| abstract
| - At first glance, Bakura was as tranquil on the surface as it was in orbit. The world was temperate, filled with lush forests and mostly calm seas. Its largely Human inhabitants were peaceable, undisturbed by the raging wars between the New Republic and the remnants of the Galactic Empire. And yet, there was something faintly unsettled inside the crowded streets of its capital city, Salis D’aar. As he completed his morning meditations, Akleyn Kraen could sense it, could sense that some level of disturbance in the overall stream of the consciousness of the planet. It was subtle, hidden, but the bitter taint of anger was still palpable, still present. And then it was gone, swept away amidst a multitude of other perceptions carried through the Force. With time and discipline, Akleyn would learn to control them, to focus his attention on what he sought, but he at twenty-eight, he was still relatively young. He still had much to learn. Akleyn opened his clear blue eyes and exhaled the breath he had been holding, trying to expel the worry and concern instigated in him upon sensing that trace of malice along with it, shaking away any thoughts of it. Bakura was still at peace, as far as he knew, so there was no sense in becoming overly alarmed. His mind’s eye hadn’t alerted him to a sense of immediacy or open danger and on a world that had been settled as long as Bakura had, there was likely to be simmering resentment over some triviality. He did his best to put it out of his mind, rising from the couch where he’d been sitting. Enough meditation for one day, he figured. He was here with his parents, Force-users in their own rights, and they were visiting his mother’s family, not trying to solve domestic problems. His Force senses alerted him to the approach of his parents just as they walked up the gazebo where he’d been sitting. “Good morning, son,” his father, Sarth Kraen, greeted him affably. “You’re up early.” Of average height for a human, with black hair and tanned skin, Sarth Kraen bore little resemblance to his wife, Cassi. It was from Sarth, a noted engineer, that Akleyn had gotten his academic skills and high memory retention rate. However, Akleyn’s looks were from the blond-haired blue-eyed Cassi’s side of the family, as was his concern for other beings. The combination had led him to pursue a career in medicine, and he was a rising star at the busy medcenter on their homeworld of Yanibar. Still, sometimes it was nice to escape the bustle and endless stream of patients, and meeting his extended family for the first time was pleasant enough. “I thought this might be a good place to meditate,” Akleyn replied. “It’s very peaceful.” “Indeed,” Cassi said, taking in their surroundings. “You picked a good place for it.” In the years since Cassi had left Bakura and her parents behind, her father, Larik Trealus, had done quite well for himself. A devoted naturalist as well as a farmer, Larik had made sure to set aside a sizable area of his land holdings to a verdant forest complete with streams, springs, and a small waterfall. It was in a gazebo built by the waterfall that Akleyn had chosen as his location to meditate. Enclosed by deciduous trees that provided a leafy green ceiling to the locale, the gazebo was also shaded by them, but still retained an unobstructed view of the nearby waterfall cascading down a rock shelf and the pool that it fed. The sound of the flowing water combined with birdsong and the rustling of the tree branches in the morning breeze blended into a natural harmony free from machinery or other artificial constructs. The weather had been cooperative, with a new high pressure front sweeping away the gray rainclouds of earlier that week that had sent a deluge of rain. The sun was shining and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. It was little wonder that Akleyn had found the idyllic getaway so appealing. “Have you eaten yet?” Sarth asked. “I did,” Akleyn replied. “Grandmother made me breakfast; I ate with Grandfather Larik. Does he always get up that early?” “As long as I can remember, he has,” Cassi replied. “When I was a little girl, he used to tell me that nothing got done by wasting time.” “It certainly worked for him,” Akleyn replied. “His farm is very impressive, and yet very beautiful.” “That’s something he’s always strived for,” Cassi said. “He and my mother both.” “We didn’t interrupt you, did we?” Sarth broke in. “It didn’t look like you were meditating.” “No,” Akleyn said. “I just finished. Were you looking for me?” “No, we knew where to find you,” Cassi replied, “but we did want to know if you were coming into Salis D’aar with us. Father’s been invited to a reception at the Old Hemei Gardens with Prime Minister Captison, and he’s invited us along.” Akleyn shrugged. “Sure,” he said. “I didn’t have much else planned. Maybe go swimming later.” “Don’t worry, there’ll be plenty of time for that,” Sarth told him. “We’ve got as long as we want on Bakura.” “Really?” Cassi asked. “Don’t you have projects on Yanibar you have to work on?” “I do,” Sarth replied. “But, seeing you and Akleyn enjoying yourself here is more important to me than a few arbitrary deadlines.” “Be careful,” Cassi teased. “I don’t think your customers would appreciate their deadlines being called arbitrary.” Sarth waved off the remark. “I’m sure they’d understand once they saw the smile that’s been on your face since we’ve landed.” “Thanks, dear,” Cassi replied, squeezing his shoulder affectionately. “Well, shall we?” Sarth asked. Cassi nodded, and slipped her arm inside Sarth’s as they headed back towards the Trealus estate, followed by Akleyn. Twenty minutes later, they were changed into more formal clothing and piled inside a gleaming white speeder, heading for the tall towers of Salis D’aar along a dusty dirt speeder track. “Good thing this speeder cabin is fully enclosed,” Akleyn said. “Else all our clothes and hair would be all mussed. Especially Mom’s.” He shot a quick glance over to where his mother was dressed for the occasion, her hair braided and curled around her head and resplendent in a loose flowing coral-colored trevella cloth dress. In response, she smiled as she recalled a distant memory. “When we were growing up, we only had one speeder,” she said. “No enclosed compartment, and a windscreen that was far too short. The wind used to blow our hair and toss dust all over us by the time we’d been driving for more than a few minutes.” “Not that your mother minded,” put in Lanik Trealus from the front, the aged farmer’s Basic colored by a thick Bakuran accent. “When she was a little girl, she loved to sit in the front and let her hair blow in the wind. She’d have this enormous grin on her face. It was all her mother and I could do to keep her seated.” “That I did,” Cassi admitted. “Of course, now, the enclosed compartment is much more convenient.” “Well, if we’re going to town, it makes sense to use the nice passenger speeder,” Lanik added. “I wouldn’t take you all to Old Hemei Gardens in the produce truck.” “I remember the days when that was all we had,” Lanik’s wife, Astara Trealus, put in. “Quite often, I rode in the back with the sacks of namana fruit. That was before you kids were around. Now, look at you.” “We’re all grown up,” Cassi agreed. “It’s been a long time.” “And Lanik has the gray hair to show it,” Astara replied. “So does Dad,” Akleyn added. “Only a very small amount,” Sarth replied indignantly. “Right,” Akleyn retorted. “And you’re only fifty-five.” “You make that sound like it’s one foot in the grave,” Sarth said. “It is over half of the average life expectancy of a Human male on Yanibar,” Akleyn commented mildly. “Well, then it’s a good thing that my talented son is a genius physician who will be happy to care for his father in his later years,” Cassi said, though she herself had considerable skill in the use of the Force for healing. However, the Force was not a subject that was up for discussion when around the Trealuses, or on Bakura in general. While Cassi’s parents weren’t followers of the Cosmic Balance religion, which held that the powers of the Jedi and other Force-users caused others to suffer in order to create balance, most other Bakurans were. Furthermore, the pervasive tenets of the Cosmic Balance had left Bakurans with a decided mistrust of Jedi and outsiders. An attack on the planet in the Clone Wars by Count Dooku had further reinforced that stigma. Despite its seemingly open appearance, Bakura had long held several prejudices, including ones against Jedi, outsiders, aliens, and droids. The Trealuses had needed serious convincing from Cassi before they truly accepted Sarth, who had lots of experience working with droids, as a member of the family. The fact that they hadn’t been invited to their daughter’s hastily planned and rustic wedding on Yanibar had added to that mistrust, to be sure, but they were one of the more accepting people Sarth and Cassi had met on Bakura. “You’re not that young, Akleyn Kraen,” Astara reproved mildly. “When both your father and your grandfather were your age, they were both gainfully employed and happily married.” “I’m gainfully employed,” Akleyn replied. “I’m an intern at the Yanibar Medcenter.” “And still single,” Astara added pointedly. Akleyn rolled his eyes. “Don’t worry, Grandmother,” he said. “The right woman is out there somewhere. I just haven’t found her yet, and I’m not in a hurry.” “Don’t push him, Mother,” Cassi added. “We don’t want to make him feel rushed.” “Of course not,” Astara replied. “But I would like to see grandchildren eventually.” Akleyn’s face colored bright red and he was momentarily at a loss for words. Seeing the look on her son’s face, Cassi covered for him. “No fear about that,” she said. “With Bakuran medical science as advanced as it is, you could live to be 130 and still be active. I think Akleyn can find that right woman in the next seventy years or so.” “I’d hope so,” Lanik commented wryly. “Thanks, Granddad,” Akleyn said, shaking his head as he took the ribbing in good nature. Soon enough, the Trealus speeder arrived to their destination, the majestic Old Hemei Gardens. Lanik pulled the vehicle up along the edge of a curved driveway and stepped out, allowing a uniformed valet to take the vehicle off to a designated parking location. The others exited the speeder as well, taking in the sights. In between the rows of carefully sculpted shrubberies and bubbling fountains, dozens of Bakura’s elite were mingling and socializing. The bright oranges, whites, blues, and yellows of their clothing stood out against the background of dazzling white stone and green foliage of the gardens. The heady scent of namana mixed with a dozen other floral fragrances, leaving a potent aroma wafting across the whole area. All in all, the gala looked, smelled, and sounded like high society at its finest. “Come dear,” Lanik said jovially. “Let’s make our appearance.” Astara looped her arm inside his, assumed a stately expression, and together they walked into the press. Behind them, Sarth, Cassi, and Akleyn hung back somewhat. Suddenly uncomfortable in his high-collared jacket, Akleyn tugged at his collar. “You know, suddenly, I’m not feeling that well,” he said. Cassi gave him a bemused look. “Are you sure?” she said. “Not intimidated by high society, are you?” “No,” Akleyn shot back. “Well, maybe just a little.” “That makes two of us,” Cassi admitted. “Come now,” Sarth said. “It can’t be that bad. Be optimistic.” “And after we’re optimistic?” Akleyn asked. “Then find the refreshment pavilion and stay there. It’s hard to be engaged in unwanted conversation if you’re too busy sipping punch and snacking,” Sarth replied with a sly grin. Cassi shook her head, causing the ringlets of blond hair at the back of her head to sway lightly with the motion. “You do that at almost every formal occasion we go to,” she said. Sarth made no immediate reply, but simply favored her with a smile. “Shall we?” he asked, offering his arm to Cassi. She nodded and took his arm. Akleyn watched his parents also disappear into the throng of socialites, then shook his head and plunged into the crowd also. Less than half an hour later, Akleyn had managed to run the gauntlet to arrive at the refreshment pavilion, a gleaming white structure placed on an elevated dais. As he collected a small plate of namana fruit candy, warra nuts, and a glass of the red-pink colored punch served out of a crystal bowl large enough for him to sit in, Akleyn looked over and saw his father similarly standing nearby, his attention fully pre-occupied on the snacks he’d gathered. With a smile on his face, the younger Kraen quickly made his way over to his father. “Find the refreshments, Dad?” Akleyn asked. “I did,” Sarth affirmed even as he popped another handful of nuts into his mouth. “As did you.” “Indeed,” Akleyn said. Spying a couple of younger-looking Bakurans in foppish attire headed in their direction, he quickly took a larger than necessary gulp of the punch. The action was not lost on the approaching nobles, who gave him a subtle look of disdain at his less-than-refined manners and turned away. “Nice save,” Sarth commented, “but why avoid so many people? You’re normally more comfortable at large gatherings.” “Normally, I’m at home, with at least a few people I know,” Akleyn replied, fidgeting some more. “And normally, everyone isn’t interested in flaunting their wealth and power, or their connections.” Sarth gave Akleyn an intrigued look. “Really?” Sarth said. “I’m sure I’ve seen plenty of examples of that on Yanibar.” “True,” Akleyn admitted. “But not to this degree. I mean, Dad, there was this one girl who talked to me for five minutes about how her mother was the best dance instructor on all of Bakura and how her investor father had married her after seeing her dance. Then she went on and on about how she’d won four competitions and was regarded as having the best Alderaanian waltz in all of Salis D’aar.” “So, did you