Before she even heard the news, Yisheera knew something was wrong. She’d woken up that morning with an inexplicable bad feeling in her gut, and it hadn’t left her all day. In fact it seemed to grow worse and worse by the hour. Mere minutes before she heard about Alderaan from her friend and fellow padawan Izaara, the feeling of apprehension had blossomed into full-blown fear. Something was terribly wrong with Master Neeman.

“Did you hear about Alderaan?” Izaara asked. “I heard they suffered a planetwide communications blackout. The Thuls aren’t going down easy it seems.” She seemed to pause for a moment to regard Yisheera. “Yish? What’s wrong? You look sick.”

“Master Neeman is on Alderaan.” Yish replied, her voice more shaky than she wanted it to be. Izaara tried to smile reassuringly, but it seemed forced.

“Hey your master is one of the best Jedi I know.” She said in a soothing tone. “He’ll be just fine.”

“Then why do I feel as if something is terribly wrong?” Yisheera asked, as much to herself as her friend. “Master Neeman says that our feelings can be the Force’s way of talking to us, and right now I feel as if Master Neeman is in great danger.”

“Maybe you just need to lie down and rest.” Izaara said, trying to be comforting. “Some meditation couldn’t hurt either.” Yisheera shook her head, her lustrous blue headtails waving gracefully side to side.

“Nothing could get this pit out of my stomach. Master Neeman is in serious trouble, I’m absolutely certain of it!” Izaara looked at her for a moment, as if weighing her friend’s apprehension seriously.

“I think you should talk with Master Sirina.” Izaara said. “Of all the members of the Council, she’s the one who’s most likely to listen to you.” Yisheera considered it. It made sense; Master Sirina was the most generous and forgiving of the masters on the Jedi High Council. She was well known for listening to the problems and concerns of other Jedi, regardless of their rank. She seemed to also have a knack for determining whether or not a Jedi’s concerns had weight, and as to whether they were the guiding hand of the Force, or merely illusions of the mind.

“Let’s go.” She said, and the two rushed off to find the blonde-haired Jedi master.

___________

“So what you’re telling me, Yisheera, is that you’ve been having this dreadful fear all day, and it got exponentially worse mere moments before you learned of the blackout on Alderaan?” The beautiful Jedi Master Sirina asked, as she sat cross-legged in a meditative pose, watching the young Twi’lek pace back and forth anxiously. The small beams of light from the shuttered window behind the Jedi Master made her long blonde locks seem to glow with divine radiance, and her soft and gentle blue eyes tracked Yisheera’s movements about the chamber. Her deep brown robes and the white armor beneath them hid a fantastic figure, honed and perfected by years of physical discipline and training. Her beauty was surpassed only by her kindness and desire to help others, which radiated from her in an aura that projected peace, calm, and comfort to all those around her.

“Yes.” Yisheera replied, confirming Master Sirina’s summary of what she had said. The other Jedi sighed softly to herself.

“To be perfectly honest, I share your concern. Master Neeman is a man I respect very much, his wisdom has guided me more times than I can count. I am also very worried about the lack of communication from Alderaan, we’re currently waiting for the normally scheduled all-clear signal from the Republic’s space station in orbit, as in this type of situation it’s the only method of communication we would have with the planet.”

At that moment, there was a knock at the door, and Yisheera could have sworn she saw the briefest flash of annoyance pass across Master Sirina’s face, but it was gone as soon as it appeared. “Come in.” Master Sirina said, her voice betraying no hint of negative emotion, only the pleasant demeanor of an extremely friendly and welcoming person.

A young Jedi Knight poked his head into the room, spying Master Sirina, he relayed his message.

“The all-clear signal has come through, Master Sirina.” He relayed calmly, although Yisheera could sense the relief that he felt. “The Council is holding a meeting to outline the final stages of the war.”

“Isn’t that a little presumptuous?” Sirina replied. “The Sith are in full retreat, but to assume victory before we have actually achieved it…” The knight shrugged apologetically.

“I am merely the messenger, Master Sirina. Perhaps you should voice these concerns to the other members of the Council.”

“Thank you Renhiel. I will do just that.” Sirina said, rising to her feet. Yisheera was overcome with sudden panic. Master Sirina hadn’t even agreed to help her rescue Master Neeman, and now she was leaving!

“Master!” Yisheera said, more loudly and desperately than she intended. Sirina looked at her and smiled.

“Don’t worry padawan, I haven’t forgotten about you. I will bring up the Alderaan situation in the Council meeting and include your testimony. After the meeting I’ll come see you and let you know what’s to be done.” Yisheera only felt slightly less ill, but she suppressed her feelings and forced a smile.

“Ok. Let me know as soon as you can.”

____________

It was later that day when Master Sirina approached Yisheera and Izaara while the two sat meditating in the Senate gardens. Yisheera registered the blonde woman’s approach immediately, and was already on her feet and walking towards the approaching Jedi Master by the time Sirina reached them.

“So?” She asked, a bit too forcefully. “What did the Council decide? How many Jedi are we sending? When do we leave?”

The expression that immediately presented itself on Master Sirina’s face was all the answer she needed. Yisheera’s heart fell into her feet, taking her stomach with it. She suddenly felt a surging rush of emotions; anger, frustration, helplessness, fear, and a deep, deep sorrow.

“They decided not to send anyone didn’t they?” She spat. “They’re abandoning Master Neeman to die!”

