"Wake the Ashes"

Chapter Eleven: Echoes Of War

"I used the deadwood to make the fire rise
The blood of innocence burning in the skies
I filled my cup with the rising of the sea
And poured it out in an ocean of debris"

- Linkin Park, "Burning In the Skies"

Embo relaxed in his chair as Bane patiently waited for him to begin. At least, Bane attempted to give off the impression that he was being patient.

"I suppose there is no other way to start off," Embo said at last, before folding his hands in front of him. "I am sure you have heard the talk starting up recently. Even out in the middle of nowhere in a place like this."

"Talk, what talk?"

Embo spoke slowly and carefully.

"Talk of what has been changing in the Imperial Senate. Talk of the Empire cracking down on systems who can't fight back. And, of course, talk about an uprising."

Bane leaned back in his chair. If that was how Embo wanted to start this conversation off, he had no idea what was going to come up next.

"You're talking about a real uprising? That's a laugh. And I don't see what—"

"I'll get there," Embo stated. "But yes, I am talking about a real uprising against the Empire. About rebellion. Surely you have heard talk about this at some point."

"Only talk I've heard is about how successful previous rebellions were in the past. Naboo. Ghorman. Kamino. Should I keep going?"

"Those were not the type of uprisings I am speaking of. I am not talking about an angry mob, or not even an entire system. I'm talking about multiple systems forging an alliance, with appointed leaders and a real army. A sophisticated, organized uprising."

"You're talking about bullshit, is what you are." Bane arched an eyebrow. "You're not telling me this is already happening, are you?"

"No, I am not. But it will happen. That is what I am telling you."

Bane laughed as he rose from his chair and picked up the standard rifle lying on the kitchen counter. He grabbed the cleaning kit and began to oil the outside of the barrel.

"You have got to be kidding me. You come all this way just to tell me that?"

"I take it you do not believe a word I am saying," Embo said firmly, "but I know that there will come a time when those who wish to oppose the Empire will be more organized in their efforts. They will form a single uprising. This will be a great threat to the Empire. I do not believe we will see this formation for at least two or three more decades, but it will happen eventually."

"And just what is it that makes you so sure of this?"

"My employers."

"Your what?" Bane dropped the cleaning rag, leaving the rifle to rest between his legs. He stared at Embo from the other end of the table. His gaze went cold.

Embo was twiddling his thumbs on the table, like it were a nervous tick. His amber eyes flickered and he sounded as if he were clearing his throat.

"I work for an organized assembly of politicians, bankers, and military generals. All of whom intend to combine their skills and forces to form an organized rebellion against the Empire."

Bane did not know what to say. Was Embo pulling his leg? Was this a test? Had Embo really gotten involved with subversives? Was that what Embo meant when he said he was a changed man?

Embo couldn't really be serious about this, could he? He was working for a group of rich boys who were plotting to rise up against the Galactic Empire? If Bane had taken Embo to be a fellow of strong intellect and reasoning before, he was this close to taking it back. The idea of even attempting to overthrow such a powerful system as the Galactic Empire, first of all, was out of the question. The only way the Republic had fallen was because of internal corruption and breaking down from the inside out. Trying to do the same to the Empire from the outside in would be impossible. How Embo had gotten involved with such crazies, Bane almost didn't want to know. Second, what was Embo's logical benefit in working for subversives? Bane could only imagine that Embo was involved in dirty work of some sort, not directly part of their plans but doing something along the side. After all, the war could have easily left Embo a desperate man taking any work he could find, even if it meant being hired by an empty cause. Although it seemed unlike the Embo he knew.

All in all, Bane considered far too many variables to even come to a reasonable conclusion, at least at this point in the conversation. Still, one thing remained clear as to what Embo had come here to propose to Bane.

"If you're going to say what I think you're going to say...I'm not interested."

"Currently, this assembly is trying to build an army that will be able to attack some of the major Imperial bases throughout the galaxy. This is much easier said than done, of course."

"And where do you come into play, exactly?"

