Cecilia made her way down the bustling streets of Logar together with Silver, Visse, and Misty. She had ditched the ugly scrap cloth robe for a solid black one weeks ago, but that didn't stop everyone from staring at them as they walked through the grey, chilly spaceport back to their ship.

"Man, you'd think that for a spaceport in the Outer Rim we'd be far from the weirdest ones to pass through here," Silver commented as more people stared at them as they went by.

"Tell me about it," said Cecilia. "I could understand if I was wearing my old disguise, or not at all. But my nice new black robe makes everyone stare at us? That's just bullshit!"

They happened to be walking by an old clone trooper at that moment, and when he heard Cecilia's voice he whipped around and stared at her black robe with wide, dark eyes. His female companion turned as well, looking at him in surprise.

"And another one!" Cecilia exclaimed, exasperated. She turned around for a better look at the old clone trooper. There was something strangely familiar about him, and even through the fabric of her hood she locked eyes with him. She shivered slightly, though not from the cold air, turning back and walking faster to catch up to the others.

"Interesting, I didn't think I'd see another clone trooper again," Visse commented as he looked over his shoulder at the old clone trooper as well.

"Clone trooper? As in, from the Clone Wars?" Misty asked Visse.

"The one and the same."

"How come you didn't think you'd see another?" Cecilia asked as they arrived back at the Crescent Hawk. As soon as they were onboard she flipped back the hood and pulled off her robe. Beneath the robe she was wearing her new durasteel armor; on the right chest plate two black creshes stood out against the crimson paint that made up the rest of her armor.

"Because most clone troopers are dying of old age by now."

"How can they already be dying of old age? I know the Clone Wars was, y'know, decades ago, but it wasn't that long ago," said Silver as they made their way to the cockpit. Once there he and Visse took their usual seats, as did Misty and Cecilia.

"The one clone trooper I met before was in a bar, so I was able to talk with him for a bit. This was a bit before I met any of you. Anyways, he told me that they had made some genetic modifications from the donor template, the main one being accelerated aging. That way they could create the clone army twice as fast compared to what it would ordinarily take," Visse explained to the group as they lifted off. He paused for a moment to get coordinates from the nav computer and make the jump into hyperspace before continuing.

"But there's no way to reverse the process, so instead of being in their mid-forties, they're all in their eighties and nineties now."

"How awful," Misty commented as they walked to the common area. "Even when their lives weren't cut short in battle, they still don't get to live a full lifetime."

"I hope I don't have any modifications like that," Cecilia's face was pinched with worry as she pulled off her armor. Silver reassuringly patted her shoulder.

"I don't think you have to worry about that, Lia," Silver said to her. "You've been aware of the passage of time long enough to notice if you were rapidly aging."

"Hope so," she said as she sat down in her usual spot with the others and kicked back.

"Hey Visse, did the clone trooper ever meet the genetic donor for the army?" asked Silver.

"No, I don't think so. He didn't know much about him, other than it being some guy from Concord Dawn."

"Relative of yours, Cecilia?" Misty giggled.

"Ha ha," Cecilia rolled her eyes.

"Actually come to think of it, Lia does remind me of him a little," Visse said thoughtfully. "They both have similar dark eyes and noses too, I think."

"Hey Silver, how long until our other stop today?" Cecilia quickly asked. She found the possibility that the genetic donor of the clone army and her own father might be related to be surprisingly uncomfortable.

"Few hours. I've been thinking that we'll take a bit of a break afterwards, though."

"What do you have in mind, boss?" Visse asked.

"Well, I know this really isolated system nearby, so I was thinking that tomorrow we can have a picnic. Enjoy some fresh air and sunlight for a few hours."

"We haven't done anything like that in ages," Misty smiled. "Yeah, let's spend some time dirtside tomorrow for a change."

"I've never been on a picnic before," Cecilia admitted to the surprise of no one. "But I trust your judgment on finding someplace isolated enough for me to join you dirtside."

"It wouldn't be right if you weren't with us," Misty said to her, and Cecilia smiled.

Later that night in bed Cecilia had the clearest dream of the shadow place yet. Outside the window she could see a churning sea of water beneath the dark skies and heavy rainfall. Cecilia sat on the couch with a datapad that had an educational Aurebesh game on it, but she wasn't really interested in it. A soft green toy sat next to her on the couch; however she couldn't quite make out what it was. Cecilia felt a powerful loneliness permeate her being. There was some sort of droid nearby, but it didn't help to dispel her feelings of loneliness.

A hatch on the far side of the room slid open and Cecilia's head snapped up. The shadow man stepped in to the room, the smile on his face visible from where she sat. Cecilia felt herself grin from ear to ear as she shouted a name. She threw the datapad onto the couch and scrambled over the table to the other side. The shadow man dropped down on one knee and held his arms wide. Cecilia rushed over and leapt into his arms. He pulled her into a tight hug and stood up, holding Cecilia in his arms.

