As Aleah followed Jens and the others through the many docking bay and landing pads, she kept looking over at Dray. The Bothan seemed very familiar and the way he also handled her master's lightsaber also seemed familiar to her. Before the Nelvannian ask him some questions, Jens spoke up.

"Well, we're here," he proudly said. Aleah could only stare dumbfounded at the ship before her. It was an old Incom Corp X4 Gunship, nothing fancy, but had surely seen some action in its time of service. Captain Jens walked up to a male Shistavanen who was white as the snowy mountains of her home world. The captain smiled as he gave the ship a playful kick, only for a part of the landing gear to fall off.

"What's a piece of junk," she said finally breaking the awkward silence.

Dray didn't comment, but merely gestured toward the ship, where a beautiful, blue skinned female Chiss was coming to meet them.

The Chiss didn't seem to be thrilled to hear how Aleah called the ship a piece of junk, but responded with a smile and said, "Thanks for the compliment. The ship was Jens' father, he got eaten by a Rancor last year."

Oh, great. Aleah thought to herself. They have a since of humor now. Without missing a beat, the female Chiss lead her inside the ship. But as they were going up the loading ramp, Aleah stopped. The force was calling to her, trying to warn her of approaching danger.

The female Chiss was confused at first, but the Nelvannian took a sniff of the air, his eyes grew wide. "They are coming!" he shouted to Jens drawing a blaster. The other crew members either rushed up the ramp or took up a defensive position, waiting for the threat to come.

Outside the docking-bay a group of black suited clones of the elite commando unit marched in formation toward their new target. Each clone had only one order to follow: Kill the Jedi and anyone with her. Docking-bay workers either fled or took cover when they saw them coming, but a single worker quickly ran up to them.

The leading clone asked the worker, "Where are they?"

"In there," the worker replied, then took his leave.

The leading clone turned to the others behind him. "Alright men, load your weapons!" he said barking commands, then they rushed into the docking-bay.

A glint of light on moving metal caught Jens' eyes as the unwelcome outlines of the first commandos showed themselves. The captain quickly drew his blaster, managing to get off a few shots before the commands opened fire themselves.

The rest of the crew of the Nova Star quickly fired off a few shots before rushing inside to the safety of their ship, while Fang manged to get the Nova Star into the air. The clone commandos seeing that their targets were getting away, quickly made call to the nearest Republic battlecruiser for them to intercept the feeling gunship.

As the Nova Star escaped into the atmosphere, leaving behind the clone commandos, Jens took a quick glance at the tracking screen. "Looks like a Republic cruiser. It appears that somebody really hates us," then, turning to his first mate Fang he said, "Angle the deflector shield to full power, I'm setting our course."

With those instructions he ceased conversing with the powerful Shistavanen as his hands flew over to the computer input terminals. Just then, Aleah appeared behind him.

"How long before you can make the jump?" she inquired easily, apparently showing very little concern that at any second they all might be reduced to space dust.

Jens scanned some of the screens that were giving him info about his surroundings. "We're still with getting set, maybe… two more minutes."

That was when they felt the Nova Star shake! She had just been hit, but she kept on moving. As the big Republic cruiser moved in closer for another shot, six HWK-290 light freighters and two Allanar N3 light freighters appeared. They were part of the Voyagers and they come to give the Nova Star cover so she could make the jump tp lightspeed. Jens finally had the intel he needed. With a smile, he turned to Fang.

"Punch it!" he shouted.

Fang's hand shot forward, grabbed the hyperdrive trigger, and away they went. The other Voyager ships also quickly made their jump into hyperspace, leaving behind a damaged enemy cruiser.

After jumping to lightspeed, Jens sent out a warning to all Voyagers that were en route to Coruscant to move to secondary base of operations. After he was done, the captain turned to Aleah. He smiled at her. "Want to meet the crew?"

Aleah nodded. "Sure," came her quiet response.

Being led out of the bridge, Jens and Fang called all crew back to the main cargo bay. It was a sight to be held as the lovely Nelvannian saw a few faces from earlier, but the others she had yet to meet. However, she kept glancing at the armored crew member. His armor was truly fascinating, Mandalorain from the looks of it. Aleah watched Jens walk toward his crew who were now lined up.

The captain first introduced himself to the Nelvannian. "I'm Jens Alden. Captain of the Nova Star."

Then Fang stepped forward. "I'm Fang, second in command of this ship."

The female Chiss smiled and walked up and shook Aleah's hand. "Lyra Bray," she said with a smile. "I'm the navigator."

"And a real flirt with Fang and Dray," Jens said under his breath. Lyra turned to her captain.

"Says the guy who thought a sack of poorly packaged fossilized Bantha crap was worth stealing," said Chiss responded with a laugh.

