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She was a handmaiden but that was a long time ago. Not long by the standard of chronological time but it still felt like an eternity was behind her. Sometimes she wondered if all of it was a dream, that the past she remembered was some figment of imagination conjured up by little girls who dreamed fanciful things in their innocence. She refused to believe it even though it would make things so much simpler if it were. Sometimes, she wished she were just another ordinary person, not one charged with such a heavy burden of responsibility, whose life was spent watching and waiting for enemies and playing guardian to a promise. The irony of it was should she choose to walk away and leave it all behind her; it was relatively easy enough to do. She thought of disappearing into the mists one day and returning to the estate where her father and mother, once aristocrats of good fortune had raised her in their embrace of love but they were gone now, disappeared just as surely as all the others. If she wanted to leave, she doubted anyone would stop her because she had served Queen more times than she could count and one dedicated to a service of another as she had been, had more than earned the freedom to live her own life. Except she could not because of the promise. The promise was ingrained into her as if it were branded into her skin with fire. It defined her existence, made up the salt of her inner strength and upheld her dedication, forsaking all other aspects of her life. She was shackled to it as if bound by the strongest chains and yet it was bondage that gave her life its meaning and purpose. The one to whom she made the promise was gone now, broken by despair over so many wounds she sometimes wondered how one person could be injured so tragically. It was partly because of this suffering she was so determined to carry out the promise made to the one who charged her with the only thing that still mattered, before passing beyond the veil. It was more than just a promise but an oath that had to be kept if the future was to be salvaged from the decay of the present. Her name was Rayne. Her family no longer existed so there was no need to remind herself of their loss by keeping their names with hers. To all, she was simply Rayne. She was the last of her kind. The last of an elite group whom trained from adolescence to take on the role that would occupy their entire life and it was a vocation she was more than happy to partake, for the one she served had been a lady of great distinction. At court, she was designated a handmaiden but in truth, she was much more. Trained by the finest combat experts in the galaxy, the rigor of her training could only be bettered by the Jedi and the Mistral warriors of Emberlene. She was not simply a handmaiden but a bodyguard, a combat expert and tactician. She could fly any ship, fire any weapon. Her training had to be extensive.Serving the Queen of Naboo demanded nothing less. At the age of sixteen, Rayne was sent to court in order to serve as handmaiden to Queen Amidala of the Naboo, known to those whom she considered friends, as Padme. It was an honour to serve the Queen for the lady was one of those rare things in the galaxy; a ruler who genuinely cared about her people. Rayne stood at her side for as long as Padme ruled the Naboo, until the dark times came and everything that was the Republic evolved into the dark, sinister thing calling itself the Empire. Padme stood in the center of maelstrom, swept away by forces she was powerless to stop, bound prisoner by her heart and damned forever because of it. After it was all said and done, the sparkle of life so many had loved would fade from Padme’s eyes and in Rayne’s opinion it was then she really started to die. The physical death took place years later but deep inside, Rayne knew better. By the time Padme died, all those who served as her handmaidens had met their demise, gone to their end in one way or another. Only Rayne remained for Padme to make her final bequest and since that day, Rayne had stood by waiting for the inevitable day when she would have to carry it through. Now Rayne was a permanent fixture in another court, on a world not unlike Naboo, serving not as handmaiden but rather as nurse and bodyguard to another member of royalty. This time, it was not allegiance that bound her to Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan but rather a promise. Before Padme died, she had asked only one thing of Rayne but it was a big thing. She asked Leia be protected at all costs and there were other instructions as well, ones just as entwined with saving the child’s life as the promise she asked Rayne to make. Rayne had been happy to make it because Padme had been more than just her Queen, she had been Rayne’s friend and in her life, she had not many friends. Her profession did not permit that luxury. To have friends was to let one’s guard down and Rayne could not afford to do that ever. To do that was to break her promise to the friend she still cherished and used that thought to sustain her when was overcome with dreams of better times. When being a handmaiden meant something. Bail Organa, leader of Alderaan and Senator of the newly established Imperial Senate entered the courtyard before the Floriade Gardens of the Royal Palace. Although he was by no means a dictator, he was still considered a king though he preferred to be known as diplomat rather than a ruler. It seemed too many people were forgetting themselves because of their titles and being a king in a galaxy governed supremely by an Emperor seemed as shallow as any he heard in recent times. However, king he was of Alderaan and though he played the part of politician these days, his personal life was fraught with all the intrigues royalty and aristocracy was meant to incur.He did not need this to come so soon but it had and it renewed the sorrow he thought banished to a distant place inside his heart, suddenly returned spewing forth like a hidden spring inside him. It had been months since her death, months and though Bail knew it was unrealistic to think determination alone would stem the tide of his grief, he prayed it would because he missed her so very much. Padme was his for a very short time and in truth; he still did not think she ever truly belonged to him. Oh he loved her just the same and was intensively grateful that of all the people in the galaxy, it was he she had come to for help to guard her and her child. She had married him for that very purpose, Bail did not delude himself by thinking it was any more than that although Padme did in her way love him, he thought. But not once during their entire marriage did he ever look into her eyes and see the same fire that burned when she looked at the one who came before him. The one who was Skywalker. Even now, Bail felt the rage bubble inside him when that name surfaced in his mind. She loved Anakin Skywalker beyond belief, beyond everything and it destroyed her. First it took away her life as Queen Amidala and then it took away her child and finally it took away her life. Bail hated him intensely because he would have died to have the love Anakin Skywalker so carelessly disregarded for a destiny that would see the blanket of darkness sweep through the galaxy and change it forever. Bail entered the extensive gardens surrounding the palace and was immediately greeted by a manicured lawn containing all manner of exotic flora, garnished by colourful flowers that created an amalgam of scent like perfume. His eyes swept across the perfectly tended lawns and immediately spied his daughter playing near the topiary. A small smile crossed his lips when he heard her small voice speaking the language of toddlers to the animal shaped plant life. Leia was little more than two but she was easily the delight of his life. He knew much of the reason he loved her so much because here was a part of Padme unconditionally his, who loved him as a father and never thought of another whilst doing it. It was so easy to forget his troubles when he saw Leia bounding barefoot across the garden, her dark auburn hair swinging over her waist, catching the sunlight as she moved. Her playmate at this time was a golden protocol droid, gleaming under the sun and though Bail wished he could rid himself of the cursed machine once and for all, he knew Leia adored it. Why should she not? Her real father had built it and her mother kept it as another reminder of him, as if Leia herself did not fill that capacity as it was. However, Padme had not much to bequeath her daughter when she passed away and Bail who since purged the protocol droid’s memory banks of any knowledge of Anakin Skywalker and Queen Amidala, could not bring himself to deny Padme’s wishes. However, it was his love for his daughter that snapped Bail out of his reverie and forced him to turn his attention to the dark, lithe young woman who stood close by, watching the child closely in her capacity as Leia’s guardian. Bail was certain Rayne had already seen him but was attempting to size up the reason for his sudden appearance as something that ought to give her concern. The sun was high in the sky and normally, they would not expect to see Bail until later that evening. Affairs of state usually occupied his afternoons and his appearance at this time, meant an interruption that could not wait.She moved towards him first, her eyes always keeping Leia in her peripheral vision as she had done when Padme still lived. She was not especially likeable, this handmaiden of Padme’s but Bail could not deny he would trust his daughter in her care before the entire Imperial fleet. She was clad in crimson robes, not especially anonymous but the garments made her look like a cleric and she was beautiful in her way, even if her mercurial expression dulled her beauty somewhat. Brown eyes studied him closely as they approached each other and her brow knotted, indicating she was aware there was some danger to her young charge. "Your highness." Rayne met him with the customary bow that always made Bail so uncomfortable, especially when he was on Coruscant, surrounded by other diplomats."Rayne." Bail responded shortly. "We have a problem." She did not react. She seldom did. The most response he received at his statement was a slight twitch on her sculpted brow. "What sort of problem, your highness?""He is coming here."There was no reaction. Bail had not expected there would be. There was not even the need to ask who ‘he’ was because she knew there was only one person to whom they would refer to in this way.She blinked once, her eyes moving instinctively in Leia’s direction before she met his gaze again. "How much time do we have?""A day." He admitted readily, knowing her long enough to know that her questions were not asked without good reason and it was best to answer them promptly. "Are we aware of what precipitated this visit?" She asked once again. Inwardly, in the part of her that still dared to hope, she prayed it were not for the reason she feared. "I have my suspicions he intends to take Leia as a hostage." Bail replied. "He knows I mean to block the Emperor in the Senate regarding the segregation policy and holding my daughter hostage would ensure I cooperate."She nodded slowly. "Why not just kill you?" She asked emotionlessly and that too was something Bail had become accustomed to since she came into his home. The woman did not waste time with tact, she spoke her mind with unfailing bluntness. After dealing with diplomats and politicians, Bail found it strangely refreshing. "Palpatine is not a fool. Killing me would make me a martyr and he has enough difficulties with the Rebel Alliance without adding me to his troubles. Besides, it's not the Emperor's way to be so blatant. He would prefer having me under his control than removing me completely." "Are you certain that taking Leia hostage has no other purpose?" She inquired.A shudder of fear ran through Bail at the thought but he honestly believed that his premise was correct. They had been so careful about protecting Leia. As far as Anakin Skywalker knew, he had one child not twins. Obi-wan and Padme had agreed that Leia's anonymity was her greatest protection but all that would mean nothing if Vader was in close enough proximity to the child for his Jedi senses to discover the truth. Leia was two years old, her memories of Padme were fresh and easily sensed by someone of Vader's ability. The child still cried for her mother at night. In later years, her experiences would drive those memories so far beneath the surface, no one would be able to find them unless they were actively seeking it. However, at this moment, they were like an exposed nerve. "I do not believe so but that does not eliminate the problem does it?" "No," she agreed. "Leia cannot be here when Vader arrives on Alderaan." "What are we to do?" He looked to her hoping she had a solution. "He claims he is merely delivering sensitive diplomatic documents from the Emperor but we all know Palpatine would never use him as a mere courier. I've heard enough rumours about the Emperor's feelings towards me and our people in Coruscant are certain this is his intention in sending Vader here." "We must take her away from Alderaan," Rayne glanced at Leia. "There is no question of that but perhaps we can beat the Emperor at his own game.' "I'd like to know how." Bail retorted sceptically. "If Leia suddenly disappears, Vader is going to wonder why and probably be more determined to take a look at her, not to mention all the agents in Coruscant we'll be compromising when the Emperor realises we were forewarned of the situation." "I will take Leia away tonight and you will tell Vader Leia has been kidnapped. That will keep him from coming to Alderaan personally but in the meantime, we must take the proper precautions." Rayne replied, indicating in her tone there would be no discussion in the matter. Obi-Wan and Padme left very explicit instructions as to what to do in the event Vader ever came near them. The Jedi could read strong emotions and extrapolate from them the content of one's mind but only if the mind in question was weak and undisciplined. Bail Organa was disciplined nor was he weak-minded. Padme had left her daughter with Bail knowing he could protect her and Rayne had every confidence he would be able to shield his thoughts from Vader enough to keep the dark lord from guessing the truth."I understand," Bail nodded. "It will be done before I make my communications to Vader. If he should decide to come to Alderaan, he will come to find me worried about my daughter with no knowledge as to anything involving the Rebel Alliance and who might have taken her. Of course, we'll give him more than adequate proof she was indeed kidnapped." "I hope it works," Rayne remarked. "If it does not, I do not envy your chances." "I do not care," he said firmly, staring at his daughter who was playing hide and seek with the protocol droid and found himself smiling. "She is my life, I will not allow anyone to harm her." Emotion welled up in his face and Bail had to look away to compose himself. His daughter was all he had left of Padme, if anything happened to her he did not think he could bear it. "Where will you take her?"Rayne considered the question for a moment, having produced contingency plans for numerous situations involving danger to Leia and deciding the best place to hide Leia would be with the Emperor's enemies. "I was thinking that I would take her to one of the Rebel bases." The frown on the Senator's face clearly indicated he did not like this plan at all. "Rayne that is exceedingly dangerous. The Emperor is hell bent on destroying every rebel stronghold he can find. If you should be present if they are discovered......" "I have a specific cell in mind," she quickly spoke up to allay his fears. "I have not chosen it at random, your highness. Do you know of the rebels in the Territory?" Rayne looked at him. "Only that Mary Travis is in command there." Bail answered, feeling his trepidation ease a little bit because the Territory almost on the other side of the galaxy in comparison to Alderaan and Coruscant. Not to mention Mary Travis was one of their more able commanders and as a hiding place, Rayne could not have chosen better but Bail ached at the thought of Leia being so far away even though he knew it was for the best. "Are you sure that you must go so far?" "Yes," Rayne replied, broking no argument on this point because there was a reason she wished to travel to that distant quadrant of space. "I am told there is a Jedi there." "Are you sure?" Bail asked hopefully, understanding why Rayne would make such an arduous journey upon hearing that. A Jedi could successfully protect Leia from Vader in the unlikely chance he was able to find her. No doubt once Bail set into motion the lie Leia was kidnapped, Vader would send out Imperial spies to find the child first in order to use her as leverage against him. Bail would rather a Jedi be on hand if Vader became personally involved. As accomplished as Rayne was, if she were faced with Darth Vader, she had no possibility of defeating the man and they both knew. It was a sensible choice if there were indeed a Jedi in the Territory."I would not be going if I was not certain of this." She said somewhat annoyed he had dared to question her on this matter. She did not leave such things to chance. If there were even the slightest doubt regarding her information, she would have abandoned the plan. "They say he was friend to Obi-Wan and a great Jedi warrior. If I explain to him, he will understand. If he does not already." "What makes you think that?" The Senator asked, uncomfortable with anyone else knowing about Leia's lineage. As far as he knew, it was vitally important Vader did not know about his children, not about Leia and certainly not about Padme's son whom Obi-Wan spirited away a month after he was born. The loss had devastated Padme and Bail still held memories of how tearfully Leia had wailed in her crib after the separation from her twin. It was as if something physical between the two infants was severed and though Leia was a happy child for most part, Bail often had the feeling she still searched for that missing part of herself."Obi-Wan said he had told a select few Jedi about the twins and their importance to the future, I think it was his way of ensuring if anything were to happen to him, the children would be safe. It is unlikely this Jedi would know of course, so many of them are dead now, thanks to Vader." Rayne sighed, her expression bitter. Though she had never wished to be a Jedi, she respected them as warriors and defenders of the weak. For more years than the galaxy had shown gratitude, the Jedi Knights were the guardians of peace and justice. It angered Rayne how quickly they were now forgotten. "Must it be this way?" Bail stared at his daughter, hating to be away from her, hating he was powerless to keep her from danger and forced to entrust the task to Rayne and a strange Jedi he had never even met."You know that question yourself," Rayne looked at him with a hint of compassion in her eyes. He did love Leia, of this Rayne had no doubt. She knew if he were asked to do so, he would gladly sacrifice his own life to save his daughter. Leia may not have been born of his blood but she was more Bail Organa's child more than she would ever be Anakin Skywalker's. "Yes I do," he signed, conceding defeat and resigned not to argue the point any longer. "Hopefully, we will not have to carry out this ruse for too long. Once the segregation policy has been voted on, I'm sure you and Leia will be able to return to Alderaan. The Emperor would have no reason to harm Leia. In fact, it would be in his best interests to keep her alive until such time he needs to use her again." Rayne knew all about the segregation policy the Empire was intending to inflict upon the races of the galaxy. Bail Organa was its strongest opponent in the Senate and the only reason he had not been killed for his opposition was because Alderaan was too powerful for Palpatine's fledgling Empire to make a move against it. A dark premonition fell upon her and it sent a shiver through her spine. May the Force help Alderaan if the Emperor ever ceased to think that.
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Chris could hear himThe tell tale sign of his approach was a hoarse, raspy breath, not at all human, amplified by the machinery he now surrounded himself with. Chris sensed it was more than just armour, it had become the persona behind which he hid himself, the reflection to which he looked when he needed to expunge all memory of the person he had been. Chris supposed not even the power of the dark side could make a man forget who he had once was, what he believed in, no matter how far he strayed away from the path. No armour was that full proof, no mask capable of hiding so much from the demon chasing in the night when there was no one to face but himself. Chris found himself standing at the edge of a great platform, the wind whipping at his hair as he looked up and stared at an amber sky, with twin moon hiding behind the pink clouds. There were no ships in the air or on the platform with him but he was certain this what the place was meant for, as a landing bay for incoming vessels. The world was none he recognized and he wondered how he had come to be here. Looking over the edge of the platform, he saw a great drop ending with the rushing waters of a large river, perhaps the largest he had ever seen. The frothy strength of its currents swept past him, meandering through the landscape into the distance. Even from this height, he could hear the roar of its powerful journey and imagined he could feel the spray of droplets from standing so close. He heard that heavy breathing again and spun around sharply, his light sabre suddenly in his hand. Chris already knew who was behind him when he turned. The tremor he usually felt in the force was almost a thunderclap in his mind and only one person who could create such a shudder in the Force.Vader.It was pointless to say Anakin because he was no longer that person. What was left of Anakin died in a pit of molten lava on Mustafa after he met with Obi-Wan during their last meeting and battle. It had not only burned away much of his skin but it had killed Anakin inside of him and from that day on, what was left in place of the Vergence was Darth Vader, Sith Lord and servant to Emperor Palpatine. Chris could not see his eyes under the polish of black armour he wore to hide his scarred form but the colour suited him quite well. Vader was a dark pit of anger and hatred, a singularity drawing the Force to him, annihilating all the good it was meant to possess. Vader’s dark cloak billowed in the wind around him and for a moment, there was no sound except that raspy, hoarse breathing. Crimson energy extended from the hilt of the light sabre as Vader approached and there was no need for words as he raised the weapon and swung. Energy against energy cracked loudly as Chris blocked the blow, the air vibrating from the sound as their blades met. Vader’s sabre seemed to bounce off his own and the Dark Lord recouped easily, twirling the sabre in his hand and bringing the weapon down at Chris again. Chris stopped the blow from progressing any further and shoved hard, forcing Vader to lose his balance before slamming his foot into the side of the Sith Lord’s knee. Vader dropped to the ground on one knee, balancing himself precariously as Chris swung again. The sky above them started to rumble and those clouds, looking so soft and pink earlier turned into starchy tufts of grey. The clap of thunder distracted Chris momentarily and Vader took the opening and leapt up, spinning around mid air in a flurry of movement before landing on his feet to launch a renewed attack with rage and vigour. He was angry, Chris could feel it exuding from him in waves of power. The electronic simulation of his heavy breathing was faster, more paced and with his fury behind him, his blows were frenzied and powerful, until Chris was using every ounce of strength to block him, blade for blade. Energy slamming against each other cackled through the air as rain started to spit from the sky. They were like titans fighting for supremacy, matching each other, using the opposing sides of their belief as their champions. Chris could feel his limbs ache, could feel the inflammation of his muscles continue as he fought Vader to a standstill, inwardly amazed he lasted this long. Vader was the Vergence but in straying from the dark side, it had kept him from being as powerful as he ought to be. The Force did not allow for corruption easily and those who strayed down the dark path usually had to pay the price, not only a personal cost but also in how much power it chose to mete out. If Vader was a true Jedi, he would have destroyed Chris by now. "You think it’s the dark side?" Vader suddenly spoke. Chris did not answer but his thoughts spoke clearly enough. What else could it be?"It’s not the dark side that makes me weak Larabee, it’s your anger. Your hatred. I feel the rage inside of you; it fuels the dark side inside of you. You are closer to the path than you think and if you walk the way, you can have them back, you know. They can be returned to you." "NO!" Chris screamed and swung his blade once more, this time the serve was so powerful the impact drove Vader to his knees again. "It feeds you doesn’t it?" Vader sneered. "I can feel it coming from you. You are being seduced as I was Larabee, seduced by the dark side of the Force!" "I AM NOT!" Chris shouted defiantly until he realised Vader was right and when he blinked his rage away, he saw Vader strike and it was not a blow he could stop. The blade past through him without even pausing at the obstruction of flesh. He looked down and saw it enter his body, felt the bones disintegrate as the light sabre passed through his rib cage. There was pain but it felt very far away at the instant of entry but he knew it would soon race towards him and make its presence felt. Chris did not scream, he was too mesmerized by his death for that. There was always very little blood for the light sabre cauterized flesh, blood vessels, veins, muscles and bone when it did its grisly work. Chris felt it penetrate through the strip of muscle on his back and leave his insides exposed when Vader retracted the blade. The pain finally caught up to him but he did not scream, he did not have strength enough for that. He became conscious of falling, of feeling his cheek scrape against the surface of the platform at the same time the teeming rain became a downpour. He saw puddles on the smooth steel floor, turning red by the blood seeping out of his mortal wounds. He saw them puddle around Vader’s black boots and then decided he did not want to look any more. He turned his gaze upwards to the grey sky and thought he might see Sarah and Adam now.Vader was right. He had embraced the dark side and would get to see Sarah and Adam after all.Before he died..."Chris Larabee woke up with a sudden start.Unlike most people who often remained disorientated by the fact the nightmares they experienced a few seconds ago were merely the product on an overactive imagination in the dreamscape, Chris knew instantly he had been dreaming. As the walls of the dream began to evaporate into the walls of his quarters, he found himself watching the transformation for the split second it took for his mind to acquaint himself with being awake. Despite what he had just experienced was almost certainly his mind’s efforts to tell him something, Chris could not deny the physical effects it had on him. He was breathing hard and in his chest, he could feel his heart pounding. All these were symptoms he knew well of course, the tell tale signs he was frightened. It was not often he felt fear. For a Jedi, there was nothing more debilitating to the mind and soul than the sensation of fear. It robbed the Jedi of the inner peace required to be one with the Force and it fed that most terrible of things, the dark side where the Sith Lords often lost their souls. All Jedis were taught from the onset of their training to learn to the control of fear and Chris thought he had more than mastered the skill by now. However, he knew he feared for good reason for Jedis did not simply dream. Visions did not appear randomly for them, nor did dreams. The Force allowed the Jedi their prescience and he knew any dream that came to him, usually had some element of truth behind it. His dreams of Vader was a portent of something ahead. Something that could be years in the future or be set in motion the moment he stepped out of his quarters. Chris took a deep breath and steadied himself, deciding that he had enough of sleep or dreams. He slipped out of the sheets plastered to his skin and padded to the shower cubicle in his room to clean the salt from his body. The cool water did much to shake the sleep out of his eyes and when he dressed himself to leave his quarters, Chris felt a little better. Stepping out of the quarters provided for him since he joined the Rebel Alliance, Chris marvelled at the change in his circumstances. It was only a week ago, he was languishing on Cordoba, all but prepared to die if anyone would do him the favour, more than content to drink himself to death if even that opportunity did not come along.Now he was Siraj 2, a small moon orbiting Siraj Prime, a planet once been full of life until poor ecological management left it a barren wasteland due to the neglect of its inhabitants. The planet had been abandoned centuries ago, its population having fled to seek another world they could similarly ruin the same way they had done their native world. However, the structures they had behind, particularly what appeared to be a temple of some description, had now found purpose as the home of the rebel enclave in the Territory. Other than a note of its existence in some star map, there was little known about system. What information, they had manage to garner about the civilization here had been discovered when reconnaissance patrols made their visit to the planet surface and found a wealth of literature abandoned by those who had scribed it. After watching the Jedi being system slaughtered out of existence, Chris did not know whether or not he wanted to support another cause even though as a Jedi he knew he could not walk away from the Rebel Alliance. They were attempting to stem the tide of evil the Empire was spreading throughout the galaxy. How could he walk away from that when it was so much in keeping with the spirit of what it once meant to be a Jedi? Besides, the truth was not so high minded as all that. He needed to do something to keep his mind and his heart from being reminded his family was gone. If dedicating himself to the Rebellion would decrease the amount of time he spent aching for Sarah and Adam, then it was well worth it. As he made his way through the corridors, he was still inundated with curious stares from the rebel personnel who happened by him. He supposed he was still something of a mystery to them and they had only a week to accustom themselves to his being among their number. Of course he was accepted but the awe in which he was perceived made Chris uncomfortable. Having a Jedi in their ranks did not automatically mean they were invulnerable against their enemies. After the dream Chris was just visited with, even he was starting to feel uncertain about his own mortality. However, he refused to start torturing himself with fears of whether or not he was going to die at the next corner. If it was his destiny to die, then so be it. "I don’t care whether or not we have been pushing our staff too hard," Chris heard Mary Travis telling Nathan Jackson as he rounded the corner of the corridor leading towards the operation center of the rebel base. "Until that deflector shield is up, we are wide open. You can tell the department heads if they had a problem with fatigue, ask them how much of a problem they’re going to have when an entire legion of Imperial storm troopers walks right up to the door and knocks. I don’t want excuses Nathan, I want it done." "Yes Sir." Nathan gulped, aware if he did not put it tactfully to the personnel in question, they would likely to be getting a visit from the Commander of the base and that would not be pretty. When she was determined, she burned hotter than a supernova, Chris thought to himself and though it was often dangerous to be in close proximity to such fiery eruptions, Chris found he could not keep away. He had seen soldiers come and go, very few stuck out in his mind and it was without a sense of bias he could safely say she was one of the best. Those under her command respected her and when she spoke, people invariably listened. She was tough, but then Chris supposed one in her position could not be any other way, but she was also fair and the loyalty she earned from those who followed her, was a testament to her ability. "Hello Chris." Nathan said pleasantly even though there was still tension in the air over the exchange."Chris." She nodded and then turned back to Nathan. "Now we have a situation brewing with Josiah and he’ll need an escort. See if Buck is willing to take a run to Bespin. He’ll complain but you are to explain to him most strenuously he is not going alone, I don’t care whether or not it’s a personal matter. You will remind him he is a member of the Rebel Alliance and what he does affects everyone, so I will not have him risking his life unnecessarily, is that clear?’Nathan let out a deep breath and nodded, perfectly aware that Josiah Sanchez would be complaining about an escort but Nathan was not about to bring that to Mary at this point. The woman was riding a filthy mood and Nathan had no wish to provoke it any further. He glanced at Chris who gave him a look of sympathy as well as a silent order to leave this to him."What’s this situation?" Chris inquired innocently, trying to help if he could, not to mention deflect some of the vitriol Mary was exuding from Nathan."We’ve had a report from our spies on Coruscant that the Empire may have discovered where Josiah’s niece is presently hiding. The standing order for all renegade Senators of the Republic Senate is that they and their families are detained. Its Palpatine’s way of keeping his enemies under control. He keeps their loved ones under house arrest. In Josiah’s case, they’ll just use the girl to draw him out of hiding. She’s all the family he has left.""I see." Chris nodded, appreciating why the senator would be so determined to reach the girl. "I take it she is on Bespin.""Yeah," Nathan nodded. "Cloud City. Its still privately owned and there is no Imperial influence there at all. If you have the money, you can hide there for a very long time and not be noticed.""Unfortunately, those who are willing to accept a lot of money to hide you are also prone o accept the same to give you away." Mary frowned, not all happy at the place Josiah had chosen as a hiding place for his niece but supposed begrudgingly these days, there was no place really one could consider truly safe. "Josiah wants to bring her here but I have my doubts that taking his niece is what the Empire wants. I’m sure if they know where she is, then the only reason they haven't moved in on her is because they’re waiting for him to show up." What Mary did not say and Chris could tell rather easily without the benefit of using Jedi insight that though she had her reservations about allowing Josiah to go to Bespin, she could not bring herself to deny him the chance even if the possibility of a trap might exist. Josiah and Mary had been friends before the Rebel Alliance, before Palpatine even. Josiah served with Mary's father as a soldier in the Republic Fleet and had known Mary since she was a girl. However, Mary was too much the professional to allow her personal feelings to interfere with her responsibilities as a rebel leader because too many lives depended on her. If she believed there was a legitimate risk at work here, then Josiah better pay attention because Mary did not make such claims lightly. "What if I go with him?" Chris offered, thinking this was the best way to bring the situation to a compromise. Josiah certainly would not feel as if the Alliance were interfering in his private business if Chris accompanied him to Bespin. "That would work." Nathan quickly caught on to the gesture Chris was making because Josiah would take offence at a squad of soldiers following him about and playing bodyguard since the man felt this situation with his niece was his own responsibility and not that of the Alliance. Josiah considered Chris a friend and would not be so inclined to refuse a Jedi's help in this matter. And besides, nobody tells a Jedi to do anything he did not wish. "I'll come with you." He volunteered. "This does not make me feel better." Mary frowned. "So from having one senator going Rogue on me, I'm going to have two of my best people wandering into a trap as well." She stared at Chris and Nathan with an expression on her face that told her they were fooling no one with this attempt. "We going somewhere?" Vin Tanner's voice entered the mix. The bounty hunter approached them just in time to see Mary throwing her hands up in resignation. "Sure you are," she spun around and glared at Vin whose gaze shifted to his two companions while he attempted to work out what he had walked into. "You're going to Bespin. Hurry along and pack, its warm there this time of year!" With that, she turned back to Chris and said very firmly. "I want this to go down very smoothly, you go there, get the girl and you get your asses right back here. I will not have all six of you become some sector chief's ticket to Coruscant if he captures you, am I clear?" Mary spoke in the superlative but Chris could tell she was speaking to him directly. "We'll be careful." He said coolly, aware she was worried about all of them and perhaps a little weighted down be the disappointment of having to remain behind and having to ensure that thing were running smoothly here instead of making the trip herself. If Mary had known what Chris was thinking, she would have been added she considered him and the five men in question to be her friends and was not all that eager to put them in the face of danger. However, she soon admonished herself for that thought because rightly, she should not be making any sort of distinction. The fact that they had a Jedi among them boosted morale like nothing else among the rebel personnel. It was reassuring to have that remnant of the Republic in their midst and her personal feelings aside, she did not want Chris hurt. The same went for Vin Tanner who seemed to have more information about the galactic underbelly than most of the intelligence operatives out in the field. He knew the underworld intimately, not to mention the people who were useful to the Alliance since they operated in a sphere of influence beyond the Empire's controls. Aside from that, the man was the best damn marksman she had ever seen and a natural leader, though he tried very hard to hide it. Buck Wilmington's skill, as a pilot needed no expression. Since joining the rebellion on a full time basis, he had been putting the X-wing pilots through their paces and the youth he brought within him appeared to have the makings of great aviator as well. "Alright," Mary took a deep breath, aware that she was over reacting. Besides, knowing Chris, he would go anyway with or without her approval. "Please be careful. This may not be a trap, but Bespin is full of imperial informants. It will only take one of them to sound the alarm." "We're going to Bespin?" Vin looked blankly at Chris.Mary rolled her eyes and strode away, shaking her head in disbelief at what she was allowing these men to get away with."What's eating her?" Vin asked as Mary rounded the corner and was out of earshot."She's just feeling the pressure a little." Nathan replied, knowing the truth a little better than both of them. "We've had everything that could possibly go wrong today, go wrong. The deflector shield isn't working yet, there's some strange interference in the local atmosphere that's creating a ghosting on our sensors,which is very bad when you consider we need constant up to date information over the entire system.""True," Vin agreed. "I know I don't want a whole bunch of star destroyers coming out of hyperspace right on top of us.""And she's worried about Josiah," Chris added and then remembered something else. "And now us.""She is in the top seat." Nathan reminded. "It comes with the territory."Vin looked down the corridor where Mary departed and had to feel some sympathy for the lady. It could not be easy being responsible for all this. He certainly would not like to be in her place. "So we're going to Bespin?" He looked at his soon to be travelling companions. "Josiah's niece is in trouble." Chris explained as they started walking towards the mess where the Jedi planned on getting some breakfast. "The Empire may know where she is so we're going to Bespin to bring her back here before they get their hands on her." "Sounds like a plan." Vin shrugged, not afraid to admit he was up for some action. A week being cloistered here was starting to take its toll on him, he wanted to get out of this place for awhile, even if it was to go rescue a child. "As long as I don't have to do no babysitting." "You don't have to worry," Nathan chuckled. "Josiah's niece isn't that young. She's at least sixteen years old I think." "A teenager," Vin frowned. "Oh joy. I knew my skills as a bounty hunter was going to come in handy. So what's the precious little dear's name?" Nathan had to think a minute about what Josiah had told him about the girl. "Casey," he answered after a moment. "Casey Wells." Bail tried not to be afraid when he was told a transmission had come from a ship in orbit around Alderaan. He would have been something of a fool if he had not expected its arrival. Trying to remember everything Rayne told him prior to her departure, the only thing that gave the ruler of Alderaan comfort was the fact his daughter Leia was already out of the system and beyond the reach of the Emperor. Whatever happened now, at least she would be safe even if he were to never see her again. He sat at his desk and waited for the holo-transmitter to connect him to the large super star destroyer poised over his world, like some dark cloud ready to storm. He had not seen the vessel for himself but the officers at Planetary Defence had stated it was the largest ship they had ever seen, almost a dreadnought. Somehow it was a vessel befitting Lord Darth Vader.The air cackled slightly on the transmission panel and Bail found himself sitting back in his chair as if the holographic image had the power to do him harm. He knew better of course, he was not a superstitious man or an ignorant one for that matter but even being in close proximity to Vader made Bail anxious and why not? If Vader suspected Bail sent Leia away in anticipation of his own agenda then Vader would have confirmation there were spies in the Emperor's court and that Bail must have access to them, making him just as guilty. Bail did not care if anything happened to him but he cared what happened to Leia. As it was, the communications networks across the galaxy were informed the Princess Royal of Alderaan, had been kidnapped. Bail ensured Rayne and Leia were off the planet before the story had leaked and by the time planetary defence and internal security swooped in on the palace, the kidnapping had become the media circus he had hoped it would be.Bail felt his stomach clench as the image of Darth Vader appeared before him through a crackle of static. Once the signal cleared, he felt his skin chill at the sound of that mechanical breathing that could be from no one else but Vader. "Lord Vader," Bail Organa recouped his fears and launched into the act he had been rehearsing since he and Rayne hatched this plan of his daughter's abduction. "How good of you to come to Alderaan at this troubling time." It was impossible to tell whether or not his performance as the wounded father was doing anything to convince the Sith Lord of his sincerity. The armour that made him more machine than man ensured Bail be kept in a state of unknowing fear. "The Emperor was most disturbed to hear about the news of the young Princess. Do you have any idea who might have taken her?" Vader asked. Vader's tone was more than a little sceptical but for this to work, Bail had to ensure he did not waver in the least. Any hesitation and Vader would spot it immediately, underestimating a Jedi, especially a dark one was a fatal mistake."No," Bail shook his head mournfully. "They were privy to an old passageway we had sealed off within the palace and made their entry that way. Some of our staff were wounded in the attempt and Leia's body guard is missing, presumably dead. We are searching every ship leaving our space but so far, no information regarding her whereabouts have been discovered." "You must allow me to aid you in your efforts," Vader responded, his voice smooth as always and deeply resonating. It moved through Bail's skin like something tangible. "The Emperor would be most unforgiving if I were to sit by and allow the child of one our most prominent senators languish in the hands of abductors.""Yes," Bail said feigning gratitude. "I was hoping you would say that. Your abilities are highly regarded Lord Vader. Any help you could provide me would earn my deepest gratitude." "Of course, I am at your service." The dark lord seemed almost pleased by the aspect of playing hero and had Bail not known what he and his Emperor originally planned for Leia, he would have been inclined to believe that the man was genuine in his efforts to help retrieve his poor, kidnapped daughter. "The Empire will put all its resources in retrieving your child. I myself will search all vessels leaving Alderaan space for a closer inspection." Bail shuddered at what that might entail but for held his tongue on that point. The Imperial Senate did not convene for another week, if this facade could be maintained for that long, then Bail could block Palpatine's segregation policy and Leia could resurface under the guise of being found by Alderaanian security forces. Bail only prayed Vader did not find her first.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
He could smell her close by, hear her breathing, wisp softly in his ears through the teeming rain. He could hear her voice telling him she loved him, she always would no matter what separated them. He could hear the sadness in her voice, the distance in every word she spoke, almost as if she were being pulled away from him even while he lay here in his own blood. Through the droplets of cold moisture wetting his skin, he felt the warm salty caress of a teardrop falling onto his cheek. He could feel her sorrow as he tried to open his eyes and felt as if the strength of the universe was keeping him from that one small task. "I miss you so much." He heard her say. "Adam cries for his daddy, I hold him to me in the darkness. This is a dark place Chris, dark and cold. We can't leave. We can't go on." Chris opened his mouth and felt the taste of cold rain on his tongue, He swallowed the droplet greedily but he could not feel it in his throat for all the blood. He knew what he was trying to drink was being forced out by the gushes of blood from his mouth and the words to remain unspoken in his throat. He tried to move but the pain paralysed him and left him floundering like the fish on a deck of a boat. He wanted to ask her so many things, especially why she and Adam were trapped in a dark place where there appeared to be no escape. They should be someplace better, someplace where nothing could hurt them any more. "Why?" He finally managed to croak, sputtering blood in a light spray as he forced himself to be heard. Chris shifted his head just slightly and one eye blinked open. Sarah was kneeling next to him, her hand on his cheek, tears in her eyes as she looked down on him with concern. "Because you keep us here my love. You won't let us go." "I have to" He cried out desperately. "If I do, I won't have anything else!" There were tears in his eyes as he managed that monumental effort and knew he was almost finished, that soon his energy would drain completely and he would die. "Yes you do Chris," Sarah answered, "you have more than you know." "I don't want anything without you." He begged. "I want to go with you now. I want to be with you and Adam." "I want that Chris, I want that more than anything but its not going to happen," she answered weeping, tears running down her cheeks as she said that, strands of dark hair plastered against her cheek and her clothes hung off her in wet sheets. "It's not your time." "I don't care! I can't go on without you, I don't have it inside me to keep going without you!" "Yes you do Chris, you've always had it inside you. You have to be strong for the years ahead because they will be hard and they will also be filled with great joy but you must do one thing for me Chris, you must." Her eyes softened in that imploring way he had never been able to resist. "Anything," he whispered, never able deny her anything. "You have to let us go." "Not that!" Chris shook his head in anguish. "I can't do that." "Then you condemn us Chris, you condemn us to stay in the dark place. You keep us here Chris and we need to go. We need to go!" "No," he insisted. "I can't! I CAN'T!""CHRIS!" Vin Tanner's voice exploded through his consciousness and Chris opened his eyes to find himself staring up at the bounty hunter who was standing over him with an expression of concern on his face. "You okay?" Vin asked once he was certain that Chris was conscious. It took a split second for Chris to remember where he was. After a few moments, the disorientation bled away and he remembered he was on board the Rogue, presently on route towards Bespin, carrying himself, Vin Tanner, JD Dunne, Nathan Jackson and Josiah Sanchez with Buck Wilmington in the cockpit. The journey was almost a day in length and they had taken turns in the sleeping compartments so they would be refreshed when they reached Cloud City. Chris intended to lapse into a meditative state but the lack of sleep because of his earlier nightmares made him sluggish and sensibly he opted to catch up on his slumber before their arrival on Bespin. "Yeah," Chris nodded somewhat mutely as he rose to his feet. "I'm okay. Just a bad dream." He muttered, brushing the images of Sarah away before they started to overwhelm him in the waking world as well as the dreamscape. He ran his fingers through his blond hair and rubbed the grainy feeling from his eyes as he shook the slack feeling from his limbs. "It looked it." Vin retorted, well believing it if what he saw was any indication. As Chris started to move out of the compartment, Vin took the opportunity to speak before they joined the others. "Want to talk about it?' Chris paused a moment and looked over his shoulder at the bounty hunter. He almost took the man up on his offer but found that when the moment came, he was not up to disclosure just yet. It was still too hard for him to talk about Sarah and Adam to anyone, even to Buck who had been there on the day they died. "Perhaps one day." "Alright," Vin replied, not about to push knowing when in that instant, guessed what the nightmare had been about. Still he had sensed a great deal of conflict radiating from Chris, even while seated at the front of the ship and prompted to rescue Chris from his nightmare. However, if Chris did not wish to talk about, Vin had no choice but to let matter rest.Although now they were alone, he did have another request. "Chris, I need you to teach me." Chris was in midstep when the question was put to him, and froze immediately. Not turning around, Chris asked quietly. "Teach you what?" "I don't want to be a Jedi." Vin said quickly, so there would be no misunderstanding. "I'm not ready for that. I'm not sure I'll ever be ready but the fact of the matter is you said you could read me easily. I don't mind it if you can but I'm not happy about any other Jedi I came across being able to do that. What if its Vader? He'll be able to see straight through me."He had a point, Chris had to admit and a rather good one too. Vin had no idea how to keep someone from probing his mind and if he did encounter Darth Vader, the consequences would be catastrophic. The fate of the galaxy depended on Vin keeping his secrets but Chris was not a Jedi Master and after what had happened to Anakin Skywalker, the potential for disaster in a badly trained apprentice was too much for him to ignore. Chris had padwan learners under his care before but he had never actually trained Jedi and he was not ready to do so now. "Alright," Chris conceded that much turning around to face Vin after a brief reflection regarding his decision. "If you want to learn something, I'll take to you someone who can teach you." Vin seemed somewhat taken back by the response, expecting a flat out refusal or that very least, an explanation why it was wise he not be trained. He knew much of Chris hesitation had to do with his safety. As long as he remained untrained, the Emperor would have one less Jedi to hunt and kill. However, Vin's surprise was soon overshadowed by the knowledge Chris would not be in charge of his instruction. He only knew Chris and did not feel comfortable about anyone else teaching him."Why can't you do it?" He asked, a little hurt Chris was not carrying out the undertaking himself. Vin thought they were friends."I'm not a teacher." Chris explained quickly, sensing what was in Vin’s mind. "I've never done it and learning to use the Force is a tricky thing. It needs to be taught by someone who is a proven teacher, someone who is also a Jedi Master. I'm neither of those things. Trust me when I say that this is the best thing for you."Vin did not understand but then that was hardly surprising when it came to dealing with Jedis. They was all so confusing with so many rules, his head swam with the riddles one had to overcome to become one. "So when do we go?" "When we've concluded our business on Bespin, we'll take a trip to the Dagobah system." Chris replied. The name sounded familiar but only because he remembered seeing star charts noting its existence. "The Dagobah system?" Vin looked at Chris with open confusion. "Isn't that an uninhabited system on the outer edge of the Minos Cluster?" "That's the one." Chris nodded and resumed walking out of the compartment to join the others. "Why there?" Vin asked, wondering if there was some Jedi rule that required training to be undertaken in some primitive corner of space.
