I put on my helmet. My tops of my ears flapped down, always being too big for any kind of headgear. We were all suiting up, Melta putting her signature DL-44 blaster in the holster strapped on her waist, Parten adjusting his hearing aid and Master Kuntaino meditating. Master Kuntaino told me a that when a Jedi meditates it is like suiting up, but mentally. A Jedi's power is derived from the force, and the mind is the gateway that lets the power flow into the Jedi's own hands. Thinking of that made me think of my old master. I try not to think of him too much. Ever since the fall of the republic and the clone troopers shooting him he has occupied my thoughts. Master Kuntaino has told me to let go, he says that as long as I do not let go of the past my mind will be clouded by it.

"Are we all ready?" Melta's voice pierced through the silence of the docking bay, immediately followed by a booming 'Argh!' from Parten.

"Sorry, they are set at too high of a sensitivity" he sheepishly followed up with.

Master Kuntaino opened his eyes and looked up slightly, obviously annoyed.

"Let's go" he said.

We all walked onto the ship. Although I was containing it, I was excited. I know a Jedi shouldn't be, but we had spent so much time on that asteroid recently that any time we go out, even if it be just for transferring the power from the solar panels into batteries to power the outpost, I am almost overwhelmed. Master Kuntaino and I go so I can help with transferring the power. It helps with my concentration, which I lack, he says. I can also pilot the ship for part of the way and I really enjoy that.

Melta slowly pushed the lever and ship's engine made a faint whirring sound. It was a Corellian YT700f, a small model specifically designed for transporting energy units. It's engine had been customised to allow greater fuel efficiency at the expense of a much slower top speed. It could not go into full light speed.

The ship flew out of the bay. I looked back at our asteroid of a home, faintly illuminated by the system's distant star. I remember when the clones marched inside the Jedi Temple led by a Jedi turned Sith. Master Kuntaino never told me his name and I don't know why. I was down the hall, walking with my old master when we heard blaster fire. He told me to run to the underground tunnels and wait for a Jedi to get me. He then ran towards the sound of the blasters and since then I have never seen him. I waited in the tunnels for three days, eating the food reserves. That's when Master Kuntaino came to get me. He was with another Jedi that I have also not seen since. We got on an A-wing, and I sat on his lap for an hour until we got to a place called 'Cloud City'. For the next few weeks we went around a lot from place to place, never staying for more than one night anywhere. Master Kuntaino talked to a lot of people, but rarely answered any of the questions I asked. Finally he told me that he got a message to go somewhere that would be safe. Once more we hopped into the A-wing and flew to an asteroid on the far reaches of the outer rim. On the asteroid a small building had been built and it was faintly illuminated by the system's distant star.

"Padawan, why don't you come down here and take control of the ship?"

I proceeded with great anticipation to my Master's invite. This was by far the most entertaining thing to do in my current life, which, to be honest, was very dull. But I knew that a Jedi does not need luxuries, for he is one with the force and the force is all he needs.

My hands gripped the two joysticks. I cautiously swerved around each asteroid to be faced with another, but I was thrilled. Master Kuntaino watched over me with great attention, even though I had know done this over fifty times. Yes, every week I was rewarded with the opportunity to fly a ship, even if it only be ten minutes each way.

"You're getting pretty good at this" Melta commented.

"Thanks" I responded, too focused to engage in conversation.

Melta was the most intelligent when it came to power storage or really anything to do with power at all. She managed the power usage of the outpost and always came on these trips to lead the whole thing. She was also very physically strong and attractive, though I knew better than to mention it at any time. She told me once where she came from. She was an engineer on a Republic battle cruiser and when the Republic fell she stole a ship and flew to the outer rim, only to stumble upon the outpost. Parten was a spy for the Republic, obviously a hot target for the empire. His right ear was shot on one of his missions, he told me. He was told to go here by a Jedi who he has not seen since. He only comes with us just because he has nothing better to do, and he also helps carry the units from the panels to the ship.

Master Kuntaino insists I come here to help, because it is a very Jedi like thing to do, helping others. I also enjoy it very much, and he knows that as well. Back on the outpost there is nothing to do but train, and Master Kuntaino says my training has been going very well since there are few distractions. Sometimes I wonder what will happen next. Will there be a new hope for us? Our order has almost been demolished. Will there be a return of the Jedi? I zoned back into reality and noticed we had reached the edge of the asteroid belt.

