Xicanti awakened before anyone save the animals. Quietly, he made his way to the pool's edge for an early-morning stare into its crystal depths. This simple act calmed him, and at that moment he desperately needed calming. Torrents of emotion ran through him, and he hadn't a clue what to do about any of them.

Cahra was, of course, foremost among his thoughts. "I don't know how I feel about her," he whispered to himself. "I know I definitely feel something, but I don't know what. Is it love? Infatuation? Just advanced friendship?"

:Trust me, it's love.:

Xicanti looked down at Odin, who had padded up silently and was now standing beside him. "And how would you know?" he asked Odin.

:I've seen many dogs fall for bitches in my day, and I know what their thoughts are like. Yours are very similar, except in that you've fallen for a girl, not a bitch.:

Xicanti looked back into the pool. "So I really am?" he asked quietly. "I'm not just thinking it might be true?"

:Isn't that what I said?:

"More or less. So I guess you're right. It is."

:Told ya. Oh, and Cahra's coming up behind you now. She doesn't know what the conversation's about, though. She wasn't here for the love parts.:

The young thief half turned to see Cahra coming up behind him. She smiled warmly as their eyes met. "Hello," she said softly, so's not to wake the others. "Do you always have one sided conversations with yourself?"

Xicanti frowned. "What do you mean?" he asked.

Cahra smiled again. "You were talking to yourself about how you guessed you were right and how you really were something. But you weren't saying anything about what you were talking to yourself about."

"What?" Xicanti was fast becoming puzzled. "I wasn't talking to myself!" He reached out and scratched Odin's ear. "I was talking to him."

It was Cahra's turn to frown. "Him? As in Odie?"

Xicanti nodded. "Which other him is there right now?"

"Xicanti?" Cahra asked slowly. "Are you feeling okay?"

"Never felt better. Why?"

The girl took a deep breath, then tucked her legs underneath her. "Animals don't talk," she told him, all seriousness. "They aren't even supposed to have really big intellects. They're nice to have as pets and all, but they don't make very good conversationalists."

Xicanti frowned at her. "But Odin and Trax and the horses talk all the time!" he exclaimed. "Don't you, Odin?"

:To you and Icky, yes,: Odin replied. :But not to other people. I'm not allowed.:

"W-what?" The news shook Xicanti. It had never crossed his mind that speaking with animals might not be a talent he shared with the rest of the world. Looking up at Cahra, he said, "He says you can't hear him. He says out of all of us, only me and Icky can."

Cahra looked at him with disbelief. "Is this a joke?" she asked him carefully.

"Of course not! Would I make up something like this?" Desperate to be believed, Xicanti looked back to Odin. "Odie, would it be too much of a breach of protocol to nod or shake your head or somethin' to show Cahra that I'm not crazy, and that you really do talk to me?"

Odin put on a thoughtful expression, then shook his head. :I don't think that'd be too illegal!: he replied with a doggy grin.

"Good!" Xicanti returned his eyes to Cahra's. "He says it wouldn't be too illegal to nod or shake to answer questions."

The girl still appeared skeptical, but said with at shrug, "I guess it's worth a try."

"Okay, then." Xicanti turned most of his attention to the dog beside him. "Odin, I'll have to ask ya some pretty stupid questions at first, since I can't really think of anything good right now, so bear with me, 'kay?"

Odin nodded his head. :Fine,: he responded.

"Okay. For starters�" Xicanti paused for a second to think. "What's your name?"

:That's not a yes or no question, and I can't possibly answer it with my head!: Odin pointed out as he shot the boy a withering look. :But I guess I can write it out in the dirt or something.: He rose and headed over to a loamy patch a few meters away. Xicanti did likewise, motioning for Cahra to follow him.

At the patch of dirt, Odin took one paw and, almost daintily, sketched his name in the loam. "He's actually doing it!" Cahra whispered as the dog finished the "D". Odin, however, didn't stop there. He kept on writing, until at last the phrase, "Odin, formerly Gog" was plainly written in the dirt.

Odin shot another withering look at Xicanti as he wiped his paw clean on the grass. :There. She happy yet?:

"He wants to know if you're happy yet."

Cahra shrugged. "I really don't know. He's written it out and all, but you could have taken over his mind or something to make him do it. Lowie told me he did that with a man eating slug once."

"He did. But I wouldn't do something that cruel to a nice creature like Odie here." He scratched Odin's ears once more. "Do you believe me yet?"

Cahra shrugged. "I suppose I have to. I don't think you'd do something that cruel to a creature like Odin. And you've always been pretty much truthful, other than those two little things that you lied about." She let out a sigh. "Yes, I guess I believe you now."

