So you guys know for sure that I handed in my entries in on time, here they are. Word count is with the name of each entry.

13 Citizen Male Aevo - Word count: 1, 497. 

Aevo cursed. Everything about this situation just went from bad to worse. Well, I should be used to that, he thought to himself amusingly. Once again, he tried to free himself from the straps that held him to the pilot seat inside the cockpit of a TIE fighter, but they wouldn't budge. He didn't even have anything to cut them with, and his blaster rifle was leaning against the wall behind him, just out of reach. This is just great.

Instead of wasting anymore time, which was a luxury he couldn't afford, he lifted the TIE fighter from its position atop a medium asteroid. The rocks were everywhere; up, down, left, right, completely surrounding him on all sides. As soon as the TIE fighter was in the air, he rolled down and twisted to the left to avoid a cluster of them. He assessed the navigation computer to search for life forms as well as to see how far he had to go. "Come on, Star..."

Before the timer had begun, he told Star to pound on the top of the TIE fighter once she used her leash to secure herself to it. That way, he could fly and still help her across the field all at the same time. As soon as he heard the thud from above, he grinned. "Alright. Let's see what this baby can do."

He had never flown a TIE before, but he had flown more Starfighters and Starships than he could count and he had experience in working on a Star Destroyer. Should be a piece of cake.

As if he had jinxed himself, several TIE fighters flew around him and one began firing. With a curse, he shifted to the left and fired back at one of the TIEs. Several more shots trailed along behind him, so he shifted power to his rear shields and flipped the fighter upside-down to fire at the two TIEs stalking him, one filled with a Mandaloian and another filled with some sort of cat-creature.

"Aevo?"

Aevo's forehead wrinkled as he looked at the com. "Kanan? Is that you?" He was reminded of old times as he heard his friend's voice.

"Jenaara, Kiernan and I are all going to separate a hundred feet apart. One at a time, we'll activate our devices, clearing three-hundred feet ahead of Adaara once she gets here. We'll be weak, so you and Adaara will come pick us up. Tell Adaara and make sure she's ready. She'll need your help getting through the rest of the asteroid field... She's not exactly the best pilot."

Aevo chuckled. "Got it. On my way now, Kanan." He clicked off the com and turned on his scanners, searching for Starfighters. "Where are you, Adaara?" The console beeped again and he flew straight up before whirling around to fire at the two other TIEs chasing him.

Suddenly, explosions surged in the distance one after another. "That's my cue." Turning on the com, he found the frequency used by Starfighters. "Adaara? Adaara?" When there was no response, he shifted frequencies again.

The console rapidly beeped, informing him of the two proton torpedoes heading straight for him. Cursing, he flipped the TIE on its left side, narrowly avoiding both torpedoes as they skidded by him.

"Adaara?"

"Aevo?"

"Yeah it's me," he said, flipping his TIE downward in a spiral as he fired at another fighter. "Listen..." He quickly repeated everything Kanan had said and waited for her response.

"Copy that, Aevo."

Aevo shook his head. This isn't the Clone Wars. You have to remember that. The situation is different and they don't even know who you are! Grumbling to himself, he shifted his attention to finding Kiernan, Jenaara and Kanan. He found the latter two first, on an asteroid just below Adaara. He informed her over the com and then finally found where Kiernan had ended up. Stormtroopers surrounded him, about to kill him.

"No you don't!" Aevo twirled his TIE fighter, flying above them and fired at them before landing the Starfighter. "Star, you're going to have to tie him beside you," Aevo yelled, hoping she heard him.

He glanced at the timer on his wrist. 25:01. We're running out of time. As soon as he thought that, he heard the pounding on his TIE's ceiling. "Good." He lifted the TIE off the asteroid, firing at more Stormtroopers gathered on another rock above them.

"Adaara? Come in, Adaara! We've got to hurry!"

"Aevo, I've secured Kanan and Jenaara to my left wing and I'm ready to go. Lead the way."

He twisted to the right, shooting down another TIE as Adaara's Starfighter flew behind him.

