I don't own Star Wars. If I did, Luke would have saved the day in Episode VII

Chapter 1:

The theater hummed with the energy of anticipation. Antares San could feel it in her chest. She drank it in, letting it energize her. This was an important performance. Not only were the scouts for the Galactic Dance Troupe but Serenno's own Count Dooku was to be at the performance. Everyone was hoping to impress, to catch an eye, to become important.

Antares tried to think of it as only another performance. She'd seen more than one professional crack under the pressure. She couldn't afford to do that. Fingering the locket at her neck, she bit at her lip as she remembered that she had her mother and brothers to provide for, that her life was no longer her own.

With a shake of her head, she eased the sudden cramp in her neck, shaking out all of her limbs. She then began running through a serious of stretches, each movement familiar and burned into the memory of her muscles. The ritual felt good, safe. It dispelled any sadness that the locket brought. Inside one leaf of the precious metal was a holo of her father. On the other side, a family photo.

Limbered, she was ready to get on stage.

"Here you are, Lady San," a small Calamarian girl came running up to her with the gravity pearls. She held them up as though she were bestowing an award to Antares.

"Thank you, Lannala," she said, taking the carved box that held the pearls. The girl was an intern for the Serenno Troupe. She'd come from Mon Calamari, a student studying with the troupe. Antares had done the same in Alderaan when she'd been her age. It seemed only a short time ago, that she'd been presenting the jewels to the prima donna. Now she was the star of the show.

She leaned down and kissed the girl on her cheek. The girl laughed and skipped off to get ready. Antares pulled the pearls out of the box and pressed the activator. She closed her eyes, breathing steadily to keep from squirming as they roved over her body to affix to the receptors in her costume. When they were finished she blew out a sigh of relief.

Arms snaked around her midsection, causing her to jump a little. "Anxious aren't we?" A kiss fell on her cheek. "You're going to be beautiful. Don't worry so much."

Turning in his arms, Antares looked at Endrex Kyln. "Aren't you supposed to be in the audience?"

"Special friend privileges," he said with a small smile. "Larego let me in."

"I'm going to have to talk to him about letting strange men backstage."

He was rather boyishly handsome, her special friend. Piercing blue eyes, brown wavy hair, a cheeky smile that made Antares melt in all the right places. He was beaming that smile at her right now. "It's just my luck that you're fond of strange men."

"I'm supposed to be on stage in a few minutes," she said. "No matter how fond of you I am, you have to go."

She pushed him away with a snort. Embracing the drama of the stage, Endrex put a hand to his heart as though wounded. "She is beauty and light. Yet, she can strike like a serpent."

"Begone miscreant," she replied, laughing.

He rushed forward, kissing her desperately. For a moment, she was overwhelmed with the scent of him, the feel of his lips. Abruptly, he pulled away leaving her breathless. "Blow their minds, beautiful."

She pretended to grab the kiss that he blew her way before disappearing. She shook her head and blew out a long breath, clearing her head. She went to a mirror, looking to make sure nothing had been disturbed in her kiss with Endrex. Her dark hair had been pulled back into an intricate updo, threads of reflective material had been wove through the strands. Matching her hair, her bodysuit was a mixture of dark and light, an exploding supernova.

This was the last time the 'Dance of Stars' was going to be performed. An antigrav dance that relied upon the opalescent pearls now affixed to her costume. She preferred being on solid ground, but she couldn't deny the beauty of weightlessness. Floating as though she were a star in the vast expanse of space.

"Lady San, your place, please," Fandra said, holding out a hand. Antares took it, walking onto the platform. From the stage area above, she could hear the sound of the audience clapping as they announced the performance was ready to begin.

She clasped her locket, though about her family for a brief moment before letting them go once more. Now. Now was the time to be a star.

With a deep breath, she gave the nod that signaled the antigrav leap. She twined her arms above her head. There was the whir of the magnetic field and in a breath she was up in through the axis hole and hovering in the middle of the air space, the audience encircling her. She spun faster than humanly possible, a star rotating on its axis.

She felt the loneliness of a such a creature, the fire and the heat, the distant cold of space. She reached out to her audience, yearning them to feel it with her. The connection of an artist and pallets of light and shadow she painted with.

[hr][/hr]

Count Dooku chaffed at the necessity of such an appearance. The head of his house staff had informed him – had nearly ordered him – that attending such a performance would be good for his image with the people of Serenno. Since leaving the Jedi and reclaiming his birthright seven years ago, he had remained an enigmatic figure.

