Lyn Halcard put his hands in his pockets and took extra care to keep his head up. He prayed it made him look less conspicuous, like he belonged in this mob of people. Behind him, the Lyn could hear the boots of armored soldiers, the commotion they were causing as they pushed through the crowd. In the most natural way he could, Lyn turned and watched as several troopers barreled over a young couple without even a second glance. The soldiers hadn't spotted him yet, but they were heading right in his direction.

The afternoon was cold and grey as befits Agamar's year-round winters. The forecast called for more snow in the early evening, but with a sky already as dark as this, the weather could turn without anyone even realizing it. Lyn shivered and regretted losing his cloak when the troopers had first opened fire.

Just blend in. Keep your head level and keep calm. The sidewalks were busy at this hour as a mixture of students and professionals commuted home. The streets themselves were even more crowded and would remain that way for the next several hours. Lyn knew that he stuck out in his Jedi robes, but making a beeline for a building or taking off running might draw even more attention.

Lyn could now hear the soldiers barking orders at each other. He shivered again as he gripped the lightsaber he had tucked under his robes. His saber was his best chance at defending himself, but using it here in this crowd would only draw more troopers. Your best defense now is a low profile.

Between the tenements ahead, Lyn could see ships descending, their repulsors kicking up ash and snow as they touched down. If he could just make it to the spaceport, he'd have the chance to hitch a ride on a freighter and get off-world. Then he could worry about getting a message back to the Council and explaining what had happened to his troops, what had happened to Master Var. He was practicing his report in his head when a clone suddenly grabbed the woman next to him.

"What is your destination?" the clone shouted. "What is your purpose being here?"

Before the terrified woman could reply, the trooper grabbed her purse and began to riffle through it. He emptied the bag into the street and glanced at the assorted items before tossing the bag aside and continuing his search of the crowd. The stunned woman looked on in silence before reaching to gather her things off the ground.

Panic was setting in, and Lyn lengthened his stride. Won't last much longer in this crowd. Have to keep moving. If he could turn the corner and find a side street, he'd be able to wait until the soldiers passed and then find another route to the spaceport. Or, maybe he could find a quiet place to spend the night and sneak out in the morning. He'd be alone for a few hours longer, but being alone was better than being dead. He continued to toy with the possibility in his mind when a hand slammed down onto his shoulder.

"Identify yourself," a trooper ordered. "What is your pur-"

Without hesitation, Lyn activated his saber with a snap-hiss and spun the blade around in the wide arc. The trooper flew backward, and for a single moment, a silence hung over the street. It was gone a second later as the crowd exploded outward in all directions. Frozen in the middle of it all was Lyn, saber still active in his hand, head ringing from the unexpected shock. By the Force, he's really dead, isn't he? Lynsuddenly felt queasy and reached out with a hand towards something, anything, to steady himself. He had to put his other hand over his mouth to keep himself from vomiting.

"Contact!" screamed another trooper. "Weapons free!"

The shout snapped Lyn out of his stupor, and he quickly stumbled in the opposite direction. The crowd continued to part, which gave him the chance to fully right himself and extend his legs into a full sprint. Look for an exit. Keep focused, and find the exit. He was a block away when he noticed an alleyway that could provide the first step of his escape. The alley was only a few steps away when the boy heard the distinctive crack of blasters.

The sidewalk exploded as bits of gravel and cement ricocheted in every direction. Lyn quickly covered his head with his arms and made for the alley as the bystanders around him did the same. He made it around the corner unscathed and continued to sprint. Behind him, someone shouted and hit the ground hard.

Without slowing, Lyn turned and saw a man clutching at a leg that had been reduced to a bloody stump below the knee. They're firing into the crowd! He continued to run without looking back again.

At the end of the alley was a door that Lyn was pretty sure served as a back exit for a Sorosuub warehouse. The warehouse floor would be busy at this hour and give him another chance to blend into a crowd. With luck, he could find somewhere to hide and plan his next move.

