Title: A New Beginning (4/?) Author: Jessica Barber Author Email: mara_jade101@hotmail.com Category: Series (New Republic) Keywords: None Rating: PG-13 Summary: See prologue Disclaimer: See prologue Chapter Four . . . had made men and not made them well, for they imitated humanity so abominably. --Shakespeare Serena woke up. She was huddled in the corner, and her shirt was damp from the humid jungle air seeping through her open window. She stood up slowly, and looked out the window; the sky was just beginning to turn from black to gray. The sun would begin to rise soon. She was still tired, but Serena knew that she would not be able to fall back asleep. Serena walked over to her bag which she had thrown on the bed the night before. She unzipped it and pulled out her things. Serena brushed her hair and put it in a loose braid allowing a few strands to fall in her face. 'Anger, fear, and aggression . . . all the coldness . . . 'Serena shook her head as she changed into a pair of light brown cargo pants and a black tanktop. She buckled on her belt with the blaster she always carried around. Serena sat on her bed as she slowly slipped on her boots, but did not stand to leave. She sat for a moment, staring at the door. She was beginning to have some doubts. True she had had them from the very moment she had stepped onto Yavin, but not this strongly. 'What am I supposed to do? Why did I agree to stay here? I just want to be a smuggler, not some Jedi! How am I going to get my money for Sapht if I become some worthless Jedi?' Serena thought worriedly to herself. A year ago Serena had met up with a bounty hunter named Sapht. He had said that he had no partners, so she had hung around him while he stayed on Tatooine. She had been stupid enough to think that they were good friends. He had offered to let her borrow some money since she was in desperate need of it. Of course, Serena could not say no, so she had borrowed the money, and Sapht had left. Two months later, Sapht had returned to Tatooine. This had not been the Sapht Serena remembered. He had threatened to kill her unless she paid his money back. He had given her five months. Those five months were over with, and Sapht had probably returned to Tatooine looking for her. Luckily, she was not there, but he was a bounty hunter, he would find her. Serena finally stood up and quietly opened the door. She slipped out of her room and silently made her way outside the temple. Once she was outside, Serena took a deep breath of the fresh, but damp, air. She walked through the dense jungle, it was direly moist, and a thick fog surrounded her legs. Serena made her way towards her ship. At first she just stood there gazing up at it. 'Yeah, dad was nice enough to get this for me for his going away present, but I don't regret what I did. I never will.' Serena entered her ship and went to the very back. She found her diminutive store of rations, and began to eat a small breakfast. As soon as she finished, Serena left her ship, looking for Kyp. The sun was just beginning to rise, and she knew that soon the other trainees would be up. Serena took a deep breath of the sodden air that heavily surrounded her in the fog that was beginning to lift up into the tops of the trees. 'Things will get better; they have to.' Serena wearily trudged through the jungle, until she reached the temple, and she stopped. She took a deep breath, hung her head, this time her eyes were on the ground. Before she reached the temple, she fell into a hard, muscular chest. Serena lost her balance, but before she could fall, a pair of hands grabbed her shoulders. Serena regained her balance and pulled herself out of the man's grip. She looked up, and found herself staring into Kyp's dark blue eyes. "You weren't in your room, I've been looking for you." Kyp said sympathetically. "Look, I'm really sorry about last night. I just don't think that I can tell anyone. At least not yet. Maybe someday soon I will tell you. But not now." Serena quickly said before Kyp could say anything about the night before. "It's okay. Don't worry." Kyp wanted to hug her, or just touch her, but he knew that he should not. Why would he want to anyway? What was wrong with him? "So, Serena, ready to begin your training for today?" Kyp asked, easily ridding himself of the strange feelings. "Yes." Her doubts were beginning to subside as she fell in step with Kyp. She could do this; anyway, she had nothing better to do with her life. It was not that bad being around with Kyp; at least he was not bothering her about her past. Not that it was horrible; she just did not like sharing it with people she did not know. "Good. Follow me." Kyp easily led Serena back to his quarters. Serena stepped into the young man's room first and looked around. It was devoid of any decoration. Serena slightly jumped as the door wooshed close behind her. Kyp passed her and motioned for her to sit on the bed. Serena followed his silent orders without complaint until she had sat down. "What are we " Kyp interrupted Serena with a raise of his hand. All was silent for a long moment, and then Kyp finally sat down beside her. "Good, everything is silent. It needs to be silent so you can concentrate on things with more