Chapter 1
Light shone in through Evalina's window. She sat up in her bed, squinting. She got up and walked to her window and looked out. A parade was making its way down the streets of downtown Theed. The Celebration day had arrived! She had forgotten totally! She changed in a rushed way and ran down the steps of her chambers. As she ran down the stairs, she almost ran straight into her friend, Logan.
"Whoa, Evalina, you're late," Logan said. Evalina pursed her lips.
"I know," she said.
"We have special guests coming in today," Logan informed her. " Mom told me that two Jedi are coming to watch out for the parade. They're coming in the shop. You should watch out for them, today will be busy." Being Celebration day, it marked the second centennial celebration of the victory Naboo had over the Trade Federation. Since then, more trouble from the Trade Federation had arisen, but the Naboo always had time to celebrate. They were very nonviolent people. Three very special Jedi had helped them, and Evalina had wanted to meet Jedi ever since had heard the story. One very special Jedi in particular she had learned about and that being Anakin Skywalker, her great great great grandfather. Yes, her name was Evalina May Skywalker, her father being Cade Skywalker. Her great great great grandmother was the great Queen of Naboo, Queen Amidala. She had never met her mother, and to that day, knew nothing about her. Her family was a great mystery to her, she had only met her father once, and he did not seem happy. She was told that her father had been trained in both the Jedi arts and sith. She knew only that he lived in Coruscant now. She had her Skywalker family's blonde hair, but apparently had her other side's brown eyes. Everybody that knew of her family said she looked just as her great and so on grandmother, Padme. She had the beautiful but piercing brown eyes, sweet smile, and longish hair. Since Evalina had never met her estranged mother, and her father lived in Coruscant, she lived in Naboo, with Logan and his mother. His father had died when he was young, so to keep their money on track, they ran a small cafe in the city of Theed. Evalina had pretty much been adopted by the Cassette family. They had taken care of her since she was small. She never told anyone who her family was. Evalina was shy in the first place, and didn't want to know what people would say once they found out her family had once been royalty. So if anyone asked, her name was Evalina Cassette. Logan's mother, Aduro Cassette was so kind to Evalina; she sometimes caught herself calling her Mother.
"Good bye, have a good Celebration day!" Evalina said to a customer as they left. She heard them say a thank you as she wiped their table down.
"Seen the Jedi yet?" Logan asked her as he walked by.
"Not yet," she replied quietly. All her family history had been Jedi and she wanted to find more about them. Just as she had said that, two men in light brown and dark brown hooded cloaks walked in the cafe door. All of a sudden, Evalina felt her skin tingle on her right arm. She stared at it. A voice in her head told her to look up. As she did, she caught the eye of one of the men. She looked away quickly as he whispered something the other. They both sat down at a small table in the back corner. Evalina caught Logan's wrist as he walked by again.
"That's them," she whispered quickly. He looked where her eyes pointed.
"How do you know?" he asked.
"I don't know, I just...Do."
"Okay, go talk to them," he said as if it were no big deal. Evalina stared blankly at Logan.
"Are you kidding me? It's not that easy, you can't just go up to a Jedi and start-" She was cut off by Logan pulling her towards them. "Wait! Logan! St-" They stood in front of the two men now, so she decided to be silent.
"Hello," Logan said, "Welcome to our cafe, I'm Logan Cassette and this is Evalina Skywalker." The two still hooded men exchanged looks. Evalina elbowed Logan in the ribs.
"You can't tell them who I am, remember!" she hissed, but it was too late. One of the men took off his hood, revealing his short brown hair and green eyes. The other one followed; he had brown eyes and longish dark brown hair, which surprised Evalina; she had heard Jedi Padawans had short hair and braids. Well, maybe he wasn't a Padawan. The first one looked older than the other; maybe mid thirties, and the other about eighteen, possibly seventeen.
"Did you say Skywalker?" asked the first man in a strong, but kind voice. Logan nodded earnestly. Evalina widened her eyes at him as a warning. The two men exchanged looks again. This time, the second one spoke:
"May we speak to you, Miss Skywalker?"
Evalina led them into a separate room that people usually rented out for parties and such. The two Jedi sat at one table, and Evalina sat across from them. Logan started to follow, but Evalina waved him away.
"The store?" she said. Logan's face fell a little.
