Chapters Fourteen and Fifteen
  
Life is too bitter already, without territories, and
wars, and noble fueds. -- The Once and Future
King -- T.H. White -- Further back, there were times when
we wondered with all our souls what
the world was, what love was, what we were ourselves. . .
For love can exist with hatred, each
preying on the other, and this is what gives it its
greatest fury.

 Duo: "Total pacifism.  Do you really think such a world
is possible? . . .Maybe I've lost faith in
what we're fighting for; in the future that we dreamed
about. Maybe in the end peace is an
impossible dream."
  Quatre: "Once a dream is lost, everything is lost."  --
Gundam Wing




    In the _Corellian Sunrise_ Serena quickly slid into
the pilot's seat, with Kyp beside her. They lifted
off and flew out of the _Evening Death_ as it slowly fell
towards Deneratin.
  Kyp spoke into the comm unit, after finding the right
frequency so all the New Republic ships would
be able to hear.
  "This is the _Sunrise_, mission --complete." Over the
comm Kyp could hear cheering. He lightly
smiled.
  Already Kyp could tell that the other two Star
Destroyers had lost all power. Escape pods littered the
area around the ship; some were still jettisoning out. It
was all finally over. The New Republic had won. 
Kyp was glad that it was over, but once they returned to
Yavin Four, Serena would complete what
was left of her training, then Karrde would come. Kyp's
heart sank.
  " . . . Kyp, are you there? Even out the shields."
Serena said, breaking off his thoughts. "Get Wedge,
and if you can, Shal, to the gun turrets. This isn't over
yet," she finished grimly.

  Shal'lyindraa grimaced: her arm really hurt. Wedge
finished wrapping a white bandage around it. He
let out a sigh. "That'll have to do for now."
  "It's fine, I guess. Hurts real bad, but then I was
taught that some pain is good, helps you to know that
you're not dead," she said uncaringly. Shal'lyindraa moved
her arm up and straightened it out. 
  Kyp ran into the room. "Wedge, can you get to one of the
guns?"
 Wedge stood up smiling, "I think I can manage it."
 Kyp squatted down, so that his face was even with
Shal'lyindraa's. "Shal, can you?"
  Shal'lyindraa paused before speaking. "Yeah, I probably
can."
 Kyp straightened up as Shal'lyindraa stood. Leaving the
blonde behind without a second glance, he
ran back to the cockpit and sat down into the copilot's
seat.
  Serena's eyes were closed, but her hands were flying
across the navigational controls before her. Right
then they went down into a roll as a burst of laser fire
went over them.
  "Put maximum shield power on stern and aft," Serena said
through clenched teeth.
  Kyp obeyed Serena's command as they, again, barely
missed another round of green laser beams.
  Suddenly, a burst of red lasers shot out from the
_Corellian Sunrise_ and the TIE fighter burst into
flames.  Its wingman darted to the left, and was consumed
in another beam.
  Kyp looked over at Serena. Wasn't she trying to
concentrate too hard, again?  Or was her mind
wandering off to another galaxy, _again_?  She was letting
her feelings get in the way . . . thoughts of
her father were distorting her concentration.
  Before Kyp could say anything the ship lurched forward,
almost throwing Serena out of her seat, and
sending Kyp flying out of his chair. 
   "Dammit!" Serena yelled, slamming her fist down on the
wall beside her.
 Kyp stood up, and the Corellian ship flew forward again,
knocking Kyp down on his knees.
  "Serena, calm down!" 'Or you're going to get us all
killed.' "Calm down." Kyp stood up and sat
back in the copilot's seat, rubbing his upper arm.
  Serena's hands fell back to the controls, and she
quickly regained control of the ship. "Lost my
concentration," she said bluntly.
 Kyp grimaced. "I know."
  Serena blew out her breath. "Check our damage status."
  "Minor, your shields hold up pretty well, they're barely
even damaged. There was a small fire in the
back . . . but it's gone now. Wedge or Shal must've gotten
it."
  "Okay." Serena slowed down her breathing and closed her
eyes.


  In hyperspace, Serena opened her eyes to see Kyp looking
at his swollen wrist.
  "What's wrong?"