The radar startled me with a sudden violent beeping.

"An imperial scout droid!" Melta shouted.

I brought the ship to a halt. Master Kuntaino beckoned me out of my chair and got in it. He swerved the ship to the right and Melta and I almost lost our balance. We heard the tumbling of boxes and a loud "Ow!" from Parten downstairs.

"The Empire's really become desperate to find us." Master Kuntaino muttered under his breath. We started moving forwards quickly and exited the asteroid belt. The solar panels were within eyeshot. I whipped my head around and looked out the back window. The droid was following us and looked like it was catching up.

The large screen on the dashboard illuminated the cockpit. It was a transmission from the droid: "Bring your ship to a halt immediately and transmit the identification of the ship and pilot". Master Kuntaino pushed the joysticks all the way forward and another shout came from downstairs: "What the— holy banta dung! Is that an imperial scout droid?!" I watched the droid, worried that we were finally found. What was to become of me? What was to become of all of us? Suddenly, out of the asteroid belt came a blue ship. It was small, no doubtfully made for one person. Two small guns were mounted on both sides of the ship. The ship skilfully manoeuvred itself behind the droid and started firing. The droid halted, turned around, and exploded into a blaze of fire and smoke.

We all stopped for a second, rendering what had just happened. Finally Melta shouted to downstairs.

"Parten, prepare the guns."

"One step ahead of you." He immediately responded.

Our ship had two guns with 360 degree rotating capacity. They stuck out on the ship's belly and were really no good, other than to scare off any riffraff that may be encountered. I heard the starting sound of the guns, followed by the words "Guns prepared. Awaiting the order to fire."

The blue ship was still. Words popped up on the screen again, but this time with a symbol indicating it's source was unknown. 'I am friend. Here to meet with Master Kuntaino. Hold your fire!'.

The whole ship was silent for a second, then the silence disappeared with a 'It could be a trap' from Melta.

"I'm aware of that." Master Kuntaino responded. He leaned forward in his seat and slowly typed 'Where are you from? Who sent you?' We waited in the deafening silence. Seconds later we received a new message: 'I am from a hidden outpost located on the desert moon of Jedah. I was sent by a rebel leader named Saw Gerrera to find you and request your help on a mission against the Empire. Please hold you fire and let me board. You may inspect my ship and myself.'

Master Kuntaino closed his eyes and leaned back. He let out a long sigh.

"I sense you trust him," I blurted out, then immediately regretted.

"You are correct, Padawan. We will show him to the outpost. I know a man called Saw Gerrera and would trust him with my life."

"Are you sure about this?" Melta said in response. "We have no proof that he's not lying"

"I sense that he comes in desperation, but does not mean any harm unto us." Master Kuntaino said. I had sensed that a little too. "Saw Gerrera was also the one that sent us here almost a year ago."

I glanced at him. He had never told me that before. Suddenly the possibilities rushed into my mind. A mission? That could be very exciting. I could finally leave the outpost.

"Do not get too excited, Padawan. We have no idea what this mission might be. He proceeded to type 'Follow our ship to the outpost. There we will investigate your ship and yourself'

Almost at once there was a response. 'Understood'.

Parten shouted to us. "Guns prepared. Awaiting the orders to fire."

"Hold fire, but keep the blue ship targeted at all times." Melta responded.

On the way back we were all silent. I would not have dreamed of asking Master Kuntaino to let me pilot, even though I wanted to and I figured he could sense that. My mind wandered. Could this finally be the end of the empire? I would be able to finally use my powers. I knew that the non-stop training had vastly improved them since I had first got to the outpost.

The ride back to the outpost was about fifteen minutes long: Master Kuntaino proceeded with even more caution than usual, but it felt like a lifetime. When we finally pulled into the outpost's docking bay I was the first one out of the ship.

"Padawan! You will wait behind me until we have thoroughly investigated the pilot and his ship!"

"Yes, master." I ran back to the ship and stayed behind him, ashamed at the boyishness of my actions.

The blue ship pulled into the docking bay. Melta had already informed the outpost of the situation via transmission, and about 10 people were waiting, all with blasters trained on the ship. Two ships were also manned, waiting in the bay with their guns pointing at the blue target. Slowly, it set down in the bay. The pilot carefully exited. He was not short or tall, with very pale skin and freckles decorating his face. He had thick black hair and he was very skinny. He raised his hands above his head.