“The Council decided that Alderaan is, at best, a distraction by the Empire to buy enough time for them to regroup. They believe that if we destroy the Empire and the Sith at their heart, Alderaan can always be reclaimed later.” Master Sirina said. There was no sign that she agreed with the decision, but Yisheera was still angry at her anyway.

“So they’re just going to throw Master Neeman and all the people he’s trying to help away like their expendable?” She accused.

“The Council is insistent on taking the long view.” Master Sirina said with obvious remorse. “The only other Jedi Master who might have stood with me and swayed others to our side was Master Jay-Li, and he is leading troops on the front and wasn’t able to attend, even by hologram.”

“You know this is wrong!” Yisheera said emphatically. “We shouldn’t abandon our own under any circumstances!”

“While I agree wholeheartedly with your sentiment,” Master Sirina replied, trying to sound as compassionate and understanding as possible, “I understand where the other masters of the Council are coming from, and I am simply outvoted on the issue. I’m sorry Yisheera, but the Jedi Order will not be sending anyone to Alderaan.”

Tears filled the young Twi’lek’s eyes, burning twin paths down her soft blue cheeks. She struggled to reign in her emotions, but the tears just kept coming, and the fires of her anger simply burned brighter when she tried to suppress them. She ran off, ignoring the calls of both Master Sirina and Izaara, blindly running through the gardens as if in an attempt to outrun fate.

When she finally stopped to look around and wiped the tears from her eyes, she noticed she was close to the Senate hovertaxi terminal. Digging around in her robes, she found the credits she needed for a ride. There was one more person she could try, and she had no intention of letting them tell her “no”.

“Don’t worry Master.” She whispered to herself as she ran towards the terminal. “I’m coming for you.”

__________

When Chizuu’Kathara opened the door to the residence where her and her husband lived, she was surprised to see little Yish standing there. The beautiful young Twi’Lek was like a daughter to Chizu, and the two had been friends since Yish was old enough to swing a training blade. By the look on the padawan’s face, she was very distraught and upset, but she had that glint in her eye that Chizu knew meant she was determined to get something, and refused to take “no” for an answer.

“Yish, come in, come in!” The older Twi’Lek ushered the younger one inside the domicile, the door sliding shut behind her. “You look awful dear, what is it? What’s happened?” The padawan gathered herself with a long, shaky breath before speaking.

“It’s Master Neeman, he was on Alderaan, and news just broke of a planet-wide communications blackout. I’ve had a terrible feeling that something was wrong since this morning, but moments before I heard the news about Alderaan, that feeling became unbelievably strong. It still feels like something terrible is happening.”

Chizu was not well educated in matters of the Force. Her husband was a Republic Senator, and she his aide. She knew things like this were out of her depth, but she couldn’t say no to Yish, especially not when she was obviously in such deep distress.

“Aren’t the Jedi going to do anything about it?” She asked. “Surely if you can sense something is wrong, the other Jedi Masters can too.” Yish shook her head.

“They don’t feel anything. Only I can sense it because of my connection to Master Neeman.”

“And the other Jedi don’t believe you?” Chizu asked gently.

“No.” Yish said angrily. “They’ve decided to “take the long view”, which is basically just an excuse to abandon Master Neeman and millions of innocent people to whatever fate the Empire has in store for them.”

“So why did you come here Yish? I’d love to help, but Raash and I can only do so much. He’s not the Supreme Chancellor.” Yish’s fists clenched.

“But he can do something, contact friends, allies, call in favors, sway other Senators to our cause, convince the Senate that Alderaan is a serious potential hazard to the Republic’s security.” Chizu felt the young girl’s sorrow and frustration as acutely as if it were her own. Seeing Yish in such anguish made her heart ache, and even though part of her wanted to try and talk the young padawan down, she couldn’t bring herself to do it.

“Come on,” she said, turning to leave. “Raash is in the study.”

Chizu led Yish through the living room and down the long hallway to the study, which was a large room with a view of the cityscape. Raash Temaru sat hunched over his desk, studying a stack of papers intently. He looked up when the two women entered.

“Chizu,” he said, a smile lighting up his face, “and Yish? To what do we owe the pleasure?” His facial expression changed to a much more somber one when he saw the young Padawan’s own expression. “What is it? What’s happened?”

“Love, you remember the recent events on Alderaan.” Chizu said leadingly. Raash’s brow furrowed with concern.

“Yes, I received the news along with the rest of the Senate not long after it happened. I knew the civil war was heating up, but I never suspected that the Thuls were becoming so desperate.”

“Well, Yisheera’s master, Master Neeman, was on Alderaan when this happened, and the poor girl has been plagued by a bad feeling ever since.” Raash looked at Yish.

“You can feel something? Through the Force I mean.”

“Yes.” Yish replied. “Master Neeman is in terrible danger, I just know it!” Raash leaned back in his chair and began stroking his beard as he processed the girl’s declaration.

“Then it’s not just him, if he’s in danger it’s likely that the rest of Alderaan is too.” The Senator sighed, leaning forward and rubbing his face with his hands, folding them in front of him while he continued to speculate. “To tell you the truth I’ve had a bad feeling gnawing at my gut since I heard the news. That this would come at a time when the Empire is in retreat is no coincidence. At the very least this might be a distraction that they are hoping will draw enough of our troops and resources for them to regroup. At worst…” his voice trailed off.

“So you’ll help?” Yish said, her lekku twitching with excitement.

