The Sapphire Breeze came out of hyperspace to within viewing distance of the peaceful planet of Alderaan. From here, you could see the lushness of the planet, and seeing the familiar greenness made the Breeze's pilot, the Jedi Austrina Lelovare, think of home and her many visits to this place. Her companion on this mission, Varian Kurtmar, came into the control room of the little freighter and stared pensively out the window towards the planet.

"Do you really think this is the place?" Austrina couldn't help but wonder. "After all, there was the child on Commenor that turned out to not have any Force talent…maybe we need to go back to Coruscant and get a new scanner."

Varian glanced at her and smiled. "Don't worry…I have a gut feeling about this. There's something about Alderaan…"

"Well, if you're really sure about this…" Austrina's voice trailed off.

"I believe the Force is with us here, Austrina. Here is where we will find the child…it has to be."

The Sapphire Breeze docked in one of the main bays in Duril, a main city of Alderaan. The two Jedi exited it and, upon leaving the bay and paying the docking fees, were greeted by an imperious-looking Alderaanian government official, who looked delighted to see them.

"Ah, it's our Jedi guests! Welcome to Alderaan, my friends! I have taken the liberty of preparing a speeder to take us to his Majesty's estate. It should only be a short ride."

The Jedi bowed cordially to him and followed him to a speeder that was clearly designated for royalty by its plush interior and new paint. Austrina couldn't help but smile at the curious crowd, which was eager to gawk at the rarely seen Jedi. One woman even held up her infant child towards Austrina, so the Jedi obligingly kissed it, and then hurried to climb into the speeder at Varian's disapproving glance.

"Ah, the Jedi have arrived!" A jolly, slightly plump man approached them in the throne room of the palace, looking immensely pleased.

"My Lord Sabre…" Varian bowed before the man, and Austrina followed suit. He stood up and looked inquiringly at the king. "I am Jedi Varian Kurtmar, and this is my mission companion, Austrina. We have come by the decree of the Jedi Council to look for Force-talented individuals among your people. Might we have your blessing toward our task?"

"Of course, Jedi! But I ask that you might look in our nurseries, first. The royal family would be so pleased if one of our own was to become one of the esteemed Jedi!"

He led them down a side hall and through several corridors before arriving at a set of double doors. The trio walked through them into a spacious area inhabited by a few adults and many children. The adults looked up to notice the king and the Jedi's entrance and hastily bowed.

"Here we have almost the entire royal family's children. I'm sure you will find them polite and well behaved. Perhaps there is one among them that possesses the ability to use the Force?"

Varian surveyed the room and its inhabitants, looking thoughtful. But Austrina's eye was drawn to a nursemaid in the corner, holding an infant. She walked over to the pair and took the baby in her arms. The child had wispy dark brown hair on her head and eyes so dark they were nearly black. As she stared into the infant's eyes, a sudden dizziness came over her and she saw a vision of a young woman, clearly powerful in the Force: fighting a Sith…now meditating…now talking with a council of Jedi, holding their attention. She was clearly a leader. Suddenly the woman looked at her, and Austrina noticed her eyes: they were deep brown, almost black, and held a sparkle, a mystery, a knowledge too far out of Austrina's understanding to ever comprehend. She gasped and came back to the present to find Varian at her side and the nursemaid looking worried.

Varian looked first at the child, then at Austrina. "What's the matter?"

Austrina hugged the baby to her chest and smiled at Varian. "I've found her."

On the way back to the academy on Dantooine, Austrina held the sleeping infant in her arms, softy saying her name to herself. "Eliatra Sabre…Eliatra…Eliatra…" Varian glanced at her. "What drew you to her so strongly, Trina?" Austrina looked up at him, a soft smile on her lips. "I don't know, really…I was just…drawn to her, I guess, and when I looked in her eyes…I saw a vision, Varian! I think it was the future…she will be strong in the Force. Very strong…"

Varian gazed ahead into the blackness of space. "We can only hope she will be more patient with us then that scoundrel Revan is!"

Austrina laughed, but softly so as not to wake the child. "Revan will learn…you must be patient, too, Varian!"


"…There is no death, there is only the Force." Recited Eliatra to Master Zhar.

"Very good, young one!" the Twi'lek congratulated her on her word-perfect recitation of the Jedi Code. She showed great promise; already she was able to recite the Code, she knew many of the ways of the Jedi by heart, and she exhibited a natural gracefulness that showed she would excel with a sabre. Only 5 years had passed since the Sapphire Breeze had carried the little girl home to the academy on Dantooine, but her knowledge increased by leaps and bounds, and she tended to be the Masters' favorite.

Zhar dismissed the 6 year old out to play with her friends, and she bowed properly to him before happily skipping out to play with the other children.

