Clan of Three

Part One

~~~~~

"I just landed on Arvala-7. Are you sure this is the right place, Luke? I've only seen one encampment." The young woman grumbled into the subspace hologram as she rested her chin on her palm. "I'm quite sure, Rael. They're somewhere on that planet. It was a strong ripple in the force. You'll know when you meet them." The young man said optimistically while offering a small smile.

"Oh cheer up, El. At least you're actually doing something exciting. Meanwhile, Leia's got me and Chewie helping scrub down every ship in the Republic's fleet. " A new face complained as they shoved their way into the screen. Rael let an amused smile appear as she watched Han and Luke bicker. The smuggler sent her a wink and wished her good luck before leaving them alone once more.

Luke let out a sigh and straightened his robes. "You'd think he was the younger one." He mumbled before meeting the girl's eyes again. "Are you alright checking this out on your own?" He asked her as he watched her facial expressions closely. Rael took a deep breath and nodded her head. "I'll be fine. Just a bit nervous. I know how important this is and don't wanna let anyone down." She said quietly.

The older Jedi looked at her sympathetically before saying, "I realize the weight I've put on your shoulders, but I wouldn't have asked this of you if I wasn't sure you could handle it." Rael smiled a bit at the compliment and felt a her confidence grow a bit. "I won't let you down, Master." She told him with a wink.

Luke rolled his eyes at the girl and shook his head, but said nothing about her calling him 'Master'. He had told her multiple times that she didn't have to since she had started her training before him, but she insisted. He came to stop arguing with her about it when Leia explained that it was her way of showing how grateful she was to him... for everything.

"I know you won't. Keep your subspace comlink on at all times. Keep us updated on everything. I mean it, Rae." Luke ordered her with a knowing look. Rael feigned insult and said, "You act as if I don't give you all play-by-plays." Luke only sighed and crossed his arms. "Above all else, stay safe, Rael. The Republic may have won, but our enemies still slink in the shadows and they would love nothing more than getting their hands on a Jedi. I feel there is something dark in the works." Luke warned seriously.

Rael sobered up and gave him a firm nod. "I'll keep a low profile. In-and-out. I'll be back with a new friend before you know it." She reassured him. "Goodluck, Rael. May the Force be with you." Luke said and smiled at her warmly. "And with you, Luke." she replied, returning his smile before she ended the transmission. "Well, here goes nothing." Rael whispered to herself and stood up from her pilot's seat.

The young Jedi strapped on her double-bladed saber and fastened her light-weight cloak on, before opening the loading ramp to her ship. Rael had to shield her eyes for a moment so they could adjust to the planet's sun. She blinked her eyes quickly as they adjusted to her surroundings and pulled out the GPS device that Luke had programmed with the estimated location of the being in his visions. She wasted no time and unloaded her speeder-bike that Han had adapted for rough terrain.

Rael closed the loading ramp and climbed onto the speeder. "I am one with the Force and the Force is with me." she whispered as sort of a prayer while grasping her saber's power coupler that she kept on a chain around her neck. Luke had taught her to remove it when she was undercover incase someone captured her. This way the saber's blades couldn't be ignited unless she reconnected the missing part. With one last glance at her ship, she headed off following the GPS's directions.

~~~~~

It took about an hour to arrive at her destination and when she did, her stomach twisted. Outside, what looked to be a stronghold, lay more than a dozen bodies and a M61 Vulcan. The base's door had been blown off and Rael could sense no lifeforms inside. "Damn it!" She shouted and slammed her fist on one of the handlebars.

Luke must have been right about there being a force-sensitive being here. As she sat there on her speeder on the hill, overlooking the base, she could sense the distant pull of someone through the Force and her determination returned. "There's still hope." she grumbled and revved her speeder and zoomed off following only her instincts.

~~~~~

After a long two days travel, Rael found herself outside the encampment she had spotted when she had landed. The young woman began to grow nervous as she shut off her speeder and slipped off of it. She could feel the force practically dragging her forward and to the door of the main hut.

She had barely raised her hand to knock when the cold muzzle of a blaster was pushed against her neck. "Who are you?" A modified voice demanded. The girl cut her eyes to the left and saw that it was a Mandalorian who had snuck up on her. "I am someone who would prefer not being held at blaster-point when introducing myself." she quipped.

The Mandalorian said nothing but took a few steps back and kept his blaster pointed at her. "What are you doing here?" he demanded. "My business is my own, Mandalorian." She responded calmly. The man said nothing and continued to point his blaster between her eyes.

"What is going on out here?" a rough voice spoke up as the hut's door swung open. Rael was going to speak, but was distracted when she saw a small metal carriage float up behind the newly appeared Ugnaught. It was as if the other two faded away and it was only Rael and the small creature that resembled Master Yoda. "I'm not sure what I expected, but it definitely wasn't that." she whispered and took a step towards the carriage.

The Mandalorian flew forward and put the girl in a headlock with the blaster returning to her neck. "Don't even think about it." He hissed. Rael almost used the Force to throw him off of her, but decided against it. 'Low-profile' she reminded herself silently. "I mean no harm. I've come to collect the child." she said calmly.

"You have a fob?" The man demanded. "A fob?" She asked hesitantly. "A tracking fob. From the Guild?" He snapped. Suddenly, she realized what was going on. "Yo-you're a bounty hunter..." she breathed as she felt the blaster press into her neck more harshly. "And you're not." He realized.

"I do not wish to fight, but the child will be leaving with me." She warned and shifted her feet a bit. "The kid's my bounty. He stays with me. And if you've forgotten, I've got you at blaster-point." The bounty hunter said cooly. Rael took a deep breath as she made up her mind on what she had to do.

Before the man knew what was happening, Rael had thrown him over her shoulder... maybe with a little help from the Force, and hurried to the child's carriage. "There is no need for violence." The Ugnaught spoke up. The young woman ignored him as she reached down to pick the child up, but a cable wrapped around her ankle and she was pulled down to the ground a dragged through the dirt.

Just as quickly as she had thrown the man off, he had slammed a pair of stun cuffs on her wrists and taken her blasters and knives that had been strapped to her hips and thigh. "Stay down." He ordered as he stood up and rested a boot below her neck. Rael could feel her saber digging into her back as she squirmed on the ground, trying to free herself.

"Let me go!" she demanded angrily. "And why would I do that. You'll only try to steal my bounty." He retorted. "I have friends in high places. Whatever you're being paid, I can double. " She tried while studying the cuffs on her wrists. "I highly doubt that." He grumbled and removed his boot and pulled Rael to her feet by her collar.

Rael took the chance to elbow him in the gut where his chest plate stopped and ran for her speeder. The Mandalorian let out a groan, but quickly recovered and pressed a button on his vambrace that activated the stun cuffs. The girl's body went rigid from the electrocution and fell to the ground as her vision went dark.

A/N

Yay! First chapter! I'm not sure how consistently I'll be updating this story, but I've got quite a few parts done as of right now:) Hope you enjoy!

- hawkins_2000