I decided I'd just continue the story with the new character, without his bio. This is a long chapter, but I'm sure you'll love it.

The Reborn

I listened intently. This was it.

"We have concluded it is not the correct punishment to expel you from the Order."

Incredible! I was staying in the order! I wanted to jump and shout for joy, I could barely contain my emotions. But… what about my punishment?

"As a serious warning, you will be placed as commanding officer on patrol upon the planet Xanius."

Xanius? It can't be. That's a primitive planet, known for its nearly uninhabitable jungles, and number of creatures bent solely on killing other beings. There wasn't any interest in that planet; it wasn't in any key hyperspace lanes; it couldn't be used as a checkpoint for strategic attacks… it was essentially useless.

Master Windu continued, "You will report, once there, to Colonel Appo. He has reported strange activity that isn't from the local wildlife. You will send out patrols until the threat is uncovered."

That's ridiculous. I'm sure it's all just a hoax to get me to go there excited. But, might as well just ask about it. "What kind of suspicious activity are we talking about?"

"Mostly communication interference, but there has been security system blackouts and late-night tampers with computer software."

Seeing my confusion, he broke it down. "For the most part, someone, or, something, is hacking computers late at night. We need to find out who." I nodded in affirmation.

"Oh, and one more thing. You will be accompanied by Padawan Learner Barriss Offee." Barriss? Great! It will be very good to see her again. I haven't seen her since the Second Battle of Geonosis.

"As you wish, my Masters." I replied, and walked out.

Hardly an hour later, I was onboard the ship, in my quarters. I powered on my holodiary, and went to a page about a year ago. It was the day I met Lux.

"Dear Diary,

These are strange times. I have, through a myriad of extraordinary events, found myself staying in a home on Raxus, a Separatist planet. I've hated nearly every minute of being here. There's battle droids I can't destroy, traitors I can't bring to justice, and, to top it all off, I'm staying in a house with a guy that has a crush on me. This is utterly ridiculous. Hopefully Padme and I will leave tomorrow, following her CIS meeting to discuss peace terms.

Until next time,

Ahsoka Tano

My face lit up when I subtly mentioned Lux. I wonder what's become of him. He talked about joined the Republic; did he mean it? Maybe, if I meet him again, I'll find out.

I smiled. He had grown from a boy that had no sense of fashion, not very socially or intellectually gifted, to a young, strong man; powerful in appearance and strong in will. How war changes everyone, in more ways than one. I chuckled softly to myself. I had fallen in love with what was, at that time, an enemy. How we have gone through so much… together. I "flipped" to the photographic section of my diary. There was a smirking picture of him amidst many other pictures.

The door buzzed. I figured it was a clone asking my assistance on the bridge, so I didn't bother hiding the holodiary. I opened it; it was Barriss!

"Hi Barriss… what you up to?" I asked.

"Not too much. Just wanted someone to keep me company, and clones can only go so far." She replied with a smirk.

"Sure, c'mon in." I told her. She walked inside, and I sat back on the bed. She sat in a chair, and asked me a military question.

"Did you read the brief on our mission?"

"Sort of. I mean, I was briefed in a Council meeting."

"Do you actually think someone's trying to steal information?"

"Not really. It's probably something totally explainable; but Colonel Appo will fill us in once we get there, so we'll find out."

"I'm just going to be prepared, in case there is someone intruding on a military base."

I sighed heavily. What a boring job. Then Barriss looked down at one side of the bed, and saw the holodiary, with the picture of Lux enlarged on the screen.

"Who's that?" She motioned to the diary. I blushed and tried to hide the diary.

"Don't worry, Ahsoka, I can keep a secret. Show me."

I knew she was trustable, and it was almost cute to see her so inquisitive. My face still red, I reluctantly handed her the diary. She looked at the picture and smiled.

"He's handsome." I blushed deeper.

"I… guess so."

"How do you know him?"

"We've been through a lot. Met him on a Separatist planet while trying to make a treaty with the Separatists. He was a lot stranger then. We ended up on Carlac after he foolishly made a deal with the Death Watch to avenge his dead mother. We almost got killed several times there before we managed to escape. Then, met him again while freeing a planet from the tinnies."

"That's a lot of "we"s. Is he nice?"

"For the most part. Truthfully… I have feelings for him. In fact, we almost…" I stopped.

"You almost… what?"

"Never mind."

She looked at my eyes. She knew what had nearly happened. "That's a serious act, Ahsoka."

I turned away. I already knew that.

I asked, "Have you ever felt something… strong for someone? Maybe even far enough to consider that you… loved someone?"

She brightened. "Yes. He's very easy on the eyes… smart, strong, you know the drill. He's rough to everyone, even the other girls, save for me. I may have had feelings for him."

"What happened to him?"

"I don't know for sure. He and his sister went back to their home planet about a year ago."

"What's his name?"

She thought for a moment. "Saw. Saw Gerrera, if I remember correctly."

I smiled. "He was on Onderon, fighting alongside the man on that holodiary picture."

She straightened up. "What happened to him? Is he alright?"

"As far as I know. Although… his sister was killed."

She looked down. "I hope he'll be ok."

One hour later…

"Colonel, can you give us some specific information on the possible intruder? Our briefings were very general, not in much detail." I asked Colonel Appo on the surface.

"We don't have any hard evidence to say there is an intruder, but we have guesses. The last few nights there have been unexplained blackouts, and the access codes on the panels were tampered with. I don't believe that whoever did this broke the codes yet, though."

"Has it been consistent?"

He nodded. "Every few nights the cameras go out, as well as some power. Some sort of electro-magnetic surge."

I looked at Barriss. "Barriss, could you loosen security tonight? I want to set a trap for this intruder."

She nodded. "Are you sure you want to deal with the intruder on your own? He's not a dimwit, as far as I can tell."

"I'm sure. I'll be in the control room, instead of clones. Colonel, by the way, why isn't there tight security in the control room?"

He fidgeted. "Well, Commander, the men… get pretty tired." He said nervously. Well, it seems living beings need rest, even if they are hardcore soldiers.

That night, I waited for the intruder. There were less clones on duty, and it was a dark night. Perfect for an intruder to infiltrate the base.

The hours went by, and only the sounds of the midnight jungle broke the silence. Why was I here? I could be in the Temple, talking to friends, having fun, or out on a real mission, not sitting here in a shadowy corner waiting for some phantom being to steal data. Perhaps I should get a wink of sleep. The whole night had been blank, why should the intruder come now?

My eyes began to flutter, until I was drifting into sleep. Then a strange powering down noise was heard. My eyes shot open, and I felt someone near the door. It slowly opened. I activated a power device, the lights burst on, and leapt to him; lightsabers activated. I simultaneously sealed the door to cut off his escape.

He wasn't alarmed in the slightest. He was wearing worn Mandalorian armor, but it had many extra devices and attachments all over it.

"Who are you?" I demanded of him.

His helmet prevented him revealing his identity, but he was clearly very strong and agile. He reached behind his waist and pulled out two identical rods. He pressed a button on each of them and they shot to life. They were extremely dangerous electric whips. Very hard to use, and quite expensive, too.

He spoke through a voice scrambler. "I have no name. Though, I prefer… The Reborn." With that, he swung the whips.

Don't forget to rate!