Chapter Nine

As Luke approached Launa's house in his L class spacecraft he saw a lone figure standing atop a dune. When landed Launa was leaving her vantage point and coming towards his ship, toting a heavy grey-green duffel bag on her left shoulder. Luke got out to help her.

For the first time he could clearly see her, and she him.

Luke's appearance did not fit that of the Jedi that Ben had described to her, nevertheless, in the stark light of the Tatooine day he seemed to have something in his bearing that denoted his rank as a Jedi Master. He was clad in black and bore a sober expression, his keen blue eyes showed the world that he was a Jedi, they were full of a sympathy and encompassing love for all things good. Just as a Sith's eyes will reveal them as evil and malicious, the kind hearted goodness of a Jedi will show through their eyes as well.

Launa's hair was dancing in the now sufficiently roused eddies of wind. Her blue eyes shined with a eager expression, she seemed to be in a state of anticipation as she gazed at his ship for a moment.

"Hello Launa, good morning!" Luke said cheerily.

"Good morning Luke" Launa said smiling broadly.

For a moment a scintillating, almost spasm-like reaction to Launa's glowing countenance caught Luke unawares, and quite ill-equipped to handle such forgotten feelings. He quickly dismissed the unbidden sensation and took Launa's bag and stowed in the cargo hold.

Launa stared at Luke for a moment. She was completely befuddled as to why he had taken her bag and put it in the hold himself when he could have just as easily told her where the cargo hold was. Oh well she shrugged off the odd sensation that came with being helped. She would not let his odd and foreign ways mar the day on which started on her journey to the unknown. No, she would not let anyone dampen her spirits as she set off on this wholly new and fascinating adventure, which she was just moments from embarking on.

She slid into the co-pilots seat in the cockpit and strapped herself in. She looked at the controls, ascertaining the specific functions of each one by reading the labels and symbols that were right above the particular switch or button.

"Here Luke" Launa said as she passed him a piece of dense, cake-like loaf of some homemade breakfast, special to the Jordane side of the family. Luke took a bite as he strapped himself in and flipped the ignition switch.

"It's good," Luke said, his speech slightly obstructed by the wad of food in his mouth.

"Thanks, secret family recipe." She said with a nod as she took a bite. As she chewed her breakfast and watched Luke get the ship ready for take off, she wondered, 'what in the blazing suns makes him act so odd?' She wrapped her arms around herself as if to ward off coldness. She clung to herself, it was the only strength she had known for years. She felt cold, but not on the outside. She felt hollow, as if, stars forbid, it SHE who was the odd one for not being able to accept the chivalrous way in which Luke treated her. She felt foolish for so vehemently withdrawing from Luke's polite attentions. She couldn't just dismiss Luke's peculiarity her mind had to find a logical answer or she would never be able to put it away and not think about it. It wasn't so much the fact he was helping her that she resented it was the underlying question of why, and the emotions it evoked in her.

The impenetrable walls that kept her heart held in the darkness of her own frightened self had just discovered a small crevice emitting an infinitesimal amount of light into her imprisoned soul. Slowly her inner self began to meekly plead for her attention. 'He's just being nice' it coaxed.

Nice! 'I don't need niceness' her prideful side retorted.

'He doesn't know that.'

'Cant he tell? Its not like I'm weak! I don't need anybody's help!'

Launa's sensitive side retreated to the dark corners of her mind. It had lost the battle against Willful Pride and Obstinance, but it had made itself heard. An accomplishment it had not achieved since Launa's early youth. It would try again, the one thing certain about the side that knows it is in the right, is that it will continue trying to persuade the side in the wrong, until it either wins or burns out.

"Launa" Luke's gentle voice broke in. "Are you cold?"

"No! I'm fine" she replied in a dissonant tone that caught Luke off his guard.

'Why did she sound so harsh?' he wondered, had he done something to offend her?

Launa gritted her teeth. The gentlemanly attentions that he was showing her were perplexing enough without him continuing in his strange ways. Why did Luke have to be so… so…? Her mind drew a blank; she knew no word to properly describe Luke's courteous comportment. No one had treated her in such a manner before, so she had had no reason to find a designation for such unusualness.

Launa took several deep breaths and focused on clearing her thoughts; an inborn trait she had always possessed.

Luke could sense Launa reaching out into the Force to clear her mind, he wondered what it was that she was trying to erase from her thoughts.

"So Luke" Launa said, her voice much calmer and her thoughts arranged in a more orderly manner. "What is the modus operandi for Jedi's and their Padawans?"

"I was hoping you knew, you seem to know more about the history of the Jedi than I do, and more about the Force than I expected," he said with a knowing glance at Launa.

"What?"

"You know how to use the Force to clear thoughts from your mind, a skill I have not even mastered fully yet."

"I do?" Launa asked intrigued by the unknown Force capability she possessed.

"You didn't know?"