Then the Bothan who had saved the crew from the clones stepped forward. Aleah could see that his light brown fur was starting to turn gray around some of the face, clearly, he was the oldest of the crew. Said Bothan smiled and introduced himself. "I'm Dray Saron, scout and explosive expert of the Nova Star," he said with a small bow of his head.

Aleah suddenly felt the force around her. It was strong with Dray. She wanted to ask him if he had once ever been a Jedi, but the male Mirialan stepped forward. He smiled as he greeted Aleah.

"I'm Daniel Brathe, but everyone calls me Danny. I'm the cook of the Nova Star." Danny said, then turned and looked at Faolahd, walked up, his sheer height alone made Aleah feel small in the Wookie's presence.

Faolahd then pulled Aleah into a big hug. "I'm the muscle of the Nova Star," he said putting the Nelvannian down. The Wookie stepped back. "Call me Faolahd."

Being called the muscle of crew was a good way to describe him. It would be very interesting to get to know him. Aleah then turned to the female Shistavanen who was smiling at her. "I'm Kenna, medic of the crew," she said.

The female Zygerrian who Aleah had met during her escape earlier walked up. She pulled out a scanner and held it in front of Aleah's face. She pressed a button and laser moved up and around the Nelvannian's face. When the scan was complete, said Zygerrian smiled. "Body temperature normal, stress levels are a little high, but other than that you are fine."

Aleah looked around at the crew who could only shrug. The Zygerrian then introduced herself. "I'm Feline Leumas, chief scientist of the Nova Star."

Then the Mandalorain walked up, his face hidden by his helmet. He said nothing as his hands lifted his helmet, revealing his face to the Nelvannian. Aleah just looked at him, like she was being drawn into some kind of trance. He was a really handsome man, with beautiful brown eyes and dusty blond hair. She felt her body temperature rise as her heart began to beat really fast.

"Are you alright?" the Mandalorain asked the Nelvannian, who quickly composed herself.

"Yes, I'm fine. My name Aleah," she smiled, feeling a little embarrassed by her sudden dream like state.

The Mandalorain smiled back. "I'm Sivad Drawoh, but my mates call me Siv. I'm the maintenance tech of the Nova Star," he said.

Just then there was a loud crash as two droids appeared. Siv turned and smiled. "Aleah, meet Rusty, he's a reprogrammed B-1 Battle-Droid I made from a hodgepodge of recovered parts." he proudly boasted.

"And the other?" Aleah asked him.

Siv smiled. "And the other is R2-QT. We call her: "Cutie", but she can be a real bitch most of the time."

The little astro droid didn't like that so she opened up one of her compartments and shot Siv with her built in taser. The Mandalorain jumped back as he tried to avoid from being tased. The crew laughed as Siv jumped up on some crates.

"Cutie, that's enough now," Dray smirked. The little droid beeped with laughter as it rolled away.

Jens then spoke up. "Now that the introductions are, I say that it's time to eat."

Within minutes, the crew were lining up with trays ready to eat, while Danny removed pots of food from his stove. As Fang got a big helping up something, he took a sniff and made a face of disgust. "What's this stuff supposed to be?"

"Eggs, stupid," said Kenna.

"I know what an egg is, sis. I mean this soggy flat yellow stuff on the side."

"Corn bread, I think." Siv fingered his portion and added absently, "Hey, I wouldn't mind getting me some more of that sexy Twi'lek dancer we saw the other day. Remember her?"

Feline was sitting on a box to the right. The chief scientist glanced up briefly, then looked back at her tray. "Is that all men can think about?" she asked sarcastically.

"What else is there to think about?" Fang asked as he hacked at his eggs. "The only one who doesn't think like us is our droids."

"I prefer the term "artitficial life form" myself," Rusty interjected softly.

Danny walked up carrying a metal cylinder. "Anyone want a drink?" he asked.

Lyra smiled and held up her glass. Danny poured her some. Just as she took a drink, the unsuspecting Chiss spit out her drink. She coughed and gagged, trying to get the flavor out of her mouth. "Damn, Danny," Lyra complained, scratching at her throat, "what did you put in this anyway? Hyperdrive coolant?"

"Just to add a little color," Danny told her defensively, then he and Faolahd cracked up, slapping palms.

Dray looked up at Jens. "So?" he asked taking a sip of his drink, which tasted revolting. "What's our mission captain?"

Jens put down his fork. "Don't know," he replied. "Aleah should know. She's the one who needed to get off world."

Aleah put down her tray and pulled out the holocron. "I wish I knew as well. All I do know is that the newly formed Empire will be looking for this," she said putting the holocron on the table.

