JediKaren

Ch 1 Karen ”œMom, mom!”

A Last Good Bye Note to readers: This is the third and last story of the Karen Nightingstar series. It is highly advised that you read An Emotional Battle and Reaching Through Darkness before you read this story or else you will be confused about many things that are mentioned. Karen has finally found peace after years of torture in various forms. She has healed all of her mental and spiritual wounds. She has become a Jedi Knight, sometime she always wanted to be. She birthed a beautiful and curious, Force sensitive son named, Tem. She raised him for six years with the help of her master and her other Jedi friends. She does her favorite thing: teaching teens about the Force, while learning more about the strange and powerful energy herself. Yet, even in the most predictable, happiest days of her life, the pattern is about to be throw off in one of the worst ways possible.

FAQ 1. Will there be a sequel to this story? Yes, this will be a trilogy. I have been sort of planning the third story as I wrote this one. 2. Did you have this all planned out or did you make it up as you went along? For this story I actually sat down before I wrote a word and thought out most of what was going to happen in the story. A few places I had to make up as I went along, but that turned out fine. 3. Will you publish this? As said in the last story, no for the same reason. This story is not being written to make money, but to have fun with it and to heal myself of fears and problems of the past. I'm just glad you all enjoyed it too. 4. How long did this story take you to write? Ten long months. My mother sadly died in the middle of this story and I mostly stopped writing for about four months. I had to mourn for my mother and come back to college before I could make myself finish this story. Believe me, it was hurting me a lot to not be able to write and it was a great joy to finally end it. 5. How much of this story relates to you? Some of it does, but this was much more of a daydream story than the last one. This story was meant to be a break from the serious thought and healing of the last story. It was a way to let me be creative and have a lot of fun with jokes and minor points about society, relationships, and other things that I can't draw up. But there were a few things in this story that came directly from real life. 6. Why did you have your character raped? Honestly, there was no really good reason other than it just worked out well in the story. I know it was a cruel thing to do to her and maybe it wasn't very realistic, but do understand Karen was not a fully trained Jedi, mostly a normal young woman with half developed Force skills and very little physical fighting skills. Placed under the circumstances, I think it was believable enough. 7. Is it true that your mother was raped? I will never really know the true answer to that, but there is some strong proof that she was, and I possibly could have been the result of that rape, but that is not why I put it in. It was strange, but right before I wrote about the rape scene; my sister came out and told me she had been raped six months before. So her story convinced me what I was doing was right and that people need to be aware of how bad it really is and what the mother faces if she is pregnant. 8. What about the astral projection scenes? All information given in those scenes is true. They were based on my real, personal experiences, though I have not met Luke or actually taught someone like that. If you do more research, you will be able to follow my steps and tips to be able to project. 9. Are you pro choice or life? I am pro choice. I admit it was hard for me to logically explain in a believable way to my readers the turn in her decision. Had that actually happen to me, I probably would have not kept the kid, but my character is not always me. I feel women should always have the choice to have the kid or not. If they don't want the kid, that kid may live a horrible life if the mother tried to raise it. There is no point in having another miserable person in the world. Yet I do not support the idea of using abortion to fix stupid mistakes and people who are just insensitivity. If you were raped, do not have the means to support the child, or really hate or don't really, really want to raise the kid, then I will agree to an abortion. 10. Was this trip based on any trip you've been on? Yes, but not directly. I have traveled a lot since I was 9. I have been to a lot of places like all the way from Key West to Maine, The Four Corner states, Mexico, Washington State, and other places in the United States. I have learned a lot about travel and in the first chapter, what I say about travel is true. 11. Any hints on what the next story will be on? Yes and no. This next story will take the same format as this one, but a different point of view will be used. This will also go back to being a very serious and emotional story now that I have had my fun with writing adventures. This story, I hope, will help me deal with my mom's death, but I will not go further than that in details. I would also like to personally thank Paul, known as OldSoul, and Christine who both edited this story and the other one. Christine did the first edit and Paul did the fine point, fussy things that polished this story until it shined. (Though depending on what site you read the story, you may have read the unedited version) Both were hard on grammar and spelling, making sure I actually made sense, but both gave me the support that I needed to keep writing. I would also like to thank those who commented me privately or publicly about my story. Those comments let me know that people are reading it and make me want to post more and faster. And I haven't forgotten the nameless readers who have stuck through the end. I realize this was a long, action packed story with a very unhappy twist, but you have to admit it was worth the read. Thank you so much and I hope you look forward to the continuing story of Karen Nightingstar's journey. please please please comment! PLEASE!