ease." "Yeah, whatever," Serena breathed. "First," Kyp stood back up and looked down at Serena, "I will teach you the first two steps to a breathing technique that should take you a while to master perfectly. Lay down." Serena raised one eyebrow questionably, but did as she was told. "This breathing technique is actually made up of three steps, but I want you to master the first two before you move on to the last one. It's a simple breathing exercise that is useful in stressful situations or if you feel that you are in jeopardy, for it helps you to remain calm and relaxed. When doing this exercise you should always be sure to wear loose clothing, unlike," Kyp coughed and smiled, "the shirt you're wearing now, and until you have reached step three you will need to lay flat on your back. "Now, lay one hand on your stomach and the other hand on your chest. Good. Relax." "There's nothing wrong with my top . . .I feel like a complete idiot." Kyp smiled at Serena's dry comment. "I know, so did I." "Do something for me, would you?" Serena asked. Kyp shrugged, "Sure." "Get on your knees or something, your towering over me makes me uncomfortable and makes me feel even worse than an idiot feels." Kyp chuckled and squatted down. "Better?" "Much." "Good, now that we're all comfortable, back to the lesson. Relax." Serena took a deep breath and let it out slowly, never taking her gaze off Kyp. Kyp stared back at her until he broke the staring contact. He checked to make sure her hands were still on her stomach and chest, they were. "Now inhale so that the hand on your stomach rises, and the hand on your chest remains still. Then, exhale so that the hand on your stomach goes down and the hand on your chest remains still." Serena breathed in deeply and Kyp watched the hand on her stomach rise then fall. The tanned hand on her chest remained still. Serena followed Kyp's dark eyes to her stomach, then chest, then they met once again with her own. Kyp managed half of a smile and a full nod. "Do that same thing six more times." Serena breathed in deeply, always making sure her stomach rose and not her chest, and always keeping her eyes on Kyp's face. After her second time of letting out her breath Kyp stood up, his black leather boots squeaking slightly. He walked to the small window on the other side of the room and looked out of it momentarily. He then lost interest in the things he saw and turned back to face Serena who was on her fifth inhale. He seemed to have finally made up his mind about something. He then began to speak. "A Jedi must follow a strict code. There is no emotion; there is peace. There is no ignorance; there is knowledge. There is no passion; there is serenity. There is no death; there is the Force. A Jedi has five choices to make throughout life. Tranquility or anger, unanimity or hatred, freedom or persecution, learning or power, the light or the dark. The Force itself is not what makes good or evil, it is only a shadow of us and our lives, and sometimes we can be cruel and filled with hate. A Jedi does not act for personal gain, instead you must act to gain knowledge, and abet freedom and life. "Now, when you inhale breathe so that the hand on your chest goes up while the hand on your stomach is still. Exhale so that the hand on your chest goes down and the hand on your stomach remains still." "What?" Serena asked in slight disbelief. "It sounds strange and the first thing that always goes through someone's mind is that they can't do it, but it's quite simple, trust me." Serena breathed in deeply making sure that instead of her stomach, it was her chest that rose. She received a smile from Kyp. "Told you it was easy. Do that six times. Then, when you're done, alternate between the two in pairs of six for seven minutes. I'll time you." Kyp looked down at his black watch as soon as Serena was finished with the first six steps of inhaling and exhaling. "You must know and always remember that killing is wrong, because life is what sustains the Force. The Force grows as life grows. The Force is our strength and ally." Serena stared up at the brown, stone ceiling. A faint musty smell that the newly installed cooling units could never rid the temple of wafted through Serena's nose. Serena turned her gaze back to Kyp. His gaze was locked on everything but her. "At some point a Jedi shall become one with the Force. It consumes him and makes him a part of all living things." Serena stopped breathing and said, "Death, right?" She re-began her exercise. "Yes, death," Kyp said with a grim voice. Kyp turned back to the barred window. Dust-filled sunlight filtered in and sprayed across his black-booted feet. In the distance the cawing of a bird split the silence. "Okay, time to stop. Let's see, time for step two. You think you know step one all right?" "Perfectly." "Good. Now, we're going to combine the chest and stomach breathing into one breath. This is called the calming breath. Begin by stomach breathing. When you feel that you can not inhale that way, switch to chest breathing until the upper part of your lungs are filled. Then, exhale by chest breathing first starting with your stomach and then going on to your chest so that your lungs are fully emptied. I'll time you for seven minutes. Don't