Kadira gritted her teeth and shoved hard against the beam that had her pinned, knowing she didn't have much time. The Vanguard was dead and Ran was gone, but Dain had mentioned nothing about the ship that had been firing on them. And Dain wouldn't have missed a chance to rub that in Kadira's face as well. Someone else was on the hunt, and Kadira had a feeling she was running out of time.

Kadira felt pain rip through her as the beam shifted, the corner digging into her back as she continued struggling to move it. She bit down hard on her lip, tasting blood as she tried to keep from blacking out. The pain was agonizing, but she knew she didn't have time to stop and take a break. She took a shuddering breath and slammed her weight into the pole, nearly crying out from relief when it shifted again, sliding off of her and crashing to the floor.

Kadira flipped onto her back and gasped, using her feet to shove herself back away from the beam that had held her pinned for so long. She cradled her shoulder with one hand, breathing heavily as she gave herself a moment to recover. She had to push all thoughts of Ran aside, they would only distract her right now. She'd figure it out later, once she was back with Iam, Laniff, and Jett. Right now she had other worries. Whoever had attacked the ship was still out there, and Kadira had a feeling they wouldn't be content to just leave the downed ship alone. Especially since the only other group she could think of coming after them would be Death Watch, and they weren't likely to leave the hunt half finished.

Kadira closed her eyes for a moment and took a slow breath before jerking herself upright, ignoring the wash of pain in her back and shoulder as she did so. Her vision spun for a moment but Kadira ignored it, her sense of urgency rising as the seconds ticked by. She had no idea how long ago she had lost contact with Jett and the others, anything could have happened. Kadira snagged the edge of the navigation table and hauled herself to her feet shakily, stumbling across the slanted floor of the cockpit to the still humming forcefield. She needed to get out, needed to find Jett and the others before whoever had been piloting the other ship came after the now-helpless Vanguard.

Kadira stopped next to the still humming forcefield, bringing up her HUD to scan the barrier. She just had to hope the Vanguard's crash had damaged whatever power source was keeping the fields in place. She glanced behind her and winced, taking in the massive amount of damage to the cockpit. That was looking more and more likely.

Jett could hear his own breathing echoing in his helmet as he ran, just waiting for Mog to take a shot. Every second felt like a lifetime as he sprinted towards Mog's position, using the fog to his advantage. The fog was thick and getting thicker, and Jett knew Laniff was counting on the cover it offered. But he doubted it was thick enough to cover their mad dash at the other man. Especially since Mog's equipment was no doubt just as high tech as Kadira and Laniff's. He wouldn't need a clear view of them to shoot. Jett was seriously starting to reconsider handing over control of the situation to Laniff. He doubted the man could have come up with a dumber plan if he'd tried, and that was saying something.

Jett heard the clatter of metal against metal not far to his right and cursed, skidding to a halt. His rifle was already up to his shoulder as he changed direction. Laniff had probably used his HUD to lock onto Mog's position, while Jett was in the dark thanks to the fog. He had only overshot by a few feet, but it was enough to worry him. He could hear scuffling and picked up his pace, only to be struck from the side by another armored figure.

Jett cursed again as he struck the ground, somehow managing to hang on to his rifle. His attacker pulled a pistol and Jett reacted, his training with Kadira kicking in. He slammed his palm up, slamming it into the muzzle of the pistol as his attacker fired. The shot went wild and Jett used the moment of confusion to jerk himself sideways, dislodging his attacker's hold on him. Jett then lashed out with a booted foot, hearing a distinct snap as his foot made contact with the other man's knee. There was a shout of pain, but Jett didn't hesitate, scrambling to his feet and slamming the stock of his rifle into the exposed neck of the man, who promptly slumped to the ground, unconscious. Probably not as clean as Kadira would have done it, but it worked for Jett. He wasn't about to nitpick.

Jett set his rifle to stun and fired once, just to be certain, before turning and jogging back to where he'd last heard the sounds of Laniff and Mog fighting. He'd gone only a few feet when Mog stepped out of the fog, one arm wrapped around Laniff's neck. The other hand held a pistol pressed under Laniff's chin, one of the few places the Mandalorian didn't have the protection of beskar. Jett saw Laniff's pistol on the ground a few feet away and closed his eyes for a moment, knowing Laniff had to have done some incredibly stupid to have lost his pistol in the scuffle. Turnign the situation over had definitely been a bad idea. Jett sighed and opened his eyes, resting his armored cheek against the stock of his rifle as he waited.

