Kano sat in his cabin listening to the crackling of the fireplace and the howls of various creatures off in the distance. It was moments like this that the Warrior felt most relaxed. That is why he hated these moments. Relaxation was the enemy. As he began to long for something to break this cycle of boredom a scream rang out from the basement. Kano grinned as he got to his feet and walked to the stairs that led down into the dingy basement.

An even louder scream echoed up the stairwell as Kano stepped off the last step and into the crudely made torture chamber. Kano had a faint hint of giddiness in his voice as he spoke into the darkness, “I thought you would never wake up. I’m glad I was wrong. Now we can have some more fun.”

Kano flicked the lights on in the basement to reveal a naked man hanging upside down from chains. The man let out another scream as Kano walked over to a table covered in bladed weapons and tools.

“Oh, shut it. At Least this time you will see what is causing you the pain.”

With that the Sith picked up a knife with a 7 inch blade. He walked over to the now whimpering man and slowly slid the blades backside along the man's stomach. The cold metal caused the man to squirm as he tried to move away from the inevitable pain he was about to endure.

Kano grinned at the feeble attempt and turned the blade over and slid the razor sharp edge along the man's leg. He started at the heel with the blade just scratching the surface of the skin and pressed harder and harder as the blade made its way up the man's leg and to his thigh. The man pulled, and shaked, and screamed as the knife dug deeper and deeper into his flesh until Kano could feel metal scraping against bone.

A buzzer began to sound with a flashing red light and Kano pulled the blade from the man's leg. He kneeled down, grabbed the man by his hair, then pulled his face up so that he could look into the man's crying eyes.

“Now it is sleepy time again.”

Kano reached back and punched the man in the face. The blow knocked the man unconscious.

The Warrior tossed the blade onto the table and ran up the stairs. As he made his way through the door at the top of the stairs he could hear the familiar voice of his brother at the door.

“Kano, wake up. It is the middle of the afternoon, get your ass outta bed.”

Kano quickly got to the door and flung it open to reveal Fremoc standing there.

“About gorram time. What the hell were you doing? Do you have a woman in here? You getting your freak on?”

Kano grinned, “You could say something like that.”

“Oh, well I didn't mean to interrupt.” said the older brother.

“If you don't mind I would like to get back in there and continue digging in and if things go right I will have a squirter redecoration the room.”

Fremoc cringed as he turned to walk away, “Way too much info bro.”

Kano closed the door and started to walk back towards the basement door. He stopped for a second and listened. Silence filled the air. In the distance a howl echoed through the forest. It was at times like this that Kano felt most relaxed.

I hope you enjoy reading this account of the hangar invasion on the Skyhook. :)

We have faced these Demons before.

They came with swords of fire, they came with torrents of energy, and they came with corrupted beasts. They came to murder us, to break our wills, to harvest our breath. The Old Ones that brought us here did not prepare us for them. Our defenses were laid to waste, our soldiers scattered like leaves in a whirlwind. The Demons thought they ended us.

Yet still we stand.

We drove them back each time. This was our home, and they could never take that from us. They left their scars on us, their corruption tracing lines in our flesh, in our hearts. Their hatred infected us, driving kin against itself, brother to brother, mother against son, daughter against father.

Yet still we stand.

We found the Love within the Rage, those Seeds of Hope that made the Hatred burn so hotly. We nourished the Love, we helped it to grow, fed it our hopes and dreams. We used it as a wall against our fears, against our own sorrows. We used Love to end the Blight of Darkness that the outsiders brought. Our sons no longer cut their flesh, our daughters no longer cowered in fear. We listened to the Heart of our world, the whispers of our home as they beckoned us toward the path of Love.

The Demons came back. They brought their poisoned hearts to our door again, the hatred dripping from their lips. We Loved them, hoping that they could see where their rage grew from. We showed them that we were not slaves. That we were not afraid. We showed them that even as they came with a rising tide of sorrow and fear, that we still had Love.

What do Demons know of Love?

They only knew hatred. They slaughtered us, drove us deep into the ground, hiding from their rage. Our Ancestors knew then that they were not like us. They had no Seeds of Hope, only blind fury. Deep in the Heart of our world, our grandfather's grandfathers knew that we were almost broken, made deaf by the screams of our Love dying, drowning in the blood of our children.

