The force unleashed

I lean back in my seat, feet up on the console of my desk as my supervisor belts out inspection scores. "Kore, Avarice" I wince as he calls my name.

"Sir" I call straightening up in my seat.

He smiles "your grasp of stratagem and quick thinking would have earned you a spot on the intelligence squad" I fist pump and start to leave "But," my instructor calls halting me in my tracks "your midichlorian count puts you into the shadow guard program"

I gape at my instructor "how did you know" I asked my voice barely a whisper.

"We run blood tests as we clean up wounds from combat simulations" he responds.

"Damn…" I mutter as I make my way to the shuttle that will take me to the imperial palace to begin my training "this wasn't at all what I wanted". I had done every thing within my power to keep my force sensitivity a secret but still they had managed to find out. As I walk past the door to Vader's chambers I hear him talking to someone. I creep closer to the door and listen "… your next target is the Jedi master Shaak-Ti. This is your final test before the confrontation with the emperor." I back away silently then run to an old Jedi interceptor and jump in, programming the coordinates for Felucia and hitting the ring for light speed a lot faster than I should have, jumped into hyper-space and activated the auto-pilot. Shaak-Ti, it had been forever since I had heard my mother's name, she and my father had split off years ago on a difference in principal. After a few minutes I hear an incessant beeping coming from the astromech that I had thought was deactivated "bree-breep-de-deep"

I look at the Z9-F5 droid sarcasm dripping from my voice like molasses "sure I'll go back zed just let me grab my angel wings and fairy dust" I got the feeling that the droid would have shot a near-deadly look at me had it had a face. "I need to save my mother" I told it sternly "you let me do this I'll give you an ion droid scrambler and a sensor upgrade for your trouble". The droid finally relented and settled in for the ride.

A couple hours later we landed in a clearing a couple klicks away from my mother's hut, why she chose to live near a salaac pit was beyond me. I walked in and saw her sitting at a table. Suddenly I was an four year old girl again, watching my father try to get her to stay saying he couldn't take care of me without her. "Mom…" she turns looking at me

"Ava" she says calling me by my childhood nickname. I run up and hug her tears stinging my eyes. She slowly hugs me back.

"We need to get out of here" I say urgently pulling on her arm "Vader has sent someone to kill you."

"I know sweetheart" she says pushing my brick red hair behind my ear "I need to talk to my apprentices, then I'll take my ship and leave."

"I'll come with you" I say pulling my rifle off my back.

"You must promise to stay hidden" she says getting up.

I look down "fine" I say after a silent debate with myself. She walks out the door, I turn on my stealth field and follow. We walk to a clearing a couple miles south of the village the apprentices can tell something is off the moment she walks in. One of them, a zabrak, turns and looks at her "what is wrong master" she asks placing a hand on my mother's shoulder.

"I had a reunion with my daughter" mom replies.

The zabrak looks taken aback "you never mentioned a daughter" she says a tone of hurt in her voice.

Mom smiles sadly "she and I had been estranged for years" she shakes her head as though shooing away a fly "I am going on a trip with her" she says. She seems about to say more when a figure appears in the clearing and ignites two lightsabers.

"Shit" I say realizing that this must be he assassin sent by Vader.

Mother yells at her apprentices to run "and stay hidden" she yells seemingly after them while looking directly at me.

