"All right, Kyber Squadron. This is Master Saluk. All wings check in," crackled the voice in the ears of six young Jedi as they sat in their respective cockpits. One by one they pressed the mic pickup and answered the call.

"Yes, Master. Kyber Two, checking in."

"Kyber Three, checking in."

"Master Saluk, this is Kyber Four, checking in."

"Kyber Eight, checking in."

Jer Saluk, rare enough as a Trandoshan Jedi and a former Ace, had long ago been relegated to flight instructor with a reputation as the third-best pilot in the galaxy; the first being Anakin and the second being Obi-Wan. He frowned at his screen when he noted the absence of one of his students. "Kyber Six?" He sighed and wondered what the girl was doing in that cockpit...other than sweating. The youngling who flew under the call sign Kyber Six was surprisingly hesitant, especially for being the offspring of Anakin. "Kyber Six, do you copy?"

Leia gripped the yoke with both hands and tried to swallow through her dry throat. Despite his promise to help as much as he could, her father had been called away yet again the morning after her confrontation with Luke. Though she didn't want to interfere with her father's work, Leia could not shake the sense of trepidation that had been with her since early morning. Stop it. Father can take care of himself. She scolded herself for worrying and fumbled for the mic. "Sorry, Master Saluk. Ah...Kyber Six, checking in."

Saluk pursed his reptilian lips. Normally the female Skywalker projected calm and ease in the cockpit. Ever since her twin brother Luke- call sign Kyber Five -had passed the Trials and gone to be the apprentice of Master Kenobi, she was a bundle of nerves. Behind the controls of a fighter that could be deadly. "Skywalker, are you all right over there?"

Quickly Leia nodded, though she knew Saluk couldn't see her. "Yes, Master."

"You'd better be. It's your first time flying solo. Even one lapse of concentration could cost you your life. I don't want anything less than complete focus today...and that goes for all of you," he added, not wanting to single her out for too long. "Understand?"

"Yes, Master Saluk," said five voices in unison.

Saluk nodded and watched out the left side of his canopy as six triangles fell into an uneven line behind him. The older Delta-wing fighter had seen better years, but it was one of the few ships that had remained in the Jedi's possession after the Clone Wars. These had been retrofit with safety features to make them more suited to young, inexperienced pilots. Normally he had twelve students under his care but that number had been depleted by half since the Initiate Trials. He pressed his mic pickup again. "All right, padawans. This is your first formation, so take it steady. Soft on the yoke, easy on the throttle, and remember; breathe. Keep your focus on your ship and your surroundings. Trust the Force." He waited until all six students had acknowledged before giving them their orders. "All right. Flight pattern alpha, let's go. Just like you practiced in the simulator."

"Copy, Master," said the six students. One by one they fell into a loose diamond formation behind their flight leader. Leia, much to her annoyance, ended up at the rear. She had to tap the throttle a bit more to keep from falling behind.

The flight pattern today was simple and would take the young Jedi-in-training to the outer edge of the open area outside the Jedi Temple complex, around in a North-South figure-eight roughly thirty kilometers in diameter. Then they would perform another figure-eight with the narrow ends pointing to the East and West. The maneuver would be repeated twice before the fighters would fall back into a straight line before heading back into the hangar. If everything went well, the whole exercise would take no more than ten minutes.

Apparently Leia was the only one who was nervous. For the first half of the maneuver all her classmates performed to near perfection, while she kept wobbling at the rear. Master Saluk's calm but insistent reprimands wore on Leia's patience until she finally let go and let the Force take over. Her movements became smoother, her focus deeper. A grim smile of satisfaction touched Leia's lips as she flew completely by feel. So this was what Luke was talking about when he mentioned flying as a type of meditation. The girl's confidence grew to such a level that by the final figure-eight she closed her eyes. The Force rose to meet her, enveloping her...

"Well-done," said Saluk's voice in her ear as the maneuver was completed. "Much better, Skywalker. Your best piloting is always done when you are guided by the Force. Fall back into single file, Padawans. We'll come around once more in a circular pattern and then head back to the hangar. Acknowledge."

"Yes, Master."

"I copy, Master Saluk,"

"Copy that, Master," came the individual acknowledgements from five out of the six students.

Leia didn't respond. She hadn't even heard Saluk's final compliment. The young Jedi was still lost in the Force. Images flashed through her mind, and she struggled to make sense of them.