  "I bruised up my shoulder pretty bad, and I think I
sprained my wrist. Nothing a little Jedi healing can't
handle.  Trust me, I've had worse."  It was true, he had
once had worse.    Once he had crammed
himself into a message cylinder large enough for a small
child.  He had somehow managed to fit into it,
not without breaking his arms, legs, and ribs.  He had
felt none of this, though, he had used his pain-
blocking techniques.  He had then put himself into a Jedi
trance.  It was as simple as that. The story
behind it wasn't. 
  "Oh."
  "How 'bout you?"
  "Nothing, not even a bruise, except . . . I think I hurt
my hand when I slammed it down."
  Kyp smirked. "You did hit it pretty hard."
  Serena did not smile. "Yeah."
  Kyp frowned. "What's wrong?"
  "What did I do?"
  "Huh?"
  "I can't remember anything since I confronted my father;
it's all blank, and then I remember being on
the floor, and you were helping me stand up . . ."
Serena's voice trailed off.
  "You don't remember?" Kyp asked, surprised.
  "No," Serena looked at him, her grey-green eyes studying
his face. Kyp felt her lightly probing his
mind, and then she stopped and turned away.
  "You and your father came up, then you attacked Shal.
You had a lightsaber duel."
  Serena's mouth dropped open. "Why? How? I don't
understand, you told me that only Jedi could
make someone turn against other people.  Kayro is
certainly no Jedi, so that can't be right."
  "Your father must have had the Force, Serena." Kyp said
it so calmly that he even surprised himself.
  "What?" Serena asked darkly.
  "Well, it's true, only a trained Jedi can do what
someone did to you, so it had to have been your
father. That explains where you got your talent in the
Force from."
  "How did I break away?"
  "I don't know," Kyp paused for a moment, thinking, "I
guess you realized that you were fighting your
friend, only, you didn't comprehend that you had realized
it."
  Serena stared at him for a moment, then turned her
attention to hyperspace. "Uh-huh." 
  Serena undid the braid in her hair, and let her honey-
brown hair spill over her shoulders.  "Well, he's
dead now. I guess it doesn't matter, except, how did he
know all about the Jedi Academy, and the
students?"
  "I don't know, I guess he used the Force to read other
people's minds." Kyp shrugged.  "Maybe
that's also why none of the stormtroopers had helmets,
Sere.  Your father liked to look them in the eye,
to read their mind."


                         *    *    *

  Serena fought back her nervousness as she walked into
the beautiful room in the Imperial Palace. 
Skylights towered above her, and windows surrounded her. 
Outside, the lights from the nearby
buildings flooded in. The marble like walls were covered
in lights and reflected the happiness of the
room.  Kyp slipped his arm under hers and squeezed her
hand.  A few aliens and humans turned their
attention to the three newcomers. 
  Serena, Shal'lyindraa, and Kyp received a few smiles and
nods, mostly they were surrounded by
people asking them all that had happened. Serena did not
really mind it at all, except for the fact that
what she was wearing was not matching her tastes. A dark
blue silk dress which clung to her body, and
long sleeves, which hung off her arms was not something
Serena liked wearing, and the jangling noise
Shal'lyindraa's bracelets made everytime she moved her
right hand annoyed the young woman to no
end.
  The battle was at least over; that was one thing that
kept her going while people flocked over them.
Her father was gone, dead. His ships were destroyed, as
were his most powerful officers.  Of course,
what had happened to her: how she had been tricked into
turning against her friend and trying to kill
her, continuously played through her mind.
 "Well, they're bored with us." Shal'lyindraa let out a
sigh as the small crowd slowly disappeared into
no one.
  "Thankfully." Serena let out her breath, and pushed back
her neatly done lockes hair.
  Kyp held Serena's hand in his.  "I don't believe I could
have taken much more."
  "Where's Master Skywalker?" Shal'lyindraa asked, letting
her gaze fly across the large room. She
shook the drink in her hand and sipped it.
  Serena shrugged, "Over there." She nodded her head to
the light brown haired, blue-eyed man.
  "Well, come on, we need to talk to him."
  Serena and Kyp followed Shal'lyindraa over to Luke
Skywalker who stood beside his sister, Leia.
Luke greeted the trio with a broad smile.
  "I am so proud of you all." 
  Shal'lyindraa blushed. "Thank you, Master Skywalker."
  Serena nodded her agreement. "Thanks."
  "Yes, thanks." Kyp smiled back to the older man.
