nothing further.

At last Balto persuaded the hatch to open. Cautiously he looked into the corridor beyond. “Seems all right and the air smells clean. Don’t see the heaps of bodies like I did on your level.” Taking a precautionary turn of line on the stairway railing he eased himself through the hatch and into the corridor. “Gravity feels light, but stable so far. Come on through.”

Jenna followed him into the corridor, pausing to release the line and close the hatch behind her. Balto kept a belay on various sturdy points as they progressed up the hall, but the gravity did not fluctuate. Balto pulled out his comlink and checked the beacon. “This way.”

“Where are your men?” Jenna paused to pull a medpac out of an emergency station set into the bulkhead beside a blast door. The door was half-open. Balto jumped through the gap and helped her over the high threshold.

“Section A-4, last time they gave me a position. They might’ve moved after I spoke to them. I told them to find a secure place in case the gravity decided to fail.”

Jenna grunted. “It would be better if it did fail. It’s those fluctuations that are killing us. If I live through this, I’m going to find whoever designed those machines and put a blaster bolt through their brains.” 

“Don’t be so hasty. It could be simply that there’s not enough power to keep them running properly.” He nodded at another bank of dark lifts.

“Those aren’t working, so why should anything else? I’m more surprised we’ve got some level of power at all.”

“You’re awfully forgiving for a officer.” Jenna eyed him as if she was suddenly unsure of his credentials.

“I still have a mind, thank you. I didn’t abandon the ability to think when I took my training,” Balto said tartly.

“Sorry, didn’t mean any insult,” said Jenna, holding up a hand. “You’ve been doing wonderfully, honest.”

Balto smiled tightly. “I’ll call it ‘wonderful’ when we’re out of here in one piece.”

“No argument there, Balto.” Jenna said, she nuzzeled him “I’m so glad you’re safe.”

Balto smiled, “Me too. I love you, Jen.” The space in-between them vanished into an affectionate canine kiss.

Balto found his stormtroopers not far from the section named by Private Kaltag. The dogs had located a smallish wardroom off the main corridor and in that relative shelter they had set up a field clinic. Wounded crew lay in neat rows along the walls, secured in place with netting normally used to hold down cargo. Those up and attending to the injured wore safety harnesses similar to the ones Balto had rigged for himself and Jenna.

Nearly everyone in the room sported one or more field dressings. The one person not bandaged was a trooper acting as medic. He had removed the upper armor from his body to increase his range of motion and was kneeling by an injured naval officer, scanning him with a medpac and frowning at the readouts. He looked up as Balto and Jenna entered the room and gave the officer a quick salute.

“Commander Balto, glad to see you, Sir.”

Balto returned the salute. “Corporal Star. Things look in good order, well done.”

“Thank you, Sir. Private Kaltag and Specialist Nikki have been bringing in everyone they could find. I think we’ve almost got ‘em all.” As he finished, two more dogs entered the room, carrying another crewer between them on a stretcher. They moved stiffly, both of them sporting bandaged limbs, but they handled their charge with care. When they saw Jir they grinned.

“Commander Balto! I knew you’d get here eventually.” Kaltag turned to his comrade as they placed the stretcher on the deck and lifted off the injured man. “See, told you so! If anybody could make it, it’d be our Commander.”

“Are all the survivors gathered in?” Balto asked Private Kaltag. He moved the dogs away from Corporal Star, giving the medic the floor space he needed for his new patient.

“We got everyone accessible on this deck, Sir. Did you find anyone else on the way up?”

“Only one, Jenna here. The remaining crew on level 50 was crushed in the gravity failures and the other decks were in vacuum.”

“What of the Captain? The Admiral?” Specialist Nikki asked, looking from Balto to Jenna.

Jenna shook her head slowly. “Everything from the main turbolaser decks up to the command decks is gone. We lost communications hours ago and haven’t heard anything since. It doesn’t look good.”

“Damn Rebels!” Nikki clenched his paws.

“Save your energy for something useful,” said Balto. The emergency lights flickered slightly. He walked to the door and looked out into the corridor. “I want you and Kaltag to assist Corporal Star until I return. Continue using ropes and safety rigging. Once the power goes so will the gravity – at least that’s been our experience so far, and I don’t want us to be caught by surprise.”

