INTERLUDE

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After the Battle of Hoth, the Rebels fled from the Ice planet. They caused the destruction of the criminal organisation Black Sun, before launching an all-out attack on the Second Death Star. After their incredible victory at Endor, killing the Emperor and destroying the Second Death Star, the leadership of the Empire was assumed by Sate Pestage, former aide to Palpatine. The Imperial Worlds are now under emergency rule, with forced enlistment on all loyal worlds for the Imperial Starfleet. The Corellian Security Bureau on Corellia is in the process of turning into the Imperial-aligned Public Safety Service. Stormtroopers have started to patrol Coronet and a new Imperial-aligned Diktat has been installed. Imperial Fleets have relocated to the Corellia system, occupying the Corellian Shipyards which are churning out new craft for the war against the New Republic.

==808==

CHAPTER TWO

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TIE Pilots :- Generally human males, although there have been several noted female and non-human TIE Pilots, TIE Pilots were trained to fly Imperial TIE Starfighters. Trained in obedience, teamwork and reliance on higher authority, TIE Pilots nevertheless seldom survived their first year of combat flying. After the full year of starfighter duty, many surviving TIE Pilots accepted promotions and became officers on capital ships. The most noted Imperial TIE Pilot was Corellian-born Baron Soontir Fel, who flew in TIE's for six years prior to his defection to the Alliance, and subsequent mysterious disappearance into the Unknown Realms (See Fel, Baron Soontir, Mith'raw'nuado and Chiss). It was rumoured that Darth Vader had his TIE Advanced built specially so that he could equal Baron Fel in a dogfight...

- Adapted from the New Republic Galactic Database, 35ABY

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I leapt to my feet in anger, slamming my palm against the tinted transparisteel table to emphasise my point.

"I don't care what they say, I am not going to the Academy. I don't want to be a TIE Pilot, or an Imperial Trainee Cadet. I am not going to go!"

Marcus gestured for me to sit down before unpausing the holomessage.

"It is also required for the Wookie Khanchassata to be delivered to the nearest Imperial Assignment Bureau for compulsory duties at Imperial Spacedock 4. Haisini Sulona, Thrantarallenazenzal, Golanth, Kal'Infortuna and Kay'Infortuna are hereby designated as security risks, and are required to return to their home planets. Slade Hallon is to report to the nearest Imperial Assignment Bureau for retraining in scout duties. Failure to comply with these orders will result in find-and-detain warrents being passed on all non-conforming members of Knave Squadron. By order of Kirtan Loor, acting on instructions given by Ysanne Isard, Imperial Intelligence Director."

As the figure of the Imperial agent flickered and faded, Marcus looked up at us with one eyebrow cocked.

"Well, it seems that our little gang is due to be disbanded."

"I cannot comply with the request." buzzed Thranta. "My hive was destroyed when the Victory Star Destroyer Garrotte collided with it."

Khan roared his disapproval of the holomessage, adding several explicit threats about what he would do to Kirtan Loor, providing that he had three Sand panthers, a Shardbush, two tonnes of Vynock manure, three pints of Bantha spit and several extremely heavy hydrospanners.

"I quite agree," I interrupted, "but I think that the three Sand Panthers are overdoing it a little. Why not use an angry Gundark instead?"

"Hold it." growled Slade while Khan chortled. "I like it with you, and I know that you all agree that we are a good team. The Empire refuses to keep us together, and we know that the Empire is not going to let us remain together if possible. Look at what happened to Alderaan, and at Ghorman. The Empire is trying to separate us, so we must not give it a chance. Let us join the Rebel Alliance. They will welcome us, and let us stay together."

I nodded, noticing the expressions of agreement on the faces of the others.

"Well said." stated a cultured voice from behind us.

Dave spun round, his pistol seeming to leap from its holster into his hand as he faced the old man who was standing in the doorway. The man raised his hands in a gesture of peace.

"Surely you won't shoot an unarmed acquaintance?"

"Gil. Gil Bastra!" I called as he smiled at me.

"I suppose you're going to turn us in for anti-Empire activity." growled Slade. I glanced at him, noticing that he had pulled himself into an attack position, ready to pounce if Gil answered wrong.

"Quite the opposite, I assure you. I actually came to hire you to help me."

Dave frowned and cocked his head slightly, indicating that Gil should continue.

"I wish to hire you to take me to Tatooine. There will be three of us, and we want to avoid any Imperial entanglements."

"But you're from CorSec. CorSec are Imperial, or at least aligned with them." Slade snarled in astonishment.

Gil smiled at him. "Today, yes. Tomorrow, no. I must admit, I timed my visit to hear what you thought of the new orders given by the extremely officious Imperial Liaison officer, Kirtan Loor."

"Absolute dewback drool!" I burst out.

Gil smiled at me before replying.

"Yes. In this, I completely agree with you. Our orders were similar, Corran Horn has been ordered to report to the Imperial academy for retraining as a TIE Pilot, I have been "asked" to retire, as has Rostek Horn and Diric Wessiri, and Iella is due to be reassigned to a very unsavoury job in Imperial Intelligence. That's assuming that Imperials have any intelligence."

