Chances are

((I lay no claim to the Star Wars world, just an enjoyment in the worlds that George Lucus created. This story follows the adventures of Skye Organa within the RPG.))

Chapter 3 Attack

There was a feeling of uneasiness amongst the group of hopefuls as they all took a seat in the skiff. Skye looked around at the others wondering how they were going to get away from the Sith as she personally, had never come up against them before. She hoped that her ship would safely make its destination as she'd never had to use that safety precaution before. Darex leant closer to her then and whispered into her ear.

"I hope they don't expect us to have to use these."

A delicious shiver passed through her at the sound of his voice and she mentally shook her head at the thought that he could effect her like that as she watched him activate the blue blade, contemplate it and shut it back down.

"Whatever happens, I'll watch your back if you'll watch mine – how good were you with a vibroblade? I gather it is a similar principle to that?" she replied as she fingered the handle of the one she had been given. She didn't feel the need to activate and look at hers because of her interaction with Aryian earlier that day.

It hadn't taken them long to reach the hanger and the hopefuls quickly debarked the skiff. Jedi Knight Orrick quickly spoke to them before he headed back down a hallway.

"We are in a sealed area, so for the moment, we are safe. However, make yourself useful, and take a position at one of the defence batteries. We need to hold them off as long as possible, until some sort of plan of escape is developed."

Skye paused for a moment as she watched Orrick leave before making her way over to Jedi Knight Ben'a Solo. The battle hadn't yet begun and although she knew there wouldn't be much time before it did she still felt she should ask him about healer abilities.

"Excuse me. I know this probably isn't the best time but could you spare a few moments? I'd like to know how to use the Force to heal – I have a feeling that it might be a useful skill to have and might be needed very soon."

She quickly went on to tell Ben'a about the reason why she had been given the message to attend the Jedi Academy, that she had inadvertently used the Force to heal an injured canine that had been struck by a speeder while she was on Telos. She didn't know how she managed to heal the animal only that she had done it and it had been witnessed by someone who had told her that she had a rare gift that needed to be developed.

He spoke to her calmly, but with a measure of urgency in his voice.

"I am sorry to say that there isn't the time for this, unfortunately. Learning to heal takes time, time we do not possess. Right now we need everyone to do what they can to hold off this threat from the Empire. The Sith will follow, I am sure..."

Ben'a turned back to his console, motioning towards a free one for Skye.

Skye moved over to the free console and took a moment to familiarise herself with the controls. There were soon plenty of targets to choose from and she opened fire, hoping that there may be time later for such lessons in the healer arts. In the back of her mind she tried to remember what she had done to save the canine's life and hoped that if the need arose she might be able to use that talent again. Feeling the Force swirling around her she taped into it to try and improve her accuracy against the enemy ships.

She had begun to feel fearful. This was the first major battle that she had been in and she didn't like feeling vulnerable. She glanced around the hanger and found herself searching out one particular person. Giving herself a stern talking to about letting her fear get to her she tried to concentrate on the task at hand, but couldn't help shivering at the thought of what might happen next.

The battle outside of the hanger was heating up now and the orders were sometimes confusing. Master Kirlocca then ordered all hopefuls to the transports and she looked up to see Darex appear at her side.

"Ready to go? I think we need to go easy on these poor Imps and get you out of here."

"Ready as I'll ever be ... lets get out of here." Another shudder goes through her and she struggles to hide it. She follows Darex to the transports.

"Skye? Are you alr--"

Darex's words were cut off as Jedi Knight Ben'a's order fill the air. Skye followed him, jumping on the back of the speeder, clinging to him with one arm and drew her blaster from it's holster, holding it at the ready. They are about to take off when another order is given.

Jedi Knight Orrick had returned to the hanger and had fresh orders for them to follow.

"The time has come for me to lead you all to safety. Keep close. You all are relatively out of danger now, but be on your guard."

Hearing Orrick's command Skye taped Darex on the shoulder, telling him that they would be better off following Orrick in the underground tunnels rather than being caught out in the open. They followed him as he lead them towards the secret hanger...

Reaching the hidden hanger, the first arrivals jumped quickly into the awaiting ships, taking off to make good an escape. She saw Orrick and another of the hopefuls jump into a two-man ship and take off, skimming low over the terrain and off away from the battle above. Others followed, taking off low then rising up on a course that would take them out of the atmosphere and away.

She had seen Ben'a and one of his apprentices jump into ships as well, taking off and heading away when both seemed to lose power as the Imperials fired a mag-pulse weapon, bringing down all the fleeing ships.