Lyn burst through the door and made sure it shut behind him. The warehouse floor was crowded as he'd hoped, and dozens of employees shuffled around loading trucks. The employees all wore Sorosuub's distinctive green jumpsuits and seemed busy or indifferent enough to ignore Lyn's sudden entrance. After a quick look around, the boy grabbed an unused jumpsuit off the wall and hustled to another part of the floor.

Men were stacking boxes along the far wall, and the boy quickly ran over to join them. He slipped the jumpsuit on over his robes and grabbed a crate from a nearby conveyor belt.

"Hey! Who let a kid on the floor?" questioned a nearby Sullustan with a supervisor's badge. "Everyone here knows the rules about kids."

No one answered, and the supervisor sighed before walking towards the boy.

"Look, Kid. I can't have you on the floor right now," explained the supervisor. "If you come back for the night shift, then I can-"

The door the boy had entered burst open again, this time to admit four armed troopers. Damn. They shouted and pointed for a moment before each of the soldiers fanned out to make their way to a different corner of the building. As the soldiers neared, the Sorosuub employees put their hands behind their heads and sunk to their knees. The soldiers approached each one to confirm their identities before moving on, their rifles never lowering.

Crate still in his arms, Lyn started to inch towards the front entrance. There was a speeder parked near the bay doors that would make the perfect cover if he could only get to it. He shuffled closer and closer until he was almost near enough to make a run for it.

"Kid!" the supervisor suddenly whispered. "You want to get yourself killed? Let the clones run their scans, and then we'll find something for you to do around here."

Shut up. Stop drawing attention. Lyn ignored him and continued to move towards the truck, the exit, and a clean break.

"Kid!" the supervisor said much louder. "Drop the damn box and wait!"

Shaking his head, the supervisor stepped towards Lyn. At the same time, the nearest trooper noticed the supervisor's movement. He pushed aside a nearby Sorosuub employee and aimed his rifle in one fluid movement.

"Okay, Kid," the supervisor said just a few feet from the boy. "Enough's enough. Put down the box and just do what I do."

The supervisor put his hands above his head and got down to his knees. He then gestured for Lyn to do the same. Idiot.

Lyn could see the trooper still had his weapon at the ready. The speeder was only a few meters away, but with a blaster trained on him, it might as well have been a few kilos. Thinking for a moment, Lyn did the only thing he could think of. With both hands, he hurled upward before blasting it outwards with the Force.

The supervisor cried out in surprise as the trooper dove out of the way. Lyn turned and ran again.

The speeder served its purpose as Lyn could hear bolts impacting against the metal. He continued to run, saber in hand, straight out the bay doors. Arms pumping faster, Lyn could spare no thought for a destination. He simply had to put as much distance between himself and the warehouse as he could.

He ran for what felt like hours and finally stopped when he could run no farther. Chest burning, he hunched over to take a breath. Really wish I had my cloak right now. Cold's setting in. Lyn realized saber was still clenched in his hand and quickly stuffed it back in his robes.

The warehouse had been a close call, perhaps the closest he'd ever experienced. He and Master Var had only arrived on Agamar a few weeks earlier, and besides seeing some distant blaster fire, Lyn had never seen combat before. Lyn spotted a nearby bench and stumbled towards it.

As the adrenaline wore off, Lyn could feel panic starting to rise in his chest. Master Var was gone, his troopers were hunting him down, and he didn't have the comm or credits to get a message back to the Council. He thought about making his way to one of the comm arrays spread across the city's outskirts, but doubling his way back there might mean running into more troopers.

Wiping his mouth, Lyn scanned the horizon. Among all of the businesses and towering buildings, he recognized the spires of the Shu Industries campus just a few blocks away. By following the thoroughfare right off the grounds, Lyn would have crowds, cover, and a direct route to the spaceport. But, it was a highly populated area which could also mean more troopers.

The afternoon would only grow colder as the day grew darker, so Lyn took another moment to catch his breath and set off for the glittering spires.After a block or two of hurried walking, he could start to see the glass offices of Shu Industries, the engineers who shuffled back and forth gesturing towards datapads and holovids. Must be nice up there. Lyn envied them in their glass castle, but maybe that was just because they seemed safe, warm, and busy.