"Because that's where he lives." Chris responded with a tone in his voice that sounded like he was answering the endless questions of a bored child. "Who?" Vin asked, deciding it had to be a Jedi custom to be damn vague all the time. "Yoda." When Chris and Vin emerged into the cockpit of the Rogue where the rest of their companions were presently situated, the ship had already entered Bespin space.They were immediately confronted with the image of amber skies and large streams of clouds that seemed to run forever into the horizon. One of the richest sources of Tibanna gas in the entire galaxy, the actual surface of Bespin was uninhabitable because the gas was lethal to most life forms. Most of the population resided in cities suspended high amongst the clouds of the planet. Chief among these cities was Cloud City; a self-contained facility constructed by the first profiteers who came to Bespin seeking their fortunes. Buck was continuing his tutelage of JD's flight training abilities. While the youth had been sitting in on a few of the classes offered to new pilots at the Rebellion base, Buck felt there was no better teacher than experience and for once Chris could not disagree. Buck was the best pilot Chris had ever seen. The man could do things with a ship he was certain defied the laws of physics at times and it was skill that had saved lives, his included, on more than one occasion. Besides, JD had a great deal of natural ability although the young man seemed to prefer smaller one man fighters to large freighters. Nevertheless, he was an avid pupil when Buck was teaching. "This is the Corellian freighter Rogue - Registration No. 223. 4, Landing Permit 12454." Buck recited as he communicated with the docking authorities in Cloud City, hoping the new registration papers he obtained for his ship would be adequate to get them past the authorities without fanfare. Since its capture by the Imperials, the Rogue and its captain were wanted for crimes ranging from sedition to high treason. Through their agents on Coruscant, the Rebel Alliance had procured Buck new registration papers for the Rogue, aware of how necessary it was for him to have the freedom to move around if he was to act on their behalf. "So Josiah," Vin asked taking a seat. "Does your niece know you're coming?" "No," Josiah shook his head unhappily. "I couldn't get word to her." The Senator eased back into his own seat, visibly concerned by that fact. "We usually communicate on a weekly basis. A cargo runner who comes this way takes messages to her from a third party. Its written in code Casey worked out when I first had to go into hiding and leave her here." "Code?" Nathan asked suspiciously. "Maybe that's how the Empire got wind she was here. Someone might have been able to decipher it." "I seriously doubt that." Josiah said confidently. "My niece has quite the talent as a splicer not to mention more than a passing skill with machinery. I don't know even know where she picked it up but the child has the skill of an astrodroid when it comes to entering restricted systems and repairing sophisticated equipment." "Really?" Nathan mused, the wheels in his head already turning. "You know we need to establish new codes the Empire cannot break. Maybe we ought to see what this girl can do." "Nathan...." Josiah started to protest, not at all liking the idea of Casey joining the Rebel Alliance. She was just a kid and a hot headed one at that. The idea alone would set her imagination running and Josiah did not want it planted into her head under any circumstances. "It was just a thought." Nathan immediately threw his hands up in a gesture of concession. "Keep it that way." Josiah growled. "I promised my sister I was going to look after her. That does not include making her a member of the Rebel Alliance, besides she's only seventeen." "That's not so old Josiah," JD remarked, looking over his shoulder. "I'm only eighteen." "That's different." Josiah returned gruffly, hating to admit the boy was right, JD was not much older than Casey and he was now a fully-fledged member of the Alliance. Circumstances had not given JD a choice however, he followed Buck and Josiah in their attempt to rescue Nathan Jackson from the Doldur installation and wasmarked as a rebel. After that, there was no going back down the path he had taken in the name of friendship and loyalty. "Not that much different." Buck retorted as he waited for clearance, trying to take his mind off the damnable wait while the powers that be decided whether or not his registration papers were the genuine article or a forgery. If it was the latter, he would have a matter of minutes to turn his ship around and get the hell out of here before every Imperial ship in fifty lights years were alerted to their presence. "Why don't you see what the girl wants to do. May be she doesn't have any interest in joining the Rebellion, not many girls her age do. In fact, if you want something to worry about," Buck leaned over the captain's chair and threw Josiah a perfectly evil look. "Worry about what happens when she gets a whiff of JD. Most teenagers are impressed with young men with an air of danger about them." "What?" JD shot a look at Buck that was filled with nothing less than shock "What do you mean Buck?" He stammered.The thought had never even occurred to him. After all, there were girls from where he came from but they were never really interested in him and JD was always too shy to talk to them. His upbringing had been isolated and he simply did not have that much to do with the opposite sex other than his ma, to know how to talk to a girl. Josiah's niece by the sounds of it had been everywhere and seen things beyond his meagre experience. The notion that she might cast her gaze on him in that manner was quite honestly intimidating. "See," Nathan grinned at Josiah with a similarly sarcastic expression on his face. "And you thought the only thing you had to worry about was protecting her from the Empire." JD turned back to Josiah and saw the Senator giving him a deep, frowned stare that made him swallow instinctively. "You touch my niece.." "Josiah." Chris Larabee spoke up, coming to JD's defence before details about the rending he would receive at the burly senator's hand became too explicit. "I'm sure JD will behave himself." Josiah let out a deep breath and threw JD a smile because he liked the young man and supposed if Casey did find herself infatuated with him, she could do worse. Besides, JD was honest, forthright and willing to risk his life for a friend, qualities not lost on Josiah and he knew part of the reason he was so determined to protect Casey was because he had no other family in this galaxy. Casey's mother, his sister was killed by the Emperor's purges. Her father died in the Clone Wars and since the death of her mother, Casey had been residing with her Aunt Nettie, an elderly woman who could no longer protect her once it was discovered Casey was Josiah's only family. Both had been hiding on Bespin ever since. For his cause, Josiah had placed Casey in danger and knew he would always be a little less than reasonable when it came to her safety. "I'm sorry JD," Josiah apologized. "I guess I'm a little too protective of her. She's all that's left of my family." "Its okay Josiah," JD shrugged it off, feeling a little odd that someone like Josiah ought to be apologizing to him. He still felt somewhat awed by the company he kept lately and could not find it in himself to be mad at Josiah. Besides, he knew what it was like to be the only one left of a family and it was not a feeling he would wish on anyone. "I understand." "Corellian freighter Rogue," an unfamiliar voice erupted from the com unit in the cockpit, "You have been cleared for landing. You will be escorted to Landing Bay 23." Buck let out a sigh of relief and knew that the escort was standard procedure for most ships requesting docking at Cloud City for the first time. The construction of the city with its high spires, towers and platforms, required careful navigation to reach the landing pads. One error in judgement could see an entire tower destroyed along with its occupants. With that kind of risk, Buck understood the logic in having trained professionals guide visitors into its confines. "Thank you kindly," Buck said with no traces in his voice at the anxiety he felt awaiting their clearance. Upon terminating the channel between them, Buck let out a sigh of relief. "Okay, let's go do this."She had not meant to slice into the system. Really she did not. Aunt Nettie had warned her time and time again, eventually someone was going to find out what she was doing and pay a little closer attention to her than they should and find out who she was. If that happened, well she was in for a lot of trouble. Unfortunately, this warning though given to her several times already, had not made its full impact upon her awareness until three hours ago, when Imperial agents arrived and took custody of her. It was bad enough she and Nettie were now placed in a situation where their lives were in danger but now it appeared as if they were using her to set a trap for her Uncle Josiah, which did not sit well with Casey at all. Josiah was doing important things for the Rebel Alliance and she just knew his capture would mean his death, like it had meant for her mother. Casey paced the floor of her room for the hundredth time, trying to think of what she could do to aid her situation. She could not just let them come and take Uncle Josiah! If she had not been monitoring the city's private communications channel they would not have traced her slicer routine back to this suite and discovered who she was! Casey felt awful and yet she had no idea what to do about it. She glanced at Aunt Nettie who was staring out the window, looking so tired and worn. The old lady did not have the energy to raise her and they both knew it, but Nettie was determined to try and Casey would always love her for it. "Casey dear," Nettie glanced her way. "Stop that. You're making me nervous." The old woman looked away from the window where she had been staring at the panoramic vista outside. The advantage about living in a city suspended miles above the surface was every window afforded a spectacular view although at this moment, Nettie would prefer being some place where it did not require a ship to leave the city. "I'm sorry Aunt Nettie." Casey paused in mid step because she had come to a decision. Her skills as a splicer and a tinkerer had brought her to this end and if she were to extricate herself, Aunt Nettie and Uncle Josiah from this situation, she would have to use those very same abilities. The Imperial agents had locked her and Nettie in her bedroom while they waited for Josiah to arrive. Without saying another word to Nettie, Casey padded over to the door leading to the next room where the agents were presently situated, no doubt intending to surprise Josiah the moment her uncle walked through the door. She pressed her ear against the door, uncertain of what she was doing except that she had to do something. "Casey, what are you doing?" Nettie asked and Casey immediately gestured for her to be quiet. Nettie felt silent immediately and rose to standing position as Casey continued to listen. After a moment of inactivity as well as silence, Nettie joined her niece at the door. "What is it?" "There's only two of them there now." Casey remarked. "The others must have gone to get ready for Josiah's arrival." Nettie replied with a frown. "Probably setting a nice little trap for him." Casey nodded begrudgingly since that wasn't far from the truth. "We’ve got to escape Aunt Nettie." She whispered softly, moving away from the door. "That's easier said than done," Nettie pointed out. "The doors locked. We can't even get out of the room much less past those two men." "I know," Casey started to pace once again but this time she did not do so for very long because less than a few minute had passed before seh was hurrying to the computer terminal in her room. "What is it?" Nettie asked, all too familiar with that expression on the girl's face. It usually marked the onset of something inspired and for once Nettie was more than happy to see it at work, especially if it meant disaster could be averted for Casey, herself and Josiah Sanchez. Casey did not look up as her fingers flew over the computer terminal but she did answer her aunt with a little smile. "I got an idea." They did not know how long they would be waiting, only aware their instructions had been explicit that they were to wait until the Senator showed. While Imperial agent Ely Joh was content to remain in these surroundings indefinitely for the arrival of their quarry, his partner in this endeavour, a young rookie who needed things moving along at a faster pace than this, was growing impatient with each second. Dagmyr was new to the work, fresh out of training, Ely Joh wagered. It was a customary practice that the youth would be paired with a veteran who could complete his on-the-job training as a member of the Empire's Internal Security. Personally, Ely Joh would be surprised if he survived the year. "Settle down." He instructed the young man for the dozenth time, not that Dagmyr paid much attention. "The Senator will get here when he gets here. Our people are in place, we’ll get him." "What if he doesn’t take the bait?" Dagmyr asked impatiently. "We made it very clear we knew where she was," Ely Joh answered wearily, wondering how many times he was going to have to clarify this with the young man before he was forced to shoot him. "She is the only family he has left, he’ll be here." "I don’t know..." The young man seemed sceptical but Ely Joh cared very little if he did or not. Men like Josiah Sanchez who were willing to risk everything on principle had the inherent flaw possessed by heroes and martyrs alike, the grandstanding need to prove their overt sentimentality, especially where familial responsibilities were concerned. "He’ll be here." Ely Joh insisted with enough edge in his voice to indicate to his companion this debate was becoming tiresome and to remember who was in charge here and who had to take the orders. "Maybe we ought to see what the girl is doing in there." Dagmyr suggested instead. "Unless she and the old lay can fly, I don’t see a problem." The lieutenant said gruffly, wondering how long he would get if he really did shoot this annoying creature. "She’s got a computer terminal in there." He pointed out, not about to relent. "She could be doing all sorts of things from that juncture. I mean we caught her because she was poking around in restricted areas didn’t we?" On that note however, he did have a point and Ely Joh supposed there was no harm in checking on the girl. He was about to mention that when suddenly, he heard the old lady call out."Excuse me?" Her voice passed through the door. An exchange of glances passed between the two agents before Ely Joh nodded at the young man to proceed. He hurried forward even before his superior had given him the signal. "What is it?" He asked upon reaching the door. "I need to use the utility." The old woman responded. "It’s been hours since you put us in here." She reminded. Ely Joh saw no harm in that and the old woman was not incorrect about the length of their incarceration. "Go ahead," he nodded, giving his companion permission to continue. Dagmyr reached for the door panel and activated it when suddenly; something that sounded like a burst of energy erupted in the air. Ely Joh turned to the noise just in time to see Dagmyr’s body spasming so violently, he could not even scream. His hand was still pressed against the door panel and the surge of blue energy running through him had its source from that location. Dagmyr continued to jerk and shudder, appearing like a marionette under the direction of an unskilled puppeteer. Ely Joh was on his feet in seconds, running towards the young man when the suddenly the energy burst cut short and Dagmyr collapsed to the floor in an abrupt heap, his body still jerking in sharp spasms. Ely Joh dropped to examine his life signs when all of a sudden, the door slid open. He tried to raise his gun to aim but the girl moved faster, having anticipated his actions. She brought down the heavy sculpture she was holding in her hands, against his head. The pain flared though his consciousness as the object crumbled over his skull and he became aware of his gun leaving his hand throughthe haze. Casey saw the man go down and immediately retrieved his weapon. With adrenaline pumping through her veins and giving her more courage than she thought herself capable, she didn't even think twice before setting the weapon for stun and firing while the older agent, reeled from her assault. The blast of energy was brief but when it faded away, he lay just as lifeless as his companion next to him. "Nettie!" Casey gestured her aunt forward. Nettie appeared at the door way quickly and was somewhat shocked by what she found there but was not about to argue with the results of Casey’s ‘idea’. "You did it!" "I didn’t do anything yet," Casey replied, not about to get intoxicated by her success. Keeping her hand on the gun, she and Nettie headed for the door. "We still have to get out of Cloud City." On that note, the two women hurried out of the room, hoping their luck held until they could contact Josiah Sanchez and tell him about the trap awaiting him.
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Despite existing beyond the realms of Imperial control, Cloud City was as sophisticated and modern as any city found in the core worlds. While its architecture was definitely influenced by Coruscant, it had a touch of pristine beauty common to Alderaan and the spires and towers embellishing its skyline was certainly in keeping with the Bimmisari designs popular at the time of its construction. Indeed, Cloud City prided itself on its cosmopolitan atmosphere and as the new arrivals to the urban centre departed the upper levels where the docking port was located, it was hard not to be impressed by the beauty of it. Docking authorities had not given them much notice after they cleared customs since the registration papers Buck produced appeared genuine. Still the pilot was not eager to remain here for very long. Cloud City for all its skyscrapers, manicured lawns and terraces was built on illegal currency. The reason for its opulence was that it did not pay the high tariffs required of the Spacing Guild and thus it remained out of Imperial control. However, such a place tended to invite a specific type, being those who did not wish to be noticed and those who in turn made their living from the sale of information, found Cloud City to be a place where fortunes could be made. Buck knew if anyone of these informants so much as thought that there might be a profit in any of them, the Empire would be here faster than he could blink. "You been this way before Buck?" Nathan inquired as they travelled through the white hallways leading into the heart of the city. "Once or twice." Buck remarked, maintaining that façade of indifference even though he was noticing everything. "Too expensive in my opinion." "I didn’t know Tibanna gas was so profitable." JD remarked, having learnt something about the industry when he was in school. "It isn't but they're selling to clients who can’t afford to go through the Guild channels." Chris explained. "So they can charge whatever they like and its usually quadruple the normal price." "Wow." JD whistled softly even though he was too fascinated by everything he was seeing so far to feel much trepidation at the possible danger might be awaiting them here. "Why couldn’t they go through the normal channels?" "For any number of reasons," Josiah explained. "Usually those who can’t go through the Guild have been blacklisted for poor commercial practices, political embargoes, the usual." They entered what appeared to be the main promenade, a crowded place surrounded by shop fronts selling all manner of things. Crysosilk clad mannequins peered through display windows at them, while the aroma of exotic spices wafted at them from the restaurant next to it. Unlike Cordoba, there was not the bazaar like atmosphere he had come to know. Here the scent of opulence overrode everything else. This was not a place for bargain hunters. The women who moved past in their expensive clothes and the men who regarded them distastefully, all reeked of aristocratic indulgence. Chris Larabee was also paying close attention but not because he was playing tourist to his new surroundings. He could feel something drawing close, pressing in on them even if he could not for the moment discern what that was or whether or not that it was danger. All he could feel was this eminent sense of arrival. He let his gaze sweep through the crowded promenade, attempting to make a visual confirmation of what his mind was telling him. Not that he doubted the tremor in the Force giving him such insight but sometimes, it was necessary to rely on one’s other senses as well. Unaware Chris was engaged in the same activity, Vin Tanner had picked up the scent as well, except what he noticed was far different than the sensations presently experienced by his Jedi companion. Vin’s insight was more observation. He was no stranger to Bespin, having followed the trail of many a bounty here on occasion. Since Cloud City and Bespin were not governed by Coruscant, they had their own version of law enforcement in place of storm troopers. It was common to see the Cloud City Security forces wandering about the busy promenade keeping order. However, ever since arriving in the city, Vin had not seen one at all. What he did see were a number of plainly dressed men, too plainly in his opinion for this fashionable crowd. It was as if they were attempting to blend into the background but the effort was too forced and easily spotted by someone who knew what to look for. Imperial agents, Vin decided and judging by the number of those he had suspected of being more than what they were, a lot of them. "Josiah," Vin spoke up. "Are we far from your niece?" The tone of the bounty hunter immediately put Josiah on guard and he averted his eyes towards the younger man immediately. "Why?" "We’re being watched." Chris stated. "We have been since we walked into the promenade." Reflexively, Josiah almost turned to look but Chris stopped him immediately. "Keep walking." He ordered. "Don’t let them think we’ve seen them." Josiah swallowed thickly and faced front again, continuing their journey across the crowded promenade while feigning ignorance at their discovery. "What do we do?" "Hell." Buck Wilmington swore. "I knew it! I knew it was too easy. Bespin port authorities are usually absolute pains in the asses when a ship docks in. For them to just take my registration papers and let it go at that without any questions..." "Buck, we had no choice." Nathan quickly moved to assuage the man’s guilt. "We had to land to get to Casey." "So how far away is she?" Vin repeated his question. "She’s in the Level 14 of the Residential Sector." Josiah answered quickly. "She and Nettie have a suite there under the name of Felisa Dar." "Buck," Chris responded after considering what their next step ought to be. Obviously the Imperials had no wish to make their move in a crowd full of people. It was likely they were waiting until Josiah and his companions exited the promenade before making their attempt to capture him. "You, Nathan and Josiah need to stay here for awhile, mingle in the crowd and make sure you’re being seen by a lot of people." "I have to go find Casey." Josiah said firmly, not at all liking the idea of being shielded when his niece was in danger. He did not care about the consequences to himself but he did care about Casey and was willing to risk anything to ensure her safety. "Vin, JD and I will do that." Chris said smoothly, already anticipating the protest. "Right now, you need to stay out in the open. They’re waiting for you to move out of the promenade to close the net. We’re not giving them the chance. You three wait here, make them think you have no idea they're watching while we go get your niece." "You have no idea what she looks like." Josiah retorted. "Yes I do." Chris responded, having already seen the image of the girl in Josiah’s mind. The senator’s fears for his niece were so overwhelming, he was broadcasting his fearful emotions clearly. "I have my ways." Josiah seemed reluctant still but had to concede the point because he knew Chris was right. If this was a trap than he would do more harm than good, by insisting he retrieve her himself. Chris’s plan made sense. They were expecting Josiah to appear, not a Jedi Knight, an ex-bounty hunter and a boy. "We’ll find her Josiah," Vin reassured the older man. "Its what I do." He remarked cockily, trying to assuage Josiah’s fear and his guilt at not taking part in rescue himself. "Alright," Josiah smiled wryly. "Just be careful." "Sure dad." Vin retorted and was rewarded with a stern frown from the dignified senator. "Listen all of you," Chris gave the remaining friends a hard glare, conveying what he was about to say, was to be obeyed. "If anything goes wrong, if they decide to take the risk and come after you here, clear out. Get back to the Rogue and return to base." "We’re not leaving you behind." Buck said firmly. "Yes you are," Chris returned sharply. "At the moment, you, Nathan and Josiah are on the Imperial’s mot wanted list. JD and Vin are still low priority, JD is just another rebel foot soldier as far as the Empire is concerned, Vin is a bounty hunter who reneged on a deal and they won’t sent Imperial agents after me, they’ll send heavy guns used to dealing with Jedis. You on the other hand, have intimate knowledge of rebel collaborators and sympathizers and don’t even let me start with what Josiah and Nathan know."The second command of the rebel enclave in the Territory fell silent at that statement because the Jedi was right as much as he hated to admit it and once again, Mary Travis’s words surfaced inside his mind. For the cause to succeed there had to be sacrifices."Alright," Nathan nodded begrudgingly, understanding better than all why Chris’s orders had to be followed. "If things get to hot, we’ll take off but only if things get too hot." He insisted. "We’re not running out on you at the first sign of trouble. We’ll make back to the ship and prep her to leave but we will remain until the last possible minute before we go, is that clear?" This time it was Nathan who was not going to stand for an argument on this issue and waited for Chris’s response. The Jedi and the soldier locked gazes for a few seconds as a silent battle of wills was exchanged between the two and Chris realised that on this matter Nathan was going to be quite intractable. "Okay," Chris conceded defeat, deciding they could not afford to waste any more time debating the issue. "You win.""Thanks," Nathan sighed, pleased he did not have to press his point any more than that."We’ll be back as soon as we can," Chris remarked as he, Vin and JD broke away from them. "We’ll be waiting." Buck stated, giving Chris a hard stare indicating he was going nowhere without them, unless he had absolutely no choice.Casey and Nettie did not managed to get very far because once their escape was discovered, there were Cloud City guard patrols everywhere. Casey had hoped to have at least escaped Residential Sector by now, to enter the the upper levels where there were more people on the move, where she and Nettie could lose themselves. What alarmed Casey most however, was while she had been juryrigging the door earlier, she managed to access a coded transmission between docking control and central command. The message revealed Josiah was already here and presently under surveillance. She and Nettie had been hiding in a maintenance closet, trying to think of a way to get through the patrols without much success. Casey knew they could not remain where they were indefinitely, with the urgency of the situation mounting now that Josiah was in Cloud City. It was no longer her own well being that concerned Casey so much but rather the fate of her uncle. "We can’t stay here much longer," Casey whispered inside the dark confines of their hiding place. "We’ve got to reach Josiah before he walks into the trap." "He’s already walked into the trap Casey," Nettie replied grimly. "That’s what Cloud City is to him now, a big trap." As a foreboding as that sounded, Casey knew Nettie was right but the young girl was not about to give up just yet. Even though she still had the gun taken from their captors earlier, the idea of using it filled her with dread and yet she had to if they were going to reach Josiah. "We have to warn him." She took a deep breath and pushed open the compartment door open slightly, peering through the vein of light that bled into the space to gauge whether or not it was safe to emerge.Unfortunately, it was not. "There!" Someone yelled and Casey pulled back but too late. No sooner than she had retreated into the darkness did the door swung open and the first guard who made the attempt was soon thrown half way across the corridor when Casey aimed the blaster in his direction and pulled the trigger. Casey kept firing; not even sure she was hitting anything but the volley of energy blasts crisscrossing the corridor created enough confusion for her and Nettie to escape. "Run Nettie!" Casey shouted. Nettie ran forward, afraid to leave the girl but knew her age made her a liability to Casey. She had to put enough distance between them so that when Casey caught up, they would still be far enough from their captors to remain out of reach. She hurried forward and could get no further because around the corner she saw more guards converging on them. Nettie turned around and saw Casey trying to lay down enough suppressing fire so she could break away and join the older woman. However, the young girl had not seen what was coming from behind her. Casey’s hands were shaking each time she pulled the trigger but what she could not achieve aiming, she more than made up for in volume. The blasts came so rapidly, mostly because she was too terrified to notice whether or not they were meeting their mark. The weapon was still set on stun to which Casey was terribly grateful because she was not ready to kill anyone yet. "Casey, behind you!" Nettie cried out. Casey turned around and saw the guards coming from behind her and ahead. With a sinking feeling she knew she and Nettie would soon be surrounded and there was nothing she could do about it. Once again, she scolded herself at the foolishness that had brought her to this situation."Get out of the way!" Casey shouted at Nettie and the lady ducked behind a corridor wall as Casey started shooting at the Cloud City troops that were coming at her from the opposite direction. The blasts impacted near them but did nothing to stop the enemy from closing in and suddenly Casey realised there was nowhere to run. She turned just in time to see a Cloud City guard swing the butt of his rifle into her face. Casey let out a soft squeal of pain as her cheek flared in agony, the impact against her skull was so hard she felt her teeth rattle. Casey became conscious of falling and marvelled by how the blow had robbed her so quickly of the ability to stand. She heard Nettie screaming somewhere in the background and turned her head far enough to see another guard bringing down his weapon on the back of the old lady’s neck. Casey cried out in horror as she saw Nettie’s eyes rolling backwards as she dropped to her knees, her frail body going limp before she fell face first onto the hard floor. The sound seemed to drain from her world as she forced herself to crawl forward, aware that there was something wet and warm making its way down her cheek. She had to reach Nettie because Nettie was not moving. The gun was still in her hand and when she realised that Aunt Nettie could be dead, Casey turned around slowly and saw the man who had hit her coming forward. Without even thinking twice, Casey swung the gun around and this time something more than adrenaline was at work. She pulled the trigger with little or no reluctance, sending energy straight into his chest. From a suitable distance, the stun blast would have knocked him unconscious but at this range, being less than a foot away from her, it had the power to do some serious damage. She heard him scream, saw him stagger back, his eyes opened wide with shock before the injury took hold and forced him to succumb. She saw another about to fire at her when suddenly, there was a blur of movement over her head. It sailed across the air in a neat arc before landing directly in front of her in the form of a man she did not recognise. The new arrival was clad in dark robes and Casey tried to recall when she had seen someone like him and found that she could not. However, the mystery of what he was disappeared the moment the light sabre came to life in his hand. The Cloud City guards recognised him too because suddenly they forgot all about her and started shooting at him. Somewhere in the distance, Casey heard someone calling out. "JD, get the girl!" Casey followed the sound of the voice and realised it was coming from behind her. She turned her injured head painfully and saw a dark haired stranger making short work of the remaining guards by the deadly accuracy of his marksmanship. Upon seeing him shoot, Casey realised how unskilled she had been because when he pulled the trigger, the blasts did not go helter skelter in all directions. Each one met its mark. From his vantage point behind the corner Nettie had taken refuge briefly, he picked the guards off one by one, until their bodies covered the floor where they had fallen. "Hey," she suddenly heard a voice in her ear. "Are you okay?" Casey looked up and found herself staring at a young man not much older than her. He seemed just as overwhelmed by everything taking place around him although to his credit, he was holding his fear at bay enough to carry out what had been asked of him. His hand slipped under her arm, attempting to lift her from the floor or at least help her to her feet. Casey was grateful for the assistance and she scrambled to her feet, realising that help was at hand. She heard shots being fired and the distinct hum of a light sabre. The young man was pulling her out of the way, dragging her to the safety of a corridor that seemed to be free of the shooting for the moment. She was conscious of his taking the gun out of her hands and in all truth, did not mind so much that he did. She was happy to relinquish it and noted with some measure of comfort he handled the thing as if he knew how to use it. "Stay here." He ordered. "No!" Casey pulled him back as he was about to return to the fighting. "You’ve got to help my Aunt Nettie!" JD groaned with exasperation. "What do you think I was gonna do?" He grumbled. "You need a gun to go help my Aunt Nettie?" She barked back, the whole day fraying her nerves and her temper somewhat."No I need a gun to make sure I don’t get my ass shot off while I’m trying to help her!" JD retorted before hurrying forward, keeping his head down as he crossed the hallway attempting to avoid being caught in the cross fire of stray shots that were being deflected by Chris' light sabre. JD paused to see Chris cutting his way through two remaining guards. At the Jedi's feet were the remains of the blasters sliced apart by the light sabre. Their masters lay next to the metal fragments, just as harmless. JD could not help being awed as he watched Chris move, leaping into the air, spinning gracefully before landing and wielding the elegant weapon in his hand like it was a ballet. The Cloud City guards never had a chance and some even started running, deciding it was not worth their trouble to die in a futile effort to take on a Jedi Knight. For those who yet to come to that decision, Chris was more than ready for them. He moved like lighting, seldom in one place long enough for them to fire at him and when they did, the blasts bounced off the light sabre as Chris swung and parried while he deflected each bolt of energy. Vin on the other hand did not have to move as much. The bounty hunter was more than comfortable where he had positioned himself and he kept the guards off Chris’s back as they came down the corridor. Vin’s prowess as a marksman was reaching near legendary status among the members of the Rebel Alliance. Indeed, JD had been taking a few lessons from the man and knew just how proficient Vin was behind the barrel of a gun. As soon as reinforcements stepped into his sights, Vin pulled the trigger and cut them down. His positioning made it possible for him to hold them off indefinitely but really, it was only required for as long as it took for JD to take care of his part of the plan. On that note, JD reached the old woman who was lying unconscious on the floor. He could see the slight heaving of her body which indicated she was still among the living but he did not at all like the look of the soggy patch of hair on the back of her hea. A surge of anger filled him wondering what justification there could be in assaulting a woman of her years . JD immediately tucked the weapon he had taken from the girl into his belt, having faith enough in both Chris and Vin to keep any stray shots from reaching him while he took the old woman to safety. She did not stir as he wrapped his arms around her and lifted her up. Nettie did not weigh very much but he knew she was gravely wounded because she made no reaction to his presence and barely registering anything taking place around her. "I’ve got them both!" He announced. Chris glimpsed briefly in his direction and then turned to the remaining guards who were still shooting. Choosing to waste no further time with them, the Jedi focussed himself for a moment of calm even though it was exceedingly dangerous for him to do so. However, the pause was all he needed and when he looked up at his adversary, he could sense their fear when they saw him switch off his light sabre. There was no warning at all as Chris sent them flying through the air with such force that when they landed on the smooth floor, they did not stop, continuing to slide forward in their unconsciousness as far as their momentum would take them. Once he had finished with them, he turned around and started towards Vin. "Vin!" Chris called out. "Its time to go." Vin nodded slightly in Chris’s direction before turning back to the guards he had been facing. He squeezed off a few more shots, making sure they met their ends in soft flesh before retreating behind the wall to join Chris and JD. "Aunt Nettie!" Casey cried out when she realised just how badly her aunt was hurt. "We have to keep moving." Vin stated upon joining them and then noticed the state of the old woman JD was holding. "She looks bad." "She does." Chris agreed making a quick examination of the wound. "She needs a bacta tank and quickly. We have to get out of here, right now." "Who are you?" Casey demanded, suddenly remembering there were dangerous people after her and sense demanded she trusted no one.. "How do I know you’re not after my Uncle Josiah too?""Are you kidding?" JD exclaimed. "We’re not getting shot at for the hell of it, you know. Josiah’s here, going crazy with worry about you!" The group had started moving, running at a brisk pace as they turned down corridors and new junctures with Casey in the lead. The young woman seemed to know where they were going, not that Chris was surprised. He sensed a staggering amount of intelligence in this girl’s head, much more than most would give her credit. Suddenly, he was starting to agree with Nathan Jackson that Casey Wells could be of great use to the Rebel Alliance. When they had put a little distance between themselves and the guards, Chris paused a moment to take stock of themselves and to check on the injured member of their party. "JD, are you alright with her?" Chris asked, aware that they had very little time before the entire complement of Cloud City’s law enforcement was upon them, not to mention the Imperial troops keeping a close eye on Josiah. This was all the incentive needed for them to close their net on the Senator. He hoped when things had started to get rough, Nathan had heeded their advice and gotten to the Rogue. "Yeah," JD nodded quickly. "She’s not very heavy, I can manage. Besides, you two are better at keeping those guards off our tail than I am anyway." Chris placed a hand on JD’s shoulder and remarked. "Maybe so but only for the experience." He said with enough feeling in his voice to make the young man swell with pride. "Now young lady," Chris turned to Casey, "what’s the fastest way to the launch bays from here?" "Through the maintenance section." Casey replied quickly. "Some of the doors are restricted but that will mean they don’t expect us to go that way because they’re sealed." "Sealed?" Vin exclaimed. "What good is it to us if they’re sealed?" "Well they won’t expecting us to go that way," Casey responded with a little smile "And they also don’t know I know the master codes to access all restricted systems." "Of course." Vin retorted before they started moving again, wondering what other surprises Miss Wells had for them.
