Sorry for the wait. In all honesty, I forgot haha! FORGIVE ME!

ENJOY!

Chapter VI: Connections

"The way you make me feel! Waking up to you never felt so real…" Skillet-Comatose.

"We'll be at the Rendezvous Point in three and a half hours." Juno said as she walked in just as I was finishing my story. I heard her, but I didn't pay much attention and I continued to speak to Sonya. I'd found she was a great listener and she was very interested, even intrigued, about the Force.

"So, I sliced the neck off of the AT-AT and leaped into the snow just before the entire thing exploded on me." I said, making an explosion reference with my arms. "Then Galen came and killed the trooper that was going to shoot me in the face."

Sonya laughed lightly, "Couldn't see him in front of you, could you?"

"Not when my entire face was covered with snow." I said, bantering back.

"You never said anything about your face in the snow." Sonya said, laughing harder.

"Oops" I deadpanned, then chuckled, "I meant to skip that part."

Sonya just laughed at me.

I saw Juno out of the corner of my eye, but I could also sense her in the Force. She still had that pleasant air floating around her like the beginning. Not that I expected that to change, but it was just something else entirely.

The Force was beginning to come naturally and I didn't have to concentrate so hard to use it. It was just there. It felt as if it was another extension of myself. It felt completely natural.

Juno suddenly left and I turned back to Sonya completely.

"So, what was home like?" I asked after a second.

Sonya's eyes flashed with remembrance and she smiled, "Home was amazing…" She suddenly frowned and I felt a twinge in the Force.

"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to." I said gently.

Sonya smiled at me, "No, I do. Home was great. My parents were some of the best parents in the entire galaxy. They were always kind and they never fought. Some little things changed once my brother, Kade, joined the Imperial Academy when I was thirteen, but nothing drastic."

I folded my hands over the table, "Your brother joined the Empire?"

Sonya nodded, "Yeah, he did. He'd send us holo-messages from time to time so we'd know he was still alive. Once, I remember him sending us a holo of him in his cadet outfit. He looked so proud to be one of them…"

"But you never believed in the Empire." I said, almost completely finishing her thought.

"No." Sonya shook her head and wrapped her arms around her, "I didn't, but Kade did. He believed that the system that Palpatine had set in motion was the right way to go. He felt like he owed it to him to fight for his cause. Soon, Kade started to say that the Empire was part of his cause."

I nodded, deciding to change the subject, "Okay, so, what about friends?"

Sonya smiled brightly. It was a true, genuine smile that I had rarely seen, "I had the best of friends. My best friend's name was Ryna. Me and her met at school when we were about twelve and were friends ever since. She and I did everything together. When I was fourteen, she tried to hook me up with a boy named Pul but I never did." Her eyes flashed her bright green-blue color as she looked to me, "What about you? What's your story, flyboy?"

I laughed, "Did you just call me flyboy?"

"Yes I did!" Sonya giggled. "Come on, spill it."

"You know, there's not much to tell." I said dismissively, "My parents were great, my sisters were great, and my brother was great. My life was pretty much great until a…while back."

"What happened?" Sonya asked, smiling at me.

I frowned, "A Sith student named Terra Brax took me and a few of my friends from our home. We escaped a little later and joined the Alliance."

It wasn't a lie. It just wasn't in the right time perspective.

"You have some friends here. Where are they?" Sonya asked.

"They made it out with Leia, Han, and Chewbacca back at the base." I said.

Sonya's eyes widened, "Your friends got out with the princess?"

I nodded, not seeing the big deal, "Yeah, Galen helped me get them onto the Falcon before I assumed command of the defense on the front lines."

Sonya blew out a whistle, "Wow, you guys must be really important to be getting that kind of escort out."

I chuckled and thought about the asteroid field that Han was probably running into right about now, "Trust me." I said. "I doubt it was a good escort. The Stardestroyer that was orbiting Hoth is probably hunting them right now."

"Then shouldn't we re-route our coordinates and help them?" Sonya asked, standing up from the booth.

I looked at her, but I looked at all of her. This was the first time I'd take in more details about her. She was smaller than me by a few inches and her skin was just as tan as mine. She was sixteen, as she told me, so I could see the developing curves in her figure. Her chest wasn't big, but she was far away from being flat chested. My eyes lingered there for a bit before I pulled away my gaze.

She was absolutely hot.

I tore my gaze from her figure and looked into her eyes as they met my now fixing gaze. I cleared my throat, "Uh, no, we shouldn't. The Falcon has enough power and maneuverability to make it through whatever comes its way. Plus, we're just one ship and we can't afford to be captured by the Empire."

"Why not?" Sonya asked, though I already knew it was an empty question.