Dave looked at me and I nodded slightly, telling him that I believed that Gil was telling the truth. He stood up and turned to face Gil.

"All right, but I want details, and I want them now. I assume that we will be helping you by taking someone with us when we leave Corellia, so who will we be carrying, and how much will we earn?"

"You will be carrying me, Iella Wessiri and Diric Wessiri."

As I heard the names, I slumped back in my chair. Marcus glanced at me, and realising what was wrong, turned to face Gil.

"What about Corran Horn and Whistler?"

"You know Corran and Whistler personally?"

Marcus smiled.

"Yes, we know them. Corran used several of his vacations to help teach Graham how to fly in our displays, and tells him stories about life in CorSec."

Dave continued where Marcus left off. "We accept your offer, as long as you tell us what is going to happen with Corran Horn."

Gill smiled.

"Corran is going to use his X-wing to punch out of Corellian space. I have already arranged a dozen pseudo-identities for him, so he will be safe. In fact, if we time it right, Corran can cover us from any wandering Imperial TIEs. I am sure that he will agree to that."

Marcus smiled again.

"Tell Corran to fly here in his X-wing. We all leave together tomorrow."

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The dream started the way it normally did, with me discovering the body of the old thief who had looked after me for seven years. I saw myself standing over his still body, tears glistening unshed in my eyes. The viewpoint moved, and I was outside the headquarters of Knave Squadron, about to try to break in and steal as many credits as possible. I crawled through an old, forgotten storm-drain, surfacing just beside the building. Moving quietly to avoid triggering any sound sensors, I crept round the building until I spotted an open window high above me. Pulling out my padded grapple, I tied my rope to it and hurled it through the window, hearing the thunk as it landed in the dark room. Pulling the rope taut, I climbed up and scrambled into the building. Slipping quietly through the door, I started down the stairs, descending two storeys to reach ground level. As I crept past the kitchen, a giant being that seemed to be all fur, teeth and claws bumped into me unexpectedly. My reflexes threw me backwards and I turned and ran frantically, hearing an oddly-accented yell of "Sstop, thhiefff!" behind me. Scrambling back up the stairs with no attempt at stealth, I heard the commotion swell behind me, and the noise of the being who I had bumped into coming up the stairs, gaining on me. Letting my fear give me energy, I raced up the stairs, realising too late that I had overshot the level that I had entered through. Reaching the top, I threw myself against the door blocking my path. It burst open and I fell onto the ground, grazing myself on the rough surface. Getting up, I found myself on the flat roof of the building, near the foot-high wall that marked the edge of the building. Turning, I saw several people coming out of the door, and again my reflexes hurled me backwards, this time off the roof. As I went over, I managed to scrape the low parapet with my fingers, getting enough leverage to swing against the wall, but not enough to hold on. As if in slow motion, I watched the wall slowly rise past me, picking up speed. Spotting a window beneath me, I reached out with both hands as it passed, and was rewarded with a bone-shaking impact as I swung into the wall. By some miracle, I managed to keep my grip, holding myself above certain death by the strength of one hand. Looking down, I could see a plascrete surface apparently ten miles below me, dark in the moonlight, the colour of death. I tried to examine the walls, but there were no cracks, lumps or irregularities that could save me. Resigning myself to the inevitable, I took a deep breath and screamed for help as a head appeared over the parapet. Dimly, I heard an exclamation of surprise, followed quickly by a shout for rope. As the head drew back, the window that I was dangling below opened, and a hairy paw reached out and grabbed my tunic. With no apparent effort, the owner of the paw lifted by up and hauled me in through the window. Unable to move, I shivered with the reaction of the adrenaline that had coursed through me in my attempt to escape, then looked up at my rescuer, and fell into blackness.

I sat up and shook my head, trying to dispel the lingering effects of the dream. I glanced over at the bed on the other side of the cabin, seeing the lanky form of Khan. For an instant, I saw myself looking up at him after he had pulled me through the window, but I shook off the flashback, and moved to the viewport, looking out at the slowly lightening sky while I absently polished the specially-sized Ryyk Kerarthor blade that Khan had given me for my last birthday.

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The dawn was interrupted by the whine of an approaching X-wing and airspeeder. They touched down together on the landing pad just as I emerged from the Knave Home and Dave walked out of his quarters. Gil almost dived out of the speeder, moving quickly despite his bulk. He looked round in a near-panic, saw Dave and started talking quickly.

"Hunter. Thank goodness. We need to leave now! Kirtan suspects that something is wrong, and has sent a squadron of TIE's after us. Corran shot down one flight that tried to intercept him, but the other two are in orbit, waiting for us. We also picked up messages from the Steel Glove, the Annihilator and the New Order. They are about to launch their TIE's and move to intercept once we launch."

Dave paused for an instant, assimilating this new information. He quickly reached a decision and started to bark out orders.

"Graham, get back aboard. Gil, get your party on board now!"

Dave turned and ran into the bridge, hitting the red-alert button on the way. As the siren echoed through the ship, Gil and I glanced at each other before heading towards the bridge at a dead run.

"What's going on?" I asked as I entered the bridge, followed closely by Gil, Iella and Diric.

"We're getting out of here. Are our visitors and crew on board?"

