Epilogue:

"Doctor."

He could see her face in the mountains; the cavernous eyes lit up as the sun bled across the plains of Valdet, giving surreal life to a being recently departed. Her smile was mirrored in the golden flowers that hugged the base and with creeping fingers spread warmth to all in its prescience.

Her face was as he had loved, and their lives, their future, had been centered on the worlds they cherished since birth.

"Doctor."

Part of him realized that he mourned her more than he had mourned his sister's passing, and he felt selfish for it. He had loved his sister, loved Anian, but he had been used to her absence after spending most of his adult life without family. Perhaps he had mourned her long ago, so at her death all he had was an echo of his former grief.

His eyes gazed out the viewport, and although they were miles above the planet he could still trace his journey from the destroyed rubble of the family villa to the still curling smoke from the palace bombing. The ash would take days to settle, and afterward someone would go through searching for remains, for what was left of his life's possessions to sell. They were welcome to it.

He would not be coming home again.

Tracing the goldenrush to mint color changes in the forest beyond the wide mouth of the River Styxilin he found the rough area where her physical body lay, deep inside the pinkish-gray cloudcover of Valdet City.

"Doctor."

At that moment he looked beyond the her smiles, her laughter, her ability to remove his fears with one look—he looked beyond the memories and saw the last dusk, the last orbit of his planet he expected to see. Valdet's dusky rose dawn tinged with soot reflected the rich green aura of Danshitie as she peeked out from beyond Valdet's shadow.

"Doc." A pair of fingers warmed his shoulder through his second hand clothing.

He relaxed his clenched fingers, released the breath he had been holding and whispered a silent goodbye.

"Let's go." Tristan reached over and pulled the hyperdrive lever, and watched his future slip through to the oblivion of hyperspace.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Laughter, Happiness, Love.

Family.

They were secure, secure in their destiny secure in believing that their great challenges were behind them.

Surprise. In the course of six months my world had changed, I had lost everything and found my purpose.

Surprise. For the Jedi, the New Republic and the citizens of our galaxy--the biggest challenge was yet to come.

The coming challenge would push everyone to the edge. My quest would try to become who I was, but it would be our war--the war for the security of the galaxy--that would help us reach into our souls and find out what we were made of, who we were and what we were to become.

The future was coming, and no one was ready for its attack.