"I've missed you so much!" Cecilia exclaimed as she looked up at him. And for a moment everything clarified and sharpened, and Cecilia could see exactly who the shadow man was. It's you! She realized as her heart pounded furiously. You're…you're…!

And just as quickly as it had come, everything blurred again, and rapidly faded as Cecilia woke up in her bed on the Hawk. And like the pop of a bubble, Cecilia's revelation of the identity of the man was gone just like that.

The Crescent Hawk touched down in an empty field far from any civilization. The ramp lowered and Misty went down it pushing a portable table on repulsorlifts, followed by Cecilia carrying four foldable chairs under her arms. Silver and Visse followed close behind with food and a portable cooling chest with drinks inside. A warm breeze stirred the air and Cecilia was glad she had worn shorts for the occasion instead of pants.

Misty set up the table a short distance away from the ramp, and once it was in place Cecilia went around it setting up chairs. Visse and Silver set down the cooling chest and started piling food on the table. When all four chairs had been set up Misty went around it to set each place while Cecilia erected a large canvas overhead for shade. Once all of that had been done they sat down together around the table.

"See guys, isn't this much better than sitting around the common area?" Silver asked when they were all settled in.

"I like the common area," Visse responded.

"Anyone else besides this laser brain?" Silver asked the other two.

"I think it's fantastic, hon!" Misty grinned. "Taking time to properly enjoy things dirtside instead of just dashing around the spaceport before going off on our next delivery. What about you, Cecilia?"

"It is nice," she smiled. "I've hardly ever spent much time out without my disguise on. It feels really good not to have to worry about being seen for once," Cecilia took a sip of something called a soft drink. The taste reminded her a bit of juice, but sweeter and much fizzier, more so than even beer. Not too bad, she thought as she took another sip. But not quite as good as a nice beer either, she thought as she smiled a bit bigger.

Cecilia piled some food on her plate and ate heartily. The four of them were fairly quiet as they ate and enjoyed the sunshine and warm air. Even though she had been travelling with them for months now Silver had outdone himself with a wide variety of dishes new to Cecilia, and she eagerly tried everything.

"Hope everyone's not too full, because we've got nice ice cream for dessert!" Silver happily announced once they had finished eating.

"Alright!" Misty cheered.

"Slide a bowl this way, boss!" Visse called out.

"What about you, Lia?" he asked Cecilia.

"What is it?" she asked Silver.

"Ice cream, it's a type of cold dessert. It's pretty good," he explained as he scooped some out into bowls for Misty and Visse. "Want a bowl?"

"Alright, sure," Cecilia smiled. Silver scooped some more into a bowl for Cecilia and handed it to her. As she took the bowl the sunlight shone on her arm, and the white scar on her forearm stood out against her tan skin.

"I never noticed you had a scar there before," Misty said to Cecilia. "How did you get it, if you don't mind my asking?"

Cecilia glanced down at the scar. She gently traced a claw over the scar before she shook her head. "'M sorry, but I dunno how I got it."

"You don't remember getting a scar like that?" Visse asked her, unable to keep the surprise out of his voice.

"I don't remember anything before I became half-dragon. I don't even remember my father," Cecilia admitted. "My memory only goes as far back as the day I woke up like…this. I already had the scar then."

"And you really don't remember anything at all?" asked Misty.

"Really. The closest I come is sometimes at night when I'm asleep, I dream of this shadowy place. I think it's my old home back on Kamino, but I'm not real sure," she explained to them. "I didn't used to see anything but shadows, but since my escape I've started to see things. Like rain constantly pouring outside, and furniture, and food. It's like…it's like I'm in a quiet room, but every now and then a bit of music drifts in, if that makes sense."

"I wonder if something about the gene splicing process didn't damage your memories in some way," Visse frowned thoughtfully. "Interesting that it doesn't seem to have prevented the ability to create new ones though."

"I just wish I knew why I lost them in the first place," she said to Visse.

"What about your father? Do you ever dream about him?" Silver asked.

"The only person I dream about is this man. I dunno who he is, but he can't be my father; he takes care of me, and clearly loves me," she frowned slightly. Last night's dream had partially come back to her. She remembered that for a single second she had seen the man clearly and at that moment knew his identity, but what was it? Cecilia concentrated, but it was no good; she couldn't remember it.

"I wish my father would show up, though. I just don't understand why he'd have me created, only to just…not care," Cecilia fidgeted with her spoon as she spoke. She didn't want to admit it, but deep down she had a fear for quite some time now that it was her own fault that he didn't care. Whether it was because she performed poorly in training as a bounty hunter or just behaved badly in general, or even a combination of the two, Cecilia couldn't decide which it was. Nor did she know where this fear came from; she just knew that, somehow, she had a feeling.

"No offense Lia, but how do you know he doesn't care? You yourself just said that you don't remember anything outside of vague dreams," said Visse.