Skye hadn't yet entered a ship herself when she saw some of them crash back onto the icy tundra. Shock and dread were foremost in her mind as she stopped in her tracks. Looking around, she saw Keiran and hurried over to him to see what she should do.

"Young one, assist the rest of the Jedi out of their fallen ships, however avoid Master Ben'a and his apprentice, Jake. They will handle themselves."

Skye nodded to Keiran and drew her blaster, dashing from cover to cover over to the first fallen ship. Quickly she scrambled up the side to help the occupant out and they slowly made their way back to the relative safety of the hidden hanger. She quickly dashed over to a first aid box on the wall and grabbed some supplies, stuffing them into a pack before heading back out to the next ship

"Be still, and let the Force flow through you...be dead...try to be dead..."

Skye heard Ben'a's voice in her mind just as she reached the second ship. 'Wow, I heard a telepathic message – it's not the time to think about it now though.' The ship was on fire and she scurried up the side to help the unconscious occupant out. She managed to drag him out, away from the ship just before it exploded. She shielded his body with her own, hoping that the pack that was still on her back might help shield her. She felt something hit her- shrapnel, she assumed- and began to feel light headed. She fought it but lost the battle to stay conscious, slumping over her patient as the blackness claimed her.

Unwittingly she must have moved closer to where Keiran had told her to avoid, for the next thing she knew was being thrown against a snow drift.

"Wake up!"

Skye regained consciousness after being thrown to the ground, hearing a harsh voice yelling at her. She gave her head a shake to try and clear it, only to wish she didn't see what she did. The Sith Lord Impede was standing over her. She had never felt so frightened as she did then, with his darkness radiating outwards. She worked her legs trying to move backwards in the snow, the fear of his nearness causing the adrenaline to course through her system, giving her the strength to move faster.

She caught sight of Ben'a out of the corner of her eye but didn't let on to the Sith that he was approaching, instead to add a distraction says with a stutter "Wh... what do you want with me?" Before he could answer Ben'a struck from behind him.

Skye used this opportunity to escape, scrambling up and running as fast as she could towards the hanger. She hadn't gotten far when she saw another Sith – Jareth - after Aryian Darkfire. Collecting her wits she remembered her last lesson. Force Blast. She kept an eye on the Sith, careful not to gain his notice and concentrated on creating the energy required. Gathering what she hoped was enough to give Aryian some help she threw the blast at the Sith. It was enough to knock him off balance and give Aryian the break he needed. She quickly looked for some cover.

Glancing back the way she had come, she noticed that Ben'a had engaged the Sith Lord Impede in a full on battle, which started off with him using a double edged attack, firstly flinging snow up into the sith's face and secondly attacking with his emerald lightsaber.

She turned back to where Aryian was engaged in combat with other Sith Lord, Jareth Vermillos and could see that while her blast had distracted the sith for a while, Aryian was still out manoeuvred. From her hidden location she watched on as the sith goaded Aryian, making him angry, taunting him until Aryian leapt at him with his silver lightsaber flashing.

Skye looked on in horror as the two engaged in heated battle, the sith elbowing Aryian in the face before she heard the hiss and smelt the burning flesh wound that the sith inflicted on him before flinging Aryian's dropped lightsaber away into the snow. The sith then leapt onto Aryian, pummelling him with his fists. Somehow Aryian managed to flip Jareth off him and from her vantage point she saw him looking helplessly for his lightsaber before letting out an unholy howl of anguish.

She caught sight of Aryian's eyes then, noticing that they had changed to an un-natural colour and watched on as he tried to use the force unsuccessfully against Jareth. She couldn't look away, she knew she should run or do something but she was untrained and would be powerless against the sith, even with Aryian there. Fear had a good grip on her and there was nothing she could do to prevent it.

With further horror taking hold of her, she saw the sith turn decisively in her direction as if he knew exactly where she was. Skye shrunk back trying to back away, never taking her eyes from that of her enemy. She saw him lift his hand, gesturing towards her as if to grab her and then she felt the cold grip close around her throat.

She couldn't breath, the pressure around her neck felt like it was crushing her windpipe. Her hands automatically went up to her throat, trying to relieve the pressure somehow. How could she hope to combat something she couldn't see, couldn't even grab hold of to remove? She was panicking now, struggling for breath, her eyes felt like they would pop out of their sockets and just when she thought she would die she was released.

Sounding like it was far off in the distance, she heard Aryian's voice as he spoke to Jareth.