ask her to dance?” Sarth asked. “They have live musicians and a dance floor over on the other side of the gardens.” “I think you’re missing the point,” Akleyn said, a pained expression on his face. “I don’t think I could have survived another five minutes in her presence. She was . . . stifling. And her dress was so bright it was painful to look at and she wouldn’t let go of my hand.” “I suppose,” Sarth replied diplomatically. “Was she tall, with short red hair down to her neck, narrow-set green eyes?” “Maybe,” Akleyn said suspiciously. “Why?” “And was she wearing this really bright yellow dress with one shoulder strap?” Sarth asked. “How did you know that?” Akleyn asked, shooting a suspicious glance over to his father. “Well, because I just saw her and I think she’s heading this way,” Sarth answered. “If I was to guess as to her purpose, I think she might be looking for you.” “Please tell me that’s a joke,” Akleyn said, a hint of desperation creeping into his voice. “Please, please tell me that’s a joke.” “Not at all,” Sarth told him. “I take it that means you don’t want to introduce me?” “Not exactly,” Akleyn said. “If you’ll excuse me, I think I need to visit the ‘fresher. She won’t dare follow me in there.” Having spotted the offending personage and her equally offending brilliant yellow garb, Akleyn made sure that he slipped away from the refreshment pavilion and headed in the opposite direction. He navigated through the knots of people, but out of the corner of his eye, saw that his pursuer was persistently continuing to follow him. He groaned under his breath, when suddenly, a voice was heard over the public address system. “Ladies and gentlemen, if I could have your attention please,” a male voice said. “We are pleased to count the Prime Minister of Bakura, Lady Gaeriel Captison herself among our guests. If you would please give her your attention for a few brief minutes while she makes some remarks.” Akleyn turned and saw that on the other end of the gardens there was another elevated platform festooned with gauzy streamers and trellis-like structures with a small podium. As a polite smattering of applause rippled through the assembled guests of gala, he made out the small form of the Prime Minister making her way to the podium, resplendent in a white dress. However, while most of the guests had ceased their conversations and were now looking at her, he spied his tenacious and unwanted acquaintance still making her way towards him. A somewhat panicked light in his eyes, Akleyn casually turned and began making his way away from her even as the Prime Minister began thanking everyone for coming and the sponsors for putting on the gala. Keeping his head partially turned to one side so he could keep a surreptitious eye on his nemesis, Akleyn ducked through a row of namana trees, brushing aside a leafy branch laden with fiery orange buds, trying to elude her. In the process, his attention was less than fully focused on the path in front of him, causing him to run straight into an individual who had been standing with their back to the row of trees. Akleyn immediately realized his error, but not before the impact knocked the woman who had been standing there forward a step, spilling the punch out of the glass she’d been holding. Thankfully, the red liquid landed on the ground and not on her blue-gray outfit. “I’m so sorry,” Akleyn stammered, cursing his clumsiness inwardly. Had he been a bit more prescient, he could have used his Force senses to guide his path. He’d been foolish, letting the irritating young aristocrat distract him. The woman he’d nearly plowed over recovered her balance and turned around. At first, she had a surprised look on her face, but as she saw Akleyn’s look of horror and apology, she gave him a smile that said she wasn’t offended, just startled. “Don’t worry about it,” she said. “I just wasn’t expecting someone to come through the trees like that.” “Yes, I’m very sorry about that,” Akleyn said, tossing a glance over his shoulder to see if she had gained on him. “Looking for someone?” the other woman asked. In between glancing around for the dancer, Akleyn noted her knee-length cap-sleeved dress. Its relative simplicity was a welcome relief from the garish finery most of the guests were wearing. “No, not exactly,” Akleyn replied distractedly. The woman shrugged. “Well, it’s none of my business. Enjoy . . . whatever it is you’re doing.” “Force willing,” Akleyn muttered, then remembered where he was. “Er, I mean, I’ll certainly try.” He swore under his breath. Two stumbles in less than a minute. He was never coming to this planet again. “Interesting,” the woman said with a curious look on her face. “Not many offworlders will acknowledge the Force on Bakura.” “It’s an . . . offworld expression,” Akleyn said, trying to cover his verbal slip. “I know,” the woman replied mildly. There was a pause in the conversation, which Akleyn used to try and look for the approach of the self-absorbed dancer who seemed intent on striking up another torturous conversation with him. “Oh, hello, Akleyn! Fancy running into you again,” he heard an all-too-familiar bubbly voice from his other side. Akleyn didn’t even have to look to know who it was, but he did anyway. Sure enough, the redheaded dancer in the painfully yellow dress was standing beside him with a big smile and one hand slowly reaching for his arm. He suddenly had the urge to cough, giving him an excuse to pull that hand away to cover his mouth. “Hi, uh . . . Selia, right?” Akleyn replied nervously, seeking a means of escape. “That’s it!” Selia gushed excitedly, bubbling up with an irritating giggle. “I’m impressed; you remembered my name.” Akleyn briefly considered telling her that with his memory retention rate, he couldn’t forget her name if he wanted to—and he did—but he figured the point would be lost on her. “Aren’t you going to introduce me?” interjected the other woman, who had been observing their exchange the whole time. Both Akleyn and Selia turned to regard her with surprise, as neither had realized she was still paying them any attention. Akleyn recovered first. “Uh, sure . . . this is Selia,” he said, realizing that he didn’t know the other woman’s name and unsure why she had interrupted like that. “And Selia, this is . . .” He trailed off, hoping the other woman would finish for him and not leave him standing there looking like an idiot, giving Selia the impression that he’d remembered her name and not the other woman’s. That was the last thing he needed. “Callie,” the other woman said, offering her hand to Selia. “Do you know Akleyn?” “Oh yes, very well,” Selia replied, her voice losing some of its effusiveness as she tentatively took Callie’s hand. “Actually . . .” Akleyn broke in, wondering what the kriff was happening to this conversation. “That’s funny,” Callie told her coolly, interrupting Akleyn before he could clarify. “He didn’t mention you to me on the way here. Must have slipped his mind. He’ll have to tell me more about you later.” “Uh . . . sure,” Akleyn said, still utterly perplexed. Callie’s words did have one pleasant side effect though. As soon as she said them, the smile dropped off of Selia’s face completely. In fact, her features practically froze as she took in what Callie had said. The implied rejection was understood fully, as was the dismissal in Callie’s tone. “I’m sure he will,” Selia said stiffly. Then, she turned and flounced off in a whirlwind of bruised feelings and garish yellow skirt. “Thank you,” Akleyn whispered, having finally figured out what Callie had just done. “I think you just saved my life.” “You’re welcome,” Callie replied. “I know her type well enough to see that you weren’t enjoying the experience.” “Definitely not,” Akleyn said. “I’ve been trying to avoid her.” “Well, if I know anything about possessive redheads, she could come back when you least expect it,” Callie told him. “In that case, I should probably make myself scarce. I don’t want to drag you into any more unpleasant encounters with Selia,” Akleyn said gratefully. “Thank you again for fending her off.” “You’re welcome,” Callie answered. Then the sound of a blaster and breaking glass caught their attention, dissolving their conversation. While Akleyn had been absorbed into his flight from Selia, Sarth had found Cassi talking to some old friends from her girlhood. He’d stood quietly by while she talked, until the Prime Minister had started her speech. Then he’d stood and watched while Lady Captison had addressed the group, thanking them for their attendance. Most of the guests similarly focused their attention on the speaker, but as she was concluding, Sarth noticed some commotion off to one side. He thought about mentioning it to Cassi, but a flash of instinct caused him to instead reach for her mind in the Force instead. Where? Sarth sensed her inquisitive reply. Yes, she affirmed mentally. I sense something’s wrong. A flash of urgency swept over both of their Force-enhanced perceptions, a sensation colored with splotches of pain and anger. No time! Cassi thought. Both of them immediately began making their way over towards the commotion as quickly as they could without running. Soon enough, the source of the disturbance became apparent to them. About a dozen people were climbing over the walls into the gardens and running towards the Prime Minister’s speaking platform. Sarth and Cassi saw that two security agents were already down. Even as they approached, a dozen more security officers closed in on the intruders, who in response, broke into a full sprint towards the Prime Minister’s platform, screaming. “Down with the imbalanced one! Down with the Jedi lover!” the intruders shouted as they ran through the crowd, knocking over tables and pushing aside bystanders. Mass chaos ensued as security agents swarmed the complex, trying to isolate, corral, and subdue the intruders. The guests, now fully aware of the disruption, milled about confusedly. Some were starting to panic. Cassi suddenly saw one of them rear back and lob something towards the Prime Minister’s platform. Her senses and motions, now fully enhanced by the Force, allowed her to see the event with crystal-clear clarity, unfolding in slow motion. It appeared to be grenade or bomb of some type. A directed mental exertion swept up a flower vase from a nearby table, pulling it up into the air on a collision course with the object. When they collided, the vase shattered, but the impact was enough to detonate the grenade in a cloud of noxious green vapor. Meanwhile, Sarth had not been idle after watching two burly ruffians knock down another security agent who’d been tracking another intruder. One of them seized the agent’s blaster and held it up triumphantly. Fearing that casualties would start mounting, Sarth dashed through a row of namana trees as fast as he could, trying to concentrate on the Force to a point where he could use it for telekinesis. The weapon discharged as the intruder fired it, sending a scarlet bolt of energy into the air. A twinge of pain rippled up Sarth’s bad leg as he ran to intercept the man, a reminder of a torture session years ago that had required cybernetic implants for him to walk again. He’d feel that tomorrow. “Enough of that,” Sarth snapped at the intruder as he closed in. “It’s over.” “It’s not over until the Jedi-loving hag steps down and admits her imbalance!” roared his attacker. Sarth, however, had had quite enough. A quick flick of his wrist and a mental exertion sent one man flying back several meters into a table from a Force shove. He fell and didn’t get back up. Keeping his focus on telekinesis, Sarth snatched the other’s blaster and pointed it at the intruder. “No,” Sarth replied calmly. “It is over.” The man gaped at him, then realized what he had just witnessed. “Doom!” the man shouted wildly. “The Jedi are here! The bearers of imbalance have come to Bakura! They are here!” Sarth sighed at the melodramatic outburst, then switched the blaster over to stun and mercifully silenced the bellowing ruffian. He then pointed it at the man he’d Force-shoved, but that individual, having hit his head upon landing, remained unconscious on the ground. Just then, four uniformed security officers surrounded him, weapons at the ready. “Here,” Sarth said, turning the blaster around so the grip was pointed towards them. “I don’t want this. I was just trying to keep them from hurting anyone.” The security officers were silent, but they took the blaster and nodded. “Just stay put, sir,” one of them told him. “We have the situation under control.” “As you wish,” Sarth replied, holding his hands up slowly. “I don’t want any trouble.” Cassi made her way over to him as the security officers continued their lockdown, restraining all the intruders and carting them away. A veritable horde of uniforms had descended upon the Old Hemei Gardens, and even the most tenacious invaders soon found themselves outnumbered and cornered. “Well, that was interesting,” Sarth commented in a low voice. “Do you know who those guys were?” “I overheard someone call them the Equalizers,” Cassi replied in the same hushed tones. “They’re radical believers in the Cosmic Balance. Apparently, Prime Minister Captison isn’t very popular with them due to her tacit support for the New Republic and their Jedi.” “As evidenced by their little antics here,” Sarth noted. “Yes,” Cassi agreed. “We were just lucky that nobody got hurt.” “Speaking of that, good job with blocking the grenade,” Sarth said. “Poison bomb?” “I don’t think so,” Cassi said, shaking her head. “From what I heard, it’s apparently more like . . . paint.” “Paint?” Sarth echoed incredulously. “Several people got it splattered on them and they’re just fine,” Cassi said. “The medics were looking over them, but one of them swore up and down that it was just paint.” “Why in space would you go to all that effort to crash the Prime Minister’s party and get arrested just to throw paint?” Sarth wondered