Next day: 7:23 P.M. Freighter Dooliir

"How ya takin' it?" Bryan Rawling asked in concern.

"Good," Kenny answered rather quickly. "Its been a little hard, but good for the most part."

Bryan grinned slightly in dry humor. A trait that was common to him in dealing with bad news. "Good. Have they...held the services yet? The personal ones I mean."

Kenny raised his eyebrows, puzzled for a split second. "The personal ones? Oh, um, naw, not yet. Not for another few days."

"On Afgalan?"

"Yeah. How'd you know?"

"Oh, I just guessed. She was famous–she was famous enough to able to-to have one there."

"Yeah..."

The two stared at each other in silence. They both wanted the other to talk, or at least say something, but neither knew what to say. Kenny had suffered a huge loss, and Bryan didn't want to say too much.

"Heard ya kicked Vader's ass afterwards," Bryan said with newfound energy and excitement. "Bet that was fun, huh?"

Kenny forced a smile. "Hell yeah. Nothing beats kickin' the crap out of a Super Star Destroyer. It's fun as hell."

The other man grinned. "Yes, sir. Nothing quite like it I'm sure. I take it your views on the Empire have changed now?"

"They've been changed since Star Wars became real."

"It's going to weird seeing you wearing an Alliance jumpsuit after all those fights we had about the whole issue when we were kids."

Kenny chuckled. "Yeah. All that 'Empire rules, Rebel's suck"...crap is gone."

"Cool. Well I hope so," Bryan said with a chuckle of his own. "Considering that you're on the Rebel's side now."

Kenny laughed as delightfully as he would let himself. On the other end of the transmission. A figure in an orange Alliance flight suit walked by, prompting Bryan to look back for a moment.

"Hey Maxie," Bryan said neutrally.

"Hey," came the response in a monotonic female voice.

Turning back to the screen, Bryan sighed. He then asked, "What day exactly is the funeral being held, if I may ask?"

"July thirteenth," Kenny responded from memory.

"Aw that's perfect," Bryan said. He leaned in towards his monitor. "Tell me. What would you do to see her again? Danielle."

Kenny saw the thought in the man's eyes. Clearly he had an idea about something, for it was look Kenny had seen on his face plenty of times before. "What would I do to see her again?" he repeated. His eyes scanned the outline of the comlink box, but he didn't see it. His mind was racing through answers to Bryan's question. Several answers flashed through his mind. Die, kill, cry, beg, plead, suffer, walk, run, rescue...the answers went on forever. This is too easy, Kenny thought. "Anything."

Bryan smiled and nodded. "Good. That's what I thought. If you'd be willing to stay an extra day on Afgalan after the funeral, I could help you see her one last time. Alive I mean, or sort of alive; it's kinda weird.

Kenny looked puzzled. "What?"

"Just trust me, Kenny. Would you be willing to stay that extra day though. To see her?"

Kenny looked away for a few moments, still confused. "Uh, sure. Yeah. How though?"

"You'll see. Just tell your Captain that you'll be a day late coming back. If he/she doesn't like that than tell me or tell them to call me and I'll take care of it. All right man?"

Kenny hesitated, still in wonder. "All right, Bryan."

Bryan smiled in conclusion. "Cool. See ya at the funeral. Bye"

"Bye."

-

Five days later. 7:51 P.M. Afgalan time. Location: Rebel Alliance Capital Planet; Afgalan.

Kenny didn't know where he was going.

The field of long-stemmed, wheat-like plants his sole's were stepping on stretched endlessly across the plains of the planet Afgalan, the planet where the Rebel Alliance was founded during a battle with the Empire. Afgalan became the capital of the Alliance soon after.

The skyscrapers of Uken City were now well out of sight, having disappeared into the horizon ten minutes ago. Now it was field as far as the eye could see in all directions. Kenny yearned where Bryan was leading him; what the point of staying here was. He'd heard Afgalan was also famous for its apparent natural magic; it's magicians and sorcerers known throughout the galaxy for their powers over nature and the afterlife. Maybe that's where Bryan was leading him. To some sort of sorcerer who could reincarnate Danielle. Oh what am I thinking? Kenny thought. They're not that powerful. "Bryan," he finally whined tiredly. "We've been walking for a while now. Where are we going?"