Then all at once everything was clear. She was no longer in the cockpit but on the surface of some rocky, unidentified planet...there were Weequay, Rodians, and Devaronians everywhere... they were laughing at something...gathered around something...no, someone...it was a man wearing shackles, suspended roughly a meter above the dark floor...the pirates asked him a question, then kicked him viciously...as the man lifted his head, his bruised face came into focus...it was Anakin...

"Father!" cried Leia, blinking as the vision shattered into a million pieces. At the same moment she realized she was headed straight for a wall of the Jedi temple.

"Skywalker!" barked Saluk in both alarm and disappointment. "Bank left! Now!"

Quickly Leia yanked the yoke to the left and swerved to avoid the Temple. She missed it by centimeters and was left with a pounding heart and a heaving chest. To avoid further danger- and to calm herself -she brought the ship around the back and set it to hover. The girl closed her eyes and took in a deep, shuddering breath.

Meanwhile every other Padawan had disappeared into the hangar. Master Saluk closed his eyes and took time to calm himself down before bringing his fighter to hover next to Leia's. He mashed the mic in frustration. "Kyber Six, what are you doing? You began to drift and did not correct course when I asked...and you nearly crashed right into the side of the Temple! You're a better pilot than that. What happened?"

Leia blinked, cheeks coloring. She hadn't even remembered where she was. The images had been so real... "I...I don't know," she sputtered, shaking her head. "I'm sorry, Master."

Saluk softened his tone. "Did you lose consciousness? I can escort you to the Healers if need be."

"No thank you, Master. I'm fine. It's..." Leia chewed her lips. Did she dare tell the flight instructor the truth? He might think her crazy, but despite calming down and clearing her mind, the images of her father would not leave. Her chest tightened at what that meant. "I...think I had a vision."

"Oh?" Saluk lifted scaly brows. Visions were not unheard of. "Is that why you didn't correct your course until the last minute?"

"Yes Master, and I'm sorry. But please, you need to inform the Council immediately. Father- Master Skywalker -is in danger!"

"Now Leia, I realize you miss your father, but-"

"You don't understand! I saw him!"

The Jedi Master blinked in confusion. "Saw...Master Skywalker...in your vision?"

Leia swallowed the rising lump in her throat and took another deep breath. Jedi were less inclined to listen to someone who was verging on hysteria. "Yes. He'd been captured by pirates...perhaps the same ones that went back on the deal on Balmorra."

Saluk frowned. While visions containing such details were rare, they did happen...and thus far visions from the Skywalkers had proven fairly accurate. "Are you certain it was your father?"

The girl nodded impatiently. "Yes!"

Saluk was thoughtful. Again, the Skywalkers could usually be trusted when it came to matters regarding the family. Then again, it could just be a Force-enhanced daydream from a girl who missed her father. Few younglings had such insight. "Do you have any other information? Such as where your father is on the planet, or when his capture may take place, or if it has already happened?"

Leia's shoulders sagged even as the urgency in her heart grew. "No."

Slowly the reptilian Jedi Master nodded. "I see. Young Leia, how can you be certain this was a vision, and not just your own emotions playing with your mind?"

He doesn't believe me! Leia's heart dropped into her boots. "I don't know. I just...please, you must help. They're torturing him!"

Saluk shook his head. "Young Leia, you know as well as any other that the Jedi cannot waste resources in chasing every vision. And even if it was a vision, and Master Skywalker is in danger, you mustn't worry. He is one of the most powerful and resourceful Jedi in recent history. Your father is well able to take care of himself."

Tears filled Leia's eyes in despair. "No. You have to help him. Please!"

"Enough, Leia. Return to the hangar and we'll report these things to the Jedi Council. If they have merit, then rest assured, they will be investigated. In the meantime, calm yourself. Fear leads to the Dark Side."

"But..." Leia squeezed her eyes shut against the coming tears. The Jedi Council knew her history. They wouldn't believe her, either. I know what I saw. I know my father's in danger! Why won't they help me? Choking back a sob, the young Jedi angled her fighter back toward the hangar...and abruptly hung a sharp right. Before she knew what she was doing, Leia had pushed forward on the throttle to reach escape velocity. If they're not going to help him, then I will!

Immediately alarms blared in her ears. Voices, both automated and live, announced that she had deviated from the flight path and was gaining altitude without clearance.