"This is between you and me, Sith. Leave the girl out of this. I intend to kill you, her or not, but if you continue to kill her, I will only kill you that much easier."

Skye dropped to the snow packed ground gasping for breath, gently rubbing her throat where the Sith had Force grabbed her. Something clicked inside her then and she silently recited the Jedi code, gaining strength from the words that Ben'a had taught them earlier that day. She noticed that Aryian's eyes have taken on the red colour of the darkside and silently willed him to hear her. Not knowing if he will hear her or not as she had never sent a telepathic message before, but she hoped that he would hear, that it would get through to him.

"Don't give in to the Dark side – remember the code."

As the Sith focused on Aryian again she took the chance to run, calling on Force Speed to help her vanish in amongst the rubble and in a zig zag route toward the hidden hanger.

As Skye made her way closer to the hanger she felt a wave of exhaustion hit her. The adrenaline burst that she had been on was fast dissipating away. By the time she reached the hanger she was at a very slow pace. Onderin met up with her, helping her to relative safety inside of a ship while she noticed Keiran heading off on a speeder towards where Aryian and Jareth were still engaged in combat.

Inside the ship, she slowly made her way into the refresher unit and caught sight of herself in the mirror. Her eyes showed the pain on her pale face and she had a fresh cut above her left eye. Her hair had come loose from it's braid and she had lost the flower that Darex had given her.

Looking further down she saw bruising coming out on her neck from where the Sith – Jareth - had Force grabbed her by the throat. It looked as if he had actually physically grabbed her instead of just using the Force. At least her amethyst pendant was still around her neck and she hadn't lost that also. Her jacket was tattered, torn and bloodied where she had been hit by the shrapnel and she gathered that she had lost the pack of first aid items when the first Sith had grabbed her to throw her across the hard packed snow.

She was amazed that she made it through those encounters, her first against the Sith. As she made her way back through the ship and back to Onderin she began to shiver and shake with reaction of both the cold and the ordeal she had just been through. She also feared that Jareth might still be able to detect where she was now. He had been very powerful and she knew that he had felt her fear and had fed upon it. She staggered into a chair, leaning back into it and passed out from pain shooting up her wounded back, the blessed black oblivion again claimed her.

"Skye wake up! I need to help my Master," She stirred briefly as she heard Onderin's voice as if it was from afar but it was not enough to wake her then.

Skye regained consciousness a while later and noticed that her wounds had been dressed. Her pain had diminished somewhat after being treated and she felt ready to face the action once more. She looked up to see Master Airleas standing over her.

"Up, you...you give up to easily. These are only sith. Your fear is what they want. I don't care if they kill you, just die without fear."

"I apologise Master, I won't let my fear dominate my actions again. I only wish that I had more training in which to be able to fight them with. If I feel the fear creeping up I will recite the jedi code – that is what helped me somewhat before."

She was now determined not to show any fear this time and hid it deep down inside of her, visually locking it up and throwing away an invisible key.

She clutched her blaster and was ready to head out into the fray once more. As she left the ship she noticed Onderin and headed over to him. He was under an overhang and was holding an efficient looking assault rifle, aiming at the Imperial ships flying above.

"Thanks for dressing my wounds and helping me Onderin. Is... do you know if Aryian is alright? Have you seen Darex? "

She looked around for the tall blonde man and spied him a distance from Master Hou-Jo and another Sith. Not knowing if he would hear her or not she concentrated in his direction "Darex, don't do anything you'll regret."

Skye watched as Darex ignited his blue saber blade and again tried to send a message to him "Please be careful... don't give in to hatred." She would hate to admit it but he had come to mean much to her in the short time they had known each other.

She glanced around the hanger and spied a vibroblade lying on the ground against a wall. She quickly snatched it up, not yet trusting herself to use the lightsaber clipped to her belt and dashed out to give whatever support she can to Darex.

Her previous fear gave way to a fierce determination to survive and to help her friends. She wasn't going to let the Sith get her to give in to fear again, she was over that now. She was almost to Darex when she was again confronted. Skye stopped mid stride, as she caught sight of another Sith Lord close by her.

"Let's dance, you first. Hit me girl."

With a quick glance around she defensively raised her vibroblade, determined that she will not give in to the fear that claimed her before. She began to circle around the Sith Lord Neo, carefully keeping her distance and mentally raising her inner defences. This time it was different, this time she would answer back. Cocking her head to the side she back chatted him sarcastically.

