Title:  A New Beginning  (5/?)
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 Five

  Dreaming in your perfect world Dreaming you're the
perfect girl Dreaming of the perfect guy to sweep you away
to your perfect life.  Keep dreaming of that perfect world
because there is no perfect girl or perfect boy or perfect
life . . .-- Katherine Till-- Perfect-- A Day Without Light

  Friendship is precious . . . the greater part of life is
sunshine.-- Thomas Jefferson

  We have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the
night. -- Inscription of an Amateur Astronomer

  Serena struggled to keep up with Kyp.
  It was early morning, the sun had not even risen yet.  Kyp
had dragged her out of her warm cot to bring her out into
the still cold --why even bother to mention it was wet --
jungle.  No one else was up, but Serena did not expect them
to be.  Serena figured that Kyp had to do this every day by
the way he traveled the paths -- if you could call them paths
-- so quickly.  The so-called paths were overrun by vines
and beautiful orchids splashed with a rainbow of varying
colors.  Kyp seemed to know where they were going and
the only thing that could really mark this place as a path
were the footprints that had been left here from the day
before.  They were Kyp's footprints so that would have to
make it the morning before.
  Only a few animals were up, the ones that roamed the
night were in their dens for it was close to daylight and the
ones that roamed the day were in their dens for it was not
close enough to daylight.  The animals that were up made
soft clicking and whirring sounds as if they were droids that
had been taken apart but still worked rather nicely.  Serena
shrugged the constant noise out of her mind and
concentrated on keeping up with Kyp.
  Sure it did not sound like keeping up with him would take
a lot of work, but on this so-called path it did.  Kyp walked
at a brisk pace, for he seemed to know where every vine
was, where every tree limb was, and where every root that
jutted up from the ground was.  Serena obviously never
being on Yavin Four before did not know where these
things were.  Serena caught herself before she fell over
another tree root.  Actually, when the hot pain eased from
her booted toes, she realized that she had not been the one
to catch herself;  Kyp had a tight grip on her shoulders.
  Serena straightened up.  She looked away as she felt her
cheeks begin to burn.  She mumbled a half-hearted thanks
and slid out of Kyp's iron-hard grip.  Without looking at her
shoulders -- she wore a short sleeved gray shirt that was
tight at the top and loose around her stomach -- Serena
knew that his fingers had left red marks where they had held
on to her.  Today, and from now on, she had decided not to
wear the robe.  It was too burdensome and too hot.
  Kyp seemed to finally realize the trouble Serena was
having and he slowed down his pace.  He slowed down just
a little. _Just_ a little.  Looking ahead of herself and Kyp
and seeing no roots, or vines, or limbs, Serena trotted
quickly up to Kyp.  He looked down at her to make sure she
was okay.  Serena straightened her face, ignored the sweat
caused from the heat that had suddenly taken over the cool
jungle, and kept her pace going as fast as Kyp's.
  Of course she could use the Force to create a 'bubble'
around herself to sense the roots, and vines, and limbs that
would be in her way, but Serena did not believe she could
concentrate that well.  It seemed to her that the little girl
Dorsk 81 was teaching was doing better than she.  She
could be wrong, but it just seemed that way.  'Of course,'Serena reminded 
herself, 'I haven't been here that long.  In
a week or so I should be able to do wonders . . . I hope.'
  "I usually run this trail."
  Serena smirked.  "Yeah.  Well, you've been here a year.  I
haven't.  This is only going to be my second full day."
  "We're almost there.  Don't worry, what we see will be
worth it."
  "Couldn't we see it from the temple?"
  "Yes, but a lot of students get up to see it from there.  It's
better when you're alone."
  "Speak for yourself.  You just seem to be the type of
person that likes to stay alone, locked up in some dark
room."
  "I seemed to sense the same feelings from yourself,"  Kyp
said neutrally.
  Serena suppressed the urge to slap him in the face.  "I
don't _like_ being locked up in rooms."
  Kyp shrugged, and ducked just in time to miss a branch
that Serena walked right into.  "I don't either."
  Serena ducked under the branch and rubbed her forehead
where she knew a red mark was starting to form.  That limb
was harder than it looked.  "Yeah, well, you struck me as
that kind of fool."
  Instead of lashing out at her like Serena practically hoped
he would, Kyp laughed heartily.  "You were struck wrong."

  Serena fell silent.  So much for pulling him into an
argument.
  The jungle began to thin out, and Serena and Kyp stepped
out into a clearing.  A clearing where, thankfully, there were
no roots, or vines, or limbs.  But, there was a temple.  It
was thinner than the Great Temple, but obviously higher.
Unlike the Great Temple's large squared off top, the top to
this temple was more pointed.  From the foot of the temple
it looked as if this temple were a pyramid that would end
with a pointed top.
  Kyp motioned for Serena to follow him.  Serena cautiously
followed Kyp into the dark temple, but felt better when he
pulled out a glow rod.  He lit it, but the light only seemed to
help a little.  Of course, Mr. Wonderful seemed to know his
way around the temple.  The yellow light from the glow rod
fell across the foot of a narrow staircase that twisted and
turned into darkness.  With his free hand Kyp grabbed
Serena's wrist and they ran up the stone stairs.  After what
seemed four flights of a narrow, slippery staircase, Serena
snatched her wrist out of Kyp's gripped and slowed her
pace.
