UPDATED APRIL 3, 2007:

Updates might slow down even more than usual for the next two weeks as this is the last week of class, and final exams are next week … along with my favorite part of teaching — marking

This story was started 4 years ago as a reaction to the destruction of the Star Wars mystique that had been a part of my life for 25 years. I saw the original "Star Wars" movie in August 1977 when it first came out … and it was the harbinger of a dramatic change in the way such movies would be made.

When Timothy Zahn published the Thrawn Trilogy, I was hooked again. And he added the icing to the cake with the Spectre of the Past/Vision of the Future … setting the stage for a new generation of stories. Unfortunately, IMHO, the next generation of stories was everything Star Wars was not — and that opinion continues with the latest series of books … we have Jacen as the new Anakin while the adults are portrayed as something along the lines of morons.

This story is a mixture of canon and my own creation … it tries to provide the backstory for the events that led to Shada becoming an integral part of Kardde's crew — and his life. To fully appreciate the story, you have to know who the characters are … but even without that knowledge, the story stands on its own.

And in case anyone wonders, the style I have adopted is based on Zahn's approach to the characters. I have tried to be faithful.

Any comments gratefully accepted.

PS: The story has never been finished … it stands at around 125,000 words … but my life changed when I changed employers a few years ago, and I am only now getting around to dealing with the story again.