"Dance? Trying to be a gentleman huh? Sorry ... doesn't become you Sith"

"Don't get smart with me Jedi."

Skye felt his eyes raking over her and noticed him glance at her vibroblade causing her to clutch it in a tighter grip. To her surprise, he didn't raise his weapon against her, instead she saw him drop his shoulder slightly and run towards her. Before she could move defensively out of his way, he had barrelled into her. She let herself be carried along by the Sith's momentum, gathering the Force around her like a blanket. As she hit the ground she lost her grip on the vibroblade, seeing it skid a few feet away from her. Before she could think of retrieving it the Sith was upon her with his dagger, driving it into her leg.

Skye felt the pain as it entered and a moan of pain escaped her lips. This time she wouldn't let her fear get the better of her – she had learnt from her past battle and was very determined that this Sith would not get the better of her. He moved back from her then, a mask of anger across his face as he spoke, trying to get a reaction from her.

"Attack me; let me see what you got."

Rising to her feet she called upon the Force to gather it for a Force Blast. She heard another Jedi - Master Tares Vortex, address Neo, taunting him.

"A Sith with no honour? A Sith with no seek of a challenge? You disappoint me young one. The Sith I've fought for many years have at least displayed honour in their battles, earning my respect. You however would pick on a hopeful? How weak are you?"

Neo turned to face Master Vortex"I never know any more with your trainings Tares. I never thought this day would come. To fight an enemy greater than hate itself. How do you teach people such as her? They show such signs of weakness, such signs of pain. But, as I understand you do none of the above Tares. You are just a worth piece of Poodoo. You don't have anything going for you, and never will. Let me now show you what the Sith have showed me. Let me show you Master."

Neo turned back to her then, saying just the one word, "Run", before turning back to Tares. "You first. I want to see what you can stir up old man."

Skye intended to but first she wanted abit of her own back. She responded to his command to run with "Oh I intend to... but something for you first I think" sending the Force Blast at the chest of the Sith, then tapping into the Force again to retrieve her vibroblade and to Force Speed her way out of immediate danger.

She came to a halt some distance away from Neo and Tares and observed them both for a moment. Searching the thigh pocket in her black cargo pants for the medpack she had put in there and quickly applying bacta, dressing the dagger wound. She saw Master Vortex walk away from the sith then and noticed that the Imperials and other sith were leaving the battlefield. Scanning the area she looked around to see what had happened to Darex.

She found Darex lying in the snow after being attacked by Raynuk Montar and she quickly made her way over to him, all the time keeping an eye out for any further attacks from the remaining sith. Reaching him she knelt beside him, checking his vital signs and sighing with relief when he came to. She helped him up and they made their way back to the hanger.



"I've only heard that Sith could use Force-lightning. I didn't believe they actually could," Darex told Skye as she had helped him up before they headed towards the hanger, finding somewhere to sit and wait for further instruction. Skye was aware that Darex was deep in thought and didn't wish to disturb him, especially when he began to meditate. She looked around the ruins wondering where they would go to now.

Even though she was new to it, she had felt the disturbance when Keiran, Ben'a and Hou-Jo Poleb became one with the Force and was saddened by it, a sob caught in the back of her throat and she struggled to hold back her tears.

She sunk down onto a crate and stared vacantly out over the battles carnage. She was finding it difficult to believe that she had actually survived the attacks of three Sith Lords and had gotten away relatively unscathed. It hit her then and her mindset changed – she survived. A warm glow began to flow through her at that accomplishment. "I have lived through it and I will be stronger for it."

Darex stirred beside her and she turned towards him. "Can we talk? In private? I don't know what we're supposed to be doing now anyway."

She nodded at him waiting to see what he had to say.

"I need your advice. I don't know how much you'll be able to help, considering that you are just another hopeful like myself, but I need at least a friendly ear.

When I was on the battlefield I found myself confronting Raynuk Montar." Darex paused to look at her before continuing on. "Me and Dhan-Jaroe Kenobi, a Jedi master, were confronting him, trying to stop him from killing anyone. Well...to make a long story short, Raynuk was critically wounded and defenceless on the ground. Master Kenobi could've killed him in one swing, yet he showed mercy to the Sith, giving him the chance to escape.

I don't understand why he did this. I mean, I know the Jedi are supposed to be merciful, but why should that apply to someone as evil as Raynuk?"

"He has murdered millions of people. Don't you think it would be better for the galaxy to be rid of him forever? That's what I finally decided anyway. I swung at Raynuk. I wanted to kill him, Skye," Darex now had an intense look in his eyes. During the conversation, he had leaned closer and closer to her. Now, he pulled back a little. "The Sith then used Force-lightning on me and escaped. But I'm still not sure I did the right thing.