aloud. “I have no idea,” Cassi told him. “I’m not exactly sure what all the Equalizers are known for.” “Are your parents okay?” Sarth asked. “I saw them over towards the edge of the gardens,” Cassi said. “They seemed to be okay, just startled a little. As soon as security lets us move around again, we can check on them, but they should be fine. Most of the disturbance was near the prime minister’s stand and they were well away.” “Good,” Sarth answered. “Now, where’s Akleyn?” Cassi gave no reply, but a worried look flashed across her face for a moment before she slipped a calm exterior over that emotion. However, both she and Sarth immediately began scanning the gardens both with their eyes and their mental senses, trying to locate their son. Akleyn’s first instinct when the blaster fired into the air was to duck down. He managed to suppress that urge, but couldn’t stop himself from flinching noticeably. Instead, he found cover behind a sizable planter holding a large, leafy fern as at least a dozen running hooligans began rampaging through the gardens. His eyes darted back and forth as he tried to assess the situation and keep out of the line of fire. He was no fighter—he had some skill in martial arts, but spent most of his time studying and learning. A second later, Callie joined him in ducking by the planter, though she seemed less disturbed about the attack than he did. “It’s all right,” she said. “They’re mostly unarmed, and Security will have them rounded up in no time.” “That’s good,” Akleyn replied. “If it’s all the same, though, I think I’ll stay here until they’re dealt with.” Her cerulean eyes sparkled with amusement. “Do you always do the prudent thing?” she asked him. “Most of the time,” Akleyn replied nonchalantly after thinking about it for a second. At any rate, Callie’s prediction proved to be true. Peeking out from behind the planter, Akleyn watched as the interlopers were hunted down one-by-one. If they had been intending to do harm to the Bakuran Prime Minister, they had utterly failed—Akleyn caught a glimpse of her being quickly ushered away, surrounded by uniformed security. He noticed that Callie had seen the same thing and a brief look of something—exasperation maybe?—had crossed her face as she saw the white-clad figure of Lady Captison recede into some secure zone. Interesting, Akleyn thought. However, not wanting to stare, he averted his eyes, instead watching the flight of the last intruder, about thirty meters away. The intruder was unarmed and running hard, trying to make it to the wall around the garden’s perimeter and escape. Three uniformed security guards were hard on his heels, though. The man jumped up onto the four-meter wall, scrabbling up a vine-covered trellis in his frantic attempt at escape. The guards were too slow to reach him, but Akleyn watched in horror as one of them drew a blaster and aimed it at the would-be escapee just as the man was nearly to the top. “No!” he shouted, but there was no way they could have heard him. The blue rings of a stun blast washed over the would-be escapee. As the incapacitating energy wreaked havoc with his neural pathways, he released his grip on the trellis and fell all the way to the ground. Akleyn burst out from behind the planter, running towards the falling man, but there was nothing he could do to stop the man’s uncontrolled descent. The unconscious intruder hit the ground with a thump and a snap—a snap that Akleyn knew just from watching the way the man landed one foot first was the sound of a breaking fibia. The guards weren’t oblivious to the sound, but they stood there seemingly unconcerned—a mistake that Akleyn knew could cost the intruder his life. “Did you hear that?” one of them said. “Sounded like he broke his leg.” “Yeah, definitely,” said the other. “That’ll show him.” To Akleyn’s medically-trained eye, though, he was already beginning to see blood seep through the man’s pant leg as a result of an open fracture which had sent a sharp bone splinter through his skin near the back of the knee. “Move!” Akleyn barked at the security officers who were standing there. “Out of the way!” Of course, it would have been too easy if they had just complied. Instead, one of them turned around casually to regard Akleyn with an indignant look. “And just who the kriff are you?” the guard spat back at him. “Get back down while we assess the threat.” Akleyn was undeterred and fixed his sternest these-are-the-doctor’s-orders look at the ignorant mass standing in uniform before him. “I’m a doctor,” he shot back with equal force, “and you’re apparently a rather poor security guard if you think that man is still a threat. Right now, he’s unconscious and, I might add, bleeding to death! Now, if you’ll kindly step out of the way, I can perhaps save his life, which I’m required by oath to do, despite the fact that you or someone else like you will most likely undo my work in a series of repeated interrogation sessions later.” “Hey, Jark, he is bleeding,” one of the other guards pointed out. “Yes,” Akleyn said. “Venal rupture often accompanies oblique fibular fractures of this nature, and if it’s one of the large veins, can cause rather severe bleeding. Now will you move?” The guard, not quite sure he understood all of what Akleyn was saying, nevertheless scowled and moved partially out of the way. Akleyn shouldered his way through and knelt down by the unconscious man’s side. “Blast,” he muttered. “No gloves, no sanitation, and I sure as hell haven’t washed my hands recently. Somebody call the medics already!” He swiftly rolled the man’s pant leg up to reveal a shard of bone poking through a sizable perforation just behind the knee. Dark red blood was gushing freely from the wound, evidence of venal rupture. Akleyn wasted no time on words, but instead took off his belt as quickly as he could manage and looped it around the man’s thigh. His makeshift tourniquet slowed the blood flow, but judging by the amount on the ground, the man had already lost at least a liter of blood—about twenty percent of his total. Not enough to kill him, but enough to weaken him pretty badly. Akleyn gingerly probed the wound with one hand, trying to see the extents of the damage. He was going to need to tie off that vein, for sure, and unfortunately, didn’t have even a single medical instrument on him. He made a mental note to, in the future, carry his pocket case with some simple instruments at all times. The Force gave him clarity, though, allowing him to sense where the vein was torn. Reaching into the gaping wound, he pinched two fingers around it, stemming the flow of blood even further. “I need a knife,” he said. “And either a needle or a medkit.” The guards looked at him as if he’d just asked for all the fortunes of the Hutt crime lords. Akleyn shot them an exasperated look. “Now!” he insisted. They still gave him a look of incomprehension. “We don’t have any of those,” the lead guard replied unhelpfully. Were one of his hands not keeping a ruptured peroneal vein pinched off, Akleyn would have stood up and given the man a profanity-laden piece of his mind. While normally it wasn’t in his nature to be so direct and confrontational, seeing somebody denied the treatment they needed was enough to make his blood boil. As it was, he could do little but glare. “Why do you want to help him?” a voice asked from the side. Akleyn turned to see Callie standing there with a slightly confused look on her face. “He’s part of a domestic terrorist group,” she told him. “And he’ll probably live anyway.” “I’m oath-bound to save him,” Akleyn replied flatly. “He’s a sentient being, just like the rest of us, and he needs my help. Now, does somebody around here have anything useful to contribute? I’ll take a piece of hot metal at this rate.” “Fine, I suppose,” Callie replied somewhat begrudgingly. “How hot?” “A few hundred degrees,” Akleyn said. “Hot enough to burn flesh. If there’s no medkit, I’ll have to cauterize. A bit traumatic, but effective.” “I can get you that,” Calli replied, then turned to one of the guards. “Draw your blaster.” “What?” the guard replied. “Do it,” she ordered him, tossing a metal fork on the ground. “And shoot the end of that a couple times while you’re at it.” “I see what she’s going for,” the lead guard added. “Do it, Tazar.” Tazar complied, blasting the end of the fork twice. The tines were virtually obliterated, but there was enough of it left for Akleyn to hold onto. The end that had been blasted was glowing red hot and Akleyn was reminded of all the laws of heat conduction along a metal surface. Callie had thought of that, though. Tearing off a part of her skirt hem, she wrapped the crude implement in the fabric, providing some level of insulation. Picking it up, she handed it to Akleyn. “Thank you,” he said. Applying the heated metal to the vein, Akleyn watched as the heat seared the end of the blood vessel. The rank odor of burning flesh affronted his nostrils, but it wasn’t the first time he’d experienced that particular odor. In short order, the vein was—albeit crudely—closed off. Were he in a hospital, Akleyn would have re-set the bone, knit back the muscle, and closed up the wound after disinfecting everything, but he didn’t have that option right now. Instead, he converted a cloth table napkin doused in alcohol as a disinfectant into a bandage that would hopefully keep the bone in place. “He needs to keep that leg immobilized,” Akleyn told the guards. “When he wakes up, keep him from moving.” “Understood,” the lead guard said. All right, my friend, Akleyn thought. I have one final gift for you. Closing off the world around him, Akleyn centered his mental focus on the Force, shutting away everyone and everything else. There was just him, the Force, and the injured man. A wave of healing energy rushed through him, suffusing his mind with the heady vigor that clarity of mind and a renewed connection to the Force brought. Laying one hand on the wound, he channeled that energy down his arm and into the wound. The Force’s influence began its work, encouraging cellular replication and speeding coagulation. Akleyn’s mind sensed the platelets doing their work to seal off the injury even as he directed a part of the steady stream of Force energy into sending calming waves along the man’s nociceptors, stemming the pain. Lastly, he sent a tendril of Force energy into the man’s mind, delving into the complex neurochemistry of the brain. A few minor biochemical tweaks and the man would stay unconscious long enough for him to receive proper medical treatment. Akleyn didn’t want his work undone by any thrashing about, and application of his mental sedative would help with that. It wasn’t something he needed to use often, but Akleyn had spent many years honing his healing talents, to the point where he could close a minor wound almost at will. Sealing blood vessels and mending broken bones with the Force was still a work in progress, though, one made more difficult by a lack of opportunities to practice. As such, Akleyn refused to even try such an endeavor unless there was no other option, for fear he might cause more harm than good. Thankfully, in this case, other options had been available. “There,” Akleyn said. “He should be out until your medics can get to him.” “Okay, thanks,” one of the guards said in a more subdued tone. Akleyn gave them a curt nod, then, noting a group of red-vested medics approaching, figured his work was done. He walked away from the scene, all too aware that his hands and jacket were stained with blood. “Lovely,” he muttered. “You look a bit of a mess,” Callie said, appearing by his side. “Try this.” Akleyn saw she was offering him a bottle of wine and realized her intent. He held out his hands, allowing Callie to splash wine over them, washing off most of the blood. “Now I smell like I’ve really been on a drinking binge,” Akleyn commented. “Don’t worry about it,” Callie told him. “You did a good thing back there. I’m glad at least one of us did.” Akleyn opened his mouth to ask her what she meant by the end of his remark, then thought better of it. He was at a loss for words for a moment, then finally managed to find his tongue. “Uh, thanks,” he said. “It was nothing, and I’m sorry for snapping at you.” “Don’t worry about it,” she replied, then suddenly she had a shy look on her face. “I was wondering . . .” she started. “Yes?” Akleyn said, wondering where in space she was going with this. “I’m not sure how to ask, to say this, but—you’re a Force user, aren’t you?” she asked. That certainly wasn’t what he’d been thinking she was going to say. Relieved that the conversation hadn’t gotten any more awkward, but still caught off guard by her question, Akleyn again found himself without a ready reply. “Uh . . .” Akleyn replied. “Don’t worry, I’m not a Cosmic Balance fanatic,” she said. “That’s not what I meant,” Akleyn told her. “I saw you back there. You’re a Force-user, aren’t you?” she pressed. Akleyn saw no way of escaping the question—she witnessed him working and obviously had some knowledge of the Force. Straight flight would only make him look guilty and Callie seemed fairly athletic. He didn’t know he would fare in a straight footrace—or if he could get away without drawing attention to himself. Somehow, he had the feeling that an outright lie wouldn’t get him very far. Akleyn cycled through the options in his mind again, then decided that the best option, unfortunately, was telling the truth. Or at least part of it. His parents were great at that—surely it couldn’t be that hard. “Maybe,” he said cautiously. “Why do you ask?” Callie ignored his question. “Are you a Jedi?” she asked. Akleyn, again caught off-guard by her blunt question and her ignoring of his own, laughed to cover his surprise. “A Jedi?” he said. “You’re joking, right? There aren’t exactly a lot of those—and I don’t look like Luke Skywalker, do I?” Out of nowhere, a look of deep sadness, of infinite mourning, crossed over Callie’s