Disclaimer: Not mine, never was, never will be, woe is me.

This took a bit longer to get out than I thought it would, but oh well, I made upfor it, in that this one is a bit longer than the others. Enjoy. I hope.

Chapter 1: Leaving Home

1 year later: Corellia

Are you threatening me, Master Jedi?

I have the power to save the one you love!

I'm going to end this once, and for all!

It's not the Jedi Way!

Don't listen to him!

I need him!

"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"


Former Jedi Master Carmena Ellis woke up startled from her sleep.

Kiara's howling from across the room had awoken her from her slumber. Brushing her disheveled blonde hair behind her face, she wearily crawled out of bed crossing the room to her crying child.

Carmena had since taken residence with her father on Corellia. It had taken her several days to track him down.

Sadly Carmena had learned her mother, her daughter's namesake, had died a few years prior. Her father, Girard Ellis, had moved to the far side of the city away from the residence Carmena had known from her childhood and from the few visits she had taken to see them during the course of her life as a Jedi.

Her father had been welcoming to her after the loss of her mother. He had been quite eager for company and Carmena had been just as eager to get to know her father outside of the few vague memories she had of him.

Girard had asked about Kiara's father at first, but Carmena had refused to tell him and thankfully he didn't press the issue much aftershe was born. Something for which Carmena was grateful.

Her thoughts quickly returned to her baby.

This was quite a normal occurrence for her 6 month old little girl to cry, but tonight it seemed far more desperate and far harsher.

"Shh…Kiara, it's okay… I'm here."

Carmena reached out into the basinet to her child and lifting her into her arms. Normally, Kiara would reach out to Carmena's arms in return, but tonight she did not.

Kiara barely acknowledged her touch amidst all her wails.

Usually her cries were for food, wanting to be changed, or perhaps simply wanting to be held...

Carmena frowned. She cautiously reached out into her baby's mind in an attempt to calm her.

Her eyes widened when she discovered the source of Kiara's distress. It was due to something she would have never expected.

Something she didn't even sense until tapping in to the Force in order to touch Kiara's mind.

A massive disturbance in the Force.

Something was happening, something that would forever change the course of history…

Carmena just didn't know what.

She could sense, however, that it was not good. The future was clouded in a veil of darkness.

Odd that her untrained child had felt what she had not noticed until she had sought it out.

It was outstanding thata childof such a young age could sense the disturbance.

But, Carmena supposed perhaps she shouldn't have been surprised. Kiara was strong in the force, very much stronger than herself.

She tried unsuccessfully to calm her child, as she attempted to determine the source of the disturbance.

What could have happened?

Had the Separatists won?

She didn't think it possible, but it was best to be ready for any possible outcome.

Whatever happened, it was bad, to say the least. She sensed great loss in the Living Force.

Carmena set her still weeping child back in her crib, sending a powerful compulsion into her child's mind and soon Kiara was fast asleep.

She left her child's side and Carmena approached the comm. system on the wall.

She hadn't spoken to the Jedi since her unexplained disappearance months ago, but what ever caused the disturbance, it was important that she determined the cause. So, her fear of facing her fellow Jedi had to be placed aside for the moment.

Opening a channel to the Jedi Temple she spoke, "This is Former Jedi Master Carmena Ellis, there has been a great disturbance in the Force. What has happened? Please respond."

Static was her only reply.

"This is Carmena Ellis. Please reply."

Nothing.

Then something; a message appeared on her view screen.

A coded retreat message?

Her breath caught in her throat as she read the communication.

"Code 112: Urgent! All Jedi return to the Jedi Temple. The Clone War is over. The Separatists are defeated. Report back to Coruscant immediately."

The Clone War was over? Why would the victory of the Republic cause her child and herself distress?

"I have a bad feeling about this." Carmena voiced uneasily.

Letting out a breath she hadn't known she'd been holding, she pressed the comm. button once more, opening all channels.

"Code Number 3213, this is Former Jedi Master Carmena Ellis. What has happened? I received a coded retreat message from Jedi Temple…"

No sooner had she finished her sentence and she was receiving a signal in response.

Before her stood a holographic image of a dark haired man. He stood a clear foot taller than herself. He did look vaguely familiar to her for some reason, she was sure she had seen him before.

Ah yes… now she remembered.

He was a Senator…from Alderaan if memory served.

Carmena had seen him several times in the Senate when she had been guard to Palpatine.

She recalled he had been a quite outspoken member in the Senate, against both the war and Palpatine himself.

