Chapter two
Ben walked to his room, feeling a little light-headed with excitement. If he was to help her in her fight...as he walked along the jungle path, he stopped in his tracks, hearing voices. He crept up behind the trees, to see an astonishing sight. Adi was standing on one of the temple roofs, talking to what appeared to be nothing.
"I told you to leave me alone! You aren't to touch me! Why do you hurt my Blood so? The Dawn-Kins never said or did anything to you...let me be! Let me complete my training!" There was a cackle, and Adi spun around.
"The Dawn-Kins is what stops me from flying forth, to victory! I want to become a Sith Lord...but I cannot, as you are barring my way. Your...your purpose...is to stop me, to turn me back...but I will never go your way! In fact, I want you to come with me...side by side we shall rule over that hideous Skywalker." Adi backed away from the space, pointing a finger.
"Never, you hear me! Never. I am a Jedi, as my sister was, as my mother was, as my adopted father is! You shall never measure up to their greatness, to the Skywalkers' greatness! It is always good that wins in the end. Remember that, Iddyl!" He laughed his hollow laughter again.
"Ah, my dear friend, that's where you're wrong! I shall defeat you, or turn you. You have been defeated easily once; I shall do it again!" She shook her head.
"No! I am a Jedi! I shall never turn! And if I die someday, you shall die with me!" He laughed again, the harsh cawing ringing in her ears.
"Bold words for a coward! You shall fail, and I guarantee that..." he disappeared, and Adi sat down hard on the temple roof. She looked to the stars, unaware of Ben's presence.
"Why, A'lianne, did you go after him? Why did you not return? You were greater than he...yet he defeated you. Shall this happen to me, too?" A'lianne's ghost appeared, sitting next to her. Her ghost was wearing a Jedi's tunic, cloak and belt, with its lightsaber still hanging off it. She was as beautiful as her younger sibling, her light grey eyes shining with some inner light. Her ghost, through slightly transparent, stood out against the dark night.
"Sister, you have called what I am now to your side. What is it you ask?" Adi looked up at her.
"Two question, A'lianne. My first: why did you go after him, why were you defeated?" A'lianne, her perfect features creasing into a smile, patted her sister's shoulder with a ghostly hand.
"Ah, dear Adi, that was two questions!" Adi sighed.
"Please, no jokes, I must know..." A'lianne's eyes went to the roof.
"Very well then...all I can say is that question is beyond my ability to answer. Yes, what did happen? I remember his lightsaber...and I remembered a flash of blue light...and then, nothing. I saw my body on the ground...and, I felt myself scream. Now, your second?" Adi, pain trapped in her eyes, held back sudden tears.
"Oh, that memory...but enough of my wailing. My second question is how does Iddyl manage to follow me like that? What is he doing? Has he killed himself?" A'lianne got up, hands resting on her belt.
"Ah, a question I can answer. He does it while meditating. He lets his spirit wander, and yet it's still anchored to his body, somehow. He can go where evil once reigned...and the temple you stand on used to house a dark Jedi. Is that a sufficient answer for you? I must be leaving now...to where other Jedi spirits go, I suppose. Farewell for now, little sister..." the ghost faded like the gentle winds that blew around her. Adi spent time alone, her eyes finally brimming over.
"And," she whispered, "Why am I the last?" She turned away to face the moons that glowed in the sky, head resting on her knees. She felt a gentle hand on her shoulder, and jumped. "Oh, Master Ben..." she hid her face. "Please, don't...I don't want you to see me like this. It's nothing..." Ben nodded.
"I know all, Adi. If...if it hurts you, then I'll leave you be. But if you need anything, just come to me, okay?" Adi nodded. She watched him go. They were only a year apart, her the younger, yet he seemed so wise...no. It would never be...not with him. She turned back to the skies, and then down the stony steps of the temple. For now, to bed. But the dreams...the nightmares...the memories...they would return.
