Chapter 1: Daughter

Alex Rider cursed slightly as he balanced the grocery bags in his arms. Jack Starbright had had class at the university she was attending, so Alex had decided to do the shopping to make her life a little easier. He smiled as he thought of her sitting in class, tapping the end of her pencil on her desk as she tried to pay attention to another lecture on law or court room etiquette. A few weeks ago, he had thought that Jack was dead. Thankfully though, he had found her weeks after her supposed death by following clues left by her and, as if finding her alive wasn't good enough, he had finally ended the last of SCORPIA, one of the largest and most dangerous criminal organizations in the world.

Alex readjusted the bags as he neared his house. However, as he neared, he noticed something that made his blood run cold; the front door of the house was slightly ajar. That wasn't right. Both he and Jack were always careful to lock the door when they left the house. Alex crept forward, setting the bags down as carefully and quietly as he could on the front step. He thought at first that he should call the police and let them handle it. But he couldn't bring himself to do it. If it was someone who had worked for an enemy from one of his past missions, they wouldn't stand a chance. So, taking a deep breath, Alex silently opened the door and slipped inside.

The inside of the house was dim, as the typical English weather of overcast skies cast a gloom in through the windows, but Alex knew every inch of the place like the back of his hand. Alex's bright brown eyes darted back and forth, taking in the hallway. Nothing had been disturbed, so it likely wasn't a burglar. However, a faint glow flowing from upstairs caught his eye. That was odd. Alex had been certain that he had turned out all the lights when he had left for the shops. Why would a potential enemy turn on the lights? They might risk getting caught. He then grabbed the closest thing that he could find to a weapon- an umbrella siting in the rack by the door, which caused him to roll his eyes slightly and make a mental note to get better weapons for the house- and crept upstairs, careful where he put is feet.

As he got to the landing, the glow was brighter than he had originally thought. Alex inched towards the door. However, as he neared it, it opened all by itself, leaving Alex standing in the doorway with an umbrella in his hands and (in all honesty) not looking quite as intimidating as he thought he'd looked. Though to his credit, it is hard to look intimidating with a lemon-yellow umbrella with pink flowers in your hand.

Alex nearly dropped the improvised weapon as he saw exactly who was in his room. There, standing in the middle of it, was a tall, imposing looking woman. She had pale skin, piercing green eyes, and long green hair that fell to her waist. She was wearing a long cream-colored dress that, to Alex, seemed to be cut much too low in the neckline. Strangely, it was her who was casting the glow. She glanced at Alex as he straightened up, his brown eyes now hard as months of past missions for MI6, the CIA, and others came to his mind. He didn't recognize her, but that didn't mean that this woman wasn't dangerous.

"Alex Rider," The women spoke with an odd, echoing voice. "I have been waiting for you."

Alex raised an eyebrow. Time for the old Rider Wit to come into play, he thought. "Really? Sorry about the mess then." He gestured toward his room, even if the mess was just an unmade bed and a few dirty socks and shirts on the floor. "If I'd know I was having company, I would have tidied up."

The woman also raised an eyebrow. "Please come in." She gestured for him to step inside.

Alex rolled his eyes. "Well, thanks so much for inviting me into my own room, in my house, which you broke into, by the way. Oh! And I've called the police and they should be here any minute now. I'd suggest you get out before it's too late."

The woman glared at him and suddenly Alex felt like a little kid who had been caught with his hand in a cookie jar, embarrassed and ashamed by the lie he had just said. "You lie, young one. Now, step inside. We do not have time for these jokes." She gestured with her hand and Alex found the umbrella jerked out of his hands, clattering to the floor. He was then swept into the room, the door closing and locking by itself.

Alex staggered slightly, then turned to the woman with his arms crossed. "Um, we aren't supposed to lock the doors inside the house. It's kind of a rule of Ja-."Alex cut himself off before he said Jack's name, not wanting to give this strange woman more information on him. Alex was still trying to get his bearings. This strange woman had just somehow forced him to come into his room and locked the door behind him, all without coming even a step toward him or it.

"Miss Starbright will not know what has happened. I can assure you of that." The woman looked at him and Alex now saw just how tall and imposing she was. "Now, it is time we go. As I said, we do not have time."

Alex was startled about how this woman knew Jack's name, but he let it drop for now. He glared at her and gave a slight scowl. "Look, I'm not in the habit of just going off with strange, glowing women who appear in my bedroom." Wow, there's a sentence I didn't think I'd ever say. "I don't even know your name and yet you know mine. I don't think that's very fair. How about filling a few blanks, Ms…"

The woman glanced at him, a look of slight amusement on her face. "You may call me Daughter."

It was Alex's turn to be amused. "Excuse me? I'm not going call you that. What's your real name?"

"Daughter."

Alex huffed and rolled of his eyes. "Riiiight, well that clears that up. Alright, Ms. Daughter. Who are you and how did you find me? And what did you mean about Jack not knowing about what's going on? She'll be back in from class soon."

Daughter looked at him. "I do not have time to answer all of your questions right now, young one. Just know that I need you to help save a place that is in danger. If you do not come, many lives will be lost. I am not your enemy. I've found you the same way I've found others. As for Miss Starbright, we will be back here before she has time to blink."