face, cutting off Akleyn’s laughter. “No, not really,” she answered. “Not really at all.” “I’m sorry,” Akleyn said, “I didn’t mean any offense.” She shook her head, wiping any vestiges of her moment of vulnerability, that look of sadness, from her face, and gave him a thin smile. “I know,” she told him. “It’s not your fault. But if you’re not a Jedi, how did you learn to use your talent?” Akleyn pursed his lips. That was a tricky question to answer, and certainly one that he couldn’t just go around blabbing the truth to anyone. For the Force’s sake, he barely knew this woman. “I . . . I can’t exactly say,” he managed. “Can’t, or won’t?” she replied, and the look in her eyes told him that she already knew the answer. Akleyn cleared his throat, trying to regain his composure. “Hypothetically,” he said. “If I were some kind of Force-user, I’d be naturally disinclined to reveal a lot about my past. Force users weren’t exactly popular during Palpatine’s reign.” She snorted gently. “That’s an understatement for the record books,” she said, then shifted the subject. “You mentioned that you’re oath-bound to help people in need, right?” “Yes,” Akleyn said. “I’m a doctor. That’s what I do-I help the sick and injured.” “Will you help me?” she asked him. For the third time in recent memory, Akleyn found himself at a loss for words. He gave Callie a quick appraisal to see if she was ailing in some way, but at a glance, she seemed healthy. “Uh . . . I’m not sure I understand,” he said, wondering if she was trying to flirt with him. “What if I told you that there were sick people without access to medical care nearby?” Akleyn frowned. “Then I’d ask why they weren’t getting the care, and possibly offer to help them,” he said. “They can’t get care because very few people know they’re here, and those that do can’t admit they exist.” “Now I’m confused.” A knowing look appeared in Callie’s eye. “So, will you help me help these people?” Akleyn considered. He really didn’t have a clue what she was talking about, but he decided to play along for the moment. “Uh, I guess.” “Get yourself cleaned up at the refresher, and then meet me over by the east wall. Don’t tell anyone where you’re going.” “Okay,” Akleyn said, though he was still thoroughly confused. Several minutes later, Akleyn emerged from the refresher clean again, and without his ruined jacket. Inside the jacket, he’d found a monogrammed handkerchief with the Trealus family crest on it. Suspecting that the jacket might be found and returned if the accessory was identified, he had quickly left a note on a datacard that was fairly vague but might help his parents know what he was doing if they got the jacket back. Slipping the datacard into the jacket, he tossed it into a shelf in the refresher station to dispose of it. Sauntering over to the east wall, he looked around for Callie. Oddly, she was nowhere to be seen and Akleyn wondered if that entire line of conversation had been some sort of peculiar joke. “Up here,” he heard. Looking up, he saw Callie sitting on top of the wall, waiting expectantly for him. “How did you get up there?” Akleyn asked. “You’re a Force user, you figure it out,” she replied lightly. “Fine, have your secrets,” he said. “How do I get up there?” “Didn’t your master teach you how to jump?” she answered tauntingly. Akleyn shook his head and closed his eyes, concentrating on the Force. With a bit of effort, he managed to find the mental routine necessary to focus it into physical exertion, leaping the four meters up to land on the edge of the wall. He landed well, but slightly off balance, and Callie had to stand up and steady him as he swayed, arms out, trying to keep from falling. “Easy there,” she said. “Thank you,” Akleyn said curtly, trying to cover his embarrassment. “Let’s go,” Callie said, dropping neatly off the other side of the wall. Akleyn followed suit less gracefully, following the mysterious Callie as she led him through the streets of Salis D’aar. He was thankful for his Force senses, or else he would never have been able to keep up with her swift pace. For that matter, if he hadn’t sensed a lack of deception and malice in her, he never would have followed her. She was reserved and quiet, and there was a trace of darkness about her, but Akleyn didn’t get the feeling she was leading him to a trap. She wasn’t the source of the sinister undercurrent that he’d sensed earlier, and she did care about whomever she was taking him to, so he doggedly kept following her, though he had no idea where she was taking him. “This just doesn’t make sense,” Sarth said. He and Cassi were standing out by the entrance of the Old Hemei Gardens watching as the rest of the guests were ushered out by the Bakuran security forces. “What doesn’t make sense?” Cassi asked. “It seems logical for the Bakurans to end the event after that disruption.” “No, not that,” Sarth said. “The disruption itself. The event was social, not political, so there was nothing lost by disrupting it. It couldn’t have been an attack-most of the attackers were unarmed.” “Sarth,” Cassi said gently. “You’re thinking too hard about this. Let the security forces figure it out so we can go home.” “Maybe,” Sarth replied. “Still, I think I could do a lot more with this if I had the security cam recordings.” “Sarth,” Cassi repeated. “It’s not our problem. And, we still don’t know where Akleyn is.” “He’ll meet up with us,” Sarth said. “I sense him still in the area, and he doesn’t seem alarmed.” “True,” Cassi replied. “I just wonder why he hasn’t shown up yet.” Over an hour later, they were still waiting by the speeder with Lanik and Astara in an otherwise-deserted speeder lot with no sign of Akleyn. Sarth walked a few paces away from the speeder, out of earshot of the Trealuses, motioning Cassi to come towards him. “I don’t sense him anymore,” Sarth murmured quietly to her. “Now can I slice into the security logs?” “I suppose,” Cassi said quietly. “Wait. You can do that?” “Bakuran security isn’t exactly that hard to crack,” Sarth replied. “It doesn’t have to be. The planet is lawful, not involved in the current wars of the New Republic and has no internal dissent other than our troublemakers today. No reason I can’t crack their datastream in less than ten minutes. Besides, it’ll give me something to do.” “Okay,” Cassi said. “But don’t get caught. I don’t want to have to explain to . . .” “Selu and Milya, I know,” Sarth groaned good-naturedly, referring to his brother, Jedi Master Selusda Kraen, and his wife, Milya, who in addition to being Force-sensitive was also a trained intelligence operative. “Just so you know,” Cassi warned him. “This won’t take long,” he reassured her. As it turned out, it took twenty minutes for Sarth to find what he was looking for, during which time Akleyn still did not appear. Though Lanik and Astara were trying to be patient and they did buy Sarth’s explanation that he was searching the city’s database to see if Akleyn had showed up missing, it was clear they wanted to be off. Noticing their discomfort, Cassi graciously suggested that they head back to the farm and see if Akleyn had turned up there; she and Sarth could stay in Salis D’aar until Akleyn was found and would comm them for a ride back. They gratefully departed and Sarth and Cassi moved to a nearby café, where Cassi purchased pastries and sweet jeru tea while Sarth continued to work. “Finally,” Sarth said, looking up triumphantly from his datapad. “What did you find?” Cassi asked. “Akleyn,” Sarth said. “A security cam caught him slipping over the east wall about an hour ago.” “What?” Cassi replied, surprised. “That doesn’t seem like him.” “It gets better,” Sarth said. “He wasn’t alone.” “What do you mean, wasn’t alone?” Cassi inquired. “He was with a woman,” Sarth told her, turning the datapad toward her so she could see the screen. “Resolution’s pretty poor, but you can make out some of the details. Blonde hair, blue eyes, long legs. Sound familiar?” He grinned flirtatiously at her, but Cassi wasn’t in the mood. “No,” she replied. “I’m barely over 1.5 and I don’t have long legs. This is really odd, Sarth.” “Maybe,” he replied. “I just wish he’d told us that he met someone of interest so that we weren’t waiting here for him.” “Can you track his movements?” Cassi asked. “Before he left?” “I think so,” Sarth said. He flipped the datapad back so it faced him and entered some more code. “Okay, there,” Sarth told her, turning it back. “I’ve spliced together feed from multiple cameras over discontinuous time intervals, working backward from the time where he went over the wall. Holo format this time.” “Interesting,” Cassi said as she watched the progression of holos. “Look, see how he exits the refresher here.” “That’s interesting?” Sarth asked dubiously. “I looked at that part, but he was alone. No trace of the mystery woman.” “That’s not what’s interesting,” Cassi told him. “He goes in with his jacket. When he leaves, it’s gone.” “You’re right,” Sarth said. “That is strange.” “There’s only one way to find out why,” Cassi replied. Sarth caught the expression on her face. He immediately shot her a warning look. “No, Cassi,” he said. “If slicing into the security datastream is dangerous, that’s foolhardy.” “What if that jacket contains a clue? What if Akleyn wants us to find it?” Cassi replied. Sarth crossed his arms. “Selu and Milya would not like this idea,” he said. “If it was Ryion or, Force forbid, Rhiannon who disappeared, they would have already gone after them a while ago,” Cassi pointed out, referring to Selu’s and Milya’s children. “This still isn’t a good idea,” Sarth said. “I’ll go in and get the jacket,” Cassi told him. “You’re stronger at the technique, but I can’t disrupt security. You can if you need to. Besides, it was my idea.” “All right. Fine,” Sarth said heavily. “Be careful, love.” She leaned forward and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. “I will,” she replied. “I promise.” With that, she walked out of the café and back towards the gardens. Sarth followed her progress mentally, all the while slipping into a deep meditative state. He was about to use a technique that he’d only used rarely. Reaching out for his wife, he found her in the Force, and in his mind’s eye, they were sitting on a featureless, endless sea. His perception of Cassi shifted as he saw her mentally enclosing a transparent bubble of water around herself. He felt her concentration waver at the mental strain of so difficult a technique, and bolstered her own strength with his own reserves. The strain of the Force power she was using, Force camouflage, was partially lifted from her shoulders and onto him. Now Sarth felt the bulk of the exertion as he tried to keep the Force flowing from himself to Cassi through their mental link, encouraging and supporting her as best as he could. Force camouflage was something that had taken them years to learn, and normally they only did it while stationary. Moving quickly while maintaining the protective bubble of camouflage was something Sarth and Cassi only rarely did. Sarth mentally followed Cassi’s progression as she jumped over the wall, resulting in a sudden peak in mental strain. She rested for a minute, then made her way across the gardens towards the refresher station where the jacket was. Sarth sensed no difficulty and a trace of elation conveyed through their Force bond indicated that Cassi had retrieved the jacket. Sarth tensed as her adrenaline levels spiked. She must have been near some security force members or something, but the surge of emotion ebbed a minute later, indicating that she was mostly clear. Then, suddenly, something reached into his calm mental state and pulled him forcefully out of the mental link he had with Cassi. Sarth opened his eyes to realize that someone was tugging at his arm. “Hey, Mister, are you all right? Mister, can you hear me?” a voice asked him urgently. Sarth turned, startled, to see the café waitress standing there with a concerned look on her face and a tray with a caf pot on it in one hand. “You looked like you’d had a heart attack or something,” she said. “Are you okay?” “I’m fine,” Sarth said, shaken and realizing that every second he spent in this distracted state was sapping Cassi’s ability to hide herself. “Here, have some caf,” the waitress told him, pouring him a steaming cup. “And let me know if you’re okay. You looked terrible.” Sarth nodded, realizing that his hands were shaking and there was sweat pouring down skin. He took a sip of the caf, and, out of the corner of his eye, saw that the waitress was keeping an eye on him. He couldn’t really go back into the meditative state without her noticing, but he had to, for Cassi’s sake. Sarth tentatively reached out for her again, but found her mental link was missing. He feared the worst at first, sending his heart shooting into his throat, but soon his senses felt her reassuring presence heading towards him, but she was making no attempt at re-establishing their mental link. He hoped she was okay, but aside from knowing she was alive and well, he couldn’t sense her emotions with any real clarity. It was another ten agonizing minutes later by the time Cassi returned to the café, the jacket in her arms. She waltzed in casually, which was not exactly how Sarth had anticipated her return. He had been spending the time frantically checking the security net to see if she’d been apprehended. “What happened?” Sarth asked her as she slid into the chair across from him. “That was going to be my question,” she said. “I’m sorry,” he answered. “I got distracted. Our waitress thought I was having a heart attack and came to check on me.” “Really?” Cassi replied smiling at the thought. “That’s funny.” “I see you got through security with no problem, then,” Sarth said. “Yes,” Cassi confirmed. “That’s pretty good to slip by them unseen,” Sarth said. “Oh no, they saw me after I couldn’t keep up the Force camouflage any more,” Cassi corrected him. “What?” “There were two