Star Wars: The Force Unleashed Initiate of Light
Chapter 14
0 ABY – 1 month later upon the rooftops of Courascant
The skyline of Courascant glittered along the horizon, and all around littered with the artificial light of buildings and speeders, an orderly ebb and flow which would make anyone think that the city itself was somewhat of a living organism, but since the days of the Old Republic one that was shadowed in darkness. Imperial stormtroopers were taking their night shifts along the roofs of the monumental buildings and structures of the giant city, patrolling the rooftops but tonight they were not alone. Two stormtroopers suddenly turned around to see an orange figure fly past them and noticing the intruder the soldiers began to pursue her. The intruder was dressed in form fitting leather pants, field boots a utility belt and a small top which only covered her upper chest, attached to an armour piece secured to her left shoulder. In her gloved hand she carried her custom-made blaster and in her utility belt a traditional knife she used for short-range combat. The most notable thing that the stormtroopers could make out was the right lekku on the woman's head, it was a mechanical replacement for the one she had lost as a slave years before. The stormtroopers continued to run after her until she leapt off from the higher level to the rooftop below her.
"Drop you weapon!" yelled out the stormtrooper on the left.
The two stormtroopers fired numerous blaster bolts to the unknown female's position who jumped forward in a defence role.
"Whatever!" shouted back the young Twi'lek as she gunned down the two troopers with only one blaster bolt each.
The young Twi'lek woman was Rianna Saren, a recent, self-employed mercenary who had sprung up on scene. She had escaped only a matter of a couple of years ago from her former slave life as a dancer under the Zabrak crime lord from Black Sun known as Zarien Kheev, who had cut off her right lekku after her first escape attempt but later she succeeded. Rianna had been good with a blaster pistol and hand to hand combat so she knew she could be in no more danger that was until a few moments ago. Her bright green eyes scanned the nearby terrain and she leapt of the building she was upon onto an adjoining bridge and continued on to the lift in front of her. On her way up she gunned down another unsuspecting stormtrooper and shot her way through a metal grate to the next rooftop, stopping to observe another trooper below her. Rianna pulled out her dagger and leapt with great precision from the higher level and landed on top of the trooper stabbing him through the neck. Rianna continued running on foot up a flight of stairs to the top of the next building which overlooked a great dome, its lights patterned along its great diameter, flashing ominously like a line of bioluminescence. The dome belonged to the crime organisation of Black Sun Rianna's next intended target but suddenly her comlink went off. A male voice sounded through the small speaker.
"Rianna Saren" replied the voice from the other end.
"That's right, who is this?" replied Rianna.
"I've heard a lot about you" said the man.
"Its all true, every bit of it. What are you looking for?" replied Rianna.
"What do you know about Black Sun?" said the man.
"I know they are the biggest criminal organisation in the galaxy, I have personal experience in this matter" replied Rianna.
"Did you know they have a warehouse in this sector" replied the man.
"Only rumours of such a place existing" said Rianna.
"There are several crates in that warehouse marked for Imperial delivery, would it be too imprudent to make a request for you to take one of the shipments" replied the man.
"You mean steal it. Sounds dangerous. You should know that as a mercenary I charge extra for assaults against Black Sun" said Rianna.
"Name your price, we'll pay you half now and half when you deliver the goods" replied the man.
"You've got yourself a thief stranger" said Rianna.
"Please, call me Kyle, be seeing you Rianna" replied Kyle as he shut off his comlink.
Rianna shut off her comlink pondering what had just happened but who was she to refuse a payday and one that involved an assault on Black Sun. Rianna quickly found an entrance upon the roof and descended the building to the ground floor of the massive city. Rianna mingled easily among the crowd and made her way towards the large dome in front of her. She finally came to a back entrance in which she dispatched a small number on Malestarian thugs carrying thermal detonators before she continued into the complex. After traversing a number of obstacles such as shock barriers and proximity mines she finally reached a blast door. Seeing the large defence turret she made quick work of the door and continued on. As she continued further into the complex Rianna came upon a room with more thugs which she gunned down quickly but had not anticipated that the situation she found herself in had been a set up, Black Sun had been keeping an eye on Imperial patrols and knew that she was coming.
