"Coruscant is the shining emblem of the Empire. Its beautiful spires almost reach through the atmosphere. In the throng of the lively city, shiny, colorful hovercars zip past. Glistening metal walls decorate the sides of buildings, and bright glass windows turn the cityscape into a scenic wonderland. The people strolling on the walkways are well-fed and cheerful. They laugh, and they smile, and they talk. On the surface, it is paradise. But that paradise is as much a lie as the one you tell yourself everyday; that no one pays for your luxury.

"Beneath this pretty holo, is an under city, a decrepit ruin that holds lives in its treacherous—and often fickle—hold. Separating the denizens of this hole from the upper city is a cloudbank, and a series of lasers. Once you are below this cloud bank, the change is drastic. The first thing you notice are the walls; they're not metal, but duracreet with faded color that has been overrun by various graffiti. The next thing you see are the windows, they do not shine, but are covered in a film of grit.

"When you go farther down, you again notice the walls, now they have no color. Then you notice the windows, they have a bar right down the center.

"Then you go farther down. Cracks come forth in the walls, until they are so wide and deep, you could climb the walls like they were ladders. The windows gain bars, so many until you couldn't see out of them anyway; it's then that they disappear altogether.

"When you finally reach the ground—and if you're not immediately mugged—you begin to notice the holoadds. Compared to the classy ones you're greeted by everyday, ones that are well done, and well thought-out; these are sleezy; they're crude, but effective in getting their message across—if you know every Hutteese swear word ever invented that is.

"The schooling down here is nonexistent, so I really can't comment on it.

"That doesn't mean however, that down here you don't learn, child crime rings teach you so much; like how to give up hope.

"That child crime ring, it's where I am right now. Next to me sits a little Twi'lek girl; older than me, her face is a pattern of scars. "That's what they do to the pretty ones." I've been told. The holopad I hold in my hands was given to me by the teller. He's a good friend of mine, my best friend, and a partner in crime. We're the best. There is no question about it, except; why is that a mark of pride?

"Around me are the victims of the Republic's ignorance, shadowed faces that weep in the night, and murmur their nightmares to the dark.

"Where is the Empire? Why hasn't it come to save us from its predecessors cruelty?

"This is not a child speaking out against the Empire. It is a child seeking the Empire's shelter, not for herself, but for those who live their lives in fear of life.

Hope"

Teri finished reading her column, and looked at the surrounding sea of faces. She read confusion, pain, longing, anger—thankfully not directed at her—and resolution.

"What do you think?" she whispered, softly, there was no need to speak loudly. For the first time in anyone's memories, the lair of the Hawk-Bats was as quiet as an abandoned monastery.

"It's…" Wester struggled for words, "what's glistening mean?"

"It means shiny." Teri had originally written her entire column with simplistic words, then gone back and replaced the simple words with words suggested by the holopad, which sounded more advanced.

"Oh." The boy answered back, then, "It's real'um. Not like'stuf'ya see round here."

After this a chorus of "different" and "wow's" came from various directions. The noise resumed.

Some time later, the voices drifted away. And Teri was left sitting next to Gate and Numa. The little Twi'lek girl was smiling; "I hope. I hope that no one else has to go through this." She motioned to her face.

"Well I hope the Empire does something." Gate stated with a chuckle.

"Well, I hope for hope." Teri laughed lightly, it was a strained laugh, but it felt… carefree. She hadn't had that in a long time. Teri spoke with Gate and Numa for a while after that. Some time later, everyone drifted to sleep; they normally fell asleep wherever they were sitting when they're eyes began to droop.

Teri felt the solid reassurance of Gate's back against her own. They slept back to back as usual. Numa wasn't too far off, sleeping sitting up, back propped against the wall, with one eye open. Teri felt her eyes close, she was safe, she was surrounded by an old friend, Gate, and a new one, Numa.

Teri wasn't certain when she fell asleep.

