After the first clear dawn following many days of gray, Arlen Fel went to his mother's damutek and found her bed empty. He called on the rest of his family to search the surrounding area, but they all knew what had happened.

As the sun rose higher and the day got warm and bright, everyone found their own way of accepting what had happened. Kol Skywalker watched his family process it. The loss had been clearly coming but her disappearance still seemed to shock Nat. He was old enough to remember the death of their father but that was half a life ago, and he'd not suffered a major loss since. Jade became pensive, though Kol sensed his mother's thoughts had drawn away from Jaina to something else.

And as for Kol himself, he found he was okay with it. Not happy, but not wracked by guilt and self-blame like he'd been before. If anything, he felt a little relieved it was over. When he'd spoken with Jaina before there's been no recrimination from her. She'd even seemed thankful for the chance to save him, despite what it had cost her.

He was okay with it, more or less, but he still wanted to be alone. The boy decided to wander the woods that were so familiar to him. He took his familiar path up one of the eastern hills, but when he reached the crest he stopped. He hadn't expected to see Nei Rin sitting there, alone on a boulder, facing the city and facing him. The Yuuzhan Vong girl didn't seem surprised to see him.

"Did you know I'd come this way?" he asked as he stepped up to her.

She shook her head. "No. But I thought you might. I've heard Master Solo has passed. My condolences."

He hadn't seen her since he'd burst out of that shapers' lab and nearly gotten himself killed. He'd heard she'd been sent back north but either he'd been avoiding her or she'd been avoiding him. Probably it was both. They both had too much on their minds.

"I should have tried harder to stop you," Nei Rin said. "Perhaps things would be… different."

"I doubt it. I wasn't in the mood to be stopped."

"Still. I am sorry."

"Ah, Nei Rin, it's not your fault."

They stood apart and looked down at the city. The sun gleamed bright off every dome and spire and lit on every tiny figure moving in the streets. Everything seemed so vivid today, so full of life. The breeze that blew across the hilltop was wet and warm and gentle.

"What happened after… everything?" Kol asked. "I never heard."

"The man who shot you was captured. We investigated. It seems he was working alone, with an extremist group who wish to destroy my people. We have given him to the Alliance for punishment."

"You mean the Yuuzhan Vong and the Jedi? Are they sure the Alliance to do it right?"

"This cooperation was meant to build trust. It still might."

It was something his grandmother would approve of, Kol thought, assuming the Alliance dealt out real justice. "What about the research?"

"The others are still down there." Nei Rin lowered her head. "They decided that… children no longer had a place."

After a moment Kol said, "They're probably right."

"This is true." Breath hissed between her teeth. "We should never have gone."

"Maybe. But if we hadn't that guy might have cooked up something as nasty as Alpha Red to use against your people. And that would be even worse. My great-aunt… I think she was okay with what happened in the end."

Nei Rin nodded. "I'm glad. You know my people value sacrifice. The Jeedai willingness to give of themselves was what impressed so many of us generations ago."

Kol knew her people believed their god Yun-Yuuzhan had created the universe by dismembering himself. It was a grisly bit of theology, and one that remained despite some other adjustments to the Yuuzhan Vong pantheon. Tahiri insisted that, for all its strangeness, their religion pointed to many of the same essential truths as the Jedi's belief in the Force. Sacrifice was one; the contribution of the dead to a greater future was another.

"She said we shouldn't stop," Kol told Nei Rin. "I mean, not that we should go back there to the labs. Just that… what we've been doing is important. We shouldn't give up on it."

The Yuuzhan Vong girl finally seemed to brighten. "I am glad to hear that, Jeedai."

The silence that followed was more comfortable than before. As they looked out on the village Kol spotted a small dark shape cutting through the sky. It slowly got closer and bigger and he marked the flying trident as a starfighter coming in to land.

"Do you know that ship?" asked Nei Rin.

"Not exactly," Kol said. "But I think someone's come a little late."

