Episode 5 Chapter 7

Ripple Effect


It was with a lighter heart and a wider smile that Willow made her way with Anakin back up the hill to Serenity.

"Thank you, Anakin," Willow started, glancing over at her mentor. "Thank you for making me see them. If you hadn't…"

"By the time you did it on your own, it would have been too late, especially with your father," Anakin finished. The witch nodded. "I'm glad you were able to reconnect…"

"It's nice that someone can reconnect with their father," an acidic voice said from above them. Willow and Anakin stopped and looked up, seeing Joyce perched in an overhanging branch of a nearby tree. The young half-slayer looked pointedly at Willow. "Wouldn't you agree, Traya?"

Willow sighed. "You know, Joyce…I've tried talking to you. I've tried co-existing with you. I've even gone so far as to ignore you. But this ends now."

Joyce snarled as she leapt down from the tree, her hand on her lightsaber hilt even as she landed. "You wanna go, old woman?"

"Willow…"

"It's okay, Anakin," she interrupted, her eyes never leaving the angry young woman before her. "This won't take long. Yes, Joyce, I gave the orders that killed your father. I gave the orders that killed a lot of fathers. I'm sorry for it. I apologize for it. But you can only blame me for so long before it becomes less about the death of your father and more about the crappy childhood you had - not because of what I did, but because of the choices you made. You ran away, you joined the Mandalorians, you became a bitter, resentful warrior. Would you have if your father was still here? Probably not. But in all likelihood, your father would have been killed by the Emperor's men anyways for just being the kind of person he was - a good, freedom-loving person. So while you're thinking about that, get the hell off my back." Without further comment, Willow turned and walked calmly back up to he house, leaving the fuming girl and her astonished mentor behind.


Slowly, ever so slowly, Buffy returned to consciousness - and then wished she hadn't. Even in her groggy state she could feel the effects of the Force-suppressing drugs in her system, could feel the restraints cutting into her wrists and ankles that bound her to the cold, hard table that was propped up in the corner of the cold, dark cell. And as her vision returned to her, she could instantly recognize the black-clad figure before her.

"Oh, great. The great would-be Master, Jorus C'baoth."

Vader smiled sinisterly at the bound Jedi. "Master Skywalker-Summers, I missed you. It's been so long since we've talked, hasn't it? I must say you aged gracefully."

"I eat right, exercise, say my prayers and take my vitamins. To what do I owe this severe displeasure?"

Vader chuckled. "My dear Buffy… You haven't changed a bit. You never learned to respect your betters…"

"What exactly made you better?" Buffy shot back. "You had power? Big deal - so does Anakin. You named yourself a Master? Please. The Council only allowed it because your arrogance amused them." Her voice dropped to a stage whisper. "And just between you and me - a group of men that uptight needed all the amusement they could get."

"I named myself Master because they refused to do so," Vader snarled back. "They were jealous of my power…"

"No, they were embarrassed by your attitude, you no-talent hAAAAACK!" Buffy screamed as Vader let loose a powerful blast of Sith lightening, which only hurt worse as it passed through her and onto the metal table, electrifying the table briefly and doubling the damage.

"You want to talk about embarrassments? How about you? Buffy Summers-Skywalker, the poor little lost slave girl, who couldn't even pull herself together long enough to save Qui-Gon Jinn. The tough-as-nails would-be Jedi, who behind all of the stern and bravado is just a lost little slave girl, crying out for her lost family. I'd laugh if it wasn't so pathetic," Vader sneered. "Ah, what the heck. I'll laugh anyways!" Vader cackled, enjoying it even more as Buffy strained against her restraints. "That's it, Skywalker. Hate me! I'll fill you so far up with your hate and anger, you'll willingly follow us to the dark side! You will call me Master!"

"I hate your guts, Vader," Buffy scoffed. "But don't think for a moment that I'll give into the dark side because of it."

