Saga - ST Call to the Force, OCs, TFA spoilers - Completed 6/23

Summary: In a race to find a long lost hero, Misael Lerus finds himself the target of bounty hunters, mercenaries, and a First Order general with a personal interest in him.

Timeframe: TFA

----------

Prologue

I'm too late.

Misael's heart dropped at the sight of Tuanul from his ship's viewport. The small village was in utter shambles. Smoke bellowed out from most of the small homesteads, and lifeless forms were laid out around the place.

There was no arguing that the First Order had been here. He had feared as much when his sensors picked up the Star Destroyer in orbit over Jakku. A part of him wondered if it was his fault that they knew to come here. Lor San Tekka took a huge risk contacting him about the map in his possession, but he knew what it meant to Misael, as well as to the Resistance, who had sent one of their own.

He landed beside the skeletal remains of another ship in a haste, practically jumping from the pilot's seat to the doorway.

Once outside, Misael gave the other ship a quick look, By looks of its broken up, burned, pieces it used to be an X-Wing model. A large drop went down his throat. So the Resistance member who also came for the map was already here when the First Order arrived, and he or she didn't get away either.

What if they have it?

He shook off the possibility. There was no point in dwelling on the worst case scenario right now.

So he wandered the village. The flames had died away for the most part, but apart from the smoke Misael's nose was also picking up the beginning decay of bodies; a lot of bodies. There were those of the villagers, and of stormtroopers alike, scattered around.

A majority of the dead, though, were gathered together at one spot, and by the looks of it they had been killed execution style. His stomach twisted into so many knots inside that it took everything in him to swallow back his vomit.

This was the First Order, for you. They left no survivors.

Nearby he spotted a lone body on the desert ground, and without actually seeing the face he rushed over to it, knowing for sure, as he turned over the body that it was that of Lor. Just when Misael thought his heart couldn't sink into an even deeper hole.

Sadly, there wasn't time to grieve. He took a deep breath and was somehow able to straighten out his stomach enough to check his body for anything that he could have the map on. A datachip, a piece of paper. Unsurprisingly, that wasn't the case. He would've already been checked, and so would have the entire village.

Misael didn't want to think it, but if the entire village was searched, Lor killed, and the resistance member failed to escape, then he had to assume that the First Order now had the map that led to Luke Skywalker, the last of the Jedi.

"I'm, sorry, Lor," he whispered. "I should've been here sooner."

Misael took note of Lor's injuries, which consisted of a single long, burning, cut that couldn't have come from any kind of blaster. It had to have been a lightsaber. Which could only mean that one of the Knights of Ren had been here, and if he had to bet he knew which one it was.

The one who caused the disappearance of Luke Skywalker in the first place. The one who robbed the galaxy of a new generation of Jedi. Kylo Ren. Just thinking of his name made his hands grip into themselves in fury.

"They won't get to him," he said to Lor. "I promise."

He rose up and ran back to his ship, the Starblazer. He hated leaving his friend, along with all the villagers without giving them proper burials, but the time for that wasn't a luxury he had.

Somehow, he had to beat the First Order to Luke Skywalker.

 

Chapter One

To say Misael was setting himself on a wild bantha chase would be putting it mildly.

With Lor dead, and the map to Luke Skywalker probably now in the hands of the First Order, what chance did he have of getting to Skywalker first? What made him think he could muster up any kind of a clue about where he was before the First Order got to him?

Absolutely nothing, but the thing was that Misael had nothing else driving him right now but the dilluded possibility that something, or someone, would keep Kylo Ren and his people from finding him before he, or somebody else, could.

So with that in mind if there was any kind of a small possibility that Misael could make it to Skywalker first, what did he have to do? Where did he need to go?

Minuroid.

It just popped into his head, like a lightbulb coming on. Of all the libraries in the whole galaxy, there were only two or three that rivaled the one there. What really made Minuroid stand out was its exclusivity. Only a select handful were ever allowed access to the centuries, upon centuries, of information gathered there about . . . anything.

The system was far from both Republic and First Order territory. Near the edge of the galaxy, in fact. If he had any hope of tracking Luke Skywalker to where he always suspected him to be then it was there. So he made the jump as soon as he was out of Jakku's atmosphere.

It was only after jumping into hyperspace that Misael noticed he had a message saved on his comm receiver. It must have come while he had been out in the camp back on Jakku. He played the message, bringing a small holographic image of his mother to life.

"Misael Lerus," Her tone was all too familiar. That of a disciplinary mother who expected better from him. "I don't care where you are, or what you're doing right now. When your mother calls, you answer."

"Sorry, Mom," he said to the recorded message.

"When you father tried to reach you on Kantar, he found out you left without a moment's notice." Her face became slightly sour. Even in its miniaturized form it made Misael feel much smaller. "I've begged you, repeatedly, to let us know when you're on the move, again."

"It wasn't planned." He had been awoken in the middle the night when Lor contacted him, and as soon as he told him why he rushed from his bunker to the ship's cockpit, - without his pants, in fact - and took off for Jakku.

"Mom, wherever he's going, I'm sure it's for a good reason," the new voice was soon accompanied by the image of a teenage version of his mother; same ash-blonde hair, dark green eyes, and fair complexion as both her mother and brother.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Kiera." It seemed every time he saw her she was maturing, more, and more. It was one of the down sides of being away from his family for so long.

"Mom just misses you, big brother. We all do." Their mother nodded to concur. "But we all know how important your expeditions are. Just get in touch with us when you get the chance. Otherwise Mom won't stop pacing, imagining different scenarios where your life is in danger. See yah."

His little sister disappeared with a wave. "Yes, please send me a short message, at least. To tell me you're alright." His mother's genuine concern now showed. "I worry about you sometimes, sweetheart. It's getting a lot more dangerous to be searching for anything involving the Jedi and the Force. The First Order is growing stronger by the day. If they were to catch you-"

Her sentence trailed off. Misael could tell she didn't even want to complete that thought. He hated worrying her like this, but at the end of the day he couldn't end his travels. He couldn't stop his searches. Especially now.

"I love you, Misael. Be safe, and may the Force be with you."

"And with all of you."

The image disappeared. Misael took a deep long breath, relaxing into his seat. He thought about what he saw on Jakku. The entire village destroyed. All of it's residents dead. Lor San Tekka, dead.

The old man had traveled for years, learning all he could about the Jedi and the ways of the Force, which was why Misael sought him out, but rather than just sit him down and tell him everything he knew Lor instead encouraged Misael to make his own inquiries, his own discoveries, learn things that not even Lor knew of.

So for the last couple of years that was exactly what Misael did. The Empire had done their best to white wash the Jedi's exploits, making them out to be religious nuts and war criminals, but anyone who was motivated enough could dig through the misleading history and discover the truth.

Misael had traveled to many worlds where the Jedi left their marks: Naboo, Geonosis, Ryloth, Kashyyyk. Had collected many stories about numerous Jedi that had been passed down over the years, or remembered by people who had been around during the Old Republic years.

Eventually, he found his way to Minuroid, and thanks in part to Lor's good reference Misael was able to obtain a level one membership to the libraries, but for access the geographic archives' most precious records he needed a level ten. He doubted his situation would sway the Keepers to give him the planets of all ancient Jedi temples.

Suddenly his body became much more heavier, and he could barely keep his eyes open. He needed rest, and it would be a long trip to Minuroid. He would worry about getting access to those records when he got there. Right now, it was time to catch up on his sleep.

He allowed himself to drift away, right there in the pilot's seat. He would need all the energy possible if he was going to beat the First Order in this insane chase.

--------------------

Within the bridge of the Star Destroyer, Instigator, the viewport gave a view of the violet nebula where it was currently residing. Not that anyone spared a moment to appreciate the marvelous sight. All crewmen knew better than to be distracted from their duties.

Especially when their ship's General was present.

As soon as he set foot on the bridge, attention was drawn to him, but only momentarily.

His First Officer, Jerra Nimuk, approached with a quick salute, "General Mosney, reports have just arrived from Finalizer." She handed him a datapad, which he scanned through.

"The map wasn't obtained." Though he showed indifference to this, in truth the general wasn't pleased. As one of the more senior generals, who had served as far back as the days of the Galactic Empire, he knew the potential danger of Luke Skywalker remaining alive.

"No sir, but the report goes on to say that a Resistance member was captured, and he has knowledge of the map."

"Knowledge that has yet to be acquired." He handed her back the datapad and continued towards the viewport. "I am sorry to say too much confidence has been given to Hux and Kylo Ren. If Skywalker resurfaces, and the Jedi Order with him, our goal of restoring order to the galaxy will become far more difficult."

"Yes, General." It wasn't until they reached the viewport that Numik continued, in a lower voice, "The end of the report also tells of a ship that was spotted leaving the location of the village a mere hour after forces left."

He didn't turn away from the sight of the nebula. "Oh."

"It jumped into lightspeed almost right after being spotted, but it was identified as a modified Amara-class 87 freighter." The general turned, revealing a hint of interest that he was usually careful not to express. "Considering the connection Lor San Tekka had to Misael Lerus, it can be assumed that it was his ship that was seen leaving Jakku."

"Indeed. Reach out to all contacts in spaceports, shipyards, and stations to report back to me, personally, if the Starblazer should appear."

"Yes, General."

Nimuk gave him another salute and walked away, leaving him to ponder the unfolding events. With Starkiller Base in final preparations to used against the Republic, and the search for Skywalker coming to a long overdue close, him coming face-to-face with the young Lerus was a welcomed bonus.

