This Angel's Dirty Face Is Sore
By Tahiri Solo
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Disclaimer: I do not own the Young Jedi Knights. They are the property of Lucasfilm. Anything that you recognize does not belong to me. I am not making any money off of this story. No infringement is intended. I do, however, own Bree, Arram, Leena, Admiral Parcck, Kiana Daragon, and any others that you do not recognize. However, Cahrism belongs to my friend Lindsey, but she lets me borrow her. Do not steal any of our characters.
If this story bears any resemblance to stories written by others, that is purely coincidental. Also, the song the title came from belongs to the Spice Girls. (Don't flame me for that, it just fit the character. I can't help it who sings it. )
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This angel's dirty face is sore
Holding on to what she had before
Not sharing secrets with any old fool
Now she's gonna keep her cool
Spice Girls, Naked
One muggy afternoon, Luke Skywalker was out on the landing field with his niece and nephew and their friends. They were making repairs to the Rock Dragon, and Luke had decided to join them.
Suddenly, without any warning, a new ship landed on the field, completely unannounced.
They all gaped at it in shock. They hadn't seen it approach or heard the whine of its engines.
They all drew their lightsabers, thinking this had to be some kind of enemy ship.
Zekk stepped protectively in front of Jaina as the ship's ramp descended.
But when a figure walked down it, however, they got another shock. It was not at all the enemy-type figure they had expected.
It was a young woman.
She had long brown hair that was streaked with golden highlights, and her eyes were mismatched emerald green and gray. She was rather small and petite, but she moved with the grace of a hunting cat, and it was obvious that she could be quite dangerous if she wanted to.
She wore form-fitting blue clothes - a belly shirt and hip-hugger style pants. There was also a lightsaber clipped to her belt.
She blinked at them, a smile briefly crossing her pretty face.
"Honestly. I'd expected a better welcoming committee than this," she quipped. "You don't need those, you know. You should have sensed I wasn't hostile." With a slight wave of her hand, their lightsabers flickered out, causing many of them to gasp in shock.
"Who are you?" Luke demanded. He could sense that she wasn't hostile, but she certainly had a lot of explaining to do.
She walked up to him and clasped his hand, surprising him. "I'm Breliah Daragon. Bree for short."
She smiled up at him. "I'm sorry I snuck in like this. I must've startled everyone. But I had to slip in here with as little people noticing me as possible. I kinda have a price on my head."
Luke brushed her mind quickly, and although he could see her stiffen, she let him confirm what she had just said. When he was satisfied that she had no intent to hurt them, he studied her face intently. "You look familiar," he said at last. "Have I seen you somewhere before?"
"My full name is Breliah Daragon-Rendar," she said quietly. "Dash's daughter."
Luke stared at her in shock, but Jaina immediately piped up, "Dash Rendar? Wasn't he that mercenary you and Mom knew when Dad was frozen in carbonite?"
"The same," Breliah answered.
"To my understanding, Dash died years ago," Luke said. "You look too young to be his daughter. You're only, what . . . ?"
"Fourteen," she replied. "But I am Dash's daughter. It's kind of a long story - my life is horridly complicated." She laughed.
"We can go into my ship to talk," Tenel Ka offered. "You said you had a price on your head?"
"Yeah. Pesky Imps," Breliah said lightly. "I'm not sure, but I'm guessing you're Tenel Ka, the Hapan princess?"
Tenel Ka stiffened slightly, but nodded. "This is a fact."
Breliah peered at each of them in turn. "And you should be Jaina and Jacen Solo - well, that's obvious, since you look so much alike - and you would be Lowbacca, and that means you're Zekk. Correct?"
They all nodded.
"Breliah, how do you know so much about us all?" Jaina asked.
The newcomer laughed. "Please, call me Bree. And honestly, do you people realize how famous you all are? I had to do a little bit of research before I came here, to make sure that there was no one here who might to try to kill me. Those Imps really want my head."
She shook her head and sighed. "I mean, you'd think they could find something better to do with their time instead of running around trying to kill teenage girls. They're obviously bored to death back in those Core Systems." She grinned.
"Can we go and talk now?" Jaina asked. She was very curious about this mysterious young girl.
"The sooner, the better," Bree said.
With a slight nod to Bree, Tenel Ka led them all into her ship.
The seven of them went into the crew cabin and sat down.
Bree sighed, swinging a foot nervously. "This is kind of a long story - and not a pleasant one."
Jaina rested a hand on the girl's arm. "Remember, we want to be your friends - we're here to help."
Zekk smiled at the way she was treating the young girl - almost as if she were her sister, even though they had just met, and under very strange circumstances. *She's definitely the most accepting person I know. One of the many reasons she means so much to me.*
Bree sighed again and began to speak. "Okay. Well, this story really starts with my parents. Dash was married to a woman named Kiana Daragon - my mother. This was before you met him, Master Skywalker.
"My mom got pregnant, but just a few days after she told my dad, she was captured by the Empire. Mom was a great Jedi, and I guess the Imps got a hold of her because they were busily trying to wipe us all out."
She made a face, but continued. "Mom knew it wouldn't be safe to have her baby in the middle of a concentration camp - they'd likely kill me too.
"So she used a Force trick she knew to freeze her fetus inside her."
Bree twirled a lock of hair nervously around a finger, obviously uncomfortable having to tell her painful story to complete strangers.
"Months later, Mom managed to escape. The Imps were really mad that she had gotten away. They tried, but they couldn't capture her again. So they contacted my dad and told him that she had been killed, I guess to either keep him from looking for her, or more likely, just to be mean.
"My parents never say each other again. Dad died before he could learn the truth about Mom . . . that she was really alive. From what I hear, he was absolutely devastated. Mom was too. She missed him desperately, and wished she could go to him, but she couldn't, because she was in hiding. When he died . . . well, Mom said she totally lost it. Almost killed herself. But then she realized that even though she had frozen it, she still had a baby.
"Mom wanted to have me then. She thought having a baby she'd have to be responsible for would keep her from committing suicide. But she couldn't. The Force was telling her it wouldn't be safe to have me then."
Bree shifted in her seat. She hated having to tell complete strangers this story. But she gritted her teeth and continued.
"Finally, years later, Mom got a vision that told her it would be safe to have me. So she unfroze me and a few months later . . . well, here I was.
"Mom also got strong feelings from the Force telling her that it was crucial to start training me as a Jedi as soon as possible. She started when I was two.
"I progressed quickly. I had a strong aptitude for the Force - my mother was such a strong Jedi, I guess I inherited it from her. She was a really good teacher too. By the time I was five I had progressed further than people three or four times my age. Mom was so proud, and I loved learning to use the Force."
Bree swallowed hard. Here it came.
"But when I was six . . . the Imps found us. I think Mom knew they were coming, but only had a few minutes warning, because she suddenly started yelling at me, saying I hadn't cleaned my room properly or something. She said I had to go in my room and clean it, and that I was absolutely not allowed out. She said if I did, I'd be grounded until I was sixteen.
"I went in my room, totally confused. I couldn't understand why my mom was being so mean all of a sudden. Like most six year olds would, I pouted."
She sighed deeply, and gritted her teeth against tears. "Then I started hearing weird noises. A loud crash, like someone had broken our door down. But then I heard a noise I definitely recognized - the snap-hiss of Mom's lightsaber. I was so scared. I didn't know what was going on. I wanted to go and see, to help my mom, but I remembered her telling me that I had to stay in my room.
"But when I started hearing blaster shots, that was too much for me. I opened my door and ran into the hall. I stopped just at the doorway to our living room, where the noises were coming from. I just peered in, not wanting them to see me.
"They didn't see me, but I could definitely see them. I saws this one Imp, he looked like some kinda admiral or something, surrounded by a bunch of stormtroopers.
"Mom had already killed a few of the stormtroopers. I saw their bodies. I remember throwing up at all the blood."
Bree wrinkled her noise as if she could still smell the stench, the metallic tang of blood.
"The admiral-type person was talking to my mom. She was clearly mad, and so was he. They weren't fighting though. I was too scared and nauseous to really hear what they were saying, but he seemed to be accusing her of something and she was denying it."
Bree wiped away a single tear. "Finally, after a few minutes, he went, 'I've had enough of this', and gestured to a stormtrooper. The stormtrooper left, and a few minutes later, came back with a ysalmiri."
Bree's voice was so low and rough that she could barely be heard. "My mom wasn't expecting that, and while she was staggering from the handicap, the admiral - shot her. Just like that. Right in front of me.
"I sensed her death and lost it. I think I turned to the dark side then. I could feel the Force rippling through me, far more powerful than I'd ever felt before. But I knew it was the dark side, and I tried to resist it. But I could only fight it for like a minute, and then I let it loose in a wild, uncontrolled rush. I'm still not sure exactly how, but my Force surge killed all the stormtroopers. The admiral wasn't there. In the amount of time I had been fighting the dark side, he had left, leaving his stormtroopers to clean up the mess and probably loot our house.
"But I didn't let them. I had killed them all. My mom had warned me about the dark side, but I didn't care. They had killed my mother, my only family, and I was mad."
*Now there's an understatement,* Bree thought to herself, cynicism cutting through the pain of the memory.
"After I killed all of the Imps, I passed out. My last thought was to wonder if the admiral would come back and kill me and whether or not I'd turned to the dark side.
"But when I woke up, the admiral was nowhere to be found, and I was back to normal, back to light. I guess because I was so young, that's what turned me back. They say childish innocence is a bulwark for the dark side, you know. I saw all the bodies - my mother, and the others, who I'd killed. I flipped out. I started screaming, wailing, and I grabbed Mom's lightsaber and tried to kill myself with it. Somehow, I couldn't - I think it was Mom's spirit, not wanting me to die too."