His home planet of Alderaan was a pacifist one, and so his aversion to the war was understandable, she supposed.

"Bail Organa?" His name came to her lips as soon as she recalled it.

"Glad to see you alive and well Jedi Ellis, we had begun to fear all the Jedi were dead."

Carmena's legs nearly gave way from under her…

"Dead?"

Bail's face was somber, "Yes, I am afraid the Supreme Chancellor has ordered the execution of the entire Jedi Order. It would appear that Palpatine is the Sith Lord the Jedi have been looking for."

Carmena became numb at the revelation. Her inability to move was all that saved her from falling to the floor in despair.

"All the Jedi……all of them…" she nearly choked, "Gone?"

Senator Organa looked at her warily, "I'm afraid we have only made contact with Master Yoda and Obi-wan Kenobi…there may be others… but I fear they may be limited."

Carmena's nearly choked. She felt ill.

She had taken Kiara away, in the minute possibility that Palpatine posed some threat, but she never imagined this.

It had just been a precaution…she never thought…

"Chancellor Palpatine?… A Sith Lord?" Her voice caught in her throat, "How? I don't believe it… I…"

Palpatine couldn't be evil, he couldn't be…

"I…can't…It's impossible…"

Carmena felt on the verge of collapse.

She glanced over in the direction of Kiara's sleeping form.

Her child.

His…child.

A revelation hit her like a brick. That had to have been his plan all along!

He had to have been using her in order to steal away their child to be his new Sith Apprentice.

No doubt he had figured out she had been pregnant with his child when she left Coruscant.

Carmena had fallen for his deception hook line and sinker. But, she could not wallow in that now. She had to look to the future, she had to ensure nothing bad befell Kiara.

Strong resolve flowed steadily into her mind. She had to protect her.

Her pure anger at Palpatine's exploitation of her was close to overtaking her grief. She was having trouble composing herself; Carmena didn't which for the Senator to see her like this. It was hardly fitting of a Jedi, former or not.

"I'm afraid it is true Lady Jedi, the coded retreat message you mentioned is most certainly a trap to get any remaining Jedi back to the Jedi Temple where they will be killed on sight. Master Yoda and Master Kenobi are planning on going back to the Temple to modify the message so no Jedi fall into the trap. We are headed to Coruscant as we speak."

Carmena felt tears coming to her eyes, but she held them back and responded.

"I wish you luck in your mission Senator Organa. Give Master Yoda and Kenobi my regards. And may the Force be with you all." She replied with strained composure.

Bail nodded, but looked to her with concern, "Where do you plan on going Master Ellis? No doubt Palpatine will seek out all Jedi, even those who have left the Order."

Carmena sighed, "I honestly don't know Senator, but I promise you I will not allow myself to be found by Palpatine, or anyone else who would have cause to do me harm." Or to my baby…

Senator Organa looked solemn.

"Good Luck to you Master Jedi. I sincerely hope to see you again in the future. The side of light will prevail once more. I know it will…and it must. Good-bye and May the Force be with you as well."

The image of Bail Organa faded away, leaving Carmena to simply stare at the bare wall behind where it once stood.

She didn't know how long she stood there in her coma-like state… Seconds. Minutes. Hours. Force, it felt like forever…It was just too much to take in.

But, she had to; she had to stay strong, for her little girl.

She broke out of her stupor and glanced to Kiara.

The child had begun to stir but thankfully did not wake.

Where would she go now? Corellia was probably the first place Palpatine would think to look for her; she had mentioned to him more than once that it was her home planet.

She had to leave to somewhere far away. It had to be somewhere in the Outer Rim, somewhere outside of the Republic influence.

There was a knock at the door.

Carmena's head turned sharply at the noise; in all her confusion she hadn't sensed her father's approach.

"Everything alright in there Carmena? I heard the baby crying and heard you talking to someone…"

Carmena approached the door placing a hand on its frame.

"We're okay Dad…Just fine..."

Apparently she hadn't sounded too convincing because he immediately opened the door.

He saw the distraught look upon Carmena's face she had unsuccessfully concealed from him.

Girard's face looked genuinely concerned.

"What's the matter?" He quickly looked over her shoulder in a state of panic, "Is Kiara alright?"

Carmena nodded, "No, no she's fine…"

For now.

He looked into her eyes as if searching for something, as if they would tell him what had troubled her so.

The action was futile, as her father was no Jedi.

But... it reminded her of her Master. The way that, as if by one single look, he would know all her thoughts.

He always seemed to know how to make her feel better, even when she felt inconsolable.