"Was I giving in to the Dark Side?" Darex looked pained. "That's all I've been thinking about. I don't want to become an agent of the Dark Side, Skye." He paused, looking uncomfortable and waited for her to speak.

Skye was thoughtful for a moment, trying to collect her thoughts. She could understand Darex being worried about falling to the darkside, she was worried about that herself also. In a battle like that it would be so easy to – she had seen Aryian dip into it. The way Aryian's eyes had changed colour like that ... it wasn't a pretty sight and she would hate to see that happen to Darex or herself for that matter.

Thinking about Aryian she wondered what became of him, she hadn't seen him when they had returned to the hanger.

"I think that it would be easy to give in to the dark side, that is why they tell us that Jedi always have to be on guard against it. It is the easy way out. The path of the light is so much harder to stay true to. I know that Jareth fed off my fear, he was probably encouraging my fright when I come to think of it. I was so frightened and I had to fight with three of them... I still can't believe I got through it alive."

Her voice trailed off and she placed a hand on his arm. Taking a deep breath she went on. "I think to show mercy would be another way to fight the darkness. The Sith think nothing of taking lives, but to spare a life, to give them another chance to turn back to the light ... if they can be turned back that would be a greater victory I believe."

She looked around then and noticed that the others were heading towards the awaiting Rebel transports. She indicated that they should board them also, telling Darex that if he needed to talk more, she would listen anytime, but for now they had better get moving. With that they headed over and got onto the first transport shuttle. Finding a seat on the transport Darex resumed their conversation.

"But Skye, was it wrong to want to kill him? Was I giving into the Dark Side in that desire?"

She looked back at him, giving careful thought before answering.

"What does your heart tell you? I think you already know the answer and just want me to confirm it for you. I can't say what is right or wrong for you. Heaven knows I have enough trouble staying true to myself."

The last part was said more to herself than to Darex and she looked down at her hands. She had done a lot of soul searching herself on that battlefield. She felt she had reached a pinnacle when she had finally controlled her fear during the battle with the Sith Lord Neo. She had not given into fear then, instead she had pushed it aside and replaced it with a fierce determination to live. She now felt more alive and found it was so much easier to tap into the Force.

She was brought out of her reverie by the touch of Darex's hand to her face as he brushed away some of the dirt. Her breath caught in her throat and she could feel herself blush. Her mind centred around him then, focusing on the tall blonde man that had become one of her closest companions.

Skye's thoughts were abruptly interrupted again as she and Darex were thrown to the floor of the transport. Pain ripped through her body and she let out cry of anguish. NO! This can't still be happening!

The transport they had entered was in flames and the debris all around. She tried to sit up but the pain was intense. Skye whimpered with the pain and lay back down, slowly assessing the damage done to her. It felt like the wounds on her back have been opened up again and she might have fractured her ribs. She tried to take a deep breath only to have it catch in her throat from the pain it induced. Her arms were intact but the dagger wound in her leg had been added to by shrapnel, the other leg seemed ok.

She lay there for a moment more, trying to call the Force to at least try and dull the pain. Oh how she wished that she could have had time for training on Force Healing. She tried desperately to recall what she did for that canine but her mind came up blank.

"Darex!" She cried out, looking around her in desperation to see if he was alright, seeing that he was lying on the floor on the other side of the transport. Gathering her remaining strength she clawed her way painfully over to him. She could see his chest rise and heard his labored breathing but at least he was alive. Reaching his side she stretched her hand out to him. The pain from her fractured ribs became too much with the effort to reach out and she lost consciousness due to the intense pain that shot through her body.

Skye came around to the sound of another of the hopeful's voices. Wracking her brain she came up with his name – Ish. Pain still tore through her body so she didn't want to move much.

"Wait a moment, I have to get him out"

She watched as he moved over to Darex, lifting him up and carrying him out the hatch of the burning transport. A short while later he was back to help her, throwing her arm around his shoulders and helping her to stand. She leaned heavily on him as he helped her out of the disintegrating ship and over to Darex.

"We've got to get you out of this weather with those injuries and signal for a ship to get us" Ish said in between deep breaths. He smiled at her as she could see he was exhausted. "Phew, i guess i need more training" he snickered trying to liven the moment a bit in this dark time.

