Disclaimer: See prologue.
Thanks: To Jo Jo and Obi-WansPadawan for betaing this for me.
Author's Notes: Important: Yes, I know that the stormtroopers are the clones in Attack of the Clones, but now they are coming before that. I wouldn't do that to the trilogy unless it was important to the plotline.
Fire's Passion: Chapter 1: Hunted
In the vision he may come,
To a vision he may pass,
In a blaze of which he's from,
To a destiny that will surpass.
A force known by few,
Will come to define,
The fortune of two,
That will intertwine.
Thy souls divide,
But presences are still felt,
By the rules they do not abide,
For as long as they have dwelt.
The prophet awoke before the morning light,
As the one slowly falls into the dark,
Their paths cross into the night,
The key being in the Keeper's mark….
Lyon shot up out of his fading sleep as the last line of the prophecy repeated itself over and over again. It had been a long time since he had had a prophetic dream about himself. A very long time indeed. The air around him shimmered to the trained eye. Lyon shuddered AT the thought of his destiny being tied to another's. If destiny wanted him, it was going to be in for a rough ride.
After refreshing himself, Lyon stared into the mirror to find out just what had become of him. Piercing green eyes glared back at him as his wet, chestnut brown hair fell into his eyes. As wild as it may be, his hair had to be cut every month or so. His pocketknife WAS useful in many ways, after all. Shaking his head, he went about dressing in his usual simple attire. His boots were caked in the mud that he had traveled through yesterday to enter the city gates.
A light frost had covered the ground, Lyon noted as he stepped outside of his small shelter. Yavin truly lived up to its name as the 'planet of life'. Squirrellets scattered around the rivers, breaking the ice for a quick drink, and casa birds hopped from tree to tree as the dawn approached. He hadn't meant to stay on the planet for more than a few weeks, but those weeks had soon turned into months, and he still hadn't left. Besides, the money was good here, and no trouble had arisen as of yet.
Signs of Warning
He entered the newly built door to his employer's hut. It was on the outskirts of Nazda, and a safe distance away in case of future problems. The Kylarien greeted him with a smile and an errand.
"Lyon, I need you to take this to the pub on Cross Corner. It seems as if we might have some unexpected company later," his employer ordered with a malicious glint in his coal black eyes.
Lyon didn't quite notice these warning signs as he answered, "Yes, milord. I'll be back on the nigh." He accepted the package from Carleen, and backtracked out the door. Most shops weren't open until noon, but the pub was a whole 'nother story.
"Hurry back! You don't know what they'll do to ya if you're late," Carleen shouted after him. "It's me you're talking about here. I'll be back as soon as I can," Lyon threw over his shoulder as he broke into a brisk jog.
Warning bells should have went off at the 'they' Carleen had mentioned, but Lyon passed it off as the unexpected company he would soon meet. How right he was. The morning light was just starting to shine down upon the stone path and few people were up and about as he entered the gates to the inner city. With the package under his right arm, Lyon rounded the corner to Cross Corner, only to stop dead in his tracks.
Screams of Fear
Stormtroopers were ransacking the stores, dragging the residents out by their forearms. Most were still in their sleepware, or were only half-conscious. Hoping he hadn't been seen yet, he ducked into the nearest alley. Fires lighted the narrow streets of Cross Corner, and the residents' screams of fear and pain pierced his ears. More than once he had run-ins with stormtroopers, but not of this magnitude. He also knew their methods of torture well, since he had almost been subjected to several kinds of it.
He had neither the strength nor power to flush out the well-known enemies. Twenty or thirty he could easily handle with a weapon. Fifty, he could not even begin to handle. Torn between saving the lives of the innocent, and fulfilling his employer's errand, Lyon broke into a dead run towards the pub's back door. The innocent's screams followed him at every turn he took, echoing inside the walls of his mind.
Luckily, the back alleys had yet to be found, and he entered through the back entrance of the pub. Hearing voices floating through the 'Employees Only' door, he stopped and put his ear on the door. "The package will be here soon, Milord. The errand boy is trustworthy enough, by most standards," Tom, the old bartender, gasped out as if in a death grip. A dark shadow passed over his mind, and he shuddered from the evil he felt there.
"He had better be trustworthy. Both of your pathetic lives depend on it," a general of the soon-to-be Empire spat out. Lyon's eyes widened in panic as he scrambled back out the back door. His employer's words finally sunk into his brain and hit rock bottom. "It seems as if we might have some unexpected guests later on." It must have happened sooner than later, Lyon thought dryly.
Betrayed and hunted again.
Getting back to the small shelter proved to be more than challenging. The only way that wasn't guarded by more than six stormtroopers was the rooftops. It wasn't the safest or fastest way to go normally, but he didn't have much of a choice. He cursed himself mentally for not having a weapon as he was spotted. Things just got a little more complicated then as several started shooting at him.
Since he didn't see anything that resembled a weapon in sight, he was forced to use techniques he had learned from Anakin's training and the street fighting he had taught himself. Lyon waited until the nearest one tried to land a punch on him, before sweeping the feet out from under the stormtrooper and getting a hold of the stormtroopers blaster. It felt naturally to him as he aimed at the closest stormtroopers and fired.
Two fell immediately and three soon followed. Jumping off the last rooftop, his mind ran wild with thoughts of betrayal. Landing as agile as a cat, he ran blindly for the trees. In his shelter, he grabbed everything he would need to relocate elsewhere. Throwing his short supply of necessities in a large bag, he hurried past the terrified animals. He dragged his belongings towards the back of the rocks near his old shelter.
With a thought, the door to his small X-Wing sprung open so that he could jump inside. Blaster bolts followed him through the door while he started the ship up. Having worked on it for the last few months, it purred like a kitten. He was long gone before any enemy ship could be deployed.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the galaxy……
Fourteen-year-old bowed before the holo image of Master Yoda. He was happy enough now that he could move objects at least three feet with his mind, but his joy sometimes led to disrespecting his elders by accident. "Tell Master Obi Wan, go to Yavin immediately, he must. Reinforcements will be there soon, they will," Yoda's voice floated in the air. "Yes, Master Yoda," Anakin said passively, and bowed once.
The image was cut off as he left the room to find his mentor and friend. Anakin finally found himself inside of the training room. Not wanting to disturb him, Anakin waited as Obi Wan slowly came out of his deep trance. "What is it, my young padawan?" Obi Wan asked as he cracked one eye open. "Master Yoda says that we are needed in Yavin immediately," Anakin answered as he ran a hand through his short, blonde hair. "Then by all accounts, set course for Yavin."
Author's Notes: I guess I'll just have to bring in the Jedi Council next chapter. Hope you liked, and I'll be seeing you soon. Review please! Ja ne ~Insane Pineapple from Naboo