Now, at the peak of her anguish, he wouldn't be able to help her.

He was dead.

Was he though? She wasn't positive. Organa hadn't said specifically, but he had implied that the remaining Jedi were all but a handful.

And somewhere in her gut, she knew that Windu was not amoung the survivors, and a Jedi's intuition was seldom wrong.

Carmena couldn't take it any longer, her defenses began to crack and she was soon reduced to tears, falling to the ground.

At least, she was about to fall to the ground.

A set of arms had broken her decent. Blearily, she looked up to her father.

"They're dead." She said flatly.

Girard knelt down to comfort her. "Who Carmena? Whose dead?"

Using her sleeve, she wiped the tears from her eyes as best she could.

"The Jedi…almost every one of them."

Her father's eyes widened. "What? How?"

Carmena looked to the floor away from her father's gaze, "The Sith have taken over the Republic."

He jerked to his feet in surprise. Disbelief was present in his eyes; she didn't need her Jedi senses to see that.

"How do you know this?" Her father attempted to reason with her. "Are you sure you weren't having a bad dream and that your just upset over nothing?"

Carmena got to her feet, her tears subsiding.

"Force, I wish I was."

She regained her control, approaching the empty supply bag across the room, lifting it onto her bed; she began filling it with her few belongings.

Girard entered the room, beside her.

"What are you doing?"

Carmena looked to her father. "I'm sorry, I can't stay. I really wish I could. I want you to know that if things had been different… I wish… I wish that I could have gotten to know you better."

She closed her bag and set it next to Kiara's basinet.

"But, I have to go."

Girard took a step in front of her.

"Go? But where?"

Stopping she took his hand in her own.

"I know you don't know what's going on. But soon you will. And soon you will understand why I have to leave. Why I have to hide."

Girard was about to protest but Carmena stopped him.

"Please Dad, I have to leave, and I can't tell you where I am going; it will only put you in danger."

He finally conceded and nodded brushing his hand through his black hair.

"Alright, Carmena. I don't understand what is going on, but I trust you know what you are doing.", he placed his hand on her shoulder firmly,"Please take care of yourself and Kiara, I don't know what I would do if anything happened to you."

Carmena embraced her father and then approached Kiara's sleeping form. As she picked her up, Kiara awoke startled.

Stretching within her mother's grasp she began rubbing her eyes groggily with her tiny fingers.

Carmena turned to Girard soberly, "I think it would be best if you went into hiding as well. You probably don't have to leave Corellia. But, I think you should move to another part of the planet, maybe even change your name."

Girard nodded with understanding, "So, in case whoever is after you doesn't come looking for me for information on your whereabouts."

"Yes." Carmena replied bending down and picked up her bag to leave.

"Wait, Carmena." She turned to her father.

Girard reached up and touched Kiara's face tenderly and she giggled in return, grabbing hold of his large fingers with her own tiny hands.

"Take my ship, The Orion. It's an older model but she reliable. She's only a small transport ship but I've added a few weapons and she's got excellent maneuverability and she could easily be modified for whatever you need. Force knows you'll need her more than I ever will."

Carmena frowned, "Girard, I can't take your ship. I know you love The Orion, you've spent forever working on her. I couldn't…"

Girard held up his hand stopping her.

"Just take it. Please, for me. I can't think of anyone else I would rather give her to than you. I know you need it."

He would never say it but Carmena knew that Girard had regretted giving her up to the Jedi all those years ago.

He had put his heart and soul into that ship, and giving it to her was a way in which he felt he could apologize for not raising her and sending her away into the life of a Jedi; a life that had now become a death sentence.

Carmena conceded to his request.

"Alright Dad, I will take The Orion."

She leant into him in an embrace, with Kiara nestled carefully between them.

"I want you to know you did the right thing when you gave me to the Jedi Order. As a Jedi, I served a greater purpose; I made a difference in the galaxy. I saved lives…"

"And now your own is in danger." Girard sighed shaking his head in frustration with himself.

"If I hadn't let that Jedi take you when you were a child, you would have had a good life here on Corellia. You wouldn't have had to worry about hiding, about being killed…"

Carmena shifted Kiara in her arms and backed away from Girard looking into his eyes.

"I know nothing I say will set you at ease. But, know that whatever happens to me, it is not your fault and I do not blame you for anything, not for an instant. You made the right decision letting the Jedi take me."

Girard said nothing, but he visibly relented.

"Good-bye Father. May the Force be with you."

"And with you Carmena, and with you."