Ish carried Darex over to an overhang on the side of wall of rock. He then helped Skye over as well just to keep them out of site as Ish did not know what Sith or imperials were lurking about. He then went back out from under the ledge to look for a ship to take them away from the destruction.

While he was gone, Skye was able to recover somewhat, re-evaluating her injuries. She wasn't quite as bad as she first thought she was. Her ribs were sore but feeling carefully around them she felt that they weren't broken as she had first thought, feeling instead like they were just badly bruised. She checked over her leg wound, ripping the arm of her jacket off and using that as a make shift bandage. She then tore the other off, ripping it into strips and used that to dress the worst of Darex's many wounds.

Looking up again she noticed that Ish had managed to flag down a ship. Watching it land she saw Scorp disembarking and making his way over to the wounded pair.

With a few quick words to Ish, Scorp moved to pick up Darex, carrying him to the ship while Ish again helped Skye to her feet. Slowly they made their way across the icy tundra and into the waiting ship, moving into the common room where they found Darsha. Between the two injured girls, they got Darex comfortable while Scorp and Ish went forward to the cockpit, lifting off and flying over the battleground.

A short while later Scorp came running back through the ship and made his way up to an exit hatch, quickly jumping from the hovering ship into a snow drift and was off to assist someone else. Skye made her way forward to the cockpit then and slid into the co-pilots seat next to Ish.

"OK we're going to make a dash in his ship for the rebel fleet" Ish said to her as she slid gingerly into the seat. She was running on an adrenaline rush and aching literally from head to toe by this stage as well as being concerned for Darex. He was still unconscious.

Skye watched as Ish grabbed the duel control throttles and positioned them to hover the ship up higher into a clearing where he could take of in a more direct approach to space. Once in position, Ish throttled forward hard and the ship jolted towards space with the jedi hopefuls aboard.

As the ship shot into space, they could see the fleets spread out about the planets surrounding space. He keyed in on the rebel ships. As he did Ish looked over at Skye, who, while injured was still alert. "Can you hail the rebel fleet on the com link and ask them to let us dock?!"

Skye nodded once and reached for the comm panel to signal the rebel fleet.

"This is Skye Organa requesting permission to dock. We have injured onboard so will require medical assistance."

Turning back to Ish she felt a shudder go through her that was similar to what she felt when Ben'a, Keiran and Dhan-Jaroe Kenobi passed on, becoming one with the force.

"Did you feel that? Something just happened to Scorp."

Skye then felt the wave of grief from Darsha at the passing of Scorp and Master Ryoo. Placing a hand on Ish's shoulder, she told him that she was needed in the back, gingerly she made her way back to check on both Darex and Darsha, offering the later comfort. Darex was still unconscious but his breathing sounded better than it did before.

Skye grabbed for another medpack and sunk down onto the other bunk, asking Darsha to redress her wounds for her. She could feel the blood oozing from the bandages on her back and she could also see that the one on her leg needed changing too. She was beginning to feel light-headed from the blood loss and suggested to Darsha, that once she had finished, she help Ish in the cockpit. Skye thanked her and lay down on the bunk to rest.

Skye closed her eyes for a moment. She heard Ish receiving clearance to land and felt the ship touch down gently in the hanger. Focusing inwards she checked on her injuries finding that she was not as badly injured as she had first thought. She had bruised two ribs as well as having the dagger and shrapnel wounds. Opening her eyes and visually looking over some of her wounds, she noticed that some of the smaller one's had been closed over. Briefly she remembered feeling a tingling sensation while they were still on Hoth waiting for Scorp to pick them up, so assumed that another Jedi had tried to Force Heal her. Again she wished she knew how to use that ability and swore to herself that she would somehow learn how.

The medics arrived then to move them all to the medical wing. She observed them placing the still unconscious Darex on a stretcher and carrying him out, before another was brought in for her. She protested against having to be placed on a stretcher but gave up arguing against them, knowing that she wouldn't win. They carried her into the med wing and into an examination cubical where she was examined, her wounds dressed with bacta patches and she was allowed to shower and get cleaned up. She was then led to a ward and allocated a bed next to Darex and Darsha, who had also been cleaned up. Darex had regained consciousness while she had been getting seen to and she was glad to see him now awake. She lay back and closed her eyes again, feeling exhausted from the battle on the planet below.

A while later, Skye heard Darex asking if she was ok and opening her eyes, turned her head in his direction mustering up a smile. "As good as can be expected I guess", she answered him.

Her eyes then scanned the room for Darsha, extending a hand sympathetically in her direction, feeling her pain over losing her friend and her Master. "Darsha, how are you holding up? I can feel how upset you are, I only wish I could do something to help."