Vader smirked. "Well then, there's always plan B." Suddenly he let loose with another blast of lightening, soaking in her screams. "Scream for me, Buffy! Scream for the Dark Side!"


Leia paced nervously in her cell, her trepidation building as she felt the pain that Han, Buffy - and yes, even Lando - were feeling through the Force. Suddenly she heard the door open and spun around to face her new tormentor.

"Senator Naberrie," Mara Jade said respectfully as she entered the room. "It's nice to finally meet you in person."

"We met once before," Leia countered, "But you were too busy getting beaten by Luke and Buffy to extend a proper greeting."

Mara smiled thinly. "Actually, it was that Mandalorian that gave me the most problems. The other two - not so much." She gestured to the hard bench. "Please, sit down. There's no need for this to get uncivilized."

Dubiously, the former Senator took her seat and Mara sat down across from her. "So, what now?" she asked after a moment.

"My name is Mara. The Emperor has entrusted me to certain…duties…which I carry out without bias or emotion. Interrogation is one of those duties." Mara considered her for a moment. "Now, I interrogate you," she replied bluntly. "I've been told, or rather encouraged, to make this a…hard…interrogation. I'm assuming you can imagine what this entails."

Leis swallowed, but her gaze never wavered. "I can guess."

"I'm supposed to ask about your connection to Skywalker, about the Rebel Alliance and especially about Master Skywalker's home. Personally, I have no interest in the first two, but the last one intrigues me very much."

"Why?"

Mara's eyes narrowed. "Because I have reason to believe that someone I'm most eager to meet currently resides there," she replied. "So here's the deal. You tell me what you know - and I'll promise to go easy on you. You understand, of course, that I'll have to do something, lest Lord Vader decides to interrogate you personally." The Hand leaned in. "I hear his interrogations can get very…vigorous." She leaned forward, her steely eyes fixed on Leia. Putting the Force behind her voice, she asked once more, "So what's it going to be, Senator? Me? Or Vader?"


Darth Vader walked out of the room, rubbing his hands against his chest. He smiled at the armored form of Lord Halcyon and his apprentice, Mara Jade.

"Good evening, Hands. How goes the interrogations."

Mara scoffed. "You mean we're supposed to ask questions? I thought you just wanted to torture them. Send out ripples in the Force and all of that."

"And?"

"And we definitely have ripples," Mara smirked. "The Captain screams like a little bitch. At least the Senator could keep the proverbial stiff upper lip."

"Lord Vader, if I may…" Halcyon started. At Vader's nod, he continued. "If you have the lady Skywalker, why bother trying to capture Anakin's son?"

Vader shrugged. "Two Skylwalkers are better than one, maybe? I don't question our Lord's orders."

"Nor do I," Halcyon shot back.

"Have you discovered a method of transporting the boy?"

"This facility has a crude Carbonite freezing chamber," Halcyon replied. "The director was most…helpful at describing it to me during our session."

Vader sneered. "Foolish, weak man. He thought he could buy the Emperor's favor by cooperating. He must be taught that the Empire is not to be denied anything." Vader paused to consider for a moment. "I want to test this chamber, to make sure it is suitable for young Luke. Bring the Captain down to the chamber. We will test it on him first."

"And his friends?" Mara asked. Vader's sneer became more pronounced.

"Bring them as well. We shall all watch Solo freeze. After that, all of them are to be executed in the man courtyard. Including Calrissian."

"As you wish," the two Hands replied, bowing in respect.

Joyce shot up in her bed, sweat rolling down her neck. The nightmare (no, vision; she was sure of it), was still vivid in her mind.

Mom…Han…oh, Haar'chak!

Reaching a decision, Joyce pulled herself out of the bed, silently dressing herself in her Mandalorian armor. Donning her helmet she stealthily made her way out of her room-

And ran straight into Obi-Wan.

"And where do you think you're going?" the Jedi Master asked sternly, his arms crossed in front of him.

"Mom and Han are in danger," she replied immediately. "I'm going to help."

