Pash Cracken looked out the window. His mother was leaving yet again to go protect Contruum. She was a member of the Contruum Security Force, as was his father. In fact, that was how Airen and Josta met.

They had been at the Contruum Academy at the same time. Josta was studying to be a pilot while Airen was studying espionage. They met when they both were taking a class on planetary diplomacy. It was love at first sight.

They married shortly after graduation. Airen steadily rose up the ladder, quickly becoming a Captain. Josta chose to stay with her flight group, passing up promotion after promotion.

Pash was born just after their fifth wedding anniversary. Both loved him more than life itself. Josta took a year sabbatical to be with her son. He grew quickly into a strong young boy who was following in his mother's footsteps.

Lila put a hand on the young boy's shoulder. "Time for breakfast, Pash."

The nine-year-old boy turned and nodded to his nanny. Lila had been with him since his mother went back to the CSF. She was like a second mother to him. He followed her into the kitchen and climbed into one of the stools at the bar. "What are we going to do today," he asked as he stabbed his fork into the cluck eggs. The yolk bled out onto the plate.

"It's a surprise," she responded with a twinkle in her eye. "But, you have to finish everything on your plate first."

The boy looked up in joy and quickly dove into his food.

Lila and Pash walked through the halls of the Contruum Security Force building. His eyes were wide as he took in everything. This was the first time he wasn't quickly taken to his father's office. Pilots and officers passed by. He was in awe.

Suddenly, he was alone. He turned around in a circle and found Lila had disappeared. "Lila," he called out quietly. The hall looked the same down both ways. He wasn't even sure which way he had come originally. "Oh man. Now I'm lost."

"Can I help you, young man," came a familiar voice from behind.

"Mom!" He spun around and ran to Josta.

She gathered him in her arms and hugged him. "Where is Lila?"

"Um, I don't know. I turned around and she was gone."

"That is only because you were not looking where you were going," Lila said as she turned the corner. "Hello Josta. Do you believe he is ready for this?"

The red-haired woman smiled. "Most definitely. Come Pash, let's get you into a flightsuit."

"Flightsuit?" He looked at his mother stunned.

"You begin your flight training today."

Pash let out a whoop of joy and hugged his mother tightly. "Thank you!"

Pash winced as he bumped another asteroid. "Slow down, sweetheart," his mother's voice said calmly over the comm. "You don't have to rush." He pulled the throttle back and readjusted his shields. He made it out of the asteroid field without another scratch.

"That was much better," Josta said.

Airen stood looking over her shoulder. He wasn't exactly happy about her training their son to be a pilot, but it made the child so happy. Who was he to argue with a happy child? "He pilots just like his mother," he said with a grin.

Josta turned her head to kiss the hand he had placed on her shoulder. "And that is a bad thing?" She turned her attention back to the console. Pash was about to be ambushed.

Pash chewed on his bottom lip as he executed several twists and turns in the headhunter. He appreciated the strength of the ship, but found it to be a bit awkward in handling. He wished he had something smaller and more agile to fly. He pulled himself out of the barrel roll just as his sensors started to blare.

Three ships were heading towards him. He had never seen anything like them before. They were sleek yellow fighters that zipped through the sky like a dagger. They were beautiful.

His HUD began to wail as one of the three ships obtained a lock. Surprised at the attack, Pash pulled his ship into a tight turn. He broke the lock only to line up into another one. He cursed under his breath, then apologized for doing so. Jinking from side to side, he attempted to break this lock.

Somehow, he gained a lock on his opponent. When the crosshairs went red, he fired. A missile shot out from his ship. He watched it twist and turn towards the yellow dagger-shaped ship. The explosion was remarkable.

He turned his attention to the next ship as he blasted through the debris.

The nine-year-old boy jumped out of the simulator. "That was way fun!"

Josta and Airen walked over to their son. "You did well," Airen said smiling.

"Thank you sir," Pash said beaming with pride.

Josta put an arm around his shoulder. "I felt for sure that first one had you."

"So did I," he said with wide eyes. "What kind of ships were those. They were so quick."

"They are Nabooian fighters," his father replied. "They are some of the fastest in the galaxy."

"I want to fly one of those when I grow up." He looked at his mother. "Have you ever flown one?"

She shook her head. "No. I have stayed on Contruum all my life, dear. Come on, it's time to go home."

Pash sat at the dinner table, using his fork to show how he twisted and turned his ship to get out of his opponent's lock. Josta chuckled at her son's display. She looked over at her husband. Airen had a distraught look on his face. She pat his hand and smiled. "There is something I need to talk to you both about."

Pash stopped playing and looked at his mother expectantly. "What is it, Mom?"

"Yes dear, do tell," Airen said.

Josta folded her hands together and lay them on the table before her. "Well, as you know, I went to see Doctor Phelan yesterday."

"And," they both asked expectantly.