“I already intended to push for an investigation into the Alderaan incident in the special session tomorrow.” Raash said. “If something nefarious really is going on there, we need to know what it is so we can be ready, however…” he said, his change in tone causing dread to blossom in Yish. “I highly doubt that Supreme Chancellor Suresh will allow it. She smells blood in the water and is determined to finish this war by any means necessary.”

“What do you mean?” Yish asked, trying desperately to control her anger and frustration, which once again threatened to consume her. “Doesn’t she see how dangerous this is? If the Empire controls Alderaan, they have a path directly to the core!”

“I know that, you know that, and I’m sure even Suresh knows that.” Raash replied evenly. “However, once she has her mind set on getting something done, Suresh is the kind of person that shoves everything else to the side and gets a serious case of tunnel vision. She knows the stakes if Alderaan falls, but I think she’s gambling on this just being a case of the civil war getting out of hand.”

“That’s a risky gamble.” Chizu interjected. “With a path to the core the Empire could invade any system in the core at any time.”

“They already managed it with Corellia.” Raash acknowledged. “Even though it was because the planet’s government sold it out to them, they still managed to get an entire invasion force through our defenses.”

“You think Alderaan might be another Corellia?” Chizu asked him.

“I hope to the Force it’s not,” Raash said in an exhausted tone, “but I cannot ignore the possibility of that being the case. However, if Suresh chooses to use her veto to ignore those possibilities, we could be looking at just that: another Correllia.” Yish looked from Chizu to Raash.

“So, what are we going to do?” She asked.

“You will do nothing young lady.” Raash said, his voice taking on the quality of a stern patriarch. “I will do my best to push for the Senate to dispatch a scout force to the Alderaanian system to determine the severity of the situation. I doubt Suresh will cooperate, but I am hopeful she will elect not to use her veto, which might allow for at least a small investigative team formed of intelligence assets to be dispatched to accomplish the task.”

“But the special session is tomorrow,” Yish complained, “every hour that passes is another hour Master Neeman’s life is at risk!” Raash sighed knowingly.

“Welcome to democracy, little Yish.” He said, using the same affectionate tone he had often used with her when she was a youngling. “It works, but it’s slow and ponderous in everything it does.” He smiled at her reassuringly. “You know your master well padawan. Master Neeman is one of the wisest people I’ve ever met, and is said to be one of the most powerful Jedi in the order that doesn’t sit on the Council. He has 60 years of experience as a Jedi, and 35 years of experience as a master. Have faith, he will return to us unharmed.” While Yish couldn’t deny the truth in his words, she knew in her gut that his faith was misplaced. She could feel that something was terribly wrong with Master Neeman, despite his wisdom, power, and experience; she knew that he was in great danger and couldn’t save himself. She was determined to save him, even at the cost of her own life. The Jedi needed masters like him to lead them in the war against the Sith, in comparison, her life was expendable.

Yet it seemed no one could take the actions necessary to save him. No one, she suddenly realized, but her. Her fists unclenched, her taught muscles relaxed, and she knew what she had to do. She allowed a genuine smile to spread across her face and she looked up at Raash.

“Thank you Senator.” She said, suddenly filled with peace that came from the knowledge that Master Neeman would soon have the help he needed. “I will have faith, and I wish you the best of fortune in the Senate tomorrow.” Misunderstanding her change in attitude, Raash returned her smile.

“I imagine we’ll have a wonderful conversation about all this when Master Neeman returns to us safe and sound.” He said pleasantly. “He’ll have plenty of stories to tell, of that too I am certain.”

“If you’ll excuse me,” Yish said, bowing slightly at the waist, “I really should return to the Senate building. No doubt my friends and masters are concerned about me.”

“Of course.” Raash said, inclining his head in a nod of dismissal. When Yish left the room, he looked at Chizu. “That went over well.” Chizu, who was still staring at the closed door to the study, seemed less convinced.

“Yes. It did.”

_____________

Yisheera strode through the spaceport like a woman on a mission. She’d sent the communiqué to her contact an hour ago, and the response had been instructions to meet her in one of the many cafes that occupied space in the port. She was just about to turn a corner when she heard a familiar voice call her name.

“Yish!”

She turned to see a tall, handsome young human male with messy, raven-black hair and a wiry build dressed in the robes of a Jedi pushing through a crowd of people towards her. “Yish, wait up!” She obliged him and waited for him to finish maneuvering his way through the crowd to reach her. He wore his concern openly on his striking features, and his deep, lustrous green eyes were fraught with worry. “Yish, what are you doing?”

“What do you mean what am I doing?” She asked. “What are you doing?”

“Trying to find out what’s going on that head of yours.” He replied. “Seriously, why are you here? You aren’t doing what I think you’re doing are you?”

“What do you think I’m doing?” Yish said evasively. The human looked at her, the truth dawning on him.

“So you are doing it.” He said. “Just as I thought. You can’t hide this kind of thing from me Yish. I know you, we grew up together remember?”

“I remember.” Yish said, the thought bringing back memories of their time together as children. Laughing, playing, wrestling, learning about the Force, talking about what they would do when they got their lightsabers and became real Jedi. The memories stirred something in her and she felt remorse at not telling him about her plan, but a part of her knew he wouldn’t understand. “It’s not like I wanted to keep the truth from you Kayle. I just…”

“You just what?” He asked, leading her to finish the thought.

“It’s just, I thought you’d react like everyone else has.”

