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Star Wars: The Sith Returneth - by Gary Friedman (
Here's a bit of fanfiction I came up with. Hope you like it.
Gary Friedman ([email protected])
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Sith Returneth
"Dad! Why do I have to go to this place?" Chris asked his
father in disgust.
His father leaned over the hyperspace levers. "They're your
own kind, son. They'll be able to help you with your...problem." He
brought the ship from hyperspace. The small cylindrical ship had a
small crescent around it, the tips lasercannons. It slowed down as it
entered the planets atmosphere.
Luke Skywalker, head of the Jedi Order, moved to greet the
strange looking spacecraft that had just landed. He reached out to it
through the Force. What he touched amazed him, he felt one human
presence and a strange empty spot nearby. He drew nearer.
The ship's hatch opened awkwardly and from it dropped two
humans. One was in his mid forties, Luke guessed, medium height,
strong build, with brown hair and eyes. The other looked much the same
but seemed to be only in his teens. Luke approached them, mystified.
"Uh, hello," Luke blurted out, still only able to sense the
older man's presence. "May I help you?"
"I am Ulic Qel-droma, a descendant of Ulic and Cay
Qel-droma. This is my son, Chris," he said, tilting his head to the
young boy.
"I am Luke Skywalker, head of our academy here. What do you
wish of me?"
"This boy is dangerous," Ulic said. "To the entire galaxy."
Luke smiled. "Dangerous? Him?"
"He is trained as a Jedi...self trained, I suppose. I don't
quite understand it myself." He turned to Chris. "Show him, my son."
Chris pulled back the sleeve of his shirt to reveal his hellish red
veins. HE sensed Luke wasn't exactly convinced, so he shifted his hand
toward the ground a meter away. A large red flame consumed his hand,
exploded out into the ground destroying it in a shower of sparks and
flames. "I need you to take care of him."
Luke turned to the boy, his eyes wide. "How did you learn to
do this?"
"My masters taught me everything," Chris said, replacing his
tunic's sleeve. "But I can control it."
"Your masters? I thought you were self trained?" Luke said,
digging your information.
"No one believes me when I speak of my masters. But I have
four of them, and meet with them to train every night."
"Who are they?"
"Why the four greatest Force-users of all time, of course:
Freedon Nadd, Exar Kun, Naga Sadow, and Emperor Palpatine. They have
taught me since I was very young."
"But they are all dead," Luke said, repulsed.
"Why do you think I meet them in the Force itself?"
"That is enough!" Ulic shouted. "No more lies. They will not
get you out of this place. Until you are better, you stay." Ulic
jumped in the hatch and immediately flew off.
"Tell me, Chris," Luke said, walking toward the great temple
with him, "is what you say true?"
"How could I lie? They've been teaching me since I was
five. Exar Kun taught me the lightsaber--"
"You have a lightsaber?" Luke asked.
"Sure. Freedon Nadd shows me all his Dark Side tricks, Naga
Sadow teaches me about alchemy--"
"You know the ancient art of alchemy, transforming things into
monsters, too?" Luke said, becoming more than a little afraid.
"Yes. Then Palpy, as I like to call him, teaches me his Dark
junk. Mostly lightning and other intimidating tricks, but some of
it's very useful. He also showed me how to combine will and anger
into--"
"Into a huge Force storm that rends the fabric of space
itself," Luke said, interrupting again. "I've seen that one."
"Yes, they tell me all sorts of stories. Every night they have
another tale." His eyes blanked out a moment, then came back. "I can
also shift my own mass through space, giving me the power of
teleportation. It's quite fun." Chris spoke with a young, toothy
smile then teleported himself a few feet ahead. "See?
"But there is a down side. I am the Dark Lord of the Sith. And
I can't stop it."
"Why not?" Luke asked.
"I am like this because when I was very young, I was injected
with `Sith Poison'. The first time I felt a shred of anger, I became
emotionally unstable. And then my masters appeared."
Luke thought about that a moment. "This `Sith Poison', is
there some antidote? Something that will help you?"
"No," Chris said, running a hand through his short brown
hair. "It's permenant. But I came here to see if you could do anything
for me. I've regained my stability, and I can control my powers, but I
have no wish to be the Dark Lord. Or to use the Dark Side at all."
Nearing the temple, Luke once again reached for the boys
presence. Once again, he felt nothing. "Why can I not sense you?"
"I always wear my `Sith cloak', as a proper Dark Lord should."
"You're not going to try to recruit my Jedi as Sith. I don't
want to destroy you. And your masters had better not. We only
destroyed Exar Kun a year ago."
"You have nothing to fear of me." He was momentarily
distracted by a young woman, a Jedi trainee, walking past them. His
head turned as she went by. "Nothing to fear..."
"C'mon kid," Luke said, grinning that he had someone to call
`kid', "I'll show you where you can rest a bit."
Chris turned back to him. "I'd rather look around awhile, if
that's ok."
"Sure. Since you'll be joining us, you have free run of the
temple. But don't leave." Luke strode off.
Chris looked down the empty halls. He closed his eyes a
moment, and when he opened them again he was outside the temple. He
ran swiftly through the jungle, toward the temple with the statue of
Exar Kun in front. He stopped a moment, gazing at it. Chris knelt
before it, muttering in an ancient language.
Chris felt a gust of air behind him. He turned,
standing. "Hello, my Master."
Exar Kun approached him, his ghostly figure darkening. "Your
presence here has helped me to return. But I may only speak to
you. You must destroy Skywalker."
"I cannot destroy him, he's too strong."
"You know as well as I do that you would have no problem to
destroy him. He is an enemy of the Sith. His students shall become
like us."
"Yes, m'lord. I must be returning." Chris knelt once again,
then disappeared. He was once again in the temple, now in the great
hall. He looked around at the dozen or so apprentices, listening to
Master Skywalker speak.
"And here he is," Skywalker said, gesturing back to
Chris. "Chris Qel-droma, Dark Lord of the Sith."
Chris felt there surprise as they looked at him. He knew what
they were thinking. He was so young, and they no doubt greatly
underestimated his power. He reappeared beside Skywalker. "Master," he
nodded. Skywalker nodded back.
"He looks like I did last year...and he's even using the Sith
cloak," Kyp Durron said from the audience.
"But you couldn't teleport, Kyp. My master regards to you as
`weak'. Exar Kun had such high hopes for you," Chris said cooly,
looking down at Kyp.
"Did he?" Kyp asked. "And how would you know?"
"He told me, of course. He told me about most of you."
"That is enough for now, Chris. Perhaps another time--" Luke said.
"Sure," Chris muttered, fading out into the hallway. He walked
for a long time, lonely. He could sense everyone still in the great
hall, but suddenly another presence snagged his attention. He walked
toward it, guided by instinct. He came to a locked door to a private
quarters. Hesitantly, Chris rang the bell.
A moment later the door shot open. Inside was a small,
undecorated room. Near the back, a young woman sat, facing the
doorway. She was in a meditative stance, her long brown hair over her
hood. Chris stared at her a moment, finding her deep green eyes
strangely hypnotic. "Uh, hello," Chris whispered.
"Hello...who are you?" she asked, standing up.
Chris looked her up and down a moment. She was slightly taller
than him, and incredibly beautiful. "Chris Qel-droma, D--" he
halted. "Chris. May I come in?"
She swung her hair to the side. "Alright." Chris stepped in,
closing the door. "I'm Laree. You new here?" Her eyes glistened in the
light.
"Yeah, I...just got in. Why aren't you in the great hall with
all Master Skywalker's other students?"
"I just got here myself. I'm trying to get acustomed to the
place."
"I know. I sense your untrained power."
Laree smiled. "I wish I could say the same about you..." she
looked a bit troubled. "I guess I'm out of practice. I can't sense you
at all."
"Oh, no," Chris chuckled softly. Mentally, he removed his Sith
cloak. "That better?" he smiled broadly.
"You feel...dark." She took a cautious step back.
Chris put the cloak around him again. "I'm trying to get over
it...really. But it's part of my blood. And my masters would never let
me loose. They're very strict." He looked up at her, putting her image
forever in his memory. "See you around." He disappeared.
He reappeared once again by Skywalker. They walked down the
hall. "So, Luke, tell me about Laree..."
"Ok," Luke said, smiling. "We found her mixed in with some of
Hethrir's forces. I believe she's 16. You meet her, kid?"
"Don't call me kid. And yes." Chris disappeared again, ending
up in his room. He lay down on his bed, falling asleep in seconds.
He found himself in a vast pool of black, four spirits
standing before him. "My Masters," he knelt. "What do you wish?"
Exar Kun moved forward. "Do as Skywalker says, at first. You
must build his trust to the point where turning on him will seem his
own fault. And the girl. She would be perfect for the matter we
discussed some time ago. You know how to proceed. On your way, Our
student."
Chris bowed his head. He woke up. Looking outside, he realized
it was sometime at night. He felt a nudge in his mind. Chris? a voice
called out.
Laree? he called back to the other mind.
Come to my room, I need to speak with you. Chris's head shot
up, and he was completely awake. He teleported to her room.
"What is it, Laree?"
"I had this dream... it scares me." She sat on the bed,
shivering.
Chris sat next to her and put his arm around her. "It's
ok. Tell me about it, what happened?"
"It was like I was in space, without stars. And there were
these four ghosts who started to talk to me. They talked about you,
and us, and everything seemed so real." She lay her head on his
shoulder.
"You mean they came to you?" Chris asked, enraged. "Damn
them. Dead bastards. I must speak to them." His eyes closed.
It was as dark as ever. Silently, Chris confronted his
Masters. In the distance he could just make out Laree's shouts at his
now limp body. "This is my ordeal, Masters. You are to stay out of
it."
"You are wrong, as always. As a Dark Lord, it is
understandable that you want to dominate," Exar Kun said. "But you
must restart the Sith path. As the future bearer of your children, she
had to be prepared."
"All you did was scare the daylights out of her. Let Skywalker
and I train her. You are to leave her alone!" Chris stepped forward,
his eyes and mind flaring.
Freedon Nadd stepped up. "Good, Chris. Good. We will leave her
alone. You are to continue her training, not Skywalker. We will only
help if you wish us to. You are a fine Dark Lord, you have mastered
all the areas well."
"But," Palpatine put in, "you must kill Skywalker. Soon. As a
sort of revenge for your masters."
"I shall obey, my masters. But keep your promises."
Chris awoke. Blinking his eyes, he saw Master Skywalker and
Laree hovering above him. "Are you ok?" Laree asked, laying her hand
on his forehead.
"Yeah," Chris said, "I was just...sleeping."
Luke raised an eyebrow. "Do you always talk in your sleep? Who
were you talking to?"
"I had to speak to my masters." He sat up slowly. "They
were... not obeying my orders," he said, looking up at Laree.
"You order them around?" Skywalker asked.
"If they want me to do as they wish, they must listen to
me. Such are the ways of training in the Dark Side. And I couldn't let
them bother Laree anymore."
Laree looked puzzled. "You mean those were your masters?"
Chris nodded.
"What are you two talking about?" Skywalker asked. He turned
to Chris. "Your masters visited her? Why? You said they wouldn't go
after any of my students."
"Don't worry, Master. I've got it under control. But--" Chris
stopped. Suddenly he was pulled into another stasis.
"Chris!" Laree shouted.
It was different. Everything looked the same, the completely
black background, but there was only one spirit. He was small, and
hunched over himself. A strange sense of peace reigned over the usual
agression he felt in this place. "You are... Yoda," he said, reaching
out to the spirit through the Force.
"That is right," the apparition said in a creaky voice. "And
you are free."
"Free? Master Yoda, what do you mean?"
"Your Masters will no longer be bothering you. Or teaching. I
have stopped them, so you may continue on your own path. But I am
still unable to do anything for your Sith blood. You will be the Dark
Lord for the rest of your life. I am sorry. You will have various
troubles through your life, but I believe you can find a way to use
your Dark powers for good." He began fading. "Goodbye, my student."
Chris awoke again. "Yoda!" he shouted. Now he saw a number of
people looking down at him.
Skywalker broke through the crowd. "What, did you see Yoda?"
"Yes. He destroyed my masters, or stopped them from seeing me
anymore. They can no longer affect me.
A shadow rippled through the room. "Wrong!" shouted a voice, a
strong one, the voice of Exar Kun. "We were all returned to our
original systems, to once again haunt them." Everyone was able to see
and hear Exar Kun.
"Master Yoda is my Master now. And he told me I'd have to do
this!" Chris raised both his hands. "Everyone out!" The Jedi all
scuried out, except Master Skywalker and Laree, who stood behind
Chris. He held his hands before him. A huge, bright red flame of pure
Dark Side energy flowed from them to Exar Kun's spirit.
"No!" screamed Exar Kun. "We didn't teach you to do this!"
Both the flame and the spirit exploded in a red flash of light. Chris
stood sweating and panting for breath.
"You...destroyed him." Skywalker said. "It took all twelve of
my students to do that the first time."
