Disclaimer: You know...the usual ghist.....but I _DO_ own Mirri, Slate, Alyk, and Graey! So there!
(And introduction to the hectic lives of Mirri Skywalker, Graey LeCotarde, and Alyk Nikrud)

"You must be calm and patient. It's the only way you'll ever be able to serve the light side of the Force." Mirri just nodded. It was a humid day on the fourth moon of Yavin. Beads of sweat ran down Mirri's cheeks and her back. She had been outside all morning with her father, who was trying to get her to lift a large boulder that had been stuck in the hard ground for more than a century. For someone who had inherited the powers of two great Jedi Masters and the former late-Emperor's Hand, the task should have been as simple has lifting a feather. Yet it wasn't the case this morning. No matter how much Mirri concentrated, no matter how much she pulled and tugged and pushed with the Force, the blasted rock stayed firmly in place. "Now," Luke said. "Do it again. And this time, clear away any doubt that you have in your mind. You must believe that the boulder will move."

"Can't I just, like, lift something smaller?" Mirri asked. Luke shook his head.

"How many times must I tell you that size matters not?" Mirri glowered at her father. She couldn't remember how many blasted times he had quoted his former Jedi Masters, Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi.

"Fine," she pouted, "I'll do it again." Mirri turned her attention back to the rock. Half closing her eyes, she took a deep breath, and reached out with the Force. Taking another deep breath, Mirri pulled with all of her might. She allowed her eyes to fall all the way closed, and pulled even harder. After a moment, Mirri opened her eyes, and peeked at the boulder. It hadn't moved an inch. "Aarrgh!" Mirri turned and kicked the side of the temple, and, using the Force, ripped up a piece of the earth and flung it into the air. "I can't believe this!" Luke grasped Mirri by her shoulders and gently turned her to where she was facing him.

"I know you're frustrated," he said softly, "but you must control your temper. That's what got you into this mess in the first place." Mirri looked towards the ground and felt herself blush. How could she forget what her hot-headedness had gotten her into in the last two months? Luke smiled. "Okay. I think that's enough for today. Why don't you go get cleaned up? Tenel Ka, Lowie, and the twins are graduating today. I don't want you to show up at the ceremony covered in sweat and dirt." Mirri nodded grimly, then turned and began walking towards the entrance to the Great Temple.

Upon entering the Temple, Mirri felt the a huge wave of guilt wash over her again. The pain that she had inflicted over the past two months......

"Hey, Mirri!" Mirri turned around to see her cousin, Jacen Solo, jog up to her. Mirri stopped so that Jacen could catch up. At sixteen, young Jacen Solo had begun to take after his father, Han Solo, the famous Smuggler and New Republic General. He was wearing a white shirt, navy pants, and a black vest. Mirri smiled. He definitly looked like her Uncle Han. "Wanna hear a joke?" Jacen asked as he fell into step beside her. Mirri smiled.

"Sure, why not?" Mirri said. Jacen grinned.

"Okay. How many stormtroopers does it take to change a glowpanel?" Mirri pretended to think.

"Gee, Jace, I don't know. How many stormtroopers does it take to change a glowpanel?"

"Two. One to change the glowpanel, and then one to shoot the other stormtrooper and take all the credit!" Mirri rolled her eyes. Jacen's jokes were getting even more terrible every day. "So," Jacen said, "how's training going? I heard Uncle Luke's been getting you up pretty early."

"Yeah," Mirri said absently mindedly. Jacen went on to talk about what he was planning on doing once he left the Academy for good that afternoon, but Mirri was only half listening. That nagging feeling was coming back to her again. The nagging that told her that she was responsible for what had almost happened to her cousins, their friends, and her father.....

"Mirri? Hey, Mirri, you there?" Jacen waved a hand in front of his eighteen year old cousin's face. Mirri jumped, and turned to face him.

"Yeah...yeah, I'm fine. Look, Jace, I'm going to go to my room for awhile and clean up. I don't feel like hanging around anyone right now." Before Jacen could respond, Mirri dashed into her room and locked the door behind her. Jacen stood with his mouth open for a moment, and then walked slowly up to Mirri's door.

"Mirri?" He said softly. "You don't need to isolate yourself from everyone. We've forgiven you for what's happened." When Jacen didn't get an answer, he sighed and then left in search of his twin sister, Jaina.

Mirri stood with her back to the door. She was shaking uncontrollably, those painful memories from the past surfacing again. "Yes," she said to herself. "I know you have, Jacen." She sank to the floor and held her head in her hands. "But can I forgive myself?"