I glanced at the crew status board before answering, "Yes. Why?"

"Close the hatch, get everyone out of their bunks and to battle stations. Graham, get to the Assault Gunboat and prepare to launch. Tell Marcus to use my X-wing, and tell Thranta to get into his A-wing. We cannot use the TIE's, or the Y-wings this time, we need speed and shields to escape. Knave Home to Corran Horn, we are lifting off and going into orbit. We will launch an X-wing, an A-wing and an Assault gunboat to help you provide cover. Any questions?"

Corran's slightly worried voice came through the speakers.

"Knave Home, suggest that we use course heading one-seven-four, elevation thirty. Whistler says that it will avoid the electrical storm that is incoming."

"Acknowledged, Corran. Prepare to launch."

As he activated the repulsorlifts, Haisini ran in and sat at the communication/sensor panel, while Han Tharallen leapt into the navigation position. I waited until they had both entered before running to the upper port launch bay and climbing into my Gunboat. I switched on my direct comm in time to hear Haisini talking to Dave.

"Kay and Kal are manning the quads, Golanth and Khan are coming to man the missile launchers and side lasers. Slade will be here to man the new Bow Turbolasers as soon as he pulls on some clothes. Marcus, Thranta and Graham should be ready to launch by now"

"Good. Activating thrust sequence, exiting hangar. CorSec X-wing holding position covering port side."

As we exited the hanger, the upper starfighter hanger door rolled open. I activated my engines as the launch tractor beam hurled me into the atmosphere. Ignoring the sudden buffeting, I switched on my sensors, blinked, and quickly hit my comm switch.

"Knave Home, we have incoming."

"How many?"

"Eight eyeballs, coming in at twelve high."

"Got them. Knave Home to escort, we have eight eyeballs incoming. Corran, once we are out of the gravity well, make your jump. We will cover for you. Marcus, Thranta, Graham, transmitting Hyperspace jump co-ordinates ready for use. Range to eyeballs, six kilometres and closing. Thranta, you go and break their formation, Corran and Marcus, you follow and enlighten them. Graham, you take any stragglers."

Thranta raced ahead in his A-wing as I pushed the throttle to maximum, activated my forward shields and switched my comm over to the tactical frequency.

"Thranta is nearly in contact with enemy."

As I watched, the red dots on my forward scanner scattered away from the lone green dot in their midst.

"Attack group, break and engage."

I dived slightly to give Corran and Marcus a clear field of fire before rolling and homing in on a TIE trying to sneak up from underneath. It seemed to leap into my HUD and an instant later, my lasers turned it into scrap. I checked my sensors and pulled up, evening out my shields as I did so.

"Corran, Eyeball on your aft."

Glancing up, I saw a TIE moving in to vape Corran. Without thinking, I pulled in behind the TIE and fired a pair of green laser bolts into his exhaust vents. The TIE exploded, decomposing into an expanding cone of burning plasma.

"Scratch one eyeball."

"Thanks."

"Incoming, got him."

"Gunboat, evasive!"

My reflexes took over and I spun to my port. An instant later, a pair of green laser bolts pierced the space that I had just vacated. I pulled up and spun in a reverse Tallon twist, but the TIE stayed firmly on my aft.

"I can't shake him!"

"Graham, Corellian Twist. Pull up now!"

I pulled up as Corran raced towards me, firing his lasers. His lasers passed beneath me and a bright flash from behind nearly blinded me.

"Thanks."

Corran double-clicked his comm to signal that he had received my message. An instant later, Dave came on line.

"Corran, we have cleared the gravity well. You're clear to jump."

Corran pulled in beside me, waved and then peeled off. An instant later, his X-wing seemed to shudder, elongate and blur into the distance as he entered hyperspace.

"Goodbye, my friend." I said.

"Knave Home, three incoming from ahead, cannot reach them."

"Got them."

I glanced back just in time to see the two Turbolasers on the Knave Home nail the last TIE.

"Let's go. Check navicomps, engage hyperdrives."

I pulled my Hyperdrive levers towards me, but nothing happened except for a slight shudder through the ship.

"What's going on?"

"Home, This is Marcus. We have a problem, Interdictor coming in from behind, reads as the Black Asp. It's launching squints. It gravved us just as Corran left."

I thumbed my comm unit.

"That's not all. I read three ISD's incoming, reading them as Steel Glove, New Order and Annihilator. ETA, ten minutes. Their TIE's have an ETA of three minutes. We need to take out the Asp. Marcus, cover me. I'm going in."

I pulled back on the stick and looped round to face the Asp.

"Knave Home, do a scan. Are the shield generators vulnerable? I seemed to hear something about vulnerable towers prior to Endor."

"Scanning. Looks like they haven't upgraded the gravships shield towers yet. They have minimal armour plating, so a few torps in each should panic them."

"In thirty seconds, do an attack run and clear our exit vector. Marcus, vape the squints. I'm going in."

"Negative Graham. You shock the squints, I'll take the generators. This baby has four missiles still in it, yours only has two. Setting for dual fire, going in."

Marcus' X-wing peeled off and pulled ahead of me. I waited for a few seconds, then pulled up slightly.