-{}-

By the time Marin set her X-wing down on the landing field, she knew her grandmother was dead. She didn't know how she knew; she'd felt no sudden pang in the Force to announce Jaina's passing. As she neared the end of her long, long journey through hyperspace from one side of the galaxy to the other, the knowledge simply settled deep inside her.

Even as she opened her cockpit and descend the ladder to the grassy field, she allowed that hope that her knowledge was just unwarranted pessimism. Then she saw her father waiting for her, and she saw his face, and she knew for certain that she'd arrived too late.

At that moment Marin forgot about Loracan and the weight of expectation that had been crushing her on the long fllight to Zonama Sekot. She clasped her father in a tight embrace and said, "I'm so sorry, Dad. I wish I could have gotten here sooner."

"It's okay. I know you tried." Arlen released her and explained, "She just passed overnight."

She'd been close, then. It made her feel worse. As they started toward the town she asked, "Did everyone else get here in time?"

"Pretty much. I brought everyone I could from Ossus. Your uncle and his family came from Imperial Space."

"Vitor?"

"He's okay. He found the Restorationist stronghold like he'd planned. Davek was able to force most of them to surrender with relatively low causalities."

"You mean that war is over?"

"Yes. It's really over this time."

"That's great news." Arlen didn't seem in a hurry to ask what had happened to her. She wasn't in a hurry to answer. "How… was it? In the end?"

Arlen searched for words. "It was… peaceful. She was in and out of consciousness those last few days, but she was lucid. People got to say goodbye."

She remembered what else her father had told her. "How are Kol and Nat doing?"

"I think they're okay. Kol's doing better now than he was at the start. As for Nat… He'd having it a little rougher. But I'm sure he'll pull through. He's been waiting on you to show up."

Marin felt a pang of guilt for having an admirer. She'd never felt less deserving of one. She had never been to Zonama Sekot before and she tried to distract herself with her strange new surroundings. The Yuuzhan Vong on the streets seemed disarmingly normal. The town's organic domes and corkscrew spires were distinctly alien and she struggled to think of a comparison. As for a whiff of that planet's living awareness, she felt none, but she hadn't been expecting to. She didn't deserve to feel it.

After a long walk in silence Arlen announced, "We're almost at your grandmother's place. There should be a lot of people there."

"That's fine," she said. Things left unsaid had been getting heavier as they walked and she ventured, "Did you get a call from Mom?"

Arlen nodded. "I was surprised, but she said you'd told her what happened and insisted she call."

"That's basically how it went." Marin ventured a little more. "What did she say?"

"It wasn't a long call, but she sent her condolences. It was good."

If it was a good call then Tamar certainly hadn't told him about Ninet and Loracan. There was the hint of a question in her father's tone, but nothing more. Soon they were approaching Jaina's home, and she spotted Nat and Jade loitering outside it, accompanied by a small white-haired old woman and a towering Wookiee.

The Grand Master was the first to spot Marin and he trilled loudly at her. When her cousin spotted her his eyes lit up. Another round of greetings followed: firm hugs with Nat and Jade, a gentler one with Tahiri, a polite bow to Lowbacca.

"I'm so sorry I couldn't get here in time," she told them.

"It's all right," Tahiri smiled weakly. "She knew you tried."

"Thanks," Marin sighed and gave Nat a pat on the shoulder. "How are you holding up?"

"I'm holding," he shrugged.

"I heard you got into some heavy stuff in the Hapes Cluster. A rescue mission, wasn't it?"

"Jade needed help with some evacuations and Nat took charge of the situation," Arlen said. "Even those Imperial Knights and Princes started taking his orders."

"Impressive," Marin said, which made the teenager flush a little. She'd always known Nat did well under pressure. "Speaking of Imperial royalty, where's Vitor and the others?"

"They want back to the Shadow with Allana," Jade explained. "There's a lot they need to talk about."

"What do you mean?"

Lowbacca gave a roar and gestured to the damutek.

"He's right," Arlen said. "You'd better come inside. There's a lot you've missed."