"Master Yoda told me I'd find a good way to use my
powers. But," Chris added regretfully, "he also said there's no way to
heal me."
With a sad look, Laree came forward and hugged him. "Hey, it's
ok. That was amazing!"
"I think I know what Master Yoda wanted you to do. All these
times, people thought they'd destroyed these ancient spirits. They'd
actually just misplaced them. But they didn't have the power, as you
do. You can finally rid the galaxy of these monstrositys in the
Force." Luke's sense became anxious.
Holding Laree, Chris's sense became more anxious. "Maybe," he
muttered. He teleported himself and Laree to his room. "Force sure is
useful, eh?" he grinned.
"I guess," Laree said, smiling and sitting on the bed. The
drab room was slightly small, but a respectable space, and lit
badly. "Why'd you bring me here?"
"Well, I'm going away for awhile, and I don't know when or if
I'll be back," he sat next to her. "And, well, I--wanted to say
goodbye."
"Are you coming on to me?"
Chris sighed. "I'm sorry. I--"
Laree looked up into his eyes. "Shh... It's ok. I feel the
same way." She kissed him long and hard.
In the morning, Chris was walking around the main floor of the
temple. He saw Luke. "Master," he nodded.
"I thought you were leaving for Onderon last night?" Luke
asked, matching his pace with Chris's.
"Well I can travel instantaneously, and I, er, fell asleep early last
night." He hoped his Sith cloak could hide his feelings.
"I won't ask any questions. When will you be leaving?"
"How about right now?" Chris shut his eyes, using the Force to
shift his mass into a place in his mind's eye. He found himself right
in the massive tomb formed by the Jedi as the resting place of the
Iziz royal family and Freedon Nadd. "Nadd, show yourself!"
There was no response. "As your student," Chris continued, "I
am here to demand my right. A student must be able to destroy their
own masters. You know this. I know this. Come face your destiny!"
Nadd finally appeared, his spirit now larger and with a fiery
light. "Yes, my student. You are right. But I must also warn you:
your other masters will not give in. They will do everything within
their power to destroy you."
"Yet I will still deal with them." Chris dispensed with the
spirit. "Seeya."
Chris closed his eyes, focusing on a picture of the stories
and discriptions he had recieved from Naga Sadow. When his teleport
ended, Chris found himself back in the temple on Yavin 4. He saw
Master Skywalker glance at him strangely. "Blast! I forgot, Naga Sadow
is from this world too!"
"Can you find him?" Skywalker asked.
"Sure I can." Chris quickly teleported again. He was now far
below the surface of Yavin 4. He took a step back in fear.
A huge red monster stood before him. It's large claws
glistened in the light, his scales standing out. It roared
loudly. "Don't try this with me!" Chris shouted. "You taught me
everything!"
Chris raised his hand toward the monster. Using the Dark Side,
he used his alchemy knowledge to turn the monster into a small
harmless rodent.
Chris stood on the ledge, above a huge chasm. At the bottom
was an ancient ship and a number of the monsters, preparing
it. Reaching out, Chris started an avalanche from above. The ceiling
collapsed on the chasm. Once the smoke was gone, Chris saw Naga's
spirit coming forward. Without exchanging words, he destroyed Sadow.
Chris teleported back to Master Skywalker. "Master, three
down. Only Palpatine's left."
"Maybe I should come with you. He's bound to be ready for
you."
"No, I can take care of myself. To the east of here, you'll
find a huge hole in the ground. There's wreckage of a ship and
hundreds of dead aliens."
"Your doing?" Luke asked.
"Well they weren't there before." Chris once again disappeared.
It was a horrific sight. When Chris appeared, the Imperials
were ready. There was a squad of troopers in flanking position, and a
pair of the Emperor's sentinels moved to grab him. He ducked and
rolled to the side, his lightsaber jumping into his hand and
igniting. He swung it over his head, catching the sentinels.
He held his saber to the side in his left side, pointing to
the troopers with his right. They began to open fire with stun
shots. Using ancient Sith magic, Chris made their weapons begin to
burn through their gloves. The guns began to melt. Several screams
rose into the air.
Chris's saber leaped from his hand, cutting down a sentinel he
hadn't even seen. He felt a dark presence, enter from the
turbolift. "Hello, Siell Vias. Prepare to die."
"You speak tough, kid, but can you follow through?" Siell
ignited his lightsaber.
Chris gestured wearily, and Siell's lightsaber sputtered to a
stop. "I'd say I'm full of surprises." He reached out with the Force
and yanked at Siell's very presence. His body exploded with Dark side
energy.
"Very good, my student. I sense you have destroyed your other
three instructors." Chris turned to see a very young Palpatine, once
again 18.
"As I will you, Palpy." He disignited his saber, waving the
handle in the air. "Right now a Force storm--which you taught me to
create--is destroying the orbiting fleet."
"I admit, you are powerful. But I am the master." Palpatine
raised his hand, throwing blue lightning out at his former apprentice.
With weary concentration, Chris Force-repelled the sizzling
energy. "Palpatine, your reign in this galaxy is over." Chris raised
his own hand, hitting Palpatine with a hard Force smack.
"Is that all you can do, boy? I think I'll take you with a
lightsaber." Palpatine pulled out and ignited a red lightsaber.
"Palpy, you know I could easily destroy that saber, then rip
your heart out while it was still beating. Yet I restrain from even
laughing."
"Don't call me Palpy!" Palpatine ran forward toward Chris,
swinging his lightsaber in rage. Half a meter away he took a long
swing at Chris.
Chris simply blocked the lightsaber with his forearm. He
grabbed Palpatine by the throat, lifting him a foot off the ground.
Palpatine called upon his own Force storm. He'd always thought
it was ok to die, if you can take your opponent with you. He had more
clones anyway. He brought his storm down on the building, tearing it
to shreds. It neared Chris and himself.
Chris dropped his grip, turning toward the storm. He turned
back to Palpatine, throwing Dark energies at him, tearing his spirits
precarious grip to the body.
The Force storm caught up with them. Palpatine's body flew
around, dead, with his spirit trying to remain still. Chris steadied
his mind, teleporting himself away to another part of the city. Chris
reached deep down in his power, and took control of Palpatine's Force
storm. With Palp's body and spirit within it, he sent it back to space
and set it into hyperspace, never to return.
Chris, sensing his original Force storm had completely
dispensed with the orbital fleet, called it down to wreak havoc on the
throne-world of Byss. Half an hour later he teleported out, back to
Yavin 4.
"Mission accomplished," Chris smiled to Skywalker. "Well,
mostly anyway. Palpatine's been trapped in hyperspace."
"Not bad, Chris. Can he get out?" Luke asked, awed by the
boy's power.
"Not unless someone calls upon that specific Force storm. And
I'm the only person left in the entire galaxy with the knowledge
to. And I'm not planning on doing that any time soon." Laree entered
the hall, brushed her hair from her face. "Hey, Laree."
"You're back. Did you...kill them?"
"Thanks to Yoda. They'll never bother anyone again. Not even
me. They're probably sorry they ever did." He smiled and hugged
her. Holding her with one arm, Chris turned back to
Skywalker. "Master, could we take a little vacation perhaps?"
Skywalker thought a moment "I'm sorry, Chris, Laree needs to
begin her training here. You of course, are welcome to come and
go. Your training is beyond complete."
"Then let me train her, Master. You have much to do here. And,
if you let me train her, you will have Yoda train her. She's seen my
masters before, and Yoda is my new Master. And besides, you know you
can't stop me."
"Yeah, right. Well let's ask her, ok?" He looked to Laree.
Laree took a step away from Chris. "I'm sorry, but I came to
train under Master Skywalker."
Chris looked at the ground. "I understand." He looked up to
Skywalker. "You'll of course contact Coruscant of my arrival."
"Coruscant? Wait!" Skywalker said, but too late. Chris
disappeared. "Yeah, I'd better warn Coruscant. A few thousand extra
troops, remove the orbital fleet, for starters."
"He won't cause any destruction," Laree said. "He just wants
to meet with some of the people he's heard so much about." She saw
Luke's eyes on her. "That's what he just told me."
Chris found himself on the landing pad on the Imperial palace
roof. There was a good deal of air traffic and a number of landing
shuttles and freighters and other craft. He put his hood on and walked
to the doorway into the palace.
Inside the palace, he walked toward the main hall. Someone
tapped his shoulder, making him whirl around automatically. "Excuse
me, but do you have some identification?" the palace security guard
asked.
"Uh, no." Chris resisted his natural urge to use the Force on
the guard.
"Well minors aren't allowed free run here. We'll have to
question you." The guard grabbed Chris's arm.
"Do you mean interrogate? If there's any pain involved, you
could be making a mistake..."
"We are not the Empire. We do not torture our...guests."
In a few minutes they had reached the questioning center. The
guard sat Chris down in a large black chair, in a room of pure
white. It hurt his eyes.
An old woman with black-grey hair entered the room and
dismissed the guard. She sat in a smaller chair across from
Chris. "Hello," she said, sounding very friendly. "What's your name,
son?"
"I am Chris Qel-droma, of Ossus."
"I thought no one lived on Ossus?" she asked wonderingly.
"Well I was born there. I've always kept it as part of my title."
"Where do you live now?" she leaned forward.
"All over."
"Not specific enough. Where do you live?"
"Centhial. A world on the edge of this galaxy. Undiscovered by
the Republic, as of yet."
"How did you get here? You were not observed coming off any
ship."
"I... was a stowaway. I jumped on a shipment of spice from the
Smugglers Alliance."
"You're here illegaly?"
"They found me. They said they would clear me. I can prove it,
if you'd just let me see the Head of State for two minutes."
"She is extremely busy. You could be an assassin. But I do
think you've been lieing. Tell me the truth."
Chris sighed. "Ok. I'm a Dark Lord of the Sith, sent here by
Master Skywalker of Yavin 4. I am Chris Qel-droma of Ossus. I now live
on Yavin 4 in the academy. Master Skywalker should have contacted Leia
by now, telling her of my arrival. Do you need my spouses name?" The
woman's eyes were wide. "I don't have one anyway."
"Yes, well... I'll have to check that with someone a little
higher up. Just a moment." She stepped out of the room. A pair of
binders jumped around Chris's wrists. He melted them away.
A few minutes later, the woman returned. With her came a tall
Calamarian. "This is Admiral Ackbar, palace security," the woman
said. She looked at Chris, sitting with his chin on his palm. "Your
binders--"
"I found them uncomfortable. Admiral," Chris nodded.
"Qel-droma. Why are you here on Coruscant?"
"I already told her. Master Skywalker said I could come. It's
a sort of reward."
"Reward for what?"
"I destroyed my masters and have learned to use my Sith magic
for good."
Ackbar thought a moment. "We've called Organa Solo. She says
her brother has not contacted her. And all you have proved is that you
possess the power to kill." He was thinking about those binders. "She
tells me you lied once already. What is the truth?"
"You have the truth, Admiral. I would never harm the
Republic. I just finished destroying the Empire."
"Are you saying you're the reason for these crazy reports from
our sentry's on Byss?"
"You mean the destruction of the entire fleet and most of the
planet itself? That would be me."
"What's to stop you from doing the same here?"
"Nothing. The Emperor was there to stop me on Byss. He
failed. But I just want to take a vacation here."
"We will have to keep you here until Organa Solo can get
here. We will have guards at the doors." He began to leave--
"That's not going to work," Chris said.
Ackbar turned back to him. "What do you mean?"
"I teleported to this planet. I can teleport out of this
room. But only if I'm angered."
"Then you will not be angered. Qel-droma." He left with the
woman.
Chris meditated in the bright room. It was a few hours before
the door opened again. In stepped Leia Organa Solo, flanked by Han
Solo and Chewbacca. "Oh, heroes of the Rebellion, right at my
door. Organa Solo." Chris got up from his seat and knelt before
Leia. "The Sith have a high regard for ones in power," he explained.
"You may rise," Leia said. Chris stood. "My brother has not
contacted me about you. I don't think I can let you out."
"Do you wish me to bring him here?" Chris asked softly.
She looked at Han. His blaster hand was itching. "What do you mean?"
"I'll be right back." Chris knelt and disappeared.
On Yavin 4, Chris spoke to Master Skywalker. "Come on,
MAster. You have to come. I told them I would bring you back."
"I can't."
"You'll be right back. Just tell them to let me go."
"You must convince them yourself. This whole vacation is a
test. I've talked with Laree, if you get through this she'll go to
Coruscant. Now go."
"Yes, Master." Chris disappeared.
A few minutes after he'd disappeared, Chris once again was in
the room. "He would not come."
"I'm sorry, Chris," Leia said. "It's too potentially dangerous
to let you out. And I can't tell if your telling the truth... or if
you're really even here."
"Huh? Oh, that. My Sith cloak. It comes with the Sith blood. I
can only remove it for a few moments." He shut his
eyes. "There. Master Skywalker sent me."
"Right. Why?" Leia asked, now able to sense the truth.