"Shoot him, Jett!" Laniff growled before Mog tightened his grip, cutting off Laniff's air and sending the man into a wheezing cough.

"Next time you ought to be more careful, Dreysel," Mog growled. "This is what happens when you lose your temper."

Jett stepped forward as Laniff sagged, clawing at Mog's arm in an effort to release the man's chokehold, fighting for air. Jett stopped when Mog shifted the pistol pointedly, digging the muzzle into the necklining of Laniff's suit.

"I'd quit walking if I were you, clone," Mog warned. "Now I'm going to say this one more time, and one time only. Give me Moore."

Jett shifted his grip on his rifle, not moving. He knew that either way, Mog planned to shoot Laniff and Jett. He wouldn't leave the two men behind to hunt him down later. The only difference was that if Jett put down his rifle now, there would be no chance of stopping Mog.

Kadira slammed the wristblade of her gauntlet into the cockpit lining again, the sharp blade slicing deeper into the metal as she continued to work her way towards the wiring.

"Come on you outdated piece of osik," Kadira muttered as the blade caught on the jagged edges of the metal she was systematically destroying. Kadira jerked back and the blade came free once more, allowing the metal to be peeled away from the outside of the door, revealing the wiring beneath. Kadira let out a breath, hoping she was right. If the generator keeping the forcefields online was fully functional, grabbing the wires and trying to pull them out meant she'd end up with serious damage to her hand and a forcefield still in place. She would be right back where she started, but with an additional injury to deal with… But if she was right and the generator had been damaged, it would be the fastest way to get out of the trap Alaida had set in place. Once she was free from the cockpit, she'd be able to help her team. They could regroup and face whatever enemy had been responsible for shooting down the Vanguard.

Kadira sighed and shrugged. It wasn't like she had any other option. As usual.

Kadira reached in and grabbed the mess of wires with one fist and yanked hard. The wires resisted for a moment and Kadira tensed, waiting for the pain that would inform her of her own stupidity. But the pan never came, and the wires ripped away from their housings. The forcefield sputtered for a moment, then died, earning a sigh of relief from Kadira as she dropped the now useless tangle of wires and stepped through the doorway. One obstacle down. Probably only a thousand left.

Jett held his rifle steady, his head tilted against the stock as he kept the sights set firmly on Mog.

"Let him go first, then I'll put down the rifle," Jett replied calmly. "I don't like the idea of putting it down only to get shot. You let him go, and we walk out of here with Moore. You can hunt down glory some other place."

Mog chuckled and dug the pistol into Laniff's neck harder. "You really don't get it, do you? This is about more than Moore. This is about rising up again. He's just the first step."

"Sounds like a bunch of osik to me," Jett replied calmly. "Death Watch is nowhere near strong enough to rise up again. You try it and the Mandos will just shoot you right back down."

Mog tilted his helmeted head at Jett, seeming to weigh his words for a moment. Jett was hoping he'd loosen his grip on Laniff, but Mog was too good for that.

"Not if we go to the very top," Mog said finally, his voice changing. There was something there that made Jett stiffen, an instinct screaming at him to shoot, and shoot now.

"The top of what?" Jett asked instead, choosing to play the game. Something told him this was incredibly important.

"The top-"

Mog never finished the words. One moment he was standing there, his finger tightening on the trigger, and the next he was on the ground, blood pooling from the shot to the head he'd taken. Jett shouted instinctively, stepping forward. For a moment, Jett thought he had pulled the trigger by accident, but the rifle in his hands hadn't discharged. It took Laniff scrambling for Mog's dropped weapon to drag Jett out of his surprise and the clone spun, rifle still up.

Iam stepped out of the fog, his gray and orange armor distinctive enough that Jett recognized him instantly. Jett breathed a sigh of relief and lowered his rifle.

"Nice shot, buir," Laniff spoke, his words coming out sounding strangled. Iam crossed over to Laniff and offered the blonde man a hand. Laniff hesitated a moment, then took it, hauling himself to his feet and rubbing his neck gingerly.

"Next time be more careful, ad'ika," Iam responded simply. "Best go tell Moore the coast is clear for now. Jonika's been talking to me, she has a safe route out for him."

Jett nodded, shouldering his rifle. "I'll go."

"Hurry back. We still need to find out what happened to Kadira and the Vanguard," Laniff reminded him, not looking in the direction of Mog's body. Clearly he was just as startled as Jett by the turn of events.