"Drop you weapon mercenary" said the thug behind Rianna.
A Malastarian secured her from behind.
"Get off of me slime bag" replied Rianna.
The thug knocked her unconscious and took her away to the detention cells nearby but did not see the small surveillance droid that was hovering nearby.
"Finally. I have to find that Twi'lek before she is terminated" said the surveillance droid after witnessing the events unfolding.
The small droid quickly floated off and was able to easily use his small stun ray to blast away any grates that got in his path. The small droid was hard to be noticed as he was able to easily traverse the mines and the and the shock grids, even the two Malestarian gaurds did not notice behind them as the small droid shot down the grate on his right and continued right past them. The little droid finally made his way to the detention center where he spotted Riana who was still incapacitated inside the small prison cell. The surveillance droid went to work at once decoding the lock until the force field shut down. Afterward it took some time before Rianna gained conciousness and groggily walked out of the cell to see the small surveillance droid before her.
"Finally Twi'lek. I was afraid that you would never wake up" said the small droid.
"Hey! who the hell are you?" replied Rianna.
"I knew that someone would come to find me" said the small droid happily.
"What are you talking about" replied Rianna.
"You were the one who powered me up Twi'lek. I do believe that it would be convenient if we should escape together" said the small droid.
"Listen, droid. I didn't mean to…"
"Please Twi'lek, we must hurry. We only have a matter of minutes left before we are discovered here" said the small droid.
"Wait who said we? A little surveillance droid like you is only going to slow me down" replied Rianna.
"Twi'lek, regardless we must go now!" said the little droid.
"Okay fine, I guess you can come with me for a little while, what was your name by the way?" replied Rianna.
"I am Arakyd Industries Security and Surveillance Droid Z-58-O" said the droid.
"My name is Rianna, and forgive me for saying this but your name is a mouthful, what about if I call you Zeeo" replied Rianna.
"Very well Twi'lek. I believe this belongs to you. I must compliment your skill as designing such a well maintained custom blaster, I have not seen one as such before" said Zeeo.
"Well I'll be, maybe it's not such a bad idea to have you around after all. Come on let's get out of here" replied Rianna.
"My thoughts exactly" said Zeeo as the two companions left the detention block.
As the two companions entered the next room Rianna looked over curiously at Zeeo who manoeuvred his way toward a control panel on the opposing wall.
"What are you doing Zeeo?" said Rianna.
"I think it a practicality to download the map of the surrounding perimeter so it may be less of a burden for us to traverse our way out of the complex" replied Zeeo.
"In basic please" said Rianna.
"I apologize, simply I mean to say that I am getting the map so we can escape the warehouse" replied Zeeo.
The two continued until they reached a dead end but Zeeo eyed the grating that went up the wall.
"Great, now where to" said Rianna.
"Miss Rianna, I do believe that my hovering ability will help you to get up this grate, I am not so small that I can not support your weight" replied Zeeo.
"Are you sure?" said Rianna.
"It is worth a try" replied Zeeo.
Rianna shrugged and Zeeo floated low in order for her to climb on top of him in a crouching position. To her amazement the little droid could support her weight and was able to easily manoeuvre her across the grating on the wall to the higher balcony above them.
"You're just full of surprises aren't you" said Rianna as she got of her companion.
After traversing more of the grates upon the walls Rianna finally reached another balcony facing a number of foes once again. One of the blaster bolts nearly hit her but Zeeo got in front and rose up his own deflector shield to send the blaster bolt back into the chest of the thug. He hovered in front of Rianna, blocking all incoming blaster bolts as she gracefully rolled and flipped to each enemy killing them all quickly with her knife. Finally after floating up another grating Rianna found what she was looking for. One of the crates in the corner stamped with the Imperial symbol, the shipment that her informant Kyle had told her about.
"Allow me" said Zeeo.