"And what do you think you can do against a Sith Lord and two of the Emperor's Hands?"

"Whatever I have to," Joyce's cold voice answered back. Obi-Wan shook his head in frustration.

"No. No, Joyce. You cannot go. You're too close to-" Obi-Wan started, but before he could finish, Joyce reared back and landed a solid head-butt on the Jedi Master, dropping him instantly. Moving quickly, she stepped around her fallen Master and grabbed her weapons, securing them on herself as she moved out of the house and towards the hangar. Once she arrived, though, she got a very unpleasant surprise.

"YOU!"

Willow smirked from the co-pilot's chair. She was already suited up and strapped in.

"You honestly didn't think I'd miss that disturbance, did you?"

"Get out."

Willow shook her head. "Look. Anakin's in an enchanted sleep that will last about another, oh..." she looked at her watch, "Fifteen minutes. Lord knows how long Ben will be out with whatever you did to him to get past him. You are going up against a Sith Lord and his two highly trained henchmen, in what is most obviously a trap. So whether you like it or not, you need me on this."

Joyce scoffed. "Why would the Sith try to trap me? They don't even know about me."

The redheaded witch rolled her eyes. "You are so much like your mother sometimes…incredibly dense in the face of all of the facts…"

"My mother is not dense!" the young Mandalorian shot back hotly.

"I was her best friend and when I became a Sith Lord she didn't even notice. Look - they took time, not only to torture Han, but Leia and Buffy as well. Now who else in this universe is connected in some way to all three of them?"

It took a moment, but the answer finally came to her. "Luke."

Willow nodded. "Exactly. The Emperor knows about Luke now and he wants him. Vader wants Buffy because of the past animosity they share - Buffy never respected or looked up to C'baoth in any way, shape, or form and he's looking to change that."

"So he has them all tortured, which sends out ripples in the Force…"

"Which gets picked up by the only Jedi they know for sure is still in this galaxy - Luke. He'll surely be on his way - if not now, then within the next few hours."

"But they don't know about us. We can take them by surprise…"

"It's gonna take a lot of luck and all the skills you have learned," Willow pointed out. "I won't lie to you. I have an agenda here - I mean to have a nice little chat with my wayward daughter. But you and Luke are going to have to hit them hard and fast - and that's even if we arrive at the same time."

Joyce looked hard at her nemesis. "What does the Force tell you?"

Willow closed her eyes and concentrated for a moment, then frowned. "The Force is cloudy - more cloudy than it should be. There are other variables at work here - variables that I can't yet see." She opened her eyes and looked at Joyce. "Well? Are we going to go, or not?"

Joyce scowled behind her helmet and then reluctantly climbed aboard Prometheus. "Fine. Let's go."


"Luke, you must not go!"

The past few months on Dagobah had been a real eye opener for the young Jedi-in-training. Learning from Master Yoda - someone both his father and Aunt had told him so much about - had been both a pleasure and a challenge and a path that he wished he could continue to follow. But that was before the vision of his sister, his Aunt, his friend - all suffering in a city in the clouds.

"But they'll all die if I don't."

"You don't know that," Qui-Gon said, his ghostly form appearing between the diminutive Jedi Master and Padmé. "Even Yoda cannot see their fate."

"I can help them!" Luke insisted. Padmé shook her head

"You're not ready yet," his mother said softly. "You still have much to learn."

"I feel the Force," Luke said.

"But you cannot control it," Qui-Gon countered. "This is a dangerous stage for you, Luke. You are now most susceptible to the temptations of the dark side."

"Yes, yes," Yoda added. "To Qui-Gon you listen, young one. The cave. Remember your failure at the cave!"

Luke remembered the experience at the Cave, a place so full of the Dark Side that it showed you your worst fears. In that cave he had faced the tall, menacing figure, cloaked in black and face obscured under shadows. It wasn't until he struck the figure down in anger that the face was revealed - to be his own. Luke shook his head in frustration. "I've learned much since then. And I'll return to finish. I promise that, master."

