Carth:

Under attack? How could we be under attack again? Hasn't Telos taken enough shit from the Sith already?

Many questions rushed through Carth Onasis' mind as he raced down the hall to his office with Adalia trembling in his arms. The loud "run for your lives and take cover" alarm had woken them up from a peaceful night of sleep.

He heard the gun fire before he saw it, he turned his head and saw sith, a sith here a sith there sith everywhere, almost as if they were coming from out of the shadows.

"Daddy!" Adalia squealed fearfully clinging to him.

"Hide your face!" He yelled and she tucked her head under his shoulder, if the sith were to shoot at them they would only hit him at least.

He ran faster and made it to his office lobby with commander Grenn and a handful of TSF officers already there. "Grenn, what the hell is going on?" Carth asked.

"Sith war-ship decided to pay us a visit. Probably after the fuel shipments we just got." Grenn figured "I need two parties to follow me to the docking bay, now." He commanded.

"Be careful." Carth told Grenn before he left.

"Always am." He retorted.

He looked over to see Zerre cowering behind her desk. "Admiral, what are we to do?"

"You are going to take Adalia" He handed his daughter off to her "and you will go into the safe room in my office." He said precisely.

Carth turned for the door.

"Daddy, no!" Adalia wailed and reached out for him again. "Don't leave, Daddy please!"

"I have to go, Princess. I'll be back I swear to you, I will." He held one of her outstretched hands for one moment looking longingly into her eyes. "I'll be back." He repeated then walked out the door.

Adalia:

Zerre was holding her closer and closer every time they heard a loud BANG that sounded like bombs going off.

How could she let her Daddy go off alone? She could feel the angry and dark energy just swirling around the entire station as soon as she woke up, she shouldn't have let him go…

She tried to concentrate on her Father and attempted to reach out to him to be sure he was okay.

"You can do anything if you really concentrate, Adalia." She remembered master Shann telling her when they were alone in her bedroom. "Through the force you could move an object across the room or even touch another person's mind…"

"Daddy," she called out through her mind.

"Down you go!" Carth yelled as he shot off his blasters at an attacking sith.

She could hear him, she could feel his mind.

She held her breath, "Daddy, be safe." She said to him silently and she felt something 'push' from her body and go out to protect his, almost as if it were a shield- a 'force' shield.

"Be safe, be safe." She chanted to herself.

Carth:

He immediately took notice that something was different as he continued to shoot down more sith.

He looked down to reload his blasters and was shocked to see that his skin was almost… glowing. He only took a fraction of a second to look then he was back into attack mode when he heard. "Watch it, Admiral!" From one of the TSF officers behind him.

He turned just in time to watch as a bullet from the enemies fire had hit him in the chest and simply bounced off of him and returned back to the sith that had shot at him.

He couldn't believe it, he stared in disbelief at his chest for a second. He hadn't been wearing any kind of armor or even had a shield for that matter.

"Be safe…" He heard a faint little voice in his head as he continued to attack the sith fighters. Adalia. His daughter was protecting him.

He almost laughed out loud at the thought of a four-year-old girl protecting a forty two year old man, but nonetheless, he was grateful towards his daughter and proud of her.

"Admiral, we have some back up!" His wrist comm buzzed.

"Who?" Carth asked Grenn while he shot away at the remaining sith.

"The Ebon Hawk crew. The exile is here." He said and heard gunfire from his side of the comm too.

Carth was hopeful and he slightly smiled as he ran back towards his office shooting down the sith that got in his way a bit more carelessly now that he had his own personal shield protecting him.

Adalia:

"Be safe, be safe, be safe…" She continued to chant in her head, she was completely exhausted from pushing herself to the limit to keep her father safe from un-known opponents.

The door to the safe room was flung open and Zerre gave a relived cry when she saw that it was Carth.

"Adalia." He said concerned, he found her curled up into a ball with her eyes closed tightly and her hands balled into fists."Adalia!" He said again and ran to her lifting her off of the ground.

"She's been like that for over half an hour! I-I didn't know what to do! I was so scared Carth…" Zerre trailed off but Carth gave no notice to her.

"Adalia, I'm here. We're safe, everything's alright!" He rubbed her back and sighed in relief when her tensed body had relaxed against his and she let out a soft groan.

"You were amazing." He said into her ear and she lazily wrapped her arms around his neck, Daddy was safe in her arms and everything was going to be okay… She closed her eyes giving into her drooping lids.

Carth:

His daughter had collapsed from exhaustion in his arms and he held her tightly for a moment then turned to Zerre. "I will walk you back to my apartment." He told her "You guys will be safe there until the battle is over." He assured.

She nodded in agreement and followed him back to his house he laid the sleeping girl in her bed and walked back out to the living room where Zerre was.

"I've called for some TSF officers come over to guard the door and I'll be back soon." He told her and she nodded again and slumped down on Carths' chair then he was off and out the door.

Adalia:

Adalia watched the beautiful woman as she sat in the middle of a dark room with her legs crossed and her eyes closed.

This dream felt different from all the rest she almost felt as if she were there standing in the room with her.