"I'm getting there. I was hired by them because they have taken interest in finding alliance with survivors of the war. They believe that using the skills war survivors developed would help them accomplish their goal. As of now, what they do have of an army is little more than simple citizens who have never held a weapon in their lives. Citizens who are ready to fight but do not know how. They need recruits with experience. It was around this time that they made first contact with me about a business proposition."

"What does your contract spell out?"

"My job is to supervise the training of new recruits."

Bane let out a long sigh. He paused as he could hear footsteps coming up the stairs. At first he was going to stand up and tell Takira to stay downstairs, but he had second thoughts. It could not hurt Takira to hear what they were talking about. At the least, she might get a little excited about all Embo's rebellion talk, but within a couple standard weeks it would wear off and she would forget about it completely. In fact, now that Bane considered it, it might even do Takira good to hear Bane explain to Embo why all his ideas were crazy ones.

When he could see Takira within eyesight of the kitchen, Bane nodded to let her know it was all right. Takira reached the top step and walked slowly into the room, shuffling her feet quietly so not to make any sound. Embo still heard her nonetheless, and glanced behind him once to see her again.

"That's all?" Bane said to get Embo's attention back.

"It's not as simple as I explain it. This is where my own proposition to you comes in."

Takira had a look of confusion on her face. Bane could tell it was fake. Naturally, Takira had been listening on their conversation much longer than she liked Bane to think she was. She probably had a good idea of what they were talking about already.

"You want me to help you train these recruits," Bane finally finished.

"Yes."

Silence.

Bane went back to cleaning his rifle, and while he did, he said not a word. It continued that way for seven and a half more minutes. The room fell completely silent. Nothing but the whisper of the oily rag gliding over metal, and Embo twiddling his thumbs in wait. When Bane finished, he stood up and put the rifle away. Embo and Takira exchanged quick glances at each other as Bane took his time in sitting back down and lighting a cigarette. Bane stirred his tea a bit more and sipped it, discovering that it had grown cold. He drank it anyway. Then he finally spoke up.

"No, thanks."

"'No, thanks'? You are serious, Bane?"

"Of course I'm goddamn serious. You think I want to spend the next two decades teaching younglings how to hold and fire a blaster, rig an explosion, hit a target from half a mile away, secure perimeters and take out white-helmets, and get themselves blown to bits the minute they run into combat? No, thanks. Not my style."

"The pay will be good, just as soon as—"

"Oh, that sounds reassuring. 'The pay will be good.' Listen, here's what I've learned. When an employer promises pay will get better instead of paying the better from the start, he can't be trusted to keep his word."

Embo fell silent.

"I'll have you know that I am not in it for the money."

"Then for what?" Bane snapped.

"I am working for them because I believe the Empire will not last as long as the Emperor claims it will. I believe these men and women know what they are doing, and that with enough support they will be able to organize a real uprising. And I also believe that this is the uprising that will finally pose a true threat to the Empire."

Bane saw Takira's expression change from confusion to a mixture of shock and awe. Just as he had dreaded would happen. He saw her open her mouth and realized it was too late to hope this reunion with Embo would be a simple one.

"You mean this uprising will be for real, don't you?"

Both Bane and Embo looked in her direction when she asked the question. Bane could have sworn that Embo was smiling secretly.

"Yes, little one. They have more resources, and their political and military experience is beyond what I've seen before in other uprisings."

"You heard about Naboo, right?" Takira pressed.

"Yes. But this one will not be like the others."

"I was right," Bane suddenly said, "you are sentimental. You really are confident your so-called uprising is going to be different this time, but you have no proof to show of that."

Embo stood up and faced Bane directly.

"Call it what you like, but you cannot deny what is true. What with the way things are happening, rebellion is inevitable. Nothing can stop it. It is coming. And when it does, you would do best to choose what side to fight for."

"No rebellion of any kind is going to find its way out here. That much I can guarantee you. No one would bother to bring it this far." Bane waved his half-finished cigarette at Embo. He hoped Takira would neglect to pick up that he had merely denied rebellion would find its way to their little corner of Tatooine, and not necessarily to any other region of the galaxy, or even the Outer Rim.