“Just hear me out,” he said, placing his hands on her shoulders. “They have a point Yish, the Council isn’t entirely wrong.” She moved to shake him off in anger, but he held her a little more tightly. “Listen!” he pleaded, “Just listen for a moment, I promise I’m not on their side.” Yish hesitated, allowing him to continue speaking. “But you can’t do this alone. There are other Jedi who might agree to help us, we should go back to the Senate and try and convince some of the knights to aid us.”

“But that could take too long,” Yish protested. “and we don’t even know if anyone will help us.”

“But we have to try.” He insisted. “We’re just Padawans; we can’t go running off by ourselves on a rescue mission.”

“You don’t have to come.” Yish replied stubbornly.

“I’m not letting you go on your own.” He said. “Like I said, I know you, so I know it’s useless to try and change your mind once you’ve set out to do something, all I’m saying is we need backup. Besides,” he added, “neither of us has a ship, and the next shuttle to Alderaan isn’t for a few days. We could use that time to gather support from other Jedi, and if we can’t find anyone, then we depart on the shuttle together.” Yish shook her head.

“I’ve already arranged passage.” She said. “I’m here to meet my contact.” Kayle looked at her in surprise.

“Who?”

__________

“You never told me you were coming with a partner,” Captain Delriss Evik said to Yish as the two Jedi took their seats at the table, “and such a handsome one too.” She said, taking in the young man with her eyes and allowing a sensuous tone to creep into her voice. Kayle blushed, embarrassed by the attractive older woman’s forwardness. Yish felt a spark of jealousy ignite in her chest, “let’s get to business.” She said rigidly. “There’s no time to waste.”

Discerning the source of the young girl’s anger, Delriss smiled. “Of course, to business then.”

“You’re going to take us to Alderaan, correct?” Yisheera said.

“Yes, provided you can afford your initial offer.”

Yish reached into her cloak and took out a slip of paper and passed it across the table, facedown. Delriss lifted it up cautiously to peer at what was written on the underside.

“That’s an account number and its security information.” Yisheera said. “In it is the payment I promised.” The older Twi’lek raised an eyebrow. “What’s a Jedi doing with personal bank accounts?”

“There’s a lot about me people don’t know.” Yish said defiantly. “I prefer to keep it that way.” Delriss nodded knowingly.

“I understand. Privacy is a treasure we all crave.”

“So you’ll do it?”

“Once the payment has been extracted, my ship is your ship.”

“That’s good to hear.” Yish said, still putting on a stiff, business-like front.

“So how long have you two been together?” Delriss asked, her tone as casual as if she had just asked about their opinion on the weather.

“W-w-what?!” Yish nearly squealed, bringing her voice under control at the last second. “We’re not together, we’re just friends! That’s all!” She regretted her emphasis the moment she finished speaking, but it got worse when she sensed Kayle’s body language shift next to her. The knowing look on Delris’Sevik’s face mingled a healthy dose of anger with that pain.

“Yes,” Kayle said, barely hiding his disappointment, “I assure you there is nothing between me and Yisheera. We’ve known each other since we were children, that’s all.”

“I see.” Delriss said, and the twinkle in her eye told Yisheera that she did indeed see the truth.

“If you’re done asking personal questions, when can we board?” She asked, trying to regain some composure. Delriss tsked at her like a mother or older sister might have done.

“Come now, Yisheera. There’s no need to be so upset with me. We’ve know each other for quite a while too. I’m merely teasing you Tch’unie.”

“Well I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t.” Yish said, still mad. Delriss laughed.

“Alright, just give me a few minutes to transfer the money and we’ll go straight to the ship. We’ll be under way within the hour.” The beautiful woman rose to her feet and walked off in the direction of a credit terminal to make the transaction, Yish caught Kayle watching her go, and she smacked him upside the head.

“Ow!” He exclaimed. “Force! What was that for?” His pain made Yisheera feel better, but only a little.

“You know what.” She said, not even trying to hide her anger.

“I sure wish I did.” He mumbled, rubbing the back of his head. “Have you two really known each for that long?”

“Yes.”

“Not longer than you and I have known each other though.”

“No.”

“Are you going to keep talking like a broken protocol droid or actually talk to me?” Yish paused to try and come up with a snappy reply. When she couldn’t think of one, she simply crossed her arms and leaned back, giving Kayle an offended look. He laughed. “I really shouldn’t like it when you give me that look, but I do.” For some reason his reaction annoyed her further, and she looked away, pretending to ignore him. Kayle fell silent, and the two waited without speaking until Delriss returned to collect them.

An hour later, the Rider was taking off, ascending into the golden sunset. Yish watched from the porthole as she left the gleaming city of Coruscant behind. For a moment, despite her resolve to rescue her master, she felt a deep foreboding in her spirit. Somewhere deep within her, she felt she would never see this world again.

___________

Yish was still half-asleep when she walked into the cockpit of the Rider with Kayle. Delriss had sent him to wake her up, as they were soon going to be arriving in the Alderaan system, and the older Twi’lek had guessed Yish would want to be there when they did. None of them expected to be greeted by the sight before them when they lapsed out of hyperspace however. As soon as the brilliant blue streaks of the alien dimension faded into the blackness of normal space, the shocking scene that revealed itself to the observers on the Rider’s bridge was so unexpected, so unbelievable, that it took them almost an entire minute to process what they were seeing.