Skye had to smile when she hears Darex laugh and comment "Just that here we are, two Jedi hopefuls and an apprentice, sitting in a ship and licking our wounds. Not exactly the 'invincible Jedi' impression that most people get." He was due to go in for an operation very soon and she hoped that all would go well for him.

She laughed slightly at his comment, clutching her sides as the effort hurt her bruised ribs but had to admit that she felt much better now that she was clean and was wearing a black ship suit that had been provided, her previous clothing being little more than rags after the battle.

Skye hadn't seen Ish since they had been brought here and wondered where on the ship he was. Also if he had found out what their destination was. She was now anxious to get fit again and to get back into training, determined that she would not be so unprepared next time she had to face the Sith.

Able to take deeper breathes now that her ribs had been seen to she let herself sink into a meditative trance, concentrating on the words of the Jedi Code. She managed to drift off to sleep feeling safe from harm as the Rebels had moved into hyperspace.

"Are you feeling better....You look strong enough to pull the ears off a Gundark."

Skye woke and looked up at the sound of Ish's voice, curious to know if he had heard her previous thoughts of wondering where he was just before she had drifted off to sleep.

"I'm feeling much better now... thanks to you." She gives him a gracious smile. "I don't know what we would have done if you hadn't gotten us off that transport. Do you know where we are headed yet?" Seeing him shake his head, negative in answer.

They'd been on the cruiser for some time now and Skye felt the need to do something. She asked Ish if he knew where the gym was, also asking if he felt like sparring with her. She wanted to practice the Force jumping and using the skills she had picked up from observing the other combatants on the battlefield. She was still feeling stiff and sore but felt that she would loosen up if she could just get moving. Glancing back at Darex and Darsha she told them she would be back later. She wished Darex luck as the medic's arrived to take him for his operation just as she was leaving for the gym.

As they entered the gym Skye felt a massive disturbance in the Force which brought her to her knees. She felt physically ill and could feel herself begin to heave without quite knowing why, only that something terrible had just happened.

Showing more control than she thought she had, Skye managed to control the impulse to vomit. Instead she felt the tears begin to fall unheeded down her face. Whatever had just happened chilled her to her very core. It was like hearing a multitude of voices cry out before being silenced.

She had never felt anything like this before and realized that it was because she was now attuned to the Force. Briefly she wondered why it took so long for her Force powers to manifest, then thought maybe it was a blessing in disguise that they didn't appear earlier.

She glanced over at Ish to see that he was just as affected by the disturbance as she was. She slid across the mats to hug him, both giving and receiving comfort for the wave of grief they had just felt and not caring about the looks they got from the few Rebel soldiers that were also in the gym.

'It'll be okay Skye. We'll stop them, whoever did this'. Darex's voice came into her mind. Moving away from Ish and standing up she told him that Darex was awake again, a gentle smile coming across her face briefly breaking through the wave of sadness.

Concentrating Skye closed her eyes and tried to send a message back to him, "Yes I know, and yes we will stop them, however long it takes." She sensed then that he had had his operation. "How are you feeling now? Should we return to the medical bay? Ish and I didn't get to start our sparring when that disturbance hit us. This communicating in our minds could be quite useful – don't you think?"

Skye received another force-message from Darex and found that he sounded excited about something.

"Maybe you should just come to the med bay and we can talk here."

Darex's message left her puzzled by the tone behind it, making her curious as to what he could be so excited about. Turning to Ish she told him that maybe they should go and check on how Darex was mending. As they went along, Skye looked thoughtfully at Ish, gathering up the courage to ask him about what had been playing on her mind.

"Ummm... Ish, can I ask you something? Before we get back to the medical wing? I don't know if you would be able to offer any advice or not but I need to talk to someone about this... What do you know about how the Jedi Order perceives relationships?"

Ish gave her a quizzical look before answering her.

"I've always been under the impression that Jedi's were not to have any formal attachment, such a husband or wife, or whatever any other culture or species may call it. I imagine that you can have a good caring friendship... a general caring in essence," Ish ran his hand through his long dark hair. "Other than that though I believe it's forbidden to have a intimate relationship with another. This is my interpretation of the rules, so don't have me for it. I'm not sure what is going on with you and Darex, but I guess that's my answer to your question. I hope I haven't upset you" Ish said as he put his arm around Skye's shoulder.