Dray put down his food and took a closer look at the holocron. There was something unusual about its design. It wasn't shaped like any holocron he had seen. Being very careful, he picked it up and could already tell that it wasn't just a holocron, but something much more. He then gave it a twist, a turn and another twist.

It was a puzzle box!

Suddenly, the holocron light up like a star. The crew and Aleah all watched in awe as the holocron projected a recording of what looked like a Jedi Knight. Everyone listened in silence as the Jedi spoke.

"Greetings, I am Jay Kaylon, one of the four who defeated Mandalor the Heartless. If you are seeing this, then it means that the cult has returned and are looking for their master's armor and war hammer," the Jedi said calmly, but the fear in his eyes were as clear as daylight. He continued on. "Listen to my riddle and you shall find my temple where a piece of the armor and war hammer are kept."

Dray leaned in closer as Kaylon's riddle was spoken. "On Naboo, follow that which runs, but never walks. To the mouth that never talks. There your path will lead to the temple." Then the holocron closed and image of Jedi Knight Kaylon vanished.

Jens turned to Lyra. "Set a course for Naboo!" he ordered.

The female Chiss jumped up from her seat and ran to her station. They now had a clue to their mission, but what neither the crew nor Aleah knew was that Empire were already on Naboo.

One week later…

The gentle thrum of the Nova Star's hyperdrive resonated through the ship, the dull humming of the lightspeed drive offering some comfort to the occupants of the ship, who were either sleeping, running technical surveys of the ship, or just lazing about, as they had been doing on their weeklong journey to Naboo, which according to Jens would be ending within the hour. But, despite the time that passed, there was one that would rather be left alone.

Aleah sat in the galley of the Nova Star, her head laying on the cold metal table as she stared at the holocron before her, her eyes filled with contempt at the small object…small, but dangerous. But, as she continued to silently curse the artifact, her sensitive ears picked up the sound of the galley door opening, allowing a hulking mass of fur to enter.

"When was the last time you slept, kid?" Faolahd asked, the Wookie making her way to the sink by the stove, pouring himself a large mug of water. But, as he turned back, he couldn't help but let and an amused huff escape his lips as he saw a scowling Aleah turn her gaze away from him, a clear sign that she would rather be left alone. But, if Faolahd was one thing, he was stubborn. And so, with a low chuckle, he plopped himself on the bench right beside the Nelvaan Jedi, who let out a slight yip of surprise when she felt herself lightly bounce from the seat.

"You know," the Wookie continued, his golden eyes staring at the girl with a bit of mischief, "they say talking is key to healing all wounds. There's no point in keeping things bottled up."

His grin grew wider as a thought entered his head.

"Though I should image you Jedi have that down to a science."

At that, Faolahd could make out a tiny sound. Not loud, but his exceptional hearing could make it out to be a…giggle. And, to his silent relief, the blue-furred female by his side brought her face out of her arms, the black scleroses making her yellow irises pop as she looked at the Wookie by her side. But, as she looked at him, her curiosity over his ability to speak basic grew by the second. Finally, she just couldn't resist.

"Forgive me," she began, her collar still translating her native language for her, "but I didn't think Wookies could speak basic. At least not without a vocabulator like mine."

The reddish-brown mass huffed out a rough guffaw.

"It usually throws people off, but they usually get used to it. I have a speech impediment very rare to Wookies. It allows those of us who have it to, in essence, 'mimic' basic. Mine is actually so strong that one would assume I am fluent. Oh, I can speak shyriiwook just fine, but having a Wookie who can speak basic his very beneficial."

"Plus," a light voice interjected, causing the two occupants of the galley to turn to see the good Mirialin cook standing in the doorway, a mischievous smirk on his purple lips as he walked toward the Wookie, surprising Aleah with a view of the much smaller male cozying up to the much larger warrior, "you will never have a more restful night's sleep than curled up in a Wookie's lap. Right, Love?"

"Right," Faolahd laughed, surprising Danny by quickly pulling him into his lap, the cook's back soon being pressed firmly against the Wookie's broad, furry chest. And needless to say, Aleah was surprised to see such a mismatched pair.

"So," she quietly interjected, causing the odd couple to look at her, "you two are…?

"You better believe it," Danny playfully answered.

"Faolahd is my big, fuzzy pillow."

"Please don't call me that," Faolahd grumbled, though with a slight mirth to his voice. Aleah also couldn't help but giggle at the exchange happening before her. I truth, she found their little banter quite adorable. But, then again, she wouldn't know anything about romance, her being a Jedi and all. But at that thought, she couldn't help but think back to when she met a certain Mandalorian crew member. And it was only when she could faintly make out Faolahd talking to her that Aleah realized she had been wrapped up in her thoughts about Siv.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" She inquired, a small blush bleeding through the fur on her cheeks.