"Providing ion cover, don't panic."

Aiming just above his cockpit, I squeezed my trigger, sending bolt after bolt of blue energy past him. An instant later, his lasers started to fire scarlet bolts that ripped into the oncoming squadron, devastating them. Half of them exploded or shut down, the rest peeled off and turned to flee. I carefully picked them off one by one with my ion cannons in a belated attempt to avoid killing any other pilots.

"Firing one."

I turned just in time to see two staggered missiles race toward the first generator, the first missile creating a hole in the shield so that the second missile could pass through and destroy it in a sheet of golden flame. I frowned slightly, feeling a nebulous sense of unease..

"Firing two."

The feeling solidified and I slammed my comm system on.

"Marcus, get out of there!"

A bolt of blue ion energy lanced upwards from the edge of the Black Asp, striking Marcus' X-wing just as he fired his final missiles at the second generator. Out of control and with lightning crackling along its hull, the X-wing careened straight into the bridge of the Black Asp. A moment later, the Black Asp started to rotate to its port as its computer core shut down in a cascade reaction. My comm buzzed and I heard Dave's voice.

"Knave Home to all fighters. Field is down, repeat, field is down. Engage hyperdrives on my mark. Mark!"

Numbly, I hit the auto-orientation button, and then pulled the hyperdrive lever. The stars lengthened into spears of light, and it seemed that each one cut into my heart.

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"This place is a dustbowl."

Khan bared his fangs in a sad smile as he helped me down from the gunboat and steadied me on the shifting sands.

"I mean, only one real city, Moss some-thing or other, several small towns, no water at all, how can anyone live here?"

Khan tilted his head and let out a soft bark.

"Company? Now?"

I pulled out my blaster and set it to stun, wishing that I had remembered my custom Ryyk Kerathor blade which was still by my bunk.

"How could they have found us so fast?"

"Because I told them where and when."

I dived sideways, spinning to face the person who had spoken. A brief glance told me who it was, and I got up in disgust.

"Can you at least make some noise when you move?"

Gil smiled as Diric and Iella descended the ramp behind him.

"Sorry, force of habit. They are coming for me, Iella and Diric. Here is where we part company. I would advise you to leave as soon as possible, I have already paid what we owed you for your aid."

Just as he finished his sentence, two speeders crested the edge of the crater and glided to a stop just metres away. The hatch of the first speeder opened and a human male climbed out.

"Dirk and Chiel Wessaar?"

Diric and Iella picked up their luggage and walked over to the speeder. Gil watched them go with a sad expression on his face.

"Farewell, my friends. May we meet in a better life, for my days are limited."

He walked over to the second speeder, pausing to turn and speak.

"May the Force be with you, my friends, and may we meet under more congenial circumstances."

As both speeders lifted up and moved away, Vint joined us.

"Graham, Khan, Gil left Dave the location of a rumoured Rebel training base. I am taking the cargo speeder there now. Do you want to come?"

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Even as the speeder moved towards the cave entrance, it was obvious that the base was no longer in use. As we drew closer, we could see scorch marks and dusty piles of rock and twisted metal.

"Well, that explains the TIE wreckage and laser scoring we saw earlier." Vint remarked as he brought the speeder in for a smooth landing just inside the half-ruined hangar bay. I looked round, noting the ruins of a flight-control booth, the torn and twisted struts that still managed to support the ceiling of the scorched cave, and a large, yet familiar hole in the centre of the cavern.

"Look, over there, does that look like a Mark II speeder lift to you?"

Vint looked at where I was pointing.

"Yes, it does. Khan, get out the climbing gear. The lift will not be working, and we want to see what is down there."

"I'll go."

Vint looked at me before nodding.

"Alright. We'll set up the winch and lower you. When you get down, give us a report on what is down there. If it is interesting, we'll bring the Home over and help ourselves."

As he said that, Khan threw the climbing harness to me. I put it on, making sure that I could still draw my Ryyk blade, and then walked over to them as they finished assembling the winch above the hole.

"Ready when you are." I said as I picked up the glow-rod and comm unit.

Khan strapped me to the end of the cable as I sat on the edge. When he grunted in satisfaction, I pushed myself over the edge of the hole and hung, rotating slowly, just underneath the hatch.

"Lower away."

As I descended, I played the light from the glow-rod over the walls of the shaft before pointing it down.

"Approaching bottom."

"Okay, slowing your descent."

I watched as the lift platform came towards me, and oriented myself for a soft landing. As I landed. I pointed my glow-rod at the entrance to the hanger, and gasped in amazement.

"What is it?"

I stepped forward, trying to say what I saw.

"I see four A-wings, looks like they are in good condition. Although I am not sure, I think that I see some Headhunters as well, although they could be X-wings, hard to tell in this light. Hold on."

I unhooked myself from the cable and stepped into the hangar.

"The A-wings are dusty, but they do not seem to be damaged."

I hauled myself onto one of the A-wings and climbed into its cockpit, hitting the system start-up switch, I was surprised by the sudden activity.

"Start-up sequence on first A-wing operational, no errors detected in software. Starting hardware-examination algorithm, no structural defects detected. Accessing maintenance log."