Jett nodded again, glancing back briefly at Mog's corpse. The man's near-black armor stood out from the white backdrop of the fog and Jett shook his head. He could honestly say he was relieved this hunt was finally over.

The fog was outside was thick, limiting Kadira's field of vision to only a few feet. Her HUD was an old version, one she'd never thought she would need to use again, so it hadn't been updated in quite some time. It gave little help in piercing the fog, and she could tell the readings were off.

And yet… Still, she knew there was someone out there she couldn't see. Call it a sixth sense, since her tech was picking up nothing, but she knew she wasn't alone.

Kadira held her pistol up one-handed, using her other to aim to wrist-mounted rocket in the opposite direction. She was careful to be constantly moving to make herself less of a target. Normally she could rely on the fog to be her ally, but not here. Not facing people who had tech that was no doubt far superior to her own outdated HUD. They wouldn't be fooled by the lack of sight; they had the instruments to make up for it. She was the one in the dark.

A figure stepped out of the mist, his gait heavy with the weight of his armor. A second figure appeared on the opposite side, pistol already raised.

Kadira didn't hesitate, blinking to activate the rocket with her HUD and firing simultaneously with her other hand. The rocket struck home, but the pistol missed and the weapon was wrenched from her hand. Kadira cursed, ducking under her opponent's followup swing and backpedaling to get out of his reach long enough to draw the vibrosword from her back. Her pistol had clattered away into the fog, and she'd been unable to access the Vanguard's armory thanks to her rush. She was going to have to rely on the oldest fashioned weapon she had.

Her opponent drew a vibrosword from the sheathe on his own back and Kadira's eyes narrowed as she watched it, her own feet shifting slowly on the ground as he began to circle her, waving the blade back and forth slowly, trying to get her eyes to follow it. She ignored the obvious taunt and focused instead on watching his grip, noting the way he held it and the way his wrist moved. He was an amateur, with no formal training from what she could tell.

Kadira flipped her blade around so she held the hilt in a reverse grip, the blade extending behind her as she dropped her stance so she was lower to the ground, waiting. Speed was her opponent's advantage; his armor looked to be made from the much lighter durasteel, while her own was made of heavy beskar. But training was hers. She knew how to move to the best advantage, using her armor and her blade as equal weapons. The advantage of her heavy armor was the ability to take a blow from his blade, even while she struck with her own. He had no such advantage. One strike from her blade and he risked cracking his armor. Kadira took a deep breath, preparing herself before she held out her free hand and curled her fingers twice, daring him to attack.

Her opponent took the taunt to heart and charged. Kadira turned her shoulder to his blow, hearing the scrape of metal against her armor, but the blow wasn't strong enough to make her stumble. She swung her blade sideways, slashing at her opponent who took the blow full on, apparently not expecting such a fast counter attack. He grunted and stumbled, slashing at her in an attack she simply leaned back to dodge.

"You're not going to win this fight," Kadira said calmly, returning her blade to its starting position and waiting. She hadn't even bothered to activate the vibrosword's edge, choosing to use it as a simple sword.

Her opponent didn't respond, instead lowering his head and charging at her, aiming at her left shoulder this time in anticipation of her dodge. Kadira sighed and swung her blade, deflecting his and driving her armored fist to the side, slamming it into the side of his neck. Her fist struck home just above his armor plating and he fell back, gasping. The man stumbled away and Kadira let him, conserving her own energy and letting him spend his. The man turned to face her again, gripping his blade with both hands this time.

Kadira returned to her position once more, tilting her head at him questioningly. His hands were shaking, she could see it. Clearly he wasn't used to any sort of drawn out fight with a blade.

"Done yet?" she asked coolly.

The sound of blasterfire from her right distracted her and Kadira ducked instinctively, her HUD flashing a warning as the shot glanced off her helmet, making her stumble slightly. Apparently her wrist rocket hadn't done nearly the amount of damage she had assumed it would, since the second opponent was back in the fight. The smallest sound alerted her to the other man's movement as he charged, no doubt hoping to take advantage of her distraction.

Kadira spun back to her left in time to meet her sword-wielding opponent's attack with an instinctive slash. She cursed when she felt the man's armor give under the blow, her blade meeting flesh. Her attacker hit the ground, dead even before he landed and Kadira turned her attention back to the shooter, cursing inwardly. She didn't have time to hunt down her pistol and her blade wasn't going to be much use in a long-range fight. She wasn't some jetii who could deflect blaster bolts back. And now that the sword wielding man was dead, his partner likely wouldn't hold back.