According to the plan of his Master, he'd begun to voice his displeasure with the Republic. He needed the people to trust him, to go through with the plan. The House of Dooku was a long venerable one. He'd played on that legacy for far too long. Now was the time to be a visible figurehead.

He'd wished it could have been under a difference venue. Politics, diplomacy, feigned as it may have been, would have been his chosen field. Instead, he'd agreed to this art. The media outlets had been going crazy. The returned son. The Jedi who'd returned to bring Serenno back to its height of civility. Apparently, since his parents' death, the cousin that had taken his place as ruling head, had been well-meaning but ultimately foolish. Trade had gone down, crime had risen, and the regional Earls had been so desperate that they had welcomed Cristoff Dooku back with open arms.

He sat with the earls now, shaking hands and smiling with the business men and women who had been invited. He'd made a special invitation to Wat Tambor of the Techno Union, Nute Gunray and Rune Haako of the Trade Federation and San Hill of the Intergalactic Banking Clan. Shu Mai of the Commerce Guild had sent her regrets but had thanked him and would be willing to meet with him at another time.

With a good portion of the galaxy rich at the performance, the famous had come out in droves. The combination of the two had all the holo-stations out in droves. Dooku had lost count of the hovercams that had crossed his path. He'd been half tempted to destroy them with a wave of his hand. But he wasn't an initiate, he was a Master of both the light and the dark.

A bell struck in a rhythmic triplet as the announcer called all the patrons to their seats. Dooku took his seat, prepared to meditate through the entire performance. He clapped alongside everyone else as the lights dimmed. He was just beginning to start his breathing exercises when the first dancer appeared. She appeared in a burst of light, springing like a gem suspended in air. Instantly, he felt a connection to the girl, an instant link he hadn't felt with anyone else save for a Jedi or his own current Dark Master.

He found himself holding his breath as she turned her spin to the side, her body beginning to spin on an angle, her limbs made it look as though she'd turned into the points of a star. Something flitted by, other dancers, floating past like small moons, planets, as the star made its way throughout a galaxy, never holding in one place.

Dooku's eyes narrowed as the girl started to slow, her body condensing down into a ball. The momentum slowed and slowed until it stopped. Once she was still, the girl stretched, like she was flower just starting to bloom. The former Jedi felt as though he was awakening for the first time. Her movements were elegant, glorious even, but Dooku was more than enchanted, he was mesmerized.

With pointed toes, she began to walk across the still air, now catching up to the other celestial bodies that she'd previously zoomed past. The moons gathered around her, frolicking in childish delight. She mimicked their childish joy until they moved on, caught in a grasp of another star system.

Dooku could almost feel her tears as his own as they departed. The sorrow was a weight on his chest as she made her continued walk. This time, a group of planets, this time the joy was different, a dangerous edge, as they spun in an erratic pattern around her. Power engulfed Dooku. A sense of control as the danger began to arrange the planets to her liking.

The Sith apprentice drank that feeling in, looked at all the patrons as they felt as he felt. As the dancer became the center of a solar system, so did everyone in the theater. Soon, the star released them, the planets taking their own course one by one.

Again there was the sadness, the aching need.

Dooku watched as sentient being all began to draw their eyes. He nearly jerked in surprise as he felt wetness begin to trace down his own cheek. His mouth open in awe, he reached a wondering hand up to wipe at the droplet.

If he could be affected, a trained Jedi and now a Sith apprentice, what else could this girl do?

She walked alone again, until she was caught by another star. This one a male dancer. The dance became something else together, sensual. The movements were not separate, but intertwined. They became caught in one another's gravity, a binary system.

Now there was the sense of completion as two equal and complementary forces spun in tandem together. When she leaped further into the air, he was with her, as he pirouetted, she was with him move for move. As a Jedi he had never known love and as a Sith there was only passion. Dooku could only think of his apprentices, even his own Master, Yoda. The times where they had moved in perfect unison, two bodies moving as one in a single purpose.

He felt as the rest of the audience did as a shadow began to encroach on them. It was a darkness, a maw that began to swallow all that came into its path. The lights that the crew had been bouncing around the set, that represented the far of star systems around the girl, began to swirl and become lost to the darkness. It caught the girl in its grasp. She began to darken. The male binary star pulled at her, taking her place in the darkness.