As I hit the final button, a list scrolled up the screen.

"Looks like the final entry in the log was about two weeks prior to the Battle of Yavin. For antiques, these have sure lasted."

"Who is there?"

I snapped off my glow-rod and ducked down into the cockpit. Lowering my voice, I whispered into me comm.

"I just heard a voice. I think I need some backup."

"Copy, Khan is coming down now, Knave Home reports that it is ready to launch, ETA four minutes"

"I need backup now, not in four minutes!" I whispered frantically.

I drew my blade and listened hard. A footfall sounded just to the left of my A-wing. I quickly dived out of the cockpit and dropped down on the right-hand side, ducking with my back against one of the landing legs.

"I said, who is there?"

I turned my head blindly, searching for the source of the surprisingly cultured voice. Suddenly light flooded in as four glow-rods flew through the air from the lift shaft, landing in a rough square that illuminated most of the hangar, flooding my hiding place with light. Spotting a humanoid shape silhouetted against one of the glow-rods, I launched myself at it, attempting to tackle it and bring it down.

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I opened my eyes slowly and tried to focus against the pain that flooded through my skull. A mechanical voice spoke.

"Sir. I believe that he is coming round."

"Good thing too. He's been out for over a full day."

I grabbed my head to try to stop the ringing. An instant later, a hypospray hissed against my arm and the pain receded. I managed to sit up just as Dave leaned over me.

"How are you?"

I groaned slightly before asking a question of my own.

"What happened? And what are you doing here?"

Dave smiled.

"Well, you called needing help, so Vint called me, and I flew over in the Home. Vint told me over the comlink that he had given Khan four glow-rods and a blaster, and had got a laser rifle for himself. They slid down the cable and Khan threw the glow-rods into the hangar. They saw a shape and just as they were about to shoot, you leapt at it, headbutted it and collapsed. It leaned over, picked you up and carried you into the darkness, with Khan and Vint in hot pursuit, bouncing off the starfighters and tripping over cables. Khan finally caught up with it as it placed you on a bench and activated a Too-one-bee droid. It was then that he found out that your mysterious voice was in fact a modified protocol droid, who was very upset that he had inadvertently injured you."

I groaned again, this time out of embarrassment.

"So I called for maximum backup because of a droid?"

Dave nodded.

"Yes. Don't worry, Cybo has been very helpful, he showed us the power generation unit, which Khan was able to jury-rig for now, and has helped us to inventory the remains of the base, as well as telling us what happened to it."

"What did happen?"

Dave sighed.

"It fits in with some of what we know. Vint's cousin was a Rebel, and apparently he was stationed here. Turland Hack. He was a Flight Controller, and he had apparently taken a certain rookie under his wing, so to speak." He paused in embarrassment at his inadvertent joke. "We do not know who that rookie was, but we do know that the rookie was a local pilot. Anyway, the Empire somehow discovered the base, and launched an attack on it. Three TIE's managed to do a strafing run on the base, killing all the personnel as well as causing severe damage to the launching cavern via system feedback. The instruments continued to function for long enough for Cybo to witness the destruction of the three TIE's by the rookie."

"And Turland?"

"He died in the attack. He refused to abandon his post during the attack, and managed to send out a call for help before he died."

I blinked, finally catching up with my thoughts.

"Who is Cybo?"

"See-Bee-Zero-Nine-Delta, to give him his full name. He is a modified protocol droid who was manumitted several years prior to the Battle of Yavin. He learnt how to fly a Fighter in combat, and is an Ace, having seven kills to his credit."

I sat up in shock.

"You're kidding!"

Dave shook his head.

"I'm serious. Seven kills, his own A-wing and rank of lieutenant. Anyway, he was very helpful, it seems that he spent most of his time trapped here in droid-sleep, so that he could retain his sanity. He has shown us the base, and has agreed to join our happy band in our search for the Rebel Alliance, although he has set a few conditions."

I blinked.

"To start with, we junk our Imperial fighters and use the Rebel fighters here. Since there are four A-wings, four X-wings and two Y-wings fully operational and several others that can be salvaged for spares, that is no real hardship. There are also large stocks of missiles and torpedoes here, so we can stock our armoury to the air-vents with them. There are seven R2 units operational, so we will have our choice of droids for the fighters. We now also have two medical droids in our large band, fully equipped with a Bacta tank and over fifty gallons of pure Bacta and six hundred gallons of Ambori ready for use. Golanth and Slade are currently overseeing the creation of a sickbay on the Home in the lower-aft secondary cargo area."

I slumped back against my cushions in shock.

"You will have to dump your Gunboat, though. Cybo hates the Imps and their equipment with every circuit in him."

I sat up and smiled.

"I don't mind, I've always wanted to fly an X-wing. That's why you had to set up a seven-level password security system on yours. What's Khan going to fly, now that we can upgrade our fighters?"

Dave smiled again.

"He instantly claimed one of the X-wings, one that had been slightly modified for use by an unknown pilot of approximately the same size. Golanth found a similarly-modified Y-wing, and claimed that. As we speak, they are helping to reconfigure the Home's hangars to hold the new craft. I've decided to accept Cybo as a fully-fledged fighter pilot."