And they did. Adi, upon closing her eyes, found herself crouching outside the Sith Temple in the murky undergrowth of Dusk. Beside her, was her larger-than-life best friend, Iddyl Jun. She was thirteen, or was it twelve? He was smiling, she noticed, in the damp darkness. She fingered her lightsaber with numb hands, and reached out and touched him. His skin was icily cold, and she cried out, drawing her hand back sharply.
"Iddyl! You're freezing cold! Hey, where're you going?" Her friend pointed at the Temple.
"C'mon, it can't be as bad as A'lianne says. You aren't chicken, are you?" He teased, grinning at her, dirt smudged across his face. He tossed his thick black fringe out of his face, hands on his hips. Adi stepped backwards.
"No, Iddyl. You can't go in there – it's full of Dark spirits, you heard A'lianne. Let's go home, and we can catch Dusk-lizards. Please?" She was pleading with him now, her face masked with unhappiness. Iddyl frowned.
"Catching Dusk-lizards is boring. I'm gonna go in, with you or without." She remained crouched in the damp for hours, until A'lianne came looking for her.
"Adi! What're you doing here? I told you..." she grabbed her sister's hand, weeping bitterly.
"A'lianne, he went in! I told him not to, and he's...he's..." A'lianne shook her head and pulled the protesting Adi away, and they didn't speak of it again.
The image dissolved from her view, and another appeared. She was standing inside the Temple, her gaze fixed on the two figures fighting with lightsabers on the ground below, as she was standing on a ledge. Could it be?
"A'lianne!" She cried, stretching her fingers out to her sister. Her sister didn't hear. She had her teeth gritted, her lightsaber flickering in the dark. Green met red again and again as the lightsabers clashed. She felt the hatred from the one fighting her. But...it wasn't Iddyl, it couldn't be...
"You may be older but you are weak!" He cried, throwing her back. She screamed, her back crunching against the stone behind her. She staggered up again, fighting again.
"A'lianne! Watch out!" The words fell upon deaf ears; she was merely the witness of an apparition of the past. There was an evil, hollow laugh...and then a brilliant flash of blue, and a shriek. She was on the ground, still. The lightning flew from the dark Jedi's fingers, paralysing her...but she didn't move. She lay still on the ground...and the scream rang in Adi's ears, stretching to the ends of time...
The image faded, and then came another. She was crouched in the wet grass again – but this time, she was older. Her lightsaber was clutched in her hands, trembling. She could feel his presence inside, his presence – and she would have to find him. She got up, and stepped cautiously inside. Gingerly, she made her way through the stone corridors of the Sith, pausing here and there to guess the route. And, when she had reached her destination, an amazing sight stood before her. It was more horrifying than amazing, however; it was a huge stone cavern, with a pit in the middle, strange silvery-grey forms swirling around inside it. On these forms, she caught faces, frozen with horror or pain. And, behind the pit, stood Iddyl Jun.
"So you came, at last, did you? My friend, you've no idea what I've discovered! The dark side is...is amazing. And don't tell me it's engulfed me, because if you do, you're wrong. I can control it. Yes, and I can bend it unto my will! Observe." A mynock, fluttering from one of the corridors, drew too close to Iddyl, and in an instant, was vaporised by a fast lightning bolt. He turned back to Adi. "Oh, Adi...you don't know the things I've seen! Why don't...yes, why don't you join me? It would be the greatest, Adi! Two Jedi, in control of the Universe! What do you say?" She took a step back.
"No. I will not turn. I have come to brought you back, Iddyl." A cackle came from Iddyl Jun's mouth.
"You honestly believe that I'll turn back to that pathetic side? If that's the way you want things to be...then die!" His lightsaber flashed on with a snap-hiss, as he raised the red blade to strike. It was met by the white-blue of Adi's as she blocked the blow. They danced a dance of Death across the floor, lightsabers flashing in the dark. Then, Iddyl raised his hands...and threw her back. Again and again, pain lanced through her every time she hit the stone rock. Weak...dying...her knees buckled, and she fell. But, as she fell, there was a flash of yellow. Father. There was a yell, and blackness...