Bree sniffed. "I cried for I think two days after t hat, nonstop. Finally I got some sense into my brain, and realized that I'd better get the heck out of there before another Imp came and found me. I used the Force to help me bury my mom, but I left the other bodies as is. I packed up some stuff - supplies and mementos of my mother - and then I just ran. I hid in the woods. I fended for myself out there, all the while teaching myself to the Force. Somehow I knew Mom would've wanted me to become a Jedi.
"I lived alone in the woods for years. I started going to junk piles and taking wrecked machinery and fixing it. The Force told me what I needed to do to repair stuff. After I'd fixed it, I'd sell it, using a Force trick I knew to make myself appear older."
Bree chewed on a fingernail for a moment before continuing. "Then one day, I made some friends. They were all orphans like me, and all had Jedi potential. We all knew we cold trust each other, and ended up all living out in the woods. I was so happy. For the first time since my mother's death, I had friends, people to talk to, people I could actually trust.
"But finally, one by one, my friends kept leaving, until it was just me and my very best friend Arram left. I missed my other friends horribly, but Arram kept me company. He was a lot older than I was, but he was my best friend in the galaxy, and an awful good one at that."
Bree swallowed. "I think he kept me sane. He was always there for me when I needed him, and he meant everything to me. I would have cracked from the loneliness without him."
Tears were streaming down Bree's cheeks as she spoke, but she ignored them and pressed on. "Well. One day he was killed. Imps got him too. This was only a year ago. I went crazy. I became obsessed with finding his killers. I wasn't sure what I was going to do when I found them, but I had to know."
She started crying even harder, but she still ignored it. The pain of his death was too fresh for her to deal with. "I finally discovered the one who had ordered his death was the same person who had killed my mother. His name is T.D. Parcck. I also learned he wants the heads of all the Jedi, me especially. When I heard that, I came here to warn you all. I think he might attack the Jedi academy soon."
Bree wiped away her tears and sighed. "So. That's my story."
They all sat stunned for a moment, then Jaina cried, "That's awful!"
Bree shrugged. "That's life."
"Can you tell us any more about this admiral?" Luke asked gently.
"Not much," she replied. "All I know is that's he's somewhere out in the Core Systems, wants all our heads, and has one heck of a fleet. From what I hear, it's huge. And that's he's total Hutt slime," she added savagely.
"T.D. Parcck . . . ." Zekk said thoughtfully. "That sounds familiar, but I can't place it."
"I know why it sounds familiar," Bree said. "He and Brakiss tried to team up once, but they got, shall we say, ticked at each other. Parcck hated Brakiss because Brakiss was a Jedi. Brakiss hated Parcck because Parcck had a fleet bigger than his. So they ended up trying to assassinate each other. But that didn't work, so they just basically forgot about each other for the time being."
"You know about me," Zekk said. It was not a question.
Bree tossed him a funny look. "I told you I'd done research on you all. What made you think I didn't know about the whole Darkest Knight business?"
"But if you knew he'd been an Imperial, I'm surprised you came here," Jaina said, flinching slightly at the words Darkest Knight. Memories of Kashyyk and their fight after the battle with the Shadow Academy flashed through her brain.
She leaned her head on Zekk's shoulder, and felt him slip his arm around her and give her a gentle, comforting squeeze.
Bree saw them and had to fight back a smile. They certainly didn't know what her particular Force talent was, but it was definitely flaring up now, looking at them . . . .
"You can stay here at the Jedi Academy, if you want," Jacen offered. Bree could tell at a glance that he was the kind of person who hated to see anyone in pain and couldn't do anything about it, and saw his discomfort at her situation.
*Like Arram used to be,* she thought with a pang.
Fighting back the memories, she nodded. "Thank you."
"Yes. Of course," Luke said. "You all can get her settled in. I have to go and call Leia to tell her about this Parcck."
He stood up, and with a nod to Bree, left the room.
"Well, come on, Bree," Jaina said. "Let's find you a room somewhere."
A few hours later, Bree found herself in guest quarters in the Great Temple. She had mentioned that she would be perfectly fine staying in her ship, but they had insisted on finding her a room. The one girl - Jaina - seemed either to have taken a liking to her or else pitied her.
Bree hoped it was the former. She hated pity. She didn't want it, didn't need it. Sure, she'd had a tough, pain-filled life, but she'd survived.
She like Jaina, the young woman seemed very nice. But she knew she might feel differently if she found out the only reason she was being nice to her was out of pity.
Bree sat down on the bed they had supplied for her, recalling the events of the afternoon. Her particular Force talent was sensing when people were true soulmates, and her sense had flared up as she had seen Jaina and Zekk together. She assumed they were a couple, but she wondered if they knew they were soulmates.
She wasn't sure, because she hadn't actually seen them touch, but she was almost certain that there was something between Jaina's twin Jacen and that Hapan princess.
Bree grinned. It had been a long time since she'd seen people joined so closely like that. She always liked seeing soulmates, but at the same time, it mad her ache.
She had never really been sure - this particular talent was always harder to apply on yourself than others - but she believed that her friend Arram had been her soulmate.
But of course, like everyone else she cared about, he had been killed.
Bree curled up into a ball on her bed, sniffling a little and trying not to cry.
But finally, after only a few minutes, she gave in to the tears.
"Sithspawn, Arram," she whispered. "I miss you so much. I feel so alone sometimes without you."
Bree immediately stopped crying, though, when she heard a soft knock on her door.
In one swift movement, she sat up, at the same time wiping away her tears, and glanced into a mirror on her wall to make sure she didn't look like she'd been crying. A moment later, she called, "C'mon in."
Jaina poked her head in. "I just wanted to check in on you, make sure you were settled."
"I'm fine, thanks," Bree said. "You can come in if you want."
Jaina did so. She took one look at Bree, then said, "Are you okay? You seem kind of upset."
Bree shrugged. "I'm always upset. You would be too, if you grew up like I did. It's no big deal. I'm used to it."
"Wanna talk?"
"Not really, but thanks. I'll be okay. Like I said, I'm used to it," Bree replied.
Jaina flashed her a grin. "Okay. I'm going out to help Zekk work on his ship, the Lightning Rod. You can help, if you want."
Bree shook her head, declining the older girl's offer. "Thanks for offering, but I've got a lot on my mind right now."
"That's fine. I'll be out on the landing field if you need anything, though. Or you can always find my uncle, or one of my friends. Or my brother, if you don't mind his huge menagerie of animals."
Bree grinned. "No, I don't mind animals. I love animals."
Jaina rolled her eyes. "Uh-oh. Someone else to start bringing crystal snakes into the academy. Jacen had one of those once, and they cause more trouble than you'd think was possible. It kept getting loose. One time it bit another student, a friend of ours, and sent him right to sleep. Another time, it got loose and went to the Dining Hall. It ended up starting the biggest food fight you've ever seen in your life!"
Jaina laughed at the memory, and Bree joined in. "The snake threw food?"
"Not exactly," Jaina said with a giggle. "It just caused everyone else to throw food. Long story."
Bree chuckled. "Well. I think I'll stay away from those, then."
"Good idea," Jaina said, grinning. "But I've got to go. Let us know if you need anything. Bye."
"Bye," Bree said, watching the older girl leave the room.
*She's nice, Bree thought. I think I might've just found myself a new friend.*
But then a new thought struck her. "I wonder if they're really going out to work on a ship . . . ."
She grinned.
The next morning, Bree woke up and looked around in confusion.
"Where the heck am I?" she muttered. But then she remembered that she was at the Jedi academy.
Glancing at her chrono, she saw that it was very early in the morning. The night before, all of the young Jedi Knights had stopped in to check on her and make sure that she was settled.
That had rather startled Bree. Most of the people she was used to dealing with were cold, ruthless. Besides her mother, Arram, and the others she had lived with, she'd never really known anyone who did anything nice without an ulterior motive.
Bree slipped out of bed and stretched. She quickly dressed and brushed her flyaway hair - which was always a struggle. Her hair seemed to have a mind of its own.
*An evil mind,* Bree thought, as she encountered a particular large tangle.
A few minutes later, she quietly left her room and headed out to her ship.
Reaching it, she keyed in the entrance code and went it.
She was greeted by a scolding trill, coming from her astromech droid.
"Hey, Topples," she greeted it, patting its domed head. "I know, I know. I didn't come back to the ship last night. I'm sorry. Those people at the academy insisted I stay in a room they got me. Calm down."
Suddenly, a new voice drifted up the ramp. "Who're you talking to?"
It was Jaina.
"My droid," Bree called back. "Come on in."
A few moments later, Jaina was standing in her crew cabin.
"I thought you were still asleep," Bree said.
"We get up early," the older girl replied. "I hope you don't mind, but I was, um, checking out your ship. I have a weakness for any and all spacecraft." She grinned.
Bree grinned back. "I know. I'm the same way myself. I'll give you the grand tour, if you want."
"I'd like that," Jaina answered, smiling.
A week later, Bree was still on Yavin 4. She hadn't intended to stay that long, but she couldn't help it. These people were so nice, and she liked having company besides Topples for a change.
Master Skywalker had told his visiting wife, Mara, about her, and the former Emperor's Hand had taken an instant interest in her.
Mara had started training Bree. Bree was already fully trained as a Jedi, and knew as much as Mara did about the Force, if not more, but Mara knew fighting techniques that she had never heard of, and she was eager to learn them.
Bree liked Mara - the woman had insisted that she call her Mara instead of Master or some other formality - and she certainly kept Bree on her toes.
A little practice never hurt anyone, Bree thought.
And Mara certainly gave her a lot of practice. Bree thought she must have been a slave driver in a past life.
But luckily, she was more than up to the challenge.
Later that night, while Bree was in her quarters, getting ready for bed, she heard a soft knock.
Opening her door, she found Jaina standing there, along with Tenel Ka and Tahiri, who was the best friend of Jaina's youngest brother, Anakin.