I shook my head in disbelief.

"Oh, Cybo showed me something, a personal diary of a Jedi who arrived a day prior to the attack. The Jedi is dead but, well, you'll have to see for yourself."

.

The briefing room darkened slightly and the screen showed static for a few seconds before clearing and showing a larger-than-life human male. He glanced down, as if checking something, and then started talking.

"Personal log of Jedi Knight Jorius C'baoth. Third day of Khaluumn, year of Kalath. I have just arrived at the Rebel Alliance's Tatooine base, and have met with their base commander. During the meeting, I asked to join the Rebel Alliance, and have been accepted. My exact role is uncertain, but my lightsaber and telekinetic skills mean that I will probably be either part of an infiltration team, or a commando unit. Either way, I will soon see action. For their part, the Alliance has promised to search for my son, Jorias, who was stolen from me on Corellia by a group of Bounty Hunters. I have given them a lock of his hair, and they have extracted a sample of his DNA from it. If they come across any boy who matches his description, they will do a quick DNA check to see if it is him. Hopefully, he is still out there somewhere, waiting for me. Turland Hack, the man who located me at Mos Eisley, has been regaling me with stories about his new friend, a rookie pilot called. . . what the?"

Behind him, red lights flashed, and a siren wailed. He turned round, just as the screen flickered and blanked out. Dave turned to face me.

"Jorius was killed an instant after the computer stopped recording. The DNA sequence was never used to find his son, and this base was abandoned."

I turned to face him, confusion written on my face.

"Graham, I checked three times while you were out cold. I have told all the others, and they have all checked the evidence. I called all the medical droids in the base, as well as the R2 units for additional computational analysis, and they concurred with our findings. We know who Jorias C'baoth is."

I smiled.

"Don't tell me, it's, lets see, Han Tharallen. Yes?"

"No."

"Vint?"

"No. Not Vint."

"I know. You."

Dave shook his head slightly.

"Graham. The DNA sample in the computer and droid memory banks are a perfect match for your DNA. You are Jorias C'baoth.

I stared at him.

"This is a joke, right?"

Dave shook his head.

"I have known for ages that you were unusual. Remember the slam-ball games we used to play, even the balls that no-one else could hit, you could. Kal and Kay swear blind that you have seen through all of their jokes and pranks, including their pseudo-telepathy trick, which had me fooled for ages. Khan has never stopped boasting about how you, despite having never met a Wookie before, to the best of our knowledge, learned to understand and speak his language within two weeks of him rescuing you from the ledge after you attempted to rob our building. During our flight from Corellia, you outflew all of the TIE's, never missing a single shot. The DNA check only confirmed what I suspected. Graham, you are a Jedi."

"Are.. are you sure?"

"Yes."

I thought about it. Me, a Jedi Knight, guardian of law and order. Son of a Jedi. Impossible.

"Here, look at this."

I looked at the datapad that Dave was holding. The screen was divided into two sections, both of which held a DNA strand graphic.

"What am I looking at?"

"Your DNA is on the left. The DNA sample provided by Jorius is on the right. They are identical. You are Jorias."

I stood up in a daze, excused myself and walked out of the hall. Walking at random down the darkened corridors, I entered a deserted room and sat down on the bed, thinking hard about what Dave had said. Just as I felt that I had convinced myself that I was not a Jedi, I looked up and froze. On the table opposite the bed on which I was sitting, there was a pale grey cylindrical tube about twenty centimetres in length. One end was almost smooth, while the other ended in four spikes spaced evenly round the rim. I stood up and stared at it before slowly picking it up. Pressing a switch, I gazed at the beam of bright white light that sprang into existence from between the spikes. Switching off the lightsaber, I placed it back on the table and prowled round the room, opening cupboards and examining the contents. One cupboard contained a sealed box topped with an old keypad. With a flash of inspiration, I entered the name Jorias. With a creak, the box opened, and a hologram of Jorius sprung into existence.

"My son, If you are listening to this, then I am dead. By now, you know who you are, and want to know your history. I will tell you. You are from the C'baoth line of Jedi, a line almost as famed as the Halcyons. While the Halcyons are noted for their mental powers, the C'baoth line is noted for our skills in the kinetic aspects of the Force. We also, unlike the Halcyons, have nominal skills in the areas in which we do not excel. Your great-grandfather, my grandfather, Jorias, whom you are named after, was able to lift an entire battle-cruiser with his mind alone. Your Grandfather, Jorus, was weaker in the kinetic aspect, but had a better grasp of the mind-powers. I myself have virtually no mental abilities, but am one of the strongest Jedi, in a kinetic sense. I do not know your strengths as yet, but I am hopeful that you can become a full Jedi. I have left you my lightsaber, as my father left it to me. Wear it with pride. I also give you my Holocron, which is inside this box. Listen to it, learn from it. I cannot teach you, but the Holocron can. First, though, you must travel to the planet Dagobah, to see the Jedi Master Yoda, if he is still alive. He will teach you, as he taught my family for eleven generations. The co-ordinates for his dwelling are in the Holocron. Farewell, my son, and may the Force be with you."

As the image faded, I saw a cube inside the box. I carefully reached into the box and picked the cube up.