  "What you three did was very brave and very important to
the New Republic's welfare. You have
helped us tremendously," Leia spoke gratefully.
   Kyp spoke up as he watched Borsk Fey'lya walk up to
them.  "It's our job. Soon we will be Jedi
Knights, protectors of the New Republic; we just started a
little earlier than planned."
  "Well, so nice to see that you three came back safely,"
the cream-furred Bothan spoke smoothly.
  "It's a relief to be back." Shal'lyindraa spoke mildly,
as everyone turned to face the Bothan.
  "Yes," Fey'lya purred.
  Serena looked at the Bothan with a hint of annoyance
etched across her young face. "Is something
wrong Councilor Fey'lya?"
  "No, of course not. I just heard some of the strangest
news, though."
  "Really." Serena folded her arms over her chest. "I'm
sure it will be something that will ruin our
celebrative mood, am I correct?"
  Borsk Fey'lya opened his palms and spread his arms out.
"It is up to you."
  "Well?" Serena asked impatiently.
  "I never knew that someone could be a smuggler and Jedi
Knight at the same time. Especially two
girls who are not even finished with their training.  I
mean, the New Republic has little to do with Talon
Karrde.  How is it possible for someone to serve a
smuggler and have allegiance to the New Republic
at the same time?"
  Serena's eyes grew wide and she stared coldly at
Fey'lya. "And may I ask how you know this?" 
  The innocent looking Bothan shrugged. "I have my ways."
  "Of spying." Serena said through clenched teeth.
  "Maybe so," he continued calmly, " but I recommend you
not try it.  Gallivanting across the galaxy as a
smuggler, claiming to be a Jedi Knight is nothing but
stupidity that only children like you are capable of."
  "Look, Fey'lya, what Shal'lyindraa and I do is none of
your business. Anyway, if the New Republic
needs our help we'll come. No one even said that we'd be
hired.  And if I must, may I remind you I am
as much as an adult as you are.  Maybe I'm even more of
one, because if you have been paying
attention you would see that I don't let myself fall into
your petty, dull, jealousies and arguments."
  "I recommend you not try it, Miss Inin, Miss Ta'ao. It
would certainly be a mistake."
  "I recommend you leave us both alone." Shal'lyindraa
said sweetly.
  "You should be happy that these two girls helped destroy
three Star Destroyers." Wedge Antilles
walked up behind Fey'lya.
  Borsk Fey'lya turned to the Corellian. "This is none of
your business, Antilles."
  "I'm afraid it is."
  Fey'lya gave Antilles a cold stare. "As you wish." He
nodded to the group and walked off.
  Wedge turned to Luke. "Good job with the Rogues."
  "Good job with my students." Luke smiled and gave Wedge
a quick hug.
  "It was my pleasure." Wedge turned to Leia. "Leia."
  The Chief of State smiled at her old friend and hugged
him. "Wedge. It's very nice to see you here."
  "The other Rogues wanted me to come, I probably
wouldn'tt have, but they wouldn't leave me
alone."
  "Ahhh, Wedge, you didn't want to come celebrate with
everyone tonight?"
  "Too tired." Wedge smiled at Shal'lyindraa. "I just came
over here to tell you three how great you
were."
  Serena, Kyp, and Shal'lyindraa smiled and thanked him in
unison.
  Wedge Antilles held up his drink. "I propose a toast: to
the New Republic, good fortune for the
present and future. And may we win every battle against
the Empire so that one day we will have a
united galaxy."
  The others held up their drinks and clinked them
together. "Agreed," they called out.


                         
                         Chapter Fifteen

    It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here
to the unfinished work which they who
fought here have thus far so nobly advanced.  It is rather
for us to be here dedicated to the great
task remaining before us . . . That these men will not
have died in vain --Abraham Lincoln--
Gettysburg Address
 "You cannot alter your fate, my prince, however, you can
rise up to meet it if you choose so." --
Princess Mononoke
 "Is a man's path really of his own choosing?" -- Karla
the Grey Witch -- Record of Lodoss War

  Luke Skywalker headed out of the jungle and towards the
temple. It was nice, he thought, for Kayro
to be gone. The battle was won, and the Academy had
sustained minimal damage.  Of course, one of
his students had been killed, a most promising student. 
  Brett Chitin. He was young, full of life, was loved by
his sister, and shared a close friendship with
Tionne.  Luke felt great sorrow for them, but he also knew
that their wounds would be healed in time.