"Stay on my tail, Adaara."

Four more TIES surrounded them and Aevo shifted downward to come up beneath the first. He fired, blasting that one out of the sky as the others sent proton torpedoes toward Adaara.

He maneuvered his fighter to the left and steadied it to shoot the torpedoes before they could hit Adaara's fighter. At the last second, he shifted to the right and fired the last two.

It was much easier to navigate with the way cleared, but his eyes landed on an intimidating sight: a Star Destroyer just in front of Obstillia.

Aevo cursed. "There's no way we can get around that thing."

"My device. I can activate it," came Adaara's response.

"The devices have already been activated." Aevo furrowed his brows, trying to understand what she was thinking.

"I know. That just means that mine won't be automatically activated, but it's still inside me. It will be enough to blast a hole through the center of the Star Destroyer, giving us the opening we need. I'll be weakened, so you can get everyone to Obstillia safely."

He didn't like it and more than that, he was stuck in his blasted fighter. "I can't leave my TIE fighter. Star can take over your ship and she'll pick you up after you activate your device. Star! Did you catch all that?"

The response was another thud on the ceiling. Be careful... he thought as he watched Star take Adaara's place in the cockpit.

Adaara floated in front of the Star Destroyer, looking like an ant. Electric energy pulsed across her body, before it exploded away from her. Aevo darted his ship backward to avoid it as the explosion pierced the center of the Star Destroyer.

"There's our opening," he said to Star over the com.

Star's fighter went first and he followed behind her as they flew through the debris of the middle of the Destroyer. Pieces of metal hovered around them, as if they had entered an asteroid field made from metal, rather than rock. Star's fighter was heading toward the surface too fast. Adaara's body, floating behind it, attached only by her leash, would be killed.

"Kanan! Kanan, you have to catch Adaara!" Aevo screamed over the com.

Aevo landed his TIE first, watching in horror as the fighter landed and Adaara's body flew toward the ground. Just before she slammed against it, she was caught in mid-air. She was gently laid on the ground, where Kanan crawled to check on her.

"Star? You have to get a disruptor and get it inside my cockpit, now," Aevo said over the com. He watched as she jumped out of the fighter and dashed to the pile of disruptors and grabbed one.

His eyes shifted over to Adaara and Kanan who were still embracing on the ground. He glanced at the timer. 1:10. "Kanan! You don't have time! Grab a disruptor and disable the self-destructing droid inside you both, now!" Aevo screamed.

Star entered the cockpit, handing Aevo a disruptor. He activated it, punching in the number on his wrist, and waited to see if it worked. Outside, a Sith had scattered all the other disruptors and pinned Kanan to the ground. Adaara had fully woken up and attacked the Sith only to be attacked by a Zabrak woman chained to the Sith man.

"Get these off me!" Aevo yelled at Star, desperately trying to peel the restrains off him.

Star reached down from the opening hatch and held her hold-out-blaster, shooting through the center of the restraints. She moved as Aevo grabbed his Zhaboka and leapt out of the ship.

Kanan activated his disruptor as the Sith charged toward him, lightsaber raised.

"No you don't!" Aevo darted toward the Sith, twirling his Zhaboka. He jabbed it toward the man, surprising him enough to force him backward. Star fired her two hold-out blasters at him, and in response the Sith used his lightsaber to block the shots.

Kanan and Adaara had both passed out, leaving Aevo and Star to face the Sith. From behind him, Kiernan fired a shot toward his back as Jenaara raised her lightsaber to meet his.

"You're outnumbered, Sith," Aevo said.

The Sith cursed but darted away from them.

Aevo collapsed on the ground, sighing in silent relief. For now, they were safe. 

17 Jedi Female Adaara - word count: 2,589

"You will only have one hour to make your way through space from the atmosphere of Arena 1, to Obstillia, its moon, two miles away. Each of you have a self-destructing droid placed in your body that will detonate in an hour if you haven't reached Obstillia. Once on the moon, you must use a disruptor to shut the droid down. If you do not make it in time... then you will die."