Marin followed her father and the others inside the low domed building. It felt a little strange to be in the room her grandmother had died in. There was an empty, neatly-made against once wall as a reminder of her absence but the others, who'd been keeping vigil here over the past several days, didn't mind. If anything it seemed to them a welcome reminder of her.

There were enough chairs and stools for everyone except Arlen to sit down. He didn't mind; standing next to Lowbacca he dove into it all, explaining the last request Jaina had made of her sons and Davek's pledge to use Imperial ships and Imperial Knights to help the Jedi liberate the Hapes Cluster from the Sith who'd been camped there for forty years and, more incredibly, managed to install one of their own as queen.

It was a lot to take in, but as she listened to the explanation Marin realized that this massive undertaking would require as many Knights as possible. That would mean her and her father and Jade; it might mean Nat too. It would certainly mean Roan and Vitor.

She'd never expected the Fel family to come together like this. After so many years apart, she'd never expected a reunion at all. It would be a dangerous undertaking but that they'd all be in it together gave her a faint feeling of hope, the first hope she'd had in what seemed like forever.

Arlen was finishing his explanation when Allana and the rest of the Fels stepped through the door. The room suddenly felt packed with people but Marin's eyes went straight to Vitor, who hung behind his father near the doorway.

Another round of welcomes followed, more formal than before. After that Davek and Allana explained a few more details of their planned campaign in the Hapes Cluster. Marin barely listened. She and Vitor stayed near opposite walls but they watched each other all the while. Neither had forgotten that they'd promise to share everything once that mission to Hutt Space was over. At the time Marin had never imaged what she'd have to tell.

At the end of the talk Davek said, "I'd like to leave for Bastion at by nightfall. There's a lot of preparations to be made."

Lowbacca roared and Arlen said, "Same here. We'll head out for Ossus then too."

"I'm glad you can all be here together for today," Tahiri said. "And I know it means so much to Jaina in the end, having you here, especially when so much else was happening."

"It was the least we could do," Jade said.

"I hope you'll at least all have one last meal here, together. As a family."

"I think that's a wonderful idea," said Allana.

"We just need to find my kid brother," Nat said, grousing.

The groups started to splinter after that. Once Marin saw her opening, she slipped across the room to Vitor. He watched her, said nothing, and walked outside for her to follow.

Once they were alone Marin forgot what she'd planned to say. Vitor walked fast and she hurried to keep up. He led her up a hill, up toward the forests that surrounded the town. The high bora trees that thick trunks and multicolored leaves that took a strange rainbow shimmer in the mid-afternoon light.

Vitor led her beneath the canopy to a place of dappled shadows that shifted with the breeze. "Is there a place you want to go?" she asked.

Vitor halted. She stopped a meter behind him and looked at his back. His head bent low and his hands balled into fists and even with the Force she still couldn't get a good read on what he was feeling.

"Hey, Vitor," she said softly. "I know you've been through a lot, but… You promised to explain why you were avoiding me before, remember?"

"I'm not avoiding you now."

"No. You've just got your back turned and refuse to look at me."

He turned. He looked at her. "I haven't told anyone else yet. Except for Grandma."

Something in his voice chilled her despite the warmth of the day. "What's going on, Vitor?"

"I don't think I ever told you, but for a long time I've been getting glimpses of the future. The Force sends them in my dreams."

"I know. You told me about the one you had when Veers first attacked the academy on Bastion. You saw yourself and Grandma fighting Sith in the rain."

Vitor blinked in surprise; he hadn't remembered himself. "I've been having more. And they've all come true."

She could feel the dread in her voice and she steeled herself. "Did you have a dream with me in it?"

"Yes. Right before we met on Lantilles." He took a breath. "You're going be with me when I die. Queen Serissa is going to kill me."

She wasn't ready for that. She couldn't be. She stared at his face and saw utter grim certainty. "Vitor… No… You've got to be remembering something wrong-"

"I know you'll be there. I remember your face. And I remember her face. Allana showed us her holo and it's the same woman as my dream. I'd never seen her before that. She's got a double-sided lightsaber and she's going to spear me right through the heart." He gently touched his chest.