From intelligence he had gathered, the young man had spent the last few years chasing knowledge of the Jedi, including the whereabouts of Luke Skywalker himself. Which was why the general was able to put eyes on him for some time, though his continued travels made it difficult. If Lor San Tekka had shared the map with him, then bringing him into custody would be for the benefit of the entire First Order.

He looked back at the nebula, stroking his short trimmed white beard.

As a child his grandfather would say that stars always aligned for those who took the time to observe them. Now he knew it to be true.





Author's Note: All comments, good or bad, will be appreciated. I would like to hear any opinion you might have on my fic so far.

 

Interesting story! I like the idea of him being hot on the trail. I wonder what adventures he'll find as he chases down Luke. And what does Luke mean to him? I'm looking forward to the next post.

 

Intriguing start indeed. A race/chase against time and adversaries.

 

As the story moves along, we will learn what's driving Misael to look for him. Thanks for reading.


Chapter Two

Minuroid sat at the very edge of the galaxy, surrounded by uninhabited systems. Far from any civilization, and for good reason as their archives rivaled any other organization's, or government's.

Because of its exclusivity, and secrecy, it had managed to exist without the awareness of the Old Republic, and the Empire, save for those deemed worthy to study its knowledge. Membership required the utmost confidence. From the way Misael heard it, Lor spent weeks arguing his case to the library's Keepers, and even after he was accepted, it was done so with caution.

The Starblazer dropped above the planet's northern region where the libraries were located. All the rest of the planet was unoccupied, save for some wildlife. A series of structures stood at the center of what was a canyon as wide as a Super Star Destroyer.

Instead of constructing a building for the libraries, the grand caverns within were used to house them. He flew into an opening at the very bottom of the structure that led into a large hangar.

Before leaving his ship he remembered to send a quick message to his family, letting them know he was fine, but he would be chasing a lead on something important, and might be out of touch for a week or so. He was thankful they were asleep right now, otherwise he would've had to talk to them, in person, and given them a far better explanation for himself.

A hangar technician was already waiting outside when he came down to the ramp. A blue-skinned female in a pale green jumpsuit, with a violet-domed astromech droid behind her. "Any maintenance? Cleaning service?"

"Just a quick refuel and navigation systems upgrade, please." He handed her the credits for the service. "I'll be leaving in just an hour, or so. Thanks."

As he walked off thought about how he recognized the technician from the last few times he had been to Minuroid, but never got her name.

From the hangar he took a hallway that led him into the heart of the libraries. a large, circular room that was illuminated with blue ceiling lights. At the center was an arced stone table that was surrounded by high shelves of data books, chips, and even old-fashioned paper made books, and above the table was the view of levels, upon levels, of identical spaces.

One could spend several lifetimes learning all its place had to offer. Some have.

"Seeker Lerus." From the arc table, Minar Tem, an elderly cosian, and Grand Keeper of the libraries stood. "We welcome you back. I hope this will be more than a brief visit."

He walked over to the table and shook the Grand Keeper's hand. "I'm afraid I have to disappoint you, Minar. I was hoping to speak with Grand Keeper Tusa."

"You will find her in the twentieth level at this time of the day."

"Thank you."

Despite his haste he was barely a step towards the lifts before Minar chose to continue their conversation. "My dear boy, I hope whatever has been beckons you to go about your life in such a haste allows you to eventually slow down. Your time here has been far but stolen moments."

"I'm sorry for that." He really was. Especially now that he needed access to the most highest level of information they had. "I know I owe this place more of my attention."

"You remind me much of Lor San Tekka. Always o the move. never able to remain still for too long." He laughed with nostalgia.

A heavy gulp slid down Misael's throat. he had never been in a position where he needed to deliver this kind of news before. "About Lor-"

"Grand Keeper!" someone called from a nearby aisle.

"We will speak more later." The two nodded to one another respectively, and Minar went on his way.

No doubt, once news broke of Lor's passing, a memorial would be held for him by the Keepers. Misael wished he would be able to stay for it, but he would be gone within the next hour, if things went as he hoped.

It took him a whole ten minutes of wandering the twentieth level before finding Grand Keeper, Sela Tusa, in the twentieth level, seated alone in a quiet aisle, eyes fixed on an old book.

"Good day, Sela."

Her species' long neck was only beaten by those of a kaminoan, so even seated he had to arch his neck back to face her. At the age of five hundred her dark eyes were of someone who had seen much. When she saw him she stroked a hand over her hairless, orange, head and offered a warm smile.

If there was anybody here who might able - and most of all willing - to help him, it would be her.

"Why, Misael. To what do I owe the pleasure of your company, today?"

"I wish I was here just to say hi." Despite being alone in the long aisle he walked up to her so he could whisper, "I need you to use your level ten access to get a list of planets where the earliest known Jedi temples were."

Most in Sela's position would've probably been shocked, maybe even angered to be asked of such a thing, but instead she presented a reaction of curiosity. "You ask me to commit an act that breaks the oath we both took when receiving membership here."

He nodded. "Yes, I know. I know sharing knowledge with me that is above my level is against all the rules, but sometimes a situation demands us to break even the most sacred of rules."

"Ahh, so you intend to sway me by painting the most desperate of circumstances?" She raised an eyebrow, smirking. "What could be so dire as to you needing such sensitive information. If such information exist here, of course?"

Once more, out of paranoia, Misael looked around to make sure they were still alone before answering. "The First Order is on the verge of finding Luke Skywalker, so I need to get to him first."

"Luke Skywalker." Sela made sure to only whisper his name, joining in Misael's paranoia. "My, owe my, you are in the thick of things now. Aren't you?"

"Lor contacted me about finding a map that leads to him, but before I got there the First Order did." he hesitated before continuing. "He's gone, Sela. They killed him."

With a soft breath, Sela closed her eyes. "Lor San Tekka. May he be one with the Force now."

In her five, long, centuries Misael knew she had lived through the passing of many who were dear and near to her. So death must be as regular for her as life was.

"I wish I could stop to grieve for him, too, but that's a luxury I don't have right now. Please, will you get me the locations of temples?"

He expected Sela to weigh the situation for a bit before deciding, but instead she immediately answered. "Very well. For the sake of the galaxy I will give you what you seek."

For the first time in days Misael smiled. "Thank you, Sela."

"Wait for me at your ship. I assume time is of the essence."

She was already on her way. "Thank you," he said as she turned out of the aisle. Misael went straight back to the Starblazer.

----------

As Kym waited for refueling to finish, she took the time to give the Starblazer a long, admiring look. Like she always did when its cute owner came to Minuroid. She knew her starships, and could tell this two decade old Amara model was heavily modified from its original design.

Reinforcements were made on key spots of the hull where vital parts of the ship benefited from the extra protection. Up to date repulsors for a smoother flight. Military grade long range sensors. A proton torpedo launcher installed beneath the nose.

R4-T1 came rolling down the ramp, with a series of whistles and beeps that told of her report.

"What have I told you about going through a ship's jump history?" Her droid replied defensively. "It's an invasion of privacy."

She only gave a long whistle.

"Yeah, I know he goes to a lot of interesting places, but what does that matter to us?" R4 gave a few beeps that almost sounded like a laugh, making Kym's face light up in fury. "Say that again, and it's a memory wipe for you. Don't think I won't do it."

R4 gave her a pair beeps in challenge. Kym just snorted at her.

After the refueling was finished she was in the middle of detaching the pumps when the pilot came back.

"Thanks for getting that done quick."

"All in a day's work. You weren't kidding about a short visit. It wasn't even an hour."

"I just needed to get something from a friend." Whatever it was seemed to have him excited. He looked like he wanted to start jumping like a child. "I'll make flight preparations while I'm waiting for her."

With a nod he sprinted up inside. Kym set the pumps back with the fuel tank and examined the ship one last time. What she would give to have a ship to call her own. Sadly, she was still years away from that dream becoming a reality.

R4 started a long whistle that Kym interrupted, "Finish that sentence, and I'll send you to work sanitation."

----------

Deep inside, he could feel the excitement of a child jumping up and down at the idea of finally finding Luke Skywalker. After all these years. After all the dead ends. After all the disappointments.

So many had been searching for him since his disappearance, from one end of the galaxy to the other. Misael's personal desires aside, the galaxy needed him. It needed the Jedi. It needed the light side of the Force.

When the Starblazer was set for takeoff, Misael went outside to wait for Sela.

"Nice ship."

Close by, leaning against a stack of crates, waving a small knife around his fingers, was a dug with two blasters holstered to him.

"Thanks."

"You've made some personal modifications, I see."

"Here, and there."

"You see I noticed it back at Tabatan Station."

An alarm immediately went off for Misael. He hadn't even stopped at the station when he was in between jumps. Now here this dug stood, and everything about him read bounty hunter. He'd come across enough of them to have picked up their manners and attitudes.

"Look, um . . ."

Continuing to twirl his knife, he smiled. "Char."

"Char. Stalking across the stars is not the right way to go about making new friends."

He laughed. "Oh, I'm afraid our potential friendship was shattered well before I spotted you passing by."

"How unfortunate."

He made a step for the ramp, only to have a familiar knife come striking down right in front of his boot.

 

Prologue
From the first sentence, this was gripping. The kind of stories I like. And the idea that Misael was somebody sent for the map as well is something that only a brave, brave writer would explore. In my headcanon, in all the situations where the destiny of the Galaxy was in question, there would just have had to be multiple such missions.