Alex glared at her. "Is this some sort of prank? Did Tom hire you to do this to me? Because I hate to tell you, it isn't very funny."

Daughter's eyes suddenly grew hard and when she spoke next, it was with a tone of authority. "We do not have time for this, Alexander John Rider! You must come with me at once! In a place far, far away, a war is ongoing. One of the sides has an advantage that the other does not. This cannot happen. It is not destined to happen. You must come with me and bring balance. You must help before it is to late!"

Alex was struck with the tone of her voice. By the end, it had sounded like she was pleading. Alex's mind was working overtime. This was crazy, absolutely crazy! This woman shows up at his house and is asking him to save a group of people in some sort of war in a place who knows how many miles away? He looked at her with a quizzical glance. "So… who do you work for then? CIA? Mossad? ASIS?"

Daughter glared. "I do not work for mortal men. I do not fight in their wars. I work to bring balance. That is why I sought you out, Alex Rider." Her gaze softened slightly. "You will bring back the balance that is needed in the war."

Alex was trying so hard to say no. To tell her to go do something that he was sure would earn him a grounding for a week if Jack heard him say it. To just tell her to leave him alone. But something was nudging him to say yes. Something was telling him that all this woman was saying was true; that he was the only one who could help these people. And so, taking a breath, Alex let it out and looked at Daughter, his eyes bright with a new light. A light that seemed to show that this young fifteen-year-old was ready for anything. And he then spoke four simple words.

"Where do we start?"

Daughter nodded. "I will take you to where you need to be. Just trust the people I send you to. They will help you."

Alex nodded. Then, without warning, Daughter grabbed his wrist. Alex's eyes were forced shut again by that feeling of force from before and he felt himself rushing forward. It was faster than he had ever gone before, even faster than when he went into space. Still, it wasn't unpleasant.

Then he felt himself jerked to a stop, falling onto his stomach on soft grass. He felt someone- Daughter most likely- slip something small and cool into his hand. Alex's eyes were still shut tight, but he felt a warm breeze brush by his ear and Daughter's voice whisper into it.

"May the Force be with you, Alex Rider."

And then the force that had shut his eyes was gone. He opened them again and drew himself unsteadily to his feet. The first thing he noticed was that Daughter was gone. However, his mind forgot about her as he gazed in front of him, eyes wide and mouth slightly agape. In front of him was what seemed to be a huge room of some kind. All around him were lush bushes, flowers of every color, and trees hanging with fruit that Alex had never seen. Water seemed to pour from somewhere to Alex's left and birds twittered unseen above. The scent in the air was thick, but not unpleasant, smelling of sweet flowers and citrus. But Alex's appreciation of the room and its wonders was brought short by a smooth, and deep voice, tinged with irritation coming from behind him.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?"

Alex whirled around, shoving whatever Daughter had put in his hand into his jeans pocket. Behind him was a dark-skinned man with a bald head and brown eyes that were glaring at him. It was he who had spoken. And he did not seem happy about Alex being here.

Alex didn't like the way that the man was looking at him. He reminded him too much of Alan Blunt. Alex glared at the man as well. "I was sent here; I don't know how exactly. I was told that help was needed here, but if you don't want me or my help, that's fine. I'll just go back home." It didn't matter to Alex if, at this moment in time, he didn't know how to get back home or where he was. He just wanted to get away from this grouchy looking fellow.

However, the man didn't seem to appreciate his answer. He drew himself up taller and his glare seemed to grow more intense. "Sent? By whom? And how did you get in here?"

Alex gazed back at him, looking straight into the man's eyes. This guy would not intimidate him. Alex had faced worse than him. "I don't know. She said her name was Daughter. And I don't know how I got here. One minute I was in my bedroom and the next thing I know, I'm here with you and your glowering face, which is not a very nice welcoming committee by the way. I was told that you lot need help in a war and that I was the only one that could help. Again, if you don't want me here, I'll be happy to go as I've got things to do."

Alex turned to go but was yet again held fast by that feeling of force. Almost like he couldn't do anything, like he couldn't move. Honestly, it was getting kind of annoying. The man moved in front of him and Alex saw his hand was outstretched. If Alex had to guess, it was this guy who was somehow holding him. Alex gazed at the man again, a dangerous glare on his face and his voice turned to a growl. "I don't know how you're doing this but let me go!"

The man gazed at him, a mixture of annoyance and confusion on his face. And was Alex mistaken or was that intrigue in the expression as well? Then the man spoke. "Not so fast, young one. I can't let you go. We need to know how you got in here without anyone knowing."

The man gestured and two people came on either side of Alex, while he sensed a third at his back. The people wore spotless white armor and helmets that obscured their faces and they carried guns. Alex felt the pressure on him vanish and he could move on his own again. Unfortunately, due to the presence of the men and their guns, Alex didn't fancy to try to make a run for it. Together as a group, they walked through the garden room, out into a hallway, and into what seemed to be a sort of elevator. Alex couldn't take it anymore. As the doors slid shut, he glared back at the man.

"Where are you taking me?"

The man did not turn to look at Alex when he spoke. "I'm taking you to a group that can perhaps help sort out this whole mess. I'm taking you to talk with the Jedi Council."