I'm alive. Sorry for the long wait; writers block sucks.

I'd like to thank author Jedi Jesi Jiin, who is my new beta reader.

A few months passed and Luke had not returned to pester Jacen again. He was extremely glad to be rid of his ancestor after all the times he kept appearing to him. He hoped that Luke finally got the message that he wanted nothing to do with the Jedi. He may have hero worshiped his ancestor growing up but upon learning the truth of how he had died he came to greatly despise his grandfather. His feelings towards his ancestor were the reason why he hid his last name from all of his friends, even Kyle and Jan.

A few days after his final encounter with Luke, Jacen received a pleasant surprise when he was told by Kyle and Jan they were going to stay on Euphrates longer than expected. Apparently there was a lack of jobs they were willing to take. Much of the time they were hired to attack Hutt cartel operations. His best friends were extremely ethical and refused to work jobs that they considered morally wrong. Indeed, that was why Kyle left the Imperial academies. He was disgusted with the number of times the Empire's military put ethics aside and did things that he considered wrong. When he met Jan, he was inspired to take the final step and left the military. His departure had caused great disappointment to his trainers and professors, who considered him the most promising member of his class.

The three were back in the one of the cantinas that dotted the city of Tigris. Thankfully they had not encountered any more fanatical Imperial loyalists. Kyle was recounting an encounter he and Jan had with some of the Hutts' enforcers.

"So than Jan landed a sucker punch right in the Weequay's..."

"Excuse me" Jan said as she stood up. "I'll be back, just gotta take care of business." Jan headed in the direction of the refresher.

"You know Kyle," Jacen said. "You and Jan have been together for years now. I'm surprised you didn't ask her to marry you yet."

"Well, I would like to ask her, but I don't think she'll say yes. I mean, we are in love and we live together, but I don't know how she'd react to the idea of marriage."

"It sounds like you're afraid of being rejected. Kyle, it's like I said; you've been together for years. If you ask her, I'm sure she'll say yes."

"Who are you to give me advice on relationships anyway? If I recall, the last girl you dated up and left the planet."

Jacen felt a slight twinge of annoyance at Kyle's remark. "Dani wasn't a resident of Euphrates. She and her family were just visiting the world." Dani Quee was a young woman who Jacen met about three years ago while she was visiting distant relatives in a family reunion. Jacen had been quite smitten with her and they had dated for a short while, but sadly she couldn't stay for long. Looking back, he sometimes wondered if his dating her was why her family left. Dani's mother had not approved of her dating him, and it was shortly after he and Dani had drunkenly fallen in bed that she chose to take her family home to Kuat.

"I'm just saying" Kyle said. "You seem to have had an unlucky streak when it comes to dating."

"Is that so" a voice from behind them said. The two friends turned to see a beautiful young woman standing next to them. She was around their age, somewhere in her mid to late twenties, with a slim body and blonde hair that flowed down to where her neck connected to her head. Jacen recognized her as a new hostess whom was hired at the cantina a few days ago.

"Uh, may we help you" Jacen asked.

"Just couldn't help but hear your conversation. I find it wrong that someone as cute as you has bad luck with romance."

Jacen felt himself redden slightly. "Well, I thank you but I'm afraid it's true."

The hostess smiled. "Well, that's just not right."

"I agree" Kyle said, though Jacen sensed a slight mischievous tone in his voice. "My boy here is such a great guy. It's a real shame that he isn't dating anyone. Of course, a cute girl like yourself might... OUCH!"

Kyle's attempt at embarrassing Jacen was cut off when Jan, who had returned from the refresher to hear her boyfriend complement the hostess' beauty, grabbed him by the ear and pulled back.

"What is this, Kyle" Jan asked, a look of mock outrage on her face.

"Nothing, nothing at all" Kyle winced.

Jan smiled and let go of his ear.

The hostess laughed at the scene that just played out before her. "Well, I gotta get back to work." She turned to Jacen and flashed a dazzling smile. "See you later, handsome."

The hostess walked back towards the bar, leaving Jacen and Kyle wondering about who they just spoke too.

"Well Jacen" Kyle said. "Maybe I spoke too soon about your luck with women."

Coruscant

In the heart of the Imperial Palace, Arcina sat on her throne high above the floor. She was in a meditative state, basking in the raw power of the Force in and around her. When one was in tune with the Force they were capable of anything. Arcina had spent many years growing stronger and stronger in the Force through training and other methods. In doing so she had discovered powers that most force users, Jedi and Sith alike, were not capable of imagining. It was through these unusual force powers that Arcina was able to live so long and how she retained her youthful appearance despite her age.