"I am in good health, but..." She paused because she wasn't sure how either of them would react to the news. She had to tell them, though. "I'm pregnant."

Airen's jaw immediately fell open. Pash jumped up and whooped for joy. He ran and hugged his mother. "Wow, that's great mom. I'm going to have a little brother!"

Josta chuckled. "It may be a girl, Pash." She ruffled the young man's hair as he grinned.

"Nah, it'll be a boy. Isn't this great, Dad?" He turned and looked at his father.

Airen still stared at his wife. "This is incredible. We've been trying for so long." He smiled softly at her.

The boy looked between his parents, seeing a look that was different from any other he'd seen. "Oh brother," he groaned as he slid from his chair. They obviously wanted to be alone. Grabbing his plate and glass, he headed for his room.

"Mom! Where's my boot?" Pash bounced out of his room trying to put his one boot on. Today was the day of his big test to see how much he'd learned.

"Have you tried actually looking for it," Josta asked. She lay a hand on her belly and smiled at her son. Soon, he was going to have a baby sister, but today was even more important than her birth.

Pash sighed and went back into his room. "Here it is," said a muffled voice. He dragged the boot from under his bed. His hair was now all tossed and wild.

Josta shook her head and chuckled as he pulled on the boot and ran a hand through his hair. "Why won't my hair stay perfect like yours," he mumbled to her as she reached out to fix an errant strand.

"Because you have to be partly like your father," she explained. "Let's go before we're late."

"But I don't wanna be like dad," he pouted. "I wanna be like you."

The words stopped her in her tracks. She stooped down to crouch beside her son and pulled him into a hug. "I love you, too."

They made their way to the testing room. Josta took a seat in the viewing area as she watched her son grab a helmet and climb into a simpod. A moment later, Airen entered and moved to her side. "Have I missed anything," he asked as he leaned down to kiss her cheek.

"He just got in," she replied with a smile.

Her husband pulled a chair up beside her and held her hand as they watched the screen. Shortly, the image of several ships appeared. Each bore a different color to distinguish from the others. Pash, appropriately, was red. Airen could just see the look his son probably had on his face, grim determination with a trace of giddiness, just like his mother.

The test consisted of the students dogfighting each other. Pash jumped ahead first and took out one of the slower students. The tally counted fifteen points for him, less than most hits since it was an easy shot. He grumbled and dashed after another student.

Josta smiled warmly. She recognized many of the moves her son was making. It reminded her so much of herself. She was so proud of her son.

"I swear he's a clone of you," Airen chuckled into her ear.

She smiled and nodded, not pulling her eyes from the console. "That he is."

An hour later, the last ship was destroyed. Pash jumped out of his simulator with a shout of joy. All of the other students, each one much older than he, rushed over to congratulate him. He accepted their wishes, but the only thing he wanted to do was get to his mother.

The moment he saw her enter the room, he broke through the crowd and ran to her. "Mom! Did you see? I did it! I beat them all!"

She gathered him in her arms. "I saw. You did wonderful."

Airen stood proudly beside them. "We'll make a pilot of you yet, son," he said with a wink.

Josta suddenly grasped her stomach. "Mom, are you okay," Pash asked in worry.

"Your father needs to call Lila to come pick you up." She stood, looking pale, but no longer in as much pain.

"The baby," Airen asked quietly. When his wife nodded, he quickly pulled his comlink from his pocket and summoned the nanny.

"What?" Pash looked up at his father. "What's going on?"

"Your baby sister is on the way, son. Now wait here for Lila. I'm taking your mom to the hospital."

"But..." He looked at his mother, "I want to go with you."

"No, Pash," Airen said sternly. "You will behave."

The young boy frowned and crossed his arms. "Fine. Whatever." He flopped down in a seat and waited for his nanny.

Pash was disappointed, but he loved his baby sister. She was the most precious thing in the galaxy to him. It amazed him at how different his father seemed with her. He was all caring and stuff, nothing the way he treated Pash. It must be because she's a girl, he finally decided.

Dena grew like a weed. He was so excited the day she learned to walk. "Now she can learn to fly," he'd said excitedly. That drew stern looks from both his parents.

It didn't matter. He'd graduated top of his class and was now taking even more flight classes as well as diplomatic classes on his father's insistence. Much to their surprise, he took to diplomacy just as well as he did flying.

Everything in the Cracken household was going wonderfully until that fateful day.

Just as he had done every day since he was three, Pash sat at the window waiting for his mother to come home. He was very worried. It was well past her normal time. "Lila," he called for his nanny. "Lila, there's something going on up in the sky!"

Lila tossed her dishcloth onto the table and ran into the living room. "What do you mean, Pash?"

"I mean, it looks like a battle going on." He pointed out the window towards the horizon. Sure enough, a space battle ensued. "Do you think that's why Mom is late?"

