Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars, yadda, yadda, yadda, you know the drill. Many thanks to George Lucas for letting aspiring writers play in his universe!

Acknowledgements: I have to thank my role-playing buddies Katina, Britt and Camie for letting me use some of their characters in my fic! (I obtained permission from them- anyone who steals these characters will bring four very angry teenage girls on their heads!)



Rori Firehawk awoke from a fitful sleep, her amber eyes wide with fright. She sat up in bed and looked around as if to reassure herself that everything was okay. The small, almost seven-year-old girl slid out of bed and padded down the hallway to where her guardians Joseph and Annaka Zion were supposed to be asleep.

"Joe? Annie?" Rori called softly into the darkness, wondering if her waking them up would irritate either of the two Jedi. She usually didn't, but it was important.

"Did you have a bad dream, Rori?" Annaka Zion queried, having just woken up. She held her arms out to Rori, a gesture to come sit down.

Gratefully, Rori toddled over with her stuffed toy in hand and clambered into Annaka's lap. A nightlight flicked on, triggered by Joseph using the Force. He sat up, not in the least irritated at this early awakening. "Go ahead, you can tell us," he said calmingly to Rori. Joseph tried to smooth down his cinnamon brown hair, but without success.

Rori cocked her head slightly and studied the Zions. "I did- I had a really bad dream, but this one didn't feel like the rest... it's hard t' say. There were these scary men in white helmets, an'… an' they had big guns…"

The frightened girl snuggled deeper into Annaka's arms, and brushed a fringe of black hair out of her eyes.

Joseph was immediately cautious and concerned. "Stormtroopers?"

"Yeah," Rori replied, her voice growing more quavering and frightened as she went on. "We were eating rhyshcate or something and then a bunch of the scary men came in and started shooting- you two died, and the scary men took me away. The weird thing was, my sister was in it too- and she was laughing, like it was all funny... I felt like something really was gonna happen…"

"A premonition?" Annaka mused aloud. "The future is clouded to even the clearest of seers, but the message this dream is sending should not be ignored. We have to be very careful, Joseph."

Joseph nodded gravely. "Was there more, Rori?" he asked gently, placing a hand on Rori's small shoulder to reassure her.

Rori swallowed her fear and carried on. "Marc came after me, trying to save me or something... it all ended in fire, and then I woke up. I think something really bad is gonna happen…"

Rori was on the verge of tears, and Annaka put a comforting arm about her shoulders. "Trust your intuition," she murmured, not knowing what else to say but wanting to be honest. "The Force may be trying to tell you something."

Rori nodded. "I think now I know why you wouldn't let me go to Yavin 4," she stated. "Because Jance might try to do something bad to me."

Joseph and Annaka couldn't help but be impressed by Rori's perceptiveness for probably the zillionth time since she'd come to stay with them. Neither of the Zions had said anything regarding their reasoning for keeping Rori on Corellia, and she'd figured it out on the basis of a dream. One of her talents could certainly be useful to the Empire.

"You think the Impys have been trying to get me?" Rori queried bluntly.

"To be perfectly honest, it's more than likely," Joseph replied soberly.

Rori would be able to tell if he was being evasive, so there was no point in hiding. "If anything happens, we'll protect you."

"But... what about Marc?" asked Rori.

He's safe on Yavin 4... as long as he has his rubber spiders!" Joseph said dryly, making Rori laugh. Jance Firehawk was Marc's favorite prank target at the Jedi Academy, as he had mentioned once- she especially hated spiders. Of course, the reality of the situation was that Marc was safer from Jance's negative influence than Rori was, as Rori seemed to understand on some basic level. Jance was about six years older than her sister was and far wilier than most people gave her credit for, especially the Jedi.

Rori's slow, even breathing told Annaka that the child was asleep. She carried Rori back into the other bedroom, dearly hoping that the young girl's premonition did not come to pass. Somehow, Annaka didn't think that would be the case.

The next morning, as Rori was having breakfast, the doorbell chimed. Joseph cast out with his Jedi senses and detected two very familiar Force presences. He gestured, and the door opened to admit Cardain Telonia and Joseph and Annaka's eight-year-old son Marc

"Hi, Dad!" Marc said brightly, bounding into the kitchen. "Hey, Mom! We came for a visit!"

Cardain Telonia smiled at Joseph Zion, his long time friend and smuggling partner. "Hey, there, you old decrepit Jedi!" Dain said, giving Joseph a hearty slap on the back.

"Who's 'old', Dain?" Joseph demanded, and laughed. "I was thinking you'd pancaked yourself on an asteroid long before now, you great blowhard!"

Annaka merely smiled and shook her head at the two men. She and Marc exchanged looks.

"He wouldn't dare with me on board!" Marc commented, his baby blue eyes sparkling with humor. He noticed Rori, just before she flicked a spoonful of applesauce at him.

"Hey, Rori- ACK!" Marc exclaimed as a blob of applesauce nailed him in the eye.

Rori giggled and started tugging at Marc's tidy whities with the Force. "Wow, you still know me!" she shot back.

"OW! Mom, Rori gave me a Force wedgie!" Marc whined. "And she flicked applesauce at me!"

Rori responded by flicking another spoonful of applesauce at Marc, and he seized a bottle of syrup and squirted it at Rori.

Their impromptu food fight came to an abrupt end when a fried egg landed squarely on top of Joseph Zion's head.

