Hey Force Fans!

Book three is here and it picks up right where Book Two left off. It is complete. No lengthy edits or rewrites are needed so I'll be posting regularly. It is shorter than the first two, sitting at around twenty chapters.

I am proud of this work, and I hope you all enjoy it.

May the Force be with you.


Only the Force

Book 3

Ashes and Dust

(I do not own the rights to Star Wars)

Chapter One

Given that only yesterday, Separatists forces attacked Coruscant, killed tens of thousands of people, caused billions of credits worth of damage, and kidnapped the Chancellor, Jedi Knight Kyra Dawnstar presumed her spirits would be rather low. But as she awakened to a new day, her face pressed against the bare skin of Jedi Knight Aedan Kahl's chest, she could not, no matter how hard she tried, feel despair.

Is this what they mean when they say, "Love is blind?"

She had seen enough death, been through enough battles and experienced enough loss. Now that happiness and hope were literally right under her nose, she was going to focus on that. Even Aedan had said, "Your focus determines your reality."

Well, Master, I'm focused, she thought, as she turned her face, and softly, slowly pressed her lips against his skin. He stirred ever so slightly under her touch.

"Mhmm," he let out a faint groan. She could feel the rumble in his chest through her lips and it did wondrous things to her body. She pressed her forehead against his chest and turned her head from side to side. "I think waking up next to you might be my favorite thing ever," she whispered, and turned her face to peek up at him.

His eyes were closed, but the smile on his face said exactly what she was saying. "I don't know," he said. "I've seen you extremely elated in preparation for Tauntaun's breakfast.

"Those pancakes are incredible."

He chuckled and wrapped his arms tightly around her.

"But they're nothing compared to this. To you," she said.

For the first time in a very long time, she had hope, hope that she had found what that Merchant's son traveling to Takodana had been seeking in Master Fay's story.

Could this really be happening? Was the secret to happiness in her grasp? Being a Jedi, fighting for justice and defending the innocent, all the while spending her life with the man she loved. She buried her head back into Aedan's torso, the tears once again threatening to fall.

Aedan seemed to have noticed or sensed the potency of what she was feeling, and cupped her face with his left hand, tilting it up so he could look her in the eyes. He saw the moisture brimming within them, and in one swift movement, had flipped Kyra onto her back, and he was now on top of her, his hips pressing into her causing her to gasp. He softly kissed at the edges of her eyes, making her heart flutter.

"I'm assuming those are not tears of sorrow," he said.

Kyra shook her head, "No, they most definitely are not."

He lowered his head and kissed her. The passion and tenderness of his touch left her breathless and wanting more. Wanting everything. Again. She pressed her hands into his back, pulling him closer.

A knock at the door startled them both.

"You've got to be kidding me," Aedan said.

Kyra groaned, "Really?" she asked, "This early in the morning?"

Aedan sighed, and then climbed out of bed, and went to the door, while Kyra raised the covers up over her head to hide, giggling as she did.

She heard him open the door and speak to someone, a Padawan messenger she assumed, and then the door was shut. She brought the covers down, still smiling. That is until she saw the seriousness on Aedan's face. "What is it?"

"The council requests our presence. It appears we have an assignment."

Realization dawned on Kyra, "The Kathhound's Claw?"

He nodded, "That would be my guess."

"Well, duty calls," she said.

"Yes, it does."


Minutes later they were taking the turbolift up, and Aedan was assaulted by Kyra's happiness, she was positively brimming with it. So much so that she was starting to glow. He cleared his throat, "Um, Kyra, not that I'd ever want to subdue your happiness in anyway, but you're, um, shining."

Kyra looked down at her hands and noticed they had an electric blue hue to them, "Oh!" she gasped. "That's never happened before." A look of concentration formed on her face, and the glow receded.

He shook his head. This goddess will never cease to amaze me.

They exited the lift and were soon walking into the council chambers. "Master Kahl, Knight Dawnstar, served the order well you have. Many lives you saved yesterday."

"Thank you, Master," Kyra said. While Aedan nodded and looked each master in the eye. His eyes settling on his old friend, Obi-Wan, who sat reclining against his seat, one leg crossed over the other. The sight never failed to make Aedan smile. The wise master had turned into quite the warrior, diplomat, and leader. And Aedan was proud to be his friend.

"We've received word from Clone Intelligence," Master Windu said, "The Kathhound's Claw showed up on their scans."