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It wasn't hard for Buck Wilmington to guess the precise moment it became expedient for them to leave.Klaxons screamed across the promenade, blaring through the ordered walkways around the observation windows providing visitors a panoramic view of Cloud City at its best. The alarms sent people scurrying in all directions, retreating for the multiple exits located throughout the place. The disarray compounded the growingconfusion, heightened by the electronic voice calling for more guards to report to the Residential sector, in particular Level 14. Buck had no doubt they were being ordered to that section of the city because Chris and the others must have got the girl and were now fighting their way out. Despite the natural compulsion to go help his friends, Buck remembered Chris's demand and knew as much as he hated to do it, Nathan and Josiah needed to be gotten out of here. Both were too vital to the fledgling Alliance to be captured and the present pandemonium was the perfect opportunity to remove themselves from the vicinity and from under the vigil being maintained by the Imperial agents. At this moment, Buck was certain they were attempting to sort through the running bodies to locate their prey. The confusion wouldn't last long however. Once the promenade was evacuated, the leash would come off the Imperials."We have to go." Buck called out to Nathan and Josiah as he gestured them towards the nearest exit. "Now." Nathan and Josiah were thinking the same thing although Josiah's thoughts were clouded with worries about Casey and her guardian Nettie. However, he had presence of mind to get moving quickly because if Chris, Vin and JD had successfully liberated his niece and her aunt then it was vitally important their rescue be not complicated with worries about his welfare. Buck was right, they had to get to the ship now and prepare it for launch since they would almost certainly need a quick getaway. Following Buck's lead, he and Nathan insinuated themselves into a large crowd of people moving swiftly towards a near by exit. He looked over his shoulder and saw the faces of stern looking men scouring the group for a familiar face and immediately dropped his head out of view to avoid being seen. Although he could not say for sure, Josiah was certain that Nathan and Buck were doing the same thing.The crowd advanced to the nearby exit like the rising swell of a wave, sweeping towards the doorway in a tide of bodies. Josiah glanced behind him and saw the Imperial agents brandishing their weapons, probably at the realisation the prey was making its bid for escape and unless they acted now, would slip out of their reach. Josiah faced front again, keeping Nathan and Buck in sight as the crowd pushed out of the doorway, leaving behind the Imperials who were now on the move, not far behind. Josiah saw the doorway rush at him, then sailed over his head before growing distant behind him as he made his way through.As the crowd emptied out into the corridor beyond the promenade doors, it began to break up into smaller groups; scattering as they prepared to continue their journey through the diverging corridors that ran to other parts of Cloud City. Josiah immediately made his way to Buck and Nathan, who had unholstered their weapons in anticipation of the Imperial troops soon to make their appearance, no longer restrained by the need for concealment. Although the crowd was so panicked, they would have hardly noticed anything anyway. Josiah did the same, his eyes shifting towards the doorway from the promenade, watching the rest of the inhabitants pushing their way through and knew that the agents sent to apprehend him would be among their number soon enough."What are we doing?" Josiah asked although it was somewhat a redundant question."We’re heading straight to the landing bay." Buck retorted without hesitation. "We’ll prep the ship and wait as long as we can for Chris and the others. If I know that crazy Jedi, he’s already on his way there with your niece.""I hope so," Josiah responded, not wanting to question Buck’s faith in Chris Larabee but Casey was his kin and he could not help but worry when it came to her welfare. Buck did not waste time with words and immediately broke into a run down the corridor taking them towards the landing bay. Josiah and Nathan fell into pursuit and progressed almost to the end of the long passageway when suddenly a harsh voice, full of authority and menace barked at them. "HALT!"The order was capped off with a blast from a laser rifle. The bolt of energy slammed into a wall behind Josiah when he did not stop in his tracks. It made a screeching sound as energy impacted against the duralite covering, melting the material all the way to the steel plates beneath it. The corridor quickly filled with the acrid stench of burning metal and a cloud of white fumes quickly obscured the passageway. Buck Wilmington who was first to reach the end of the corridor immediately paused and used the corner for cover as he shouted at his lagging companions."Hurry, I’ll cover you!" He shouted and began firing past them, being careful not to hit them by mistake. He sent a barrage of shots at the approaching Imperial agents, limiting their pursuit as they retreated to keep from being hit. Nathan and Josiah hurried past him and Buck squeezed off a few more shots at the enemy to lengthen their lead a little more before he pulled back and started running himself. Those in the corridor who had not been wise enough to leave the area at the outbreak of theshooting, were pressed up against the walls, determined to give them as much of a wide berth as possible. "Where are we going?" Nathan demanded, unfamiliar with the maze that was Cloud City and feeling it more than ever now that Imperial agents were hunting them. "There’s an bullet lift at the end of this corridor," Josiah responded, knowing the city a little better than his companions after his numerous visits with Casey. Although it was dangerous for him to do so, Josiah knew his niece needed to feel she was not totally alone in this galaxy and sometimes, such things could not be conveyed by way of transmissions. Such reassurances needed to be made face to face and though he risked much, he cared for the girl too much to deny her that comfort. "It should take us straight up to the landing bay." His statement was punctuated by another blast of energy that sailed past him and impacted on the wall directly ahead. Bystanders in the corridor immediately screamed in fright, high pitched wails of women crying out as they dropped hastily to the floor in order to avoid being caught by stray fire. Nathan did not answer Josiah but swung around and pulled the trigger on his weapon, giving Buck who was behind him, some measure of protection as the pilot caught up to them. The Imperial agents, at least a dozen of them, were forcing their way through the bystanders in order to reach them. Nathan was appalled by their willingness to open fire when there were so many civilians about. The bullet lift was up ahead. The few civilians who were standing in front of it, waiting to escape the shooting scattered upon sighting them. Overhead, Buck heard the same voice that alerted the city there was trouble in Residential Section, was now warning people to vacate Corridor 23 of the Promenade Section, citing extreme danger while at the same time, calling security forces to converge upon their location. "Just in time." Buck sighed as Josiah slammed his palm on the panel of the device and sent the door sliding apart. They stepped into the glass enclosure as the Imperial soldiers sighted where they were and raised their weapons to fire at the closing doors. "Damn!" Buck swore and prepared to drop to his knees to avoid being shot when the doors chose that moment to seal them inside. He heard the impact of the blast on the metal and felt the entire capsule shudder. However, the nature of Cloud City’s precarious location made it necessary for her original designers to construct a city capable of maintaining its structural integrity at all costs. In truth, Cloud City was constructed to withstand a Level 10 shockwave, shrugging it off the way a Wookie would shake the water from his coat and continue on as always, with business as usual. A single blaster shot to the outer doors of a bullet lift was going to do very little to hamper its operations. The glass capsule surged upwards, the moment its passengers were safely aside. Constructed to run against the façade of the city, they sailed upwards, leaving the towers, the spires, the promenades and manicured terraces behind as they reached for the landing bay at the highest peaks of Cloud City. Buck leaned against the side of the glass wall, taking in nothing of the view as he faced his companions. "I hope Chris is on his way," Buck sighed. "Because I don’t know how long we’re going to be able to wait for him." "He’ll be here." Nathan said confidently, having an unshakeable sense of belief that if anyone could make it through the enemy to reach them, it would be Chris. Buck did not answer because he was not so much afraid of the enemy trying to capture them in Cloud City as he was of the ones waiting for them in the space above it. The hydraulic door released with a loud hiss and revealed another corridor, this one definitely darker and grimier than the last. Certainly it was not plated with duralite sheets or white nor have any of the soft, ambient lighting that filled most corridors of Cloud City. This one with its steel grills, open ventilation shafts and exposed conduits was a maintenance corridor and for their purpose extremely useful for it was led directly to the landing bay. Casey looked at her male companions with more than a hint of satisfaction at being able to work her magic on the control panel allowing them access into this restricted zone. Indeed their journey here had progressed as far as it did because of the young woman’s ability to access such places and although none of them had spoken it out loud, they were all singularly impressed by her abilities as a slicer. "This should take us straight to the landing bay." Casey replied as JD hurried through the open doors with Aunt Nettie who was still unconscious. They had not seen any Cloud City guards in the last ten minutes and Chris was starting to wonder if that was reason for concern. He expected the entire complement of guards coming down on them by now, however, as of yet, they had been pursued with drips and drabs. The optimistic would think this was just luck but Chris could tell even Vin was dubious about their supposed ‘good fortune’. "Good," Vin drawled, his eyes averting toward the direction they had come to see if any more guards were on approach. "The sooner we’re out of this place the better. I got a real bad feeling about this." "Me too." Chris remarked in agreement at his insight. "Something’s coming at us. I can feel it." "I hate it when you do that." Vin grumbled as the doors slide close behind them after they stepped into the maintenance corridor. "You’re usually right." Chris shrugged and flashed the bounty hunter a grin of mischief. "It’s a gift." Vin rolled his eyes and chuckled slightly, feeling somewhat indulgent displaying such humour considering the situation they were presently embroiled in. Facing front, they caught up quickly with Casey, JD and the unconscious Nettie still in his arms. Admirably, the young man managed to keep pace with them even though he was carrying twice the load. The strain was starting to show but fortunately, they did not have far to go. "How are you doing JD?" Vin asked as they reached him. "I'm okay." He said panting hard. "She's not that heavy." "Come on!" Casey, who had gone up ahead of them, retreated when she realised she was alone. "Let's get moving! Aunt Nettie needs a doctor!" With that, she started running forward again, leaving the three men to look at each other with resignation. JD turned to his older companions with a completely serious expression on his face and replied soberly, his eyes narrowing as he spoke. "I hate her." Neither Jedi or bounty hunter spoke as JD let out a sigh and started following the young woman, like a man being led to his death or finding himself faced with a path for which there was no turning back. For a few seconds they allowed the footsteps to grow more distant before Vin finally deigned to speak. "Sure you do."They arrived at the landing bay to hear the sound of gunfire smashing against metal and knew that the source of it had to originate from whatever hangar the Rogue was presently occupying. The Empire had discarded its covert attempt to retrieve Josiah because as they hurried towards the berth where the Rogue was awaiting them, they could hear the call for more troops to the landing bay. Very soon, this entire area would be swarming with Imperial agents and Cloud City guards and not even Chris, with his Jedi abilities would be able to stand against the onslaught. Unfortunately, the berth in which the Rogue was waiting was cordoned off by the troops attempting to reach the ship. Even though the Rogue had access to blast its way out of Cloud City by now, Chris knew of only one reason why the ship was holding its position. Buck was waiting until the last possible minute before he would take off, refusing as only Buck would, to leave them behind. For once, Chris was grateful of his old friend's vigilance for the old lady in JD's arms could not wait any longer for medical attention. Even now, he could sense the sand of her life slipping away and the margin of time where she was capable of being saved was dwindling rapidly. They made their approach stealthily, barely noticed because of all the pandemonium caused by the guard's efforts to breach the Rogue's defences. Chris could hear the low explosions of sound that occurred periodically as they closed the distance between themselves and the ship. Louder and more percussive than the mere shots from blasters being fired, each time the rumble was heard, it sent a shockwave through the structure. "Buck's firing his lasers at them." Vin exclaimed, recognizing the sound as those made by his own ship, the Tracker."Yeah," Chris nodded, "its the only way he can keep them from reaching the ship." "How are we going to get past them?" Casey demanded. She had gotten them here this far but she knew as well as her companions there was no way they could reach the berth There was only way into the stall the Rogue was occupying and at present that door was bottlenecked by Imperial troops trying to get past the laser bombardment Buck was using to hold them back in his desperate bid to maintain his position while waiting for his friends to arrive. "There's only one way in." "I know," Chris answered having considered that already. "You think you can get us to the berth directly next to it?" Casey stared back at the Jedi, confused even though she nodded in response. "Yes, but why?" "Can you or not?" JD bit back, wondering why it was necessary for her to question everything. Chris would not ask unless he had a reason for doing so. "Of course I can." She snapped back at him, not caring whether or not he was carrying Aunt Nettie. No one spoke to her that way! She was a member of the aristocracy! Her family had connections to the Republic Senate for as long as the Council had existed. Who was he to talk to her like some kind of commoner? "I just don't understand why." She turned back to Chris. "There isn't time for explanations." Chris returned firmly. "Just get us there now." His tone penetrated all her haughty stubbornness to register the seriousness of the situation and how completely unacceptable it was for her to questioned him at this time. Besides, even Casey Wells had sense enough to know you did not argue with a Jedi. She swallowed thickly as she heard more weapons fire closer than she would like. There was already too much shooting and killing, she did not want to lose any more people its sting. "This way," she said quietly and darted into another juncture leading away from the direct path towards their destination. As they retreated from the shooting, Casey made a series of twists and turns, down unoccupied corridors evacuated because of the violence being carried out. Fortunately, the lack of bystanders ensured no one would report seeing them. Still Chris was certain the Empire had not completely forgotten about them and was conducting a search for them in a more limited fashion.The berth directly next to the one being occupied by the Rogue was empty when Chris, Vin, JD, Casey and Nettie Wells reached it. Like the rest of the facilities in Cloud City, there was no ceiling and as they looked up above, they were greeted by the amber skies of Bespin with just enough twilight in them at this time of day to add the twinkle of stars in the canopy. Chris immediately went to the wall shared by the two berths, his Jedi senses picking up the gamut of emotions beyond. All sorts of feelings, from fear, anticipation, worry and determination exuded through the duralite surface without his even needing to touch it. "Seal the door!" Chris ordered Vin. The bounty hunter nodded and immediately activated the door panel, sending the steel doors sliding shut and keeping them confined inside its four walls. Just to make certain that they would be completely uninterrupted, Vin aimed his weapon at the control pad and squeezed off one shot. The blast vaporized the mechanism and fused all the controls into an mess of steel, duralite and plasteel. No one would be barging in on them any time soon unless they were armed with a laser torch. "What are you going to do?" Vin called out to Chris as he jogged over to the Jedi, who was running his hand across the surface of the wall, almost as if he was examining his texture. "You can't be thinking of cutting through that." Casey blurted out, guessing what he was intending. "That's almost five inches thick!" "Will you shut up and let him do what he has to?" JD retorted with more than a hint of exasperation in his way. "Chris would not have brought us here unless he knows what his doing!" "Hey!" Casey whirled around and glared at him, her voice full of imperious outrage. "Don't ever talk to me like that okay? I don't care from what backwater hick planet you crawled out of?""Backwater hick planet?" JD blazed back, his voice smouldering with as much menace as either Vin or Chris had ever heard the young man exude. "I may not be from Coruscant or wherever it is that you came from but at least I didn't have to get the Rebel Alliance's most important members risking their lives to save your scrawny butt!" "My but though scrawny is none of your concern!" She said haughtily just as JD started to sputter with fury. "KNOCK IT OFF!" Vin Tanner exploded, having reached the limits of his patience, which in actual fact took some doing. "Knock it off or I swear to Kriff, whether or not the entire Imperial fleet is outside that door, I WILL toss you out a window!" "We don't have time for this." Chris Larabee commented seemingly oblivious at the antics of his younger companions as he brandished his light sabre. Activating it, the beam of energy extended from the hilt and Chris wasted no time in impaling the entire length of the weapon into the wall. The blade disappeared through layers of duralite and steel like a hot knife if butter. The tremendous heat generated by the weapon, not to mention the power of the Force melted the duralite first, sending rivulets of Duranis ceramic and dye sliding down the surface to pool at the base of the wall. The metal around the incision began to superheat, turning red at first as it made the initial penetration. As Chris began to cut his way through, it shifted from that primary stage to an amber shade, indicating the increasing temperature. Vin motioned JD and Casey to take a step back as sparks began to fly in tiny embers across the floor. Chris continued to cut, working his way through the wall, cutting them opening needed to reach the Rogue. The light sabre turned the steel around the cut from amber to white, until its colour was almost milky to the touch. The heat could be seen on Chris's skin as his face dampened with sweat as he continued to cut, almost three quarters of the way done. Vin could see the pinpricks of light appearing through the fissures created by the light sabre's precise work. By the time the blade reached the end of its journey, the metal around it had turned blue and Chris knew after that, it would complete its journey into molten steel. Fortunately, what he had so far accomplished was enough. Taking a deep breath as he deactivated his light sabre, Chris took a step back, wiping the sweat from his brow. The others had been watching with awe the magnificent superiority of the Jedi weapon and hardly noticed Chris closed his eyes to concentrate until the newly cut section of the wall began moving of its own aacord. "This is where we leave this party." Vin responded, realizing what Chris was about to do and felt just like JD did at that moment, a great deal of pride in being able to safely say he had utmost confidence the Jedi would find their way out of this present predicament. The section of torn metal began shifting where it stood before the invisible power of the Force shoved it violently forward. It flw a few feet into the next berth before slamming onto the floor with the loud clang that could only be produced by metal against the metal. Beyond the newly formed passageway, Chris could see the laser rifle underneath the hull of the Rogue firing away mercilessly at the Imperial troops trapped at the doorway. It would only be a matter of time before they brought larger weapons to deal with the threat so time was running out. "Move!" Chris barked at them and ushered the others forward. "Get going!" Vin ordered, liberating Nettie from JD and Casey. The youths ran forward, pausing briefly at the door to get further instructions from Chris. "I'll go first," Chris replied, speaking not only to JD and Casey but also to Vin. "I'll keep them off you and you long enough to get to the ramp. Understood?" Both of them nodded quickly and Chris turned to Vin. "Make it fast. I'm good but I'm not that good. There's too many of them out there." "I hear you." Vin nodded in understanding just before Chris raced out into the open. As anticipated, all gunfire turned in his direction at the moment of his appearance. Chris had already activated his light sabre and immediately began the daunting task of deflecting the murderous bolts of energy. Moving through the air with lightning speed, his speed was such it was hard to see where he began and where his light sabre ended. However, none of those who were with him paid any attention, remembering his orders to them first and foremost, because it was necessary to save his life as well as theirs. JD grabbed Casey's hand and bolted forward, ignoring her protest to let her go as he raced towards the ramp way and forced her to keep up. In a matter of seconds, they were bounding up the extended walkway into the belly of the ship. Vin was the next to follow, unable to move as fast because of the lady in his arms but making good time nonetheless because he had to. He looked up long enough to see Chris deflecting the blasts of the Imperial troops as well as the Cloud City guards and knew even with his speed, the Jedi could not maintain that pace for long. With that in mind, Vin found a renewed sense of purpose as he raced forward, intending to come to Chris's rescue as soon as he could. However, he need not have worried, he had just felt his foot touch the steel plate of the ramp way when Josiah and Nathan appeared, providing Chris with cover. "Chris!" Josiah shouted at Vin ascended the walkway into the ship. "Get up here! We got you." The Jedi did not show any indication he heard them but suddenly, his light sabre deactivated and he leapt up, performing a back flip in mid air that sent him tumbling towards them. He landed on the ground a scant few feet from the ramp way and made a running start that sent him flying towards them once more. This time when he touched ground, it was not the floor of the berth beneath him but the walkway leading into the Rogue. He dropped heavily, driven almost to his knees before he collected himself a few seconds later. "Close the hatch!" Chris heard Nathan yelling and glanced behind him long enough to see the ramp retracting into the ship. The deck below him was already vibrating; indicating Buck had the engines prepped and ready to blast off for some time now. If the Imperial agents knew what was good for them, they would be leaving the immediate vicinity about now. It was not wise to be at the tail end of a freighter when its engines fired."Get us out of here Buck!" Nathan shouted once more.He needed not have made the demand because Chris could already feel the Rogue lifting off the floor of the berth. The ascent was smooth as it soared into the sky beyond the perimeter of the city below. Once suitable distance was placed between the vessel and the floating metropolis, its main engines would ignite and the Rogue would streak out of the atmosphere like a comet reaching for the stars. "Casey!" Josiah finally caught his breath enough to regard his niece. "Thank the Force you're safe." The big man embraced her warmly and Chris did not have to be a Jedi to sense just how grateful they both were to see each other again, alive and well. The tender moment gave warmth to everyone who witnessed it, even to JD who had been at such logger heads with the young woman. Unfortunately, it did not last because Buck Wilmington's voice filtered through the ship's com system. "Get up here all of you." His voice was full of tense foreboding. "We've got trouble."
