Jolie stopped and outstretched her arm, blocking Evander from continuing.

"We'll never make it through there if we just go in guns blazing!" She exclaimed.

The scene was horrific. Jedi against Clones. They watched a few of them fall, one by one. The number of casualties slowly rose in the few moments they stood there watching.

Perhaps the worst thing was knowing that their friends were no match for even one Clone Trooper- let alone all of them. There was a reason they all failed their Jedi Trials.

Neither of them knew what was going on. It has to be an isolated incident, Evander thought. Maybe this batch's Chips malfunctioned on the new planet.

Evander sighed and hung his head. He knew she was right. "Then what do we do?"

"I don't know."

As the two of them wracked their brain for any idea or epiphany they were startled by the humming of speeders coming up behind them.

"Guys!"

Evander and Jolie turned, lightsaber and blaster drawn, but lowered them once they saw two familiar faces.

"How'd you escape?!" Evander asked with his mouth gaped.

"Secret tunnel," Alda replied simply.

"Rule number one: always memorize the secret tunnels," Flint added. Of course he'd say that. It probably took him all of five minutes to do it, too.

"Thank the Force you're okay," Jolie said with an exhale.

"We need to get out of here," Alda said. "Fast."

"Agreed. We have to be careful getting back past the village, though," Evander said.

"I know a short cut," Jolie said as she waved for them to follow. The four of them shared the two speeders as Jolie directed them, finding their path.

They were in the thick of the forest, about to approach a massive clearing when they were cut off by a large, black, ominous ship. Nobody recognized it.

They stopped their speeders, sliding to an abrupt halt. All four of them were completely clueless as to what or who it was, so the three Jedi all had their hands on their sabers. As for Jolie, she clutched a blaster tightly.

A tall, cloaked figure emerged from the ramp, walking out of a cloud of steam seeping from the bottom of the ship. There were two elegant guards at his sides, all dressed in red with long spears at their sides.

"Dear child," He said in a menacing, low voice. "We meet again."

All eyes turned to Jolie when the group realized his gaze fell on her terrified eyes.

"I don't know you," she said with surprising composure and power, despite her scared expression.

"Perhaps not, however, you did know my apprentice — Count Dooku. I believe he lent you an artifact as a placeholder for a future alliance. I am here to make sure you stay true to your word." The voice was oddly familiar to everyone, but they couldn't place it. Not even Jolie could sense who it truly was.

"I never promised a thing!" She replied defensively, her eyebrows furrowing and her eyes sparkling with anger. "I never even used it!" She could sense the danger this man possessed. The raw power.

It was dark.

"You young ones are always so foolish," he said with a slow deep cackle as he walked forward more, signaling for his guards to stay back with the motion of his hand. He raised one of his hands up in the air, causing the sleeve of his cloak to slide down his arm. A red glow shone through the fabric of Jolie's bag. She widened her eyes and grabbed for the object, but it was no use. The red, triangular artifact slipped through her fingers and flew into the air. Finally the Sith Holocron rested in it's master's hand. The pieces slid back into place and he chuckled to himself. "Yes... at last."

All the pieces to his puzzle were about to fall into place.

Evander got off the bike he was sharing with Jolie, backing away from her and into the other one. The three of them all rose and faced Jolie, contempt and betrayal written on their faces. It was three against one- with everyone turning against Jolie.

"I can't believe this," Flint said quietly to himself as he stared in dismay and fear.

"I knew it!" Alda shouted with an intense anger. "You manipulated us just to do some bidding for your Sith Lord!" She stared daggers at her, as if that would hurt more than how she already felt.

Evander didn't know what to say. He just stared at her, more hurt than he'd ever felt.
"Jolie..?"

She shook her head, tears now coming to her eyes. "No! Please, you have to believe me!" She saw the tears now forming in Evander's eyes- the hopelessness in his face. She could sense the regret he felt for not believing his friends when they warned him about her. About how dangerous she was. How she'd only ruin everything again. It turns out they were right. "Please..." she begged them to believe her.

"If you pledge your allegiance to me and your new Empire, I will spare your friends," the Dark Lord said, a strange power lingering in each word he said. 

Jolie looked at her friends. One was ready to kill her. The other was lost beyond belief. And the other... more than a friend... was heartbroken.