She groped for something to say, something to believe. "The future… Vitor, Jedi get visions of the future all the time, but there's not just one future. It changes. Allana's dad thought he saw the future and he-"

"I'm not going to do what he did," Vitor said. "I'm not going to try and change it. I can't."

"Dammit, you don't know that!"

"Back at Soergg's palace, I was terrified. And I think I wanted to die back there, just to get it over with. I left myself open for it, but it didn't come. And then I got on that shuttle for Nemesis because I figured…" He sighed. "I thought I was invincible. Or maybe I was trying to tempt fate. There were points on Nemesis where I should have died, but I didn't. Because that wasn't my destiny."

"Shab destiny. What do you plan on doing? Just going down to Hapes and asking her to kill you? You want to drag me along for that?"

"No."

"Then don't go. Tell your parents. They'll understand."

"What am I supposed to do, sit in a locked room on Bastion when everyone I love goes off to fight and maybe die? I'm not a coward."

She winced. "I never thought you were. Ever."

"I'm an Imperial Knight and a Prince. If I'm not going to live like one, then what's the point of living at all?"

She was shocked how insistent he was on dying. He wasn't happy for it. He'd opened himself in the Force like he'd opened his words, and she could feel how terrified he was. Yet despite his fear, he was resolute.

"Vitor, if you go to Hapes thinking you're bound to die, then you will. You can't just resign yourself. You have to fight. Force visions are wrong all the time."

"Mine never are."

"Osik. There's a first time for everything."

"Not this."

"Dammit, stop talking like that!" She shouted. "You've got people who care about you! Lots of people! Do you want to look Roan and your parents in the eye and tell them you're ready to die? Do you?"

He stared at her. "Marin…"

She realized she was crying and wiped her cheeks dry. "Don't do this to me, Vitor. Please. I don't want to lose anybody else."

"What do you mean?"

She took a deep ragged sigh and looked away. She looked at the lights and shadows, the pillars of the bora trunks and the luminous canopy. When she glanced back at Vitor he still had the question on his face.

He'd unburdened to her. It was only fair she did the same. So she did. She started at the beginning, with what she'd never told him. She began with the death of Gevern Auchs on Chorax and took it to his brother's death on Loracan, both by her hand, and she ended with the nameless little boy- Kaynar's son, probably- she'd let live after she killed his father with the Dark Side of the Force. As she described the look in that boy's eyes- the fear and absolute hatred- she could see it as though he was still in front of her.

And when Marin was done she looked down and waited for Vitor to speak. It took him a long, long time to find something to say.

"Do you still want to be a Jedi?" he asked.

"I don't know. I thought I could be… a different kind of Jedi. My kind of Jedi. And for a while I thought I could do that, and I thought nothing could ever come back to hurt the people important to me." Her voice trembled. "I was really wrong."

"You didn't mean for that any of that to happen. Not to Ninet. Not even to Auchs."

"Not to Gevern. I was just… defending my mom. But his brother… I wanted to kill the bastard. I wanted to make him hurt before he died. And I did. I wasn't being a Jedi then. I was… something else, something I never thought I could be. I don't want to be that thing again, Vitor. If you die too…"

He understood and the sadness deepened in his eyes. "I wish I can promise you I could change things…"

"You have to try. Please. And… let me help you."

"Then you'll come with me to Hapes?" There was a little hope in his voice.

"Yeah, but not to watch you die. I'll find a way to save you. I promise."

She had to do it; as much for her as for him. Vitor nodded, sadly, not quite convinced. "I'd like for you to come. And maybe you'll really do it."

"You're damn right I will," she sniffed. "What's a Jedi for if she can't save the people she cares about, huh?"

"So you do think you can be a Jedi? Still?"