He landed beside the skeletal remains of another ship in a haste, practically jumping from the pilot's seat to the doorway.

And we toooooottally don't know that ship. Clever.

His stomach twisted into so many knots inside that it took everything in him to swallow back his vomit.

Nice dash of realism here. In so many professional, as well as fan works, even in TFA itself, there's that "never mind the dead" thing going on and what Misael is doing here, how his body and his mind, when he talks to Lor's corpse, feel at this point, is such a breath of fresh air...even when it, yeah, stinks of death.


Chapter One
I see Minuroid is a fanon planet. I'll just leave this link here:
http://boards.theforce.net/threads/the-fanon-thread-challenge-1-fanon-roulette-12-11.50024318/

"Misael Lerus," Her tone was all too familiar. That of a disciplinary mother who expected better from him. "I don't care where you are, or what you're doing right now. When your mother calls, you answer."

"Sorry, Mom," he said to the recorded message.

Didn't quite expect THAT. Moms, moms, moms...he is obviously on a mission for a higher purpose and there she is, implying that he will be grounded. Instead of that, she could, you know, be a bit nicer and wonder how he's feeling in the cold of hyperspace, without his pants. Not cool, mom.

I get it that Kiera is Misael's sister, yet she seems more mature than their mother. Love the vote of confidence family joke. XD

"Yes, General." It wasn't until they reached the viewport that Numik continued, in a lower voice, "The end of the report also tells of a ship that was spotted leaving the location of the village a mere hour after forces left."

He didn't turn away from the sight of the nebula. "Oh."

Not only that Misael is asleep at the wheel, but now he's got First Order on his back. "Oh", indeed. A nebula-sized "Oh", for that matter.


As a child his grandfather would say that stars always aligned for those who took the time to observe them. Now he knew it to be true.

This is an incredible sentence and it leaves me hungry to know more - both about Nimuk and his grandfather.


Chapter Two
Gorgeous worldscape of Minuroid and a very, very intriguing one, for that matter.

A series of structures stood at the center of what was a canyon as wide as a Super Star Destroyer.

Niiice comparison.

Instead of constructing a building for the libraries, the grand caverns within were used to house them.

And this is beyond cool, not to mention how much in the spirit of Star Wars it is!

Is Sela a Quermian?

Also, I'm intrigued about how this library works and what membership level is required to have access to a specific level of, well, secrecy.

R4-T1 seems to be a bit too curious.

And eeek, that cliffhanger! That Char! A bit worried about Misael now.

 

Intrigued by the library and the levels requiring access to information. Yup, a curious R4 and a bounty hunter - Nothing like realizing you thought you were two steps ahead but actually your adversary was there to meet you.

 

No, Sela is not a Quermian. More on her and Minuroid later down the road. I was inspired by Lost Stars, and that in Star Wars, there's always another story unfolding off camera. Thanks for reading.

----------

Chapter Three

Misael barely had time to turn back around to face the dug, Char, who collided with him, in midair, eyes fixed on his prey, arms stretched out, seizing his shoulders while his legs kicked Misael in the gut. throwing him down onto the ramp.

"Humans. Got to love your horrible reflexes," he said, grinning as he took out a set of binders for his wrists -

- only to drop them after Misael grabbed him by the torso and threw him up into the air. Char landed a good distance away on all fours, sliding across the floor, growling. "Dugs, got to love your light weight."

Both stood back up and started to circle each other. Misael raised his arms, eyes fixed on Char, daring him to make the first. In a fight, his parents taught him to let his opponent make the first move.

Finally, Char charged, dropping to his back and sliding under his open legs. He hopped with one leg, swinging with the other, and would've gotten him right in the ribs, but Misael parried him away by the wrist. he dropped back a step, and took a defensive stance.

His resistance seemed to be annoying Char, as evident by his growing growl. "You know you're kind of drooling a little," Misael taunted.

He jumped Misael again, only this time Misael ducked, and pounded into his stomach with his entire wrist as he came over him. This time when Char fell back to the floor, it was in an uncontrolled roll.

Misael wasted no time in moving towards him to finish this fight. He wouldn't kill him. Just shove into an empty container somewhere, and leave him for the Grand Keepers to deal with. They didn't take kindly to those who stirred up trouble under their roof.

Char was quick to get back on his feet - and this time with two blasters pointed at him. "This was fun, but enough horsing around. Time to come quietly, like a good little bounty."

"That's cheating," he said only half playfully.

"Bounty Hunter's aren't much for playing fair. Especially when it's the First Order giving the job."

It took a moment for it to sink into Misael that the First Order had sent a bounty hunter after him. After him.

"Now let's head to my ship and-"

Suddenly, Char's entire body went into a mad shake, and then stiffened before dropping to the floor, his blasters dropping onto Misael's feet.

Standing behind Char's still shaking body was the violet astromech droid, waddling and whistling in pure joy over its take down. Behind it was the technician who had refueled his ship.

"Thanks for the save."

By the look of her wide eyes, the girl was still trying to process whatever situation it was that she had just stepped into. "Be thankful I forgot my datapad."

Her droid gave another few beeps. "Yes, we both know you're actually the one that saved him, Arfour."

Misael nodded. "Thanks for coming to my rescue."

A whistle from Char pulled their attention back to him, who in turns was looking across the hangar to where a single, gigantic wookiee appeared.

"Take . . . all . . . three," Char commanded.

On that command his backup came across the hangar, quickly closing the distance between themselves and their three targets, forcing them back as far as the Starblazer's ramp.

Between them, R4 shook in mad fear. "Okay, helping you with one guy is manageable, but this is a little more than what my droid's shocker can handle."

"Don't worry, I have an idea."

"Please, don't tell me it's to run."

"That's step two."

"And step one."

Misael was hesitant to do step one, because that meant immediately making a run for his ship and taking off without the list of planets Sela had been generous enough to go and get for him -

- Sela , who was now coming up across the hangar, behind their soon-to-be captors. Misael eyed her. She eyed him back, and nodded, raising a hand, where she held a data chip. He nodded. "When I tell you, shut your eyes," he whispered to the technician, who nodded.

Char was back on his feet and he seemed angrier than ever. "The boy, we deliver to the First Order. The girl, we teach a lesson to. The droid, we smash apart and then sell for scrap."

R4 gave a loud squeal of objection to that idea.

Misael gave Sela a nod, who took it as a signal to pitch the data chip up into the air with an impressive swing. It fell back down right towards Misael on the ramp, where one hand was already waiting to catch it. Meanwhile, his other simultaneously pulled out a small marble, from his back pocket, that he had gotten from Kiera on his last birthday.

"Now!"

With his fingers he pressed into it, and before anybody other than him and Kym could cover their eyes and look away the marble gave out a grand blinding light.

The two opened their eyes to the view both bounty hunters rubbing at their eyes from the slight burning sensation the flash gave them. Both wandered off, disoriented. Char collapsed onto the floor, half growling, half crying. His howling wookiee partner, stumbled into a stack of crates, and started pounding his head onto the floor.

"Misael! Go!" Sela yelled from across the hangar.

He didn't need to be told twice. "Run," he told the technician before turning around and racing up the ramp.

It wasn't until he was in the cockpit, taking off that he looked back at the doorway to see the same technician, plus her droid, standing there. "What are you doing here?"

"Getting out of this planet with you, I guess!" she said in a heap of a breath.

At first, Misael had the instinct to land the ship back, and let them out, but the Starblazer started rocking from what could only be blaster shots. So there was no choice but to leave now, with them on board. "Get the shields up, then."

She hopped onto the copilot's chair and went to work, while he flew them out of the hangar, a few blaster shots following them out.

Before the alarm on the console even went off, Misael knew something was wrong by the way the Starblazer struggled to pick up some air.

"Shrap! The rear repulsors are offline.!" He checked the systems on the scanners. "One of those blaster bolts must've gotten a lucky shot."

His new copilot was also checking the scanners. "Their compressors came loose. We can reattach if we land."

"Not an option. Those bounty hunters are probably already getting their vision back. They'll be on our tail soon."

"Then we can reroute them through the mid compressors manually," she suggested.

He nodded. "Do it. They're-"

She was already out of her seat. "-I know where!" Her droid followed.

Misael worked to keep the other repulsors steady as they struggled to keep the ship airborne. This was his own fault for not reinforcing the compressor bindings when he saw they needed it just yesterday. Now he couldn't get them out of the atmosphere.

Two long minutes passed until the technician's voice came through the comm receiver. "I'm rerouting them right now. It will take a minute, or two."

A blinking light in the tactical display showed that a ship was closing in on them. "Hurry, we have company."

A rocking of the ship told him they were being fired at. "Hang on back there!" He put the Starblazer in a long arch back down towards the ground to avoid the following stream of green laser fire. Back in level he then spun it by its nose, and hit the throttle, taking them back in the direction they came from, and out of the ship's front line of fire, but only momentarily.

That trick put a strain on the repulsors, and cost him more space between them and the surface. Their pursuers soon came up above them and started firing right ahead of them. Misael knew they were trying to force him to fall back directly below so that they could drop a missile on them, or ram them down, but Misael saw an alternative ahead.

The nose of his ship took a few shots, but the extra time gave him the opening to twirl them into a canyon opening. He dropped to its very bottom, giving them cover, and forcing the dug and wookiee to follow behind.

"Rerouting is done! Repulsors have full power, now!"

"Good, now we can lose these guys."