They were completely surrounded by an Imperial fleet. There were ships of all sizes, from tiny fighters and shuttles to Star Destroyers and even a few dreadnoughts. It seemed that the bulk of the Imperial Navy was present, crammed into the Alderaan system like suleksh in a can. The stunned passengers were shaken out of their daze by the whining of an alarm that indicated they had been captured by a tractor beam. Delriss cursed and began flipping switches and pressing buttons, to no avail. The comm crackled,

“Unidentified vessel, you are hereby ordered to stand down and surrender. We will be taking you and you ship captive, I repeat-” The voice repeated its previous statements as the Rider’s cockpit erupted in a commotion.

“What’s going on?” Yish cried out. “What are this many Imperial ships doing here?”

“It looks like they’re preparing for a full-scale invasion of the Core!” Kayle exclaimed. “We have to go back and warn the Republic!” He turned to Delriss, “Come on, do something! Get us out of here!”

“Does it look like I can?” Delriss shot back. “They’ve got us locked in a tractor beam and we’re surrounded by enough fully armed ships to invade twenty systems, one wrong move and we’re all spacedust!”

“Send a message, do something!” Yish cried.

“You don’t think they’re jamming all communications?” Delriss asked. “An operation this big there’s no way they haven’t planned for every possibility. We’re stuck, its best to accept it and think about how we’re going to get out of this mess.”

“Do you have a plan?” Kayle asked.

“Yes. In the cargo hold, about five paces in from the door and two paces to the left there’s a trap door. It leads to a smuggling compartment. Normally it would only fit 1 adult-sized person, but I think the two of you can squeeze in if you don’t mind close quarters.”

“But what about you?” Yish asked. Delriss smiled.

“Oh don’t worry about me. I’m a smuggler, I have friends and contacts everywhere.”

“Even in the Empire?” Kayle said incredulously.

“Yes.” Delriss assured them. “I might be able to weasel my way out of this, but not with two Jedi on board. So get to the cargo hold and don’t come out of that compartment until I come for you.”

“What if you don’t?” Kayle asked grimly.

“If I don’t come back within a standard hour, assume that the worst has happened and that you’re on your own. From there, everything is your decision to make. If we live through this, I promise you’ll get a 70% refund.”

“Money is the least of our worries right now.” Kayle remarked.

“Go!” Delriss said, waving them out of the cockpit. The two teens dashed down the corridor to the main cabin, and ducked into the hall to the cargo hold. As Delriss watched the shadow of the Star Destroyer tractoring them fall over her ship, she found herself hoping that, whatever happened to her, those kids made it out alive.

___________

“Ow, move over.” Yish complained.

“To where?” Came Kayle’s equally frustrated reply. “It’s not like I’m comfortable over here either.”

“Well at least stop digging your knee into my leg.” Yish said, exasperated. There was some shuffling and she felt the pressure on her calf release, she was about to thank him when she felt his legs entangle hers. “What are you doing?” She asked, completely bewildered.

“You asked me to stop, so I moved my legs.”

“Not there!”

“Yish there’s nowhere else. Literally.” Yish sighed.

“It’s not like we’re perfect strangers,” Kayle pointed out. “We used to wrestle all the time as younglings remember? You weren’t so prudish then.” He teased. Yish punched him in the chest.

“Ow!” He exclaimed. Then she suddenly felt his fingers lightly brushing her sides.

“Hey, that’s not-hahaha-hey stop!” But Kayle kept tickling her despite her pleas. “Seriously-hahaha-what if the Imps walk in!”

“We haven’t landed yet,” came Kayle’s mischievous reply, “until we hear those landing gear hit the floor of the hanger you’re all mine.” She could practically hear the grin in his tone, and despite herself she couldn’t help but feel playful too.

“Oh no boy,” she said with false menace, “I’m not stuck in here with you, you’re stuck in here with me!” Her nimble fingers darted around to the back of his neck, and in seconds she was the one mercilessly torturing a squirming, laughing Kayle with the light brushes of her fingertips. He managed to get in a few good counter attacks but a poke to the stomach won her back the advantage. The ships comm crackled to life.

“To all passengers engaged in tickle fights, please cease all activity as we have landed and are about to be boarded.” Delris’Sevik’s voice sounded halfway between a sarcastic older sister and a disapproving mother. There was a long silence, then, “Good luck guys. See you soon, hopefully.” Then the comm clicked off. For a moment the two Padawans lay in silence, physically closer to each other than they had been in the past ten years. Yish found herself enjoying the experience; Kayle’s lithe body was pressed softly against her, his wiry muscle and solid chest oddly comforting. She felt like they were seven years old again, back when everything made sense. He didn’t smell bad either, not that he ever did stink except right after physical training, but right now he smelled better than usual, and better than one would expect from a person crammed inside a smuggling compartment on a dirty ship. Having him so close felt…good.

She mentally shook herself, She was here to rescue her master, not find love. Master Neeman came first, then the Republic, then her friends. Besides, Jedi weren’t supposed to be romantically attached; it was against the code, still…She caught herself before she allowed her thoughts to drift off. Kayle was her friend, her childhood friend, she shouldn’t think of him like that. She heard the distant sound of booted feet entering the ship, and heard voices with Imperial accents.

“Get down on the ground, hands where we can see them!”

“Ok, ok, no need for blasters guys.” Delris’Sevik’s voice didn’t betray a hint of nervousness or fear. She sounded as cool as an Ilum night. The sound of cuffs being closed around her wrists followed, and Yish wondered why Delriss didn’t even protest. Then she remembered, you never questioned Imperials on their territory. In the Empire, might made right. A lot of the booted feet left, but the two Padawans heard what they presumed was the voice of the commanding officer speaking to several others.

“Search the ship, confiscate anything illegal, and make sure there are no others on board.”