OMG I'm done! I've done it. I've finally finished it and I do believe this is a fine ending. Oh by the Force I'm so happy. The only thing left is the FAQ, but the story is over! WHOOT! Do please comment as will. I'm sure you all have questions and comments. So don't hold them back. Anyway here is the LAST chapter: Ch 42 Mirmo I had hoped the baby would be a girl. Karen and I had talked about both sexes and decided a girl would be the best one. Girls are less troublesome and frankly cuter than boys, at least that was my opinion. Karen seemed less concerned about the sex than I did. She was the one who refused to know the sex ahead of time, saying she wanted to be surprised. I argued against that, but my argument was backed by a small fear that I would not confront. That fear was that I hoped the child was not a boy so the child could not grow up to be like his father. I watched Karen peacefully sleep on her bed as I rocked the baby slowly. The baby too, was asleep and both the mother and the child needed it after giving birth some hours ago. I had to admit I was glad to have that nightmare over with. Despite all of our technology, there is still some danger in labor and I was worried for my apprentice and hoped nothing would happen to the baby. Yet, nothing happened except for a lot of cursing and cries my apprentice gave as the waves of pain rolled through her. I had tried to shield myself from such agony, but our strong bond would not allow me any protection, so I suffered along with her. In the end it was worth it as I saw my apprentice look down at her wiggling, softly crying boy in her arms. Her face was soaked and her sticky hair framed her face, making her look even more tired than I knew. I watched her stick a finger at one of the swinging, tiny hands of her baby. The baby grabbed onto the finger and squeezed. Karen smiled and hushed her baby to silence. She was a natural mother, I reflected to myself. The baby was given back shortly for tests. Karen gave in to her lack of energy and just lay back, nearly asleep. She was so tired she gave no fuss to the healers who checked on her ever hour. She fell asleep quickly after that. One healer managed to convince me to take a shower and get something to eat while Karen would receive a sponge bath. I was not too happy to be separated from my apprentice, but the healers were having a field day and would not allow a stubborn Jedi to get in their way. I was stopped by many others on my way to the room, inquiring about the baby and my apprentice. I glowed in pride as I told them the news and then excused myself. They all knew of Karen's story, how she became pregnant, and she was met with sympathy and respect for keeping the baby. Not all the Jedi stuck with the idea that a woman should keep the baby so as to not to commit murder. This resulted in a rather large and heated debate that caused some tension for a good week. It was only until Karen got annoyed with knights and masters and had them sit down and hear her logic. I almost felt sorry for them, getting the hot end of my apprentice's temper, but afterwards there was peace in the temple again. I showered, forced some food into my empty, growling stomach, and headed back to Karen, hoping she would be awake. She was not, but the healer who was walking out said she needed to sleep as much as Karen could. Rather than mindlessly sit there, I decided to visit the baby again. The baby woke up, blinking his bright blue eyes at me, unsure of who I was. I asked a nearby healer if I could hold the baby. The healer said yes, and showed me how to hold the baby properly. The baby seemed to like my touch and he was quiet. His little nose and suggestion of darkish hair made me think of Karen. I could only hope someone so innocent looking could turn out so well. With permission, I carried the baby to Karen's room so I could surprise her when she woke up. The baby went back to sleep once I had sat down and gotten comfortable. I could not help but stare at his tiny features. He looked so frail, but he was also strong. He had made it out of an attack, his father, a sith, had tried to kill him, and yet this little boy survived. It would be my job to make sure he stayed alive. Master Skywalker came into the room. Everyone but me had been banned from Karen until the baby had been delivered and everyone was stable. Apparently Master Skywalker had been granted the first visiting rights. He came in quietly, noting that Karen was asleep and I had the baby in my arms, wrapped tightly in a traditional blue blanket. I saw him gaze intensely at the baby boy and felt the Force grow and narrow onto the child. The baby responded by opening his wonderful blue eyes and turned his little head to the direction of Luke. ”œHe is strong in the Force.”

Warning: this is the second to last chapter and the third to last post to the end of this story. Hope you all are thoroughly enjoying as much as I have. Ch 41 Karen ”œOk, Karen, I think it is time to start pushing. I am going to need a nice long push from you. Breathe deeply and on a count of three. One”¦two”¦”

There are two more chapters left. I post them tomorrow. As for the last sentence...lol I never thought of it that way.