The battle went on for what seemed like hours, I could tell mom was beginning to tire. She jumped into the salaac's mouth and rode on the tentacles as the man came after her. finally the man gained the upper hand and was about to finish her off when she leaned backwards into the salaac's mouth. I screamed anguished at my mother's sacrifice and death. I ran to the edge of the pit and pulled her saber out and into my field before the man could see. Then I ran back to my ship. Zed was waiting there "Bree-" he started about to make a snide comment, I held up a hand and said " you held up your end of the bargain now I'll hold up mine." As soon as I finished the upgrades zed asked me what was the matter. I told him the whole story tearing up as I got to my mother's death, zed didn't even squeak as I finished. Again I am just guessing on facial expression, but he looked a little bit sympathetic. I look down at my hand realizing I had a holodisc recording of the battle. I hop into the interceptor and put the disk into the reader and watching the battle again pausing it when the man comes into view. "Zed" I say "enhance his face for me would you?" Zed complies and while the request processes I hop out and pull mom's lightsaber off my belt, igniting it and holding it in the palm of my hand. The blade was a vibrant blue. As I looked into the blade I felt a resonance with the blade. I pull out my toolkit and the hilts and modifiers I found while digging through the storage for the fighter. I sit down and open my mind, like my father taught me. The force on this planet had been thrown into chaos since my mother's death, and I had to fight to keep control as the tide washed over me. When I finally open my eyes night has fallen and a second saber rests next to my mother's I pull the new saber over and study the hilt it seems to be a double bladed form. I ignite it and a deep bronze blade springs to life. Zed whistles whether sarcastically or not I didn't know nor did I care. I placed my mother's lightsaber in my right hand igniting it and my saber in my left hand. "This feels right somehow" I say as I spin the blades in defensive patterns in front of me. Equipped thusly I ran into the jungle, returning to my mother's hut. I search the hut and find a stack of holodiscs in a secret compartment in a table leg. Returning to the ship a couple hours after finding the disks I climb in and fly to the yavin system landing in an old temple I hop out and pull out my portable holoplayer find a quiet place and sit down. Inserting the first disk an image of my mother appears floating a couple inches above the player. I realize that these are her journals cycling through the next five discs I see her progressively grow older and more worn. My hands shaking with emotion I insert the last disc. My mother appears as she did with the other discs this time her voice is tight with emotion "Ava, if you are watching this then I was unable to prevent the visions that have been plaguing me from coming true." "Ava, when I first had the vision of you finding me here I had hopes that our reunion would go well." "As the days wore on I began to have more visions of what would happen after our reunion." "I can only hope that you will take my next words to heart." "Do not follow the path of revenge, it is an ugly path and will only hurt those who will become close to you in the coming years." And finally keep me in your heart." "I love you, please remember that." "Good-bye…". The message ended and I growled in frustration and threw the disk against the far wall, the disk didn't shatter because the wall was covered in vines, then slowly dropped to the floor and put my head in my hands.

I sat there for a couple hours frustrated with the galaxy in general. Finally I get up and walk back to my commandeered ship and start upgrading the stealth systems and actually installing shields in the fighter when Zed starts beeping something about detecting someone in the area. "calm down" I tell him as I pull my blades out and go to explore. Walking through the temple the hairs on the back of my neck start to stand up. I walk into a room and the feeling intensifies, I step further into the room and am suddenly seized by a feeling of dread. Turning around to leave I see that my path is blocked by a woman wearing a hood. her pierced lip curls into a sneer, then without warning she lunges igniting a crimson whip and a red double blade. Dodging out of the way I run yelling into my comm at zed to get the engines primed. Jumping in to the cockpit I push the starter switch and fly out of temple and right past the hyperspace ring. Zed curses and beeps at me to go back and get the ring but is quickly silenced when I hit the freshly installed light speed lever and we jump to Nar Shadaa.

Pulling into the abandoned refugee sector I land at a pad on the outskirts hoping that it is stable. I hop out and walk out remembering the stories of the exile that my father told me as a child.

"He cleaned up the refugee sector and brought down exchange control on Nar Shadaa for thirty years after." I would smile and ask him to tell me other stories, then inevitably I would ask him if mother would be coming home any time soon and he would get a far away look in his eye and reply "I don't know Ava, I do not know" snapping my head out of the memories I walk into an old swoop track. I hear a noise and turn blades ignited to see Zed following me

"what do you need" I ask kindly as he catches up

"breep-boo-deep re beep bip" he chirps rocking back and forth.

"Your attitude thus far has been less than pleasant" I remark "why the change of heart now?"

"Reeep brip di deep" he replied.

I smile and rub his domed head "of course just stay behind me during combat"

"brip" he replies with a shiver. Walking higher into the city I lean on a bare girder and hear a groan coming from a pile of rubble in the center square. Running over I jump on top and start pulling metal girders and pieces of transperisteel out of the way. Getting close to the bottom of the wreck I see a man too weak to stand and with at least a dozen broken ribs. "Who are you" I ask lifting the last of the wreckage off of him with a force push.