However despite all her powers she was now facing a challenge that was surprisingly difficult: she was attempting to locate the source of a massive disturbance that had occurred weeks ago. She recognized the disturbance as a force user summoning their powers, but what truly surprised her about this presence was just how powerful it was. In all her years she had never once felt such a blinding sense in the Force. Unfortunately by the time she had begun trying to locate the source of the disturbance, it stopped and it hadn't appeared again. She knew only an extremely powerful Force user could give off a disturbance like that, and she was determined to bring this Force user under her control. But first she needed to find them.

For this reason she had dispatched several teams of her Imperial knights to the sector of the galaxy where she sensed the disturbance. However, to her increasing frustration, none of them had reported anything yet. It was as if this individual knew they were being hunted and was hiding.

She was pulled out of her medication and thoughts by a beeping sound coming from the arm of her chair. Opening her eyes, she turned towards the sound and hit the button on the command console. An image of a man in his mid sixties appeared before her.

"Yes Jerec" she said. "Anything to report?"

"My Empress" the Imperial knight replied. "We finally received a report back from one of the Imperial knights we dispatched to the Euphrates sector. My knight says that she has located a person who calls himself Jacen, and that he is the source of the disturbance we felt."

Arcina smiled to herself. "Well done" she said. "Inform your knight to bring this man to me alive."

"It shall be done my Empress" Jerec said as he bowed. The image disappeared as the transmission ceased.

Arcina returned to her meditative stance, her mind at ease knowing her target was finally located. Basking once more in the power of the Force around her.

Euphrates, two days later

Jacen pulled his speeder into the garage of his house, having just returned from yet another nuisance animal call. Upon powering his craft down, he dismounted and then moved to the back. R2-D2 was securely fastened to the storage compartment on the back of his speeder.

"All right buddy" Jacen said. "Let's get you off of there."

Jacen removed the harnesses and disengaged the lock allowing him to pick up his mechanical friend and set him on the ground. R2 let out a series of beeping noises in his own droid-speak language.

"Yes R2, I know it was kind of a bumpy ride this time and I apologize for that."

Jacen reached down and patted R2 on the head . The little droid was an old friend of the family. Jacen knew he wasn't a living creature but that didn't matter to him. R2 had been part of his ancestors' family stretching back to before Anakin Skywalker. He wasn't entirely sure how R2 came into his grandmother's possession, but quite frankly he didn't care. R2 was one of the few links to his family's past that he could not bear to part with. He was a much needed companion and friend and always reliable.

A few minutes upon returning home, Jacen heard his communicator and going off. Pulling it out of a pocket from his jacket, he hit the command button and an image of the waitress he had met a few days ago appeared. " Oh, hi Sariss."

" Hi Jacen" she said. "I just got off of work early. Is that offer to have a drink with you still good?"

" Sure" Jacen said. "You do remember my address right?"

"Of course. Are you there right now?

"I am. You can come on over right now."

" Great. I'll be over there in a few minutes."

The image disappeared and Jacen returned his communicator to his jacket. "Hey R2" he called out. "We're gonna be having company soon."

Meanwhile, on the other side of Tigris, Kyle and Jan were just finishing a late lunch in their apartment. The topic of discussion had been only one thing: Kyle's recent 'bad feelings.' For the past few months, Kyle had experienced some strange premonition-like feelings of a massive change coming. It was similar to the instincts that he had when they were on missions. If there were unforeseen complications that came up during a job, Kyle got a classic bad feeling prior to their encounter with it. It was these feelings that usually allowed them to escape or defeat a situation that would usually spell disaster for anyone else. What Kyle was going through recently though, while similar, seemed like something much larger than what they had seen in the past.

"I'm telling you Jan, these are getting worse. It's like something, or someone, is trying to reach out to me. I... it's hard to describe, but I guess the closest thing would be like someone shouting at you to get your attention."

Jan was silent for a moment. "Well, I'm not sure what to say Kyle. I never had a bad feeling like yours, so I'm not sure what this is."

Kyle seemed slightly crestfallen. Jan was usually the one who figured the puzzles out, at least she was when Jacen wasn't around. "Well" he said in his humorous tone. "I guess I'll just need to seek out an Imperial Knight. Maybe the Force is trying to tell me something."

Kyle expected Jan to laugh, so he was caught off guard when her eyes widened. "Is something wrong?"

"Kyle, what you just said. Maybe that really is the answer."

"... You mean, the Force? Jan, get real. I'm twenty eight. If I was supposed to have a connection to a mystical energy field, why would it appear now?"

"I can't say, though it would explain some things that we always wondered about: our uncanny streak of escaping anyone trying to space us on our jobs."

Jan collected their plates and utensils and headed to their apartment's kitchen to wash them, leaving Kyle alone to contemplate what his girlfriend had said. Was is possible that he had a connection to the Force? He had never thought much about it, but it would explain his instinctual actions...

