Star Gazer, 1 hour out from Rebel Victory

Luke and Grhan were forty-five minutes into the most exhaustive sparring exercise they'd had in months. Grhan was Luke's equal in speed, strength and stamina. Luke's only edge was strategy, and it was a slight edge at that. Corran had enjoyed the spectacle for a good bit of it, then left to comm his family.

Kendy was resting in her and Grhan's quarters while Orin took the pilot's seat. Luin sat idly in the co-pilot's chair enjoying the view of hyperspace. Marida sat behind him, leaning forward with her chin resting in her palm – elbow on her knee. This allowed her to subtly rest her right hand on Luin's arm on his outside armrest. It wasn't; however, subtle enough to escape the keen observation skills of Orin.

Back down in the training area, Luke was balancing on one of the beams they used to create the sparring course. Without warning, he found himself on the ground, blade deactivated, with Grhan sitting on his rear end and his saber rolling across the floor.

"What the kriff?" Grhan yelled. "Master Skywalker, are you alright?" Before Luke could reassure Grhan, Orin's voice came over the ship-wide comm.

"Interdiction alert. Starfighters incoming. Let's get some help up here pronto."

Grhan and Luke bypassed the lift and used the ladder to scale the wall of the hold and emerge through a hatch on the main deck. Marida and Luin were already in the cabin, strapped in. Kendy flew by them running toward the cockpit.

Luke and Grhan were hot on her heels. When they entered the cockpit the view through the transparisteel windows was all too familiar, though shocking because of the times. "Who is this?" Luke asked. "Any incoming comm traffic?"

Orin was exiting the pilot's seat while Luke slid in around him. Kendy had the ship at the moment. "Nothing so far," he said in his typical flat and controlled manner. Grhan had turned and ran back to the hatch, disappearing down into the hold.

"Giving you the ship, Master Skywalker." Luke's control board lit up.

"You've got weapon's systems," Luke announced as a segment of Kendy's board lit back up. They'd drilled on this hundreds of times. A steady beeping indicated a fighter had locked on. Luke commed a warning to the passengers who were all strapped into the cabin save Grhan. "Hold on and don't forget to breath," he announced.

Luke pushed up on the stick and the Gazer dove. He maneuvered the ship into a series of loops as the pursuing fighter lost its lock and doggedly pursued them to reacquire it.

Grhan commed the cockpit. "Ready for drop. Awaiting countdown."

Luke had to get the ship righted and free of pursuers long enough to launch the X-Wing. Kendy was able to operate all of the weapon's systems from the co-pilot's station, or she could relegate control of specific systems to the navigator's station or the cabin's control center. She called Corran to the cockpit. "Corran – take the missiles and monitor our shields." Corran slid into the navigator's seat behind Kendy.

"We've got three on our tail," Corran warned. "Make that four."

Luke continued to outmaneuver the smaller craft, but sheer numbers could render his skills moot if they didn't get that X-Wing launched.

"Okay – let's get Blue One in the air. Counting down. Luke flipped a switch and the view from the X-Wing and Gazer's cockpits simultaneously displayed the seconds to launch. "You're dropping hot, Grhan. Be ready!" Luke stressed.

"Roger that, Gazer." This was certainly not the ideal circumstance for launching. This was made increasingly clear when the Gazer's rear shields took consecutive hits from strafing rounds. Luke reached toward the kill switch.

"He's got it, Master Skywalker!" Kendy assured Luke.

"Shields holding at 100% - it was just a tap."

The display read 3…2…1… The drop was almost imperceptible in the cockpit. Now they just needed confirmation from Grhan that he cleared the ship, the engines fired up, and he was on the move.

"Gazer, Blue One is in the fight!" Grhan reported.

Kendy whooped out loud. The sudden acceleration slammed all three of the pilots in the cockpit back against their seats as Luke wasted no time getting aggressive. He took Gazer into a wide loop. Two of the starfighters – which were now identified as Tie-Interceptors with shields – continued their pursuit. Two others broke off to engage Grhan.

