AN: I would like to thank BrentusofGath for beta-ing this.

Part Two

Krista was glad Algis trusted her enough to finally send her on a mission. They were checking out an ice planet Luke discovered earlier as a possible base sight; from the description, it would be the last place the Imperial forces would look for them. Luke was in a sleep cycle and as usual Krista was wide-awake.

She sat quietly in the copilot's seat looking at the stars, this was her favorite part of flying. The emptiness of space always seemed like home to her and today was no exception. This was her first time being this far out on the rim and the tranquillity made her brave.

'Breath in as much air as you can. Now, slowly breathe out; let all your air out and all your fears with it. Think about the sight of him coming into the room. The horrible breathing sound he made.'

"You are doing much better." Ben said, then realized she wasn't aware he was there.

"I was until you scared me half to death."

"Sorry, I thought you saw me during your last breath," Ben apologized.

"No! I was thinking about... well, I was forcing myself to think about the one thing that scares me; to help me overcome my fears."

"Brave, considering your earlier problems with night terrors." Ben was impressed by her initiative.

"What are you doing here? Did I accidentally bump your holo-emitter?"

"What holo-emitter? Oh! You think I'm a hologram! No, I'm not a hologram. I'm a Force Ghost," Ben said calmly, watching her reactions.

"A what?" Krista's disbelief was evident from her tone.

"I, and a few others learned to retain our personality when we return to the Force and are able to visit for brief periods of time."

"You're dead! How ...?"

"About a year ago when Luke and Leia were getting the plans for the Death Star to the Rebel Alliance, I died at the hands of Darth Vader." He stopped when he noticed the mention of Darth Vader drained all the blood out of her face.

"Are you all right?"

"Yes, I just haven't heard that name in a long time. He was the one who killed my parents."

"Was one of your parents a Jedi? Maybe I knew them."

"My mother. She was injured by the clones during the betrayal and my father took her in and nursed her back to health. They fled to a small outpost but 'he' found them and killed them."

"I'm sorry," Ben said with a sadness beyond words at the thought of everyone that was lost. "What was her name?"

"I don't know. They were afraid to tell me, for fear of 'him'. It was as if they thought if they said it, 'he' would hear them," Krista said softly. "I can't even mourn her by her real name. I hate everything he is, was and ever did."

Ben looked back at Luke sleeping and said, "Not everything a person produces is bad."

"We won't wake him up. He sleeps like a rock," Krista said, misinterpreting his gesture.

Ben smiled sadly at the misunderstanding but thought it was for the best.

"Did I understand correctly that you saw it happen?" Ben asked carefully.

"Yes, I was playing a hide and find game when he came in. My friend saw it too and screamed. He thought she was me and killed her in my place. The stormtroopers took them away, then I ran out into the night and have been running every since. I started hanging around the base, doing odd jobs for food and learning to repair ships, but I didn't tell anyone who I was or what I saw. I just know one day he will find me and kill me, too."

Ben winced at the thought of the boy he raised and loved doing such a detestable thing. "I hope one day you will find peace."

"If I see him dead, I will." Krista said, more devoid of feeling than he ever heard in a young girl before.

"Hey! You started without me!" Luke said rubbing his eyes. "What's up?"

"Just a friendly talk to get to know each other better." Ben assured Luke he wasn't being left out. "Krista was working on her calming techniques and I complimented her on her progress."

"She is doing much better; she only woke me up screaming once on this trip. What are we going to work on tonight?" He asked as he stretched, then folded up on the floor facing them.

"I think for now, you two are doing well to work on the things you have started. I will stop by later with the next lesson. Krista has been through enough for one night."

Ben started to fade when Krista insisted. "Ben!"

"What?" Ben reappeared.

"Is my mother one of the ...?" She motioned at him.

"No, I'm sorry." He saw the sadness in her eyes as she resigned herself to the loss of her mother again.

After Ben vanished, Luke asked, "Did you have a good visit?" He tried not to feel jealous at Krista's extra time with Ben.

"Yes, you could have told me he was a Force Ghost. I thought he was using a new fangled holo-communication device." Krista scolded Luke.

"I wasn't aware you didn't know." Luke apologized. "You asked about your mother; did Ben know her?"

"I don't know. I don't know her real name," Krista said sadly.

/ Jette Boyne, / Krista and Luke heard the familiar Coruscant accent call out proudly through the Force.

Luke watched as Krista mouthed the name silently over and over as tears welled up in her eyes. She couldn't bring herself to say the name out loud, out of fear and respect for her parents' wishes.

/ I knew her well. A mean little thing with a Jedi mind trick. /

"A Jedi mind trick?" she asked, not expecting an answer.

/ Next lesson. / Ben said.

The nav-computer alarm sounded; they were about to drop out of hyper-space, then the mechanical voice announced, "Destination: Hoth."

oOo