The small droid floated towards the crate and picked up whatever the crucial items was and placed it within one of the compartments within his own small structure. The two companions made their way to one of the entranceways from the complex and were met only by a sheer wall face of one of the adjoining buildings. Rianna sighed in frustration.
"Well looks like we need to find another route" said Rianna.
"Not necessary, please hold on Miss Rianna" replied Zeeo.
The small droid secured her hand to his side with Rianna sitting on him again Rianna yelled out as the small droid suddenly surged forward and the two were flying up the face of the building.
"Zeeo watch out!" shouted Rianna as the two flew towards a group of numerous shock barriers up ahead but Zeeo weaved through them with great precision and speed, continuing to push forward as a great speed. The two continued to dodge the various networks of perimeter mines and shock until Zeeo hit one of the charges nearly sending Rianna flying off into the great chasm below them.
"Might I ask for some assistance Miss Rianna, you are the one who has the blaster" said Zeeo.
"Sure thing Zeeo" replied Rianna.
Rianna looked ahead and began to gun down the various green charges with her blaster hitting each one within a matter of seconds. Finally the end looked near and Zeeo began to slow down as they got closer to the roof of the large building.
"Hold on!" said Zeeo.
The world then became horizontal again and Zeeo carefully dropped Rianna to the rooftop below. The two entered the building from the rooftop entrance and were met with little obstacles along the way and traversed their way across the pipelines to get to the blast door on the lower floor. Afterward the two reached a force field with no visible control panel nearby. Noticing the small panel on the other side and the service door underneath it Rianna punched in the controls and unlocked the small door.
"After you" said Rianna to Zeeo.
The small droid went through the door and continued through the grate. Zeeo went to the other side and found the control panel opening the force field. The two continued up the various ramps and stairwells which finally led them to the next main floor of the building. The two of them made their way onto the main street again dispatching various stormtrooper patrols that they encountered. Finally the two companions made it to the edge of the building above the roar of the city and in front of them Rianna spotted a man, wearing what to her seemed like the mixture of a moisture farmer and a pilot, realising then that this was the informant Kyle. Kyle waved to the Twi'lek and smiled at her.
"Nice work. Come with me" said Kyle.
Rianna and Zeeo followed the informant inside what appeared to be his ship. On the way in Jan nodded in greeting to Rianna who nodded back politely. Rianna then came to the small main chamber of the ship and couldn't believe who she was standing before.
"So you're Rianna Saren" said Leia "Taking on Black Sun! Not everybody would be so bold"
"They're going to be looking for you Rianna, You won't be safe here on Courascant" said Kyle.
"I have gotten this far, I think I can handle it" replied Rianna.
Zeeo then chimed in.
"I hate to say this but they are right Miss Rianna. After that little stunt you pulled you likely have to contend with both Black Sun and the Empire" said Zeeo.
"Quiet Zeeo" replied Rianna.
"You know Rianna, we can use someone with you talent" said Leia.
"Who's we exactly, Senator Organa" replied Rianna.
"The Rebel Alliance" said Leia.
Rianna looked at Leia in shock. Her green eyes widening in amazement.
"You're from the Alliance! So it really does exist!" replied Rianna.
"The resistance is very real Rianna as is the danger that we and the rest of the galaxy face from the Empire. We do not have much time left here. How would you like to double your current income and come to work for us as a mercenary" said Leia.
Rianna chuckled "I'm listening"
"The Empire continued to try and blow us back every chance that they have, and we need as much help as we can get for the Alliance. In you case we believe that your expertise could be used in a very important mission" replied Kyle.
"What job is that exactly?" said Rianna.
"As we speak, our operatives are searching throughout the galaxy as to the location of the Death Star plans, we believe that they have separated the data into four different files, which have been hidden on four separate Imperial headquarters across the galaxy, we humbly ask if you would be one of these operatives" replied Leia.
"The Death Star Plans! Look Senator, I may be a mercenary but I'm not a miracle worker" said Rianna.