Adi woke up in a cold sweat, staring out the window at the feathery-clouded dawn. She rolled out of bed, groaning. She fingered her cheek for the scar, that fatal scar she was given the night she was thrown back, and defeated...she sobbed softly, burying her face in her arched knees, her hands clasped around them.
"Oh, A'lianne," she whispered. "I should never have let you go, I should never have let him go..." but A'lianne didn't appear at her weeping, nor did Iddyl or Kyle. She was alone. She decided, now that the dawn had come, she would go for a long walk to be isolated with her thoughts. A time to reflect and remember.
She brushed against the damp leaves of the daybreak, pushing branches aside with the Force. Finding a quiet waterfall, she sat at the edge on the wet rocks and dipped her feet into the clear pool by it, before splashing water over her face. She heard laughter somewhere from the school, children's laughter. The lessons were probably beginning, but she doubted they'd come over here. Besides, she could feel their presence far off from here. It was a gift of hers; whether somebody was an inch away or hundreds of miles away, she could feel their presence.
She heard someone rustling through the trees, and she got up quickly. She relaxed; it was Kyle.
"Good morning, Adi. I hope you had a good night's rest..." her eyes met his in a gesture of don't ask.' "Oh. Well, I did, if that makes you feel better. Nice place you found here." He sat beside her, leaning close, dropping his voice to a whisper. "It was the memories again?" She nodded once. She didn't feel like talking. "And...he spoke to you before you went to bed, didn't he?" She nodded again. Once. He leaned back and sighed. "You know that if you stand up to him, you won't have to listen. Just remember that you have me...and your sister's spirit with you, and your mother's spirit. And remember that, as Darth Vader was turned, and as I was turned, you can turn him back too." He gathered himself and left silently, leaving her alone again.
"Then if it's that simple," she whispered, "Why does he resist so?" She dipped her foot one last time, before resuming her walk. She then took a trek up the hills, and round the forest edge. She breathed in the fresh air, and then walked up another hill. This one towered over the forest, and in the distance, she could see the temples. She sat down for a moment, the breeze lifting her hair like silk.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" Ben's voice startled her. Funny, she thought, I didn't feel his presence. She looked up at him and managed a smile.
"Yes, I suppose so," she answered, a little doubtful. Ben raised an enquiring eyebrow.
"You suppose so? Why the hesitation in your voice?" He can read me already, she thought, amused. She couldn't feel any direct feelings from him. All she felt was...a feeling of peace, and sympathy...and a little excitement. Hm, wonder why, she mused.
"It's...I can't really talk about it," she mumbled, turning her face away. He sat down beside her, leaning forwards. He does look like his father, she observed, mentally.
"If it's about...about him..." he said, softly. Roth, he reads me like a book! She suddenly felt it would be perfectly all right to talk about it with him.
"It's...I'll tell you, I can trust you, Ben." She said, carefully. "You see..." she explained everything, from her past to her talk with Iddyl Jun (that he had seen already, though she didn't know it), the memories that were replaying in her mind, the way she had unconsciously witnessed her sister's death...and Ben listened calmly, nodding now and then. There was a long silence. He reached out and touched her shoulder.
"If you want...I'll help you through it. If it's a Sith Temple, Adi, then it's my duty to destroy it." His words were spoken slowly, as if with uncertainty. Just what I need, she conceived. All right then, Master Jedi, you've got a deal.
"I...I would like that a lot," said the younger, smiling. Good one, nice words. No need to upset him with scorn, is there? Ben smiled and stood up, brushing the dirt off his tunic.
"All right then. I'll see you later, then? Come down to the praxeum main hall when you're ready." With that, he sauntered down the hill. She stood up, hand resting on her belt. Have I made the right decision? She pondered, running a hand through her soft hair. It fell almost automatically on her shoulders, resting there. Maybe I shouldn't have pulled him into this...what if something happens and I'm responsible? She shook her head. No, he's the son of Luke Skywalker and if anything happens to him, then he'll get out of it. No, I'll get him out of it. She hurried down the hill after him, calling his name.