  It had been six weeks since the battle with Kayro Inin.
The New Republic had sent some droids and
workers to help clear out the large stones, boulders, and
dead trees that had fallen down during the
attack.
  Things had calmed down, finally. Luke had spent two
weeks on Coruscant attending meetings and
endless parties with Serena, Shal'lyindraa and Kyp. Once
they had finally returned to the Academy on
Yavin Four, Kyp had found out that Anoat had been attacked. 
  Luke had asked Kyp if he had wanted to visit Deyer, but
the young man had bluntly refused. Kyp had
told him that he had no family there, at least none that
he could remember.  Since it had almost been
completely destroyed years ago by Palpatine, there would
be no use in his going.
  Cilghal, Nembany, and Dorsk 81 had eventually returned
from their homes literally surprised to see
and learn about what all had happened. They had all put
forth great effort to help clean up the
Academy.  
  By now the Jedi Master could barely tell that the
Academy had even been attacked. Only a few bare
patches marked the ground and temples.
  "Master Skywalker!" Serena Inin ran up to Luke.
  Luke Skywalker turned around and smiled at the eighteen-
year-old. "Serena, you seem happier than
usual."
  "Oh, I am." The honey-brown haired girl smiled at him.
"I made a lightsaber, and it works great."
  Luke nodded his head. Many good things had come out of
the battle with Kayro Inin, and one of them
was Serena's new attitude. 
  Luke noticed now that she was not depressed anymore,
most of her sarcasm was gone, and
practically every day she was as happy as anyone could be.
She was also doing very well in her
training, she was a most promising student, as her own
teacher was.
  Serena pulled out the lightsaber that was strapped
against her waist.  The silver cylinder glowed
brightly in the sunlight.  "Look, I added something, well,
Kyp and Shal wanted me to, so I did." Serena
pointed to four curved spikes at the end of the lightsaber
where the blade would appear.
  There were two long ones and two short ones. The longest
was roughly an inch and a half, the smaller
ones about half an inch. They were made out of the same
metal as the lightsaber itself.
  Luke nodded his head. "Very nice, how about turning it
on?"
  Serena blushed, and flipped a switch that was in line
with her thumb.  A white, blue, and purple blade
appeared. It began to hum, and Serena moved it back and
forth, watching Luke intently for any sign of
what he was thinking to show on his face.
  The older man smiled. "It's very nice, Serena, _very_
nice. You made it all by yourself?"
   "Took me three weeks 'cause of all that meditating that
I had to do.  And Kyp had to tell me every
now and then if I were doing something wrong, but I did it."
  "Good, you certainly are not that far from becoming a
Jedi Knight, now are you?"
  "I hope not."
  "I am very proud of you Serena. In the past few months
you have become a very wonderful and brave
woman."
  "Well, you should thank Kyp and Shal for most of that. 
I mean, without them, I doubt I would have
stayed here for very long."
  "I believe you."
  Serena turned off her lightsaber and hooked it to her
belt.  "I should be going now, Master
Skywalker.  Kyp's waiting for me." 
  "Then go ahead.  Don't let me keep you from your
training."
  Serena smiled once again, and ran back into the temple
where Luke had been heading.
  Luke turned back around as he heard the sound of a ship
far off in the distance.  As he looked up in
the sky a ship appeared over him. Immediately Luke
recognized it as the _Millennium Falcon_.
  Luke watched the Corellian ship land, shut off its
repulsorlifts, and lay still until the ramp began to
lower.  Han Solo and his Wookie companion, Chewbacca,
appeared.  Han wore his old Corellian
outfit that included his white shirt, vest, and Corellian
Bloodstripe pants, which were slowly wearing
out.
   "Han, Chewbacca, hey. What a surprise to see you here,"
Luke said as he walked to Han.
  "Kid, hey." Han came and hit Luke happily on the back,
and then hugged him. "Wonderful to see you
again.  I heard from Leia that you were back to being
Rogue Leader for a while."
  "It's great that you knew what I was doing three weeks
ago.  I'm just trying to find out what you were
doing.  You know, really great of you to show up after the
battle is over."
  Han gave his old friend a lopsided smile. "I was with
Lando."
  "Doing what, _buddy_?" Luke smiled back at Han.
  "Talking with Karrde."
  Luke gave Han a serious look. "Why?"