Yet still we stand.

Our Ancestors knew that you can not defeat a demon with Love. Just as you can not keep your children alive with only embraces, you must occasionally spill blood to survive. When they came back out of the Heart of our world, we still knew Love. But we vowed to never show the Demons that Love again. We showed them that we use our Love for each other as a weapon against those who would separate us, against those who would end us...against those who don't know Love.

We know now that the Demons have returned. They have crossed our borders, hatred in their eyes, blood on our lips. And we showed them how strong our Love is. But it is not enough. They have come to our home. They gnash their teeth, they bang their blades, they roar in the darkness. They scream their heart's desire, to see us break. We have seen these Demons before, brothers and sisters.

Yet still we stand.

Alright Janos, I am glad that you decided to join me on this errand." Bentre smiled at the older man.

The Knight gave a respectful nod to his former master in response. "'M jus' glad you felt ye needed me, Master." As the shuttle rocked, he extended a hand to stabilize himself.

"Our mission is very simple, at least in concept. It looks like the island might have cushioned the ship enough that the enemy Force user was not killed. Our job is to investigate the wreckage, and to contain the Force user. Locke says they have been using Battle Meditation, so if we can disrupt them the Warhost and our accomplices should be able to push the tide of this conflict back in our favor. If the Force is with us today, we may be able to realize the Consul's vision and wipe out the Dominion for good." Bentre looked out the shuttle's port window, seeing the form of the ship quickly growing larger.

"Just a few more moments and we will strike." Bentre cleared his throat, and rested a hand on his lightsaber, watching the spartan troop transport's entrance intently. As soon as the sound of the landing gear engaging could be heard, the Equite ignited his lightsaber. Stormwind followed suit, his glow of his purple beam mingling with the icey hue emanating from Stahoes' weapon. Janos looked forward grimly as the ramp descended, a feeling of dread settling in his stomach. Behind them was an injured-looking Trandoshan, bracketed on either side by another two Trandoshans.

His fears were realized as his eyes beheld the seemingly hundreds of yellow eyes staring back at him. "This is our time to strike. Together now!" As the Sith charged forward, the Journeyman stepped forward just behind him. As the Dominion foot soldiers charged forward in kind, the Sadowans brought their weapons up in retaliation. The two warriors turned their weapons about, cutting through the conventional weapons of the bloodthirsty lizards and cleaving into flesh. As blasters turned on the pair, Bentre threw out a hand, splaying his fingers. About two heartbeats later, white-blue tendrils arched from his fingers, striking the nearest of the Kaleesh and causing it to shriek in pain.

"Flee before your betters, common worms!" The Equite bellowed as his left eye began to glow. Shaking his hand quickly, the Corellian took a swipe with his lighsaber, cleaving through another Kaleesh. His vision seemed to narrow as the smell of blood hit his nose.

*Revel in the destruction, Benny. Just give in to the hunter you are, take your fill of the carnage.* The familiar, dark thoughts came back to mind. It was like his own voice, but not. Hard to explain, but for once he did not rebuke it. Now was the time to bring death.

Together, the two began to cut their way toward the trio of Trandoshans. As the crowd of Kaleesh began to fall away beneath their assault, the Shadow rmanaged to lock eyes with the injured alien. His fellows began to close in, to block the Corellian's path. Without hesitation, the Equite pulled back his arm below flinging his lightsaber forward in a tight arc. Using the Force to guide its trajectory, he watched as the weapon cleaved into the Trandoshan's chest. The creature let out a sharp cry of pain.

"Pull back, Janos!" He barked, reaching into his jacket. His fingers closed around a spherical object located where his blaster would normally have rested. Reaching back, the Sith flung the object between the trio. The grenade exploded in a flash of blue light and cold as Bentre called his lightsaber back to his fingers through the Force.

"Without their special boy, we need to hold them off long enough for the others to land. Maybe they can manage to keep the thing alive for questioning." Bentre growled and struck out with his reclaimed weapon, driving its blade into the eye socket of a particularly foolish Kaleesh who had gotten a little too close to his former apprentice. "We must make our stand here. Now, for the glory of Sadow!" Stahoes' raised his weapon in salute for a moment before twirling it around and drawing his feet back to square up his shoulders. This might test his application of Shii-Cho.

In a weird way, Bentre was looking forward to it.