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Next door, Mirri's neighbor was closing a deal. A large amount of currency, as well as some "miscellaneous others" were changing hands. And it was making Alyk Nikrud jumpy.
"Jeez, Alyk, it's not that big of a deal," Graey LeCotarde mumbled, counting out his cash.

"The hell it isn't," Alyk responded through clenched teeth, waiting impatiently for the money. "Dealing glittersim isn't exactly a slap-on-the-wrist type offense, Graey."

He grinned slyly as he handed over the payment. "Who says you only deal in glittersim?"

She glared at him and dropped a small black satchel into a chair by the door. "Graey, darling, if you weren't my best customer, I'd be forced to hit you sometimes."

"Mommy's monthly check has to pay for something." He eyed the bag longingly before seeing her out. She could tell he was dying to open it. Just as he was about to close the door, he paused. "Same time next month?"

"You bet."

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Mirri watched with a keen longing as her cousins, Jaina and Jacen Solo, and their friends, Lowbacca the Wookiee and the princess of the Hapan system Tenel Ka, ignite their lightsabers, and hold them up towards the ceiling. The surrounding crowd, which consisted of her Uncle Han, Aunt Leia, a couple hundred New Republic guards and dignitaries, erupted in cheers and applause. Mirri covered her ears and sank down into her seat.
What's the big deal? She asked herself. I mean, all they did was defeat the Shadow Academy, Diversity Alliance, and Black Sun. No big deal. Of course, deep down inside, Mirri knew that her cousins and their friends had accomplished much in their short time at her father's Jedi Academy. Mirri looked up to see her father smiling proudly at the four young Jedi Knights.

Sighing, Mirri stood up and left the Grand Audience Chamber. She'd had enough of ceremonies for one day.

Maybe a ride around the jungle will be nice, she thought. A way to clear out my thoughts so I can think more clearly. Mirri turned and began walking in the direction of the Hangar Bay. A few minutes later, her brand new speeder bike was ready to go. Pulling on her father's battered flight helmet, Mirri flipped the switch on the consol, and the speeder rose up slowly on its repulsorlifts. It was a beautiful day on Yavin 4, it's sun shining down brightly on the Great Temple.

Mirri turned her bike in the direction of the jungle. The river. That's where she'd go. No one would think to look for her there. Mirri pressed down on the bike's pedels, and with a whine of the repulsor engine, the speeder bike shot off towards the river.

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"What do you mean you can't make it?" Graey slumped back in his seat, shocked. "Look, I told you before, I owed this guy! There was nothing I could do! Listen, Alyk, you gotta come back, I'm dying here..." Alyk sighed. "Fine, Graey. I'm halfway to the docks, so I'm not coming all the way back. You can forget that." She flinched against the moan coming through her comm unit. "This ain't even my speeder, for Chrissake! It's on leave." She checked her watch. "All right, Graey. Let's make a deal. If you can meet me out here, by that rusted shed, in 30 standard minutes with double the cash, you got yourself a second shipment."

He agreed instantly and left to find some transportation as Alyk reset her destination coordinates for the river.

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The memories were coming back now, in full force. Mirri tried to close her eyes, yet whatever she did couldn't stop the pain of the last two months from coming....
Luke was on the ground, panting. The dark figure stood over him, lauging evily, and holding his violet colored lightsaber within striking distance of Luke's defensless body. Jaina and Jacen stood off to the side, hovering protectivley over their younger brother, Anakin. Mirri was off the side, not sure what to do. What should she do? Her Master, or her father? She had to make a decision, and fast. The dark figure lifted his lightsaber high into the air, and before Mirri knew what she was doing, she lept at him....

Mirri was snapped out of her dream as she heard voices approaching. Jumping up from her spot on a large rock, Mirri tried to dive for the nearest bush, but her foot slipped on a wet spot, and with a cry of surprise, she fell into the river. She came up to the surface, sputtering and coughing. The voices were louder now, and she knew they were coming towards the river.

Damn, she thought angrily. It's probably Jaina and Zekk, wanting to spend some 'quality' time together before Jaina leaves for Coruscant. Mirri choked back a snort of laughter. This should be interesting. Hiding behind the large boulder, Mirri peered into the small clearing next to the river, and was surprised to see an extremely good looking (not better looking than Kyp, Mirri reminded herself) guy, and a young woman around Mirri's age with long, dark brown hair, having a conversation.

They don't look like they're from the Academy, Mirrit thought. Moving around the rock, Mirri tried to get a better look at the two strangers--and abruptly stepped on a Siren fish.

"Shit!" Mirri hissed. The Siren fish jumped up from its spot, and let out a shrill scream. "Dammit, you piece of shit! Shut the Hell up!" Mirri's words were lost in the fish's noise. Looking up, Mirri saw the two strangers looking directly at her. "Damn."