Whether or not that was the case, I still answered, "There are multiple reasons. If the Empire, let alone Vader, gets a hold of this ship, they'd be able to reverse engineer the crystal that makes this ship cloaked and have it mass produced to several other Imperial ships. Another reason is that Galen has a history with Vader, so if those two were to duke it out, I'm not sure if the Stardestroyer could handle it."

"They are that powerful?" Sonya's voice was hollow. She sounded shocked and surprised.

I nodded, "They are more powerful than we can possibly imagine."

"And you?" Sonya suddenly said as she flicked a piece of brown hair away from her field of vision, "How strong are you?"

I chuckled, "I'd like to think I'm very strong, but compared to those two I'm a joke. They've got years of experience on me. I think that the best thing I have is that I can see what type of form you're using against me and I can either copy that form, or completely contrast it."

"Sounds like a useful technique." Sonya mused aloud.

I nodded, "Well, I'll never see how truly affective it is until I face a live opponent in a duel."

"Wait." Sonya held her hands up, "You've never used the technique before?"

"No, I have. I just haven't used it on anything wielding a lightsaber." I said before looking at the holo-droid walking across the room, "Proxy doesn't count."

Proxy must've heard me because he turned and walked over to me, "Greetings, Blaze Marko, I understand you were inquiring about me?"

I shrugged, "More or less about what happened earlier."

Proxy held a mechanical figure up, "Ah, you mean when you interrupted my master and I in our training program."

I nodded, "Yeah. I was just telling Sonya here about-!" I never finished as Proxy cut me off.

"Master Marko here walked in on our master and me when we were sparring with some of my older training modules. They were designed for an earlier type of combat, so, naturally, Blaze won against me because of the level of the program I was using." Proxy said.

Sonya's eyes widened, "You have more than one program? How many exactly do you have?"

Proxy showed as much emotion as a droid could as he responded, "I have several others that range in different forms of lightsaber combat. Some I've hidden for a long time and even my master doesn't know about them. They're designed to train someone in more ways than one in lightsaber combat by relying on their physical strengths too."

"Hold on." I said suddenly, "Back up."

Sonya looked at me, "What?"

I looked at Proxy, "Did you say that the only reason that I beat you was because of the level of training program you used?"

Proxy's optics focused on me, "That is correct."

I scoffed, "I doubt that."

Proxy seemed to brighten, even if that was possible, and held his hand up toward the training center, "Would you like me to prove it, Blaze Marko? It would stand to reason that a course of action like that may prove futile."

I looked at the droid and smirked, "If that was a challenge, and I think it was, then I accept."

Proxy got up and walked over to a black door and opened it, "Then let us begin."

"Fine, let's go." I said and stood up from the booth. I knew how strong Proxy's programs were, so it wasn't much of a stretch to say I'd be up for the task.

Sonya reached out and caught my arm, "Mind if I watch?" She asked, her eyes sparkling with question.

I nodded, "Sure, just stand by the door."

She nodded and we followed after Proxy into the training center. The training center was a large black room that was completely sealed off without any windows. There was a few, immensely bright lights that were imbedded into the ceiling that illuminated the entire room, but other than that it was plain. However, one big thing I noticed was that it was twice the size of the room we just exited from.

Proxy walked over to the edge of the room on the left side and I did the same thing only on the right. Sonya stayed by the door and watched me as I unclipped my lightsaber and ignited the blue-white blade. I held the blade back, away from my body, but within reach so I could easily grip it with both my hands for an effective defense.

"I already know that you know my Shadowguard program and can easily best it, so I'll use something a little more challenging to your skill level." Proxy said before a blue and white electrical field washed over his entire body. There was a high pitched whirl of his holo-projector as he unlocked one of his programs. The electrical field suddenly disappeared and a different person altogether was left behind.

It was Obi Wan Kenobi.

"Ah crap. Of all the people he could've chosen…" I muttered softly to myself.

Proxy/Kenobi unclipped his lightsaber and ignited it, "This will do."

Holy crap, he even sounds like Obi Wan! I thought, though I already knew he would sound like him. Proxy was a prototype holo-droid and he could mimic the fighting styles of any opponent and could store it in his data banks to fight like that person…and use their physical image as a bonus. It would have been useful if he was built for assassinations or espionage, but he was just a training droid.

I sighed as I remembered that a part of his core processor was burned out on Raxus Prime, so I wouldn't have to be dealing with him trying to kill me or Galen.

But he's fighting with me now so he actually might kill me. I reminded myself. Proxy was the type of training droid that wouldn't go easy on you just because you were an ally.

No, he would try to kill you. He would push you to your limits and make you surrender. He was ruthless in battle. Proxy definitely proved that when he attacked Vader, of all people, on Corellia to save Galen. Granted, he didn't even come close to winning, but he definitely tried. Vader had to block four attacks before he was able to stab Proxy through the chest.