forget, if you breathe too fast because you will become dizzy, if you breathe too slow you will run out of breath. "A Jedi must develop a sensitivity to the Force. You must feel your unity with it, feel its incarnate flow through you, then your conscious awareness must join with the Force so that knowledge through the Force will become your own. Only when you are at peace and calm can you act with the assurance of control. You must be at harmony with the Force. You act as you must to maintain that harmony." Serena suddenly felt herself completely relaxed. Her eyes grew heavy even though she had slept deeply and soundly the night before. She felt her thoughts opening up before her, then Serena felt Kyp's warm hand on her own hand, which was laying on her stomach. "Not, yet." Serena's eyes fluttered open, she didn't even know that they had been closed. Kyp smiled down at her. "Don't let go of your thoughts just yet." Kyp took his hand off Serena's as she turned her thoughts inward. "I believe that's enough, Serena. You can sit up now. Later today I think I'll teach you the third step, you're coming along at a fast pace. That's good, but it can also be bad. After learning the third step you will do no more for today or tomorrow morning." "What about now? What do I do now?" "Every time a new group of students comes to the Academy Tionne gives them this little speech. At first it may seem unimportant to you, but in the years to come it shall range high in your perception of important things." Serena slipped off the bed, "Exciting. Let's go then." Serena sighed and rested her chin in her palms, her elbows resting on the table that she and a group of students sat at. At the doorway to this smaller room stood Dorsk 81, Kyp Durron, Luke Skywalker, Kam Solusar, and Cilghal, they, unlike Serena, a male human, and a female Bothan, waited patiently. Kyp had been lying when he had said a little speech. Serena now knew half-heartedly the tales of the past Jedi from thousands of years ago, including the great Nomi Sunrider and Ulic Qel-Droma. Now Tionne was closing her hour long speech, finally. Serena tilted her head forward and studied the strands of hair that fell in her face. The man beside her, ranging in his late twenties at least, was studying her studying her hair. A slight cough interrupted Tionne mid-sentence and Serena, the man beside her, and a female Bothan both turned around to face Kyp, Luke, Kam, Cilghal, and Dorsk, guiltily. At the same time the three turned their attention back to Tionne, who repeated her last sentence. "With life came the perception of ugliness and beauty. With life came knowledge and choices, those of the light and dark. The nature of the Force is hidden and subtle. We have developed a high technology with the understanding of energy and matter, but understanding of the Force is falling drastically behind. Centuries ago, without any knowledge of the Force, races began building highly advanced societies that thrived off cruelty and were cold and uncaring, until the rise of the Jedi Knights. "The Jedi constantly studied the Force. As their mastery in the Force grew, universal serenity and freedom surrounded all . . . Until they were betrayed by their own, now twisted, kind. These evil ones hunted down and tried to kill all the Jedi. It was inevitable that some would turn and use the Force to slacken their own thirst for money and power. The dark side was easy to fall into and once they fell down into its path, they became hooked to it and only wanted more. All Jedi have two choices, the path of the light or the dark. The dark path is the easiest to succumb to and it promises you wealth and power beyond your dreams, but it kills you starting with your outside; it slowly eats your heart and soul until all that is left of you is what was once a human, now a monster." Tionne smiled at the small group, and nodded her head, silently telling them this lesson was over. Serena crossed her arms over each other and let her head fall into the center. Sensing Kyp behind her, Serena's muffled voice said, "That was so boring." "Trust me, it will come in handy later. Shal'lyindraa's coming, by the way." Serena sat up straight just as the blonde haired girl walked into the now empty room. Shal'lyindraa smiled at Serena and Kyp. "Hey guys." Serena and Kyp both stood up as the seventeen-year-old Handerin walked into the small room. "Hi, Shal." Serena said, as she walked up to her. "Hey, Shal," said Kyp, standing beside Serena. "I hope that I'm not interrupting anything." Shal'lyindraa said, looking at Kyp and then Serena. "No, you're fine." Kyp answered. "Oh. Well, I just came by to talk. I am done meditating, and I was bored." Serena looked at Shal'lyindraa. Her blonde hair was pulled back loosely, and she wore a pale blue dress. The dress fit tightly around her from her hips up, and then from her hips down it hung loosely. It seemed as if it were made of an expensive silk, most likely it was from Hander and something Serena could never afford, not that she would want it. Serena could not stand wearing dresses. They bothered her too much; she had more freedom in pants or shorts. "So, how's the training going for you two?" Shal'lyindraa asked, breaking the momentary