  "I was trying to get him to hire Serena."
  "You're kidding me, and he agreed to hire her?"  Luke's
good mood was partially swept away at the
thought of losing Serena when Kyp was so close to
finishing up with her and handing her over to him to
complete her training.
  "Nah, he just said that he would come here in a few
weeks and check her out."
  "That's just spectacular, if he does come, that means
she'll probably leave without finishing her training.
I haven't even had a chance to teach her."
  Han opened up his palms. "Hey, that was my deal with
Serena back on Tatooine. She'll come back,
kid. She has Kyp and Shal'lyindraa.  She wouldn't just
want to leave them for good."
  Luke frowned for a moment, then shrugged trying to act
nonchalant.  He knew he was failing.  "You're
probably right, Han.  It's just, she's very strong in the
Force.  I don't want to loose her just now.  She
still has a lot to learn."
  "She as powerful as Kyp?" Han asked studying the jungle
surrounding them.
  "None of my students are as powerful as Kyp."
  That statement ellicited a small smile from Han, as if
he were proud of the young man he sometimes
liked to consider his first run-in with a son.


  Serena ran back into the Great Temple, heading towards a
small room on the lower levels.  Kyp was
waiting for her to return and practice with her
lightsaber.  In one of the larger chambers, Serena looked
up at the ceiling and saw the blue sky of Yavin Four
through a skylight.  
  She wanted to be free from Yavin. She did not know why,
she knew that she was happy here. 'But I
can't ignore the feeling of wanting to be up there, being
free.'  Even though Serena was happy on
Yavin Four she still longed to be a smuggler. Things might
have changed, because her father was dead
and his forces were gone and she had finally broken free
from his grasp, but she wanted more. 
  Serena was finally able to rest and be at peace. She had
spent two endless weeks on Coruscant
attending meeting after meeting, celebration after
celebration. It had suddenly ended, but Serena was
not complaining, and neither were her friends. 
  They -- including Luke who had come back with them --
had returned to find people working on the
temples and fallen trees. Tionne had taken control.  On
return Luke had taken over and Tionne had
thankfully accepted.  Once the workers and droids had
left, they had all gathered together and buried
Brett in the jungle behind the Great Temple. His
lightsaber had been given to his sister who was too
young to use it. His clothes had all been burned, but his
other things such as his locket and blaster pistol
had also been given to Exana.
  The next thing that Luke did with the other students was
contact Brett's parents on Chandrila. As
soon as they did, they found out that the parents were
dead.  It seemed that Chandrila had also been
attacked by Kayro Inin, too.  Exana had not taken that
well, especially since the death of her brother.
Fortunately, Tionne was able to help Exana through it all.
  Serena pulled herself out of her thoughts and looked
away from the skylight.  She couldn't forget that
Kyp was waiting for her.  Serena hurried towards the room
she had left Kyp in.  When she entered it,
she saw five small, circular remotes.  Kyp stood in the
center of the room, with the remotes floating
peacefully beside him. He studied her, his face looking
like he was about to frown.
  "Serena, what's wrong?"
  "Nothing." Serena sighed softly.
  "You wanna go that badly?"
  Serena frowned at Kyp. "I hate it when you do that."
  "What?"
  "Read my mind."
  Kyp shrugged, "It's a habit."
  "Maybe,"  Serena said as she folded her arms over her
chest.
  "Maybe, what?"
  "Maybe I do want to go really badly."
  "Uh-huh. And leave Shal and me? And the Academy?"
  "No," Serena rocked back and forth on her heels
impatiently, "you know that even if I did leave, I
would come back. Come on! You know that."
  "I guess I do." Kyp looked at the ground and then back
up at Serena. "Let's not think of that now.
Come on, I need to teach you some stuff."
  "Sure, whatever." Serena ignited her lightsaber and
stepped towards Kyp who ignited his moments
after her.  The remotes, as if coming out of a sleep began
to move around Kyp and Serena.  Serena
pressed her back to Kyp's.
  Remotes were round ball-like droids that shot out
painful darts of stinging energy.  Too many of these
darts could hurt someone, but Serena did not expect to get
hit that much.  She had, at first, started off
with one remote -- that had been when she had first made
her lightsaber a few days ago -- now she
was being put up against five.  At least Kyp was there to
help her block off the stinging bolts.