She felt completely calm around her and she felt an urge to try something, if it worked on her father maybe she could reach out to the woman too, she had figured…

"Hello?" She thought to her, trying to reach out through her mind.

The woman continued as if nothing happened but then Adalia heard her thoughts. "…miss you, miss you so much…"

The woman had a small frown on her face as if she knew someone had been invading her mind.

The dream had left her and but she continued sleeping, disappointment in her heart.

Carth:

Carth had spoken with the exile before she had left to finish her own mission and he walked back to his apartment with a hopeful look on his face, his own words ringing through his ears. "Simply tell her," he turned to look at the brown haired hazel eyed woman looking back at him. "That Carth Onasi is waiting for her…"

Terra Mae was going to find his Scarrlet, he couldn't stop thinking about that fact, he just knew she would be able to find her.

He nodded to the two TSF officers who guarded his door then entered his apartment to see Zerre standing in the kitchen absently looking over the many pictures that hung on the walls.

"Thank you, Zerre for keeping an eye on Adalia for me. I really appreciate it." He said to her and she turned back to him with a smile.

"Of course, Sir!" She gave him a playful salute.

"I-it's getting pretty late…" He said hoping she would take the hint to leave, he was exhausted all he wanted to do was crawl into bed.

"Oh." Was all she said and she quietly twirled a strand of hair around her finger.

"I could have a TSF officer walk you home if you'd-" he was cut off by Zerre who had flung herself into his arms.

"Oh, Admiral please! I'm still frightened I don't want to have to be alone." She wailed to him wrapping her arms around his strong neck.

"It-It's okay, Zerre. I promise." He tried to maneuver himself out of the twenty three year old woman's clingy hold.

"Carth," she begged gently and pressed her body against his eying him meaningfully and gently stroked the side of his handsome face.

She slowly leaned her face closer to his offering him her lips.

"Zerre, no." He said firmly, he had never been this close to anyone since Scarrlet left…

"Why not?" She asked, seductively pressing her chest against his. "Carth, I know how to show you a good time." She gave him a sly smile and a wink. "I know how lonely you are..."

"No." He said again pushing her away from him. "I-I can't do this."

The wedding ring on his finger almost burned against his skin. "You should leave, Zerre."

Tears of rejection began to swell in her eyes.

"I can't I'm sorry, Zerre. You are a wonderful person, really, you are but I'm in love with someone else." His eyes dropped back down to his wedding ring.

"Oh," she said, he knew he hurt her but she needed to hear the truth once and for all. "I-I'm sorry, Sir…"

"I-I'll just see you tomorrow then." She said quietly then left.

He walked down the hall, feeling the impact of today hitting him with each step he took, and stopped in front of his daughter's room, to see her sleeping soundly.

He glanced over at the alarm clock on her dresser, it was nearly five in the morning and he decided maybe a few cups of juma juice wouldn't hurt before he went to bed…

Months had passed by and Adalia's force abilities progressed at a rapid pace, Carth wasn't sure how much longer he could push the limits as to how long he could keep her out of the jedi academy.

"Well then don't send her off if you don't want her to." Dustil said simply as he and Carth talked over the communicator, he and Dustil still stayed in contact and Dustil promised to call every week when he left to "find his purpose". And right now that 'purpose' was to take care of some girl he found at a cantina on Tatooine.

Whatever makes him happy, he had rolled his eyes, that kid had a few more lessons to learn and it wasn't always going to be Carth who taught them to him…

"It's not that easy, Dustil. If I don't send her she will be deprived of the training she needs. But I'm too selfish to send her away from me…" He admitted with a sigh.

"Hey, you've got your right to be selfish with your own kid." He said "I for one don't want her to be sent off either."

"DUSTY!" Carth turned to see Adalia running to the comm excitedly.

"Hey, Dilley Dallie!" Dustil smiled at her.

"I miss you, Dusty. When will you come back home, brother?" She jumped onto Carths' lap so she could get a better view of her half-brother.

"I'll be back in a few months." He promised. "Are you taking good care of Dad?" He asked.

"Mhmm." She responded and patted Carth's knee with a smile on her face.

Dustil turned his head as if someone was talking to him.

"Hey, I gotta get goin', okay?" He said. "Love you both, I'll call you later."

"Bye, son." Carth said looking at his boy longingly.

"Bye, bye, Dusty." Adalia said sadly then kissed her hand blowing the kiss to the holo-gram of Dustil and he caught the kiss touching his hand to his cheek before he turned off the comm.

They sat there together for a moment until he heard Adalia sniffle.

"Princess, what's wrong?" He asked holding her chin between his thumb and finger to turn her head to face him.

Tears had spilled over and were soaking her rosy cheeks. "Why did he have to leave, Daddy?" she asked quietly.

His heart ached for his little girl, people just kept coming and leaving in her little life and she never knew how to deal with the loss… "He'll be back, Princess. He promised." He assured wiping away her tears with his thumb.

This, she had gotten from him, never knowing how to cope with the absence of someone he loved.

He knew the root of this problem for her was Scarrlet, her mother, his wife, the missing piece in both of their hearts and he couldn't do anything to fix it…

He held her close. "She promised." He whispered against her hair so quietly that she didn't hear him