Chapter 7

The Needles.Tatooine.

Tahiri. Tahiri!

She sits up suddenly, he eyes narrowing in the darkness looking around for whoever called her name. Seeing no one in her tent, she quickly wraps herself up in her robes, and steps out, softly honking a greeting at the camp's sentry.

Over here, Tahiri.

She turns in the direction from which she hears the voice, wondering who would be suicidal enough to get this close to a Tusken Raider camp. As she rounds a large stone, she sees Anakin sitting there, smiling at her, like he doesn't have a care in the world. Her mouth drops open in shock, and she is not sure if she should run to him to give him a hug or to hit him.

Finally her mouth remembers the ability to speak "Why didn't you visit me earlier?"

He just shakes his head. No time for that now. Your time on Tatooine is almost over, go see Uncle Luke.

"Master Luke? I don't want to leave Tatooine though. I've found peace here."

Yes Uncle Luke. He's taken over the family moisture farm just outside of Anchorhead. Go there, and talk to him.

"Anakin, I'm almost happy here. Please don't ask this of me. Don't ask me to give up my family once again."

You must do this. You are a Jedi Knight. Here take this.

He holds out a cylinder, which she grasps, and lifts to see a lightsaber hilt. Activating it, an indigo blade shoots forth, a purple as deep as the Tatooine night just before first sunrise, a blade just a few shades darker than the one he welded in his final days. Extinguishing the blade, she looks closer at the hilt, recognizing it immediately. She looks back up at him as she says, "Anakin, this is your blade."

His smile is bittersweet. Family tradition, you are a Jedi - and in need of the weapon of a Jedi.

"I can't do this without you Anakin. I can't…I can't be a Jedi; I can't do what everyone expects of me."

She watches as Anakin looks over his shoulder, frowning at something she cannot see. Then he looks back to her, a strange look in his eyes, one she has never seen before. The only term she can use to describe it is fear. There is an urgency to his voice that was not there before. You can do this – you were always strong, even though no one noticed. You were even stronger and wiser than me. Please Tahiri, do this, you can and you must. Remember that I love you and the Force will be with you always.

As she goes to reply, she watches as his appearance is slowly shredded. A feeling of fear and horror pulses through her as she can hear his screams echoing through her mind.

The Force itself cries out in violation.

And Tahiri gasps, her back arching from the abruptness with which she is propelled from the meditation trance, a scream on the tip of her tongue, one which she is just able to bite back to the coppery taste of blood. She looks around the tent, cataloging where everything is, her breathing hard, and her heartbeat too fast. She closes her eyes and focuses on the Force, slowing her heart rate, evening out her breathing.

Opening her eyes once more she glances down and notices the saber sitting in front of her. The pieces that she had brought into the tent with her, now completed into a blade, a weapon worthy of her Jedi heritage, a weapon with a hilt that looks exactly like Anakin's. Picking the saber up, she activates it allowing the familiar thrumming noise bring a smile to her face, noticing that the krayt dragon pearl has given the blade a rich indigo coloring. She quickly shuts off the saber, trying to push the vision from her mind.

She quickly dresses and leaves her tent, standing amongst her people as the first rays of Tatoo 1 crest the horizon. As she stares out at the sunrise, she can hear Anakin's voice once more. You are a Jedi Knight.

Turning from the rising sun she seeks out her father, to tell him that she must once more leave the tribe - to leave Tatooine. She must once more walk the outlands as a Jedi. She must once more sacrifice her peace to the Force.

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Office of the Chancellor, Coruscant

Cal Omas is watching the sun set from his office window, a great expanse of transparisteel, which gives him a panoramic view of the cityscape, and the Jedi Temple off in the distance. A ding from the opposite end of the office attracts his attention and he turns that way to watch as his advisors walk in.

First in, is a Calibop named Tetithem Moorisom, his golden feathers wrapped around his blue robes. He is Omas' Secretary of State. As he enters, he ruffles his feathers in greetings, and then bows to Cal Omas.

"Chancellor."

Next comes Lu Oddis, a Rodian, he has been on Cal's staff for a decade now, and is entering his fifth year as the Chief of Staff. As he enters he quickly nods his green tinted head, causing his navy blue robes to rustle.