"As a vacation. I recently destroyed my four Sith masters,
with the help of Yoda. I need some time off."
"Ok, you got it." She turned around. "Commander, this boy is
to be allowed anywhere he wishes to go. And find him a guest suite."
"Better make it two," Chris added, smiling. He saw Han
staring, his eyes slits. Chris shrugged. "My girlfriend," he
explained.
Everyone left the room, leaving Chris alone. He disappeared,
reappearing at the main entrance of the palace, with Laree by his
side. "Isn't it magnificient?" Chris asked.
There was nothing quite like the Imperial palace. Laree was
overawed by the sight. There were probably more beautiful places in
the galaxy, but nothing quite on the scale of either size of structure
or in number of visitors and workers. Together, they rambled around
the palace, making off the wall comments for a pair of teens from
backwater know-nothing planets.
After a bit of exploring, Chris and Laree came to their
adjoining rooms, in part of the old section of the palace, bearing
hinged doors. He swung open the door and stepped into the room. It was
nicely furnished with some odd paintings, a couch, a few chairs, and
two adjoining room. One to his bedroom, no doubt, and one to her
separate room. The lights brightened as they entered.
The comm pinged. Chris plopped down by the couch unit,
flicking the switch lightly. "Qel-droma."
"Hello Chris, this is Leia Organa Solo. I'd like to request
your and Laree's presence here, for an early dinner, if that's all
right," her voice came through the comm.
"We'd be honored, Your Highness. When shall it be?" Chris
jumped into formal mode.
"Right now. I'm sorry I called so late, but--"
"No reason to apologize, Your Highness. It was my own fault,"
Chris said, but not from the comm. Leia spun around on one foot,
shaking her head. "I'm sorry, I guess it wasn't exactly proper
protocol to jump in here like that."
Chris and Laree came up to the table where Han, Chewbacca,
Jacen, Jaina, and Anakin already sat. Leia introduced them and they
sat down.
Dinner was rather good, Chris thought. Though he didn't have
much to compare to. There were long conversations about Chris, but
Laree seemed rather out of it. She stared silently at the children, a
bewildered look on her face as she ate slowly. Every time someone
purposely dragged her into the conversation, she casually backed
out. Something was certainly wrong, but this wasn't the place.
After dinner, the children all slipped away to their
room. "May I speak to the children a moment?" Chris asked.
"All right," Leia said, more trusting than Chris would have
thought.
As Chris went in with the children, Leia pulled Laree into
another room. "What's wrong, Laree?"
"Nothing, Your Highness," Laree said nervously.
"Laree, something is wrong. It's ok. I just want to help you."
"It's...your children. They bring back memories...of Hethrir's
prison."
Shocked for a moment, Leia's mind raced. Chris, going with the
children... but no, it seemed obvious he didn't know what was wrong
either. "What happened there? I thought the Proctors were treated
fairly well."
"I wasn't. I was different."
Leia immediately understood. Laree was female, and quite
beautiful. "That must have been terrible," she breathed quietly.
"You have no idea. And when I finally killed one of them in
defense, Hethrir threw me into the underground dungeons with the
little children, and I saw yours," Laree began sobbing quietly. "I
never said anything to Chris."
"Probably a good idea, at the time. But you have to say something."
"I can't. And you mustn't. He's liable to...get angry."
"You got a point there. I'm sorry I can't help you."
Chris walked into the children's room. As expected, they were
far from asleep. "What are you doing?"
"Nothing," the three of them said, jumping in front of
something to block it.
"Oh, come on. You don't have to hide your little non-working
droid from me. It's not like I'm one of them."
"Them?" Jacen asked carefully, indignant.
"You know, the adults. I only put that show on for them. You
know, I'm only five years older than you. In fact," Chris added, "I'll
prove my goodwill." Reaching out with the Force, he pulled the droid
up and over to himself, put it on the ground. "Fooling with these old
ones again? Well, ok." For a few seconds, a red halo surrounded the
droid and Chris.
The droid sputtered to a start. It turned to the
children. "Mistress, masters, what do you wish?"
"And you'll find he won't die out. No offense, Anakin. I know
that was a bad part."
Who was this man--boy? Jaina wondered. He seemed to know
everything they'd gotten in trouble about, at least since that
droid. She had to admit he was faster than Anakin, but she didn't like
what she felt when that red light had appeared. And he was huge--how
could he only be five years older? Oddly enough, Jaina found she could
not tell if he was lieing. You too? her brother spoke into her mind.
Yes. I don't like this.
"Don't like what, Jaina? Ooh, sorry," Chris said.
"You're like Hethrir," Jaina glared. "You stay away from us."
She pulled Anakin back.
"I'm not like Hethrir. I'm one of you. I just wasn't so
privelaged when I was younger." He stepped forward. "Take my hand
Jaina." He smiled.
Jaina's arms quivered around her brother.
"Oh, come on, Jaina. I promise, you'll like it. Remember when
your Uncle tossed you in the air when you were small? How would you
like an advanced variation of that?"
That got Jaina's attention. Putting fear aside, she reached
out and took Chris's hand. Suddenly she was standing on her
bed. "Huh?" She looked around disbelieving.
"Interesting, eh? Call it teleporting, discovered it
myself. Jacen?" Now that he'd gotten the hang of it, Chris was able
to 'port them without needing their hands. The children all giggled in
delight as Chris threw them around the room.
Han Solo heard his children laughing with Chris, up in their
room. Chewie bellowed. "I know, I don't like it either. Seems to me
he's settin' us up for a fall. With his power, he could be the
universe's youngest Emperor." Just then, Leia and Laree entered
again, Laree blinking tears from her eyes. Things sure weren't going
right.
Quite sometime later, Laree and Chris returned to Yavin 4.
Laree had come out and told him everything. He tensed, but wouldn't
let himself do anything, as promised. Master Skywalker greeted
them. "Welcome back, my students."
"Master," they both said.
"How was your trip?"
"Han Solo was very distrustful," Chris said. "Your niece and
nephews were fun though," he smiled awkwardly.
"What's wrong?" Luke asked, looking to Laree for an answer. He
got it. "She told you."
Chris looked angrily at Laree. "You mean even he knew?"
She looked right back. "What do you expect? He found me."
"Anywhoo. Master, while we were away I got to thinking. From
personal experience, I recognize how a number of students learning
their lessons in one place is simpler. But I also think that being
alone with four masters helped me speed along. I know you can't
exactly do that, but why don't you choose your best two of three
students, to train personally? You know you're not really needed here,
and since you resigned your position with the New Republic, I'd think
it would be the perfect time."
"Some proposal. You've nearly convinced me, though the idea
has crossed my mind. Do you have a good idea where to set it up?" Luke
asked.
"No, but I have a strange feeling you do. Maybe a nice,
peaceful world you've visited. Choose the same way you did this
place."
"Leia chose it."
"So be it."
"Ok, maybe I do have an idea. But I don't think it's a good
one. I'll talk to you about it later."
"Ok, sure." All three of them went their separate ways. Ten
minutes later, Chris met with Luke in his quarters. "Now tell me about
your idea," Chris said.
"Well there's this girl..." Luke began.
"It always starts that way," Chris chuckled.
"Shut up," Luke blushed. "Anyway, I met her 15 years ago. She
isn't beautiful exactly, but striking. Pale brown hair, one green eye,
and one gray. If we hadn't met in a planetary Imperial senate room,
and she hadn't hated Jedi, I would of had a chance. But the Falcon,
that still gives me hope."
"How could the Falcon give anyone hope?" Chris joked.
"She kissed me onboard the Falcon."
"Oh boy, one kiss? Geeze, act as if it was your only time..."
"Well I don't like including all the times I kissed my sister,
ok?" Luke said, not really sarcastic. "But it was different with
Gaeriel. Gaeriel Captison. I felt this strange pulsing Force around
her, her very presence taking on a seductive flavor. But she said she
would never leave Bakura."
"So this is your chance to go to her. Not a bad plan, if you
think she'd go for it. You mentioned she hated Jedi. Would she
appreciate a Jedi master teaching his Jedi apprentices?" Chris asked.
"We'll see," Luke said, raising an eyebrow.
"I have to know where it is first, or what it looks like. Or
at least a name."
"Bakura. A nice, peaceful world not so far from Tatooine."
"I can take you as far as Mos Eisley, you can get yourself a
ship from there," Chris said.
"If I meet another Han Solo, I'll get you back. But it's a deal."
A moment later they were on Tatooine, in Mos Eisley. Chris
disappeared again. Alone, Luke walked into the cantina. He was greeted
by the old familiar smells, and a room filled with various species
from all over the galaxy. It looked somehow different, without
stormtroopers. He walked up to the bar and ordered a drink.
He turned his back to the counter and looked around the
bar. He hated to mis-use the Force like this, but he had no choice. He
waved his hand, and a few thousand credits appeared in it. He stuffed
it in his pocket, after waving it around fairly. It was moments until
a rugged looking humanoid walked up to him. "You'd be needing passage
off-world. How much ya got?" he asked.
Luke looked up at the unusually tall, nondescript man. "Is it
a fast ship?"
"Depends on where you're going."
"I need to go to a planet called Bakura. Is it fast?" Luke asked.
"Bakura, heh? Just so happens I have a shipment to pick up
there somewhere on my list. I could push up the date, if you've got
the cash."
"How much, and is it fast?"
"Four thousand. And no."
"Three thousand." Good thing it's slow, Luke thought, I need
to think about this.
"Thirty five hundred."
"Done. Where shall I meet you?"
"Docking bay 94. Be there as soon as you can, I wanna pull out
tonight." The man walked off.
"94?" Luke mumbled. This was getting too eerie.
An hour later, Luke met the man on an average looking bulk
freighter, remodeled for more cargo space and weaponry. The Weppler's
Jern lifted off and flew through hyperspace, for Bakura.
Nearly a day later, Luke was thrown off the ship onto the
Bakuran spaceport soil. They'd found out his little money trick when
he found he was a little short. He got to his feet, dusted himself off
and threw his hood back over his head. He rented a repulsor vehicle,
and set off for the old portion of the city, hoping they hadn't moved.
What about Eppie? He'd have to check on her later, of
course. He'd never properly talked to her after she'd healed
herself. Shedding speed, Luke neared the Captison mansion.
The mansion looked every bit as enchanting as it ever
had. It's smooth white front gleamed in his eyes. He stopped right in
front and stepped off his craft. Everything was so
dream-like. Timidly, he stepped up to the door and prepared
himself. He hoped he wasn't barging in.
Luke tapped the annunciator. In a moment, the door opened. As
Luke had suspected, from times past, it was not a servant answering,
but Gaeriel herself. His senses stopped registering anything else. Her
presence seemed to reach out to him, more seductive in flavor than
ever before. For a moment he was at a loss of where he was and fell
back a step.
Her unmatched eyes looked at him strangely. "Yes? Who are
you?"
Only now did Luke really use his eyes to look at her. Her pale
brown hair was down, blowing gently with the indoor ventilation. She
looked just the way she had--perhaps even better. Time had been
good. Then something struck him. Who am I? Could she have forgotten?
No dummy, the hood. Sure enough, it blocked all light from his
face. He removed it.
"L-Luke!" she said in a shocked whisper. She came out and
hugged him warmly. "Come in! Where have you been for the past fifteen
years?"
"It's a long, long story," Luke said, smiling as he
entered. The inside of the mansion was nearly exactly the same. But
Gaeriel's presence pulsed at him so brightly, he found it hard to
concentrate on the details.
"Sit down," Gaeri said, motioning to a repulsor chair. Luke
sat, Gaeriel across from him in another chair. "So, where have you
been?"
"All over."
"Never here. I've always wondered... why did you never come
back? Before now?"
This was a hard one. "At first...well, you sent me away. There
was a job to be done and I had to attend to it."
"I didn't send you away... not exactly. And you mean you've
defeated the Empire?" He nodded. "Wait a minute. Weren't you the
Minister of State quite recently?"
"I was. But Mon Mothma was right, all us war heroes need
action. Peace is by far the worst time to be in government. Too many
internal problems. For a time, I was tempted to proclaim my self
Emperor just to stir up some excitement," he smiled. "Woulda done it,
too, if my sister hadn't stopped me."
Gaeri looked a little shocked. "Your sister?"
"Oh, you didn't know? I thought that was public knowledge by
now. You know Leia Organa Solo, Chief of State, part of the original
Alliance delegation to this world."
"That was your sister?"
"Yes," he said. "How's Eppie?" he asked, changing the subject
before he felt obligated to tell about his father.
"She's fine. I'm sure she'd love to see you again. What have
you been doing, before polotics?" Gaeriel asked.
"I've... formed a Jedi academy. My students have been learning
well, I don't even need to be there anymore."
"You're... training more Jedi," she reached for her pendant,
but her hand stopped and fell back to her lap. "Good. I realize Eppie
was right when she told me about you. About Jedi."
Just then, Prime Minister Captison entered. "Gaeri, who are
you talking to--" he saw Luke. "Minister Skywalker?"