Xicanti grinned at her. "At last!" he exclaimed. "This is wonderful! Odin, she believes us!"

Odin gave the two friends a doggy grin. :I always knew she would! She doesn't have it in her to resist anything slightly magical for very long!: Still grinning, the dog stood up on his hind legs and put his paws on Cahra's shoulders, then gave her a lick.

The girl smiled and hugged the dog. "I guess he really can think and talk and understand," she said thoughtfully as Odin got back on all fours. "I'm sorry I doubted you."

"Oh, that's okay. I guess if I'd been you, I would've doubted me too."

Xicanti was more than pleased with the silver sword he gained at one stop. "It may not be a lightsaber," he commented to Xeph one night, "but it's sure beautiful, ain't it?"

Xeph grumbled something about it being wonderful and went back to sleep. Xicanti smiled to himself and began to polish the blade. "It really is something," he whispered to Trax as the little monkey jumped to his shoulder, "isn't it? I've never seen anything like it before, and I've seen a lot of weapons! It's unique. I hope I'll get to take it with me when I go back home."

:Oh, if you go back home I don't see why you wouldn't get to bring it,: Trax replied with a yawn. :When Araphos cast that spell, it brought all intelligent life on the Falcon, plus everything that that life had with them at the time. If you put it on before these mage people magick you back home, it should go with you.:

"That's right, isn't it? Everything we had came with us. Even Icky's cup and Han's blaster." Xicanti leaned back against the tree he had chosen to sleep near and began to think. Trax, eager to avoid being squished, leaped off his shoulder and took to the trees. "I wonder if it still works? The blaster, I mean, not the cup. We've been here almost a week, and he hasn't tried it yet."

:He's probably just saving it for when we need it.: Trax hopped back onto his young friend and curled up. :Don't worry about it right now. Just sleep. Sleep's good.:

Xicanti grinned down at the little monkey in his lap. "Sure is!" he whispered back. "I'm goin' to sleep, then. May the both of us have pleasant and insightful dreams!"

:Hmpf!: Trax grumbled. :You're starting to sound like a Jedi now. Too much studying. Get Lowie to give you a day off or something.:

"I wish I could. But it's my punishment for almost getting myself killed, an' I can't go 'gainst it."

:Hmpf! Have it your way. I'm goin' to sleep!: Within moments, he had done just that.

I guess I should too, Xicanti thought to himself. I may not be that tired, but I'll feel it in the morning if I don't sleep now. Slowly, the young thief let his mind relax, willing the sleep to come. And come it did, bringing with it dreams which were far from pleasant, but certainly insightful�

Xicanti could tell right away that he wasn't in his own body. This one was much shorter, and had short, straight hair as opposed to his own long curls. It was also decidedly female.

Strange, he thought. I've never dreamed I was a woman before. Never even thought about it. This should be interesting!

Experimentally, Xicanti tried to make the new body do something. It didn't respond to his commands. Even stranger! he thought. I've always been able to control exactly what I do in my dreams. He was quickly becoming annoyed with this particular dream, but did not try to will himself into a better one. He had a Feeling about this, and his Feelings were rarely wrong.

"Jass, are you done with lunch yet? We're getting hungry out here!" a good-natured voice called clear as a bell from the next room.

Xicanti was surprised to hear 'himself' answer. "It'll be done in a few minutes!" the body he occupied called out. It moved closer to a counter along the side of the kitchen and began to work at putting the finishing touches on a meal.

The body stayed with the food for perhaps five minutes before transferring it to a nearby dining room. "Okay everyone, come and get it!" the body called.

"Do we have to eat now?" a younger voice asked. "I'm busy."

"Of course we have to eat now!" the voice from earlier replied. "Now's when lunch's ready. Your mother went to a lot of trouble to make it for us. Don't you think you should show just a little respect by eating some?"

The little voice was silent for a moment. "Well, I guess if Mom worked real hard on it, I can eat some of it. But that doesn't mean I'm hungry!"

Xicanti felt the body smile. "That girl'll go places someday," it murmured to itself.

At that moment, a small, red-haired figure burst into the room. A closer inspection, provided by the woman whose body he was apparently trapped in, proved it to be a little girl of perhaps six years old. "What're we having today?" she asked cheerfully as she ran around the table to a pre-ordained spot and plopped down in the chair. "Is it burgers? I hope so! Did you make burgers today Mom?"

The body laughed. "As a matter of fact, I did!" it replied. "How many do you want?"

The little girl thought for a moment, resting her chin on her hand. "Six thousand!" she announced proudly. "I want to eat six thousand?"