"Okay, kids, food fight's over!" the older Jedi admonished. He pinned Marc and Rori with a sharp blue gaze. "Clean up time!"

Marc and Rori mumbled apologies to each other and to Joseph, Dain and Annaka. However, when the adults weren't looking Rori poured syrup down Marc's pants.

"Rori!" cried Marc in exasperation. He picked up a ladle and started chasing Rori with it. Rori grabbed a spatula and countered swipes from Marc's ladle. "Touché!" Rori exclaimed, poking Marc in the stomach with the spatula.

Marc pretended to gag and fall over dead, prompting a fit of giggles from Rori.

Cardain grinned at the young children's' antics. "Cute liddle vrelts, aren't they?" he commented wryly. He watched Rori perform a comical victory dance over the prostrate and broadly grinning Marc.

"I win!" Rori exclaimed triumphantly, just as Marc pulled her to the ground, starting a wrestling match.

"Here we go again..." Annaka sighed.

Marc and Rori eventually exhausted themselves, and both sat down on lawn chairs outside where the Zions could see them.

"How'd you get here?" Marc asked curiously, chugging at a bottle of cream soda.

"Joe and Annie got me out of the bad place I was at," Rori replied quickly, not wanting to elaborate.

"Well, you left something behind," Marc told her. He pressed into Rori's hands a half of an old coin on a gold chain.

Rori's eyes widened. "I thought I lost this," she whispered, then impulsively threw her arms around Marc.

"Uh, Rori, leggo, you're choking me!" Marc gasped out.

Rori loosened her fervent hold on Marc. "I'll always keep this!" she promised. "As a token of our friendytude!"

Marc grinned. "As a token of our friendytude," he agreed, remembering Rori's word for friendship when she was two or three.

"Will ya marry me when we grow up?" Rori asked innocently. "When we're both Jedi?"

"Would I ever marry anyone else?" Marc replied.

Annaka came outside to water her plants and couldn't help smiling at Marc and Rori's earnest discussion. "Don't you two mean friendship?" she chided gently.

"No, we mean friendytude!" Marc and Rori exclaimed in unison.

"Jinx!" Rori crowed.

Marc subsided into a flustered silence until Rori decided to say his name. She always seemed to get him on this.

"Marc!"

"What, Rori?" Marc mumbled.

"Want an ice cream cone?" Annaka asked them before either of them could complete their previous thoughts.

"Yeeeeah!" Rori exclaimed.

"Popil fruit or chocolate? Try the popil fruit!" Marc whispered.

Annaka handed each of the children an ice cream cone. "They're so innocent," she said to herself, remembering Rori's premonition the previous night. There was no telling how long the peace would last- maybe days, maybe a couple of weeks.

Rori's seventh birthday came ten days later. Marc was still there with Cardain, just for the occasion. Rori herself had had another dream the previous night, but made no mention of it. "Happy birthday to you, ya live in a zoo!" Marc sang loudly, waking Rori up. "Ya smell like a bantha, and ya look like- OW!"

Rori grinned victoriously. "Ha-ha! Force wedgie!"

Marc shook his head and grabbed Rori's arm, dragging her out the bedroom door. "C'mon, birthday brat! We're all waiting for you!"

Rori laughed and followed Marc to where Joseph, Dain and Annaka were standing around the kitchen table.

"How about breakfast?" Marc commented. "Here, sit down so we can all eat!"

Rori, slightly bemused, sat down and waited for everyone else to do the same. "Hey, pancakes! Yummy..."

"No food fights this time, please, even if it's Rori's birthday!" Joseph commented wryly.

Rori had been covertly aiming a piece of popil fruit at Dain, and she ate her ammunition with a sheepish grin.

"That means you, too!" Annaka scolded, wagging a finger playfully. "No airborne popil fruits!"

"Why, or we'll become airborne?" Marc cracked. "Uh, if Rori levitated my chair I would... ACK!"

Marc toppled backwards onto the floor, much to the amusement of everyone else.

"Don't gimme any ideas!" Rori giggled.

Marc studied Rori curiously. She seemed cheerful enough on the outside, but inwardly she seemed troubled. She'd told him about her dream; maybe that's what was distressing her.

Rori noticed Marc's scrutiny and excused herself from the table, and Marc followed.

"What is it, Marc?" Rori whispered. "You were looking at me funny…"

Marc's baby blue eyes searched Rori's face. "Maybe it's just me, but it seems like something's bugging you."

Rori swallowed a lump. "It's that bad dream. I had it again last night. I'm scared, Marc… I…"

"Scared of a birthday party?" Marc jeered, being a typical eight-year-old. He dodged a swat from Rori as her temper flared.

"That wasn't funny!" Rori said petulantly, her lower lip sticking out in a juvenile pout.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry!" Marc apologized.

Rori smiled. "Just don't do it again!"

Marc and Rori must have sat there for at least a few hours before Annaka called them in for lunch.

"Blabbermouths!" Annaka teased lightly. "I made rhyshcate- aren't you going to have some?"

Marc jumped up excitedly. "YEAH! I love rhyshcate!"

Rori followed uncertainly, remembering that the rich dessert had been in her nightmare as well. She couldn't help thinking that a squad of stormtroopers wouldn't attract much attention in this remote part of Corellia. The Zions had moved out of their apartment on the fifth floor across from Irving and Caril Firehawk into a small, secluded house that was kilometers away from their nearest neighbor. They liked the quiet- but now, it only seemed like the quiet before the storm.