Grhan juked and jinked, putting the enemy fighters through their paces. Straffing rounds completely missed the X-Wing, then the unwelcome alarm warning a missile was in the air kicked things up a notch. Luke and Grhan were intentionally pulling the enemy craft into position where the Gazer would have a clear shot at Grhan's pursuers. It was risky, as this also required the Gazer to outlast the two fighters on its tail. Grhan would attempt to lock on to one of the Gazer's pursuers if they could successfully pull them into the desired formation. It all depended on the skill and experience of the enemy pilots.

"Blue One, missile inbound. 1,000 meters and closing," Corran warned.

"Roger that, I see it," Grhan confirmed.

"Blue One, looping now," Luke successfully pulled the Gazer back around and now had a clear shot at one of the X-Wing's pursuers. Kendy fired laser turrets and was certain she made a dent in the shields. Luke dove, alarms now ringing that a fighter had locked on to the Gazer, and just as quickly he pulled back hard on the stick and Gazer's nose was now lined up with the bottom of their target. Kendy hit the TIE again with a punishing round of laser bolts, finally breaking through the shields. The left panel practically disintegrated under the withering barrage, beginning the dance of a Tie fighter's death so familiar to pilots on both sides of the battles. As it spun out of control further and further away, Kendy regretted she hadn't finished the craft off, allowing the pilot a more merciful ending.

Grhan was too busy evading the second missile that went airborne before Kendy disabled the TIE to take on the Gazer's pursuers. Corran announced, "Missile away!" as he deployed one of Gazer's six missiles to take out the one remaining ship pursuing Grhan. Meanwhile, Luke veered to the left then poured on the speed. If he could put the Gazer in between the missiles and Grhan, it might draw the missiles off the X-Wing and onto the Gazer. The Gazer had anti-missile technology and its shields could take much stronger and more sustained impacts than the smaller starship.

"Blue One, punching through," Luke called out.

"Roger that, Gazer. It'll be tight," Grhan responded.

The Gazer's engines screamed as Luke pushed the ship with everything she had. Luke was completely immersed in the Force, allowing his hands to move before his conscious thoughts had an opportunity to interfere. When the Gazer slipped between the missiles and the X-Wing, she slid right through the center of a .75 second window. On the far side of that window was Gazer's destruction and the deaths of everyone on board.

"Missiles broken contact – looking for target." A massive explosion behind the Gazer beat Corran to the punch. "Missile acquired target. Target destroyed. Two missiles inbound."

Grhan swung around and took on the second TIE pursuing the Gazer. He made quick work of the Starfighter, first breaking down the shields with impossibly accurate strafing rounds, and then punching through with a missile of his own. He swung high to avoid the shrapnel.

Grhan scanned space for the one remaining TIE Interceptor. The cockpit lit up and alarms sounded letting him know the TIE found him first. One more time… Grhan thought to himself. At first Grhan attributed the pilot's ability to stay with him to sheer determination. It quickly became clear that this was no ordinary pilot. Grhan's rear shields were rapidly breaking down. No matter what he did – how open he was to the Force and its gifts of superhuman reflexes and foresight – the TIE stayed right with him.

The gazer had three missiles inbound. More than likely, one would reach its mark. Luke called to Corran to deploy decoys. The space behind Gazer was instantly littered with dozens of canisters that burst into large fields of dense debris. "Missile one down!" Corran yelled. Luke pulled back on the stick and they shot up straight in the air. "Missile two down!" Corran announced. "Missile three in pursuit."

"Let's do this again!" Luke said. He slammed the stick up and the Gazer moved into a rapid descent. Like dialed the antigravity compensator to its maximum setting.

"Leveling out!" Luke announced. "Prepare to deploy decoys." Luke counted down in his head. He had gained several hundred meters on the missile with the last maneuver. Patience, Luke. Obi-Wan's voice filled Luke's mind. Kendy began showing nerves as she quickly glanced back and forth at Luke and the data on the incoming missile. Corran clearly shared Kendy's concerns.

"Luke," Corran said. Luke didn't respond. "Luke!" Corran yelled.

