"What Senator? The Ice Princess is back?! Run and hide!" Wes yelled as he rolled up underneath of the table.

"Shut up, Janson. Didn't you know Solo thawed her?" Wedge said raising his glass, "to Solo, the man who melted the ice!"

The three men raised their glasses in unison, "To Solo!"

Hobbs raised his glass, "To Leia and her bikini, giving us the best show in years! No better show since!" They all raised their glasses again, "To Leia and her bikini!"

Chris and Ora laughed a bit at the trio. Janson raised his glass this time, "To Hobbie's hot nose." And the entire thing began over again, "To Hobbie's hot nose!" Wedge broke it up, "So, Commander who's this Senator that you're talkin' about if it's not the Ice Princess?"

"Elisabeth Organa, her cousin," Chris said, taking a big swig of the ale and smiling at Ora again.

"I heard that she's pretty frosty..." Janson said taking his seat again.

"Well, the kid can tell you more than I can, right Ora?" The trio waited for Ora to speak.

Ora was still frustrated that Chris wasn't sticking up for Elisabeth. "I thought you said that she was thawed...The Senator's not that bad when you get her into her element. She's actually kind of nice..."

"As a wampa!" Hobs chimed in.

"Sounds like you like her!" Wedge and Janson piped.

"C'mon, guys, the kid doesn't like this, neither do I." The three stooges started hitting one another randomly and laughing. "Kid, if we get outta here, the Senator might not realize where we've been... what'd ya say?"

"Awww, but I like being like this and is that striped Horansi your sister? She's cute, I'll have to give her all the details you didn't, she needs to know some more good stories about you." She paused as she noticed several Masters enter the room and quickly released Tol. Now the two Knights stood side by side as they bowed respectfully to the Masters. He nodded in agreement with Elisabeth and was about to answer her when the door opened to reveal a couple more Masters.

'Note to self, get a more secure room next time.'He then noticed a couple exit the room and decided to focus on the others. "I will admit that you are right about us all having bounties on our head, though you and I will probably have the highest bounties as we were directly stated and probably annoyed him the most. You are right and I suggest that everyone keep their senses sharp, I had bounties on my head for decades and know the pain of having to look over my shoulder everywhere I go. That is the reason that I often wear a cloak when not on my ship or on Coruscant, even then I have to watch my back." That was another reason he didn't like the Empire or criminal groups. "Anyway this room might be a little cramped for so many bodies, maybe we should move this to some where larger. Maybe some place with some food, I don't think many of us have had anything to eat with all the recent excitement."

In an instant, she opened her eyes wide. "Oops," she said, and Chris raised an eyebrow.

"What's the matter, kid? You wanna get out of here, or what?" he asked. "The Senator could come along any-"

"She's on her way!" Ora interrupted, her voice rising a notch. "I accidentally... she thought I was... I'm sorry," she said, her face turning red.

Chris merely lifted her up and onto her feet. "Come on, I think this place has a back way... as long as she doesn't find us here , we oughta be okay," he said. Holding her hand, he led her back into the cook's galley, and the two of them climbed into a lift used only for lifting cargo. "Just let me handle things," he said, as they took the lift up to the next level.

Ora bit her lip, looking up at him. "If I do ... you know... Elisabeth will know where we are," she warned him.

Then he remembered the pesky droid that he'd encountered in the cockpit of the Democracy. "Wait! Call the droid!"

"R6?" Ora asked, opening her eyes.

"Yeah, comm him, and tell him to get this moving. Floor..." Chris looked at the console, "eight. If he gets us outta here, he'll get oil for the next standard month."

--

Meanwhile, Elisabeth felt Ora touch her mind by using the Force. She started walking towards the cafeteria. But the Force told her otherwise. "On second thought, you all, why don't we head for the kitchens on the floor above us? We can have our food made specially, and we will not have to worry about any interruptions. The lift is this way," Elisabeth told the other Jedi. All nodded and they started off towards the kitchens on the floor above them.