  "We gotta hurry, Sere."  Kyp said as he grabbed her wrist
and pulled her up the stairs.  They began to run up the
stairs.  Actually, Serena realized that she was running, and
Kyp was taking them two at a time.
  As the stairway narrowed, small bits of light seeped
through what seemed to be straight and perfectly formed
cracks on the left hand side of the wall.  As Kyp and Serena
continued up the stairs, the cracks became larger and
seemed to be windows.  Soon after the cracks became
obvious windows, Kyp turned off the glow rod and stopped.
They stopped because they had reached the top of the
temple, and Serena was out of breath.  She took a few deep
breaths, not wanting Kyp to notice.
  Serena narrowed her gray-green eyes as light surrounded
them.  Light that seemed to sparkle.  Kyp pulled Serena to
the top of the temple.  The top of the temple was small, only
about six people could fit comfortably on it.  It, like the
Great Temple, though, did have a squared off top, however
small it was.
   Serena sucked in the hot air of Yavin Four as small
rainbow prisms fell from the sky and the sun burst from the
girth of Yavin.  White rays fell across the atmosphere where
water crystals had awaited, creating the prisms that Serena
witnessed.  The prisms -- thanks to the rays of the sun--
easily created small rainbows as they fell to the jungles of
Yavin Four.
  Serena felt Kyp smiling down at her, but she refused to
look up.  She kept her eyes on the sky, until it was over.
She wanted to see it again.  "When will it be back?"  Serena
asked a few minutes after the rainbow rainstorm.
  "Tomorrow morning."
  "Oh."  Serena frowned.  "Kyp, there's one thing I've been
wondering for a while."
  "A while?  Can't have been too long of a while since
you've only been here for one full day."
  Serena's frown deepened.  "It's about you."
  "Hey, you don't tell me anything about you, I don't tell
you anything about me."
  Serena continued, ignoring Kyp's comment.  Sometimes
the best way to deal with something was to ignore it.
Sometimes ignoring Kyp was good.  "What was it like to
turn to the dark side? How did you feel?"
  There was complete silence, but only for a while.  "I felt . .
. constant anger . . . and pain,"  Kyp spoke slowly, Serena
did not know why.  A little part of her hoped that this was
not painful for him to remember, she pushed those feelings
aside, and Kyp continued.  "The hate I felt made me
stronger . . . but no matter how strong I was, it was never
enough.  I had so much hate in me . . . from all that the
Empire had done.  At first I just wanted to get at the
Empire, even to the end that's all I wanted.  But, Exar Kun
had so much control over me . . . and I didn't even know it .
. . I killed people that didn't deserve to die."
  "Let me guess how . . . When you destroyed all of Carida
you ended up killing a bunch of Generals and Lieutenants
and stormtroopers that loved the Empire, but then there
were a lot who    had been dragged to Carida and had had
no choice about it."
  "Yeah, your right.  There were people like my brother that
had been forced out of their homes to go there."
  "Same thing with Daala's fleet, then."
  "Yeah."
  "I'm sorry you had to go through that."
  "I am, too.  But, it's my fault, I had a choice.  I took the
wrong one."
  "I figured that one a while back."
  Kyp gave Serena a half smile, half smirk.  "I sensed that
you were smart."
  Serena narrowed her eyes and looked up at Kyp.  "It
doesn't take a brilliant person to figure out the obvious."
  "Yeah, it takes a fool."
  "Then consider us both, including half the galaxy, fools,"
Serena said sarcastically.
  "I do."

                                                     *               *       
     *

   Leia, Nembany, and Cilghal stepped out of the
_Alderaan_, and onto Koretin.   Leia looked at their
surroundings and frowned sadly.  All around them were
dead bodies, a bad stench, rubble that used to be buildings,
and humans and Mon Calamarians fishing through the
rubble looking for family members, or anyone who was
lucky enough to still be alive.
  Even though the sun was shining and reflecting off the blue
ocean water, and there was not a cloud in sight, there was
an ominous silence about how everyone worked.  The
beautiful ocean and sky seemed to be happy omens of a
better future, but by the way things were happening they
were lying.
  A male Mon Calamarian came up to the trio, and stopped
in front of the rusty-orange Cilghal.  "Madame Cilghal,
Chief of State Leia Organa, and Nembany, I welcome you
to," he slowly looked around, "I welcome you to what was
once the beautiful city of Oceiaon.  I am General Hexan."
Said the dark brown Calamarian.
  "General Hexan, we came as fast as we could." Leia
looked around, and shook her head.  "This is a true disaster,
and the New Republic will, of course, help in anyway
possible."
  "Yes, I thank you Chief of State Leia Organa, but we seem
to have everything under control, for now."  Hexan began
to walk forward, and the other three followed with Leia in
the lead and Nembany in the back.  "As you can see
Oceiaon was completely destroyed in less than fifteen
minutes. It would not have been this bad, but since the
factory was hit, it blew up and destroyed the surrounding
land."
  They stopped walking for a moment, as Hexan began to
help a human woman pull away a slab of durasteel.