Jolie watched in the distance at the battle. She could see smoke above the tree tops and hear the blaster fire. More than that, she could sense the grief, hatred, and suffering from each Jedi murdered in cold blood.

She closed her eyes and felt her sky-rocketing heartbeat. Her throat tightened and the hair on the back of her neck tingled as she thought it through and reached out to the Force. After everything I've put them through, I owe this to them.

She took one last breathe with her own free will and remembered everything good about her life. Reconnecting with Dan and the good she ignited in him. Evander and Synyc's strong bond she set on course. Alda's determination and protective nature. Flint's kindness and incredible mind. Her short time with Evander... and her short time living an honest life, free of lies from the Jedi.

"I'm sorry," she said as she looked deep into Evander's eyes. She wasn't sorry because they thought she'd aligned herself with the Sith, but because she knew Evander would never forgive himself.  For both being with her and letting her get taken from him. "I really am," Jolie said somberly as she backed away and towards the Dark Lord.

He smiled a toothy, crooked smile from underneath his hood. As they began to walk up the ramp.

With her head hanging, the Sith placed a forceful hand on her back and moved her to face her old friends. She couldn't bear to look them in the eyes. It didn't matter that she wasn't truly the Sith spy they thought she was. She had still put them through more than they deserved.

With the same menacing grin, the Dark Lord summoned his guards back up the ramp. They returned and stood beside Jolie and her new Master.

The ramp closed.
They flew away.
She was gone.

All over again.

"What do we do?" Flint asked quietly. Not knowing the answer to a question for once.

"I... don't know," Evander replied as he stared at the ship, taking in each final glance at her.

"She's a Sith. We need to get home to tell them!" Alda said forcefully as she jumped onto a speeder bike.

"We need answers," Evander countered. "Something doesn't add up. She'd never hurt us!"

"She just did!" Alda replied, now shouting.

Flint tried to knock some sense and reasoning into both of them, continually suggesting they regroup and give a report to High Command. But it was no use. Those two had too much passion for the people they loved.

        Jolie watched from the window of the ship, her breathes leaving fog on the glass window as the ship slowly departed. Her friends got smaller and smaller as they rose up.

She'd become pretty numb to pain at this point in her life, but this was different. Her friends could have died because of the things she was involved in. What was I supposed to do? She asked herself. It's not my fault I was framed...

But she understood. She'd react the same way if it was her.

The Sith Lord had gone back up to the top deck of the ship, leaving her alone locked up in the basement of the strange aircraft. She'd searched for a way out but was too afraid her friends would pay if she did escape. She wouldn't survive the drop anyways.

She savored every look at them. She could sense their pain and anger. Alda was angry at her. Evander didn't know who to be angry at. And Flint was hurt. But the one thing they all had in common was the immense pain they felt.

Tears slowly trickled down her cheeks one by one as she hopelessly watched them fight with one another. Suddenly the ship stopped mid-flight. She could still see the trio clearly through the trees.

She quickly saw why the ship had stopped.

A shuttle flew down from another spot on the ship and landed far enough for them to not notice right away. Besides, they were too focused on their argument.

Three Clone Troopers walked out and marched towards them, all decked out in black armor. It was terrifying to see.

"No... no! Notice them!" She shouted at the glass as if they could hear her. She kept on shouting and pounding on the glass window as if it would make them turn and see the shuttle.

They didn't.

        Out of nowhere the three Jedi all stopped shouting at each other and looked around. TheyI looked like prey who knew they were being hunted. The predators had caught up to them.

"What was that?" Flint asked fearfully, hugging his lightsaber close to his chest.

"Stay sharp," Alda said. "It's my job to protect you guys," she said cooly, referencing her job with the Explore Corps back in their early days as a crew. She was their protector. The only one with battle training and would've been voted most likely to survive in the middle of Tatooine.

Suspended in the sky, Jolie took a deep breathe and made a choice. She hasn't used her "extra" power in years, but that would change in the next moment.

Closing her eyes and concentrating, she reached out to the Force, feeling every living thing in her general area. She couldn't feel the ground, though, so her heightened, artificial abilities took over. Only then could she feel them.

They were afraid.

