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"Yeah...just a boring history lesson." he said, perhaps a shade glumly.

Wasn't very boring while I lived through it...

Nodding back at the new Jedi, he turned back to Mordranna "Ah...well, congratulations." he said. "It was nice talking to you, but you've probably got more pressing matters than idle chatter." he said, stepping back as the others approached and greeted Mordranna.

I suppose she has found something to believe in. That's good for her.
Myself...I don't know...

After the exchange of a somewhat heated conversation between the Dark Lord and Rohsan, Angel said, " He may have a point. Perhaps we aren't looking as closely at everything as we should. But... He could also only be saying these things to throw us off track. Who's to say he's not working with the Jedi to keep us from finding something that would mean their doom? " After a moment of silence, she looked up towards the sky, wondering how the battle over Kothlis was going now. " Should I get R1 to take us back to the Eclipdra? "

"Actually, Neb, there is something I wanted to ask of you. Didn't you say we would be getting new ships sometime soon?" asked Ganil, wanting something new to pilot, being that as new and updated as his X-Wing was, he still thought it to be "old-school".

Selkisto returned with his battered squadron to the MonCal cruiser "Stellar Destiny." It was populated by few Calamari, as it was designed not for their erganomic requirements, but for general species. As a result, there were a lot of humans and humanoids manning the ship.

Selkisto didn't care about that now. He'd lost over half his squadron.

He stomped to the command room and sat down in a huff. The surviving pilots from a few other squadrons were there, in addition to a handful of gunboat crews. Selkisto's pilots came to join him. One of them tapped his shoulder. "General-"

"Don't call me that. I'm not good enough to be a general."

Alshia Mev frowned slightly. "General Kerath, we got word of Hesh, Pell, and Foln."

Selkisto jumped to his feet. "And?!"

"They're alive, sir." Selkisto slumped back into his seat, and she continued. "Pell is critical, and he'll never fight again. The others will be ready in a few weeks."

"But they're alive." He turned to Alshia and sighed. "That still leaves four dead."

She sighed in response. "Well, sir, you did what you could. We lasted against several squadrons, star destroyers, and dreadnaughts."

"Uluss, Kamjik, Dell, and Grott were each worth a million star destroyers," Selkisto responded glumly.

Alshia tisked softly and sat next to him, pulling his head onto her shoulder and caressing his hair. "You need to stop being so hard on yourself."

Selkisto was about to respond, but the admiral of the Republic Navy walked in at that moment, and all pilots stood to attention. "At ease."

They relaxed and sat again.

"You fought hard, ladies and gentlemen. But we were not without losses." There was a cold silence that pervaded the room as he finished those words, and he broke it with a careful tone, "But the time for mourning is not now. We'll remember those who gave their lives when this war is over, so they did not die in vain. But you who are still here and alive must fight, so that in the future we can mourn our dead. If we don't fight, it'll be a new Empire telling us how to mourn and when to do it."

There was a tired murmur of approval, and the admiral nodded. "That being said, you should all know we're on the move. You'll be briefed above garos IV in 3 standard hours, according our jump goes according to plan. I suggest you rest, because you never know when you'll get another chance."

The pilots nodded to themselves and wandered off. The commanders of the squadrons remained behind, and Alshia let her grasp on Selkisto's hand linger as she pulled away, extending her arm to full length before releasing her fingers from between his. It was a gesture noted by the admiral more than Selkisto, who wasn't waiting to mourn the death of his pilots.

"Alright. Like I said, we did good. We got them to retreat, and it would've been nice to take some more out before they ran, but considering our resources, we did good." He extended a rod and turned on the main holoprojector, then proceeded to go over the battle, analyzing their movements and adding words of encouragement or constructive criticism when he felt it was necessary.

Selkisto wasn't listening. He was in a world all of his own, one that had been darkening substantially. He decided he needed to see neb again one last time before he left.

"General Kerath!"

The words were annunciated as if they had been repeated a few times, and they caused Selkisto to snap his head up. "Yes, sir?"

"Did you not hear me? I said to take a more cautious approach vector when you next engage a capital ship."

The general glared at him. "More cautious sir? Excuse me, but it's not as if we had any choice. It would be nice if we could have attacked the monster with an actual capital ship or two, as it was meant to be engaged, but-"

"Shut your damn mouth, Kerath. You want to talk to me about angles of attack, you do it when you're my damn superior. Right now, you're gonna listen the hell to me. Is that clear?"

Selkisto glowered, hunching and lowering his face dangerously. "Yes. Sir." The words were tense and deliberately clipped.

"I understand if you need some rest, Kerath. I'd rather you take your attitude out on the fresher droid than on me." The words themselves hinted at understanding, but the tone was harsh and without compassion.

Selkisto stood, clenching his teeth, his fists barely conained. "Yes, sir."

He stalked out of the room and hovered outside the doorway. He leaned heavily on the wall, looked up, and let out a long, heavy sigh. It was a jedi calming excercise that worked well for him, even despite his lack of force sensitivity.

He looked down at the saber at his hip and grasped it gingerly. He calmed down considerably more upon feeling its cool metal against the palm of his hand.

Mordranna merely nodded sagely. "Very well." was her reply as she pondered her options. She then turned to Ganil. "It's a nice bird, indeed, as Neb says." she told him, before switching her gaze back to Neb. "I feel drawn somehow to Ossus, and should like to come along."

Angel commed her droid. " R1, bring the ship. " She then turned her attention to the newly destroyed segment of the valley. " A shame. No doubt the Jedi were there to cause our loss. We'll need to build our forces back up if we intend to gain a significant foothold in this war so that we can find what we're looking for without trouble... " She sounded as though she was going to say more, but decided not to. A short while later, the Sundered Rose came down nearby, and the pair were on their way back to the Eclipdra.

Drako laughed. He threw off the energy just to poke at Imperius.

" Fool....Your time will come. Just one more thing....."

Drako leaped down into the hole Imperius made.

" Thank you Imperius. I could not done it bettere my self. "

Drako walked forward into the cave. A light was at the end. He could see large crystle formations. Walking up to selveral he looked for one that was only found on this planet.

" Ahh.....here you are. Blood stone...."

Drako plucked the stone and placed it into a small case. He walked back to the hole and jumped out. He pressed a button on his comm and PR1M3 came and picked him up.

" Now to follow them. If they like it or not...."