Cyan watched as the first Imperial task force broke away from its battle and disappeared into hyperspace. Cyan murmured halfway to herself, "Now would you look at that!"
"What?" asked Cyrus.
" Cyrus, Our mystery commander is a Napoleon in the making. The first two assaults were feints to draw off New Republic ships from the intended target. Amazing!" Cyan clapped her hands with delight. Cyrus-Jerome glanced at Cyan with concern, and then looked back at the display, trying to understand what had just happened. "Okay, Cyan. You're weird, you know that?!"
Cyan laughed as Cyrus went back to his seat. Poor guy, it was one of their striking differences again. Cyrus loved to fight hand-to-hand, but wasn't up for Cyan's strategizing. Scheming, he called it.
Cyrus was what most called a people person. He would go out to every party and would occasionally drag Cyan along, saying it was good for girls to go to parties and dance with guys. Cyan seriously doubted this and preferred to stay at home and research the old archives. Still, he only meant well and was the best brother-like person Cyan could ask for.
Several hours went by and eventually the fighting stopped. Cyan wanted to keep an eye on the Imperial commander.
The Jedi had been the guardians of peace in the Old Republic for a thousand generations and Cyan was determined to help this New Republic any way she could. With that final thought, Cyan fell into a deep but troubled sleep.
The black and glittering void spread into infinity on all sides. All was silent as Cyan gazed at the stars. A sudden dread gripped her and the starry sky grew cold and threatening. Cyan turned and her breath caught as she saw the beautiful bluish-green orb of Earth. The love she felt for her home managed to dull the coldness she felt from the stars. As she looked, she marveled at the wonderful blues and greens that blended to perfection beneath her. The enchantment ended too soon as her sight was torn from the planet back to the void. It was no longer empty. A huge arrowhead shape loomed in front of her. Cyan's sluggish mind recognized it as a battle ship of Imperial make but by instinct knew it to be a great evil. Cyan watched the ship, daring it to creep any closer. A pair of black void like eyes suddenly peered at Cyan from the void behind the ship. Those eyes held nothing but ill for Cyan and the precious jewel behind her. Cyan twisted around and cried out at the terrible threat facing Home, a threat she felt powerless against.
Cyan jerked awake. The dream fading away to nothing as the Pinto Lark's cabin came into focus. Cyrus sat in the Co-pilot's chair, absently flipping through Holo-net frequencies in much the same way he went through the cable channels at home. The sight made Cyan grin. Cyrus turned around and smirked at her.
"Up and at 'em, Sunshine! For a while there I thought you were going to sleep the whole way to Bimmisaari." he said jokingly. Cyan cocked her head to one side and smirked back.
"Some how, I don't think that's entirely possible, Cyrus." She said. His eye brows lifted a bit, but he said nothing and turned back to the Holo-net. Master Lynne swept into the cabin from storage, obviously excited about something.
"Well, well, How about it?" asked Lynne, standing in the center of the room rubbing his hands together. Cyrus turned to look at his master.
"She's coming up, another twenty minutes."
Amber felt her mouth fall open. Surely she hadn't slept...
"Two days." Confirmed her master. "Nothing to worry about, of course. Once stayed asleep a full week, myself."
They all settled into their seats as the star lines shrank back into stars and the crescent of Bimmisaari came into view. Master Lynne had a brief conversation with the space port traffic controller, and then motioned for Cyrus to take them down. Cyan craned her neck to get a better look out of the view port. The terrain below was uniform. Forests and lakes dotted the surface.
As the Pinto Lark lowered itself to the landing surface, Cyan's eyes nearly popped out of her head. The forest was moving and not only that it was...furry.
"That can't be normal." She said in a hushed voice. Master Lynne turned on her with a wry expression.
"For the Bimms it is. You'll find that many words will be redefined over the next few days."
"Yes, sir." Cyan replied as she carefully looked at Cyrus. He eyed the waving 'trees' with disgust.
Outside the ship it didn't get much better. A bimm guide presented himself and led them inside the city; Cyan's first meeting with an alien. The Bimms reminded her of little goat people without horns.
Two hours later they were settled in a hotel. Within those two hours, Mr. Lynne had activated one of his bank accounts, bought new and 'proper' clothing for Cyan and Cyrus, and made sure that his apprentices were washed and well fed.
Cyan walked out of the bathroom (she still couldn't bring herself to call it the 'fresher) wearing her new clothes.
"Well, Cyrus? What do you think?" Cyan asked, hoping that Cyrus wouldn't make fun of her. He glanced up from some interesting broadcast on the holo-net and did a double take.
"Mercy! Cyan. You look amazing! Like a warlock or something." Cyrus cried. Cyan blinked at him. "A warlock?" she asked uncertainly.
"Well, what ever. It's very cool." Cyrus said shrugging.
Cyan glanced down at her robes. They were of good material and practical, true to the Jedi design. The color was a wonderful navy blue. Cyrus' own robes were a deep burgundy and they were similar in make to hers.
Cyan brushed her reddish-mahogany hair out of her eyes. On making the transition from ship to planet, her hair had decided to go into ultra-frizz mode. It stuck out in odd wisps and curls that only got worse when combed. Cyan sighed and avoided looking at the mirror on the wall opposite.
Cyrus frowned up at her from the display as he picked up on her mood.
"Honestly, Cyan. All you had to do was ask or something." He said. Cyrus dug his hand into his pocket, and then pulled out a bright purple elastic hair tie.
Cyan took it and began to pull back her hair.
"You are a life saver, Cyrus!" she said thanking him.
"That's okay. I couldn't very well use it."
Cyan grinned at that last comment and then dared a peek at her reflection. It wasn't the best looking head of hair in the galaxy, but at least it would stay out of her face for a while. She turned her head slightly to see if the half-pony tail was crooked. Cyan kept her hair fairly short and never had enough for a proper pony tail.
All right, she thought, now I'm ready for anything.