Adaara glanced at Kanan who was in a spacesuit next to her. There was a belt strapped around her waist connected to a leash. As she followed it with her eyes, she realized it was attached to the Star Destroyer just behind them.

Dasram, also in a spacesuit, hovered just in front of Kanan, whose fists were clenched. "I've given you a little present. Inside your body and the body of your... wife... is a device that will destroy everything in a hundred foot radius when activated. Naturally, it will harm you if activated. You must choose between activating the device inside you or inside your wife. If you choose to activate neither of them, then they both will activate in seven minutes after the timer begins. Jenaara and her droid, as well as Kiernan and his little pet also have the devices inside them. If they choose not to activate theirs, then both of yours will go off as well. There's a button on your wrists to activate it."

With that, he floated back toward the Star Destroyer, leaving both of them alone. Adaara placed a hand on her stomach instinctively. "The device... Do you think it would kill the baby?"

Kanan nodded. "If it doesn't kill the baby, then it will severely wound it and you. I won't risk that. I'll get ahead of you and activate mine when the timing is right. I'll try to find Jenaara and Keirnan wherever they are and convince them to activate theirs too. There's a Starfighter on the asteroid just ahead of us. Find it and use it to reach Obstillia as soon as possible."

"But, Kanan—"

"Three. Two. One..." a loud voice bellowed. An alarm buzzed, signifying that the timer had begun.

Kanan placed a hand on her cheek and kissed her firmly, but quickly. "Get to the Starfighter and reach Obstillia. I'll activate my device and clear the way for you at a safe distance so you're not in the blast range."

Before she could protest, he reached out with the Force and used it to help pull him toward the closest asteroid. It was medium, but still big enough to hold a Starfighter.

Frustration flared in her chest, mixing with anger. Kanan had basically given her orders, as if she was still his Padawan and not his wife. I want to activate my device with you to help you. I don't think we should separate. Kanan, we should stay together. She hadn't been able to voice any of her thoughts to him. Did he think that only his way was best? Did he simply not care about how she felt? Why didn't he give her a choice in the matter?

Shaking her head, she gritted her teeth, knowing that there was nothing she could do about it now. I've got to focus on getting to that moon. Even though she had used the Force in desperation on Arena 1, she knew her abilities were severely lacking. She had only reached Padawan level and after Order 66, she had denied her Jedi-self and had refused to use the Force for far too long. About all I can do is make a good landing and Force push things away from me... Her thoughts trailed off as she finally took in her surroundings.

It was hard not to feel terrified at the darkness around her. Unlike in normal space, there were no stars around. Instead, thick fog in a myriad of colors expanded on the horizon both above and below her. This must be what the inside of a nebula looks like, she thought in wonder.

In front of her was a massive asteroid field, filled with the brown, crater-littered space rocks of all shapes and sizes. In the center she could see some large ones the size of small moons. Others were tiny and formed clusters. The field itself stretched several hundred feet above her head and even longer down below. Her eye caught the medium asteroid with the Starfighter on it.

Getting an idea, she grabbed the leash and pulled on it to release as much of it as she could. It was much, much longer than she expected—definitely long enough for two miles to reach Obstillia. With a smile, she grasped some of it in both of her hands like a whip and threw it toward the Starfighter. All that happened was the cable floated higher above her. Cursing, she grabbed it and tried again but it still just floated in space.

Then it dawned on her: use the Force. She rolled her eyes at herself and used the Force to shove the cable toward the Starfighter. I probably can't get precise enough to tie it, so... Her thoughts trailed off as she concentrated, shoving the cable behind the Starfighter. I hope this holds... With a grunt, she yanked on the leash and pulled herself to the Starfighter. As her feet landed on the asteroid, she sighed in relief. Floating helplessly in space was not something she was comfortable with. Opening the hatch, she hopped inside the pilot seat.

