Chapter 6

Jeff Darkrider had just settled down for the night. He sipped on his cup of espresso, a favorite of his, and he sighed. Jessica had been with Michael all day. He wondered what had gone on in there, but left it to Jessica's better judgement. He was the inferior officer and she his superior - he had no right to question her authority. The door chime then sounded, and he sighed again as he got up. So much for relaxing.

He opened the door to see Michael Darkrider looking him in the face. Instead of the peaceful meeting Michael had hoped for, he was instead greeted by a left hand hook to his jaw. Jeff's hand connected, Michael not expecting it. He started at Jeff for a brief second, then all hell broke loose.

Michael charged Jeff, slamming him into the wall of his quarters. Retaliating, Jeff brought his foot up and kicked Michael off of him. At a loss for breath, Michael stood almost wearily, yet swung around, bringing his right leg up, connecting it to Jeff's face. Jeff landed with a thud onto a wooden table, yet jumped back up. He then swung his arm around, catching Michael across the nose. The force was enough to knock Michael down onto a small chair. As he fell, he kicked out with his legs and swept Jeff onto the floor. Unable to take anymore, both men just sat there, gasping for air.

"What the hell do you want?" Jeff asked between breaths.

"I . . .came to talk about . . . Jessica." Michael finally spat out. He wiped his hand across his nose to reveal a smear of crimson. He wanted nothing more than to pound Jeff more for that, but he came to talk about Jessica.

"What about?" By now, Jeff has regained his breath. Although older than Michael, he was always the faster one to recover.

"Why does she close herself off? Why does she shut others out?" Michael pulled himself to his feet, surveyed the damage. A broken chair, a broken table, and other things lying about. So much for peaceful.

Jeff sighed as he sat himself down onto the couch. "She does what she does because of what happened to her parents." No more in the mood to fight, Jeff resigned to his younger brother. "They were murdered when she was 16."

"Sounds like someone I know . . ." Michael bit back. His parents were killed when he was 18, not much better off.

"Give me a break!" Jeff shouted. "It wasn't my fault! How was I to know?"

Michael rolled his eyes. "Just . . . tell me what happened to Jessica."

"She and her family hid on Corellia from the Jedi Purge. Yet, they were found out by Darth Vader. Jessica came home one day from school and found that her parents were dead. They were all that mattered to her, and ever since she hasn't been able to realize that it wasn't her fault." He picked up part of the broken chair, and then wondered whatever happened to his cup of espresso.

"Why are you wanting to know so much about her?" he asked cautiously. Even before he heard it from Michael, Jeff knew that the impossible had happened, just in one day.

"Because . . . Strange as it may sound, I care for her." Michael sighed, then walked to the open door. Between clenched teeth, he said, "Thank you very much."

"You're welcome," Jeff spat back.


Michael caught a glimpse of an Imperial uniform as he turned the corner. It was Jessica and she was in a hurry. Quickening his pace, her caught up to her, grabbed her arm. "We have to talk," he said, pushing her gently into her quarters. He locked his eyes on her confused face, and continued, "Once upon a time, the woman I loved was killed."

Jessica studied Michael's face, all the time wondering why he was telling her this. "Her name was Katherine. She was . . ." he trailed off, remembering Katherine, "very beautiful. Blonde hair, blue eyes, and a very strong will." He paused for a moment, glancing at Jessica. Looking at her, he realized she had the same iron will that Katherine used to possess him. Shaking the thought away, he continued. "We were to be married. A few weeks before the wedding, I went on a small trade mission for the family business. I came back just in time to see my hometown destroyed by an Imperial Star Destroyer. There were . . . no survivors." He swallowed hard, forcing his tears back. What he didn't tell her was that his own brother was the one who fired on their town, acting on behalf of his damned Empire, killing their parents and Katherine.

He looked over at Jessica again, and caught her confused gaze. "Jessica, what I'm trying to say is that it's not your fault. You can't keep living just so you can die. Don't let life pass you by."

Something inside of her snapped, and a tiny voice said Go with it. Go with what? She gazed up at Michael, and saw what it was that had been nagging her ever since he came aboard the Dark Force and stepped into her life. Here was potential for a new life, and she was trying her best to push it all away.

Michael looked deep into Jessica's eyes, and there he saw everything that haunted her. He could see the lost child there. The one that never came out, and always hid from everyone. The pain of losing what claim she had to life. The pain of losing those she loved more than life itself. The confusion of learning to love again. And he, too, shared that pain. The pain of losing Katherine had ripped him apart, had left a hole inside of him the wasn't comparable to anything. And now, the pain wasn't throbbing as much as it had in recent times. The only thing he had was an impulse. He then gave into that impulse. He let his lips touch hers, and savor the flavor they had. He almost demanded that she respond, and she did, with equal intensity. For almost what seemed like an eternity, he pulled back and let out a deep sigh. Jessica gasped for breath, yet was not angry. Instead, she only wanted to kiss him more, to feel what she was feeling. She laid her hand on his cheek and rested her lips on his once more, venturing out on her own. Neither knew it when they fell back onto the bed, nor did they want to stop their newfound love from growing.