She held her fingers to her temples, trying to ease the pain, and it worked a little. But regardless, she still couldn't hear anything except the blaring, high pitched tone in her ears. She could feel the toll her power took on her body. Everything ached and each nerve ending stung. She was screaming, but of course she couldn't hear it herself.

Below, one of the Clone Troopers hid behind a dark bush, lurking in the shadows. He aimed his sleek, efficient blaster and set his target. Their leader. Alda.

He fired.

Before anyone knew what had happened, here was a glowing bolt held in mid air, barely vibrating like a glittering pulse. It shone a ref light against Alda's chest as she stared in wonder and shock.

"Jolie..," Evander whispered under his breathe, looking up at the ship. He couldn't clearly see her, but knew what was happening.

Alda quickly snapped into action, taking advantage of the shell shocked Clone and using the Force to pull him forward. She aimed her blade for his heart, piercing it with ease.
One down.

The other Clones then fell out of their shock endured trance and attacked, firing bolt after bolt. Evander and Synyc jumped in, blocking the shots and shielding Alda as she maneuvered through the wall of fire.

Alda had already forgotten about the bullet; though. When Jolie could no longer keep her hold on it she was forced to let it go... right into Alda's shoulder.

Jolie fell down, her eyes closing and her body shutting down from the taxing power she'd used. Honestly, she thought she was dead.
She was never supposed to be able to do that. Although, she could rest a little more at ease knowing the last thing she'd seen was her friends united with a fighting chance. It was all she could've asked for.

Alda was next to fall. Her arm fell from the pain in her shoulder and her lightsaber fell to the ground. She dove to get it, hitting the cold, grassy surface with a hard thud. The impact only made the pain worse.

"Stay down!" Flint shouted to her.

Alda, being Alda, grunted and kept crawling forwards to grab it.

In a fit of rage after seeing his closest friend fall, Evander surged forward, blocking the bolts seamlessly and striking down one of the Clones. One more to go.

"I can handle this, help her!" Flint instructed to Evander, finding a new strength to fight for his wounded friends. Evander nodded and put his saber away, running over to where Alda was lying, still fighting.

Evander grabbed her saber and put it on his belt before kneeling down next to her. He supported her while she got up on her knees, about to stand.

"You're gonna hurt yourself," Evander said, trying to coax her down.

She wouldn't give in, glaring at him and standing up. "No, my job is to protect you guys and that's what at I plan on doing."

She winced as she outstretched her arm, reaching for her saber. Unfortunately it had to be her dominant side that got shot.

"Alda, stay down. Don't be an idiot! You're just more likely to get hurt!" Evander insisted as he held her shoulders.

"No!" She replied wincing as she tried to writhe out of his grip, only making it worse. She audibly moaned, squinting her eyes and biting her lip. She wasn't a very good liar.

"Please," Evander desperately with evident pain in his eyes. "I can't lose you, too."

This made Alda stop. She looked into his eyes, then at Flint fighting a Clone by himself, shockingly holding his own pretty well. She knew he was right. He'd fall apart without her. The one thing he needed was his family, now more than ever.
"Go help him. He needs you out there too."

Evander smiled and gently placed his palm on her cheek for a moment before springing backwards, leaving her saber behind and igniting his own green blade. He had joined the fight once again.

What none of them saw, not even Jolie, was the Sith from up above, about to drop a small but deadly attack.

It was a condensed proton bomb, about the size of a baseball.

It dropped from the large ships cargo hold and the Sith used the Force to guide it perfectly and discretely. He masked the signature so the Jedi would never sense it coming.

What he didn't anticipate was Alda's thinking. She knew the only thing she could effectively do was watch for the danger Flint and Evander didn't see. So that's what she did. She was the only one with combat training, and she was damned good at it, but Evander and Flint always used their respective brains for work. Remembering her training came easy to her. Her eyes were like lasers, ripping through the matter around her and seeing every single thing that posed a threat. That's when her eyes caught sight of a shiny metal object falling from above. It was obviously being maneuvered with the Force as it fell in a swirled and jagged motion. Any Jedi could notice that.

With her eyes wide in fear, she wrestled with her pain and stood. Pushing off of each leg while she held her arm, she ran a few steps in what felt like slow motion. She watched the bomb. Calculating. Analyzing. She knew exactly where it would fall. With one arm outstretched, she caught the bomb and hugged it close to her body, falling onto the ground like a curled up leaf.