“But sir, isn’t everything on this ship illegal?” asked one of the soldiers. Snickering followed.

“Standard rules of inspection sergeant.” The officer said. More snickering. The sound of a single pair of booted feet leaving the ship faded away, and they could hear the soldiers splitting up to search the ship. Two pairs of footsteps entered the cargo bay, and Yish froze in terror, trying not to breathe.

“So, you hear about how their covering all this up?” One soldier said from across the cargo bay, as the sounds of canisters being opened, rifled through, and closed echoed through the space above.

“No, I kinda wondered though. I mean we’ve got dozens of ships coming in by the day. It kinda made me wonder why none of them get missed.”

“Apparently they brought in a lot of old Imperial Intelligence operatives and veterans,” The first soldier replied. “and I heard they also have a full crew of face surgeons on the payroll.”

“Daaaaamn.” Soldier #2 said in an awed tone. “You mean they’re face-swapping?”

“Probably.” Soldier #1 said. “This isn’t just a 3D op though, they’re also using this as an opportunity to plant lots of operatives in just about every Republic faction. Most of the guys getting face surgery will just return home after the whole thing is over or get knocked as per protocol. But a few of the high-value targets we’re probably going to net over the next few days are going to be replaced with sleepers.”

“Wow.” Soldier #2 sounded truly impressed. “Whoever thought up this crazy scheme must be a genius.”

“Rumors say it was the Dark Council.” Soldier #1 offered. “I for one, believe it.”

“Yeah you’re telling me.” Soldier #2 said. “Sith are something else. I pegged one once.”

“Yeah right.”

“No I’m serious, this chick was hot man, you shoulda seen her. I’d have given my left nut to be her personal bodyguard.”

“What’d she look like?”

“Short dark hair, crazy purple makeup, crazy orange eyes, and a body like nothing you’ve ever seen outside of the Nar Shadda Red Light district.”

“You get her name?” The other soldier laughed.

“No, but she wouldn’t shut up about how her master was the Emperor’s Wrath, well not until I filled her mouth with something other than empty bragging.” The two men laughed heartily.

“Seriously though, can you believe that? I mean everyone knows that’s just a bedtime story.”

“You never know with Sith man,” came the neutral reply. “I’ve seen some of the stuff they do, I never dismiss anything people claim about them without solid evidence.”

“Fair point I guess.”

“Hey guys,” a new voice chimed in, coming from the cargo bay entrance, “you done in here?”

“Yeah man just give us a sec, we’ll catch up.” The two men waited until the sound of the third soldier leaving was all but gone before they continued speaking.

“So is any that stuff you were saying really true? You know, about the face-swapping and whatever.”

“How else do you think they’re covering up a secret this big? Besides, it’s what Shyrel told me is happening.”

“Shyrel is hot.”

“I can hook you up. Apparently Jaxer and her aren’t getting along so well behind closed doors if you know what I mean.”

“Normally I might not because she’s somebody else’s girl, but Jaxer’s an asshole.”

“Everybody knows he’s only here because he blew the Colonel, but I heard the Colonel is getting transferred, and a lot of the guys feel the same way as you and me.”

“Yeah man, put in a good word for me with Shyrel. If you do I’ll record the whole thing, put it on the holonet, and send you the link.” The other soldier chuckled.

“No problem, much obliged.” And the two men laughed.

Their laughs died in their throats when, as one, Kayle and Yish sprang out of the hidden smuggling compartment and ignited their lightsabers. The first soldier cocked his gun, but Kayle Force-pushed him against the wall of the cargo bay, stunning him. The second soldier tried to activate his comm link, but Yish snatched it out of his hand with the Force, threw it to the ground, and crushed it underneath her foot. The soldier opened fire, but Yish deflected her opponent’s blaster bolts into the walls before moving in and striking his helmetless head on the temple with the pommel of her lightsaber, causing the man to slump to the ground, unconscious.

“Much better.” Yish said, kicking the passed out man. “If I had to listen to their brainless chatter for one more microsecond-”

“Come on,” Kayle interrupted. “let’s strip them down. Their comrades are waiting on them, any longer and they might come looking.” Yish thought about the plan for a moment while Kayle began removing his soldier’s armor.

“I don’t know.” She said hesitantly. “I think these disguises might be more trouble than they’re worth.”

“All they have to do is get us to a place where we can disappear or onto a shuttle where we’re not outnumbered.” Kayle supplied. “Once we reach that point we hide them and figure out what our next move is.” Yish sighed and began stripping her soldier down too.

“Ok, but we’re going to have to tie these guys up so they don’t blow our cover.”

Kayle smiled, flourishing several strips of plastic he’d pulled from a nearby container.

“Waaay ahead of you.”

In a few minutes, two Imperial soldiers disembarked from the Rider. They walked side by side down the ramp, and scanned the hanger as if looking for someone.

“Geris! Hygal!” Barked an officer from across the hanger. “Move it soldiers!” The two double-timed over to where the officer was standing. “What were you two doing in there? Going to town on the crew?”

“We didn’t find any crewmen sir.” Kayle said, doing his best to impersonate the voice of one of the men he and Yish had, fortunately, spent the last few minutes listening to. “That’s a damn shame.” The officer said, his lieutenant stars gleaming in the sterile light of the hanger. “Because I’m sure you boys could have used a good excuse to be standing around WASTING TIME!” The two Jedi stood stock still at attention, thanking the Force for the armor hiding not just their identities, but their nervousness.

