Chapter 9
Sight
Luke looked up when Zak entered the room with the Prime Minister's personal aide less than three hours after his meeting with Koa Ne ended. Zak bore a childlike expression of glee on his face that Luke immediately saw through, and guessed must have been in place for his hostess' benefit.
Luke smiled to them both and invited them in, redundant as the invitation was by that point. Loru Fa, however, remained by the doorway, and Zak turned to face her.
"I'll be all right," he said, still smiling. "I'm sure I'll find my way to my quarters from here." He bowed to the slender Kaminoan woman, got a bow of the head and neck in return, and they both turned away from one another: Loru Fa to leave the room through the still-open door and Zak to Luke.
When the door shut behind the Kaminoan, Zak's smile dropped immediately and he slumped down onto the nearest comforter.
"Why do I get the feeling you're not here just to thank me for giving you the opportunity to come here?" Luke asked as he made his way over to the caf dispenser in the corner of the suite and poured two mugs of the steaming hot beverage.
He handed one mug over to Zak and kept the other for himself as he seated himself down opposite Zak and lounged back into the comfortable seat. Zak looked down at the mug he'd been given and wrinkled his nose.
"I don't drink caf," he said simply.
"Have you ever tried it?" Luke asked after taking a sip from his own. Zak frowned, shook his head no, and then took a large gulp from his own cup.
He swirled the caf around in his mouth for a second, and the swallowed it, following it with a satisfied sigh before taking another long gulp.
"So that's two things I've introduced you to now," Luke said with a smirk. "The Force and the goodness of caf."
Zak grinned after swallowing another mouthful of the burning substance and then set the mug down on the shin-high metal table between the two of them. Like Luke, he took comfort in the chair that supported him. It looked almost as though he would fall asleep before long, if not for the fact that he started talking.
"I seek your guidance, M—Luke," Zak started.
"As a friend or a Jedi?"
"A Jedi," Zak clarified. Luke nodded; it was nothing to do with the procedure he would soon undertake.
"What can I do for you, Zak?"
Zak hesitated, and reached up to scratch an itch, or a perceived itch, to the side of his chin before he spoke again. "I … felt something—earlier."
"Go on."
"I'll start from the beginning," Zak said, sitting forward in the seat and clamping his hands onto his knees for support. "When Jaina and I were approaching the city landing area, I thought I saw something on a far platform. When I tried to point it out to Jaina, she insisted that there was nothing there at all. So, while Loru Fa was taking me on a tour, I kind of suggested a side trip to that platform. Just a small suggestion."
"Unusual that a mind trick would work on a Kaminoan," Luke said thoughtfully.
Zak nodded, undeterred. "So when I got there, I discovered a cloaked ship. Well, at least I think it was a ship. Whatever it was, it was definitely under the cover of an active, and powerful, cloaking device. I took note of it, but—before I go on—how is it possible that I could see it when Jaina couldn't. It stands to reason that if she couldn't see it while looking directly at it; the cloaking device must have been active since before our arrival."
"It's possible you were using the Force, unknowingly, to enhance your vision."
"Force-sight?" Zak asked dubiously.
"Precisely. You may not have intended to do it at all. Perhaps your subconscious developed a reason to thrust the ability upon your conscious mind. You saw the ship, but Jaina, who was not using the Force to enhance her vision, did not. Tell me; were you able to see it earlier when you went to investigate the platform?"
"No. I mean … not precisely, no. I could see the outline based on where the rain disappeared into the ship's cloaking field. If my subconscious saw the need to draw on the Force to help me see it before, why didn't it do it again?"
"Maybe because you already knew what to look for, and could use your other senses. On the approach, you had no such opportunity." Luke paused. While he sensed the relief in Zak's reassurance that he wasn't just imagining things, he could also sense that there was something more serious troubling the young man. He suppressed the smile at a memory of when they had first met on D'vouran all those years ago. "What is troubling you? We can look into the ship later."
This time, the hesitation was longer, and Zak sat back in the comfort of the seat again, as if trying to wrap himself up in it to protect against something malign. The worry and doubt roiled off him like a storm cloud forecasting an imminent hurricane.
"When I was leaving that ship to come back inside, I sensed something … wrong. It's something I felt before in Pravus' and Alitha's presences, only worse."
"You've come to the conclusion that with that ship's presence here, there might be a darksider around?"
"Actually, no," Zak said, surprising him. "I thought about it, yes, but then I came to think that the only darksider left who's shown an interest in me, or you and your family, is Alitha. She wouldn't know that we're here."
"Keep in mind that the Imperium has been unusually quiet these past couple of years. This may be because they are continuing their efforts—hopefully in vain—to locate us, or maybe because they have something devilish in mind. They might have been busy planting spies at key points within the Republic, including someone close to the Jedi Finance department. If that's the case, they most definitely know that we're here.
"So, what's bothering you?" Luke repeated, getting back on track.
"What I felt before …" Zak trailed off, looked up at Luke, straight in the eye, and then back down. "It was me. It felt like the way I remember feeling when I was … not myself. Stronger. It made me think: what if the dark side in me is biding its time? What if it's letting me maintain control just long enough that it can build up enough strength to destroy me and take over permanently? Is that possible?"
"No," Luke said without hesitating.
Zak frowned and Luke saw the shadow of that mentioned dark side in him. He also saw that it was completely under control. "I don't want your assurances out of friendship. I said I wanted your help as a Jedi. I can take the truth."
