Millennia has been progressing nicely, and at the tender age of 9, was quite capable of using the Force not only to calm the indigenous wildlife, but had oddly enough displayed a natural tendency towards moving objects around with the Force. It came as a surprise to everyone when Krussik and Millennia were meditating one morning, and Krussik suddenly found himself floating in midair, with Millennia giggling wildly.
This morning was no different from most. Krussik lay asleep, snoring loudly. He would awaken soon. Dral took advantage of the few minutes that he had to open a communications channel back to his ship. After five years, it became second nature, bouncing portions of his signal over the voice comm network established by the local Imperial garrison, ensuring that nothing could be traced back to him.
Punching numbers into his datapad to keep him amused, his internal computer did the rest of the calculations, slicing into local computer networks to gain the latest hyperspace jump points for the day. Dral rapidly calculated the numbers in his head and on his datapad, uploading them to his navigation droid for one final verification phase before sending the information up to his ship, the SS Pillar of Autumn. One could never be too careful on a world swarming with the enemy, especially when traveling with a child. If the day ever came that they had to evacuate, Millennia had to be able to get home at any cost.
In the meantime, Krussik finally arose, nodded at Dral, and shook Millennia gently. She stirred, quietly muttering before pulling the covers over her face tightly.
"Come, Millie. It is time for your lesson. And... I grow hungry."
"Aw, Krussik... just five more minutes?"
"Now, Millie."
With that, Krussik levitated Millennia off of her cot and lowered her to the floor. Slowly, she got up, grabbed her day clothes, and slipped behind a screen which she lashed together a few years ago to get dressed. She emerged minutes later, wearing a simple tunic and loose fitting pants, an outfit recommended by Krussik for its simplicity and comfort.
At this point, Dral rose from his seat and picked up Millennia. "You be careful out there, okay honey?"
"Yes, Daddy... I can take care of myself."
"Just be careful."
"Okay. Um, Daddy? Why don't you come out with us?"
"I've got work to do, dear, and you've got lessons. Now hop to it."
With that, he hugged Millennia tightly, and lowered her to catch up to Krussik, who was already looking hungrily at some nearby trees. They always spent the first hour of the morning foraging for food, ranging from berries to birds.
Dral, on the other hand, worried little about food. The Ischar were excellent cooks, but MREs would do in a pinch, just like every other morning. There was work to be done, and very little time in which to do it. Grabbing his backpack, Dral fastened it firmly to his body, rapidly checked his pockets, and walked south to the foothills.
As part of his daily ritual, Dral would perform reconnaissance duties, ensuring that the Imperials weren't about to come any closer. 5 years plus a ship full of spare parts had given Dral enough time to build an impressive sensor network across the land, and with the help of the Ischar scouts, nothing escaped his notice.
At the peaks of the foothills, there was an outcropping with a small pile of rocks. Reaching into a gap, Dral pulled out a long slender case and opened it. Inside, there was a device upon which he relied for the past few years. While it initially appeared much like a rifle, there was neither a barrel nor a trigger to be found. Instead, it had a heavily compacted array of imaging and transmission gear. Looking into the binocular scope, he was able to see out for well over a mile, more than enough range to see part of the Imperial base.
Usually, there was nothing more than the usual troop movement, a bit of weapons fire from the training areas, and the occasional scout group sent out far in the wrong direction. The Ischar were cautious, and always made sure to attack the Imperial base from the south, taking a longer route back home to avoid leading the Imperials back to their village.
Today was slightly different. An Imperial shuttle was landing in the base, bearing an unknown sigil. There was no way to see it at this range. Flicking a switch, his display switched to a closer view, relayed from one of his remote droids.
"Hrm... still no good. Let's try--"
Ahem!
"You are careless, pinkskin!"
Dral jumped to his feet, finding himself in front of a massive Ischar warrior covered in armor made of various pieces of stormtrooper armor, bone, and held together with vines and strips of canvas. The warrior was just over 2 meters tall, with a scar running across the right side of his face, from his eyepatch to just above his upper lip. He had lost an eye years ago in a fight with the Imperials. Dral remembered that day well, as he and Krussik helped drag the warrior back to the village, having held them back with a barrage of modified remote droids and one of Krussik's traditional vine cutting bags. Tangled in the rapidly growing vines, and shot at repeatedly by 10 floating droid units, the stormtroopers were too distracted to give chase.
"Maybe you've just gotten better, Sriktak."
"Perhaps. Did you see the ship?"
"Of course. Did I miss anything last night?"
"Nothing important. The stormtroopers advance. We may have to move before the full moon."
"Ah, yes. Getting closer, are they? I suppose we had better prepare the tribe."
"It is already done. We can move in two suns."
Dral nodded, running a few more numbers in his head.
"There's a clearing about 18 miles northwest. Arable land, but we'll have to pass through a ravine. We've got a 94.78456 percent chance of getting there safely. Soil pH is around 7.2, which should be workable, and I should be able to set up a few relays..."
Sriktak looked at him blankly.
"I did it again, didn't I... Okay, here we go. Good land, one day's travel, past a ravine, that way."
Sriktak nodded. "You must speak plainly, pinkskin. Not like machine."