Suddenly a blaster shot slammed into her, making her groan as agony exploded in her upper arm. Her eyes scanned to see where it came from. On an asteroid next to her, a group of Stormtroopers all aimed their blasters right at her. "Kriff!" With that, she closed the hatch as blaster shots furiously pelted the right side of the Starfighter. Using the controls to start it up, she activated the gravity and turned the Starfighter around so that it faced the Stormtroopers. "Take this, bucket-heads," she muttered, firing at them. Her aim was terrible, but the proton torpedoes she had were more effective than their blaster rifles.

The thought reminded her of her own blaster rifle, so she secured it by her right hand and then checked her boot to make sure her hold-out-rifle was still there. Satisfied that she was ready to go, she lifted the Starfighter off the asteroid and began navigating through the field. Navigating my way through an asteroid field... This is just insane! The odds of surviving have to be severely low.

She stopped the ship, unwilling to let it go any further. Flying a ship had never been her strong suit and here she was surrounded on all sides by an asteroid field. There was an opening in the cluster in front of her, so she tilted the ship slightly downward and turned to the right, pushing it through. With a curse, she pulled the ship to a sudden stop inches before it slammed into a massive asteroid. I'm never going to get anywhere if I keep starting and stopping like this....!

Blaster shots hailed on top of her, nearly cracking the glass of the hatch cover. "Fine, take this!" She unleashed two more proton torpedoes toward the asteroid and as pieces of the rock scattered, she shoved her ship right through the center. She saw what looked to be a male and female bounty hunter just before the shots killed them.

She swallowed deeply but shook her head. You can't be compassionate or merciful in a situation like this, Adaara, she mentally told herself.

Instead of trying to avoid the asteroids, she began blasting them out of her way. It was much faster than before and she was able to make her way through about half of it before she ran out of torpedoes. With a curse, she stopped the ship.

That was a huge mistake.

A rocket blast shattered the hatch opening, throwing her into space. As terror gripped her, she reached for the leash around her waist, unwilling to trust it. It's okay...it's okay. You can breathe... She took a huge gulp of air, remembering that she was safe inside her spacesuit. Oh no! In horror, she shifted her eyes to her upper arm, where the blaster shot had hit her before. The suit was torn, releasing precious oxygen out of it. She used her shaking hand to block the tear.

The Stormtroopers on an asteroid to her left loaded another rocket-launcher. I'll take my chances in the Starship... Even though the hatch opening was shattered, the ship appeared to be undamaged. She grabbed onto the back of it and climbed back inside the cockpit, restarting the engines. Just as the rocket fired her direction, her ship darted forward, barely missing it. The shot slammed against a large asteroid behind her and to the left, shattering pieces of it the size of her ship.

The force of the blast rocked her ship side-to-side, making her stomach churn. She twirled the ship, twisting it to the right to avoid a piece. Another piece rolled by her, scraping the left wing. Her eyes desperately scanned the wing to assess its damage. As she saw that the only damage was peeled paint and severe dents, she released a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.

The asteroid field in front of her thickened. The space-rocks were closer together and larger in size, making it impossible for her to navigate through it. Looking at the timer on her wrist, she watched the seconds and minutes tick by. 51:41.

As soon as she looked at it, an blast of electricity exploded in the distance, followed by two others. Kanan. Her heart fluttered in her chest as fear and anxiety twisted her stomach into knots. What happened? Shaking her head, she focused on her task.

Even from this distance, she still couldn't see Obstillia. Opening her charts, she gasped as the holographic map appeared in front of her. Her ship had only made its way through about a third of the field. She still had well over a mile to go and with no torpedoes, there was no way she could make a mile in fifty minutes by starting and stopping. "Inside you is a device that will destroy everything in a hundred foot radius."

Her hand rested on her stomach. The baby wasn't even Kanan's... Kaladin's face appeared in her mind, making her tremble. Biting her lip to hold back the sobs that threatened to escape, she breathed deeply. This would be my chance to... to... She couldn't even think it, but the urge to activate her device was stronger than ever.