"Right," he said, and left the room to attend the store. She noticed the Jedi moved swiftly, but quietly, obviously from years of training.
"Miss Skywalker, do you know much of your distant family?" the first asked. Evalina shook her head distantly.
"Not much, no. All I know is that my father, Cade, lives in Coruscant. I've been told he was a Jedi, once." She looked at the floor."I never met my mother." The first man nodded his head, as if he expected this.
"Do you know much of the Jedi, and sith?" the second asked also in a kind of demanding way.
"Yes, of course, the Dark Side consists of people trained in the Jedi arts, but have different ways, they call themselves sith; most of the good Jedi, are of the Galactic Republic or part of the Jedi council." Evalina said this quickly. She didn't know how smart-toned she sounded until she had said it. She looked at the floor again. The two Jedi looked surprised she knew this much. But how couldn't she; it was in her blood.
"Many of your family were Jedi, as you may know," the first spoke again. Evalina nodded. Of course she knew that. "Well, some of them were Sith Lords. Your great great great grandfather, Anakin, was the grea Sith Lord; Darth Vader." Evalina was not surprised. She had felt angry sometimes for no reason, and she let it control her. She somehow felt that her family had been the same way. "Your family after him were perfectly fine. Very well trained Jedi and strong in the Force. We believe seeing you was not a coincidence. We believe you may also be strong in the Force." Evalina let that sink in. She couldn't believe it. She knew all her life that her family were Jedi, but how could she be one? She just couldn't think about it. Two strangers come in and tell her that she has a huge Jedi family and that she may be one too. What was she supposed to think?
"Not to mean rude, but who exactly are you?" Evalina asked finally. The first one answered,
"I am a Jedi master, my name is Vinco Nutus, and this is my Padawan, Toby Noctis." So Evalina had been right. "We made plans to come here today in a sense that somebody of great importance was still here in Theed, and as soon as we got close, we sensed a strong presence in the Force." Evalina stared at her feet. She just couldn't take it in.
"Okay." She didn't know what else to say. The younger Jedi, apparently named Toby, smiled as if he were remembering something funny.
"Evalina, we do sense much power in you. Would you happen to know what Midi-Chlorines are?" asked Vinco. Evalina nodded. They were the microscopic life forms that lived in every living thing. The more you have the more powerful of a Jedi you become."Good, good. Would you be abject to us taking a blood test from you?" Evalina thought about it. Of course she would like to, but what about her friends here in Theed? They might take her away to Coruscant…Where her father was. She nodded, and put out her right arm. Vinco took a small device out of his cloak, and something poked Evalina's arm. She flinched. Vinco handed a small red tube to Toby and Toby put it in another device. After a few moments, Toby's eyes widened. He showed something to his Master. Toby whispered to Vinco,
"The count it well over 20,000. That's almost off the charts." They both looked up at Evalina. She blinked and pretended she didn't hear what they said.
"Evalina, your Midi- Chlorian count is almost as high as Anakin Skywalker's. I sense you will be a good Jedi."
"Wait a minute," Evalina said. "Does this mean that you are going to take me to Coruscant?" Toby looked at his Master.
"Only if you want us to. We could always use a powerful Jedi, if trained well." He looked back at Vinco. "But Master, will they take her? She is well over the training age." Evalina tried to ignore the fact that he had just called her 'too old.'
"I do not know, young Padawan," Vinco admitted." But if they do not, we will train her ourselves."
"Master-" Toby started.
"Listen to me, Toby. We will train her if they do not. She is very powerful in the Force, which is something we cannot ignore. You will do well to listen."
"Yes, Master," Toby said quietly. Evalina blinked. Had they forgotten that she was still sitting there? Vinco turned back to Evalina.
"Evalina, would you like to come to Coruscant with us to address the Jedi Council?" She stared at him without meaning to. It seemed sudden to her, but she had always wanted to learn to be a Jedi, and even better, her father was there!
"If you don't mind..." she said slowly. The two Jedi smiled at her. She wondered how she would say good bye to her friends all of a sudden. "That would be great," she said finally. She smiled back at them.