Looking around, Chris found it, and read it off to her. "Got that, R6?" she asked. She was greeted by more beeping. "Well... it's a long story. Oh, and Chris says, if you can get us out of here, you'll get oil for a month. We need to get to floor eight," she said. After some more beeping from the communicator, she smiled. "He says we should be moving any second now," she told Chris after she shut off the communicator.

"I'd, be, what exactly, Commander?" Elisabeth asked with her hands on her hips. The Rouges were right about ice... thought Chris as he pointed to himself innocently.

"You'd be... happy to see us," Chris said as he took Ora's hand and led her out of the lift. Ora ran up to hug Elisabeth, and Chris continued. "Oh, by the way, don't go down to the cafeteria. Somebody needs to mop up the Rouge Squadron. I, uh, will be down with Command," he wanted to get away from the icy demeanor of Elisabeth--who he knew could smell the hint of the ale on his clothes, not to mention Ora's--, "Ora, you wanna come?"

Elisabeth held Ora closer to her, and the other Jedi looked on in semi-amusement. "Commander, she is staying with me, unless either of you would like to explain what happened." She shot them both a look that said 'fess up'.

"The kid'll back me up. I took her to see the Rouges. I had a few drinks, but she only had water. Honest." After his short confession, Chris gave Elisabeth a cocky lopsided smile, and saw the girl look down at Ora for confirmation.

Chris once again flashed that lopsided smile of his and pointed innocently to himself. If looks could kill, he would have been stone cold dead.

The younglings were standing side by side at the front of the crowd, then the Padawans behind them, and last were the Knights. In front of the group were Leia Organa Solo and Mara Jade Skywalker with the surviving Masters standing behind them. The Senators and officers were standing to the side watching, most only hearing about events like that and never witnessing them. Mara was Leia were both wearing black robes that contrasted with many of the Jedi's attire, but they were both in mourning of someone that was very dear to them and it was a color that he often wore. All the adults understood that and the Jedi could easily sense the sadness that the women were feeling, even the Solo children were projecting those feeling at the loss of their uncle.

"With great regret I inform you what many of us already know, the Republic that we fought many years for has fallen. Our top leaders are dead. Chief of State Mon Mothma, Admiral Chett, Admiral Ackbar,... Jedi Master Luke Skywalker." Leia Nearly cried again as she mentioned her brother's name and she could feel Mara nearly did the same, but they both held back their tears to keep from showing weakness. "For now the Republic forces are retreating and regrouping, but there is a possibility that we will separate and we decided that this ceremony was needed while we are all gathered together."

Mara spoke next. "The remaining Masters and Knights have discussed possible plans for the Jedi. We will disclose those plans after this ceremony. Te reason of this ceremony is to promote several Knights to Masters and have some Padawans join us as full-fledged Jedi Knights, they all have learned this."

Before any small conversations could start, Leia started speaking again. "As some of you know, I am among the Padawans in rank. The Masters considered promoting me and having me aid them in leading the remaining Jedi, but I am not my brother and I am to inexperienced in the ways of the Force. For that reason I will be training, so I and those that are not promoted here will gain the right to call themselves Jedi Knights when their Master feels that they are ready. Now we will begin the ceremony with promoting the Knights to Masters."

Though the Knights were few in number than there were the prior day, there were a few that gained the right to call themselves Masters. Then again it wasn't too common for many to gain rank at the same time. The Twi'lek Aura was promoted because of the skills she displayed with her lightsaber, negotiation, and her healing ability. One of the last to be promoted to Master was Toleen. He had been expected it for a while and had a feeling that he would be made a Master soon, but he focused on the present and did what was needed to be done.

"I am honored and grateful to be permitted to become a Master. I humbly accept this honor." Tol and all the other new Masters didn't say much other than that as there wasn't a need to. They all took their place among the masters behind Mara and Leia. It would be a few second before several Padawans would become Knights.