It was at this moment that a dark haired man entered the room. "Six thousand?" he asked incredulously as he took his seat next to the little girl. "Are you sure you can eat that many without help?"

"Of course I can, Dad!" the little girl laughed. She puffed out her chest. "I can do anything!"

Xicanti felt the body smile. "That may very well be, Mara," it told the girl. "But how about we start with one and see where it goes from there?"

Mara???? Xicanti tried for a good look at the little girl as the body gave her a burger to start with. The features were less mature, of course, yet he was soon certain that this was his half-sister. That man must be her father, the young thief thought to himself. She called him Dad, and she called the body Mom� which means I'm dreaming of my mother and sister, and the man who should've been my father.

The meal progressed after an ordinary fashion, with Mara telling her parents stories about her day so far, and her parents attempting to amuse her however possible. "Can Karina come over later?" she asked when lunch was done. "I want to show her my new stuff!"

Xicanti felt Jaserena smile. "Of course she can," she told the little girl. "You know that Karina's welcome here anytime."

Mara gave her mother a sly smile. "Anytime?" she asked impishly. "What about midnight?"

Her father laughed. "Even midnight, if she's in trouble," he told his daughter.

As the little family talked, Xicanti became envious of his sister. She had a family that loved her, he thought sadly. She lost it, but at least it was hers for a little while. I never even had that for a day, let alone however long she's been alive for!

Mara and her father headed back into the room they had occupied before, while Jaserena took the dishes back into the kitchen. As she washed, Xicanti debated whether or not to explore this mind which had been his mothers, and in which he was now trapped.

At last, he decided to simply explore the top layer of his mother's identity. It'll give me a chance to get to know her, he determined, without taking anything from her.

It seemed that she was Jaserena Jade, wife of Rex Jade and mother to Saldar Jade and Mara Jade. Saldar? Xicanti questioned, probing just slightly deeper to find an image of the boy. I have another brother! He frowned. That is, I had another brother.

Gently, the young thief looked into the mental images his mother had of Saldar. He was tall, dark haired, favoring his father as far as looks went, and his mother in the way of interests. He was nearly thirteen years old, and planned on becoming a pilot when he grew older. His parents had gotten him flying lessons for his twelfth birthday, and already he was at the top of his class. He wasn't conceited, though, and shrugged off his skill. He never gave up a chance to help someone in need, and got along wonderfully with Mara

. As Xicanti went deeper, he began to hope fiercely that his half brother was still alive. He could have eluded the Imp forces! he thought to himself. He wasn't - isn't - stupid! I'm gonna try an' find him once I get back home. He probably changed his name, but I know what he looks like, basically, and someone else must too.

Once he was finished with the memories of Saldar, Xicanti returned to his mother's surface thoughts. Within the next few minutes, he came to know her better than he could ever have hoped.

She hated the Empire with a passion, but was unable to voice her feelings. She loved animals and plants, and wanted to live someplace with more of them. Unfortunately, the money had been a little tight that year, and the family had been unable to afford the cost of a move. Jaserena feared for what would happen if they stayed much longer. The Emperor had made it known that he wanted to see any children with unique abilities, and both Saldar and Mara had displayed Jedi tendencies from a young age. She had often warned them against exposing their power, but it did little good. Sal avoided it as much as he possibly could, but it was all a game to Mar. She liked to lift things into the air when it was least expected, startling everyone in the room. Jass remembered the holocaust against the Jedi all too well, and did not want her children to experience the horror of it.

It didn't take Xicanti long to decide that she would have been a mother he could love. If I had a body I could control right now, I'd cry, he thought to himself. I want her to still be alive. Why did things have to turn out this way? Why couldn't Palpatine have just left all the Jedi alone? Me and Xeph and Saldar and Mara could have all lived with our parents. We could've had a family! As it is, I doubt any of us has had ideal lives. I know for sure that me an' Xepher didn't! And Mara never wants to talk about her past to anyone, so she must've had a bad time of it, too.

At last, Jaserena was done with the dishes. She put them all away gladly, then headed into the main living area to sit with her family.

The doorbell rang when she was about halfway through the dining room. Instinctively, Xicanti knew what that ring meant. No! he cried helplessly, unable to reach out to anyone who would listen. Don't get the door! Hide! Run away, far away!!!

"I'll get it!" It was Mara's voice. No! This can't be happening! This can't happen to her! She doesn't deserve it! No one deserves it!

Whether Mara deserved it or not was irrelevant, and he knew it. Jaserena reached a view of the door just as her daughter had yanked it open, revealing a black-robed man, with a contingent of red robed personages behind him. "Hi!" Mara announced cheerfully to the man. "I'm Mara Jade, and I'm six!"

