On board Jedi Star Destroyer Jedi Dream, en route to planet Sernpidal...
Commander Tiffany Nguyen sighed unhappily to herself as the ship carrying them to the battlefield on Sernpidal soared through hyperspace. For, ever since her father had been killed and her mother went into a coma from a head injury, she had been raised by Jedi Masters who trained her fervently in the skills of war- from low-level hand-to-hand combat to the obscure, holistic skills of military tactics and battle meditation- all in the name of defending the tiny handful of planets still free from the seemingly inexorable armies of the Infinite Empire. The war had started long before she war born- in fact, before recorded history, even. At least, before the history the Jedi Order and the Republic had recorded. Like many other Jedi, Tiffany had heard rumors that deep within the bowels in the Imperial Library on the ecumenopolis of Coruscant, recorded feverishly by war-enamoured Imperial historians, was the true reason for the war. Not that any Jedi had set foot on Coruscant for centuries. Tiffany doubted the war would ever be over- if it did, it almost certainly wouldn't be a Jedi victory. She was sick of killing, but did she have any other option?
"Tiffany, we're almost there," a grim voice intruded on her thoughts.
She looked up to see Commander Mitchell Qian. "Mitchell, why are we still fighting this hopeless war against an enemy we'll never be able to defeat?"
"Do we have any choice?" Michell retorted. "I know just as well as you the hopelessness of it all- we're outnumbered trillions to one. No matter how many enemies we kill, more will come. But if we don't fight, everything- everyone we care about will be destroyed!"
Tiffany sighed despairingly. "I guess you're right. Where's Lieutenant Commanders Amy and Anna Hwang, the twins? They're new to battle, so I'm supposed to guide them..."
"Oh, they're talking to Christine Xu, the other little girl, the one your friend Margaret is supposed to be taking care of. Newbies tend to babble a lot when they're frightened."
"There's another newbie? Why are they sending so many little kids into battle?"
"We're not much more than kids ourselves... And losses from last month n-need to be r-replaced," Mitchell choked back his emotions. "S-Sorry- I lost a few friends then."
"I'm sorry," Tiffany patted Mitchell on the back. "I know how you feel. I've lost a lost of friends in this cruel- "
"Attention all personnel!" A voice boomed over the intercom. "This is Admiral Ashreph! Exiting hyperspace in 17 seconds! All ship crew, to battlestations! All ground forces, to landing ships! Remember, we are deploying all ground forces as soon as we are within range!"
"Admiral's orders," Mitchell managed a forced smile. "See you later- assuming we live through this..."
"We will survive," Tiffany asserted, though she felt quite uncertain of it. "Better get going- those J-1 shuttle transports take a while to power up."
As Mitchell hurried his way, Tiffany rushed to the lounge to find three terrified lieutenant commanders: Amy, Anna, and Christine, a nervous commander and her good friend, Margaret Hu, as well as the serene Jedi General, Master Quang Du.
"Good, everyone's here!" Du acknowledged Tiffany's arrival. "Let's go to the shuttle!"
As the six of them hurried to the shuttle hangar, Margaret turned to Tiffany, "Oh hell, the planet's got irregular militias. Looking forward to being shot by guerrillas?"
Tiffany shuddered thinking of holofilms she had seen about Jedi facing guerrilla warfare. "At least Sernpidal doesn't have any jungles... it's not like Kasyyyk or Dxun. But I admit the Sernpidalians creep me out..." Pale-skinned with eyes that glowed red, they seemed to come straight out of a horror film.
"Strong supporters of the Sith they are," Margaret shook her head as they sat down in the J-1 shuttle Quang Du and Master Du worked the controls of the shuttle named after him. "Anyway, have you seen the latest news update 15 minutes ago? The Empire's shipped another Strike Force- some 12 or 13 capital ships- to their fleet assembly base on Destrillon. It's a bit far off, but still within striking distance of us."
"Oh god, I hope they keep to themselves- or at least get held up by other Jedi forces on Artorias or Rychel... one second thought, bad idea. My sister is ther-"
"You have a sister?" Margaret raised an eyebrow. "You never told me!"
"Oh, her name's Kristina and she's younger than me- two years younger than Amy and Anna, even."
"Kristina Nguyen... I'll have to look her up in the Temple Archives."
"Hey! No stalking my sister!" Tiffany countered even as she felt the shuttle begin to move. "Hey, we must already be in Sernpidal's orbit..." She craned her head to look out the viewports.
"Don't bother," Margaret sighed wearily. "Don't you feel it through the Force? Besides, there's nothing to see but people blowing each other up as usual."
It was true. Clearing her mind, Tiffany could sense turbolasers, missiles, and explosions ripping through space. People's last feelings- despair or resignation- as they were blown apart, depressurized, or incinerated by energy beams. Most of those who perished were virtually mindless Imperial minions- pilots of cannon fodder like TIE Fighters or V-Wings- but every once in a while, there was a cry from a dying Jedi A-Wing pilot.
"I-It's horrible," Tiffany shuddered. "I've usually been so focused on my mission I rarely pay attention to what's happening through the Force during a space battle. Not that I've been in that many space battles. How do you stand it?"
"Well, there's a point beyond which you simply just stop caring," Margaret shrugged. "I agree it's terrible, but if you see, hear, and sense death every day, you get acclimated. Eventually you just care about yourself and your friends."
Tiffany nodded. "I know, I know, you old veteran. But I've been fighting battles for two years now but still there always seem to be something even more atrocious than the last."
"What's the worst thing you've ever seen?"
"Well, t-there was this one time on Birgis..." Tiffany shuddered. "where there was this Jedi boy named Derek- I think he was around our age. He'd been captured and enslaved by the Imperial garrison. K-killed himself by jumping in fron of an armored supply train. Found his guts and body parts all over the bushes around the tracks- a-after we liberated the base."
Margaret patted Tiffany and lowered her head solemnly. "I think I knew him. He was really fascinated by hist-"
All the Jedi suddenly froze, except for Quang Du, who turned the shuttle in a sharp turn as an Imperial Eta-2 interceptor fired madly at them. Luckily, a Jedi A-Wing spotted it and swiftly dived in to blow out the Eta's cockpit.
"Enemy fighter concentration is increasing in the vicinity as we enter the atmosphere," Quang Du called out. "We have two turrets on this shuttle. Who's up for target practice?"