Ian pulled the rebreather mask from his face with a wet suction sound, gasping in the stale air in one of the remaining air-bubbles in the ruins of Otah Gunga. He blinked the water from his eyes and looked around.

It smelt of death and decay. Much of it was collapsed or in disrepair, and though he was no master of the Force, Ian could clearly sense the lingering hint of the Dark Side. It rippled in the echoes of screams that had bounced from the walls when Sith had made the once-thriving city a graveyard.

It was also oppressively dark. Without power, the small fraction of the city that remained had only ambient lighting from fluorescent sea-life. It cast the already-eeriy ruins in a greenish hue, but gave just enough light for Ian to find a maintenance station.

Ian shook the water off himself before reaching for a rusted control panel. "Let's see what we've got..." he murmured, before testing the controls. Unresponsive. Ian frowned, and laid his hand on the console. He closed his eyes and reached out through the Force, letting it guide him along every bound wire and rusted bolt.

Finding the source of the blockage, Ian gently lifted the shard of scrap metal out of the way. With a slight sparking and a low hum, faint light returned to the console.

Ian smiled. "Jackpot." With a few quick commands, he managed to restore some low-level lighting. Lamp posts lit up all along the chamber, providing a little more light and reveaing all manner of lean-to housing, a veritable shanty town amongst the rubble. The ashes from fires, ragged clotheslines, and lone spears dotted the remains of grand buildings.

As he watched, Ian also noticed eyes - peaking out from behind the rubble and from within the scattered houses. Feeling uneasy, but still curious, Ian inched towards the settlement.

"H-Hello?" he asked, trying to reassert his confidence. "I'm Ian, I was sent to... well, to find out what was going on down here. Who are you?"

Silence. No one responded, a few even sunk back into hiding. Undiscouraged, Ian came a little closer. "It's all right, you can trust me, I'm a Jedi Knight sent from the-"

He didn't get to say any more than that. The instant the word Jedi left his lips, gangly gungan warriors leapt up, hooting and hollaring. Many plucked spears from the rubble and spat indecipherable curses at Ian, but all of them were running towards him.



Katria was exhausted, but relieved. They stood on the steps of Theed's city hall. Behind her, the younger of the Order staggered in her wake - many of the youngest were being carried by the older Jedi who had come along. She turned to the group, saying "Wait here, I'll just be a moment!"

Feeling a little more energy enter her step, she climbed the stairs to city hall and stopped at the first civil servant she saw.

The man, steel-rimmed glasses and all, glanced up from his work. "May I help you?"

"Yes," said Katria, warmly. "I've got a lot of children without anywhere to stay with me, do you know where a youth hostel or shelter is in Theed? Or some other place that takes in young people?"

Reeking of boredom and apathy, the man shrugged. "Sorry miss, but there's no more hostels operating in Theed. They all went out of commission a couple years ago - too much demand."

Shocked, Katria said "You're joking - really? But I hardly see any homeless people in Theed."

"Technically, the city hasn't got a homelessness problem," the man droned. "As it's the captial, homeless people are sent outside the city limits, usually to a bigger city like Keren."

"But what am I supposed to do with the children?" said an exasperated Katria.

The man just shrugged again, and turned back to his work. "Try the Jedi Temple down the road. I hear they like taking care of people."

Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering. Katria kept telling herself as she stalked out of the building, her fists balled. This isn't working. Okay, try counting to ten.

She returned ashen-faced to the crowd, which had seated itself along the steps. "I'm sorry," Katria said. "But I don't know what to do now. I don't think there's anywhere for us to go."

Feeling a weight of hopelessness, Katria sat down on the steps away from the children. It's like no one's here for us, she mused. As if a light had suddenly turned on, she added But I am...



"Quite the evening we've been having, eh?" said Fwar, looking out over the rooftops.

"Oh yeah," replied Shillia. "You sure know how to show a girl a good time, Fwar. Could you help me with this bandage? The burn keeps displacing it.

"But of course," Fwar replied, before giving the bandage a yank to tighten it.

Shillia winced in pain, managing to hiss out "Gee, thanks."

"No trouble at all," said a smiling Fwar, who turned back to the skyline of Theed. Below them, the beautiful architecture of Theed spread out like a vast canvas, gilded by moonlight and whisps of clouds. "That last thug with the switchblade was truly a sore losers."

"Not quite so bad as his friend with the disruptor, let me tell you," said Shillia, as she picked at the burn. "I hope they can make that illegal weapons charge stick."

"Speaking of illegal," a gravelly voice intoned, "since when did the Jedi get the power to break the law?" The speaker was a terribly rough man, whose face was a patchwork of scars and burns fighting for territory. In his wake, grim thugs with long coats fanned out along the roof, covering all sides.

Fwar's brow furrowed. "Broken the law? I don't know what you mean."

"Littering," the rough man said. This elicted a dark chuckle from his men, before he continued. "The splat you'll make on the ground is going to cost the city a pretty penny to clean up."

"Now listen here," said Fwar. "We have no quarrel with you, good man. What is your business?"

"Listen," said the rough man. "You Jedi have been out of town for a while, so maybe you've fallen behind, but after your little fight with the Sith there was plenty of room for a wise man to fill the gaps. Everything outside the shiny happy city-center ain't yours to own or to police, and we're here to make sure the Jedi get that message." The men around the roof levelled pistols from within their coats towards the Jedi.