Xicanti felt his mother tense. She knows it's finally happened, he realized, and she can't do anything about it.

The man raised his face a little, exposing the wrinkled skin of his jaw. His mouth twisted into a grotesque smile. "Hello Mara," he said quietly. "Would you like to come for a ride on my ship?"

Mara titled her head up to see him better. "I'd love to!" she exclaimed. "Say, do I know you? You look very familiar?" She leaned back a little, then announced, "I know! You're the Emperor! I've seen you on the holo vids!"

Rex entered the scene just then, and was stopped dead in his tracks. He looked desperately to Jaserena. She looked back at him helplessly. Xicanti could sense her despair, and wanted to reassure her. You aren't gonna die! he wanted to say. Neither is Mara! Or Saldar, or Rex! You're all gonna stay alive! It'll be okay! Xicanti ignored the fact that he did not know what had happened to Rex or Saldar.

Palpatine and Mara seemed to be getting along merrily. It was not long before he turned and left; she followed him gladly, waving goodbye to her parents. As Palpatine passed, he gave whispered instructions to the red robed guards behind him. As one, they nodded, and split into two groups. One followed close behind the Emperor; the other moved into the Jade residence.

"Rex and Jaserena Jade," the lead Robe said, "you have been� invited to the Emperor's Palace. You will come with us."

Jaserena looked at Rex again. "We will," she said softly. To the Robe, she asked, "We don't have a choice, do we?"

"I'm afraid you don't," he replied. "And a lot of unpleasant things are likely to happen to you once you get there. But we'll try to make the time between now and your next meeting with the Emperor as comfortable as possible. We may be his guards, not all of us enjoy seeing people suffer."

"Coulda fooled me," Rex muttered quietly to his wife as the two shuffled out to a waiting shuttle and were made to get inside. Two guards sat in the back with the prisoners, while the remaining one piloted the shuttle.

Throughout the trip to the Palace, Jaserena worried about Saldar. She hoped desperately that he would be okay, and that he would manage to find some way to escape from the Emperor's clutches. I wish I could help her somehow, Xicanti thought. On an off hand chance that he could still use his telepathy from inside his mother's head, he reached out, searching for a mind. He did not know who he was looking for, but was certain that he would find them.

:What is it?: a grumpy voice asked him. :Mara, this isn't funny! Mom says not to do talk to each other like this. It's really dangerous.:

:Saldar?: Xicanti asked carefully. :Is that you?:

The shock at hearing a mind voice other than Mara's was apparent in Saldar's tone. :It might be,: the voice replied cautiously. :Who're you?:

:You wouldn't know me,: Xicanti began uncertainly, :but please, I want to help. Are you at your flying lesson now?:

:Yeah. Why?:

:You have to take the ship you're in and fly off now! Trust me, it's important. Palpatine has taken Mara and your parents. There's no way you can save them. You have to get away now. It's what your mother wants. You have to! Please, listen to me. I know what's gonna happen, an' I don't want it to happen to you, too. Get away. Save yourself.:

:I can't just leave!: the other boy thought back. :Even if what you're saying is true, I'm only a kid! The Empire'd find me for sure!:

:Not if you're careful. Get in with the smugglers or something. They'll tell you what to do, and they won't ask questions or turn you in. Go and hide on Tatooine, or some other planet on the Outer Rim, if you don't like smugglers. Just go! Please, you have to!: Xicanti was getting desperate. He didn't want his half brother to die, and he'd be damned if he didn't do all he could to prevent that occurrence.

:All right,: Saldar replied cautiously. :But will you at least tell me who you are?:

Xicanti thought for a moment. :My name's Xicanti,: he said at last. :That's all I can tell you. Just remember it. Maybe look it up in thirty years or so. Find me, an' ask me something, an' you'll know I was telling you the truth now. I know it sounds strange, but please, just go! You have to trust me! You're gonna die if you don't!:

Saldar was still dubious about the whole matter. :I guess I don't really have anything to loose by it�: the other boy said carefully. :Okay, I'll go. If you're telling the truth, I'll be saving myself, and if you aren't, I'll be in big trouble. But I'd rather be in big trouble possibly saving my skin than dead!:

With that, Saldar ripped his mind away from Xicanti's, leaving his younger brother to wonder at his fate.

If Xicanti could have done so, he would have sat back, exhausted. He hoped with all his heart that his brother would get away, but had no guarantee of it. I hope he's all right, Xicanti thought tiredly. :Sith, but I've done all I can. There's nothing more I could do. I've just gotta hope he looks me up, so I'll know.:

The ride to the Palace took roughly half an hour. From there, Jaserena and Rex were herded into the Emperor's throne room. "You wait here!" one guard said gruffly.