A hundred feet wouldn't be enough to help me right now. The blast would destroy the ship and then where would I be? With a sigh, she moved the ship forward, ducking it beneath a larger asteroid above her. Inch by inch, foot by foot, she eased the ship through the asteroids as minute by precious minute ticked by.

23:16. This isn't fast enough! She cursed, sliding the ship to the left and up higher, avoiding two more asteroids that had collided together. Fortunately, the pieces from them were too small to be of any danger to her or her ship.

"Adaara," said a familiar voice over the comlink. "It's Aevo. I talked with Kanan and he, Jenaara and Keirnan came up with a plan. They've separated themselves each a hundred feet apart and have activated their devices. That should have cleared the next three-hundred feet for you. They'll be weak afterward, so you and I are going to go pick them up. I'll guide us through the remainder of the field and get us to Obstillia. Sound good?"

"Copy that, Aevo." Adaara gnawed on her lip as anxiety gripped her tight enough to keep her breath from exhaling. Kanan... Oh Kanan, please be okay...

Adaara pulled the ship forward, much quicker than before now that the next three hundred feet was just empty space. As soon as she spotted more asteroids, a TIE fighter flashed by overhead. "Jenaara and Kanan are on an asteroid below you, Adaara," Aevo said.

Adaara glanced downward. Sure enough, they were there, both on the ground. Adaara lowered her ship down there and fortunately, there was enough space on the asteroid for her Starfighter to land.

Kanan's eyes blinked and he tried to stand, but stumbled. "Ad—Adaara." She hopped out of the cockpit and helped Kanan over to the ship. By that time, Jenaara had stood, so Adaara helped her over to the ship too.

"There's only enough space for one, so what are we going to do?" Adaara looked from Kanan to Jenaara. Her eyes spotted several lightsaber slashes on both of them, but there wasn't time to assess their injuries.

24:29. Kanan didn't respond but she eyed their leashes. Adaara went as quickly as she could, tying them both to the left wing of the ship. Once she was sure that they were secure, she jumped in the cockpit.

"...got to hurry!" Aevo was saying.

"Aevo, I've secured Kanan and Jenaara to my left wing and I'm ready to go. Lead the way." As she replied to Aevo, she lifted the ship off the asteroid and waited for the TIE fighter.

"Stay on my tail, Adaara."

She did as commanded and followed behind him as best as she could. The TIE fighter was smaller, more maneuverable and Aevo was a much better pilot than she was. He had to give her commands over the com to keep her from smashing into several asteroids. They were taking heavy fire from more TIE fighters, but there was no time for her to try to shoot at them. Instead, Aevo twirled his fighter around, expertly firing at all the ships following them.

Suddenly, Obstillia appeared on the horizon. As they approached, however, Adaara's heart sank.

Hovering just outside Obstillia's atmosphere was another Star Destroyer.

"There's no way we can get around that thing," Aevo said with a curse.

"My device. I can activate it," Adaara said.

"The devices have already been activated."

Adaara nodded, though Aevo couldn't see. "I know. That just means that mine won't be automatically activated, but it's still inside me. It will be enough to blast a hole through the center of the Star Destroyer, giving us the opening we need. I'll be weakened, so you can get everyone to Obstillia safely."

Aevo cursed. "I can't leave my TIE fighter. Star can take over your ship and she'll pick you up after you activate your device."

"Adaara..." Kanan weakly murmured. "D—Don't."

Adaara kissed him softly on the temple and leapt out of the cockpit. Star jumped in the seat and pulled the ship safely away, but readied it for her opening. Adaara watched as Star tied the back of Adaara's leash to the wing, that way after the blast, Star could simply head straight for the moon, tugging Adaara to safety.

Placing her left hand on her stomach, Adaara closed her eyes. I'm... I'm sorry... The baby inside her was the child of a monster. A Sith Inquisitor. It was the child of pain, a reminder of the evil acts that had happened to her when she had been a prisoner.

Adaara used her left hand to press the button on her wrist.

The electric blast exploded away from her as her device was activated.