Up ahead, he saw a long tower of rock, and rather than slow down, or change course, he put the ship to full speed. The other ship stayed on their tail,. Misael kept his eyes ahead at the growing wall, not blinking, not flinching, until the very last possible second, when he pulled at the controls, ranking the nose up towards the air.

The Starblazer flew up against the tower, but their pursuing ship wasn't as slick. The rear view camera showed its belly sliding against it, debris of both rock and durasteel breaking off from the collision. Instead of continuing towards the sky it spat out of the canyon, only to collapse back down to the ground moments later.

His new companion came back into the cockpit after they were already out in space. "That was some impressive flying. I could feel the maneuvering from the repulsor compartments."

"One of the benefits of having two pilots for parents." Only after making the jump to lightspeed did Misael think to ask, "I never got your name."

"Kym, Kym Ravers."

"My name's Misael. Misael Lerus."

"Good to formally meet you."

Behind them, her droid whistled what Misael assumed was an introduction.

"She's asking how you pronounce that," Kym translated.

 

Oooh, that tech is a great one to have along. Glad they got away.

 

Shrap is an awesome swear word. Other than that, I can totally see how multiple stories unfold at multiple paces as, IMHO, that IS what SW is all about. And this is precisely how I want my SW-anything to be. Some action, some humour, some mystery.

The encounter between Char and Misael went exactly the way I expected it to, R4 reminds me of R2-D2 in a good way and Kym is pretty cool. Can't wait to see what happens next!

 

Chapter Four

"It smells like soup in here," Kym remarked from the doorway of the small kitchen, where she waited as Misael took out two bottles of jawa juice from the refrigerator.

"Sorry, I delivered all these crates of exotic fruit to Kantar a few days ago." He handed her one of the bottles, "and the smell still hasn't gone away."

"So on top of being a target for the First Order you're a delivery boy?"

He took a drink from his bottle before answering, "Courier - and a First Order target is a recent title."

"How recent?"

He moved out of the kitchen, back towards the cockpit where they had left R4. "As of fifteen minutes ago."

She followed. "What did you do to get on their wanted list?"

Instead of answering right away he seemed to mull over what to say to her, which made Kym question how wise it was to come to this guy's aide. What was she even thinking, sending R4 to intervene? Even worse was that they followed him into his ship?

At that moment, all she was thinking was getting away from that dug, and his muscle, who had been planning to take with them, along with Misael. So she instinctively jumped into the freighter to put as much distance from them as she possibly could.

Now she was aboard a ship with a complete stranger who was wanted by a powerful militia that, by all accounts of the stories she was hearing, were as brutal and malicious as their Imperial predecessors.

How had her life taken such an insane turn in the last twenty minutes?

Connected to the console, Arfour beeped them an update on their jump.

"We're a few minutes away from coming out of lightspeed," Kym translated to Misael.

"Into the Ion System," he added. "From Port Roche, here, you'll be able to catch a transport back to Minuroid."

"Minuroid? I can't go back there." The image of the growling dug and his monsterous wookiee companion came back to mind. "Those bounty hunters are looking for both of us now."

"I'm sure if they had to choose they'd come after me," he reassured her as he took out the data chip that Sela threw to him. "I'm clearly the prey that will get them paid."

"Yeah, but why?" Again, he went silent. "Come on, out with it. Why is the First Order so interested in you?"

He scratched his head, and looked back down at the data chip in his hand. "If I had to guess, they think I might have some valuable imformation regarding the galaxy's most wanted man."

Kym and Arfour exchanged confused glances. "You're going to have to elaborate."

Once more, to her annoyance, he mulled over how to respond. "You see, a friend of mine on Jakku found a star map that leads to someone who the First Order is trying to find and kill before he can resurface and threaten everything they're working towards."

Arfour made a comment of skepticism that Kym shared. This sounded like something out of an action thriller holo. "How can a single person be such a threat?"

Misael actually laughed at her. "Oh, trust me, he is every bit the threat they see him as."

Still in disbeleif, Kym waved off the comment. "Who is he? Luke Skywalker?"

All it took was Misael's head jerking and the curl of his lips to give her the answer. She could literally feel both of her hearts freeze in shock. "No." He nodded. "But he's been missing for years. Lot's of people say he's probably dead."

R4 gave a long whistle of amazement.

"I hope not.. Otherwise, people have sure been wasting their time and efforts searching for him - including me."

"And you know where he is?"

He raised the hand with the data chip. "No. The First Order got to my friend first."

"So they know where he is?"

"I thought so, but now that they're after me, I'm thinking they didn't get the map, and when they spotted me leaving Jakku, they thought maybe I had it."

Kym took the data chip from him. "What did you get from Minuroid?"

"A list of planets where Jedi Temples used to be."

The ship slightly shuttered as it dropped out of lightspeed., not far from a planet that was up ahead. Misael took the controls. "Look, I'm sorry you got dragged into this. I owe you one for saving my skin. Really. But I have to get a move on."

"You're going after Luke Skywalker?" she asked earnestly, as if she was still an overexcited child.

"That's the plan."

Kym took a seat on the copilot's chair. "Then I'm coming along."

Misael eyed her, suspicously. "`Kym, this isn't your fight. Why do you want to get involved in this?"

It was a good question. Coming along to get away from those bounty hunters was one thing, but to now to be going willingly on this life or death mission was insane. So why was she doing it? Her eyes wandered off towards the view of stars. So seemingly endless to her. So unknown.

How tired she was of just looking at its vastness, night after night for as long as she could remember. This was her oppurtunty to actually go out there.

"It's an adventure," she summarized for him.

Once again, Misael didn't give an immediate response, but this time Kym understood why he needed to think this through. How could he be sure she was trustworthy? They just met afterall.

Finally, he steered the ship away from the planet, to Kym's great delight. "Let's take a look at that list."

----------

"Minuroid, what was he doing there?"

General Mosney was staring at the hand-sized holographic image of an angry-looking dug on his desk, who had contacted him about young Lerus' whereabouts. Upong recieving word from this bounty hunter he had hoped to be told of the young man's immement delivery to him, only to be disappointed by the news that he had slipped the bounty hunter's grasp.

"Didn't get the chance to ask," the dug growled. "He had help from a Hyril girl, and they both blasted out of the planet."

"So you have contacted me to say that you failed to acquire the bounty." Behind him,, he could hear the two steps Nimuk took away from him. "I don't care for wasting a transmission with reports of failure."

The dug raised a finger to him, smiling. "Hold on there. I didn't say we left Minuroid empty handed." He gestred for a wookiee to step into the image, along with an elderly hoslok woman in his tight grip.

"This lady here handed him something just before he ran into his ship."

Mosney gave the hoslok an examination. She didn't seem scared by her situation. in fact, she appeared quite relaxed. This was probably not her first, or even second, hostage experience.

"We'd be happy to - ask about the boy," the dug offered, with a bit of enthuciasm that was shared by the wookie's growel.

Mosney became focused on her eyes. Even in this small image he could see into them. See the centuries of knowledge and experience. See the secrets she held. Secrets about Misael Lerus that he very much wanted to learn.

"No, bring her to me. My people will question her more creatively."

 

Kym is going for the adventure and it's good to have someone along to get you out of tight corners when they pop up And they will because the ones after him apparently aren't going away soon.

 

How had her life taken such an insane turn in the last twenty minutes?

This made me snicker. Both Kym and Misael seem to be so impulsive, rash and it's almost as if their names spell trouble. Lucky they have R4 to take care of them. But with all of those folks on their back, I'm not sure if that will be enough. EEEK.

 

Your story is getting exciting! This has a real "Rebels" feel to it. I love that Arfour is a girl, btw.

 

Sorry about the wait. I needed extra time to get this chapter the way I wanted it.

Chapter Five

"Please, tell me your people have better hospiality than my last pair of hosts.

Mosney stood at the door of one of the Instigator's detention cells, where his new hoslok guest was now sitting on the cold solid bunk attached to the wall. The bounty hunters had brought her aboard only minutes ago, and the General immediately came to see her at the detention block.

"They threw me into a cargo hold for the entire trip. It was quite cold - even for my species."

Her courteous manners were different from what Mosney usually saw in a prisoner over the course of all his decades of service. Here she was, under the imprisonment of the First Order, and she spoke to him as if a friend whom she was visiting for afternoon tea.

Either she cared little for her well being, or she had been in enough situations of this sort that left her a professional in imprisonment.

Either way, Mosney would treat her like any other prisoner. Either she would tell him all she knew about Misael Lerus' whereabouts, or she would suffer. Then they would see how relaxed her manners would remain.

"You haven't asked for my name," she pointed out once she was settled. "Nor have you introduced yourself. You are not giving me a good first impression, my friend."

"Forgive me, but we are not friends," he corrected politely.

She slightly looked away. "Oh, pity. Friends are a nice thing to have. I've had so many. Said goodbye to so many in my five centuries. One of the drawbacks of having a lifespan longer than most species."

Time was of the essence, so rather than encourage this small talk Mosney got right to the point. "I would like to speak to you about one particular friend I believe you have."

"Oh?"

"Yes, Misael Lerus."

"Ahh, fine young human man." She smiled as if she was sharing in a moment nostalgia with him. "I met him a few years back when he first arrived Minuroid. Quite the curious lad. Eager to learn. Eager to see so much. Discover so much. Become so much. A true seeker of life. What a fire in him that burns as bright as the mightiest sun."