of them on a patrol. I told them that my husband had left his jacket in the refresher and that I’d gone back in to get it for him. I said the guards at the entrance let me in, and they allowed me through,” Cassi told him lightly. “Nice,” Sarth agreed. “Apparently I don’t rank very high as a threat,” Cassi said. “Anyway, here’s the jacket.” “Let me guess,” Sarth told her. “You were right, there’s a message.” Her smile widened as she retrieved a datacard from the inside pocket. “It says ‘Gone to help someone hurt or sick. Watch over me, wait for my call please. I’m fine. Regards, A,’” Cassi said. “Interesting,” Sarth mused. “I wonder what he means.” “I’m not sure,” Cassi said. “I suppose we should just wait here until he calls.” “There is one other thing,” Sarth told her. “What’s that?” “After our waitress . . . interfered, I had some time. To keep from worrying you, I did some analysis on the disruption today.” “What did you find?” Cassi asked. “The intruders’ pattern of motion and the way they carried out the disruption only makes sense if they had only one goal.” “What’s that?” “They wanted to keep someone from speaking to the Prime Minister or someone close to her. That’s the only reason that makes sense. They needed to do something that would prevent a meeting or something from being said.” “You mean the gala was a screen for something else?” Cassi asked. “Of sorts,” Sarth answered. “That might not have been its entire purposes, but something clandestine was going to happen, or might have happened, until our visitors arrived.” “I wonder what it could mean,” Cassi said. “Do you know who was supposed to meet who?” “No idea,” Sarth told her, shaking his head. “There were hundreds of guests. It could have been anyone.” “So now what?” Cassi asked. “We’ve got the jacket, and it’s bloodstained, but the blood is dried and it’s on the outside, suggesting it’s not Akleyn’s blood.” “It’s not,” Sarth said, running a sensor over the stain. “Wrong blood type.” “The sick or injured people he was referring to, you think?” Cassi asked. “Perhaps,” Sarth replied. “We’ll just have to wait for his signal.” “I was afraid you would say that,” Cassi said with a sigh. “In that case, I think I’ll need a cup of that caf also. This could be a long afternoon.” “A boat?” Akleyn asked, as Callie stopped at their destination, a small pier on the West River, near the edges of Salis D’aar. She’d led him through the winding streets of Salis D’aar for nearly twenty minutes until they’d reached the river. Akleyn was beginning to lose patience with his largely silent guide and her swift pace had caused an ache to form in the backs of his legs in response to the atypical amount of exercise. And now, just when he thought their journey was over, she seemed to be starting yet another stage. “That’s the Basic word for it, yes,” Callie said as she stepped lightly into the light repulsorskiff floating gently on the water. “Where are we going?” Akleyn asked suspiciously. “To where those hurt people are,” Callie replied simply. “Are you coming?” “I suppose so,” Akleyn said, climbing gingerly into the boat. “But you’re going to have to answer some questions.” “Fair enough,” Callie answered. “I’ll answer what I can, once we’re away from the city.” She started the motor and the boat skimmed out across the water, hovering just a few centimeters above the relatively smooth surface of the river. The headwind wasn’t too strong, maybe a dozen kilometers per hour, though, but the silence of the Bakuran repulsorlifts meant that there was less ambient noise than one might have expected. The city of Salis D’aar soon receded behind them, giving way to a shore lined with trees. “Who are you?” Akleyn asked once he judged they were far enough from the city for any eavesdroppers. “That’s straight to the point,” Callie commented dryly. “You already know my name. What do you want to know?” Akleyn shrugged. “Aside from that, I don’t know much about you. Your accent isn’t Bakuran, so you’re probably an offworlder. Why don’t you start at the beginning?” “The beginning?” Callie said aloud, then shook her head, a sad look crossing her face. “That’s a very long time ago, and I was once a very different person.” “Fine,” Akleyn replied conversationally. “What happened?” She heaved a sigh. “A lot of things,” Callie told him. “Where should I start? I lost one life and then gained it, only to lose what I’d valued the most in my first life, only to lose what I came to value most in my second life.” “That’s . . . vague,” Akleyn said. It was her turn to shrug indifferently. “I try not to dwell on the past,” she replied. “At any rate, you’re the Jedi, so why are you asking me all these things? Can’t you just read my mind?” “Not exactly,” Akleyn answered. “I’m not a Jedi, and even if I could read your mind, I wouldn’t without your permission or without good reason. It’s considered an-, I mean, I would consider that an intrusion if someone did it to me.” “Interesting,” Callie replied. “So there are more of you out there somewhere.” Akleyn swore under his breath again at his verbal slip. “Suffice to say that it’s not a subject I should be discussing,” Akleyn said. She gave him a thin smile. “I suppose not,” she replied. “Would it help if I told you that I used to be a Jedi Knight?” “Really?” Akleyn asked in surprise. “I don’t sense the aura of a . . .” Her smile erased itself as her expression suddenly saddened. “Hence the ‘used to be,’” Callie told him. “I’m not a Jedi anymore.” “I’m sorry,” Akleyn said. “It just seems hard to believe. Did you train under Luke Skywalker?” “Yes and no,” she responded. “I used to . . . work alongside Skywalker, but that’s not when I first became a Jedi. In fact, that’s pretty much when I ceased to be a Jedi.” “What?” Akleyn said. “Perhaps you should start from the beginning.” “Okay,” Callie told him. “But you won’t believe me. I was a Jedi in the Old Republic, a long time ago. I was part of a group that had some different teachings from the Jedi Order, so we operated on the fringes of the Jedi Order, helping where we could. Even in the Clone Wars, when Jedi were badly needed, we were frowned upon by the rest of the Order.” “Dissension among the Jedi? That seems so unlike them,” Akleyn commented. “And yet here you are with no association with Luke Skywalker,” Callie replied. “Not so uncommon as you might think. At any rate, our disassociation did not save us when the Empire rose to power. We fled to a remote world, but they found us anyway.” “What happened?” Akleyn asked quietly. “The Empire sent a warship after us, a battlemoon,” Callie said. “Myself and . . . another Jedi were told to stop it, to buy time for the others to escape. We did so, but at a great cost. I shed my body and Geith . . . Geith died.” The way she said his name spoke volumes to Akleyn. “You were close,” Akleyn said simply. “I’m sorry.” “It was a long time ago,” Callie replied quickly. “I had plenty of time to mourn him over the next thirty years, stuck as a disembodied spirit inhabiting an automated warship.” “What?” Akleyn said. “How is that possible?” “It’s not something most of the other Jedi I knew of had experienced,” Callie said. “To be honest, I’m not quite sure how I did it now, but it happened. I remember the feeling.” “And you were there for thirty years?” She nodded. “If I can be so bold, you don’t look that old.” Callie laughed. “I’ll get to that, but I was on that ship for thirty years. It was a long, long time. Until the warship was re-activated and the other Jedi came aboard.” “Other Jedi?” Akleyn asked. “Luke Skywalker and several of his students ended up on the Eye of Palpatine,” she said. “We worked together to destroy it once and for all, but not without a price.” Akleyn’s eyes narrowed. “But if the warship was destroyed, how are you here?” Her facial expression turned reflective again. “I’m not a ghost, if that’s what you’re asking. One of Luke’s students . . . she and her lover sacrificed themselves to destroy the warship. She had no desire to keep living without him, but she knew that I wanted to live, to be with . . . other people again. She gave her body to me.” “Which explains . . .” “A lot of things,” Callie said simply. “Yet I lost my Force-sensitivity when I entered her body.” “Lost it?” Akleyn asked. “I can’t explain that either,” Callie said. “But I’ve only been able to touch the Force a few times since then, and when I did . . .” Her voice lowered to a hoarse whisper. “For whatever reason, it was only the dark side. We never did find out why, but it doesn’t matter. I’m just an empty shell of who I used to be.” “That’s not true,” Akleyn countered. “You still have those years of experience, those good memories, the deeds you’ve done for the light side. You still a purpose in life, a hope go on.” “There is hope for the Jedi Order,” Callie said. “I have tried and literally died to save it, to keep that hope alive, but I have kept no hope for myself.” “One of things my masters taught me was that you never stop being a Jedi,” Akleyn told her quietly. “No matter what.” “I used to think that,” Callie said. “But I’ve left everything behind . . . everyone I was close to, everything I once knew is gone.” “That doesn’t change who you are, what you stand for,” Akleyn told her quietly. “But I can’t imagine what you’ve gone through. I’m sorry, though.” “I don’t need your pity,” Callie replied curtly. “Just your help.” “Where are you taking me?” Akleyn asked. “Several months ago, a group of Force-sensitive Sephi fled the war between the New Republic and the Empire. We traveled together for a while until we landed on Bakura.” “Why Bakura?” Akleyn inquired. “It doesn’t seem like an ideal sanctuary.” “We didn’t know it was so xenophobic and Jediphobic. It was remote and tranquil. The Sephi have been living in a small village out in the rural areas with some of the native Kurtzen on Bakura,” Callie explained, referring to the native sentient species on Bakura, the Kurtzen, who accounted for only a small fraction of Bakura’s population. “They were kind enough to let me stay with them. It’s been mutually beneficial, since I can get in to Salis D’aar and acquire things when I need to.” “What sort of things?” Akleyn asked. “Food, mostly. Maybe medicine or educational material. The Kurtzen make handcrafted goods that we sell to make a few credits, but it’s not much. If it wasn’t for a contact I have at the Prime Minister’s office, we would have a hard time surviving.” “How did you manage that?” She smiled. “The Prime Minister is one of a minority on Bakura without an intense hatred of the Jedi. If rumor is correct, that was due to a run-in with Luke Skywalker years earlier. My contact is someone close to her, her sister—Ylanda.” “Is that why were you at the party today?” “It is,” Callie said. “One of the younglings fell ill and none of the Sephi or Kurtzen have been able to help. I was supposed to meet Ylanda at the gala and get medical supplies to take back to the village—nothing in our kits has had any effect. The young one has worsened.” “Let me guess,” Akleyn commented. “The protestors ruined that plan.” She nodded. “Somehow, the Equalizers figured out who I was, probably after an argument I had with one of them at a protest a few weeks back. I was too overtly pro-Jedi, and that’s not common on Bakura, so it tipped them off. I had a suspicion that they’d been tailing me, but I had to risk it. Awi is so ill.” She looked pleadingly at him, and there was something surprisingly vulnerable in her eyes. “Will you help her?” “I will do my best,” Akleyn said. “Thank you for trusting me.” “It’s only a loan,” Callie told him, changing the tone of her voice and banishing her prior openness. “If you want to earn my trust, then keep our secret and do what you can to help Awi.” “I understand,” Akleyn replied. “This can’t be easy for you, trusting a stranger.” “It’s the only way right now,” Callie said curtly. Suddenly, she reached over and flicked off the repulsors. The skiff hit the water with a loud slap that jolted Akleyn nearly out of his seat. “What was that for?” Akleyn asked, trying to steady himself. Callie pointed upriver towards a cloud of mist from which a dull roar was emanating. “Those are rapids,” she told him. “This boat’s repulsors don’t give it enough clearance to just pass over them, and I don’t want to damage it. We’ll have to ride the rapids.” “You’re kidding, right?” Akleyn asked. “Not exactly,” Callie replied. “Hang on!” The water abruptly became choppier as the skiff entered the rapids. Spray shot up from the roiling surface as the light craft bounced around, helpless in the power of the current. “What should I do?” Akleyn shouted back, trying to make himself heard over the roaring water. “Don’t fall out!” came her reply. Akleyn looked back and saw her clinging to the control board, trying to navigate the craft through the dangerous maze of rocks and eddies. Then he looked forward again and saw the nest of jagged rocks dead ahead of them, looming from the water like a vicious spike. Adrenaline began coursing through his veins as he took in the full unleashed power of the river. “Turn!” he called. His shout was unneeded; Callie expertly swerved the skiff to left of the obstacle even as the current swept them along. The motion sent up another wave of spray, temporarily blinding Akleyn through a wall of water. He cleared his eyes just in time to see the skiff slide by a sizable eddy the size of a starfighter. The roar of the water echoed through his ears as they were hurled along by the current. Thankfully, Akleyn noticed that they were past the thickest concentration of eddies and rocks. The channel had narrowed significantly, and though they were moving faster, there were less dangers now. Or so he thought. “Duck!” shouted Callie as another cascade of spray obstructed his vision for several vital seconds. Akleyn did as he was instructed, flattening himself just in time to avoid a sizable rock shelf protruding over the river. “That was a close