Underneath it was a male human, sadly, he was young and it
was obvious his legs and arms were broken.  He groaned
and closed his eyes shut as the light of the sun surrounded
his soot-covered body.  Cilghal kneeled down beside the
young man.  "He'll live.  He has broken both legs and arms,
a few ribs, but other than that he's fine."  She said to the
female human who had kneeled down by the man.
Leia turned back to Hexan, relieved that at least this man
would be all right.  "I am so very sorry for what happened.
Right this very moment the Council is discussing how to
find who did this."
  "I am very glad that you came, and all of Mon Calamari
and Koretin is glad to know that the New Republic is taking
care of and helping us.  I believe that with Cilghal and
Nembany here, the spirits of some will be lifted.  What
makes most of us sad is that by the time we were finally able
to scramble our forces together, the Star Destroyer
immediately entered hyperspace."
  Leia nodded her head, and Hexan began to walk forward
again with Cilghal beside him.  Leia walked beside
Nembany.
  "I can't believe it, my home was destroyed, my family is
gone." The reddish-pink female Calamarian spoke sadly.
"It's hard to believe, I never really thought of Oceiaon as
special; I always thought of it as boring, but now."
Nembany stopped, and looked at the ground.
  "I know how you feel Nembany, I never really thought of
Alderaan as special until it was destroyed, my family with it.
I guess after a while it doesn't hurt as much, but there is
always that empty spot in you."  Leia said, trying to console
the young Mon Calamarian.
  "Yes, you are right. I will be able to deal with it, I am glad
that I will be able to complete my Jedi training.  At least that
should help."
  Leia nodded. "It will."
  Hexan and Cilghal stopped, and turned around to face
Leia, and Nembany.  Cilghal said,  "I have decided to stay
here on Koretin for a few months," she turned her head
towards Nembany, tearing her large eyes away from the
beautiful sunset over the water. "Nembany, would you like
to stay here with me so I can help you with your training?"
  Nembany looked around at all the dead bodies, and let out
what sounded like a sigh.  "I will stay, I am sure that there
are many things that we can do to help our fellow Mon
Calamarians and humans."
  Cilghal nodded her fish like head.  "All right then.  Princess
Leia, you are free to leave Koretin whenever you feel that
you must do so.  Nembany and I will return to Yavin Four
in another ship."

                    *    *

  Kyp, Serena, and Shal'lyindraa walked to the river and sat
down by it.  The sun would be setting soon, and the sky was
turning into a light orange.  A few animals flew overhead,
some kind or reptilian animal with feathered wings.  It flew
over them making a strange deep-pitched call and landed in
a tree behind the small group.
  The dark memories of the night before had already begun
to fade from Serena's mind just like her doubts.  They were
slipping away with the day, and soon they would be no
more.  She, Kyp, and Shal'lyindraa were forming a close
bond already, which, Serena knew, would grow even
stronger as the days went by.
  A light rain began to fall around them, but they hardly
noticed it.  It only lasted for a while, and then the clouds
began to clear.  After a few moments the sun was out once
again, and a small rainbow showed in the clear sky.
  "It sure is beautiful, I wish that we were on top of the
temple." Shal'lyindraa said looking up at the sky.
  Serena pulled her knees up, and wrapped her arms around
them.  "We'll make sure to do it tomorrow, okay?"
  "That would be great.  All right, Kyp?"
  "Huh?" Kyp asked dazed, as if he had been thinking about
something and not listening to them.
  "Wake up Kyp." said Serena, moving her hand back and
forth in front of his face.  She broke out into an
unintentional smile.
  "Kyp, would you want to go up on top of the temple and
watch the sun set?"
  Kyp sighed.  "I try and try, but I just don't see why you
think it is so great.  I do appreciate it though; it is a lot
better than being stuck in the dark, mining spice all the time.
But don't you just get a little tired getting up ever morning
to see the sun rise, and sitting on top of the temple, or by
the river watching it set?"
  "No, I can't, and I don't want to.  Haven't you ever
noticed how each one is different?"
  "Yes, in the morning the sun goes up, and in the evening
the sun goes down," said Kyp, but his mind was still
somewhere else.
  Serena studied his face in confusion, wondering what was
going on inside his head.  She knew he would not tell them,
but she wished he would.  The facial expression he bore was
interesting to her.  He was a very handsome man, not that
she cared about his looks . . . too much.  His eyes seemed to
hold the depths of an unknown and undiscovered ocean
filled with things people wanted to know and things they
could not know.
  Kyp looked down at Serena, and found her staring at him.
It was not until after a few moments that she realized he
was staring back.  Serena's gray-green eyes, with the small
blue circle around her pupil, fell away from Kyp's.
  "No Kyp, the color, and the shapes of the clouds.  See
now," Shal'lyindraa pointed upwards, "the sun is beginning
to set.  All the colors and shapes are different from this
morning." Shal'lyindraa shook her head, letting her blonde
hair fall gracefully over her shoulders.  "I just don't know
how to explain it."
  Kyp took his gaze off Serena and stared up at the sky. "I
can't, but I'll try.  Sorry, Shal."
  "Shame on you, Kyp!  Here you are training Serena to be a
Jedi, and you said the word you should never say!"
