It has begun!

'ello, peoples of the earth, and welcome to what I believe will be my favorite story in the series so far. I must say, I have been looking forward to writing this for a long time. Ehehehehehe.

So now, I present to you Safe and Sound! Hope y'all enjoy! :)

Lights from the clone troopers' helmets flashed on the walls and lit the way down the dim tunnels. "I don't like this place," one trooper admitted to another. "It gives me the willies."

"Quiet down, Trapper," the trooper's commander ordered firmly. "We'll be out of here soon enough."

At least that was the commander's hope.

The mission had sounded simple. On Ganthel, a slave ring had taken root and begun to flourish. The local authorities had not been able to track the slavers and had called on the Jedi to help. Kira Narro, a Jedi Padawan, had been sent with a few clone units to find and arrest the slavers, a task which she was determined to complete. There was no room for failure in her mind.

Before Kira had left, there had been a small dispute whether or not to send someone else. Kira was only thirteen, and her Master, Obi-Wan Kenobi, was away on Utapau. However, the dispute had been resolved, and Kira and her troops had left four days before en route to Ganthel.

Cadena, a friend and fellow Padawan, had come to see her off. To Kira, the other girl had seemed rather tired, which made sense because Cadena had recently given birth to a son. Kira was actually surprised to see Cadena up and about so quickly. "What are you doing up?" she'd asked. "I was sure you'd be at Jim's apartment with the baby."

"You sound like Anakin," Cadena had said, grinning. "Can't a girl want to say goodbye to her friend?"

Kira had smiled. "I was planning to visit you and the baby when I got back. Speaking of which, have you picked a name yet?"

"Not yet."

"Well, hurry up and pick something. I'm tired of calling him 'the baby'."

Cadena had laughed, then her face had sobered. "I feel like something's about to happen."

"A good or bad something?" Kira had seated herself on a nearby crate.

Cadena had sat beside the younger girl. "I don't know. I've been having dreams lately. Anakin's in them, and Master Kenobi, and Jim. There's this odd breathing I keep hearing."

Kira had raised an eye marking. "Have you told Master Skywalker?"

"No. He's been preoccupied lately."

Kira had nodded. Anakin had just been appointed to the Jedi Council and, according to Cadena, had been having trouble settling into his new responsibilities. "Maybe you should tell him."

"I guess." Cadena hadn't looked convinced.

That was when one of Kira's troopers had come to report to her that the transports were ready, and the two girls had said their goodbyes. Since then, Kira, too, had felt as if something was about to happen. What it could be, she didn't know, but she didn't like the warning tone that the Force sent her. It felt ominous.

"Remember, troops," Kira said now, "keep your blasters on stun. I don't want the slaves to get caught in the crossfire, but I'd rather have them unconscious than dead. Understood?"

A chorus of "yes, Commander" and "yes, ma'am" met Kira's ears, and she continued forward. She felt that they were getting closer to the slavers - and the slaves. Waves of despair and hopelessness tumbled over each other in the Force. Those feelings were almost too much for Kira, who had to stop and get her bearings before advancing.

Voices echoed down the tunnel from a small room at the end, and Kira's spirits rose. After days of little sleep and clues that led to dead ends, they had found the slavers' hideaway at last. Kira gave the signal to halt, hoping she could hear what the slavers were saying to each other.

"I still think we should take our cargo and leave. The Senate's got a Jedi sniffin' around. I don't like it," one slaver said.

"How do you know it's a Jedi?" another replied.

"Cause she had a laser sword. And she had them clones with her."

"Well, even if that Jedi does find out where we are, she'll never find the slaves. And that's probably who she's after anyway. You know them Jedi, all about compassion and all that." A gruff laugh followed this statement.

The other slaver sounded unsure. "You've heard the tales about Jedi interrogation, same as I have. They say the Jedi can get into your head."

"Yeah, if you've got a weak mind. And my mind ain't weak."

Kira glanced at Trapper, nodded, and gave the signal to charge. She drew her lightsaber as she ran into the room, and the two men inside shouted in surprise as she activated the blade. The clones raced into the room after her, blasters raised and ready to fire.

One of the slavers immediately put his hands up. "I told ya we should've left while we had the chance!"

The other slaver spit at the ground. "She's nothin' but a child! We can take her!" Growling, he lunged for Kira.

The surprise move startled Kira into dropping her lightsaber, but her training kicked in and she delivered a swift kick to the slaver's gut. He gasped for breath as he reached for her foot; his attempt failed, and Kira jumped back to retrieve her lightsaber. The blue blade was once again aimed at the slaver's throat before he could attack her again. "I'm not impressed," she said.

The slaver slowly put his hands on his head. Kira gestured for two of the clones to restrain him, which they hurried to do before he attempted to escape.

Next, Kira directed her attention to the other slaver. "Where are they?"

He didn't have to ask who Kira meant. "There's a door in this here floor that leads to the holdin' cells where we keep 'em. Please, I've told you everythin'! Just don't get inside my head!" he begged.

Kira would've found the slaver's reaction comical had she not been in a hurry to free the slaves. "Thank you for your cooperation," she said sweetly. She turned to the troopers holding the two slavers. "Take these two back to the speeders and deliver them to the detainment facilities. Come back as fast as you can with the transports. There'll be some standing by."

