This particular mission had lasted years now, and was finally ready to come to a close. Time meant nothing to a Sovereign Protector. Only the achieval of the goal was important. The Sovereign Protector, Kile Hannad, had been instructed, as were many of the others, to locate the Renegade Admiral, Daala. It had been a difficult task but at long last, the information had been made available to him.

Pedducis Chorios, a small planet whose population pretty much stayed out of galactic affairs. This had been why the information had been so difficult to come by. Not many people ever visited this planet, and even fewer ever left. However, it had come to him from a less than reputable, but very trustworthy, source that the Admiral was holding up in a small cottage upon this planet.

The Imperial Shuttle landed just a short distance from that cottage and, as the docking ramp lowered, the Sovereign Protector exited through the venting gasses and steam. In the distance he saw two droids working on some device or another in the yard, which was well kept. A peaceful place, the kind of place the Sovereign Protector himself might pick if he ever retired from service.

Moving slowly, but with purpose, he came to the door. The droids cut him short. First the small astromech beeped, whirred, and twirled his top. Then the protocal droid turned to greet him.

"Hello, Good Sir, I am C-3PO human cyborg relations. How might I serve you?"

The Sovereign Protector did not even slow his pace.

"You may serve me by staying out of the way, droid."

As he moved into the hut, he heard the droid behind him.

"I say, R2, humans certainly lack in manners."

As the Sovereign Protector entered, he found Daala, just as he had been told he would.

"Admiral Daala, I assume you know why I am here."

The elderly woman sat in a small wooden rocking chair, her legs pushing her back and fourth. Her former red-orange hair had become littered with streaks of white, and her once slim figure had swollen into a more full figure with her age. Her aged fingers weaved in and out of a small blue cloth as she gracefully rocked to to and fro, a small cup of Corellian Tea at her side.

Suddenly, and without warning, the wooden hinges of the cottage door slammed open. She sat up, the deep shadows of a haunted past in her eyes melting away at the fimiliar sight of the Crimson Armor. Emotions within her charged forward, memories of the past that she had long forgotten assaulting her mind, and her sences.

Soon after, C-3PO waddled into the pleasant cottage, followed closely by a wildly beeping R2-D2.

"What is the meaning of this?" the frail woman's voice cracked as she pushed herself up from the rocking chair, her eyes seeming to blaze with frusteration, or excitement. She didn't seem to recognize, or comprehend the name 'Daala' as she took a few steps forward, grabbing up an antique Blaster Rifle from a small wooden end table. "Damned Pirates, Robbing me blind!"

The Sovereign Protector moved in a blur of crimson. His crimson robes parted, making room for his glaive. The blades of the weapon snapped out with the shinking sound of metal upon metal. The lower blade rose swiftly from below, slicing the barrel of the weapon the woman now held.

He turned swiftly, his glaive baring down upon her. The blade stopped short of her neck.

"I would advise you not do that again, Admiral. Obviously I am no pirate."

Admiral...

A title she had long since forgotten. She was Admiral Daala... The old woman shook her head, her hand shaking as the Crimson-Armored figure moved forward, his ominous weapon slicing through the ancient metal of her blaster rifle.

As the soft clank ecoed throughout the small cottage, C3-PO fell into hysterics.

"Ooh No! He's trying to kill us, R2! We're doomed!"

She stepped forward, her eyes squinting, the distinct lines at the corner of her mouth standing out more and more as she clenched her teeth together as she had done for so many years before in the Imperial Navy. Memories rushed back to her... the haunting deaths of Kratas, and Cronus weakening her more and more with each passing second.

She was a monster...

Her hands continued to shake, and within mere seconds Darkness consumed her sight, and her body tumbled to the hard wood floor beneath her.

The Sovereign Protector replaced his weapon behind him. Then, slowly, he bent to pick up the Admiral. Gently, he set her down upon her bed and splashed a bit of cold water in her face to wake her. Before the cold water, however, he swiftly ushered the droids outside.

Standing above her, he spoke softly but with purpose.

"Admiral, you have a duty to the Empire. You have a job to complete. You are wasting your talents here while the galaxy is riddled with civil war and insurections."

He waited, to see if she would wake.

Her thoughts consumed her.... memories of the Battle of Yavin.... her duel with Callista, the Jedi Knight. Even Admiral Pellaeon, the man she had come to admire during her years of crusading around the galaxy in an endless attempt to reunite the warlords of the Imperial Remnant. Daala's eyelids fluttered, her wrinkled skin shifting with emotion.