When they arrived, they found everybody crowded round Luke, Chief-of-State Leia, his sister, and Han Solo along with Chewbacca, his faithful Wookie companion who owed him a life-debt. In between them was a man with a slightly yellow tinge to his face, his dark hair damp with sweat. The Jedi twins and Anakin were ashen-faced, as they stood in the front of the crowd.
"What's happening?" She whispered to Jaina, standing by her side. Jaina turned her pale face towards her.
"There was an attempted assassination on my mother, but she stopped it, being the good Jedi she is. The assassin is one of those in the ways of the Force, Adi! They found that out." She replied, shaking her head. "Who, in all the galaxies, would do such a shameful crime? Uncle- sorry, Master Skywalker is questioning him now." Luke was staring into the man's dark eyes, frowning, his eyes clamped on the chair arms.
"I'll ask you again, friend. Who are you?" The man stared up at him with his resonant, inert eyes. Adi could feel no emotion from the man...but the way he looked seemed...familiar. Yellowish skin...what planet was that?
"I cannot answer you, Master," stammered the man, his voice as dead as his eyes. Han's hand rested on his blaster as if he were to draw it any minute, but Leia shot him a look. Chewie grunted and Han restrained him. Luke sighed.
"You had a poisoned blade on you as well as a Force pike. You are obviously gifted in ways of the Force. Why use them on skills such as these?" The man, again, gave the same, barren answer.
"I cannot answer you, Master." Adi then knew. She pushed her way through the crowd. The man blanched white, a strange noise that sounded between a squeak and a splutter came from his lips. "Dawn-Kin!" Her eyes went to Luke's face, and he nodded.
"You...you are one of his assassins, are you not?" Her eyes had gone cold; Ben felt a wave of grief, and something else that he couldn't describe but could supposedly relate to the painful memories she held. The man choked, his eyes holding pure fear.
"Dawn-Kin!" He sobbed through his fear-numbed lips. "D-don't kill me!" He wailed, closing his eyes in terror.
"You are his own, aren't you?" She hissed again, this time her face hovering a few inches from his. He nodded, obviously terrified.
"Yes," he whispered. "Don't kill me...I am one of his people!" She leaned away, pain lancing through her scar. Yes, this man was one of his cruel kind.
"And your name?" He opened his eyes, slowly.
"He gave me my name, Mistress. My name...my name is Hammer..." he said, stumbling over words. The man sobbed again. Adi glanced one last time at Luke, and then the others, before making her way outside, where she would be left alone in peace. It wasn't the most comfortable experience, but at least they knew something. Ben stared after her, before looking pleadingly at his father. Luke nodded, and he pushed his way after her.
"That was one of the...strangest..." he said, delicately, "Questionings I've ever seen." Kyle was about to go after the pair as well, but Luke stopped him.
"I think that we should let them be alone," he said, softly.
"Adi?" Adi looked up at Ben with her reddened eyes from her dormitory. She turned her face away.
"No...Ben...leave me, please...I didn't want to do that...I would never want to strike fear into anybody, ever...yet, when he saw me, it was like he was staring at Death itself! I didn't want him to-" she broke off. Ben crouched by her.
"Adi? What's wrong?" From her lips, strange words emerged, as though she were in a trance. Her eyes were shut as the words spilled out, tears being squeezed out of the corners.
"The last of her Blood,
The Dark ones rejoice
She shall turn
Or die, her choice
But she shall fail
And they shall fall
To the Dark ones' hands
And she's the last of them all
Fail she shall
At the hands of her friend
When she comes
She meets her end
Turn she shall!
Written in prophecies aged,
What we can ensure
Is, eventually, she and her Blood all shall fade
And you should know,
The time she comes will be the time we're waiting for!"
Adi opened her eyes, and said,
"Now do you understand, Ben?" Ben sat on the edge of her bed, only then realising the extent of her once-friend's powers.