(Well I really need to go, sorry)

The Knights that had just become Masters, though few of them there were, moved behind Leia and Mara, signaling the change in ceremony. Now it was time for the Padawans to become Knights. Mara stepped forward and lit her saber. Elisabeth was the first to go. She knelt in front of Mara, and bowed her head to the woman, "Just as we came to make Knights Masters, we also join to make Padawans into Knights. You, who will become Knights, have proven yourselves proficient in your studies and trials to be worthy of Knighthood. We are all united by the Force; it speaks through us and our actions. Through us and our actions, it declares itself to be real. Today, we gather to acknowledge what the Force has proclaimed--what it has brought us here to this place for. This is destiny, and put our faith in the Force, we must; especially in these dark times," Mara looked down at Elisabeth, "Elisabeth Organa. You are both a Senator and a devoted learner of the Force; that is not a simple task, but rather daunting and requires much balance. You have shown your skill through your battle with the Sith Lord, Darth Sera. You have shown your tolerance of great pain, loss, and hardship through the loss of your mentor, Mon Mothma. You have shown courage through standing up to a Sith Lord and trying to bring another back to the light. And finally, you have proven your spirit, being tempted by the Dark Side, but resisting through a belief in the light-side of the Force. These have earned you the title of being called a Jedi Knight." Mara moved her blade from Elisabeth's right shoulder to her left, "By the right of the Council, and by the will of the Force, I dub thee to be a Jedi Knight. Stand and take your lightsaber, Knight Organa." Elisabeth did as she was told and bowed to Mara, "May the Force be with you," Mara finished.

"And also with you."

"On the occasion of this, your Knighting, you may also choose to take a Padawan learner. Do you wish to do so?" Mara asked her.

"Yes. I would like to take Ora Hope as my Padawan," Elisabeth said, looking for a moment at Ora. She could sense the happiness of the little girl.

"Very well, Knight Organa. Please take your place among the Jedi." Elisabeth moved to the side and watched a few other Padawans become Knights. In moments, numerous Jedi would take Padawans...

After the Knighting part of the ceremony, it was time for those who would take on Padawans to do so. Ora was nervous, especially since she was to be the first one to become a Padawan. As all the Jedi stood around, Ora and Elisabeth knelt facing each other. She had on the brown Jedi robes worn by those in the old Order, as did Elisabeth. Silence filled the room as Mara Jade finally spoke. "After today, we will no longer be able to meet together to perform the important ceremony of joining together a Master and Padawan. This decision is not to be taken lightly by any Jedi, as the bond between a Master and Padawan shall last throughout life, even after the Padawan has become a Knight. In our time of exile, may we remember the importance of this rite." She looked down at Ora, giving her a small smile as she did so. "Ora Hope, you have been chosen by Jedi Knight Elisabeth Organa to become her Padawan, her apprentice in life, and in the ways of the Force. Loyalty, obedience, absolute willfulness to learn and respect are permanently to be expressed towards her, your Master. Ora Hope, do you understand and agree to these terms?"

Ora looked into Elisabeth's eyes and nodded. "Yes, I do," she replied.

Mara Jade turned to Elisabeth. "Jedi Knight Elisabeth Organa, the Jedi Council has made you a Knight, because we believe you have fulfilled your trials, and now have the ability to successfully teach and guide a Padawan. Ora has pledged her loyalty, obedience, willfulness to learn, and respect towards you. Will you accept her as your apprentice and thereby vow in return that you will protect her, teach her and guide her in any way possible to you?"

Elisabeth's eyes never left Ora's. "Yes, I will," she said, smiling.

Mara Jade then took a small ceremonial knife that had been recovered from the Jedi Temple by one of the survivors, and handed it to Elisabeth. Using the ceremonial knife, Elisabeth cut a thin lock of her own hair, handing the knife back to Mara. She laid out a piece of cloth she had kept in her pocket, in which were five gold beads she had taken from a necklace Mon Mothma had given her, which was very special to her. She then proceeded to weave the lock of her hair, as well as the beads, into a braid of chestnut brown, black, and tiny spots of gold. Once she had finished the braid, Mara Jade smiled. "From this moment forth, you are Master and Padawan, bound together through life, until the time comes when the Padawan fulfills her trials and becomes a Knight. May the Force be with you, always," she said, the sentiment echoed from the other Jedi in attendance.