“Double-time it back to the barracks gentlemen.” The lieutenant ordered. “Our shift is over. Get six hours of shuteye and be bright and bushy-tailed tomorrow, because we’ll have a lot more to do, I guarantee it.” Kayle and Yish saluted and marched off in the direction of the hanger exit.

“That was close.” Yish whispered.

“Good thing that second guy was your height.” Kayle commented. “He might have noticed if one of his soldiers shrank a few inches in the space of a few minutes.”

“His armor’s pretty spacey though.” Yish complained. “I’m having a hard time not looking like a skeleton in this.”

“Thank the Force for the undersuit too,” Kayle added. “Without that he would have noticed the color of your neck.” He thought for a moment. “I’m starting to realize this plan might have been a little hasty.”

“Oh really?” Yish said sarcastically. “And what clued you into that genius?” Kayle didn’t reply as a squad of troopers, probably the next shift, marched past them.

“Issues aside we’re committed now.” Kayle said softly. “We need to get to another hanger and commandeer a shuttle.”

“How do we do that without arousing suspicion?” Yish asked quietly.

“We say we were dispatched to another ship in the fleet.”

“For what?”

“Doesn’t matter. We’re just grunts, we do what we’re told.”

“You think that’ll really fly?”

“If we’re stopped and questioned, it’s possible.”

“You mean to tell me your plan is to just march into another hanger, find a shuttle, board it, and take off?”

“You got a better idea?”

“Anything would be better than that!”

“As long as we look like we know what we’re doing it should be fine.”

“Fine? Fine? None of this is fine!” Yish hissed. “We’re trapped on an Imperial warship surrounded by a fleet composed of almost the entirety of the Imperial Navy, dressed as Imperial troopers. None of this is fine!”

“Get a hold of yourself,” Kayle whispered back. “We need to pull this off now before our cover is blown, just follow my lead.”

The two walked down hallways and rode lifts, keeping an eye out for any sign of a hanger or shuttle port. Eventually, they realized that this tactic was getting them nowhere, and they ducked into a storage closet to remove their oppressive helmets and consider their options.

“So…the shuttle plan isn’t going to work.” Kayle admitted.

“What made you think it would?” Yish asked. “Even if we could find another hanger bay there’s no guarantee your bluff would have kept our cover intact!”

“I don’t hear you offering any better ideas.” Kayle shot back. Yish appeared thoughtful for a moment, before her face lit up.

“The escape pods!”

“Oh Force no.” Kayle groaned.

“You got any better ideas?” Yish replied mockingly.

“No.” He admitted grudgingly.

“If we can find some escape pods, I can rig it to make it look like the pod malfunctioned so they won’t bother scanning.”

“But the success of that plan relies entirely on them not scanning the pod for lifesigns.” Kayle pointed out. “At least with my plan we’re inconspicuous once we’re off the ship.”

“But we can fool the sensors,” Yish insisted. “I can set up an interference field with the pods electronics and make it look like it’s caused by the malfunction.”

“Wait you can actually do that?” Kayle asked incredulously.

“Yeah, I can.” Yish said, sounding offended as she donned her helmet and prepared to return to the corridor.

“No I didn’t mean you specifically I just didn’t know that was possible.” Kayle tried to explain himself, but Yish was already moving out of their hiding place.

A few minutes later, the two Jedi encountered a set of escape pods, located the most out-of-the-way one, and Yish went to work while Kayle kept watch, trying hard to look inconspicuous. After a few nerve-wracking minutes with no interruptions, Yish reported success.

“It’s done.” She said, standing up. “Come on, get inside. We need to get moving.” Kayle followed her into the pod and the door shut firmly behind them.

“Are you really sure about this Yish?” Kayle asked as he stowed their Jedi robes in a storage compartment while the Twi’lek fiddled with the pods various electronic systems to set up the interference field.

“It’ll work, trust me.” She assured him, finishing her alterations and launching the pod.

___________

Ensign Demrin Nyle noticed the blinking alert that indicated the launching of escape pod D0034R792. Confused and intrigued, he carefully inspected the console, and then checked the logs. The system had recorded a malfunction that had caused the pod to randomly eject. The malfunction appeared to have been something engineering should have picked up on days ago. Shaking his head at the apparent laziness of the engineers, Nyle turned back to his scans of the outer system. There were more important things he needed to be focusing on, like tracking incoming vessels from other systems, a random glitch in an escape pod’s launch systems was not something he had time for.

___________

The escape pod hit the atmosphere at an angle, and Kayle could tell they were going to land on the planet’s night side by the curving angle of approach the planet’s gravity had locked them into. Yish had tried not to use the pod’s steerage systems so as to avoid attracting any attention, and it meant they had barely managed to enter the planet’s gravity well at all. Frankly, Kayle was just thankful they hadn’t rocketed past Alderaan and on out into space. Dying of oxygen deprivation in a failing escape pod left drifting in the void would have been the nicest result of that particular series of events.

As it was the two Padawans found themselves plummeting through Alderaan’s atmosphere at a pace that made them nervous, and made the pod itself rumble and shake in a way that did nothing to ease their minds. When they finally broke through the cloud cover and saw that they were plummeting towards a rather rocky mountain range, their nervousness became burgeoning panic.

“Hit the engines!” Kayle screamed. “We’re going to crash!”