Ch 40 Mirmo A Jedi is patient. A Jedi does not give in to the pity, or the dark need to hurry up. A Jedi moves in a quick way, not rushing out on the spur of the moment, or acting on impulse. A Jedi is always calm, clear headed, and focused. At least this is what I told myself. It is interesting to note how many times I preached this to my irrational, leap before looking apprentice and now I could barely keep myself from begging Master Skywalker to push the ship to go faster. It seemed that the ship was not zipping through the tall buildings fast enough, despite the many drivers we had angered. I looked for the millionth time back past my leather seat to confirm the fact Karen was still holding her stomach as if she was in pain. She was not as pale as I expected her to be, but she was silent. Silence, as I had learned, meant there was something wrong with her. At the moment, there was something very wrong with her. Fear radiated off her so powerfully, she unraveled all my nerves, causing my heart to ache and my soul try to reach out to her. Still, I told myself that the cloud car was already going faster than was safe and winding up dead would not help anyone. Finally, Nea's dingy, small looking apartment was in sight. As we flew closer I could spot Nea's bulky, non human form standing out against the brownish tan, rough stone of his home. We landed on the landing pad and Master Skywalker pressed a few buttons to open the glass hatch that made up of the roof of the cloud car. Once the hatch had completely opened, I climbed out quickly to assist Karen. I could hear Nea walk in his loud thumps over to us to see if anything needed to be done. Karen quietly ignored my offer and slowly, with care, climbed out of the vehicle. She hand was still on her stomach, and the other hand could be seen gripping the metal exterior of the car as she balanced herself. She managed to take three steps from the ship where she stopped and doubled over to be sick on the duracrete floor. Nea began to ask how did the mission go, but I held up my hand to stop him and continued to watch my poor apprentice work her way through another bout of morning sickness. Nea sighed and asked if Karen needed a medic. I nodded and took Karen in my arms for support to the apartment. She made very little protest. We walked into the small, semi-dark apartment, down the short, messy hall, and to her room where she lowered herself to the bed. Nea handed her a glass of cold water to sip. I came to realize there was nothing much that could be done for her current troubles. I would have to wait for the medic to check her out and let us know if the baby was ok. Hours seemed to have gone by and the path I was pacing was slowly wearing the stinky carpet to bare thread rags. Karen fell asleep soon after lying on the bed. I guessed it was the exhaustion that drove away the terror enough to allow her to sleep. She had spent nearly two hours with adrenalin flowing through her veins, pumping blood rapidly, and giving her the strength to fight her rapist. Now, her body realized how much action it had been through in such a short amount of time. Everyone else seemed to be feeling similar to me. Luke was in the living room, staring mindlessly at the door. Nea was cooking something that smelled much like spice to me, though I refrained from asking him. I was not in the mood to tease him. I could feel in the Force the three of us jump and both mentally and physically run for the door. Luke got there first, opened the door and gracefully welcomed the medic. The medic was the same as the first one, carrying a black bag, and had a worried look on her face. ”œWhat is wrong with her? Is she in pain? She might be having a natural abortion.”

Ch39 Karen I opened my eyes to feel the rough hands of someone, a man my guess was, lifting me off the ground and hauling my body to its feet. Once on the ground, I shook my head slightly to see that Romness was the man. I immediately backed up in surprise and fear. ”œWhy so scared, Jedi? I thought you were in love with me?”

Change it good for the site. This is a minor change. Nothing too major or harmful.

Ch 38 Mirmo I stared into Romness's dark brown eyes, narrowed into glaring slits. His lips were curled back in the expression of a beast that he was. Both of us were grunting and snarling at each other as we held on to our position. I kept inching up my strength, drawing on the Force to flow much needed energy to help me over come him. If I could just find a little more strength I could push him out of the lightsaber lock and force him on the defensive side, the side I wanted him on. ”œFace it”¦puny Jedi”¦you”¦have failed”¦her”¦and I will”¦finish her off.”