"Hey, Eli's done! C'mon, Eli, come play hopscotch with us!" The other children greeted her merrily when she appeared and she eagerly accepted their offer to play.

"Zhar, you're needed out in the docking bay," Zhar's wrist comm beeped at him, and he hurried out to the bay. An unfamiliar lightweight freighter, the Nightwhisper, was docked there and a tearful young couple with a little girl between them was talking with Master F'Ladgen.

"She's only four years old!" the woman was saying. "We didn't know they could use the Force that early!"

"Are you quite sure she can use the Force, Mrs. Koria?" F'Ladgen inquired.

"Of course we're sure!" retorted the man. "We're her parents, after all! She's been throwing boxes and things across the room without even touching them when she has temper tantrums, and sometimes when she's asleep, she'll just start floating!"

F'Ladgen turned to the newly arrived Zhar expectantly. "Do you have a scanner with you?"

Zhar was relieved that a scanner was all that was needed. Last time an emergency call had come in, there had been eight wounded Republic soldiers and only three free Jedi to care for them.

Zhar went to the storeroom to get a scanner and returned to find the little girl sorrowfully telling her parents good-bye.

"You will take care of her, won't you?" asked the woman anxiously.

"Of course we will," F'Ladgen reassured. "Ah, Zhar, the scanner." He stood back while Zhar activated the scanner and began to wave it in front of the girl. "What's your name, little one?" Zhar inquired kindly.

"Trisana…" said the girl, and she sniffed. Just then the scanner started beeping, and Zhar turned it off.

"There, you see?" said F'Ladgen. "Now we know for certain that she is Force-talented. Trisana will be in good hands, here." Of course the Jedi Master had known all along that the girl was a Force adept; the scanner was simply so that her parents would be comfortable and have no doubts about leaving her at the academy.

"Good bye, mummy!" sobbed Trisana. Her parents waved back tearfully as they boarded the Nightwhisper. Austrina, who had just come into the docking bay as Trisana's parents left, held Trisana close as the little girl stared longingly after the rapidly dwindling ship. They watched until the Nightwhisper disappeared completely, then Austrina took Trisana's hand and led her into the academy.

Later that evening, Austrina held the sleeping Tris in her arms while she consulted the boarding charts. "Hmm… I could put her with Kayli, and move Senna to Eliatra's room… but Kayli is so old… wait! I think… Yes, Eliatra would be a good roommate for you, wouldn't she?" She smiled at the sleeping child. "After all, she's only a year older than you. Yes, that will work nicely."

Over the next few weeks, the two girls became fast friends. Eliatra was eager to show Tris around the academy, and Tris was very admiring of Eli's abilities. So it was that the two became inseparable, and the Masters didn't mind because it kept both of them out of trouble...


"Eli! Quit fidgeting!" Master Austrina reprimanded her charge as she worked to braid the young girl's long brown-gold hair. Eliatra sighed and sat still. Trisana poked her head in the doorway and spotted Eli, and then grinned in anticipation. Austrina finished the braid and handed Eliatra her tunic. Eli grabbed it, bowed hastily to her Master, and hurried off down the hall with Tris.

Two hours later the two Jedi apprentices emerged from their saber training, tired but happy, out onto the front courtyard where a few other students rested. They had started to head over to their favorite alcove when Tris stopped and pointed across the courtyard.

"Look! Who's that?"

Eli directed her attention to where a small group of Jedi was standing and talking. This would not be out of the ordinary, except for the fact that Eliatra didn't recognize two of them, which were speaking animatedly…and there was a boy with them that looked close to Eli and Tris's age. He was leaning idly against the wall and looking around the courtyard. Long black hair flopped over his mischievously sparkling blue eyes. Eli stared until Tris tugged on her sleeve, disturbing her reverie. "D'you think he's one of their padawans?" Tris asked thoughtfully.

"I'm not sure…" replied Eli. "They seem to be arguing about something. He looks bored, though."

"Well, let's go talk to him, then!" suggested Tris.

The boy looked up as the two apprentices approached him.

"Hey!" Tris greeted him cheerfully. "Are you here on business with your Master?"

He shrugged. "I'm not sure," he admitted. "I think I'm being transferred." He grinned suddenly. "I think they got tired of me."

Eli grinned, and ventured a question. "What's your name?" She suddenly remembered her manners, and blushed a little. "Oh, I'm Eliatra Sabre, and this is Trisana Koria."

"I'm Orion Rivalen," the boy replied, and was about to say something else when one of the Jedi turned to him.

