The

Stormbreaker

Chronicles

Book II

By Noah Harston

Chapter One

Nara rolled over onto her side, kicking up dust on the dirty mattress surface she was lying down on. She looked at the old clock that sat at her bedside. the dim, low-quality display read 11:59 P.M., written in blocky digital numerals. She stared at it intently, trying to distract her mind from all the thoughts that were running rampant through it. The clock changed, and the date at the bottom of the display changed over. 12:00 A.M., Day 98, 25 A.B.Y..

Three years since the day the Stormbreaker exploded.

It was now "Haveren Day", an Imperial-enforced holiday celebrating the life of the admiral who'd been killed in action…

When Nova had sacrificed himself to save them.

She couldn't stop seeing the explosion. Her dreams had been the same for as long as she could remember. Always the same dream, never faltering, never changing.

But it wasn't from the perspective the others had seen on that fateful day. Instead, she saw the explosion from close up, as if she were floating in the nebula, less than a kilometer from the ship. And over and over again, she was forced to watch in horror as the ship collided headlong into the gargantuan Seventh Sanctum, resulting in an explosion which reduced everything in its path to dust. Debris from both ships was spread for thousands of kilometers in all directions, and Nara could only watch as time and time again, the huge chunk of hull plating which had the Stormbreaker's name carved into it spiraled off and hit her, which always awoke her with a shock, drenched in a cold sweat.

Nara sat up in the bed and swung her legs over the side. Quietly so as not to wake the others, she stepped out of the bedroom and into the tiny kitchen area of the flat the crew had been laying low in for some time. Nara switched on the coffee maker and brewed herself a cup, before going out onto the balcony right outside the door. With a heavy sigh, she sat down on the cold hard floor, looking through the transparisteel railing at the station corridor below.

Taking sips from her mug every few seconds, Nara sat in the cold, dark corridor for what felt like ages. Then, she heard the door open behind her, and she turned to look to see who it was. It was Rei.

"You too, huh?" she asked, a steaming mug in her hand as well. Nara simply nodded, and Rei plopped down next to her.

"Same dream?" Rei inquired, trying to make eye contact with her best friend. Nara nodded again, not returning the look. Rei sighed.

"Well, shit," she said, "I… I'd say something right now, but… Well, I don't have any force powers, which means I don't get crazy and terrifying visions like you and Winson do. So, honestly, I have no idea what you're going through right now. But I do know this….," She reached over and gently turned Nara's head to look at her, locking eyes with her.

"I'm here for you. We all are. Whatever the circumstances, no matter the consequences. We're here for you, Nara. All you have to do is ask."

Nara's face reflected a look of gratitude, but it was nearly totally consumed by the feelings grief, sadness, confusion, and terror that swirled and churned behind her eyes. She leaned in and rested her head on Rei's shoulder. Rei wrapped her arms around Nara, planting a hiss on her head. They stayed that way for several moments, before Nara broke the hug. She stared down at the different floors visible from below them through the transparent railing. Finally, she spoke.

"You know," she began, her voice almost a whisper, "Ever wondered if there's even the slightest chance that…. that maybe, just maybe... he could have survived?"

"Well, I mean, we know that he survived, right?" Remember the pendant? It was glowing for a short while back at the memorial site. He… he has to be alive.., right?"

Nara's face took on a more dejected look.

"...Right?" Rei repeated. Nara sighed heavily.

"I don't know, Rei," Nara said, looking up towards the ceiling. "I… I've been reading up on stuff about force and spirits and stuff. So far, what I've found all leads me towards Force Ghosts."

"Force ghosts?" Rei inquired. "Like, haunty-spooky-spirit stuff?"

"Yeah," Nara said. "Apparently, there are some Jedi who can learn this technique and become these powerful apparitions after they die, but virtually none of them ever actually managed to reappear as physical entities. As much as I don't want to believe it, I fear that what we saw with the pendant may have just been Nova's spirit returning to the force. As in, the glow signified that his energy was leaving the pendant, which is why it isn't still glowing."

Rei attempted to form a response for several moments, but gave up on it. Instead she just sat quietly with her friend for a few moments, taking refuge in the companionable silence.

After several moments, Nara spoke again.

"So, like I said," she began, "do you think there's any possible way he could have survived?"

Meanwhile…

Cataraan Orbital Station CT-177BX, 25 A.B.Y.

A tall figure stood alone, browsing shop windows along the concierge. He was tall, with moderate-length brown hair, which was relatively well-kept, but still showed signs of a lack of upkeep. He wore a long, dark green hooded jacket, black cargo pants, and a pair of jet-black sunglasses over his eyes. Above him, a small display showed a live news feed.

"Hello, and welcome back to Imperial News Hour," the anchor began. "Today marks precisely three years since the day that our heroic leader, Vice Admiral Jonathan Van Haveren, was killed in action in an epic battle against a traitorous renegade by the name of Nova Xaris. It has since become Imperial tradition that, on this day each year, we celebrate the life and sacrifice of our glorious leader, who gave his live so that the traitorous scum would be cleansed from the galaxy. We now request a moment of silence in Admiral Haveren's honor."

The figure scoffed when he heard the anchor's request, and observed how few people actually participated in the moment of silence. Then he turned and walked down the corridor, and into the alleyway. Once he was out of sight, the figure spoke.

"Okay, Kaz, how are we doing?" he said.

A voice responded through bone-conduction speakers built into the glasses.

"We're fine," it said, "just like the last 80 times you asked..."

The figure in green pressed a button on the rim of his glasses, and the tint in the lenses dropped to none, revealing a pair of piercing, bright blue eyes.

"Kaz, what have I told you a thousand times?" he said, his voice a harsh whisper, "We're undercover."

"Oh, sure," Kaz said, "Of course we are! Because the Empire's totally looking for us. I mean, it's so obvious that we survived that gigantic explosion, you know, the one that completely obliterated a planet-sized star destroyer? Yeah, of course they're looking for us! Great deduction skills, Nova."

The figure looked around nervously at the mention of his name.

"Look, just play along, huh?" Nova said. "I don't want to cause any more trouble."

"Really?" Kaz replied, "Because I'm not sure you can, given the state of the others…."

"Wait, the others?" Nova asked. "What do you mean? What about the others?"

"See for yourself," Kaz said, and a readout on Nova's glasses indicated towards the news display.

"Wait, what?" Nova spun around to look at the display.

"In other news," the anchor said, "the remaining members of Xaris' crew are still at large, and have risen to the top of the Empire's Most Wanted list. If you see any of these criminals, contact Imperial Services immediately."

The feed showed security camera footage of Nara, D'razz, and Rei running from a group of Imperial Stormtroopers, dodging shots and firing back.

"Damn…," Nova said. "I honestly didn't expect that…."

"Of course you didn't," Kaz said. "And you wanna know why?"

Nova said nothing.

"Because," Kaz continued, "You weren't thinking of what would happen in the long-term when you sent them off like that. Yes, you saved them from the explosion, but you did so in plain view of the big Imperial leader-guy. And that means that the whole Imperial Army knows that they're still alive. And with the luck they seem to be having, that might turn out to be a worse fate than just flat-out exploding."