18 Jedi Male Kanan - Word count: 2,311

As Kanan left Adaara behind, for her own safety, he cleared his mind and forced his thoughts to focus on the battle ahead. I only have an hour to reach Obstillia. He looked behind him to make sure Adaara was going to the Starfighter that had been on an asteroid near her. When he was satisfied that she made her way to it, he turned his attention back to what he was doing.

It wasn't very easy to use the Force to pull himself toward asteroids and navigate through the field. It took a lot of concentration, but the more he used the Force, the more familiar it was, and the easier it became for him to use it. I never should have stopped using it in the first place, Kanan thought.

He used the Force to sense where Jenaara and Kiernan were. Fortunately, they were close together, just several yards away from where he was. He landed on the asteroid just in front of where they both stood. Jenaara used a lightsaber to hold of blaster shots from a squad of Stormtroopers on the same asteroid across from them. They stood back-to-back as Kiernan fired a blaster at more Stormtroopers who came at them from the other direction. It looked as if they had simply found each other out of pure circumstance.

Kanan landed just behind the squad of Stormtroopers firing at Kiernan. Igniting his lightsaber, he despised the crimson blade as he swept it across the backs of the two troops in back. The others began to turn to see what happened, as he stabbed one and Force-pushed the other. Kiernan blasted the other two in the chest. "Thanks for the help, uh what was your name again?"

"Kanan." Kanan walked over to stand beside Jenaara, trying to sense if she was Force-sensitive. He didn't recognize her as a Jedi and she didn't use the lightsaber as effectively as a Knight would have. Even so, she was still skilled enough to tell she had been trained with it. He reflected two shots back toward the Stormtroopers who'd fired them, both shots landing in their chests.

As Kanan flicked his lightsaber back and forth, blocking the shots, he stepped closer and closer to the Stormtroopers, who were standing next to a Mandalorian and a young woman with a large blaster rifle. When he was close enough, he slashed two of them in the chest just as Jenaara stabbed a Stormtrooper and Kiernan shot the last in the head. It bothered him how easily he killed the Mandalorian and the woman without even a second's hesitation.

Kanan switched the saber off—it was a Sith lightsaber and he hated using it.

"Why did you help us?" Jenaara questioned.

"Because Dasram stuck those electric devices inside us. If we don't use them in—" Kanan paused, looking at the timer on his wrist, showing 57:43— "four minutes then all the devices will go off at once, probably killing us all."

"We can't just activate them now. We need a plan." Jenaara crossed her arms, looking at him closely.

Kiernan nodded. "I agree, but what?"

Kanan looked up at the sky, but there was no way to tell Adaara's Starfighter apart from the others up there. He sensed for her presence, which radiated from far behind him. "We get as far as we can and then space ourselves a hundred feet apart. One by one, we activate the devices, giving Adaara time to fly through it, pick us up, and reach Obstillia. Do either of you have a comlink?"

Kiernan held one out.

Kanan grabbed it and turned to a TIE fighter frequency. "Aevo?"

There was some static before he heard a reply. "Kanan?"

Kanan relayed the plan to him. "Tell Adaara and make sure she's ready. She'll need your help getting through the rest of the asteroid field... She's not exactly the best pilot."

"Got it. On my way now, Kanan."

Kanan tried not to think about how familiar the circumstance was to the Clone Wars. He had gone to battle with Adaara as his Padawan along his Clone squadron, and their leader. Kanan gritted his teeth and shook off the thought.

"You can use the Force to get us into position, right?" Kiernan asked.

Kanan nodded. "I'm guessing you'll go first?"

Kiernan hesitated before nodding. "Alright."

Kanan closed his eyes, concentrating on the young man, especially his weight. He lifted Kiernan into the air and used the Force to guide him to another asteroid a hundred feet away.

Breathing deeply, he opened his eyes to meet Jenaara's. "You next?"