As she was saying this Mosney could see the sincerity in her comments about Lerus. Details that, while of no value in finding him, painted a better picture of the young man. A picture he was glad to have a more clear image of.

"What did you give him before he fled Minuroid?"

"A datachip."

"A datachip of what?"

"Planets."

"Which planets? Why?"

Instead of elaborating further she laid down on the bunk, seemingly at peace with its less than desirable measure of comfort, and closed her eyes.

"It's late. I must retire. A woman of my age needs her sleep."

A quiet huff of displeasure broke free from him. If she actually believed she was in control of her circumstances, then he would have to correct her of that belief.

----------

"So, I don't suppose Skywalker will be at this first planet?" Kym was following Misael down a latter, into the belly of his ship. "Aqua-something?"

"Aquapolis. It's a in the Hal system." He hopped off the latter into the deck of a dark space. From the panel next to the latter he turned on the lights, revealing two rows of three escape pods, minus one at the end where in its place instead was a blue and silver starfighter.

"Maybe he is, maybe he isn't." He stepped onto one of the fighter's small wings and opened the cockpit. "For all we know, he's not on any of the list of planets that Sela gave us."

"And even if he did go to one of them, who's to say he's still there," Kym added. "This little search mission of ours has a lot of maybes, what ifs, and hopefullys. Doesn't it?"

"Afraid so." He took out the satchel bag that was on the seat. "I was starting to worry I left this back on Kantar."

"Wait." Kym gave the fighter a an shocked look. "This is an Eta-2 Actis-class interceptor. Clone War era."

Misael couldn't help but smile with pride over her amazed glow. Kym clearly had a love for all things that flew. Which made her job as a technician fitting. She was probably at her happiest tinkering inside a ship.

"Where did you get this?" She hopped onto the other wing and kneeled down to get a closer look inside.

"Dalton. I found it abandoned deep in the caves of these mountains."

Kym listened attentively as he told her about the trail he had followed of a Jedi Knight who had escaped Palpatine's initial execution order at the end of the Clone Wars. The Jedi, Hax Ultris, had managed to reach his fighter and take off, but not without sustaining some heavy damage from his former clonetrooper comrades.

"How did you find all this out?" Kym asked.

"I tracked down an eye witness," he explained. "He had just been a kid when he saw it happen."

Despite his old age, the man gave a detailed account of how the Jedi and clonetroopers had been setting up a relief camp for the refugees when he saw a clone commander receive a holo message of a cloaked man who instructed him to execute Order 66, and only moments after ending the communication did the clone order the other troops to open fire on their Jedi leader.

The dozens of civilian witnesses to the incident were given the explanation that the Jedi had been declared enemies of the state and were all to be killed on sight, not that any of them believed it. They had seen what kind of person Hax had been in his time on Dalton and refused to accept this sudden change of perception of the entire Jedi Order.

"Not that it mattered to the Empire what they thought," Kym remarked. "I never heard exactly how the Jedi got wiped out."

"They didn't see it coming. The soldiers who they fought and died with for three years turned around and killed them as soon as the order was given."

"So, how did you find his fighter?"

"Well, he wasn't able to make it off planet. Clonetroopers never found him, though."

"But you did?"

Sadly, Misael couldn't claim as much. After days of exploring the mountains where Hax had retreating in his limping fighter to he had spotted the cave where the fighter had landed, but any traces of its Jedi pilot were long gone. Misael checked every square inch of the cave for a body, but found nothing.

As far as the people of Dalton knew, Hax was never found after his escape. Misael liked to think the Jedi was able to live out his days in the mountain wilderness, never to be found by the Empire, but obviously he couldn't really say for sure.

With both palms she stroked the outside of the interceptor. "She's a beauty."

Misael tossed the satchel onto the catwalk before jumping into the cockpit. "Yeah, but she's been a nich to repair. It had taken a lot of damage all those years ago. Half its parts have needed replacing. She still isn't space worthy, I'm sorry to say."

"What are you missing?" Kym asked earnestly.

"Coolant valves, and an ionic tube."

She moaned, shaking her head. "Not the cheapest parts to come by."

"Afraid not, but I'll get her running again, eventually."

"So, all your travelling has been to find all things Jedi related?"

This had indeed been the central focus of Misael's life since he was a teenager on Coruscant. Those days entailed a lot of combing through records that the Empire had buried, but it wasn't until he started travelling five years ago that he really started learning about Jedi Order and the Force.

He had met Lor early on in his traveling. Like Misael, he knew the important role that the Jedi Knights had in the galaxy, and that if they didn't eventually return the dark side would rise to power once more, with the First Order. With Kylo Ren. Just thinking of his name made Misael's blood boil. If he hadn't been so-

Both of their comlinks beeped, meaning it was R4 from the Starblazer's cockpit. "Yeah," Kym answered. She gave a few beeps that she immediately translated for Misael. "We're almost to the Hal system."

"Then lets get back up there."

He closed up the fighter and followed Kym back up the ladder and back to the cockpit.

"Wouldn't it be something if we found Luke Skywalker right here and now," Kym said with glee.

"That would put a quick end to your adventure, now wouldn't it?" he pointed out.

"Getting to actually talk to Skywalker himself is an adventure in of it's self."

Misael kept to a mature manner, but on the inside all of his long living childhood hopes and wishes were parading around in anticipation and excitement. What if Luke really was here? What if he was actually going to see him on this day? What would come of it? Misael didn't even dare to whisper those possibilities.

R4 announced what Misael figured was that they were about to come out of hyperspace. "Here we are."

Lightspeed disappeared to give them the image of real space -

- along with the sight of a Star Destroyer, dead ahead of them.

"Oh, SHRAP! You've gotta' be kidding me!"

Between them, R4 let out a long series of beeps that no one could missinterrupt as anything other than absolute panic.

"Uh, I have a bad feeling about this," Kym expressed.

 

Aquapolis - nice name and great bit of history Miseal has, which Kym appreciates. But wow, the ending - totally a fine cliffhanger and classic final commentary.

 

Chapter Six

"Please tell me you can make another jump, right this very second," Kym pleaded.

"Working on it."

Misael moved the Starblazer out of the path of the Star Destroyer, only to put two more in their sight a little further away. Kym cursed under her breath as she checked the long range sensors, and cursed again.

"There's half a dozen of them orbiting the planet."

A signal from the comlink receiver went out. She and Misael exchanged panicked glances. He bobbed his head to it while continuing to setup for another jump. Kym hesitantly opened the channel.

"This is the Star Destroyer, Infuriate, " a male voice said "You have entered First Order territory. State your business."

Misael cleared his throat before speaking, "Hey there, we were just passing through. Not looking to get into any problems with you guys."

Console systems showed the hyperdrive needed a few minutes before making another jump, but Kym even wasn't sure they had one. The First Order was on the look out for this ship. It wasn't going to take them long to identify it as the Starblazer.

"And where is your destination?"

"Somewhere that isn't here."

Kym eyeballed Misael, wondering if he was trying to be funny, or flat out rude, to these guys. Not that it mattered, since neither was the way to go with them.

R4 whistled an alert on the tactical display. Kym looked over, and her nerves went from panic to terror. Half a dozen TIE fighters were moving in on their position. They must've already figured out who they were. She fisted Misael on the shoulder and pointed to what she was seeing.

Misael took a deep breath. "The gun turret."

Gulping, Kym nodded and got up to leave the cockpit. She put her hand up to R4 when she started to follow, to which she obeyed with a reluctant whistle.

Kym sprinted to the ship's rear, where the turret was located on the top. Even though she had spent time in gun turrets for her job, and she knew how to operate them, Kym had never actually fired them at anyone or anything. If the moment came could she actually shoot at any of those fighters - and potentially kill the pilots aboard them?

They won't hesitate to do it to us.

This was the First Order they were talking, after all. From everything she had heard they didn't believe in mercy. So if push came to shove she wasn't going to just sit back and let them get blown off the face of the galaxy without a fight.

She had strapped herself into the seat just as Misael twirled them away from the Star Destroyers, which was immediately followed by green laser fire from all six TIE fighters.

"Give it as good as you're getting it, Kym," she told herself.

The targeting computer had two of the fighters coming in and out of range. She fired the cannons, sending a stream of blue laser fire that forced them to slightly pull back.

"One of the Star Destroyers is closing in on us" Misael warned from the comlink on her headset. "Get ready to fire at their cannons, or we'll be taken out."

"Okay."

Soon enough the Star Destroyer came to view above her, so she positioned the cannons upwards. As warned it started firing on them, but Misael's exceptional piloting was able to keep them from getting shot.

Kym zeroed in on the one of the cannons and fired. The lasers hit their mark to Kym's jittering delight. Moving on to the next cannon she gleefully watched it be explode into space debris as well.

Her revel in the success lasted only for the blink of an eye, as the Starblazer was shaken by the impact of enemy fire. "We have two fighters on our sides," Misael warned. She turned the turret and saw the first one on the computer. It took her a few attempts, during which the freighter was hit two more times, but she finally managed to hit the fighter.

Immediately, she moved on to the next one, which moved right behind them. Kym fired to no avail, as this pilot was able to skillfully evade her shots.

They came up over another Star Destroyer that immediately began firing on them, and to make matters worse, two more TIE fighters joined in to tail them. Kym decided to focus on the fighters. By sheer luck, she forced one of them in the line of fire of the Star Destroyer., and she was then able to shoot off half of one of the other's wings, sending it spinning out of control.