Luke stood up and shook the prime ministers hand. "Minister
Captison. I am no longer Prime Minister of the Republic. I resigned a
week ago," Luke said, as nicely as he could.
Captison smiled. "I know. But what shall I call you?"
"Luke. I have no formal name, except to my students. But
`Master Skywalker' doesn't sound right in public."
"All right, Luke. I won't bother you two any further. Good
day," he said as he left.
Luke sat back down. "Now about why I was here. One of my
students-- my greatest one, mind you--told me that i should set up a
little Jedi spot on some world, my choice. You know, to train my best
students intensely. I saw it as...my chance."
"Who was this student?" Gaeri asked, a bit suspicious.
"A young boy that recently came to my moon. He's... special. A
Dark Lord of the Sith," it was time. "Like my father. Darth Vader."
"Darth Vader. Your...father? That-that thing... that killed
the Emperor?" Gaeri asked.
"I prefer to call him Anakin. And I'd prefer you did too,"
Luke said, showing his first shade of anger toward Gaeri.
"I'm sorry, but... it's a shock. Now, you said this boy was a
Dark Lord? How old is he?"
"He's fifteen. But you'd be surprised. He's more powerful than
I am. He really amazes me. One week, and he's fallen in love with one
of my students. He's really taught me a lot. Two weeks ago, I was a
zombie," Luke said truthfully.
"In one week? Isn't that kinda fast?"
Afraid at what she was hinting at, Luke decided to take it
literally. "Not really, both he and Laree were new to my school. They
were destined to hit it off." Gaeri had a strange look in her
eye. "What is it?"
"I... knew a Laree. But she ran away nearly ten years ago."
A thought struck Luke. "Where'd you meet her, on Bakura?"
"No, not here. Somewhere else."
"Then I bet she didn't run away. No, she definately
didn't. How could she run away, at only six?" Luke asked.
"How'd you know she was six?" Gaeri asked, near tears.
"She didn't run away. That must be her. She was kidnapped by a
Dark Jedi, and put in prisonment for a time. Hethrir trained her to be
strong in the Force. She quickly rose to Proctor. I'd imagine her
family had thought she'd run away. But we saved all of those, once
Hethrir kidnapped my neice and nephews, and we traced them. Do you
know where we could find her family?"
"Well... my sister lives on Ketrann now."
"Your...sister?" Luke's mind clicked. Make Gaeri's gray eye
green... "Blazes! She looks just like you! She's your neice and..."
Luke's face turned less enthusiastic. "If Chris marries her, and I
married you, that would make him my--gulp--nephew!" Gaeri's laughs
carried through the night.
"You're from Ketrann?" Chris asked Laree.
"I think so. I can't really remember. Hethrir worked quite
hard to make us forget our past lives, our family. I think my mother
died. At least that's what he told me. And with me missing she may
have moved back in with the rest of her family."
"Where is that?"
"I can't remember exactly," Laree said. "But my aunt and grand
aunt and uncle live there."
"Do you have a name, on any of them? Your own last name?"
Chris asked, eager to help.
"I'm... Captison. At least that's my mother's last name. I
don't remember my father."
"Captison...? That sounds so familiar..." Chris knew he'd
heard it. He closed his eyes, his mind rerunning at full speed
everything he'd heard in the past few weeks. "But it was different
with Gaeriel. Gaeriel Captison."
"Huh?"
"That's what Master Skywalker said to me. Just before he went
off to meet her. Don't you get it Laree? Master Skywalker's in love
with your aunt!" A terrible realization hit him. "If I married you,
and he married her, that would make him my--gulp--uncle!" Laree's
laughs carried through the night.
In the morning Chris began his galactic sweeps for Master
Skywalker. He swept over the galaxy with his mind, searching out the
singular mind, to pinpoint it's location.
An hour later, he had it. "Laree," he called. "I found him."
He teleported them there. "Master?"
Luke lay unconscious on the repulsorbed. "Don't you call me
uncle!"
"But I didn't--"
Luke awoke. He sighed. "It was just a dream." He saw
Chris. "What the--?"
"No wonder I couldn't find you. You're still barely
conscious. Master, we came just as we figured out that--"
"Gaeriel's her aunt? Yes, I found that too. Go talk to her,
Laree. She thinks she knows where your mother is. I don't know about
your mother, but you sure do look like Gaeri. Go, I would like to talk
to Chris." She left to find Gaeriel. "Look Chris, I know neither of us
wants us to be related. But it looks like it's unavoidable. The
Captisons are a wonderful family, from those I've met. Gaeri's parents
are dead, but her aunt and uncle are nice enough.
"But I have to warn you. Even though you have all the good
intentions in the galaxy, Laree's mother will hate you. And her,
probably."
"That religious thing you mentioned earlier. She follows it?"
"Much more than Gaeri ever did. She probably blames me for
Laree's disappearance. But she should still love to see her. Just be
ready, ok?"
"I'll try."
"Gaeri?" Laree called out into the dark room.
"Lights," Gaeri whispered, and they came on. "Laree. Luke was
right!"
"Yes, he was. And so was Chris." She hurried forward and
hugged her aunt. "I missed you so much. I'm sorry."
"Don't be." They sat down on the bed. "What happened?"
"Hethrir. He staged my runaway and the note. He made me one of
his students. I was easily able to complete his little tasks, like
igniting the lightsaber through the Force. I became a Helper, and was
later advanced to Proctor, the heads of the organization.
"That's when the trouble started. By then I was fourteen. No
other girls ever made it up to Proctor. I was alone. I was
defenseless. They sensed that. I'd grown into quite a woman, Hethrir
once said. He warned me what that may mean. But it was soon after
that it began." Her face was haunted.
"It's ok to cry," Gaeri whispered. "You didn't do anything
wrong. It's not your fault."
"Oh, I know that. I knew that. But I couldn't take it. Once, I
just drew my lightsaber and slashed the guy in half. And I can't
cry. I had enough when I cried on the Chief of State a week ago."
"But you're strong. You trust Chris. That's a pretty powerful
start. And beside all that happened to you, you had the mind to
realize you were made for eachother. I never realized that with Luke."
"How could you? You don't understand the Force, the Force that
binds love together. But he'll show you, Luke will, if you want him
to. He could train us both."
"I don't have any Force potential."
"Sure you do," Laree said. "I can sense it. Hasn't Master
Skywalker tried to get you to accept his training?"
"No."
"Well he must have noticed. I'll ask him about it."
"Of course, of course. Let's go see Uncle Yeorg and Aunt
Tiree." Gaeri took Laree's hand, taking her from the room.
Luke jumped on the speeder, and accelerated toward the Bakur
complex. He'd already checked that Eppie still lived there. Minutes
later, he was at her door. He pushed the annunciator.
A moment later, the door opened. Eppie stepped back from the
open door, looking at Luke. "Master Skywalker, what are you doing
here?" she asked, surprised.
"Oh, nothing much. But I couldn't visit with out checking in
on you." He walked in at her gesture. "How are you doing?"
"I'm fine. Thanks to you, of course."
"I did nothing. You did it yourself. Believe me, I had no idea
you could heal yourself that well. It took me nearly another year to
recover from my lesser injury."
"You weren't a master then."
"You weren't even a knight."
"I was an old woman, wise in my own way. Not to mention
inactive, as I'm sure you were not. Now, why are you back on Bakura?"
Eppie asked.
"Reuniting family, perhaps adding some new additions."
"What exactly do you mean?"
"I've found Gaeriel's neice. Of course I didn't know and
brought her to my academy, to train. One of my students fell in love
with her. And--"
"You and Gaeriel finally, eh? Not bad, three Captisons in one
day. And more soon, heh? Yes, yes. All in good time."
Luke blushed, suddenly embarrassed. And, he asked himself, why
is she starting to sound like Yoda. This was far too strange. "Um, I
have to go now. Don't wanna be late, you know. Goodbye, Eppie."
"Goodbye," she hardly got out before he fled out the
door. "What's with him?"
What do they expect me to do? Chris asked himself. Luke is out
somewhere, Laree is with Gaeri somewhere, where does that leave me? He
plopped back down on the repulsor-chair. For the second time, his hand
flared angrily.
He gave in to a long standing habit. He teleported to
Coruscant.
The New Republic had never found the Emperor's throne room in
the very upper level of the palace. He sat in the Emperor's throne,
his hand's throbbing quieting. He hit the switch on the arm panel,
turning the chair around to face the large circular window.
The throne room was built high enough to always be in the
clouds. The Emperor had long ago manipulated them so that his dark
presence would brew up a lightning storm. His visitors always found it
intimidating. The clouds did their work for Chris too, but in stronger
force. The crackles of lightning illuminated his face, and his spirit.
He laughed out loud, a deep, throaty, evil laugh. The sound
continued to echo, just as the Emperor designed.
Someone entered. "What in blazes was that?" He saw Chris in
the Emperor's throne. "Who are you? What are you doing in here? Where
is this?"
"That's a lot of questions." He reached out for the man's
mind. "Approach, my servant, and you will know the answers."
"Yes, my master," he said as he approached.
"I will be visiting here occasionally. You are to report to me
then."
"How will I know when, master, and on what?"
"You will know when. You are to keep an eye on the Chief of
State. You as a person are sacrifice, but you must get your
information back to me. Do not take unnecessary risks," Chris
said. "Now go."
"Yes, master," the man said, turning away and exiting. The
hidden door closed and locked.
Chris teleported back to the Captison mansion. "Hello,
Chris. Where have you been?" Luke asked.
"Nowhere, Master. Just...around."
"Ok, kid. Just stay around here from now on, ok?"
"Don't call me kid!" Chris said.
Luke walked up to Gaeriel. "Why are you mad at me?" he
asked. "What did I do?"
She whirled toward him. "I'm not angry. It's just... why
didn't you ever tell me I could become a Jedi?" she asked. "I'd think
that you would love the idea."
"Wait a minute. What do you mean?"
"I was talking to Laree before. Well, she told me
everything. But she also suggested I be trained, by you. I acted just
like you did, but she insisted that she could sense my strength. Why
do you not want me to be a Jedi?"
"It's not that I don't want you to be a Jedi. I just didn't
know you could be one."
"You didn't know? Laree said she could plainly sense it. And
she's untrained. You're supposed to be a master," she said, anger
creeping into her voice.
Luke sighed. "I'll level with you. I admit, I can't sense your
strength. Anyone else, it's easy. You, impossible."
"And why is that?"
"Because your very presence makes my Force sense tingle. If I
sweep you with the Force I feel this energizing effect, something I've
never felt from anyone before. Back fifteen years ago, I felt
it. That's why I didn't give up until the end. Now, let me try
something." He laid his hand on her head, reaching out with the
Force. He reached into her deepest section of the brain, and, not
completely unexpectedly, was thrust to the ground. He smiled up at
her.
"Is that a good thing?" Gaeriel asked.
"It means the power's there," he said, reaching out a
hand. Gaeriel helped him up. "I'd love to train you. If you don't
think your sister will mind hating the entire family for turning
against her."
"The galaxy needs the Jedi. Eventually she'll even realize
it."
All this talk of Gaeriel and Jedi, brought back old memories
of his first, and fallen, apprentice, Dev Sibwarra. A boy he hadn't
thought about in fifteen years. He would have been thirty now, had I
saved him. His last memories of Gaeriel came with it. He shook himself
out of it. He could still do right there, at least. And Chris, he's
just like Dev. Everything was perfect.
Gaeriel obviously sensed this too. She shook her head. "No,
Luke. Not yet."
Luke nodded absently. "I have to go." He walked off.
"Luke? Go where?"
"I have to talk to Chris."
"Chris," Luke said. Chris was sitting next to Laree on the
bed, again.
"Master?"
"I need to go to Coruscant. I have to talk to Leia." Chris
didn't move. "Well come on!"
He sighed and shook his head. "I can't do this for you
forever, master. It may only take a minute of my time, but don't
bother me if I'm busy, ok?"
"Sure, kid. C'mon, send me." Next thing he saw was the vast
corridor overflowed with beings, human and not. The council had just
broken up. He ran to catch up with Leia.
"Luke, when'd you get in?" she asked with a smile.
"About fifteen seconds ago."
"Oh, Chris, right. Why'd you want to speak with me?" she asked
as they walked down the corridor.
"I needed to tell you about--wait a second. We're being
watched." He searched through the crowd with the Force. "Security
guard. About ten meters back. Taking notes on everything you do."
"What should we do?" Past knowledge automatically threw out the
possibility of stopping.
"Just keep walking. I'll take him out," Luke said. He reached
out with the Force and tricked the man's mind into seeing what he
wanted him to see. Luke stopped, but the man didn't notice him and
walked right into him. Luke's hand shot to the man's throat and picked
him up an inch. "Who are you?"
"I will not tell you."
"Who sent you?"
"My master," the man said.
"Who is this master?" Luke asked, Leia coming up behind him.
"I do not know his name."