"Yes, I do, Adi," he said, quietly. "Why don't you go for a walk? Or, perhaps I'll talk my father into taking you to Corescant. I think it would let you relax a bit, and you can see it for yourself." He placed a gentle arm about her shoulders and steered her out of her dorm.
"Corescant? Why?" Luke looked up at his son, stretching through his mind through the Force. Ben grinned.
"I suggested it to her, Dad. Just so she can see it for herself." Luke seemed doubtful, raising an eyebrow at his son.
"Then I guess I shouldn't ask, huh?" He said, smiling. Ben leaned back in his chair.
"Yeah...but I want to show it to her. She's so...disturbed. It was only a night ago that she woke up with the terrible memories in her mind, and she spoke to his floating form. Away from here, he won't find her." Luke hesitated. They should be concentrating on the problem...he shrugged.
"If that's what to do, Ben, then I guess I'm fine with it." Ben smiled and turned for the door.
"If you need me, Dad, call me...I think we'll take the Falcon and the Firebird." With that, he disappeared out of the room. His smile was fixed on his face...Adi would soon be realising the meaning of happiness once again after five long years.
À À À À À À
Adi steered the Firebird towards Corescant, Kyle her co-pilot, as usual. She flashed a grin at him at the sight of the large planet. Her eyes reflected the flickering screens in front of her. She narrowed her eyes for a minute in thought.
"Adi? You okay?" Asked her father, tilting his head sideways. Adi nodded.
"I...I dunno, it's just one of those feelings of nervousness you get before you go someplace new, I guess." Oh, come on. You really think that he'll go with that? You're not only lying to yourself, you're lying to Dad here too! Kyle raised an eyebrow, but didn't push to question.
"All right then, strap in. We're goin' for the landing!" His hands rested on the joystick, gently steering it downwards towards the planet below.
"This is the Falcon, we're just requesting permission for you guys to land," came a voice over the comm-link, who Adi recognised was Jacen's. "Wait a sec...check! Okay, land at the following coordinates and we'll meet you there." Jacen signed off, and then there was silence again. They watched the Corellian ship disappear through the planet's clouds, and the followed suit. Adi then felt a sense of something evil once reining here...
"Adi, I feel it too. But remember, the Emperor is long gone." Adi nodded numbly, pressing various buttons on the control panel. The Firebird tilted, on its new course. Adi gasped in awe at the beautiful Imperial City, with its towering buildings and elegance. Ships dipped in and out of platforms and bridges leading from building to building, people hustling across the busy skywalks.
"I knew it would be overwhelming, but this...this is beyond all words!" Kyle pointed at the Imperial Palace that they were nearing by the second.
"And that's the Imperial Palace, Adi! This is amazing. You won't get this back in Amaroth." They landed outside the Palace, on the guests' landing pads. When they landed and got down the ramp outside, Ben and the others were eagerly waiting to show them around. Han Solo, and Leia following after, appeared from the entrance, smiling.
"Kyle, welcome to Corescant! Would you like to come with us, and let em explore alone? We have a whole lot to talk about!" He said, grinning. Leia smiled, and embraced him.
"It's been very long, but you still run strong!" She chuckled, as they disappeared through the main doors. Ben grabbed Adi by the wrist, gesturing to a waiting speeder.
"C'mon, we'll show you the city!" Adi, laughing for the first time in months, followed. See-Threepio was standing in the front, waving stiffly.
"I believe, according to Master Anakin, that I shall be your tour guide." Anakin nodded, seating himself at the controls beside Jacen. Artoo-Deetoo made a rude sound, and the gold droid ignored him. "Very well then, we shall begin with the Imperial Palace. Originally used for the Empire three decades ago..."
They toured the city, viewing the whole palace, the streets, the markets and various landmarks, as well as reviewing the history long before the Empire existed. Adi couldn't stop laughing at all with the excitement, the smiles on their faces, the way they played jokes on Threepio, teasing him and breaking in between his lines, Artoo adding the occasional rude remark. She was holding her stomach as Threepio concluded his tour.
"And that, Miss Katarn-Dawn-Kin, was the tour of Corescant." Adi fell silent at the word Dawn-Kin'. She lowered her eyes, then raised them again in joy.