"Rahm Kota, I need to…" he starts but then passes out. In the weeks that followed I bound Kota's ribs and slowly nurse Kota back to a semblance of health. When he was finally able to stand he started to teach me techniques in lightsaber combat that greatly improved my skill. Two days later he finally feels up to talking, albeit in a grumpy surly way, and makes a request of me "take me to Aalderann. I need to get in contact with Baal Organa." I agreed and got him tickets on the next shuttle off Nar Shadaa.

Some weeks later I was walking through a mining colony on Bespin, following a lead on the man who killed my mother. By then I had learned that he was known only by a code name: Starkiller. Walking by a bar I hear a disturbance and peer in, my curiosity outweighing my self preservation instinct. That is when I see him, Starkiller. He is talking to who at first looked like a haggard drunk, until I hear his voice and realize that it is Kota. My eyes flash as I seethe with anger. Starkiller turns as though he can sense my hatred for him. Calming myself I decide to watch and see how this will play out. After a short and rather heated discussion Kota stands up and follows him to the platform. Following at a distance I watch as Kota climbs into the ramp. Turning on my stealth systems, and using a technique I learned while studying my mother's holos, I follow. As I walk through the corridors I eventually find myself in the cockpit. In the pilot's chair is an attractive woman in imperial uniform. "Juno" Starkiller says entering the cockpit "our guest is happy let's head to Kashyyk" he says

I realize that we're taking off and quickly find an unoccupied room and take out my comlink "Zed lock on to my location and follow quickly and quietly, bring the Eclipse"

Landing on Kashyyk was a little bit less than pleasant but after the initial bump of the landing I settled In to wait. Starkiller left, looking for what I have no idea, leaning on a bulkhead I let my breath out and release my grip on the stealth boost and force barrier. "Well I was wondering when I would see you again Ava"

I start, flipping around and turning off my stealth field letting out a breath when I see Kota behind me. "Dammit K you scared me"

he chuckles and puts a hand on my shoulder "all that stealth won't do you a damn thing if you can't sense what's around you"

"K you do that again things could end badly, so next time please warn me before we start a training exercise"

he smiles and prods me "fine but you'll need to get freshened up first, you stink"

smiling I turn "don't sugar coat it tell me what you really think." Smiling to myself I walk into the refresher and start undressing. The hot water feels amazing on my pale orange skin as I relax into the last couple of minutes of my shower. Wrapping my self in a robe I hop out and pull on my boots, just as I open the door Juno walks in we stand there awkwardly "who are you" she asks looking me up and down

"Avarice" I say looking at her "with a captain like Starkiller you must need some girl time. I'm here as Kota's guest please don't tell Starkiller I'm here" I walk past her and into the cargo bay, as I enter I hear her reply "sure" then the door closed behind me. I walk up to a bin and open it up seeing it's full of food I close it and move on. It takes me a couple minutes, but I find a bin full of robes and tunics. Working quickly I make an outfit and put it on.

The next day Kota and I began sensory training. He blindfolded me and told me to find him. And so it went, him blindfolding me and me trying to find and tag him. Every once in a while Juno would stop in and talk to Kota or watch as I progress. Juno and I became good friends as my training progressed. A few weeks later Juno introduced me to proxy, a very advanced training droid, and we became sparring partners. Even though he had lost most of his programming to the core on Raxus Prime he was still a skilled opponent. Talking with Kota and Juno I learned more about Starkiller, my desire for revenge burnt out when I learned that like me he had lost his father at an early age, unlike me however he was brought up in Vader's cruel care. Taught to hate Jedi and to see others as tools Vader never relented on him, never gave him the affection he needed, and eventually betrayed him, nearly killing him then bringing him back from the brink to use him again. He escaped and went looking for Kota and had been opposing his former master ever since. Whenever Juno spoke of him she blushed lightly and her voice softened. I realized that she was in love with him, and from watching him from various hiding places I could tell that he loved her as well.

Walking down the corridor of the shadow a couple of weeks later I hear voices coming from the meditation chamber. "You're still loyal to Vader after he branded me a traitor and tried to KILL you" Juno I realize.