"Patience," he said calmly. Three…two…one… "Deploy countermeasures!" Luke commanded. A dozen loud pops followed and once again the canisters filled the air. The missile slid through every one until the last, exploding close enough to the Gazer to impact the rear shields and send her lurching forward.

"Shields holding at 80%," Corran announced. Luke wasted no time veering back toward Grhan.

"Blue One, Gazer clear and headed your way," Luke announced. There was no response.

"Blue One, Gazer clear and headed your way. Do you copy?" Silence followed. Kendy tried not to display her concern. She remained perfectly still and allowed Luke to do his job. She reminded herself there were a hundred reasons why Grhan wouldn't respond.

"The main vessel is gone," Corran said softly. Luke continued scanning visually. Corran unfastened his harness and moved between the pilot and co-pilot's chairs to add eyes to the search. After several minutes, Corran returned to the navigator's seat to focus on searching for the X-Wing's transponder.

"Blue One, this is Gazer. Do you copy?" Luke repeated every fifteen seconds or so. Kendy turned to Corran who was searching his screens for the X-Wing. Corran's search for the X-Wing's transponder revealed nothing was there. Kendy observed his efforts, then she slowly turned back.

For ten minutes they continued to search the debris field and attempted to make contact with the missing craft and pilot.

There are a hundred reasons why Grhan isn't responding. There are a hundred reasons why Grhan isn't responding. Kendy tried to control her breathing as she repeated the mantra over and over in her mind. Then it hit her. Most of the reasons mean he is dead. Her hand flew up to her mouth and she turned to Luke, who was too busy using his eyes to scan space through the transparisteel windows to look her way. Kendy joined him, methodically searching the darkness around them.

Once again, Corran moved to visually search with the others. As he scanned from left to right, his gaze fell on a piece of debris. It was white – not black. Corran's heart began to race. He nudged Luke, who looked up at Corran and saw him nod toward a specific location through the windows. Luke immediately knew he was looking at a roughly two meter piece of an X-Wing's foil. Luke quickly scanned the area for signs of additional debris, knowing any second he would see an intact cockpit with his apprentice making some ridiculous face at them from inside.

But nothing was there to find. Corran's gaze scanned from left to right, and then fell upon Kendy. She sat with her hands in her lap, her palms facing up. Her head was bowed, tears falling into her hands. She sat staring at the growing pools of wetness. Corran placed his hand on Luke's arm, who then turned to look and saw her. Luke instantly understood. He was looking at despair – paralyzing, merciless despair. This was a feeling he understood well.

Kendy unfastened her harness, stood and walked out of the cockpit without saying a word.

"Ken...," Luke started to call after her, but stopped. Luke realized something was missing. His heart began to race, and he worked to steady himself. He slowed his breathing and reached out through the Force, seeking the gentle nudge of his apprentice. Nothing was there where Grhan should be. He felt Leia's unmistakable embrace, then her obvious shift to concern. Corran was with him, silently sharing in his misery over the absence of their brother. Several other Force signatures began nudging Luke, which he knew were his young, incredibly intuitive Jedi students who were advanced enough to have developed a Force bond with their Master.

Luke nudged each presence back with feigned reassurance. It took every last ounce of fortitude he had, then his shields went up and he closed himself off from the Force. What he was now feeling needed to stay securely within himself. It felt as if the floodgates holding back the pain and loneliness he had accumulated through the years had opened, and his chest filled with an agonizing ache. Grhan is gone.

Orin appeared in the cockpit, his face ashen. Marida and Luin followed behind on very unsteady legs. "Master Skywalker?" Orin asked. Luke couldn't look at him. He couldn't look at anyone.

Luke released his harness and stood, facing the vastness of space through the windows. "Orin, could you please take the ship?" he asked. He didn't know if Corran was in any shape to do it, so it made sense to ask Orin.

"Of course," he said. Marida choked out a sob and quickly suppressed it, then turned and ran down the corridor, through the cabin, to reach Kendy.

Luke stared down and moved past the three men. He walked through the cabin and past the lift. He raised the hatch – the same hatch he and Grhan had climbed through what seemed like minutes ago. He climbed down the ladder and disappeared into the hold below.