Kyell Tallen stepped into Tairan Street, glancing over the few beings who moved about under the lamp-lit night. All law-abiding citizens of Rismyne had gone home by now, leaving the night to the rogues, thieves, and alley waifs.

Not to mention Rebels, Kyell thought with an inward grin as he kicked at a piece of machinery lying on the ground. Suddenly he stopped and picked it up. Is this what I think it is?

A stun bracelet. Kyell shuddered and dumped it in a nearby recycler unit. Slavery was yet another reason he had joined the Rebellion.

Besides the fact, of course, that the Empire had killed his family and confiscated their property just because Governor Shelpion was bored and greedy. Kyell had been at the Imperial academy on Carida when he had heard the news.

His family had been investigated for "anti-government sympathies," which was an enormous lie in itself. Kyell's father had protested the stormtroopers' rough treatment of his wife, and the entire Tallen family was slain for "resisting justice." Enraged and grief-stricken, Kyell joined the Rebellion on his next leave and began working as a slicer, a trade he excelled in.

Never thought I'd be coming back, the twenty-two-year-old thought, glancing at the familiar Crenellian night sky. A cool breeze ruffled his sandy brown hair.

While slicing in Imperial records, Kyell had found evidence that his brother, at the time of the debacle eight years old, had fled into the streets and had never been found. Five years after the tragedy, Kyell stared at the data he'd accidentally stumbled across, mind spinning in shock and sudden hope. Could Jae have survived on the street for this long?

Five years was an eternity on the harsh streets of Rismyne. Kyell had read the statistics. Most poor folks who ended up homeless here died within three or four months. A few made it for a year or two. But five years . . .

Still, it was worth a hard search. Kyell had believed his entire family to be dead. The slimmest chance that Jae had survived was enough to have him begging leave from his commander and searching the streets of Rismyne for his brother with a microcular if necessary.

Kyell stepped into The Rainbow's End. He was tired, footsore, and thirsty—a little break wouldn't harm his chances of finding Jae, he hoped.

Just inside the door he paused, blue eyes flashing. A youth with spiky green hair stood in front of the portly owner, hand out, palm up. Several other menacing-looking malcontents backed him up.

"Come on, old man. Spit out the credits. I'm in a bad mood."

"But Kaltyk, I already paid you this week," the graying man said, swallowing. "I don't have enough right now!"

"Oh, too bad," Kaltyk said without a trace of regret, grabbing the man's collar. "I'm gonna have to teach you a lesson, just like I do the street brats." The youth's fist waved before the cantina owner's eyes.

"Hold it," Kyell said, stepping toward them. "That's no way to treat an elder. Every Crenellian knows that."

Kaltyk released his intended victim and spun around to face his new opponent. "Who do you think you are?" The cantina owner slunk out of sight.

"A Crenellian."

Kaltyk's buddies surrounded Kyell smoothly and efficiently.

"Yeah, well soon you're going to be dead, friend Crenellian." Kaltyk's voice was smug and content. "Go on, comrades. Let's teach him not to mess with the Dragons."

Kyell spun before they struck, avoiding two wildly swinging fists, ducking and rolling against their legs to break this deadly circle. One gang member fell with a surprised shout, and Kyell bounced to his feet, his face only inches from Kaltyk's.

Kaltyk jerked back, but not fast enough. Kyell's fist found the gang leader's jaw with a satisfying crunch. He grinned ferally, content with this one blow, whatever happened next. This was a man, only a little younger than Kyell, and the Rebel knew without further research that Kaltyk deserved a thorough thrashing. Kyell hoped he would be the one to give it to him.

Somebody grabbed Kyell's arm and spun him around, shoving him onto a table which broke under the blow, dumping them both on the floor. Kyell extended his arm and kicked upward, catching the teen in his kidneys, but the grip on his arm did not slacken enough for him to break free. He bounded up and continued fighting despite the encumbrance, using his greater experience, strength, and training as well as he could. Then someone else grabbed his other arm, and two others began to belabor him.

Kyell twisted, kicking out, trying to use the leverage of one against the other, but they had done this too often. Kyell's commando training had rusted—he'd spent too much time sitting in front of comps, lately. Now they were going to give him the beating he had wished for Kaltyk.

Before they could finish the lesson, four stormtroopers appeared in The Rainbow's End, summoned by the owner. Kyell had never thought he'd be glad to see that repulsive white armor, but he was now. The hands on his arms loosened suddenly, dropping the young Rebel to the floor.

"What's going on here?"

Kyell dragged himself to his feet, bleeding in three or four places and nursing a bruised rib. "These vrelts were threatening the owner of this cantina."

"Lies!" Kaltyk blasted. "This scum was disturbing the peace, and we law-abiding citizens wouldn't stand for it. We found him for the sake of the Empire, though he struggled like a dust-adder and hurt some of us."

That, at least was true. Several of the teens were fingering a bloody nose, black eye, or sore rib. One was doubled up on the floor, gasping like a crell-fish out of water. But Kaltyk had stayed out of the fight, even after Kyell had punched him. He'd let his cronies battle the lone Rebel, preferring not to risk further injury to himself.

"Is this true?" the lieutenant stormtrooper asked the cantina keeper.

The man glanced at Kaltyk. The youth's hard eyes told him that if he stuck with the truth, he would pay dearly. He caught the message and nodded miserably.

The lieutenant turned back to the stunned Kyell Tallen. "You are under arrest on charges of disturbing the peace."

Kyell swallowed. So much for his search for Jae, and most likely for him and his Rebel friends, as well.

X

Governor Mynan Shelpion fingered the gold knob of his black crystallite cane, the ruby in the ring on his puffy hand flashing in the bright light of his office. "And that's all you've been able to get out of the prisoner?"

"Yes, sir. Only his name, Kyell Tallen, and his claimed reason for coming to Rismyne. Personally, I think that talk about looking for his brother is garbage. I was on the squad that suppressed the Tallen family. No one got away except this Kyell, whom we later heard skipped out on leave from the Carida academy. His instructor there was sure he had joined the Rebellion."

Shelpion tossed the datapad he'd been studying down on his desk. "As I remember it, an eight-year-old boy ran out the door and was never found."

Captain Anlessic snorted. "No child could survive the night streets of Rismyne."

"Still, conduct a search. Our having the boy would have profound effects on the prisoner. Has Tallen admitted to Rebel involvement yet?"

"No, sir. He has a unique ability to resist interrogation."

Shelpion looked up at him. "Keep a double-sharp lookout for Rebels, Captain. Arrest even slightly suspicious characters: Bothans, Calamari, Wookiees, you know the type."

Anlessic nodded. "Yes, sir."