The two Jedi said they would have to go get some things in the town and contact the Council before they could leave, so as soon as the door closed behind them, she ran up to her chambers and pulled out a bag. She stuffed as many things as she could in. After she was done packing, she ran back down the stairs to continue helping with the rushed day. After she cleared one table, Logan passed by her again. Sadness struck her as she thought of how much she would miss him and his mother. She tried to shake off the thought and continued working. About an hour later, the Jedi returned.
"Hello again Evalina, have you packed your bags?" Vinco asked.
"Yes, I have everything ready."
"You haven't told anyone of anything yet, have you?"
"Not yet." She felt sad at the thought.
"Good. I do have one question. How old are you? The council would like to know."
"Fifteen?" Toby offered.
"Sixteen," Evalina corrected. Vinco didn't say anything.
"Well, I do suppose we should get going. Would you like to say goodbye to anyone?" he asked. Evalina nodded. Logan walked up to her from the kitchen.
"Hello again," he said to the two. Then he turned and faced Evalina. "We need your help in the kitchen."
"Logan," she started, but she choked up and looked at Vinco for help. He got a soft look in his eye as if he totally understood.
"Young man, your friend here has the Midi-Cholorians of a Jedi Master, even higher than mine. She has agreed to train with us on Coruscant." He put his hands on Evalina's shoulders. Logan didn't look surprised, but he did look a bit sad.
"Evalina?" he asked.
"Yes?" She asked, scared of what he was going to say.
"Show how awesome you are to those guys, okay?" Evalina smiled and walked up to hug him. She couldn't believe she had to say good bye to her best friend. He met her in an embrace. Toby raised an eyebrow at his Master, but Vinco only smiled. Evalina pulled back and smiled at Logan.
"Where's your mom? I have to tell her good- bye too."
"In the kitchen," he replied.
"I'll be right back," she promised the Jedi and Vinco nodded once. Evalina ran into the kitchen. Ms. Cassette was brewing some tea. She turned when she saw Evalina rush into the room.
"Oh hello dear. Here to help? I could use some help with the dish washing..."
", I came to say thank you and good bye." She looked stunned.
"My dear, where are you going?" So Evalina told her the long and complicated story of how she met the Jedi and where she was going and why. When she finished, Ms. Cassette wiped her hands on a towel and rushed over to Evalina and held her in a very tight embrace.
"Oh my dear, you know we will miss you!"
"I'll miss you both too," Evalina whispered over her shoulder. After Ms. Cassette was done 'fixing' with Evalina's clothes and had hugged her at least five times, she said goodbye. Evalina walked out of the kitchen, Ms. Cassette was at her heels, as she wanted to meet the people that were taking her adoptive daughter.
"Your mom doesn't really know how to say good bye," she muttered to Logan. He smiled at her.
"We'll miss you, Evie," he said as he put his hand on her head. Toby looked at his Master, as if expecting him to say something. Vinco nodded and said,
"Young man, you may come if you wish." Logan stared blankly at him, and Ms. Cassette's eyes grew round. "We do not sense a high Midi-Chlorian count from you, but," He shrugged. "Perhaps you can still be of some use." Ms. Cassette made a strange sound. Vinco turned to her, and sense of kindness crept into his eyes. "I understand it must be difficult for you to have your son Evalina gone, but I promise we will take care of them both." After a long silence, Ms. Cassette sighed.
"If you want to go, Logan, you may," she said.
"Oh please Logan!" Evalina cried, "Come with us!" Logan seemed to be thinking. Evalina didn't know why it was taking him so long to choose; it was a cool place to go. He smiled at her.
"Of course I'll go with you!" Evalina smiled.
"Thank you! Now I'm excited even more, if that's possible." Toby and Vinco smiled at Evalina's joy.
"Well young man, you should gather your things, if you plan on leaving," Vinco told Logan.
"Oh, of course." He dashed off into his room. After awhile he came back, and hugged his mother goodbye. Ms. Cassette sniffed and walked back into the kitchen.
"You were right about my mom. She thinks good bye is the worst word in the dictionary." Logan said.
"I'd agree," Evalina answered. Logan shrugged.
"I guess, but sometimes, you have been in the same place for way too long. I have been over due for a long vacation. You know what I mean, right?"
"Yes, I have lived here all my life too, or at least most that I remember. Do you know when I got here Logan? You were a little older."