"You're wrong, Bane. In time, rebellion will find its way here. You may feel safe now. But your safety will not last, not even in a place this secluded. The storm is coming. When it hits, everyone in the galaxy will be affected by it in one way or another."

"Bullshit. You think the last war touched everybody? I saw entire regions who weren't phased at all by the war and were just fine when it blew over. Hell, there's some civilizations out there who still think war is going on all these years later, or had no idea there was much of a war to begin with. That's not going to change the second time around. If there even is a second time."

Embo repeated himself, stronger the next time.

"It is coming, Bane. Everyone must be ready. I see you as being far from ready. When the storm hits, which side will you choose?"

"That's easy. I'll choose my side."

"And I'm sure that side will win you many allies..."

"Who said I needed allies? I'm my own ally, and that's plenty for me. I'll be fine."

Embo seemed to be on the verge of frustration at that point. Bane watched with forced amusement as Embo set his cup of tea on the table with force, approached the window, and looked out to the night sky. His eyes were slits and his hands were clenched. Another long pause took place before Embo said,

"I used to think as you do. I wish it had not taken me as long to realize how wrong I was."

Bane also stood up, watching Embo carefully.

"I don't care what you used to think. It won't change my mind."

"You will not reconsider my offer?"

"Don't bet on it. I'm quite satisfied with my work right now."

"Well, then I hope it stays that way with you for a long time. Enjoy your happiness and your comfort, while it lasts." Embo picked up his hat and walked out the door.

Bane watched him go with a cold glare, swallowing down the taste of cold tea in his mouth. Having the final word before Embo left seemed like a pleasant idea, but his own anger made it difficult for him to think of anything that would set Embo off again. He began to wrestle the temptation to kill Embo right now, shoot him in the back or possibly break his legs and leave him for the Tuskens. It sure would feel good, especially since Bane had not killed anyone he personally knew for several years, now, and finding even the most minuscule excuse to kill someone close to you was a reward in of itself. He had learned that much.

Still, it seemed more fitting to let Embo go with all limbs attached. All he had taken was an hour of Bane's time and a tea bag, after all. But if Bane could not take out his anger at Embo, surely it would eventually be delivered somewhere else. At least until Embo's snarky comments had dissolved from his subconscious.

Nine years after Embo spared him from death, this was how they reunited at last. Some reunion. What a bitter disappointment. Oh, well. Only a sentimentalist would complain.

Takira stepped closer to the door, but Bane held up a hand to stop her.

"No, we should let him go. He said all he wanted to say."

"That's it?" Takira sounded incredulous. "He looks for you almost a whole year to offer you a job, and all you give back is a goddamn cup of tea?"

"It's not like that," Bane said slowly. "You can't trust him. It was just business talk, anyway."

"If you can't trust him, why are you letting him get away?"

"What do you mean?"

"You said it yourself. No one knows about this place Except for him. You ain't going to shoot him or anything?"

Bane sighed and rubbed the bridge between his eyes. He never said it, but Takira knew what was on his mind. Of course, the Kyuzo was not going to tell a soul where they lived. Embo had rescued both of them nine years ago and never told a soul about it. At least, not any soul who found their way to the house. If he did not talk then, he had no reason to talk now. Their secret would be safe. That is, as long as Bane did not give Embo's 'employers' reason to track him down. That would be a most awkward re-reunion, to say the least.

"Maybe he has a point," Takira said.

"No, he's the one without a point. He wasted time coming here."

"The pay could be good. It could be good work for you."

"No, it ain't," Bane said, turning away from the doorway and heading back inside to the kitchen. "Listen, you hear any talk about any of that rebellion ideas, it's bullshit. It's not happening. Don't listen to it."

"But if you're wrong then that means..."

"I'm not wrong," he said curtly.

Takira ignored Cad's last comment and looked back out the doorway. The Kyuzo was loading up his dewback, staring at the ground with his shoulders sagging. She itched to run out and talk to him, invite him back inside. Ask questions and listen to him and Bane speak to each other as old friends again, not bitter associates in the bounty hunting business who might have once sparked a shadow of a friendship.