Ora looked up to see Master Mara standing next to them. Her eyes showed that she was still mourning the loss of her husband, but she smiled down at Ora, and turned to Elisabeth. "I'm glad you decided to take Ora on as your Padawan," she told the Senator, sounding a little more like herself now that she wasn't performing a formal ceremony. "I can tell you've gotten her to come out of her shell already. You're a good influence on her."

"I will keep that in mind. Take care of yourselves," Mara said as she rested a hand on Elisabeth's arm for a moment and walked away. Leia, gave Elisabeth a big hug, "I'm proud of you, Lizzy. I take it that you will be helping me in the future. We cannot lose your voice--Mon Mothma taught you well. Please do keep in touch, and I have a feeling that I'll be seeing you very soon." Elisabeth smiled again, giving her cousin a big hug and telling her to call her the next morning.

"Well, Ora, I guess that just leaves us," Elisabeth said to Ora while looking around for the Commander. He was nowhere to be seen. They walked back to the Democracy hand-in-hand. "Do you have any questions for me? Everything's just been going so fast..."

Both girls giggled, and saw as they walked into the living rooms of the Democracy Chris sitting, nursing half a bottle of Corellian whiskey. "What would the other pirates say if they saw you drinking alone?" asked Elisabeth after seeing that he'd turn the lights on dim and his face was lacking its usual sense of arrogance.

"They'd say that I'd had a rough day... oh, and they'd lite out of there like a mynock out of hell." Ora giggled a bit. "When did you leave, Chris?"

"Sometime after the kid was, what was it? 'Padawan'ed? Some ritual you have there, Your Highnessness." Chris poured himself another shot of whiskey.

"Will you stop that?" Elisabeth asked him, taking away the bottle and putting it into a cabinet in the kitchen.

"Why's the whiskey gone? What'd I ever do to you?"

"Remind me never to answer that question," Elisabeth replied, taking Ora's hand, "What do you say about getting changed, Ora? We can leave the Commander to sulk for awhile." She turned back to the Commander, "I'm not through with you just yet."

Elisabeth and Ora headed back to Elisabeth's cabin, leaving Chris with his shot glass full of non-existant whiskey.

"It's hard to believe how we got here. Not that long ago I was having lunch with Luke and talking about families. I told him that I planned on marrying Aura soon and he told me about when he married Mara.." Tol glanced over his shoulder and noticed the young Wookiee that he had been training. "Did you know that Mara is pregnant? I believe that they were thinking of naming it Ben if it's a boy and Shimi if it's a girl."

She didn't speak as she walked closer to her Master, who now had to get use to the fact that he was indeed a Jedi Master and would have to be called that.

"Luke then told me about when he discovered Leia was his sister, it was one of the happiest moments in his life. I mentioned how I considered you my sister before we found Mira and I still feel that way." Tol paused for a second to see that Lo was still listening. "Luke was a good friend and he will be missed."

/Master?/ Lo was a little confused as to why Tol was talking about families and Master Skywalker.

"We were just given our missions by the council. Since I have modified ships, Aura will fly Jedi and senators in my shuttle to safe planets while I escort them with my fighter. After that we will be in hiding for a few months with some youngling as everyone get settled on their planet of choice." He paused again as he knew that she might not understand what he was leading to. "Mira is coming with us because they know that she will do best under my guidance, but they would not allow you to come. Some wanted to make you a Knight, but several of us felt that you still needed more training."

Tol didn't really agree with the council and he voiced his disagreement, but it was going to be done. He knew that Lo could handle it, but he also knew that she needed some more training to be completely confident in her own ability.