Finally enters Ka Dann, an old friend of Cal's, one that Cal made his secretary of defense a few years after the end of the Swarm Wars. Ka Dann's short stature and wiry bread hides a brilliant analytical and strategic mind. As he enters he smiles at Cal, and Cal is happy to have his friend here with him in these troubling times.

Cal gestures for his advisors to sit at the couch and drops into an overstuffed arm chair. "Reports please."

Tetithem raises one of his prehensile feather tips, tapping it against the side of his beak. "The Outer and Mid Rims are experiencing some rioting due to the Military Procurement and Nationalization Act. Ketaris in particular was bad, the university there ended up being shut down for three days."

"We expected some riots. Lu your report?"

Lu shakes his head. "The nationalization of the shipyards on Gynndine is proceeding perfectly, and Mer-Sonn munitions is 40 nationalized, we're expecting to have our staff running all operations there by the end of the year."

Cal nods his head. "Good. Ka?"

Ka smiles once more. "The pacification efforts across the worlds of the newly nationalized weapons manufacturers have proceeded with acceptable losses. We have moved an attack group to just outside of Adumar to support the Jedi there. The only thing of note is the Corellian System."

Cal leans back in his chair, looking over his advisors one by one. "What about the Corellian System?"

"The situation is like this," Tetithem answers. "Diktat Antilles sent that letter to the Senate, demanding that the Senate repel the Military Procurement and Nationalization Act. He threatened secession if the Senate failed to do so."

"And what has come of this?"

Ka looks around the room. "He informed the Corellian Congress this morning that they were seceding."

"What!" Cal finds himself standing, his frustration and blood pressure rising. "That arrogant fighter jock!"

He turns to his advisors noticing that Lu and Tetithem are looking at one another, a slightly scandalous look upon their faces, while Ka is smiling up at him. Basking in Cal's anger.

"What are we doing about this?"

"We have two options; the first is to let them secede."

Cal interrupts. "And the second?"

Ka's smile is once more upon his face. "The second is we send a battle group in and force them to stay with the Federation."

"Who shall we send?"

Ka's smile turns feral. "Kre'fey and the Bothans? There has long been bad blood between them and Antilles, maybe this will appease them, and direct their attention from their Arkrai of the Vong."

Cal nods his head. "Okay, let us send Kre'fey and assign him Fleet Group 2. Also, have Admiral Darklighter prepared to go there if Jedi Skywalker does not need him on Adumar."

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Viscount, Deep Space, Two Parsecs from Adumar

Lieutenant Syal Antilles, Twin Suns Nine, is not a happy woman. She had recently received a message from her mother that her father was considering having Corellia secede from the Federation. Now she was receiving a real-time two-way message from her.

Syal frowns as she rushes to where she is allowed to take the call. She considers herself a simple girl, one who would much rather be in her cockpit vaping the enemy than the political-style analysis which her sister always prefers.

She quickly arrives at the communications center and enters the privacy booth, activating the sound dampeners almost automatically.

With a flash of static, a three inch high hologram of her mother appears, and Syal can't help but smile at her. "Hi mom, what brings this call on?"

"Bad news I'm afraid. Remember that letter I sent you a few days ago?"

"Yes."

"Well, it's happened."

"What?"

"Your father declared that the Corellian System was no longer a part of the Federation."

Syal begins to absently chew on a fingernail. "Can he do that?"

"Yes and no. According to the Articles of Constitution, then yes the system can secede, but we're all fairly certain that the Federation will send in the Defense Fleet to quell what Omas will see as a rebellion." Iella looks down at her hands for a second, and then turns her attention back to Syal. "We're asking you to come home to Corellia."

Syal unconsciously draws back from the hologram. "And leave my commission?"

"Yes. Syal, they'll throw you at us, maybe not in the first wave, but you will be coming here, to fly against us. I want, we want, you home with us, standing with us."

Syal shakes her head, not believing her mother in this. "No, High Command would never be so cruel as to do that. I'll stay here with my commission."

Even at three inches high, Syal can see the dejection and sadness in her mother's posture. "I hope that you're right in this, while I'm not. I've got to go and call your sister. I love you, Syal."

"I love you to, mom."

Then the hologram flickers and disappears, leaving Syal alone with her thoughts.