one,” he said back to Callie as he sat back up. He heard her start to yell something at him, felt his danger sense trigger in the Force. Akleyn whipped his head around just in time to see another rock shelf staring him straight in the face. He turned to the side and took the blow on his back instead of his head, but as fast as they were going, the impact knocked him out of the boat and into the water. Immediately the undertow tried to pull him under even as he fought for the surface. All he could see was a mixture of swirling bubbles and currents of water flowing over him. A bright scattering of sunlight told him which way was up, the gleaming pinpricks like a hundred diamonds, but try as he could, Akleyn couldn’t reach up. The current was too strong. He tried to summon the Force to himself, to strengthen his limbs, but he couldn’t concentrate while being jostled and carried by the river. He felt himself sinking further and abandoned his attempt to use the Force for anything other than breath control, to try and purchase a few more precious seconds by stretching his oxygen supply. The water pounded away at him, eating at his strength even as he tried to claw his way back up. Something blotted out the sunlight, a long dark streak. He swam up towards it, and the streak resolved itself into a hand. He reached up for the hand, but a particularly strong pull of the current ripped him back down again. His lungs were burning for air and being scraped along the rocks and weeds of the river was wearing him out. Desperately, he put forth all his effort into reaching that hand. Even as his body protested, Akleyn managed to grab the hand in his. Instantly, he was pulled upwards with surprising rapidity. His head broke the surface. Akleyn immediately sucked in as much air as he could manage even as Callie continued to hold him up. “Get in!” she shouted. “Climb into the boat.” Akleyn gripped the side of the repulsorskiff and tried to climb aboard even as Callie leaned away from him so he wouldn’t overbalance it and send them both into the water. It took him three tries to clamber over the side, but he finally managed to haul his sodden self back into the boat, gasping for breath and spitting up river water. “Stay down this time!” Callie instructed him, and he readily complied, staying on the skiff’s deck for several long minutes. Eventually, though, the roar of the water subsided and he heard the gentle hum of the repulsors re-engage. Akleyn looked at Callie, who gestured for him to sit up. “I told you to stay down,” she chided him gently. “Are you okay?” “I will be,” Akleyn said, closing his eyes in concentration. Drawing on the Force was easier without being pummeled by the river and Akleyn allowed his tired body to soak in its healing essence. He didn’t completely erase all the scratches and bruises, but the swelling on his shoulder where he’d hit it on the rock subsided and the general sensation of weariness and pain subsided some. “That’s better,” he said. “You’re not all healed,” Callie pointed out, noting a lingering cut on his arm. “I don’t need to be,” Akleyn said. “That’s not worth the use of the Force, and the pain will remind me to be more careful next time.” “That’s a good philosophy,” Callie commented. “At any rate, thank you,” Akleyn said. “You saved my life.” She shrugged. “Don’t worry about it,” she said with an easy smile. “No,” he told her earnestly. “That means . . . a lot where I come from. Thank you.” She gave him a look that was somewhere between inquisitive and confused. “You’re welcome, then.” “How did you manage to control the boat and pull me back in?” Akleyn asked. “That couldn’t have been easy.” “I’m stronger than you might expect,” Callie replied. “And I grew up on the water. I know when to fight it, and when to go with the current.” “It showed,” Akleyn said. “Good talents to have if you’re going to navigate this river.” Callie nodded, but gave no other reply. Instead, she returned her attention to guiding the boat. Akleyn sensed that she had no desire to continue the conversation and remained silent also for several more minutes, watching the forested shoreline pass by them. “How much farther?” he asked. “Not much,” she told him, steering the skiff toward a nearby inlet sheltered from obvious view by several thickets. Akleyn turned and saw that the inlet contained a small dock with several other small skiffs pulled up on the shoreline. Two humanoid figures were standing there as Callie brought the boat in, but surprisingly they were not human. One was a Kurtzen, Akleyn figured, while the other’s distinctive pointed ears marked him as a Sephi. “Greetings,” one of them, the Sephi, said, addressing Callie. “Was your trip a success? Have you brought a healer?” “Yes, Elder Azara,” she replied. “This is Akleyn.” “Greetings to you, then, and welcome to our village,” Azara told him. “Thank you, Elder Azara,” Akleyn said. “You are here to help Awi, then?” the Sephi asked. “I’ll do what I can,” Akleyn said, swallowing hard. Mentally, he reminded himself that he didn’t know anything about Sephi anatomy or physiology. Reaching into his pocket, he silently felt for his comlink and reached for the activate button. His parents were both skilled with the Force and knowledgeable about a wide variety of sentient species. If nothing else, Akleyn was confident that his father could use the Silent Surprise to tap into Bakura’s data network without being detected and get him and his mother more information. However, he hesitated. He’d told Callie that he wouldn’t tell anyone where he was going, and though he knew his parents could be trusted, she wouldn’t see it that way. Akleyn decided not to betray that trust—she had saved his life in the river, and he was not in the habit of breaking his word. “Can I see the young one?” Akleyn asked the Sephi. “Right this way,” the elder replied. Akleyn nodded and, followed by Callie, proceeded into the small series of primitive-looking huts that comprised the village. He hoped he knew what he was getting himself into this time. Sarth had been staring at his datapad for two hours now, and he was no closer to isolating the individual whom the protestors had been trying to prevent from reaching somebody else. He’d managed to locate Akleyn in relatively short order, and even the region where the intruders were trying to isolate from, based on their entry vectors. Interestingly enough, they coincided, but there were over fifty people in that part of the Old Hemei Gardens, and Sarth knew scarcely anything about them. Nor did he feel like trying to slice into the central database of the Bakuran security agencies—that was far riskier, especially given the equipment he had. Meanwhile, Cassi looked positively bored. She was idly stirring her half-drunk cup of caf, staring off into the distance, and had been in that state for some time. “Tired, dear?” Sarth asked her. “No,” she said with a small sigh. “Just worried. I’m not sure what Akleyn’s up to, but he should have contacted us by now. Something, anything, would be better than this.” At that instant, her comlink buzzed. She started with surprise, then pulled it out. “Long-range message,” she said. “Routed through the Silent Surprise. Audio only.” “Answer it,” Sarth told her. “Maybe it’s Akleyn.” “If it is, I want to know why he’s offworld,” Cassi replied, activating the comlink. “Hello Cassi,” she heard her sister-in-law’s voice come through the speaker. “Uh, hi, Milya,” Cassi said. “How are you?” “I’m well,” Milya said. “Some minor domestic issues aside.” Cassi smiled. “Let me guess: Ryion’s getting into trouble again.” “That’s right,” Milya replied with a trace of weariness in her voice. “Today, he managed to telekinetically empty the conservator onto the floor from his bedroom as soon as J7 opened it. Selu was thrilled that he learned that much control over the Force.” “You were less than pleased?” Cassi asked. “You guessed right,” Milya said. “Ryion’s in his room now, writing me a 3000 word document on why it’s philosophically wrong to use the Force for trifling or destructive matters.” “Ouch,” Cassi replied. “That should teach him. Have you talked to Selu about it?” “Somewhat,” Milya told her. “We’ll discuss the matter more later. At any rate, I was just calling to see how your trip was going.” Cassi fidgeted, looking at Sarth, who shook his head. “It’s going well,” Cassi replied smoothly, catching the cue. “Sarth and I are in downtown Salis D’aar, enjoying this neat little tapcafe.” “That’s good,” Milya answered. “How’s Akleyn? Enjoying his time offworld?” “He’s . . . away with a friend,” Cassi told her. “Sarth and I wanted some time to ourselves, so he’s elsewhere at the moment.” “I understand,” Milya said. “I never knew how valuable alone time with Selu was until I had kids of my own.” “Definitely,” Cassi agreed. Sarth pointed to something on his datapad, and then at his chrono, and Cassi nodded. “Sarth’s trying to show me something, Milya. Can I call you back later?” Cassi asked. “Sure,” Milya replied easily. “If not, we’ll talk when you get back.” “Of course,” Cassi said. She gratefully shut off the comlink. “Do you actually have something to show me?” Cassi asked. “No,” Sarth replied. “I just wanted to give you an excuse to end that call.” “Thanks. I wasn’t sure how much longer I could keep that up,” Cassi said. “I didn’t know you were capable of lying to Milya like that,” Sarth commented. “Pretty impressive to fool the Director of Intelligence.” Cassi shook her head. “I’m not, and I wouldn’t,” she replied. “I didn’t lie to Milya. I just didn’t tell her the whole truth. Milya relies a bit too much on the Force to help her detect when her kids are doing that to her; I knew I could probably get away with it if she didn’t have that.” “I’m sure that’s a perspective she would love to hear,” Sarth observed. “Maybe later,” Cassi said. “For now, let’s just worry about where our son is right now.” “I know,” Sarth told her, reaching out across the table to take her hand in his. “I know you’re worried, but he’s still alive. He’ll be okay.” “I hope so, Sarth,” Cassi replied, looking out the window into the distance. “I hope so.” Having completed his initial examinations and returned the small medisensor to its kit, Akleyn ducked back out of the tent where the ill youngling was lying to see Callie and Elder Azara looking expectantly at him. “What’s wrong with her?” Callie asked him. “The good news is, nothing too severe,” Akleyn told them reassuringly. “Thankfully for me, Sephi anatomy is very similar to Human. The young one has an infected appendix, and I’m guessing it’s some sort of resistant pathogen causing it. If we remove it promptly, she’ll be fine in a few days.” “That’s a relief. Let’s do it,” Callie said. “Wait just a minute,” Akleyn said. “I realize you may disagree with me on this, but if I’m going to perform surgery on someone, I would really prefer to do it in a more sanitary environment. With something more than a basic medkit.” “I’m afraid we do not have those things,” Elder Azara informed him. “Maybe we do,” Akleyn responded, fishing out his comlink. “My parents are in Salis D’aar. They’re both skilled with the Force and trustworthy and their ship has a clean room on it that we can use as a surgery ward.” “Should I ask why their ship has a clean room on it?” Callie asked, a curious look on her face. “It’s a long story, but let’s just say it came in handy when I came down with Corellian Tanamen Fever as a child while on a family vacation,” Akleyn told them. “They can help us, and I know they would, if you’ll let me.” He saw the hesitation in both of their faces, knew that they were struggling with the knowledge that his suggestion was safer while trying to protect the privacy of the Sephi community. He knew they weren’t persuaded, that he would have to make the importance of this matter clearer. “Look,” Akleyn said. “If I operate here and now, I can probably remove the infected appendix. But without the right conditions, it might get infected again, especially if there’s a strain of resistant bacteria or something out here. The girl’s immune system will be weaker and without the right instruments or drugs, the healing process will be slower.” “There is the Force,” Elder Azara said. “It can sustain her.” “Yes, there is the Force,” Akleyn replied. “But the Force can only do so much and instantly healing a surgical incision is not a skill I’ve mastered yet. Anything short of that risks the wound being infected again. I’m telling you—this is a very simple and risk-free procedure, but only if it’s done in the right way. All I’m asking is for you to consider what’s best for Awi and then make your decision.” “You must understand, this is not easy for us to do,” Elder Azara said after a minute. “We are not exactly open with outsiders.” “I don’t blame you for that,” Akleyn said. “I’ve lived the same way my entire life—hiding on a remote world, staying out of sight as much as possible. But my parents and I can help you—and not just Awi—all of you. We can give you a chance to start over and rebuild your lives on a new world with people who will respect and help you.” “You can make that kind of offer?” Callie asked skeptically. “Even if you could, do you expect us to take your words at face value? We barely know you.” “And yet you trusted me to come out here to help Awi,” Akleyn countered. “Countless others made the same decision—to trust my parents, to trust that they were doing the right thing. Right now, they and their children are living in peace and safety. Every day, on my way to work, I pass by a park where I see the children of the Jedi, and the Matukai, and the Jal Shey, and the Zeison Sha, and several other groups, all playing together without fear. That’s the kind of future I offer you.” “The children of the Jedi?” Callie asked. “I thought that was against the Jedi Code?” “From what I hear, that’s what most of the Jedi Order believed, but there were others, apparently,” Akleyn said. “The group