocity. Nahema was about to object Ire's grabbing her until she realized she was on a ship, standing in front of Capt. Orum who is clutching a datapad. "Welcome back, milord." Orum turns and bows his head to Nahema. "Milady?"

"Did they make it back, Orum?"

"All shuttles returned, milord. Eight wounded, including the Meerian child, eleven dead and twelve unaccounted for."

"Oh no!" Nahema pauses; she gasps at the mention of LirTan. "Is the boy okay Captain? Casey, what about him?"

Captain Orum turns to Nahema. "The child and your friend are fine. They are being taken care of in medical bay 5."

Ire does not tense at this news, but his anger starts to become apparent over the attack. "Can you explain why we had no warning about the Meerian attack?"

Orum looks down at his datapad. "No reports ever came in from the patrolling scout groups, sir. Eight of the confirmed dead were scouts. The rest are MIA."

Ire turns to Nahema, "Contact Empress Athena. Make her aware of the situation. Tell her we will not need that support I mentioned."

"WE will make that contact Ire." Nahema insists. "Come on and show me where your communication port is at."

Ire escorts Nahema over to the com station. "Ensign, open a channel to the Empress." The com officer begins to hit a series of switches and opens a channel. "Open, milord."

On Coruscant, Empress Athena's comlink opens and the holo-images of Ire and Nahema on the ship appear before her. "Master, I am sorry for the delay but I understand that my trooper left you a message in regards to the military. I have more to report. The mines output is quite phenomenal. The amount of ionite that is procured from the single mine we investigated was unbelievable. There is one disturbing factor; the mines rely on child laborers as part of the work force. Ire and I have befriended a little boy that will be helpful in gaining the trust of the people. He is in the care of my trooper right now." Nahema looks at Ire and motions to him for his report.

Ire immediately bows. "My Empress, the military seems to be made up of the young adult Meerians. Nahema and I agree that there is a possibility that the children work in the mines until they reach a proper age and then are forced into the military. They are somewhat organized and seem to use out-dated weapons. Their technological level seems to be geared more towards mining than fighting. The Meerians also frighten easily at the sight of a trained force user. It is my opinion that we can gain a hold on this planet. I request that we return to the surface and negotiate with the Meerian civilians. I feel we can persuade them to join us weather they realize it or not."

As Ire begins his report, Nahema walks over to Captain Orum; her worried relief visible on her face. "Do you know the status of LirTan and Casey? I would like to see them, or if possible, talk to them."

Ire overhears Nahema and turns to her. "Go... I will brief you later."

Orum calls for an Ensign to take Nahema to the medical bay. "He will take you, milady." Nahema leaves with the young human officer and heads to see her friends.

The hologram of Empress Athena appears content with the news. "I am very pleased with your efforts. Do whatever is necessary to gain their allegiance. If you need, I can send someone to assist in diplomatic talks, or I can come personally, if you believe it would be more influential to the natives."

Ire nods in concurrence with Athena's notion. "I do believe your presence would help bolster relations with the natives, Empress. Even recording a holo that we can replay to the Meerians could help. If they believe you are "concerned" about their welfare, they might be more inclined to trust us. As for the governing body of the planet, I am not so sure they will be that trusting. We still do not know if they fully grasp who we are or know what their outlook on us is. If the Meerian child is any indication of the rest of the civilian populous, we should have no problem gaining that trust."

"Continue with the operation, Commodore. I trust your judgment in this matter."

As Nahema follows the Ensign down turbolifts and through the corridors of the Atrocity, she feels sadness and fear over the news of LirTan. She feels somewhat responsible; she dismisses it, but can't shake it. The Ensign stops at the entrance of the medical bay. Casey is sitting beside LirTan on his bed playing sabacc and losing. All her worries subside though when LirTan sees Nahema and shoots out of his bed. "Nahema!"

She kneels down and hugs LirTan tight. "Wow! You're a strong little boy. Did you have to hold Casey's hand so he wouldn't cry?" she laughs as she looks at Casey, who got up and walked towards them.

"Luckily for you Nahema, I didn't cry!" He pats her on her shoulder and gives her a grin. "I'm glad to see you're alright."

Nahema gets up and pats LirTan on the head. "Hey LirTan, did you find Ire's secret stash of candy?"

LirTan's eyes widen up with enthusiasm. "Oh yes I did Nahema! You want one?" Before she could answer, LirTan runs to get some.

Casey smiles and looks at Nahema. "Who would have thought he survived an explosion. Have you contacted the Empress?"

"We gave our report to Athena and Ire's waiting word on what to do next. I thinks Ire is going to recommend we proceed with diplomatic relations."

Casey looks back and nods. "That's a good thing but what about those people that tried to kill us back there? I don't think we will get a good reception from them."

Nahema nods in agreement. "I agree and frankly, I don't want to use LirTan just yet. He's in danger too now. That's something Ire and I need to discuss because we can't just stumble into the again."

LirTan suddenly pops up next to them, holding a ton of candy in his hand. "Come sit with me Nahema." Nahema smiles at him and follows him back to the bed, sits down and eats a candy. Nahema wakes up, holding LirTan in her arms and wonders what she missed.

"Good morning sleepy head!" Casey comes in smiling and carrying a glass of stimcaf.

"Did you hear anything from Ire yet?" as Nahema takes a drink.

"No not yet. Everything's pretty quiet around here." Casey says, sitting on the bed.

Nahema gets up and stretches. "I'm going to walk back to the bridge and see what Ire has to report. We should have heard something from Athena now. Call me if he wakes up." Nahema starts making her way back to the bridge.