Title: Why The Force Not?
Author: Adra Loran, with comments and help from NicolaAfyon (see below)
Disclaimer: I'd first off like to give praise to George Lucas and his amazingness with Star Wars. If everyone could please join me in a moment of silence? *Room goes silent* Thank you! Now, onward! Second, I'd like to make it known that all of this stuff did happen in a role playing game called the Core Worlds - - that is based on the one and only, Star Wars Universe! And lastly, I'd like to also make it known that, while she didn't actually help me write the story itself, NicolaAfyon has played a big part in it, mainly because she plays at The Core Worlds. Her characters include [but are not limited to] Nicola, Bror, Face, Tyria Tainer, Kell Tainer, Mirax Halcyon, Jagged Fel, Wedge Antilles, and Wes Janson.
Author's Comments: Thank you now for reading and putting up with my ramble! With a last author's note, I'd like to say that the rating on this story is liable to change. And if you'd like different points of view on this story and events that have yet to be 'published' in my story, look up NicolaAfyon and read 'Don't Mess With A Wraith' and 'One Question, but how to Ask?'

Chapter One – Adra Tallon

Adra paced absently in her room in Wraith headquarters. She knew through the Force that Nicola was down in the lounge with her Jedi Master, Bror, and Gaeriel was debating with Cloud and Vana over a useless topic. Jade was off doing her own thing, of course, and Kell was talking with his sister, Tyria. Thracia wasn't even on this side of Coruscant; she was on the Jedi Council and had a meeting today. Asyr was reading a datapad in her own room; and Face...

Adra sighed mentally, making sure she was using the Force to block any of her thoughts providing 'free information'. Garik, the Face, Loran was head of Wraith squadron and, consequently, also the person she found herself in love with. Although Jedi technically weren't supposed to marry, the New Order was much more lax on the rules. They had allowed Jedi Master Luke Skywalker to marry ex-Sith Tahiri Daragon. Not only did he marry her, the two of them had three children... one of whom married and their only son dating Vana Sage.

Leia Organa Solo, however, was a different story. Not only was she married with four children, one of them- Jacen to be precise- had married ex-Sith Celtic Wesell. Celtic and Jacen now had three children of their own- in similar fashion to Luke's youngest daughter's two.

Though she was only 19, Adra Tallon had been a Jedi Knight since she was 14- a relatively young age for a Jedi. Somehow her cynical sarcasm had managed to be checked long enough for her to pass the Jedi trials. After she had passed, she'd bought an X-Wing, reprogrammed it's computers, and then joined up with Vanguard squadron. After having managed to prove herself exceptionally well as a pilot, though by no means as good as, say, Wedge Antilles, and even better as a computer hacker, she had volunteered for Wraith. And with Wraith, she'd had her 19th birthday... and developed her love for Face.

Only Nicola knew... which was a mercy in some ways. Nicola had long since been her friend, obvious by Adra's current position of twic in Nicola's Wild Knights squadron.

Her thoughts returning to the present, she had hardly noticed as her slender form sank into the chair near the window. Her X-Wing, the Suprosa, was out on the landing field next to Cloud Ritril's and Nicola's crafts.

* * *

Thracia Cho Leem nodded grimly to Masters Yoda and Windu. It was information time again for Wraith squadron. She was walking toward the Temple's hanger bay, fiddling with her comm's frequency as she went. She had been talking with 'Goddess' Solo earlier, but that was a different frequency all together. Finding the right one, she nodded to the following Master Yaddle, then spoke.

"Wraith Lead? Eleven speaking," she stopped speaking, waiting for his reply.

"Poster Boy here; what's up Jedi Girl?" Face's reply was hardly more than a standard second later.

"We've got an assignment from the Temple. The Jedi need some information." In her head, she could almost see Face's nod.

"Okay. Get back to base and give me the details here; it's easier to move one X-Wing than eleven. Poster Boy out."

Smiling slightly to herself, she nodded again to Master Yaddle. "He doesn't know you're coming. This should be good."

She and Yaddle climbed into their X-Wings and Thracia couldn't help but feel a bit intimidated by flying with the Jedi Master. True, she was a Master herself, but no one really thought of Yaddle as an X-Wing pilot. Apparently the Jedi had been just that when she was still 'only but 100', as the green alien had said.

The journey across Coruscant's landscape didn't take long; they arrived at Wraith base in less than a standard hour. Yaddle was a good pilot- there was no denying it. Thracia got out of her X-Wing after Yaddle's had landed and was just looking around when she saw Face come out of the building.