She looked down at the lightsaber hooked to her belt. She knew she wouldn't need it here, but she'd still put it on before leaving her X-wing. Maybe that was force of habit, maybe something deeper.

"I hope I can be one. There's this… old man on Mandalore. My mom's uncle. He got the Force from his Jedi grandmother and he even used it a little when he was young, but he swore it off. Totally. He said he didn't like using a tool he couldn't trust."

"The Force is more than just a tool."

"I know. But… can you trust it?"

She let him think hard about that. Eventually he said, "I don't know. Aren't Jedi supposed to trust the will of the Force?"

"We are."

"Can you do it?"

She felt the memory of black anger, the joyful surge of hate that had come out of her depths. "I don't know. But I want to try."

"That's good, Marin."

"Fierfek," she laughed, dry and bitter. "What else could I be if I'm not a Jedi, right?"

She didn't mean for him to answer and he didn't. He looked into the forest's shadowed distances and said, "After I got that vision… I felt like I was staring at death for so long, like I was looking for some answer. But there was nothing. It was just this… waiting darkness, and not like darkness in the Force. There's power in that. Death is just… blackness. A void."

"They say there's no death, only the Force." Marin felt strange quoting the Jedi code.

"But what does that mean? Grandma's body disappeared when she died. And I'm sure she's still… in it, somehow." He waved a hand at this forest, this supposedly ghost-haunted world. "But I'm not a great Master. I'm not even a Jedi. I've seen Imperial Knights die. Too many. They all left corpses. Are they still alive in the Force?"

She shook her head. "I'm sorry… That's beyond me."

"I know. And I went to Grandma. I think… I was the last one she talked to before she died." She let him pause and gather himself. "Death wouldn't give me an answer. I thought maybe she would. She didn't know what was ahead of us either, but she was so much braver."

"She'd seen a lot more of it than your or me."

"She talked about her little brother, Anakin. The one who died in the Yuuzhan Vong War. He was sixteen. She talked about the legacy he left, even dying so young. About how great he was, because of that legacy."

"Was that your answer?"

"Closest I'm going to get," he said with a sad, sad smile. "Marin, I can't go into battle second-guessing every step, wondering if it might kill or save me. I have to be ready to die, because otherwise there's no way I can die well."

She saw he believed that, with all his heart, and there was no way she'd convince him otherwise. "Okay," she said, "But I'm not ready for you to die. I'm going to go with you and I'll watch your back, okay? I'm going to keep you alive, even if I have to fight some shabla Sith queen to do it."

"I really hope you do."

His smile got a little less sad, and somehow that triggered more tears. Marin snarled another swear and wiped them away. When her vision cleared Vitor was right in front of her. She wasn't sure who opened arms first. They pulled each other into a hard embrace, tight enough to feel his still-beating heart and the warmth of his breath. She pounded his breath, like that would bring him even closer, and his body shook, and she realized he was crying too.

They stayed there like that for a long time, alone with the dappled moving shadows, the tall trees and more she hadn't noticed until now. There was so much life: insects and birds, flowers sprouting bright colors from the dirt, everything richly resonant in the Force like they were trying to drown out the specter of death.

-{}-

To his surprise, Davek's thoughts did not turn to grieving the day after his mother's death. The days leading up to it had been mournful enough, and now that she'd passed his thoughts had turned as clear as Zonama Sekot's blue skies. His mother was gone, and he knew what had to be done next.

He spent a good part of the afternoon discussing battle strategy with Arlen, Lowbacca, Marasiah, and Allana aboard his personal shuttle. There were still far too many unknowns for his liking, and far too much reliance on intelligence from a captured Sith, but they could only work with what they'd been provided. It quickly became clear that the Jedi and Imperial Knights would have to work closely together. From there, it was obvious that Marasiah and his sons would do better to join Jade Shadow on its flight back to Ossus while he made the long return to Imperial Space alone. He'd have plenty to do on the journey, namely recruit trusted captains willing to follow him into a war that was, on first glance, none of the Empire's business.