More shots rang out and Kadira gave up standing her ground and started running, hoping to make it to the Vanguard and take cover before her opponent got in a lucky shot.

Another series of shots rang out, this one from only a foot or two in front of her. Kadira turned her shoulder towards the blow, fully expecting to feel the full impact of the shot. Instead, she slammed into a figure. She stumbled slightly, feeling like she'd just hit a wall, but she recovered quickly. She didn't give the newcomer time to react, swinging her blade upwards. Her sword was stopped midair as an armored fist grabbed the blade, halting her swing.

"Kadira!"

She had just enough time to register the voice as Jett's before she was pulled into a hug, her sword still clasped awkwardly in her hand. She stiffened, her mind scrambling to make sense of the turn before she relaxed, breathing a sigh of relief. She didn't have to go traipsing off to find them after all. Her team had found her, and just in time, too.

"Nice shooting, vod," Iam's voice came from the fog to the right and Jett released Kadira and stepped back, leaving Kadira to sheathe her blade as Laniff and Iam stepped into sight.

"You definitely got close enough to scare the osik out of him, he started running once you started shooting. Not bad, for your HUD," Laniff added, but the usual humor in his voice was lacking. He turned his attention to Kadira, taking off his helmet and looking her up and down appraisingly before nodding and glancing around. "Good to see you're ok, vod'ika. Where's Scorlo? Please don't tell me the idiot got himself killed."

Kadira sighed and removed her own helmet, running one hand through her hair. She heard Jett's angry hiss of breath as he saw her no doubt bruised and bloody face, but she ignored the reaction.

"Let's find some place to sit. I'm too fierfekking tired to stand up and tell the story… Iam, can you get in touch with one of your contacts? Find us a ship out of here?"

Iam glanced back at the faint outline of the Vanguard visible in the fog before simply nodding.

"I'll see who I can find."

"What do you mean he just walked away? Surely she had a gun on him, at least?" Laniff's voice grew louder with each word and Kadira winced, placing one hand to her aching forehead.

The group was clustered around a small fire in one of the nearby caves, with Iam and Jett listening silently as Kadira relayed her half of what had happened after the Vanguard's systems had gone dark.

"No. No gun, no cuffs, he just… walked out," Kadira responded, her words clipped.

Laniff responded with a series of curses muttered under his breath and Kadira closed her eyes, rubbing her temples as she fought to make sense of the past few hours. Everything hurt, and she was starting to lose patience with being questioned. She was tired, worn thin, and needed sleep desperately.

"How the-"

"I don't know!" Kadira interrupted Laniff sharply, never opening her eyes. The cave fell silent and Kadira took a slow breath, working to regain her temper. It wasn't Laniff's fault. When she spoke again, her voice was calm once more. "It doesn't make sense to me, either. He spent so long avoiding Dain, and now… he just walks out with her."

"Abandoning you in a burning ship," Jett added.

Kadira flinched at the words, but not because of the underlying fury she heard there. Instead, she thought of the Vanguard, which was in complete ruins. She might, might be able to salvage the ship, but it would take massive repairs and an incredible amount of time to restore the ship to the shape it had been in before Dain's strike.

Kadira sighed and looked up, deciding to change the subject. "So that's it? Mog is really dead?"

She'd asked the question twice already, but was still having trouble believing it. It just… felt so simple. He'd planned all this out, pulled so many strings and draw them all here at just the right time to take advantage of Dain's own plans, only to die from one shot. Granted the shot had come from Iam, a master marksman, who had been using a Verpine sniper rifle, but… Kadira sighed and shook her head, realizing she had been so caught up in her own thoughts that she hadn't even bothered to listen to Iam's answer.

"…checked the body," Iam was saying. "He was dead, no doubt about it."

Kadira nodded and sighed, running one hand through her tangled hair.

"What now?" Jett asked finally.

Kadira sighed. "I don't know… We go back to Mandalore. I need new armor, this set is osik and my last set might as well be used for scrap metal after Coruscant… and I can't search out Ran, not without the Vanguard." She could hear the note of defeat in her voice, but frankly didn't care. She was sick of this hunt. She just wanted to go home.

"And you're not going to find anything without a starting point," Iam confirmed, earning a tired nod from Kadira.