"Orion. We're going to…" He trailed off and his hand went to his belt. His expression smoothed when his hand brushed his saber hilt. Orion smiled innocently. The Jedi shook his head slightly. "As I was saying…we've decided that the Jedi Academy here would be better suited to your…needs then the one back in Tahkery. You'll be staying here now. Master Jendar and I will be returning to Tahkery."

"Alright, Master." Orion bowed to him, then grinned. "Shall I come visit you sometime?"

Jendar cleared his throat suddenly. "Err, no, that's alright…and Orion, do behave, won't you?"

Orion smiled blandly. "I wouldn't dream of doing otherwise, Master Jendar." Eliatra suppressed a giggle as she noticed the furtive sparkle in his eyes that spoke differently then his words.

The two Jedi bowed to Master Zhar and the other Jedi they had been speaking to, and walked swiftly toward the Academy's gate. Master Zhar brushed his hands together brusquely and turned to Orion.

"Well, let's see about getting you settled and set up for classes." He headed off toward the entrance to the Academy. Orion started to follow, then paused and turned back to Eli and Tris.

"I'll see you later, girls." He winked at them and then hurried after the Master. Eliatra watched him go, then realized the time. The new boy was still on her mind as she ran with Tris to their next class…


Barely a month later…

Eliatra and Trisana had not seen much of Orion since they had met him. He was in a few of their classes, but had not spoken to them much. It was mid-morning now, the time when Eliatra would normally be in class, but she was heading back toward the dorms instead. She had put a large hole in her tunic during that morning's saber practice, and she needed to replace it. As she passed the dorms on either side of the corridor, she noticed a muffled sound coming from one. Who else could be in the dorms at THIS hour? She wondered to herself. Her curiosity overtook her, and she slipped into the room to see who it was. To her surprise, it was not Kayli bent over the durasteel footlocker next to the bed, but someone with a familiar black head of hair…

"Orion?" she asked incredulously.

"Ooof!" He lurched forward in surprise, hitting his head on the inside of the footlocker before sitting up hastily. "Err…Eliatra, right?" He smiled a little nervously at her.

"That's right…what are you doing here?" she asked him, more curious than accusatory.

He stood up and looked at her. "Well, you see…I had a chest cough." He thumped his chest vigorously, then suddenly began hacking so violently that Eliatra started forward in concern for him. He stood upright suddenly and said in a completely normal voice, "So I got excused from class to see the healer about it. Always acts up this time of year…Pollen, you know." He smiled brilliantly at her.

She let the unlikely excuse go. "That explains why you're out of class. But why are you in the girls' dorms?" She crossed her arms expectantly.

"We-elll… " He hesitated, then launched into an explanation. "I was going to find all of the fresh tunics in Kayli, Senna, and Silven's rooms and hide them, just to see if I can get away with it. And they're way too confident right now anyway, have you seen how they are? Always going around like they are getting into Knighthood next week. They need something to shake up their day a little. Reminds me of the lightsaber incident…" he added thoughtfully. "That's why I got transferred, you know."

"Because of a prank?" Eliatra's eyes widened.

"Yes, great, isn't it?" He grinned at her. "Anyway, are you going to help me, or not?"

Eliatra thought a moment. She was caught between the temptation of adventure and doing the right thing.

"Let's do it." She grinned.


Orion sauntered up to the table where Eliatra and Tris were eating breakfast in the dining hall the next morning. He slid into the chair next to Eli, dug into his plate of food, and asked conversationally, "How's breakfast?"

Trisana gaped a little at him, and looked questioningly at Eli for an answer as to why Orion had chosen to sit with them this morning. Eli opened her mouth to reply when there was a distant wail from the direction of the dorms. The entire dining hall quieted as everyone tried to listen. Sure enough, someone yelled again. "What in space happened to my tunics?"

Eliatra struggled to keep from breaking out in laughter. Orion was rocking back and forth, laughing silently to himself. Tris looked at both of them as though they were crazy until Eli gasped an explanation. Trisana snorted with laughter.

As the three of them left the dining hall, they started to separate to go to their own classes. Eli stopped and laid a hand on Orion's shoulder.

"Hey, do you think we could meet up later? After classes end this afternoon maybe?"

Orion nodded and grinned at her. "Sure, that'd be great. Later!" He headed off for his class. Eliatra and Tris walked off toward theirs, Eliatra thinking about the prank, and Orion. He was something else, that was for sure. Most of the other apprentices and padawans were quiet and obedient. There was the occasional prank, but nothing quite this reckless. Orion wasn't disobedient, exactly…he just took risks, dancing on the edge of the rules just to show that he could. And yet he had an underlying sense of honor and deep trustworthiness.

Eli smiled to herself as she walked into her class. She had a feeling things wouldn't be boring for some time now.