As the crew of the Long Distance Runner went into hyper space for the three day trip to Leelos IV, four Imperial II class Stardestroyers were pulling away from what was left of the moon. The atmosphere was burned away, ant the surface was molten. Admiral Morss stood at the head of the bridge looking out as the star flickered, then elongated as his ships entered hyperspace. I do not like this he thinks to himself. Doing what they were to those girls was bad enough, but to then kill them all when it became an embarassment? He had three daughters there age. He could imagine the anguish the families were going through with the kidnapping of their girl. Those that were not killed anyway. And now to never now their fate? No more. I've had enough. To the hells with the Empire. Of course the bridge crew only saw a man standing confidently on his bridge, smirking at the universe. Only the communications officer knew what he was really feeling. For Admiral Morss' daughter were his sisters. With a press of a key, Lt Zell Morss sent his latest coded message to the New Republic out with the mass of other Imperial dispatches. I think the New Republic boys are going to have a field day soon. With a last glance at the monitor still showing the burning moon, Zell shuts it off. Moff Panaka looked questioningly at Capt Vitch. "What have you found at the attack site?" "First of all this was the work of the Collector." The Moff came to attention at the mention of the name. How do you know this?" "Two living witness', as well as a fragment of video. What it shows is a figure wearing the same featureless mask that her only living victim described." "Her? The collector is a woman?" "No, she's a girl. Maybe mid teens. And she's now has help. The video, it was about three seconds, shows another was with her. a Male of unknown age. And Force user." "How do you know that?" "Here's the video," Vitch said. His data pad flashes with the scene from the mess hall at the base. Panaka watches as the black figure of a male human jumped twenty feet across the room and killed five men with two vibro knives. All in about four seconds. "And some of the bodies show lightsaber wounds." "And what of the two survivors?" "One died about two hours after we arrived. He was scared to death. I've seen his record. This man was not the kind to scare easily. The other said he ran when he saw what was happening. So he was executed for cowardice under fire. But at least they didn't get anything in the raid. All the equipment had already been taken to Leelos. Oh, and the ship that was to pick up the Troopers has disappeared. A witness at the scene says they came out of hyperspace and then left again about twenty minutes later. I think they've deserted." "Very good. But we don't have to worry about the attacks on the labs anymore. I've had the last one closed. This project is ended. That is all. I'll read the report when you are done with it." "Yes sir." Marc Vitch, real name Mek Marisun, left the room. He'd left out some interesting things in his initial report about the incident. Things like a clip showing the two humans without their masks. As well as three non-humans, one of whom was dead. And they had the two droids. Just like Dr Pok wanted. So we have all the information we need now. And Mek knew that the crew had deserted. In fact, he'd already talked to his brother and welcomed him to the fold. The term Base Delta Zero, or BDZ was a Republic military term for the bombardment of a planet by orbiting ships. But they did not create the concept. Thousands of years before the founding of the Republic, The Infinite Empire laid waste to the lush jungle planet of Tatooine. Yes, that's right, I'm teaching Star Wars history. My geekiness is immense!