"Hang on," Bryan said without turning around. "We're almost there. Just over this hill. And then we'll stop."

Kenny grunted and followed.

And Bryan chuckled at it. "Believe me. It'll be worth it."

Kenny eyed his back with a quizzical eye. "It better be."

"It will."

They reached the top of the hill at last, both relatively out of breath. Then Bryan turned around to face the direction they'd just came, and let himself take in a few breaths of the clean, sweet air. He gestured for Kenny to do the same. This continued for a long while, and Kenny was surprised to find that it only took a few breaths for him to become revived. Hmm, he thought. Maybe this does have something to do with sorcery.

"All right," Bryan said after a while. "We'll have to walk again soon, so be ready."

Kenny groaned a little.

"Okay. The spot where we're standing is the start of what I like to call the one-hundred yard dash. It was at this spot that Taigor Gillia, still the Alliance's president, started his fifty-three yard run across this patch of field. At the time, he was leader of the Afgalan Freedom Fighters. And Dornerien Hights was leader of the Sorcerer Rebellion. And so, from the top of this hill where Gillia's battle fort was, here—" Bryan pointed across the field to a spot in the middle of it; flat compared to the hill they were standing on—"to that point right there. He carried the Charter of the Rebel Alliance with him, which he had written himself and signed. Come on," he gestured to Kenny. "Gotta walk again." They started back down the hill in the direction they came from, stopping at the point where Bryan had pointed to. "At this spot, Gillia gave the Charter to Dornerien Hights. Hights jogged the other fifty-three yards back to his fort. And during this entire time, both factions were battling the Imperials, independently. So while they were exchanged the charter, there was—flashes overhead; TIE Fighters and the rebel defenders battling in the air; ground fire between the Imperial and rebel armies. It was a miracle the two didn't die while they exchanged the Charter."

Kenny finally looked up at him, wondering what this had to do with anything. But he didn't complain; he didn't say anything. Because at that moment, Bryan looked like one of the sorcerers. His eyes were twinkling in the dim sunlight of Afgalan's twin suns. He was standing up tall, shoulders back, looking out across the field; it seemed as though he weren't even looking at it, like he had gone away from this place, away from reality. He had a certain tame to him, a magical patience that Kenny couldn't force himself to ignore...so Kenny just listened as he continued. "Anyway, after Gillia gave him the Charter, Hights ran back to his own fort. Gotta walk again," Bryan announced. He lead Kenny forward again, towards another point in the field that was on the side of another hill. He stopped and turned back to face the opposite direction again. "On his way into the fort, Hights placed the Charter against his knee and signed his name next to Gillia's. And so the Rebel Alliance was born exactly on, or close to, the spot we're standing on right now six years ago. Then, Hights went into his fort and transmitted the Charter to rebellious factions all over the known galaxy, thus creating the modern day Rebel Alliance. That's the story behind this place." He turned to Kenny and grinned in humor. "I'm sure you're wondering what this has to do with anything."

"Kinda, yeah."

Bryan chuckled and turned back to face the field. "Watch. You see the two suns?" he pointed directly up to the one sun and across the field to the other. "You'll notice that they're about to be directly above where Gillia started his journey across the field and where Hights signed the Charter—where we're standing."

Kenny looked up and then away immediately as the sun burned into his eyes. Blinking away the mirages, he looked over and briefly saw the other sun nearly over the spot on the top of the hill where they had been standing a few minutes ago. "Yeah..."

"Watch."

The suns aligned themselves with the two spots, and the magic continued. The sun's golden-orange light cascaded over the field—and with every plant and blade of grass they touched, the entire sunlit field became a brilliant gold. Every wheat-like plant blew in the soft wind, glinting against the calm light with a warm glow. None of them stooped over; they all lifted their head to the sky in response to the sudden burst of warm light.