Kym let out a cheering, "Woooo!"

"Way to go," Misael complimented.

R4 made an announcement that didn't register with Kym, right away, as she was firing at the one remaining TIE fighter, but when it did she grinned: The hyperdrive was ready for another jump.

Well, it couldn't have come at a better time, as Kym saw an advancing squad of TIE fighters coming to assist from that last Star Destroyer, but they would be able to make the jump before they got close enough to engage, so Kym kept her focus on the one still trailing right behind them.

"We're about to jump," Misael warned. "Brace yourself."

Her eyes remained fixed on the targeting computer. Nothing else existed but the fighter as it came into the center . She fired one last time. The last thing she saw was the TIE fighter erupt into a small ball of flame before space transformed into a blue tunnel.

All of her muscles and nerves dropped down from the tense state she hadn't realized they had gone into during the fire fight. She had also gone crazy with sweat. Her jumpsuit was actually soaked.

R4 asked how she was. "We're alive, so I'd say I'm good. How about you, guys?"

"We could be in a worse place, no doubt about that."

"So, I guess we can cross that planet off the list."

 

Chapter five:

Things are not looking good for Sela - not at all. If nothing else, she can troll Mosney a bit. I like!

It was pretty obvious that Hax Ultris had contact with Lor San Tekka and it's a nice tie-in.

Eeek at the cliffie at the end!


Chapter six:

Loved this nod to TESB. And Misael and Kim's dynamics may be nothing like Han and Leia's, but there's something going on, for sure!

 

Superb action and skilled targeting by Kym. And excellent timing for the hyperdrive to come online again

 

Chapter Seven

Once they were safely in lightspeed Misael met Kym in the Starblazer's lounge. To his surprise, she pulled him into a tight hug. Coming up behind him, R4 whistled in what he figured was a teasing manner.

"I can't believe that just happened."

"Well, it did. That was some decent shooting."

"Thanks." Kym dropped back onto the sofa on one of the walls. "I've been on some simulators - but the real thing was something completely different."

The way she said this made Misael think about those TIE fighters she had taken out. Three for sure, possibly four if that pilot with the damaged wing didn't make it. Then there were those who might've been too close to the Star Destroyer cannons she had taken out.

Where earlier today Kym was an everyday technician, now she was a killer. Yes, those pilots were firing at them, possibly might've killed them if given the opportunity, but did self-defense really make that easy to just shake off the act?

"Are you going to be okay?"

She looked up at him. Misael hadn't spent time with a hyril before, so he had never noticed how bright their eyes were, brighter than human eyes. Her sky blues popped out of her darker shade of blue skin, but what Misael really noticed in them was the uncertainty. She had to be asking that question, herself.

"I just need a minute is all." R4 rolled over to her, offering a comforting whistle. She patted the droid's dome, smiling.

It didn't seem right to push, so he just nodded, and cursed himself for letting her come along. Just because she wanted to join in on this didn't mean he had to agree to it. What if they weren't so lucky next time they ran into trouble. Considering what they had endured already, it was practically a guarantee that they would find themselves in some kind of danger.

What if he got her killed?

"Maybe I should take you back to Minuroid," he offered.

In an instant Kym was back up on her feet. "No, Misael. I told you, I'm in this with you. Right to the end. No matter what."

"But-"

"I'm staying!" Her tone was crystal clear. There was no room for arguing. So he nodded. "Okay."

She brushed off some of her auburn hair that had come over her face. "Good. Now where to next? Aquabalis was a bust."

R4 beeped what Misael assumed was a correction.

"Whatever. Point is if the First Order has been hanging around there it's doubtful Luke Skywalker has. So where to next?"

Pulling out the datachip from his pocket, Misael kneeled down to R4, who opened her plug for him to put it into. She then projected a 3D image of the entire galaxy across the lounge, where half a dozen spots were dotted yellow.

Misael pointed to the one on Aquapolis. "We can cross that one off the list." The dot disappeared. "The next closest is Hammond."

R4 zoomed the image into the system. It was only three parsecs from where Misael had jumped them to.

"What's there? Besides an old temple?"" Kym asked.

On the table behind him, Misael picked up a datapad where he keyed in the planet for information. "Not much. Mostly forests, and wildlife. There is a sentient species, but they're pretty primitive. So we'll want to stay clear of them. We don't want to be seen flying around and being declared gods."

Kym grinned. "Speak for yourself."

Another jump later put them in Hammond. Thankfully, there was no presence of the First Order anywhere near this planet. There was no sign of any ships at all. In fact, the Starblazer's sensors weren't picking up any kind of signals or technology on the planet. Which was a good sign. If Luke Skywalker was going to seclude himself anywhere, it would be here. At least that was his hope.

The planetary coordinates for the temple placed it on the clearing of a dense forest.

It wasn't until they came upon the view of a vast stone structure on the clearing that Misael realized he had been holding his breath since coming into the system.

R4 beeped a comment. "Yeah, that's definitely not a bad place to hide out in. Where should we land?" Kym remarked, adjusting her tool belt, that was now buckled around the shoulder-to-toe plain black clothes that Misael gave her.

"There's a courtyard in the center."

He moved the Starblazer towards it- and lost his breath again when he saw what was already sitting in there. "That's another ship," Kym declared in a hush.

Yes, there was no mistaking it, even from this far up. This was it. Skywalker was here. Misael had found him.

His ship was barely settled on the ground before he jumped off the pilot's seat to run for the ramp. He ran to the second ship, but his excitement quickly died away when he finally got a good look at it. Kym, and R4 soon caught up to him.

"This is another Jedi interceptor," Kym pointed out. "It looks like it's been sitting here for decades."

No doubt, by the looks of it's rusted surface, time and exposure to nature's treatment in this open courtyard had not been kind. But the fact that this was a Clone War era fighter meant that this couldn't possibly be Luke Skywalker's ship. Which meant that he might not be here, after all.

"I'm sorry, Misael." Kym put a light hand on his shoulder. "I think we all got our hopes up for a minute there."

"This did belong to a Jedi, though," he pointed out. He stepped onto the interceptor, opened the canopy, which struggled to rise up after years remaining shut, and then dropped into the pilot's seat.

"How does it look?"

"Judging by the years that it's just been sitting here, picking up dust;, it's probably not up to today's standards."

Under the console he opened a hidden compartment, same as the one in his own interceptor, and found a hand-held holo recorder. Kym, now sitting on the wing, took it from his hand, examined it, then turned it on.

A miniature 3D image of a rodian in Jedi robes came to life. "This is Jedi Knight, Kin Polse, of the Republic. If you are seeing this message then I am most likely now one with the Force, and you have found my ship on Hammond's Jedi Temple.

"Because of the this temple's forgotten existence I have come here to hide from the Imperial forces that are relentlessly hunting down my kind throughout the galaxy. After much careful thought, and meditation, I have decided to make this temple my new home, with no intention of ever returning to the outside galaxy."

"Smart move," Kym remarked.

"I leave this message, here in this temple, in the hopes that it is found by someone who is seeking knowledge of the Force. This temple was built over a strong concentration of Force energy. The Order came to use this energy as a means to test padawans by showing them the dark side of the Force in ways some came to deem cruel and abusive. Because of this the temple was ultimately abandoned and forgotten by the Order.

"My hope is that even though the Jedi Order has been destroyed that one day the light of the Force will rise from the ashes and place the Force back into balance. Even if I don't live to see this happen I trust the light side, and in those who wish to fight the darkness that has enveloped the galaxy.

"I urge you to explore this temple with caution. The dark side can show itself to you in ways you may not care to see. This temple's tests are not for the faint of hearted. With that I say farewell, and may the Force be with you."

The hologram disappeared. Kym handed Misael back the holo recorder, which he put in his jacket pocket. "Do you think he's still alive?"

"Doubtful. It's been fifty-three years." Misael climbed out of the interceptor, but instead of going back to the Starblazer he started across the courtyard, towards an opened doorway. "I'm going to take a look around. I'll be right back."

Kym nodded as she opened up a panel on the interceptor's wing to look inside.

The doorway took him into a long corridor, where he began to feel a cold chill as soon he stepped inside. Despite this, he ventured down the corridor towards another doorway, where writing was carved on the top by what might've been a lightsaber.

You will find only what you take with you.

The words gave him pause. Kin Polse's message said the Force energy here was used to show them dark side of the Force. What exactly did that mean? Did the dark side have some sort visual representation? Would he be better off turning around and leaving?

Maybe - but even then it was as if something was calling him inside. A whisper without an actual voice.

Whatever was waiting for him beyond that door wasn't going to scare him away. Maybe there was something worth learning here. Just because he didn't find Luke Skywalker, that didn't mean he had to leave empty handed.

So he pressed forward.

He was only two steps inside the grand, empty room when behind him a door dropped down, sealing him inside.

Pressing his hands onto the stone door did nothing. It was far too thick and heavy for him to be able to pry open. "You should've gone back, you idiot."

"Yes, you should've."

 

Interesting find and glad there wasn't an enemy lying in wait. The message is a nice blend of explanation and warning? Looks like if the ending is anything to go by.

~!

Happy that Kym insisted on continuing.

 

Chapter Eight

The voice was metallic, cold, emotionally, disconnected. It sounded like someone who wanted to initiate fear just by speaking. But fear wasn't what Misael felt in hearing this voice. It was anger.

Turning around, Misael came face-to-face with someone he had been wanting to meet with for a long time.

"Kylo Ren."