Yish obeyed, activating the engines in reverse in an attempt to slow their fall, while she also struggled to steer the pod away from the many rock faces and clusters of boulders that were rushing up to meet them at terminal velocity. As they got closer, she could see a large grassy area near a power dam with a trail running through it. She aimed at the makeshift runway and threw the last of the pod’s rapidly draining power into increasing the reverse thrust from the engines.

“Hang on!” She shouted as the ground rushed up to meet them. The pod made groundfall with a stunning crash that would have flung the two Jedi inside around like pinballs had they not braced themselves against the bulkheads. The pod itself shook violently while the thunderous cacophony of screeching metal and soil being torn up deafened the pod’s occupants, and when the noise and movement finally stopped, neither of them moved for a long while. They simply sat there, panting and trying recover from the shock of the rough landing. After a long while, Kayle moved.

“Yish, you alright?” His voice was filled with concern. Yish took stock of her injuries.

“Yeah, I’m ok, just a few cuts and bruises, you?”

“I’m ok too.” He said. “My one knee hurts like hell and my arms are a bit battered but I think I’m good.” Yish winced as she moved her wrist and a bolt of pain flew up her arm. Grateful for the darkness that shrouded her facial expression from Kayle, she banished the pain from her mind and began to crawl out of the smashed cockpit window, Kayle followed suit. She helped him to his feet and winced again as her wrist protested. Unfortunately, this time the moonlight let Kayle see.

“Dammit you’re hurt aren’t you.” He said accusingly.

“No, I’m fine it’s just a little sprain.” She insisted.

“Where?” Kayle said, his voice holding an equally insistent authority that she found herself reluctantly submitting to. She held out her wrist and he took it in his hands, feeling for any sign of a broken bone or damaged tissue. She couldn’t help but hiss when he triggered another flash of agony. “Sorry.” He apologized. “It’s your offhand so at least you can still kinda wield a weapon. But we should get to work on it as soon as possible.” He looked around, “After we find a safe place to camp that is.”

After a few minutes of exploration, the two discovered a second trail leading off of the first. The path lead up a hill to the entrance to an old mine that had a fading Dark Side signature. After a walking through it for a few moments it wasn’t that hard to figure out why.

The rotting corpses of a whole hive’s worth of Killiks lay strewn about. The vast majority of them were in such a state of decay that they weren’t even really decaying much anymore. They were little more than crumbling carapaces with the obvious remnants of lightsaber wounds on them. Putting two and two together, Kayle realized that they were in an old Killik nest that had obviously been purged at some point in the years past. By the faint echo of the Dark Side hanging over everything, the exterminator had likely been a Sith.

When they finally reached a large, open area with platforms against the far wall, Kayle left Yish to work on healing her sprained wrist through the Force, while he went to go and find firewood and hopefully something more comfortable than rock and soil to sleep on.

He returned almost an hour later with an armful of firewood, but sadly no suitable bedding material. The Padawans decided to ball up their cloaks, which they had recovered from the wreck of the pod, and use them as pillows while making do with solid earth for a mattress. In a little while they had a nice, comfortable fire going, and had chosen their individual sleeping spots.

“Kayle?” Yish asked softly.

“Yeah?” He replied.

“What are we going to do tomorrow?” Kayle briefly smiled at the question, but his expression quickly faded to become one of morose contemplation.

“I don’t know Yish.” He said honestly. “We’re lost on an Imperial-occupied planet with no hope of rescue, right in the middle of a major Imperial operation by the looks of things, with Thul and the Empire likely looking for us.”

“When you say it like that…” Yish trailed off as the gravity of the situation fell on her too.

For a moment the two Jedi lay there in silence, then Yish spoke up again.

“We have to find Master Neeman.”

Kayle nearly exploded.

“Now Yish? Right now? We’re going to be lucky if we get out of this alive, let alone find and rescue Master Neeman!” The hurt and offended look on her face was there for a moment before it changed to anger.

“If there’s anyone on this entire world who is our best hope for getting out of this alive its Master Neeman!” She shouted, letting her voice get quieter as she continued. “He’ll know what to do, he always knows what to do.” Embarrassment flashed across Kayle’s face when he realized she was right.

“Sorry.” He apologized. “I shouldn’t have snapped at you like that.”

“It’s ok.” Yish said, looking a little ashamed as well. “My reaction wasn’t very Jedi-like either.” Once more the two fell into silence.

“He’s ok Yish.” Kayle said reassuringly. “If he was gone you would feel it, I’m sure I would too.”

“Yeah, but there’s no telling what suffering he’s enduring.” Yish said mournfully. “He may be a powerful and experienced Jedi, but he’s still an old man.”

“I know.” Kayle said, sounding unusually confident and reassuring. “But you’re the result of his training, and if that’s any indication, he’ll be just fine.” He cracked a smile, but it seemed forced. “If anything, I’m sure he’ll be the one to rescue us.” Yish didn’t reply for a long while, then she looked up at him and smiled back.

“You’re right.” She said. “We’ll see him soon, maybe even tomorrow.”

“But that still leaves the question,” Kayle said, “what do we do tomorrow?” Yish seemed to think about it for several minutes before offering a suggestion.

“I say we scout the area, if we can find any noble houses nearby that should allow us to pinpoint our location really easily. From there we can figure out how to get to a noble house allied with Organa, and from there we can maybe muster some support or at least information on where Master Neeman is.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Kayle replied. “Let’s get some rest so we’re wide awake when we’re out an about. Wouldn’t want a Thul patrol sneaking up on us because we’re all bleary-eyed.”

“Agreed.” Yish said, rolling over. “G’night Kayle.”

“Night Yish.”