Tahiri was about a year younger than Bree, but when they had met, they had instantly become friends. Bree was convinced that Anakin and Tahiri were soulmates. But she hadn't mentioned that to either of them, because she knew they were still in the "just friends" stage, and needed time to figure this out on their own.
Bree grinned at her guests. "Hey, guys. What're you all up to? Jacen lose a crystal snake again and you want me to help you find it?"
Jaina and Tahiri laughed, and even Tenel Ka smiled.
"No, thank the Force," Jaina said. "No crystal snakes are lose - at the moment, anyway. But the three of us are having a sleepover, and you're coming whether you want to or not."
Bree laughed. "A sleepover? I know better than to argue though - if I do, Tenel Ka might hurt me, and I don't think I want to risk that."
Jaina chuckled. "Good. You have sense. You should see what Tenel Ka does to people who make her mad! She punched a Shistavanian wolfman's nose in once!"
Tenel Ka nodded, a sparkle in her eyes. "This is a fact."
Bree snorted with laughter. "Ouch. Yeah, I'm definitely coming, then. Where're we having this thing? I don't think we'd have room in Jaina's quarters, what with all her machinery and stuff crammed in there."
Jaina mock-glared at her, then laughed and said, "Well, we're not having it in my quarters anyway. We're going out on top of the Great Temple."
Bree's eyes lit up. "Cool. I love high places. Let me get a pillow."
"And a blanket," Tahiri added. "It gets cold around here at night. It's like that back on Tattooine, too, where I grew up. Hot in the day, cold at night. Was it like that where you grew up, Bree? I've never really been anywhere but Tattooine and Yavin 4. How about you? Well, aren't you going to answer me?"
"How could I?" Bree said dryly. "How was I supposed to get a word in edgewise? Don't you ever stop to breathe?"
"Nope," Tahiri replied cheerfully, grinning. "I never do. Anakin says I'm going to keel over one day because I couldn't get enough air when I was talking. But Anakin is so quiet, someone has to do all the talking."
"Are all the people you know mute?" Bree asked, rolling her eyes good-naturedly. "Because you talk enough for an entire planetful of people."
Tahiri laughed, but shut up.
A moment later, Bree joined them out in the hallway, carrying the blanket and pillow from her bed. "Let's go," she said with a smile.
A few minutes later, they had reached the very top of the Great Temple, and they spread out their blankets and sat down, with a portable lamp Jaina had brought lighting their "camp".
"So, what do we do at these sleepover things, exactly?" Bree asked, propped up on one elbow.
"Well, I've never had one of these before," Jaina said, grinning, "but I assume we sit around and talk. I think you're also supposed to do each other's hair, but there's no way I'm putting up with that."
Bree and Tahiri laughed. Tenel Ka grinned.
"I don't know," Bree said thoughtfully, eyeing Jaina's straight brown hair. "You might look good with a type of bun with curls framing your face, or this adorable braid thing I saw once . . . ."
Jaina immediately clamped both her hands protectively over her hair. "You stay away from me."
Tenel Ka looked over at Bree, her eyes twinkling. "All right. Here's the plan. I'll hold her down, and you and Tahiri do her hair."
Jaina made a face and playfully slapped her friend.
"So what do we talk about?" Tahiri broke in. "Ways to torture Jaina?"
"Well, it's obvious how to torture Jaina, besides doing her hair," Tenel Ka said. "Just keep her away from Zekk for more than a day!"
Jaina slapped her again. "Oh, you're one to talk!" she said, grinning. "Who's the one that lost it and actually cried when they thought my brother was dead? Hmm?"
"In Tenel Ka's defense," Bree said with a flash of pain in her eyes, "I know what it feels like to lose your soulmate, and it hurts like hell."
"This is a fact," Tenel Ka agreed, very quietly.
Jaina leaned over and hugged Bree. "Sorry. I didn't mean to bring that up. I wasn't thinking. But you're absolutely right. It does hurt."
"Let's talk about something else, okay?" Bree said.
"Sure," Jaina agreed quickly. "I've been meaning to tell you all - I took a modular comm transmitter and linked it to a regular commlink, and you should see the results . . . ."
Everyone else groaned.
Hours later, dawn was approaching, but none of them were the least bit tired and were still talking.
Tahiri rolled over on her back. "What do we talk about now? We've already gone through the latest of Jaina's inventions and projects, Tenel Ka's favorite fighting techniques, favorite planets we've been to, Jacen's various pet disasters, and all the reasons why I hate shoes. What now?"
Jaina looked over at Bree. "Would you mind telling us about the friends you mentioned you had before you came here? I've always been curious about them, but if it's too painful to talk about, it's okay. No big deal."
Bree shook her head. "No, I can talk about them - I think. It'll be painful, but I need to tell someone. Maybe talking will help me feel better."
Bree shifted her position, then drew a deep breath. "Like I said before, we were all orphans, and we all had Jedi potential. First off, there was Cahrism. She was the oldest. She'd be, let me think . . . ."
Bree's eyebrows suddenly rose in surprise. "Wow. She'd be twenty now. I hadn't realized she'd be that old. Anyway, Cahrism actually looked somewhat like Mara. She had red hair and green eyes. She also had a killer attitude. If she liked you,
she was a really good friend and nice, but if she didn't like you . . . well, you'd better watch out. She was like an older sister to me, but she didn't stay too long. She left after only a few years, without telling us. She just left a note saying she was going to try and find her parents. She'd been put in an orphanage when she was little, but no one had ever said anything about her parents, and she thought they might be alive somewhere, so she went off to see."
Bree let a brief smile cross her face. "If they're alive, and she found them, I pity the people. I'm sure she gave them heck about abandoning her as a baby.
"Then there Leena, the second oldest. She'd be around seventeen or eighteen, I'm not sure. Lee wasn't entirely human. Her mom was one of those cat-like aliens, but her dad was a human. They died when she was little, and she lived on her own, like I had. We all made friends with her, but she didn't move in with us for a while."
Bree grimaced. "See, the thing is, Leena's cat instincts were causing her to go into heat. She'd end up having mindless sex with any male she could find, because she couldn't help it. She had a reputation as the town slut, because she looked human and no one understood that she was part cat in heat.
"Finally, Lee got so embarrassed and sick of her reputation and scared that she'd get pregnant or a disease or something that she came and lived with us. She thought that if she was out in the woods, and away from males, she wouldn't go into heat so bad."
"Did it work?" Tahiri asked.
"It did for a while," Bree answered. "Everything was fine for a few years. But then, about a year after Cahrism left, she went into heat again, really bad this time, and ended up trying to mate with Arram - the only male she could get to.
"After that, she was so horrified at herself and embarrassed that she ran off. Arram didn't care - he knew she was in heat and couldn't help it - but Lee apparently couldn't face him after that. I was really upset when she left, and I tried to find her, but I couldn't."
Bree sighed. "Then there was Arram. I was the closest to him. He was my best friend in the galaxy. He'd be seventeen now. Even though he was so much older, we were still terribly close. After Cahrism and Leena ran off, Arram was all I had left, and he meant everything to me."
It was obvious that Bree was fighting tears. "Arram was so protective of me. He worried if I so much as skinned my knee. In the months after the others left, I had nightmares constantly, about my mother's death, usually, and sometimes about the Imperials finding me and killing me too."
She bit her lip, tears in her eyes. "Every single time I'd wake up from a nightmare, I'd be in his arms. He always knew when I needed him. Arram would hold me and stroke my hair, and let me cry into his shirt until I'd calmed down.
"Once I had, he'd tell me everything was all right and put me back to bed. I'd stay there for a few minutes, then I'd get up and slip into his bed, because I was scared I'd have another nightmare. I never did, as long as I was with him. If I wasn't, I'd have more nightmares, and they were always worse than the first one.
"This was routine for us. It happened almost every night. But I was always okay, as long as I was with him. So Arram finally moved my bed right next to his, and after that, I never had anymore nightmares.
"Then one day, I'd gone out to a town to sell a load of machinery Arram and I had been working on. When I got home, Arram was gone. I looked everywhere for him, but I couldn't find him, physically or in the Force. Then I saw a puddle of blood on his bed, and the blood was smeared on the floor, and the walls. It was everywhere. And then I saw an Imperial blaster laying on the floor, and it was still warm, and the charge was low. I realized that the Imperials had come when I was gone, and killed him, my best friend . . . ."
Bree's voice trailed off, and she buried her face in her hands, sobbing.
Jaina immediately hugged her. "I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have brought that up."
Bree pulled back. "It's okay. I needed to talk to somebody about that. It's just that I miss him so Sithspawned much."
She started crying again, but quickly got herself under control. "Sorry," she apologized. "I can't let myself lose it like that. I know I'm never going to be entirely over his death, so I've got to learn to deal with it."
"Crying helps, sometimes," Jaina said. "There's nothing wrong with crying, if it makes you feel better. And there's no reason to be embarrassed in front of us. Tenel Ka and I both know what it's like to lose someone you really care about, and we know how much it hurts. And Tahiri grew up somewhat like you did."
Bree shook her head fiercely. "No. I will not cry. I know he wouldn't want me to be like this, so I'm just going to be brave about it. I'll survive. I always do."
To her surprise, Tenel Ka hugged her. "If that is what you wish, then I will honor that. But we are still here for you, if you need someone to talk to."
Bree smiled at her - a shaky, tentative smile, but a smile nonetheless. "Thanks. It means a lot to have friends again - especially such nice ones."
She laughed bitterly. "You know what I wish? I just want to go home. But of course that's ridiculous, because I don't really have a home. First I lived with my mother, and then she died, and that was no longer my home. Then I lived with my friends, and then they all either left or were killed, and so that's not my home either anymore."