"Can we help you?" the brunette asked icily.

"Ummm..." Mirri looked around quickly and spotted the fish. "Just, uh, doing a little fishing." The guy had a very guilty expression on his face, but was trying to appear cool. He was a few years older than her, she could tell. The young woman seemed to be in her early twenties, and was giving her a cold stare. Suddenly her face seemed very familiar...

"Have I seen you around school before?" She asked warily, standing up from behind the rock.

"Maybe." The woman replied, easing slightly. "I'm a...uh, a friend of Graey's." She gestured to the guy on her right. "He's a student at the academy."

'Graey' looked uncomfortable. "Uh, hi." He was shifting a lot, and fingering something in his pocket. Mirri briefly entertained the notion that he had a gun, but dismissed it. He didn't look very dangerous.

"I don't really remember you..." She admited. "I'm Mirri Skywalker." She stepped forward and put out a hand. Graey took it reluctantly. His hands, she noticed, were very cool and pale. She had also caught the woman's expression when she had said her last name. "Um, do you know my father?" She tried her best to appear innocent.

The young woman smiled slightly. "We merely know of each other. I'm Alyk. Pleased to meet you." She shook Mirri's hand gently as Mirri pondered her strange answer. They know of each other? "Um, if you'll excuse us, we have some... business to take care of."

And with that, she proceeded to disappear into the woods. Graey watched her for a second and looked back at Mirri. "Um, it was a pleasure..." he muttered, half sincerely, before joining Alyk. Mirri stood silently for a moment.

"Weirdos."

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The ride back to the Academy was uneventful. A large bonfire had been lit outside in the courtyard, and Mirri could see her cousins and their friends dancing to the music of Figrin D'an and the Modal Nodes. Rolling her eyes in disgust, Mirri proceeded towards the entrance of the temple. Before she could get through the door, though, a pair of large hands gripped her shoulders and spun her around. Mirri let out a gasp of surprise as she came face-to-face with her boyfriend, Kyp Durron. The twenty-eight year old laughed when he saw Mirri's surprised expression, and before she could say anything, he leaned down and kissed her passionately. That was what woke Mirri up. Grinning, she kissed him back.
"What are you doing here?" Mirri asked as Kyp lead her toward one of the many crowded tables. The Jedi Knight smiled.

"Well, I was passing through the Yavin system, when a thought occured to me: who in the galaxy needed a visit more than the one and only Mirri Skywalker?" Mirri hit Kyp on the arm.

"Shut up. No, really, why are you here? I thought you were going back to Anoat System so you, Kam, and Kirana Ti could clear up that problem with the locals."

Kyp looked into Mirri's bright blue eyes, and his expression became serious.

"Some things are more important," he said softly. Reaching up, he brushed a strand of Mirri's dirty blonde hair away from her face. "I was worried about you."

Mirri scowled. "What do you mean? I'm fine."

"I can see that," Kyp said, running a speculative eye over Mirri's athletic frame. Mirri slapped him playfully across the cheek. "But," Kyp said, that serious and no-nonsense Jedi look that Mirri hated coming back to his eyes,
"I was worried that you had...." Kyp's voice trailed off, and he looked off towards the bonfire.

"...that I had turned back to the Dark Side?" Mirri finished for him. He looked back at her, and nodded slowly. "Well, I didn't, and I won't. Ever again." Kyp looked Mirri in the eye.

"Mirri, it isn't that easy..."

"Look, Kyp, can we please drop the subject? I know what I did! In fact, I can't stop thinking about it!" Mirri jumped up from her seat, and as she did that, her voice rose to a shout. "Do you have any idea what it feels like to have surveillance on you 24 hours a day?! Do you know what it feels like to have people look at you in disgust every time you walk by?! Do you know what it feels like not being able to sleep at night because you have nightmares of the horrific things that you did, or could have done?!"

"Yes, I do!" Kyp jumped up and faced Mirri. Looking around, Mirri noticed that the surrounding tables had gone silent, and were watching her and Kyp.

"Slug him!" one of the guards called out, grinning. Mirri turned to him, and using the Force, dumped his Alderranian Berry wine on his white tunic.

"Mind your own business,"she snapped. Mirri turned on her heel and began walking towards the temple. Kyp took off after her.

"Mirri, wait--"

"Shut up, Kyp. Just shut up. I am in no mood to listen to this right now." Mirri broke into a run and took off towards her room. She got there a few moments later, and sat down in the aisle, panting for breath.

When will they just leave me alone? she thought.