"I'm doing the right thing Juno" Starkiller replies.

Juno storms out tears in her eyes and runs into me. I help her to her cabin and we sit down to talk. "Why is he so thick headed" she asks tears in her eyes "doesn't he know Vader will betray him again"

I sweep her hair behind her ear "the only thing you can do is hope that he comes around" she smiles and thanks me then lays down and goes to sleep. After traveling unknown on this ship for months, and being more than a little pissed off, I decided to go reveal myself to Starkiller. "What, may I ask, in the kingdom of hell do you think you are doing" I snarl as I walk into cockpit

Starkiller starts and turns looking at me "who're you" he asks reaching for the hilt of his lightsaber

"Avarice Kore" I say "daughter of Raje Kore and Shaak-Ti" I say pushing him against the console "and you have been on my list for a while" by this time I am leaning right up in his face

"back off" he says forcefully but not unkindly

"no" I reply "you are going to hear me out" he starts to say something "ah, just listen. Juno is my friend and there is no way she'd call you out on this, but I will. She gave up everything for you, she betrayed not only her morals but the empire to be close to you. Just think about that, then do what you feel is right." I leave him in a stunned silence and go to start my lesson with Kota.

Tired and sore, I return to my bunk and fall asleep. Soon after visions and dreams start to chase themselves around my head.

I see Vader, life support suit torn pieces of his helmet shattered on the floor standing next to a pile of rubble, the emperor by his side "he is dead" Vader says a hint of disappointment in his voice.

"Then he is more powerful than ever" the emperor replies

Then a memory: walking down the academy hall I snap to attention as an upperclassmen walks by. He turns and smiles "why so stiff" he asks a hint of playfulness in his voice.

Relaxing under his soft gaze I lean against a wall "some of the upperclassmen are ass-holes" I smile as he starts "don't deny it I've seen you join in on their games" he starts to try and explain himself. I raise a hand cutting him off "they pick me as a target more often than not, mostly because I'm a girl, and find anything wrong with my stance, uniform, hair, even my attitude."

He looks stunned "they obviously can't look past the exterior" he smiles "let me be the first to test your skills instead of your appearance meet me on the training field tomorrow at six and bring a couple of friends" the memory fades out and the sound of rain swirls around me. It is three months later phaeder and I had been dating since I crushed him in the simulation that night. He looked out for me, and I was thankful for that, but as time went on I realized that I liked girls and I broke it off. I wasn't mean about it but he took it personally and made a point of ridiculing me in public. "It's over Phaeder" I tell him after a week "I like girls, get over it. And while you're at it get over yourself" looking back I think that he probably was plotting something, but graduation came and he left before he could implement.

The visions fade as we come up on Rhomamool. Then the waiting game began. The first day there I decided to explore the surrounding landscape, then took one step outside and was instantly struck by a heat wave that could rival Tatooine. Regretting my decision immediately I turned around and walked back inside and sealed the ramp, blocking the heat out.

It was another three weeks before we received word from Baal that the time had come and we were to come to Correlia. The trip was quick and we walked down the ramp to the meeting place. After the last person entered a large stone door shut behind us "may I present Rahm Kota, Averice Kore, and our mysterious benefactor"

I bow when my name is said and slowly walk to a corner of the room. Not even seconds after we arrived, TIE fighters were screaming overhead and a star destroyer was appearing in the sky. For once when I glanced at Starkiller he was as shocked as we were. At that moment the door implodes and Vader steps across the threshold. My reflexes are quick and I hit my field power button, but as soon as I start to fade I am hit with six stun bolts in the chest. The last thing I hear before blacking out is Starkiller confronting Vader and Vader replying "I lied, just like I have about everything" then throwing Starkiller out the window.

