Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters. Thank you for all of the reviews. I especially appreciate those reviews that are positive. Constructive criticism is fine. Unprovoked flames are not held in as high esteem, but if that's your way of raising your own self-esteem, knock yourself out. Again, remember I wrote this a while ago, and it is not my greatest writing. Also, this chapter is in stream of consciousness, so that's why it is a bit, er, stream of consciousness.

Jaina bit her lip and glanced at Jacen. They were sitting in Jaina's chambers in the midst of tools and half-dissembled bits of machinery. Jacen was holding a stump lizard, petting its shimmering scales. Listlessly, Jaina picked up a hydrospanner and began fiddling with an optic sensor of a former droid. Jacen sighed and spoke up.

"Jaina, there is something seriously wrong here. Uncle Luke never acts like this. He's too cut off. When something bothers him, he usually tells us all."

"Have you thought about it, Jacen? Really thought it through?"

"What do you mean?"

"Think like Uncle Luke. Systematically. Have you sensed a disturbance in the Force?"

Jacen was about the shake his head when it happened.

A searing feeling rushed through his brain, isolating him, taunting him. An evil voice laughed in triumph and a single voice screamed in agonizing pain. Not physical, emotional.

No! Jacen wanted to yell. There is no emotion, there is peace!

His lips formed the words, but nothing came out. He realized he was gasping for breath. There was a loss. An indescribable loss. It was horrible, awful, and he couldn't pinpoint what had been lost. He could only see red, black-red—the color of anger.

But anger leads to hate! He still couldn't speak. All he heard was the two voices, one triumphant, one losing.

Then it was over. And the voice screaming had been his own. And worse, the incredible, indescribable loss had been Jaina.

Leia Organa Solo finally had a moment of peace. A moment without badgering representatives, chatty droids, and all of the other annoyances that the Chief of State had to put up with constantly. Best of all, as she sat there on the edge of her bed, Han came in.

"Han!" It was extremely rare that they both took a break from the schedules of their busy days.

Han Solo came over and hugged his wife fiercely.

"Good to see you once it a while," he said, grinning.

"Yes," she responded, laughing.

Then it struck her. She sat up rigidly, a wave of nausea hitting her stomach, doubling her over. A child screamed, over and over. Another child screamed once, a short, cut off yell of pain. Then the second child was silent. But the first continued, screaming and crying.

The nausea hit her again, and she burst into tears, oblivious to Han's frantic questioning.

"Leia, Leia, honey, what is it? What?"

She pulled through the haze of pain. "A dis-disturbance in the Force. And our children were in the center of it."

Han pulled back, away from her. "No," he whispered. "They're okay, Leia. They're okay. Luke promised that he'd—" But he couldn't convince himself. He'd thought that the Force was some kind of hokey religious thing, but he'd overcome that and knew better than to ignore it when his wife said there was a disturbance.

"Han, we have to go to Yavin 4."

"Are the kids okay?"

"I don't know. I don't know. I really don't."

"I'm calling Luke."

After shooing Artoo from his office, Luke sighed and sat down. The twins were causing him no end grief. He just couldn't tell them the truth. He was learning to accept it himself.

The Empire was still in existence.

Still there. Hiding. Waiting. For what? What could possibly be so important that they had waited all these years? Their Emperor was dead. Was killed by Luke's own father, in fact. And yet a large group of Imperials was out there, at the far reaches of the galaxy, biding their time.

But the New Republic had found them. Spies had penetrated the thick curtain that the Empire was hiding behind. He didn't know the details, but then, no one did. All they knew was that it was there. Still.

Luke shook his head gently, stretched his arms out and then folded them, closing his eyes, running through a few Jedi relaxation techniques.

There is no emotion; there is peace.

There is no ignorance; there is knowledge.

There is no passion; there is serenity.

There is no death; there is the Force.

He opened his eyes again and stood up. Just to be knocked flat on his back by an unseen force. His head slammed against the floor and he opened his eyes to see a blurry, faint shadow standing over him. He couldn't make out any identifying features. It was purely a shadow. Some species he wasn't familiar with at all. Or maybe it was another Jedi. A bad one. It was laughing. Evilly. Luke pulled himself backwards, away from the cruel shadow. Then everything went black.

Through the blackness came a scream, and another, sharper. They roared through his head, strangling his mind. The twins. More screaming. Pain. Leia needed him. Jaina's screams stopped, cut off abruptly, but Jacen's continued. Pain, darkness, evil, anger, emotion. Luke shivered, and the screaming, pain, and suffering faded away as Luke completely lost consciousness.