Star Wars is the property of George Lucas. I own nothing.

Author's note: This storyline doesn't have the invasion of the Yuuzhan Vong, so it's still the Empire against the New Republic.

Pain. That was the first thing he felt. His body hurt all over. The light pierced his eyes, and he groaned. He looked around, noticing the others. Two others were in separate beds next to his, and he sighed.

Thank God they're all right.

His relief turned to panic as he realized there was someone missing.

Kyle?! Crap!

The door hissed open, and his head snapped towards it. His eyes widened as a creature with a fish-like head walked through. The problem was he recognized the being.

I've gotta be dreaming!

"Greetings. I am Cilghal. I am a Jedi healer under Master Skywalker. Do you know where you are?" She-he knew it was a she-asked.

And that's when he fainted.

Meanwhile, Jaina was watching over the only one of the survivors who hadn't regained consciousness. He floated in the bacta tank, eyes closed. Jaina didn't know why she was drawn to him. Behind her, a short, furry creature stepped up.

"He is fine. He should awaken in just a few moments."

"Thanks, Tekli," she said.

The Chadra-Fan healer nodded his head and left the room to check on the others.

"Oh!"

Jaina turned around to see one of them walk in. Or rather, stagger. He was tall, probably 6'3", with brown hair and green eyes.

"Hi," he groaned, making his way over to her.

"You should still be in the med bay," she said, helping him sit down.

"Not 'til I find out how he is," the man responded.

"How'd you get all the way out here, anyway?" Jaina asked. "There's nothing out here."

"Just hit a button, and away we went," he responded quietly, touching his neck.

"Your voice should be back to normal within a day," Jaina said. "And you just hit a button?"

"Long story short, we had a planet-wide evacuation, and we'd only recently achieved lightspeed capabilities."

Jaina frowned. What backwater planet had they come from?

"Just now? Seems kind of a long time."

He looked at her strangely.

"I'm not from this system, let alone this galaxy."

Once again, Jaina was floored.

"What? How is that possible?"

"We're from Earth. It's in the Sol system, as we call it. Our sun was gonna go nova, or so the experts said. So we had a rushed exit. Our shuttle made it, but the others-"

Jaina understood.

"They didn't make it?" She asked, and he nodded. She felt sadness in him, a lot of it. Then she looked at the young man floating in the bacta tank.

"What's his name?" She asked.

"Kyle. Cocky at times, usually real serious. Hates it when people joke around him."

"And your name?"

"David Walker. That shuttle you pulled us from was a prototype hyperspace vessel. The engines died out right on the edge of the system. I don't know how long it's been since you found us."

Jaina sympathized with them. They'd probably lost everyone, and the loss of one of one of their own would have made life all the more unbearable. She remembered from the time they almost lost Chewie.

"He is awake," Tekli said. Jaina hadn't even heard the Jedi walk up behind her.

"Yo, man, you alright?" David asked as Kyle woke up.

"I've felt better," Kyle replied, smiling weakly. He looked at Jaina, and for some reason, she blushed.

"Who's the broad?" He asked.

She instantly got angry. She'd saved his life, arriving when she had, and this was his thanks?

Easy, Jaina. He just woke up.

"Ummm, Kyle. Said 'broad' saved your life. Ass," David replied, frowning.

Kyle instantly sobered, and looked down.

"Sorry," he said sheepishly.

The ship suddenly shook, and the three lost their balance. Kyle fell out of the bed, groaning.

"What was that?" David asked.

Jaina looked at him.

"The Empire."

The Imperial Star Destroyer Dominion unloaded its TIE squadrons at the Rebel Dawn. TIE bombers followed, dropping proton bombs on the New Republic vessel, depleting her shields.

"It appears we've caught them by surprise, though I don't know why," Admiral Vickers said. He was a tall and skinny man, and some said he resembled Governor Tarkin, back when he served with Darth Vader on the first Death Star. Vickers was a cold and calculating man, and one who truly believed in the Empire's rebirth.

"Don't let them escape."

"Yes, sir," his aid said, and began giving orders to the crew.

"Well, this is great," Jaina muttered, executing a barrel roll in her X-Wing.