Ch37 Karen From what I had learned about Master Skywalker, he had once boastfully claimed he was not afraid. Of course, this was to show how he could do any sort of Jedi training anyone could come up with. I have always and will always feel that was one of the most stupid things to say in one's life. Being a Jedi is all about living a life full of fear and somehow coming off as this calm, cool, collected person who has released their fear and accepts all, even death. I am no Jedi and my near wet pants would prove that. I suppose one could understand why I was shaking like a leaf at the door where my rapist and dark side attempted converter lay, waiting for me to walk back into their trap. I knew this was a big time trap. I knew they were waiting for us and I knew they knew I was there. My master made no motion or any signal to tell me if he knew how terrified I was to go back in there. I tried to logically convince myself I would be okay with two of the greatest Jedi this new order knew, and I was trying, but not succeeding. I had serious thoughts about turning and running all the way back to the cloud car, leaving my master and Master Skywalker to deal with this nightmare of a situation. Yet, I knew Mirmo wouldn't let me get two steps into my flight, before he stopped me and forced me to walk into that room. Instead, I talked myself into taking one simple step and then another and another until the door hissed and closed on me. The hairs on my neck stood up on end at the sound. I felt what I had feared during the entire way here: the lack of the Force. This room was more than just dead. It was like being in an alternate universe with the normal rules erased. I tried to feel my master, but he didn't exist. I didn't exist, at least not to the Force. My heart raced as did my mind. I hated this feeling more than I hated my father or the man that given me this baby that I didn't want. It was worse than watching someone die or knowing you were going to fail a crucial test. I was blind, deaf, and dumb all over again. ”œCome forward, my dear Jedi. No need to be strangers in my room. Certainly your young apprentice knows me quite well.”

I need a beta reader for my story as well. I'm starting a new story soon (the sequel to Reaching Through Darkness) and I would like a reader who can get it done in a few days, not a week or more. If anyone is interested you can pm me.

well the reason why authors may not want to story put and locked there is for more comments. Yet I can see why we are doing this. So I'll go for either way. You can always link to the old story to get people to read.

Ch36 Mirmo We approached our landing. I could feel everyone's tension like a physical breeze in the air. Everyone was silent, serious, and focused. Everything was real, if not to the point of being surreal. The danger was real. The possible outcomes were real. The speeder was real. Even death itself was more real than life. This was a real mission. We knew our mission and we knew our cause. I found myself almost missing this rushing feeling, my blood pumping harder through me, my muscles taunt and ready to spring. I was not nervous or scared. Every sense was ten times more alert. The Force flowed through me, keeping me aware of all movements and any sense of danger to be found. There was a Jedi by my side, armed and trained as I was. Then there was Karen. There was something about her presence that ruined the feeling of the mission. She was an extra fear, an extra person to worry and watch over. She was armed, but did not have the training I wanted to her to have. She did not know the mindset of a battle or know the things to do. She was uncertain and distracted. She did not constantly sweep her surroundings with a careful glance. I did not feel the Force flowing through her. In fact, I could hardly feel our bond. That is what bothered me the most. She was scared and she was starting to doubt her decision. There is no room for fear in a mission. It was too late to turn back. The vehicle stopped in the darkness of the roof we landed on. We were not far away from our destination. Luke, Karen, and I got out of the rented cloud car and quickly trotted over to the edge of the roof. There, Master Skywalker pulled out his cable launcher and aimed it at the side of our sith infested building. There was a zing in the air as the cable flew and caught its target. After testing the cable, Luke handed the cable to me to hang on to as Luke pulled out a small triangular device and hooked it on the cable. He gripped the device tightly. He took two running steps and flung his body off the building, flying through the air, managed to