"You will not be alone in this endeavour, my companions here and friends abroad will help you and accompany you, I myself have and will participate in the conflicts to come, the conflicts that will shape the return of peace and democracy to the galaxy, and besides and I am aware of how much you hate the Empire, We need you Rianna, Will you please take this job" replied Leia.
Rianna pondered for a minute "I'll do it, but I need help on something as well, something personal"
"And what might that be?" replied Leia.
"For the past few years since my escape from slavery I have been waiting for the opportunity top get back at the man who held me under captivity for all this time after the Imperials sold me to him on the slave market. His name is Zarien Kheev" said Rianna.
"Wait, you mean 'the' Zarien Kheev. The Zabrak leader of Black Sun" replied Kyle.
"I know what it sounds like, but if you can provide me with the resources, I can take care of this matter on my own without bringing any of you into this" said Rianna.
"We can help you Rianna. It is also in our best interests to see an end to Black Sun's activities, it would seem that your own personal quarrels correlate with our own goals" replied Leia.
"Sounds good, when do we leave?" said Rianna.
"Hopefully right now if you are ready? We will be heading back to one of our main bases on the jungle moon of Yavin IV. Sleeping quarters and anything else you need will be waiting for you when we arrive" replied Leia.
"You've got yourself an agent senator" said Rianna.
"Glad to hear it" replied Leia.
Leia turned her head away and concentrated on her work again while Kyle made his way up to the cockpit to tell Jan that they were ready for departure. Zeeo floated toward Rianna who had taken a seat down in the back of the ship near the landing ramp.
"It would seem that out temporary partnership may be somewhat longer Miss Rianna, I hope that I will not be getting in you way" said Zeeo.
Rianna smiled at the security droid "Well, now that I am doing this I think I need a permanent partner, I'm glad to have you here Zeeo"
"It is my pleasure Miss Rianna" replied Zeeo,
Rianna then looked out one of the nearby viewports as the Moldy Crow took off and flew off into the dark Courascant night.
. . . . . . . . . . . .
It was a quiet and humid morning on Yavin IV, the only sound throughout the jungle was the various calls and sounds of the wildlife and the light shower of rain that was pouring down upon the jungle moon. Galen for a moment relished the downpour as it fell upon his face, refreshing his body and mind but then went straight back to training. He stood and concentrated on the surrounding fauna and ignited his two blue lightsabers just as Ahsoka came hurtling towards him from a tree branch above and deflected her attack. The two were duelling each other practicing the Shien and Djem So of the Form V lightsaber style which both were very familiar with. Galen may have had the advantage of another light saber but Ahsoka didn't hold back as her combination of both the lightsaber styles made her a new challenge for his abilities. Her movements reminded him of the Togrutan Jedi Master Shaak Ti, when he had confronted the Jedi Master as a sith apprentice upon Felucia. Quickly putting the memory out of his mind he and Ahsoka continued their deadly dance across the forest floor. Nearby Setra and Ohka had encountered a young Woolamander which they had been able to calm down with the Force. The small primate was enjoying the attention that he was getting from both Setra and Ohka who were petting him gently but let him go as they saw his small troop looking down at them from up in the trees and watched as the small creature scurried off. The girls had been practicing their mind control force abilities and the best way for them to start off was on the various animals that inhabited the jungle of the planet.
Suddenly in front of them the two girls spotted one of the much larger mammals that were native to the planet. An adult Runyip was nearby eating the various fauna that grew from the forest floor. Over the past month the Rebels had been using them as cargo beasts to help them with loads that needed to be taken to various outposts around the Massassi Temple and they had been able to make their own mounted regiment of militia troops as the Runyip's were powerful creatures and their trust could be gained easily though they were somewhat grumpy and stubborn by nature and they ran up to 27 miles per hour, something that simple ground units could not do. The two girls walked quietly towards the Runyip who seemed to notice there presence but was not threatened as the beast was intelligent enough to tell that these two beings were only young. Both Setra and Ohka opened out their mind to the Runyip who began to fall under their trance. The large animal came cautiously towards the two younglings and extended its furry trunk out towards Setra, its two tendril ends reaching towards her hand while the animal trumpeted softly. Setra held the trunk softly and walked forward with Ohka, the two started petting the large creature and rubbing its large head in which the creature seemed to purr loudly in response. The girls stood back quickly as the Runyip got down on all fours before them.