"Make Yavin 4 your home," Jaina suggested softly.
"That's what I did," Tahiri added. She said nothing else, surprisingly.
Bree shrugged. "Maybe. But just watch. I see the pattern in my life. It won't be my home for long."
Then, as if to prove her right, a ship suddenly appeared in the sky.
Bree sprang to her feet, letting out a long and comprehensive list of expletives.
Jaina gaped at her in shock. "Bree! You have got to get away from my aunt! You sound just like her!"
"What is it?" Tahiri asked.
"Do you not see that ship?" Bree asked incredulously.
"Sure. But it's probably just a cargo shipping bringing supplies."
Bree ran over to the edge of the Great Temple. "It is not a cargo ship. Have you lost you minds? I know that ship. I've seen it before. It's Parcck's. He's attacking the Jedi academy."
Jaina's mouth dropped open. "What?!"
Bree ignored her. "Get your uncle. And your aunt. And every other Jedi here. And hurry!"
With that, Bree stepped off the edge of the temple and into midair.
She used the Force to control her fall, and moments later, landed softly on the ground. Her veins sang with glittering, pounding adrenaline. This was it. She'd known for years that one day she would face Parcck, and this was the day.
She took a deep breath, calling on the Force for guidance, then suddenly heard a transmission from Parcck's ship that was being amplified so that the entire academy could hear it.
"Jedi scum," Parcck's voice announced. "I am Imperial Admiral T.D. Parcck. I have come to annihilate you all, therefor striking a terrible blow to the New Republic. My ship was able to slip through your security defenses, and it can also destroy you all, if I so choose. I believe I may toy with you for a while before I do so."
Bree listened to him in shock. *How cocky! I never imagined Parcck could be this stupid! What a loser!*
A plan formed in her mind, and she let a smile briefly cross her features.
She reached out in the Force, until she found Parcck's presence, and set him a telepathic message.
*Parcck. This is Breliah Daragon. You killed my mother years ago, and I killed your troopers in return. I have a proposition for you.*
Parcck obviously wasn't a Jedi, and didn't know how to "respond" to her telepathic call, but she could sense him speaking. "What? Who? What proposition?"
Bree smiled. *Here's what I suggest. I know a way for you to get the entire Jedi academy with minimal fighting. However, you must first indulge a whim of mine.*
"What would that be?"
*I'll be blunt. I hate you, Parcck. I always have. And I have influence over Master Skywalker here. He will surrender his entire academy to you, if I wish it. I am like a daughter to him. I want to duel you, Parcck. Just you and me, out in the jungle. No one else. A fight to the death. If I win, your fleet belongs to me. If you win, you get the entire academy.*
His voice was a snarl. "You Jedi all have tricks up your sleeves. I don't trust you."
*I don't trust you either. To be honest, I am certain I will die fighting you. I'm a teenage girl, and small for my age. I'm only partly trained as a Jedi. But I don't care. I hate you so much, I am willing to do it. I hate the people at the academy almost as much as I hate you. They're snobs. I don't care if they die, and I don't care if I die either. I just want a chance to at least try and get my hands around your fat throat and strangle you.*
Bree used the Force to sway his mind in her direction, to make her receptive to her proposal, then added a last little push. *You'd be a fool to refuse me.*
"Very well, then. I want Master Skywalker's consent. Have him send up a transmission to my ship. My crew has spotted a clearing about twenty kilometers from the cursed temple. That is where we will duel - and where you will die."
*Very well. I embrace death. Expect a message from Master Skywalker.*
Then Bree cut her telepathic link to him and ran to find Master Skywalker.
"You did what?! There is no way I'm agreeing to that! Have you lost your mind?"
Bree rolled her eyes. "Master Skywalker. I lied to him. A lot. I told him I wanted to die, and that I just wanted a chance to try and take him with me. I went on how I was sure I was going to die, but didn't care. But I can kill him. I know I can. His ship is so well armed. He's jamming our transmissions. He can kill us all if he wants, and no one can help us. This is our only chance. Send the transmission - he left one channel open to his ship - and just trust me!"
"No. This is insane," Luke said flatly.
"Listen to her, Luke," Mara cut in suddenly. "Bree's right. I have faith in her. She can do this, and she's our only chance."
Luke sighed. "All right. I give in. But don't you dare die. I'm not having your death haunting me for the rest of my life."
Bree impulsively threw her arms around him, then Mara. "Thank you. Go send that transmission."
Jaina pressed her lightsaber into one hand; in her other, Mara placed a blaster.
"Kick his ass, Bree," Mara said sternly. "We're all counting on you."
"Don't worry. I will." Bree began taking deep breaths, drawing on the Force.
*Mom, Arram, help me out here. Please. I need to kill the person who ordered both of your deaths, or else he's going to kill all of my new friends too. And me.*
Twenty minutes later, Bree was in the clearing, having flown there in Lowie's skyhopper, and watching Parcck's escape pod land.
He stepped out, blaster in hand, and glared at her. "Hello, Jedi bitch. Save yourself some trouble and just let me shoot you right now."
Bree shrugged. "Okay. Do that. I just want to get this over with."
She spread her arms wide and cocked her head at him, a challenging glint in her eyes.
Parcck blinked in surprise, clearly taken off guard, but raised his blaster, aimed at her chest, and pulled the trigger.
The bolt hit Bree directly in the chest, but she didn't even flinch, and there was no mark or blood.
Bree peered down at her chest as if in surprise. "What?! That should have killed me! Shoot me again! What is going on here?" she exclaimed.
"Oh, don't worry," Parcck snarled, hiding his shock well. "I'll kill you."
He shot again. This time, he did not take his hand off the trigger. He pumped a constant stream of killing energy into Bree.
Bree stood and took it, her face turning ashen but at the same time glowing with an unnatural orange color.
Finally, the charge went out of Parcck's blaster, and he gaped at her, too stunned to say anything.
Bree's whole body was glowing now, and she looked like death. But her eyes were bright and clear.
"You fool." Her voice was a hoarse whisper, but somehow could be heard throughout the entire clearing. "You killed my mother. And my best friend. And you tried to kill all of my new friends as well. Do you actually think I was just going to let you kill me too? Things are the other way around."
She raised her hand, palm out, and watched as he trembled like a leaf. "This is for my mother. This is for Arram. Goodbye, Parcck."
Bree let loose with all the energy she had stored inside her from his blaster shots. It crackled around her like living lightning, skirted around the edges of the clearing, scorching leaves but never setting anything on fire.
It spun in mini-cyclones, gathering up speed - and then hurled directly at Parcck.
He didn't even have time to scream.
Bree wavered, her knees buckling. She'd never channeled so much raw energy through herself before, and it suddenly occurred to her that she might die as well as Parckk.
She collapsed on the ground, and knew no more.
When Bree woke her, she could see nothing. Her first instinct was to panic, and she did so. She feared that she was either dead or blind.
But then she realized that she was pressed face down in the grass, and the ground was obscuring her vision.
*Get a grip girl. You're losing it.*
She lifted her head and managed to sit up.
When she did so, she immediately wished she hadn't.
Parcck lay at the far end of the clearing, completely scorched, as if from outside and inside out all at the same time.
Bree's stomach lurched, and she retched onto the grass.
Long minutes later, her stomach was still contracting painfully, but she had nothing left to bring up.
She let herself collapse back on the soft ground. She no longer had the strength to sit. Black spots swam before her eyes, and there was a pounding in her head as if someone had parked a Star Destroyer on top of it.
In fact, her entire body felt that way.
Bree had never been in so much pain in her entire life, and she feared she was dying.
*Well, at least I took him with me.*
"Bree, sweetheart, you're not dying."
Bree's eyes snapped open. She knew that voice, but it couldn't be . . . .
It was.
Her mother's spirit stood at the far end of the clearing, smiling at her.
"Mom?" she managed to croak.
"It's me. Everything's all right," Kiana Daragon said soothingly. "I'm terribly proud of you, you know. You saved all the people at the academy today. You couldn't have made me any prouder. And I don't just mean today. You've grown up into a wonderful young woman."
Bree's eyes filled with tears. "Mom," she whispered. "I miss you so much."
Her mother glided over to her. "I know," she murmured. "I miss you too. But it's okay. Everything will be all right. It always is."
Kiana bent to kiss her daughter's forehead. "I love you," she said, almost inaudibly.
Bree tried to say, "I love you too," but as much as she fought it, unconscious engulfed her once more.
The next time Bree woke up, it was to screams.
"She's dead! Uncle Luke, what happened? She's dead!"
It was Jaina. A very panicked Jaina.
Bree managed to open her eyes. "No. I'm still here . . . somehow."
Seconds later, Jaina, all the other young Jedi Knights, Tahiri, Anakin, and the Skywalkers were at her side, helping her to sit up.
"Are you all right?" Jaina asked, looking shocked.
"I think I will be," Bree grunted. "Hopefully."
Mara glanced around the clearing. "You channeled a bunch of energy through yourself, didn't you? And that's how you killed him."
Bree nodded. "Yeah. I let him shoot me - a lot - and that's the energy I used."
"We need to get you to the med center," Luke said.
Lowie pushed in and scooped her up in his arms. His fur tickled her nose, and she sneezed, but then smiled and relaxed.
The Jedi academy was safe.
And Imperial Admiral T.D. Parcck was dead.
A little while later, they reached the Great Temple, and at seeing it, Bree's face broke into a broad grin.
Jaina saw her expression, and knew what she thinking. The young woman smiled and said softly, "Welcome home, Bree."
A/N: If you've read this far, I have to say thank you. I know that was long. And maybe it wasn't that good, I don't know. Regardless, there will be at least three stories about Bree, maybe more. Oh, and by the way, Bree is not me. A few things about her I borrowed from myself, but in general, she is not based on me. And thanks to Lindsey for letting me use Cahrism!!