Even on second glance- from a purely political, secular standpoint- the Empire had little cause to invade Hapes, even if its masters had backed Veers. His mother's last wish impelled him; he knew his actions in separating the Jedi and Imperial Knights had been a wound to her, as a mother and as a Jedi, and he'd always meant to make it up to her somehow. He couldn't accomplish it while she was still alive, but he had his chance now. It would not be easy, but he'd never forgive himself if he didn't try.

Arlen understood that. They hadn't exchanged many words since Davek's arrival on Zonama Sekot, but he could see it in his brother's eyes.

Once a basic battle plan had been hacked out, Allana excused herself from Davek's shuttle. Lowbacca joined her but Arlen refrained from following. Marasiah, sensing the brothers needed a moment of quiet, went out with the Jedi.

Davek and Arlen looked at each other from opposite sides of the briefing table in the shuttle's hold. He tried to remember the last time they'd been alone together and couldn't. He only knew that it had been over eight years.

They'd never been close growing up. Arlen had been the older child and natural Jedi, while Davek, frustratingly bereft of the Force, had fumbled early on until chance, fate, or Voidwalker had set him on a destined path. For a time they'd grown closer: Imperial admiral and Imperial Jedi, both fathers to Force-strong children who'd trained together and grown close under their grandmother's watchful guidance. Those good years had lasted nearly two decades but now they felt like a mirage, so different they were from all that had followed.

Much of that was Davek's fault. He'd done what was necessary to safeguard his father's legacy. He'd never stopped believing that. He'd made the right choices, but they didn't absolve him of the unfortunate side effects. Now he was trying to make amends, as he's always planned to, though he'd never dreamed of it happening like this.

He wanted to tell that to this brother, but he'd never been good at explaining things to Arlen. And, truthfully, Arlen had never been good at explaining himself to Davek.

Still, Arlen was the one to take the first step. "The Jedi and the Hapans are both going to be in your debt for this."

"The Sith are an enemy to us all," Davek said. Even now it was hard to be honest with his brother.

"I know. And after going through one war you shouldn't have to send your troops into a second. They shouldn't have to fight it. Are you sure you can muster the ships and people?"

"An advantage of being Emperor," Davek said with a brittle smile, "Is that when you tell people to jump, they beg to know how high."

"I guess being a despot has its upsides," Arlen said, but with a smile.

"There are several." He paused. "I didn't want to become one. I did what I had to, for Father's legacy."

"I know, Davek. We've been over this." Arlen sighed. "You know I didn't like it at the time. I still don't. But I've been thinking…"

He trailed off. "Yes," Davek prodded.

"In remaking the Empire and breaking off the Imperial Knights, maybe you were working the will of the Force all along. Maybe it was preparing you for this exact goal."

The idea had frankly never occurred to Davek. He wasn't used to thinking of the Force as guiding mortals on its purpose. Even Marasiah shied from that kind of talk.

"It's possible," Davek allowed. Arlen seemed like he wanted to be believe it.

"I guess what I'm trying to say is…." Arlen trailed off again and scratched his head. "I guess I should say 'thank you.'"

"I'm doing this because Mother asked for it. And because I've needed to make amends." Finally, he was out with it.

Arlen's face relaxed into a slanted smile. "I kind of figured that. And I'm glad."

He pushed up from his seat. So did Davek. They turned to the cabin's exit but each hesitated to walk out first. Arlen realized that, chuckled, and loped ahead. Davek followed, caught up with his brother into two strides, and they walked together through the door, down the ramp, and out onto the landing field. The light was tinting gold, the sun was setting fast, and soon this clear, beautiful day without grief would be over.

They stood together at the bottom of the ramp. Vitor and Marin were both circling Jade Shadow, giving the hull a pre-flight check. His cousin's arrival seemed to lift Vitor's spirits somewhat, and Davek was glad. He hoped that Marin could help his son move past the demons that had been dragging him.

It was a fond hope, but it drew him back to the choices that had separated Marin and Vitor in the first place. He glanced carefully at Arlen and saw his brother watching them as well.