that joined us on Ord Cestus had no problem with Jedi families, and most of the other Force users don’t either.” A strange look had come over Callie’s face. “How long ago did you meet this group on Ord Cestus?” she asked suddenly. “How long ago?” “Uh . . .” Akleyn said, recalling his history lessons and trying to figure out where she was going with the question, if it was something he should divulge. “It was a long time ago. Years.” “How long?” Callie persisted. “Please, I need to know.” “Okay,” Akleyn replied. “It was 28 years ago.” Callie turned pale. “It can’t be,” she whispered. “I sensed their deaths.” Now it was Akleyn’s turn to be confused. “Who? Who are you talking about?” “The Jedi you spoke of,” she said. “Those are the ones I was trying to protect. They were my friends, my masters. I thought they had all died.” “Oh,” Akleyn said, shocked. “You were part of that group?” “I was,” she said. “Back when they used to call me Callista. Back when I was a young Jedi Knight. It was my mission to stop the Eye of Palpatine so that Master Plett could evacuate everyone.” “Is he telling the truth?” Callie asked Elder Azara. Akleyn felt the Sephi’s mental probe reach out and touch his mind through the Force, and he offered no resistance. He simply rested in the assurance of his own honesty. “He is,” Azara told her. “Take his word, then,” Callie said abruptly. “This is the best thing for your people, a chance they never had before.” “Are you sure?” Azara asked her. She nodded. “We can help you,” Akleyn assured him. “Maybe we were sent here to help you by the will of the Force.” “I will discuss it with the elders,” Azara told him. “For now, we accept your offer of aid to help Awi. Call who you will.” The Sephi bowed and walked off. Akleyn returned the bow, then fished out his comlink and flicked it on. After waiting at the tapcafe for two hours now, Cassi had taken to staring at the glossy varnished surface of the table they were sitting at. Her mind was elsewhere, trying to pinpoint Akleyn’s location in the Force. She knew there was no reason to be concerned for him, that she didn’t sense any distress in him and could still sense his presence somewhere on Bakura. Still, the events of earlier had unsettled her and the fact that there was a disruptive force in the form of the Equalizers on Bakura did not sit well with her either. “Well, I’ve slipped all the data I was able to extrapolate to the Bakuran Security Services in the form of an anonymous data packet,” Sarth announced. “That’s my good deed to Bakura for the day.” Cassi looked up at him, nonplussed. “Did you find anything more about where Akleyn is, or what those Equalizers were after?” “No,” Sarth said dejectedly. “I wish I had.” Cassi slumped back into her chair, intent on resuming her stare-down with the table surface. Just at that point, her comlink chirped. Starting in surprise, she sat up as the device chirped again. She picked it up and activated it without even seeing who it was. “Hello?” “Hi Mom,” Cassi heard Akleyn’s voice. “Akleyn!” she said. “Are you okay? Where have you been? Your father and I have been worried about you!” “I’m okay, Mom,” she heard Akleyn reply with a chuckle. “I’m just fine, but there’s some people I’d like you to meet. They need our help.” “What kind of help?” Cassi asked. “There’s a girl here who needs an emergency appendectomy, and we might have some new members at our refuge,” Akleyn told her. “Can you bring the Surprise? I’m sending the coordinates now.” “We’ll come right away,” Sarth interjected while Cassi tried to gather her thoughts. “See you soon, son.” “See you soon, Dad,” Akleyn’s voice replied. The comlink shut off as the call ended. “Well,” Sarth said, rising to his feet. “Looks like it’s time we were off.” Taking Cassi’s hand in his once more, he left a few credits on the table and headed for the exit. They made it to the Silent Surprise with little hassle and had no difficulty obtaining clearance to launch. The ship’s swift engines soon brought them to a clearing that Akleyn had designated near a small village and Sarth skillfully set the ship down. After a hasty reunion with their son, they prepared the clean room for use as a surgical ward. As evening fell, Awi was gingerly loaded onto a stretcher and carried aboard the ship for the operation. At her request, a small stuffed nerf cub was placed at the little one’s bedside for when she awoke. It took less than a minute for the tiny dose of sedative to render her unconscious. Cassi and Akleyn spent the next two hours in surgery, taking their time to make sure they performed the procedure correctly and without any hitches due to some unforeseen difference between Human and Sephi physiology. Finally, though, with the appendix removed and the incision closed, the two combined their Force powers into healing, driving out any vestiges of the infection and promoting the healing process around the wound. Cassi directed much of her own healing energies into lulling the little girl into a restful sleep state that would allow her to wake with less disorientation than if she’d remained sedated. When they finally emerged from the ship, there was a small group of Sephi elders waiting for them near the boarding ramp along with Sarth; Azara was one of them. “How is Awi?” he asked. “She’s doing well,” Akleyn informed them. “The operation went fine and she should wake up in the morning just fine. I suspect the day after she’ll be out of bed.” “That’s good to hear,” Sarth replied. “I have good news of my own.” “What’s that?” Cassi asked. “The Sephi will be coming to Yanibar,” Sarth announced. “After a long discussion with their elders, they agreed to my offer of sanctuary. I’ve contacted Selu and there’ll be a YGF ship here tomorrow to pick them up.” “Tomorrow?” Akleyn asked, surprised. “That’s an awfully fast ship if it’s coming from Yanibar.” “Well, it’s not exactly coming from Yanibar,” Sarth admitted with a wry smile. “Apparently Selu had it positioned nearby—he won’t say where—in case we got into trouble.” Cassi looked shocked. “I’m going to have to talk to Milya about that,” she said. “It’s like they don’t trust us or something.” “They’re probably just being overly protective,” Akleyn said with a small grin of his own. “I know what it’s like to have worried relatives concerned for the wellbeing of their grown children.” Cassi shot him a warning look. “Selu and Milya are not our parents, son,” she chided, then relented. “But you do have a point.” “We look forward to the start of our new future,” Elder Azara told them. “We look forward to seeing the promise of safety and security.” “You made the right choice,” Akleyn answered. “You won’t regret it.” Suddenly, he looked around and noticed that there was no sign of Callie. “Where’s Callie?” he asked. “Who’s Callie?” Sarth inquired. “She’s the one who brought me here,” Akleyn explained. He turned back to Elder Azara, missing the wink passed between his parents. “Where is she?” “She went back to her dwelling,” Azara told him. “She will not be going with us tomorrow.” “What?” Akleyn asked. “Why not?” “She did not say. She seemed troubled about something.” “May I see her?” “That will be up to her—but I will take you to her dwelling so you can ask her,” Azara said. Akleyn nodded and followed the Sephi into a cluster of primitive-looking huts. The elder stopped at one of them and gestured, then turned and walked off. There was a single light on inside the dwelling that Akleyn could see, and he thought he picked out Callie’s silhouette in the dim gloom. Suddenly unsure of himself, he hesitated a moment as uncertainty crept into his mind. Was it his place to intrude here? He could sense little in the Force—small traces of emotion that could only be some kind of distress were emanating from Callie, but she was closely wrapped around herself, guarded. He was unsure how he should approach the matter and yet something inside him compelled him to slowly but steadily walk up to the door. He raised an arm and knocked lightly. There was no reply. “Callie?” he said aloud. A minute later, the door opened to reveal Callie standing there. Her face was rigid, taut, tense, but there was a glimmer of something that looked like a tear in her eye. Akleyn was lost for words at the sight of her like that—this wasn’t at all what he had expected. Everything he had considered saying made an abrupt exit from his mind as he just looked at her, wondering what change had come over her. “Did you need something?” she asked, breaking the silence. In that moment, Akleyn could only muster one simple syllable to say to her. “Why?” She stared hard back at him in reply. “Don’t worry about me, Akleyn,” she said flatly. “I’ll be fine.” She turned to go, but Akleyn spoke first. “Wait,” he called. “I want to help you.” “You can’t,” Callie told him ashenly. “Nobody can.” “Then at least help me understand,” he told her earnestly. “I can’t ask you to shoulder my burden.” “Then don’t ask,” Akleyn said. “You don’t have to; I’m offering.” She swiveled back to look him in the eyes, and then nodded slowly. “Perhaps you’d better come inside then.” She left the door open and Akleyn went inside the dimly lit dwelling. It was small and seemed to only have one or two rooms. Immediately to his left on entering was a large fireplace and beyond that a long couch dominated the left side of the room. Judging the pile of blankets at the foot, it probably doubled as a bed. In the back of the house, there was a small kitchen set apart from the main room by a counter. There were a few various small storage chests and cylinders strewn around the floor, but no chairs. The walls were plain and bare, a dull wooden brown, and there was little in the way of decoration or artificial light. The floor was a similarly nondescript permacrete foundation, unadorned by carpeting. The place seemed spartan, rustic, and it was somehow fitting. “Would you like to sit down?” Callie asked, indicating the couch. Akleyn nodded and they both sat on the long piece of furniture. “Why aren’t you coming, Callie?” Akleyn asked. She looked around as if seeking an answer in the ceiling and walls. Then she sighed. “It’s time for me to move on,” Callie said. “I’ve enjoyed my time with the Sephi, but our ways are meant to be parted.” “Why do you say that?” Akleyn inquired. “Don’t you want to see your old friends again?” “Yes . . . and no,” Callie replied, her voice sounding pained at the end. “I could never face them again. Not after what’s become of me.” “Because you can’t use the Force,” Akleyn added quietly. She nodded. “I could never look any of them in the eye again. I’m just an empty shell of what I used to be.” “No,” Akleyn countered gently. “You’re not an empty shell. You’re brave and strong and intelligent—you’re the reason that the Sephi are getting a new home, because you had the courage and the insight to bring me here.” “I don’t need your flattery anymore than I need the pity I would get from the people I used to know,” she said disconsolately. “It’s for the best that I move on. I’m glad for the Sephi—I really am. I’m glad that they’ll have a new life, but there isn’t one for me.” “Are you so sure about that?” Akleyn asked her. “That there is no more hope for you?” “I feel like I’ve been crippled, Akleyn. Like I’ve been separated from everything I used to know, used to do. Can you understand that? Can you understand how hard I’ve tried to use the Force again?” “I’ve never been cut off from the Force before,” Akleyn told her softly. “But I’ve been around people who have been crippled before—and the difference between those who get better and those who end up dying sooner rather than later is that the ones who live still have hope. I want you to have that hope too.” “What is there to hope for?” she asked bleakly. “What is there to live for?” “That there is still good to be done in this life,” Akleyn said. “I do not think that we should embrace death so readily when our lives are as temporary as they are.” “I do,” Callie answered. “I’ve gone into a dozen situations with no hope of survival. One of these days, it’ll catch up to me.” “There’s so much more out there. There are sunrises and forests and stars and nebulae and oceans to see, people to meet and care for, lives to touch. I don’t want you to throw all of that away,” Akleyn said. A tear slowly ran down Callie’s face and he reached out and brushed it away gently. “I want you to live.” “Why?” Her question was the echo of his own earlier, but Akleyn was more sure of himself now and his answer came more readily. “Because I know that you don’t want to die, deep inside,” he said. “Because I know that there is still a part of you that hasn’t given up on old dreams.” She laughed bitterly and shook her head. “I can’t tell if you’re trying to tell me to keep hope alive for my own sake, or because it would make you look better.” “The former,” Akleyn answered, then he added. “You’re worth it.” She stared at him, and there was dead silence in the room as she turned to regard him. He wasn’t sure what to make of her expression, so he plunged on, trying to speak clearly to her. “I wasn’t trying to flatter you earlier,” he said. “I meant all those things I said, and I wish that I could give you something to live for. But only if you want to. Only if you care enough about the people around you to keep on going.” “You shouldn’t try to befriend me,” Callie said regretfully. “The last person who got close to me ended up with a broken heart and the one before is dead.” “That doesn’t matter,” Akleyn answered. “What matters to me is you and the future you could have.” “Maybe you could keep going without the Force,” she told him, “but for me, it’s life and death, and I’ve been dead a long time.” Her words were like a crushing weight on his shoulders, heavy with rejection, but Akleyn still held out a glimmer of hope. He had one last chance and with nothing left to lose, he took it. “What if there was a way to heal that?” he asked. She gave him a sad smile. “I’ve