stop himself from promptly and painfully smacking straight into the building with the Force. Both my apprentice and I winced at the thought we shared. I told Karen it was her turn and saw her gulp. She pulled out the same device, hooked it up to the cable, and looked at me. Her face was a look of pure terror. I told I would count to three. Whenever anyone actually counts to three, they do not mean on three, but really on two. They mean this because the time you get to three, you will never get the person to do something that they might die doing. So when I got to two, I Force pushed her body to start the running process. She began to protest, but a second later she was off the building and wildly flying rapidly into the wall of our mission. She screamed the whole way and if were not for Master Skywalker and his use of the Force, I was sure she would have smacked into the building, let go, and fall to her death. For a brief second I worried that someone would have heard that scream, but the area was silent. I shook my head, remembering why I did not want to bring her. It was my turn to go. I pressed a button so the cable would retract as I fell. This was something one did not do at home or really anywhere else. I did not run or jump, but simply stepped off the building and trust the Force and the device this was not the last time I did this. The air whipped past me as I fell. I used the Force to keep my body from smacking into the wall and waited until the cable had stopped moving. It was a heart pound dare I did, but all the same, I hauled myself onto the roof, ignoring Luke's hand and Karen's swearing. Once I was on my feet, we began to move again. This was a tricky mission because we had to be fast and we could not be noticed. Nea had provided a layout of the building to thoroughly study and I made Karen go over the exact route and backup routes ten times from memory before we left. We opened a roof hatch after disabling the security. We had about five minutes to get in and hidden before the security team would notice. We followed the same pattern as before of Luke, then Karen, and finally me climbing down the latter and closed the hatch. We were in a very dark room, so dark I could not see my hand that I knew was in front of my face. I felt through the Force, Karen had frozen up. I put a hand on her shoulder and whispered to her to find and follow Luke and treat this like an exercise. Beneath my hand, I felt her shoulder slightly melt the tension away and her awareness in the Force grow. She started moving and I followed. The room did seem to be a long one, but eventually we reached a door and Luke ever so slowly opened the heavy, creaking door to reveal a blinding light. I closed my eyes before the door was opened, a trick I had long ago learned to help with light blindness, and went on. We were in a long, curving, narrow hallway that was completely white with bright white lights. Luke led the way, walking so fast he was almost jogging. Poor Karen with her short legs had to jog to keep up and nearly bumped into Luke as he abruptly stopped. I looked over Karen to see Luke with his ear to a white, blank door. He opened it quickly and went in. The two of us followed into a staircase. We climbed the stairs to the next level and opened the door. I noticed Luke cast us a cautionary look, one that warned us people were in this hallway. I nodded and proceeded inward. Again, I found myself in a white, bright white hall. We walked a slower pace to a different door. This door was different because it was black and had a grey panel with several buttons. It was a heavy, thick door that spoke of authority and power. This was the door to the sith chamber. I saw Karen grow white. Her hands were near her belly, where the baby was growing, and as I observed, her fingers were trembling like mad. It was a horrible scene to watch. She was just like when she replayed memories of her father to me back at the Jedi academy. I could not comfort her now as much as I wanted to. There was no time to settle her nerves. We had to get in and we had to get fast before the alarm went off, which was due in about a minute and thirty seconds. Luke closed his eyes and his hand hovered over the buttons. I knew he was feeling to see which ones to press and in what order by sensing the old Force presences they had. Karen saw this after a moment and bluntly pointed at a big red one. I almost smiled at the irony. Luke gave me one last look and I put a hand on my lightsaber. He reached over and pressed the red button. There was a nerve wreaking silence that went on for far too long. ”œWhy, hello Jedi. We've been expecting you.”