"He's telling you what to say right now, isn't he? Any one
would resist at death, yet you do not. Yes, he has you under
hypnosis." Luke put him back on the ground. He tried to free the man's
mind with the Force, but found himself repulsed by the controlling
party. "This is Chris's work. That's where he was before. He came
here, where the Emperor's presence is still very powerful. In a way
you cannot destroy."
"Are you sure, Luke?" Leia asked.
"Yes. He'll never be fully true to the Light, I recognize that
now. But I can't believe he was planning your assassination. That's
going too far. I have to stop him from coming back here."
"Maybe he'd listen to Laree."
"Speaking of Laree, can we talk in your suite? I don't feel
comfortable out here." They hurried upstairs to the higher levels of
the palace and went into Leia's room.
"So, what do you think that was all about?" Leia asked.
"I think Chris is getting scared, or nervous. Needed to take
it out on someone. He probably had no intention to hurt you. He
wouldn't have sent me if he did."
"Chris, scared, or nervous? Why would he be scared?"
"Well," Luke sighed. "This isn't exactly the way I wanted to
tell you, but both I and Chris are getting married, soon."
Leia's eyes opened wide. "Married?"
"Yes, we both had the good fortune to venture into a
Captison's life."
"Captison? You... you're back with Gaeriel! But Luke, what
other Captison is there? And what about Laree?" Leia asked.
"Have you ever taken the time to ponder over what Laree's last
name is? Of course, I hadn't found out until quite recently myself..."
"She's a Captison?"
"Well her mother was. Her father is still unknown. But she's
Gaeriel's neice. They'd thought she ran away ten years ago."
"But she was taken by Hethrir and-- well, now she has family at
least."
"Right. As long as Chris doesn't go about killing any of us."
"You're going to be--" she chuckled "--Chris's uncle!"
Luke groaned. "It's true then. I was hoping the law didn't
carry that far. I mean, the in-law of an in-law? Why can't we bend the
rules?"
"Is it really that bad? He could teach you a few moves. I
watched him with that lightsaber. Whatever art that is he acquired on
his homeworld, it looks real impressive done with a lightsaber. And he
probably knows more thhings you could use."
"I guess so. He is the best lightsaber-handler in the known
galaxy, probably in all history. And he already taught me this." Luke
raised his hand outstretched, his fist partially opened. In the blink
of an eye, his lightsaber grip appeared within it, igniting and he
pulled it back in a defensive position. He then disignited it and made
it disappear the same way.
"Where does it go?" Leia asked.
Luke showed her that it went back to his belt, where it came
from. "Doesn't really serve a purpose," he said, "But it is quite
impressive. Now back to business. I'm setting up a little training
facility on Bakura. So far I'm just training Gaeri and Laree, but if
any other powerful students come in that either deserve my direct
instruction, or can't learn any other way, they will be admitted."
"In other words anyone you want or any trouble makers."
"Exactly," Luke said.
"Then you'll train my children there, eventually?"
"Actually, I was thinking about bringing Jacen and Jaina back
with me. They should begin their training," Luke said.
"They're only ten," Leia insisted. "You didn't begin until you
were eighteen."
"Chris was a Master when he was eight."
"That's different."
"Is it?"
"Yes. He had no choice."
"True, but it has worked for the better. I think the twins are
ready to bgin their training, and I don't think you'll stand in their
way," Luke said.
Leia sighed. "All right. But I'll have to find time to
visit. I don't think Anakin will be happy any other way. Neither would I."
"Of course you can visit. You'll have to come to the wedding
anyway. That'll work as the first visit."
She glanced at her chrono. "The children should be back with
Han any minute." The door opened behind her, and she turned to meet
them. Han entered, followed by the children and Chewie. Chewie
bellowed to Luke.
"Hey, Chewie. Hey, Han." Luke looked to Leia.
"Han, Luke wants to bring the twins back with him to begin
their training. On Bakura."
"Bakura? What's on Bakura?" Han asked.
"My new private training center. Only the strongest train
there, now. It's time for your children to be among them. There's no
time to elaborate, hris is bringing us back now. Leia will speak for
me. Goodbye." Luke, Jacen, and Jaina disappeared.
"What about Anakin?" Han asked. "And what's this deal with
Bakura?"
"He'll take Anakin in time," Leia said. "And he's getting
married on Bakura, soon."
"The kid's getting married? To that senator?" Han asked,
unbelieving yet happy for his friend/brother-in-law.
"Right. And I think it's about time."
"When will they be back?" Anakin asked.
"Not for awhile, Anakin. But you'll go with them soon."
"Wow. Where are we?" Jacen asked. He looked over at the wall,
it's strange glassy surface filled with strange looking trees that
waved in an unseen wind.
"This is the Captison mansion on Bakura. Your home, for
awhile. I'm sorry you can't be with your parents, but they could
interfere with your training," Luke said, guiding them ustairs.
"It's ok, Uncle Luke. Can we still call you Uncle Luke?" Jaina
asked.
Luke smiled back at her. "Of course you can. You two may be my
students, but family first."
"Really? Will that go for me too, `Master'?" Gaeriel stood at
the top of the steps in a bright green jumpsuit looking down at the
children.
"Yeah, and what about us?" Chris and Laree came from behind,
down the stairs.
"Great, I think I just committed myself." He knelt by the
twins. "Look, you two are the only ones already in my family, would
you mind calling me `master'?"
"I guess not, Unc--Master," Jaina said. "Master," Jacen said.
You only have to keep it up around them, children, he said
into their minds.
"Skywalker--" Chris began. He'd heard what Luke'd thought to
the twins.
Be quiet, Chris. You already know you don't call me master,
Luke said to Chris.
"Ok, Skywalker. For now." Chris teleported away.
"Where's he going?" Laree asked. "What'd you say to him?"
"I didn't say anything. He's going to Coruscant. I don't know
what set him off. Too bad I threw his agent in the brig. Of course he
gets high on lightning."
"Excuse me?" Laree said. "What are you talking about?"
"I caught his agent watching me and Leia. And he has an
addiction to cause lightning storms at the palace, from the Emperor's
chambers. Palpatine's presence is still very powerful there. But he'll
be back."
"Can't you make him stop?" Gaeri asked.
"I can't make him do anything. But he's back already. Now come
on, children. Upstairs." He took them the rest of the way to their
room. In it were two twin beds, side by side, and not much else.
"Uncle Luke?" Jaina asked.
"Yes, Jaina?"
"What's wrong with Chris?" she asked, looking up at her uncle.
"Nothing's wrong with him. Not exactly. I'm doing all I can to
save him from the Dark Side. I want you two to stay away from him, if
you can. I think I know what I have to do."
Luke left the twins, the door shutting automatically behind
him. He walked down stairs to Laree. "Where's Chris?"
"He went to bed."
"Good," Luke said. "I need you to do me a favor."
"What, Master?" she asked.
"Tomorrow we'll be beginning everyone's training. You can
already use a lightsaber, right?" he asked. She nodded. "Good. I'll
show you a few things, then I want you to challenge me to a
duel. Don't go easy. Fight fierce. It's the only way to save Chris."
"If you think it will work. How is that supposed to work?" she
asked.
"You'll see. It won't work if you know. But I think I can
convince him that I am his master now. And Yoda."
"Yes, Master. I will do my best. Until morning," she bowed her
head.
"Until morning," Luke nodded. Laree went upstairs quietly.
"Do you really think you can convince him you're stronger?"
Gaeriel asked from behind him.
Luke turned to face her. As if I hadn't known she was standing
there. "Not necessarily stronger. Just an equal, demanding
respect. That should be enough to bring him back for good. But he'll
still be endowed with the Dark Side, that can not be helped, I'm
afraid."
"That's too bad," she said truthfully. "His skills in
teleportation are amazing, but they shouldn't cost him his soul."
"His soul was claimed the day he was born, the day the Emperor
died."
"That must hurt. C'mon, Luke, let's go to bed. It's getting
late."
"Oh, right," he said, glancing at his chrono. "I'm on
Coruscant time."
"I'll show you where you may sleep." Gaeriel showed him
upstairs, through a number of halls, finally coming to a stop before a
door, which opened at her touch. "I hope it isn't too small."
Luke looked into the room, noted it's large bed and wide
spread walls. "Too small won't be a problem, Gaeri," he said,
surprised. How could she think it was too small for him, he thought as
he stepped into the room.
"Oh, good." Gaeri stepped into the room also, the door
shutting behind her. She saw Luke's look of surprise. "There aren't
many guest rooms, Luke. If you mind, I can--"
"No, no. It's fine, if you don't mind," Luke said, wondering
if he was doing the right thing. Maybe he should leave. It was her
house.
They both felt awkward. "I... I think I'll just sleep like
this tonight," Gaeriel said.
"Right," Luke said, slipping his robe off over his head, his
black pants and tunic were revealed underneath. They both timidly got
into the bed, turning away from eachother.
Luke could plainly sense her nervousness, a nervousness that
was not unknown in his own mind. Feeling childish as if back on
Tatooine all those years ago, Luke tried to gain his courage and he
turned over toward Gaeriel. She already faced him.
They looked deep into eachothers' eyes, and both
understood. They didn't need to do anything to prove their love for
one another, the love was there, between them. In the Force. But they
still kissed. They got comfortable, exchanged goodnights, and Gaeri
shut the lights off.
Night was hell. Chris's mind kept wandering in these
impossible dreams and nightmares. Nothing could help. His masters were
gone, Master Skywalker was no Master. And Yoda mysteriously left him
alone.
There were lightsaber duels, fighting all over the planet,
everyone trying to get the upper hand and rule the galaxy. The fight
went on forever, contestant after contestant dieing. But more kept
coming. The whole scene was in havoc, until sometime later one person
arose to power: Chris himself. He hadn't even been battling.
He awoke in a heavy cake of sweat. Chris didn't exactly hate
the dream, rising to power was pretty good. It's what the dream meant
that scared him. And he had a pretty good idea what it meant.
In his mind, it meant that he could change the feelings of
people around him, perhaps alter them to his advantage. He believed
he'd turned all those people in the dream against eachother, so they'd
deal with eachother and think they were going to win, when they just
helped him do the dirty work. And he had a strange feeling he was
right.
This brought him a new aspect of the Force, a new sensing
ability. He felt strengthened with the knowledge of powers beyond his
masters. He searched now, with his new ability, searched around the
planet, sorting through presences, sensing much more clearly.
His mind stopped. In this very house, he could distinctly
sense the presence of another--one with the same ability. He was too
tired, and their were too many Force-sensitives in the building, to
figure out who it was. He drifted back to sleep, forgetting that
presence.
Luckily, Gaeriel woke first. She found herself nuzzled by
Luke's side, her arm draped over him. She carefully got up without
bothering him, straightened her clothes, and went out into the
hallway. She walked quietly down the stairs.
Gaeriel went to the kitchen and grabbed a bite to eat. Eating
it hungrily, Gaeri walked out into the dining room. "Aunt Tiree, what
are you doing up?"
Aunt Tiree sat hunched over a datapad, looked up at
Gaeriel. "I've just been looking over some records. What are you doing
up? It's quite early for a weekend, for you. I'm sorry if you didn't
like your acomidations, but we just didn't have the space."
"No, it was...ok, Aunt Tiree. I just happened to wake up, for
the better, I suppose," Gaeriel said and walked out of the dining
room. She went into the study to think for awhile.
Laree woke up groaning. She felt sickly. What had she dreamt?
She couldn't remember, but that didn't make her like it any more. She
sat up for a moment, looking around the room. There were various
ornaments, posters, pictures, and the like. As she'd found out
earlier, this was Gaeriel's room.
Also as she'd found out, the room was equipped with a wall to
wall stereo system. She turned some soft music on as she dressed. Her
own clothes were dirty, so she borrowed some from her aunt. She looked
at herself in the mirror. The green Bakuran jumpsuit matched her eyes
perfectly. She pulled her long brown hair around, over her chest.
She turned the music off and left the room, the door shutting
behind her.
Luke woke up slowly, and in stages. It had been far too long
since he'd actually slept, instead of the Jedi trance. He stood up,
slid into his Jedi robe, and unhooked his saber. He threw it on the
bed. He wouldn't be using it today.
Luke walked out of the room. He calmly walked downstairs. He
glanced at the dining room where Gaeri, Tiree, and Laree were
talking. But Chris was nowhere around.
Luke reached out with the Force to find Chris. He quickly
walked toward Chris's room, and opened it. Inside, Chris lay on the
ground sweating, unconcious. "Chris!" Luke shouted. He knelt by the
boys head, reaching his hand out on his forehead. A little Force
energizing made Chris shoot up into a sitting position.
"What the!?" Chris shouted, breathing hard.
"You ok, kid?" Luke asked.
"Not if you keep calling me `kid'. But yeah, I'm ok. Just had
some dreams... weird dreams." Chris climbed to his feet. He walked
into a separate bathroom and washed the sweat off his face.
"You'll be ok. C'mon, we have to start training." kid he added
silently. Chris glared as they left the room and went to the dining
room. "Excuse us, Mrs. Captison, but we have to begin today's
training, so..."
