An elderly looking man walked down the street as an LAAT flew over head. When he watched it land, John walked off followed by his two guards and walked up the temple's stairs.
He shook his head.
The man continued to walk as he arrived at an old home. Walking inside, he released his raspy voice. "I'm home, dear."
An old woman came out of another room and smiled at him as she held an elf in her arms. "How was work?"
He laid his dusty cap on a table as he kissed her on the cheek. "The same as always. I'll say one thing about the mines now though. The pay is much better."
The woman nodded. "Are you sure you want to stay here? We could go to the human kingdom, or the Union."
The man shook his head as the small elf barely woke up. "No. This one will grow up in her home. It's what her parents would've wanted."
The elf rubbed her eyes as she smiled at the man. "Good afternoon, Grandpa."
He rubbed her head as he continued to speak. "The Sith Empire has nearly wiped out the elves. Other than her, a half-elf, I'm not sure if more than 100 survived. Not only that, but those soldiers are constantly patrolling, and if you do the smallest thing-"
"Shh! They may hear you." The woman spoke. "Come on, little one. Let's get you back to bed. You're still sick after all."
After laying the girl to bed, she came back out and stared at the man. "Are you sure we can't get the medicine?"
The man nodded as he began to smoke. "Even before the Empire it would've been impossible. Now..."
The woman sat next to him as she rubbed his head. "Have you heard about the offer in the human kingdom? About the information on the emperor?"
"We couldn't get anything even if we tried our damndest."
As they looked out the window in front of them, they saw a group of clones chasing after a man.
"Stop him! He stole from the mines!" One of them set their blaster to stun and shot the man, knocking him unconscious.
They picked him up and took a rock about the size of a hand out of his pocket. "Sir, this ain't a normal rock. It's no wonder he'd take it."
A clone wearing phase II armor with yellow lines on it took the rock and pointed towards the south. "Take him to the jailhouse for now. He may have discovered something the emperor would like."
A group of people watched the clones and became enraged. "Ever since your Imperials showed up, you've messed with everything. Even our rights aren't safe!"
"Yeah!"
"What he said."
The clone walked over to him and stared at him. "Would you like to say that to the emperor personally? If you would, I can take you to him. You're speaking to Commander Dex."
The man backed off and began to walk away. "Damn them."
The old man and woman watched from inside.
"I think even if we left, the empire would only follow."
The woman looked at him. "Why do you say that?"
"An empire never stops growing, especially if it has the power to take over the world."