Ch 35 Karen I looked at all the eyes staring intently at me and shifted where I was sitting in the chair. It didn't help matters that my stomach was growling for food and the Jedi weren't going to allow me to eat until I told them my tale. ”œKaren, this will not be repeated to anyone else. We just need to know who we are dealing with.”

Ch 34 Mirmo Karen had finally calmed down in both her tears and anger. It was a relief to see her return to a more logical and reasonable state. In truth, I had not seen any of this coming and I was having the most difficult time trying to understand her views. She had a strong talent for understanding people and her moral values on life were practically unmatched by all other Jedi. It made little sense to me for a strong empath to want to throw away a life she was creating. Furthermore, she was a dedicated, hardcore Jedi, who clung to the Jedi ideas as though it was an almighty truth. I understood she did not want a child under these circumstances, but I felt, as did Master Skywalker, that her wants did not outweigh her morals. She was not in any physical danger to give birth nor did she lack the means to raise a child. Plus, I was secretly hoping she might allow me to fill in the role of a father. It was a bit strange to say that I never wanted a child of my own. My life was not stable enough to properly or safely raise a child, nor would I want my child to be connected to my past. The child would never have grandparents or a proud, happy extended family in the traditional sense. I had to wonder if Karen was feeling the same way. I wanted to assure my apprentice that her child would be raised in a supportive, loving family of Jedi who were as closely bonded as any good family was. Yet, now was not the time to bring that topic up again, but to focus on formulating a plan on want to do with the 'sith'. The first step to that was to get all the information out on the table. The meeting with the boss in his private chambers merely confirmed suspected thoughts and gave hard facts that would hold up in a court. It turned out there was a man, an evil man from the very start, who looked up to Palpatine in his ruling years as some sort of god, worthy of copying and bringing back the empire. However, the want-to-be-sith had only been a few years old when the Emperor had been killed. There were no records of where the man was born, his childhood, education, or any real background that would tell us why he was so dark and evil. The man showed up from nowhere in his young twenties, working as an aide for the senate. The man had no official name, something I was surprised the senate would let slip, but everyone called him Blond for his shocking blond hair and shining, pale skin. He was a good aide and he was also smart. He never worked for more than a half a year with any one senator or committee. He was given the chance to know all that was going on. Furthermore, he was known not to talk, linger around drinking centers, or be caught peaking through a cracked door or window, listening to important meetings or speeches. It was impossible to keep him out of any official, all member senate meeting. He even got to know the aides of the Chancellor. For some reason no one ever suspected his behavior to be a threat, or at least worth watching and confining him to his duties. He basically had access to anything he wanted and he seemed to be gathering a large amount of information from the files he drew that was found on his record. Again, the man struck me as smart because he knew to cover his tracks with countless passwords and false files, making him a headache to search through. By the time the Boss sent agents to look into the guy, it was nearly impossible to find any true information on Blond. From the records, Blond had a secret project being started after five years of working as an aide. He seemed to be looking into gangs and the lowest class problems that arose in the Senate. Ever since the death of Empire, there had been an alarming amount of grossly poor and a huge, thriving black market. The Republic had tried everything to solve the problem, but they could not overcome the fear the lowest classes had towards the rich congress. Various kind and harsh measures had been tried to raise the poor to a higher status, but threats and near bribes did nothing. The people refused to listen to the government or anyone connected to them. Eventually, the government gave up and let the people run wild for years, up until now when the death rates were getting too high for the comfort of the rich. Blond, as I had said, was smart and saw the problem of the poor to further his evil want of power. Looking back at the activities he engaged it, it is quite clear from the beginning that he was plotting to take over the government and start his own. Another interesting fact was he was tested against his will after an accident that sent him to the med bay and found him to be Force sensitive. He was enraged by this and worked hard to cover this fact up. It was hard to say if he knew all along he was Force sensitive or not, but chances are that he was. It took Blond years of working in the senate and gathering information, but eventually his plan began to fall into action. He took on an aide of his own, later to known as his apprentice. He was caught on holo-cam talking repeatedly to several senators and lobbyists, either with a smile on his face or gestures of imitation with his hands. A month later, several senators were caught talking to the gangs that started this whole mess. There was only one work of his that talked about his views on the dark side and Jedi, but that one source was enough to label him as a sith. He had some sort of Force training and was training his apprentice on the sith teachings. Yet, I could not trace who taught him about the Force. I suspected that somehow he had learned from the late sith lord. He boasted about how Master Skywalker could not identity him despite walking right past him. He wrote in his private diary, found in his files that took days to crack, about how the sad government that he worked for would crumble in his hands, allowing him to restore the Empire. I finished my tale with that, unable to go further until Karen told us what she learned while in his presence. I turned towards her and noted how she looked away, knowing what I was going to ask. I did not want to ask this of her, knowing it would be hard, but we had to know in order to stop the sith from rising again.

lol don't be so sure! this story is full of twists, but I'm not going to give anything away.

Ch 33 Karen I woke up, feeling a hand on my forehead. I cracked my eyes open and squinted through a blur of sleepiness. To my surprise I saw Luke Skywalker standing over me with a bit of a smile on his face. He pulled his hand away from my forehead and shushed me to be silent. I wondered if I had not projected through the astral plane to him or if I was possibly dreaming. I slowly sat up, wondering why I felt strange. I turned my attention inward. It felt like I had cried myself to sleep and had been scared for a long time, but at that moment I couldn't remember why. It also felt like I had been asleep for a long time and the sleep was a very peaceful kind. On the whole, I felt very emotionally mixed up. I stayed silent, trying to ignore my upset stomach churning away. I put a hand to the pain in my stomach and saw that Luke stopped smiling. The Force flowed through me from a different source, one I could not tell. I looked at Master Skywalker again and realized he was scanning me through the Force. His lips pressed together and formed a disappointing frown. I wondered what was wrong or what I might have done. ”œHow do you feel?”

Ch 32 Mirmo I was tired. In fact the word tired hardly covered the true feeling of pure exhaustion I was feeling. Every bone, limb, and inch of skin hurt. I had been awake for a full three days and the toll had finally hit me like a landspeeder ramming into me and then landing on me. Actually, I think I felt even worse than that. My head was pounding and my eyes were heavy. Despite all that, I could not sleep. I had come out of Karen's room to tell Nea the bad news. ”œYes, I heard, she is pregnant. I am so sorry Mirmo. At least she is alive and relatively unhurt.”

Ch31 Karen ”œKaren, wake up, the medic is here.”

