Jedi Knight Zandru Khirin thanked the pilot of the
space freighter who had given him passage to his home
planet, Rathe.

"Always glad to help a Jedi, especially one who's
going home." The pilot saluted, and the Jedi returned
his salute.

On the landing platform, Khirin was greeted by a
well-dressed male humanoid, who stepped forward and
embraced Zandru warmly. He was J'liani, former
chancellor of N'Yaruk, the city where Zandru's family
had lived.

"It is a pleasure to return, as always, J'liani.
Though the circumstances could be better."

"They are already better than they were when you were
here a year ago," replied J'liani. "I didn't hire a
transport; I thought you might like to walk through
the city."

"Of course," said Zandru, and the two men left the
spaceport.

"The city has recovered, but we have not forgotten,"
said J'liani, as the two men navigated a busy walkway.
"Indeed, the world has not forgotten. We have moved
on with our lives, and the wound has begun to heal.

"It is not to be forgotten, but nor is it to be dwelt
upon," said Zandru quietly. "We should not mire
ourselves in it, since hate only breeds more of its
own. Yet we should always remember the victims; and
we should work for peace so that such atrocities never
happen again."

"You are wise, Knight Khirin," said J'liani gravely as
they stopped before an empty block, a most unusual
sight at the center of the bustling metropolis of
N'Yaruk.

The block had not always been empty. Only a year ago,
the twin peaks of the Rathean Commerce Center had
risen proudly from it, spires seeming to scrape the
pale green sky. Now the only thing that rose from the
block was a lone pole which hoisted Rathean colors to
the sky.

Zandru stared at the septsilk colors snapping in the
soft breeze, deep crimson, noble azure, and purest
white. He closed his eyes and reached into the Force,
seeing first the Commerce Center as it had been,
towers thrusting magnificently skyward, then as he had
come upon it a year ago, save a day, when it was only
two smoking heaps of duracrete and twisted durasteel
on a street littered with shards of transparisteel.

J'liani waited to speak until Khirin's eyes opened
again. "It's amazing what hate can take from us," he
said softly.

"Amazing and terrible," Zandru bowed his head.

J'liani nodded toward a small crowd that had gathered
near them, under the flagpole. Many wept openly, and
as Zandru raised his eyes to them, one of the group
beckoned toward the two men.

J'liani led the way over to the small knot of beings.

"J'liani, thank you," said one female quietly and
simply. J'liani embraced her and offered hushed words
of support.

After releasing the woman, J'liani said to the crowd,
"I'm not here today to give a speech; you've heard me
talk enough, especially in the past year. Today I'm
here as a private citizen, escorting a friend who
hasn't been here for a year. This is Jedi Knight
Zandru Khirin. He was born here in N'Yaruk."

"Mr. Jedi, sir, can you talk to us?" Zandru looked
down to see a small boy tugging at the bottom of his
tunic. The boy held a holo of a man in the uniform of
a N'Yaruk Peace Officer.

Zandru smiled at the boy, willing the Force to keep
his eyes from tearing at the sight of the boy and his
mother, a tired-looking woman with red-rimmed eyes.

"Well, I'll try." Zandru reached into his tunic and
pulled out a holo of a man and woman, both uniformed
Peace Officers. It was easy to see who they were--the
woman had Zandru's nose and the man's coloring was
identical to Zandru's.

The Jedi Knight took a deep breath. "These are my
parents. I never knew them. Though I was their only
son, their only child, they were honored to give me up
to be raised at the Jedi Temple. I was happy at the
Temple; the Jedi were my family.

"A year ago tomorrow, I woke in the middle of the
night in my quarters at the Temple on Coruscant. I
can't describe the feeling . . . I felt the Force
wrenching at me, pulling on me, screaming in my ears.
I didn't know what was going on. I was so frightened
that I--"

"I didn't think Jedi got scared," remarked the little
boy, who was shushed by his mother.

"This Jedi was very scared," Zandru smiled at the boy
again. "So scared, in fact, that I ran to Master Yoda
and told him what I was feeling. He and I meditated
together, and the Force brought a vision of
destruction on Rathe.

"That's when Master Yoda told me of my parents and
gave me this holo and explained that, though I didn't
know them, the disturbance I felt in the Force was my
parents being taken. He gave me leave to come here
immediately to do whatever I could.

"Sadly, I couldn't do much; there was only so much
that could be done in the face of such horror. The
darkness here--I could almost touch it. At that
moment, it would have been so easy for Ratheans to
slip into hatred of each other and theirselves. But
they didn't. I saw Ratheans open their arms, their
hearts, and their homes to strangers.

"Out of this great darkness, then, came a light which
had almost been forgotten. Rathe suddenly remembered
that we are all connected in the Force, and the light
found here was enough to outshine the dark. Though I
am, for all intents and purposes, an offworlder, I was
born a Rathean, and I am proud that my people did not
allow hate to consume them, but instead defied the
dark by coming together in the light.

"I hope you let the light shine on, let it light the
way toward peace, and let it continue to shine after
you have found peace. I know you have lost a great
deal, and I am not asking you to forget that. Take
joy in helping your neighbor, and take the same joy in
letting your neighbor help you. In this spreading of
the light, the lost are best honored."

Zandru bowed to his small audience and placed the holo
of his parents at the foot of the flagpole.

=====
"Luceo non uro."

"Work like you don't need the money, love like
you've never been hurt, and dance like no one is
watching."