"And the truth was what I spoke," Luke insisted evenly. He leaned forward and placed his half-full and still steaming mug on the table, opposite Zak's, and then graced the younger man with a smile. "I know you. You may have changed a lot since the days of war against the Empire when we first met—you've grown more mature, cautious, selfless … wise. But even with those changes, your core being hasn't changed at all. Sometimes, I look at you and I worry about Jaina because I see the exuberant young risk taker that always used to somehow get involved with my father's and the Emperor's secret plans."
"Sometimes I think that's all Mister Solo still sees in me," Zak muttered.
"You are in a relationship with his only daughter. He respects you, and—yes—he is cautious of you." Luke said. "But; no, I don't believe your dark side will ever take over again. You're aware of it, and you grow stronger every day. If your dark side ego even still exists, it will realise soon enough that you gain strength as it gains strength, and it will therefore always be just that little bit weaker than you and unable to take over."
"And when I sleep, it leaves him the opportunity to do just that."
"Which is why I'm convinced that when you reasserted control of your own body, you destroyed the Sith ego. Otherwise he would have taken advantage of just such an opportunity by now. It's been four years, and no sign."
Zak still didn't seem convinced.
"What about what I saw, and felt, earlier?" he asked. "I saw … something," he continued, reading the question on the elder Jedi's mind. "Some sort of apparition. It took the shape of a hooded and robed figure I couldn't discern the identity of. But it spoke to me—whispered almost directly into my mind that I would always carry him with me, no matter how much I try to 'delude' myself that I am Jedi."
Luke thought about this. Until now, he'd been absolutely without doubt that they had seen the last of Darth Malonic, the self-proclaimed Sith personality that had fractured away from Zak's mind at some point between his and Jaina's abduction by Brakiss—a newly christened Sith himself—and his brutal torture and destruction of the man after their escape. It had taken quite a lot of experimental drug use in order to try and suppress the parts of Zak's brain that were responsible for hatred and anger enough that Zak was able to reassert control of his own mind. But Malonic's hold had been broken long enough for Zak to remember who he was, and use that to destroy the dark side fracture.
Now, it seemed as though Zak hadn't destroyed it at all, and that it was possible that Malonic had been biding his time.
Could it be? Perhaps it was something simpler. There had to be another explanation for the mysterious avatar Zak had seen. He couldn't rule out the possibility that there were outside forces hiding in Tipoca City, messing with Zak's mind and using his own memories and fears against him. But on the other side of that same coin …
Zak was ahead of him on that thought. "Or maybe," he started, "I'm losing it."
Maybe not. "Losing your mind? I doubt that very much."
"Do you have a better explanation?"
"Possibly.
"You are about to undergo a very controversial procedure, Zak," Luke continued. "Jaina has voiced her opinions against it, and it is quite often you seek her guidance on matters such as this. I myself have reservations about the fact that it is somewhat experimental. You are one of my star pupils. I haven't seen talent like yours and your sister's since Jacen and Jaina. I would not care to subject you to something harmful."
"Sounds like you're trying to talk me out of this," Zak said, eyebrow arched suspiciously. "I smell Jaina's hand in that."
"So quick to judge," Luke said, disappointed. "I am not trying to talk you out of this. But you have ten hours until your first treatment is scheduled, and that's not a lot of time to confirm that this is what you really want. You've had days since I first brought it up, but have you actually stopped to consider it, or have you been too busy meditating on other issues in your life, and trying to avoid conflict with Jaina?"
Zak's jaw was agape at the stunning prediction. Luke didn't even have to read it from his mind to know that it was all true. It was evident on his face.
"I thought as much," Luke said with a sigh.
"So …" Zak said slowly, comprehending. "What you're saying is that the apparition I saw was merely a manifestation of my own doubts that have been building up since what happened with him?"
"By extension, maybe that's exactly what I'm saying," Luke said with a dismissive wave. He reached forward and used the Force to return his cup of caf to his hand, where he brought it to his lips and took a long, satisfying draught from it. "But I merely meant that it could be a manifestation of your doubts about this procedure. But maybe your doubts go further back than that. Maybe your doubts do stem from the incident with the fracture ego."
"So, what do you think I should do?"
"That," Luke started thoughtfully, "is entirely up to you. I can offer suggestions, but I cannot make your decisions for you. Only you can do that. Only you should do that. I'll tell you what I will do, however."
"Yes?"
"I'll go to this platform you mentioned and take a look at this mysterious ship for myself." He finished his caf and deposited the now empty cup down on the table. "See if it matches anything I've seen before, or what kind of sense I get from it. It might shed some light on things."
"That sounds good."
"Not tonight, however." Luke got to his feet, and waited for Zak to do the same. "You have much needed rest to see to, and so do I."
"Right." Zak nodded and, ignoring the rest of the caf in his cup, headed for the door with Luke trailing not too far behind him. "I … oh! Mara asked Jaina and I to find out the source of your lack of communication."
"When we return to the Praxeum, I'll tell her it's due to the storms. At least, that's what the Kaminoans have told me. Ion storm passed through the system, apparently, and it's stirred up some static interference in the atmosphere."
"Ah," Zak said softly. He keyed the door open and stepped through it. "Good night, Master Skywalker," he said, and then he darted down the hall.
Before Luke closed the door and turned off the lights, he sensed Zak reaching for the Force, and knew that he sought directions to the suite he and Jaina had been provided.
Tomorrow was going to be an interesting day.