silence. "Fine, it isn't as hard as I thought it would be, at least, so far it isn't. I find it rather fun. But, then all I've taught her is some of a breathing technique," Kyp answered. "Good, I can't wait until I teach a student of my own." "Well, you are only a few months from it. You are very talented, and I think that you'll probably become a Jedi Knight real soon." Kyp said reassuringly. "I hope so. I'm really excited about becoming a Jedi Knight. I think it will be . . . nice. I guess. Exciting. I do know that a Jedi does not care about adventure and excitement, though." Shal'lyindraa pointed out. Kyp smiled. "No, we should not. But it will be, you can't ignore that much." "Where will you two go once you are Jedi Knights?" There was a long pause after Serena asked the question. Kyp sighed. "I'm not sure. I think that I will probably stay with Dorsk 81 for a while." "I might go back to Hander. I'm not sure, I haven't really thought about it lately." Shal'lyindraa admitted. "What will you do Serena?" 'Find my father', Serena thought to herself, 'but once I find him, what will I do?' "I guess, become a smuggler. I'm going to see if I can get a job with Talon Karrde. If not, I'll search around until I find a smuggler who will let me be their assistant, until I become a smuggler myself." Smuggling did sound interesting to Serena, in fact, she now seriously wanted to become a smuggler. Thanks to Micht she had finally found out what she wanted to be and it was not a Jedi Knight. "Sounds fun," said Shal'lyindraa thoughtfully. Serena lied, "Well, it's what I've wanted to do all my life." She finished the rest silently, 'But times have changed haven't they?' The _Evening Death_ came out of hyperspace. Standing in front of the viewscreen was Darien. He flashed a smile to himself as he watched the blue tunnel of light fade and turn into millions of small pinpricks of light. In front of him was the planet Koretin. 'This will be fun.' He turned on his heel, and faced Lieutenant Haver. "Lieutenant Haver, contact Helm and tell them to send out two squadrons of TIE fighters. Tell them to shoot whatever they see, and to shoot whatever they want to shoot. I just want everything destroyed. I am giving them fifteen minutes, I want a lot of damage done in those fifteen minutes." Fifteen minutes, Darien figured, would be long enough for them to do damage on Koretin. It would not be long enough for the Calamarians to get their forces together and launch an attack. Haver saluted. "Yes sir." He quickly began to issue orders over a comm frequency. Darien turned towards the forward viewport that towered over his tall, dark frame. In five minutes he would let the _Evening Death_ join in the fight. He just wanted to give the TIE fighters a head start. Darien was now able to see the small fighters coming out of the Star Destroyer, dwarfed by its size. Two squadrons of TIEs swept past the _Evening Death_ intent on destroying as much of the small planet as they could. Small laser beams shot out of each TIE fighter, hitting and destroying everything they touched. Darien watched gleefully as the TIEs swarmed over Koretin like small bugs attacking crops on a farm. But, this time there would be no pesticides to kill them. Koretin was one of the major planets that exported machine goods to Coruscant. It was run mostly by Mon Calamari generally, because it was the nearest planet to Mon Calamari. A small population of Mon Calamarians lived there, but since it was not as water-filled as Mon Calamari, it was mostly humans working for them. Though, for the ease of the Mon Calamarians, the factories were built near the vast oceans and seas. Hitting Koretin should hurt the New Republic's weapon exporting system, if only by a small amount, unless they luckily hit one of the main factories. Once five minutes had passed, Darien turned back to Haver with his black cape flying about his legs as he swiftly moved. "Contact weapon control, they may begin targeting and firing." He watched large lines of powerful red laser beams shoot out of the _Evening Death_. Darien wished he could see the faces of the Mon Calamarians and humans that lived on Koretin; he began to laugh. He had never realized how much he enjoyed this until now. Darien looked at the timer. Five more minutes remaining until they would need to leave. "This is a direct order, five more minutes, then everyone head in." Darien called out loud, knowing that Haver was right behind him ready to issue any commands given to him. He wished that he could see all the damage. Darien knew, though, that he would hear about it soon enough. After a while the laser beam stopped coming out of the _Evening Death_ and the TIE fighters began to fly back to the Star Destroyer. Darien could see some Mon Calamarian ships coming out of the atmosphere. He knew that they would not have time to fire on them even once. A shame really, but he was going to follow his orders, they were good enough for him. He turned his face away from the viewport and looked at Haver, coldly. "Make sure both squadrons are in, make a short jump to light speed." Haver shook his head to Darien's command. "Sir, a convoy of four ships have just left hyperspace. These ships are assuming attack formation." "Stupid