Skye thought carefully before replying, she was very confused about the whole love issue now that she was training to be a Jedi and didn't know exactly what she felt for Darex. On one hand, she did care very deeply for him, but on the other she didn't want or think that he could get too close to her heart after having been hurt before. Was she ready to let love back into her heart? She wasn't quite sure... maybe she needed alittle more time.

"That is kind of what I thought too, but I'm not so sure I can live like that. I've had relationships in the past – before my Force powers started to manifest – but I haven't felt drawn to anyone like this since an ex-boyfriend betrayed me for another. Whatever this is I am feeling, I don't think I should let Darex get too close to my heart. It's like I have built up a wall of ice around it that no-one has been able to melt through yet. I guess I am just confused that I could feel drawn to someone again, but it's different now that I am training to be a Jedi ... isn't it?"

Entering the ward, Skye silently made her way over to Darex, sitting down on the chair next to his bed. Her thoughts were still troubled. She didn't want to lead him on, yet she did wish to be his friend. Their friendship had been steadily growing over the last few weeks and she was afraid that he might want more from her than she was willing to share at this moment in time, maybe once they had gotten to know each other better but not right now.

Skye had a habit of flirting with good looking men and had found an abundance of those at the Jedi Training Facility. The last thing she wanted was to break any of the rules the Jedi – her new family - may have. She wished she had a Master that she could talk to about these things but knew that she would have to wait and see where they ended up first and if she would be taken on by a Master when they got to their destination. In the mean time she would try and find something regarding these matters in the datapads of any library she came across.

Skye turned her attention back to Darex and waited silently to see what he had to say. He had been watching her carefully as she had come in and that only added to her inner confusion about him.

"Skye, I have to tell you what I'm feeling. I admit that I'm very attracted to you. Just being around you is...intoxicating in a way. I really care about you. However, I can tell you're a bit uncomfortable. If you really want, I can try to stifle my feelings and not bring them up again. But I had to let you know that they exist, and even if you're not interested in a relationship, I still want to be friends."

While Darex waited nervously for Skye to reply, his own thoughts running around in circles and his head swimming, she shifted uncomfortably in her chair. Hearing him speak of his feelings openly to her only confirmed what she was beginning to suspect. She had felt his jealousy when she had gone to the gym with Ish and didn't want him to feel like that. Trying to put her thoughts into words she stayed quiet for a while longer before answering. Now more then ever she needed the guidance of a Master, someone who she could ask about the policies regarding a Jedi's love-life as she was more confused now about her feelings than she ever had been.

"I... care about you Dar, I really do but we are training to be Jedi now. I don't know what their policies are regarding relationships but I have heard the rumors of emotional attachments being forbidden. I can't deny that I am attracted to you also, but ... we can only remain friends, for now at least. Please don't let this jeopardize our friendship..."

She saw Darex take a deep breath as if that was exactly what he had been dreading to hear.

"If that's how you really feel...I'd rather be friends than ignore each other. But regarding the Jedi policies, I don't understand what you are referring to. Emotional attachment forbidden? I don't know where they came up with that idea. Or where you heard it. Master Orrick encouraged me to pursue my feelings. Maybe you should check on your information again." Darex sighed. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't be upset with you. You're only doing what you think is right. You should go."

He turned away from her and Skye felt that he was shutting her out. She didn't mean to hurt him.

"Master Orrick encouraged you? When?" Skye had to ask, her confusion escalated at this new information. She began to think that maybe she was wrong and relationship's weren't as forbidden as she had thought or been told. She felt terrible for hurting Darex... it was the last thing that she wanted to do and she wished that she could take those words back and erase the pain she had just caused. "I... ah... this is hard for me to say... I haven't let anyone get close to me for so long I guess it has become habit to push them away... I am so sorry I hurt you, I never meant for that to happen, I really don't know how I feel right now" Her voice trailed off again. Looking downcast she added "If you want me to go... I will..."

Receiving the silent treatment from Darex, Skye stood and turned to leave. She was saddened that she had hurt his feelings and wished that she could make it up to him, but his previous jealousy had concerned her more than she thought it would.

Skye headed back over to where Ish stood by the doorway, her expression showing her inner turmoil and sadness. "I'd like that spar now ... I need some action." She was suddenly aware of a strong need to find the other Jedi, knowing that somehow they had found a new home, "Second thoughts, before we spar, maybe we should see if we can get dropped off at Manaan. I don't know why, but I feel we must head there as soon as possible."

Skye headed up to the first Rebel Officer she saw, asking if the Jedi contingent could get dropped off at Manaan.