"But surely we can-"

"Will you shut up?" snapped Shillia, as she engaged her lightsaber. "Now grab something and hit 'em with it!"



"Why are we going to Keren again?" mumbled Proq, as he tried not to fall asleep in the back of the speeder.

"There are mor criminals in Keren," replied Jubaz. "More to hunt."

"Oh, good," said Proq. "Why do we want to pick a fight with more criminals again?"

"For great justice," said Jubaz.

Proq sighed, and pulled his robe down over his eyes. "Wake me up when we get there."

The speeder zipped along under the moonlight, along the tree-lined roads of Naboo that stood untouched by war and strife for years. Here, the burn of the Sith, the Empire, or other oppressive forces had not reached, and people lived as they always had.

In fact, some were doing so right now. Jubaz glanced to one side, seeing a farm. It appeared as though it had stood since the planet's colonization, and his curiosity was piqued. He watched the little windows, the wilted scarecrows, and the fields of crops as an outsider mystified by the process that grew food from earth.

They were soon passing through an entire small farming village, with more fields than houses and more wells than power lines. Jubaz marvelled at the simplicity of it all, considering wether he should wake up Proq so that he could see as well. He decided against it - it didn't seem like Proq's kind of thing.

He didn't get much further in this dream state, though. With a thunderous roar that woke everyone in town, a huge beast reared it's head over a copse of trees. Startled, Jubaz swerved to avoid its' feet and crashed through a picket fence before hitting the trees beyond.

Farmers started pouring out of their homes, shrieking in panic as the beast stumbled around and snapped at crops, plants and other flora. Spooked by the chaos, its' ponderous bulk began gearing up for a stampede.

"Are we there yet?" mumbled Proq, as his dizzy self crawled out of the crashed speeder.

"On your feet!" shouted Jubaz. "There is work to be done!"



"I must say, I don't like the time you keep, Master Jedi." said Queen Carlotta. She hadn't even had time to put on the finery usually associated with the office of Queen of Naboo, sufficing for a royal bath gown. The throne room was cold and empty, except for the queen's handmaidens, the queen, and Dolash. "Your predecessors were more courteous."

Strange that there would be so many, considering she's the one with the elected office. "Queen Carlotta, I come to you on a matter of upmost importance, as well as to make your aquaintance. I have been elevated to a high position in the Jedi Order, and seek to revive its' dying spirit as well as repair relations with our hosts and neighbours, the people of Naboo."

"You may be a few years too late for that," Carlotta replied briskly before sitting down in her throne. "The effects of the Sith attack are still resented by a great deal of the population. That isn't what interest me, though - what I'm curious about is why now you're interested in returning, and what you plan on doing."

"A simple answer, your majesty." Dolash seated himself opposite the queen and entwined his fingers. "My predecessors were more courteous, perhaps, but they got precious little done. Now that the position is mine, I feel the Order needs to take drastic action to reverse our downward spiral. In short, I have turned my entire Order loose, directing them only to do good deeds, and then left them."

There was a brief period of silence as the queen waited for the Jedi to respond. "And then...?"

"And then I cam here to tell you about it," replied Dolash.

"...And that's it? You sent several hundred Force users out onto my world without any plan or direction?"

"Ah, not entirely," said Dolash. "I did direct them to do good deeds."

Carlotta seemed at the same time shocked and disbelieving. "And what do you hope to accomplish?"

"Why, good deeds, of course." Dolash sprouted a maddening smile, clearly enjoying the moment of enigmatic simplicity.

Carlotta rose from her throne slowly, and began to speak with a tone of worry. "I sincerely hope you'll start making more sense soon, Dolash. What is it that you want and why have you come to me? And why do this?"

"Your majesty," said Dolash, who began to gesture with his hands, "I want what you want - restoration, order, peace, and security - and I want the Jedi to do it. Not only that, but I want you to be able to have faith in us to do that as well. I want you to be able to step out tomorrow and declare to your people that the Jedi have returned and will hear their cries once more, and I want to be there when you say it."

The queen was quiet for a moment. She glanced to her handmaidens for a reaction, to see if she was the only one who felt the unusual nature of the circumstances. "And how do you expect your Jedi to create such faith?"

Again, the smile spread across the grey features of Dolash's face. "Why your majesty, I've already told you - by doing good deeds."

Rane looked around at the children, Silonik and Mortor in his arms. If there weren’t so many, I’d suggest taking to the wilds and let nature provide for us. He thought. But that’s the ranger in me talking. He realized that all his years spent in the wilds worked to his disadvantage now, for he didn’t know cities as well as he should. My kin would laugh at me. He thought bitterly. Indeed, the usually habits of his kind would be to blend in with the populous, studying and learning the ways of countless species. Instead of the norm he had chosen a more isolated lifestyle, only knowing enough about the locals to get by.

Stop thinking about yourself. He scolded himself. The children need care and training, but how to provide it if the city cannot?

Again his thoughts turned to the wilds and he was hesitant to suggest it. He did know of some abandoned buildings on the outskirts, as he had stayed in one for a night before he went to the Academy, they could stay there, at least temporary. There were dangers though, he knew. Gangs had taken over much of the outlaying areas of the city from what he heard, so-called ‘protection’ racket type gangs. The children would be an easy target for them and himself and the Jedi would have to keep on their guard at all times.