Around 0300 hours, Teri blinked sleep from her eyes. Something had woken her up. She stood and stretched, as long as she was up, she might as well make use of it, and not bother trying to get back to sleep; which was a doomed cause.

The nine-year old child looked around her at faces aged to fast, just like her own. Children who bore scars of near misses, and tear-streaks of missing those near to them.

This must end. The thought entered Teri's mind. With it came a familiar hatred, and anger, that she had kept inside her since that fateful day six months ago; a lifetime to a nine-year old. She felt the anger fester and boil, she had let it grow for six months now. This must end. She sat down cross-legged in the middle of the lair's floor, like she'd seen Master Yoda do at the Temple.

Teri knew next to nothing about meditation, and what she did know was a comic mosaic of things from holoshows, and rumors that spread quickly amongst the Younglings about the topic. That wasn't going to stop her.

The child rested her palms on her knees, she knew the holoshows were wrong about one thing, you didn't hold your hand with your thumb and forefinger touching. It was with your palms open, facing the sky, as she'd seen Master Yoda do so often in the room of a Thousand Fountains; open to new ideas.

Then she began to clear her mind; she wasn't sure how to go about this, but just as she knew light chased the dark away, she did so for her thoughts. For her worry of hunger, she remembered being so full she could eat no more. For her anger, she thought of the joy that she'd shared with her father. For the sorrow that brought, she thought of happy moments with Gate. For the hatred of the Hawk-Bats leader, she thought of her column. Finally, from that she was given hope. She tasted and mulled over the hope, then she swallowed the sweet and rare treat.

Teri opened her eyes, but where she expected shadows, instead it was covered by a blue haze. The haze reminded her a bit of a leg, a booted leg. She looked up, and up, and up. Her head tilted back so that her brown curls tickled her back through her shirt.

"You!" she whispered angrily. The ghost seemed surprised by the vehemence in her voice.

"Yes, it is me." The ghost nodded. Teri growled low in her throat.

"You abandoned me." Her voice came soft, and more hurt that the angry retort she'd intended.

The ghost—infuriatingly and—placating spread his hands, "I saw no need to come when you were with Teri; when you needed me, down here" the ghost's hands took in the entire lair, "your anger and hatred prevented you from seeing me."

Teri sighed, "And my sorrow." Her voice sounded odd to her own ears; it sounded older.

Even though Hope had grown to age eight, and Teri to age nine, Rishy was still only six years old. Still a Youngling at the Temple, not a nine-year-old thief who wrote to try and change her situation.

"Hope—"

"That's not my name." she interrupted him, "My name's Teri." Her weary words hung in the air.

"Teri then, you will get out of here. I promise you." The ghosts rubbed his forehead, "But for now, you need to have an excuse for talking to yourself." He began to fade away. And as the ghost disappeared, the figure of Wester solidified.

"I was sleep-walking." Teri snapped. Wester just nodded and backed away.

Wester felt the cold lair-wall press against his spine. Teri was frightening. Something told him that when they'd dragged her here six months ago, she hadn't been herself. He knew that if they tried that now, she'd most likely kill every one of them.

Wester had done things he wasn't proud of; a lot of things. He had no confidence in himself, he wasn't very smart, and he wasn't very attractive, at sixteen, he didn't have much going for him. The one thing that kept him alive was that he was a survivor. Wester had never lived, he had only survived, and a kind of desperate survival at that. Teri on the other hand, she had lived, and lived well. That fact in itself terrified Wester; Teri had seen the Other Side, the Upper city. She came from a cultured world, where scarcity came only in mental things. Wester's back followed the curve of the concrete until his butt touched the floor. With a deep breath, he smelt the trouble coming on the wind, Whatever it is, I'm going to survive it.