  The remotes hissed and hummed as did Serena and Kyp's
lightsabers.  Before even one shot was
fired, the door to the large room slid open and
Shal'lyindraa ran  in.  Kyp automatically shut off his
lightsaber.
  "Wait you guys, before you start anything." 
Shal'lyindraa's blonde hair flew behind her, as if it had a
life of its own.  When she stopped in front of them, she
did not say anything for a moment as she tried
to get her breath back.
  Serena turned off her lightsaber and the droids stopped
moving and floated as if in a peaceful sleep,
again. "What is it?"
  "Han is here."
  "Wonderful," Serena bit out sarcastically.
  Shal'lyindraa held up her hands. "Sorry if I interrupted
anything. Don't get mad at me."
  "I'm not." Serena folded her arms over her chest. "I'm
not."
  Shal'lyindraa look at Serena strangely. "You okay?"
  "Sure."
  "Uh-huh." Shal'lyindraa looked at Serena closely and
then shrugged. "I also wanted to tell you that
some New Republic forces found a Star Destroyer."
  Kyp's midnight blue eyes widened. "Really?"
  "Yeah, it was called the _Soul of Fire_." 
  "Weird name for a Star Destroyer. Father used to say I
had a soul of fire, how peculiar," Serena
commented softly.
  "You're telling me." Shal'lyindraa smiled and stifled a
laugh. "Well, the captain just gave it to us, he
didn't even fight back. He said that it had been so long
since his, quote 'superior officer, too young to
be any good,' unquote, had contacted him he figured he was
dead."
  "Who was his 'superior officer'?" Serena asked.
  "Kayro Inin." Shal'lyindraa's smile dropped from her face.
  "_What_?" Serena's eyes widened. "How did he get so many
ships?" 
 "You got me." Shal'lyindraa shrugged.
  "Are you sure, Shal?" Kyp asked and walked closer to the
seventeen-year-old.
  Shal'lyindraa looked up at Kyp and flicked her blonde
hair behind her shoulders. "My information is
always right."
  "By the way, Shal, where do you get your information?"
Kyp asked smiling down at the younger girl.
  "You'll never know."
  "Believe me, I'll find out."
  "Ah, ah, ahhh." Shal'lyindraa said in a singsong voice.
She shook her finger in front of Kyp's face.
"You'll never find out unless I tell you."
  "And you will."
  Shal'lyindraa eyed Kyp suspiciously. "And I won't."
  "And you will."
  "Don't try your mind tricks on me sweetie.  I'm a Jedi,
too,"  Shal'lyindraa scolded, pursing her lips.  
  "Are you sure it was my father's?"
  Shal'lyindraa and Kyp turned back to Serena's pale face.
She stood alone.
  "Sure I'm sure. Don't worry Rena, if he has anymore
forces, which I doubt he does, they have no
leader. They can't do anything,"  Shal'lyindraa said
soothingly.
  Serena nodded her head. "Yeah, I guess you're right."
Serena finished her thoughts silently, 'but what
about that feeling I keep getting?' 
  Shal'lyindraa stepped back to the jungle. "Well, you two
go on with what you were doing, have fun."
 "By all means we will Shal." Kyp said sarcastically to
Shal'lyindraa.
  Shal'lyindraa smiled at Kyp. "Sure, whatever, Kyp."
  After a few more minutes of pointless chatter,
Shal'lyindraa wished the other two good luck and left
the room.  As soon as the door slid shut behind her, Kyp
and Serena both re-ignited their lightsabers. 
The remotes came back to life.
   Serena and Kyp pressed their backs together, watching
the five remotes circle them.  Serena
expanded her senses, using the Force to _feel_ her
surroundings.  She sensed the remotes, not as
strongly as she felt Kyp, but she felt them.  She easily
tracked the remotes' movements, and knew that
the one directly in front of her was about to fire when
she began to feel the energy inside it grow.  
  Serena swept her blue, white, and violet lightsaber
parallel to the floor, left to right, blocking a stinger
bolt.  Behind her she felt Kyp's shoulders move smoothly
and heard his lightsaber crackle and hiss as
he deflected three bolts.   Serena took her mind off Kyp's
movements and quickly blocked two more
bolts that had been heading for her left shoulder.  As
soon as she had deflected the two bolts from the
remote to her left side, the one to her right shot her in
the thigh.  Serena jumped back in surprise,
knocking Kyp forward.  She grimaced as she heard Kyp's
curse as he was shot twice in the stomach.