By Tahiri Solo
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Disclaimer: I do not own the Young Jedi Knights. They are the property of Lucasfilm. Anything that you recognize does not belong to me. I am not making any money off of this story. No infringement is intended. I do, however, own Bree, Arram, Leena, Admiral Parcck, Kiana Daragon, and any others that you do not recognize. However, Cahrism belongs to my friend Lindsey, but she lets me borrow her. Do not steal any of our characters.
If this story bears any resemblance to stories written by others, that is purely coincidental. Also, the song the title came from belongs to the Spice Girls. (Don't flame me for that, it just fit the character. I can't help it who sings it. )
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This angel's dirty face is sore
Holding on to what she had before
Not sharing secrets with any old fool
Now she's gonna keep her cool
Spice Girls, Naked
One muggy afternoon, Luke Skywalker was out on the landing field with his niece and nephew and their friends. They were making repairs to the Rock Dragon, and Luke had decided to join them.
Suddenly, without any warning, a new ship landed on the field, completely unannounced.
They all gaped at it in shock. They hadn't seen it approach or heard the whine of its engines.
They all drew their lightsabers, thinking this had to be some kind of enemy ship.
Zekk stepped protectively in front of Jaina as the ship's ramp descended.
But when a figure walked down it, however, they got another shock. It was not at all the enemy-type figure they had expected.
It was a young woman.
She had long brown hair that was streaked with golden highlights, and her eyes were mismatched emerald green and gray. She was rather small and petite, but she moved with the grace of a hunting cat, and it was obvious that she could be quite dangerous if she wanted to.
She wore form-fitting blue clothes - a belly shirt and hip-hugger style pants. There was also a lightsaber clipped to her belt.
She blinked at them, a smile briefly crossing her pretty face.
"Honestly. I'd expected a better welcoming committee than this," she quipped. "You don't need those, you know. You should have sensed I wasn't hostile." With a slight wave of her hand, their lightsabers flickered out, causing many of them to gasp in shock.
"Who are you?" Luke demanded. He could sense that she wasn't hostile, but she certainly had a lot of explaining to do.
She walked up to him and clasped his hand, surprising him. "I'm Breliah Daragon. Bree for short."
She smiled up at him. "I'm sorry I snuck in like this. I must've startled everyone. But I had to slip in here with as little people noticing me as possible. I kinda have a price on my head."
Luke brushed her mind quickly, and although he could see her stiffen, she let him confirm what she had just said. When he was satisfied that she had no intent to hurt them, he studied her face intently. "You look familiar," he said at last. "Have I seen you somewhere before?"
"My full name is Breliah Daragon-Rendar," she said quietly. "Dash's daughter."
Luke stared at her in shock, but Jaina immediately piped up, "Dash Rendar? Wasn't he that mercenary you and Mom knew when Dad was frozen in carbonite?"
"The same," Breliah answered.
"To my understanding, Dash died years ago," Luke said. "You look too young to be his daughter. You're only, what . . . ?"
"Fourteen," she replied. "But I am Dash's daughter. It's kind of a long story - my life is horridly complicated." She laughed.
"We can go into my ship to talk," Tenel Ka offered. "You said you had a price on your head?"
"Yeah. Pesky Imps," Breliah said lightly. "I'm not sure, but I'm guessing you're Tenel Ka, the Hapan princess?"
Tenel Ka stiffened slightly, but nodded. "This is a fact."
Breliah peered at each of them in turn. "And you should be Jaina and Jacen Solo - well, that's obvious, since you look so much alike - and you would be Lowbacca, and that means you're Zekk. Correct?"
They all nodded.
"Breliah, how do you know so much about us all?" Jaina asked.
The newcomer laughed. "Please, call me Bree. And honestly, do you people realize how famous you all are? I had to do a little bit of research before I came here, to make sure that there was no one here who might to try to kill me. Those Imps really want my head."
She shook her head and sighed. "I mean, you'd think they could find something better to do with their time instead of running around trying to kill teenage girls. They're obviously bored to death back in those Core Systems." She grinned.
"Can we go and talk now?" Jaina asked. She was very curious about this mysterious young girl.
"The sooner, the better," Bree said.
With a slight nod to Bree, Tenel Ka led them all into her ship.
The seven of them went into the crew cabin and sat down.
Bree sighed, swinging a foot nervously. "This is kind of a long story - and not a pleasant one."
Jaina rested a hand on the girl's arm. "Remember, we want to be your friends - we're here to help."
Zekk smiled at the way she was treating the young girl - almost as if she were her sister, even though they had just met, and under very strange circumstances. *She's definitely the most accepting person I know. One of the many reasons she means so much to me.*
Bree sighed again and began to speak. "Okay. Well, this story really starts with my parents. Dash was married to a woman named Kiana Daragon - my mother. This was before you met him, Master Skywalker.
"My mom got pregnant, but just a few days after she told my dad, she was captured by the Empire. Mom was a great Jedi, and I guess the Imps got a hold of her because they were busily trying to wipe us all out."
She made a face, but continued. "Mom knew it wouldn't be safe to have her baby in the middle of a concentration camp - they'd likely kill me too.
"So she used a Force trick she knew to freeze her fetus inside her."
Bree twirled a lock of hair nervously around a finger, obviously uncomfortable having to tell her painful story to complete strangers.
"Months later, Mom managed to escape. The Imps were really mad that she had gotten away. They tried, but they couldn't capture her again. So they contacted my dad and told him that she had been killed, I guess to either keep him from looking for her, or more likely, just to be mean.
"My parents never say each other again. Dad died before he could learn the truth about Mom . . . that she was really alive. From what I hear, he was absolutely devastated. Mom was too. She missed him desperately, and wished she could go to him, but she couldn't, because she was in hiding. When he died . . . well, Mom said she totally lost it. Almost killed herself. But then she realized that even though she had frozen it, she still had a baby.
"Mom wanted to have me then. She thought having a baby she'd have to be responsible for would keep her from committing suicide. But she couldn't. The Force was telling her it wouldn't be safe to have me then."
Bree shifted in her seat. She hated having to tell complete strangers this story. But she gritted her teeth and continued.
"Finally, years later, Mom got a vision that told her it would be safe to have me. So she unfroze me and a few months later . . . well, here I was.
"Mom also got strong feelings from the Force telling her that it was crucial to start training me as a Jedi as soon as possible. She started when I was two.
"I progressed quickly. I had a strong aptitude for the Force - my mother was such a strong Jedi, I guess I inherited it from her. She was a really good teacher too. By the time I was five I had progressed further than people three or four times my age. Mom was so proud, and I loved learning to use the Force."
Bree swallowed hard. Here it came.
"But when I was six . . . the Imps found us. I think Mom knew they were coming, but only had a few minutes warning, because she suddenly started yelling at me, saying I hadn't cleaned my room properly or something. She said I had to go in my room and clean it, and that I was absolutely not allowed out. She said if I did, I'd be grounded until I was sixteen.
"I went in my room, totally confused. I couldn't understand why my mom was being so mean all of a sudden. Like most six year olds would, I pouted."
She sighed deeply, and gritted her teeth against tears. "Then I started hearing weird noises. A loud crash, like someone had broken our door down. But then I heard a noise I definitely recognized - the snap-hiss of Mom's lightsaber. I was so scared. I didn't know what was going on. I wanted to go and see, to help my mom, but I remembered her telling me that I had to stay in my room.
"But when I started hearing blaster shots, that was too much for me. I opened my door and ran into the hall. I stopped just at the doorway to our living room, where the noises were coming from. I just peered in, not wanting them to see me.
"They didn't see me, but I could definitely see them. I saws this one Imp, he looked like some kinda admiral or something, surrounded by a bunch of stormtroopers.
"Mom had already killed a few of the stormtroopers. I saw their bodies. I remember throwing up at all the blood."
Bree wrinkled her noise as if she could still smell the stench, the metallic tang of blood.
"The admiral-type person was talking to my mom. She was clearly mad, and so was he. They weren't fighting though. I was too scared and nauseous to really hear what they were saying, but he seemed to be accusing her of something and she was denying it."
Bree wiped away a single tear. "Finally, after a few minutes, he went, 'I've had enough of this', and gestured to a stormtrooper. The stormtrooper left, and a few minutes later, came back with a ysalmiri."
Bree's voice was so low and rough that she could barely be heard. "My mom wasn't expecting that, and while she was staggering from the handicap, the admiral - shot her. Just like that. Right in front of me.
"I sensed her death and lost it. I think I turned to the dark side then. I could feel the Force rippling through me, far more powerful than I'd ever felt before. But I knew it was the dark side, and I tried to resist it. But I could only fight it for like a minute, and then I let it loose in a wild, uncontrolled rush. I'm still not sure exactly how, but my Force surge killed all the stormtroopers. The admiral wasn't there. In the amount of time I had been fighting the dark side, he had left, leaving his stormtroopers to clean up the mess and probably loot our house.
"But I didn't let them. I had killed them all. My mom had warned me about the dark side, but I didn't care. They had killed my mother, my only family, and I was mad."
*Now there's an understatement,* Bree thought to herself, cynicism cutting through the pain of the memory.
"After I killed all of the Imps, I passed out. My last thought was to wonder if the admiral would come back and kill me and whether or not I'd turned to the dark side.
"But when I woke up, the admiral was nowhere to be found, and I was back to normal, back to light. I guess because I was so young, that's what turned me back. They say childish innocence is a bulwark for the dark side, you know. I saw all the bodies - my mother, and the others, who I'd killed. I flipped out. I started screaming, wailing, and I grabbed Mom's lightsaber and tried to kill myself with it. Somehow, I couldn't - I think it was Mom's spirit, not wanting me to die too."