Inside, Kenny was more in awe than shock. His felt himself suddenly became warmer with the light; his heart beat with a fiery passion, and his eyes melted into the light, his vision being swallowed by the magic of the golden light of the setting suns. He didn't know what to feel, what to say, what to do. And he didn't care. He wanted to bask in the glow of the light, to be trapped in its warmth for as long as he could. It felt so good...

"Whoa," was the only thing Kenny could force out of his mouth in response to the sight.

He heard Bryan chuckled softly. "Yeah...trust me, buddy. You ain't seen nothin' yet. Paying attention?"

Kenny could only nod.

"You sure."

Kenny didn't take his eyes of the golden field, but nodded again.

"Okaaaay," Bryan said. "Look up at the sun over there in the distance, and keep your eyes there for a few moments."

Kenny hesitated at first, not wanting to take his eyes off the beautiful field. But he did eventually, staring deep into the orange-gold hue of the second sun across the field. He did exactly what Bryan said, probably staring at the sun a little too long.

"All right, now blink off the mirages and look down back at the open field," Bryan told him.

Kenny did, blinked a few times—and nearly fainted from shock and awe. Gaping, he took a step back in surprise. "Oh my God..."

Bryan smiled warmly. "See them?" he asked with a glint in his eye.

Kenny didn't answer. What his eyes were telling him was what kept his vocal cords off.

There, in the distance, people were moving down the side of the other hill. Men, women, and children of all ages and of at least two dozen species appeared out of the air—or so that's how it seemed—in the field. They were draped in all Alliance attire; flight suits, maintenance overalls; Captain's uniforms, officer uniforms. Some were in civilian outfits; everything from fancy tuxedos and black ties to rags and torn shirts; heavily stained pants; some garments were paper thin. Their boots and shoes clomped down onto the field—but were soundless. Also, their distant lips were moving up and down and side-to-side, but still no sound came. Arms were crossed on some; others had their hands at their sides, some swinging them back and forth as they moved. Many walked, some ran; some kids were doing flips and cartwheels in which some fell over, went down, then came up smiling and laughing. Parents shoved their stubborn kids along. Running was also common.

Kenny sensed a feeling of joy even though a few of these mysterious people were angry or sad. It felt like he could feel the warmth and calmness emanating from...whoever they were. Again, the memory of proposing to Danielle came back. "Who...?" he started. "Who are they? The dead?"

Bryan shook his head. "No." He started down the hill towards them. The field was still gold.

Kenny followed.

"They are alive," Bryan continued. He pointed back to where they had been standing. "When they pass under that sun—that point—they will die and go who knows where. But for now, they are still alive."

The people were getting close now. And when Bryan had pointed backward, Kenny had realized something. Those people were appearing as they walked into the field of gold—as they came out from under the second sun. And Bryan had said, more or less, that they would disappear once they reached the first son. They're walking the Charter's path. Gillia's and Hight's path. This was definitely sorcery, but how?

"What you're seeing, Kenny, are the people who have died in the past year who were in the Alliance. Since the Rebel Alliance was born on July 14th, that is when a "Rebel year" ends and all those who have died in the Alliance in the past year make their final trek across this field."

Bryan and Kenny finally reached the first people who were coming. The first two were human beings, with half a dozen Trisalkans after. Then Bingins, Caldorans, a few Fedrellons; Scollons, Elaskens, and the list went on. They walked or ran past Kenny, some smiling at him, some waving. Those who said "hi" only mouthed it. They couldn't talk to him. Others nodded to him, while others ignored him, or didn't even look at him. Kenny watched a human man after he passed. The human walked up the hill, smiling the whole way, until he reached the spot the sun was hovering over.

And indeed, he disappeared, walking straight out of the real world into the realm of the unknown and the who-knows-what. Into the mystery that every species known could never figure out.

Several others followed, all disappearing once they hit the spot.

Kenny looked over to Bryan, who was standing in front of one of the Trisalkan walkers; and the two were exchanging friendly smiles. But they weren't speaking. And as Kenny walked over towards them, Bryan said "Ga-bye Kas. Have fun wherever you're going." The Trisalkan waved goodbye and continued up the hill, and eventually disappeared too. "Will Danielle be here soon?" Kenny asked, looking out across the field at the now hundreds trekking towards him.