Soon Master Saluk's voice joined them. "Leia Skywalker, why have you not returned to the hangar? Have your systems malfunctioned?"

Leia glared as she shook her head. "No, Master."

Saluk seemed to growl to himself. "Then what in the name of the Force are you doing? If you think for one moment that you can disobey a Master and go after your father yourself-"

Leia's fingernails wanted to dig into the yoke. "I don't have any choice. I know he's in danger!"

The Trandoshan sighed heavily. "Leia, you mustn't let your feelings interfere with what you know. Breathe...use the Force. Wait until the Council has been told, and then-"

"They won't believe me!" cried Leia in desperation. The Force warned her to correct her course just in time to avoid the endless rows of atmospheric traffic. "Please...Master Saluk, there's no time...I'm sorry." To avoid any further arguments, Leia flipped the switch that would turn off her comm. An orange light on the left side of the console warned that the autopilot was about to be engaged. It was one of the safety features to prevent padawans or anyone else from stealing a ship.

I'm not stealing it, thought Leia as she tried to remember the sequence that would disengage the automatic recall. I'm just borrowing it. I'll bring it back after I find Father. Her hands shook in flipping the appropriate switches and entering the proper command into the small keypad. Several agonizing seconds passed before the orange light turned green.

That wouldn't be the end of it, of course. Already the girl knew that a larger ship with electromagnetic pulse technology was being deployed to stop her before she reached orbit. And then there would be the orbital security. She didn't have clearance to leave the airspace around the Temple, let alone enter outer orbit and jump to hyperspace.

Hyperspace...the coordinates! Quickly Leia brought the navicomputer online. Normally Padawans her age couldn't chart their own course through hyperspace.

But then again, most Padawans didn't ace every class they'd taken in mathematics and navigation. She would have to do some fancy flying to avoid the security forces, but Leia refused to doubt her abilities now. She couldn't afford to with her father's life on the line.

Hold on, Father. I'm coming!

:=v=: :=v=: :=v=:

Obi-Wan Kenobi winced as he rose from the pilot's seat and worked a knot out of his lower back. He'd been sitting too long again. His backside was starting to fall asleep, so he gave it a couple of slaps to wake it up. I'm getting old, he reflected with a slight ironic smile. Of course fifty was only a step past middle age for most healthy humans, but with all he had gone through since coming under the tutelage of the late Qui-Gon Jinn, Obi-Wan often wondered how he was still alive. Some would call it luck. Of course Kenobi had no use for superstitions and knew the Force was the only reason he still had a pulse.

After all, he had survived having Anakin as a Padawan. After that Obi-Wan had figured he could handle anything.

Then Luke became his student. While Obi-Wan had nothing but good feelings for the boy with an endless supply of kindness and talent, at times he was even more trying than his father had been.

If Anakin turned my hair gray, thought the Master with a wry smile, then perhaps Luke will scare it off of my scalp.

His smile faded as he neared the aft hold where Luke had been meditating. He could sense the boy's unease from beyond the door, and once it opened, he saw why. Luke was tossing and turning and mumbling, obviously caught in a nightmare. Obi-Wan frowned. I hope these are nothing like his father's dreams. He went over to try and calm the boy.

Before Obi-Wan had gone a full meter, Luke let out a cry and lurched upright, forehead damp with sweat. "NO!"

"Luke..." Obi-Wan carefully approached.

"Master?" Clearly Luke was disoriented. He looked about to see the familiar surroundings of the main hold and let out a shudder.

"It's all right," calmed Obi-Wan, giving Luke's shoulder a squeeze. "Calm down. Breathe."

Wordlessly Luke obeyed. He had learned long ago that the best way to banish night terrors was to let the Force do it for him. He closed his eyes and took several deep breaths...but the images wouldn't dissolve. The cold ball in his stomach wouldn't leave. Luke knit his brows in worry.

Obi-Wan withdrew his hand and sat down. "That's better. It was just a dream-"

Luke opened his eyes and whipped his head side to side. "No...no, it wasn't. Master Kenobi, something is wrong...I can feel it. Please, we have to go. We have to save them!"

Not again. Obi-Wan tried to keep the knot from forming in his own stomach at the urgency and honesty in Luke's expression. "Who?"

Tears stung Luke's eyes, and he had to blink them back. "Dad and Leia. They're in danger..."