When she didn't reply, he followed her gaze to where she was staring at someone. A Zabrak woman was chained to another Mirilian man, who had both appeared on the asteroid in front of them. The Dark Side of the Force radiated away from him intensely, nearly making Kanan choke. "Sith," he hissed. He had taken it upon himself to listen in and find out who the Sith users among the rebels were. One had been called Zira, but Kanan remembered her dying in the Arena. The other, he faintly remembered was called Yurrei.

"Let's do this, Jedi." Yurrei ignited his lightsaber at the same moment Kanan ignited his. "Ah, I see you've got a red one. Wonder why that is?"

"I couldn't find one I needed." With that, Kanan leapt toward him, striking toward Yurrei's head, but the man easily blocked it, before shifting his blade to block Jenaara.

"What are you doing? He's a Sith!" Kanan stared at her in shock.

"I can help you! I may not have the Force, but I still know what I'm doing when it comes to dueling." Jenaara's eyes narrowed.

Before Kanan could reply, Yurrei slashed toward them both.

Jenaara and Kanan both blocked it with their sabers, each one using all their strength to press against the Sith. Yurrei grunted and Force-pushed them back.

Kanan pushed the Force against him, blocking it. Jenaara took the opportunity to lunge toward Yurrei's mid-section, which he managed to block with one hand.

Kanan's eyes glanced to the poor Zabrak woman as she was jerked and jolted every time Yurrei moved. He grabbed his lightsaber and moved to slice the chains off, but he sensed Yurrei stabbing Jenaara. "No!" Kanan darted in between them just as Yurrei's blade jabbed toward him. What I saw was something about to happen, not what had already happened, Kanan thought. As Yurrei's lightsaber slashed his lower right side, Kanan realized his mistake with a curse.

Yurrei chuckled and released lightning from his hands. Kanan stumbled to his knees but held up his blade to block the lightning. "Now," he whispered to Jenaara.

She didn't need to be told. While Yurrei was vulnerable, she dashed toward him just as Yurrei stopped the lightning. Her lightsaber sliced through his left shoulder.

Ignoring the pain in his side, Kanan front flipped behind Yurrei and slashed his back. The Zabrak woman stepped in the way and before Kanan could stop it, his lightsaber stabbed her right shoulder.

He ripped it out, staring at her in shock. "Why... Why did you save him?"

There was no answer, only a furious roar from Yurrei who grabbed Jenaara in a Force-choke.

"Yurrei, drop her."

He shook his head, his eyes wild as the Dark Side swarmed around him. "Never. She will die for what you've done to Zillah and then I'm going to kill you too." Jenaara's feet struggled as she dangled helplessly.

Kanan jumped toward Yurrei with a growl, but his attack was blocked with Yurrei's left hand, which held his saber as his right still choked Jenaara. She won't last much longer. I've got to save her.

Kanan closed his eyes, leaving himself open for Yurrei's attack while he concentrated on Jenaara with the Force. As Yurrei lunged toward him, Kanan shoved against Jenaara as hard as he could. The Force blast sent her flying into space, but it broke Yurrei's hold over her.

Kanan only had enough time to shift his weight, causing Yurrei's lightsaber to stab his left mechanical leg, rather than his left hip.

"Kanan, you only have a minute left!" Aevo yelled at him through the comlink. Kanan had forgotten that he had kept it.

While Yurrei's lightsaber was stuck in his leg, Kanan grabbed its hilt and wrenched it from Yurrei's hands, elbowing him in the face. With his other hand, he slashed his own lightsaber across Yurrei's chest and then used the Force to leap off the asteroid.

Jenaara was floating, so Kanan grabbed her and flung her a hundred feet passed the asteroid where Kiernan waited on them, holding off several Stormtroopers. Kanan grabbed onto asteroid after asteroid, as Kiernan's device exploded from behind him, trying propel himself forward.

As Jenaara's went off, Kanan landed on an asteroid a hundred feet away from her just before the seven minutes ran out.

Kanan activated his device. An explosion blasted away from him as agony consumed him. When he came too, he looked at the timer on his wrist.