Turning his head, Lyn noticed a patrol on the other side of the street, but that was nothing out of the ordinary at this hour. He kept his head up and pretended to continue looking at the towering spires. The troopers passed without noticing him, and he breathed a little easier.

Lyn scanned the crowd around him and felt he blended well enough. The streets were empty of speeders, but students from the nearby academy had begun pouring onto the streets. More people his age only upped his chances at appearing unnoticed, and he slowed his pace to put himself a few steps ahead of a small group. He could hear the students behind him laughing and hoped the laughter wasn't at his expense.

Lyn considered stealing a glance at the patrol behind him before nearly stumbling into the woman ahead of him. The crowd seemed to have slowed farther up the street creating a bottleneck that reached back for almost a block. Lyn strained to see what was the cause of the delay. Standing on his toes and craning his neck, he peered above the crowd and saw the makings of a mobile checkpoint.

He quickly turned to double back the other way but was stopped in his tracks as the patrol that had passed a few minutes ago suddenly reappeared. They began ushering the crowd towards the checkpoint and blocked anyone who tried to double back to avoid the delay.

The streets were deliberately empty, and the crowd was being fed into one of the Republic's new funnel checkpoints. Soldiers now guarded both ends of the sidewalk with specific orders to target anyone who seemed to be avoiding the checkpoint or making for the street.

Lyn risked a 360-degree glance around and saw that others in the crowd were doing the same, but mostly out of annoyance and not out of panic. He continued to look for anything that could give him a chance at escape: a side alley to slip through, a dumpster to duck under, even a gutter that could be squeezed into. Unfortunately, the troopers had planned ahead, and Lyn saw nothing but sidewalk and street.

The crowd slowly surged forward as the soldiers at the checkpoint began scanning chain codes. Lyn counted seven troopers ahead and guessed at least four more were behind him. There was also the chance that more troopers were posted on the upper floors of the surrounding buildings…

Slowly, Lyn let the crowds bleed past him as he moved towards the back of the line. The four troopers continued to move people forward although the crowd didn't appear to need prompting. Lyn breathed deep and again sought out Master Var's training while tightening his grip on his saber. Reach out through the Force. Let it open your mind and guide your blade.

The line continued to surge past him, and Lyn soon found himself standing alone just a few meters from the approaching troopers.

"Hey!" shouted the closest clone. "Keep it moving!"

Lyn stood still, one hand in his pocket, the other clenched into a fist.

"You deaf?" shouted another trooper while taking a step forward.

Lyn pivoted, ignited his saber, and leapt backwards. The first trooper collapsed under his swing, and Lyn reached through the Force to push the second into a nearby building. The third trooper almost managed to raise his blaster before Lyn slashed through both it and the trooper's chest. The final clone wisely took several steps backward and opened fire with his rifle.

Time slowed for a moment, and Lyn could feel as his hands instinctively moved to block each blast. Without even thinking, Lyn blocked one, two, three bolts back at the trooper who collapsed backwards onto the sidewalk.

Lyn stood for a moment. What he felt was more than just a power; it was a consciousness, an awareness of anything and everything around him. As the troopers approached from the checkpoint, Lyn was at peace and gripped his saber in both hands.

The troopers opened fire, and Lyn again felt his hands guided to deflect each blast. His blade danced, a flash of blue that batted back bolt after bolt. Several of the troopers had been hit by their own deflected fire, and two laid motionless on the ground. But, Lyn felt himself tiring quickly as his mind and body raced to keep up with the hail of blasterfire.

Suddenly, Lyn felt a white hot sharpness between his shoulder blades. He fell to a knee and saw behind him as another squad of troopers was running towards him. Struggling to stay up, Lyn swatted away another bolt before his knee burned hot and then his stomach.

Lyn fell to the ground, his lightsaber deactivating as it rolled away from him. A numbness crept outwards from his chest, a surprise considering he had guessed there would be more pain.

The world began to grow hazy, and Lyn's chest heaved. A trooper kicked aside his lightsaber, and Lyn stopped straining to reach for it, partly by choice, and partly because he had no choice.

The day was cold, as befits the wintertime, and Lyn could feel it getting colder. He wished he had his cloak.