commander." Darien muttered. "Send out a squadron of TIE interceptors immediately. They will easily be destroyed. We will be victorious." Haver saluted. "Yes, sir." Darien walked over to the radar console, where a young blonde haired man sat, tracking the four ships. It was a modified radio detecting and ranging system that was aboard most ships. The Star Destroyer was located in the center of the screen as a large green square. The four ships were small red dots, in attack formation, flying towards the _Evening Death's_ starboard side. Darien folded his hands together behind his black caped back and leaned over the man's right hand shoulder. "What kind of ships are they?" Darien asked the young man. The blonde haired man nervously looked up at Darien, the side of his cheek twitched. Even though he was obviously apprehensive his voice came out strong and stolid. "They are all four Corellian corvettes, sir." Darien was surprised to hear that they were Corellian corvettes. He was surprised to hear that because he had randomly chosen out of TIE bombers, interceptors, and fighters, the TIE interceptors. TIE interceptors had elongated solar panels and were very fast. Corellian corvettes had fast sublight engines. So, if he had chosen any other kind of TIE they would not have been fast enough to catch the Corellian corvettes. Now, at least, the TIE interceptors had a chance at catching and destroying the corvettes. "Cargo transports?" Darien asked. "Yes, sir. The cargo bays are empty, though." The blonde haired man turned back to the radar screen. "How long until they attack?" "I estimate two minutes, sir." "When will our TIE interceptors be ready to attack?" "One minute and counting, sir." Darien watched as small green dots left the large green box. These small green dots were the TIE interceptors heading for the Corellian Corvettes. The corvettes immediately broke out of formation. Darien figured the commander was not that great of a commander, and had not been trained properly for this kind of problem. The two squadrons of TIEs surrounded every corvette but one. One of the Corellian corvettes flew away from the TIEs. The red dot, symboling the corvette, flickered and then died out. "That means the corvette just entered hyperspace." "I know that." Darien snapped petulantly. "Yes, sir." The blonde haired man said softly. Moments later, another red dot flickered, but did not die out. Instead it turned to a blue color and no longer moved. That meant the corvette had been destroyed. The last two remaining Corellian corvettes flew away from the starboard side of the Star Destroyer and flew under the hull. The radar went blank as they lost trace of the ships. Moments later, they reappeared on the screen, this time they were on the left hand side of the ship; port side. One of the red lights flickered; turned blue. There was one corvette left. "Sir, do you want this last corvette taken in and have the passengers interrogated?" The blonde haired man asked after listening in on the comm unit strapped to his head. "No. I want them killed. We don't need the information they have. What information they have we have. They are of no importance to us." The last red light flickered; turned blue, as the blonde haired man spoke the word 'negative' through the comm unit. Darien straightened up and walked back to the front of the bridge, where the viewport was. Lieutenant Haver stood by the window, awaiting his command. "I want the commander of each of the two squadrons to have a report filed in an hour. Are we now ready for a short jump to lightspeed?" Haver nodded his head. "Yes, sir. The squadrons are in, and the corvettes are destroyed, but one." "Next time, there will be no survivors. Make no mistake, they will all be killed." Darien said malignantly. Moments later the _Evening Death_ entered hyperspace. As soon as the _Evening Death_ came out of hyperspace, Darien contacted Admiral Inin in his small, but roomy, private chambers. "Yes, Captain?" Kayro asked as his image appeared on the screen. "Mission completed sir, we lost no men." The black haired, black-eyed man spoke frigidly. "Very good, Captain. Now, I want you to head for Khomm. Do the very same thing again. I am looking forward to the same, short report. "Very well sir." "When you are through, come to me in the Kanat system." "Yes, sir." Kayro's picture faded and a blank screen took over as the transmission was cut. Darien smirked. He hated Khomm; it was a good thing he would be able to attack it. It was such a boring place, where everybody was the same, and all they did was perform their useless jobs without a complaint. It was such a dull planet, it would be a relief on him and many others if it was just plain out destroyed. Too bad he did not have enough fire power to wipe out the entire planet, too bad he did not have his own Death Star. Hopefully someday, someone would come along and completely destroy it, but until then he would just have to be happy with a quick attack. * * * Leia followed Tionne into a well-lit room. In front of her was a screen, which began at her waist, and ended right above her head. On the screen was a blown up picture of Admiral Ackbar's rubbery face, and neck. Leia and Cilghal stood in front