"Sticks, you've got one on your tail," Gavin Darklighter said.

"Thanks, lead," she replied, throwing her ship to side. The TIE followed, firing wildly.

"Looks like I'm on my own here," she muttered, dodging.

"Looks like you could use a hand," a voice commed.

Her x-wing cut to the left just as the TIE took a hit to its rear, reducing it to burning shrapnel.

"Kyp Durron?" She asked, surprised he was here. True, he'd been with the fleet for a while, but when the alert came, he'd said it was nothing she couldn't handle on her own.

"Guilty."

"What are you doing out here? I thought you said-"

"I've said a lot of things in my life, Sticks, and it's not the first time I've rushed in with blasters ready. I think you know that."

Kyle groaned as he leaned back on the pillows behind him.

"Sounds like it's over," David said. "How are you?"

Kyle looked at him with a pained expression on his face.

"My muscles ache, my bones are throbbing, my eyes are killing me, my head's swirling, but other than that, I'm fine thanks," he replied sarcastically.

David smiled.

"We only just got here, and we've already been in a dogfight," David said.

"Ummm, bro? I don't think sitting on a ship, specifically, the medical wing, constitutes us being part of any fight," Kyle said, closing his eyes.

The door hissed open, and a sandy-haired version of Kyle rushed in.

"Holy crap! You should have seen that fight, dude! The Rogues-at least, I think it was the Rogues-annihilated the Imps, man. Frickin' sweet!" He said this so rapidly David wondered for a second if he was on drugs.

"Could you be any louder, Evan? I think there's some people who didn't hear you," Kyle rasped, rubbing his head.

"OH! Oh. Sorry, dude. So sorry," Evan said. Family friends had always called him a motormouth for fun, but it was painfully true. It was even worse when he was on drugs.

Although that was only one time, Kyle thought.

"On a serious note, now, fellas," David said. "We're probably gonna be here a while, maybe this is our permanent home, so let's make the best of it."

"The ship? Our home? Cool!" Evan said, leaning back against the wall.

"No! I mean, here, this system. So, after Kyle gets better, not to mention-oh, hell! Where the hell's Alex?!"

"Someone called?" A muffled voice asked behind him.

David turned around slowly and glared. There stood Alex, a perfect replica of his own face body and face. Except for his hair. It was completely white. He'd been born that way, no one knew why.

"Oh, that's so typical," David said with disgust in his voice. "Our brother is in the medical wing, wounded, and you're…what? Getting a snack? That's real mature."

"Hey, he's fine, and I'm hungry! And what was I supposed to do?!"

Jaina walked in, surprised to see the four of them like this. When she first saw them together, she thought they had a great relationship with each other. But she saw them now, like this…and Kyle…

He was just staring up at the ceiling, but she could feel his anger rising. She could see his breathing rate change, could see his eyes go cold. She was about to say something, but-

"SHUT UP! WE JUST HAD A BATTLE! I'M HERE, LIKE THIS, AND YOU TWO ARE ARGUING ABOUT FOOD! WHAT THE-"

He stopped and clutched his neck, coughing.

Jaina and the others rushed to him. David carefully pulled him onto the bed, Alex pulling the covers onto him. A while later, Kyle was breathing normally, looking at the ceiling again. After a long, uncomfortable silence, he spoke again.

"You two are assholes," he rasped. David sat back, and buried his face in his hands.

"He's right, you know," Jaina said. "He's hurt, and you're doing this."

She came forward and put a cold rag on his forehead.

"If we're gonna stay here, we need more than this," Evan said. "We need our own supplies, transportation, the works."

"Yeah, a ship would be nice," Kyle whispered, the coolness of the towel calming him down. He was staring into Jaina's eyes as he said it, and once again, she had the urge to blush.

"Think you could help?" He asked, managing a weak smile.

The brothers looked at her. She opened her mouth, and just sat there like that for she didn't know how long. Then she answered.

"Well, Corellia is on the way. I don't see why we can't stop by a shipyard," she answered, smiling at Kyle. Kyle returned the smile.

"Sounds like a plan."