"When this is all over," Arlen said, "I'm not expecting the imperial Knights and the Jedi to rejoin in one happily family. But we don't have to stay apart, do we?"

Davek knew he was talking about another broken family. "No. I think we've been apart long enough."

He turned to his brother and held out a hand, flat and waist-high. Arlen looked down at it, blinked, and asked, "That's it?"

"That's how it starts," said Davek.

Arlen shrugged, took the hand, and immediately used his other to draw Davek in for an embrace. A palm pounded between his shoulders. Arlen was always big on back-slapping. Davek remembered the feeling perfectly. Sometimes eight years felt like forever. Sometimes it was no time at all.

-{}-

Night had just fallen and the clear sky filled with stars. The beautiful day was over and it was time to go. Everyone had retreated to the landing field and started filling up Jade Shadow and Emperor Fel's scarlet shuttle. Everyone was going away again, except for two.

The young boy and the old woman stood at the edge of the field and watched. Neither of them had a place in the coming battle, and they knew it, and while before Kol might have ached to join Nat and his mother, he felt different now. He was still anxious for them and for all the other Jedi, but he knew that it wasn't in his power to help them. One day that would be different but not now. There was still so much he had to learn.

Before Jade Shadow took off, his mother and Nat came over to given them farewell embraces.

"You're going to have to be extra-careful, Nat," Tahiri said as she pulled away from the tall teenager.

"He'll have Arlen and me to look after him," Jade put a hand on his shoulder.

"As long as everyone else is with me I'll be fine," Nat said, but Kol could tell he wasn't as confident as he tried to sound.

Jade bent low and embraced her younger son. She kissed him once on the forehead and said, "Be strong, Kol."

"You too, Mom."

They pulled apart. Nat and Jade waved goodbye one last time, then turned for the ship. They became silhouettes against the glow spilling off Jade Shadow's landing ramp, and then the light swallowed them up. Tahiri stood behind Kol and placed her small hands on his shoulders. The two of them watched as Jade Shadow kicked off first. It rose into the sky on its repulsor-jets then kicked in thrusters and soared away. Kol pivoted to watch it until it was gone. When he looked back to the landing field the Emperor's red shuttle was rising too. It accelerated smoothly, banked over the city, and then it, too, was gone. Finally Kol watched Marin's X-wing kick off and follow those already gone. The four lights of its quad engines shrank into the distance and combined into one, then one dwindled into nothing, and they were finally alone again.

"You don't have to miss them," said a young voice beside him. "They're not really gone."

Kol looked to his right. In the dim light he could make out a boy about his age with sandy-blonde hair. Sekot, of course.

"Of course I'm going to worry," Kol said. "They might not all come back."

"I know. But even then, they won't really be gone."

"Easy for you to say," said Tahiri, not bitterly, but with humor.

"Maybe. But I'm as mortal as any of you." Sekot must have sensed Kol in the Force, or seen the incredulity on his face, because the conscious world added, "It's true. Every life ends. Even mine."

It was hard to think of something so powerful and mysterious as mortal. It was even harder to think of it as a little boy. Kol asked, "Why do you keep showing up like that?"

"Like what?" the boy asked innocently. Kol felt Tahiri's faint amusement.

"Like my ancestor. Anakin Skywalker."

"Every life ends, and every life begins." The voice assumed a gravity inappropriate for it's boy's face. "Anakin Skywalker was close to me when my life began. His descendants have been close to me since. I like to think our destinies will always be entwined."

Kol felt acutely aware that he was the newest of those descendants and the latest called Skywalker. He also remembered what Jaina had told him, that he'd have a son of his own and there'd be Skywalkers after him. That was all far away, and it beggared the boy to think of it.

But because of what his grandmother had seen, Kol told Sekot, "Don't worry. I think they will."

When he glanced back at his side there was noting except a dark field spread under starry night. The boy was gone but he was sure Sekot had heard and understood.