Shal'lyindraa said, as a smile flashed across her face.
  "All I said was; I can't, but I'll tr  "
  "Try not, do or do not, there is no try." Serena and
Shal'lyindraa said at the same time.  They looked at each
other surprised and then laughed.
  "Some Jedi I'm gonna be." Kyp murmured to himself, as he
turned his attention away from the girls for a moment.  He
had been thinking of what he was doing -- teaching Serena
to become a Jedi Knight.  He knew that he would not be
able to train her as well as Luke could, and he knew that
when he had reached his limits of teaching Serena, Luke
would take over.  Yet, what if he really messed up and
Serena turned to the dark side?  He knew, from experience
how easy it was, so what would he do if she turned?
  "Awww, poor Kyp."  Shal'lyindraa patted his shoulder,
"It'll be okay."
  Kyp pulled himself out of his thoughts and then smiled. " I
can't believe it."
  "Believe what?" Serena asked nudging Kyp, playfully.
  "We're acting like children."
  "Ohhh, Kyp, Serena and I just bring out the fun side of
ya."  Shal'lyindraa said, "Anyway, we're not even adults
yet, we still have the rights to act like kids."
  "Great, just great.  Now I guess I'm going to be acting like
a kid for the rest of my life even if I am an adult."
  Serena said, "You got that right, Kyp.  Shal and I are
going to stick with you for a very long time."
  "Yep, we're great friends, it's like we always belonged
together."  Shal'lyindraa said happily.
  "Great, maybe now we can make some sort of secret club,
okay?"  Kyp asked sarcastically, wanting to go back to his
room and think about how he could keep Serena from doing
anything rash and turn to the dark side in the process of her
training.
  Shal'lyindraa turned to Serena, grinning and ignoring
Kyp's sarcastic tone.  "Serena, I have a great idea.  Just do
what I do, you'll catch on."
  Kyp frowned, and then slowly he began to be lifted up in
the air.  "What the . . . " Kyp stared at Shal'lyindraa.  "You
are gonna get it."  He swore silently to himself, wondering
how he had gotten himself mixed up with two girls like
Serena and Shal'lyindraa.
  Serena's eyes widened as she caught on to what
Shal'lyindraa was about to do.  Slowly Kyp was raised
higher in the air, until he was six feet above the ground.  He
slowly began to move backwards, towards the river.
  Kyp looked behind him, and saw the river.  "Oh great, well
if I have to go, so do you."
  As soon as he had said that Serena, and Shal'lyindraa were
swiftly lifted up in the air, and quickly pulled behind him,
they both lost there control over him, and he fell on the
ground.
  Kyp pushed them right over the river.   "So, let's see, this
is a very nice turn of events.  Don't you think so?" he asked,
grinning, his worries about Serena had now vanished from
his mind.
  Shal'lyindraa's eyes widened. "Hey, now, that's not fair,
you're stronger than both of us!  Oh, come on Kyp you
don't . . ."
  Serena and Shal'lyindraa both screamed as they fell twelve
feet down to the river.  After a few moments their heads
popped up out of the green water.  Shal'lyindraa, unlike her
usual lady like self, began to spit out the water she had
swallowed when she had fallen.  When Serena started to do
the same, Kyp began to laugh.
"So -- sorry.  I seemed to have accidentally lost my
control."  He laughed harder. Serena, and Shal'lyindraa
walked out of the river with their saturated clothes clinging
to them, and stopped looking past Kyp.  Kyp turned around,
and saw Han walking into the clearing, laughing.
  "So, _kids_, how old are y'all again?"  He stood beside
Kyp and watched Serena, and Shal'lyindraa make their way
towards them.
  "Well, Han, _I'm_ practically seventeen, but those two are
around three or four.  I would tell you to ask them, but I'm
not sure they understand Basic."
  "Ha-ha-ha, Kyp." Serena said slowly and sarcastically.
Serena looked at Han, and smiled.  "Kyp threw me and
Shal'lyindraa into the river, by _accident_."
  "The only reason I did was because you two were trying to
throw _me_ into the river."
  "Ohhh, so you are _all_ children.  I see, I am proud to say,
though, that my two year olds act better than you." Han
gave them a lopsided grin.  "I came here to tell y'all that
your dinners are ready whenever you feel like eating.  But I
guess that you two girls should clean up first."
  Serena and Shal'lyindraa nodded.  The four of them
walked silently back to the temple.  When they reached it,
Han split up from the group, and walked straight into the
main room of the Great Temple.
  Serena shivered, and realized that night had fallen on
Yavin Four.  The sky was again clouded, and no stars were
visible.  A cool night wind blew through the jungle and
towards the trio. They walked past the main room, went
down the turbolift, and as soon as the doors slid open, they
walked towards their rooms.
  The three walked through the hallway, and stopped at
Shal'lyindraa's door, one of the first ones on the left side.
  "I'll see you two at dinner, save me a place, okay?"
  "Sure," Kyp answered back.
  Shal'lyindraa quietly shut the door, and Serena, and Kyp
walked back to the end of the hallway, and stopped right
outside Serena's door.  Kyp smiled down at her.  "I'll wait
for you."
  "All right."  Serena shrugged.