The wild itself was dangerous, but more predictable. Still, it could take a while to find suitable shelter there and the children were already exhausted. The outskirts seemed like the best option for the time being.

“A suggestion if I may Katira.” He said finally. “There is an abandoned building on the outskirts of the city we could use temporarily until we figure out where to go. It could be dangerous, due to the local undesirables, but it would be shelter for the children to rest in for the night.”

Ben finished his goodbyes and stepped aside to let Damari say his. He stood beside his friend with a single hand holding one of the straps around his right shoulder as my other hand lay at his side. So much has happened in such a small time. In a single day so much has changed that it amazed Ben to witness it all. It was a mystery as to how ones life could change almost instantly. How movement and progression in one direction could suddenly cease without warning and proceed at the same pace in the exact opposite.

As Ben went through all these thoughts inside his mind, Darami had finished saying his farewells. Slowly Ben looked at Darami and with a slight smile turned once again to the hangers exit. They both stepped out into Temple grounds and proceeded around back to the now broke gate through which they had all entered. It took almost all of Ben's mental strength to exit through this single gate and step away from the Temple wall once again. His home was no more once again.

After a few moments of walking with Darami beside him, Ben took a pause and turned back towards the Jedi Temple. He knew this would be the last time he would see the Temple, at least for a while. Ben would have to look towards the future and finding a new home.

As he wanted the sun slowly move down, the center of it was blocked by the Temple's high roof. He could see the mixture of lights seeping through the clouds and turning all of the sky a pinkish purple hue. It was so beautiful that for a moment every worry inside Ben disappeared. He just smiled and watched, taking in the moment before him.

At this moment of clearity Ben realized that beauty and life was all around him. All of these years he had searched for a home, a place to live in and be excepted, but home was not a place and it did not always equal happiness. Home was in fact whereever you feel the best. It could be found anywhere in the galaxy as long is made you feel happy. As long as you supporting friends beside you everything would be alright.

Ben turned to Damari and smiled. "Thank you for coming with me on this journey my friend."

With that they both started to walk down the path that lead into the great city of Theed. Ben wondered what kind of people they would meet and what they would do there. Unlike other times, though, this uncertanty did not arise any fear or anxiety within Ben. He was actually looking forward to going out into the galaxy and discovering new things for himself.

His gaze hovered upon the door the Ben and Darami had exited for a slight moment more after they left, his expression contemplative at its vacancy. An irrational side of him preached caution and told him that they could of prepared more for this moment. But his more reasonable side soon caught up and comforted him. They could've always used more time and preparation. This was as good as any other time for them to be off and learning on their own. After all they had each other to remind themselves of their core lessons. They would prevail.

He turned his worries to the younglings. It was they that had the hardest trials before them. Sure they still had him as their mentor, but there would be things that the Force would throw at them in the outside world that would be troubling to deal with without the mental as well as physical sanctuary of the Academy's walls. It was hard to rebuild such a sense of safety when it is so abruptly taken away from you.

Tatane's worried voice suddenly pulled him from his thoughts and he managed to give her a fleeting grin and a hasty nod in response. "Well enough I suppose." He still had all of his limbs, he could still walk, and he could still feel the ebbing flow of the Force. Yes, he was well enough. His wits had been quickly regrouping since the speech this morning and he had to say it was at a personal record breaking time.

In fact, her concern jarred him a bit. He could only recall his own Masters having ever voiced their worries about his condition or behavior. Having long since taken on the role of a teacher himself, the Jedi Knight had gotten used to the idea of doing the asking instead of being asked when it came to issues of health. Such inquiry tended to be a big part of teaching as students had a tendency to want to hide their weaknesses. It would seem that it was a broader tendency as even now as a full fledged Jedi, he tried to keep to himself.

Quite franky, her concern made him second guess his ability to appear stoic. The sight of another familar face suddenly appearing caused him to set aside that newfound worry though. At the sound of his name being called, Kenshin turned to see Marek Zolar stumble through the hangar door. "Marek!" He said a bit surprised at the sight of Master Dolash's Padawan. "Yeah I heard well enough. But hearing and listening are two different things eh?" He added with a slightly mischevious grin. "If you're here to kick us out, I assure you we won't be much longer."

As he sauntered over to greet the young man, he caught the whiff of alcohol on his person. Actually, it was more like he had been bathing in it. Offering him a hand, he dragged his thoroughly intoxicated form across the hangar to where the others were and plopped him upon an overturned crate. "I'm guessing you don't really have an idea what to do yet?" Liquor made a poor simulant for constructive thought. He would know.

Tatane only nodded when Kenshin replied to her statement, knowing quite well that if he said he was all right, then he was certainly - or would be - all right. With this out of the way and no longer ready to bother her as much as the other more immediate problems on her mind, she turned to help the younglings with whatever loose ends they needed tied, and to work to assist those in the hangar with whatever they may need to complete before the group could leave. However, as soon as she had taken a few steps toward the ship and those working around it, she could make out the figure of a man making his way in, and she almost spun on her heel in suspicion that perhaps they had been caught.

Her guilty conscience was not quite flushed away when the man began to speak to her master as if he knew him rather well. She could only stand there, watching the two, her brow furrowed in thought as she tried to make out the manner of their conversation, for she was still trying to figure out whether they were in trouble or not. Something about the man told her, however, that he may not have been completely sober, and she realized that he was probably another student, and not someone of higher authority than that.