"I think he wants us to ride him Setra" said Ohka.
"Are you sure?" replied Setra.
"Why else would he have knelt down for us" said Ohka.
Setra reached out into the mind of the large Runyip.
"Is that right boy. Do you want us to ride you" said Setra.
The creature trumpeted in response and picked up Ohka with his trunk and placed her on his back. Seeing this Setra chuckled and climbed the animal's large flank in front of Ohka and sat on his shoulders. At once the creature started to set a quick pace and began running through the forest scrub eliciting a cheer from both Ohka and Setra. Galen and Ahsoka had just finished off their training for the day and heard the trumpeting in the distance. They then looked to each other with concern.
"Is it just me or does it sound like the girls have tamed another Runyip again" said Ahsoka.
"I hope not, that's the third time this week. Last time Juno saw what happened and she nearly fainted trying to get the thing to actually stop" replied Galen.
Their fears were confirmed as they saw the large Runyip running through the scrub with their daughters on his back. Galen sighed.
"Here we go again" said Galen.
Galen and Ahsoka started running after the large animal that was heading straight for the Massassi Temple. Ohka and Setra were directing him mentally toward the large stable complex which they used to house the Runyip's that they had tamed. Finding the animal's speed more difficult to catch up Ahsoka leapt to a nearby tree and launched herself onto the back of the Runyip, who suddenly bucked nearly knocking her off but both Setra and Ohka caught her hands and pulled her onto the beast. Galen joined them shortly after landing softly just behind the girls.
"Setra, what have I told you about riding the wild Runyip's" said Galen.
"But dad, this one is tame now, and besides we just want to help out the infantry, they said they needed more of them for the cargo carrying and the mounted regiment" replied Setra.
"She's right mum, that's exactly what they said" said Ohka.
"I know sweetheart but that does not count two five year old children who still only have limited ability with the mind control power" replied Ahsoka.
"Sorry dad, we were only trying to help, especially so soon before we go to Dac" said Setra.
"I know sweetheart, it's alright, just let me take control of this big guy so that your mum doesn't see him and have another heart attack" replied Galen.
He took control of the creature's mind and rode him along a different route that would take the Runyip to the stables without having to cut across the outside of the temple hangar which was where Juno was working. The Runyip came up to the stables and Galen helped the others get off the creatures back as he knelt down. Setra and Ohka walked back up to the kneeling Runyip and patted his head gently.
"Thankyou for the ride boy, see you later" said Setra as she headed back for the hangar with Ohka.
Ahsoka followed the girls and Galen looked back at the large creature that had extended its trunk out towards Galen. Galen came forward and patted the beast affectionately and chuckled when the animal purred in response. Juno was working on updating the Eclipse again, carefully manoeuvring around the underside of the ship. When she saw Galen and Setra returning from their morning training she carefully got up, minding her belly which had grown a little larger over the past two weeks. Juno knelt down as Setra was coming and embraced her daughter warmly kissing her cheek. When Galen came toward her she stood up and Galen kissed her deeply and placed his hand on her belly.
"How are my girls today?" said Galen.
"We're both doing fine" replied Juno kissing Galen back again.
A few days ago both Juno and Galen had gone to the medical droid who had done an ultrasound on Juno and confirmed that the baby was indeed a girl. Both parents were over the moon confirming that Galen's vision had been more accurate then he first thought. Galen looked concerned then at Juno.
"Are you sure you should be down here working so hard, are you sure you're not tired" said Galen.
"For the hundredth time, I'm fine Galen. You need to stop worrying so much, especially when you have bigger things to worry about at the moment" replied Juno.
"Forgive me Juno, but your wellbeing is more important to me then the outcome of a mission"said Galen.