"Because of the leadership skills and influence you gained on the last mission you were chosen to aid the negotiations between the pirates and Republic. At least One of the other Masters will be with you and will give you more details." Tol turned to look at Logargh, he would miss her. "I'm not sure when we will see each other again and it might be months or even years before we meet again, but remember that I care about you and you can make your own decisions without me."

Both girls giggled, and saw as they walked into the living rooms of the Democracy Chris sitting, nursing half a bottle of Corellian whiskey. "What would the other pirates say if they saw you drinking alone?" asked Elisabeth after seeing that he'd turn the lights on dim and his face was lacking its usual sense of arrogance.

"They'd say that I'd had a rough day... oh, and they'd lite out of there like a mynock out of hell." Ora giggled a bit. "When did you leave, Chris?"

"Sometime after the kid was, what was it? 'Padawan'ed? Some ritual you have there, Your Highnessness." Chris poured himself another shot of whiskey.

"Will you stop that?" Elisabeth asked him, taking away the bottle and putting it into a cabinet in the kitchen.

"Why's the whiskey gone? What'd I ever do to you?"

"Remind me never to answer that question," Elisabeth replied, taking Ora's hand, "What do you say about getting changed, Ora? We can leave the Commander to sulk for awhile." She turned back to the Commander, "I'm not through with you just yet."

Elisabeth and Ora headed back to Elisabeth's cabin, leaving Chris with his shot glass full of non-existant whiskey.

She looked into Tol's eyes intensely, and knowing she could never express what she felt in words, she sent all of it into their bond. She smiled, tears shining in her eyes. /I have been honored to be your apprentice,/ she told him, her voice wavering. /I will take your teaching with me wherever I go,/ she growled, tears spilling into the fur on her face. Tol reached up and gently stroked her wet cheek. Giving up on speech, she merely embraced her Master for a long moment, before finally letting him go. /Perhaps we will meet again soon, my brother and Master,/ she growled, smiling.

"It was an honor being your teacher. Remember that life is a learning experience and you will always discover something new. Anyway I'm sure we will meet again, Horansi can live to be two hundred and Wookiees have about six hundred years. There is also the fact that you pledged a life debt to me and I don't want to dishonor you by being separated for too long." He paused as he was thinking about something, then reached in his robes and pulled out one of his lightsabers. "Here is something to help you remember me. You don't have to use it, but I think you might like having something of mine and a saber is a person possession of a Jedi."

Tol handed the saber to Lo and watching to see her reaction when he heard a voice. One that was very familiar to him and he thought that he would never hear again. He turned around to be greeted the the transparent image of his former Master, she still retained the youthful appearance that she retained for many years.

"Master Ti. Your untimely death cause us great sadness, but it is good to see you again." Tol bowed respectfully to the Togruta Master.

When they got to the room, Elisabeth pulled open her closet and stood there for a long moment. Ora thought she may be trying to decide what to wear, but then thought better of it. Elisabeth was usually happier when she was deciding on clothes. She was thinking about Chris.

Ora walked up to her, and slipped her hand in Elisabeth's, leaning her head on Elisabeth's waist. "He'll come around," Ora told her quietly, and in response Elisabeth used her free hand to stroke the girl's hair, as they stood together in silence. Finally, Ora looked up and saw black nerfhide in the back of the closet. "What's that?" she asked, pointing.

Broken out of her reverie, Elisabeth pulled out the outfit. "I wore this when I was undercover one time. I guess we're undercover again, aren't we?" she asked, smiling down at the little girl. "After I get dressed, I have a surprise for you," she said, and Ora's eyes got big.

"A surprise?" she asked, excited.

Elisabeth nodded, but refused to say anything more about it as Ora helped her with her outfit and her hair (which she was surprisingly good at braiding, having long hair herself), despite Ora's many less-than-subtle requests for hints. By the time they had finished, Elisabeth looked very much like a bounty hunter of some kind, with the exception of the lightsaber hanging from her belt. Ora giggled. "You look like one of those Republic's Most Wanted holos," she remarked, not realizing that now, Elisabeth's photo would, in fact, be on the Empire's Most Wanted list.