tried,” she answered. “All over the galaxy, both with the help of a Jedi Master and on my own. It just isn’t meant to be.” “Do you mind if I try something?” Akleyn asked. She shook her head, and Akleyn felt any traces of hope in persuading her slip away. “It’s useless,” she said flatly. “Then there’s no harm in trying, is there?” “I suppose not,” she said warily. “What are you going to do?” “When I see a patient who’s been paralyzed, the first thing I always tell them is to believe that they can do more, that they can recover.” “That’s a lot to ask,” she said. “It’s important,” Akleyn pressed. “If you don’t believe in yourself, believe that you can recover, then I can’t help you.” She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. A second later, she opened them again. “Okay,” she said. “We’ll try it.” “All right,” he told her warmly. “That’s a large part of the battle. Now, close your eyes. I’m going to try to use a Force technique. Try and lower your mental barriers as much as possible. Don’t try and think—just relax and focus on believing in the impossible.” Akleyn took her hand in his. Her palms were callused, but her fingers were smooth and slender. He closed his own eyes, focusing on the Force. He sensed Callie’s presence, felt a wave of negative emotion leave her spirit. There was still a large amount of pessimism and bitterness, but at least there was now a small flicker of hope, one that had been trampled and disappointed many times but never fully snuffed out. Akleyn’s mental touch moved on, reaching for the place in her mind where her connection with the Force should be. She recoiled at his mental probe, her hand flinching in his as if the memory itself was painful. Akleyn winced in understanding. It was like he was looking at a lingering wound—scabbed over, but still painful to the touch and debilitating. Deep underneath, there was still a deep injury and it was that hurt that he had to heal. Gently, he bathed the affected part of her mind with a ripple of Force healing, trying to soothe what he had felt. Akleyn had never tried to heal someone’s mind with the Force before and now he found himself straining vigorously to not only keep his concentration intact, but also to see into the depths of Callie’s psyche while keeping his application of healing gentle and gradual. If he lost control, he could end up blasting her mind with more regenerative energy than it could handle at once, leading to a sort of mental trauma. His physician’s instincts stood him in good stead as he carefully, tenderly applied the Force to the metaphysical wound inside her mind. He felt her relax somewhat even as his strain level intensified. But, though there the affected portion of her mind seemed to be less painful to Callie’s spirit, it did not subside despite his best efforts. Upon sensing that bad news, Akleyn started to despair, but he clamped down on the emotion before it could spread. He needed to be strong too, for both of their sakes, and to believe in a cure. He continued to funnel healing energy into her mind, as much as he sensed was optimal while pondering a new approach. Then an idea sparked in his mind and Akleyn began not only sharing healing energy across their mental link, but the Force itself. Perhaps her mind just needed reminded of what touching the Force felt like in order to jump-start her own recovery process. Akleyn now injected a pulse of the innate Force-sensitivity inside himself, the precious gift of the Force itself, into her psyche. At first there was some mental resistance as her mind tried to determine what it had received, but Akleyn sensed a gradual warming to it, and a weakening of the barrier cutting Callie off from her own ability to tap into the Force. It was not much, but it was better than nothing, and though the effort he poured into the technique was beyond merely exhausting. Weariness that seemed to sap the lift out of him swept over him and Akleyn knew that what he had done had to be among the most demanding of the Jedi arms. With a final wave of healing energy, he closed off their mental link and opened his eyes to see her looking at him uncertainly. “Did you feel anything?” he asked. “Did it help? She continued looking uncertainly off into the distance as Akleyn watched apprehensively. Five seconds passed, then ten, and Akleyn began to wonder if the improvement he’d sensed was psychosomatic or imagined on his part. Then a small smile broke across her face, one which quickly widened to stretch from ear to ear. “I can feel it again,” she whispered. “It’s weak and my control is off, but I can feel it again.” Akleyn breathed a huge sigh of relief and mopped the sweat from his brow. “I’m happy for you,” he said simply, feeling absolutely drained from what he’d done. “You can’t imagine how wonderful I feel right now,” Callie said with a look of near-euphoria on her face, then a frown marred that expression. “But what about you? You look terrible?” “It wasn’t easy, that’s for sure,” Akleyn said. “But it was worth it.” “What did you do?” “There’s a psychological wound around where the part of your life where the Force and everything you knew about it used to be,” he explained. “I tried to heal it and also re-ignite your own Force-sensitivity with a bit of my own. I think it worked—it’s just wearying.” “You gave up some of your own Force power for me?” Callie asked, her voice filled with wonder. “A little,” Akleyn said. “Now that you’re able to touch the Force again, I probably won’t need to do so again—it’s just a matter of helping you revitalize your own potential now.” “You brought me back,” Callie said aloud. “You redeemed me from the dark side—not the dark side of the Force, but the dark side of my own mind—the negativity and the doubt and the despair. I feel like I’m alive again, Akleyn.” “This is just the beginning,” Akleyn warned her. “Think of this as the mental version of therapy, of learning to walk again. It’s not going to be an easy process.” “That’s for sure,” Callie replied. “I certainly couldn’t levitate anything right now.” “And I wouldn’t advise you trying,” Akleyn said. “It could be a while before you’re up to that point.” “I know,” she said with a smile, then turned serious again. “Thank you. For this. For giving me something to live for again.” “Does that mean you’ve changed your mind about coming to Yanibar?” Akleyn asked her. Callie pretended to ponder the matter. “I suspect it does,” she said. “After all, I’ll need someone skilled in Force therapy to assist my recovery and my redemption. If you’re willing, that is.” Akleyn broke into a weary smile of his own as he looked into her deep blue-gray eyes. He lifted her hand that was still in held in his and held it lightly. “I promise to help you as long as it takes,” he said. “All right,” she told him. “Just don’t make a girl a promise if you know you can’t keep it.” “I don’t break my promises,” Akleyn replied. “I will stay with you to the end.” “Why would you do that?” Callie asked. “Because I said I would and because . . . it would be my pleasure,” Akleyn said slowly. She looked at him as if he’d just announced his intentions to walk across the galaxy, a mixture of astonishment and vulnerability and bewilderment all rolled into one. Then she smiled simply at him, and that smile was enough to remind Akleyn of a beautiful sunset. “In that case,” she said. “I accept.” Three hours later, a Yanibar Guard ship, a Niman-class cruiser-carrier, arrived in the outskirts of the Bakuran system and deployed some small freighters and shuttles to reach the planetside. At the time of its arrival, Sarth was inside the Silent Surprise listening in to the local commnet while Cassi sat back and relaxed in a chair next to him. “Seems that the Yanibar Guard’s arrival sparked some early fears about a Ssi-ruuk invasion,” he said with a small grin. “Apparently enough assurances have been passed to allay those fears. Somebody had a chance to talk to the Prime Minister about it, and the transports are clear to land here now.” “Do I detect the results of a Sarth Kraen suggestion?” Cassi asked. “Yes,” Sarth admitted. “Based on what Callie has told us, I thought it might be prudent to offer the YGF some advice about how to approach the situation.” “Well done, dear,” Cassi said encouragingly. “And speaking of my suggestions,” Sarth told her with a small smile. “Another one of mine also paid off.” “What was that?” Cassi asked. “Apparently the Bakuran security forces were able to use my data analysis to back-track our intruders to their hideout. They just announced a mass arrest a few minutes ago, with most of the leaders charged with various public disturbance and conspiracy charges.” “That’s great news for Bakura,” Cassi replied. “The Sephi could have stayed here all along,” Sarth commented. “But in the long run, they will be better off on Yanibar.” “Indeed,” Cassi said. “I love Bakura, but its people are not open to Force-users living here. As much as I’ll always remember this world, Yanibar is my home now.” Outside the ship, Akleyn and Callie were sitting by the river watching the sunlight sparkle off of the water. She had already packed her meager belongings and, at Akleyn’s request, had agreed to fly back to Yanibar in the Silent Surprise. It hadn’t taken long to load her possessions onto the ship and now they had stolen away to find time by themselves. “Your planet, Yanibar—what’s it like?” Callie asked him. Akleyn considered. “It’s fairly large, diameter of about 15,000 kilometers. The climate tends towards arid and outside of our refuge, it’s sparsely populated. The axial tilt is greater than Bakura’s, which creates erratic weather patterns and temperature extremes on much of the planet.” Callie shook her head reprovingly. “If I had wanted the galactic almanac version, I would have looked it up in the ship’s computer,” she said. “Tell me about living there, what it’s like.” “Oh,” he replied. “Sorry.” Akleyn paused, collecting his thoughts, then began again, slower this time. “All I’ve ever really known about Yanibar is inside the refuge. It’s peaceful there, and beautiful. We live in a sheltered basin and so there are trees and rivers and grasslands and cities. It’s a safe place, but it’s also a vigilant place. People there are wary of being discovered, of having their home found—we’ve been living in hiding for thirty years now.” “Is it a happy place?” “It is for me,” Akleyn told her. “My family lives there and I have no real reason to complain. It’s far better than most people in the galaxy can claim as their home.” “I thought the Jedi weren’t supposed to be attached to things?” she said. He hesitated. “Yes, I love Yanibar,” he said. “It’s my home, but I could give it up if I had to. I can’t say if that’s true for everyone else, but home for me is more about the people I’m with rather than somewhere you can locate with coordinates.” “What’s it like outside the refuge?” she asked. “I haven’t been outside that much,” Akleyn told her. “From what I’ve seen, it’s a harder life. It’s rugged and rough. People live on the edge of survival, fearing the next flood or drought or storm.” “If they know about this refuge, why would they live outside of it?” Callie asked. “Doesn’t seem to make sense.” He shrugged. “Some people don’t know, and some of those that do are too set in their ways to ever leave what they know as they’re life. It’s their choice.” “Did you think I might be like that?” Callie asked. “Too set in my ways?” Akleyn regarded her with a curious look. “At first, I was afraid of that,” he said. “But I also knew you could overcome that, if you wanted to. I hoped you would.” She didn’t answer immediately, but turned to gaze back at the river. “I didn’t know if I could,” she said. “Then I’m glad I was here to help,” Akleyn answered earnestly. She sighed. “It’s been a lonely year,” she said. “I’d almost forgotten what it was like to have someone care that much about me.” “All the more reason to be reminded,” Akleyn said. “We all need someone to care about us.” Callie smiled back at him. “And to occasionally call us back when we wander off,” she added. “And that,” he agreed. “And to remind us that our lives are valuable, that our existence makes a difference in the lives of others.” “You certainly made a difference in my life,” Callie said. “I had lost hope of ever using the Force again, of having a future.” “I’m glad I could help,” Akleyn said. “Seems like the Force placed me in the right spot at the right time to be there for you.” “What if the Force doesn’t place you there the next time?” she asked. Akleyn caught the subtle point in her statement, but stayed serious. “I’ll be here for you as long as you want me to be,” Akleyn told her, looking directly into her gray-blue eyes. “I promised, didn’t I?” “That you did,” Callie told him. “That you did.” She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. He flushed red as she leaned in close and whispered in his ear. “In the future,” Callie said. “You don’t have to wait for the Force to place you there if you don’t want to.” Akleyn turned to face her, realizing just how close they were to each other now that she had leaned towards him. In this close proximity, he could see every detail of her face, could smell her subtle fragrance, could almost hear the sound of her heartbeat. The look in her eyes was expectant, waiting for his reply, and he knew he couldn’t falter now despite his own nervousness. It seemed that he had developed tunnel vision, that there was nothing else in before him but Callie, even though he could still distantly hear the flowing of the water and the wind in the trees. Right now, though, she had entirely captivated his attention and he knew he needed to make a reply. The right reply. “I might take you up on that offer,” Akleyn said. “It would be my honor and pleasure to do so.” She smiled simply at him. “I was hoping you would say that.” Then she leaned in closer still and kissed him.
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