"No"

Luke laughed, his blonde hair tossing around his head as he rollicked in the humor Launa not even knowing her own strength. Launa suddenly felt her heart beat in an unruly and entirely unacceptable manner, its loss of rhythm was inexplicable. Whatever was causing it to react to the sight of her master in such a way was to be found and banished from her as soon as possible.

"Its not THAT funny, Ben just never told me much about the Force, he was careful not to, he didn't want to leave me in the volatile state of a semi-trained individual who might be ensnared into becoming a user of the Dark Side."

"You never did get around to telling me about my parents, remember? We got too carried away in putting your house back in order, and then I started talking about my past and you never got the chance to tell me what they were like" Luke hadn't wanted to press the topic but he was desperate to know about his family.

"I'm so sorry Luke. Your mother's name was Padme Amidala and she was the elected Queen of the Naboo when your father met her. She was fourteen and he was nine. She was fearlessly going up against the Trade Federation, which was being used by Darth Sidious to block all trade and communication on her planet. She eventually saved her planet from doom by forming an alliance with the Gungans, a misanthropic society that dwelled underwater on Naboo and were very prejudiced against the land dwelling people of Naboo. My father was a mere Padawan under the tutelage of the great Jedi Qui Gon Jinn. My father always held him in the highest regard, he revered him almost as much as master Yoda. He died on Naboo in a battle with a Sith Lord."

"The Emperor?"

"No, this Sith was the Emperor's first completely trained apprentice; Darth Maul. Palpatine was still a humble senator for the Naboo System, no one even suspected him of being a Sith at that time."

"So what happened to this apprentice of his?"

Launa's smile was uncontainable, she let it spread over her face as pride welled within her. The tale of Darth Maul's defeat had been her favorite portion of the Jedi Chronicles but she had really enjoyed it when on the rare occasion her father told it himself while she sat at his feet. She had never tired of hearing him telling it even after she had reached her teen years the story still enthralled her and made her glow with pride in the brave deeds of her father.

"My father killed him" she paused to add dramatic effect to the words she would say next, "when he was only a Padawan." Luke stared at her in disbelief. She grinned. He succeeded where even his master failed, no Padawan had ever slain a Sith before. My father almost lost his life, and he did lose his lightsaber, a mishap that plagued him throughout the novitiate period of his training." Launa longed to tell Luke the entire story in minute detail but she realized she had gotten off topic. "Oh, meanwhile, back with Padme…" and with herself now realigned with the correct topic of interest she continued with the heroic and yet tragic tale of Senator Padme Amidala Skywalker.

On Quanar a timorous courier quickly entered the private office of Grand Moff Connosten. The messenger tiptoed up to the Moff's side.

"Yes" Connosten demanded curtly, not even deigning to look up from his work to acknowledge his page's presence.

"Uh… Uh… sir… I"

"Well spit it out oaf, I have better things to do with my time than listen to you stutter." Connosten snapped at his servant.

"Sir it is incumbent upon me to inform you of an egregious setback to your intentions towards the republic and its leading members."

"Well" Connosten said with a growl as he gritted his teeth and grasped his cup of Jahtola with such a vengeful grip that his servant feared it might very well break.

"Sir, we received a message from Commander Fallery informing us that he would arrive on schedule."

"and.."

"And that Supreme General and Jedi Master Luke Skywalker has been sighted in the company of the most feared and hated Launa Jordane."

Connosten flung his hot cup of Jahtola against the wall with such force that it knocked a chunk of the stucco wall out before it crashed to the floor. "By all the fires" he cursed. . "Its not as if those two audacious brigands don't plague me enough as individuals what hellish creature will they morph into now that they are a team. I suppose that supercilious Jedi Luke has gotten it into his head to train Jordane, what sort of foe am will I be facing next time I meet Launa Jordane." He rubbed his head and was about to turn to his page to ask for a dose of Tachayka, but his personal courier was nowhere to be seen. He would see to it that he was severely punished for such negligence.

Connosten picked up his comlink and contacted his chief of security.

"Yes sir?"

"I want security doubled throughout this complex do you understand?"

"Yes sir, may I ask why?"

"I have reason to believe Jordane and Skywalker may find their way here."

"Doubled security just because of two people sir?"

"Yes you fool, now do as I say" Connosten snarled and then clicked his comlink off.

His outlook on life was in the depths of depressiveness. His two worst enemies had joined forces, they probably knew where he was, and his own officers were questioning him while others abandoned him completely. He had to maintain complete control over his subordinates. If he didn't they would begin to think for themselves and easily might rebel against him, a prospect he could not risk becoming a reality.

He picked up his comlink once again and contacted the leader of his personal bodyguards.

"Chapuy?"

"Yes my lord" the commander seemingly hissed.

"I want you to dispatch one of your fellow commanders."

"Whatever your pleasure is I will do your bidding."

"I want you to assassinate Theobald the chief of palace security."