Tiree looked up at him. "Understood, Master Skywalker. Go
right ahead." Luke, Chris, Gaeriel, and Laree left the mansion. The
sky was clear, a very light blue. They walked out to a clearing a few
dozen meters from the house.
"Now," Luke said, "I'll work with Laree for now. Chris, you
work with Gaeriel. Show 'er the basics." Luke and Laree walked a few
meters beyond Chris and Gaeri.
"Ok," Chris said as Luke began showing Laree some lightsaber
techniques. "Now, the only way to using and trusting the Force, is to
trust yourself. Do you trust yourself?"
"Uh...I guess so," Gaeri said.
With a bit of viciousness, Chris said, "You must know. Do you
trust yourself?"
"Yes."
"Good. Now the main way of controlling the Force is--"
Luke cut in, "You don't control the Force. The Force helps
you. Remember that Chris."
"Right, Master." He turned to Gaeri. "What he said."
"Good, Laree," Luke said as she thrusted her saber in the air,
pulled back and bocked, and continued in intervening arcs and angles.
Laree stopped. "Master, how 'bout a test duel?"
"I don't know. Think you're up to it?" Luke asked.
"Sure do." Laree stood in the classic offensive position.
"Fine by me." Luke reached out his hand, and a long staff
appeared within it. He swung it around in his hand, then held it firm
with both hands.
"Uh...Master, where's your lightsaber?" Laree asked.
"What, you afraid of a staff and a little bit of Force?"
"No, I'm not afraid," Laree said, lunging.
Blocking, Luke said, "You will be," and smiled. He swung
forward with the other end of the staff, which Laree ducked and swung
upward. Luke caught the blade on the staff between his hands. He swung
sideways, catching her on the leg and knocking Laree down on her back.
"Sorry, Laree," Luke said, helping her back to her feet.
"Nice move, Master, but can you do it with an experienced
swordsmen?" Chris asked, drawing and igniting his lightsaber. He spun
it between his fingers in a very impressive circle. No one else could
ever handle a saber like that. He readied for battle with his saber in
a deathgrip. He held it across his face, his eyes glaring right over
it.
Luke made the first move, thrusting one side of his staff
forward, which Chris easily blocked, throwing all his weight into it,
and nearly knocking Luke off his point of balance. Recovered, Luke did
a triple backflip out of the danger zone and threw his robe to the
ground. He leaped forward again at Chris, swinging his staff.
Chris dodged to the right, Luke flying past him and landing in
a roll and jumped to his feet. Chris lunged forward, but Luke parried
again. They held position a few seconds, then Chris flipped over Luke,
turned quickly, and took a shot that should have split Luke's head in
half, right down the middle. But Luke brought the staff over his
head, blocking just in time, and twisted his body around under it to
face Chris.
Holding Chris's saber up with one end of the staff, Luke hit
him in his side with the other. As Chris reacted, Luke hit him with a
knee shot, and caught him in the stomach as he went down. "Don't get
cocky, Chris."
Chris lay on the ground, his face covered with surprise. He
didn't think he could lose. Not to Master Skywalker. A month ago, this
may have made him incredibly angry. But now, it only gave him a new
respect for his Master. The fight may have been pure luck, but Luke
had pulled it off. He deserved something for that. Chris just lay
there, still as if stunned. And he was.
Luke smiled thinly down at him. "You've gotta watch for those
low blows."
Chris leaped to his feet, disignited his saber and hooked it
to his belt. Luke's staff dematerialized. "If I was a few inches
taller, I would have been able to get out of that."
"Well you're not, and you weren't. I win," Luke said.
Chris sighed. "Yeah, you do. This time."
Luke stood silent a few moments. "Well that's enough
lightsaber training for now."
"Uh, Luke--Master. What about me?" Gaeriel asked.
"You'll get a lightsaber in time. Now, I'd like to do some
endurance training. But I don't know if there's a suitable place on
the planet for that. Gaeri?"
"What kind of area?"
"A good place to run, with obstacles, preferrably natural
ones," Luke said.
"No, there's no good place for that anywhere on the planet."
"Hmm. Chris, where'd you train physically?" Luke asked.
"I never did," Chris answered.
"We could go to some other planet," Laree suggested. "How
about wherever you trained, Master?"
"I was thinking about that, but it's not really the place
for... some people to train," Luke said.
"And what's that supposed to mean?"
"Well to be perfectly honest, the whole planet's a mud ball."
"Oh, well then--" Laree started.
"That's fine," Gaeriel cut her off. "We can do anything you
did when you were in training. That is unless you can't do it...?"
"Without Yoda standing on my shoulders? I think I'll be able
to," Luke said, nodding for emphasis.
"Fine. Then let's go," Gaeriel said.
"Fine. Chris?"
Dagobah. It's grim, misty light shining over them, the Jedi
looked around at their surroundings. "This way. We'll start at Yoda's
home." It was the best marker, though far deteriorated, and still a
distance from the Dark Side cave. He guided them through the dense
ground foliage under their feet as they ducked branches.
Soon, they came to Yoda's home. It was little different from
the rest of the area now, but it still felt like Yoda was there, at
least partially. "So this was Yoda's home," Chris whispered.
"It used to be a lot bigger, fifteen years ago. Although I
could hardly fit in then."
"So, what are we gonna do now, L--Master?" Gaeriel asked,
throwing a small branch out of her hair.
"Like I said, endurance. Run a few hours, stand one one hand
while lifting rocks, that sort of thing. Which would you prefer
first?" Luke asked.
"The rock thing," Gaeriel said.
"Run," Laree said.
"I'll go with you," Chris said. The two sprinted off.
"Ok, what do I do?" Gaeri asked.
Luke rolled his shoulders a moment. "Try this." He lay his
hands on the ground, and thrust his legs up, staying upright.
"Then..." Luke raised his left arm from the ground. "And then..." A
large stone rose fluidly into the air, Luke controlling it's glide. He
put it down and got back to his feet. "You think you can do that?"
"I'll try..." Gaeri said, preparing herself.
"There is no try. You will do it, or you won't, there is no in
between."
"Ok, geeze, Luke, really." She shook her head. She got her
hands on the mucky ground, concentrating hard, and thrust her legs up.
"Good," Luke said. He held her hair up from the mud with the
Force. "Keep both hands for now. Try the rock."
Gaeri shut her eyes tight, and the rock began to wobble in
place.
"Gaeri, it doesn't matter how hard you shut your eyes. Use
your mind, let youself relax. Relax into the Force." Gaeri took a slow
breath and noticably relaxed. The rock lifted, still a bit wobbly. She
attempted to lift one hand off the ground, but lost her balance and
tumbled to the ground.
"I was close," she shrugged.
"Yes, you were. That's enough for now. We'd better go `interrupt'
Chris and Laree."
"What do you mean?" Gaeriel asked.
"You know what I mean."
They sat down on the log, and Chris kissed Laree again. They
put their arms around eachother--something nagged at Chris's mind. He
released Laree and pulled away. "They're coming. We'd better get
moving. I don't think we can let them catch us."
"But they already know--"
"No they don't. They don't know everything. And I'd like to
keep it that way for awhile." Chris jumped up and began running,
motioning for Laree to follow, though she already was. "C'mon, Laree!"
he shouted. He leaped for a vine over a small pond, and swung across.
Laree stopped at the edge. "Um, Chris? Where's that vine?"
Laree asked.
"Huh?" Chris asked, a bit nervous. But he felt it on his
leg. "Shit!" He slapped the snake-like creature off. It slithered
back toward him, it's jaws opening wide with it's bare teeth growling
and hissing. He attempted to destroy it with his Dark power, but it
somehow repelled his power. It ran away into a dark cave.
He stared at the cave. At it's head was an old, twisted
tree. He walked slowly toward it, almost against his will. Everything
but the cave faded from his vision. He could vaguely hear Laree's
questions, and Luke joining in, warning him away. But he could not
listen. He entered the cave.
He was hit hard with strange smells of strange foliage. He
walked through the mysterious cave, parting the plants with the
Force. He had to see what there was inside.
"Where's he going?" Laree asked Luke.
"Perhaps to his death," Luke said. "Or perhaps his
destiny. Maybe both."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Gaeriel asked.
"That cave... is powerful in the Dark Side. Yoda killed a Dark
Jedi from Bpfashh there. I've experienced two very disturbing visions
in there."
"What kind of visions?" Laree asked.
"Well, the first time, I faced Darth Vader in a lightsaber
battle. I sliced his head off, but it opened to show my own face. I
still don't really know if that was supposed to mean I would
eventually face myself in battle, must defeat my Dark Side, or that
Darth Vader was my father. The second time I saw Mara Jade killing me
at Jabba's."
"And since he already has Dark power... it could be
terrible. We have to help him!" Laree said.
"No, that's the exact reason he must deal with it himself."
As his friends spoke outside, Chris confronted the exact thing
they had feared. An image of a beautiful woman stared at him
coldly. Just seeing her told him how dangerous she was. Her long
brownish-grey hair rippled lightly in a wind that was not there.
He felt a strange surge of energy and felt his lightsaber,
which he'd unknowingly raised, fizzle and die. He prepared to lash out
at the image, when it disappeared. In mourning and enraged, Chris held
his destroyed lightsaber as he left the cave.
As he came out, Luke, Laree, and Gaeriel rushed toward
him. "What happened to your saber?" Luke asked. Laree hugged Chris,
though he was careful not to drop his lightsaber.
"She destroyed it."
"Who's `she'?" Gaeriel asked.
"I don't know. I saw her. But I didn't just see her. She saw
me, too. It was real. She may be millions of light-years away, but
she was here, or I was there. I'm confused."
"I'd imagine," Luke said. "Are you sure you don't know who it
is?"
"I don't have any idea what her name is. But she could be
dangerous. If I could have only seen the background behind her--"
"There was a background? Couldn't you teleport there, then?"
Luke asked.
"I hardly caught a glimpse of it, Master."
"That's enough. You know how to look back at it."
Chris shook his head. "I can't. My eyes didn't see her. I've
looked back, I see nothing. But I think she'll be looking for you and
your Jedi. This could be a fine time to go back to Yavin for awhile."
"I think you're right." He turned around toward Laree and
Gaeri. "I'm sorry your training here has been cut off early. Perhaps
we'll return sometime. Now let's just go back to Yoda's before we get
out of here." They all went back to Yoda's old house. Luke picked up a
tree branch that lay on the ground, made it dematerialize like his own
staff. "Ok, let's go."
Rishiaa paced the length of the bridge of her Star Destroyer,
the Parallel, for up to this time it had never been touched in
battle. "Set your course for Yavin, Commander."
"But M'Lord, you just said he was on Dagobah--"
"He's on Yavin now."
The Commander straightened, bearing all his military
experience. "A trip from Dagobah to Yavin is estimated at at least six
days."
"Do not question my orders. Or would you like to join our good
friend Commander Kilms?"
"Um, no my Lord." He nodded at the navigator and went back to
his post.
Rishiaa whirled around in her dark black cape and left the
bridge. Everything was going right into place, just as she had
planned. Now she could easily take out the Jedi Master, his students,
and abduct the Dark Lord of the Sith at the same time.
The Dark Lord. The only person that could possibly stand in
her way to achieve her greatest goals. First, to become Dark Lord
herself. Second, to destroy the New Republic and establish a new Sith
Empire. His appearence amazed her. She'd expected an aging man with a
fearsome look in his eye. Not some runt teenager. However he'd beaten
her to learning the Sith, she had no idea.
"I have an idea," Chris said. Luke waited for him to continue.
"What is it, Chris?" Luke asked.
"We wait. She's coming now. It's not like we can evacuate,
anyway. There are too many students, and far too few ships. And
despite everything, you should know I'm not all-powerful. Not quite
yet."
"This is no time to joke, Chris. Everything we've built up
here is in danger."
"Actually, I don't think I am. I'm pretty sure she'll invade,
kill all of you, and kidnap me. She probably wants me to train her."
"Thanks for your concern. You know she'll kill you anyway,"
Luke said.
"She can't kill me. Nor can she kill you. For we are the
Masters, and for all her power, she is but a learner. She needs at
least one of us alive. Of course, which one depends on her plans."
"Ok, so what are her possible plans?" Luke asked, assuming
Chris knew what he was talking about.
"Well, she may want to just learn a few new tricks, or perhaps
make use of your knowledge in the Republic. Of course what's far more
likely is that she wants to resurrect the Dark Side in the galaxy, in
which case I'd be the obvious choice." Chris added, "Good luck."
"Thanks, kid."
Klaxons rang in both their minds. "Great. Well, here we go,"
Luke said. He searched the space around Yavin with his mind. "Star
destroyer. Coming this way, full speed." He turned to Chris. "We have
no defenses here. Just a couple of fighters, including my old
X-wing."
"Well that's going to have to do. We don't have to destroy
them. Just let them catch us."
"I doubt if they'll hold negotiations." Luke and Chris satrted
off for the hangar in the basement of the temple.