Ch30 Mirmo Karen fell asleep mid-trip back to Nea's apartment. I only slightly relaxed. She looked so exhausted, so pale, and in pain. There was a nasty, angry, red welt on her cheek that could only have come from a hard slap of a man. It hurt to think about who had done that to her. My mind could not help, but wonder what other marks laid on her body. What also bothered me to no end was Karen's reaction to me when I laid a hand on her. She had not withdrawn from me like that since the night I found her dancing. Her whole general manner, like the curled up position she was in right now, spoke of abuse and fear. It was obvious she did not feel safe, even in the presence of me, nor could she bring herself to tell me what had happened. The searing pain in my crying heart made me focus more on flying faster to the only place I knew where she would receive help. She was still fast asleep when I put the ship into landing gear next to Nea's cruiser. The hatch hissed opened and I worried the sound would wake her up. She stirred a bit and curled up into a tighter ball. I frowned as I climbed out and off the ship, circling over to her. I put a gentle hand on her shoulder, watching her reaction very closely. She made no sound or movement. I moved my hand to her left shoulder. There was still no reaction from her. She really was in a deep sleep. I tucked my other arm below her knees and lifted her out of the passenger seat. Her limp head rested against my chest. She was lighter than I expected her to be and looked worse than before. I carried her slowly to the door of Nea's apartment and told the droid it was me. The door swung open on its own and I stepped into the dark hallway. ”œMir, buddy? Is that you?”

Ch 29 Karen I stopped running when I heard the loud footsteps of an oncoming person. I made myself slow down to a reasonable pace and kept my head down, but acted busy. The person was a man in uniform who gave me one questioning look, but did not approach or question me. My heart raced wildly, but I forced myself to act cool and calm, like I belonged in the hall. I breathed a thanks to the Force. I opened a door that was labeled ”˜cleanup crew' and walked into a small closet. The room was crowded with cleaning supplies, but that didn't matter. There was a table that I quickly cleared off and climbed up on. I raised my hands to the ceiling and pushed. The ceiling block opened up and I slid it over. I grabbed onto the small metal beams to test my weight. The beams were solid durasteel. I hauled my thin body through the hole and replaced the ceiling block. I quietly prayed to the Force no one would open the closet before I escaped. It was strange to note that everyone who escapes always uses the air ducts and so was I. I always thought the ducts would be too small or too loud, but this one muffled all the sound I was creating, crawling quickly on my hands and knees. I had no idea where I was going, but I knew I was getting as far away as I could from sith and that was a good thing. I peered down over a grate and saw heads of brown hair. Two men, dressed in guard uniforms were pacing around in the room, restless and bored. I leaned my ear to the grate to hear what they were talking about. ”œ-he said some girl was on the loose. I didn't even know there was a girl in here.”