Bree sniffed. "I cried for I think two days after t hat, nonstop. Finally I got some sense into my brain, and realized that I'd better get the heck out of there before another Imp came and found me. I used the Force to help me bury my mom, but I left the other bodies as is. I packed up some stuff - supplies and mementos of my mother - and then I just ran. I hid in the woods. I fended for myself out there, all the while teaching myself to the Force. Somehow I knew Mom would've wanted me to become a Jedi.
"I lived alone in the woods for years. I started going to junk piles and taking wrecked machinery and fixing it. The Force told me what I needed to do to repair stuff. After I'd fixed it, I'd sell it, using a Force trick I knew to make myself appear older."
Bree chewed on a fingernail for a moment before continuing. "Then one day, I made some friends. They were all orphans like me, and all had Jedi potential. We all knew we cold trust each other, and ended up all living out in the woods. I was so happy. For the first time since my mother's death, I had friends, people to talk to, people I could actually trust.
"But finally, one by one, my friends kept leaving, until it was just me and my very best friend Arram left. I missed my other friends horribly, but Arram kept me company. He was a lot older than I was, but he was my best friend in the galaxy, and an awful good one at that."
Bree swallowed. "I think he kept me sane. He was always there for me when I needed him, and he meant everything to me. I would have cracked from the loneliness without him."
Tears were streaming down Bree's cheeks as she spoke, but she ignored them and pressed on. "Well. One day he was killed. Imps got him too. This was only a year ago. I went crazy. I became obsessed with finding his killers. I wasn't sure what I was going to do when I found them, but I had to know."
She started crying even harder, but she still ignored it. The pain of his death was too fresh for her to deal with. "I finally discovered the one who had ordered his death was the same person who had killed my mother. His name is T.D. Parcck. I also learned he wants the heads of all the Jedi, me especially. When I heard that, I came here to warn you all. I think he might attack the Jedi academy soon."
Bree wiped away her tears and sighed. "So. That's my story."
They all sat stunned for a moment, then Jaina cried, "That's awful!"
Bree shrugged. "That's life."
"Can you tell us any more about this admiral?" Luke asked gently.
"Not much," she replied. "All I know is that's he's somewhere out in the Core Systems, wants all our heads, and has one heck of a fleet. From what I hear, it's huge. And that's he's total Hutt slime," she added savagely.
"T.D. Parcck . . . ." Zekk said thoughtfully. "That sounds familiar, but I can't place it."
"I know why it sounds familiar," Bree said. "He and Brakiss tried to team up once, but they got, shall we say, ticked at each other. Parcck hated Brakiss because Brakiss was a Jedi. Brakiss hated Parcck because Parcck had a fleet bigger than his. So they ended up trying to assassinate each other. But that didn't work, so they just basically forgot about each other for the time being."
"You know about me," Zekk said. It was not a question.
Bree tossed him a funny look. "I told you I'd done research on you all. What made you think I didn't know about the whole Darkest Knight business?"
"But if you knew he'd been an Imperial, I'm surprised you came here," Jaina said, flinching slightly at the words Darkest Knight. Memories of Kashyyk and their fight after the battle with the Shadow Academy flashed through her brain.
She leaned her head on Zekk's shoulder, and felt him slip his arm around her and give her a gentle, comforting squeeze.
Bree saw them and had to fight back a smile. They certainly didn't know what her particular Force talent was, but it was definitely flaring up now, looking at them . . . .
"You can stay here at the Jedi Academy, if you want," Jacen offered. Bree could tell at a glance that he was the kind of person who hated to see anyone in pain and couldn't do anything about it, and saw his discomfort at her situation.
*Like Arram used to be,* she thought with a pang.
Fighting back the memories, she nodded. "Thank you."
"Yes. Of course," Luke said. "You all can get her settled in. I have to go and call Leia to tell her about this Parcck."
He stood up, and with a nod to Bree, left the room.
"Well, come on, Bree," Jaina said. "Let's find you a room somewhere."
A few hours later, Bree found herself in guest quarters in the Great Temple. She had mentioned that she would be perfectly fine staying in her ship, but they had insisted on finding her a room. The one girl - Jaina - seemed either to have taken a liking to her or else pitied her.
Bree hoped it was the former. She hated pity. She didn't want it, didn't need it. Sure, she'd had a tough, pain-filled life, but she'd survived.
She like Jaina, the young woman seemed very nice. But she knew she might feel differently if she found out the only reason she was being nice to her was out of pity.
Bree sat down on the bed they had supplied for her, recalling the events of the afternoon. Her particular Force talent was sensing when people were true soulmates, and her sense had flared up as she had seen Jaina and Zekk together. She assumed they were a couple, but she wondered if they knew they were soulmates.
She wasn't sure, because she hadn't actually seen them touch, but she was almost certain that there was something between Jaina's twin Jacen and that Hapan princess.
Bree grinned. It had been a long time since she'd seen people joined so closely like that. She always liked seeing soulmates, but at the same time, it mad her ache.
She had never really been sure - this particular talent was always harder to apply on yourself than others - but she believed that her friend Arram had been her soulmate.
But of course, like everyone else she cared about, he had been killed.
Bree curled up into a ball on her bed, sniffling a little and trying not to cry.
But finally, after only a few minutes, she gave in to the tears.
"Sithspawn, Arram," she whispered. "I miss you so much. I feel so alone sometimes without you."
Bree immediately stopped crying, though, when she heard a soft knock on her door.
In one swift movement, she sat up, at the same time wiping away her tears, and glanced into a mirror on her wall to make sure she didn't look like she'd been crying. A moment later, she called, "C'mon in."
Jaina poked her head in. "I just wanted to check in on you, make sure you were settled."
"I'm fine, thanks," Bree said. "You can come in if you want."
Jaina did so. She took one look at Bree, then said, "Are you okay? You seem kind of upset."
Bree shrugged. "I'm always upset. You would be too, if you grew up like I did. It's no big deal. I'm used to it."
"Wanna talk?"
"Not really, but thanks. I'll be okay. Like I said, I'm used to it," Bree replied.
Jaina flashed her a grin. "Okay. I'm going out to help Zekk work on his ship, the Lightning Rod. You can help, if you want."
Bree shook her head, declining the older girl's offer. "Thanks for offering, but I've got a lot on my mind right now."
"That's fine. I'll be out on the landing field if you need anything, though. Or you can always find my uncle, or one of my friends. Or my brother, if you don't mind his huge menagerie of animals."
Bree grinned. "No, I don't mind animals. I love animals."
Jaina rolled her eyes. "Uh-oh. Someone else to start bringing crystal snakes into the academy. Jacen had one of those once, and they cause more trouble than you'd think was possible. It kept getting loose. One time it bit another student, a friend of ours, and sent him right to sleep. Another time, it got loose and went to the Dining Hall. It ended up starting the biggest food fight you've ever seen in your life!"
Jaina laughed at the memory, and Bree joined in. "The snake threw food?"
"Not exactly," Jaina said with a giggle. "It just caused everyone else to throw food. Long story."
Bree chuckled. "Well. I think I'll stay away from those, then."
"Good idea," Jaina said, grinning. "But I've got to go. Let us know if you need anything. Bye."
"Bye," Bree said, watching the older girl leave the room.
*She's nice, Bree thought. I think I might've just found myself a new friend.*
But then a new thought struck her. "I wonder if they're really going out to work on a ship . . . ."
She grinned.
The next morning, Bree woke up and looked around in confusion.
"Where the heck am I?" she muttered. But then she remembered that she was at the Jedi academy.
Glancing at her chrono, she saw that it was very early in the morning. The night before, all of the young Jedi Knights had stopped in to check on her and make sure that she was settled.
That had rather startled Bree. Most of the people she was used to dealing with were cold, ruthless. Besides her mother, Arram, and the others she had lived with, she'd never really known anyone who did anything nice without an ulterior motive.
Bree slipped out of bed and stretched. She quickly dressed and brushed her flyaway hair - which was always a struggle. Her hair seemed to have a mind of its own.
*An evil mind,* Bree thought, as she encountered a particular large tangle.
A few minutes later, she quietly left her room and headed out to her ship.
Reaching it, she keyed in the entrance code and went it.
She was greeted by a scolding trill, coming from her astromech droid.
"Hey, Topples," she greeted it, patting its domed head. "I know, I know. I didn't come back to the ship last night. I'm sorry. Those people at the academy insisted I stay in a room they got me. Calm down."
Suddenly, a new voice drifted up the ramp. "Who're you talking to?"
It was Jaina.
"My droid," Bree called back. "Come on in."
A few moments later, Jaina was standing in her crew cabin.
"I thought you were still asleep," Bree said.
"We get up early," the older girl replied. "I hope you don't mind, but I was, um, checking out your ship. I have a weakness for any and all spacecraft." She grinned.
Bree grinned back. "I know. I'm the same way myself. I'll give you the grand tour, if you want."
"I'd like that," Jaina answered, smiling.
A week later, Bree was still on Yavin 4. She hadn't intended to stay that long, but she couldn't help it. These people were so nice, and she liked having company besides Topples for a change.
Master Skywalker had told his visiting wife, Mara, about her, and the former Emperor's Hand had taken an instant interest in her.
Mara had started training Bree. Bree was already fully trained as a Jedi, and knew as much as Mara did about the Force, if not more, but Mara knew fighting techniques that she had never heard of, and she was eager to learn them.
Bree liked Mara - the woman had insisted that she call her Mara instead of Master or some other formality - and she certainly kept Bree on her toes.
A little practice never hurt anyone, Bree thought.
And Mara certainly gave her a lot of practice. Bree thought she must have been a slave driver in a past life.
But luckily, she was more than up to the challenge.
Later that night, while Bree was in her quarters, getting ready for bed, she heard a soft knock.
Opening her door, she found Jaina standing there, along with Tenel Ka and Tahiri, who was the best friend of Jaina's youngest brother, Anakin.
