Steve drifted in and out of fragmented dreams of Bucky falling, Steve falling, Bucky fighting Steve… Awareness returned slowly and, with it, pain. He managed to open his eyes just enough to see that he was in some kind of medical facility. Sam sat beside his bed, reading something on a datapad.

"Is there blossom wine?" Steve's voice was raw and scratchy, but Sam's brilliant smile made him feel much better.

"Just water. Sorry." Sam grabbed a glass from a nearby table and leaned forward to help Steve sip.

The cool water soothed Steve's parched throat, and he felt and sounded much more himself when he asked, "Where's Bucky?"

Sam put the glass back on the table. "Natasha told me he jumped out the window after you. We found you on a nearby speeder platform. Maybe you're right about him, and he can be brought back. I don't know. Something made him risk his life to save yours."

Steve wrapped both hands around the glass and nodded. He would find Bucky. He had to. "What happened with Pierce?"

Sam shook his head, frustration unfurling in his Force presence. "Escaped."


The starfield slowly drifted by the huge windows of the star cruiser as the three Jedi walked together down the wide hallway. The Force roiled with darkness in Sharon's mind's eye: fear and anger saturated everything, making it difficult for her to see any light or hope.

"These are dark times," Master Col'son said quietly, his hands folded into the sleeves of his robe.

"You were attacked by your clones?" Master Hill asked.

Col'son nodded. "I barely escaped. The Wookies helped."

Maria's lips pressed together tightly, but she showed no other outward sign of emotion. "How many other Jedi managed to survive?"

Sharon shook her head, pushing away the despair. "We have heard from no one else."

"Have we had any contact from the Temple?" Col'son asked, his voice betraying the strain they were all under.

"Only a coded retreat message." Sharon very definitely did not clench her fists. "It requests all Jedi to return to the Temple. It says that the war is over."

Phil said stopped in his tracks. "This must be a trap. If anyone listens, they will be killed. Someone must return to the Temple and dismantle the signal."

"It's too dangerous." Maria's voice was dispassionate as she stopped a few steps ahead of him and turned back. "We don't know what we'd find inside the Temple."

"Are you volunteering for this mission, Phil?" Sharon asked. It wouldn't even surprise her if he succeeded. Master Phil Col'son had a knack for the impossible.

Phil met her eyes, and she saw only determination. He nodded.

She pushed her own fear away, releasing it to the Force to join the swirling clouds already there. "Then go. We must do what we can to protect our brothers and sisters who may have escaped. There is too much at stake."


Supreme Chancellor Alexander Pierce's scarred visage loomed over the concourse, several stories tall on the oversized screen. "The Jedi Rebellion has been foiled," he intoned, his amplified voice reaching every corner of the open area. "The remaining Jedi will be hunted down and defeated. Any collaborators will suffer the same fate."

Clint resisted the urge to make a rude gesture at Pierce's image. He sprawled on a bench, staring at the datapad in his lap without seeing it. A masked and armoured figure took the seat next to him, and he spoke without taking his eyes from the 'pad. "He's been presenting evidence all afternoon on a plot by the Jedi to overthrow the Senate."

"And the Senate will go along with it as they always do." Natasha's voice was disgusted and resigned. "We almost had him."

Clint shifted, nudging Natasha's boot with his. "You did what you could, Tasha. This is much bigger than anyone could have foreseen."

"Yeah." She nudged him back. "This is nothing we were ever trained for."


Steve sensed Master Fari's presence approach where he stared out at the empty lunar landscape. Sam had brought him to the medical facilities on a distant outpost-somewhere Pierce's reach wasn't yet felt, but now that he was recovering, Steve was itching to get out and find Bucky. Sam stood nearby, reading something on a datapad, his quiet presence calming.

"Natasha and I are going to see what we can do to destabilize this new Empire," Fari said by way of greeting. "I'm heading out to Alderaan tomorrow. Wanted to ask if you'd come."

Steve shook his head, not taking his eyes from the barren vista. "There's something I gotta do first."

Nodding, Fari turned to Sam. "How about you, Wil'son? I could use a man with your abilities."

Sam looked up from his 'pad and smiled. "I'm more of a soldier than a spy."

"All right then." Fari rested a hand on Steve's shoulder. "I hope you find what you're looking for, Rogers."

Finally turning to meet Fari's eyes, Steve smiled. "Thank you, Master. I have a good feeling about this."


Hot wind whipped his hair across his face and tangled the robes around his legs. Staring at the rounded buildings half hidden by the blowing sand, he could almost hear the voices of two small boys shouting as they ran around and through the buildings. The words were in a mixture of Standard and Huttese, and they brought an odd tightness to his chest and throat. There was something important here, something he needed to find.