Left with no choice, husband and wife stayed stock still, afraid even to hold onto each other. It was with an emotion near relief that they viewed the entrance of Emperor Palpatine and his henchman, Darth Vader. The end would be near, yes, but they had never had any illusions about surviving. This would be the day of their deaths; knowing this, they had prepared themselves.

Palpatine seated himself in his throne and motioned for his two 'guests' to be brought forward. The guards did so. Palpatine tapped his fingernails on the arm of his throne as he observed the pair. "Why hello," he said with mock pleasantness. "I am quite glad you decided to join me here, in my Palace." He laughed evilly. "It would not have gone well with you, had you not. Your deaths would have been slow, I assure you, and incredibly painful." Once more, he laughed. Xicanti could sense his mother's fear of the tyrant. He tried to send her the most calming thoughts he could manage, but failed. She was not Force sensitive, and so could not receive his messages.

Xicanti turned his attention to his father. He felt the younger Darth Vader's emotions coursing through him with a ferocity which surprised him. They were incredibly jumbled; on one hand, he felt proud of himself. He had turned from the light and joined with the darkness. Oddly enough, his 'surprise' at his victory was just as apparent. He hadn't expected to come this far, by any means, and was reveling in it.

Mixed in with the pride and surprise were a jumble of other things the boy made no attempt to unscramble. The only other emotion which stood out prominently was lust� and it was directed at Jaserena.

He had known that it would happen, of course. He would not have been there if it hadn't. His prior knowledge did nothing to dampen the effect, however; it merely amplified it to such a point that it was impossible to ignore.

Palpatine, having spent the last little while simply staring at the two before him, finally spoke. "I have decided to keep your daughter as my own," he commenced. "Your son is, I will confess, not in my hands at the moment, but I will soon have him. My troops are searching the planet for him as we speak. In a matter of hours, he will be in the same position as your daughter.

"I have come to the conclusion that it would be best if the two of you died. Your little girl has had all memories of her previous life erased. Your continued existence can benefit neither her nor I in any manner whatsoever." He sat back on the throne, regarding the two of them calmly. "Now that that's settled, how would you like to die?"

Rex and Jaserena exchanged a glance of good-bye. "I love you," Jaserena whispered.

Rex nodded his head, the tears nearly spilling from his eyes. "We'll be together again soon, love," he whispered. "May the Force unit us in the afterlife." Having said their final goodbyes, husband and wife faced their deaths bravely.

Palpatine seemed to expect an answer to his impertinent question, yet neither prisoner would give him the satisfaction of one. "Very well then," he said slowly. "I will decided your fates. I'm not feeling very imaginative today, and so I have decided that you -" he pointed to Rex " - will be killed with a blaster shot. Highly unoriginal, I know, but effective none the less. You�" he looked to Jaserena "� I don't know what to do with. A blaster shot would do for you as well, obviously, but I want to get at least one imaginative death in today." Palpatine rested his chin on his hand to better ponder the dilemma. Discretely, he glanced up at Vader from the corner of his eye, observing the young Sith Lord's body language.

"Lord Vader," Palpatine said carefully as he straightened in his seat, "you find this woman attractive, yes?"

Jaserena's fear was building up now, and Xicanti was getting desperate. Helpless to stop what he knew must happen, the boy watched in horror as his father replied that he did, indeed, find her attractive.

Palpatine smiled at him. "Then you may have her, Lord Vader," he said in his raspy voice. "She will be yours. Do with her what you will." He turned to Jaserena, who was now shaking in terror. Rex, shouting at the top of his lungs, was attempting to rush at the Emperor; several stormtroopers had had to restrain him. The butt of a rifle connected with the back of his head, and he slumped forward, unconscious but not dead.

Jaserena whimpered helplessly as she saw what had befallen her husband. Threats to slaughter Vader and the Emperor flew from her mouth, coupled with vows of vengeance she knew she could never make good on. Palpatine chuckled, and regarded her thoughtfully. "We can hardly give you away in such a state, now can we?" he asked. "No, a few changes will have to be made before Lord Vader can have you as his plaything."

Changes? And, in a rush, Xicanti remembered how Anakin had told he and his siblings of how Palpatine had altered Jaserena's mind so that she would be unable and unwilling to fight back.

Xicanti watched with a heavy heart as Palpatine reached into Jaserena's mind and began to erase and rebuild it. The process was far from painless; the woman screamed and writhed, and the boy could feel her desperation. In what seemed like slow motion, the world began to fade away, leaving nothing but one last impression of Rex's head being blow wide open. And then� darkness.