With that, he disappeared into the brush, continuing his duties. Dral got back to work, scanning the base. The ship had already landed in the base, making it impossible to identify which faction it belonged to. Dral set the scanners to alert him if anything major changed, and started punching in more numbers. While he never planned on using it, he wanted to perfect the design for his temporal hyperdrive, just in case he and his friends ever needed to get back to their time. 143 years is a long time, and if they failed to fix things here, they may have to go back to set everything right in the past.
The equations were actually pretty simple. The trick isn't to use some ridiculous amount of power, thought Dral. It's more of a subtle shift in the actual patterns within hyperspace. If you attempt something very similar to a jump, you can shift from moving within space to moving within time, but the controls are completely different.
Suddenly, the scanners went off. Dral jumped to the scopes, looking all around, and saw nothing. Puzzled, he started switching to his remote scouts, when he felt the barrel of a gun against his back. Slowly, Dral raised his arms, stood up, and turned around to face an Imperial Stormtrooper.
"Good, you little freak. You're coming back with us for interrogation."
"Us? I don't see anyone else."
"He'll be here with binders. Now get moving."
He turned his head towards a pair of speeder bikes. As he did, Dral lunged for the trooper's weapon. The trooper tightened his grip with one hand, while punching Dral in the face.
"Fighting for your life, eh?"
"Not mine, bastard."
Dral suddenly felt a surge of strength pass through him as he ripped the rifle from the stormtrooper's hand, and coldly emptied three shots into him. The stormtrooper fell to the ground, smoke rising from the hole in his armor. Dral ran to the speeder bikes, wiring a spare thermal detonator into the ignition system for one, and then took the other one.
Seconds later, he heard the other trooper speeding after him. Nimbly dodging the trees, Dral felt a sudden wave of heat behind him. As he turned his head for a second, he saw the trooper's bike erupt in a massive ball of flame. Dral grimly sped back to the camp.
"Alright, everyone! Time to go! We've got Imperials en route! Move it move it MOVE IT!"
The Ischar looked at him blankly for a moment, then dashed into their huts, grabbing whatever possessions they could find, and running off. Sriktak ran in from the trees, nodded at Dral, and yelled to the sky in Ischar. The battlecry rang through the village, and Sriktak began giving instructions to his people.
Dral, in the meantime, ran off into the wilderness. Minutes later, he found them practicing in the trees. Millennia nimbly floated down to Dral, as Krussik leapt down from branch to branch.
"Millie, you shouldn't show off. That is not the purpose of the Force."
"Aww, Krussik..."
"It is not the way, child. Now, Dral, what is the matter? You are injured!"
"I'm fine, Krussik. I was lucky to get away, but I'm fine. Look, that's not important. We've got to go."
"Go? Go where? To the village?"
"No, Krussik. We've got to get the hell out of here. We've got incoming stormtroopers, a shuttle just landed at the garrison, and I'm sure they're not on our side."
"Where is ship? Still back in clearing?"
"I'm warming it up right now."
Dral paused for a second, blinked, and grabbed his blasters, walking out of the clearing. "Let's go. The warriors are preparing. Get your apprentice to safety, he's got to survive this, then meet me at the ship."
With that, another Ischar leapt down from the trees. "Where will I be safe? I want to help."
"You want to help? Then get the hell out of here. Your people need you alive. They should be headed to a clearing to the northwest. Guide them."
Krussik nodded in agreement as Dral and Millennia headed to the village, taking the shortest path to their ship. As they arrived, Dral noted two separate groups of Stormtroopers already advancing, very clearly arguing with each other. One group wore the standard Stormtrooper armor, but the other had armor adorned with the same insignia that had been on the shuttle which landed earlier. The Ischar warriors stood fast, ready to fight.
Suddenly, a blaster went off, and a stormtrooper fell. The new troops had opened fire on everyone, Ischar and local trooper alike. With that, Dral grabbed Millennia and ran for the ship, still nearly a kilometer away in a foggy clearing in the woods. Krussik followed, calling the trees and vines to block the first few meters of their path.
As they entered the fog-covered parts of the forest, a barrage of blaster fire came up behind them. Dral looked around frantically, and suddenly shoved Millennia into Krussik's arms.
"Take her! Get her home!"
"But, Dral! I can fight!"
"Save it for later! I can't protect her as well as you can. Now go!"
Krussik ran off to the ship as Dral turned around, concentrating for a moment.
"R3, this is Captain Dral Tolan of the SS Pillar of Autumn. Identification code GRN-10289-HC-23FE4. Permit two lifeforms to board the ship, Krussik and Millennia, and prepare to jump home as per program Tolan Omega Seven."
The R3 Astromech droid in his ship sent back a response as Dral began firing into the mass of Stormtroopers. Two fell as Dral slowly retreated to the ship.
"Hrm, 2.5 percent chance of that happening once... Must be my lucky day."
Dral continued firing as he saw a group of troopers pass him to his left, clearly running for the ship. R3 sent another message back.
"Subjects are aboard. Krussik is seriously wounded. Continue?"
"Dammit! R3, lower ship's temperature. He'll be safe in torpor. Now seal the hatch and go, don't wait for--"
As Dral attempted to finish his sentence, a blaster bolt caught him square in the chest. Falling to the ground, the Pillar of Autumn hovered out of the fog and flew out to space. The last thing that Dral Tolan saw was the stock of a blaster rifle hit his face as everything went black.