The Rebel Faction

Red reflected rays danced on the city planet as the sun sank down to the horizon for the night. It was still amazing to see how an entire planet could be a large metropolis buzzing with constant activity at all hours. As the center of all political and military activity in the galaxy, Corascant attracted all sorts of creatures with multiple agendas.

Rhiannon watched the last light fade as night fell. Pulling her hood up, she left her cheap rented room out into the night.

Walking on the open street, Rhiannon was in the lowliest part of Corascant. Only the dredges of life dwelled below the city. Many an evil plot has been hatched in these forgotten areas. Law seldom found its way to keep order in the streets. There were too many other things the peacekeepers and law enforcers had to do to be worried about drunks, prostitutes, and social rejects.

Thousands of vehicles raced above the street in the night sky. Engine noises drown out much of the voices of the gathered population of lower Corascant. Rhiannon noticed little of the creatures around her. They were of no importance.

There was only one thing that brought her to such a degrading area in the galaxy. Trouble was, she could only sense the slight pull through the Force. Years before she had felt the same presence, and then again recently.

She felt outward with the Force when she sensed it. Stopping suddenly she saw a hooded figure briefly fade into the crowd.

About to start after the figure, a strange, rank local grabbed her shoulder. She did not even have to look at the man to know he was a human in a desperate need of a cleaning. He leaned in and said, "Hey babycakes. How about showing me your wares?"

"No," she said quietly.

"I'd be crushed if you didn't show ol' Den a good time."

"So be it," whispered Rhiannon calmly. With a small gesture, the man's amused face turned to horror as he gasped for breath. He let her go and began grasping at his chest.

"I.....can't......breath......" He fought for air, but his lungs could not expand. Falling to his knees, he pleaded silently for air to releave his burning lungs. By this time, a small crowd began to gather around. In a few moments, the man lie dead on the street.

The crowd just stood for a moment in silence before returning to their activities. No need to mask her oresence in the minds of the witnesses. Most have forgotten the scene moments later.

Rhiannon smiled to herself as she walked away.

John was dressed in his usual balck garment, wandering around the streets of Coruscant. He hated Coruscant, it was old, ugly, dirty, and you could never really get that imperial smell out of the air. He hadn't liked this planet since his first posting here, and the planet had done very little to redeem itself in the intervening years.

He was wandering around, minding his own business, trying to remember why he had come to this planet when the crowd started moving against him, kind of following someone around, and he was kind of cuaght in the swell, being pulled along. He found himself bumping into someone, a woman in a old green cloak. He smiled, kind of confused, but figured what the hell, this planet causes enough trouble....

The woman had dissapeared into the alley...

Leia casually walked past the alley entrance a few steps, then stopped and leaned against the wall of the building she now stood in front of.

The Force offered her a vague grasp on the layout of the alleyways, and the particular one that the woman had just dodged into had only one clear opening to it: the one Leia was stading right next to.

Some odd pressure exerted itself on Leia's mind. Something was about to happen in that alleyway. She had no idea of knowing what, but she knew enough to be prepared for anything.

Looking up above her, Leia spotted a high ledge on the building she was leaning against. If she could get up there, she could maintain a better watch on the surroundings, and be in a better position to act should she be forced to.

A Force jump would easily carry her up to the ledge. Yet it would reveal her to be a Jedi, and she was not ready to let that little secret out into the open yet. Simply scaling the wall with a pair of climbing claws would similary draw too much attentions towards herself, also undesireable.

Finding no other alternative for the moment, Leia continued to lean against the building, only a few feet away from the alleyway. Her senses, both physical and Force attuned, were all turned with full attention towards the alleyway, watching, listening, and waiting. She could feel the movement of presences within the alley.

From what she had seen of this woman, Leia figured she wouldn't have to wait long for something to do...

The distinctive crash and hum of an igniting lightsaber was unmistakeable to Leia's ear. Unwilling to simply step out into the open and possibly make more trouble than was necessary, Leia stayed put, but her hand instinctively moved over to rest on her hip, where her lightsaber hung concealed within.

The presences she felt within the alleyway jostled a bit. She felt fear, anticipation... there was going to be a struggle.

But who was the good guy? Who was the bad?