"Thank you, that was amazing! Never before have I been so...so thrilled. Thank you again!"
As evening approached, Leia demanded that they spend the night there before continuing. She said they had been under too much stress and should relax in the palace. Adi, breathless, couldn't have been happier. Kyle reluctantly agreed, going back with Han and Chewie to one of the bars in the city. The evening came, reddish skies chased by rose-hued clouds, with delicate shades of peach running across the buildings. Adi stood at the top of the palace, viewing the city before her. How can such a beautiful city hide the fact that the Emperor once used it? She wondered, leaning on the balcony railings.
"It hid it because of the good people who restored the New Republic," said Ben, behind her. She spun around. She hadn't expected him to come. By now, the skies were tinted with violet and dark blue, the clouds now a gentle lilac.
"Oh...Ben! I didn't expect you..." Ben chuckled, and stood beside her, leaning on the railings as well.
"I usually come up here when visiting...it feels refreshing, you know. All you have to do is allow the breezes to run over you." Adi closed her eyes, the winds lifting her hair.
"Mm," she answered, smiling. Ben stepped closer to her. Her heart began to thud in her chest. What's wrong with me? She thought. Calm down! She opened her eyes and looked up at him. "Ben...how did the Emperor die? Did your father kill him, or..." Ben nodded.
"My grandfather did, Adi. My father turned him back to the Light side, and proved the good in him. He threw him over the railings. And then my aunt Leia and my father defeated the resurrected Emperor by combining their strengths." Adi nodded, turning her attention back to the darkening sky.
"Corescant is very beautiful. You should be proud of it; it's your home." She sighed. "Amaroth was never really a home to me. I could never get used to the piles of sand and dead-end life there. People were always...always grateful for what they had, because what they did have wasn't much. But most who lived off well didn't care...those people were the ones who wanted us Jedi dead. They're the ones who spoke to the Patriarch, and so were the oracles. Supposedly they could use the Force themselves, but my father and I knew they weren't. They feared that we would give them away, so they told the old man that we shouldn't be trusted. In the beginning, it was fine, but after..." she broke off.
"Enough of my ramblings. I...I'm sorry, I just wasn't happy there." Ben stepped another inch closer. Adi felt blood rushing to her cheeks.
"Adi, that doesn't really matter anymore, does it? I mean, you've got this far, why think in the past?" Adi flared unexpectedly, her eyes darkening.
"Why? Because my life is the past, Ben! My sister was in the past, and if I forget the past, I forget her, and the sacrifice she made for me! My best friend was in the past, and he still plagues me! Kyle was in the past, yet he still stands up for me! My whole life revolves around the past!" She turned away, blushing, tears rolling down her cheeks. "Forgive me...I shouldn't have spoken to you that way...I'm so sorry..." Ben cut her off, pressing his lips to hers in a warm kiss. How long they stood like that, Adi didn't know, but she felt a surge of happiness rise from within her. Embarrassed, Ben turned away.
"Um, I'll go to my room now," he mumbled, heading towards the way down. Adi, cheeks burning, ran after him to catch up, and he slipped his arm around her waist.
Dawn came, with the sun bright and butter-laced clouds hanging in the warm air. Adi breathed in happily, Ben coming up behind her and putting an arm around her shoulders.
"Are we going back to Yavin 4 today?" She asked, feeling the warm rays on her face. Ben squeezed her, and smiled.
"We are. And from there we'll decide what to do." When they entered the main lobby, Jacen flashed a grin at him and made a thumbs-up sign. Great going, cuz! He thought to Ben, nudging Jaina and Anakin. He basically the same reaction from then, and when the time came to depart, they embraced Leia and Han before setting off, grasping Chewie's paw in turn. Adi squeezed Ben's hand and whispered, "I'll have to go with my dad in the Firebird. Don't worry, I'll follow you." Ben understood, and walked with his cousins to the Falcon. Adi and Kyle strapped in, Kyle almost immediately reading her thoughts without actually reading them.