He stood at the center of the room, dressed in black robes, a hood and helmet masking his face. Just like the holos and eye-witness descriptions Misael had managed to track down. Anyone who knew of this man would understandingly have the immediate instinct to run for their lives as soon as they saw him. He was the First Order's number one enforcer for a reason.

But Misael, despite his knowledge of what Kylo Ren was capable of and what little chance he stood going up against him, moved towards him without a second thought of regard for his well being.

"Misael Lerus. What did you hope to accomplish coming here?" His head slightly tipped to one side, as if trying to examine him better. "Luke Skywalker is lost. The light in the Force is diminished. The Jedi are no more."

With each word he spoke Misael could feel his blood boiling, hotter and hotter.

"Your mission is a failure. Your goals - aimless. Your search - pointless. Your hopes - wasted."

If Misael didn't know any better he would have thought smoke was coming out of his ears, because that was certainly what it felt like.

Kylo continued his mocking, "You chase after a sad fantasy. A misguided idea that you can be so much more than what you are."

"You're one to talk." Misael spoke in such a low hush that it was surprising that it managed to get carried across the space between them. "From what I've heard about you, you're nothing but a Vader wannabe."

As the space between them was near disappearance, the man finally moved away from his spot, and the two began circling one another.

"Lord Vader destroyed the Jedi Order - and I have since eradicated those who intended to take it's place." Suddenly, they were surrounded by bodies that appeared out of nowhere. There was also a fire in the distance, where an entire structure was in flames. Moments later they were all gone. "I would say I am carrying on the Dark Lord's legacy quite exceptionally."

Now Misael had had enough. Without a second of hesitation he jumped for the man, fist swinging, aiming for his mask, but it only met empty space. Kylo Ren vanished into thin air.

"Did you really believe a single punch would end this confrontation?"

Spinning back around, he found him standing a little ways behind him. A rational person wouldn't think to make another pointless attempt after what had just happened, but Misael wasn't in the mood to be rational.

He moved towards him, again, but this time a snap-hiss halted him.

"Tell me you at least came armed." Kylo raised the hand holding his crimson cross-bladed lightsaber. Misael knew enough about lightsabers to tell that the scorching hum that it was giving off suggested pour construction. An unstable crystal probably.

In one swift thrust the blade was coming down towards him, but Misael jumped away in time, rolling across the floor. If only he had brought his blaster from the Starblazer. His father had given it to him when he first left home, but Misael only ever took it out for practice shooting.

Then he spotted a small object close by. It was a lightsaber handle. Where it could've come from, Misael couldn't say, but that didn't matter. Kylo was advancing towards him, blade raised, so he dived for the handle, grabbed it in his roll, then spun back up to his feet to face his attacker.

He pressed on the button, and a green blade came to life from the end of the handle.

Kylo laughed. "That weapon gives you no hope in beating me. In your hands, it's as useless as your fists."

Once more he took a swing at Misael, but he ducked and made his own attack, and their blades locked. They both pushed against each other, the blades crackling sparks. The heat was enough to make Misael wish they were on Hoth, but he refused to be forced back.

Both blades spun down, cutting the stone floor. Misael's went up high, so he twirled, and swung his lightsaber down towards Kylo's head, but he blocked it. Misael backed away, trying to figure out what his best course of action was.

"Thinking has no place in battle. A real warrior allows his instinct and skill to guide his actions. You, to your misfortune, have neither of these traits."

His mocking made Misael's head burn.

"All your travels. All your pursuits. All your knowledge - and for what?"

Misael charged, striking at him, over and over again, and each time his attacks were parried away. Finally done humoring him, Kylo spun around Misael, kicking him by the back, sending him to the floor.

But Misael wasn't done. He only stood back up, and raised his lightsaber again.

"What have you accomplished?" Kylo Ren shouted. "Nothing! Absolutely nothing! You're no closer to becoming the man you wish to be than a child playing make believe in the fantasy world of his bedroom."

Once more, he charge, but his attack struck air, as Kylo flipped over him.

"You're not a soldier. You're not a hero. You're most certainly not a Jedi. You never would've been."

He kept his lightsaber raised, ready to fight again, but stayed where he stood. Not out of fear, but rather uncertainty. Uncertainty of what he was doing here.

Kylo continued on, "You're nothing more than a child, who was given a deluded dream of being a savior to the galaxy. A light in the darkness. It's time to grow up, Misael Lerus, and see the universe for as it truly is."

His hesitation washed away at the man's last remark, replaced by pure fury. He attacked once more. This time more ferociously than before. Each assault was fueled with all the years of built up resentment and anger. Misael could only see red.

Finally, Kylo Ren was no longer showing the upper hand. He fell back with each step Misael took forward, until finally he stumbled and fell. With his blade slipping off to the side Misael struck down for the kill -

- only it wasn't Kylo Ren he delivered the killing blow to. As soon the blade made contact another man was in his place. He was a much older man, curly black hair and the same green eyes as him. Because it was the man who had passed down those eyes to Misael. It was his father, Katin Lerus.

"Dad."

Misael's face froze in utter terror. His father's looked up at him, bewildered. He coughed as he attempted to speak. Then, finally, he managed to utter a single word, "Misael," before dropping limp.

Even with him dead, Misael didn't immediately remove the lightsaber from his chest. A lightsaber that was now no longer green, but instead red. He looked around the room. There were new bodies. Only this time he recognized them.

His mother laid on her stomach close by, dead. His sister, Kiera, also dead, with a deep burning scar across her chest. There were also the bodies of, Sela, Kym, other friends, an old girlfriend, people whom he'd met in his travels.

Finally, he caught the face of a dead person that made his heart freeze.

It was Luke Skywalker.

His eyes were still wide open, but empty.

Kylo Ren's laugh echoed all over the room.

"This is the dark side of the Force." Misael looked back over to his sister, who's eyes were open again, but showed no real sign of life despite speaking. "This is what you achieve with anger and hatred. This is who you become."

"No." Misael dropped the lightsaber, closed his eye, and grabbed his head, as if to hold it in place from shattering. "NO!!!"

His scream bounced between all the walls, shooting back to him, over and over, for a whole minute. When he finally opened eyes he was alone in the room. No bodies,. No Kyo Ren. No lightsaber. Just him. Him and the horror of what he had just experienced.

The door he came in from rose open nearby. He was free to leave. His test was over.

Now came the hard part: Figuring out whether he passed or failed.

 

Whew, what a test, and a lesson I don't think he'll forget soon.

 

Apologies for the two week daily. I had a busy week before, and I didn't get all the time I needed to get this chapter right. Hope it's worth the bit of wait.

Chapter Nine

Kym was stepping back into the Starblazer's cockpit when the console's comn receiver beeped an incoming transmission. She thought to comn Misael, but he was still out exploring the temple.

Plus, she was curious to see who from his life might be calling him. So she opened the channel. A small hologram appeared of a human girl. A teenager who instantly reminded her of Misael. Same hair, eyes, same curious gaze.

"Hi," she said to the girl.

"Hello."

She gave Kym a long, hard, look from head to toe. Trying to get a read on her. Just like her brother did before deciding to let her come along in his search.

"You must be Kiera. Misael told me about you."

"Really? Well, I can't say he's mentioned you." She grinned. "Are you his girlfriend?"

"I . . . no, no. I'm a friend. My name is Kym."

"Oh, well, where is he?"

That was a good question; one that Kym would like the answer to as well. Misael had disappeared into the temple a while ago, and she was starting to get worried, but maybe that wasn't the right thing to say to his little sister, who would likely relay the information to their parents, and then his entire family would be left in worry halfway across the galaxy.

At the very least, she could give her a part of the truth. "He's on a little fact-finding mission right now."

By the drop of her eyebrows, she appeared a little suspicious of the answer. "That sounds like him. He disappears into some backdrop or wilderness a lot without telling us. Which really annoys our parents."

"Well, trust me, this is one of those worth-while quests that has his attention."

"So, you're not his girlfriend, but you're a close enough friend that he'll leave you in the Starblazer, alone." She smiled. "That says something. He doesn't just let anyone roam around our family's crown jewel without supervision."

"Crown Jewel?"

Kiera explained how as kids they had eyed the freighter in a junkyard one day, when on a walk with their dad. They had been on the hunt for a ship, and since the Starblazer was in such meager condition the junk dealer was happy to sell it to them for a meager price.

In the six years that followed the Lerus family rebuilt and modified the freighter, from top to bottom, inside and out. Six years of combing through every wire, circuitry, gear, inch of durasteel, software and hardware.

Half of it's parts ended up being replaced, along with upgrades on every single system. Then of course there was the decades of dust and mold that needed to be cleaned out - and not to mention the nests of critters that had taken up residence within its walls and dark corners.

There wasn't a day that didn't go by when they would both get out of school and return home they would immediately go to work on the ship. Kiera lost track of how many hours combined they had all spent at work over it.

Because of their parents' background as fighter pilots, in the Rebel Alliance, they gave the freighter a lot of military capabilities that didn't come standard. Since they had an understanding of how dangerous the galaxy could be, they wanted the Starblazer to be able to protect their family, if need be.

Finally, after all of their hard work and dedication the Starblazer rose from the ashes, and took flight once more.

Then their parents gifted it to Misael when he made his decision to leave home for his travels.

"Wow, I didn't know this."

"I wish I could have the chance to fly it more, but Misael's barely been back home since I got my pilot's license," Kiera moaned. "I just hope he's taking good care of her."

