The gaudiest speeder in the galaxy screamed away from the city of Hon Manowa at terrifying speeds.

"WOOOOOHAAAA!" Abero practically stood in the craft, jubilant cry exploding from his childlike grin.

Weram clutched at her seat, teeth gritted as the speeder sliced through the air.

The level expanse of the Manowa prairie had given way to rolling hills as the two traveled north, a vast column of dust still rising in the powerful machine's wake. The sun had nearly reached it's zenith, finally banishing the sullen red light of Phorna Prime, at least for a few hours.

"This thing can really move, huh!" Abero said. "Barely two hours out of the city and we're already in the foothills! We'll be in the Honwa Highlands before you..." Abero trailed off.

In the noonday sun Yansk's craft suddenly transformed. The garish colors burst with fiery opalescence, gleaming like a gem. Weram raised an eyebrow appreciatively.

"Guess that's why he calls it the Sun Devil," Abero remarked.


The two rode in silence for a time. The brilliance of the light reflected from the speeder had cast a spell over it's passengers as the distance passed. Finally the sun passed some critical point, returning the Sun Devil to it's previous garish appearance as the first of the spires of the Honwa Highlands came into view.

Some long-ago tectonic event had caused the sea floor to rise out of the water, taking a veritable forest of ocean rock formations and lifting them into the sky. Though eons of rain and wind had weathered most of the spires smooth they towered over the landscape, casting much of the rugged terrain into shadow. The Highlands ended to the east in a great sea cliff, while to the west a great escarpment rose from the ascending ground, an ancient cliff formed by the ocean.

The mist from the sea combined with the shadows cast by the spires, shrouding the Honwa Highlands in a gloom that even the afternoon sun could not dispel. The pulsing orb of Phorna Prime penetrated the mist perfectly, however, casting a bloody pall over everything.

Abero cut the throttle to the Sun Devil as they entered the mist. The two were soaked in short order and their moods dampened to match. The quiet between them changed from companionable to sullen.

"So what exactly are you looking for in here?" Abero asked, finally breaking the silence.

"My father," Weram said simply.

Abero filled the silence again, "Not to ground your launchpad, but I don't think he's there."

"And why do you think that?" Weram's voice dangerously devoid of emotion.

"Hon Manowa is the only spaceport on Phorna, see?" Abero continued, oblivious to the girl's ire. "And I think I would have heard about it if a big pink guy passed through."

Weram blinked a few times. Whatever she'd been prepared to hear, it wasn't that. She laughed helplessly, the tension melting out of her.

"My dad's not pink!" She exclaimed, still laughing. "I take after my mom, thankfully."

Abero grinned sheepishly. "What makes you think he's here, then?"

"I'm not sure he's still here, but he's been here," Weram said, reaching beneath her shirt and withdrawing a pair of pendants. She held one up for Abero to see.

"My dad found this in the Temple of Eedit, the Jedi temple on Devaron, my homeworld."

Abero glanced at the pendant. It was made of a dark metal, iron or pewter maybe. In it's center was the winged lightsaber of the Jedi order.

"My dad gave it to me when I was little," she continued.

"He was a Jedi?" Abero asked.

"No," said Weram, smiling, "but my people revere the Jedi. Dad always told me stories about the knights, protecting the weak, serving justice. That even though the temple was empty after the Clone Wars, the Jedi were out there. I loved those stories."

Weram looked down at her hands and swallowed before going on. "Dad told me a time was coming when we would need to remember what they stood for. That's when he gave me this. It was the last time I saw him. He heard the Imperials were coming to tear down the temple, so he went inside to save whatever he could."

"And the Imperials found him?" Abero guessed.

"No," Weram replied, "the Imperials didn't even bother to land. They destroyed the temple from orbit and moved on," Weram practically spat.

"I'm sorry Weram," Abero said, laying a hand on her arm.

Weram smiled at him reassuringly. "That's not the end of the story. A year ago I got a package that came from Phorna containing this." She held the other pendant up. Though it was a different metal, it was undeniably the same symbol.

"It came with a note that just said 'Remember.' It was my dad's handwriting.

He's alive. And he was here."


The two rode on in silence once again. Mist rolled by in waves, soaking them anew each time. Conditions were definitely not improving, but Weram was suffused with an inner fire now that the mist could not extinguish. She retrieved her datapad from her pack and pulled up a map of the area.

"There should be a low structure off to our left a bit," Weram directed.

Abero adjusted the Sun Devil's course. "So how do you know where to look if you've never been here?"

"I pestered the guy that delivered the package. He said the guy that had him deliver it had come in from this way, near the coast. These are the only structures in the area visible from orbital scans. Seems like the best place to start."

Abero nodded to himself as the structure came into view. The building was low and flat. Made from the same limestone as the massive spires it almost blended into the landscape, aided by the ever-present sea mists. A yawning opening served as a door, big enough for several banthas to walk through abreast.

Abero brought the Sun Devil alongside the building and powered it down. Weram donned goggles retrieved from her pack and activated P-0.

"Showtime, buddy," Weram told the droid." P-0 dusted himself off and stretched dramatically, even pantomiming a yawn.

"Enough joking around, P-0. You're taking point. Get in there and run those scanners. It's your job to warn us if there's trouble." Weram cinched her pack closed and strapped it on.

"Or if you find something interesting."

P-0 gave a mock salute and scampered toward the building, disappearing from view as the gaping entrance swallowed him.

Weram and Abero followed a few moments later.


Not long after two bulky transports arrived in front of the stone building. A uniformed Imperial stepped out of the first transport as Stormtroopers boiled out of the other and assembled themselves in formation.

"Disable that speeder, then secure the entrance," the Imperial ordered.

The troopers saluted their commander before rushing off obediently. The Imperial commander smiled sharply.

"Looks like the old flytrap caught something again," he said to himself. He held up a small round object in the wan afternoon light. It looked almost like a coin.

Or a medallion.

"Just have to use the right bait."

Clearly stamped on the medallion was the insignia of the Jedi Order.