I wake up with a massive headache squeezing my eyes shut I attempt to put my head in my hands, only to find them tied to a chair. Snapping my eyes open I see that I have been separated from the others. Suddenly a door behind me opens and in walks Phaeder looking like he rules the galaxy. "Lord Vader was gracious enough to let me have you" he says the sneer in his voice evident. He looks me up and down with hungry eyes "time has only made you more beautiful" he says reaching out to touch my face tenderly. I recoil in disgust and spit in his eye. He slaps me "when you didn't show up for the shadow guard training I began to get worried. I see now though that you were with another man, and that is something that cannot be tolerated" he grabs my chin forcefully and pulls me up to his eye level. "I hope you weren't cheating on me" he scolds.

I pull out of his grip "we've been over for two years. I. Don't. Love you" I say distracting him while I reach deep inside myself and connect with the force.

"We're not over until I say we're over" he snaps "and now that I control this battle station we will be the most powerful couple in the galaxy"

"You've gone mad" I chuckle. Then before he can retort I blast the cuffs with a concentrated force blast shattering them. "You will forget you ever saw me" I say layering my voice with the force.

"I-I-I will" he says trying to resist

"You WILL forget all about me" I say pouring more force into my voice.

"I will forget all about you" he says finally giving in. I breath a sigh of relief and walk out the door. Turning to the left and to the right I look for any signs of where the rest of the alliance might be.

"Starkiller to Avarice, come in Ava"

"S what's your location" I ask dashing down the hall

"Juno and I are two minutes out. Why is no one else answering their comm?" Starkiller asks a note of concern in his voice.

"They must have been searched" I say hanging a right "I wasn't because I was picked up by an old academy flame" I sense the next question coming and cut it off before it comes out "he and I had been separated for a year and a half before I joined you and Juno"

I hear a sigh come over the other end of the comm "give 'em hell" he says

Then Juno speaks up "I'll need the distraction to land"

I truly smile then, a laugh tearing from my throat "you have no idea how Lon I've been waiting for that order" turning a corner blades ignited I find that, fortuitously, for me at least, I had run into the main barracks for the stormtroopers of the area I was in.

Choruses of "wha-" and "wh-" rang out before they were silenced by my blade, the battle was on.

Several minutes, though it seemed like hours later most, if not all, of the troopers were dead at my feet. Looking around I see several doors leading to various corridors "shit this may take a while" I mutter under my breath. My decision was hastened when I hear an explosion come from down the center, and largest, corridor "S is that you" I yell running at full tilt thanking both imperial and Jedi training for keeping me fit.

"Yes" he replies "follow the sounds of chaos to my location, then follow me I've located our friends"

Igniting all three blades I rush forward deflecting energy bolts back at their sources. Finally out of the cross fire I deactivate the rear blade of my double and switch phases on the forward changing it into a flexible whip like blade with a fork at the end dividing it in two. Spinning around I lash out at a support structure pulling back. My blade wraps around the structure and as I pull it cuts clean through and the roof collapses behind me cutting off any and all pursuit. Running along a glass corridor I jump back as Starkiller falls through and seals the door behind me.

"Let's go" he says opening the anterior door and walked inside, blades ignited I follow.

As I enter I hear Kota say "I think there might be a rebellion yet" Vader and a man who could only be the emperor turn. I fade quickly intent on freeing the captives. Starkiller walks over as well and the battle ensued. Pulling everyone to their feet I hear Starkiller tell Juno to follow, they hold a quiet argument and Juno's shoulders slump in defeat. Turning slowly she walks over. Putting my hand on her shoulder I pull her gently away from the center of the room.

Piling into the rogue shadow we do a quick count off then get out. Sitting on the copilot's chair I turn towards Juno and put a comforting hand on her shoulder "I'm here if you need anything" I say looking into her eyes. She nods and turns to face the Death Star again.

Twenty minutes later there is a collective gasp as the the glass observation dome shatters outward, propelled by a wave of golden light. Juno starts to pilot the shadow down towards the wreckage. Kota puts a hand on her shoulder, they have a silent exchange and her eyes tear up and she turns away. Turning the ship around she takes us back to Kashyyk.

The meeting went on for hours debating about who should be told who and would be the leader Bail finally brought peace and the final arrangements were made. The marek family crest was chosen as our symbol. The entire time Juno and I stood staring up at the stars. "He's at peace now" I say putting a comforting arm on her shoulder.

She attempts a smile "at least he'll rest easy knowing his legacy will live on"