Bryan nodded. "She'll be along here soon I'm sure." He looked at Kenny's face. "You'll get to see her one last time."

Kenny smiled. "Good."

A silence ensued for a moment or two.

Kenny broke it. "I thought you said these people were alive; but then you said they were dead."

Bryan grinned apologetically. "Yeah, I know. Sorry about that. But by our standards and knowledge, they are dead."

"So are these, like, their spirits?"

Bryan shook his head now. "No. These are their souls. Their life's essence. Their souls..." he stopped to take in the beautiful sight; of the gold field, the lovely golden-orange suns, the souls of the Alliance as they made their way to their end.

Kenny then saw someone he recognized.

Captain Kren Haulit of the Cruiser Urenstad.

The Dezfastian alien was walking peacefully up the hill now, smiling at Kenny the whole way.

Kenny grinned back almost sadly. "Captain Haulit," he said. He struggled to find words, and finally managed to spit out, "Nice job at Sloman. You kicked the Gatekeeper's ass with that explosion."

Haulit's smile brightened. "Thank you," he mouthed. He then gave a two finger salute—which Kenny returned—and started up the hill, disappearing like the rest.

"How come I can't hear them?" Kenny asked Bryan.

"One of things that keeps their realm and our realm separate," came the answer. "Though their souls are still alive, they are technically dead. Their souls go to another existence entirely. The charm the sorcerer's placed on this land lets both realms be partially united. You can't hear or touch them, they can't touch or talk to you. It's an equal but balanced existence."

"Hmm," Kenny hummed. "What a place."

"Yep. I found out about it from one of the sorcerers who put the charm on the field, after my friend Jennie Kopper died. That's the other thing: only those who have lost someone dear to their hearts can see this. It can be a lover, a wife, or a good friend. It my case it was a good friend. In yours, it's Danielle."

"How many people do you recognize in this years group?" Kenny asked.

"So far, about nine out of all of them."

Kenny saw another man in a tuxedo pass by him. That was the fifteenth one he'd seen. He leaned towards Bryan and said, "Let me guess, those guys in the tuxes were the politicians that died at the Birletta Conference."

Bryan nodded. "Yup." He pointed to a human coming towards him, and then to two other distant figures. "That guy comin' at us is Lieutenant Darloor Opala, one of my Faith pilots, and those other two are Deman Hetter and Hilgo Sawwo, security guards aboard the Faith."

Kenny pointed to someone now too. "Hey, that's Gerth Pollister. He died in the battle." He turned to Bryan, confused. "He was Crystal Star though."

Bryan cocked his head once. "Doesn't matter. He died fighting on the Alliance's side. Doesn't matter if you've been in the Alliance for six years, six minutes, or a sixth of a second. If you died fighting alongside the Alliance, then you come here."

Gerth walked fast up the hill, smiling, like Haulit, the whole way up.

Meanwhile, Bryan continued to point out people he knew. "Deck Officer Forenzo Deanna, engineer Kayla Rosco, and that is..." he chuckled. "That is the reason we're out here right now. Kenny, look who's coming."

Kenny took his eyes off Gerth and looked ahead to where Bryan was pointing. And there she was. Danielle Bonard, his beloved wife, was running towards him as fast as she could, bounding across the field of gold. And before Kenny even knew what he was doing, he was running down towards her, spirits up and heart racing.

Bryan just smiled at the sight. He then sat down and crossed his legs...and waited, staring out at the beautiful landscape.

Kenny, cursing the sorcerers who made this place—because he remembered he couldn't hear her or touch her—charged down the hill, nearly tripping once, down to the spot where the two finally arrived in front of each other. For a while, they just stood and stared at each other. Kenny's arms were bent slightly, blood rushing, muscles twitching; urging him to hug her. His lips wanted to kiss hers so bad that he could barely hold himself back. Again, his cursed, and this time blessed too, the sorcerers who made this place so magical. Danielle looked as if she was holding back the same of everything. "Hey Danielle," he said after a while.

She beamed beautifully at him. "Hi," she mouthed.

Say it, Kenny thought. Say it or you might forget to say it. "I love you."