"Well, he used to be the greatest and most feared bounty hunter in the whole galaxy, right? Yet he couldn't be bothered to even look for me. And then we came face to face in Mos Espa and what'd he try to do? Recapture me. Clearly I wasn't worth anything to him until he could make a few easy credits off of me," Cecilia said as she stabbed her ice cream with her spoon, unable to keep the bitterness out of her voice.

"His reputation as a bounty hunter was definitely well earned," Silver agreed. "But for all we know maybe he did try to track you down and just never succeeded. It's a big galaxy, and he's still an ordinary man, albeit one with an exceptional skillset."

"He went missing for a time," said Misty thoughtfully. "After he was seen getting knocked down into the maw of the sarlacc on Tatooine ten or eleven years ago. Everyone thought he was dead for years, until he resurfaced as a crime lord. I wonder if that incident left him incapacitated and unable to search for you for a time."

"I never knew that," Cecilia couldn't keep the shock out of her voice. "I've hardly found any definitive info about him on HoloNet. How did he get out?"

"That I couldn't tell you. There really isn't a lot out there. When you started travelling with us I looked up as much as I could so I wouldn't be in the dark about your family, but I couldn't find much. The sarlacc incident was one of the few things that could be confirmed, mainly because there was a bunch of witnesses."

"Well, even if that's why he never found me, that doesn't explain why he pursued me as a bounty, even briefly."

"Maybe he didn't just recognize you, especially if he didn't get a very good look at you," Visse suggested. "Aside from the changes caused by the gene splicing experiments, you'd undoubtedly grown quite a bit since the last time he'd seen you."

"I crashed directly into him; my face was right in his helmet's visor"

"Then he got a terrible look at you. He saw your eyes and that's about it, I'd imagine."

"I wonder if this whole thing isn't some big misunderstanding," said Silver as he started on his ice cream finally. "Maybe Misty can set up some HoloNet proxies and you could try to com him. If nothing else you could try to get an answer for why you were created."

"I know why I was created; to carry on his legacy of bounty hunting. And no, I don't want to try and talk to him. There's no misunderstanding and I want nothing to do with him," Cecilia stabbed her ice cream again before finally trying a spoonful. The cold treat was rich and creamy, and wonderfully flavorful. Cecilia's frown immediately turned into a big smile and she eagerly ate the entire bowl, the tip of her tail wagging as she did so.

"Told you ice cream is pretty good stuff."

"Its way better than just 'pretty good'; it's fantastic! I love it!"

"You're in luck, Cecilia; there's a whole bunch of ways to enjoy ice cream beyond just plain in a bowl."

"Yeah? I can't wait to try 'em, then!"

"Guess we're going to be eating a whole lot of ice cream for a while," Visse smirked slightly.

"I don't know about a ton, but some at least. And I know you happen to enjoy it plenty yourself, but if it bothers you that much you can always have an alternative, like cookies," Silver said to Visse.

"What, and miss out on ice cream? No way!"

As they were talking Cecilia scraped and licked the bowl clean. After she finished Cecilia moved her chair slightly, so that she had a view of the sky while still staying under the canvas' shade. She adjusted the chair so that she was leaning back and just quietly gazed up at the sky, feeling content and relaxed. White, fluffy clouds occasionally drifted by, the exact opposite of the solid mass of black clouds that dumped unending rain in her dreams.

Slowly the shadows lengthened and the sky softened from a dark blue into a pale bluish-purple. The clouds changed as well, becoming a pale golden color, especially in the distance where tall thunderstorms were rising in the now evening sky.

"This is my favorite time of day," Misty quietly said as she watched the sky as well. "When the sky softens and sunset begins. I just love it."

"Same here," Silver agreed, holding hands with Misty. "It's one of the things I miss about living dirtside," he added before gently giving her a peck on the cheek.

"I didn't see the sky for the first time until a couple years ago," Cecilia admitted. "I don't think it ever stops raining on Kamino. The first time I saw a sunset I immediately loved it. It's just so…wonderful," she smiled.

The four of them gazed quietly out at the evening. It was Silver who broke the silence. "Hey, how about we take a team hologram? It's been ages since we took one, and then we'll have a visual reminder of an awesome day off."

"That's a great idea!" Misty grinned.

"Yeah, sure," Visse tried to sound casual, though he had a rather large smile. "Let's do it now, before the sun goes down."

Visse dashed aboard the Hawk and quickly returned with a holocam. Silver and Misty stepped back away from the table as Visse set it up. Once it was ready and hovering he stood with both of them. Cecilia however hung back, feeling certain that they wouldn't want an outsider in their team hologram.

"C'mon Lia, what're you waiting for? You know you're part of the team, right?" Silver called out to her.

"You have to join us; it wouldn't be the same without you."

"Hurry up, sun's going down soon," Visse added.

Cecilia heart pounded as it soared with joy, a smile forming slowly on her face as their words sunk in. She could only nod before she walked over to join them, her friends, for a hologram together. By the time she stood by them she was grinning from ear to ear, the tip of her tail wagging furiously. The hologram was recorded, but Cecilia knew that she didn't need a hologram; she would always remember that day, that moment, forever.