"So...uh...how was...? I mean, what did you learn...about...?" Adi grinned.
"Oh, he's...he's very calm," she replied. "He promised...he promised that he would help me." Kyle turned his attention back to the viewport in front of them, before attending to the controls.
"All right, we'd better set off, then. Who would've thought it...you and Ben?" She shoved him playfully.
"Oh, leave me alone! Didn't you ever feel like that?" Kyle had a faraway, misty look in his eyes.
"Oh, once," he replied, gently.
An hour into the flight, a few systems didn't seem to be working. Adi frowned, glancing up at her father.
"Uh...I think there's something up with the Bird," she said, slowly. "She's not responding to some of my commands..." she pressed the comm-link to make contact with the Millennium Falcon, but received no replies. "How odd," she muttered. "Dad, I'm gonna go and check out the communications...I think there's something wrong with it." She got up out of her seat, opening the cabin door – and she leapt back with surprise, her Jedi senses detecting danger. A Force Assassin stood there, blood dripping from his mouth, a wry grin on his face. He pointed the Force pike in his hands at her, drooling.
"At lassst, I shall pleassse the Massster," he hissed, stressing his s's. "And, little Jedi, your ssystemsss will fail you, I have ssseen to that." Adi drew her lightsaber.
"Father...stay there..." the cabin lights dimmed to the emergency red tint, the systems shutting down.
"Only your transmisssion ssysstem will work," he hissed, "And your friendsss can hear you ssscream, but you can't hear them cry," he said, his grin twisting more. "I ssay now that I shall die, but you shall die with me!" He lunged, and there was a snap-hiss and a yell. The assassin drove the pike into the systems, missing Adi, and she managed to slice the tip off. Kyle joined in, raising his lightsaber, striking at the intruder. He was able to score the assassin's skin, and his side. The other screamed, falling with a thud as they finished him off. They breathed slowly, staring at the dead figure on the floor.
"Where did he get the...blood...from?" Adi asked quietly, staring at the bloody corpse. Kyle shrugged.
"I don't know...and I don't want to know. Adi, where're we going?" Adi checked the computer screens.
"It says...K'fiyanne, the ice planet. But...why there? We have to tell the others somehow! The Bird will crash down there, because the systems won't allow me to control it." Kyle sighed.
"Adi, the escape pod only holds one person, right?" Adi nodded. "Go, then. I'll stay..." Adi shook her head.
"Father, you go. You've done so much for me-" Kyle narrowed his eyes at her.
"No, Adi! It's either you go or stay. But I'm staying." Adi sighed.
"Fine, then. Sit there, I'll go see what I can do." Kyle, sitting in the pilot's seat, was unaware that Adi was creeping up behind him with a bar of metal in her hand. When she struck, it was too late. She dragged his unconscious form to the escape pod, preparing it for jettison. "Sorry," she whispered, "But I can't let you stay...but thanks for offering. In times like these, it's better to be alone. Thanks for everything." She tossed the recording inside with him before sealing it and letting it go flying towards the Millennium Falcon that was veering away from her. She sighed, and slumped down in the seat. It looked like she was going to crash down on K'fiyanne.
Meanwhile, on the Falcon, they had everything from the talk Adi and Kyle had, to the assassin's words, to the fight and the sickening thud, before there was nothing more but static. Ben, fearing for Adi's life, demanded that they follow the Firebird. By the time he spoke, it had already gone into hyperspace. Frustrated, he threw himself against the wall and sobbed at the loss of Adi. Jaina touched his arm.
"Wait," she said, "There's something out there...it's an escape pod! Quick, we have to tractor it in!" There was the hum as Jacen activated the beam, pulling the tiny object towards them. Anakin went to retrieve it, arriving a while later with Kyle's comatose form. Not Adi's.
"I can guess what happened," Anakin said, quietly. "They must've fought about who was going in the escape pod; Adi won, as I can see, at a price." Ben, his eyes watering, looked through the viewport.
"Then where's Adi now?"