But what if he had come to send a message? What if he would tell his master?

She shook her head, feeling somewhat awkward for looking as if she was eavesdropping on their conversation.... Well, who was she fooling? She was eavesdropping, and with the reprehensible nature of this action in mind, she turned and pretended to be doing something more effective. Kenshin would know how to handle the situation, anyway, and she needn't worry about it that much.

And with this in mind, she went to ask one of those seeing to the ship if they would need any help with getting it prepared to go, yet remained well within hearing distance so that she could come if Kenshin needed her. She drew her robes about herself as if caught by a sudden chill, and tried to brush Ben and Darami from her mind before proceeding with the task at hand.

Zolar couldn't help but smile a little more as his friend so slyly replied to his remark. Even if his mandate had been to remove them from the temple, he was in no shape to enforce it, of course, nor would that have been possible even if he was sober. Fortunately for Marek, Kenshin hadn't been turned away from the odor emanating from his person and even helped him to a place in which he wouldn't have to stand.

The pirate turned Jedi then listened as Katarn posed his question.

"You would be correct sir," he managed to respond as he adjusted his seated position on the crate. "Believe me, the answer is not at the bottom of a bottle either, I've searched a few."

Marek surveyed the others that shared the hangar bay, still unaware of who any of them were. Making matters worse was the fact that the pounding in his head had grown increasingly intense from the point in which he had awoken in the bar. From that point on he swore that it would be the last time he'd ever throw back anything with the name Super Nova. However, despite his current, self-inflicted sufferings he was still able to communicate coherently enough that he didn't have to repeat himself.

"Looks like you’re planning on leaving our humble abode," he commented motioning towards the ship being prepped for flight, making sure not to move too suddenly as to not risk making a personal acquaintance with the floor. His gaze then fell upon the younglings as they loitered about. "With quite a bit of baggage, I might add."

The man then raised a supportive right arm to his head, as he locked his elbow on-top of his thigh, which allowed his hand to massage the aching cranium he was now contending with.

Before Katarn could answer, Marek asked him also, "Have you any idea why all of this is happening?"

He wasn't talking about the onset of a hangover either.

"I try not to think of them as baggage." Kenshin said with a chuckle. "More like potential assistance if I ever get myself into a bind. Or, as the elders would undoubtedly say, think of them as our investment in the future of the Order. Personally, I like the first reason better. It's easier to grasp in bizarre circumstances, like the one we currently have." He added with a wry grin.

"I think we'll head into the hills for a few weeks, let the kiddies adjust and do some intensive training, before jumping into the 'do good deeds' program Master Dolash has apparently put into effect for us all." Their first contribution would probably be small but if they were up to it, they just might be able to aid in law enforcement and get a little more action.

Finding a crate that was once filled with water bottles, he took out the last one, flipped it over and scooted over to settle himself down in front of Marek. "Water?" He asked, offering the man the bottle. "I don't know much about remedies for drunkness but I can chance a guess that water might dilute the alcohol a bit so you won't fall over in the next few minutes."

"As for why this is all happening, I really don't know. While I expected a forced exodus soon I hadn't anticipated that it would be everybody and that the Academy would be locked up as well." The Jedi Knight's expression was contemplative as he wondered the reasoning behind such a drastic decree. Maybe it wasn't for him to know however as no good answer would come to him.

Ian sized up the bonfire he was facing, and didn't especially like his chances. The raging blaze was made of scraps and trash, but still towered well over the paltry shanties of the Gungans - and was more than sufficient to burn a man to death, Jedi or no.

All around, grim-faced Gungans watched him, except for a few who threatened with their spears, driving him closer and closer to the fire. Ian knew he could draw his lightsaber and hack his way out of the tight corner in a few moments, but there was something in the Gungan's behaviour that stayed him. Something frightened.

Finally, pushed to the very edge that he could bear, with the fire licking at his robes, the Gungans with the spears lifted their spears up and stood aside. A large, tubby Gungan came forwards, frowning with disgust at Ian. In broken Basic, he said "Yousa being Jedi? Those that bring big boom to cities many years ago? What yousa wants with the Gungans now?"

Ian gulped. "Fair boss of the Gungans, I'm only here to try and help. The people of Naboo-"

"Ha!" There was unrestrained contempt in the voice of the boss Gungan as he spoke. "They no helped the Gungans when Jedi and Sith fight in our streets, what they want to help now for?"

The fire was really starting to bother Ian. Though no master of the Force, and certainly not under the best circumstances, Ian let the ancient traditions of the Force guide his voice for his next few words. "Permit me a chance to speak with you away from this fire, and I can explain."

Mystified, the boss nodded, and said "Yes, let him away from the fire. Wesa go speak now about why you come to us, but yousa better have good answer, or we feed you too the big fishies."



Jubaz rolled out of the way at the last moment, as the beast went charging by. It roared and turned its' wild eyes to the small Rodian Jedi, preparing for another rush.

"Whenever you're ready!" Jubaz rasped, as he held up his lightsaber defensively.

"Hold on!" Proq's voice shouted back down. "It's harder to get in position than I thought."

Unable to distract the beast any longer, Jubaz made a dash for a nearby church steeple, and the lumbering creature stampeded after him. Once more, Jubaz was forced to hurl himself to safety before goring tusks, biting teeth, and stomping feet could get to him.