Danielle looked at him lovingly. "I. Love. You. Too." She mouthed slowly, making sure Kenny understood.

She then started for him, as if she was actually going to hug him.

Kenny didn't move, hoping that maybe Bryan had been wrong, and that they could indeed touch each other. As she got closer, Kenny waited. And then, she walked up to right in front of him—and then through him. Right through him. He felt a tingling sensation. His heart warmed up madly, his blood flowed with a fiery passion. Every part of his body felt like an entire galaxy of brightly twinkling stars, each glowing and bursting with energy and joy. For a moment—only a moment—he was floating in open space, gazing out at a beauteous starscape; a milk white galaxy with billions of distant stars, all orbiting one center, one gold-glowing ball of light at the center. It was almost like heaven. And for the first time in days, Kenny's stress was gone, his grieving over, and all the pressures of living his life were gone. He was truly at peace. Then the moment was gone, every part of Kenny yearning for it to come back, and in front of him was empty field. No Danielle. Fearing he had lost her again, Kenny snapped his gaze around, and found her standing right behind him, back to him, and he remembered that she passed right through him.

She turned around, and beamed at him again. But she was different now. Her entire form had become clearer, and Kenny could now see through her partially.

"Danielle, what happened?"

She smiled, and pointed up to Bryan, then gestured for him to follow her.

So he did.

Bryan stood up as they approached him, smiling the whole time. "Hey Danielle. How are you?"

"Good," she mouthed. She then played charades with him, describing what had just happened the minute before.

"Ah," Bryan said a moment of watching this. He turned to face Kenny. "What just happened is this: she gave you part of her soul. That's why she's clarvescent, or however you say that word."

"Oh," Kenny said, looking at his wife. "Thanks," he said slowly.

She smiled again, tears now forming in her eyes. Wiping her eyes and she began to sob, she turned up the hill and started the slow march up it. Bryan moved out of the way, and Kenny brushed past him hurriedly to catch up. He walked by her side by side, not taking his eyes off her. The two stopped right before the spot where the gold field ended, and just stood there for a while, Kenny not saying anything, tears welling up and blurring his vision. He didn't want to say good-bye to her now. She was taken from him unfairly, for simply doing something good for the Alliance. He wanted so bad to go with her, and he knew she could see this. So he smiled and turned away for a moment, wiping the tears from his eyes with his sleeve. When he looked again, she was smiling too. "Bye," he said quietly.

She waved. "Bye," she mouthed, and took another few steps, disappearing from reality forever. And that's when Kenny broke at last, unable to hold it back anymore. Now her warm love was lost forever.

Kenny trudged back to a waiting Bryan, who said nothing but stared sympathetically at him.

"I'm sorry man," he said.

"Thank you," Kenny said almost immediately. With that, he hugged his friend, as a friend. "Thank you so much for this."

Bryan smiled and hugged him back. "Your welcome man." He backed off then extended his arm out.

Kenny clapped hands with him, then leaned in and clapped him hard on the shoulder, Bryan doing the same on his shoulder. After this moment was over, they waved their good-bye to the field and started back for Uken City as the trek continued in the gold field, the souls making their way towards their completion.

"Can I tell you something?" Kenny asked after a while.

"Sure."

"During the battle, the Gatekeeper's bridge shields were brought down and I had a chance to destroy the bridge and the command deck, and possibly Vader. But I didn't do it." He stopped and looked his friend directly in the eye, serious. "Because they took her away from me. I loved her, and they took her away from me. And I want to make sure the Empire never forgets how much that hurt. And killing myself wouldn't help."

Bryan grinned at him. "That's the spirit, and that's what the Alliance wants. People who want to make sure the Empire learns it lesson. Besides, attacking the command deck of a Super Star Destroyer is suicide, shields or no shields so I'm really glad you didn't do it."

Kenny laughed, brightening. "Yeah, that's the other reason I didn't."

Bryan laughed too, then extended his hand at him. "By the way, since you joined the Alliance: welcome to the game."

"Thank you."

They shook hands, in the shadow of the setting sun of the Afgalan field.