She looked down at the very worried boy. "I would guess so." She wrapped him in her arms. "But do not worry. She will be okay."

Airen Cracken cursed under his breath. The pirates had been on top of them before anyone knew what was happening. He barked orders to get the security defense forces in the air. "I don't know if we can get out of this one," he muttered under his breath.

Josta kissed his cheek. "We will," she told him. "My pilots may be young, but they will win."

He turned and looked at her. She was dressed in her flightsuit, her long red hair falling over her shoulders. He grabbed her by the shoulders. "I can't let you lead this one."

Her eyes sparkled with mischief. "Why Airen Cracken, are you telling your best pilot she can't fly?"

He dropped his head so she wouldn't see the tears beginning to well in his eyes. "I have a bad feeling, love. Please, don't go."

She blinked. Airen always did what was best for the whole of Contruum. This was the most selfish thing she'd ever heard him say? "Airen..."

A young officer interrupted them. "Sir! We've already lost ten of our men and haven't even made the slightest dent in their forces!"

Airen cursed again. "Sith, ok." He kissed his wife full on the lips. "Go, but be very careful. You have two wonderful children at home waiting for you."

"And a wonderful husband waiting here," she said quietly as she kissed his forehead. "Don't worry. We'll be okay."

Josta winced as she watched another of her young pilots get shot down. She had been able to even things out when her squadron took to the air, but it wasn't going to be enough. "Red Lead to base." She began to circumnavigate the pirates' control ship. Slowly, she began to formulate a plan.

"This is base," Airen replied. "Whatever you're planning, Josta, forget it."

She smiled. He knew her all too well. "We've lost too many pilots, Airen. There are less than two dozen of us left."

"Surrendering is not an option," he replied, his voice hard.

"I have no plans to surrender, love. I plan to take out their control ship."

Airen knew their weapons were only enough to take down the shields, not the whole ship. Then he realized what she meant. "Wait, you can't be serious."

She switched her comm off. She wasn't going to discuss it anymore. He'd only try and talk her out of it. "All fighters, concentrate your firepower on the central ship," she commanded. "Use any torps you have left. We have to take the shields down."

The remaining fighters gathered around Josta and began pounding the front of the ship, hammering the shields to bits. With them concentrating on their job, the pirates had no problem taking most of them out.

Josta saw the shields drop just as the ship beside her exploded. Looking around, she noticed she was alone. She switched her comm on. "Tell Pash and Dena I love them. Airen… it's the only way. Remember, I will always love you."

She turned it off so she wouldn't hear his cries for her to turn back. Switching the engines to overload, she barreled headlong into the bridge of the pirate ship. Her ship exploded on impact.

Airen watched helplessly in the control room as he saw his wife take her own life to save their homeworld. Tears flowed down his face. "Josta..."

A cheer erupted in the room as the pirate ship began to explode. The fighters took flight, running away from the dying ship.

He heard nothing. He saw nothing. He stood in shock, not believing the events that had just taken place.

The room suddenly grew deathly quiet. They all looked at Airen, grieving with him. They saw the pain in his face. Deep in their own hearts, they felt it as well.

He closed his eyes and took a deep, shuddering breath. When he opened his eyes, his face had grown cold and hard. "Send out rescue parties for any possible survivors," he commanded.

"Yes sir," his second in command said. Without another word, he started directing people to do just that.

Airen turned on his heel and headed for his office. Alone in the dark, he let himself feel for the last time.

"I'm sorry son," Airen said, his face a steel mask.

Pash clenched his hands into fists by his side. "You actually let her do that? You let her go?" His voice was quiet and deadly.

His father closed his eyes for a moment, forcing back the emotions. "It was our only option."

"A better option would have been to call me and the other flight students in to fight."

"What, and have my son killed as well? Pash, you have no idea what..."

"Yes I do," he said, voice raised. "If we'd gotten called in, maybe Mom'd still be here!"

Airen shook his head in exasperation. "Son, you do not have experience. I would never let inexperienced pilots into such a battle."

"You let mom go. And she died because of it." Pash's voice was hard. He could hear Dena crying and Lila trying to comfort her. The question was what was making her cry? Mom not being here or his argument with Dad?

"If you cannot be rational about this, go to your room," the older man snarled. "You are not coming out until you think this out."

"Fine!" He spun on his heel and marched to his room. The door slammed hard behind him.

Pash sat down on the bed and finally unclenched his hands. The blood trails that had been going down his fingers now traveled towards his wrists. Sith. He went into the 'fresher and washed his hands. Dabbing some salve on them, the cuts closed quickly.

He went back and sat on his bed. His mind reeled as he thought about his mother. I can't believe she's actually gone! He picked up a holo his dad had made the day he graduated from his first year in flightschool. His mother was behind him, her hands resting on his shoulders. Her eyes sparkled with pride. He remembered just how proud she'd been.

Clutching the holo to his chest, he lay down and cried.