Standing up, Mirri turned and began to walk into her room. A sudden sound stopped her, however, and, turning around, saw the young man down by the river--Graey, isn't it?--go into his room with a black satchel. Narrowing her eyes, Mirri crept up to Graey's door. Peeking inside, she saw him take out a black vial, and quickly dump the contents into his mouth. Graey quickly stuffed the vial back into his bag--but not before Mirri caught sight of a spark of blue.

Mirri gasped. Glitterstim! It was the only drug that she knew of that sparked when it came into contact with light. Mirri backed up quickly, and abruptly crashed into a pile of crates that had been pushed up against a wall. She fell down with a loud crash.

Damn! she thought. I have got to work on this undercover spy stuff. Jumping up, Mirri sprinted for her room. Yes! she said to herself, I'm home free! Yet her moment of triumph was stopped short as she saw Graey standing in her doorway, with a very....very...angry expression on his face.

"Umm..." She shifted uneasily and looked around for any sign of escape. None. And Graey's arm was stretched across the door, blocking entry. Graey narrowed his eyes.

"You always sneak around spying on people?"

"Me? Spy? You must have me confused with some other Skywalker..."

"Look." he interrupted, putting on his best "cool" act. "We don't know each other, right? And tattling on me wouldn't be in your best interests, right? So let's just forget the whole thing, okay? Live and let live. I'll pretend I never saw you sneaking around spying on me, and you pretend you never thought you saw me doing anything remotely wrong, okay?"

"Thought I saw you?" She asked harshly. "I don't think so. I know glittersim when I see it, Graey." She instantly regretted saying it, and prepared herself for a fight. Graey was silent for a moment before slumping against the door and moaning.

"Oh, maaan..."

She blinked. This was not a response she had been prepared for. He closed his eyes and banged the back of his head against the door.

"Um, Graey? You okay?" She asked, making sure the hallway was deserted.

"My life is over." He muttered.

"What? How?"

He opened one eye. "You're going to tell your daddy, and then he'll kick me out of the academy, and then he'll tell my parents, and they'll fry me like a gerusiann steak." He closed his eye again. He looked so pathetic. Mirri thought for a moment before smiling coyly.

"Tell them what?"

He picked up on the sarcasm and opened his eyes, surprised. Mirri just grinned.

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The next morning dawned gray and rainy. Waking up was the hardest thing for Mirri. Glancing over at her beside chrono, she moaned. She'd overslept again. No telling what Luke would give her as a punishment. Probably oiling the joints in the cleaning droids, Mirri thought with a grimace. Those things were SO annoying. Pulling on her still damp clothes from the day before, Mirri took off down the dark corridor of the temple. She rounded the far turn--and smacked right into Graey.

"Well, we just seem to collide into each other every where we go," Mirri said. Graey looked nervous, and he avoided Mirri's gaze. "Hey, I said I wouldn't tell anyone."

"I know that," he snapped. Mirri sighed, put her arm around Graey's shoulders, and began walking with him to the Dining area.

"You know," she started, "you don't have to be such bantha snot all the time."

"Me? Bantha snot?" Graey turned to Mirri, an angry look in his bright eyes.
"You obviously don't know who you're talking to, Little Rich Girl." Mirri held back a laugh. Whoever this guy was, he wasn't too good at come backs.

"Right, whatever, Graey." The two trainees entered the dining hall. Since both of them had woken up late, the hall was virtually empty. "Good," Mirri replied. "Now we can eat in privacy." Mirri led Graey over to a table, and forced him to sit. He did as he was told, but reluctantly. A serving droid trundled up to the table, and asked what they wanted to eat.

"Ah--um, I'm not-"

"We'll both have a Correllian Ale," Mirri said, cutting Graey off. He glared at her. The droid acknowleged them with a nod, and left. "So," Mirri began. "Why don't you tell me about yourself."

Graey hesitated. Should he? She didn't seem all that bad....No, he said to himself. She's the Master's daughter, not to mention she can't be trusted. Graey had heard rumors that the spunky eighteen year old had turned to the Dark Side only two months ago.

"Well?" Mirri prompted. Graey shook his head.

"Not much to tell," he said softly. Before Mirri could say anything, he stood up. "Um, I'm supposed to meet Master Skywalker for a lesson. It's been nice talking to you, Mora."

"That's Mirri."

"Whatever."

"Well, do you want to do something later? Maybe go for a ride out on my speeder?" Mirri called after him. Graey didn't even answer her. "Asshole," she murmered. Mirri looked around the empty dining room. Sighing, she stood up. Jaina, Jacen, Tenel Ka, and Lowie had left Yavin 4 early that morning.

"I wonder if Zekk might be in the mood for a little prank...." Mirri said to herself. She smiled, and went off in search of trouble.

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