"Kyle."

A voice caused him to spin in his seat. Looking behind, Kyle saw a spectral form of a man in his late fifties. He looked like an older version of himself, except for the beard which was much more grown out than his own. He was in shock. "...Father?"

"Yes son" the image of Morgan Katarn replied. "It is really me."

Kyle stood and approached the transparent image of his late father. "How... how are you here? Am I going crazy?"

"No, my son. This is an ancient technique of the force."

"The..."

"Kyle" Morgan interrupted. "I don't have much time, so you need to listen to me. Yes, you do have a connection to the force. Your friend Jacen does as well."

"Ja...

"Kyle, we can't waste time with questions now. I'm here to warn you: Jacen is currently in great danger. A member of the Imperial knights is on their way to his home to kidnap him and take him before the Empress. You must get to him before that happens."

"Why would the Empress want Jacen?"

"She wants all Force sensitives in the galaxy in her Imperial knights. Those they can't turn to their side are killed to ensure they can't become a threat to Arcina. The Empire has recently learned of Jacen's powers, and if they can't persuade him to join their cause, they will kill him."

Kyle was so horrified he couldn't speak for a moment. His father simply continued.

"Kyle, I will appear to you later to explain what I can. Right now, you must find Jacen. Now go!"

His father faded from sight, leaving Kyle in silence. Jan reentered the room to see Kyle standing with his back turned.

"Kyle, were you talking to someone?"

Kyle turned to Jan with a pale face. "Jan, we need to find Jacen right now."

"What are..."

"I'll explain on the way! Right now, we gotta move!"

"So how long have you lived on Euphrates?"

Jacen and Sariss were sitting on his couch, enjoying a bottle of Corellian brandy. She had arrived about half an hour ago.

"I've lived here for a few years. I was born and raised on the world of Onderon"

"Onderon, really?"

"Yes that's how I got my love of natural creatures. There are so many forms of wildlife on Onderon."

"Aren't most of them man eaters?"

"Not all of them, but their most famous wildlife is. Drexl, zakkegs, bomas, yes they are notorious carnivores."

"Out of curiosity, how long have you had that droid? That's a pretty arcane design."

"He's been in my family for generations now. I always have him upgraded to ensure that while his appearance may be archaic, R2himself is top of a line." Jacen reached over the side of the couch and patted R2, who was sent the currently sitting on the side of it, on the head.

"Oh dear" Sariss said. "It looks like we're out of the brandy already. No problem, I brought more."

"Actually Sariss, I was thinking maybe we should stop drinking." Jacen was never an extremely heavy drinker, but he had drunk a little more than he normally did when Sariss was here. Now however, he was starting to feel very strange. He thought he felt the Force warning him in his mind earlier, saying that something was off, but he thought it was just the alcohol in the system.

"Are you OK, Jacen?"

"I don't know, I feel kind of... well, a little disoriented actually."

All of the sudden, the disorientation started getting worse. "What is going on?" he thought to himself. "It's like something is trying to knock me out. This isn't how alcohol intoxication works."

Sariss started laughing lightly, and Jacen fought through the pain in his head to turn towards wasn't a lighthearted laugh, but the laugh of someone insidious.

"Well, what you're feeling right now is a type of knock out gas in liquid form. Anyone who hasn't been injected with the antidote like me will lose consciousness within a minute of consumption."

"What..."

Sariss stood up and pulled something from her personal bag. It was a cylinder shaped metal tube that... "No!" Jacen exclaimed. Sariss was holding a lightsaber. "An Imperial knight!"

"That's right" Sariss laughed. "I'm not sure how you remained hidden for so long, but the Empress herself sensed your power in the Force a few weeks ago."

"Blast it Luke" Jacen said to himself as he fought to stay conscious. He normally had his presence hidden in the Force, but he must have slipped when he argued with his grandfather.

He could worry about that another time. Right now, he needed to concentrate on staying awake. His training would allow him to resist poison in his system, but he also had to focus to keep himself up.

Jacen suddenly felt himself lift off the floor. Turning in midair, he saw Sariss with her hand raised, clearly using the Force to hold him. "Well, now it's off to Coruscant. Empress Arcina is so eager to meet the one who caught her attention."

"NOOOOOOO!"

Jacen focused as hard as he could and thrust his open palm towards his attacker. A blast from the force erupted forth, sending Sariss flying towards the wall of Jacen's living room. He fell to the floor with a loud thud while Sariss collided with the wood, slumping in a heap. His mind still blurry, Jacen reached for the bag Sariss dropped, feeling for anything that felt like a container. He quickly pulled a small vial out with the word "antidote" on it. Uncorking it, Jacen swallowed the contents in one gulp. He then struggled to his feet.