of the screen as Admiral Ackbar gave them his imitation of a smile, a very weak smile. "I am glad to see you again Cilghal, Leia. The reason that I have contacted you is because I have some," he paused for a moment, "bad news." Leia frowned as Ackbar continued. "It seems that one of our weapon producing factories on Koretin has been completely destroyed. Many workers, especially Mon Calamarians, died in the destruction of the factory. I only know that it was a hit and run. When my people were finally able to get into their ships, all they saw was one Star Destroyer enter hyperspace. A small convoy that had just returned from carrying the weapons to one of our training facilities was destroyed. Only one ship remains." "Do they know who it is?" Cilghal asked. "No, they have no idea." "What about the name of the ship?" Leia asked, as her frown became deeper. "They were not able to get that either. It entered hyperspace too fast." Ackbar turned his head to the right to get a better view of Cilghal. From Leia's point of view though he was staring off the screen, totally away from them. "The reason that I wanted you here, Cilghal, is because I need to know if you can take the time off of your studies to go to Koretin. I think it would help the people if they knew a soon-to-be Jedi Knight were there. I would go, but my duties are keeping me here on Coruscant." "I will go Admiral, I will have to bring my student though. She is also a Mon Calamarian." "That is even better. I will send a ship for you right away." "Admiral," Leia interrupted, "why don't I take Cilghal, and her student in the _Alderaan_. I will go with them to Koretin." "As you wish, Leia. Thank you." Admiral Ackbar's face disappeared. Leia and Cilghal turned around and left the room. "Cilghal why don't you get yourself and your student ready. Wait for me at the _Alderaan_." "Yes, Princess Leia," said the Ambassador of Mon Calamari. Cilghal walked off, and Leia continued her way towards the main room of the Great Temple. She had to tell Luke and Han before she left. It was a shame that she would not be able to stay with her brother for much longer, at least Luke would have Han to hang around. Then, she would have to contact C-3PO who was on Coruscant, to make sure Jaina, Jacen, and Anakin were doing fine, and to tell him it might be a few more days until she arrived back. The golden droid would not like that plan, but he had no choice. Anyway, the children loved to play with Threepio. Exana sat between Tionne, and Brett. Brett had just come in from contacting his parents on Chandrila. Tionne had found him walking out of the communications center with a grimace on his features. When she had asked him what had happened, he had told her that his parents were strongly against him having brought Exana to the Academy. They wanted him to send her back, but he had said he would not. They had then decided that he could no longer be a part of his family. They had disowned him because he had taken Exana with him to be a Jedi Knight. Brett had told Tionne that it did not matter much to him, he had never really gotten along with his parents, but Tionne knew it hurt him. "So, Exana, still wanna be a Jedi?" Brett asked Exana slyly as if nothing had happened between him and his parents. Tionne even doubted Exana knew anything about his talking to his parents. "Why wouldn't I, Brett?" The eleven-year-old asked innocently. "Oh, because I heard that you were doing very badly in your training." Exana's eyes grew wide, and they began to water up. "Oh no, oh no." Brett smiled, and then burst into a soft laugh. "What's so funny? I'm going to be kicked out. I will be alone, forever!" Exana wailed. "Brett! Stop that. You are doing fine in your training, Exana." Tionne said, frowning at Brett. "Your brother was playing a joke on you that wasn't funny." Brett kept laughing. "Sorry." "You should be, Brett." Tionne said, smiling. Exana looked at Brett. He looked down at her, and winked. She jumped up, and hugged him. "Whoa! Exana, forgiving me already? What was that one for?" "Cause you're my brother, I love you! And so far you have kept your promise." "Exana, so far there is no way I could break it." Exana frowned. "Oh. Well then," Exana spoke in a business like voice, "I am going to take the hug back." "Don't do that now. You would hurt my feelings." Brett began to playfully pout. Tionne laughed as she said, "You'd deserve it for playing that joke." "But I didn't mean to hurt her! Please?" Brett asked, as his gray eyes twinkled. "Well, okay. Since you are my brother." Exana said before Tionne could say anything. "Thanks, Exana." Brett pushed some of his black hair out of his eyes. "Hey, look." Exana pointed at Leia and Luke. "Yeah, so?" Brett looked from them to her. "There is something wrong. Master Skywalker is upset." Exana spoke, and her young voice grew worried with concern. Brett looked at Tionne frowning. "I wonder what it is." Tionne shrugged. "I hope it's not too bad." Brett watched Leia walk out of the temple, followed by Cilghal and her new Mon Calamarian student, Nembany. "Come on," Brett stood up, "let's go ask." Exana and Tionne stood up, and walked behind Brett. Brett came up to Luke. "Master Skywalker, what's wrong?" He