"Yeah, you were about three years old; I have no idea where you came from, but-"
"Excuse my manners," Toby interrupted."But we mustn't waste any time. Evalina is already older then allowed so we should not get worked up for nothing if she is not accepted." Vinco put a hand on his Padawan's shoulder.
"Patience, young Padawan. We will see to it that Evalina gets her place in the Jedi world. Things will turn out." Toby said nothing. Evalina was anxious to turn the conversation away from her, and she was ready to leave.
"Are we ready to depart?" she asked. Vinco nodded.
"Only if you are, young Skywalker." They turned to depart. Evalina noticed a cloaked man in the darkest corner of the room, inspecting the tables intently. As if that wasn't odd enough, he leaned down to a silver chain on his wrist, and seemed to say something to it. She shook her head as if trying to shake off what she just saw. They were starting to walk out the door when Evalina tensed. She quickly looked at Toby with a look of slight fear. He nodded encouragingly.
"Master," he warned.
"I sense it too," his master said quickly. They both whirled around. Vinco tossed Evalina a black and silver metal piece. She barely caught it. She examined the sides of it carefully and hit a button. Out of the top of it a brilliant blue light shot out. She moved back slightly. Toby and Vinco walked toward the back to investigate.
"Hmm," Evalina said in amazement. "A lightsaber." She suddenly looked up. She sensed it. She whirled around and her saber blocked a shot of a gun. All the guests had cleared out but the strange man she had seen at the table. He stumbled back in surprise as the shot bounced back at him. She instinctively stroke downwards and sliced at him, with great accuracy. She lowered the blade surprised at what she had done, and how quickly she did.
"Evalina?" Toby's voice said from across the room. She looked up. Both Vinco and Toby look dumb struck. She blushed and looked back down.
"Sorry. I have no idea how that happened."
"Are you all right?" Toby asked her. She nodded slowly. He walked over to the man Evalina had sliced down and examined his silver bracelet. His face turned from worry to surprise.
"Master, the Trade Federation! I would recognize this symbol anywhere!" Vinco walked quickly over to Toby, and Evalina noticed they had retrieved their cloaks.
"What is he doing here?" Vinco murmured to himself. He looked down at the fallen man's face with a look of confusion on his face. He studied the man and his expression turned to shock."Evalina, you just killed the Warlord of the new Trade Federation.; Callo Marcaus."
"Wait, the new Trade Federation? I thought they were totally wiped out, over two hundred years ago, today!"
"Hmm, it does seem odd that they make an attack the day they were defeated." Vinco said.
"We have been tracking this guy for many months now. We foresaw that the armies were stirring," Toby stepped in. He shook his head in amazement. "I can't believe he was gone, just like that." He turned to his Vinco. "Master, don't you find it strange that they only attack Evalina?" Vinco nodded.
"Yes, Toby. It is strange in deed. It was as if they knew something about her. Something that we don't know."
After they checked to make sure nobody else was around, they started off. They walked out the door and walked down a long alley in Theed. Blue house buildings lined the streets.
"So where exactly is your ship?" Logan asked Vinco and Toby.
"Not far," Vinco replied. "Just down the way." So they walked a little farther, turned a corner and stood in front of a large Naboo Hanger.
"How did we not see this before?" Evalina asked in disbelief. Toby turned to look at her.
"You never saw this before?" he turned back to the building. "How could you not? It's huge." They walked inside of the building just to find a huge ship that looked like it barely fit inside.
"Wow," Logan said in awe.
"That's a Republic Cruiser!" Evalina exclaimed."That's from the old Republic. Where did you find one?"
"Good eye," Vinco said "It was indeed hard to find, but here it is. It turned out that our enemies had one as a trophy. It was burned a little and scraped." He shrugged. "But we fixed it up." Evalina stared at the bright red ship in amazement. Maybe this was a little more real then she first thought. Maybe it wasn't a dream.
"Well, should we stand here, or get in?" Toby asked.
They climbed inside the huge red ship.
"Wow," Logan said again, clearly impressed. Evalina was thinking about all the trials and test she would have to go through in the next few months, even years. She didn't realize she was frowning.
"Smile, Evie," Logan nudged her. "It's good for you." She forced a brave smile, but her eyes said different. They all claimed seats in the huge cockpit and buckled themselves in.