R2 rolled up to his side, allowing Jacen to use him for support. "Thanks buddy. Let's get to the speeder."

Jacen had to use R2 for support while he walked. But no sooner had they got to the garage then Jacen felt himself fly off the floor once more. He sailed right over his craft and hit the opposite wall, where he was pinned once more with the force, failing to notice that he accidentally hit the controls for the garage opening. Jacen looked up to see R2 getting thrown across the garage to land on a shelf, which collapsed from the droid's weight. Sariss came into the garage, a look of pure rage on her face.

"Nice try, but it will take more than that to get away from me."

Jacen felt himself getting angrier as the affects of the antidote started to kick in, clearing the fogginess of his mind. He needed a little longer until he could properly fight back.

Sariss approached him once more, this time with an injector. "Luckily for me I came prepared. The narcotic is more potent when injected right into the bloodstream, anyway."

Jacen struggled to strike out with the Force once more, but Sariss was forcing back harder than he could in that moment. She finally stood next to him and placed the injector on his arm.

Neither noticed the sound of a rapidly approaching speeder.

Kyle and Jan were speeding towards Jacen's house, weaving in and out of other speeders hovering over the roads.

"So Jacen is Force sensitive also?" Jan asked.

"Apparently" Kyle responded as he drew his briar blaster from its holster. "I just hope we can get there in time."

"You clearly aren't seeing where we're going. His house is right in front of us."

Kyle looked ahead and saw the outline of Jacen's house coming up. As they neared the residence, he saw the garage open from a distance. Upon getting closer, however, he saw Jacen pinned against the wall, and the hostess from the cantina raising what looked like a blaster to him.

"Jan, stop us right in front of the house!"

Kyle took aim, and the second they stopped Kyle fired. He was aiming at the treacherous girl's head, though he ended up shooting what she was holding. The attacker cried out and fell back while Jacen fell to the floor.

Kyle and Jan jumped out of their speeder, blasters drawn. Sariss was getting up again.

"Get down!" Jan shouted.

Sariss turned and cast a glare of rage at the two of them. Raising her hand (which was burned and searing with pain from the explosion of the injector) she sent a blast of force energy towards the interlopers. Kyle and Jan were thrown on their backs.

"Well, you were right Kyle" Jan said. "That person is an Imperial knight."

Kyle got back up and took up his remaining weapon; a vibroblade that he kept since his days in the academy. "Get to Jacen. I'll handle her."

Kyle charged, his melee weapon raised. Sariss used her uninjured hand to draw her lightsaber. She activated it, and a dark blue blade materialized. She met Kyle's attack, and the two began to duel. Although Sariss was thrown off using her odd hand, she still was able to fight well. Kyle thrust his blade at her abdomen, only for Sariss to swing her weapon and deflect the jab. She followed with a swing at his neck, but Kyle ducked and countered with a swing at her shoulder.

"Not bad" Sariss remarked as she blocked Kyle's latest strike. "For an inferior."

"I was ranked top in my class at the academy" he replied.

As Kyle and the Imperial knight continued to fight, Jan ran to Jacen's side. "Jacen, are you alright?"

"I'll be fine, thanks Jan" he told her as he forced through the cloudiness of his mind to get back on his feet. Luckily, it was almost completely g one. He could see and focus much better. "The treacherous schutta tried to drug me."

As Jacen stood back up, he used the Force, ignoring Jan's surprised gasp, to summon his plasma shotgun into his grasp. Holding the barrel in his left hand while placing his right hand on the holster, he swung in the direction on his attacker. To his horror, he saw her send a bolt of force lightning from her injured hand at Kyle, which allowed her to force his weapon out of his grip. Kyle fell to his knees, and Sariss raised her saber to deliver the final blow. Raising his own weapon quickly, Jacen took aim and fired.

Multiple bolts of energy exploded from the tip of Jacen's weapon, and all found their target. Sariss let out a pained cry as she felt the blasts from the shotgun tear into her back, as well as the back of her head. One even strayed just enough to hit her lightsaber, which exploded, taking half of her arm with it. Sariss fell face forward on top of Kyle, and Jacen felt her presence in the Force completely disappear.

Kyle shrugged the now dead body off him as he returned to standing up. He then ran to Jacen and Jan. "Are you two alright?"

"Yeah" Jacen replied. "I'm fine. Thank you both for the save."

"Well, I think I also owe you thanks for stopping her from cutting me down" Kyle said.

Jacen turned to Jan. "What are you two doing here" he asked.

But as Jan opened her mouth to reply, a sound cut through the air, leading the group to all turn towards the road Kyle and Jan had just come up. It sounded like sirens, and soon what was making the sounds came into view: at least four large Imperial security speeders were heading right for them all.