She turned to Cad, deciding he really needed someone to slap him for being so rude to their guest today.

"Who is he, Cad?"

"What's it to you?"

"You knew him a long time ago, didn't you? I could tell the two of you worked together before the war." As if it had not been obvious enough.

"Sure, we did. But that was like you said, a long time ago. Things aren't the same as they were back then."

"I knew him, too. Didn't I?"

"What?" His voice was cold as ice.

"I knew him, too. I've met him before, and you know it. Who is he?" The more questions she asked, the more Bane bit his tongue and tightened his jaw. She knew that whenever she said things that made him angry, he did not show it. He only raised his voice in anger when he wanted to be funny. When he truly was angry, he closed off from the rest of the world and shut everything else out by hiding within himself. It was just how he did it. And Takira could see the symptoms starting when his body began to curl up, cowering like a wounded animal into a corner. The angrier he was, the quieter he became.

"It doesn't matter." His voice was hushed. Now she knew she had made him very angry.

"You're not listening to me!" Takira said. "You can't just stand there and tell me I don't recognize him when I know I do!"

"I said, it doesn't matter. We're done speaking with him. He doesn't have anymore to tell us, and we got nothing to tell him. That's all there is to it."

"But he—"

"That's enough. Now shut it." He abruptly turned and descended the stairs to the basement, gone just like that.

She wanted to scream at the top of her lungs, I'm nineteen goddamn years old, I'm not your 'little Takira flower' anymore, and I have every right to know what you know. But at this point it wouldn't do any good. He was going to be in a sore for a while, and Takira couldn't get one word through to him until it blew over. In fact, when Cad had these moods where he shut himself away, she could get away with saying or doing pretty much anything since he would not notice it anyway. Naturally, she had always taken advantage of that before. And she did not plan to break that tradition tonight.

Fine, then, she decided. You won't tell me who the Kyuzo is, I'll go ask him myself.

It sounded like a horrible idea in retrospect, but Takira didn't allow herself any second thoughts on the matter. She slipped out the door quietly and approached the Kyuzo as he tied his shield hat on the side of the dewback's saddle.

In that moment, as the Kyuzo was silhouetted against the black of the night and the glow from the interior of the house, he appeared very worn and tired, as if his soul were centuries old and had withered the youth out of his body. It sounded crazy inside her head, but when Takira looked at him, he seemed much older and wiser than anyone she had seen before. It was as if he were some sort of deity in sentient form. That was how he appeared to her.

Although, the last time she had seen this Kyuzo, she was smaller and much more frightened. So being that on that day, he held her safe in his arms as he pulled her out of the flames and comforted her, it did not surprise her that her subconscious now saw him as a deity.

The Kyuzo was just about to mount his dewback. Quickly, Takira called out to him.

"Wait! Before you leave..."

"Yes, what is it, little one?"

All at once she stopped. Takira did not know how to say it. How could she say it? That on the day that changed her life forever, she remembered him being there? That he was the person who saved her life and gave her hope and she did not even know his name? That he was the only one who could answer all the questions she wanted to know about what exactly happened that day, and all the days before?

These were questions, of course, that Bane had outright refused to answer every time. Questions she tried to find out for herself and was left with only more questions she never uncovered the answers to.

"Please tell me your name."

The Kyuzo faced her, his shield-hat on his back and one hand clasping the dewback's reins.

"My name is Embo. Don't you know who I am?"

"No."

Embo glanced back at the house.

"He told you nothing?"

"He never mentioned you at all." Takira saw the look of surprise in Embo's eyes, as if the fact that she did not so much as know his name was an insult. "But you were there, weren't you?"

"What do you mean?"

"The day I was taken from Ryloth. Someone who looked just like you rescued me."

Embo's gaze dropped to the ground, but a moment later he was nodding his head.

"I was there."

"Can you tell me what else happened that day? Tell me why you rescued me and why Cad was there with you. And tell me how you and Cad knew each other from before." Takira looked at him, pleading with everything inside of her. "I need to know. Please tell me what happened."

Her spirits dropped when Embo smiled and laid a calloused, scarred hand on her shoulder with a sigh.