When they arrived, they were greeted by flurry of beeps and
whistles. Luke's X-wing came on it's repulsor-lifts right up to
him. "Good work, Artoo." Luke began to climb the ladder. "Chris,
there's another X-wing down a few meters." He climbed into the
cockpit, dropping the ladder.
"I see it." Chris ran over to the X-wing fighter, jumped in
and readied the controls. Without a droid, he just thrust Force
energies into the systems, bringing them to life all at once, in
record time.
The two X-wings shot out of the hangar in tight formation. At
the same time, and with enough distance from the moon, they switched
to their sublight engines. "Red Two to Red One, you got a plan yet?"
Chris asked.
"Negative, Red Two. Just go in and blow them away. It's not a
good idea to get caught yet. I'm sure of that. But we'll get plenty of
chances, kid."
"Don't call me kid." Their fighters came within visual
sighting of the Star Destroyer. "I.D. on the Sd. The Parallel. Not
much for names, is she?"
Luke didn't reply as a ranging shot was fired from the
Parallel. He accelerated to full speed and pulled further away from
Chris. He masterfully swept in on the destroyer, dodging fire and
hitting it's tough shields.
Chris went in with an attack run on the shield generators,
atop the control tower. He let lose three proton torpedoes before
going evasive. He went into a sharp turn and blew away a missile that
was on his tail. Just then, Luke sweeped in and finished off the
generator with lasers.
"M'Lord, starboard shields are dead. The fighters are too
quick, our gunners extremely inexperienced. And they're perfectly
synchronized," the Commander informed Rishiaa.
"Reinforce them, you idiot. And of course they're in perfect
formation, those are two master Force users out there. Get a tractor
beam on them." She glared up at the viewscreen and put her hand on the
Sith emblem over her heart. The Sith would return. She could feel it.
Chris shot at the temporarily unprotected starboard side. Many
little explosions brightened his day. He swung around again, taking a
few pot shots at the other shield generator.
Exactly on schedule, Luke shot three torpedoes into the shield
generator, making it explode and knocking out the rest of the
destroyers shield systems. "They'll be changing this ship's name!"
Chris crowed. He took out a turbolaser turret that'd been pestering
him.
"Yeah, this one won't even be able to fly straight anymore,"
Luke agreed. "It's almost completed it's orbit around Yavin. Leave it
alone until we know if it's running or coming."
"Fine with me, Master. Though it's my first space battle, it's
been really fun."
"Damn them!" Rishiaa shouted. She watched in anger as the two
X-wings circled around the star destroyer, not doing any damage, and
not getting any damage. "Get reinforcements. Call in that weak-minded
admiral, what's-her-name. You know the one."
"Right. We just called her in." The Commander walked away
before Rishiaa would get real angry, which he knew she would.
But she didn't. She just ran a hand through her hair and sat
down.
Chris felt her try to break into his mind first. He easily
blocked her out, using her own powers on a higher level. She had no
hope to match him. He fired a weak warning shot into the destroyer's
bridge, doing no damage.
Next it was Luke's turn. He could feel her probe, and attempt
to take over his mind. Holding onto the Light, he repulsed her. He
sensed her power, Dark, but not without it's limit. Though he was sure
he wouldn't have thought that a few days ago, before he had proved
himself a Master.
She tried to smother him in Darkness, extinguish his hope. She
obviously did not know Luke Skywalker. He'd had a lot more taste of
the Dark Side than he was prepared to admit. Son of a Dark Lord,
Emperor's apprentice, it all made him more oblivious to the Dark Side,
once he passed through. He reached out to her mind. We have more than
enough firepower to finish you off.
Of course you do. Her answer came. Then he caught it: a sense
of emergence from hyperspace. Another destroyer sped toward them, come
to it's master's aid. It's turbolasers shot at them.
"Watch it, Chris. Big guns below." Luke started for the
destroyer.
"No, Luke. I'll take this one alone," Chris said. He pushed
his engine to full speed. "Whoa, talk about bad condition
destroyers. Someone oughta rename the Gorgon the Junkpile."
"You mean that's Admiral Daala?"
"Who's Admiral Daala?" Chris asked, flying wildly.
"Nevermind, you were only eight," Luke said.
"Right." It was time to demonstrate to this woman Dark Lord
wanna-be what a real Dark Lord could do. He reached out with the
Force, the Dark Side he knew, and surrounded the new coming
destroyer. Little by little, it was covered with a reddish light, from
which no weapon penetrated. He made the light pull in, squeeze the
Gorgon. It exploded in a shower of sparks and metal.
"Chris!? What did you do?" Luke shouted at him.
"I...don't know, Master. I couldn't help myself. It just
happened. But it worked." The Parallel shrunk slowly, and soon jumped
to hyperspace.
"Yes, it did, but if you ever pull a stunt like that again--!"
Luke broke off.
"You know I can't help it. Let's go back to base." The two
X-wings formed on eachother's wings and sped down to the moon, ducking
quietly into the hangar bay.
Gaeriel and Laree waited for them right by their
fighters. Chris and Luke jumped to the ground. "What the blazes
happened up there?" Laree asked.
"Nothing much," Chris said. "Just a couple of star destroyers."
"Two fighters against two star destroyers? How could they lose
with odds like those?" Gaeri asked.
"She knows how she lost. We--he--destroyed one of them and
crippled the other." Luke walked past them all, turned back. "She'll
be back, but we have to find her first. I have some nav charts in the
old war room. Let's go."
"Lord Rishiaa, as you know the X-wing crafts managed to
completely destroy the Gorgon and badly damage the Parallel. What do
you propose we do?" Commander Winsub asked.
"Shut up, you weak-minded idiot. They are already on their way
here. We'll capture them yet. You are to set up all our troops around
this room. They'll come straight here. I'm sure of it."
"Yes, m'Lord," the Commander left the room and barked orders
heard before the door closed.
"We can't go straight there. It's too dangerous," Luke
said. "She's bound to be ready for that. Besides which, we have to
check on the twins. I forgot all about them."
"That's right, so did I," Gaeriel said, concerned. "She
wouldn't try for them, would she?"
"No, she's definately after us. She probably hasn't even
thought of a hostage plan. She's not much for tactics, quite
obviously," Luke said.
"Ok, so we go to Bakura," Chris said. He concentrated a few
moments, and they were in the Captison mansion.
"I'll just go check on them," Luke said, scurrying
upstairs. He opened the door to the twins' room. "Jacen, Jaina, are
you two ok?"
"Of course, Uncle Luke. What kind of trouble would we get
into?" Jaina asked innocently.
"I don't know. What kind?" Luke asked suspicously.
"Uncle Luke--Master--we're not like that any more. Can't you
trust us? We've changed. Really," Jacen said.
"Really?" Luke asked. "And what brought this about?"
"Uh..." Jacen thought about it.
"We just realized the wrongs of our ways," Jaina said.
"Right, that's it," Jacen said.
"See, i told you what a bad influence Chris would be. And
never use what he says word for word. You kids have a lot to learn,"
Luke said, and left.
"How'd he know?" Jacen and Jaina asked each other.
Back downstairs, Luke rejoined the rest of the group. "They're
fine," Luke said, looking at Chris who began staring down the hall in
the oppisite direction.
"So do we go now?" Laree asked.
"No. I go now. I want to check it out first," Luke said.
"I don't think so," Chris said. "You're reckless. Thanks to
me, of course. You need someone to cover you."
"No I don't. I am not reckless. Now either you send me, or
I'll go myself."
Chris took that as a challenge. "And how do you propose to go
about doing that?" Luke disappeared in a blue halo.
"He's gone. Chris, that isn't your usual technique," Gaeriel said.
"Uh..." Chris said. Covering up, "I felt like a change."
Luke found himself in a long metal corridor. He sensed guards
all over, but none in immediate range. He walked forward, finding his
shoes clank on the ground. Silently, he slipped them off, continuing
barefoot.
A stormtrooper in black armor came from the cross
corridor. "You will come over here," Luke said.
"I will come over there," the trooper said. The trooper did.
"Good." Luke looked through the man's mind through the Force,
breaking it's defenses. He took an image of a map of the building,
then stunned the man with a pulse to the correct system. The man
clattered to the floor.
"Don't move!" another trooper shouted. He'd heard the noise
and come runnning. He held his blaster rifle on Luke, standing a few
meters away. "Keep your hands where I can see them!" He took a
cautious step forward.
Luke raised his hand, but bent his wrist to catch the
trooper's rifle as it flew at him. "Is this good enough?" Luke asked,
shooting the trooper on stun. This time he lowered the trooper
carefully with the Force and continued on his way.
With a mental picture of the base's map, Luke moved toward the
main control room, where whoever it was would probably be. As he
neared, he could indeed sense her ahead.
As he came closer, he was greeted by a hail of blaster
fire. Sparks exploded behind him as he ducked. He waved his hand, and
the fire suddenly stopped. A number of muffled shouts flew through the
air. A trooper came at him, fist flying. Luke ducked it, the trooper
crashing into the wall.
Luke strode on past a row of fallen black-armored
stormtroopers. The door into the control room opened before him, and
he stepped inside. As he'd expected, it was much more a throne room
than control room. He looked around the vast but highly nondecorated
room. At the head, atop a staircase similar to the Emperor's own, was
a huge command chair, like the Emperor's own. But the figure in the
chair was nothing like the Emperor. It was a slender, highly
attractive female with brown-gray hair and dark brown eyes. They lit
up. "Skywalker, I'm so glad you were able to find your way here. Not
that I had any doubt."
"You're none too sure of security. You'd be glad to know I
didn't kill any of your men. Though I should have," Luke said, walking
up to her.
"Yes, I know you didn't. I am Rishiaa, of Symptl, this world
as you must know. Where are your companions? You're all rather late."
"They won't be coming. We decided to decline your so polite
offer," Luke said, coming up the stairs.
"Really? Then why did you come?" she asked, her voice a deadly
calm.
"Naturally, I wish to bring you and your forces over to the
Republic. Forget your Sith dwellings and become a Jedi. We could use
you."
"No, I think I'd rather complete my vow and become the Dark
Lord, or Lady, at least. Now do I have to bring that kid here or will
you?"
"He's not going to come at all--" Luke started.
"Quiet, Master," Chris said from down the room, his voice
carried throughout it. Always showing off, he appeared in a flash of
red flames. He walked up to the others slowly, menacingly.
The intimidation died when Rishiaa noticed the boy was shorter
than Luke, and din't look all that scary. "How could you have learned
so much in so little time? You look even younger in person."
Chris stopped himself from making a crack. "I've trained every
night for ten years, with four masters. They taught me everything they
knew. They made me Dark Lord of the Sith. Ahead of some other
`wanna-be', they said." Chris restrained from chuckling.
She simply smiled, not taking offense. "How rightful for
you--both of you--to share your knowledge and combine it into one
person. I think I'll do," Rishiaa said.
"We'd have to take control of your forces, and there's no way
you'll be learning the ways of the Sith from us. The Sith are to die
with Chris," Luke said.
"How unfortunate."
Luke wondered at her reply, when lights went out and he fell
in a clump on the ground. "Myrkr ecology is so very helpful," Rishiaa
said. "Guards, pick up Skywalker and take him to his cell."
"You plan to do that with me too?" Chris asked. "I'll save you
the trouble." He slapped a pair of binders on himself. Chris took the
mind of one of the troopers, making him slap the one with the
ysalamiri on the shoulder. The trooper walked toward Chris.
"What kind of Sith lord are you, giving up without a fight?"
Rishiaa asked.
"I am of the purest Sith blood. And the fight has not yet
begun. But it will." Chris practically escorted himself out of the
room.
Rishiaa flicked on the comm. "Commander?"
"Yes m'lord?" Commander Winsub asked.
"Send a squad of stormtroopers to Yavin 4. We need some
leverage to keep Skywalker and Qel-Droma where we put them. Send back
any prisoners and take position to destroy the temples at my order."
"Yes, m'lord. They'll leave within an hour."
"Oh, and have Qel-Droma sent to my personal quarters in two
hours." Rishiaa shut off the comm and meditated.
Chris was thrown into the room. It was certainly a big change
from his cell. Bigger, darker... not much else. "What is it now?" he
growled.
"Quiet," the guard hissed. He shoved Chris further into the
room then exited, locking the door.
Making use of an old teaching from Freedon Nadd, Chris saw
everything in the room, despite there being no light. The room still
seemed to be empty. But then he hit a spot that was darker than the
rest of the room. He walked forward.
"You may remove your binders," Rishiaa said quietly. Chris
melted them to slag as they fell from his hands. His lightsaber
appeared in his hand, and he attached it to his belt. "Good. Now we
will begin my training."
"What's the point?" Chris asked. "You'll never become Dark
Lord. Not while I'm alive, and I'll outlive you by a long shot."
"Really? I can change that."
Chris laughed. "Of course you can. I believe you." He made a
choking sound.