asked, cautiously, not wanting to upset his teacher. Luke looked at them, with melancholy in his eyes. "Koretin was attacked. It was a hit and run. All they know is that it was a Star Destroyer. Cilghal, Nembany, and Leia are leaving for Koretin, now." "Koretin?" Tionne asked, not recognizing the planet. Brett turned to Tionne as he talked. "It's a planet that Mon Calamari is in charge of. It has factories all over it, and they produce weapons for the New Republic." Tionne nodded her head. "I see." Brett frowned again. "I wonder who it was." "I'm sure we will find out soon enough." Luke answered. "I hope so." Tionne said worriedly. "That's all we need, another Imperial." Luke smiled. "Tionne, I do believe that we will always have 'another Imperial' to deal with." "Yes, Master Skywalker. I'm sure we will." She sighed, but smiled back. Luke walked away from the small group, and walked outside the temple. Tionne was right. That was all they needed another Imperial for the New Republic to deal with. Luke looked up at the sky and watched the _Alderaan_ disappear slowly into the clouds. 'Bye Leia,' he thought to himself, wondering if she had heard him or not, for there was no reply. Luke wondered who the Imperial could be now. Could Daala be back? No, no she was not. Luke knew it was someone else, someone new. He shook his head, the big question was what planet would they attack next? And why did he have a bad feeling about Cilghal leaving? He was not worried about Leia, or Nembany leaving, just Cilghal. He had the strangest feeling that she should not have left. It was too late to stop her now. He was sure though, that if she had had a bad feeling she would have stayed behind, hopefully. Luke stopped walking before entering into the jungle and was able to feel the presence of three people. He realized that they were Serena, Shal'lyindraa, and Kyp before they had even stepped through the thin mist bordering the jungle. Into the clearing the three teenagers stepped. Shal'lyindraa smiled at him, then frowned. "What's wrong, Master Skywalker?" she asked him. Serena and Kyp looked up and followed Shal'lyindraa to him. Luke sighed heavily. "Well, Leia, Cilghal, and Nembany have just left for Koretin. It seems that one of its main factories was destroyed. A hit and run, all the Mon Calamarians know is that it was a Star Destroyer." "Oh. That is terrible." Shal'lyindraa frowned slowly, and pursed her lips. Serena paled a little. "Do they know who it is?" "No, but I am sure we will find out soon enough." Kyp looked at Serena, and frowned. Her face had turned very pale, and her eyes were wide. 'Somehow,' Kyp thought, 'I have a feeling that she knows something about this.' The color came back to Serena's face, and again the mask of no feeling swept over. She looked forward at Luke again, this time, though, her face was covered over by what seemed a dark shadow . . . 'of guilt?' Kyp asked himself silently. Shal'lyindraa said, "I hope that this doesn't mean trouble. But it might just be some warlord who made himself a Grand Moff and is actually just a captain of a ship." "It would be nice if that were all, it would take very little to defeat him. But, I _have_ noticed that most of the warlords are fighting between themselves, they could care less about the New Republic." Luke looked again at the sky, and shook his head. "I just hope it isn't another Grand Admiral, or even an Admiral who has been hiding in the far reaches of the galaxy, like Thrawn, or Daala." "If it is, it shouldn't take to much to destroy him and his ship," Kyp said, folding his arms over his chest. "Yeah, if it is just one Star Destroyer, then it shouldn't." Shal'lyindraa said quickly. "Let's just hope it is one Star Destroyer." Serena said softly, kicking a moss covered pebble behind Luke. Shal'lyindraa looked at Serena, and then looked up at Kyp as Luke slowly walked past them and into the jungle as if he were thinking so hard on something he could not talk to them any longer. "What if it is more than one Star Destroyer, Kyp?" Kyp frowned. "The New Republic will take care of it, they always do. If they can't, then we shall help them. That is what we are for, anyway." "Don't be so naive Kyp, if the New Republic _can_ take care of it, they will lose a lot of good men and women. And I'm sure that there _is_ more than one Star Destroyer, too." Serena said, with a hint of anger in her voice. Kyp turned around and faced Serena. "I'm not being _naive_, Serena. And how do _you_ know that there is more than one Star Destroyer? Do you know something that the New Republic should know? Do you _know_ who is in charge of the ship? Do you _know_ ow much power the New Republic is up against?" Serena looked up at Kyp angrily. "Don't be a fool! How would I know all that? Do you think _I'm_ a spy or something? Please! I just said that I had a _feeling_that there was more than one ship. And you are being naive if you think that the New Republic can win every battle!" "I didn't say the New Republic could win every battle! I'm just saying that they will win the war," Kyp said smugly. "Kyp, you have no idea what you are saying. Do you think that just because the New Republic is good and the Empire is bad that we are bound to win? Well, in this