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Buck was right. They were in trouble.By the time they arrived at the cockpit of the Rogue, the freighter was already making its way out of the atmosphere with Buck at the controls. Around them, the overpowering amber skies of Bespin were diminishing quickly, being replaced by the deep, rich colours of indigo space. However, their departure from the planet had not removed them from the danger they were fleeing in Cloud City. The premonition of something else lurking in the seemingly disarming beauty of space came back to haunt Chris as he saw what was awaiting the Rogue as it escaped the planet’s gravitational field. The Star Destroyer was not alone. Chris suspected the moment they were airborne, the fighters hovering around the destroyer like flies around a rotting carcass, were also launched to intercept the Rogue before it could make the jump to light speed. The number of fighters in the air indicated the Empire was taking no chances. They meant to capture the rebels alive. It would have been quite flattering to know they were considered so dangerous by the enemy if not for the fact that their chances of escaping this particular net was dwindling rapidly. "I think we’re in trouble." Vin stated in what had to be the understatement of the millennium. "Josiah," Buck immediately took control of the situation because he of all people was an absolute master when it came to getting his ship out of tough scrapes and this one was no exception. "Get in the co-pilot’s seat. I need someone to help me fly this thing if we’re going to get out of this alive. Chris, I need you at the starboard gun ports." "I’m on it," Chris nodded and immediately retreated out of the room "I’ll take port." Vin retorted and joined him, wasting no time because when those fighters came after them. They would come after them with all guns blazing. They had a slim advantage in the fact that the Empire wanted them captured alive but if they put up enough resistance that edict might change to simply eradicating them once and for all. "I can take the rear gun ports." JD volunteered. Buck looked over his shoulder in concern. "Are you sure?" He did not want to appear as if he doubted the young man’s abilities but the truth was, there could be no margin for error in this. The only way they were going to escape was to fight their way through those TIEs to gain enough distance to make the jump to hyperspace. Buck had been giving JD some lessons since they met but shooting simulated targets was one thing, shooting live targets was another entirely when the deaths would be real, not disappearing blips on a screen. While he was somewhat confident of JD’s ability, he did not know if the kid was ready for that. JD knew precisely what was going through Buck’s head and while he was grateful to the older man for his consideration, JD was perceptive enough to see that time was crucial here. They did not have it to debate the matter. "No," he answered truthfully. "But we don’t have much of a choice do we?""Boy knows his mind." Josiah pointed out, offering JD a little support. Buck would not have refused him even if he could because JD was right, they did not have a choice and as Josiah had pointed out, it was his decision. "Alright," Buck nodded after a moment of hesitation. "You know how to handle the controls?" "Just like you showed me," JD called out as he started out of the cockpit, not waiting once he was given Buck’s approval. Within seconds, he had disappeared from view. "What about me?" Casey asked once he was gone."You can take a seat and strap yourself in." Josiah answered before Buck could make a response. "But I can help." Casey pouted, even though she was uncertain how she might be able to be of assistance at this time. She just felt the need to be doing something; especially since it was her fault they were all in this situation in the first place. "I appreciate the sentiment darling," Buck said as his hands flew across the lit cockpit control panel, "but right now the best thing you can do is keep out of the way." Keep out of the way! Casey fumed upon hearing his statement though delivered in the nicest possible way. However, the occasion warranted she simply obeyed without argument. Frowning, she placed herself in the seat and then remembered Aunt Nettie who was presently being taken care of by Nathan who had promptly taken charge of the old woman upon boarding the Rogue. Although Casey had never met Nathan, she knew him by sight, having familiarized herself with most of the rebels occupying the Empire’s most wanted list. Nathan was in prestigious company, being counted among the likes of Mon Mothma, Bel Iblis, Mary Travis and General Obi-Wan Kenobi. "Where’s Nathan?" Buck asked. "He’s in your medical bay," Josiah answered quickly. "Nettie was hurt on the way to the ship, he’s trying to stabilize her so she’ll survive the trip back to the Alliance." "Nathan," Buck flicked on the switch that would allow him communications with that section of the freighter. "Secure yourself and your patient now." "She’s badly hurt," Nathan’s voice returned. "I’ve got to get her stats under control." He protested. "I know you do," Buck responded sympathetically. "But we don’t have the time for that. We’re surrounded by enemy fighters and a star destroyer. I’ll have to do some fancy flying if we’re gong to make the jump to light speed so the moment, you’re going to have to buckle yourself and the lady in for the duration." There was a brief pause and Casey wondered if Nathan would protest. She did not like the idea of having to leave Aunt Nettie to her injured state and would like to have said so but she understood, if somewhat begrudgingly, what was at stake here. Nathan understood it as well because a second later he responded to Buck’s demand. "Understood." He said quietly, obviously not liking it that his charge would have to wait to receive her treatment but forced to comply because the situation demanded nothing less. Once he was certain that all of his passengers were secure, Buck faced the cockpit window and saw the Star Destroyer coming into view. The large ship cast a shadow through the plexiglassed window and it was an awesome sight to watch the enormous bulk defeat its size and design to sail gracefully forward in the soundless void of space. The fighters around it approaching on an attack vector, holding formation long enough to reach dispersal range and then the Rogue would be completely surrounded on all fronts. Buck took a deep breath, trying to remember when he had been in a fight like this and knew that it was a pointless exercise trying to recall the incident when he needed to be completely focussed. Resting his hands on the controls, he kept his eyes trained on the approaching enemy and spoke rather sedately, which seemed out of place coming from him. "Josiah," Buck said smoothly. "All you have to do is keep up with me, compensate for every depletion on every system that I’m going to overload. You hear me?" "Yeah," Josiah nodded, knowing their survival depended on his making sure the ship was capable of keeping up with Buck’s manoeuvring skills. "I hear you." Buck nodded and watched the TIE fighters in his console screen began to break up from their formation to move into individual attack vectors. They were coming in fast and to survive, Buck was going to have to be faster. "Let’s do it." The Rogue exploded forward at maximum acceleration, the ignition of all thrusters creating a brilliant flare of blue from the engines as the freighter streaked away from the approaching ships. The TIE fighters in pursuit immediately matched her speed, burning up the dark skies as they surged forward with equal power. The pilots occupying the enemy ship had an attack plan already in motion as others of their scattered numbers began to enclose the space in which the freighter was at its epicentre. They were aware the only chance the rebel ship had of escaping was to gain enough velocity to reach light speed and were well prepared to stop it. With the Star Destroyer lagging behind, every second the fighters were able to delay the freighter from reaching its end, was another second the ship came closer and closer to being caught in a tractor beam. Buck knew the strategy. It was standard Imperial procedure but he was not about to fall into the trap. He pulled the nose of the Rogue up sharply and began climbing, rising above the trajectory of the ships closing. They had been pursuit him at maximum velocity and the sudden change in direction caught them by surprise. Buck knew the manoeuvre would not allow the Rogue to escape but it would give the ship valuable breathing space as he began to calculate the jump to hyperspace. He wanted to be able to jump immediately upon gaining breaking speed and managed to make the complex calculations while at the same time keeping one step ahead of the enemy. The enemy regrouped as anticipated and immediately reconfigured their trajectory to maintain the pursuit. The correction took less than a hundredth of a second which was nowhere as long as the seconds that ticked by when the Rogue’s manoeuvring caught them off guard. Once again, the net was being flung, bound by links made up TIE fighters bent on driving them towards the Star Destroyer who was closing in on them from the distance. This time they changed their tactics in order to ensure their prey did not escape. Pouring more power to their engines, a feat when taken up by a smaller vessel ensured its acceleration far outmatched the larger ship it was pursuing, the TIEs closed the gap between themselves and the Rogue and entered firing range. As soon as the Incom Cosair fell into their targeting scanners, the TIE fighters open fire. This too did not fall anywhere beyond Buck’s expectations of the situation. He knew that eventually, it would come down to this, a dogfight in open space. It was the reason why he sent Chris, Vin and JD into the triad of gunnery turrets in the Rogue. Once again, he proved he was a better pilot by swinging around his ship in a neat curve, much too tight for a vessel of its size but Buck knew his ship well and what she could do. She managed the manoeuvre quite flawlessly and suddenly the TIEs behind him had to veer out of the way as the freighter came charging right at them. The formation scattered once again, as ships struggled frantically to avoid a collision. One or two did not make it as they spun out of control before colliding into one of their fellow pilots. The others learned from the mistake, felt their anger at seeing comrades die and then regrouped once more for the kill. This was not like pod racing. Although that particular sport was hardly safe, it did not frighten JD Dunne as much as this did. In pod racing, things were simple. There were obstacles ahead and all one had to do to safety traverse the terrain and be declared the winner was to avoid them. As JD sat inside the rear gunnery turret, in a small circular room in which a chair was mounted to the floor in front of the gun port controls, he felt the fear pressing against his insides and told himself if he did not fear, he was a fool. Flexing his fingers at the hand held controls, JD swallowed thickly as he saw the TIE fighter’s approaching the Rogue at rapid speed. All that stood between him and space was a thick sheet of plexiglass allowing him to view the vacuum outside without the benefits of electronic imaging although he could defer to the console screen of his targeting scanner if he liked. "Here they come." JD heard Buck announce.He adjusted his headset and braced himself in the seat, returning his hands quickly to the controls, watching the approaching ships. Positioned at the rear of the Rogue, he could not only see the fighters closing in fast but also the large destroyer also in the pursuit. JD reminded himself not to worry himself about the details and his eyes remained fixed on the fighters as the group of nine suddenly split into three divergent groups. Two veered off to either side of him but one trio remained entrenched behind him. He was jarred out of his observations by the first shots that impacted against the deflector shield before him. He could see the energy being absorbed by the invisible field of energy keeping them from being blown apart. The three were coming at him, firing across and he was doing nothing to stop them. The ship shuddered with each bolt of energy that struck the shields and JD knew he had to do something fast. He volunteered to do this and there was no turning back now, not when Buck needed him to perform. JD closed his eyes for a brief second and told himself he was not in the gunnery turret of a star freighter firing Imperial TIE fighters but back home on that little backwater, as Casey had called it so ignorantly. He was back at that last day, the one prior to the day he left for Cordoba. He had taken the pod racer that won him all his victories, the one he built from nothing, the one he knew he had to turn over to its new owners that night itself, for one last run. JD remembered staring across the plains of the Badlands, studying the meandering paths through rock and thought to himself he knew every one of them. That last flight when he sailed through the course, JD had almost felt invincible. Everything since then had been a different kind of chaos but for one moment that day, he had felt no doubt or hesitation. If he was to be any good to Buck and the others, he would have to feel that again. JD opened his eyes, saw the fighters in front of him and whispered softly to himself. "Catch me if you can." A feeling of confidence swept over him and suddenly, he remembered why he was so good at pod racing. Humans could not normally compete because the speed and the reflexes required went beyond their ability to keep up with other species. Most who tried died but not JD. There was no Force in him that allowed him to keep up, just this utter feeling of absolute confidence that was beyond words to express. His hands began to move. He barely noticed the movements, following the targets with his transfixed gaze, refusing to let them escape him or the range of the weapons under his control. Enemy ships knew when they were targeted and the ships before him certainly displayed the signs of such knowledge. The lead ship desperately tried to escape his sights but JD had him in his crosshairs and was not letting him go. JD barely flinched when he fired that first time, watching the bolt of energy streak through space that was twisting and turning around him thanks to Buck’s expert handling of the ship, before meeting its target. The TIE fighter simply exploded, the circular fuselage erupting outward, sending its flat wings spiralling into the void, flaming before the vacuum extinguished it forever.The wingmen of the destroyed ship immediately started bombarding the turret with more blasts, attempting to breach the shields to take their revenge upon their leader’s killer, unaware even as they were pounding the Rogue with more firepower, he was preparing the same fate for them. JD did not even flinch as he target the left wingman, watching the craft flash on the console next to the firing controls when it had been acquired and he had a clear shot. It was not even registering on his brain what the digitized blip was in actuality, he was only concerned with the fact he had to clear the screen for his next target. Firing just as indifferently upon the doomed vessel as he had done its predecessor, the craft vaporized in mid air. He noticed other ships conducting strafing runs across the Rogue were now breaking off from rushing to aid the lone TIE fighter left remaining. JD forced away any notions of fear and remembered where he was and what he was doing. Once again, the Badlands flashed in his mind and the image renewed his sense of purpose as well as his concentration. He barely noticed when he destroyed the last of the original trio of ships in pursuit, even though by now its destruction was witnessed by the other fighters rushing to take its place. JD hardly noticed the changing of the guard. His reflexes were moving so fast, his brain was barely registering the movement of his hands. All his senses were working in perfect harmony, towards the goal of eliminating as many TIE fighters from his line of sight as possible. He was targetting them he way he might navigate the obstacles the course of a pod race. Explosion after explosion flared before his eyes and all he could do in reaction was to move on, searching quickly for another target, honing the precision of his shooting even more sharply than before. Everything else around him dissolved into nothingness and entirety of his universe became the battle he was presently waging. It was unlike anything he had ever felt. "Where they’re all going?" Vin questioned as he shot another TIE fighter out of the sky. "I don’t know," Chris Larabee responded through his headset. At first, they had been inundated by enemy fighters until there were so many ships in the air that it felt like a swarm had surrounded them in space. However as Vin and Chris, two exceptional pilots in their own right, continued the laborious task of fighting off the enemy ships to give the Rogue its corridor of escape, they found the number of ships attacking the starboard and port gun ports beginning to dwindle. The effort of the TIE fighters towards them seemed almost secondary in nature and Vin was genuinely perplexed. While they were far from forgotten since the enemy continued to make passes at their section of the Rogue, the TIE fighters seemed more focussed on the rear of the freighter."They're blasting the hell out of the rear turret." Vin retorted."Pick up your rear scanner." Buck said suddenly, his voice sounded strange almost as if there was a hint of astonishment in it. Vin and Chris in their respective alcoves immediately obeyed and watched the destruction taking place on the targeting screens before them as blips disappeared at an astounding rate. "Holy Kriff!" Vin swore as he saw the rapid volley of blasts flying across the sky, vaporizing every ship coming into contact with them. He had thought he was fast in a gunnery turret but what he was seeing left in awe. "What the hell?" "Its JD." Buck's voice filtered through Vin's headset with a mixture of awe and concern. "He's manning the rear gun ports. I count at least twelve kills so far." "Twelve!" Vin exclaimed. He was uncertain of the exact number but the sharpshooter knew he had taken down at least seven ships so far but JD's tally was almost double that. "How did he manage that? The kid can barely shoot a gun." "Have you ever seen a pod race?" Chris asked them both, unsurprised by the number of JD's kill even though he was somewhat concerned the youth had yet to pause and consider each ship he was destroying had a life that was equally terminated when the flames had disappeared from the sky. "Jabba the Hutt used to have them on Tatooine," Vin remarked. "There were not many humans who can do it." "JD told me that he was supposedly the best pod racer on his home planet. If that's even remotely true than his reflexes are faster than most humans I've ever seen." Chris confessed readily. "Could he be Force adept?" Vin ventured to ask as another ship flew by his targeting sights and was quickly destroyed for its trouble. "No," Chris answered immediately before pausing a moment to take care of some TIE fighters coming at the starboard side of the ship. "I don't sense it in him. However he is doing this, its purely a natural talent." "I knew he had potential," Buck started to say and Vin could imagine the proud grin on his face even as he was speaking. "But I never imagined this." "How long until we jump?" Chris asked, returning to the subject at hand. The Imperial forces were in disarray, scattering and regrouping, attempting to form some kind of battle plan. Chris would prefer to be gone before they formulated their new strategy. "One minute and counting." Buck replied confidently. "They aren't enough of them to stop us now." "JD," Vin spoke into his headset. "Damn kid, where do you learn to shoot like that?" JD did not answer for a few seconds as he considered his answer. Until Vin had spoken, he was so lost in what he was doing he had barely heard the conversation echoing through his headset. All he had been aware of was this need to vanquish the enemy so that they could escape, everything else had become secondary. Yet in the course of that determination to succeed, he transcended himself in a way he could not define. JD wondered if it was possible to find enlightenment in the middle of a battle but somehow he had and knew without even saying it, he would never be the same again. "I was just trying to help." JD said weakly. "I'll say!" Buck exclaimed enthusiastically. "Kid, when we get back to the Alliance, I am going to make you in the greatest star pilot in the Rebel fleet. You got the gift." "Buck," Chris' soothing voice entered the mix. "Take it easy." JD was glad for the intervention because in all truth, upon regaining some measure of coherence following his performance, the young man was rather shaken. He had no idea he was capable of such skill and it started to dawn on him that lives had been lost, JD was not entirely sure whether it was a skill worth having. He stared at the stars before him, watched the drifting remains of what had been numerous ships, each occupied by someone alive., not any more thanks to him and felt a cold shiver run through his spine. As the Rogue pulled further and further away from the debris field, JD continued to stare at it even after the ship had jumped into hyperspace and there was nothing before him but the memory of what he had done.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Ezra Standish never thought he would ever like being in command.In fact throughout his career, he had gone to great pains to avoid being in charge of anything. It wasn't that he did not have the ability, far from it actually. His instructors at the Academy branded him with the qualities of a natural leader but it was not commanding others Ezra shirked away from, it was assuming responsibility for them he had difficulty with. Suffering for his own mistakes was something Ezra was ready to accept but it was another thing entirely to have others suffer because of his short comings. His entire career until this point had been an exercise in ensuring he avoided taking centre seat at all costs. Of course things had changed.When he asked for a transfer to Cordoba it was for purely selfish reasons. Someone had to be close enough to Nathan to ensure the man did not get himself killed for his seditious activities. Ezra assumed he would be given some minor position where he would dissolve into the background and keep his ears open for any information to keep Nathan and his skin from being two separate entities. Never in all his imaginings did he consider the possibility they might saddle him with command of the entire outpost. True, Cordoba was hardly the dream assignment for the up and coming Imperial officer. It sat on the border of what was euphemistically known as the Territory because beyond it was the emptiness between galaxies. The Territory was as close to the galactic rim as one ever wanted to get. Being so far from the core world also made it a place rife with all kinds of villainy. Cordoba itself was the end zone of what was called the Correllian Run where the natural pilots of that world, ignoring all sensible laws of navigation fought immense gravitational forces to cut through several systems to reach their destination a great deal sooner. There was only one thing worse than the Corellian Run and that was the Kessel Run, but as of yet, no pilot insane was enough to make the attempt. However, aside from crazed Corellian pilots dealing in search of glory or a blazing end to their career, Cordoba had to contend with gangsters, specifically those originating from Tatooine, Zhar, Alzoc 3 and Ryloth, worlds firmly controlled by the Hutts. It was a challenging assignment remarkably suited for someone with Ezra's talents because he knew how to deal with such people and had made it a game to out think them. Also, being so far from Coruscant meant he was away from the political jockeying that seemed vital to the Imperial careers these days. Besides, despite there being a rebel cell in the area, the Alliance kept their activities in this area to a bare minimum so he did not have to worry too much about being at cross purposes with them either. When it was all said and done his assignment here was also rather routine, which was what Ezra craved. He had his own office, an adjutant named Claire Moseley who ensured he never missed any of his meetings and knew what was going on around the place a lot better than he did. She did however, seem to disappear quite a bit but was always there when he needed her so he did not complain. She was a pretty little thing with gold hair and delicate features. Ezra spied a wedding band on her finger but Claire seemed reluctant to talk about her husband so all Ezra knew about him was he was the First Officer of a military ship. Ezra, who understood a person's need for privacy, did not press for more information, liking the woman enough to leave her be with her secrets. Ezra was in his office that morning going through the daily ship traffic reports when Claire burst into his office unannounced. She was normally the picture of efficiency so this interruption was all but forgotten in the light of what precipitated it. Claire's expression was one of fear, again something not normally seen on the capable young woman and Ezra immediately rose to his feet behind his desk. "Lieutenant?" "He's here." She swallowed, her eyes wide open. "Who?" He looked at her confused. "The Executor." She cleared her throat. It was clear she had run all the way to his office. "Its pulled into orbit. You have to see it Sir. It's one of the new Super Star Destroyers. It's enormous. It's almost the size of a dreadnought or a space station but then its his ship so he would have the best..." "Claire, Claire," Ezra rounded his desk and approached her, putting his hands on her shoulder to calm her down. "You are babbling. Please try to make a little sense." "Lord Vader." She replied and in that one word justified her reaction. "He is here?" Ezra's eyes widened. "He is on his way down in a shuttle. He will be here in ten minutes." She answered, the frightened look in her eyes deepening by the second. Ezra could hardly blame her of course. One could not be a member of the Empire without knowing to whom she was referring to with such fear. Darth Vader was the undisputed right hand of the Emperor and though Ezra spent most of his time on Coruscant, he had been fortunate enough to never cross paths with the dark Jedi. The rumours ran thick throughout court about the man's reputation and Ezra heard enough to know there was a very good reason, people prayed never to fall under his notice. Not even Palpatine himself generated such fear. They said he was a Sith Lord, a legendary order of dark Jedi who did not seek to dispense justice but rather advanced their own ambitions of power. From Chris Larabee, Ezra knew it was largely through Vader the Jedi were being hunted into extinction.Ezra was in trouble and he knew it. His complicity in the Rebel Alliance was a secret known to himself but Vader might learn the truth if he probed deeply into Ezra's mind and Ezra had no doubts the man would do so. He frantically tried to remember what Chris had said about the Jedi ability to sense thoughts and knew it was usually harder to do so with a will that was strong. Chris had once told him he was hard to read because he was able to hide so much of himself behind the facade of indifference shielding his emotions. Ezra knew to completely hide his state of mind from Vader was impossible but if he could obscure the thoughts behind the emotions then perhaps he would be able to get past Vader's telepathy without giving himself away. "Sir I can't be here." Claire spoke up suddenly. "Why is that?" He looked at the young woman. "I just can't." She whispered. "I can't have him looking into my mind. I couldn't stand it Sir." She was almost pleading. Ezra stared at her for a moment. "What is it you have to hide?" Claire did not know what to do. She was certain that Ezra would not turn her in if he was told her secret but she was not absolute on that belief. However, without a proper explanation, he would not let her leave and if she were here when Vader arrived, then it would matter little anyway. She would be caught in this untenable position. "My husband is a member of the Rebel Alliance." She answered finally, watching him closely for reaction. Ezra nodded. Somehow, he was not surprised. Claire asked for this assignment, just as he had and no one asked to be sent to Cordoba without very good reason. He supposed it made perfect sense when he thought about it. He read her record and found that Claire had until this posting, a promising career. He wondered about why she would request this assignment but believed it to be no one's business but her own so he never pressed the issue. Besides, they worked well together and she made his tenure as commander of this post a lot less tiresome than it should be. For that, he was grateful and he would not allow any harm to come to young woman. Ezra did not answer her, turning instead to his desk where he picked up a data pad and immediately jotted down something on the screen. Claire stared at him anxiously, wishing he would say something but not daring to prompt him into speaking in case he said something she did not want to hear. After a moment, he faced her again and handed her the data pad. "What's this?" She asked. "It is my authorization for you to take one week of furlough." Ezra said quickly, aware that time was of the essence. "You may take it anywhere you choose. My advice would be off world. Take a passenger cruiser to Ryloth, I believe their annual summer carnival is about to start. The decision is yours. I will expect you back in one week.""You're letting me go?" She looked at him with astonishment and relief. "I cannot do without my adjutant can I?" He gave her a little smile."Thank you Sir!" She embraced him hard, unable to believe her fortune."This overt displays of emotion will do nothing to impress me when it comes to promotion review," he joked even though he hugged her back for a second before pushing her away to a more appropriate position. "Now you have to go." He said firmly, this time he was completely serious. "Yes Sir," Claire smiled. "Thank you." "My pleasure," the commander smiled as he turned towards the door. "Let us hope I will still be here when you return." Everyone was assembled and waiting by the time the shuttle sailed into the Cordoba Imperial outpost. Personnel fell into formation on the deck of the hangar floor, standing straight and at attention as they waited for the visit of the most important arrival in the bases's history. A thick plush length of carpet had been hastily rolled out at the exit of the berth where the shuttle would be making its landing, flanked on both sides by impressive looking Imperial officers and storm troopers alike who were eager to have their curiosity satisfied about Vader. Most had heard of his reputation and Ezra doubted there was anyone here who had actually seen him.However, from all accounts, Ezra was told that those who saw Vader, never forgot it. The shuttle sailed into the hangar and promptly made its way to the berth where it was assigned. The sleek white craft sailed beneath the high ceilings of the hangar, oblivious to those watching it before landing soundlessly in the berth, its white wings folding against the hull as it set down on the ground and rested comfortably on its landing ramps. The low hum of its engines died down a few seconds later and the faint smell of ionised gas wafted through the large area before the ventilation system eradicated it completely from the air supply. Ezra took a deep breath and hope Claire was well away from here. He took a deep breath and steadied himself; completely aware of the manner his state of mind had to be if he was to face Lord Vader and walk away with his skin intact. He steeled himself as he stepped forward to greet the Sith Lord, forcing himself to slip into that place he found so comfortable when playing a hand of sabaac, the place that kept his opponent from guessing what he was holding in his hand. The main hatch started to slide open as Ezra reached the entrance to the berth and he paused upon arriving at the doorway. Two storm troopers emerged first; taking flanking position as either side of the hatch before the dark lord made his exit. When Darth Vader stepped into view, Ezra realised his fearsome reputation was completely justified. Clad entirely in black armour from head to foot, he was a vision of fear to anyone who came across him. No part of him remained exposed, from the mask covering his face to black armour protecting him. A long black cloak followed him and as he stepped further into view, Ezra could almost feel the ripple of apprehension sweeping through the room. Almost as bad as his black armour was the raspy sound of his breather at work. That cold, metallic sound of breath being taken had the ability to pierce through the skin, Ezra thought. "Lord Vader." Ezra greeted, wearing the best poker face he ever mustered in his entire life. "It is an honour to have you here. I am Captain Ezra Standish of the Cordoba Imperial Outpost." Vader did not waste time with such salutations and nodded slightly in response to Ezra's greeting before he launched into the reason for his arrival. Vader did not stop walking, knowing already where he was going as soon as he stepped off the shuttle. He strode down the carpet aisle way fashioned for his arrival, ignoring the soldier snapping to attention as he passed by. He did not even look over his shoulder to see if Ezra was following him. He knew with absolute certainty the captain was keeping pace with him. "Captain Standish, you're aware of the kidnapping of Bail Organa's daughter, Leia?" It was not a question. "Of course," Ezra answered automatically. At the moment, the kidnapping was high profile news over the galactic band. As an Imperial officer, he would have been extremely remiss if he was not aware of the abduction. Bail Organa leader of Alderaan, one of the jewels of the core worlds was also an eminent member of the Imperial Senate. An aristocratic statesman, Bail Organa had been one of the strongest voices in the Republic and somehow managed to make the transition to the Senate without being erased from existence. It was a testament to his skill he was able to navigate the minefield of politics these days when it was very likely he was one of the leaders of the Rebel Alliance. "I have information the kidnappers might be in collusion with the Rebel Alliance." Vader continued to speak. "I understand there is a local cell here." Remember, absolute indifference to the subject, Ezra told himself and immediately put up the necessary fortifications in his mind as he thought of nothing else but the question, focusing on it with the same razor sharp intensity that he might used to play a particularly sharp game of sabaac. "There have been numerous sightings of rebels on Cordoba, I believe they use it to be a point of transfer for personal and other transactions. Of course, catching them is another thing entirely." "Yes," Vader hissed and there was clear malevolence in the raspy breathing following that word which filled Ezra with enough concern for the dark lord to sense it. "Am I bothering you Captain?" They left the hangar and though they were walking side by side, Vader clearly knew where he was going. Ezra realised he was heading to the command centre of the station and supposed if he were seeking information of possible rebel activity on Cordoba it would be the place to start. Ezra allowed himself to feel no apprehension on that count, realizing it was a sensible course of action. However, Vader's question was meant to provoke a response and Ezra realised that sometimes, the best way to deal with an enemy who was doing a very good job of scaring you, was to let him know it. "Frankly, yes." Ezra answered honestly. Vader glanced at him briefly and faced front again. "How refreshing. An honest answer." There was nothing complimentary in his tone. "And for what reason do I frighten you Captain?" "Besides the obvious Lord Vader?" Ezra asked, not wishing to be insubordinate but he was getting a sense of the man and playing him for anything but the terrifying figure he was, would be making a fatal error. "Besides the obvious, Captain." There was almost a hint of sardonic amusement in his mechanically amplified voice. Ezra took that as a good sign. "I am concerned why you are handling this matter personally. " Ezra answered. "I appreciate the Emperor's interest in the kidnapping, after all Senator Organa is a respected member of the Senate but there are qualified people in his service to undertake the retrieval of a little girl instead of someone as important as yourself." "Flattery does not impress me Captain." Vader replied smoothly. "However, you are correct in assertions. I commend your astute observation." "Then there is more taking place here than we know?" Ezra ventured a guess as they rounded the corner. Vader paused a moment and regarded Ezra for a few seconds. Ezra kept thinking of the wall inside his mind, the one hiding his secrets, thinking about sabaac, how the game was played, what suits made a winning hand. He began calculating the probabilities of how he could win the game with one particular set of groupings and filled his mind with all matter of trivialities. After a few seconds, if there were anything important for him to reveal, Vader would have to sift through all the other thoughts in order to reach it. "Are you hiding secrets from me Captain?" Vader asked, his mechanical voice seemed low. "Yes," Ezra answered honestly once again. "I know you were once Jedi and that you can sense things from me. My thoughts are no one's business but my own. I have nothing to hide that is any danger to the Empire but I will not allow my mind to be open to your abilities. If you require assistance, I will do everything in my power to aide you and more but I will not tolerate you being inside my head." "Do you have any idea who I am?" Vader asked again and once again there was the trace of amusement, like he was curious to see what Ezra would throw at him next. "I know who you are and I know that with a simple thought, you make me a memory but if I am afraid of you then I became of afraid of everything and I will be not be afraid of everything." Ezra responded, hoping he sounded as brave as he was trying to be. Behind him, Ezra could hear Vader's entourage of lower ranking troops listening in breathless anticipation for what the dark lord would say. They had enough experience with Vader to know demotion was the last thing this captain had to worry about. If he felt so inclined, he could kill Ezra on the spot and there would not be anyone who could stop him. Vader's place next to the Emperor was that secure. "Your will is strong Captain," Vader answered after a moment. "An unusual trait but I see no reason to take this any further. I have things to attend here and you will assist me." "It would be my pleasure to do so." Ezra offered, wondering if Vader had any idea how relieved he was inside. He supposed the Sith Lord probably did. "In three days, the Imperial Senate convenes on the issue of segregation." Vader resumed speaking as he started towards the command centre once again. "This is an act that will have far reaching consequences throughout the Empire and the Emperor wants it passed at all cost. Organa is our strongest supporter of this policy and I believe the child was kidnapped in order to coerce Organa into voting against it. Therefore, the Emperor has directed to personally take charge of this situation to retrieve the child before the Senate meeting convenes." "I see," Ezra nodded in understanding. "Having his daughter would certainly give them a great deal of leverage, especially with the Alliance. I believe the rebellion is composed of multi-racial factions, Organa's situation could undermine the Emperor's wishes for this Act if they blackmail him to vote otherwise." "You see the problem." Vader responded. "So we must find them. I believe that the kidnappers will attempt to enter Cordoba in order to find safe haven with the rebels.""That would make sense. As you said, Cordoba is a main transfer point for them." Ezra agreed. "If the kidnappers are rebels then all we have to do it wait for them to enter our trap." And all Ezra had to do was somehow warn them. Ezra did not dare to do anything until after Vader returned to his ship. For a long while he paced the floor of his office, trying to decide whether or not he was going to do what he had to and risk his life in the process. He knew most of the story Vader told him was nothing but a lie. Ezra knew Bail Organa's reputation well enough to know the man was one of the staunchest opponents of the segregation policy and he would never support the bill in the Imperial Senate. Ezra was uncertain what Vader's true intention were to Princess Leia in all this but he did know for a fact he was not going to stand by and allow an infant to be used as an instrument of blackmail. Of course the only people who could prevent this were the Rebel Alliance and Ezra had no idea where their base was to contact them. It was by his own desire such information was withheld from him because Ezra's position made him a vulnerability they did not need. However, for once he was going to have to forsake his own rules about contacting them because Nathan needed to know this information. Nathan would be able to make use of it to aid the young Princess. After much soul searching, Ezra came to the conclusion he would have to act no matter what the risks to himself. There was still enough conscience left inside of him to know the oath he took as a soldier a long time ago still meant something to him. He was not going to be party to harming a child. Thus he found himself sneaking out of the base after Lord Vader's departure, certain his absence from the outpost would be missed if he stayed away for any more than a brief period. Making his way through Cordoba, he went to the only person he knew who could put him in contact with the Rebel Alliance; the lovely Inez Recillos Wilmington. Ezra had met the woman on the few occasions he had visited the establishment to see Nathan and the rest of his friends and found her to be rather charming and compelling, much to her former spouse's chagrin.He immediately captured the attention of everyone in the tavern the moment he entered the premises. Imperial officers usually did in this place. A few patrons chose to depart their booths hastily, obviously conducting enterprises that were so illegal, even the possibility of an Imperial interest was enough to send them scurrying. The others merely continued with their business, whether it be drinking, gambling or taking company in some of the young ladies frequenting the place in search of business of their own. Inez was behind the counter serving and Ezra took a moment to admire the beauty of her as she offered her customers a warm smile with their orders. Upon seeing him, her face lit up with a smile that was more than obligatory and despite himself, Ezra's jaded insides found himself melting at the sight of her. He walked up to an unoccupied section of the bar and pulled himself up on a stool before she joined him. "Captain Standish," Inez said sweetly to the handsome officer. "Its a pleasure to see you." Ezra took her hand gallantly and planted a small kiss on the delicate skin of her knuckle and responded just as smoothly. "Likewise dear lady." He smiled, with dimples at their most boyish as he looked at her. "Your usual?" She asked. Ezra was rather surprised she remembered. After all, he could count the number of times he had been here and supposed it was no feat of magic she remembered, Inez after all was quite remarkable. "If you please." He answered and let out a soft sigh when he saw her withdraw to go fill his order. He wondered if she knew how utterly lovely she was and was certain half the reason her human customers kept coming back to this establishment when there were so many more in Cordoba with far better facilities, was to enjoy a taste of that lovely smile and pleasing manner. Ezra knew that he would gladly have come back here time and time again, even if it were not Nathan's favorite watering hole whenever he had business in Cordoba, not to mention the fact this was a safe haven for all members of the Rebel Alliance. Inez returned a moment later and served him his Tynnan whiskey in a small glass. "There you are," she answered. "Just the way you like it." "I would like it with you in the private berth on a cruise taking a tour of the Sullustian Rings." Ezra indulged in a bit of flirtation. "But this will do for now." "You do know how to talk to a girl Captain," Inez leaned closer, appearing as if she'd like to stay where she was for awhile, talking to him. Ezra had no objection to thiseither and took a deep breath of the floral scent clinging to he so enticingly. "I do but as much as I would love to do nothing but focus entirely on you as you deserve, I pray I cannot." He lowered his voice even though the disappointment was clear in his voice. "We have a situation and I need to contact your friends most urgently." "I see." Inez nodded. "Does it have anything to do with that super star destroyer that's in orbit around Cordoba?" She asked, her voice becoming serious now. "How did you know?" He asked with surprise. "That's been the topic of discussion for most of the clientele tonight. Its not often a ship of the line enters the Territory. Who is on board?" Inez responded, having heard endless speculations from her customers for most of the evening. A ship that size was hard to miss and she was certain similar discussions were being conducted throughout the city regarding its origins and purpose here. Ezra exhaled loudly and replied. "Vader." Inez's eyes widened in shock but she managed to control her surprise with admirable restraint. "Lord Darth Vader?" "The same." Ezra nodded sombrely. "I'll contact my friends immediately."