"A Holocron!"

I jumped and dropped the cube back into the box. Spinning round, I saw Haisani.

"Don't creep up on me like that."

"Sorry."

I paused and stared at him.

"How did you know what that was?"

Haisani looked embarrassed.

"I, um, trained with a Jedi who had one several years before I joined Knave Squadron. I never mentioned it before, because I did not want to risk exposing you the Empire in your eagerness to be different."

As he sat down on a chair and continued his tale, I picked up the Holocron and placed it in my pocket.

"During my appreticeship in the latter days of the Clone Wars, I travelled to Socorra to train as a Jedi under the tutelage of a great Arkanian Jedi Master, Master Airsword. I was the most adept of his five pupils. I excelled at the exercises he set, and helped the other pupils to improve their fledgling skills. I learnt the skills of telepathy, healing, precognition and, surprisingly, levitation. I excelled in the non-physical branches, influenced perhaps by the fact that I "see" in the Force. One day, I went on a quest for a rare jewel for my lightsaber, which I was in the process of building. I was twelve kilometres away from the camp when I heard a massive explosion. I hurried back, but I was too late, they were all dead. I searched the camp for survival packs, and found, among other things, several Jedi reader disks and a large stash of credits. The Holocron, with its Gatekeeper, Bodo Baas, had been taken for the Emperor, I used the credits to flee Socorra and eventually travelled to Corellia, where I joined Knave Squadron, and met you. I knew that there was something special about you, and now I know what."

As I thought about this, he reached into his sash and pulled out a cylinder about twenty centimetres in length. Pressing a button on the side, he raised it as a blade of deep violet light extended from one end.

"I finished my lightsaber, and constantly practice whenever I can. I am willing to try and teach you how to use your Jedi powers, whatever they are, if you are willing to learn how to use them."

"And if I don't want to use them?"

He turned his head towards me, and I seemed to sense a type of focused concentration trained on me.

"Are you willing to let your powers idle? Is it not better to have them in case you need them?"

I thought about it some more.

"I guess so. I'll try."

"No!"

At his sharp voice, I turned to face him.

"What do you mean?"

He smiled slightly.

"As my master so often said, 'There is no such thing as trying. You either succeed or fail, but you cannot simply just try. If you fail, look at what you did, and see if what you considered failure was in fact a victory that you did not expect, or aim for.' He repeated it many times, and claimed that it was taught to him by a great Jedi Master called Yoda."

Before I could reply, I heard raised voices down the passage, one of them completely unfamiliar to me.

.

I burst through the door, rolling to dodge any attack, ending up in a kneeling position with my ryyk blade in a guard position and my blaster pointing to the scarred stranger, who took a step backwards in shock. An instant later, the door behind me flew open again and Haisani skidded to a halt beside me, his activated blue lightsaber held in a vertical guard. The room suddenly became silent and everyone stared at us.

"By the Force! Is that a lightsaber?"

I glared at the strangely familiar person as I slowly stood up, my blaster pointing squarely at his midsection. Behind me, Haisani deactivated his lightsaber and hung it on his belt. Dave smiled slightly and stepped forward, placing one hand over my blaster.

"Graham, Haisani, I want you to meet Garik Loran."

My blaster fell onto the floor, and only extreme self-control prevented my blade and jaw from following it. Behind me, Haisani gasped in recognition.

"Garik Loran? The "Face"? Star of The Black Bantha, Jungle Flutes, Win or die, Loka Hask; undercover Imperial and Hyperspace Adventurers?"

I realised that I was starting to babble, and managed to close my mouth. Face just smiled with a wry expression on his face.

"Yes. That's me."

"But you died! You were killed by a group of Alliance Extremists prior to the destruction of the First Death Star!"

Face shook his head.

"No. I was captured by a group of ex-Alliance extremists, hard-liners who wanted to send a message through the Empire, delivering a major blow to the Empire's morale. However, they decided to show me first what the Empire truly was. I got the hard-core briefing, and you would be terrified at some of the things that the Empire did. Then, just as they were about to kill me, a group of Imperial commandos stormed the building in an attempt to free me. Both sides annihilated each other, and only a few Imperial commandos were left alive, as well as me. I was a real mess, physically and emotionally, so I hid. The Empire, unable to find me, claimed that the kidnapping was Rebel-approved, and that the Rebellion had ordered my death. I fled back to my family to recover, and now that I am well again, I have decided to join the Alliance. However, I need an starfighter, preferably an A-wing. Once I have it, it's a case of Rebel Alliance, here I come." Garik smiled slightly and struck a heroic pose before speaking in a rolling voice. "'For the remainder of my life, I will willingly risk my body, life and soul for the advancement of the cause that I truly believe in. I will try my utmost to fulfil my destiny, and strike down the enemies of truth and justice.'"

I smiled at the speech from Loka Hask as I re-sheathed my blade.

"All right. You are joining the Alliance, you said. Can we come with you?"

Face shook his head.

"No. If more than one person shows up, my contact will flee. However, I will mention that you are seeking to join the Alliance. They will pass the word to their agents, and I am sure that one will approach you soon. May I suggest that you decide on a password or special token so that they can identify themselves?"