  Kyp went into his room, and Serena went into her own.
  Serena shut her door, only briefly putting all her weight
against it and heaving a sigh.  Serena took a deep breath,
pushed herself away from the door with the palms of her
hands, and went to her bag, which was lying on the floor.
She put her bag on the cot, and pulled out some loose pants
and a shirt.  The eighteen-year-old slipped them on, and laid
her clothes out on the bed to dry.
  Serena grabbed her brush, and slowly began to brush out
her hair.  It had dried out some, but was still damp; she
decided quickly and half-heartedly to wear it down, and was
about to put her boots on, when someone knocked on the
door.
   Serena took one last look in the mirror, and then walked
over to the door, and opened it.  Standing at the doorway
was young Kyp Durron.  He smiled down at her.
  "Come on in Kyp, I just have to put on my boots."  Serena
said, catching herself before she returned the smile.
Thinking back she could have kicked herself.  When they
had been at the river, she had laughed and smiled.  She had
shown feelings.  It was not that she had just been trained to
act like that, she did not like to show her feelings because of
the danger.  If she became too friendly with Kyp, anything
could happen.  She did not want to fall in love with
anybody.  To her it was a waste of time, and something she
could not afford.  People that were in love gave their lives
for the other, and she did not want to ever come to a
situation in her life when she had to do that.  She never
wanted to care for someone so much that she would die for
him and as long as she remained cold and indifferent to
everything, she would never have to come to a decision like
that.
  Kyp walked in, and sat down on the cot, ignoring Serena's
clothes, which lay on the other side.  Serena sat beside him
and slipped her boots on. He did not say anything, but she
could feel his dark eyes on her. When she looked up at him
to tell him that they needed to go, she met his gaze.  Serena
held it, and as he began to move forward she quickly stood
up.
  Kyp sat back quickly and then stood up, with a look of
pure surprise etched across his perfectly formed face.
  "Now I'm all dry, and clean thanks to you."  Serena said,
quickly walking out the door.
  Kyp followed her out, and shut the door behind him.
"What can I say?  I'm just a really nice guy," he said, with a
small quiver to his voice.
  Kyp and Serena walked out of the room, and made their
way to the main room.  Most of the other trainees were
seated at the tables, but Dorsk 81 was sitting on the floor in
a corner.  Other trainees were doing like wise.
  Dorsk saw Kyp, and waved him over.  Kyp took Serena's
hand in his own. "Come on over here by Dorsk," he said,
pulling her behind him.
  He led Serena to the corner, on the way they both picked
up a bowl of soup, and a slice of some sort of meat. 'Meat,
would ya look at this, and hopefully the kids cooked it
right, so we don't all get poisoned.' Kyp thought to himself
as he led Serena over to Dorsk 81.    Kyp sat on Dorsk's
right, and Serena sat beside him.
  "Can you believe it Dorsk?  Something other than stew
and vegetables," Kyp said.
  "Well, it seems our cooking trainees have been taken over
by chefs." The olive skinned alien said, smiling at Kyp,
without any of the food the others were eating near him.
Dorsk 81, Kyp remembered, could only eat processed food
wafers.  Kyp felt sorry for Dorsk.
"You're kidding," Serena said with awe to her voice.
  Kyp and Dorsk 81 both laughed at Serena's foolish
mistake.  "I'm being sarcastic, Serena . . . I guess they
learned how to cook meat."
  Serena frowned as Dorsk talked to her.  "I see.  Though, I
don't see what was so funny."
  Kyp and Dorsk laughed harder as Serena rolled her eyes
and blushed.


  Outside, in the jungle, as the last rays of light were shining
throughout it, Guy found Tionne  meditating.  When he and
Exana came up to her, Tionne's pearly white eyes fluttered
open, and she smiled.  Guy helped her stand up, and they
walked back together towards the temple.  After a long
silence, Guy finally found enough courage to ask Tionne
what he had wanted to know for a long while
  "So, Tionne, I want to ask you something that will only
take a moment," he said, as he stopped her and they stood a
few feet from the temple.
  "Go ahead Guy.  I'm listening," Tionne said smiling again.
  "Well, Exana has become very fond of you, and so have I.
Well, what I mean is that you are my friend.  You told me
that once you became a Jedi Knight you were going to stay
here and teach other students.
  "I'm not saying that you should not, but for Exana's sake, I
was just wondering if you would, um, like to come with me
and Exana once we become Jedi Knights.  You don't have
to, I was just wondering.  It would mean worlds to Exana . .
. and me."
  Tionne's eyes glistened. "I'm not sure Guy.  Let me think it
over, and I'll tell you tomorrow.   I am sure though that I
already know the answer."   Tionne kissed Guy on the
cheek. "I had better go now, I need to talk to Mater
Skywalker.  You two had better go eat."
  Tionne walked out of the jungle clearing, and headed
towards the temple, quickly.
  Exana looked up at Guy, her dark eyes wide with
reverence.  "Guy?"
  "Yeah, Exana?"  Guy asked, as he watched Tionne
disappear into the temple.
  "Are you and Tionne in love?"
  "Of course not, don't be stupid.  We are just very, very,
very good friends.  There is a difference you know." He
took his gaze off where Tionne had been, and he looked
down at his younger sister who was shaking her head.