"…I'm not going back," Laniff spoke up finally. "I need to finish this."

"I'll go with you," Iam said finally, holding up a hand when Laniff made to protest. "You need backup, vod'ika. Besides, this is my fight as well."

"You'll need to stop back home either way," Kadira put in. "The Revenge should be ready for you, Laniff, and Iam, you'll want to make sure the armory is fully stocked."

"Jett?"

"I'll head back to Mandalore," Jett said, leaning forward and poking at the fire with a stick. "There's too much follow up to do to leave Kad'ika alone… Besides. I think it's about time I got some real armor and quit riding the fence."

"Meaning…?" Laniff prompted, earning a sigh from Jett.

"You know what I mean, di'kut. It's high time I became a Mando already," Jett looked up and sighed. "Laniff, quit smirking or I'll throw something at you."

Jett crossed his arms, watching as their rescue ship's ramp lowered to admit its newest passengers. A figure could be seen, silhouetted against the interior of the ship and Jett squinted, trying to make out the figure's features.

"Took you long enough!" the voice was Iam's, filled with a mock gruffness that made Jett smile.

"Oh, shut it old man," the voice was feminine and filled with laughter. The figure stepped forward, allowing Jett to make out the woman's looks. She was a Mirialan, green skinned with the black geometric facial tattoos her race tended to prefer. She was slim and dressed in simple clothes, her short black hair pulled back from her face in a ponytail. The woman leaned against the support strut of the ramp, crossing her arms over her chest and grinning down at the group. Iam chuckled and boarded the ship, clapping the young woman on the shoulder briefly before ducking out of sight.

"Good to see you, Zarah. Thanks for taking care of Caida for me," Kadira called from just over Jett's shoulder.

Zarah squinted down at Kadira, making a face. "Anytime. Sithspit, you're wearing that armor?"

Kadira laughed. "Temporarily."

Zarah's grin returned. "Good. That set is as ugly as a Rancor. Alright, everybody on board. I've got weapons to deliver and I'm on a timetable. Make yourselves at home."

Kadira stepped up to Jett, tilting her helmeted head at him for a moment before rising up on her toes and tapping her helmet against his gently.

"Thanks for the rescue, vod'ika," Kadira said softly, and Jett could hear the smile in her voice before she turned away, limping up the ramp of Zarah's ship. The Mirialan woman and Kadira clasped hands in greeting before Kadira ducked out of sight. If Jett knew her, she would stow her gear and then head to the cockpit to keep Zarah company on the flight back to Manda'yaim.

Jett sighed and hefted his rifle over his shoulder, starting up the ramp. He stopped when Zarah stepped in front of him, her silver eyes sparkling in laughter as she tilted her head back to look up at him. Laniff came up behind Jett and he turned to see the blonde man's wide grin, an expression he hadn't expected to see.

"So you're the one," Zarah said, glancing at Laniff knowingly.

"The one what, exactly?" Jett asked.

"You do know what that was, right?" Laniff asked, wiggling his eyebrows at Jett. Jett frowned, taking off his helmet and running one hand through his dark hair.

"…A thank you?" he guessed slowly. Laniff's grin widened and Jett had to bite back a groan. Something in that expression didn't bode well. Zarah's ever widening smile didn't help him feel any more secure.

"That," Zarah explained cheerfully, crossing her arms over her chest, "was a kov'nyn."

Jett stared at the two, expression blank. He had never heard the word before.

Laniff laughed slightly and sighed, tilting his head back and closing his eyes for a moment before looking back to the clone.

"A Mandalorian headbutt? Also known as a Keldabe kiss?"

Jett blinked again.

"A what?"

Laniff grinned and slapped Jett on the shoulder, laughing at Jett's no doubt ridiculous expression. Laniff ducked on board the ship, leaving Jett to stare at Zarah, then at the ramp, then back to the Mirialan.

"What…?" he started, but trailed off, unable to finish.

Zarah laughed slightly, but the sound was sympathetic. "Just take it as it is, solider. Mandos don't do complicated. Basically, she kissed you. Now the ball is in your court. Don't mess it up, hm?"

Zarah grinned at him again before turning and ducking into the ship, leaving Jett to try to shake himself out of his surprise. He was starting to realize he had a lot to learn…

A/N: Wow, so this took me a long time to wrap up. Again, super sorry for the delays, I blame school… But I have the next book mostly plotted out, so it should be up and running soon. Thanks for sticking with me!