Tahiri was about a year younger than Bree, but when they had met, they had instantly become friends. Bree was convinced that Anakin and Tahiri were soulmates. But she hadn't mentioned that to either of them, because she knew they were still in the "just friends" stage, and needed time to figure this out on their own.
Bree grinned at her guests. "Hey, guys. What're you all up to? Jacen lose a crystal snake again and you want me to help you find it?"
Jaina and Tahiri laughed, and even Tenel Ka smiled.
"No, thank the Force," Jaina said. "No crystal snakes are lose - at the moment, anyway. But the three of us are having a sleepover, and you're coming whether you want to or not."
Bree laughed. "A sleepover? I know better than to argue though - if I do, Tenel Ka might hurt me, and I don't think I want to risk that."
Jaina chuckled. "Good. You have sense. You should see what Tenel Ka does to people who make her mad! She punched a Shistavanian wolfman's nose in once!"
Tenel Ka nodded, a sparkle in her eyes. "This is a fact."
Bree snorted with laughter. "Ouch. Yeah, I'm definitely coming, then. Where're we having this thing? I don't think we'd have room in Jaina's quarters, what with all her machinery and stuff crammed in there."
Jaina mock-glared at her, then laughed and said, "Well, we're not having it in my quarters anyway. We're going out on top of the Great Temple."
Bree's eyes lit up. "Cool. I love high places. Let me get a pillow."
"And a blanket," Tahiri added. "It gets cold around here at night. It's like that back on Tattooine, too, where I grew up. Hot in the day, cold at night. Was it like that where you grew up, Bree? I've never really been anywhere but Tattooine and Yavin 4. How about you? Well, aren't you going to answer me?"
"How could I?" Bree said dryly. "How was I supposed to get a word in edgewise? Don't you ever stop to breathe?"
"Nope," Tahiri replied cheerfully, grinning. "I never do. Anakin says I'm going to keel over one day because I couldn't get enough air when I was talking. But Anakin is so quiet, someone has to do all the talking."
"Are all the people you know mute?" Bree asked, rolling her eyes good-naturedly. "Because you talk enough for an entire planetful of people."
Tahiri laughed, but shut up.
A moment later, Bree joined them out in the hallway, carrying the blanket and pillow from her bed. "Let's go," she said with a smile.
A few minutes later, they had reached the very top of the Great Temple, and they spread out their blankets and sat down, with a portable lamp Jaina had brought lighting their "camp".
"So, what do we do at these sleepover things, exactly?" Bree asked, propped up on one elbow.
"Well, I've never had one of these before," Jaina said, grinning, "but I assume we sit around and talk. I think you're also supposed to do each other's hair, but there's no way I'm putting up with that."
Bree and Tahiri laughed. Tenel Ka grinned.
"I don't know," Bree said thoughtfully, eyeing Jaina's straight brown hair. "You might look good with a type of bun with curls framing your face, or this adorable braid thing I saw once . . . ."
Jaina immediately clamped both her hands protectively over her hair. "You stay away from me."
Tenel Ka looked over at Bree, her eyes twinkling. "All right. Here's the plan. I'll hold her down, and you and Tahiri do her hair."
Jaina made a face and playfully slapped her friend.
"So what do we talk about?" Tahiri broke in. "Ways to torture Jaina?"
"Well, it's obvious how to torture Jaina, besides doing her hair," Tenel Ka said. "Just keep her away from Zekk for more than a day!"
Jaina slapped her again. "Oh, you're one to talk!" she said, grinning. "Who's the one that lost it and actually cried when they thought my brother was dead? Hmm?"
"In Tenel Ka's defense," Bree said with a flash of pain in her eyes, "I know what it feels like to lose your soulmate, and it hurts like hell."
"This is a fact," Tenel Ka agreed, very quietly.
Jaina leaned over and hugged Bree. "Sorry. I didn't mean to bring that up. I wasn't thinking. But you're absolutely right. It does hurt."
"Let's talk about something else, okay?" Bree said.
"Sure," Jaina agreed quickly. "I've been meaning to tell you all - I took a modular comm transmitter and linked it to a regular commlink, and you should see the results . . . ."
Everyone else groaned.
Hours later, dawn was approaching, but none of them were the least bit tired and were still talking.
Tahiri rolled over on her back. "What do we talk about now? We've already gone through the latest of Jaina's inventions and projects, Tenel Ka's favorite fighting techniques, favorite planets we've been to, Jacen's various pet disasters, and all the reasons why I hate shoes. What now?"
Jaina looked over at Bree. "Would you mind telling us about the friends you mentioned you had before you came here? I've always been curious about them, but if it's too painful to talk about, it's okay. No big deal."
Bree shook her head. "No, I can talk about them - I think. It'll be painful, but I need to tell someone. Maybe talking will help me feel better."
Bree shifted her position, then drew a deep breath. "Like I said before, we were all orphans, and we all had Jedi potential. First off, there was Cahrism. She was the oldest. She'd be, let me think . . . ."
Bree's eyebrows suddenly rose in surprise. "Wow. She'd be twenty now. I hadn't realized she'd be that old. Anyway, Cahrism actually looked somewhat like Mara. She had red hair and green eyes. She also had a killer attitude. If she liked you,
she was a really good friend and nice, but if she didn't like you . . . well, you'd better watch out. She was like an older sister to me, but she didn't stay too long. She left after only a few years, without telling us. She just left a note saying she was going to try and find her parents. She'd been put in an orphanage when she was little, but no one had ever said anything about her parents, and she thought they might be alive somewhere, so she went off to see."
Bree let a brief smile cross her face. "If they're alive, and she found them, I pity the people. I'm sure she gave them heck about abandoning her as a baby.
"Then there Leena, the second oldest. She'd be around seventeen or eighteen, I'm not sure. Lee wasn't entirely human. Her mom was one of those cat-like aliens, but her dad was a human. They died when she was little, and she lived on her own, like I had. We all made friends with her, but she didn't move in with us for a while."
Bree grimaced. "See, the thing is, Leena's cat instincts were causing her to go into heat. She'd end up having mindless sex with any male she could find, because she couldn't help it. She had a reputation as the town slut, because she looked human and no one understood that she was part cat in heat.
"Finally, Lee got so embarrassed and sick of her reputation and scared that she'd get pregnant or a disease or something that she came and lived with us. She thought that if she was out in the woods, and away from males, she wouldn't go into heat so bad."
"Did it work?" Tahiri asked.
"It did for a while," Bree answered. "Everything was fine for a few years. But then, about a year after Cahrism left, she went into heat again, really bad this time, and ended up trying to mate with Arram - the only male she could get to.
"After that, she was so horrified at herself and embarrassed that she ran off. Arram didn't care - he knew she was in heat and couldn't help it - but Lee apparently couldn't face him after that. I was really upset when she left, and I tried to find her, but I couldn't."
Bree sighed. "Then there was Arram. I was the closest to him. He was my best friend in the galaxy. He'd be seventeen now. Even though he was so much older, we were still terribly close. After Cahrism and Leena ran off, Arram was all I had left, and he meant everything to me."
It was obvious that Bree was fighting tears. "Arram was so protective of me. He worried if I so much as skinned my knee. In the months after the others left, I had nightmares constantly, about my mother's death, usually, and sometimes about the Imperials finding me and killing me too."
She bit her lip, tears in her eyes. "Every single time I'd wake up from a nightmare, I'd be in his arms. He always knew when I needed him. Arram would hold me and stroke my hair, and let me cry into his shirt until I'd calmed down.
"Once I had, he'd tell me everything was all right and put me back to bed. I'd stay there for a few minutes, then I'd get up and slip into his bed, because I was scared I'd have another nightmare. I never did, as long as I was with him. If I wasn't, I'd have more nightmares, and they were always worse than the first one.
"This was routine for us. It happened almost every night. But I was always okay, as long as I was with him. So Arram finally moved my bed right next to his, and after that, I never had anymore nightmares.
"Then one day, I'd gone out to a town to sell a load of machinery Arram and I had been working on. When I got home, Arram was gone. I looked everywhere for him, but I couldn't find him, physically or in the Force. Then I saw a puddle of blood on his bed, and the blood was smeared on the floor, and the walls. It was everywhere. And then I saw an Imperial blaster laying on the floor, and it was still warm, and the charge was low. I realized that the Imperials had come when I was gone, and killed him, my best friend . . . ."
Bree's voice trailed off, and she buried her face in her hands, sobbing.
Jaina immediately hugged her. "I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have brought that up."
Bree pulled back. "It's okay. I needed to talk to somebody about that. It's just that I miss him so Sithspawned much."
She started crying again, but quickly got herself under control. "Sorry," she apologized. "I can't let myself lose it like that. I know I'm never going to be entirely over his death, so I've got to learn to deal with it."
"Crying helps, sometimes," Jaina said. "There's nothing wrong with crying, if it makes you feel better. And there's no reason to be embarrassed in front of us. Tenel Ka and I both know what it's like to lose someone you really care about, and we know how much it hurts. And Tahiri grew up somewhat like you did."
Bree shook her head fiercely. "No. I will not cry. I know he wouldn't want me to be like this, so I'm just going to be brave about it. I'll survive. I always do."
To her surprise, Tenel Ka hugged her. "If that is what you wish, then I will honor that. But we are still here for you, if you need someone to talk to."
Bree smiled at her - a shaky, tentative smile, but a smile nonetheless. "Thanks. It means a lot to have friends again - especially such nice ones."
She laughed bitterly. "You know what I wish? I just want to go home. But of course that's ridiculous, because I don't really have a home. First I lived with my mother, and then she died, and that was no longer my home. Then I lived with my friends, and then they all either left or were killed, and so that's not my home either anymore."
"Make Yavin 4 your home," Jaina suggested softly.