“Return, Sir? Where are you going?” Kaltag looked at his commander in concern. “You only just got here. You should at least let Star do something for your cut.”

Balto took a length of bandage from the medpac Jenna had carried and wound it around his forehead, covering the cut. Jenna assisted him in making a quick and tidy dressing over the injury. “This will do.” There’s no time to waste. I need to close all the blast doors and seal off this section from the decks below. Almost all of the sections have been hulled and we’re bleeding atmosphere. If we want to have a fighting chance, we’ve got to stop those leaks.”

“I’ll go with you,” offered Jenna.

“No Jen, you’ve been unconscious and may have a concussion. Stay here and have Corporal Star scan you. If you test clear, you can check the blast doors that have already closed on this level and make sure they stay sealed. Take one of the men with you and use rigging as you proceed. You don’t want to end up like...” Balto pointed to the deck under his feet.

Jenna nodded. “All right, I’ll do that, Commander, but if you’re going to go off by yourself, take my toolkit with you. You may need to hot-wire the doors to make them work.” She offered him the technician’s kit she had carried on her back.

“Thanks. I don’t want to take all the tools, but a few would come in handy.” Balto scanned the contents of the pack, selected several items, and tucked them into his utility belt. “Captain Jenna, you are senior and will have command in my absence.”

“I know, but if it comes to fighting, I will defer to Corporal Star.” Drycin nodded at the stormtrooper-cum medic.

“I hope we don’t have to do any fighting, but if we must, you can trust my men to do what is necessary.” Balto thought about their situation for a minute as he prepared to leave. He directed his next statement at his men.

“I don’t want any blaster fire, even if it is the Rebels who rescue us – we don’t need any more air-leaks, understood?”

“But Sir, if the Rebels…” began Kaltag, his voice holding a note of protest.

“If the Rebels don’t come in shooting, you’ll thank them kindly for the rescue and go with them, Private. The Empire will arrange a POW-swap for us eventually, so don’t waste your life on a futile gesture, understood?”

Kaltag sighed heavily but nodded his acquiescence. “Yes, Sir, understood.”

“Excellent. Sit tight and I’ll be back as soon as I’m finished.” Balto left the wardroom and gathered up his grapple and line to risk a quick un-tethered sprint down the long corridor toward an intersection housing a thick set of blast doors. The doors were currently open. His lungs were aching by the time he reached them. He caught himself against the doorframes. He moved on once the mist had cleared from his vision.

“Commander Balto, a challenge awaits you.”

Balto jumped and spun around, making an abortive grab for his nonexistent sidearm. He froze in place, his paws still reaching for a blaster that would have been there had he been in armor. Standing perhaps ten feet away was a man dressed in robes of dark brown. A lightsaber hung from his belt. Balto looked at the weapon and his fur prickled. Not just any man then, but a Jedi. Balto frowned. But there weren’t any Jedi, were there?

“Who are you?” Balto called. His heart was still racing from the rush of adrenaline and grayness threatened to encroach on his eyesight once again.

The lights faded as the power in this section failed, leaving him in the dark. Well, that wasn’t quite right, he saw. A soft glow came from the body of the man who had spoken to him.

“A friend.”

The voice… the voice was somehow familiar. Jir rubbed his aching ribs and settled for tugging down the hem of his tunic. He was going to have to use words rather than weapons, if the Jedi decided to start a fight.

“Didn’t think I had any Jedi friends,” Balto replied, keeping a wary eye on the lightsaber.

“Perhaps you didn’t,” said the man, his voice sounding sad. “But you served one faithfully, once.”

“A Jedi? Oh! Lord Vader.” Balto nodded as he made the mental connection. “Yes, I serve him.” He looked at the Jedi in sudden hope. “Tell me, is he still alive? I’m trying to get out of here with my people. If he’s alive, we’ll get back to him, somehow!”

The Jedi shook his head slowly. “Darth Vader is… free, and suffers no longer.”

Balto felt his heart sink at the tone of the Jedi’s words. “Free.” He shivered as the cold penetrated his clothing. The warmth was fading along with the light and power. “Just like I’ll soon be ‘free’ if I don’t figure out a way to seal off this section and keep my surviving crew alive.”

“All are one in the Force, Balto, do not be afraid.”

“The Force.” Balto snorted. “Right. I’d rather we stay among the