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Rayne had not planned on contacting the Alliance prior to her arrival on Cordoba but had no choice now. Fleeing form Alderaan, she and her young charge made it as far as Rodia before the Imperial agents in pursuit caught up with her. On Rodia, where the population was either for sale or already bought, it was only a matter of time before someone informed the authorities that a young girl matching Princess Leia's description was in the company of an older woman attempting to make way to Cordoba. Despite her attempts to travel incognito, Rayne had no choice but to seek passage off world by means other than that of commercial carriers. Unfortunately, those who usually sought travel in this way were often those who had something to hide and for individuals who lived by selling information, it was only a matter of time before someone took a closer look at her. Trapped in their quarters in a rather dingy hostel in the human sector of the main Rodian city, Rayne knew she could not remain here indefinitely. While she had secured passage off world, departure would not take place for another few hours. Unfortunately, a few hours was time she did not have. While she was uncertain of when they would be coming, Rayne was convinced they were on the way. She moved through the room as Leia played with her doll on the large bed, putting all their belongings into their travel case because Rayne decided she was not waiting here for the Empire to find them. She heard sounds coming from the street below and immediately went to the window. Peering through the blinds, her worst fears were confirmed as she saw a group of storm troopers gathering in the busy street below. Their white armour was a stark contrast against the backdrop of Rodians, humans and other alien species going about their business. The hostel she and Leia had occupied sat on the corner of an intersecting street and the surrounding area was occupied by two stories buildings set closely together. Rayne estimated she had less than ten minutes or so before they came barging in here and that was not a lot of time to stay ahead of a squad of Imperial stormtroopers. Examining the surrounding skyline, a partial plan formed in her head and though she had never attempted it with an infant in her arms, Rayne knew she had to escape. She would die trying to keep her promised to keep Padme's child safe at all costs. Having gathered all their things, Rayne wasted no time scooping Leia in her arms and exiting the room into the dirty corridor outside. The stench of liquor, nicotine and other substances, she would rather not put name to, assaulted her senses. Fortunately, the corridor was empty even though the sounds of habitation could be heard from the voices behind the doors running down the hall. Instead of taking the steps descending to the ground, Rayne instead hurried towards the maintenance levels of the building. As expected, the door leading to that upper level was sealed and the control panel along side of it made sure it remained restricted to everyone but the owners and custodial staff. However, Rayne was more than familiar with the security system in place and to easily circumvent it. Setting Leia down on the floor, she slammed her elbow into the face of the panel, shattering it completely with a loud crack. She barely noticed the stinging pain but was nonetheless grateful that the material of her jump suit kept her from being cut. Once she cleared away the debris, she delved into the mass of wires and circuits and tampered with the system briefly before the door slid open partway before stopping. The aperture created was wide enough for her to enter and she picked up Leia who was watching what she was doing with interest. Slipping through the narrow passageway, Rayne entered the small custodial room that was euphemistically called the maintenance centre in order to elevate it to more than what it was. Whatever the title, she was more interested in the customary ladder at the corner of the room that would lead to the roof."Hold on tight, little one." She instructed Leia who instinctively tightened the grip of her small arms around Rayne's neck as the bodyguard started climbing up the ladder towards the small hatch on the ceiling. Despite the added weight, Rayne managed to scale the length of it easily and was about to slip through the hatch when she heard a loud voice in the distance, demanding entrance. She paused to listen for a fraction of a second before continuing through the hatch, aware they would soon break into the room and discover she and Leia were gone. When that happened, they would spread out and start combing the area. Rayne had to be well away from here before that happened. Upon reaching the roof, Rayne let her eyes sweep across the skyline once again, searching for her intended target. She found it soon enough. It was a fair jump but she was sure she could safely traverse the distance with Leia in her arms. By now the child was more than aware something was going on and had gone very silent. Leia was like that a lot. She seemed to know when there was danger and behave accordingly. Rayne shuddered when she considered where that aspect of the child's ability had originated. Making a running start, she took a deep breath as she raced across the roof and leapt high when she reached the edge. It was no more than a few meters but with Leia in her arm, it may as well been a mile. Fortunately, she landed well, rolling around and bundling the infant in her arms to protect from the impact. Leia let out a slight squeal of fright but fussed no more than that. "Are you alright?" Rayne asked quickly as she rolled to her feet. Leia nodded slowly, even though her tiny features were displaying her fear. She was a brave one, Rayne thought silently to herself, just like her mother. "I promise I won't let anything happen to you little one." Rayne assured her with a smile. "Not ever." And with that, she began running again. Rayne did not know how much of time she gained on their pursuers but she managed to elude them long enough to arrive at the spaceport. Her eyes kept watch for Imperial troops as she moved through the large complex, trying to decide what was the fastest way off world. At this point, she did not even care where they would go as long as they were very far away from here. There were simply too many informants on Rodia for her and Leia to remain out in the open. They needed to be somewhere the Empire did not have complete control and that was hard considering there was not many worlds Palpatine had not put under the yoke. She had to get in contact with Bail Organa if she were to have any hope of reaching the Alliance before the Empire closed their net. As confident as she was in her abilities, she knew she could not evade them forever and if the Emperor or Vader discovered her identity, then Bail Organa's complicity in this supposed kidnapping would be exposed.That could not be allowed to happen. Rayne was wandering through the hallways, trying not to remain in one place long enough to be noticed when suddenly she overheard two men arguing rather heatedly. She had not meant to listen but their conversation was loud enough to be heard even by the casual passer by. The two protagonists appeared to be an Ithorian and a Rodian and thought they spoke in their native languages, Rayne's translator was doing a commendable job of interpreting their speech into something she could understand."It is of no business of mine that you have good to reach Zhar. The price was agreed upon yesterday." The Ithorian, commonly know as Hammerheads, spoke with surprising vehemence. Ithorians were normally spiritual types who seldom got agitated. It had something to do with their body chemistry and slow metabolic rate. "You must take me there." The Rodian insisted, his snout puling back and forth anxiously as he pleaded his case. "My funds have not been transferred and I can offer you most of the payment. You will be compensated when you arrive on Zhar, you have my assurance." "Your assurance will not pay for the fuel my ship will expend to get to Zhar if you should happen to renege. If you do not have the money then I will ask you to unload your goods from my ship." "Please!" The Rodian started to get desperate. "I have a shipment of Nala-Tree frogs for Jabba the Hutt. He is presently on Zhar, if I do not deliver the shipment, you know how he can be..." "That is not my concern." The Ithorian responded, not about to be swayed. "Gentlemen." Rayne suddenly interrupted. "Forgive me for eavesdropping but I believe I can resolve this situation." The sentients stared at the woman but it was the Ithorian who spoke first. "How so human?" "My charge and I need to be on Zhar as soon as possible." Rayne answered coolly, revealing no signs of haste or impatience on her part. "The child's father is ill and we need to be on Zhar before he expires. It is his last wish that he sees his daughter. I am willing to underwrite whatever remaining costs you require to reach Zhar to deliver your Nala-Tree frogs as well as extra recompense for two passengers." "Why this works out most satisfactorily!" The Rodian exclaimed, eager to take up the offer seeing he had no choice if he did not want his future existence to be savagely shortened by a Hutt's vengeance. "Does it not Worthu?" The Ithorian named Worthu studied the human female and the child with her closely, deciding there was more to this then met the eye. However, the lure of money, not to mention the amiable settlement of his current predicament was welcomed so he did not give it too much thought. "Yes it does. I assume you would wish to leave immediately?" "Yes," Rayne nodded, certain the Ithorian was suspicious but not enough to throw a way a good deal of money, she suspected. "I would appreciate it. Time is of the essence." With her kind, it almost always was. "So where did you learn to shoot like that?" Vin Tanner asked JD Dunne after they jumped into hyperspace and were returning home from Bespin without the fear of pursuit. It would take several hours before they reached the rebel enclave in the Territory and until then, there was little to do on board the Rogue but wait. While Buck was busy flying the ship, Casey and Josiah had gone to the Rogue's medical bay to see how Nathan's treatment of the injured Nettie were progressing. Vin noticed JD being somewhat preoccupied and joined the young man in the main passenger lounge to see if he was okay. Vin had a feeling even JD was rather stunned by his own performance in the gunnery turret and probably needed to talk about it even though he seemed quiet and introspective."I don't know," JD answered honestly, still somewhat perplexed at what he managed to accomplish. Prior to the battle, he made the same mental preparations he did whenever he was set to race. He never dream the results could be so dramatic. "I just told myself to stop thinking of it as shooting and start remembering how it felt to race my pod and the next thing I knew...""You were displaying the best gunnery skills I have ever seen." Chris complimented as he walked in to the room and it was no idle comment coming from a Jedi who fought in the Clone Wars. "Thanks," JD shrugged, not knowing whether such a praise was to be taken as a compliment or not. "I don't know how I did it.""You've got a lot of natural ability," Chris remarked sitting across JD with a hot cup of cider. "That helps and it helps you know that there were people in those ships. I know you are feeling a little stunned by what you did and how you deal with taking their lives is up to you but know what you did was in self defence. They would have delivered us to be killed just as surely as if they were pulling the trigger. What you did saved our lives." "I hope so." JD answered with a nod before rising to his feet, needing to be by himself as he sorted out the mixed emotions running through him at the moment. Chris and Vin watched him leave the lounge and descend into the turret allowing him to display such astonishing reflexes."You think he'll be okay?" Vin asked still staring after JD."Yeah." Chris nodded. "I think so. He's learning the reality of taking up a cause like this. It's a path none of us can help him with.""I know," Vin agreed, having gone through similar feelings himself the first time he made a kill as bounty hunter. The taking of life was never an easy decision for those with conscience enough to regret it, no matter how necessary it might seem at the time. "Its been a long for me since I went through something like that and it still bothers me at times. Does it bother you?" "Death always bothers me." Chris responded, not wanting to add that of late, it was his demise preoccupied his thoughts the most. He was certain what he dreamed was no figment of his mind but rather a portent of things to come. Would he die by Darth Vader's hand? Was that his destiny? He was afraid of neither death nor destiny if that was what was meant to be but he did think about Sarah's words to him in the dreamscape.
We cannot move on.
Was he trapping them here? Was he by his own grief, keeping his wife and child from going to something better? Chris's thoughts on the subject were interrupted when Buck Wilmington stepped into the room from the cockpit. He could tell immediately something else had transpired by the serious look on the pilot's face. Chris immediately sat up as straight Buck paused before them."I've just had a call from the Alliance," Buck announced. "What's up?" Vin asked, noting the same expression that had made Chris pay such attention."I just got a transmission from Mary," Buck explained, knowing that Chris would pass it on the others when he was done. "We've got a situation brewing. Apparently, Ezra just contacted the Alliance with information that a super star destroyer is parked in orbit around Cordoba carrying no less than Darth Vader." Chris did not react to the name even though he knew he should. After what he had been dreaming of late, it was impossible he should remain so detached but forced himself to be calm. After all, just because Vader was at Cordoba was no reason to believe his premonition about Vader killing him in a light sabre duel was going to happen. The future was hard to predict when there were always so many emotions involved. "Does Ezra say what he's doing on Cordoba?""Well this is where it gets strange," Buck responded trying to remember exactly how Mary had communicated the situation to him. "It seems that in two days, the vote goes before the Senate regarding the segregation policy banning non-humans from Imperial positions and Bail is the leading voice against it. A few days ago, the Alliance got wind the Emperor and Vader were intending on holding his daughter Leia to ransom to force him to vote their way. Naturally, the first thing he did was to get her off the planet. He told everyone she's been kidnapped when in truth, he was trying to get the kid to the Alliance. Unfortunately Vader's offered to help find her but Bail thinks its just a trick to get his hands on the kid so he can use her against him." "How old is she?" Vin asked, unable to fathom the callousness using a child as a political pawn. Then again, nothing the Empire did was capable of surprising him any more. It seems every outrage they seemed to hear about these days was just a stepping stone to another new Imperial atrocity."She's two." Chris said firmly. His mind was racing. Vader was after Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan. This was a nightmare."Where is she now?" Chris demanded, with more than just a little concern in his voice. Vin's eyes shifted to him, noting the intensity of his question. Worry did not even come close to describing what Chris was feeling at this moment. Vader had no idea about Leia and though the child might not be able to reveal the truth about her origins to her father, it was not to say Vader might not sense the connection between them. In any case, the further Vader stayed away from Leia the better. It was far too dangerous for the Sith Lord to start taking an unhealthy interest in the child, especially when he and his Emperor had such dark intentions towards her."Well Mary says they're on their way to Zhar." Buck answered, even he had noticed Chris's interest. "That's why she contacted us. We're to head directly to Zhar to get them. Cordoba's too dangerous with Vader waiting for them to arrive.""No kidding," Vin replied having seen a super star destroyer when he was travelling through the core worlds. Even the Purgatory with all its modifications did not stand a chance against a ship of that size. "I wouldn't want to run into a super star destroyer. Have you seen one of those things?" The bounty let out a low whistle. "I've never seen one but I've heard about them." Buck commented. "I'm with you about not wanting to run into one of them. Its like facing a battle station in space.""Buck how long until we get there?" Chris asked abruptly, not caring about super star destroyers or the inconvenience of facing one. "A few hours." Buck responded, looking at Chris curiously now. The Jedi was way too tense for his liking and Chris only got anxious if something very bad was coming their way. What could worry a Jedi ought to worry all of them. "Chris, what is it?" "Are we at full speed?" The Jedi stared at him, ignoring the question. "Not quite." Buck retorted, becoming very uneasy now. "Get us to full speed." He stated firmly and his tone indicated he did not want to be questioned about the request."Why....." Buck started to ask, not quite content with obeying blindly. If something was coming at them, he wanted to know what it was."Do it Buck." Chris said firmly, with enough of an edge to his voice to tell Buck that he meant what he said. "We have to get to her before he does.""That goes without saying," Buck nodded in agreement but he was not about to let the matter rest without some kind of explanation. Sure the situation was tense but Chris's worry seemed a great deal more urgent then the present crisis. Buck knew Jedis seldom told you everything. The nature of what they were demanded secrecy and though Buck knew Chris would never intentionally let anyone of them be harmed, he would may choose to keep knowledge from them if he believed they would be endangered by the knowing. "But why is it so important to you?" Buck asked staring at Chris intently.Chris paused a moment as if trying to decide what was the best thing to say at this point. He did not want to lie to his friend but telling him the truth about Leia Organa's relationship to Darth Vader was simply not an option. He had told Vin because he had no choice, his own weaknesses had allowed the information to slip. Chris did not wish to endanger Buck the way that Vin was now at risk should Vader ever learn what he knew . "Buck I can't tell you and its not because I don't want to but because I promised someone I wouldn't betray the confidence and honestly, its safer that you don't know."For along moment, both men stared at each other and Vin wondered if Buck would accept that explanation. For his part he could sense the apprehension in Chris and it was far deeper than his manner may outwardly indicate. Chris was worried to all hell and Vin shuddered to think what could cause the Jedi such concern. "Alright Chris," Buck conceded defeat, recognizing that Chris was not deliberately keeping vital information from him because of any lack of trust but rather fear for his life and safety. "I'll get us there on maximum burn.""Thanks Buck," Chris patted his friend on the shoulder and they both exchanged a moment of deep warmth before the pilot withdrew into the cockpit once more, leaving him and Vin alone.Once he was gone, Vin turned to Chris. "Mind telling me what that was all about?"There was no point hiding it from Vin since the bounty hunter already knew enough to get him killed a dozen times over. Besides, Vin knew that when it came to Vader, there was a great deal more at stake then simply circumventing the dark lord's present plans Everything to do with Vader had far reaching implications in the future.Chris took a deep breath "Leia is Luke's twin." "What?" Vin exclaimed with nothing less than astonishment. "How is that possible? I thought she was Organa's daughter.""She is by adoption." Chris explained quickly. "When they were born, it was decided that Leia should go with her mother, Queen Amidala of the Naboo. She married Bail Organa and he adopted Leia. It was decided that Anakin Skywalker should be allowed to believe that he has only one child, not two.""Oh hell," Vin grimaced, understanding the urgency now that Chris clarified things for. "Vader is going after his own daughter and he doesn't even know it.' "And we can't let him find out." Chris stated and then added a second later. "No matter what the cost."
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
No matter how much discipline Ezra used to keep his feelings and thoughts in check, the commander of the Cordoba base could not deny the presence of the Sith Lord, Darth Vader still made him nervous. Vader was staring out the window of what passed for the command centre on this small outpost. The base was built on a hill overlooking the city and though the view was hardly spectacular, those who chose the location had done so because they would be able to observe most things taking place in the community. There were times when Ezra himself had taken up the same position next to the window, watching the people going about their business as they meandered through the maze of streets, alleys and passages in Cordoba City. There were very few faces that were a staple since most of Cordoba's inhabitants were usually travellers going from one place to the next. Those who chose to live here would only do so for as long as the visitors kept coming. Ezra had been aiding Vader with the passenger records of everyone who had come through port authorities in the past few days and so far, the effort yielded nothing of value. Whomever the Sith Lord was expecting to arrive with Princess Leia Organa had yet to appear on Cordoba and Ezra hoped thanks to the warning he gave the Rebel Alliance through Inez, they would not be so foolish to make the attempt. The Executor was the flagship of the Imperial fleet and the only super star destroyer in existence. If a ship could be built to suit the personality of its commander, then the Executor was very much Vader's ship. It was the most powerful vessel of its kind and there was very little that could stand up to it in battle. Even though Ezra had much faith in Mary Travis's abilities to command, there was no way she could win in fight with the Executor, not to mention Vader himself. "I am certain they are biding their time Lord Vader. We will have them soon enough." Ezra found himself saying, if not for the purpose of simply breaking the interminable silence. Vader was not a man who liked to talk. There was no self importance attached to what Vader did for the Emperor, just a feeling of servitude that was almost unwillingness on his part. It was as if he were locked onto a path from which he had resigned himself to follow, no matter what his personal wishes might be on the subject. It was strange to say this of a man who could kill him on sight, whose persona was so dark and foreboding that looking upon him was enough to reduce most men to gibberish but Ezra sensed a deep sadness about Darth Vader. He could not see the man's face but he was certain of it. "You were seen going into a tavern yesterday." Vader responded. "Care to tell me what you were doing there?" "No." Ezra said icily, maintaining everything he knew about keeping his emotions and thoughts shielded from the Jedi. If Vader suspected, even for a moment, he might be lying, then he was finished. "Its a personal matter." "I decide what is personal Captain." The helmeted figure looked over his shoulder long enough to catch Ezra's gaze to impart the threat in that voice. "Why were you there?""It has nothing to do with our present situation." Ezra shrugged. "However, since your tone more than indicates it is necessary for me to reveal the truth, I suppose there is no harm in permitting you access to my privacy." "How accommodating of you." Vader sneered. "I have an association with the lady who runs the establishment." Ezra said uncomfortably, hoping he was bringing no grief to Inez by creating this lie. However, this was a far more acceptable reason for his being at the Four Corners Tavern other than the truth. "When time permits, I go there to enjoy her company. I apologize for not being more forthcoming with this information but I felt it to be no one's business but my one.""Spare me the claims of your wounded pride Captain," Vader returned sharply as if believing not a word of what he was saying. "I sense duplicity in you and I am not blind to your efforts to hide the truth from me. If I had the time or the patience I might be inclined to chip away at this facade you're displaying for my benefit, just to see what it is you're hiding."Ezra guessed immediately that Vader was attempting to shake his resolve, to create uncertainty that would crack the shield around his thoughts wide open, but refused to give the dark lord have power over him. His life depended on maintaining his control. "That is your prerogative." Ezra answered coolly. "I have nothing to hide." Vader was about to respond when an officer at one of the stations on the bridge suddenly rose to his feet and caught the eye of both Vader and Ezra. "Captain Standish, Lord Vader. We've just received transmission from Zhar."Vader swept past Ezra even before Lieutenant Grish finished speaking, his black cloak swirling around him as he walked. In seconds he was standing before the young ensign who swallowed visibly at having Vader's complete attention. "A transmission Ensign?" Vader demanded with a voice that broke no delay."Yes Sir," Grish nodded and shifted his gaze towards Ezra. "As you requested Captain, we've been monitoring all the surrounding systems for any unusual reports."At that Vader turned to Ezra in question. With Darth Vader here, Ezra was unable to ignore the situation as he liked and knew if he was complacent in their efforts to deal with the kidnapping, Vader's suspicions about him would deepen even further. It woul dnot be in Ezra's best interests at all."With our lack of success monitoring incoming ships into Cordoban space, I wondered if the kidnappers may have abandoned Cordoba as an exchange point for the child.""And why would you think that Captain?" Vader accused. "The rebels would have no reason to change their plans unless they were alerted to our presence.""If you forgive me Lord Vader," Ezra returned, more than prepared for the question. "It is unreasonable to assume the rebels do not have affiliates on this planet since most of their business is conducted on Cordoba. If that is the case, then the minute your ship entered Cordoban space, they would abandoned any plans to approach this system. Nothing they have is any match for a super star destroyer and since the Executor is the only one of its kind, they would suspect there could be no reason for you to be here unless it was a matter of the utmost importance."Vader did not say anything for a moment and Ezra guessed he was considering Ezra's response. The Captain hoped that would put to rest the notion of his complicity in the Rebellion as far as Vader was concerned, even though he strongly suspected that once the dark lord thought ill of you, it was impossible to change his mind, just delay it with a stronger lure."Impressive Captain," Vader responded. "Most impressive. Perhaps I was wrong about you."No you weren't, Ezra thought silently to himself, and you don't think you are either.However, he crushed the thought mercilessly before Vader had chance to hone in on it. Instead, the Emperor's henchman turned to the ensign who had precipitated this and demanded. "What of the report from Zhar?" "Well according to port authorities on Zhar, a freighter captain named Worthu was stopped at the checkpoint attempting to smuggle Nala-Tree frogs into Zhar. Nala-Tree frogs are considered contraband and captain and the passenger attempting to bring them into Zharian space were arrested for smuggling. In exchange for amnesty, Worthu claimed one of his passengers was a woman with a small child, a little girl who bears a striking resemblance to Princess Leia of Alderaan. Port authorities conducted a search of the ship but the woman and the child were already gone.""They must have departed the ship anticipating trouble." Ezra finished off. There was no reason not to make that statement since he would not be making any astonishing revelation that Vader himself would not have reached on his own. "Chances are they will be attempting to find passage off Zhar.""We must move quickly." Vader stated. "You will inform my ship that I will be arriving shortly to proceed to Zhar." "Yes Lord Vader." Ezra answered automatically, glad to see the end of the dark lord. Vader was already moving across the room, his presence a dark shadow moving out of proximity from their midst. He had almost reached the door when he paused long enough to add. "Once you have informed my ship I will be arriving shortly. You will take a shuttle and join me on the Executor." Vader answered and Ezra swore he was smiling behind that mask. "Excuse me Lord Vader?" Ezra almost stuttered."I have decided that yours is an intellect too sharp to be allowed to languish here during this important mission. I want you on the Executor with me, where the full measure of your insight can benefit the retrieval of the young princess." Vader concluded before he resumed walking out of the room, giving Ezra no chance to protest. Ezra watched him go and felt a chill within his innards. Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do about it. He could not refuse to go to Zhar, nor could he make the trip on his own. Vader held all the cards at the moment and it looked like Ezra was just going to have to play the hand as it stood.He just hoped it wasn't his last. Vin Tanner was a novice when it came to the Force. For as long as he could remember, the Force was nothing more than some fairy tale told by parents wanting their children to behave or something to which they could drift off to sleep with pleasant dreams. It was nothing Vin considered real, not by any means. Despite his lack of belief however, there was always something tickling at the back of his mind, whispering perhaps it was not quite so fictitious as it seemed, there was more to it than he could possibly imagine. Years of bitter experience forced Vin to discard the notion that anyone would willingly die in the service of something good even if the Order of the Jedi Knights seemed to epitomize this idealistic notion. To Vin, the Jedi was just as spectral as the Force itself. He could associate none of this with himself even though everything he relied upon as a bounty hunterIt was until he had met Chris Larabee. Only then, did he learn the truth about himself, that in all probability one of his parents was a Jedi if not extremely force adept. Chris said the Force was very strong in him, even if at this point it was untapped. Vin did not think he could endure the discipline required to become a Jedi and the truth was he did not wish to become one. However, knowing where he had come from had been enough for him to abandon his whole life and join Chris on the idealistic crusade to help the Rebel Alliance in its fight against the Emperor.Before that, he was a longer and had been for most of his life. The notion of being surrounded by people who relied upon him was rather odious to one who lived for himself, but the Alliance had tapped an unspoken need within him. It was a need he had always refused to acknowledge because it felt like but it was there nonetheless, exiled to the fringes of his consciousness where everything he did not wish to face was consigned.The need to belong. It was a day after he returned from the mission at Doldur that he first realised he was considered a rebel. They patted him on the back, called him by name, and offered him a commission in their ranks, which he had been at the time to astonished to accept. He found himself surrounded by people, not just Chris. There was Buck, Nathan, JD and Josiah, even Ezra whom they saw later on, faces who were now apart of his existence. They considered him one of their own and it awakened in Vin the desire to belong. Until then, he never admitted to himself he was lonely but he was. Each one of them were willing to risk their lives for him and Vin soon realised it would be no sacrifice to do the same for them as well. His relationship with Chris Larabee however, was clearly set apart from the others.Perhaps it was because Chris was a Jedi that made all the difference. In the beginning, it was easy to sense Chris's emotions and thoughts because the Jedi made no effort to conceal them. When Vin stumbled upon him in the Four Corners Tavern, Chris was waiting to die and not caring who found him. However, with Vin's arrival, the Rebel Alliance and Vin suspected secretly, the presence of Mary Travis, the Jedi had been resurrected and since their arrival at the rebel base, Chris was resuming his Jedi exercises and was back to full power, so to speak. Now Vin sensed only slight emotions from Chris although what he considered slight was actually intense emotions seeping through the Jedi's carefully erected barriers. Which was why he was worried now. From the moment they set foot on the planet Zhar with its amber skies and high platforms, Vin sensed something that could only be interpreted as uneasiness emanating from the Jedi. The former bounty hunter was at a loss to understand why. Zhar was hardly a remarkable place. The entire city had been built on a huge mountain rock face, overlooking a vast expanse of land partially submerged in the water that drained from the cascade originating from the city. Though the landscape was partially flooded, it was home to a multitude of life and was subject to the frequent rainstorms that suddenly appeared out of nowhere. It was its wet and humid climate that made it one of the worlds that was under the influence of the Hutt gangsters.As far as Vin knew, Chris had never been to Zhar and yet his reaction as the ship landed on the high platform the Zharians assigned them as the temporary berth during their stay, indicated otherwise. Chris emerged from the Rogue and stared at the place with a long, sweeping gaze and the tremor of emotion he would normally be able to hide from Vin reached the bounty hunter easily, much to Vin's surprise. The others were oblivious to the Jedi's state of mind; even Buck who was his oldest friend. Of course Buck's concerns were with JD who had been silent and somewhat morose since his dazzling display of gunnery skills during their escape from Bespin. Josiah was still smouldering from the almighty argument he just had with his niece Casey who was not at all happy to be left behind in the ship to look after her aunt Nettie, when she was eager to share in the mission rescuing Princess Leia Organa.According to the data they received prior to their arrival on Zhar, the young princess and her guardian were presently seeking refuge in one of the safe houses the Alliance had established here. Although the Hutts controlled Zhar, even they knew better than to impede the Empire when it came to the question of the Rebel Alliance. The Hutt gang lords were forced to concede a begrudging admiration for Palpatine's ruthlessness even though in secret, they feared it as well. The Emperor's dislike for non-human species was known and should he feel so inclined, he would lose no sleep about taking Zhar and all the Hutt controlled worlds should they give him the excuse. Thus as the new arrivals moved through Oblai City, they could see the evidence of the search being undertaken by the Empire. "She was right." Nathan mused as they moved cautiously through the streets, trying not to attract attention. Fortunately, there were so many people on the streets of Oblai City they did not have to worry about being conspicuous. With the different species going about their business, six humans hardly rated a second glance as Imperial troops continued the search for their quarry. "Who was right?" Buck asked offhandedly, his eyes were just as focussed on the stormtroopers as the rest of his companions."Leia's bodyguard." Nathan answered as they shifted their gazes away from the stormtroopers search and continued on their way. "She figured the freighter captain who brought them here might serve her up as an effort to save his skin when he got stopped at port authorities.""Well," Buck frowned, disliking the fact someone in his profession could be so lacking in personal honour. "I suppose a man will do anything if he wants to stay alive." "I know," Nathan frowned. "Just didn't think that meant sacrificing a woman and a child." "You are an idealist Brother Nathan," Josiah smiled patting the dark man on his shoulder. "An admirable trait but one that is more often than not, a compass to disappointment." "There is good in everybody. Its just a matter of whether or not it can be drawn out." Chris remarked as they left the stormtroopers behind them and turned into an alley. The alley was narrow enough to ensure beyond the first few feet, the level of natural light dropped dramatically enough to shroud it darkness. It looked like a dead end and was not much of a hiding place. At the mouth of it was a beggar cloaked in grey, holding a gnarled wooden bowl. Nathan dropped a credit into it as they entered the alley, while Chris held the beggars gaze a few seconds. "So what's the plan?" Vin asked tautly, sensing something that immediately made his hand moved silently towards his blaster. As the darkness surrounded them, he hoped Nathan knew where he was going because their present location would make for a very bad venue for close quarter combat. There was almost no place to run if this was a trap and the vulnerability of their position was not lost upon him as he saw the walls on either side of him."Well they're hiding with one of our people here on Zhar. He's an old groundpounder from Republic days, good man. He's retired now, living off his military pension and taking on speeder repairs on the side. Name's Yosemite." Nathan explained. "So you trust him." Buck inquired. "As much as I trust you." Nathan returned. "Then you are a fool." A decidedly female voice said behind them. "And the fun continues." Vin muttered sarcastically as they turned around slowly and noted saw the beggar on her feet. Her stance was clearly adversarial as was the gun she had pointed in their direction. Her face was partially covered by the hood of her cloak and the way the material glided over slender shoulders told them much about the person hidden within its folds. "Who are you?" Nathan asked first, remembering what she had called him and feeling annoyed enough to demand an answer. "I'll ask the questions." She returned. "Who are you?" "We are no one you should be afraid of." Chris suddenly responded. He could sense who she was and knew the situation could be diffused because the woman, though disciplined and well trained, was also riding the ragged edge of exhaustion and paranoia. He had no doubt her journey here had been fraught with danger and she was at the stage where she was willing to shoot first and ask questions later. "I believe you came in search of me." "And who are you?" She retorted with a more than sceptical sneer to her voice. The weapon in her hand did not waver. "I am Chris Larabee." Chris stepped forward. "I am the Jedi you seek." "I seek no Jedi." The woman responded faster than she should have, unwilling to risk any chance this could be an attempt at subterfuge. "Yes you did." Chris returned immediately. They had to settle this matter quickly. They needed to leave Zhar as soon as possible. If the Empire was searching the city for her and the child, then it was very likely Vader knew this as well and would be on his way. "I am whom you sought when you chose to leave Alderaan." "What's going on?" Buck demanded his confusion plain. "She was trying to reach me." Chris explained as best he could without going into specifics. "The Organas have always had close ties with the Jedi, she knew if anyone could protect Leia, it would be me." Rayne stared at the man believing he was speaking the truth because a real Jedi would know her mission to see him was not something that could be spoken about to just anyone, even if he trusted them. "I believe you are who you say you are." She answered a visible note of relief in her voice. She lowered the hood and allowed herself to be seen. "Well hello there ma'am." Buck's voice immediately responded, oozing charm as always and was promptly followed by a groan from the rest of the gallery. He stepped forward with a grin, always ready to step to the fore when a lady was present. "Subtle Buck." Vin drawled. "Real subtle."Nathan however, was even faster on his feet than Buck, having strode forward to demand a few explanations of his own from the lady. "Exactly what do you think you're doing by staying out here in the open for all to see? Do you know this city is crawling with Imperial troops?" Nathan demanded angrily. "You should be at the Princess's side, not waiting out here for them to find you." "I have a better understanding of what the little Princess needs." Rayne said hotly as she strode past the Rebel officer, hiding her annoyance as his presumptuous demands. "I have been guarding her since the day she was born." "Where is she?" Chris asked, falling into stride with her as she brushed past Nathan leaving her behind."She's with Yosemite." Rayne responded. "I believe she is safe with him for the moment." "Not safe enough." Nathan retorted. "If the Empire know you're here, you can bet Vader does too.""Vader?" Rayne stopped short in her tracks and looked at Chris anxiously. "Where is he?" "Last we heard, he was waiting for you on Cordoba." Josiah explained. "He's been tracking us since Alderaan." Rayne explained as they continued up the passageway. "He intends to take the Princess as hostage in order to force her father to cast his vote favouring Palpatine's segregation policy." "I really don't think Organa has any chance of stopping the Emperor on this anyway." Josiah added. He followed the politics of this quite closely like all the members of the Republic Senator who were now fugitives. "Palpatine stuck most of his puppets in the Senate. When the time comes he will have the votes, no matter what Bail chooses to do.""Then why this kidnapping?" Buck asked. "Seems like a waste of time to me." "Bail Organa is a strong voice in the Senate, even if Alderaan is a peaceful world. Remember, since the destruction of the Caamasi people, Alderaan is now the oldest and most long-standing member of the Old Republic valueing freedom to all sentients no matter what the species. Bail could become a rallying point for all dissatisfied peoples in the Empire. If he casts his vote with the Emperor, he would lose that popular support." "Kidnapping his daughter would be a good way to do that." Buck retorted, disgusted at the thought of using a child in such a fashion. "So this whole kidnapping was to throw the Emperor off your scent because of what he was planning?" "More or less." Rayne answered as they reached the end of the passageway to be confronted by a heavy steel door that had no visible means of opening, except from the inside. She tapped three times on the rusted steel surface with the sound echoing down the alley. "Vader was coming and we knew he would take Leia if we did not think of something fast. If we hid her away then Palpatine would have all the proof he needs to claim Bail had spies in Coruscant who warned him of the Emperor's plans. We had to think of a way to remove the Princess from the threat as well as ensure Emperor had no proof that we were warned of his intentions." "But if you bring her back after the voting is done, won't he guess anyway?" JD asked. "He may suspect but he won't have the proof." Josiah answered before Rayne could. "To arrest someone like Bail Organa, he needs proof. Its one thing to arrest a member of the Old Republic Council but something else to bring charges against a member of the Imperial Senate, not to mention the planetary head of state Alderaan, a core world, not to mention a very political powerful planet." "Once the voting is over, we will pretend a ransom was paid to get the Princess released." Rayne replied as they heard footsteps approaching the door from the other side. "That's a hell of a gamble." Nathan pointed out. "It is," Rayne agreed, prepared to concede with him on that point. "But we have no other choice." Suddenly, Chris stopped short in his tracks, much to the confusion of those around him except Vin. Vin was standing just as still but appeared visibly distressed. The bounty hunter had never felt anything like this before and he had experienced some pretty odd things since he had come into Chris Larabee's company. His insides had turned to ice, as if the all the warmth had bled out of his body, turning the blood inside his veins into rivers of icy sludge. His heart contracted in his chest and he shuddered visibly."Chris," Vin spoke out softly as the others stared at both of them. "What is it?" "Vader's not on Cordoba, not any more." Chris answered shortly, his eyes glazed and very far away. "He's here."