galaxy that doesn't count. Get used to it. Even if the New Republic wins, think of how many people will be killed! Killed for no reason." Kyp began to say something about how they were not being killed for no reason, when Shal'lyindraa interrupted him. "Stop it, both of you. Ever heard of this one; anger leads to the dark side? Now come on, let's head back to the temple before you blow up in each other's faces." Luke walked through the humid jungle, and headed nowhere. What if it was just another warlord? He should be easy to fight off, right? Mostly the warlords had been fighting among themselves to try and take control of the galaxy because there was not anyone like Thrawn who could control them all. Luke stepped over a large rock, in the distance he could hear running water. He was heading towards the river again. In his mind he could already picture the long winding green river, and the large, crumbling temple behind it, almost as if it were setting a backdrop to a painting of the jungle. He needed to figure out why he had a bad feeling about Cilghal leaving. Why didn't he feel the same about Nembany or Leia? Was the female ambassador in some kind of danger? No, she wasn't. Then why did he wish that she had not left? Luke sat down by the river and looked up at the sky for the third time silently calling Cilghal back. If only she could hear him. The sun was straight overhead, and it shown down into the thin clearing. Small bright yellow and blue arachnids scurried out of the jungle, and quickly crawled on top of a stump by the river. Luke took a deep breath, and let it out ever so slowly. * * * Kayro looked out of the viewport of his Star Destroyer and stared out into the bright blue tunnel of light known as hyperspace. He was heading towards the Kanat system, and towards Santruan, the only planet that consisted of living creatures. The attack on Koretin had gone well enough; no ships lost; nothing damaged but Koretin itself. When he had received the full report, he had learned that one of its largest factories had been destroyed, demolishing acres of the surrounding land; killing thousands. Kayro smiled. If Darien could keep this up until he was done attacking all the planets, maybe Kayro would launch an attack against the New Republic. No, Kayro corrected himself, the New Republic would launch an attack against him as soon as they knew where his ships were, as soon as they knew where he was. He was not worried, though. He had plenty of ships, some even in hiding. He would be a pest to the New Republic, one that they would not be rid of for a very long time. He blinked, and then turned from the viewport. He cared little about hyperspace, but just looking at the tunnel of light made him think. He turned around because he did not want to think. He did not want to think about the fall of the Empire. Its ruins laying across the galaxy, the New Republic's growing every day . . . "Lieutenant Yeanered, how long till we reach the Kanat system?" "Thirty-nine hours, sir." "Good." Kayro looked down at the young man, whose back was facing him. He turned back to the viewport. 'Too young to be a lieutenant, but I had no choice.' The tunnel of blue light hurled past them. Kayro grasped his hands together at the small of his back. Kayro gazed down at the black floor. He could see his reflection, a little bit distorted, but it still gazed back at him with a cold edge that he prided himself on. He had never thought of himself as too young to be an admiral. The Emperor himself had told him that he was young, but he was also smart. He of course was older now, but not old enough to turn into some fat, useless warlord. He was forty-two, still in shape, handsome, and only had a few gray hairs. However, he was not conceited enough to think of himself as handsome, but it was just obvious, especially since all his female officers stared at him longingly whenever he passed them. But, he could be just kidding himself. Maybe it was power the women longed for. That kind of greed was contagious in the Empire, you had to be careful of it. Kayro noticed that he was staring out the viewport again, and decided looking at his reflection on the floor was much more handier. He smiled at himself and stroked his small goatee. By growing himself a goatee, he had made himself look somewhat younger. But with his sharp green eyes, and thick, light brown hair, he still looked young for his age. Though, whoever said that was bad? Kayro turned around, and faced the Lieutenant. "Lieutenant, I will be in my office, contact me when we are twenty - four hours from our destination." "Yes," Kayro walked out of the room, and heard a 'sir' coming from Yeanered. The annihilation of the Empire was at hand. It was useless to try and bring it back, no matter how he longed for its return. For now, Kayro had to concentrate on the destruction of the New Republic and not the resurrection of the Empire. For if the New Republic fell, the Empire would surely rise once again. (a/n* all the information I had on the Force etc. I got off a website, I rearranged the words and fixed it up so it's not like plagiarism or anything! :P Oh! And thank you so much to all of you for reading this, you are so great even if you aren't e-mailing me :P)