Rega sifted through the column's sent to her. She was an agent, and spy, for Cad Bane. Spies of Bane brought the bounty hunter news on the daily happenings of Coruscant. She had yet to move up his employee ranks much. At least she'd gotten out of traffic control and into a newsholo company. But still… She ran her hand through her gray hair. I'm too young to have gray hair, and a face already destroyed by my own stupidity. She ground her teeth together and read through the most recently submitted column. It was moving, had several grammatical errors, and clearly wasn't written by who it said it was. A child living in a Thief-ring wouldn't know how to write. It was then that she checked the pen name, Hope. Hope, where had she heard that before? Cad Bane told us to look for her! It could be just a coincidence, but… it could also mean that Rega would get out of here. Briskly, she walked out of her small cubicle, and out into the news-companies decrepit courtyard. She pulled a small comlink out of her pocket. And dialed up the only frequency it had.

"Yes?" the gravely voice on the other end made her throat feel like sandpaper.

"Mr. Bane, I believe I have some information of value to you."

Teri had been distracted today. Some little tug told her that something was coming. Perhaps the Force? If so, and if it wasn't just a rain storm… Maybe… ruthlessly, she killed her line of thought. Help has not come yet, why would it come now?

She strolled alongside Gate, as they headed back the lair. They walked down the center of the alley, two ratty children, in rattier clothes. Dirty and grime covered. Their days were stealing, their nights shivering. This is not childhood. A voice whispered in the back of her head. She remembered last night, speaking with the ghost. Now she wondered if it had been a dream, an illusion. Yet all of today, it was like opening her eyes. Things she'd given up on changing, that she'd learned to live with in the past six months were falling away. This is not childhood. The voice growled, This is not living. Teri looked up, her eyes were greeted by darkness, beyond the streetlights, there was nothingness.

"Teri?" Gate asked, she didn't respond, "Teri?"

"What?" Teri finally whispered back.

"How long you gonna stand dere?" Gate wondered.

Teri realized she'd stopped moving, what was with her today? I'm distracted, I'm dreaming in the waking hours. Teri sighed and started walking again, "Sorry Gate, didn't sleep well last night. Weird dream."

Gate shook his head, "Weird'nough ta distract you? It must'a been weird."

Teri was already preoccupied in her thoughts.

Cad Bane didn't like responsibility, and most times when he wound up with it, he killed it.

But sometimes, as it was in the case of Teri and Hope, they were assets. Teri had had enough pull with the media, that Bane could get Teri to unwittingly cover the bounty hunter's tracks.

And Hope… Hope was a fragile Force-sensitive who's sense of right and wrong had yet to be shaped. Essentially, she was a once in a lifetime chance of invincibility. As long as "Uncle Bane" was shielded by his Force-sensitive "niece", who would take the trouble to kill him?

And so it was, that Cad Bane found himself in the Undercity of Coruscant.

As the entrance to the lair approached, Teri stopped where she was, she sensed, a few blocks down… twisted, bent backwards, cold, steel… Bane. The word slammed into her with enough force to make her take a step back. She could feel her face blossom into a savage grin. Gate stopped walking.

"Teri?"

"Go inside Gate, I'll be in before curfew." She whispered. Cautiously, Gate nodded and backed into the stormdrain, he gave her a terrified expression just before the shadows veiled him.

Teri walked over to the familiar blue Duros. His hat, though it shaded much of his face, could not hide him from the Force. "It is you!" she squealed, as she finished her last three yards at a run, "Uncle!" as she got within a foot of his face, she saw that he was scowling. "Uncle?"

"Hope, I can't believe you got yourself into this mess." The blue Duros growled. Teri looked down, ashamed; then she saw what he held in his hand. It was a small device, and it was flashing vehemently.

"Uncle?" Hesitancy washed over her features, and she took a step back.

"Do you know what this is?" He snarled, gesturing to the device in his hand.

"No." Teri whispered.

"It detects weapons, any and all kinds. That includes nanobots." His words were sharp and harsh, they cut Teri's ears like knives. "And do you know what you have in you?" He didn't give her a chance to reply, "Nanobots. The deadly kind." His eyes looked at her in disgust, "I could have taken you away from here, could have gotten you out of here, but now if I do. You die, and I have no interest in hauling around a dead body."