Elisabeth suppressed her feelings about Xarkun's message from earlier by changing the subject. "So, are you ready for your surprise?" she asked.

Ora grinned, nodding, and Elisabeth led her to the room she had set up for Ora earlier. It still looked the same as before, but when they got to the closet... it was full of a variety of clothes in Ora's size.

Ora's eyes got wide. "Wow! Are these for me?" she asked, astonished.

Elisabeth nodded. "Before the ceremony I got together with one of the supply ships out here, and we found some clothes to fit you. We will be going into some dangerous places, Ora, and it won't be good if people know you're a Jedi," she said soberly, fingering the brown Jedi robe the girl was currently wearing. "You'll need to disguise yourself," she said, and looked through the civilian-style clothing. Ora oohed and aahed as she saw certain ones, but it was a purple and green outfit that caught her eye. It was from Corellia, and was her two favorite colors. She smiled. "Can I wear that one?" she asked. Elisabeth pulled it out, placing it up against Ora's small body.

"Oh, yes, this will look adorable on you!" Elisabeth said, excited, and Ora carefully removed the Jedi robes, which she hoped she could keep, even if she couldn't wear them again, and put on the new outfit. Elisabeth did her hair, in a style that, apart from her Padawan braid, made her look like a young Corellian (I don't know if they look different from anyone else, I just thought it would be a neat touch...). When they were finished, they looked at each other in the mirror. They looked completely different. No one would think that Elisabeth was a Senator, or that they were both Jedi, apart from Elisabeth's lightsaber and Ora's braid.

Ora smiled at the picture they presented. She looked up to her Master, thinking it strange to think of Elisabeth like that, but also overjoyed about it at the same time. "Elisabeth, will we have to change our names, too?" she asked.

She sat down on the bed and patted it, signaling for Ora to come and sit with her. She took the small girl in her arms, "Well, in public we will, but in private, we can call ourselves by our normal names. What do you think our names should be, Ora?"

"Nope," he set the shot glass onto the table. He stood up and walked over to the Senator, "Not wearing those robes anymore."

"Nope," Elisabeth replied, "Chris, Ora..." The mention of Ora sobered him up.

"Is she alright?" he placed his hands on her shoulders.

"Yes! She's fine. She asked me a question..." Chris looked at her in a way that told her to go on, "She wanted to know if you were staying. I want to know the same thing."

"I thought about leaving. I thought about stayin'."

"Please, Chris, stay. You're an asset to the Republic," she said and watched Chris tense up a bit. Much quieter, and almost inaudibly, Elisabeth continued, "Stay for me."

"Your Exaltedness, I had a deal with your Republic earlier, and until they make good, I'm not going anywhere." That would do for now, both of them reasoned. Ora walked into the room and straight into their arms. They all sat on one of the couches in one of the living rooms.

"What do you think of Keta, Ora?" Elisabeth asked, smiling at the little girl sitting in Chris's lap.

Chris and Elisabeth looked at each other strangely. Both had heard her.

Tol nodded his head at Shaak Ti's words. "I understand Master. It will take time and I will not give up on him, but I am not sure that I can forgive him for his actions. I know that I should and I will do my best to turn him away from the dark side as you wish." Tol bowed his head again as he felt a bit of shame for his feelings and words. He knew that Jedi should be forgiving, but at the moment he couldn't find it in himself to forgive Duo even if he wasn't himself.

He gently laid her on her bed, and Elisabeth pulled the blue silk sheets up over Ora, placing a small kiss on her forhead. "Good night, Ora. Sleep well," Elisabeth whispered. "C'mon, Flyboy." Elisabeth pulled the man out of the door. She quickly walked back to the kitchen and found the bottle of whiskey, a glass, and tossed Chris's shot glass to him. "I'm going to drink, and I'm not going to drink alone. Okay, Flyboy?"