This time, however, Proq leapt from the steeple-top and landed on the beast's back. Clinging on to patches of fur as it thrashed, Proq shrieked and screamed.

"Try to calm the beast!" shouted Jubaz from down below. A few seconds of screaming from Proq later, and Jubaz revised his advice. "Try to stop screaming!"

Finally bringing his fear under control, Proq struggled to stand on the creature's back. It bucked and jumped, tearing up the farmland under its' feet in an effort to dislodge its' passenger, but Proq remained. Reaching into the tiny pea-brain inside, the Twi'lek Jedi began to send soothing sensations through the beast's mind, until gradually the bucking became less and less volatile.

Slouching at last, the creature yawned and curled into a ball. It began to snooze peacefully, and Jubaz used the opportunity to examine the creature's body.

"Aha," he said. "Here." With that, he pulled a broken farm implement from the creature's side where it had been lodged. The creature winced before falling back asleep. Satisfied, he threw the implement away and turned to the descending Proq.

"While you've been playing with farm implements," said Proq, "I've just saved the village."

"Yes, you did," said Jubaz with a clear smirk. "Quite unlike you."

"Whadja mean?" Filled with mock offence, Proq struck a noble pose. "I'm full of heroic deeds and intentions, you know."

Before their witty repartee could continue, a mob of townsfolk swarmed in on all sides, praising and thanking with all the charm of a tight-knit rural community. Surprised to recieve such recognition, Jubaz and Proq just stood there and waved next to their catch.

"This beats temple meditation four hours a day, eh?" whispered Proq to Jubaz, as they basked in the relief of the small town.



Shillia deflected the first two bolts skyward, and Fwar sent the next two into the ground. Before they could fire much more, the Jedi closed distance with the thugs, slicing guns in half and striking men to the ground with surgical precision.

Shocked at the speed of their attack, their leader pulled out a pistol to return fire, but before he could do so found Fwar's multi-jointed hand wrapped around his neck.

The man yelped as he was lifted bodily into the air and suspended over the edge of the building. Fwar fixed him with the stony gaze most often used by the Frozian race to crush opposition and instill a fear of the law. Behind him, Shillia looked around at the four battered gunmen groaning on the floor.

"There are some fundamental flaws in your thinking that I need to correct," said Fwar.

"Firstly, the Jedi are not a gang of thugs to be intimidated or threatened. We are a force of nature - servitors of a power greater than planets and stars. As such, we do not negotiate with the likes of you.

"Secondly, this is no small resurgance of a few self-righteous youths. The Jedi Order is back and you will simply have to adjust your lifestyle accordingly. No criminal is safe and no corruption goes unnoticed. Don't think you can stall the collapse of a criminal empire simply through threats."

"You can't do anything to me," spat the gunman as he struggled in Fwar's grip. "You Jedi obey the law, I've got to have my trial."

Fwar's eyes narrowed even further than before. "Thirdly..." he let go.

The head gunman started screaming, until he managed to open his eyes and noticed he was suspended in the air - and invisible force stopping the terrible fall he would surely otherwise experience.

"Thirdly," said Fwar, as he concentrated on the gunman. "This takes a great deal of concentration, as does everything the Jedi do. If you bother us, we are likely to make mistakes. Ones that will be just as fatal to you as bothering me now would be."

His point made, Fwar pulled the man back on to the roof and dropped him on the floor, where he lay gasping.

"So..." said Shillia, crossing over the bodies towards Fwar. "How about that bite to eat?"



Even the threat of gang violence was not enough to discourage Katria at this point - if it meant having somewhere to sleep, she would have gone one-on-one with Vader. "All right, lead the way." And so they started walking.

The old man hadn't been kidding when he'd said 'abandoned'. The building looked like a mid-sized warehouse, but had been stripped of everything short of the doors and windows. Still, it promised enough shelter for the night.

"All right everyone," she said to the now near-collapsing group. "Everyone stay in line of sight of an adult at all times. Watch your step and stick together!"

The inside was no more inviting - entirely devoid of furniture, the only notable thing it contained was some graffiti. Nevertheless, children and teens eagerly piled in, huddling up together or against walls for comfort and falling quickly to sleep.

Even the few senior Jedi who had come along were quick to drift off. Of the few still awake, Katria was the only one who felt real restlessness. She looked out on the conditions which the children slept and shook her head. It didn't seem right.

"I wonder," she said, to no one in particular. "I wonder if there's anywhere to get some blankets around here..."



Carlotta had retired for the rest of the evening, her royal highness promising to meet with Dolash again in the morning after having slept on the issue. That left Dolash alone in an antechamber, with nothing but the parcel that he'd brought from the temple.

With ample time now, he opened the package and took out a small computer. From within the parcel, he also took out a comm unit and a few lists, prominently one that listed the channels for various fellow Jedi.

Booting up his computer, he accessed his wireless network that gave him access to the security systems of the Temple. Turning on the camera feed, he began flicking through the different rooms of the temple.

Clearly, someone had come back.

Dolash cycled through everything he could think of - news feeds, comm chatter, video feeds, and more. As more data flowed in, he began spreading out his paltry supplies into a rudimentary command center.

Stage two of his plan was about to get underway. The Jedi Order would rise again, no matter how hard it was going to be.