"Is everyone seated?" Vinco asked. "Good. You do not want to be standing while Toby is at the controls." Sure enough, Toby had jumped into the pilot's seat and was clutching on to the controls so hard, his knuckles were white.
"Is it too early to get air sick?" Logan teased.
"Yes," Toby said without looking back. Then he turned to Vinco. "Sorry Master, I didn't know my driving worried you." Evalina thought they had hurt his feelings, but when he turned back around, he was smiling as if their worry amused him. Toby pushed a series of red, green and blue buttons and pulled a lever. The engine roared to life and Evalina felt them gaining air. A huge garage like gate opened in front of them and they sped off in the air. The gate closed quickly behind them. As soon as she found it safe to stand up, Evalina walked down the halls of the ship and found a seat in a little room. Logan came in the room as well and sat in a chair across the room. Evalina looked out a small window. She saw the city of Theed passing quickly behind her and felt a warm tear go down her cheek. As much as she wanted to follow in her real family's footsteps, she was leaving the only place she would call home.
After what seemed like hours, Toby strolled into the room and collapsed on a chair.
"Who's driving?" Logan asked him.
"Auto-pilot," he said. He put his hands behind his head and closed his eyes.
"I didn't know this ship had Auto-pilot," Evalina said. Toby shrugged.
"We fixed it up, remember?"
"Oh, yeah," Evalina recalled. She looked around the room. She noticed all kinds of queer objects, some random powders, guns and some other things she couldn't name. She wondered what they all did, and hoped they would be useful.
"Hey guys," Logan said. "I'm going to catch some sleep." He got up and walked into a room across the hall.
"Good night," Evalina told him. Toby sighed and sat up.
"So, what's Naboo like?" he asked Evalina.
"Well, it's green, I guess. Not much more to say about a place you've lived in for almost ten years."
"Hmm," Toby mused. "Coruscant gets boring too. From the few minutes I saw of Naboo, it looks much more interesting than just a huge city."
"I'll take your word for it, but I'm still eager to see all the places and new people."
"I have a feeling that you're a little scared, too," Toby said looking at her. Evalina shrugged.
"Ah, maybe a little. I mean this could really change my life."
"I do admire you for coming with us so quickly. I am glad we found you first. If the sith had found you before we got here, who knows what could have happened. Instead of working together, we may have been fighting against each other." Evalina said nothing. The truth was she actually was more scared then she seemed to show. But she was still excited and she couldn't wait to get there, for better or worse. She grimaced. "What's wrong?" Toby asked her.
"Hmm?" She shook her head. "Nothing." Toby studied her for a second.
"Okay..." He continued to look at her.
"Really, I'm okay," She told him again.
"Yeah, I know," he said. Evalina blinked. He still looked at her with soft, regarding eyes. She got the feeling he was trying to read her emotions, but for reasons she didn't know. She looked away finally, but she still felt his staring eyes on her. She turned back to him.
"Is something wrong?" she finally asked. He smiled and shook his head as if finally getting the emotion he wanted, which made no sense at all.
"No, nothing," he said and frowned. He cocked his head. Evalina sat up straighter. Did he feel it too? She got up abruptly.
"Do you feel that, Evalina?" Toby asked.
"Yes, I hoped I was wrong," she said nervously and sprinted across the halls with Toby at her heels. They ran into the cockpit, and saw Vinco gripping tightly to the controls, his face as white as snow.
"Master, what's wrong?" Toby asked. Vinco looked up at them and pointed out the window. There was a strange looking ship in front of them, and it looked very familiar to Evalina.
"Is, isn't that a Droid Starfighter?" Evalina asked.
"Yes," Vinco confirmed her worries, "That is why I am concerned."
"Why?" Evalina asked. "It's a single ship."
"More will come into view Evalina," Toby said. "A single Starfighter is not sitting here by its self."
"This ship has no way to defend us," Vinco said.
"But I thought you guys fixed this thing up!" Evalina exclaimed.
"We did," Toby insisted. "But this ship is mostly just for travel, or diplomatic missions, not fights."
"If they attack us, we may need to use the escape pods," Vinco said. "Just sit down and hope it doesn't notice us." Two more Star fighters came into view and then four more, and then six more. Evalina started to get nervous. Escape pods would almost help none. They would attack those too, and they had no way of hitting back.