"That's fine by me." Both sat next to one another on the floor, the bottle of Corellian whiskey between them. A tense silence permeated the air, and neither wanted to speak first. Both were thinking about what Ora had said. They sat there in silence and finished the half-empty bottle. "You're not getting me drunk, Flyboy," Elisabeth said, giggling a bit.

"You're doin' a good job of doin' that yourself," he chuckled in reply. They both neglected to address changing thier names at this point, though it weighed heavily on thier minds. She turned to him with a serious face, "Don't leave, Chris."

"And why's that, Liz?" asked Chris, hoping that he could pry out any personal details he could.

"Just... don't," she was on the verge of tears, but was determined not to cry from him--crying to her showed her weakness and she hated to be weak. He continued to look at her, "I've lost a lot of people in my life! My parents, my mentor, my home, my friends. I don't want to lose any more! Now I've put you and Ora and those I'm close to in danger! Are you happy now?" she yelled at him, standing up and walking to the cockpit. He got up and grabbed her arm, pinning her up against a wall. "Let me go." She tried to get past him.

"Not until you give me some straight answers." Elisabeth nodded in reply. "Do those scars on your back have anything to do with that?"

"What?! Go to hell!"

"That's not very nice. Answer it." Elisabeth nodded and then shook her head.

Tears slid down her face, "My parents were tortured and killed in front of me by the Empire. But that's only a few of them. They had to make sure that I could withstand interrogation. End of story"

"The Republic did that?! Those...I'll kill 'em." Her silence confirmed it, "How old were you?"

"Twelve... then again at fifteen." The reply was almost inaudible. He wiped away her tears and held her in his arms. "You know, Keta Rimera had a nice ring to it. What's yours going to be?"

"Isabella Daan. You?" She looked up at him.

"I like that. I was thinkin' Zac Mera." They both laughed and remained in one another's arms. After Lo arrived on the ship they would start prepping for Hoth.

She was on Kashyyyk. She could feel it, the way her home planet sang to her. Around her were warm arms, covered in gray fur, and she felt rhythmic breathing behind the chest on which her head was resting... A smell, a scent, was all she had of him, and he was gone, whisked away... there were explosions, and the giant wroshyr trees were falling down...

Crying. Pain. She wanted to open her eye, but couldn't... she could smell someone nearby, and she could smell blood... every move, every breath hurt, and she realized it was her blood she smelled. Tears ran like fire down her fur... fur? The tears were coming from a girl, whose pain she could feel... and who could feel hers... /Don't cry.../ she said. /I will always be with you./

They talked to each other a lot, but other than that, Elisabeth spent a great deal of her time with Ora and Lo meditating (one session Chris happened to come across), comming Leia about forming the New Rebellion, and working on various things throughout the ship. Almost every night she could be seen with a flute of Alderaanian brandy in the cockpit watching the streaks of stars go by long after everybody else had retired. Chris would join her, and they'd watch the streaks pass by together. During the days, he'd fix random things on the yacht until everything was running perfectly and spend time with Ora. Everybody aboard felt more relaxed than they had in a long time.

On the final night before they reached Hoth, Elisabeth sat alone in the cockpit. She held her Nubian crystal glass of the Alderaanian liquor and looked up at the streaks, thinking about how her life had changed in the past days. She had put Ora to bed about an hour before after another meditation session. The girl was learning quickly. Everything caught up to her in this one moment, and she drifted off to sleep.

Chris came in and saw the Senator passed out in her pilot's chair. She had changed earlier into a white silk nightgown and a blue robe, leaving her hair down to her shoulders. He'd never seen her in something like that, and as he looked at her for a moment, the way the light hit her hair caused it to have a copper glow. He thought that she was more beautiful than he'd ever seen her. Chris took her glass, downed the ale, and put the glass onto a small table. He picked the girl up and carried her to her to her bed, tucking her in, and placing a quick kiss on her forehead.