Naboo
Theed

The sixteen year old girl scurried through the streets on her way home from her boyfriend’s house. She had been at his house far later than she had planned to be and she knew her mother would not be pleased with her being an hour past her curfew, especially not since she had to go through the streets that had become increasingly dangerous following the Sith assault on Naboo and the lack of a Jedi presence in the city. And that danger had increased greatly following the appearance of ‘Him’ and his gang of ruthless cut-throats. But time just flew so quickly when she was with him, he was such a nice guy, so cute and adorable, and so amazing at everything that she just couldn’t keep track of time when she was around him.


<?XML:NAMESPACE PREFIX = O /><O:p< p O:p<>As the girl, Teeny was her name, rounded the corner she was surprised to see two men, around 35 years old, with dirt smeared on their face and wear grungy, large, bulky clothes. She couldn’t stop herself and ran into the taller of the two men. He quickly grabbed her and pinned her arms behind her back while he turned to his companion, a short stocky man.

“Wellll, would ya look’t wat we go here Jimbo.”

“A real interesting looking girl Bob.”

“Yeah.”

“Now what would a pretty little thing be doing out here all your lonesome so late at night and in such a hurry? You should know the streets aren’t safe at this time of night.”

“Please sirs, I was just trying to get home. I was at my boyfriend’s house -”

“What kind of boyfriend would leave a pretty little thing like you to go home by herself at night?” asked Jimbo.

“Not a good’un,” replied Bob.

“That’s right. No real gentleman would allow you to wander the streets by yourself. Let Bob and Jimbo teach you what a real gentleman is like,” said Jimbo, as he slowly advanced towards Teeny, the smell of alcohol on his breath.

Now Teeny wasn’t the smartest girl ever, but she knew that she had gotten herself into trouble. But she didn’t know how to get out of it and hoped that begging would get her out of it.

“Please sirs, my mom will be worried about where I am, I’m already late.”

“Well you should have thought of your mom earlier, hun. Now its too late!” With this Jimbo lunged forward to grab the girl and rape her. However before he touched her a distinct snap-hiss was heard throughout the alley. In a corner a dark figure, with a black cloak covering their body and head stood, carrying what appeared to be a red lightsaber.

“Stop.”

That lone command, uttered so low and so gravelly that was difficult to hear the gender of the voice stopped Jimbo in his tracks. Electronic distortion also added to the difficulty in identify the voice.

“Master! We didn’t know you were there. Please, you can have her.” Jimbo moved out of the way to allow the cloaked figure access to the girl, who by now was whimpering and had nearly fainted at the sight of the cloaked figure. However the cloaked figure did not move forward. Instead the figure raise both of its arms and with two identical gestures Force pushed first Jimbo and then Bob against the walls, holding them there. The cloaked figure then came out of the shadows and lowered the hood. Jimbo, Bob and Teeny were greeted with the sight of the face of a smiling, female Mon Calamari.

One word broke out of Jimbo’s mouth, a surprised exclamation of, “Jedi?”

“Yes,” replied Jesmin as she pulled out her blaster pistol and quickly stunned both Jimbo and Bob. She then turned to Teeny to reassure her.

“Hello, my name is Jesmin Ragabag. I’m a Jedi. You have nothing more to fear tonight.”

“Bu-bu-but how?” asked the girl, trembling. “I thought you were ‘Him’.”

“No, I’m not ‘Him’. Soon you will not have to worry about ‘Him’ at all. Give me a moment and I’ll escort you home.”

Jesmin hurried over to the two unconscious thugs and tied them up tightly. She then searched them and found a blaster on each of them, as well as vibro-blades. She left the weapons on the thugs, but made it so that the weapons could not be reached by the thugs, then she com-linked in the location of the thugs and their current attempt at crime, plus their possession of an illegal weapon and two concealed weapons, to the police. With that she walked Teeny home, wished her a good night and then vanished off into the night, using the Force to propel her to faster speeds than a non – trained Force User could match. As she ran to her destination, her mind roamed back to the past.


One Month Ago

The Force was a strange thing. At times it would guide Jedi, give them feelings and urges, at other times it would abandon them almost completely. Jesmin Ragabag hadn’t been sent an urging through the Force in a long time, not since it had urged her to retreat into seclusion. Now it was sending another urging to her. Naboo. The planet’s name would appear in her mind over and over again. She had to go there, something important was going to happen. She could feel it. But how could she return to Naboo and the Jedi? She hadn’t been there in years. And after the amount of times she had gone to train and left again, would they really accept her? She had originally been offered training by Leia Organa Solo, but had soon left and when she returned Amalia had been her master. When she returned after that Leia Organa Solo became her master again, but none of her training had really progressed very far and she had always left on her own account to help the Mon Calamari Republic and the Coalition. Now she was thinking of returning yet again? What would the Jedi say? Would they let her in? Or would she be cast out forever, an outcast from the Jedi Order, a half-trained Force User forever with no hope of ever having a Master again? But regardless of what the Jedi would do, something big was going to happen on Naboo and she had to go there. The Force was telling her to go, so go should would.<?XML:NAMESPACE PREFIX = ST1 /><ST1:pMon Calamari < ST1:pRepublic< ST1:p Coalition. Now was thinking of returning yet again? What would Jedi say? But the Force told her to and so go she would.< font>