Yuck I hate needles. Glad you're enjoying the story. I'm going to post a little faster to try to keep up with the edited chapters. That just means you all get more to read in a week. Ch 28 Mirmo The trip itself was a bit more than frustrating. The location of my hidden apprentice was on the far side of the planet and the only way to get to the building without being noticed was to fly myself there. If I took public transportation I would have stuck out as a stranger and would have had to keep a constant lookout for spies. I could not get off easily and would put innocent civilians at risk if a blaster fight started. And if a fight happened, I would tip off the enemy and lose all hope of rescuing my apprentice. While my ship was easy to spot, I could use the masses of buildings to lose someone if I needed, as well as to protect myself. Yet, it was a slow trip that ate at my patience and fed my fear. The worse part of the trip was the traffic I rammed head into at the beginning of the trip. I grew up on a sparsely populate planet that was ignored by the galaxy and lived in a town with few vehicles. Many families did not own a speeder, but took a public air bus or did old fashion walking. I grew up knowing nothing about flying and saw no need until I started researching the Jedi and found out it was a basic skill. Even Luke Skywalker was a natural born pilot as was his father, or so the books bragged. I realized if I wanted to become a Jedi, I would have to learn to fly. I started out on a simple swoop, a single bike like transport meant for quick, short trips that were fairly easy to handle and even more dangerous. I was very lucky to live after my self training as I was thrown off or slammed into the ground as my swoop rolled sideways. A broken arm and leg taught me to slow down, be more aware of my surroundings, and also to listen to a voice I suspected at the time to be the Force, warning me to look left. Once I had mastered the swoop, I moved on to a speeder, a more flat vehicle, which was faster, but harder to maneuver. I learned how to manage to move around in the worst traffic my planet had to offer, earning me many glares and curses. It did not take me long before I enrolled into a serious pilot class and learned about the space-going ships. I had the luck to be instructed by a former rebel pilot who drilled us like we were new recruits about to enter the war and fly in our first mission. The poor man was the subject of many cruel jokes. While it was a bit silly at times, the information was highly practice and save me several times. Once Master Skywalker took me into his Jedi academy, I made a bet with him about a certain disputed fact and won, earning myself private flying lessons with him. In the end, we both agreed his lessons were worth the bet. I learned to feel the ship with the Force, sensing how to push the ship faster and how to keep track of his. Later, I used his lessons to train my Dawners, not that they could feel the Force, but at least they could use some of the techniques about being aware of their surroundings. I became a reputable pilot, and by some, a great one. But for all my greatness and skill, I still hated traffic. I sat in the worse, thickest part of the space lanes, unable to move or vent my frustration. I toyed with the idea of comming Chancellor Leia to grant me special permission to break out of the space lane, but just then the lanes moved and I was able to get free of the mess. I flew most of the night, alone in my small ship, listening to Karen's music. I came to realize some of her angrier music was not just about anger, but about problems on her planet. I noted the problems talked about were not far off from what my galaxy faced. We all feared, hated, lost, found, and loved. Money was always a problem, abuse was regular, and there still was no answer to how to abolish death and suffering. There were songs mixed in that were calming with little to say, but had an effect on me that held me through the night. I let the file repeat itself several times, feeling the essence of my apprentice. The black, starless sky lightened slowly into a navy blue and then at the bare horizontal, tiny streaks of red and orange crept upward. Yellow and pink stretched over the sky, broke into a beautiful sunrise. Echos of the brilliant colors reflected on the glass building, brightening the air. I had finally gotten close to my destination. Normally a few ships were have been spotted, traveling to get an early start on their job, but this area was nearly empty, giving the neighborhood a creepy feeling. The buildings were grey and blank, trying not to draw attention to them. The flashing advertisements were old or falling apart and badly needed repairs. I slowed the ship to keep the engine quiet. Suddenly my comm flashed. I saw it was the boss. ”œMirmo, what is your location?”

Ch27 Karen I was roughly pushed and kicked all the way to the entrance of the door of the creepy guy's room. I wanted to fight back, but I felt it was useless. There was no point in starting a fight I could not win and would just be killed at the end. The best thing I could do was to keep my anger to myself and just take his insults. He pulled on my hair, yanking my head back with a painful force that stopped me at the door. ”œI said stop, you stupid woman!”

Thanks for comment and reading it. That is the worse chapter in terms of content. I promise you though it gets better. Ch 26 Mirmo I sat at the console of the small ship that the drug lord had provided me, to keep track of me as he put it. I could not get myself to move and start flying. The dark hanger seemed to welcome my depression and fearful thoughts. It was too easy, too addicting just to sit in the darkness of my ship and let my mind grope around and moan about the pain I was in. I berated myself for uselessly sitting, moping around like an emotional teenager. I told myself this was not the way I was trained. I was trained to act. If I did not know how to act, I was to research how and then do it. If my emotions held me back, then I was to take an hour to meditate the pain and doubt away, and get myself into motion. Sitting here would do no one good. I knew what to do, how to do it, and why. There was no reason for my self doubt. The key to fighting fear was knowledge and I had plenty of that. The boss, or so he liked to be called, gave me plenty of information about the location of where my apprentice was being kept, why, who was keeping her, and an idea of how this all related to the case I was looking into before things fell apart. Yet all the same I found myself glued to the chair. My mind explored the properties of depression as an excuse to keeping moaning. The word failure rang through my mind over and over, hitting me with horrible pain. I had failed my apprentice and I wondered if she would ever forgive me if she was still alive. I tried to reach out to the Force for answers, but my attempt was half done and merely a try. I failed to feel and hear the wisdom of the Force. There seemed nothing I could do right. I mused if I could even manage to find Karen before it was too late. My eye caught a flicker of light on the consol. I lifted my head and saw the source of the light came from the music player. I pressed the play button and was surprised to hear Nea's voice. ”œHey Mirmo, you are way to easy to track buddy. You might want to work on that if you want to find Karen. Anyway, I was lurking through your ship borrowed from the Jedi, and I saw this music file labeled Karen's Music. I thought when you find her you might play this for her. Her taste in music is not all that bad. You can find me back in my apartment, waiting for you to come back. May the Force be with you.”