Face bowed to Yaddle in a very dramatic fashion. Thracia could've told him then and there that while Yaddle was 427 years old, she was still considered young in her species and acted, in some cases, like a very rebellious teenager. But she didn't tell him that, which is why when he bowed in his theatrical way as a semi-test for the Jedi Master, she had to keep from laughing at Yaddle's response.

The three-foot Jedi stared at Face with a bit of uninterest, but Thracia had seen the glint in her eye. Within a second, Yaddle had whacked Face across his bowed head and crossed her arms in a very 'teenager' way.

"Face Loran, Master Yoda I am not. Meaning old, I am not," Yaddle's words bit sharply into the laughing air and at this point Thracia could not contain her own laughter any longer.

Face had looked up, startled, a grin spreading on his face. Raising his hands in defeat, he backed up quickly, losing his theater touch.

"All right, all right! Just don't hit me again!" His fake plea of mercy brought a smile to Yaddle's face. Wraith's had, at least, humor.

* * *

Adra glanced out towards the docking bay, a bit confused by the second X-Wing accompanying Thracia's. Then she recognized it; that X-Wing belonged to Jedi Council member Master Yaddle. She saw the two Jedi depart from their crafts and their brief meeting with Face. She watched silently as Face led the two Jedi inside Wraith headquarters. Sending a wordless greeting through the Force to Thracia, she walked towards the lounge to talk with Nicola.

All of five standard seconds after she had entered the large room, her com went off. Silently she noted that Nicola's, Kell's, Bror's and Cloud's also went off. Taking her com out and flicking it on, she noted quickly that they were on Wraith public frequency.

"Computer Girl." Her acknowledgment of her being on her comm was one of the five voices replying into their comms.

"All of you get to my office." Face's voice came over very seriously- most unlike him.

Nicola glanced at Adra's face with a slight flash of confusion. The two walked together towards the 'office'.

"What do you think's up?" Nicola questioned.

"I don't know. He's almost never serious," Adra walked swiftly down the hall, her stride perfecting matching her friend's.

"Oh, and you'd know," Nicola grinned at her friend jokingly and Adra couldn't help wondering how much Nicola guessed about her feelings toward Face.

The five of them got to the office spaced out, but all within the time frame of three standard minutes. Face had looked up as they'd entered, nodding to each of them in turn.

Thracia smiled at the group as they came in, then looked to Face. At his nod, she stepped forward and began to speak.

"The Jedi Council needs information in from Cloud City. They've been suspecting for a while that Thrawn and Daala are back. We've recently received transmissions that testify there might be proof behind the suspicions."

Cloud grimaced slightly and cursed under his breath. Kell, Adra could tell, was ready to grab explosives. Bror and Nicola stood next to each other, both with neutral faces. Adra, to her benefit, didn't do anything more than give a nod accompanied with a near-silent sigh.

Face looked over his group of Wraiths, his eyes not their usual joking self. Not that they could say they didn't understand why. He looked at Adra; she was very proud of herself. She let no emotion onto her face and her gaze remained level to his.

"We're going to need you to hack into their systems, Computer Girl, not to mention make sure we don't show up on their scanners."

Adra nodded, though in her mind, that little nagging voice spoke up cruelly. 'He wouldn't even know you existed if you weren't good at hacking. Give it up Adra.'

Fortunately, her face showed none of the emotion brewing behind the mask. That was, at least, good. The bad was that Face thought of her only as a good pilot and computer hacker.

Thracia looked at Adra, a bit of suspicion rising in her mind. There was something she wasn't telling the rest of them... Though, perhaps it was in order to avoid rejection from a certain person.

She looked quickly to Master Yaddle, wondering slightly if the Master got the impression, however Thracia wasn't rewarded with an answer from her.

Yaddle merely stood, her eyes half-closed, in a deep connection with the Force, gathering information through it. Thracia looked over at Face, a smile creeping over her own expression. Maybe he wouldn't be so cocky to Jedi Masters after that. Doubtful.

Before long, their group of seven was in their respective X-Wings. Adra was flying off Face's wing, Nicola parallel to her. Bror was just behind Nicola, his padawan, Yaddle and Thracia near the Jedi Knight. Cloud and Kell were flying farther back; Thracia had no doubts as to why.

Wondering slightly how Yaddle felt about flying with a Temple releasee, she pushed the thoughts away as the X-Wings went into land on Cloud City.