"It is your abilities the Emperor wants," Qui-Gon told him gravely. "That is why your friends were made to suffer."

"And that," Luke said, "is why I must go."

"Luke, your father and I sacrificed so much to keep you away from him," Padmé said sadly. "I don't want to lose you to him now."

"You won't."

"Only a fully trained Jedi Knight, with the Force as his ally, will conquer the Emperor and his agents," Qui-Gon emphasized. "If you end your training now, if you choose the quick and easy path, you will become an agent of evil and the galaxy will be plunged deeper into the abyss of hate and despair."

"Stopped they must be," Yoda interjected. "On this all depends."

"Patience!" Qui-Gon emphasized. Luke shook his head

"And sacrifice my family?" the youth asked incredulously.

"If you honor what they fight for," Yoda said, pausing for a moment, "... yes!"

"I cannot help you, Luke," the Qui-Gon said. "If you choose to face Vader, you will do it alone. I cannot interfere."

"I understand," Luke replied calmly. Then, turning to his droid, he said, "Artoo, fire up the power converters."

Artoo whistled, powering up Luke's X-Wing once more. Luke climbed up the ladder into the cockpit, which folded back into the ship as he sat down.

"Luke," Qui-Gon advised "Don't give in to hate or anger. They lead to the dark side."

Yoda looked worriedly at his apprentice. "Strong is Vader," he warned ominously. "Mind what you have learned. Save you, it can!"

"I will, Master Yoda," Luke assured him. "I will. And I'll be back, I promise." Artoo closed the cockpit and Luke started the engines.

Yoda, Padmé and the ghost of Qui-Gon watched as the sleek craft lifted effortlessly from the ground and angled up to the heavens. "Told you, I did," Yoda said sorrowfully, "Reckless is he. Now things are worse."

"That boy is the future of the Order," Qui-Gon noted sadly.

"Perhaps," Padmé noted sadly. "But he's not alone."


Dawn moved hurriedly around her room, laying out various pieces of equipment. Her lightstaff, her sister's blaster, a small vibroblade and her normal black-ops outfit - along with lock-picks, a small computer splicer… all tools of the trade that both her sister and Willow had taught her to use during her training. After all - she wasn't your average Jedi, so she certainly wasn't going to be trained like one. Silently she stripped and once more donned her black outfit, slipping on the vest and quickly setting each piece of equipment in its place. A soft knock turned her attention to her door as Zett quickly walked in, PPG in hand. He started to hand it over to her and then hesitated.

"You know what it means if you take it, don't you?" he asked her, a worried frown on his face. Dawn sighed and nodded.

"Yeah, I do." She quickly snatched the portal device from her boyfriend's hand. She gave it a cursory glance to make sure the destination was correct, then leaned in and gave him a quick peck on the lips. "Well, it's been fun."

Zett smiled sadly. "I'll walk you to the embarkation room."

The two walked in silence the short distance to the embarkation room - the one room where portals could be opened, thanks to the wards. A thought suddenly struck Dawn and she looked over to Zett.

"Did the Coven get the wards back up?"

Zett nodded. "All new and improved, from what Tara told me."

Dawn nodded and they continued until they finally reached the room- where Dawn found a surprise waiting for her.

"You didn't think we'd let you go off alone to rescue Buffy, did you, Bit?" Spike asked as he casually leaned against Fred's desk. The desk's owner was dressed for business - combat pants and shirt and a tactical vest laden down with equipment. Around them was the rest of Angel's crew - Gunn, Cordy, Wesley and Angel himself. The Master vampire smirked at Dawn's stunned expression.

"Especially as we weren't allowed to go last time."

"I can't use the Watcher's Council to cover for you, as I'm not authorized as a Senior Watcher," Wesley noted, checking the ammo in his two .45's. He smiled wanly at the girl. "The price for working for a vampire, I'm afraid."