  "No there's not.  I read a story once where these two kids
were just friends, but then they fell in love."
  "Exana, that was a fairy tale.  In real life that seldom
happens."
  "Fairy tales are just as real as you and me!" She argued,
"Remember, daddy said that the Force was something made
up in a Fairy Tale, but here we are!"



  "So, Kyp, how is your training going with Serena?"
  "Great.  It's really fun.  You know, what?"
  "Hm?"
  "By tomorrow, I'll be seventeen, finally."
  "Tomorrow?"
  "Yep.  I'm almost an adult, just a few more years, two
really."
  "Then, you are now older than me, but only for a while,"
The green skinned alien stated.
  "Yeah, just like for a few days I was taller than you,"  Kyp
said smiling at his friend.
   "Hey guys."
  Dorsk and Kyp looked up.  Shal'lyindraa smiled at them,
and went to sit beside Serena.
  "Now that is the girl of my dreams Kyp."
  "Shal?"
  "Of course, she must be the prettiest girl here."
  "To you, and that's only because you like her."
  "Who couldn't , I mean she's a beauty, her hair, her eyes,
have you ever seen her legs?"
  Kyp laughed at Dorsk's joke.  "No, and I will not complain
if I never get to."
  Dorsk chuckled. "Kyp, last time I talked to you, you said
that she was the prettiest girl here, why have you changed
your mind?"
  "Because she's my friend."
  Dorsk smiled. "And because that Serena girl has caught
your eye."
  Kyp's eyes widened.  "You wish Dorsk.  Even if I did like
her, which I don't, it would not be right for me to fall in
love with her, she is my student.  I mean, you haven't ever
seen Master Skywalker fall in love with any of his students
have you?"
  "No, but that's because he isn't seventeen, and he doesn't
have an eighteen year old student."
  "Look, she is like me and Shal.  We are friends.  I don't
think that I'll ever fall in love."
  "Well, " Dorsk said, as he stood up, "once you do, tell me,
and I might start to hang around you more often, and
change my mind about thinking that you are boring."
  Kyp laughed as he managed to say, "Bye Dorsk."
  "Bye." Dorsk 81 chuckled and left the large room.
After Dorsk was gone, Kyp turned his attention to Serena,
and Shal'lyindraa.  Serena was smiling; Kyp realized that
she had a pretty smile.  He had also noticed that ever since
Shal'lyindraa, himself, and Serena had become friends,
Serena had been smiling more often, that mask of
nothingness was close to being gone. It had only been two
days, things were happening fast, faster than Kyp would
have imagined.
  Kyp looked at Shal'lyindraa.  She was beautiful, and he did
admit that the first time he had seen her three months ago,
he had had a crush on her.  But he knew it was a worthless
thing, especially once he and Shal'lyindraa had become
friends.  Every day that he got to become better friends with
her, it seemed odder, and odder that he had ever wanted to
be more than just a friend with her.
  Serena on the other hand was a different story.  She was
beautiful too, and he was happy being just friends with her,
but he _had_ almost tried to kiss her.  That would not
happen again, of that he was sure of.  He would just be a
friend with both of them.  Just friends.
  Kyp noticed that Shal'lyindraa was standing up, she smiled
at Serena and began to walk towards him. She stood in
front of him and smiled lightly.
   "'Night Kyp, I'm off to bed now. Gotta get a few good
winks of shut eye." She bent down and kissed him lightly on
the cheek, winked one of her blue crystalline eyes at him
and walked out of the room with a graceful walk that he
was already used to.
  Kyp now realized that he had been struck with the
strangest but most obvious thought: the absolute different
characteristics of Shal'lyindraa and Serena.  Shal'lyindraa
was kind, warm, and generous.  While Serena was not
unkind, but she seemed to prefer being without friends than
with friends sometimes.  Serena tried with all her might to
be cold and uncaring, even though Kyp knew that
underneath the mask that she had placed over her feelings,
her soul was just like Shal'lyindraa's.
  Kyp could also feel a sadness deep within Serena.  It was a
sadness that he could not pinpoint, and he knew no reason
for her to be sad.  Nevertheless, he knew it had to do with
something she would not tell him, something she was almost
afraid to tell him.  Somehow, Kyp knew that one day he
would know why she was so sad.  Maybe, then, he could
comfort her in a way she would not let anyone comfort her
now.
  Kyp looked around the large room and noticed that only a
couple of trainees were left. Luke and Han were sitting at
the table talking. He felt someone tap him on the shoulder.
He turned to his right and saw Serena.  He smiled at her.
"Hey, Sere."
  She smiled lightly back.  "Hey.  Are you going to bed
soon?"
  "No, I enjoy the night."
  "So do I." She said, looking up at the skylights that
resembled the ones in the main room.  These were slightly
smaller, and instead of rectangles, they were circles.
Through the skylights, she was able to see the clouds
parting, and letting through the light from the stars that
dotted the sky.
  "Really?"
  "Yes, really," she said, taking her gaze off the ceiling.
  "Since you do, maybe you would like to come out with me
tonight."  Kyp said, neutrally.
  Serena raised her eyebrows.  "And do what?"