"I'm sorry—" Teri broke off as she felt fear grip her throat, then she found a tiny shred of her voice and clung to it, "If we just destroy the transmitting device—"

"We? What we? You got yourself into this. You can get yourself out." Bane jutted his finger at her. Then turned around and began to walk away.

"Uncle wait!" Teri's eyes burned with tears, I won't be abandoned again. "What if I destroy the device! I-I can do it! Will you take me away from here then?"

The bounty hunter stopped, as if considering, then nodded, "But I won't wait here forever child."

Teri slid into the storm drain, and her feet hit the bottom. Then she walked the long tunnel to the cavern part of the lair. As soon as she emerged from the tunnel, she saw a shadow looming behind her. A sweaty palm grabbed her by the back of the neck and spun her around. "Teri. Teri, Teri, Teri." The Hawk-Bats leader stood before her. "Do you know what you've done?"

Curfew! Teri's limbs shook as she attempted to speak.

"You stayed out past curfew." The wet voice hissed in her ear, "Do you know what the punishment is for that?"

Panic gripped her, and she dove toward the familiar state in which she could feel the Force. She clawed her way toward it, primitive fear driving her to a stare of calm.

That was when things stopped. Seconds became eternity. The warm spots became cool spots, and in her tormentor, Teri felt faint chill; and in the center of the draft that was her terror, she found something small… beating…

"Now, I'm going to make an example of you!" The leader roared.

Teri felt herself squeak something.

"What was that?" The leader put her grubby ear by her mouth.

This time, the whisper came out clearly, "Thank you."

The hand dropped her, "What?" the man stepped back.

Teri smiled, "For coming out of your hidey-hole. I promise you, I'll make it worth your while."

The Hawk-Bat leader put his hand to his chest, he felt a twinge, then he shuddered. Something was wrong, something was very wrong…

He dropped dead.

Qui-Gon looked at the scene in sadness. The child, in all her fear, and anger, and hate, had touched the Dark Side of the Force. Only she could save herself now.

Teri tilted her head to the side, she felt light, like a feather that would blow away in the wind. She felt good.

Then it seemed she'd dropped back down to earth. She felt heavy again, her neck was soar, her knees stung, and her head hurt something awful. She stood up and brushed the dust and grime off her shirt. "I hoped you liked your "while"." She sneered at the corpse before her.

As she walked back to the previous Hawk-Bats private section of the lair, people backed away from her. She felt smug about that.

Until she saw Gate and Numa backing away from her too. Her heart folded in on itself, They're afraid of me?

Hurt, she went into the small back "room". Teri looked around. It didn't take her long to find what she was looking for, it was a small device—a miniature satellite dish mounted on a black box. She went and grabbed it. The desire to crush it then and there was intoxicating… This isn't you. The deep rumble of the ghost whispered through the Force. Teri sighed, she took a swift breath and walked out into the giant cavern, she knew what she had to do. She held the device above her head.

"Everyone look this way!" she yelled. Heads snapped around, they'd all expected a change in leadership, but not an announcement. Once Teri was confident she had their attention, she began again, "Whether you realize it or not, this box in my hands is what controls the nanobots inside you!" She could have made an eloquent speech, but they wouldn't have understood it; a waste of words. "Now watch it die." She said without splendor.

Then she smashed the box against the ground.

It didn't break.

"Oh!" She hissed, and proceeded to jump on it, until it was smashed into a pile of metallic dust.

Then she ran for the opening, an explosion followed behind her.

I haven't posted anything for a long time! O.O I've been spending it all animating!

Oh well. This is a pretty dark chapter, Teri kills someone... and she's like, nine and a half... and the identity of the ghost (which most of you guessed, lol) is Qui Gon! Woot!

Congratulations to Queen, she guessed the riddle right; the answer was revenge! XD

A thanks to My Lady Vader, darkangel1994, The Name is Unimporatant, Pirate King Elizabeth Swann, and Queen for reviewing,

Your reviews always mean so much!