She always thought that someone's life flashing before their eyes was a complete hoax meant to glorify death, but she now saw that there was some truth to it. Memories she thought long gone were jogged in her mind. She saw the first time she held a saber. Met her Master. Failed her trials. The adventures and expeditions with the Explore Corps. Every pirate and thug she had protected her team from along the way. Each storm she'd kept her alive through. Her entire journey with Evander and saving his life. The recent event with Jolie. The mistakes she'd made throughout it all and the things she'd done for others. She didn't regret a bit of it — now all she saw was her final moment.

Evander and Flint both noticed her movement and spun around at the first chance they got.

"No!" They both shouted together, gaping at the sight they never wanted to see. But it was too late.

Then, in an all too sudden shock... boom.

The Jedi had landed on the bomb just as it let loose it's deadly blast. She used the Force at the same time to push Flint and Evander away from the impact. They were safe. The remaining Clone... not so much.

As for Alda...

She was gone. For good. But she'd done what she set out to do- she protected her loved ones from danger.

Evander and Flint dropped their sabers and immediately sprinted over to her. Unfortunately, there was no "her" anymore. Just a slowly fading Force signature and a scattered pile of ash. And at the center of it... the blue Kyber crystal of her lightsaber. The glowing, ash covered crystal had survived the blast, but not it's own master.

"No..." Evander whispered as he sunk to his knees. He reached out and touched the ground where her remains now laid as if she would come back to them. He knew she wouldn't.

Evander fell back onto the ground, hunched over and cross legged as he sobbed uncontrollably into his hands.

Flint couched beside him and wrapped his arms around him, hoping to ease some of the pain for his friend. Evander just cried more. For once he accepted the comfort and leaned into it, his head falling limply onto Flint's shoulder.

They stayed like that for what seemed to be ages. They mourned their friend — no. Their sister — until they knew they'd be found soon by the remaining forces hunting them.

"Evander..,"Flint started as his senses perked up. He knew they were coming for them.

Evander nodded his head,"I know." Then he moved away from Flint and kneeled closer to Alda. He touched a hand to her resting place and let out a deep breathe. "There's so much to say, but there isn't time for that."

"I love you." He whispered to her. "Thank you for everything."

        They made it back to their ship safely with very few run ins, luckily.

So they began their next great adventure.

But just as they thought they were in the clear, an urgent transmission from Synyc rang through the ship.

He'd tried to send it a while ago, but it didn't get to them until they re-entered space and were within range.

Evander played it as soon as it popped up on the Holo in front of him, Flint now sitting in Synyc's usual seat as he listened in.

"I don't know what's happening, but the Clones are attacking Jedi! I'm gonna go help fight them off, I'm in the city right now," he stated determinedly. He was clearly running while he was speaking and very out of breath. There was screaming and blaster fire in the background. He wasn't far from the Temple.

"This wasn't isolated," Flint said, the realization hitting him like a tank.

Evander kept his eyes on the transmission, desperately trying to reach him on his wrist comm at the same time. Nothing.

"I hope this isn't happening where you are but be careful! We'll have it under control I'm sure but please be careful when you come back!" The boy ran a few more strides and then began talking again between panting breathes,"I'm really scared but I'll be fine. Don't come back if this gets bad."

Evander looked at Synyc right away as he began the calculations for Hyperspace.
"Set course for Corascaunt."

Flint reached over and grabbed his arm. "Are you serious? Think about how many Clone Troopers are there! We'd be blasted out of the sky!"

"I'm sure it's not that bad!" Evander insisted.

"Think for a second!" Flint snapped back.

"No!" Evander shouted, forcefully shaking his hand away. "I'm not letting my kid get killed out there!"

Flint frowned. He didn't know what to say. "Look, we can't help if we're dead. Please. We need to regroup. Then we can find him."

Evander didn't reply for a few tense moments. Flint looked into his eyes, trying to find some hint at what he was thinking. Finally he spoke, his voice choked up. "I can't lose anyone else, Flint. I just can't."

Flint thought about what to say until he heard a sniffle and looked over at him again. He saw tears streaming down his face again. His eyes were red and he wasn't even bothering to hide it. He'd never seen Evander like this. Alda was the only one who would've been able to help him. But she was gone. Jolie was gone, too. Flint was all he had now.