51:13. I was only out for a couple of minutes. He was floating in empty space but his body was in too much pain to move. Jenaara floated near him, so he closed his eyes and could only concentrate enough to keep them close together and place them both on a small asteroid as they waited for Adaara to arrive.

The waiting was the worst—waiting for Adaara to get there, waiting to see if his wounds would kill him, waiting to hear word if Adaara had died or if she was still alive. Kanan's chest tightened as the minutes slowly ticked by, one by one bringing them closer to death.

Finally, a ship landed near them and Adaara jumped out. Kanan's lethargic mind grasped what happened only in pieces. First Adaara leapt out of the ship and the next thing he knew, he was lying on the left wing beside Jenaara as they flew through empty space.

By the time Kanan opened his eyes again, an explosion shattered through the middle of a Star Destroyer. Their ship sped through it and neared Obstillia's surface.

"Kanan, you need to catch Adaara!" Aevo screamed at him.

Kanan blinked his eyes and called to the Force for strength. Behind them, Adaara's cable was tied around the wing, dragging her behind the ship as they grew closer and closer to the ground. At this speed, if he didn't catch Adaara, she would slam against the ground and die from the impact.

Kanan closed his eyes, wrapping the Force around his wife as if he was giving her a passionate embrace. It wasn't easy with his exhausted mind, but at last the fighter landed and he gently placed her on the ground beside it. Igniting his lightsaber, he cut the cable tying him to the Starfighter's wing and collapsed on the ground. "Adaara? Adaara what happened?" Kanan asked. He thought he spoke loudly, but his voice was husky and hoarse as he crawled over to her.

Her eyes were closed and her breathing was shaky, but she was alive. He glanced at her wrist to see that she had manually activated her device. "Why? Why would you...?" Tears glistened in his eyes as he placed his hand on her stomach. Like he had before, he tried sensing for the life's presence inside her, but there was nothing.

The baby was dead.

"Kanan!" Aevo yelled at him over the comlink. "You don't have time! Grab a disruptor and disable the self-destructing droid inside you both! Now!"

On his wrist, the timer only showed 1:03 left. As Star handed a disruptor into Aevo inside the TIE fighter, Jenaara had stumbled to her feet and grabbed one of her own.

Kanan forced himself to his feet, ignoring the waves of agony shooting through them with each step. He grabbed Adaara's arm and dragged her behind him toward the pile of disruptors.

Suddenly, the disruptors all shot away from him as someone slammed into him, knocking him to the ground. Yurrei stood over him, using the Force to hold him against the ground.

Kanan struggled, pushing the Force back against him, but Yurrei was stronger than he was. The blast had weakened him too much.

54.

Kanan growled, igniting his lightsaber and threw it toward Yurrei. His aim was way off and the lightsaber landed against the ground several dozen feet away.

"Now, you will die, Jedi scum," Yurrei hissed at him.

49.

Adaara's eyes fluttered open as Kanan used the Force to try to lift Yurrei's Force-hold off him, to no avail. Adaara jumped toward Yurrei's back, only to be stopped by the Zabrak woman. They rolled around on the ground, punching and clawing each other.

35.

Anger took hold of him, anger toward the Sith for stopping him, anger toward Adaara for activating her device, anger toward the Empire for putting them in this situation in the first place, anger toward Vader for killing all the Jedi ... No, not anger...

Hate. It was deep and unfathomable, like an endless pit that no one could see their way out of.

With a renewed energy and a sudden burst of power, Kanan force-pushed Yurrei's hold off him and used the Force to pull a disruptor toward him. He activated it, punching in the number on his wrist.

"No!" Yurrei slashed him with a lightsaber, right over his collarbone.

Adaara screamed, kneeling over him. "Kanan?"

Kanan's eyes blinked. "Why did you do it?"

Her exhausted body sighed and collapsed beside him. "I had to..." she whispered. Without moving, he could sense she was still alive, just unconscious.

He briefly wondered where Yurrei was, but it was lost to him as pain consumed him and pulled him into a deep slumber.