Earlier In The Present Day

Jesmin looked at the crowd gathered in front of the Jedi Academy. She was puzzled by why the Jedi all seemed to be crowded out in front of the Academy. She moved up to the back of the crowd, looking around at various faces, only recognizing one person, Tom Henry, but she didn't go up to him or make any attempt to have him recognize her. She was unnoticed by the other Jedi because they were all concentrating on listening to what the Jedi Master was going to say. Jesmin recognized him as Dolash, the Azguard Jedi Master who was the leader of the order, or so her inquiries for the past month around Theed about the Jedi Order had indicated.<ST1:pJedi< a ST1:p was of Jedi the her to she font Academy< ST1:p. puzzled why seemed be crowded out in front Academy. She moved back crowd, unnoticed by other they all listened up what Master say. Jesmin recognized him Dolash, who now leading as had discovered through various inquiries about Order since arrive on Naboo almost month ago.<>

“Those gates shall not open again…until we have fulfilled our duty as Jedi. For too long we have been cloistered in the temple, loitering around the main gate, congregating in the training ground and giving no thought to those bold ideals that we promise.


“We promise the galaxy peace, freedom justice, and a return to the days of old when those things were ensured by the blood and sacrifice of the Jedi. Today, some of us have hardly even seen the galaxy we are sworn to protect. This changes now!

“I shall give you no further direction. As Jedi, you should be able to figure out the answer to the problem you have been faced with on your own. Go forth across the world of Naboo and reacquaint yourself with its' people, its' problems, and it's place. Earn your keep from it's citizens with honest work and assistance, and use the heightened senses of the Force to find your own path. I for one, shall do my own part.”<O:p< O:p< i>

After hearing this and knowing the confusion it would cause, Jesmin sneaked off back into the city, unnoticed in the large confusion that followed. She no longer knew how she would continue her training, but she knew what she would be doing that night. In her inquiries about the Jedi Order she had heard a variety of rumours of a man referred to only as ‘Him’. From what she could tell this was someone pretending to be a Sith who had gathered together a group of thugs to do his bidding for him. She had continued her inquiries into this man, to find out as much as she could about him, but the search didn’t turn up much. What it did tell her was that a major operation seemed to be planned to go down the night that Dolash happened to expel the Jedi out of the academy. Now that she couldn’t go into the Jedi Academy she would go out to stop 'Him'. She doubted very much that he was a real Sith, or any other kind of Force User for that matter. He simply seemed like someone who had taken advantage of people's fright of the Sith following their attack on Naboo and had formed a gang of thugs around him to make him powerful in Theed. And powerful he had become. The police force was largely afraid to do anything about 'Him' as they feared he really was a Sith. It was up to her to figure out what his major operation was that was happening tonight and put a stop to it.<ST1:pJedi a do O:p< ST1:p was of would the Force her to and go she font Academy< seemed out She they up what him who as had about on Naboo ‘Him’. doubted very much Sith, or any kind User for matter. He simply like someone taken advantage people’s fright Sith following their attack formed gang thugs help become Theed. And powerful become. The police force largely afraid anything ‘Him’ feared he really Sith. It figure his major operation that happening tonight put stop it.<O:p<>


Present
<O:p< b>

Jesmin raced through the streets of Theed, her speed increased through using the ability of Force Run that one of her former masters, Amalia, had taught her, years before. But Amalia was gone now, she hadn’t been seen since around the time of the Sith assault on Naboo and had begun to turn to the dark side the last Jesmin had heard of her. Jesmin hoped that Amalia was doing well wherever she was and had managed to stay on the light path, or at least return to the light side if she had fallen to the dark. But she couldn’t dwell on such thoughts as she was quickly approaching the warehouse that supposedly belong to ‘Him’ and which were supposedly his headquarters. She slowed down to a walk and moved carefully from there on in. Keeping to the shadows, she moved up to a building near the warehouse and climbed up to the roof. Then she used the force to augment her jump and soften her landing on the roof of a building that was right beside the warehouse. Looking over the edge of the roof she could see the warehouse roof directly below her. She quickly lowered herself down to the warehouse roof using a rope, then she snuck into the building. Concealing herself in the shadows, she hid behind a pile of boxes on a second floor landing. Below she saw a group of thugs and someone who could only have been ‘Him’. He was standing against the wall on a box, and looked as if he was getting ready to talk to the group. She listened in to the meeting, as ‘Him’ described the plan for what was going on.<O:p< O:p< font>

To make his point during his speech while getting his thugs worked up about the night’s plans, he drew a rod out of his cloak and pressed a button. A snap-hiss was heard and what appeared (to an untrained to) to be a lightsaber’s blade appeared. Fortunately for Jesmin her eye was trained and she could discern that this was a fake, much like her own “lightsaber” she had built through modifying a glowrod since coming to Naboo. There were objects meant to intimidate and carry a presence and authority to them, but could not actually do anything. This fake lightsaber simply served to reinforce the idea that this man was no Sith and certainly not a force user.

