Copyright: The following characters I own – Maya, Sam, Eileen, Sara, Ricky, and David Lavelle. More will be added as they appear in the story. All other characters © George Lucas. That is all.

Sam and Eileen Lavelle were devastated when they first heard their daughter had mysteriously disappeared. At first, they didn't believe that the "spaceship" sighted by many eyewitnesses could really have kidnapped Maya. That only happened in sci-fi movies! After very reluctantly giving up their search a year later, they debated over whether Maya really had been kidnapped by aliens. Now, six years after Maya's disappearance, they didn't care who kidnapped her, they only wished they could see her again at least one more time.

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Eighteen-year-old Maya Lavelle was preparing for her big presentation tomorrow. Maya had recently been awarded the rank of Jedi Knight, her master Adi Gallia felt that she had taught her all she could and Maya had already grown more powerful than her. Maya was also the only Jedi known to pass the trials with flying colors at the mere age of 18. Now she was going to teach all Jedi available at the time about her Light ability. The only reason she was doing this was because on the written part of her Knight ascension test, Maya had had to explain how the Force worked. Maya's explanation had been so different but possibly true, that the Council asked her to do this presentation. She knew people could learn it, she had proven it by teaching her best friend, Anakin Skywalker. A few years before, she had told him exactly how to produce a small light ball; the first thing Maya had learned to do. After many attempts, he had finally done it. By now he could make any shape out of light in thin air, and had even figured out how to trap something inside a cage made out of light. Anakin, now fifteen, was helping Maya make sure she had everything.

"Holo-projector?"

"Check."

"Targets?"

"Check."

"Mini microphone?"

"Check."

"Chocolate bars?"

Puzzled, Anakin asked, "Chocolate bars?"

"Yea, its part of the explanation, but when I'm done explaining I'm going to eat them. Yum."

"Uhh," Anakin rummaged around in her box. "Check."

"Memory disc that goes in the projector?"

"The one that says 'Presentation Thing?' Check."

"Ok, we're good. Thanks, Ani."

"No problem, Maya. Anytime." Maya silently chuckled as he walked out the door. Maya, her area of expertise involving affection, immediately sensed when Anakin was developing a crush on her. Maya thought it was cute that her best friend was now her admirer. She didn't quite know what to do about it except wait it out, so that currently was her plan.

¤

The next morning, Maya made sure she got to the auditorium on time. The Temple had an auditorium for big meetings where they needed a lot of room. When everyone was seated and had stopped talking, Maya began.

"Ok people, so you wanna know how I do all that fancy light stuff. Well, first let me explain how Light relates to the other aspects of the Force." She got out three chocolate bars with clear wrappers. "Y'see, the Force is like chocolate." Everyone stared at her in bewilderment. "Well, it is. The dark side is like dark chocolate; the kind of Force y'all use (which I have deemed 'The Neutral Side') is like white chocolate, and my kind of Force, 'The Light Side', is like milk chocolate. Now, I know y'all think that you use the Light side, but that's not the case. Everybody knows that white chocolate isn't exactly chocolate because it doesn't contain cocoa solids."

Some Jedi looked at her like, "What the heck are you talking about?"

"Well, at least we chocolate enthusiasts know. Anyway, The neutral side really doesn't harness the full power of the Force. I know I sound like a Sith Lord, but I'm teaching you the undiscovered exact opposite. So here's exactly what I mean." Maya turned on the projector and a diagram showed up:

Dark-----------------------------------------Neutral ------------------------------------------Light

"Do you kind of get it?"

A Jedi raised her hand and asked, "If neutral is the purest kind of Force, wouldn't it be the most powerful?"

"Not necessarily. Each way depends on how you use the Force. The Sith use the Force by force, they just force it to do what they want. The Jedi use the Force as an ally, simply an aid in battle. But I actually rely on the Force as closer than an ally, more like a companion. That sounds sort of weird, but I can't explain it any other way.'