She glared a moment, then leaped forward with her red-bladed
lightsaber coming down toward Chris. Without thinking, he blocked the
blow with his forearm, reaching for his saber with his other hand. He
brought it up, taking a step back from her. He spun the saber about
him, in incredibly hard to match circles.
Rishiaa struck forward with a quick near lethal slash--when
her lightsaber died. It exploded in her hand, leaving faint scars of
heat. She screamed and fell to her knees clutching her hand. Chris
looked down at her, disignited his lightsaber, and returned it to his
belt.
Thirty stormtroopers klanked down the ramp, their blaster
rifles across their chests. They split into groups of five, two going
around the sides, and three right in the entrance.
All the students could sense the raid. Those few that had
blasters ligned up for an ambush, the lightsaber-users behind
them. Kam Solusar, behind him Laree and Gaeriel, took careful aim and
took down a trooper. With near pefect reaction-time, the other
troopers whirled toward him and shot with deadly accuracy. But Kam was
a Jedi. He dodged the shots, taking down another trooper.
Laree came forward toward the troopers, her lightsaber
deflecting their fire. Kam swapped his blaster for his lightsaber and
joined in. The two of them quickly finished the group off.
But the danger was just starting. Hardly trained at all,
Gaeriel was near defenseless. She stayed back from the main
battle. But from behind her, someone jabbed a blaster into her
head. She nearly screamed when another trooper, further back, hit her
with a stun shot in the back, cutting it short. She lost
consciousness.
Laree looked up just in time to see Gaeriel fall. The troopers
hauled her back, and Laree started after them. She stopped as one of
the troopers raised their hand, a small silver ball inside it. Her
eyes widened as she stepped back.
Kam also saw the trooper. Reaching out with the Force, he
attempted to disarm the detonator, but found for some reason he
couldn't. He just couldn't concentrate on the spot with the Force.
A strange feeling overcame both Kam and Laree. It was like
becoming blind suddenly, completely unable to do anything. Nearly at
the same time, they were hit by stun shots and fell to the ground.
From orbit, the Commander of Rishiaa's fleet watched the
battle on a holoscreen. The comm came alive. "Sir, all Jedi students
have been neutralized or destroyed."
"Good," the Commander muttered. Looking out the viewport, he
saw that the temple was partially on fire, and a few troopers could be
seen around the perimeter. "Take a few prisoners back to the shuttle
and take them back to base. Lord Rishiaa wants them right away."
"Yes, sir."
"You!" the trooper shouted as he entered Gaeriel's makeshift
cell. "Get up. Come with me!" he gestured violently with his blaster.
"I'm coming," Gaeriel muttered, strangling her fear. She
struggled to get up with her binded wrists. The trooper growled
impatiently, stepping in and yanking her to her feet. She followed the
trooper outside into the hall.
"Get up here," the trooper hissed, thrusting Gaeri ahead of
him. He kept his blaster in her back, forcing her forward.
Gaeriel was marched down the halls, and outside the main
entrance. "Where now?" she asked.
"Left," the trooper muttered, never loosening the sharp
blaster in her back. Gaeriel turned, saw the shuttle, and walked onto
it.
Onboard were two other students already. Kam and Laree, Kam
holding Laree who looked still unconscious, her head slanted with a
mild gash, blood already drying. "Laree," Gaeriel breathed, rushing
toward her niece, trooper or not. She sat by her, running her hand
over the wound.
"She shouldn't have resisted," Kam said. He knew a good bit
about when to resist, and when to restrain.
The shuttle lurched as it picked itself off the ground, the
ramp closing. The shuttle quickly rose to orbit, gained it's bearings
and set out through hyperspace.
Luke Skywalker sat calmly in his standard-issue Imperial
cell. He meditated, allowing himself to open to the universe, to sense
everything, the whole of the galaxy running through him.
He sensed it. He focused on Yavin. He sensed his academy,
everything he'd fought so hard and worked so long for, being
destroyed. He was able to pick up a mental image--he saw the academy
covered with stormtroopers, littered with fires.
He sighed, shook his head, and broke the contact coming back
to the present. A trooper came in the door, helping him
back. "You. Time for prisoners to--"
"You will leave me alone," Luke said, reaching for the man's mind.
"I will leave you alone," the trooper repeated.
"Goodbye," Luke said.
"Goodbye." The trooper left, locking the cell door.
When would they learn? Luke wondered. That must have been the
tenth time since he arrived.
"No, no, no!" Chris shouted, watching Rishiaa practice. "Look,
do you hear anything I'm saying? You don't want your lightsaber to
absorb the blast, the Force knows how you manage to get it to do that
in the first place. Deflect the blast, change it's aim so that it
will hit your target, or another target."
Gritting her teeth, Rishiaa tried again. She'd talked Chris
into training her after what had happened before, so she now stood
fighting a remote with Chris's lightsaber. She caught a blast on the
saber, spun it wildly, blocking two other quick blasts. The remote
fell to the floor, dead. "Is that good enough?" she asked.
"Yes, finally. Were you even a Jedi, you'd have done that on
your first shot."
"I don't want to be a Jedi, I want--" Her pocket comm buzzed
from her belt. Scooping it up and switching it on, she said, "Yes,
what is it?"
"The shuttles from Yavin have returned, with prisoners," the
Commander said. "Looks like they have five prisoners. Four humans and
one alien. The troops have stayed behind, as ordered, inside the
temple on the fourth moon."
"Shut up, you idiot," Rishiaa growled. "Don't bother me here."
"I am sorry, m'Lord," the Commander said, breaking the connection.
Too late. "What prisoners?" Chris growled.
"Stand still or I'll kill them," Rishiaa threatened. When
Chris got the look in his eye that he was going to kill her, she
decided to speak again. "They caught Laree. If I die, so does
she. It's your choice, Chris. Do you want to kill her?"
"I won't kill you. Nor shall I train you any longer."
"A few hours ago, that could have been a threat, Chris. But I
think I've found another path to the Sith."
"Well good. Master Skywalker doesn't know, but the Sith will
rise again. We will return, as it has been foretold. It is
unavoidable. The galaxy is in great danger," Chris said sadly.
"And you have a choice, Chris," Rishiaa said. "You can be one
of the underlings against the rising, or you may lead it. It's your
choice, Chris. You have the power to command, and the conflict to go
against your own. Which will it be?" she looked up at him as she took
a seat.
"I... I don't know yet."
Lando Calrissian landed the Lady Luck down on Coruscant. He
locked up the ship, and went out of the hangar.
It was about time he came for another visit, he thought. He
hadn't been to Coruscant for awhile, and perhaps with good reason--
when he did, he always got into trouble. Old gambling debts, new
gambling debts, all the same, Coruscant just was not his place. Yet he
felt strangely compelled to come once again.
Lando walked down the familiar paths to Han Solo's
apartment. He rang the bell, and the door opened. "Hey Han, what's
up?" he asked, looking at Han's somber face.
"Hi, Lando. We're getting the space kicked out of us
again. Someone new now, with new forces. Not very experienced. How's
your day?" Han asked.
"More Imperials, huh? I told you cutting down the military was
a bad idea. Never waste a good thing," Lando said.
"Yeah, but we thought we'd taken care of things with
Imperials." Han looked closely at Lando. "You know something about
this?"
Lando shrugged. "I heard rumors."
"Why didn't you tell me?" Han asked. "What've you heard?"
Lando smiled. "You shouldn't have dropped out of the business.
Something about Symptl, some little backwater planet like so many
other places. I hear there's a woman in charge over there."
"A woman? In charge of Imperials? Yeah, right. But I'll have
to check out this Symptl. Bye, Lando," Han moved to shut the door.
"What, I can't even come in?" Lando asked, frowning.
Han smiled and shook his head. "Nope." He shut the door.
"Oh, thanks," Lando muttered.
Rishiaa had struck the truth. Chris had a choice. He now sat
in his cell pondering over his answer. He himself, as a person, did
not want to join her. But he could not deny what he was. And he was a
Sith.
So there was his answer. He had no choice. Whether it be of
his own intentions or of whatever guided him in times of need, he had
to join her. It wouldn't be much of a change for him, as the Dark Side
had taken him long before. And he knew it would forever be in control
of him.
He heard a loud banging sound, realized it was the next cell
over being shut. He reached out to see if it was one of the
prisoners... Laree! his senses shouted. And her sense was not
good. Once again using Sith magic, Chris lay his right hand on the
wall between the cells, making the thick metal part into a doorway.
Laree looked up groggily when Chris came into her
cell. "Ugh... Chris?" she moaned, holding her head.
Chris shook his head and knelt by her, putting his hand on the
wound. Maybe he was getting closer to the Light. He didn't feel angry
at whoever hurt Laree. "You ok?"
"Yeah... I'll be fine."
"Good," Chris said, allowing his door to close. "Because... I
don't know when I'll see you again."
"What?" Laree looked surprised.
Chris took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, Laree. I can't
explain. I don't know what's happening to me... but I can't stop it."
He looked at her with sad eyes and kissed her. "I have to go." He got
up and hurried out the door.
He walked calmly down the hall, toward Skywalker's cell. He
reached out with the Force, opening it as he came up to it. "Master,"
he said. "It's time for you to go. Take your students. Leave this
place."
"You're my student too, Chris. I will not leave without you,"
Luke said. He walked up to Chris.
"Look Master, this is your chance. I have to stay here. I must
fulfill my destiny," Chris said.
"Not if that means having you destroyed," Luke insisted. "I
don't know how many times people have told me my destiny, yet only one
of them came true. Your destiny cannot be decided yet."
"Master, you know I am a danger to myself, to the people
around me, to the galaxy. If you don't let me do this..." Chris said.
"I don't know about that," Luke said. "But I know I cannot
stop you. I will take my students and leave." Chris walked away from
the doorway. Luke quickly opened all of his students' cells, and they
all met up in the hall. "Where's Kyp?" Luke asked.
"I didn't see him," Kam said. Gaeriel and Laree agreed.
"I think he was brought to Rishiaa," Cilgal said.
"Then he is lost, with Chris," Luke said sadly. "We have to
leave, before things get worse around here. He led them at a quick
pace toward the hangar bays in the west wing of the base. The halls
were suspicously empty. "I wonder what they're up to."
"Whatever it is, it can't be good," Kam said. He was ahead of
the rest of the group, already opening the doors to the hangar
bay. They all walked in, amazed to see it empty but a small shuttle.
"That will have to do," Luke said. The Jedia all piled into
the small space vehicle. In time, the ship had finished it's very slow
pre-flight seqeunce, and they were off.
"All troops have been transfered aboard the Star Destroyers,
m'Lord," Commander Winsub reported.
"Good. We shall be arriving in minutes," Rishiaa said, turning
off the comm. She looked around the now fully lit room, noticing Chris
and Kyp quarreling over some other petty thing that didn't matter. She
could hear Chris insulting Kyp in the ancient Sith tongue, Kyp having
no idea what he was saying. She cleared her throat loudly. "Chris?"
Chris broke his conversation, turned to Rishiaa. "Oh, right."
He teleported the three of them up into orbit, inside the Star
Destroyer Crishia, no doubt named for Rishiaa's fallen mother. For
once he was glad to have his Sith cloak, what he was doing, pretending
and all, was making him extremely nervous and doubtful. Luckily they
could not sense it, and it was not very noticable. "See, you can't do
that," Chris said to Kyp, keeping up his front against Kyp.
"If I knew how--" Kyp started, but was cut off by Chris
repeating an old saying he'd heard in Sith language. "See, I've heard
that one before. You just said, `If you knew how, you would not need
to.' But it doesn't make any sense!" Kyp complained.
Chris merely chuckled, following Rishiaa to the command
section of the bridge, Kyp following him. "Is the fleet prepared?"
Rishiaa asked Commander Winsub.
"Yes, m'Lord. All fourteen of your destroyers have been
prepped and loaded with troops and fighters. The nav crews are getting
our best route," Winsub reported.
"Good work, Commander. When will we arrive at Coruscant?"
Rishiaa asked.
"ETA is in thirty-eight hours." He checked a
screen. "Navigation has finished their calculations, we will drop out
of lightspeed one quarter of a lightyear out-system."
This was it, Chris told himself. If he waited any longer, it
would be too late. Reaching out with the Force, he pushed his mind
into the Navigation area. He shifted their calculations to a place he
knew well. He reached out further, extending the changes to all the
star destroyers in the fleet.
"That's odd," Commander Winsub said leaning over one of his
screens. "The ETA just changed to sixteen hours."
Chris looked at the screen nervously. He manipulated it's
mechanisms, making static appear on the screen and a loud hissing
sound emanate from it's overheated circuits.
"Oh, must have blown a fuse," the Commander said, shutting
down the screen's power.
"Be sure everything is correct after we enter hyperspace,
Commander," Rishiaa said. "We cannot allow delay."
"Yes, m'Lord. We shall make the jump to hyperspace in five
minutes. I will go check on the systems, with your permission?"
"Permission granted, Commander." Winsub nodded and left the
bridge. "You can continue fighting," she said jokingly to Kyp and
Chris. They did.
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