  "Just walk, don't worry.  It would be nice if you came; I
haven't met anyone else that likes the night.  Even if they
did, they are afraid to go outside this late.  I'm pretty much
used to it, growing up in Kessel, I grew used to the
darkness."
  Serena smiled. "I'll go.  It sounds fun, when do we go?"
  "I usually wait until everyone else is in their rooms."
  Kyp leaned against the wall, and looked around the room
again.  There were only five students left.  He turned his
attention back to Serena, and saw that she was watching
him, much the same way she had been when they had been
at the river.  She was staring again into his eyes.  Her gray-
green eyed gaze seemed to soak up everything about him,
and Kyp knew that if he did not break off her stare, Serena's
expressionless and careless gaze would take him in and
consume his soul in the cold ice she always boasted of.
"Serena?"
  She blinked her eyes, and then smiled.  "Oh, sorry.  I was
thinking."
"About what?"
  "Well, I've only been here for about two days, and I'm
already dreading the day when I'll have to leave.  It's so
peaceful here.  I guess once I've retired from being a
smuggler I'll move to some world where people don't use
droids, or machinery, or electricity."
  "You are brave."
  "No, just primitive."
  Kyp laughed. "Very primitive."
  "It would just be nice I think, away from all the crowds,
growing old by myself . . ." her voice trailed off.
  "You're different then.  From other girls, I mean."
  "In what way?" Serena knitted her eyebrows.
  "Well, most girls want to get married, have kids, move to
Coruscant, and live happily ever after."  Kyp said, he had
heard Tionne and Shal'lyindraa talking one night and they
had both agreed that was what they wanted to do, if it were
possible.
  "Maybe I do want that, but the way things are going now,
I will not be able to even fall in love, let alone get married
or have children.  And especially move to Coruscant.
  "I'm just going to have a normal life I guess." Serena
leaned against the wall, "I'm going to become a Jedi Knight,
then become a smuggler, and then retire."
  "Yeah, and all Han Solo wanted to be was a smuggler, but
guess what?  He's a father of three, married to the Chief of
State; who is a Jedi, and brother- in- law to a great Jedi
Master."
  "So what you're saying is that my life is going to be
completely different from what I think it's going to be?"
Serena asked with a droll smile.
  "Probably.  Anyway, I doubt you'll stay single forever,
everyone falls in love at least once."
  Serena smirked, doubtful that she would even meet
someone worth falling in love with.  "Have you fallen in
love yet?"  Serena asked after a moment of silence between
Kyp and her.
  "I never had the chance, I was at Kessel too long."
  "How long?"
  "Eight years."
  Serena looked at Kyp, with sympathy drawn across her
features. "You were there _eight_  years?  When did you
get out?"
  "About eleven months ago."
  "You were sixteen.  You've only been out for a while; you
were there most of your childhood.  I don't know what it
was like there, but I do know what it's like to miss your
childhood."
  "How?"  Kyp looked down at her questioningly.
  "Uh," Serena paused, "because, like I told you, my parents
died when I was still a kid.  I never had time to be a child.  I
mean, when they were alive, they were so strict I could
never do anything, I had no friends, no toys.  Nothing."
  Kyp nodded his head, not believing a word she had said.
"Then I guess you do know how I feel."
  There were only two more people left in the room.  It was
Tionne and some boy, the boy that she was constantly
spending her time with. He was new to the academy, and
had come in with an eleven-year-old who was most likely
his sister.  All Kyp knew was that they were from Chandrila,
but it did not matter much. Tionne and the boy stood up
together and left the room.  Kyp let out his breath, just
realizing that he had been holding it.
  "Ready, Sere?"
  "Of course."
  They both stood up, and Kyp led her outside.  There was a
light breeze, and a thin fog covered the bottom of the
ground.  Water was dripping off the overhanging trees and
vines.  The clouds were gone, and millions of stars filled the
dark sky.  Kyp wondered as he looked at the stars, which
ones were planets, maybe one of those stars was his home
planet Anoat.
  In the distance he could hear chirping, and squeaking
sounds from the bushes, and trees.  The floor of the jungle
was moist, and the moss made it slippery.  If the stars had
not been out, Kyp would not have been able to see a thing,
but with the stars, the jungle was lit up with an eerie glow.
  Kyp felt Serena stand closer by him, and could tell that she
was nervous, afraid.  "Don't worry, Serena, the Force will
protect us, anyway I go out here every night, don't worry."
  "Who said I was worried? I'm just a little bit scared."
  "Don't be."  He squeezed her hand, and she held on to it.
He lightly smiled to himself.
  They began to walk forward, slowly.  "Just think of how
peaceful it is, don't think of how scary it is, think about how
. . .how --as a girl would put it-- beautiful it is," Kyp said
dryly.
  Serena looked up at the sky, and then back down to what
lay in front of them.  A dark shadow ran past them, and
climbed up a tree. Serena strangely realized that she was not
afraid, she felt safe.  Serena smiled, she trusted Kyp, nothing
bad would happen to her, and she just needed to enjoy her
time outside.  Kyp was right anyway, it was beautiful.