"Also, using emotion with the Force is a good thing, if you use the right emotions. This is contradicting all your teachings, I know, but it's true. Dark emotions are hate, anger, and fear, but Light emotions are compassion, love, and happiness."

Anakin was struck by a thought. "Did she just say 'love'? Maybe she's trying to get rid of the attachment ban! Perfect!"

"Now, try shaping the Force around you. For starters, shape it into a sphere. I found that easiest. Remember, concentrate on good emotions." The only person that actually got it on their first try was Anakin. "Yea, I already taught him. That's why he can already do it, if you're wondering." A few more tries, and she had multiple Jedi making light balls, and being astonished at what they had accomplished. "Great! If you keep practicing, you'll be able to make any shape! But now it's time for my demonstrations. If you've ever seen me in battle, you'll know what I mean. If you can do the light balls, I suggest trying this stuff!" Maya went on to demonstrate everything she knew how to do with Light, and finally got to one of her favorites. "Now this one is pretty fun, because you get to blast stuff to oblivion. This acts as the Light equivalent to Sith Lightning, but better." Maya subsequently blasted a target to smithereens. "The first time I learned this I prefer not to mention, but if you really want to know, I would ask Adi. She knows what I'm talking about." Maya and her former master had become so close they were on a first-name basis. "So far, any questions?"

Another Jedi spoke up, "Well, if love does all this good, then why does it destroy lives? I've seen you blast a murderer, but then didn't you kill him? It was necessary and all, but didn't you?"

"Very good question. A couple years back I was wondering that myself, so after I had blasted an escaping thief, I called the hospital they were sent to. I asked if they had woken up, and the nurse said yes. I asked the nurse to ask them if they remember the crime they had committed. I was told that they remembered, and had vowed never to steal anything again and to make an honest living. So, you see, the only thing love can really destroy is hate, and the rest of the time it just kind of banishes the hate inside someone. It's hard to explain, but this is something that does follow the Jedi policy of destroying the hate inside someone, and not to actually destroy them."

As Maya's presentation went on, a lot of questions were answered and rumors cleared up. Afterwards, Maya met Adi in the lobby. "Whew! Boy, am I tired of all that talking!"

"You talk so much already, how can you be tired of talking?"

"Very funny."

¤

In a few days, Maya and Adi were scheduled to go to a negotiation with native leaders of Ryloth, a planet in the Outer Rim. They wanted to persuade them to force a Separatist leader out of hiding there. "So, are you out of practice on your negotiation skills, Maya?"

"Well, I was just going to see what they want to do, and take it from there. Good plan?"

"Sure. Don't think about what you're going to say at all. Good plan."

"What? I think it's a good plan."

"Fine."

Meanwhile, Anakin was trying to think of more ways to get Maya to like him. Too bad he wasn't going on the same mission as her. Obi-Wan was a general in the clone army so he had to go with him. He could ask her if she was going to try and abolish the attachment ban though. That seemed innocent, right?

Anakin was knocking on Maya's door. "Come in, already, I know it's you." Maya and Anakin had been able to sense each other's presence for quite some time now. "Whaddaya want?"

"Are you trying to get rid of the Order's ban of attachment? Just curious."

"Why, yes I am. If we're all going to learn to use emotion, it's impossible to ban experiencing it. This will definitely take a long time to get used to, and we all need to learn to stay strong if a friend/loved one dies or something like that. This is going to be really hard, but I think someday it just might work."

"Wow." Anakin thought this was an interesting and brilliant plan. "And you're confident this'll work?"

"Yes, and it will be a change for the better. I can feel it."

Maya had wanted to teach a class for anyone who could do light, but they were in the middle of the Clone Wars and Maya was greatly needed. In a few days, Maya and Adi were going to a negotiation on the planet Ryloth to get them to pull a Separatist leader out of hiding. Negotiations were generally boring to Maya since Master Gallia usually did all the talking. She only would step in as needed.

Starting a story is always hardest for me, don't worry, it will get better!