I quickly spoke up.

"Let them bring a signed copy of The Black Bantha."

Face nodded slowly, a wry smile on his face.

"And I am willing to bet that that is the only one of my holodramas that you haven't got at present."

I felt my cheeks turn red, and looked down at the floor in embarrassment. Face laughed softly.

"Don't worry. It's a good idea, and virtually foolproof as well. It's nice to know that I still have many fans throughout the galaxy. I only wish that I had more time to get to know you. Even so, and despite your sudden and extremely interesting entrance, it has been good meeting you."

As he finished the sentence, he held out his hand. I looked at for a moment before tentatively reaching out and clasping it briefly. He smiled again, let go and turned to speak to Dave.

"You'll get the credits in fourteen days time, on Obroa-skai. You already have the account details. I will do my best to persuade an agent to meet you, but considering the whacking that Sate Pestage is giving the Alliance, I can't promise anything but the credits."

He turned back to me.

"Well, Graham, I'll see you round. And remember, 'When all seems lost, and hope is far away, . . .'"

"'. . . keep searching, for one day the rewards of patience will be yours.' Jedi Thar to his pupil, Dawn Of A New Era."

Face nodded and turned to Dave.

"You have a true genius there. The only way to improve him would be to make him into a Jedi."

Dave smiled and started to lead him away, into the passage that led to the hangar. As he did so, he whispered something into Face's ear. Face jerked as if startled, glanced at me, and then looked hard at Dave, who nodded, smiling slightly. They entered the passage, and a few words bounced back into the hall.

". . two Jedi in the group? I'll make sure that I mention that to the . . ."

.

I sat back down on the bed in my Father's room, and pulled out the Holocron, placing it on the desk. Haisani sat down on the chair and leaned forwards.

"What do I do?"

Haisani turned his head in a mock glance at me.

"It's your Holocron, you activate it."

Under his scrutiny, I reached out and pressed a carving on it that seemed to stand out somehow. The air above the Holocron thickened and a short green figure formed slowly, condensing into a wrinkled, robed non-human.

"Greetings, Jedi. Yoda am I, Gatekeeper of Holocron. What wish you?"

I glanced at Haisani, then turned back to face the shimmering, hunched figure.

"What can you tell me about Jorius C'Baoth, and his son Jorias?"

The figure seemed to freeze for a second.

"Jorius C'Baoth. Great Jedi, wanted only peace for Galaxy. Fought in Clone Wars, he did. As Jedi trainee. Showed promise. Powerful mind, strong body. Son of Joras C'Baoth, himself good Jedi. His son, Jorias, as baby, showed promise. Stolen, he was, stolen by bounty hunters who tried to kill Jorius. They fled, but not far enough. Tracked them down, Jorius did, tracked them down and brought them to justice, even the ones on Myrkr. But no sign of baby. Baby lost somewhere, never found. Jorius tried to find baby, but could not. Why ask this question do you?"

"Where is Dagobah?"

The image gazed at me.

"Asked only to tell Jorias, I was. Only tell Jorias where Dagobah is."

"I am Jorias!"

The image blinked and leaned forward, staring at me.

"Could be Jorias, only one way to know. Place hand on Holocron, test you I will. See if you Jorias truly are."

I reached out and placed my hand on the top of the Holocron. Yoda gazed down at me for a few seconds, then nodded.

"Jorias you are, go to Dagobah you must. Teach you will I when you arrive. Teach you to be true Jedi, to save galaxy from Empire."

"But the Emperor's dead."

Yoda looked at me and shook his head slowly.

"Not dead. Gone elsewhere. Is said that many lives has Emperor. Prophecy says that Emperor lives again, weak but alive. Can only be killed by Jedi. Killed by Jedi master, forever. Only way to kill Evil One. If One Who Walks The Sky fails, only hope is Stolen Son, or Machine King."

I shivered slightly.

"How do I get to Dagobah?"

The figure leaned back onto empty air.

"Need ship. Will guide you personally. Will guide you to right place, safe place to land. Lead you to living Jedi Master Yoda, I will. Teach you, he will. Teach you to be a Jedi Knight, a Jedi Master!"

.

"Are you sure?"

I stood in front of Dave with Haisani standing just behind me as backup.

"Yes. I spoke extensively with the image of a Jedi Master contained in the Holocron. It will guide us to Dagobah, where Jedi Master Yoda will train me. Once I am a full Jedi, we will have a better bargaining position with the Alliance when we join, and a better chance to fight off any Imperials who try to capture us. Think of the legends surrounding Anakin Skywalker during the Clone Wars. If the Jedi Master on Dagobah can train me even half as well as Anakin was trained. . ."

I left the sentence unfinished and watched as Dave thought about it. He leaned forwards slightly and gave me another stare.

"We should have enough time to go to Dagobah and find the Jedi. If he will take you, we will continue without you and Haisani and come back for you at a pre-arranged time. If he decides to come with us, so much the better. Either way, we need to get to Obroa-skai in two weeks. Where exactly is this planet Dagobah?"

I pulled out the Holocron and placed it on his desk. Activating it, I smiled at Dave through the rapidly forming Jedi Master.

"I'll let you ask him yourself."