Sascha awoke to discover that Akfek had arrived in Doma. It was an easy deduction to make, mostly because he was sitting on a chair in her room, staring at her. It was most disconcerting, especially with his new attire... "What the...Couldn't you have knocked?!" She sat bolt upright and grabbed for her robe, pulling it on over her nightgown. "Not when I have something this important to discuss," he replied, with that same devilish grin that always piqued her curiosity. "Garek's, ah, *interrogation* of our less than prudent spy has revealed to us the exact location of the Returner base in Jidoor." "Excellent," purred Sascha as she executed a series of cat- stretches. "Then we have all the information we need to proceed with the operation!" "That is correct," he said, getting to his feet. "We will make our plans, and then, in two days' time..." He turned dramatically to face the window. "We will attack...at dawn." * * * * The town of Jidoor slept peacefully, oblivious to the invisible force that was rolling towards it like a noxious tide. Not a soul knew of the huge cloaked airships that were speeding in their direction with holds full of soldiers eager to disembark and fulfill their objective: to destroy the Returner stronghold. Perhaps a few of the brave rebels were awake now, plotting strategies to combat the Empire. But even they were ignorant of what was to come. Later, one old woman, a nurse for the Returners, would recall that this night had seemed a little colder, a little darker than most...But for now, none could guess that they had been involuntarily betrayed by the very person they had sent to infiltrate their enemies. On this dark night, a young woman roamed the streets around the base, gazing all around and taking in everything with her alert brown eyes. She couldn't have been older than 19 or 20; she was wearing a pink peasant style dress, and a pink ribbon in her light brown hair. No *nice* girl would have been out alone at this hour, but then, Kimberly Hart was not exactly a nice girl. Rather, she was a soldier in the New Imperial Army; an archer who, along with others like her, had been deposited outside Jidoor only a few hours before, carried by the Empire's lightning fast runner craft. A minutious observer might have noticed that Kim stopped every few minutes and bent to adjust her skirts. Luckily for her, there was no such person around. For even in her billowing dress, the bow strapped to her right leg was proving to be a pain to conceal. Her many arrows were in a large leather backpack slung over her shoulder, along with her wall-climbing equipment, which she now withdrew. Red light was just beginning to caress the horizon; it was time to get into position. As she prepared her rope and grappling hook, and began to ascend the building, she reviewed her assignment mentally. She and the other archers were to stand on the rooftops surrounding the base, and to basically act as snipers. Any rebels that were drawn out by the soldiers, or who attempted to flee would be picked off one by one. She remembered Akfek's words at their briefing, "No sacrifice will be considered too great to destroy the Returners!" She also remembered Lady DelAubre's later amendment to that statement. There was _one_ sacrifice that _would_ be considered too great: if any soldier saw a girl wearing a green ribbon, they were to avoid harming her at all costs. Anyone who so much as bruised her would have to deal with Sascha. Kim knew that this order would be obeyed without question. Nobody wanted to die *that* badly... The young archer reached the rooftop and nodded a curt greeting to one of her counterparts who was stationed some distance away on the same building. As she prepared her bow and arrows, she glanced upwards. Light was diffusing further up into the sky, bleeding off the darkness. In the distance she could hear the sound of the approaching airships. The humming was due to the atmospheric disturbance caused by such a massive magical field. It was something you could only hear if you knew what you were listening for. A tingle of excitement danced on Kim's spine... * * * * * The cloaked airships clustered above and around the Returner base. Deep in their bellies, hundreds of troops were making last minute checks: adjusting their armor, sharpening their swords, and making sure their jetpacks and personal cloaks were working properly. And then the order came to attack. On board the Defiant, Sascha watched as one by one the troops pressed the button on their belts that phased them out of existence. Since she herself was infused with Shade's power, Sascha didn't need a device. The things weren't perfected yet anyway; they ran off the airships' magical field, and once a soldier was out of range, poof! But it kept them invisible and untouchable until they reached the ground, and that was enough. When the troops had all gone, Sascha called on Shade and wrapped his darkness around her. Looking through the cloak of shadows was always a strange experience. It was like seeing the world through a greenish gray mist, but it was a world where plants withered, and buildings crumbled and decayed into dust. Sascha wondered sometimes if anything lived in this world of shadow...But then she was on the ground. She cast aside the cloak, and surveyed the situation. The town was not really stirring yet, despite the arrival of the soldiers. A few townspeople had emerged from their homes, but they were sternly told to go back inside, an order with which they fearfully complied. The troops, on the other hand, were getting into formation, and had not yet begun the assault. She could see Akfek moving among them, performing a cursory inspection. She too walked around the ranks, eyes taking in everything. But she had an additional objective today. She had to find Merine... The sun crested the horizon, angry and red. The entire town heard Akfek's warcry as the troops drew their weapons. "It has begun!"