"The riddle," Danny repeated from Faolahd, pointing toward the holocron, "do you know what it means?"

"Yes," Aleah answered with a small laugh, "I am very good at riddles. 'That which runs, but never walks. Has a mouth that never talks.' It's a river."

"Lots of rivers on Naboo," a new, more feminine voice interjected, causing the trio to look up to see the Star's resident zygerrian, Feline sending them a playful smirk as she moved to stand in front of the table, planting her hands on the edge as she cast her violet gaze at the holocron.

"But only one that would be our best bet," another added from the room, the group met with the very amusing sight of Siv's, goggles over his hazel eyes as he poked his head through a hatch in one of the maintenance tunnels.

"Eavesdropping from the vents," Feline quipped, "how mature."

"I wasn't eavesdropping," Siv grumbled, using a dirty rag to wipe his sweaty forehead.

"I've never been to Naboo," Aleah quickly added, wishing to keep the conversation on track, "so I don't know much about its landscape, such as its rivers."

"Solleu," Jen's deep voice bellowed as he entered the room, all eyes now on him. The captain smiled as he downed the last bit of alcohol in his glass.

"It's one of the most prominent rivers on Naboo. It ends at Virdugo falls in Theed and travels through the valleys and plateaus, past the Gungan swamps, and towards the ancient Temple of the Elders."

"It can't be that easy," Siv scoffed, having lowered himself from the maintenance vent into the Galley.

"Actually," Aleah added, sending Siv a teasing, almost flirtatious smirk, "it's so OVERT it's COVERT."

And that moment, any claim Siv would or could make that he was not embarrassed would be betrayed by the faint crimson blush that shown on his dirt covered face, earning a round of snickers from the other. But, at that moment, the revelry was interrupted by a loud beeping sounding thought he ship, followed by Lyra's voice sounding over the comm.

"We're coming up on Naboo. Strap yourselves in."

Jens quickly began barking orders. Everyone got to their stations and were all set for their arrival.

Within minutes, the Nova Star dropped out of hyperspace. But the moment the lush green world was in view, the occupants of the gunship where suddenly filled with dread upon noticing a small group of venators ahead. And to make matters worse, a pair of V-Wing's emerged from the main hanger of the lead starship. And when they were only short distance away, the chime of the comm on the bridge sounded. Not wanting to to raise any alarms, Lyra answered.

"Unidentified craft," a clone's voice sounded, "identify yourself."

Routine, Lyra thought to herself as she spoke into the comm.

"Nova Star, requesting permission to land to take on fuel and supplies, as well as make needed repairs."

A few seconds passed. Complete silence. Then…

"Transmit clearance codes."

"Transmitting clearance codes."

Fang looked at the venators, his eyes narrowed. "Sure hope our codes are still valid," he said hoping for the best. After all, if there was one thing he hated, it was to let his crew see him afraid. Fang had always played the tough guy from the day he joined Jens.

His sister Kenna looked over at him. "They'll work," she assured him calmly, but her voice was full of doubt.

For the next several minutes the group held their breaths, the imposing venator's looming closer and closer with each passing seconds. Aleah even had to steady herself as the sudden wave of anxiety through the ship resonated through the force.

Jens looked to his first mate. "Looks like we may be leaving real soon," he said after noticing the two V-Wings pulling back. It looked as if they were about to attack, but instead of the sound of lasers, the radio crackled to life.

"Nova Star, you may proceed." Then the V-Wing's returned to their ship.

A collective sigh of relief.

"Thank, making approach to Theed."

"That wasn't so bad," Kenna laughed, gently nudging Aleah who merely chuckled as they ship descended toward the planet surface. Within minutes, they docked in one of the commercial hangers just outside of the capital, the hanger manager. But, as a small group, consisting of Jens, Faolahd, Dray, and Aleah, the Nelvannian concealed in a simple sloak, a hood pulled over her head.

"We can't run the risk that the Corusaunt Guard has blasted your face all over the holo-news," Jens had advised, hence the cloak. But, as they made their way out of the hanger to find a means by which to safely navigate toward their destination without drawing to much "unwanted attention," the small group noticed that the streets seemed strangely deserted.

Well…Almost.

A small group of Noobian's were making their way down the street, all dressed in back attire.

"Wait here," Jens said, quickly making his way over to the group as to inquire what was happening. And as the bearded man spoke to the group, Aleah couldn't help but grimace at the immense sorrow radiating throughout the city. And it seemed to be originating from a large congregation of people lining the walls of the nearby river. And it was only when Jens returned, a somber look on his face, did the group learn the terrible truth.

Senator Padme Amidala Had Died. And her funereal was going to be taking place at sunset.