"And this is that same fighting program." I said softly as I saw Proxy/Kenobi start to come closer.

I met his stride and we both continued until we were only four feet apart, then the fight began.

Proxy/Kenobi swung his blade at me, near my ribs, and I deflected the strike, using my shifted weight to balance the stride of the attack. As I broke off, I stabbed my blade at his chest, but he flicked it way and gave a downward slash.

I broke off my attack and rolled to the side, near another wall.

Proxy/Kenobi brought his blade over his head and delivered a swift, downward attack. As I brought my blade up to counter, his blade got caught in the wall. I followed through with my attack and wacked his blade back. Since his lightsaber was stuck for the moment, my attack made him recoil.

He stumbled slightly before regaining his balance.

This wasn't as easy as I had originally thought.

I stood up and gripped my blade in both my hands while holding the blade toward Proxy/Kenobi. I slowly inched my way to the disguised holo-droid, trying not to move too sudden. That paid off as Proxy/Kenobi made the next move. He swung the blade quickly in a spin and I had to time it just right to deflect the blade before it chopped me in half.

As Proxy/Kenobi spun for the third time, I saw the twist in his arm and the blade flew through the air with sonic speed. I deflected the quick strike just in time and I finally struck at him. He caught the blade with his as it aimed for his head. Sparks flew in different directions as the weapons made contact.

Proxy/Kenobi struck again, for my legs, and I blocked. It went on for a while like that, he attack and I blocked or I attacked and he blocked. However, as he swung for my mid-section, I saw a hitch in his shoulder. It was almost an entire second pause as he swung the blue blade in an arc that I had to duck to dodge.

That hitch was my way in.

As he tried the same attack again, I was ready for it. I ducked quickly under his strike and slashed at his chest. My blade crossed his chest and a large, burning gash suddenly appeared. It blackened and Proxy/Kenobi fell to his knees. However, before he hit the ground, he threw his lightsaber at me.

I knew that I wouldn't be able to dodge that on my own. But, I wasn't alone. I had the Force.

Letting the Force flow through my body, I reached out my hand and caught the hilt of the lightsaber and did a front flip over Proxy/Kenobi. I landed in front of him and crossed the two identical blades in a scissor strike across the droid's neck. Proxy/Kenobi looked up at me and it resembled fear in his eyes.

But I knew right then that Proxy, himself, had made a mistake. He was trying to use his optics to resemble fear to make me lower my guard, but what he didn't know was that Kenobi didn't fear. There was no fear in Obi Wan Kenobi, so the simulation didn't work. It was a smart play but not for someone as invested as me.

I shut the blades off and handed the hilt of Proxy/Kenobi back to the droid as his image fizzed out and he turned back into a droid.

Proxy stood up and sounded surprised, "I didn't calculate for such an attack, Blaze Marko. At the beginning of the battle, your chances stood from 2943 to 1, but they increased in the final moments of the fight. I'm not sure what you humans call it, but it seemed like a form of adaptation."

I looked over to Sonya, "See, I adapted…or whatever."

Sonya's eyes were wide, "Wow! I've never seen anything like that before."

Proxy turned to her, "Of course not. Someone as young and unintelligent as you wouldn't be able to put yourself in any situation that let you observe such a feat."

"Proxy!" I shouted in annoyance.

Sonya shook her head, "No, he's right. I wouldn't put myself in that situation. But, with that being said, I'd still have a better chance of being alive if I didn't rather than if I did."

I was shocked now, "Come again?"

"She is merely stating a different opinion that reinstates the facts and gives her chances of survival an increase. Something that all humans do." Proxy replied, "However, I do still find it interesting of you adaption techniques, Blaze Marko."

"Blaze will do just fine, Proxy." I said and he nodded.

"Right, Blaze." Proxy said, "Well, I see you might be ready for another match?"

I nodded and went back to my side of the room. I smirked and ignited my lightsaber again, "Yeah, let's go. But, do something different."

Proxy nodded and took his place right before the same blue and white electrical field flashed back to life. As it engulfed his body, I silently hoped it would be Darth Maul. Not only did I want a challenge, but I also wanted a chance to duel something with a double-bladed lightsaber. The Obi Wan program was pretty tough, but the battle didn't go on for more than a few minutes. I had to say, though, that Proxy's copy of Obi Wan's fighting style was almost spot on, except for the hitch in his shoulder.

Soon, the field disappeared and I saw a double-bladed lightsaber ignite. I looked back up to stare into the sulfur yellow eyes of Darth Maul. It seemed my wish had been granted.

Yes, here comes the challenge of a lifetime. I thought with a grin.

Suddenly, there was a flash and Proxy/Maul charged at me, immediately connecting his saber to mine. It was so quick that I almost was impaled by the blade.