  "Sorry, Kyp."
  "No problem.  Didn't feel a thing,"  Kyp said as he
deflected a stinger bolt heading for his foot.
  Serena swept her lightsaber in a high arc, over her
head, and caught a bolt heading for Kyp's upper
back.  She whirled around and helped Kyp deflect four
shots from two of the remotes.  She twirled
back around and caught another one heading from the remote
directly in front of her.
  Seeing in her mind more than sensing, Serena just _knew_
that four of the five remotes were behind
her and about to shoot at Kyp, Serena turned back around
and stumbled backwards as her lightsaber
met Kyp's.  The lightsabers crackled and spit like angry
animals as they met.  Serena jerked her
lightsaber away from Kyp's and caught two bolts heading
towards her from the remotes behind the
grinning Kyp.  She was then surprised that she did not see
the third one that should have been there. 
Serena fell to the floor when she immediately sensed the
two remotes behind her were about to shoot
out a volley of stingers.  Serena rolled to the side as
five stinger bolts hit the floor where her legs had
once been.  That could have hurt.  Real bad.
  Using the Force, Serena jumped up catching two more
stinger bolts with her blade.  Seeing in her
mind that four of them were behind her Serena whirled
around, and in the middle of the twirl, she
remembered that two of the five had been in front of her
so there was no possible way four of them
could be trying to hit Kyp.  
  Again, Serena's lightsaber locked with Kyp's.  
  Kyp pulled back and his lightsaber came up and around,
almost knocking Serena's blade out of her
hand.  Serena returned the blow, aiming at Kyp's left hand
thigh, but he blocked the blow easily. 
Sensing the remotes behind her, Serena whirled around and
blocked three bolts, swiping the blade from
left to right and back.  Seeing in her head Kyp circling
towards her from the left, Serena whirled to her
left.  Kyp wasn't there.  Serena did not understand what
was going on especially since she had _seen_him coming to
her from her left in her head.  Serena sensed Kyp from
behind her. She turned to her
right and caught Kyp's blade in mid-arc.  With the
lightsabers against each other, Serena and Kyp
lowered the blades until each end pointed at their knees. 
Serena took her lightsaber away from Kyp's
and swung it parallel to the ceiling and caught Kyp's blow
that had been heading towards her stomach.  
  Serena dropped her lightsaber and grabbed the back of
her right thigh as the pain from a stinger bolt
lanced through it.  Her lightsaber shut off immediately as
it hit the stone floor.  Another stinger bolt had
hit her.  This time it had been in her left thigh.  Serena
finally fell to her knees when another bolt hit her
back.  
  Serena felt her cheeks begin to burn.  She reached out
her hand, ignoring the stinging pain in her legs
and lower back.  Using the Force she focused on her
lightsaber that was laying on the floor.  She began
to _tug_ at it, seeing it moving towards her hand in her
mind.  Serena smiled when she felt the cylinder
slap into her hand.  In one swift movement, Serena
switched on her lightsaber, jumped up, and blocked
off two more bolts that had been aiming for her head.
  Serena no longer heard Kyp's lightsaber hum, and she
risked a glance away from the five remotes that
had gathered around her.  He nodded for her to shut off
her own lightsaber.  Serena turned it off, and
the remotes fell into their peaceful sleep.
  "What was going on?  I saw them, but it was almost like
a trick.  Then you attacked me!"  Serena
blurted out, blinking away the sweat that was rolling into
her eyes.
  Kyp smiled.  "I threw those scenes to you.  I tricked
you into turning away and taking your thoughts
off the main problem which of course were the remotes. 
You focused on me, the secondary problem. 
Easy enough."
  "You put pictures in my head?"
  Kyp nodded.  "Sure did."
  "How?"
  "I'll teach you someday."
  Serena spoke slowly.  "Sure."
  "You did well with the remotes."
  "Thanks, but why didn't you help me when they started
ganging up on me?"
  "Because you won't always have a partner to help you. 
There have been times in the past, Rena,
when one Jedi Knight has been put up against two or more
Dark Jedi.  You have to learn how to fight
off more than one foe.  You have to learn how to keep your
mind on everything that is going on around
you."
  "I see."  Serena's blade ignited, casting shadows in the
dim room, "Teach me, then."