He went back to the cockpit and commed Cammir on Hoth, "This is Chris Rimera on the Democracy calling Cammir Faerlin on the Pheonix..." He sat back and waited for Cammir to answer.

As she walked the ship, she remembered everything that had brought her here. It seemed like a lifetime ago that she had been on Endor, climbing out of the slave ship her parents had helped her escape from, only to be killed by the slavers when they found out. She had been so lost back then, but she found friends in a nearby Ewok village, had found a new family.

And once the slavers tracked her, they attacked her village, taking the Ewoks there as slaves.

She had felt so angry back then, so frustrated... she had killed more than one slaver freeing the Ewoks, but in her anger she was blinded and captured again by the slavers. It was Tol who had set her free this time, Tol who had become her new family, along with his newfound sister Mira.

And now she was leaving them again. It seemed she always left her family behind...

No , she told herself. She may have left them, but they never left her. They were always with her... her parents, the Ewok village who had taken her in, Tol and Mira... they were all her family, and she carried them with her wherever she went.

She looked down at Tol's lightsaber hanging from her belt. Even if their paths never crossed again, she knew Tol would be with her always, guiding her from the back of her mind. Besides, he was a Horansi... barring any kind of catastrophe, their paths had about 200 more years to cross again.

With such thoughts in mind, she found herself standing outside of the cockpit. Chris was in the middle of making a transmission, so she stood back, not wanting to intrude. She also didn't want to eavesdrop, but had a feeling she would end up doing so anyways if she walked away now, since she would still be able to hear him from farther away than a human could, so she silently waited for him to finish his conversation.

Tol was able to store his fighter in the modified cargo hold of the shuttle and severed as the pilot of the larger ship, which he was ordered to do. Many thought that of the three staying on the ship he was the least likely to reveal any information on the others for any reason, so only he and certain members of the council knew what planets most of the senators and Jedi now lived on.

Speaking of the others on the shuttle, Aura and Mira had just finished meditating and checking on the sleeping younglings when they decided to check on Tol. The male Horansi was sitting in the pilot seat with his astromech beside him.

Do you like your new body Dee?" A series of beeps and whirling sounds caused him to smile. He understood that she liked it and was glad that the droid was able to get the things that he wanted. "I figured that you were tired of hangers an may have wanted to join me. Just try not to get in too much trouble, Luke told me some stories about R2." Another set of beeps caused Tol to laugh as he turned his attention to his sister and girlfriend.

"Seems that you are having fun Tol. How can you be like this now? We all have bounties on our heads, the Republic and Jedi Temple fell, the amount of death that I sensed thanks to these battles is painful to think about, we lost most of our leaders including Luke, and now we are on the run while the Sith take control. How can you be this relaxed at a time like this?" It was Aura that asked him. She loved him and knew him, but there were things that ever she didn't understand.

Tol's smile disappeared and his voice almost took a darker tone, but it was just because his usual carefree emotions weren't behind his usually deep voice. "Experiencing many deaths before and being comfrotable with two facts. One is that those that have died have joined the Force. The other is that as long as there are Jedi or those that believe in democracy there will be someone willing to fight. As they say 'we may have lost the battle, but not the war' and believe me when I say there will be a war."

The two females were silent for a moment, but it was Mira that decided to bewak the silence this time. "Tol, what are we going to do now?" That was something that they never really discussed. The brought others to planets, but they never chose a planet to live on.

Tol's smile returned as he had considered a plan. "Well I was thinking that we sneak onto a planet not affected by the Sith just yet, Aura and I get married with you as a witness Mira, and then heading of to Trian to hid for a little while. There is also a surprise that I want to show the two of you that you may like." Tol's smile grew when he felt a pair of arms wrap around his neck as Aura had hugged him. With all the depressing events surrounding them the group needed something to take their minds off the current problem.

With that said Tol continued piloting the ship to the nearest planet that could help them with the first part of Tol's plan.

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