"Oh, don't worry, I've worked a little on it, myself. He's done a good job keeping it in top condition."

"He's let you work on it?" Once again, Kiera eyed her with suspicion. "Are you sure you're not his girlfriend."

"I'm sure," Kym said with a high pitch.

"Yeah, he never made it beyond that casual thing he had with Erina," she told her, "and no offense, but I'm still holding out hope for him and Arisa."

Now it felt like it was a good time to end the conversation, before Misael's sister gave Kym a detailed list of ex-girlfriends and casual acquaintances. "Well, I actually have to go and meet up with him, right now. So I'll let him know you called, and get him to comn you as soon as he gets back here."

"Do that, please?" She waved to Kym. "It was nice meeting you. If he starts showing you his little workshop there, then he's definitely interested in being more than friends. It was nice to meet you, bye."

Her hologram disappeared, leaving Kym the slightest bit uncomfortable about where that conversation had gone towards the end. She also couldn't help but wonder what kind of workshop Kiera was talking about.

She was about to step out of the cockpit when a beep from the console sounded out. It was the ship's long range sensors. Misael had left them on to alert them if another ship came into the planet.

The tactical display showed that not one, but three were coming into the atmosphere - and coming their way.

"We just can't catch a break, can we?"

----------

After what he had experienced inside that room in the temple, Misael didn't want to go back to Kym at the Starblazer, right away. He needed some alone time to process what he saw. So he took to wandering the temple's empty corridors.

In all this time that he had been studying the Force he never knew it to be capable of manifesting itself in such a way like that.

There hadn't been a shred of questioning in his mind about what was real when he was facing Kylo Ren - or rather the illusion of him. Nor when he was looking down at the dead bodies of his friends and family.

That vision, or mind trick; whatever it was showed him the man he had been wanting to face for so long now. The one person who - in his deepest, darkest, most private spaces of his mind - Misael wanted to kill. Never mind that every piece of details that he had been able to learn about him painted a man who was extremely powerful in the Force, and deadly to anyone who stood against him.

Yet here Misael was shown able to beat him.

I only beat him with my hatred.

And what did the Jedi warn against so firmly? Anger, hatred, fear. Those were all temptations of the dark side. A temptation Misael wasn't able to resist in that room. Which meant he had failed that test. If it even really was a test to begin with.

What he did know for sure was that the Force was more all knowing than he ever gave it credit for. He had been in this place all of five minutes when he went into that room and it manifested itself to him in such a personal.

It just went to show how little he truly knew about the ways of the Force. How little he probably would ever know. No matter how many places he visited. No matter what knowledge he dug up.

Even if he found Luke Skywalker, that didn't mean . . . Did Misael really think he was someone special? That he could help alter the course of the galaxy, in some way, for the better?

His comlink chirped, but Misael hesitated to answer. Right now, the solitude felt like it was what he needed. Then again, he had been gone for a little while now, so Kym might've gotten worried. So he pulled out the comlink from his pocket. "Hey, what's going?"

"We need to leave, now!" The urgency in Kym's voice was unmistakable. "We've got company!"

"On the way."

So much for taking time to ponder and feel sorry for himself. He had almost forgotten tat the First Order was still hunting for him. Nothing like being on the run from an evil regime to distract you from your real problems.

 

Chapter Ten

In his wandering Misael hadn't taken note of which direction he had been going, so he wasn't sure which way led back to the Starblazer. So when he found a spiral staircase he took it all the way to roof from where he was able to spot the courtyard in the distance. Unfortunately, there were also two red and silver, trident shaped, ships hovering over it.

He wasn't even two steps in its direction when a third trident ship came up above him. On the side of its nose Misael saw a sky blue crescent moon painted. He recognized it as the symbol of Crescent pirates.

First bounty hunters, then First Order, now pirates. These just haven't been the best few days for him.

As the ship set down in front of him, the ramp also dropped; a trio of men, standing in wait at the bottom, were all armed with blaster rifles. So Misael turned back around and dived down back into the staircase, narrowly avoiding a blue rifle bolt.

A few steps below him there was a narrow window into the top floor. He jumped through it and pinned himself against the wall as he heard the steps of the trio of men starting down the stairs.

"Remember, the First Order wants him alive," one of them barked. "So set for stun."

He watched through the window as the first two passed, but before the third one appeared Misael jumped back through, in front of him.

As he kicked the pirate in front of him on the back sending him tumbling down the stairs, Misael also grabbed for the rifle of the third pirate. He hit him right in the nose with his elbow, and shot a stun bolt at their lead, who followed his other friend down the staircase in am echoing roll.

Even with a blow to the face, the one remaining pirate was still standing and attempting to regain a hold of his rifle. Misael threw him against the wall, and was able to punch his neck with his own rifle. He dropped down, grabbing his throat as he tried to get his breathing going again. Misael knocked him out with a stun bolt.
Down the spiral staircase, he saw the other two both stopped near the bottom. The one he had kicked was stumbling back up to his feet, so Misael shot another stun bolt that sent him the rest of the way down to the bottom floor.

With their ship hovering right above, Misael's logical move would be to take the corridors back to the courtyard, but those other two ships had Kym and R4 pinned down, and what chance did he have against them?

He needed a better plan, and fast.

----------

Sitting on the pilot's seat, Kym pondered her choices. She could try to shoot her way out, but with these two ships right above her, and the type of firepower she knew this model had she doubted that would go well.

Surrender was an option, but from what she heard about these Crescent pirates a woman's surrender meant they would stake their claim on her in ways that weren't appealing to Kym.

R4 chirped an opinion that was in no way worth considering. "You really do have a death wish. Don't you?"

She gave an enthusiastic answer.

"Glad you haven't lost your sense of humor, considering our situation."

A voice came through the open channel, "Do yourself a favor, and just step outside, with your hands up. There's no getting out of this. The First Order has already been informed of your location here. Even if you were to get away from here, we have friends up in orbit waiting for you."

Now that made her bones shiver. she weighed her options again: Fight, surrender, die. Fight, surrender, die.. Why didn't she go back to Minuroid when Misael suggested it, again?

From the viewport Kym saw a third ship appear. Sighing, she really started to considering R4's suggestion of self-destructing - only to drop her mouth open in confusion as the new arrival began firing at its supposed wingmen.

One ship was hit at its engines, causing to collapse into the courtyard, right on top of the Jedi interceptor.

The second retreated before it took anymore damage on top of the already heavy fire it took from the surprise attack.

"Are you alright, Kym?" Misael asked from the comlink receiver.

"Nice new ship. Where did you get it?"

"The pilot was happy to let me aboard when I stepped out wearing a friend's jacket. Lucky for me I looked enough like one of the ones who came after me that he didn't notice the difference until I stepped into the cockpit."

The ship landed in the courtyard, and Misael made a quick run from it to the Starblazer. Kym took off as soon as he was aboard. R4 remarked how Misael was even with them now that he had saved them from the pirates.

"Technically, he owes me two since I took care of those TIE fighter," Kym pointed out, "but forget about keeping score. Let's get out of here."

----------

By the time got tot he cockpit Kym already had the Starblazer in space.

"I like the new jacket," Kym commented stepping out of the pilot's seat.

Misael dropped the brown leather jacket on the seat behind the copilot's chair. "Leather's not my style."

"Where to next? Lothal? Ossus?"

From the viewport he eyed another, much larger, freighter coming towards them. "We'll figure that out once we're out of this system. That Crescent mothership is closing in-"



- in an instant, he was no longer aboard the Starblazer. He was no longer in space. He wasn't really anywhere. He just was.

But Misael could see a place. A city. It took him a moment to recognize some of the landmarks as belonging to Hosnian Prime. The Republic's current capital.

There was a maddening shake within the ground. The night sky suddenly became enveloped in a bright red light that became brighter by the second. It wasn't just some sort of light. It was a force that had set its sights on the capital.

All eyes were fixed on it. The wind immediately became a howling storm. Heat began burning into everyone's bodies, no matter what the species. Initial shock almost instantly transformed into absolute horror when the realization came that this was not some show of cosmic wonder, but a force of doom.

Screams of terror echoed all around. Sheer, all consuming terror. "Misael!" someone yelled.

And then . . .

Gone.

All gone.


"Misael! Misael! What's wrong?" Kym yelled.

She was sanding over Misael, as he was now laying on the deck, out of breath, and in a cold sweat. His entire body was shaking from horror of what he just experienced. Hosnian Prime was gone. This wasn't just some illusion, like in the temple; it wasn't some vision of the future. It was a vision of the present. This had just happened, and he had gotten a front row seat from nearly halfway across the galaxy.

The ship shook. Misael could feel the subtle change in their course towards what could only be the larger freight. "They have us in a tractor beam," Kym deduced in a fright.

But their sudden capture wasn't able to overshadow what Misael had just experienced.

"Misael, what just happened to you?"

"I saw . . .I saw . . ."

"Saw what?"

How could he possibly describe it to her? How could he explain how he had seen this? He couldn't even really explain it to himself. This was completely new for him.

What Misael had felt was what they were feeling., in their final moments of life. All those people. An entire planet. The screams were still piercing into his head.

There was also someone calling his name. It wasn't Kym here. It was in the vision. It was someone much more familiar. The most familiar voice he ever knew.

"Mom."

"What?'

"My Mom - my family."

Kym eyed him, more confused than frightened now. "What about them?"

"Hosnian Prime is gone," he explained in a cold whisper. "My family was there."