"The...." her weak voice spoke, as the images continued to race through her mind. Images of the haunting defeats that the Empire had sustained. "The Empire.... is.... dead. As is.... Admiral Daala...."

Her body collapsed once more, limp with emtional exaustion, the hauntings of the dreams to come foreshadowing her, and as she plunged deeper into the dreams, she heard his voice cry out....

"Admiral!" The figure of Kratas stood before her on the opposite side of a viewing port within Warlord Harrsk's iron fortress. "It feels good to be on the bridge again. This is a fine piece of military machinery. I had forgotten how sleek and maneuverable an Imperial Star Destroyer could be, after all the damage we suffered on the Gorgon."

It simply couldn't be..... Kratas was dead, yet he spoke as clearly as the crystalline waters of Naboo.

The Sovereign Protector heard her words and spoke once more.

"The Empire is not dead. The Empire will never die so long as those who are loyal remain so. Loyalty never dies, Admiral, do not forget that."

He paused a moment, considering the fact that she had been without knowledge, likely, of the events transpiring in the galaxy.

"The Empire has risen once more. It is again the most powerful force in the Galaxy. It is led by the greatest men and women this galaxy has ever known, men and women like yourself, Admiral. Now get up and do you duty!"

She plunged deeper into the haunting darkness of her dreams, the words of the Sovereign Protector unheard through the thick shroud that had settled over her exausted body. Her memory had fully returned. Memories of every battle... every tournament at Carida... even her unapproved promotion to Admiral.

She staired at Kratas for a few moments, pain filling her deep green eyes, for she knew this story all too well.... Daala reached forward, Warlord Harrsk shooting her a bold, and distasteful look with his glowing mechanical eye.

"Get off of the ship, Kratas! Now!"

But it was too late.... The sound of holocam-triggered alarms whailing in the background of the fortress as red lights lit up the room.

"Admiral Daala... uh, excuse me, Warlord Harrsk... We've sdetected incoming ships, moving fast." Harrsk growled as Daala stepped back, grabbing her mouth in horror as she watched the inevitable. "I've spotted seventy," Kratas continued in disbelief as Daala stood idoly by, helpless.

Kratas....

"Concentrate all firepower," Kratas demanded "Select one target, destroy it, then move on to the next. Scattered fire won't accomplish anything."

A single tear flowed fown her soft cheek as she continued to watch the haunting images of her past.

"Shields failing..." Kratas continued, as he looked directly into the viewing port, his eyes penitrating Daala's very soul. His dark eyes were wide with the realization of his death... the realization that he would never again know the soft touch of her hands.

"Admiral, I..."

The screen immediatly turned into a fuzz of grey static

She didn't speak as she had before... merely sat by and watched the ship Kratas had been inspecting erupt into an eternal flame, and wilt onto it's side....

Stop this!.... Wake up! Wake up!

It was useless.... She was trapped in an endless circle of torture manifested by her own emotions.

The Sovereign Protector looked down upon the Admiral. Her dreams were obviously not pleasant ones. He reached forward and slapped her, not all that gently.

"Wake up, Admiral."

It was his duty to see that she returned to service with the Empire or was.. silenced. He always did his duty. This would be no different, no matter what respect or admiration he had for this Imperial Admiral who had served the Empire he now did so well. He would not take pleasure, should he be forced to silence her, but he would take great joy if she once more joined the Imperial cause.

He stood, silently, watching over her. Then, after a moment, slapped her once more.

"Get up, Admiral, let the memories fade and the present return. We have work to do."

The slap came as nothing to her, for her physical state no longer existed... she had drifted into a coma.

Her face turned red with fury as the dream continued, festering into what would become the war between Harssk, and Teradoc. The shadow of her eyes melted into pure rage as she stepped away from the viewing port, and her last memories of Kratas.

"What the hell is the meaning of this, Harrsk?"

"That's High Admiral Tera..."

Daala interrupted, throwing her arms to her sides. "Teradoc." Harssk nodded his head franticly as his scarred fingers franticly pushed the several buttons at his command station. She wasn't amused. "Teradoc is trying to disgrace me," Harssk continued, just as he had the first time around.

"Admiral Daala, we must smash that obease..."

Once again, she interupted. "You're the coward, Harssk. I made the mistake of obeying your commands the first time around. I won't do it again!"

Harssk didn't seem to hear her. He heard only what he wanted to here, or what fate would allow him to hear.

"We won't stand for this! This time we will get even, and I have the means to doso with you, Admiral Daala...."

Please wake up...