Juno chuckled at her husband and kissed his cheek again. Ahsoka and Ohka were with Bako on the other side of the hangar greeting each other good morning as well but then the sound of a ship engine caught their attention. The Moldy Crow gently flew its way into the crowded hangar and found its place at the far end. Setra smiled and ran towards the ship with Galen and Juno following. Also seeing this Graddick, who had been helping at the other end of the hangar joined the small family and made their way to greet back Kyle, Jan and Leia though the first person who came off was somewhat unexpected. The group looked on curiously at the young Twi'lek woman who came down the landing ramp first into the hangar of the Massassi Temple followed by a small hovering security droid. The Twi'lek' eyes met Galen and looked at his lightsabers on his shoulder guard looking in shock at him and then seeing Ahsoka own blade. Kyle then suddenly came down the ramp in front of her and warmly greeted his friends, as did Leia and Jan when the followed down from the Moldy Crow.
"Everyone, I would like you to meet Rianna Saren. She's a mercenary who has agreed to work for us" said Kyle as he placed a hand warmly on Rianna's shoulder.
Galen came forward extending out his hand.
"Its nice to meet you Rianna" said Galen.
"Likewise, sorry about staring before its just I didn't expect to ever see a Jedi" replied Rianna.
"I can understand that, this is our other Jedi at the moment Ahsoka Tano" said Galen.
"How do you do" replied Ahsoka.
"Nice to meet you Ahsoka" said Rianna.
"I must say, I have never seen a Wookie quite like yourself, such a colour of fur I have never seen before. It must help you camouflage well" said Zeeo referring to Graddick.
"(He's a perceptive one isn't he, especially for a security droid)" replied Graddick.
"Well that's Zeeo for you, I only just met him myself, he broke me out of a Black Sun prison" said Rianna.
Galen looked at her worriedly.
"It's a long story, don't worry about it for now" replied Rianna.
A rebel informant came into the hangar to the small group.
"Apologies commander Marek. Commander Organa has informed me that there is to be a gathering in the main hall within a few hours" said the rebel.
"Thankyou, we'll be there" replied Galen.
Rianna looked around her seeing all of the preparations that were taking place.
"What exactly is going on around here?" said Rianna.
"Well it'll be your first official mission with the Alliance, any day now we'll be heading for the planet Dac" replied Kyle.
"Dac! You want to go to the place where the Empire is looking to kill anything that moves" said Rianna.
"Not exactly. According to one of our leaders Bail Organa the Mon Calamari have the advantage in this fight and all they really need is a helping hand. If we win this it'll be a great blow to the Empire and we may gain a valuable ally, especially if their ship technology is as good as I hear" replied Kyle.
The call alarm sounded and the group along with all the other Rebels made there way to the main hall of the temple. Bail Organa stood up upon the large stair podium at the front. Ever since his retirement he had now committed himself fully to the Rebel Alliance and was able to manage leadership while Mon Mothma and Garm Bel Iblis dealt with other matters.
"As you all know we make our way to Dac in the next few days to aid the Mon Calimarians against the Imperial invaders and I am happy to see that all of you have been working so hard and all of our preparation has paid off but I must ask for a favour from you all. We will need volunteers to help scout out the planet and our route to see where exactly we can go and land without alerting the Imperial invasion force. Is there anyone here who can do this?" said Bail.
The small group looked to one another and Galen spoke up "We will Senator Organa, the crew of the Eclipse and the Moldy Crow are at your disposal"
"Thankyou Galen, this is much appreciated. Is it too much to ask for you to depart immediately" replied Bail.
Galen looked to Juno who nodded to him; the upgrades on the Eclipse had been finished.
"I see no problem with that" said Galen.
"Very well, may the Force be with you all" replied Bail.
The group that was to go to Dac would be Galen, Juno, Setra, Ahsoka, Bako, Graddick and Ohka on the Eclipse and Kyle, Jan, Leia and their newest members Rianna and Zeeo would travel upon the Moldy Crow. Once the ships were ready they took off and broke through the atmosphere of the forest moon and went on their way. After the co-ordinates had been set the two ships went into lightspeed letting Juno and Galen relax in the cockpit. Galen looked at Juno who had seemed distant over the past couple of days. He gently took her hand in his own.