AW CRAP! I frantically thought before I was on full defense. I knew right then and there that this was going to suck, but it would also be awesome. But, then again, a nerd for Star Wars like me would have those conflicting feelings. I focused back on the battle at hand.

The duel with Proxy/Maul was completely and utterly brutal, but I still beat him in the end by cutting him in half. But, it was a hard bout and he didn't let up. Something that he was continuously doing was trying to hit me with the hilt of his lightsaber. Most likely, it was an attempt to stun me so he could stab me, but it didn't work.

I didn't let it work.

The battle itself took about twenty minutes. It was long and brutal. At one point, I considered conceding, but I figured that if I did, I'd be letting Proxy win. And I wasn't a quitter. It didn't matter if there were none around in this galaxy, but I was an Italian and I wasn't about to be beaten by a droid.

So, I fought on and won.

Proxy, of course, didn't split in half, but he almost did. He said that the damage to his midsection wasn't very serious, but if I had done the attack twice, it would've cut him in half. He went back into the main room with the workbench and started to work on himself. It wasn't until he was half way done that I noticed how tired I was. I then realized that I'd just fought in one of the most memorable battles in galactic history.

I went back over to the booth and rested my head against the backboard. It wasn't soft, but it would have to do. As I let myself relax, I felt the cool sensation of the Force flow through me and I felt myself go numb. At first, the numbing sensation frightened me slightly, but I soon calmed myself.

Close your eyes…

There was that voice again. I knew it had to be the Force because it was so soft and so calm. But, then something was very strange. I found that I could think back to it.

Who are you?

I waited for a response.

The real question is who areyou, young one?

I almost opened my eyes. What kind of question was that?

I think that you already know who I am.

True, I do know who you are, but you are deluded about yourself.

In what way? I know who I am.

Yes, but no one else does, and even then, they don't know who you really are.

That makes no sense. I am who I am. To my friends I am someone completely different to the person that the Alliance now knows.

That may be the case, but did you wonder about your ability to use the Force so naturally?

I stiffened and took a deep breath.

What are you saying, huh? I'm not who I think I am?

Your destiny is your own and a path was chosen for you. A path for you to gain knowledge, without really knowing who you were. The person that you think yourself as is different from who you are. In time, you'll find out more…

I suddenly jolted upright with a shock and I realized that the connection was split. I raised a hand to my head and found myself sweating. And, shockingly, my head was throbbing again.

"What the heck was that all about?" I whispered quietly to myself, "What was that? Who was that?"

"Blaze, are you ok?" I heard suddenly and looked over across the booth.

Sonya was staring at me. She tapped her wrist, "We'll be at the Rendezvous Point in a few minutes. Captain Eclipse told me to tell you."

I looked around for a minute before rubbing my eyes and yawning, "Did I fall asleep?"

Sonya nodded, "Yes. You actually were asleep for a while. You've been sleeping for a couple of hours now."

"Sorry." I said as I stopped rubbing my eyes, "I'm just a little out of it."

"You were talking in your sleep." Sonya said quietly, "You were saying something about a city in the clouds."

That surprised me. Mostly because that wasn't at all what I thought I was dreaming about. I thought I was talking to someone I couldn't see, but I still couldn't be sure if it was the Force or not. But, a city in the clouds?

Bespin. I realized what she meant. The voice in my head must've been sending me a message: I had to go to Bespin once I got the chance. I knew what would go down there for Luke, but what for me?

What was my destiny?

The voice said that my destiny is my own. Could that mean that part of it lies with me going to Bespin? I rubbed my chin. This was certainly turning into more than just a coincidental trip into the galaxy. It was starting to become a path to start walking.

"Do you know what that means?" Sonya asked.

I shook myself out of my thoughts, "Oh, right. The city in the clouds. I have an idea. It could be meaning Bespin." I immediately thought of my cover story that I told Galen. I had to keep that intact to make it sound convincing.

"Bespin? That's where Cloud City is located, right?" Sonya asked.

I nodded, "Yeah."

"We have to tell General Galen about this." Sonya said and stood from the booth.

"I will." I said, joining her on the ground, "But not right now. I'll tell him once we've docked. It'll be less hectic if I drop it on him when we're in a hanger than rather do it when we're in hyperspace."

At that moment, Juno walked in, "We're approaching the Rendezvous Point. You might want to get up here."

We followed her into the cockpit and found Galen at the controls, his hands steadying the throttle. We sat in the two chairs behind the pilot seat and the co-pilot seat and looked out as we dropped out of hyperspace. I immediately saw several large, Mon Calamari Starships and a few medical frigates, as well as several transports and X-wings.

"Welcome to the Rendezvous Point." Galen said.

I smiled. Awesome!