Jordan stood up, his back aching from hoeing in their small field. The hot Dantooine sun blazed down. The planet was in the middle of its summer cycle and the heat burned with intensity. Jordan brushed hair and sweat from his eyes and stared up at the sky. Somewhere out there, in the vast expanse of space, the Galactic War was taking place. Jordan had grown up hearing stories about the Rebellion and the Empire. He had never thought much of the stories. The war seemed so far away from his peaceful home planet.

"Jordan, what are you looking at?" His little brother, Alder, asked. "Dad wants this field done before supper." Jordan glanced towards the sun and realized it had sunk lower than he had realized.

"We're almost done. We can finish it if we hurry," Jordan replied, digging into the ground with his hoe. He quickly uprooted a few weeds. Alder followed suit.

"Could you tell me a story while we finish?" Alder asked.

"Which one?"

"I want to know about when Dad served in the Clone Wars."

Jordan continued to hoe as he contemplated how to start. "Well, you know I wasn't alive then so I can't tell you like Dad can."

"Tell me anyway. Dad always says it's too painful for him to talk about whenever I ask him."

"Mom told me all the stories I know, but all right. Dad served under General Secura. He said the hardest battle he ever went through was the Battle of Felucia."

"Isn't that the one where the General was killed?" Alder asked.

Jordan nodded and continued to work. "I'm not going to talk about that one, though. Dad doesn't like it when I do. The Battle of Geonosis was the first battle in the Clone Wars. Dad was just fresh off of Kamino and had no idea what the brutalities of war truly were. He fought alongside many honorable Jedi that day, like Masters Windu and Kenobi. Dad said that the fighting was brutal. Many clones in his battalion were killed. He was lucky to have survived."

"How did Dad meet Mom?" Alder asked, uninterested in the rest of the story.

"After the war ended, Dad came here to Dantooine. He had never fought here as a soldier and it held no memories. He met Mom when he was employed by another farmer." Jordan straightened as he finished his row. Alder wasn't too far behind him. "Come on. Let's go get some supper."

Jordan grabbed his brother's hoe and started walking back to their small land speeder. Alder hopped in behind Jordan and they took off. Jordan savored the feeling of flying over the grassland. If there was one thing he truly loved doing, it was flying. He had flown everything from the speeder to his father's small cargo ship. He dreamed of flying big Corellian ships someday. Alder jumped off the speeder before it had completely stopped back at their home. Jordan parked it inside their small shed and made his way into the house.

Inside, the spicy smells of supper wafted through the air. Alder was already playing with Nima; they were fighting with their stick lightsabers. Of course, whenever there was company, Ronan always made the children hide them. It was forbidden everywhere to talk about the Jedi. Jordan's mother, Sybella, looked up from the small stove. "Get the field done?" She asked.

"Yeah. It didn't take as long as the other one," Jordan replied. He stepped through a doorway into the refresher to wash his hands. He heard his father come into the house and begin to speak with Sybella in hushed whispers. Jordan stepped out of the refresher, but remained in the hallway, listening.

"They say the Empire is moving closer to Dantooine," Ronan said.

"They won't stop here. They've already learned our land isn't good for growing their crops," Sybella replied, reassuringly.

"I don't know. This isn't their routine. I think something may be going on."

"You're just paranoid. You'll feel better after you rest," Sybella said firmly. Jordan heard her turn away from Ronan, showing that she wasn't discussing it further.

Jordan stepped out of the hallway and entered the kitchen. "Ah, there you are," Ronan said. "Did you boys get the field done?"

"Yeah, Dad," Jordan replied.

"If you two can quit the farm talk for a minute, supper is ready," Sybella said with a smile. Alder and Nima came running in and took their places at the table. Jordan sat down beside Alder and they began to eat.

Later that night, Jordan lay awake in his bed. Sounds of night crept into his ear as he listened. Something about what his father had said stuck with him. If the Empire comes here, what will we do? He wondered. We have no army or weapons. He shook his head, chiding himself. Stop it. It's like Mom said. They won't come here. Despite his thoughts, he couldn't fall asleep for some time.

Morning broke and the day started as all others. Jordan hopped into the land speeder and flew over the countryside, checking on the family fields as he passed them. As he drew closer to town, he smelled something. As he passed the next hill, he cried out in horror. The town was in flames! Smoke billowed across the grass. Screams and cries echoed around him. As Jordan gazed on in shock, a ship entered the atmosphere.