"That's what I did," Tahiri added. She said nothing else, surprisingly.
Bree shrugged. "Maybe. But just watch. I see the pattern in my life. It won't be my home for long."
Then, as if to prove her right, a ship suddenly appeared in the sky.
Bree sprang to her feet, letting out a long and comprehensive list of expletives.
Jaina gaped at her in shock. "Bree! You have got to get away from my aunt! You sound just like her!"
"What is it?" Tahiri asked.
"Do you not see that ship?" Bree asked incredulously.
"Sure. But it's probably just a cargo shipping bringing supplies."
Bree ran over to the edge of the Great Temple. "It is not a cargo ship. Have you lost you minds? I know that ship. I've seen it before. It's Parcck's. He's attacking the Jedi academy."
Jaina's mouth dropped open. "What?!"
Bree ignored her. "Get your uncle. And your aunt. And every other Jedi here. And hurry!"
With that, Bree stepped off the edge of the temple and into midair.
She used the Force to control her fall, and moments later, landed softly on the ground. Her veins sang with glittering, pounding adrenaline. This was it. She'd known for years that one day she would face Parcck, and this was the day.
She took a deep breath, calling on the Force for guidance, then suddenly heard a transmission from Parcck's ship that was being amplified so that the entire academy could hear it.
"Jedi scum," Parcck's voice announced. "I am Imperial Admiral T.D. Parcck. I have come to annihilate you all, therefor striking a terrible blow to the New Republic. My ship was able to slip through your security defenses, and it can also destroy you all, if I so choose. I believe I may toy with you for a while before I do so."
Bree listened to him in shock. *How cocky! I never imagined Parcck could be this stupid! What a loser!*
A plan formed in her mind, and she let a smile briefly cross her features.
She reached out in the Force, until she found Parcck's presence, and set him a telepathic message.
*Parcck. This is Breliah Daragon. You killed my mother years ago, and I killed your troopers in return. I have a proposition for you.*
Parcck obviously wasn't a Jedi, and didn't know how to "respond" to her telepathic call, but she could sense him speaking. "What? Who? What proposition?"
Bree smiled. *Here's what I suggest. I know a way for you to get the entire Jedi academy with minimal fighting. However, you must first indulge a whim of mine.*
"What would that be?"
*I'll be blunt. I hate you, Parcck. I always have. And I have influence over Master Skywalker here. He will surrender his entire academy to you, if I wish it. I am like a daughter to him. I want to duel you, Parcck. Just you and me, out in the jungle. No one else. A fight to the death. If I win, your fleet belongs to me. If you win, you get the entire academy.*
His voice was a snarl. "You Jedi all have tricks up your sleeves. I don't trust you."
*I don't trust you either. To be honest, I am certain I will die fighting you. I'm a teenage girl, and small for my age. I'm only partly trained as a Jedi. But I don't care. I hate you so much, I am willing to do it. I hate the people at the academy almost as much as I hate you. They're snobs. I don't care if they die, and I don't care if I die either. I just want a chance to at least try and get my hands around your fat throat and strangle you.*
Bree used the Force to sway his mind in her direction, to make her receptive to her proposal, then added a last little push. *You'd be a fool to refuse me.*
"Very well, then. I want Master Skywalker's consent. Have him send up a transmission to my ship. My crew has spotted a clearing about twenty kilometers from the cursed temple. That is where we will duel - and where you will die."
*Very well. I embrace death. Expect a message from Master Skywalker.*
Then Bree cut her telepathic link to him and ran to find Master Skywalker.
"You did what?! There is no way I'm agreeing to that! Have you lost your mind?"
Bree rolled her eyes. "Master Skywalker. I lied to him. A lot. I told him I wanted to die, and that I just wanted a chance to try and take him with me. I went on how I was sure I was going to die, but didn't care. But I can kill him. I know I can. His ship is so well armed. He's jamming our transmissions. He can kill us all if he wants, and no one can help us. This is our only chance. Send the transmission - he left one channel open to his ship - and just trust me!"
"No. This is insane," Luke said flatly.
"Listen to her, Luke," Mara cut in suddenly. "Bree's right. I have faith in her. She can do this, and she's our only chance."
Luke sighed. "All right. I give in. But don't you dare die. I'm not having your death haunting me for the rest of my life."
Bree impulsively threw her arms around him, then Mara. "Thank you. Go send that transmission."
Jaina pressed her lightsaber into one hand; in her other, Mara placed a blaster.
"Kick his ass, Bree," Mara said sternly. "We're all counting on you."
"Don't worry. I will." Bree began taking deep breaths, drawing on the Force.
*Mom, Arram, help me out here. Please. I need to kill the person who ordered both of your deaths, or else he's going to kill all of my new friends too. And me.*
Twenty minutes later, Bree was in the clearing, having flown there in Lowie's skyhopper, and watching Parcck's escape pod land.
He stepped out, blaster in hand, and glared at her. "Hello, Jedi bitch. Save yourself some trouble and just let me shoot you right now."
Bree shrugged. "Okay. Do that. I just want to get this over with."
She spread her arms wide and cocked her head at him, a challenging glint in her eyes.
Parcck blinked in surprise, clearly taken off guard, but raised his blaster, aimed at her chest, and pulled the trigger.
The bolt hit Bree directly in the chest, but she didn't even flinch, and there was no mark or blood.
Bree peered down at her chest as if in surprise. "What?! That should have killed me! Shoot me again! What is going on here?" she exclaimed.
"Oh, don't worry," Parcck snarled, hiding his shock well. "I'll kill you."
He shot again. This time, he did not take his hand off the trigger. He pumped a constant stream of killing energy into Bree.
Bree stood and took it, her face turning ashen but at the same time glowing with an unnatural orange color.
Finally, the charge went out of Parcck's blaster, and he gaped at her, too stunned to say anything.
Bree's whole body was glowing now, and she looked like death. But her eyes were bright and clear.
"You fool." Her voice was a hoarse whisper, but somehow could be heard throughout the entire clearing. "You killed my mother. And my best friend. And you tried to kill all of my new friends as well. Do you actually think I was just going to let you kill me too? Things are the other way around."
She raised her hand, palm out, and watched as he trembled like a leaf. "This is for my mother. This is for Arram. Goodbye, Parcck."
Bree let loose with all the energy she had stored inside her from his blaster shots. It crackled around her like living lightning, skirted around the edges of the clearing, scorching leaves but never setting anything on fire.
It spun in mini-cyclones, gathering up speed - and then hurled directly at Parcck.
He didn't even have time to scream.
Bree wavered, her knees buckling. She'd never channeled so much raw energy through herself before, and it suddenly occurred to her that she might die as well as Parckk.
She collapsed on the ground, and knew no more.
When Bree woke her, she could see nothing. Her first instinct was to panic, and she did so. She feared that she was either dead or blind.
But then she realized that she was pressed face down in the grass, and the ground was obscuring her vision.
*Get a grip girl. You're losing it.*
She lifted her head and managed to sit up.
When she did so, she immediately wished she hadn't.
Parcck lay at the far end of the clearing, completely scorched, as if from outside and inside out all at the same time.
Bree's stomach lurched, and she retched onto the grass.
Long minutes later, her stomach was still contracting painfully, but she had nothing left to bring up.
She let herself collapse back on the soft ground. She no longer had the strength to sit. Black spots swam before her eyes, and there was a pounding in her head as if someone had parked a Star Destroyer on top of it.
In fact, her entire body felt that way.
Bree had never been in so much pain in her entire life, and she feared she was dying.
*Well, at least I took him with me.*
"Bree, sweetheart, you're not dying."
Bree's eyes snapped open. She knew that voice, but it couldn't be . . . .
It was.
Her mother's spirit stood at the far end of the clearing, smiling at her.
"Mom?" she managed to croak.
"It's me. Everything's all right," Kiana Daragon said soothingly. "I'm terribly proud of you, you know. You saved all the people at the academy today. You couldn't have made me any prouder. And I don't just mean today. You've grown up into a wonderful young woman."
Bree's eyes filled with tears. "Mom," she whispered. "I miss you so much."
Her mother glided over to her. "I know," she murmured. "I miss you too. But it's okay. Everything will be all right. It always is."
Kiana bent to kiss her daughter's forehead. "I love you," she said, almost inaudibly.
Bree tried to say, "I love you too," but as much as she fought it, unconscious engulfed her once more.
The next time Bree woke up, it was to screams.
"She's dead! Uncle Luke, what happened? She's dead!"
It was Jaina. A very panicked Jaina.
Bree managed to open her eyes. "No. I'm still here . . . somehow."
Seconds later, Jaina, all the other young Jedi Knights, Tahiri, Anakin, and the Skywalkers were at her side, helping her to sit up.
"Are you all right?" Jaina asked, looking shocked.
"I think I will be," Bree grunted. "Hopefully."
Mara glanced around the clearing. "You channeled a bunch of energy through yourself, didn't you? And that's how you killed him."
Bree nodded. "Yeah. I let him shoot me - a lot - and that's the energy I used."
"We need to get you to the med center," Luke said.
Lowie pushed in and scooped her up in his arms. His fur tickled her nose, and she sneezed, but then smiled and relaxed.
The Jedi academy was safe.
And Imperial Admiral T.D. Parcck was dead.
A little while later, they reached the Great Temple, and at seeing it, Bree's face broke into a broad grin.
Jaina saw her expression, and knew what she thinking. The young woman smiled and said softly, "Welcome home, Bree."
A/N: If you've read this far, I have to say thank you. I know that was long. And maybe it wasn't that good, I don't know. Regardless, there will be at least three stories about Bree, maybe more. Oh, and by the way, Bree is not me. A few things about her I borrowed from myself, but in general, she is not based on me. And thanks to Lindsey for letting me use Cahrism!!