To be sure, Jesmin reached out with the Force and brushed the man’s cloak with a light force push, making it billow a bit. It was not a lot, but it would be enough that a Force user would sense the presence of another force user. As she expected, there was no response from the man, he hadn’t even noticed. However what she didn’t expect was that one of the thugs was startled by that and looked up and around. While he couldn’t see Jesmin, Jesmin could see him clearly. Tom Henry. A Jedi apprentice from when she had been training under Amalia, she had seen him around the Academy. They had spoken a few words, but never been really close. She had seen him at the meeting of the Jedi today, but hadn’t talked to him and she wanted to keep her presence unknown. Obviously he had managed to infiltrate this group of thugs somehow. Now she just needed to contact him somehow, but she wasn’t sure how.<O:p< O:p< font>


She stayed and listened to the rest of the speech, trying to figure out a way that she could contact him. Her chance came at the end of the meeting. The so called “Sith” said he needed someone to stay back and guard the warehouse. Tom Henry quickly volunteered, mentioning something about his right leg having an old blaster wound on it and a limp, making him useless if a fast getaway was needed. The man took him up on his offer and the rest of the gang left the warehouse. Jesmin waited until they were gone, then came out of her hiding place.<O:p< O:p< font>


“Tom, its me, Jesmin Ragabag,” she said, lowering the hood of her cloak. “Do you remember me, I was a student of Amalia?”<O:p< O:p< font>


Tom paused for a moment, thinking.


“Yes, I remember you. How has your training been coming along since you left the Academy?”<O:p< O:p< font>


“Not to well. And your training, how is it going? I heard you left around the time that I did and weren’t around for the big Sith assault on Naboo.”<O:p< O:p< font>


“I had to leave due to family matters, but I came back soon afterwards. My training has been going all right, I’ve got most the basics down good, but with the small amount of Masters, I’ve been mostly training myself. I did manage to build a lightsaber though!” he said, obviously quite proud of that last achievement.

Then he began to wonder what she was doing on Naboo. Jesmin told the story of her feelings and urges she was receiving through the Force and her subsequent trip to Naboo. It turned out that Tom hadn’t actually heard of the so called Sith until that day while strolling the streets of Theed looking for good deeds to do. He had then done his best to dress up as a thug, and done an admirable job indeed, and had then infiltrated the warehouse. Because the gang was so large and all the members rarely got together, his presence wasn’t noticed. The two quickly decided that they had to stop the bank robbery that ‘Him’ had planned and set out towards the bank, but only after Tom had donned more traditional Jedi garb over top of his “thug” clothes, so that he would look more Jedi like. His was a light brown cloak, rather than the black one Jesmin sported. When he questioned why she was wearing black, the colour most associated with the Sith, she replied that it served to hide her better than a light brown one, and she knew that as a Mon Calamari she couldn’t easily infiltrate the gang and would therefore have to sneak in.<O:p< O:p< font>

When they arrived there they saw the last of the gang entering the building, and could hear the commotion going on inside, followed by some blaster fire.<O:p< O:p< font>


“We have to go in there,” said Tom, beginning to draw his lightsaber.


“No, wait. See those two people over there coming down the street that just sped up when they heard the blaster shots?” said Jesmin.<O:p< O:p< font>


“Yes, what about them?” inquired Tom, still ready to go running headlong into the bank to free the hostages inside and stop the bank robbery.<O:p< O:p< font>


“They are Jedi, I saw them in front of the Academy today. We can get them to help us and we can then co-ordinate our efforts.”<O:p< O:p< font>


“A good plan,” conceded Tom, though he obviously wanted to get into the bank as quickly as possible.<O:p< O:p< font>


Jesmin and Tom quickly walked up to Ben and Darami, the two Jedi strolling down the street and Jesmin introduced them.<O:p< O:p< font>


“Hi, I’m Jesmin Ragabag and this is Tom Henry. We are both Jedi Apprentices. There isn’t a lot of time to explain, but we need you’re help with a bank robbery in progress, that’s the blaster shots you just heard. I counted around 20 thugs going into the bank. Have any ideas on how we can handle it?”</O:p<></O:p<></O:p<></O:p<></O:p<></O:p<></O:p<></O:p<></O:p<></O:p<></O:p<></O:p<></O:p<></O:p<></ST1:pJedi></O:p<></ST1:pJedi<></ST1:pMon></O:p<>

Accepting the bottle of water, he nodded in thanks. Breaking the seal of the bottle cap, he began to drink. Never gulping too much at a given time, for over doing it could have proven most unpleasant.

Kenshin continued speaking until he had given his answer as to why all of the events of earlier in the day had occurred.

Speaking between his sips, Marek offered up his two cents to the conversation, "Children can be just as effective as adults, sometimes even more so. They have a very discrete advantage over us, the element of surprise."

The element of surprise was a god-send for any person; it allows them to coordinate an attack without ever giving their enemy or would be target in this matter, a chance to compensate before being engaged. In the case of the children, this example is clearly expressed; they are regarded with little thought and considered hardly a threat. Adults on the other hand must put forth three times the effort as well as, keep a state of constant vigilance to avoid having to bear the brunt of the more than likely assault that awaited, if they were spotted immediately by their intended target.

Zolar spoke again, "Investment for the future? If things remain un-organized there won't be a future to invest in, but I get where you’re coming from."

Moving ahead in the conversation, Katarn said something that aroused the inquisitive part of his nature. "You said you expected a forced exodus? What would cause you to think that?"

Zolars vision rolled to the loading of the ship and the children scrambling about it. His eyes studying their movements, before experiencing a chance glimpse with Tatane Adanon. She was setting a medium sized crate down on the floor when their eyes met. Though very brief and not lending itself to the romantic persuasion it was enough to give a sense of acknowledgement. Then just as simply as it had happened, it ended and Mareks concentration fell back on Kenshin.