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When Inez contacted the rebel base and related the details of Ezra's message to Mary Travis prior to the departure of the Executor's departure from Cordoban space, it was enough to send the rebel leader barking orders for the preparation of the Purgatory to leave orbit. Inez herself was uncertain of what the message meant but to Mary, who had been keeping a close eye on the movements of the super star destroyer over Cordoba in anticipation of the arrival of Princess Leia and her keeper, it made perfect sense. "Its odd," Inez remarked as they communicated over the scrambled frequency the bartender used for communications with the rebel base. "I supposed he had to tell them something about why he keeps coming here.""It’s a good cover," Mary retorted, wondering how much of Ezra’s deception in allowing his Imperial comrades to believe Inez was the reason for his frequent visits to the Four Corners was an effort to evade discovery rather than wishful thinking. Mary had certainly seen the attraction between the two to know it was mutual even though she doubted the affections between them were true love. "At least I assume it is a cover." She gave Inez a look of mischief over the com screen through which they were conversing. "It is for now." Inez smiled coyly. "However, should he decide to actually ask me out, I wouldn’t mind.""You really go for the uniforms don’t you?" Mary teased."You’ve been listening to Buck." The lady frowned."You know," Mary eased back into her chair, enjoying her talks with Inez whenever the opportunity allowed for it. "There is something oddly clichéd about an Imperial officer carrying on a relationship with a rebel sympathizer.""It sounds like something out of a bad romance novel." Inez agreed as they both chuckled. "Still, this message he send me says that he won’t be able to make our date as he is going to be away for at least two days.""And you made no date." Mary remarked, her mind swirling around Ezra’s message. "When did it come in?" Inez told her and immediately, Mary knew what had been Ezra Standish’s purpose in contacting Inez. "He’s on the Executor." She sat up in realization. "He contacted you so that you would tell us that he had to leave with the Executor." "Why?" Inez asked bewildered and feeling a sliver of fear knowing that Ezra was keeping company with no less than Darth Vader. "There was no other message…." "There doesn’t have to be a message." Mary retorted. "He just wanted us to know because it was important we piece it together. It was his way of letting us know that wherever the Executor was going had to do with us." "You don’t think that they might have guessed where Buck and the others are?" Inez exclaimed, horror seeping into her face as understanding dawned in her eyes. "There couldn’t be any other reason." Mary rose from her chair. "Vader would not have broken orbit without good reason and I can’t think of any other that might suffice. Inez, I’ll talk to you later." Mary did not wait for a response before she terminated the channel between them. She had little time as it was to act and she was not even sure they would make it to be of any help to the Rogue. Still, they had to try. Flicking another switch, Lieutenant Commander Chano’s face appeared before her on the screen. "Commander." He greeted officiously. "Prepare the Purgatory for immediate departure." Mary said quickly. "I’ll be on board within the next thirty minutes." "Yes Sir," he answered. "Where are we going?" "We’re going to Zhar." Mary replied, preparing herself to hear debate on this matter. "Forgive me Commander," Chano predicted response escaped his lips. "I thought the Executor was in the Zharian Star System." "It is." She answered shortly. "Our people on Zhar have been compromised. We need to get there to help them." "But we’re no match for a super star destroyer, not by any means." He protested."Don’t upset yourself," Mary returned mercurially. "We won’t be remaining long enough to get into a fight with them. Just long enough to get our people out." "But….." He started to argue. "This isn’t a democracy Lieutenant." Mary said smoothly. "Prepare for my arrival. We will launch as soon as I am on board." The tone of her voice was clear that this was as much discussion she was permitting on the subject. "Yes Sir." Chano nodded. "We’ll be ready." Mary hoped they would only need to be ready enough to be able to aid in the escape of the Rogue from under the star destroyer’s clutches because under no circumstances did she want to have to go toe to toe with the Sith Lord."There is a Jedi on Zhar." Darth Vader stated as he stood on the bridge of the Executor , overlooking the planet. "A Jedi." Ezra exclaimed, trying to hide his surprise even though he knew there could only be one Jedi in this area and that was Chris Larabee. He immediately kept his thoughts guarded, knowing such random rumination could seep through his defences and doom not only himself but the friends who were undoubtedly on Zhar. He had hoped the message he had sent to the Alliance through Inez would be sufficient to warn any rebels who were still on Zhar to vacate the premises but supposed that the time factor had always been against him. "I didn’t think there were any left." "There are a few." Vader remarked, his heavy breathing becoming silent now as if the Sith Lord were holding his breath."Are you sure?" Ezra asked coming along side Vader even though it unsettled him to be next to the man. It was not just the black armour but rather a sense of something dark beyond his understanding. Ezra had not much faith in the Force, he did not know it as Chris and Vin did but the Jedi were no myth even if they were fast becoming extinct. He was certain the sinister energies swirling around Darth Vader was just as tangible and had no wish to be caught in its web. "I sense him." Vader responded neutrally. "The Force is strong within him and the other he is with." Ezra forced himself not to of think Vin when Vader said that. "Do you think he might be responsible for the Princess’s kidnapping?" "The Jedi do not kidnap." Vader retorted, with almost a hint of outrage at the suggestion. "He has purpose here but it is not for harming the princess." "Are you able to find him, since you can sense his presence?" Ezra asked tentatively. Vader’s turned his helmeted head towards Ezra. "Do you know this Jedi?" "I assure you," Ezra replied, guessing Vader was attempt to break through his barriers once again by the unexpected question. "I know no Jedis. I have difficulty believing they even exist." "Strange coincidence you should feel this way," Vader accused. "Especially when there was a Jedi in residence of Cordoba prior to your arrival there." "There were rumours," Ezra answered with his best poker face. "But I have yet to encounter one yet. Was there any truth to the stories? Was there a Jedi on Cordoba?" "Larabee." Vader faced front once more, deciding he was not going to waste time trying to penetrate this man’s shields when he had a more pressing issue to deal with at presence of a Jedi on Zhar, who had no doubt some connection to the young Princess. "Chris Larabee. In his time, he was one of the heroes of the Clone Wars." "You knew him." Ezra stated. It was not a question. "I knew of him." Vader responded. "We never met but he was a friend of someone I once knew." Vader did not reveal that Larabee was once friend to Obi-Wan Kenobi, his teacher. Memories of Obi-Wan inevitably brought other images and took Vader’s memory to places it did not want to go. Almost against his will, the image of Padme flashed before his eyes. The tiny part of him that was still Anakin Skywalker ached the most when her lovely face resurfaced in his mind. When he had learned of her death, it was the first time in too long Anakin’s grief was so powerful not even the dark side could assuage the agony of its toll upon his heart. Curiously, he kept thinking of the first time he beheld her, knowing from the moment he looked into her beautiful face that his life would be changed forever, even though he was still a child and slave on Tatooine. She was his angel and of all the things that had to be sacrificed for the power of the dark side, it was the loss of her that ached the most. Her and his son. He was out there, somewhere. Vader knew it. He could almost sense the boy sometimes, although lately he had come to think of it as imagination rather than anything real. What did Padme name the boy? Did she name her son after his father? He supposed not. No doubt, Padme would wish to expunge any memory of Anakin Skywalker from their son. Who protected him now that she was gone? Obi-Wan? It was possible, the Jedi had not been seen for almost two years and that date seemed too coincidental with the age of his son to be dismissed. Wherever his son was, Obi-Wan was guarding him and in that, Vader was capable of taking some comfort knowing the boy was safe. Safer than the Princess would be against Larabee's keeping, Vader thought ruefully, returning his mind to the present. Of course, he should never be too confident. After all, Obi-Wan held Larabee in high esteem and even told Anakin Larabee was someone in whom he could confide. Confide... Did he know? The thought shouted so loudly in Vader's head, he was surprised the Captain next to him did not hear it. Could Larabee know about his son? The possibility once introduced, quickly insinuated itself upon Vader's psyche. Obi-Wan seldom left things to chance and it made sense he might reveal his plans to someone, just so they could safe guard his interests while he was in isolation. Vader closed his eyes and reached out, focussing on Larabee's mind presently hiding on Zhar. As anticipated, he could sense the mind but not the information for as soon as he attempted to probe too deeply, he was met with the solid wall of Larabee's mental shields, the shields he was also using to guard the mind of the other he was with. Vader suddenly changed tact and began shifting his attention to the other mind with Larabee and was immediately rewarded with one word through the crumbling wall.Skywalker."Chris!" Vin shouted, blood running rivulets from his nose. "I can't keep him out!" He cried out desperately as he felt that darkness overcome his mind, chipping away at his defences.Chris knew it already. As soon as Vader's presence touched his mind, the Jedi fought to keep Vader out of his mind and that of Vin Tanner's. If was not so strong in the Force, Chris might have succeeded but Vin was an untapped source of power waiting for the right spark to set it a light and Vader's probing had the incendiary effects upon it Chris had feared. He knew what Vader heard in Vin's mind and knew that any chance of protecting Vin was destroyed with one word. Skywalker.Suddenly, without warning, Rayne slammed her elbow into the back of the bounty hunter's head with enough force to render him completely unconscious. Vin went down on the floor of Yosemite's shop without uttering so much as a cry of pain. He dropped to his knees and fell on the floor, face first amidst the astonishment of everyone around him. Chris let out a soft gasp as Vin became unconscious and immediately strengthened his own barriers against Vader's brutal invasion. Josiah and Buck on the other hand, moved in on the woman who had attacked their friend."What did you do?" Buck demanded as his hand gripped Rayne's elbow while staring at Vin's unconscious form. "Is he alright Nathan?" The pilot asked frantically, turning away from Rayne briefly, confident that Josiah would shoot her if she made another move like the one she had just inflicted upon Vin."He's alright," Nathan said after a quick examination. He stared at Rayne and knew she could not possibly be a spy. Fate would not be that cruel to him. "Just knocked out cold." "You let the lady go." Yosemite, a grizzled old man with white hair and stubble grunted from the room he entered after allowing them entrance into the store. "She had good reason for she done, I know it." Yosemite was carrying a little girl not more than two years old who was stretching her small arms towards Rayne upon catching sight of her nurse."Rayne!" Little Leia cried out. Her plea threatening to turn into a cry if she was not given to her nurse. "Let her go Buck," Chris also declared once he was in complete mastery over his mind and capable of blocking all of Vader's attempts to read his thoughts. "She did the right thing.""How did she do the right thing?" Buck asked outraged. "She knocked Vin senseless! Hell any harder, and she might have killed him!""If I was going to kill him, he would be dead." Rayne said coolly and broke her arm free of Buck as she stepped forward to claim Leia. No one who saw the happiness in the child's face could imagine Rayne to be anything more than a she wolf protecting her child when they saw Leia wrapped her arms around Rayne's neck. "You did it to stop him didn't you?" Nathan guessed accurately, knowing something of the Jedi and having realised after she knocked Vin cold why she had done what she had. He was starting to respect this beautiful young woman a great deal even though she looked at him like he was a naive kid. "To keep Vader from getting what was inside his head?" Rayne's eyes widened in surprise, as if she had not thought him capable of such insight. "Yes," she nodded. "Vader was in his mind. Your friend could have unwittingly told him how to find us. I had to stop him before he doomed us all." "Its worse than that." Chris looked at her. "He knows." Rayne's eyes shifted to his sharply. "The whole truth? He knows the whole truth?" "All of it." Chris said reluctantly. "How could you allow him to know!" Rayne fairly roared. "Do you know what you have done?" "Know what?" Nathan asked, becoming even more confused. "Nothing that need concern you." She barked shortly before turning to Chris again. "I brought Leia here because I thought you could protect her but all you've done is made things worse than they ever were!" "Vader only has a name." Chris defended himself but the truth was, he was accountable for this disaster. "He knows nothing else." "And how will your friend keep him out indefinitely?" Rayne glared at him. "We cannot leave Zhar now. There are Imperial troops everywhere! We have to wait here until it is safe. Vader will stop at nothing to find us now that he knows what your friend has inside his head! How long do you think we can keep him unconscious?" "Chris, what the hell is going on?" Buck cut in, feeling like he had walked in on the last act of a very bizarre play."We have to get him off world, right this minute." Rayne stated. "That is the only way. The matter has superseded the immediate situation of Leia's safety." "Why?" Nathan stared at Chris for an answer. "What does Vin know?" Chris was breathing hard, rebuking himself a dozen times over for not listening to Vin when the young man had demanded some form of Jedi training. If Chris had acted to the request then perhaps Vin might have been able to block Vader's probes from his mind. "You have a ship." He looked at Yosemite. It was not a question, he had seen it inside the man's thoughts. "A little fighter," the old man replied, not even bothering to ask how Chris knew about the small Belion fighter he had been working on as a pet project and recently completed. "It will take two but it doesn't have much of a range and she's pretty tough to handle." "Buck you can fly anything." Chris stared at his old friend. "You're going to have to take Vin off planet immediately. I'll keep Vin out for as long as it takes for you to make the jump to hyperspace." "Goddamn it why?" Buck cried out in frustration. It felt like he was flying blind. "Because that's how its gotta be!" Chris fairly shouted in exasperation. "I can't tell you why! To tell you would be to risk the future. If you care anything for what the rebellion stands for Buck, you'll get Vin as far away from here as possible!" Buck was taken back by the intensity of Chris's words but whether or not an explanation was provided, the urgency of it sunk in and registered. "Alright," Buck nodded. "I'll take him. I don't why but I'll take him." "Thank you Buck," Chris let out a sigh and turned to Yosemite. "Can you get them past the Imperial troops to your ship?"Yosemite nodded mutely. "Yeah I think I can." "Good," Chris nodded and faced Buck once more. "You need to take Vin to the Dagobah system." Buck stared at Chris. "The Dagobah system? Chris, there's nothing there." Chris glanced at the faces around him and knew that Yoda's secret would be safe with them. "There is a Jedi Master on Dagobah that will keep Vin safe and perhaps help him keep people like Vader out of his head. Take him there Buck." "How do I find this guy?" Buck said sceptically. Nothing about this made any sense except the fact that Chris was afraid and Chris was never afraid without good reason. If the Jedi believed the future of the galaxy was at stake by his agreeing to take Vin to Dagobah, then there was no question of what he would do. He trusted Chris like a brother and if Chris said this had to be done, then it would be. "You don't have to find him," Chris replied quietly. "He'll find you." The link was broken.He could only sense Larabee's mind now and what secrets that may have lay hidden behind it was now closed to him because the Jedi was not weak like his companion but rather one who might have been a Master himself if not for the slaughter of the Jedi Order. The mind of the other was silent and dark as if it existed in a state of limbo. The reality was perhaps not so vague, no doubt someone must have rendered him unconscious, perhaps Larabee himself had carried out the deed. Whatever the truth, it did not matter any more, he learned enough. Larabee knew something about his son. Of this Vader was absolutely certain. Ezra did not know what happened in few minutes he stood next to Vader as the Sith continued his vigil on Zhar, like a dark god keeping watch from the heavens but clearly something earth shattering had occurred. Suddenly, Vader was on the move, no longer content to let his minions conduct the search for the Princess and her supposed abductor. Without even saying a word, Ezra knew that Vader's sweeping departure from the bridge had a darker intent now and it was no longer about retrieving a lost little girl. "Lord Vader," Ezra asked as he forced himself to run after the Sith Lord, risking death because the man did not take intrusion into his affairs kindly. "What has happened?""It is none of your concern." Vader said sharply, wondering why this nonentity was still following him. "If it pertains to our mission to retrieve the Princess then I am afraid it is very much my concern." Ezra wondered briefly when was the exact moment he had lost his mind.Vader paused and looked at him, probably wondering the same thing. "I must confront the Jedi alone. You will remain here.""Lord Vader," Ezra spoke boldly, "you are endangering our mission by going to Zhar. If you can sense him then it is almost certain the Jedi can sense you. If his purpose is intertwined with the Princess in some way, then our element of our surprise is compromised if you go after him."In truth, Ezra was trying to keep Vader away from Chris Larabee but masking the reason with this excuse was a good way to save his own skin as well."I did not ask for your opinion Captain," Vader returned menacingly. His voice emphasizing the word Captain explicitly. "The Jedi is my concern not yours." With that, Vader resumed his forceful strides towards the landing bay where his shuttle was being prepared for him even as they argued the matter in this corridor. "Darth, you're throwing away the one chance we have of getting the Princess!" Ezra cried out desperately, baffled by what insanity that made him think he could refer to Darth Vader on a first name basis, like they were friends or even acquaintances.Vader paused but did not answer. Instead, Ezra felt himself flung backwards by some invisible force. He slammed against the floor hard, almost feeling as if bones had snapped upon landing. The pain flared through his body as he saw Vader's receding figure in the distance. However, Ezra was not about to let him go. Nathan was most likely down there and no way was Ezra going to let his best friend in the galaxy be harmed by this creature."Is that the best you can do?" Ezra demanded furiously as he struggled to his feet, his voice full of defiance. Vader turned around and looked over his shoulder. His metallic breath moving in low, languid strokes as he regarded Ezra. "Your stubbornness is astonishing," the Sith Lord remarked. "But dangerous."Suddenly, something that felt like fingers started enclosing icy tendrils around his throat. He felt the unseen grip clench around his skin and felt his Adam's apple being pressed up against his esophageus. He struggled to breathe, fighting the overwhelming need to succumb to Vader's attempt to intimidate him. He raised his eyes to meet the dark lord's and refused to relent until he had forced the words of out of his mouth."If...you're going to...do this thing...let...me...come with you!" Ezra gasped forcing the words out when he ought to be conserving whatever oxygen remained in his lungs.Vader released his hold and Ezra dropped to his hands and knees at the ability to breathe again. He spent a few seconds on the floor, gasping for air as he replenished the supply in his lungs. His breathing was for a moment, almost as hoarse as Vader's himself. When he raised his eyes to the dark lord, Ezra noted that Vader was walking back to him. "I do not trust you Captain." Vader declared slowly. "I sense great duplicity in you and yet, you are atonishingly brave. I am uncertain whether or not it is to your credit." "Thank you," Ezra answered never one to be at a disadvantage, even in his present condition. "Will you let me come with you? If you are going to face this Jedi then at least allow me to salvage the situation by retrieving the Princess." "The Emperor's interests must be guarded," Vader conceded finally, resuming his journey to the landing bay once more by the flounce of his swirling cloak as he turned away. "Very well, you may accompany me." Ezra let out a sigh of relief as he saw Vader's departing figure, wondering what in the hell he was thinking by embarking on this suicide course before realizing that it was not a matter of suicide but rather one of survival.
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It was an easy matter for Buck and Vin to reach the spaceport because authorities at present were not searching for two men but rather a young woman and an infant girl. Although Nathan disliked the idea of their splitting up, particularly when the reason for the urgency seemed a closely guarded secret between Chris Larabee and Princess Leia's protector, he acceded to the wishes of the Jedi knowing such requests were not made lightly. Nathan himself had never met Darth Vader in person but he knew of the Sith Lord by reputation and would decided he was not eager to face the man either. Chris however, seemed extraordinarily wary of Vader in a way Nathan had never seen him before. The captain of the Rebel Alliance could see the anxiety in the Jedi's face even though Chris was trying to hide it from them, more than aware of what displaying his fears might do their morale. Unfortunately, the fact that Vader was coming ended their ability to remain hidden for too long. Chris knew that the dark lord would hone in on him and while he remained with the princess and his friends, he would be their biggest liability. With Vin gone, the secret of Anakin's children was for the moment safe. On Dagobah, Chris could be assured Yoda would protect Vin as well as teach him what he would need to know in order to survive the future. For now however, Chris's thoughts were not with Vin because his best friend was presently on his way out of the system, riding the currents of hyperspace towards Dagobah. His worries were with those presently in his company. With Buck gone, Nathan would have to pilot the Rogue with Josiah's aid and the princess still had to be delivered safely to the rebel base in order for her father to make the vote at the Senate with freedom. Chris could feel the dark force that was Vader leaving his ship. He could feel the ominous approach even though they were separated by the vacuum of space and knew time was running short. Yosemite was good enough to take Buck and Vin to his ship and had yet to return but Chris knew they could no longer wait for him. Nathan had to take the others and leave, now. The group was presently deliberating their situation from within the below ground rooms Yosemite had found when he had first taken up the place. He assumed quite correctly that his business premises were once in use for something that was not as legitimate as his current vocation. Presently, JD was entertaining the little girl with a repertoire of funny faces, to which she reacted with delightful giggles that seemed out of place considering their present situation. Josiah was gently stroking Yosemite’s pet Synax, a furry animal with big round eyes and native to Endor. The woman Rayne was standing by the doorway to the subterranean hiding place, listening for every sound even though she had not moved an inch since Yosemite disappeared up the stairs with Buck and Vin. Chris studied her briefly before noticing Nathan was also trying to keep his gaze fixed on his friends, despite the momentary lapses when inevitably, his eyes would drift to her once more. The Jedi suspected Nathan’s interest had nothing to do with suspicion. One thing was clear however, the longer Chris remained with them, the more likely it became that he would lead Vader to them. "Nathan," Chris gestured the captain over to him as he drifted away from the main group so he could talk privately with the man. "What is it Chris?" Nathan asked, being not at all force adept and yet having learnt enough about Chris Larabee to guess the Jedi was about to drop something into his lap. "I need to leave." Chris said quietly, beneath the earshot of the others. "What?" Nathan stared at him, somehow not surprised despite his reaction. Chris had seemed anxious ever since Rayne was forced to knock Vin out cold. While Nathan could appreciate his worries since he had no wish to run into Vader himself, the captain guessed when it came to the Force and those who wielded it, nothing was as clear cut as one would like. "Why?" "You know why." Chris returned. "Yeah," Nathan nodded, unmindful of what Rayne said about Vin giving access to the information allowing Vader and his troops to find them. Chris had made some similar declaration he had been in direct mental contact with Vader and even though his thoughts were shielded, the dark lord could nonetheless sense his presence. They were a beacon to each other, these Jedi, Nathan thought to himself. "I do." "I have to go Nathan," Chris replied. "I have to go before I lead him here. Before I lead him to the child." With that, Chris glanced in the direction of the little girl with the dark brown hair and closed his eyes a second because he was struck by how much the colour of it resembled Sarah’s own wavy hair. In her innocence and youth, he could feel the force emanating from her. No doubt Vader would feel it too even if he could not understand why. She had a great destiny, this little Princess from Alderaan, Chris had foreseen it. Though future events were often clouded by emotions, as Master Yoda was so often fond of saying, Chris could see the future of the Jedi in the smiling eyes of the Leia Organa. The era of the new Jedi order would begin with her. Of course Vader would not see that. He would see she was just a means to an end, a pawn to use against Bail Organa in order to solidify Palpatine's oppression and even if he did see, he was liable to kill her just to ensure that future died before it was even born. He would do so without having any inkling she was his daughter and that the Jedi he would be destroying would be his own grandchildren. The irony of it would have almost amusing if it was not so tragic. Nathan stared at Chris for a time, sensing something more behind the Jedi’s words but appreciating Chris was his friend who kept secrets because he had no choice in the matter. It took no measure of clairvoyance to know that whatever it was Chris had chosen to confide in Vin about was something he now regretted in light of Vader’s invasion of Vin’s mind. The captain did find it odd that Rayne, whom before this day had never crossed the Jedi’s path, apparently knew this secret. Her accent and her mannerism indicated she was not from Alderaan and having seen the skill of her combat ability, he was certain that although she played nursemaid to an infant, there had been a time when she was something else entirely. "Chris, I know you have to do what you must but if he can find you, you’re no safer than we are on Zhar.’ Nathan countered. "You’re too important to the Rebellion to lose." What Nathan did not say was that Chris was important to him as well. Chris was his friend and since the Jedi had joined the rebellion and pulled together the six men who found unity in each other, Nathan found his universe did not seen as grim as it had once been. "I know," Chris responded. "But if it is my destiny to die, then I’m not afraid of it. I am afraid for all of you and that is why after I leave, you need to get to the Rogue." "I’ve been thinking about that," Nathan agreed with Chris’s assertion even though he did not come right out and say it. "I’ve been thinking perhaps we’ve been going about this wrong way. The Empire is looking for a woman and a child. What if we split up?" Rayne, who had excellent hearing and had been eavesdropping on the conversation with the Jedi and the rebel officer, immediately stepped forward. "What is your plan?" She looked at Nathan and for the first time, saw him as more than just an accident waiting to happen. "You put Vin into one of those trances when Buck left," Nathan turned to Chris. "Can you do the same for Leia?" "Why?" Rayne demanded, not at all happy that her young charge should be rendered unconscious. "Because," Nathan glanced at Josiah briefly before turning his attention back to her. "She’s small enough to hide inside the Synax's carrier." "What?" Rayne stared at him horrified. "You expect me to allow you to carry the Princess Royal of Alderaan in an animal carrier? Have you lost your mind? Such as it is." "It will work," Nathan replied, now capturing the attention of both JD and Josiah. "That Synax isn’t much smaller than Leia. I know its hardly dignified but if Josiah takes her, he might be able to reach the Rogue. You’ll come with me. We’ll take a different route. They’re looking for a woman and a child, not a couple on their way off world." "He is right," Josiah looked at the woman. "It is undignified for the child but she will not be awake to notice and what's more, she'll be safely away from here if it works." Rayne frowned dubiously and turned to the Jedi, having yet to hear his opinion on the matter even though her faith in him was dwindling considerably. After all she had done to ensure that Leia remained out of Vader's reach, this Jedi had simply led the dark lord here thanks to his undisciplined friend. "You have not mentioned what you think of this plan?" Chris knew what she was thinking and could hardly blame her for her lack of faith in him but Nathan's plan was sound even though it was a touch unorthodox. "I think it is your best chance of fulfilling your promises to old friends."Rayne glared at him sharply, realizing of course what he meant through that veiled reference. He meant of course, her promise to Padme, to keep her daughter safe. She supposed she could keep nothing from a Jedi if he intended to learn her secrets but then she could not deny she had not been trying hard to keep it from him either. He needed to know how seriously she took her obligations to Padme and how completely willing she was to sacrifice herself to save Padme's daughter."Why do I have to go with him?" Rayne demanded, not giving Nathan's the courtesy of looking him in the eye as she asked the question out loud."Because I'm the only one who can put up with your winning personality." Nathan retorted sarcastically, drawing an even darker expression from the young lady while JD and Josiah tried not to snigger. Chris merely hid the amusement on his face. "Alright," she conceded after a moment, uncertain of whether or not she disliked this plan most because of the unseemly way the Princess would be treated or simply because she would be forced to journey alone with this captain of the rebel Alliance.For some reason, ever since they had met, he had burrowed under her skin and remained there. It was not just the fact he was like every soldier Rayne ever encountered, arrogant and thinking their way was superior because of their weapons and their training They were incapable of believing anyone else could do it better and had for centuries before that uniform of theirs ever existed. Even though Nathan was a member of the Rebel Alliance, he still wore that arrogance, not to mention despite all his flaws and weaknesses and he had quite a few; Rayne rather liked him. Sometimes the Force had a very strange sense of humour.Vin Tanner was not happy when he woke up.It was not just because when he opened his eyes and awareness spilled into his world, his head was throbbing as if a dozen banthas were doing a dance inside his skull, but rather the discovery he was not where he had remembered being. Hell, he was not even on Zhar any more! When Vin finally regained consciousness after the unpleasantness that forced Rayne to knock him senseless, he woke up to find himself resting in the passenger seat of an old junker of a fighter. Around him was nothing but the strange iridescent tides existing within hyperspace and as the flurry of colour rushed past him and the small ship, it seemed to amplify the headache pounding against the inside of his skull.At least he was consoled by the fact that when he finally gained enough coherence to notice something beyond the obvious, he saw he was not completely abandoned by his friends because Buck Wilmington was at the controls. The pilot was busy flicking some switches and judging by the sequence of buttons and knobs he was pushing and activating, they were about to come out of light speed, which only begged the question just how long he was unconscious. Predictably, the question was soon followed by a rather rapid succession of other questions, like how he had come to be here, who hit him, where were the others and most importantly, where the hell they were going. "Buck." Vin spoke and his voice escaped him as a little more than a formed croaked. Fortunately, Vin was not that vocal anyway so Buck anticipated hearing his soft spoken voice at some point in the journey. "Welcome back junior." Buck greeted in his usual cheery way. Vin could not understand how the man managed to keep in such good nature all the time. Must be all those women, Vin thought as he sat up in the cushioned seat he was leaning against."Where are we?" Vin asked, articulating the most important question in his mind, first and foremost."About to jump out of hyperspace in the orbit of Dagobah." Buck answered as if Vin had just asked him the time of day. He figured he would soon have an argument on his hands but he made a promise to Chris and Buck did not take his promises to the Jedi lightly. "Dagobah." Vin whispered and suddenly a lot that remained hidden in vague shadows leapt out of the mists inside his mind. He remembered that dark icicle inside his head, digging and probing, trying to invade the rest of him. He shivered inwardly, recalling the sound of heavy metallic breathing as it pushed its way through his mind and prepared to lay waste to everything he was. Vin had seen a great deal of villainy in his life. He had met beings who simply did not deserve to exist, let alone breathe the same air but through all those times, he had never felt the cold, unrelenting evil, wet and slick against his skin, that he did when Vader entered his mind."I got get back there Buck! I got help Chris!" Vin suddenly demanded, forgetting all the others question and winced when his head retaliated at the exertion. "Easy there Junior!" Buck shouted from the front half of the fighter. "We're not going anywhere. Chris wanted me to get you as far away from Zhar as possible." "Buck, you don't understand," he didn't know whether or not it was the Force or the fact he was starting to know Chris Larabee very well that provided Vin with a sudden flash of insight but suddenly, it all became clear what the Jedi was planning to do. "He's going to face Vader alone!""Of course I understand!" Buck almost hissed. "He's been my friend when you were still tugging at your mama's skirt!" The pilot's voice filled with uncharacteristic emotion. "I know what he was going to do the minute