"Yes, ma'am!" the troopers replied. They tugged on the prisoners' handcuffs, probably a little rougher than was necessary, and led them back the way the troopers had come.

"I think I found the door he was talking about, Commander!" a trooper called from the other side of the room. There, a rumpled rug that had obviously been tossed aside in a hurry lay beside a metal trapdoor.

Kira hurried to the trooper's side and inspected his findings. "Good work, Wooley," she said, kneeling next to the clone.

"There's a lock here, but I think I can hack into it," Wooley continued, examining the aforementioned lock. "It's a standard Coruscanti-"

"Or I can just do this," Kira said. She activated her lightsaber, swiftly cut a square hole in the trapdoor, and used the Force to lift the newly cut piece from the door.

Wooley shrugged. "That works, too."

Kira called to the other clones. "Leave no cell unchecked," she ordered. "We'll go over the area two or three times if we have to, but I want no slave left behind. Is that understood?"

"Yes, ma'am!"

"Good. Now let's get down there."

It took a few minutes for all the men to climb down the ladder that had been installed below the trapdoor, and Kira was last to arrive. "Spread out," she said. "We'll be more efficient that way."

With that, the search was on. Every cell was checked and double checked for anyone who may have been forced into slavery. A pang shot through Kira's heart every time she opened a cell door to find a small group of children, whose clothes were filthy and eyes were void of hope. "Come on," she would coax. "That's right. I'm not going to hurt you," she would say as the children came closer. "I'm here to help."

In the last cell, a girl no older than four or five tugged at Kira's sleeve on her way out. The girl's grimy face was streaked with tears when Kira knelt to meet her eye level. "Where's my sister?" the girl pleaded. "I want to see her."

Kira carefully gathered the girl into her arms and picked her up. "We're going to find her," she promised quietly as she stood and headed to join the others. "We'll find your sister. You'll get to see her soon."

As it turned out, the girl's sister was not another slave. Many of the victims on Ganthel had been snatched from the streets, or even from their own homes. Esme Aloy, the girl who'd asked for her sister, was one of the slaves who'd been taken from the street.

"Is this the last of them?" Trapper asked as he and Kira approached yet another small but sturdy house, common to an industrial world such as Ganthel. He looked down at his datapad to be certain they were in the right place.

Kira glanced down at Esme to make sure she hadn't wandered off. "Yes, this is our last stop."

Trapper nodded. "All right." He detached his helmet and held it securely under his arm. "To be honest, Commander, I'll be glad when we're finished here."

"As will I, Trapper. As will I." Kira knocked firmly on the door three times.

A moment passed before the door opened. A tall, dark woman stood inside, and Kira's suspicion that it was Esme's mother who had come to greet them was confirmed when Esme threw herself at the woman, crying, "Mom! Mom!"

"Esme!" Esme's mother knelt to accept Esme's hug, returning it with an embrace of her own. "Oh, Esme, are you all right?"

Esme didn't answer. Instead, she kept her arms tightly around her mother's neck, burying her head in the woman's shoulder. A lump formed in Kira's throat.

Eventually the woman was able to stand up, still holding tightly to her child. "Thank you," she said to Kira and Trapper, her voice threatening to crack. "The authorities told us they'd contacted the Jedi, but with the war and all, we were worried you didn't have the time or the resources to help us regular citizens. Thank you so much."

Kira smiled. "You're welcome," she replied. "I'm glad we could find your daughter."

The woman freed one of her hands and gestured towards the inside of the house. "Would you like to come in?"

"No, thank you. We're preparing to return to Coruscant. We have reason to believe that the war is close to an end."

"Really?"

Kira nodded.

The woman exhaled. "That's a relief."

"It is to all of us, I think." Kira inclined her head. "Good day to you."

"And to you," said the woman as Kira and Trapper turned to make their way back to the speeders they'd been using. The sound of the door closing echoed throughout the quiet neighborhood.

Kira swung a leg over her speeder and started the engines. "There are landing docks near the square," she told Trapper. "That's where we'll rendezvous with the transports."

Trapper put his helmet back on before he started his own speeder. "Lead the way, Commander," he said, and the two set off for the docks.

Pretty straightforward beginning, I think. What do you think, Kira?

Kira: I guess. *shrug* I liked the first chapter of I Know Places better.

Me: I did, too. Alright, guys, I've got a new poll on my profile for y'all - which book in the Eyes Open Saga is your favorite so far? Oh, and if you're a guest, you can leave your answer in the review. Don't want to exclude you guys! :)

Kira: You like these polls, don't you?

Me: Oh yes.

Kira: Can I pick a song before you start doing more self advertising?

Me: If you like. But you have to do the review notice, too.

Kira: Fine. -_-

Tablet: I can't compete with the she wolf who has brought me to my knees...

Kira: Please take a minute to review if you liked it, hated it, or wanted to light it up and watch it burn. Thanks in advance!

Me: Thank you for doing it cheerfully this time, Kira.

Kira: Meh. I'm in a good mood today.

Me: Cool! Well, guys, I'm off to take a long, hot shower. Thanks for clicking in and may the Force be with you always! :D

Kira: See you next time! :)