Jordan stared at the underbelly of a massive Star Destroyer. His father had been right. The Empire was here! Jordan turned the speeder around and flew as fast as he could towards his home. He saw numerous shuttles leave the Destroyer and land near the town. He screwed his eyes shut for a moment as the repetitive sound of blasters echoed. He neared his home and stopped the speeder. Jordan brushed into the house.

"Mom!" He cried out. Sybella came running from the living area.

"What is it?" She asked, seeing the horrified look in his eyes.

"The Empire...they've burned the town! They're here, Mom! The Empire is here!" Jordan exclaimed. Nima had been sitting in a doorway. Hearing her brother's frantic words made her burst into tears.

Sybella quickly wrapped Nima in a hug. "Sh, it'll be all right," she whispered calmly. She looked at Jordan. "You must go find your father and Alder. I think they went to the east field."

Jordan nodded, already halfway out the door. He jumped into the speeder again and headed back the way he had come. "Please be there," he whispered to himself. The smoke cloud from the town was growing steadily and Jordan choked on the disgusting air. He reached the east field and quickly scanned it. "Dad! Alder!" He cried.

A head popped up, then another. Ronan and Alder quickly ran to the speeder and jumped in. "Are Sybella and Nima safe?" Ronan asked. He pulled a blaster from his coat and fitted a charge into it. Alder was wedged in between them as they sped along.

"Yeah. I went straight home. Mom sent me out here," Jordan replied.

A blast pinged against the side of the speeder. Jordan turned his head. Behind them, an Imperial trooper sped after them on his speeder bike. Two more flanked him. Jordan quickly accelerated, trying to lose the troopers. Another blast rang out, followed by the sound of crumpling metal. Ronan's blaster had found its mark. "Head away from the house," Ronan called.

Jordan nodded and turned south, keeping the troopers away from their home. They sped across the grass, blasters ringing in the air. If this is what war is like, then I want no part in it! Jordan thought. Silent tears ran down Alder's face. Jordan cast a glance towards their distant house as they raced by on the speeders. His eyes flew open. "Dad! There's a shuttle at the house!" He exclaimed.

"Change of plans," Ronan loaded his blaster again. "Get us home. I'll take care of this last one." Jordan changed direction again. Ronan leveled his blaster and hit his target dead on. The trooper's speeder's fuel tang exploded in a burst of heat.

They reached the house and jumped out of the speeder, letting it crash into a pile of grass bales. Alder gritted his teeth, trying to stay calm. Ronan burst through the door with the boys behind him. Sybella and Nima were kneeling in the living area, with stormtrooper blaster's trained on them.

"One more step and they die," the stormtrooper with a red shoulder pad said.

They stopped where they were. Ronan glared at the trooper with unmasked hatred. Jordan kept his eyes trained on the floor, watching the trooper's feet move.

"Drop your weapon," the trooper ordered. Ronan hesitated. "Now!" The trooper moved a blaster closer to Sybella's head. Ronan quickly cast away his blaster. "Good." The stormtrooper moved over to them and began to inspect them. "You look like a good soldier," he said to Ronan.

"Sir, he's a clone," one of the other troopers pointed out.

"You're right. He couldn't be trusted. Clones are such versatile creatures," the trooper mocked. He turned to Alder. "What about this one? He's young enough."

A third trooper stepped forward. "He's scrawny. He wouldn't last a day in the academy."

"Take him anyway," the head trooper ordered. The other stormtrooper moved towards Alder.

"Wait!" Jordan cried, stepping in front of his brother. "Take me."

The head trooper glanced him over. "What skills could you possibly offer the Emperor?"

"I'm a pilot!" He exclaimed.

"We have lots of pilots."

"Trust me. I'm a better pilot than my brother. I'm not bad with a blaster either," he quickly said.

The trooper stared at him appraisingly. "Fine. Grab him." The other trooper quickly cuffed Jordan and pulled him away from Ronan and Alder.

"No!" Sybella cried.

The stormtrooper looked at her. "Shoot her," he ordered. The blaster rang clearly. Sybella crumpled to the ground, anguish in her already dull eyes.

"Sybella!" Ronan cried.

"Mom!" Alder and Nima screamed together. Jordan yanked against the stormtroopers grip, pain blazing through his heart.

"If you betray us," the head trooper said quietly, "we will return and the rest of your family will suffer the same fate. Come on." He left the house, followed by the trooper who had killed Jordan's mother.

The trooper holding Jordan pulled him away from his family. He was forcefully shoved onto the shuttle and thrown into a holding cell. He noted five other cells with green lights. Apparently he hadn't been the only one taken. His cell door hissed shut and sealed. Dad was right, he thought as a tear dripped onto his hand. War doesn't have mercy on anyone.