   Kyp looked down at Serena.  She was smiling: that was
good, it was working.  As long as she did not let go of his
hand, he could keep using the Force to keep her calm, and
unafraid.  It was best the that he could do.   Of course, if
Serena found out that he were doing this to her, she'd kill
him . . . slowly.  Kyp grimaced, very slowly.
  A strong breeze blew past them for a moment, Kyp
stopped, and let it blow on him full force.  This was the only
time that he ever felt really, truly, free.
  "You seem very happy out here."  Serena said, almost
whispering, not wanting to disturb the peaceful, but eerie
setting.
  "I feel free out here, I mean, no one knows that I come out
here.  I like it that way, no one can stop me, and I can do
anything I want.  I feel free."
  Serena nodded her head.  "I see.  It is rather beautiful,
romantic."
  Kyp said nothing in return, he only nodded his head.
When he had been young, before the Imperials had stormed
into his house and taken him and his family, he had always
enjoyed the nights on Deyer.  They were always so peaceful
and beautiful, the stars and moon had been reflected off the
water of the lakes and into his mind.  He would never be
able to forget the way his home had looked at night, when
everything had been perfect and nothing bad could possibly
happen.
  Serena pulled herself closer to Kyp.  "It's cold."
  Kyp took his hand out from hers.  For a brief second he
could feel her fear come back, but as soon as he put his arm
around her shoulders, it went away.  Right now he was glad
that he had learned how to use the Force in this way.
  Kyp turned around, and he and Serena began to walk back
to the temple.  He could never stay out here for long.  When
he did, it brought back memories of his younger years at
home, but then those memories would be flooded over and
drowned by the ones of his parents being stunned, of Zeth
being taken of away. Like a tidal wave, memories of himself
turning to the dark side, and making a foolish mistake that
killed his brother would flood into his mind.  Kyp did not
want to have those memories, he wished they could vanish
away from his mind, but that was impossible.
"You know Kyp, I'm really glad that I decided to stay here
and train."  Serena said, breaking into his thoughts.
  "I'm glad, too."
  They walked into the temple, and ran into Han, who had
been walking to the turbolift, leading to the rooms.  The
temple was dimly lit with an orange glow, but it only took
Han a moment to recognize the two teenagers.  He looked
at them both surprised and then grinned.
  "Ahhh, yes, taking a romantic midnight stroll, am I right?"
  Kyp folded his arms over his chest. "Wrong.  We went to
her ship to put up some extra clothes that she did not need."
Kyp did not like lying to Han, but he did not want Han, or
anyone, making jokes about him being with Serena this late
at night.
  Han raised his eyebrows, and nodded slowly.  "I
understand, completely." He shook his finger at them.
"Now you two kids go to bed, or you aren't going to want
to get up in the morning."  Han's eyes widened as did
Serena's and Kyp's.
  "Okay daddy, don't forget to come in and tell me a
bedtime story."  Kyp said smiling.  Han laughed at his own
mistake, but after a moment his smile fell away, followed by
Serena and Kyp's.
  "Han, when are you leaving?" Kyp asked, seriously.
  "The day after tomorrow."  He shrugged, "It's nice to be
here, but the New Republic needs me, in fact I don't know
how they could manage without me."
  "I'm sure they couldn't, Han,"  Kyp said smiling once
again.
  "Well, go on you two . . .love birds."  Han laughed.
  Kyp rolled his eyes.  "Han, you are just so funny," he said
sarcastically.
  "I know."
  Serena shook head, and smiled.   "I am going to bed, so
goodnight you two."
Serena walked away from Han and Kyp, and stepped into
the turbolift.  Before the doors were shut, Kyp ran up and
jumped in.
  "Don't tell me you were going to leave me with Han on
purpose."  Kyp smiled as the turbolift slowly descended to
the housing level.
  "I was, but you two get along so well,"  Serena said
teasingly, nudging Kyp in the side with her elbow.
  "Yeah, except for times like that,"  Kyp said smiling, as
they stepped off the turbolift and into a dimly lit hallway.
  "Awww, you don't like it when Han is funny?"  Serena
bedeviled quietly so as not to disturb the other trainees.
  Kyp laughed softly. "I don't like it when he calls me a love
bird."
  Serena smiled, and stopped by her door.  "Well, this is
goodnight."
  "Yes, it is."  Kyp said, again serious.
  "So, goodnight." Serena slowly smiled amusingly.
  "Goodnight."
  Kyp and Serena stood there for a moment in awkward
silence, and then Serena leaned forward, and kissed him on
the cheek unexpectedly.
  "There, now I'm as good as Shal."
   Kyp's laughing followed Serena into her darkened room.
The smile she had had dropped from her surprised face.
She had _never_ done something like that before.
_Never_.
  So why had she just done it to Kyp of all people?



(a/n* I'd just like to say thanks to all of you who are
reading this and are planning to e-mail me *hint* mara_jade101@hotmail.com
*hint again* And, thanks to Katherine for letting me use some of her poetry,
and thanks to Tracy for always being there and helping me
out when I need it especially with A New B. and
Triumvirate.  This was a rather silly chapter wasn't it?
I just want to prove that Kyp can be as happy and as childish
as anyone, just because he killed so many people doesn't mean
that he can't be human: that is my point. ^_^)