Flint just let out a breathe and wrapped his arm around his friend, rubbing his shoulder as he wept once again.

"Evander. You know what we have to do," he said calmly.

"Yeah," he replied flatly. It was like his soul was killed along with Alda back in the forest.

And so he punched in new coordinates for a planet far in the outer rim. They'd need to find out was going on as far away from the Republic as possible. Then they could decide what to do from there to get their family back — at least what was left of it.

        Evander had fallen asleep in the cock pit that night while they floated through deep space during the night. Flint had covered him in a blanket since the ship was chilly. They had to reroute some of the power to save as much as they could.

Flint, wrapped in an old winter jacket he found in storage, was updating the log he kept in his personal Holocron, given to him by the Jedi to help him store the facts and reports he needed day to day for his job. In addition, he marked notable days in his life and things he noticed.

But that night when he went to log the events so far, with tears lining his eyes, he noticed a new log he didn't add. Someone else did.

He loaded the message and saw a Holo of Alda from the shoulders up appear from the Holocron. He hadn't pressed play yet so her eyes just stared into his soul. It wasn't really her, but she looked so real. So alive. But then again, he didn't really see her dead. Just her ashes after the blast.

Flint just stared at it for a while. He contemplated watching her message, but knew Evander needed to be there too.

"Flint?"

He whipped his head around and saw Evander standing in the doorway to their kitchen table on the ship. So many strange things had happened right there in that very spot.

That's where they found out Jolie would be joining them. Where Evander first defended her after her return. That was the spot Evander always made a mess with his breakfast and Alda would roll her eyes and clean it up. It wasn't just the big things, but the small things. That's what Flint missed the most. They were a family of three. They had their own quirks and unique dynamics with one another, and sure, they fought. But they never stopped loving one another. That's what made it s family.

"She left a message on my Holocron before the mission," Flint said to his friend.

Evander sat down at the table next to him and nodded.

Flint played the message.

Her face blurred to life with a ghostly glow from the Holo. She was smiling, but with a serious undertone. "Sorry Flint for uh, breaking into your Holocron. I know you hate that," she laughed and smiled sheepishly. "But I figured I should make a backup in case something happens to me. Obviously I don't know when I'm gonna die. There's no convenient time and I don't know if I'll be able to say everything I want to say, you know, the cliche monologue, so I'll say it now while I'm here."

Evander didn't take his eyes off of her. He wanted to remember everything about her.

"So, if I died in combat or a dangerous situation then I hope it wasn't because I screwed up. I hope I was protecting you guys or someone else. But I really hope it was you guys. That was my job when we first met one another. I was supposed to keep you safe during our Explorations. As far as I'm concerned, that hasn't changed in any way." She looked down and smiled, then looked back up through the recording. "Flint, you gotta use that mind of yours for good. Be brave and speak up. You've got incredible ideas and talent you don't even realize yet. Evander, stick with it. Everything. Just teach Synyc everything you know and keep on teaching him. There'll be ups and downs, but I have no doubt that you've got this. Stay strong. Jolie, if you're there too, I hope you find your way. It's always hard discovering who you are, and I don't really know if you ever do find out completely, but keep at it. I know deep down you have a heart of gold that was just painted over from a traumatic event or two. Keep searching for that path you're meant to take."

Evander and Flint were now quietly in tears. They knew there was only one other person she hadn't addressed yet. "And Synyc, don't lose your positivity. Keep helping people. You have a knack for it, trust me. And look out for Evander. Learn from him, too. You'll both need each other on whatever journey you end up going on. You're a great kid. Don't ever forget it." She sighed and wiped her cheek. It was hard to tell in the Holo, but there seemed to be a tear trickling down. "There's no use rambling so let me just say this. If I died so you could live, it was worth it."

She smiled a lively, warm smile.
"I love you guys. We're family. Death will never change that."

Evander set down her blue Kyber crystal on the table in front of them. The light from Flint's fluorescent Holocron made it glow even brighter.

"Alda Pax, signing out." The Holo shut off.

Evander and Flint were left in the dark, wrapped in each other's arms, grieving the life they'd lost on that fateful day.