he asked me to get you away from Zhar. I also know that nothing I said could have stopped him from doing it once it got into his mind.""We have to get back there!" Vin persisted. "We can help him!" "Vin," Buck let out a deep breath. "Have you ever seen two Jedi fight?" "No." Vin retorted, slightly annoyed because Buck ought to know very well by now that until Vin had met Chris, he had never even believed they were real, let alone seen one. "I did once," Buck answered; his voice was hollow and drawn. "One of them was a rogue." Buck explained remembering the temple in Yavin where the Sith Lord Exar Hun had once ran supreme and where some of his followers still went to pay him homage. "I saw a rogue and a Jedi Master go at it toe to toe. I'll never forget it. They move like nothing you can imagine and when you hear those sabres slamming against each other, a part of you prays that the good guy wins because the bad guy just scares the hell out of you. Trust me Vin," Buck said quietly. "Unless you're one of them, when two Jedis get it into their minds to kill each other, there's nothing you can do except stay out of the way." "Vader's not just any Jedi!" Vin replied. "He's a Sith Lord!" "Vin," Buck spoke once again, this time he was serious and it was a tone he did not use often because most of the time people were used to hearing him affable and in good humour. "We're not going back. I have no idea what it is you know that terrified Chris so much that the thought of Vader finding out had you sent off world and the truth is, I don't want to know. Anything that can scare a Jedi is something I don't want in my head. Unfortunately you don't have that choice and only you can decide whether what is you know is worth risking by going back there to help Chris." Vin swore under his breath because he knew the answer to that.Chris had charged him with the most important secret he had when there was no reason to believe Vin could be trusted except for the fact Chris recognised him a kindred spirit. Ever since Vin met the Jedi, his world had been filling up with people who cared about him, who were willing to risk it all to save his life and to his utter astonishment, considered him one of their own; a thing he had never been to anyone. Before Chris there had been loneliness and an existence that was not all living as he was now. For someone whose best expectations for himself was to meet an inevitable end at the hands of the one bounty that wouldn't be claimed, Chris's friendship had been an unexpected joy. Chris trusted him with the secret that was Luke Skywalker and Vin could not betray that, even if it meant standing by and doing nothing while Chris sacrificed himself by facing Darth Vader. "I hate this!" He swore. "I hate being what I am! I hate knowing what I know! I wish I never stumbled on it!" The unflappable bounty hunter cursed in a surge of uncharacteristic fury. "But you did," Buck returned knowing none of the specifics but was perceptive enough to know what to say to soothe the younger man's turmoil. "And you know what to do don't you?" Vin swallowed and nodded even though Buck wasn't looking at him. "Yeah I do." He whispered. "I need to go Dagobah." Rayne did not know where Josiah, JD and the Princess had gone but she was not all optimistic about this plan. Yosemite's choice of a disguise involved her wearing a garment so sheer and flowing with translucent waves of cryosilk, she felt naked and was certain every man on the street was following her curves as she sauntered along at Nathan's arm. The captain seemed very pleased with himself and was wearing a smirk on his face Rayne was certain no woman should ever have to tolerate and wished nothing more than being able to wipe it off with her boot. The gossamer like veil across her face, did nothing to hide her features but seemed to add the allure of this entire seductive collection of clothes. When they had passed a contingent of storm troopers, she thought they were done for. However, all the Imperials had done was give Nathan a nod and let them go on their way, as if it was an unspoken rule among men that when one of them acquired a particularly delectable morsel of female flesh, they were required to show their respect. Rayne hoped Josiah did not lose her normal clothes because she was eager to slip out of these ridiculous garments into something that did not make her feel as if she were a palace courtesan. It was not as if she had any difficulty being admired by men. Living in Bail Organa's house as his daughter's keeper had seen her required to attend the social functions held at the palace on occasion. She knew how to dress for the occasion, just as she had done when she had been in the court of Naboo.It's just her life had been placed in the service of the Queen for as long as she could remember. There had been no time for young love then and little time for it now she was a grown woman. Love seemed to complicate things and she had seen many guardians and handmaiden's before her who had died for the mistake. Besides, how could she devote her time entirely with Leia if she had to share it with a man? It was just so impractical. Still she was starting to realize her lack of experience with the opposite sex had given her certain vulnerabilities. After all, there could be no reasonable explanation why she enjoyed the feel of this annoying captain next to her. How could she be attracted to a man whose greatest talent was his ability to survive this long without getting his head blown off by his ludicrous idealism? "We're almost there." Nathan said under his breath, still wearing the insipid grin of a man about to partake in some very unsavoury actions with the beautiful creature next to him. The space port came into view and so far the Imperials had not given them much trouble as he had anticipated. They were still in search of a woman and a child, not a man and a woman whose dress gave no doubts at to her profession. Once they were lost amongst the crowds inside the space port, it would be a simple matter of finding the Rogue and blasting off Zhar. Across the street, he could see Josiah strolling along looking like one of those rich people who could never leave their pets alone at home when they went away on trips. Josiah gave no indication of recognition and once again, JD who was already entering the space port, played the role of the wide eyed farm boy perfectly."Thank the Force." Rayne muttered unhappily. "I cannot wait to divest myself of these things." She glanced at her clothes distastefully."I think you look beautiful." He replied and it was not because of what she was wearing. She was beautiful. He had thought so from the first moment he had seen her and then later, when he watched her feeding Leia, cradling the little girl in her arms and whispering all the sweet things children needed to hear in their infancy. Nathan was reminded of his wife and how he loved to watch her when she was teaching school. Her students who were never more than waist high adored her and when she taught them, he could see the pleasure radiating off her. She had wanted children so much and he had wanted to have them with her, so he could watch her perform that special magic with their own child. "Nathan Jackson." Rayne suddenly noted something in his eyes that reminded her of Bail whenever the Senator would lapse into a memory of Padme. "You are sad. Why are you sad?" "No reason," he shrugged, feeling the ache so profound he thought he might die sometimes. He could not blame Chris for climbing into a bottle as he had. There were moments when Nathan was tempted to crawl in there with him. "Its nothing.""It is not nothing," Rayne insisted, surprising herself with her need to know. What need did this idealist have to be sad, especially after making a statement about her beauty? "Your mind is clouded. I will not allow you to jeopardise our escape by allowing this unpleasantness to fester and hamper your judgement." "Thank you for your concern," he said sarcastically. "I told you its nothing." "But it is." She stood her ground. "You will tell me." Something inside Nathan snapped at that moment and he relented. "Alright, if you must know. You remind me of my wife Ana.""You are married." She tried not to sound disappointed even though she did not know why she should feel this way at all."I was married." He said turning away, unable to risk looking at her when he spoke about Ana. "She died a little more than a year ago. She was a teacher and when you were holding Leia in your arms, you kind of reminded me of her."Rayne felt her insides melt and wondered how she could be moved in such a typically feminine way. She did not like to see him sad and that too surprised her, just like everything else about Nathan Jackson."I am honoured for the comparison," she responded with more than a visible hint of affection. "You must have loved her very much."Nathan was still looking away when he whispered. "I still love her very much."Chris Larabee left the others and wandered. He did not have a particular destination as he moved through the streets. He was just an enigmatic figure everyone had sense enough to give a wide berth. Those who did not were sent on their way in a daze, made that way by a simple suggestion placed in their heads by a Jedi who had no wish to fight just yet. The ploy worked well even on Imperial stormtroopers who saw him and recognized he was a Jedi. He knew they would leave him alone even if they knew he was a rebel and a wanted criminal. The truth was stormtroopers were not equipped to deal with the Jedi and was usually advised by their superiors to report the sighting and leave the matter to those who could handle the situation. It was just as well because there were too many of them on the streets of Zhar and Chris did not want to create any more of an incident then necessary, at least not until the others had left the planet safely.He looked at the sky above Oblai City and saw the clouds were still pink for the moment. Following some predestined route, he turned a corner, ascended some stairs, took a lift in one of the city's spires and went straight to the top. When he emerged on the roof, he stepped out into the empty stretch of platform and knew without doubt he was where he had was supposed to be. He crossed the floor of the platform and finally felt something click inside his head, telling him he was here and there was more need to keep wandering.He found himself standing at the edge of the large platform, the one he had seen in his dreams and felt the same wind whipping at his hair when he raised his eyes and was greeted by the familiar amber sky. The twin moons did not wink when they gazed down upon him through the pink clouds. Gazing down past the edge of the platform, he saw the great drop that ended with the rushing waters of the Oblai Falls, the largest cascade in this quadrant of space. Chris took in the sight of everything that was known to him for some days now and waited. He lowered himself to a kneeling position and occupied himself in silent meditation. There were no regrets, no sorrows but rather an acceptance of what was coming. He had seen it all happen and would change it if he could. If he could not, then he was content this was the will of the Force and strangely enough, he was comforted by that.When the doors to the lift slid open a few minutes later, Chris was not surprised. He had felt the approach in his mind, felt the darkness pressing in against his consciousness with each nearing footstep. Soon the mental approach evolved into a physical one and with the first echo of that hoarse, metallic breath, Chris rose to his feet and turned around finally, afraid of nothing.Not even his destiny, wearing Darth Vader's face.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
"There she is." Chano told Mary as the Purgatory came out of hyperspace in the Zharian system.Mary turned her gaze towards the view screen where she was faced with the image of the Rogue trying desperately to evade the super star destroyer and the phalanx of TIE fighters converging upon it like a pack of scavengers on a rotting carcass. Mary took a moment to admire the enormous ship whose silhouette blocked out the sun in the distance. She found herself reflective for an instant, thinking she might well be commanding such a magnificent craft if her life had turned out differently than it had. "She's in trouble." Mary remarked, noting the way the ship was flying and finding something very irregular about it. "Buck's not piloting.""I thought Captain Wilmington would rather die than let someone else at the controls of his ship." Chano responded automatically, since it was hardly a secret how passionately Buck felt about his ship. "My goodness," Mary commented as she saw the TIE fighters being destroyed around the freighter. "Look at the gunnery response time," she leaned forward in her command chair and squinted the image into clearer focus. "That's phenomenally fast." "Perhaps Buck's taking over the main guns.""No," Mary shook her head, knowing the Captain too well. "He'd never give the controls to someone else. He's a better pilot than he is a gunner. I don't know who that is but he's a prime candidate for a little project I have in mind." She mused for a second before sitting up in her chair, ready to intervene in the Rogue's trouble. "Alright," she looked around at her bridge crew. "Full power ahead. Put us between the super star destroyer and the Rogue, outside tractor beam range. Let's give those TIE's something else to shoot at." The Purgatory immediately accelerated as evidenced by the pace of the stars sweeping forward as the Nubian vessel sailed towards the space battle taking place above skies of Zhar. Mary knew they were no match for the Executor but then Mary never planned on a direct confrontation with the ship in the first place. They would remain in this space long enough to retrieve the Rogue because Mary the Purgatory was no match for the flagship of the Imperial Star Fleet. As it was, getting away was not going to be easy, she could see the Rogue being battered mercilessly by the TIE fighters despite its gunners best efforts to keep them at bay. In the final analysis, no matter how good he was, the Imperials were winning by sheer numbers. "Try and contact the Rogue." Mary ordered. "We need to tell them what's happening." The Purgatory finally entered the fray and the vessel's formidable main guns started firing at the fighters, destroying quite a few as it forced its way into the fighting. The small fighters began to scatter, their attack on the lone freighter in disarray by the timely intervention of the formidable Nubian warship. Of course the confusion was only momentary because it was not long after Mary could feel the percussive detonations of laser blasts against the hull of her ship as the fighters turned their attention to their new enemy. "The Executor is moving to intercept." One of the bridge officers announced. She had expected in and promptly responded. "Have we made com link with the Rogue yet?""Online now, go ahead." Chano answered, not about to give her a negative response when so much hinged upon it. "Rogue, this Purgatory." Mary spoke out loud, confident that the Corsair would be able to hear her once her crew gave her the reassurance. "What's your status?" "Our status is that we're in a lot of trouble!" Nathan's voice exploded on the trail of static. The background noise indicated just how badly the bombardment was affecting the ship. "Commander, we have the princess on board but Buck and Vin are on their way to Dagobah and Chris is still on Zhar." Mary looked sharply towards the distant glow of the planet. "What do you mean Chris is on Zhar?" She demanded, forgetting all about the super star destroyer, what reason Buck and Vin would have to go to Dagobah and even the princess from Alderaan. Suddenly, her thoughts were fixed on the Jedi who had come to mean more to her than she cared to admit. "Why is he still on Zhar?" "Its some Jedi thing," Nathan quickly explained. "He said Vader could sense him and Chris thought it was better if we split up. I think he was trying to lead Vader away so that we could get off the planet. We've been monitoring the transmissions since we left the surface. Commander he and Vader are fighting it out on one of the landing platforms in the city." Mary considered what she was told and then took a deep breath. "Nathan listen closely. I want you to shut down engines and let our tractor beam grab you. We'll take you on board the Purgatory and deal with these Imperials from there. You understand?" "Yes Sir," Nathan answered with more than a hint of relief in his voice. "Can't say I'm too upset about that. The ship can't take much of this pounding." "Understood." She nodded. "Standby for lock on." Once she had completed her instructions, she rose from her seat and went to Chano. "Once they're on board, head for the Zharian sun." "Excuse me Commander?" Chano looked at her with astonishment. "Why? I thought we would be leaving as soon as we had them.""I'm not leaving without Chris." Mary said abruptly. "Get as close to the sun as you can, the radiation will confuse the destroyer's sensors for at least thirty minutes to an hour. I'll be back by then." "Back?" He exclaimed. "Where are you going?" Mary was already half way across the bridge. She did not turn to look at him when she answered. "I'm going to get Chris." It had not begun to rain yet but Chris suspected it would soon enough. For a minute neither Jedi spoke as they stood before each other, weapons drawn, the glow of lightsabers clashing in colours of red and blue. The air was charged in the silence between them and though the reverberation of Vader's breathing apparatus could be heard form inside his helmet, everything felt deathly silent. Chris could feel Vader pressing into his mind, just as his own was wading through Vader's thoughts. The emotions were the easiest things to detect and sometimes their intensity could give an outsider passage through the walls erected to guard their innermost thoughts. Chris clung to one of these stray threads of feeling and was led inward into the heart of Vader's need right this moment. The dark lord sensed the intrusion and did nothing to reinforce the wall or to shut Chris out. "The Force is with you Larabee, Obi-Wan spoke of you well." Vader greeted for that was the way it was done between the Jedi, even ones who were now enemies, because the forms had to be observed whatever the circumstances."He used to speak of you well Anakin." Chris answered automatically. Vader stiffened as if hearing the name was a physical assault. "That name has no meaning for me." "I suppose not." Chris replied. "So why the interest in what was Anakin's?" "Where is he?" The dark lord's voice boomed through the air. "Where is my son?" "Where you will never find him." Chris returned smoothly, his body poised for attack. He could feel the hatred burning inside Vader. The emotions inspired by the memory he was once Anakin Skywalker was exuding from him like waves of molten lava. Chris wondered what had twisted him inside so much that he became such a terrifying parody of the man he was. "He is my son." Vader returned. "I will find him." "Over my dead body." Chris challenged and wondered how much of it was not inspired by his own wish to meet his end. "If that is your destiny." Vader retorted and swung his blade with all the power of the dark side behind it. Chris met the blade halfway, the sound filling the world when the two sabres met. Energy escaped the clashing weapon and disappeared into the air as Vader pulled back and struck again. The dark lord's abilities as well as his strength was no exaggeration and Chris defended himself as best he could, telling himself there was no shame in dying. He was a Jedi. He would die like one. However, he would not go easily and retaliated with just as much force, using skill and cunning as his ally rather than the rage Vader used to fuel the darkness inside of him. Energy against energy cackled loudly, preceded by the haunting hum of lightsabers as they whooshed through the air. Chris blocked the blows coming at him and delivered some of his own, driving Vader backwards and sometimes being driven back himself. Crisscrossing blades flew at each other as Chris somersaulted into the air and landed behind Vader and prepared to swing once more. The dark Jedi with equal speed spun around and was prepared for the attack but Chris jumped up, delivering a sidekick to the helmet and knocked Vader of his feet. The sabre fell out of Vader's hand for a brief instance before the Sith Lord rolled onto his knees and recalled his weapon to him in time to meet Chris's next strike. Vader concentrated and swept Chris off his feet, the Jedi landed hard on his back and looked up in time to see Vader about to bring his blade down upon him. Chris shifted his attention to the edge of the platform where a loose piece of panelling had broken the smooth finish of the rail and concentrated slightly. The length of metal ripped itself free and slammed into Vader's side, almost knocking him off his feet.Chris flipped to an upright position as Vader regained his footing and swung once more. This time Chris was more than ready to meet it and put a good deal of power before the block. He stopped it a suitable distance from his face and mustered up all his strength and shove hard, propelling Vader back with unsteady steps. Not about to lose the advantage, Chris slamming his foot into the side of the Sith Lord’s knee. Vader uttered a soft cry through as he dropped the ground on one knee, barely managing to keep himself from falling over completely when Chris swung again. The thunderclap masked the sound of Chris's light sabre striking Vader's own when Vader exerted his own strength and forced Chris back, to buy himself a second to stand upright. Chris noticed the pink clouds had finally turned grey. The thick veil of cumulous was preparing to spill forth the wet seed it had been clutching to its bosom for so long as Chris anticipated it would. Another clap of thunder shattered the heaving of wind and distracted Chris momentarily. Vader saw his opportunity and took it, swinging around in mid air, his black cloak following him in the wind as he landed inches from Chris to renew his attack. The fury behind his blows were beyond imagination and Chris could well believe then he was the Vergence. He kept striking and striking, forcing Chris across the platform, until the Jedi was using every bit of strength inside of him to prevail. It began to rain. Rain battered down on them as the Jedi fought each other. Vader was using all the strength he could draw from the dark side, allowing it to feed his rage, to nourish his power as he continued swinging his sabre at his opponent with deadly strikes. This was why he had taken the path to the dark side, to feel the exultant surge of power that flowed through his veins because he acknowledged its power. Chris could feel it emanating from Vader and refused to let it affect him because to do so would be to surrender to the belief the dark side was stronger.It was not. It never would be.Chris took a deep breath and returned a succession of similarly charged blows, meeting Vader's attack blade for blade. They moved like dancers breathed in flame even as the rain battered down on them. Vader's cloak had stopped billowing, weighted down by the heavy droplets of water. Chris could feel his hair plastered to his face as he glared at Vader, refusing to die easily even if it was his destiny to do so today. There was momentary pause after their last series of blows where the two Jedis stared at each other recouping their spent energies. "You cannot win against me Larabee. I feel the pain of their deaths inside you. You're more than ready to join them." "If that's the way it has to be," Chris returned, using the pause to catch his breath. "Who am I to fight destiny?" "I lost my wife and son too," Vader responded but the words did not sound like empathy but a rather derision. "Of course that could not compare to your loss. To learn your wife and son being murdered, not to mention the unborn seed slumbering in her womb." Chris blinked. "What?""I checked the records of those who carried out elimination of Sarah Larabee prior to coming here," Vader said smiling although it could not be seen beneath the mask. "Before they died, your wife begged to be spared for the sake of her unborn child. Did you not know?" Vader asked triumphantly, well aware Chris did not. "You're lying." Chris said through gritted teeth. "Search your feelings Chris," Vader answered. "You know it to be true." It was. Chris could sense the cruelty in Vader, the black sadistic callousness of watching his pain but the dark lord was not lying. In a flurry of seconds he remembered the last time he saw Sarah, a memory emerged from nowhere about her mentioning she did not feel well, he did not remember the specifics exactly but knew physically, there had been something wrong with her. Is that what it was? The first stirrings of their second child? A child that never had a chance to be born? Who had died without ever seeing the universe of either of its parents? Chris screamed.It wasn't just a scream. It was a howl of rage, of anguish, of bitter fury burning so white and hot even Vader was taken back by its intensity. It rose to the surface with lightning speed and before Chris could question what he was doing, he was lunging at Vader, swinging so hard, drawing power from something beyond the Force, beyond what he normally sought to give him courage with only one thought in his mind.He was going to kill Vader. Ezra Standish could see what was going on inside the viewing gallery of the tower's security center. He was watching with a contingent of stormtroopers as Darth Vader and Chris Larabee battled each other to stalemate. At the moment it appeared as if Vader might need help because even though he did not hear what had been said between the two Jedis, the unmistakable expression of rage on Chris Larabee's face was telling enough. The Jedi was swinging his blade as like a demon possessed and he was driving Vader towards the edge of the platform. "Sir," one of the troopers asked. "Perhaps we should help Lord Vader." A rumble of agreement followed and Ezra turned to the trooper who had made the request. "What exactly would you suggest we do trooper?" Ezra asked sarcastically. "I do not think Lord Vader will impressed by our interference. Jedis like to keep these battles to themselves. Whatever happens, we will stand by." "Captain," one of the troopers entered the room suddenly. "We've had an unconfirmed report that an X-wing is on its way to the city." "An X-wing?" Ezra mused, wondering if this was some rescue attempt for Chris. Ezra wished he knew what he could do to aid Chris in his present situation. At the moment, he could nothing to help without giving himself away. Not that there was very much he could do while the Jedi was battling Vader for everyone to see. Like everyone else, Ezra was just going to have to wait to see who made it out alive before he could act. However at the moment the arrival of the X wing threw an unexpected slant on the whole situation. "They may be attempting the rescue the Jedi." Ezra responded, doing what was expected of him. "I want you to proceed to Zhar Air command and determine where it is landing. Arrest them the minute they disembark. One of you will remain here with me in case Lord Vader needs any assistance." "Yes Sir," the head trooper nodded and filed out of the room, taking all but one in the process. The others seemed reluctant to go, mostly because they wanted to see how the battle between Lord Vader and the Jedi ended, while Ezra just wanted them gone. If the opportunity arose for him to help Chris, he could not act with them in his presence.Although judging by the way Chris was hammering away at Vader's defences, it appeared the Sith Lord might be in more need of aid than Chris Larabee. "DIE! YOU EVIL SON OF A BITCH! DIE!"Chris Larabee was not even aware the words were coming from him. He only knew that he was filled with a surge of rage so black and overwhelming, he could feel it infecting his brain with its venom until he could think of nothing else. He wanted to strike down this traitor who destroyed everything he cared about because of his alliance with Palpatine. Chris lashed out, feeling the power coursing through him in waves and waves of self-righteous outrage, sharpening each blow he sent in Vader's direction. He was not even aware he was forcing Vader across the platform or that the dark lord was having real difficulty staving off Chris's frenzied strikes. He was going to kill Vader, Chris thought repeatedly in his head as he watched Vader in retreat, staggering to block his blows. Something inside of him had snapped, reason perhaps, Chris did not know, nor did he care. Why should he? He was a Jedi! His duty was to protect the weak and the innocent and this creature was responsible for suffering of so many as well as the death of Sarah, Adam and their unborn child. Where was reason when his wife and children were being slaughtered? What good had it done him or them? He had more power now than he had ever felt in his life and he could only get stronger if he remained angry. He could kill Vader and then take on the Emperor. He could bring order to a galaxy that sorely needed it, perhaps even run it right so no one could ever be hurt again. ou could be like Vader, a small voice whispered in the back of his mind. If anything snapped him out of the berserker rage he was presently experiencing; it was that single realization. He could be like Vader.In his dreams Vader goaded him about how easy it would be to take the path leading to the dark side. Until this moment, Chris had never realised how true that was From the periphery of where his fury was about to lead him, Chris pulled back and allowed the shock of cold water against his skin to penetrate beyond the flesh and into his mind. He closed his eyes and felt the tears escaping down his cheeks, becoming lost with the wet of the rain on his face. Only then he understood how close he had come to losing everything, not just Sarah and Adam but himself. He wept for the child that might have been and the soul he had almost lost. The wife and children who were gone forever, no matter how much he might wish for them to come back. Perhaps until this moment, he had not realised how dangerous it was wishing otherwise.Hedid deserve to die. Vader did not know what had happened but when he saw Chris stop fighting to hold up his sabre not to fight but to withdraw, the dark Jedi took the chance afforded for a final solution to this battle. His enemy did not cry out as the blade sunk into the Jedi's skin, sliding through flesh and muscle, through organs and bone before finally escaping on the other side. Chris was stared at him, tears on his face and Vader surprised himself by being able to tell the difference when he withdrew the glowing red blade. He stepped back with confusion, unable to understand why Chris surrendered when he saw the wounded man tumble to the floor, his blood spilling out of him and staining the puddles of water around him with crimson. Vader stood there staring at Larabee as blood pooled around his boots and saw the Jedi was not dead. He raised his sabre high up in the air, more than ready to kill Chris when suddenly a blast of immense energy exploded near him. Vader raised his head to see an X wing bearing down on him. It all happened so fast and as the ground ruptured near him, Vader noted the shots were aimed carefully away from the prone Jedi. Whomever was flying the X wing had only target; him and the dark lord could do nothing but leap out of the way.The explosions gave Chris brief clarity as he saw the X-wing flying towards the platform, bend on reducing Vader into cinders; he forced himself to move out of the way to give it a clear shot. The agony was beyond description as he crawled on his belly, feeling the warm liquid against his skin he knew to be blood because the rain was much cooler. He led an ugly trail of red, quickly dissolving in the rain as he used his last ounce of strength to pull himself to the edge of the platform.Chris raised his head long enough to see Vader falling over the edge of the platform, following another blast from the X wing, before he succumbed to the black calling for him to die. Mary jumped out of the X-wing once she saw Vader thrown off the platform and secretly hoped the bastard would scream like a pig all the way down the tower. However, she did not have much time to savour thhe possibility because she did not have much time, period. Already planetary security was being alerted and soon fighters would be scrambling to intercept the X-wing. If she did not get in the air very soon, neither she nor Chris would survive to regret it. She yanked the helmet off her head as her eyes scoured the ruined platform that had been Chris's battleground with Vader. It was not hard to find him.Her eyes widened when she saw him, lying in his own pool of blood. The rain barely registered against her skin as she broke into a run, sliding to his side on one knee when she finally reached him. Her heart was pounding inside her chest from cold fear almost as loudly as the rain coming down around her. He was lying on his belly but Mary did not need to see the wound to know he was badly wounded. His blood was everywhere and she shuddered with more than just cold when she saw it seeping into her clothes as the rain pelted down on her skin. He was not conscious when Mary rolled him over and saw the injury bleeding the life out of him in an ever-widening pool of crimson. "Chris." She cried out as her hands feverishly brushed the hair from his face and examined him for a pulse. There were faint stirrings in his veins, indicating he was alive but not for long. He was not conscious of her at first, not until she spoke his name again. "Chris, wake up." She tried to make it sound like an order, like the voice of the commander who was assured of everything on the bridge of her ship but it did not come out that way. It escaped her like the plaintive plea of a frightened woman. "Chris, you need to wake up right this minute!""Go." He opened his eyes but was too weak to focus on her. His gaze seemed fixed on the sky above and Mary could see the light fading out of it. "Leave me." He gasped, sputtering blood with each word."No." She said firmly. "I am doing nothing of the kind. You are coming with me!" He tried to shake his head but succeeded only in lolling it to one side. "I can't let them go! I can't! I don't know how to go on without them." Mary felt tears in her own eyes because she understood all too well how hard it was for him to make the choice for life in the face of his overwhelming grief. Her command was all that kept her from going the way he had, kept her from wallowing in the sorrow of losing not only Stephen but in some ways losing Billy as well. She stopped being mother to her son when her husband died and what were left behind were barely a woman, just a rank and a cause. Until she met Chris Larabee that is. He had given her something she had never expected to feel again and on some level, she knew he felt the same way too, even though they were both too raw to admit it. "You have to Chris." She whispered softly in his ear. "I won't let you go! We need you too much and your family wouldn't want it to end this way for you! You have to let them go because I won't you go!" He was no longer looking at her. Mary had seen enough comrades on the battlefield to know he was starting to die, not because of his wounds but because he wanted to. "Don't you do it!" She shouted at him, shaking him hard so his mind would not slip away from her. "Don' you leave us Chris! Don't you understand? We need you! All of us! Not just the Alliance but your friends! Don't slip away from us!" He started to stir but not enough. Mary blinked and felt more tears run down her cheeks along with the cold raindrops. She placed her hand on his cheek and shivered inwardly because his skin was growing cold."Chris," she looked into his face and thought how at much at peace he appeared to be but Mary was too selfish to let him drift away from her "Chris, I need you. I never needed anyone in my life but I need you. I can't do it alone. We were supposed to go through it together remember? We were suppose to be the shoulder to cry on for each other whenever the hurt got too much. You have to wake up Chris! You have to let me be there for you and you have to be there for me! Don't you understand it won't work if one of us is gone! " She started to cry out of sheer helplessness until suddenly, she felt his hand on her cheek. She looked down and saw him staring at her, momentarily lucid. "You always this pushy?"Mary almost burst into tears again but managed to utter a small smile instead. "When I need to get things done."
