Okay, we're back with chapter 12! Last chapter, we saw that Embo vanished into a snowstorm… but where is he going? What will he find? And will this be the last we see of our brave hero?

You know the disclaimers.


"A cold wind was blowing from the north, and it made the trees rustle like living things."

~ George R.R. Martin

"The snow was endless, a heavy blanket on the outdoors;

It had a way about it. A beauty. But I knew that, like many things,

Beauty could be deceiving."

~ Cambria Hebert


Following the pull of the Force, Embo rode through the snowstorm, barely able to see ten feet in front of him. It felt like the cold was seeping into his very bones; he could barely feel his hands and feet, and his teeth were chattering.

After a while, he was just about frozen into an ice cube, nearly falling off his stallion, when a bright light nearly blinded him!

Holding one numb hand up to shield his eyes, the Kyuzo felt an overwhelming relief at seeing the large speeder-vans that the light was coming from, and at the sight of multiple familiar faces running towards him!

"Embo!" a Duros man exclaimed, coming up beside his friend's horse. The Kyuzo tried to reply, but his teeth were chattering too much to get the words out. Then, weakened by the cold and a feeling of faintness stealing over him, he started to slide sideways off of his stallion, but strong arms caught him before he could fall…

The next thing he knew, he was bundled up in the back of one of the speeder-vans, his normal mask removed, and the mask replacing it feeding him warm, humid air, and an I.V. in his arm giving him fluids.

A pair of women, a Nautolan (who he recognized to be Leik, Kitara's mother) and an unfamiliar Pantoran, were tending to him, the Pantoran keeping a hand on Embo's forehead.

"Embo, you're awake!" Leik exclaimed, sheer relief in her voice. "When you passed out, we thought we were going to lose you! Where are the others? Did anyone else make it?"

"N-n-no c-c-casult-t-ties…" the Kyuzo managed to say, his teeth still chattering from how cold he was, "Th-they're in sh-sh-shelt-t-ter c-c-cave…"

"You must mean that large shelter cave about half a mile from here," said a new voice, and Embo looked over. A Togruta woman sat a few feet away, watching.

The colony leader, Tanoka Anko.


Back at the convoy, the others were getting worried.

"He should have been back by now…" Obi-Wan said, gazing out of the cave. Anakin was with him, tending a fire.

"Looks like the storm's getting worse…" the younger Jedi observed, sitting back and huddling in his heavy bearskin coat. "If he doesn't get back soon…"

"I'm going to look for him," Obi-Wan said determinedly, starting to walk out of the cave. However, before he could step outside, a bright light shone directly in his eyes!

"Master… is that…" Anakin started slowly, shielding his eyes, while the rest of the group started coming over. Then, a few humanoid figures came over from outside: two Duros, a Nautolan, two wolflike Lupinions, a Togruta, two Theelins, a Zabrak, and a Pantoran.

It was a search party from the Colony!

"Man, am I glad to see you," Ahsoka said, coming over to them. The Nautolan looked over them all in concern.

"You all look half-frozen," she said worriedly, then looked over to Tanoka. "We ld get them all into the speeders…"

"Wait," Anakin said, interrupting her, "what about Embo? He…"

"We already found him," Leik assured him, "He's being treated for severe hypothermia as we speak. Once we got him warmed up enough, he told us where to find you."

"What about the horses?" Sugi asked, relieved that Embo was going to be ok. Tanoka smiled.

"We have enough room for everything and everyone here. Now, get in the speeders, and let Leik and the other medics treat you; let us worry about loading everything up.


When Sugi was brought into the back of the speeder-van by the Pantoran woman, she was met by a warm gust of air. A Korun woman was pulling fluffy, folded blankets out of a compartment, while a younger Korun woman was checking some equipment. Embo was there too; bundled up in fluffy blankets on a cot, a medical breathing mask fitted over his mouth and nose, and an I.V. in his left wrist. He was peacefully sleeping, though a monitor next to him showed abnormally-low body temperature levels.

"Don't wake him," the Pantoran said, seeing Sugi take a step towards the sleeping Kyuzo. "He needs his rest; as do you. Come, I can sense that you're dangerously cold."

"You're Force-Sensitive?" Sugi asked, as the older Korun woman put one of the fluffy blankets around her. It was wonderfully warm, obviously having been heated in that compartment. As she guided Sugi to a cot, the Pantoran smiled softly.

"Yes, though I never became a Jedi. My name is Suya Nahi; I'm a Bounty Hunter, as well as a trained doctor and psychiatrist." Sugi's eyes widened.

"You're a psychiatrist?" she asked, and Suya nodded. "I wish we had met you sooner…"

"Tanoka invited me to the colony five months ago. I have my own clinic now, though I don't get many patients," the Pantoran explained, still smiling, as she got the Zabrak to lay down. Then, she fitted a breathing mask over the Iridonian's mouth and nose, and set up an I.V. "You should rest now; I'll wake you when we arrive."

"Thank you…" Sugi whispered, already half asleep because of feeling so warm.

The mask was giving her warm, humid air, and the blankets wrapped around her were so soft and warm…

The last thing she saw before her eyes closed was the three Jedi being brought in by Cad and his wife.

Then, sleep overcame her.


We'll, there's chapter 12! I hope the length makes up for last chapter, I honestly didn't think it was going to be that short!

Anyway, they were found by the Colony, and now will begin their recoveries from their harrowing journey!

TO BE CONTINUED...