"Juno is something wrong. You've seemed upset the past few days" said Galen.
Knowing that there was no point in hiding it Juno nodded back to her husband.
"I was given some news from a Rebel agent on Corulag yesterday" replied Juno.
"What happened my love?" said Galen.
"My father is dead Galen, he died of an illness which he apparently received after I was called a traitor by the Empire" replied Juno.
Galen looked at Juno shocked. He had known for a long time that Juno's relationship with her father had been rocky after the death of her mother when she was still quite young.
"Juno! I'm so sorry" said Galen.
"I know my love, but I don't want to feel like this, to feel sad for a man who emotionally abandoned me for so long" replied Juno.
"Juno its only natural to feel like this, he was your father" said Galen gently stroking her back.
"I tried so hard to please him, after my mother died he began to find solace in the Empire where he used to serve, he would fill my head with stories about how corrupt the Old Republic had been before and especially hated the Jedi for their supposed assassination attempt on Emperor Palpatine, I was indifferent to it, to me the Empire being around was just the way things were and I didn't know any better" replied Juno.
"You couldn't have Juno" said Galen.
"He just would keep going on about the Empire, not caring about anything else, I tried so hard to get him to notice me, to even get him to say that he loved me but even that was too much for him to bear. That was what made me want to join the Imperial Academy, I worked hard in school and sent in my application when I was young so I could miss the waiting list and continued to study hard, I was at the top of every one of my classes" replied Juno.
"Why doesn't that surprise me" said Galen.
"I then had a Grand Moff come to the house one day and he was smiling at me. He told me that I should be proud of myself and that my high grades and intelligence had made me the youngest cadet to ever be accepted into the Imperial Navy, I was fourteen. The Moff told father and for the first time in so many years he looked at me with pride, with happiness. He hugged me and told me how proud he was of me. After that I started at the academy and continued to do well but father continued to want to push me harder, getting angry if I didn't. Finally I became a Captain when I was 18, another record that I broke and I led the assault on Callos, and it was just before I came to you on the Executor when I saw him again. I was an emotional wreck after Callos, I just wanted him to tell me that everything would be alright but instead he lectured me on how I did my duty and that even if it took the life of an entire planet the Empire always had to be right. I was livid, I told him that I was thankful that my mother had died so she wouldn't see what he had become and I just left, it was the last time I ever saw him again" replied Juno.
Galen brought Juno over to him in the co-pilot chair and she sat on his lap resting her head on his shoulder while he stroked her hair gently. Galen hugged her to him when he saw tears roll down her face.
"For once in my life I just wanted him to love me as his daughter, not as the youngest Imperial pilot. I thought that if I tried to become what he wanted me to be he would finally see me again and be my father, but all he saw was the prestige and honour that came with me achieving what I did, that's why I haven't been back to Corulag Galen, the memories hurt too much" said Juno.
Galen kissed Juno softly "Listen to me Juno, the past is the past and I know better then anyone that there is nothing we can do to change it but if we keep carrying it with us we can never escape it. You are the strongest woman I know, if we go to Corulag you won't be alone Juno. We'll face it together, after what we've been through we can face anything together" replied Galen.
Juno smiled through her tears at Galen and kissed him deeply. Galen returned the kiss and let Juno lay her head on his shoulder as she let out her pain. Galen smiled.
"You are going to be such a wonderful mum" said Galen as he gently stroked Juno's belly.
"Do you really think so?" replied Juno.
"You already are" said Galen.
Seeing her parents Setra walked up to the cockpit, upon noticing her Galen and Juno smiled. Juno picked Setra up into her own embrace and kissed her head softly.
"You know I love you don't you little one" said Juno.
"I've always known mum" replied Setra as she hugged her small arms around Juno's middle.
The family took each other in, Galen at times like this silently contemplated what his life would have been if they had never been there, all he knew was that the life he would have possibly once led was not worth living.