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
They were in the middle of a bog and for the life of him, Buck Wilmington had no idea how they had come to be there. The fighter they had arrived in was hopelessly caught in the swamp, with mud creeping up the sides of its hull in an effort to drag it down to its murky depths. Buck and Vin had managed to climb out of the descending craft to find a solid bit of ground upon which they could take refuge while they attempted to decide what they would do next. Vin was already in possession of a foul temper at being forced to concede with Chris’s desires for him to go to Dagobah instead of turning back to Zhar in order to help the Jedi in his confrontation with Darth Vader. Unfortunately, there was nothing Buck could say to him to assuage his annoyance at their present situation because the pilot himself had no idea how it had happened.Dagobah was hardly the most hospitable world in the galaxy, being just another marsh filled bog with all too many insects for his liking. The atmospheric conditions of the planet did not indicate Buck needed to be particularly cautious about his entry and so he performed a routine landing procedure. However, the moment they penetrated the thick shield of clouds surrounding it, the instrumentation on his cockpit controls began to go haywire. There was magnetic interference and all other kinds of other difficulties, which very quickly saw the loss of attitude control. What should have been an easy landing suddenly became a struggle to keep the ship from slamming into the planet like a bug on the pod shield. They had made it to the ground in one piece but not before Buck could steer the craft away from the swamp they now found themselves trapped within. "I can’t believe this!" Vin swore for the hundredth time since they stepped onto this small plateau of wet earth. "I should be on Zhar, helping Chris. I thought you could fly through anything!" Buck bristled; telling himself that Vin had reasons for his vitriol. The young man was probably worried sick about Chris. The two had a bond he could not understand because he was not force adept and that friendship was enough for Vin to make some monumental decisions in his life that now saw him a fugitive and a member of the Rebel Alliance. It was a profound relationship that could cause one of the galaxy’s best bounty hunters to walk away from the life into something so uncertain. "I usually can." Buck tried to explain himself, while making a mental note to stay calm. "There was something weird about what we just came through though.""What do you mean weird?" Vin straightened up from the rotting log he had been sitting on. "One minute everything was fine." Buck responded, recalling the last few minutes of normalcy in the flight prior to everything going to hell in a hand basket. "Then suddenly the instruments went crazy and we make for the planet like a meteor about to hit. Usually, I get some idea that something is coming before it actually impacts on the sensors like that. Don’t make any sense.""Nothing about this makes sense." Vin looked around the grim surroundings. The whole swamp seemed bathed with a grey pallor, from the thick trees with its roots half protruding from the murky water, to the fine grey mist that drifted through the reeds and patches of earth. "This is one hell of a place to find a Jedi Master. Do you know anything about Dagobah?" Vin asked Buck who was rummaging through the supplies they had managed to take from the ship during their hasty departure."Not much except that its here." Buck admitted. "Not exactly one of the hot spots of the galaxy as you can probably see." He gestured to the sweeping landscape of mud, mist and insects buzzing above the surface of the greenish swamp water. However, Vin was not listening to him. The bounty hunter had become still and rooted to the spot. A stricken expression descended over his face and his hand subconsciously grasped at his chest as if he were feeling pain."Vin?" Buck stood up suddenly and crossed the space between them. "What is it?" "Its Chris." Vin muttered softly. "Something is wrong." His voice escaped him in soft gasps. "He’s been hurt, badly."Vin’s head throbbed and the sensation was so unpleasant that he forced himself to his feet. While he could not see the images himself, Vin could certainly feel something. It was unlike anything he sensed and the closest comparison in which he could draw was the feeling that overcame him the minute Vader arrived in proximity of Zhar. This however, was more intense and with an insight he could not understand but was nonetheless compelled to believe, he knew Chris Larabee, wherever he might be at this moment, was dying."I think he’s dying." He stared directly at Buck."How can you know that?" Buck asked mutely but already knew the answer to that question. It was the same way Chris had known before arriving home on Corellia Sarah and Adam were already dead. Vin returned his gaze blankly, unaware of how to explain it but knew what he felt was real, that somewhere Chris was dying. "We’ve got to get back to the ship." The bounty hunter delcared as he started walking towards the downed vehicle. "Maybe we can blast out of that bog.""Vin," Buck try to calm the young man down but it was not easy when he was in a similar state of distress himself. He wanted to rush back and help Chris but if Vin was right about what he saw, then by the time they even reached the Jedi, it would be too late. "We’ll never get to him in time.""We’ve got to try!" Vin barked back. "We’ve got to try something!""Trying to get out is always harder than getting in." A peculiar voice said behind them. Both Vin and Buck swung around instinctively, drawing their weapons at the direction of the voice that had suddenly spoken.What stood before them was a most unusual life form. Neither Vin nor Buck recognized the species but the impish looking alien that stood before them, clad in dark robes and carrying a gim stick was no more than three feet high if that. Vin saw nothing consequential in the brownish robes he wore but Buck did."Are you the Jedi Master Yoda?" Buck asked tentatively. It was understandable Vin would not recognize the garb of the Jedi when Chris was his first introduction to the order and opted to dress entirely in black. Buck lived through the times when the Jedi had its day throughout the galaxy and though Yoda’s robes were faded, the style, colour and cut were unmistakable. "You’re kidding." Vin exclaimed in disbelief. This tiny creature who looked like something out of a children’s book could not possibly be a Jedi Master. "And why not?" The Jedi Master turned his attention to Vin, his impish ears extending outward as he demanded the question. "Judge you by my size, do you?" "Master Yoda," Buck bowed his head reverentially and glared at Vin with instruction to do the same. If he expected this elfish being to teach him, then Vin had better start showing a damn sight more respect than he was presently affording the Jedi Master. "I’m glad we found you." "So sure are you I am he?" Yoda looked at Buck with his large eyes, much to large for his small face in Buck’s opinion. "Absolutely." Buck said with a little smile. "You talk like a Jedi." Yoda smiled, it was hard to tell on that wrinkled face but Buck was certain he was being regarded with amusement. Buck watched him hobble over to Vin, using the stick for support and had the impression whatever he might look like to them and no matter how small in size might appear to be, he was also much older than either of them were. His movements were laced with the age of someone who had walked the earth for a great deal of time and there was similar wisdom in his manner. "Much like Larabee are you." Yoda studied Vin for a moment. "Anger and undisciplined. The way of the Jedi is to feel the Force, not use it to close oneself from others." "I think he’s dying." Vin dropped to his knees, believing now that odd little alien was indeed a Jedi Master. "I think he's hurt. You have to help him.""I felt his injury as you did." Yoda nodded sombrely. "His fate is hard to see. His destiny has taken a different course than the one decided. He changed it." "Changed it," Vin shook his head, unable to understand. "How?"The Jedi Master regarded them both and answered simply. "By choosing to live."By the time Ezra and the one storm trooper left in his charge made it to the platform, the X-wing was gone, having departed before the arrival of Zhar’s TIE fighter squadrons to intercept it. Ezra stepped out onto the platform and saw great chunks of stone and paving ripped out of place following the blasts by the X-wing's turrets. Where the ground was not torn, it was cratered and there was still smoke rising from the blast points, prevailing against the rain pouring from the sky. There were no signs of any rebels in the vicinity but neither was there any traces of Lord Vader. However, logic dictated he had to be here. Ezra had not seen him come down the lift and that was the only way down from the platform. Ezra turned to the stormtrooper with him after a brief glimpse of the surrounding area and ordered. "Get more reinforcements here. We need to begin a comprehensive search for Lord Vader." "Yes Sir," the trooper nodded and hurried the way he came, leaving Ezra alone on the destroyed platform. Ezra was glad Mary had come to the rescue because he had seen the killing blow Vader dealt the Jedi and was almost prepared to throw his career away at that moment when he saw Chris go down. However, the sacrifice was prevented by the timely arrival of Mary Travis. He had heard the Purgatory was presently engaging the super star destroyer in orbit around Zhar but had not anticipated her coming to the Jedi’s rescue. Nevertheless, Ezra was grateful she made his intervention unnecessary and allowed him for the time being, to remain an Imperial officer. Ezra knew the day would come when he would have to make a choice between his loyalties and his career but that day was not yet, thanks to Mary. He walked to the edge of the platform, wondering where Vader might have disappeared to when suddenly; he heard that familiar hoarse breathing through the rain. Ezra rushed forward to the stone railing, part of which was demolished by the potent blasts of the X-wings arsenal. He saw the black gloved hand clinging to the crumbling remains of rock, only when he neared the edge with the entire city of Zhar below him. Without wasting any time, he closed in on the struggling hand and peered over the ruined palisade to see Vader clinging to a handhold for dear life.His dark cape was billowing in the wind and there was damage to his other arm. Wiring, torn shreds of thick black rubberized fabric and exposed pasty coloured skin could be seen through the fissure in the dark lord’s armour. He was hurt and badly enough he could not pull himself back to safety. Considering what he had seen Chris do on occasion, Vader must have been in serious condition indeed to be unable to traverse that simple ledge. It occurred to Ezra the armour the man wore around himself was as much for his prolonged health as it was protective gear.Did the armour he encased himself in, keep Vader alive? He stood there at the edge and saw Vader trying desperately to use the Force to keep himself clinging to the edge and supposed it was hard to summon up the concentration needed when one was dangling from such a lofty height. For a moment, Ezra considered letting the man fall. This was Darth Vader, one of the most insidious men in the Empire, save Palpatine himself. This was the creature who brought death to the Jedi Knights and would bring death to millions with just as much impunity. No one would blame him if he let Vader fall. No one would even care he wagered. He could walk away at this moment and no one would know. There was no reason for anyone to believe Vader did not fall to his death during the first attack by the X-wing. No reason at all. Except that he would know and strangely enough there was just too much decency inside of Ezra Standish to let it happen, even to someone like Vader. Deciding whatever happened, would happen,Ezra lowered himself to the ground and called out to the dark lord. "Darth!" Ezra's voice reached him and Vader looked up. Ezra could see neither fear or expectation in the man's face because of the helmet and mask he wore, but decided Vader was probably trying to figure out what his game was. Pressing himself as close as he could against the wet ground, he felt his cheek scrape against the surface of the platform as he extended one hand towards Vader, while the other caught hold of a more solid section of the palisade. Stretching forward as far as he could, Ezra wrapped his fist around the hand Vader was using desperately to grasp the edge. "What are you doing?" Vader's voice rumbled suddenly. "What does it look like?" Ezra retorted as he put his strength into dragging the man towards him. "I do not require your charity." Vader responded coldly but there was no doubting he was injured. His breathing was laboured and more or less confirmed Ezra's suspicion he required the well being of his black armour to stay alive. Fleetingly, the captain wondered what kind of injury had been severe enough to warrant being encased in such foreboding garb. "It's not charity." Ezra grunted in response as he continued to muster every ounce of strength inside of him to pull Vader's bulk upwards. "It's duty." "You could let me die." Vader pointed out. "You could walk away." "I could," Ezra continued to huff and puff, speaking in between strained breaths. His arms felt like they were being pulled out of their sockets but by now, they were making progress. Ezra was able to reach Vader other's hand and braved letting go of his safe handhold to haul the Emperor's henchman the rest of the way. "But I am not going to. I do not have much in the way of scruples Lord Vader, but leaving a man to die is not one of them." "Then you are a fool." Vader declared ungratefully. "An idealistic fool." "Perhaps," Ezra answered a moment later, when he had successfully pulled half of Vader's body over the edge. While the Sith Lord's other hand was non-functioning, his legs seemed well enough and he was able to push himself the rest of the way to reach safety. With the lower half of his black boots dangling off the side of the platform edge, both men took a few seconds to catch their breath following their exertions. Vader's was the most audible of the two. Vader raised his helmeted head and glared at Ezra's direction. "This changes nothing. I know what I sensed in you was duplicity." Ezra turned to Vader and replied with equal intensity. "I never expected it to." To that Vader had no response.The X-Wing was expected even before it sailed into the Purgatory's hangar. Medical teams were on stand by as well as the passengers of the Rogue who were waiting with equal anticipation. The temperatures inside the Purgatory was sweltering but despite the advice from the bridge that everyone should remain inside their quarters for the duration of their stay in Zharian space, there were some willing to risk a little heat. Nathan Jackson, Josiah Sanchez and JD Dunne were those few in question. Casey Wells was presently keeping a vigil at her aunt's side who was being treated for her injuries in the Purgatory's Sick Bay while Rayne had taken the infant Leia to get some food and rest for the child had been taxed enough for today. The sleek fighter sailed into the hangar and nestled in its appropriate berth only to be converged upon by all interested parties waiting for its arrival. However, when Mary slid the canopy back, their presence was the last thing on her mind. Chris lay in the passenger seat unmoving and she could not even be sure he was still alive. He had been lucid when she placed him inside the ship but during their journey here, he lapsed into unconsciousness and had not woken up again. "I need help here!" She shouted, prompting the medical crews into a speedier advance. Turning to face Chris once more, she tried to reach him in the dark, hoping the contact would bring him out of his black sleep. However, the medical technicians were soon hoisting him from the X-wing to the stretchers waiting to take him to the Sick Bay. Mary scrambled down the ladder leading from the pilot's seat of the fighter and tried to reach Chris, when she felt a hand wrap around her arm. "Mary," Josiah Sanchez said gently. "Let them do what they have to. You're only going to get in their way." "But he needs me." Mary retorted with more than a hint of emotion when she noticed the technicians crowding around Chris, going through the motions of stabilising his condition by slapping breathers across his face and ensuring he was ready to make the journey from the hangar. The Jedi was oblivious through all this and seeing him so helpless when she knew him as nothing of the kind, did more to shatter her composure than anything else. "We all need you." Nathan responded, understanding all to clearly the affection he saw in her eyes but was trying to reach the commander inside of her because none of them would survive if the Purgatory did not leave Zharian orbit. Eventually, the super star destroyer would find them and the Nubian warship was no match to take a vessel of that size. "Mary, you did good rescuing him but now you need to let the medtechs do their jobs to save his life." "There was so much blood..." she stuttered, wiping the fearful tears from her eyes. She was soaked to the bone and much of his blood covered her clothes but now that she was back on the Purgatory, the persona of the woman was starting to give way for the ruthless master of this ship. She paused a moment, her gaze meeting all of them as she wiped the tears and raised her chin in proud dignity. "You will stay with him?" She asked quietly. "You know we will." Josiah assured her, admiring her strength and wondered where she found her courage because he could surely use a good dose of it himself."He needs to hear someone speak." Mary replied as she brushed a damp strand of hair from her face. "He needs to hear a voice and be told that we're waiting. Don't let him slip away." "We will Sir." JD added his youthful voice to the mix, remembering what his ma had been like before she died. When the sickness had taken its toll on her, all he had been able to do was sit by her side and talk. JD knew his voice kept her alive a lot longer than she should have lived and if Chris needed the same treatment, he was more than willing to do the same for the Jedi who had saved his life once before. "We'll keep telling him that we're here. We won't let him go." Mary looked at JD sharply, her blue grey welling with emotion and she touched the young man's face warmly and whispered. "Thank you, JD. Thank you from the bottom of my heart." With that Mary turned away from them and as she strode towards the passageway leading to the bridge, Nathan, Josiah and JD saw the transformation almost as if it was a physical change. Mary started to disappear and by the time she walked out of the hangar, she had become Commander Travis again. "Their sensors have detected us!" One of the bridge officers declared about the same time the doors to the deck slid open. "They're moving into interception range." "Well then," Mary said briskly. "We had better get the hell out of here, shan't we?" "Commander." Chano declared with a grin on his face. Even though he was aware that she was on board, he could not deny what a tonic it was to actually see her on the bridge again.The return of their commander immediately lifted everyone's spirits and the mood that swept through the bridge, though tense was nonetheless laced with a great deal of hope. Mary's effect on her officers was like that, Chano thought. She was the Hero of Jofa and one of the greatest field commanders in the galaxy and her victories at previous battles proved that she was someone who did not believe in defeat and kept her crew alive."Lieutenant." Mary returned his nod of welcome with one of her own when she nestled back into her command chair. "How long until they reach us?" She had known just how much time she had when she embarked upon her mission to save Chris and was glad that she had not been wrong. Though she would take account with herself later for playing such a sentimental game of leaving her bridge for the Jedi, at the moment, she needed to get her people out of here."Approximately ten minutes." Someone answered. "I want to fly just beyond the gravitational field of the star and trace an orbital path at maximum speed." Mary ordered promptly."I beg your pardon?" Chano asked. "Shouldn't we attempt to accelerate out of its orbit to make the jump to light speed?""We don't have the time, they'll catch before we can make jump if we do it that way," Mary retorted firmly. "Carry out the order." She repeated herself and immediately the officer at the helm moved to comply. The Purgatory began climbing out of the Zharian sun's radiating heat. As the temperatures cooled and the viewer showed the star's glow diminishing from the stars ahead, they saw the super star destroyer in the distance, appearing like an ominous black star against the real one behind them."Take orbital path now." Mary insisted once more. The Purgatory turned from its upward descent and once again fell into an orbital path around the huge, burning sun. The heat tinged their skins even through the hull and somewhere in the background; someone was informing her the temperature on the outer shell of the Purgatory was almost a thousand degrees. She ignored them. The Purgatory began circumnavigating the sun as ordered and the viewer showed a scene that was partly formed of the sun's brilliant glow and the teasing cool of the space."Maximum acceleration." She ordered once more.The Purgatory heaved a bit as all engines fired at full speed and she felt herself being pulled into her chair slightly. Gravity control ensured she would suffer no more effects of their increased speed other than that. The stars began to blur as the ship swung around the circumference of the star and as the ship began to shudder, being pulled by the intense gravity field of the yellow sun, Mary remained poised, waiting for the perfect moment to issue her final order. Faces became apprehensive around her, beads of sweat ran down foreheads and Mary was perceptive enough to know that it was not from their close proximity to the star."Angle at 32 degrees and fire all boosters! NOW!"The ship surged forward as if a great forced had swatted it aside. It was exactly what Mary expected when she had given her orders. Using the sun's immense gravitational field, she had used it to sling shot her ship out of its orbit, with more speed than the Purgatory was ever capable of producing. While it would not produce nearly enough power to launch them out of the system, it would put enough distance between the Purgatory and the Executor to ensure the rebel ship was capable of reaching hyperspace with the minimum of interference. Everyone on the bridge was holding onto anything available to keep themselves from falling over as the Purgatory was treated to the incredible burst of propulsion. Stars blurred as the ship flew past them and a general sigh of relief followed even though the Purgatory shimmied a little from the intense journey away from the Zharian sun. Mary let out a little sigh as she eased back into her chair again before turning to Chano. "Make the jump to hyperspace, Commander." She said with a little smile. "Take us home." "How is he?" Mary asked when she finally went to Sick Bay a short time later.The Nubian warship had successfully made the jump into hyperspace and would be back at Siraj 2 in a number of hours. For Mary, it could not be soon enough. This had been a long day. When she arrived in the med bay, Nathan, Josiah and JD, who kept their promise to remain at Chris's side while the doctors were tending to him, immediately greeted her. Through the glass wall that separated the waiting area and the treatment center, Mary could see Chris being lowered into a bacta tank. The cylindrical tube of fluid would keep his grievous wounds from infection while the doctors continued their treatment. Chris was unconscious throughout the procedure although she knew he was alive form the bubbles rising from his nose as he breathed through the apparatus attached to his face. "Apparently he went into some kind of Jedi healing state." Nathan explained it as best as he could. "They have the ability to slow their metabolism down when they're badly hurt. Sometimes, if the injury isn't that severe, this healing state of theirs can repair the damage on its own or in Chris's case, slow the deterioration until he could get help." "That's why he was so unresponsive on the way back," she nodded in understanding. At the time, she was certain she lost him but Mary was not about to make that admission to Nathan. "I wondered why." "He'll be alright though." Josiah added, certain that was what Mary wanted to know the most. "You got to him in time. If you hadn't, he would have died. Healing state or not." "Did he kill Vader?" JD asked suddenly, curious to about the outcome of Chris's confrontation with the dark lord and almost wished he had been able to see it. "No," she shook her head. "I don't know what happened to him. He'll probably turn up sooner or later." Her gaze shifted to Chris's unconscious face and Mary marvelled at how beautiful it was, when he was at peace. "If there's one thing I have learnt about the Jedi, they are notoriously difficult to kill."
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
It had all been for nothing. Bail Organa sat in the darkened halls of the Imperial Senate Floor and listened to the edict being passed that would soon affect billions of lives across the galaxy. With the failure to get their hands on his daughter to force his vote to accede with their wishes for segregation, Palpatine resorted to the time and true method of gaining his votes. Bribery. Senators whom Bail had believed would support his condemnation of the racist policy suddenly conducted abrupt bout faces. Bail was uncertain what form of coercion was used but in the end, it mattered little for the results was the passing of the act that would make non-human life forms second class citizens. Considering much of the Imperial Senate was compose of human senators, the non-human citizens of the Empire went completely underrepresented. Palpatine was never present at these sessions but Bail could imagine him in his dark fortress, sniggering in delight at the victory he managed to achieve, despite the fact that Bail kept Leia from his clutches. There would be appeals from many quarters to rescind the law, but those voices would either be crushed by oppression or disappear in the night. Palaptine had already proven that he was prepared to kill to get what he want. He sometimes wondered what made him the exception. Bail hoped whatever that mysterious element was that kept the Emperor from eliminating him, it would remain indefinitely. If there was any consolation to be had in the loss, not that there was not very much at all when one considered the future for the billions of non-human life forms populating the galaxy, at least now his daughter could be returned to him. He had never thought how empty the halls of the palace he dwelt felt until Leia was gone. Since Padme’s death, Leia was the one thing that made his fight worthwhile and gave him the strength to go on. Thus, for the present moment, his focus was returning his daughter home. She had been staying with the rebels in part of Wild Space called the Territory, under the command of Mary Travis. Bail knew Travis by reputation and was glad if his child were to seek sanctuary, it was within the purview of such capable hands. The Hero of Jofa’s fame was known throughout the Empire, although not everyone would call her a hero. He was certain the Jofans would call her a criminal but then according to rumour, the Jofan incident was what caused Travis to change her loyalties in the first place. Prior to her departure, Bail and Rayne had already set the pieces in place for Leia's return to Alderaan without rousing the Emperor’s suspicion that the Princess abscence had been anything but the result of a genuine kidnapping. Naturally, scapegoats had already been selected to take the blame. Bail had opted for Laurel Chase’s Black Sun organization. While not as blatantly brutal as the Hutt gang lords, the Black Sun was growing in prominence and preparing to give Nal Hutta some serious competition. Fortunately, not much was known about the organization itself thus the blame for the kidnapping had enough ambiguity to pass close inspection. For the moment, it was safer Leia remained where she was. A few days from now, while Palpatine was still giddy from his victory and busying himself and Vader for exploitation of the new powers granted him by the act, Bail would send word to Rayne to bring his daughter home. He only wished he could have told her the last few days away had been worth something the effort. Unfortunately, with the segregation bill now a reality, all he could do was be grateful Leia was too young to understand the dark cloud descending over the world they knew. However, he had to confess the victory of the segregation bill incited his fighting spirit against the Empire, because Bail was certain this was only the opening chapter in Palpatine's reign of terror. Bail made a secret vow to increase his involvement in the Rebel Alliance because Palpatine had to be fought.Whatever the cost to himself and to Alderaan, it just had to be.Days followed the resolution of the segregation act and news of the momentous decision swept across the expanse of the Empire, inspiring outrage and dismay by non-humans and humans alike. Such demands against the unjust laws to be repealed were met with equally extreme displays of force to quiet the angry voices. The Empire moved in with ruthless efficiency. The memory of what happened to the Caamasi who had stood against such injustices were fresh in the memories of those who saw the Imperial war machine bearing down on them. Just the threat of genocide was enough to quiet many of the discontented voices. For those who would not be silenced, their end came swift and with shocking finality. The Rebel Alliance from every hidden enclave condemned the actions but was nonetheless powerless to prevent the slaughter. Despite all this, Bail Organa wanted his daughter home and after two weeks after the infamous edict, Buck Wilmington finally prepared the Rogue for the trip to Alderaan. The pilot was happy to be back in the cockpit of his beloved ship after spending more time than he liked on the swamp world of Dagobah where he was forced to leave Vin after Chris was well enough to travel to the planet himself. The Jedi had remained on Dagobah, relieving Buck of the duty of keeping an eye on Vin while he conducted his Jedi training.Although watching Yoda train Vin was fascinating, Buck soon found himself to out of his depth to understand fully what master was attempting to pass onto his latest student. As for the Jedi Master himself, Buck found Yoda left an indelible impression in his mind when the Jedi claimed he was a creature who at peace with himself and ought to be envied. Buck was not entirely certain what that meant but did not complain since Yoda meant it as a compliment. "Are we almost ready to go?" The lovely form of Princess Leia's bodyguard slipped into the confines of the small space that made up the cockpit, carrying the child in her arms. Buck looked over his shoulder and admired the approach of the lovely young woman, who even clad in a shapeless red dress that swung around her ankles, managed to look utterly mystifying and radiant as she cradled her young charge. He supposed it was what made her so effective as Leia's bodyguard because her looks were so disarming to those who might attempt to harm the young child.Buck had little contact with the woman while she had been staying at the Alliance, but judging by the looks she and Nathan seemed to exchange whenever neither thought they were looking at each other, it was just as well. Buck had no intention of interfering a budding relationship between the Alliance officer and the young lady, especially when his animal magnetism was likely to steal her away at a moment's notice. Sometimes, it was such a curse. "Soon enough," Buck grinned at her and stood up from his chair as she slid into the passenger seat. Leia was giggling playfully in her care, finding amusement in a strand of the lady's jet collared hair. "I've just got to do a few things and we'll be ready to go." "That is good," Rayne eased back into the seat. "The little one misses her father." "Well that's no surprise," he retorted gaining Rayne's permission before he liberated Leia off Rayne's lap. "If you were my little girl, I couldn't rest until you were home with me." Leia was charmed and immediately grabbed the pilot by his bristly moustache, tugging experimentally before chortling at the feel of it against her palm. "You are good with children." Rayne commented. "Have you any of your own?" "Me?" Buck almost balked at the thought. "No ma'am. Not yet. Not for a long while." He declared staunchly so that there could no be any confusion on that fact before looking down at Leia and feeling a little smile tug at the corner of his lips, not to mention his heartstrings, when he saw the girl beaming up at him. "She just has a soft spot for rogues and scoundrels, don't you Leia?" "Hey Buck, we ready to go?" Nathan asked, entering the cockpit when he stopped short at the realisation Buck was not alone. Upon seeing each other, the both of them averted their eyes as if meeting each other's gaze was some sin from which there was no redemption if committed. Buck almost rolled his eyes in disbelief, having seen this behaviour enough in his lifetime to know something was going on between the captain and the young woman. There seemed to be an underlying sexual chemistry between them both that neither was willing to admit to and Buck wondered what they were so afraid of. With Nathan it was easy enough to guess, it was the loss of his wife. Buck had been through the trials of such loss with Chris to know it was not easy to overcome. However, he had always thought Nathan appeared to be capable of handling it a lot better than Chris, mostly because the captain did not seem to believe everything in the universe was within his powers to change. The young woman’s issues were no less complex, Buck suspected. Although she seemed level headed and sure of herself, Buck had the impression her experience did not extend too much into relationships and supposed someone’s who mission was to protect a small child, it gave little opportunity to cultivate friendships. "I've got to go check on a few things." Buck answered casually as Nathan lingered by the doorway to the cockpit, almost afraid to enter. Rayne in the mean time had taken to staring at the cockpit controls with equal nonchalance, pretending not to ignore him or that his presence was uncomfortable in any way. The little drama was too much for Buck who pushed himself to his feet whilst still holding Leia in his arms. The child had shifted his interest from his moustache to his shirt collar and was tugging at the soft fabric. "How about it your worship?" He looked down at Leia. "Want to take the Buck Wilmington special tour?" The child shook her head in response uttering a few nonsensical words which were meant to express her acceptance of his invitation. "You don't mind do you?" Buck glanced at Rayne for permission to take Leia, more than aware of how protective the young woman was of her charge. "I do not see why not." Rayne nodded offhandedly and Buck wasted no time vacating the area, eager to leave the duo alone so that they could talk things out. Rayne did not speak for a long time after Buck had gone and neither did Nathan. The awkwardness in the room seemed almost suffocating but both were too hesitant to speak their mind to break it. Nathan continued to stand at the door, remembering what he had said to her when they had been on Zhar and how much it hurt that she reminded him of Ana. The wounds inside of him were still fresh even though it was a year since her death and each time he looked at Rayne, the sensation was both pleasant and terrifying. He knew he was not ready to let go of his wife but a part of him was also certain he would be fool to let Rayne leave without at least telling her of how he felt. Despite her aloof manner, Nathan was certain he was not alone in his feelings. She had felt something between them too but like him, she was too unsure to speak it out loud. "I'm sorry you have to go." He spoke at last, finally gaining the courage say something and break this damnable silence between them. His words had the effect of the first few drops of rain following a particularly virulent strain of drought. The mood in the room altered considerably and though none of them displayed it, they were both secretly sighing in relief at the dissolution of tension between them. Words had demanded speaking between them and hung like a meteor about to drop until Nathan had finally taken the all important first step. "The Princess's father misses her." Rayne explained softly. "He wants her home as soon as possible." "I can understand that," Nathan replied clearing his throat. "If she was my daughter I would feel the same way. Its not easy to be away from the ones you love." Their eyes met then in a silent exchange that conveyed more than the words they could not utter. At that moment, she understood he was as far away with being able to deal with his emotions, as she was surprised to find out she actually had them for another being. All her life, she lived with the notion that duty did not leave room for such attachments and she was still uncertain about the wisdom of giving into her feelings for him. Fortunately, their equal hesitation meant both of them would have time to acclimate themselves to their change of heart. Rayne stood up slowly, deciding it was time, long past it actually she said something. She could deny much but she could not deny she was opening up inside for the first time in her life and surprisingly enough, it did not mean the end of everything she knew. If anything it suddenly painted the black and white situation of her life with shades of colour, sorely lacking in recent years. "Nathan Jackson," she stated as she approached him and paused in front of the rebel captain. He was something she never expected when she first came to the Alliance for help. She had thought only of the princess, not to meet someone like him. Rayne did not understand how cavalier Fate could some times be but she could not denying its sense of humour. "You are a most unusual man." "Is that a compliment?" He tried to joke but his anxiety showed. "You may take it as such." She smiled a little. "I do not know how things will be between us in the days to come but I will be pleased to see you again." Nathan felt his heart quicken with elation at the offering. "Really?" "Yes," she nodded. "Really." "I'm afraid." He confessed. "I haven't felt like this in a long time." "I know," she answered, touched by his honesty. He was a man who tried very hard to do what was right, whatever the consequences to himself personally. It was a rare thing to find a man who cared so much. "I am just as uncertain as you but I think in time, we may find our way together." She did not wait for him to answer. Instead, she lowered her lips to his in a gentle kiss. Nathan returned it, imprinting her scent upon his memory and the feel of those silken lips against his. It was not a deep or lingering but one of promise and for Nathan who was finding his way through the mists like she was, it was all he needed to find her again when he was ready for something more. "Would you come see me when you are on Alderaan?" Nathan grinned, grateful for the invitation and the time she was affording them both. "Try and keep me away.""I can't do it already!" Vin snapped for the tenth time when the rock he had been attempting to suspend above the ground dropped softly onto the wet earth again. Vin watched it leave indentations in the mud with growing irritation, feeling frustrated because he had actually managed to lift it off the ground and yet the dynamics of keeping it aloft seemed to elude him. "Always with you can't!" Yoda shook his head reproachfully from the moss covered fallen tree trunk he was perched upon. The Jedi Master tapped his gim stick on the rotting wood to capture Vin's attention as he continued his lesson and rebuke all at the same time. "Can't is not a word for the Jedi. Can't, try, perhaps, maybe! Poison these words are to the Jedi. To feel the Force takes strength of mind! You must know a thing to be able to do a thing! Inside you I feel the Force. It is strong, as strong as any Jedi I have trained. Doubt yourself you do because you did not come to us the way others have in the past. You must let go of that doubt, break you it can." The impish creature stared critically at Vin and suddenly the bounty hunter felt like a small child throwing a tantrum. "Be at peace." Yoda repeated once again until the words left the part of Vin's brain that understood, numb with tedium. "One of us you will but first you must let go of that fear. Fear is all it took to lead Obi-Wan's apprentice to the dark side. Never underestimate its power." Vin shuddered, remembering the cold sensation filling his body when he was in close proximity to Vader. He never wanted to feel that again nor did he ever want to inspire it in someone else. Vader was like a singularity, drawing light away from everything else until there was no escape. "I don't know whether I want to be a Jedi. I just wanted to keep in control of my own mind." Vin looked seriously at Yoda, unable to understand how that simple desire had become the prelude to his becoming a fully fledged Jedi. From what he understood, it would take years to become one and until then he would an apprentice. How did he go from being a bounty hunter to a Jedi apprentice? "You knew that and yet you trained me why?" Yoda seemed to sigh as if he should not have to be answering this question but conceding to do so just to humour Vin. "Because need us you do. You have spent your life searching for something to be one with, to not be alone. Train you I did because you have overcome your fear of being alone to accept perhaps that is how things are meant to be. Search you have but look inside yourself you have done too and that is rare. Jedi look inside themselves when there is nowhere else to turn and it strengthens them. All your life you have done this, have you not?" "Yes," Vin nodded astonished by Yoda's insight but then he should not be surprised either. It was true. While he searched for something beyond his existence he was also terribly aware of himself and feared nothing because he knew who he was. "I guess I have." "Good," Yoda declared decisively, tapping his stick against the trunk once more, this time scraping some of the moss onto his walking stick at the same time. "Now, no more talking. Lessons. Remember, be at peace with yourself." "Be at peace." Vin grumbled and sat down on the ground once again, folding his legs beneath him as he stared at the collection of boulders, wondering if he would ever get the hang of this. "Easy for you to say when eight hundred years old you are, if eight hundred years old I was, I'd learn something too." He sniggered, doing a pretty fair imitation of the Jedi Master until he noticed the glare Yoda was giving him. "Sorry," he said meekly and then turned back to the task of completing the exercise his teacher had set for him. In truth, he had surprised himself more than he had ever thought possible since his arrival here. Vin never imagined he could do any of the things he had seen Chris performed but with Yoda's tutelage, though extremely tiresome at times, had progressed his understanding of the Force considerably. Instead of it being a vague insight to which he sometimes drew upon to hunt his prey, it had become a part of him in a way he never imagined. He was more attuned with his mind and the world than ever before, and it was a good feeling to be able to feel oneself a part of a greater fabric. For the first time in his life, Vin actually felt a part of something. The Force was really with him. It was not just the lessons though, talking to this wizened old Jedi Master had opened his mind and given him a perception of the universe Vin had never thought to consider before. Yoda was eight hundred years old and in that amount of time, the Jedi had seen a great deal and yet did not feel the need to bombard his students with endless stories of everything he did. He seemed to pick the choicest morsels with the most relevance. Vin found himself growing very fond of the Jedi Master and resolved himself to come back here regularly, even if he did not need any more training. He just liked hearing the Jedi speak."The Force is with you when you feel it become a part of your soul. See now what you have done." Yoda remarked, cutting through his thoughts. Vin opened his eyes and saw the mud encrusted rock hanging perfectly motionless in the air where he had had been holding it with his mind the past few seconds. Vin could feel his grip on the rock, could feel its texture inside his mind and for one perfect moment, he was where he had been trying to be for the last week."I'm doing it!" Vin exclaimed happily and burst into a euphoric laugh of pure delight. "I'm doing it!" Of course his exuberance shook his concentration considerably and the rock fell again but this time, Vin did not care. He was too filled with accomplishment to let that damper his spirit and without warning he rushed at Yoda and grabbed the Jedi Master into his arms, hoisting him onto his shoulders. "What now are you doing?" Yoda demanded as his enthusiastic apprentice carried him away. "Running the course!" Vin cried out with exhilaration as he took to the obstacle course he had been running since coming here.To the untrained observer, they would have seen nothing more than typical swamp land with grey water covering the landscape in uneven patches, swirling around the few steady islands of mud that managed to survive the rains that almost fell continuously in the swamps. Tall trees that disappeared into the misty sky, had their origins in the bog, their enormous roots providing sold ground for anyone attempting to cross this uncertain terrain. It was a dangerous place, with unseen terrors lurking just beneath the surface of the water, waiting to emerge from hiding places. It was home to things that crawl, slithered and flew and as a training course for a young Jedi, there was none better. Since his arrival here, he had been forced to run through this quagmire and though the course was enough to tax even one who was as used to tracking over difficult terrain like this, it had slowly become easier. On the first day he made the attempt, Vin forgot how many times he had fallen and slipped into the mud. However, this time he was running with a confidence inside him that felt boundless after his minor success. The ground beneath him barely registered in his mind and it almost felt as if he was flying across the track leading back to Yoda's hut. There was no doubt he could feel the Force because at present it was surging through his veins like energy. He ran across the muddy trail, leaping over rotting and fallen logs, protruding roots and half buried rocks in the wet dirt. The foliage moved past him in a blur as he propelled himself into the air to avoid obstacles, somersaulting across the pools of murky water amongst the swampy path before him. He grabbed thick veins and jumped into the air, sailing over the swamp and over the parts of his course that would not allow him reach on foot. All Vin could hear as he continued running was the beating of his heart, pounding with exhilaration because he was finally home. He finally knew the way of the Jedi. Chris Larabee was at Yoda's home when Vin was traversing the countryside and though he was aware of their eventual approach, did not stray his concentration too far from his meditations, no matter how intoxicating Vin's euphoria felt at the moment.Following his battle with Vader and his subsequent recovery from the injuries sustained during that battle, Chris decided it was time he also paid a visit to the Jedi Master, not merely to train but to regain his own sense of focus. For the last year, he let himself wallow in self-pity over Sarah and Adam's death, preparing himself for death by drowning himself at the bottom of a bottle. He had disconnected from everything of value to him because he believed after the death of his family, he had nothing else to lose. He was wrong. While he had lost them, Chris had also gained in equal proportions. The Force had not sought to replace his wife and son but rather filled his life with new faces who were just as important. A bounty hunter, who wanted only to belong. A childhood friend who never gave up on him. Am idealist who wanted him to be a part of a cause, to fight for something worthwhile again. Not because he needed to fight but because he needed something to believe in. The senator who understood above all else, a Jedi was a man who could hurt just like any other. A boy poised on the edge of manhood, finding his place in the world and an Imperial officer who simply wanted to be trusted and be accepted into fold. And then there was Mary and with her, words were not enough to describe how he felt. She had been the voice that pulled him away from the darkness when he was prepared to die. He heard her voice like a beacon through the fog of his diminishing life and with the same power she used to command those around her, she commanded him and to stay with her. Chris surprised himself by how much he wanted to. Her voice reached inside him and ignited something he thought dead. She breathed life into it and saved him in more ways than just the physical. Chris knew he was sitting here today because Mary saved him. He did not know if anything would come of them in the future but he knew while he breathed, he would stand by her as closely as he would stand by the six men who had become his friends. For they were seven and the Force was with them. The woman was not nervous. She had no reason to be. As she stood outside the dark chambers in the section of the Imperial palace reserved strictly for one person in the galaxy alone, she knew to be called here was a great honour because it meant she was the best. Her training was thorough. She knew everything there was to know about being an Imperial agent. She was the first of many and the Emperor himself had been responsible for her tutelage. She had seen the man who had summoned her here before and knew he would have good reason for bringing her to Coruscant.The Emperor had called her one of his best and recommended her to his most trusted ally, to be used in whatever way someone with her talents could be. Officially, she was just another Imperial officer, a lieutenant in rank but she stood within the highest echelons of power within the Imperial court. She was apart of the Emperor's inner circle and that title was worth more than the admiralty of the entire Imperial Star Fleet. She was the Emperor's hand. There would be more after her, she was certain of it but for now, she stood alone and that gave her a great deal of satisfaction. She stood in her uniform, watching through the window, the transports flying across the magnificent skyline of Coruscant, marvelling at a city whose size was so enormous, it encased the entire planet in an urban fist. The Empire rotated around this bejewelled orb and from here the powerful could look down upon the weak. Come. The voice echoed through her mind. It did not surprise her and immediately she turned around and strode towards the dark doors. Upon reaching them, they slid soundlessly open. She did not pause but continued straight through them into the darkness within. The room was kept in virtual darkness and all she could see with any clarity, was the chair in the middle of the floor. There was one light and it was mostly fixated on a communications panel on the other side of the room. There was a large construct on the other end, she was not sure what it was because she had never seen anything like it but upon closer observation, she guessed its purpose. The repair and power station for a cybernetic suit of armour. Loud breathing broke the silence, metallic and raspy. That too, she expected. "Lord Vader." She greeted with a slight bow. "The Emperor has placed you at my disposal." Lord Darth Vader spoke as he stepped out of the shadows in the obsidian-marbled chair before her. "He recommends you highly." She could hear the scepticism in his voice but granted him that indulgence for who he was gave him the right to be cynical."I hope he is not wrong." She said modestly. "You will not be wrong." Vader said shortly, his voice gleaming with menace as much as his polished helmet against the faint glimmer of light in the room. "I do not accept failure well Lieutenant, be it from a stormtrooper or the Emperor's Hand. I will reward it in the same fashion." "As you should Lord Vader." She said aloofly, unprepared to let the fear rise inside of her because he would sense it. "Good," Vader eased back into his chair. "You will proceed to Cordoba on the next available ship and take your place as the first officer to our outpost there." "For what purpose?" She inquired unable to fathom what could be so important in Wild Space or the Territory as it was more commonly known. "I believe the commander of the base there is a rebel spy. He may have access to someone whom I believe is in possession of valuable information to me. You will act as his second in command and find his connections. Do not fail me lieutenant." "I won't Sir." She nodded, completely aware if she did it would be the last time she failed anyone."Your ship is awaiting." Vader retorted, gesturing he was ready for her to leave his sight. "I will expect your report in a week." "Yes Sir," she nodded, not waiting to be dismissed. Vader was not that particular about protocol. Certainly, how he promoted officers in the field seemed to indicate that. She was almost out the door when Vader added one final note to their parting. "Give Captain Standish my regards," Vader responded coldly. "Yes Sir," she answered, glancing over her shoulder at him one last time. The doors slid open for her again, prompting her departure and Lieutenant Julia Pemberton faced front, striding out of the room to her new assignment.To Cordoba.
THE END