Over and over again, they fought to protect each other from the darkness until they became less and less. There was only one option. He felt her heartbreak. The other dancers may have been novices, fumbling newborns next to her brilliance. They separated, their bond torn apart, spinning away from each other and the darkness that had sough to destroy them.

They ended on opposite ends of the theater, alone, just glowing embers compared to the brightness they'd once embodied. Separated and alone, it felt as though all was lost. Until they saw it, a piece of energy that had managed to splinter from the blackhole. It was a little star, a child now representing that glimmer of hope. The two separated stars that had once danced together began to spin again, returning to their solitary life. Each now content that their sacrifice had created that brilliant child.

The light darkened until the three were the lights left. And then the male dancer lost his light. Both the child and the girl lamented his loss, in a sudden dive that left the audience gasping. The girl slowly dimmed only leaving the child behind. A child who was now the hope for the universe. The darkness dissipated by his light.

And then the entire theater was lost as it went dark for a a breath before the house lights turned one. All the dancers were gone. The spherical stage empty. As one the audience rose to its feet, cheering and clapping. The sound threatened to bring the entire theater down. Slowly, deliberately, Dooku rose to his feet. Emotionally shaken, his mind was still alert and avid. He began to make a plot. A plan that his Master need never know.

[hr][/hr]

"Do you hear that crowd?" Larego crowed, picking up Antares. He spun her around in manic glee. "Oh, I hate to think what this means. But do you know what this means. The Galactic Dance Troupe is sure to snatch you up. I'll have to find a new lead."

She joined his laughter through her tears. It was always such an emotional dance. "Maybe they'll want to hire you as their choreographer."

"With you and Inseil making my movement transcend art, I have little doubts." The Twi'lek looked across the way to Antares partner. He was dressed in a similar fashion to Antares, his hair was slicked back and threaded with the silver strands as her own was. She rushed over to him as Larego set her down and was lifted into the air a second time.

Antares was nearly dizzy as she was passed from each of the troupe members. She was feeling pretty euphoric herself and didn't mind the emphatic treatment. There joy was quickly doubling her own.

Abruptly, Endrex was in front of her, his arms around her. "Beautiful. There's just not words. I'm going to have to make sure I can do business while we travel through spacelanes."

Giving him a quick kiss, she cupped her cheek. "Nothing's decided yet," she said, but she was smiling.

He turned her around and the breath caught in her chest as she saw the scouts Fandra had pointed out to her earlier. "Oh, yeah," Endrex taunted jovially. "Then why are they pointing at you and talking with Larego. Go on, lovey. Make them pay through the nose." He kissed her hair. "I'll drop by your mother's, tell her the good news. Meet me at the house after you're done. We'll celebrate. Alderaanian red, I take it."

She agreed while he kissed her hand goodbye. Putting a hand to her chest, she fought to keep her calm. This was everything she'd ever dreamed of, everything she'd trained for. She knew Endrex wanted her to milk them for all the money she could, but she knew she'd agree to whatever they offered first. She wouldn't be able to stop herself. How could you not when a dream was coming to fruition.

[hr][/hr]

It was now quiet in her dressing room. Most of the troupe had gone off for the after party. She now had her contract. A datacard with the details was sitting on vanity. A smile was stuck on her face, a permanent grin she didn't think had waned since she'd landed back on her magnetic pad.

She'd changed, the grav pearls were back in their box and her face was washed, the silver threads removed from her dark hair. She was dressed in a simple unisuit that she was looking forward to having Endrex remove. Her green eyes fell on the datacard once more, the small deepening. Maybe now, they could be bound to one another. Maybe now, she was ready to let the extra money take care of her mother and brothers and she could start her life with Endrex. He'd waited long enough.

She jumped when there was a knock on her door. Rolling her eyes at her lapse in her concentration, she called, "It's open."

The door rushed open with a whoosh of air. In the mirror she caught the regal stature of Count Dooku himself. Startled, she spun around, trying to curtsy at the same time. "My Lord," she stuttered. "I didn't know you were coming."

"My apologies for startling you, my dear. I just wanted to meet you in person. Your performance tonight was riveting."

"Thank you, Count Dooku," she said. "I'm glad it pleased you."

Gently, he took her hand, holding it up to his chest. "Oh yes, I am very pleased."

The smile slipped from Antares face as she felt something dark, greedy, settle into her chest. She tried to step back, but he held on fast. "Please, let go," she whispered.

"I'm afraid, that you will have to come with me, Lady San. You just gave the performance of your life. The last one anyone will ever see."