"Where?" Aedan asked, refocusing his thoughts.

"Kashykkk," Master Mundi said.

Aedan's eyebrows raised at that. "How did they find it there?"

"CIS forces are gathering in that system preparing to invade, and one of our forward reconnaissance teams came across the ship you had flagged months ago. The transponder codes had been changed, but the specs and drive signature matched exactly. Intelligence analysts dug deeper and found the codes were fake. They tracked it down to the surface."

Aedan tilted his head to the said, "That's it then. When do we leave?"

"Immediately. And the 'Guile will be the perfect ship for the job." Windu stated.

Kyra's head sunk forward, shoulder's slumping.

"The 'Guile is currently out of commission," Aedan said, "It's at a repair shop."

"Didn't want to use the temple's facilities?" Obi-Wan asked with a smirk.

Aedan smiled at his old friend, "We all know how slowly our in-house repairs go."

"The Nubian you shall take," Master Yoda. "As well as your fireteam from Commenor."

Aedan nodded his thanks, and Kyra smiled brightly at that.

"The Wookies aren't very welcoming to outsiders," Aedan said, "Any idea how to navigate that?"

"Thought of this we did. Knight Rokvokka we'll be going with you."

Kyra gasped in delight, then quickly covered her mouth with both hands.

"Meet you in the hangar, he will. Depart in two hours."

"Track down that ship. Find out what they're doing on Kashykkk and figure out how to get to Sa'kard." Master Windu said.

Aedan and Kyra bowed. "We will, Master," he said.

"May the force be with you. This meeting is adjourned," many of the masters began standing up, and exiting, while some chatted with others.

Aedan and Kyra walked over to Obi-Wan, who greeted them with a warm smile. "Well done yesterday, Master." Kyra said.

Obi-Wan waved a hand in the air, "It was more Anakin than me. But I heard you two put on quite the show yesterday."

"That was definitely more her than me," Aedan said. "What can I say, we're good at producing excellent Jedi Knights."

Kenobi laughed at that, "We are indeed."

Aedan looked over at Kyra, the question in his eyes. She nodded her approval. "Master Kenobi, a while ago you fought Durge the Gen-Dai right?"

The smile left Obi-Wan's face. "Yes, we did. And it was a tough battle. He was…relentless."

"How did you defeat him?" Kyra asked.

"Well, although he does experience pain, and a lightsaber or even blunt force trauma could hurt him, it wouldn't truly harm him because he would regenerate quickly. But eventually I was able to cause enough damage to his body that he started shutting down, and then Anakin blasted him into a sun."

Kyra and Aedan nodded, as this reflected exactly what Dex had told them years ago. "So, incineration is the only way," Aedan said.

Obi-Wan nodded, "That or finding the brain and destroying it, but it's extremely difficult to locate. But enough bodily trauma will cause them to go into, essentially, an unconscious healing state."

"Got it. Good to know." Kyra said and bowed. "Thank you, Master."

"Be careful, you two. Gen-Dai are extremely dangerous. Durge had a psychotic breakdown, and it sounds like Sa'kard is exhibiting the same behaviors."

"We will, Master. And we better get going, but it's always a privilege, Obi-Wan."

"Same to you, old friend. And may the force be with you."

"You too."

The two Jedi exited the chambers and took the turbolift down. "Think this is it? Think we'll find him?" Kyra asked.

"Yes, I do. Everything is coming together. Can you feel it? The end of the war and the end of Sa'kard. It's so close."

Kyra's face brightened into a grin. "I know. I feel it too."

They exited the turbolift, and nearly collided with Anakin Skywalker. "Whoa, sorry, Anakin."

The young Jedi shook his head, "My fault," he said not looking either in the eye, and keeping his head down.

"Well done, yesterday, killing Dooku and saving the Chancellor. Most impressive," Aedan said.

Anakin winced at the mention of "Dooku."

Kyra eyed him warily, "You okay, Anakin?"

He shook his head, "Yes, just…having trouble sleeping. Sorry," he said quickly, "I'm going to see Master Yoda right now."

"Oh," Kyra said, "No worries."

And then Skywalker stepped onto the turbolift, and doors closed.

"What mynocked his power supply?" Aedan asked.

Kyra shook her head, "I don't know, but he was filled with…dread," she said shrugging. "That's the only word I can put with it. Tremendous dread."

"Hm, I hope he's okay," he said, then thought about it a bit more. "Have you seen Senator Amidala lately?"