"I mean no harm. Here is the hologram I was instructed to deliver to you." He set it on the floor. Master Kuntaino force-lifted it from across the bay and moved it into his own hands. A droid whizzed to him.

"Captain Cosla, put the pilot in a detention cell with two guards to search his pockets. Have two more men search the ship. Everybody else except for the lookout guards will go to the main hall where we will view this hologram."

"Yes, Master Kuntaino" she replied. She beckoned two guards to the ship and two more to the pilot. We all proceeded to the main hall, me by Master Kuntaino's side.

"If you trust the pilot, why did you have Captain Cosla do all the searches and stuff?" I inquired.

"We two are the only ones here that are force-sensitive. Nobody else has any way of knowing how trustable he is, even if they know my abilities with the force. This is not to prove to me that he is telling the truth, but to everybody else."

"Oh."

Master Kuntaino was the leading commander of the outpost. He had not asked for it, but a few days of us being here proved to everyone he was the best for the job. Captain Cosla was in charge of our fleet, made up of six one man fighter starships, two troop transporter ships with a capacity of 20 men plus crew each and one ship of her own. A new design, called an 'X-Wing'. It looked pretty cool, and was apparently the best one man fighter in the galaxy. That was the fleet. Asides from that we just had a few service ships, like the ship we use to get to the solar panels. We also had a militia. Captain Cosla had put Parten in charge of that, but she assumed command when he was not there. The milita consisted of 20 men. 10 of them were on lookout at all times.

We all gathered in a circle around the center of the main hall. Master Kuntaino put the hologram message in an artoo unit and a tall man with dark skin and soldier's clothes appeared. He looked forward and started talking. "Master Kuntaino, I hope this finds you well. I have been waiting for the right moment to call you back into action so we can fight the oppressive empire. Now is the time. I have found a system, called the Dareshenn system, in the middle upper region of the outer rim. It has a large asteroid belt that contains many imperial trading outposts. There are two planets. One is completely unoccupied, it's atmosphere is toxic gas. The other houses a small imperial military base that supplies the trading posts' law enforcement. I have a plan. We go into the planet and destroy the base using heavy artillery from our ships, never even touching the ground. Then we use all of our troops to rid the stormtroopers on the largest trading outpost, Kasheen. After that all other trading posts will surrender to us, their trade will be weakened and we shall fight for freedom in the Galaxy from our new base, the Dareshenn system. We shall create the New Republic! But I beg of you know to gather all of your forces at once. We must commence with this before the Empire grows too strong to defeat. We must meet at the outer reaches of the Dareshenn system in 3 days time, where I will give you a more detailed explanation of the attack. I am contacting everybody I know that might be of aid for this mission. There are former bounty hunters, former officers of the Republic and also multiple Jedi. You must come, I cannot do this without you."

The hologram clicked and disappeared. Everyone looked at master Kuntaino. He looked at the wall, rubbing his chin.

"What do you say?" asked Captain Cosla.

He waited for a few seconds, then said "It is a foolish plan, one that I sense will only bring pain and misery unto ourselves. We should not go."

"Surely we must go. He is expecting our aid. He will surely be defeated if we don't go" She came back with.

"With or without us, I sense the plan will fail. But you are right, he expects our help."

"Also, we can't stay here. Sooner or later the Imperials will notice one of their droids never came back and they will send more scouts to find us." I added in.

"What?! They know we are here? You shot down an Imperial droid?! Oh no, we have no choice but to go." Cosla exclaimed.

Chatter erupted throughout the hall.

"Silence! Everyone! Silence! We will depart in five hours. Imperial droids have a minimum scouting run of seven. Gather your things, then we will blow up this asteroid. Go! Now!"

At the words of the Captain, everyone split up into different directions. I went with Master Kuntaino to our quarters.

"Padawan…"

"Yes, Master?"

"The Jedi Order is crumbling. For all we know, after this attack you may be the only Jedi alive. I hate to say that, but we both know that the order must live. I cannot let you leave on a starship, for one reason we have none to spare, and another reason is that you would not make it for long. Give me time to devise a plan for your escape, it will most likely be you stealing a ship in the midst of the battle and flying off with the other Padawans and maybe me. Do not mention this to anybody."

"Yes, Master."

"Now gather your things. We are leaving in five hours."

"Yes, Master."