Dawn shook her head. "You guys…you don't know what you're getting into…"

"And you're not going without us," Fred stated. "You'll need our help getting past any guards-" she held up a metal briefcase, "and you'll need a quick getaway, which I can give you."

"Here's the plan," Gunn said, shifting his homemade axe in his hands, "we take out the goons, you take out the Sith, Fred and Cordy pimp out the Falcon…"

"Easy as pie," Cordy finished. "Which you'll owe me when we get back."

Dawn looked helplessly to Zett, who merely shrugged. "Fred wouldn't give me the PPG unless Angel and his team went with you. And face it - you'll need back up."

Dawn smiled slightly, then moved in and gave Zett a long, deep kiss. Her smile broadened when she pulled back and saw the goofy expression on his face. "Thank you," she said silently, moving into the center of the room. Angel's crew surrounded her, making sure to have at least one hand on her shoulders or arms. "We'll be back before you know it."

"May the Force be with you, my love," he said as she activated the device. A cloud of purple and white energy blossomed around the group, which was sucked through the portal towards destiny.


There were bars, there were dives, and then there were seedy dumps like this place. Wedge thought to himself as he strolled through the door to the bar, deep in the underbelly of Coronet. Spying who he was looking for, Wedge made a beeline to the table set in the darkened corner of the bar.

"Fancy meeting you here," he said as he slid into the chair across from the man.

Talon Karrde smiled. As always he was immaculately dressed, though his long black hair flowed loosely over his shoulders. He lifted his glass in a mock salute. "I always did appreciate the finer places in life."

"Jorj pays hat badly, huh?"

"Jorj isn't running the show anymore."

Wedge sat back in his chair and stared at the smuggler before him. "Should I be offering my congratulations, or my condolences?"

Karrde chuckled."Nothing like that, Captain. Jorj merely went legit."

"Condolences, then," Wedge quipped. Karrde laughed softly as he sipped his drink. "But I'm sure you didn't contact us to let us know about the reorganization of your organization."

"No, of course not," Karrde replied, putting down his drink and folding his hands in front of him. "And I didn't try to get in touch with the Alliance - I got in touch with you."

Wedge's eyes narrowed. "What could you possibly want with me?" he asked bluntly.

"Absolutely nothing," Karrde replied, spreading his hands wide across the table. "I mean you no harm; this is no trap. This is merely a business move for me. You see - a few years ago, I got some information for a mutual acquaintance and she's become a bit - shall we say - obsessed?"

"So you're who gave Joyce the info on Fett," Wedge ground out. Karrde nodded.

"I had no idea he significance of the intell I gave her until I met with an irate parent about a year later. You see - the parent's company are very good clients of mine and I like to keep my clients happy. Which made the reason I called you here that much more urgent."

"And what's that?" Wedge asked. Karrde steeped his hands once more as he leaned across the table.

"A few weeks ago, Lord Vader hired several bounty hunters to find the Millennium Falcon. From what my sources gathered, one succeeded. And now there's a big Imp exercise going on, right now, at Cloud City - and Boba Fett himself is said to be there." Karrde leaned back once more. "I have reason to believe the mother has been captured. And considering who the daughter is…"

"She'll go to her mom's aid, danger be dammed. Stang!" Wedge looked to Karrde. "What do I owe you?"

Talon smiled."On the house, in anticipation for future business." His smile faded as he leaned in once more. "Just bring them home. I'm rather fond of them."

Wedge smiled grimly as he rose. "So am I," he replied as he turned and walked out of the bar. Once outside, he activated his comlink. "Janson? This is Wedge. Get the guys together- we've got an off-the-book mission…

TBC…

Next chapter - It all hits the fan! Fett vs. Joyce! Mara vs. Willow! Angel and Co. vs. Stormtroopers! Luke vs. Halcyon! Dawn vs. Vader-and what will Obi-Wan and Anakin do when they wake up? Tune in next time to find out!

Haar'chak: Mado for Damnit!