"No, I've kind of been off system for a while, laser brain."

"She's…pregnant."

"No," Kyra gasped.

Aedan nodded, "Very pregnant. The child is probably due any day."

"Geez, that explains a lot then. And here I thought we were bad."

Aedan smirked, "Well, we are, just a bit more careful, obviously."

Kyra reciprocated the sentiment. "True."

"Come on, let's get moving. We've got one errand to run before we leave. And we need to change into civvies first."

"We're doing an undercover OP now?"

"Not exactly."

They hopped on a shuttle and made their way over to the Coco district. Aedan noticed Kyra's face lit up once she realized what area they were in. "No, we're not going to Dex's today," Aedan said.

Kyra's face fell instantly. "Then what are we doing here?"

"I had the 'Guile transported to the only mechanic I trust with repairs."

"Right, why not just leave it with the temple's shop?"

Aedan glowered, "Because we wouldn't see that ship for months. In fact, they'd most likely say it was totaled and not even bother with it."

Kyra's chin fell to her chest, "Aedan, I'm so sorry."

Aedan put his hand on her shoulder, "Really, Kyra, it's fine. I don't blame you. I'm just glad you're alright, and that it helped you. I mean, you did save my life. Again."

Kyra let out a sigh and nodded.

They stepped off the shuttle and walked a few blocks. Luckily, this area of town was largely untouched by yesterday's battle. Aedan stopped in front of a massive warehouse.

"Anton's Full Service Depot," the sign on the building read. Inside was far larger than the exterior building implied. This was a full-sized hangar, and four ships were being worked on, one of them being the 'Guile, but she hardly looked any better than when Kyra saw her last.

"Well, if it isn't my favorite attorney, Jaston Logan." a short, stocky Abednedo said as he walked up to them.

Attorney? Jaston?

Just follow my lead on this.

"Hey Anton, how's it going?"

"I'm good. You're Corellian though, not so much. Let me guess, you got caught in the attack."

Aedan nodded, "Was leaving the courthouse when I got broadsided. Sorry I couldn't be here yesterday to touch base."

Anton waved a hand in the air, "Nonsense, and who might this be?" he said, gesturing to Kyra.

"This is—"

"Amara Dawn," Kyra said, stepping forward, offering her hand. "Nice to meet you, Anton. I'm Jaston's protege, and we're meeting a new client shortly, but wanted to check on the ship first."

You're a natural

"Pleased to meet you, Amara."

"So, we're kind of on a tight schedule, but can you fix her?"

Anton scratched his head, "Maybe. The dorsal side really took a pounding, but it looks like the chassis is still intact. It's going to cost you. I'd tell you you'd be better off buying a new ship, but I know you'd just ignore it."

"You know me so well."

Anton nodded, "We'll see what we can do."

"Thanks, Anton. That really means a lot."

"Happy to help."

Another thought came to Aedan, and a smirk appeared on his face. "Something else you can help with. Does that droid mechanic still work here? The Anzellan."

A wide smile spread on Anton's face. "He sure does. I saw those three war droids in your cargo hold. Thinking of doing something with them?"

Aedan nodded, "Some cases lately have become a bit precarious, and I was wondering if they could be reprogrammed into sentry or protection droids."

Anton clapped his hands together once, "You bet your exhaust port they can. I'll have Babu on it immediately. The little genius will be thrilled."

"Excellent," Aedan said, "Any idea how long the ship repairs will take?"

Anton shrugged, "A couple of weeks maybe. Ten days at the minimum."

Aedan nodded, "I figured. Your haste will be most appreciated."

"Of course."

"Well, we better get moving. There are clients to defend and money to be made."

Anton chuckled, "Sounds good, my friend. Take care. And nice meeting you Amara."

"You too," she said, and they both exited the building.

Once they made it a block away, she spoke, "Jaston Logan, attorney at large. 'May the law be with you.'"

Aedan laughed, "That would totally be my tagline. Let's head back to the temple. It'll be about time to leave."

When Kyra didn't respond, he looked over at her and saw she was biting her lip.

"What?" he asked.

"We'll have some time before the ship and crew are ready, right?"

"Yea, a little, maybe an hour. Why?"

He saw as her cheeks reddened, "I just wanted to finish what we started this morning."

An electrical charge shot through Aedan. He nodded, feigning focused contemplation. "Good thinking. Let's go." And he picked up his pace.

Kyra giggled and matched his hurried stride.