"I am sorry, Tee, but now is not the time or place. You must understand that he hasn't told you because he wants to protect you. There are things that happened during and before the war that should never be spoken of. It would only produce unnecessary pain."

"You don't understand. Cad hasn't told me about anything that happened before the day you found me. I've spent my life looking all over the HoloNet to find the answers...I find a news report here, a journal there. It's all just fragments. I can't put the pieces together and I know the most important parts of the story are things I could never find out by myself. I have to know. All I know is that he found me and took me home, and that you were there. I'm old enough now that I should know...don't you understand how much it means to me?"

"It is not my place to tell you." Embo released her shoulder and glanced back at the house again. "Do not worry. I will not be leaving the vicinity anytime soon. I did not search for this place so long only to be turned away so quickly."

He looked down and he must have seen the blatant look of disappointment on her face, because he cupped her chin said,

"Take heart, little one. I am sorry I cannot answer your questions. It is not your fault, but there are things you can never know about. It is only with your well-being in mind. You must understand that."

"Sure, I understand," Takira said, knowing how horrible of a liar she was.

"It warms my heart to see that you are doing well, Tee. That you are strong and healthy...you don't know how much that means to me. Bane will never say so, but it means a lot to him as well."

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm sorry, Tee. I have to leave, now. Perhaps we'll see each other again when the current wishes it. Take good care of yourself, now. Be safe." With that, he climbed atop his dewback. The last Takira saw of him that night was the shadow climbing the hill and riding off into the vast, treacherous desert.

Her mind raced.

Was he serious about the rebellion being for real this time? Was this going to be a rebellion the Empire saw as a true threat? It didn't sound real at all. It couldn't be. Not with everything Cad had told her about...

No. It all added up. First the group in the warehouse who believed they knew how to fight back. Now the Kyuzo talking of a rebellion that will work this time. It could not be a coincidence. As Takira thought on this, she felt her pulse quicken. So this meant there was a possibility that the Kyuzo as well as the others in town knew something she and Cad did not know about the Empire. They knew how to use the Empire's systems and tactics to their own advantage, and they were not just waiting for a chance to put this into action, but they were acting this very minute. It was not off in the distant future, as Cad had said any real rebellion would be, if ever. It was right now. It was here. And the Kyuzo who rescued her nine years ago was a part of it.

Takira walked back to the house and tried to occupy herself by doing the usual chores. She knew that if Cad had gone downstairs in such a huff it meant he was going to find a project to work on down there and he wouldn't come back up until the next morning at the latest. For the first time, this didn't bother her. Now she had plenty of time to think to herself and plan what she was going to do next.

Rebellion. Rebellion. The word tasted ugly, vicious, and cruel on her tongue, as it had for years. And yet, as Takira began her chores by lighting the lamps around the house and heading to her bed to organize her collection, she realized that this was not what the word meant in the least bit. That little ragtag group in town was not plotting an ugly, vicious, or cruel endeavor. The Kyuzo did not search for them for nearly a year just to drag them into something so horrible as Takira associated the word with. Their definition of rebellion was not the one Takira had had all this time.

Or rather, as her thoughts dwindled longer on this matter, the definition that Cad wanted her to have all this time. He had wanted her to believe rebellion was a horrible idea. Takira saw that now. He was wrong, and he passed his wrong thinking down to her.

The Kyuzo, and those young men and women, whether or not they were in relations or even knew the other existed, believed in a whole different idea of rebellion. They believed it was a real and necessary cause noble enough to become a part of. It was a step of defiance against a corrupted system, an acted upon confidence that a new system could replace it that would make things new again.

Hope, Takira realized, was what they believed rebellion meant. Hope that the Galactic Empire would not last for a thousand years as the Emperor once predicted. Hope that the citizens could rise up and overthrow a system that said such was impossible. Hope that the ensuing chaos and violence would be worth what it brought back in the end.

Hope. Now that was a word that tasted quite differently.

Takira's breaths had quickened by then, and she found it difficult to focus on the task at hand. Her large collection of trinkets was strewn out in front of her, and she normally would have taken pride in marveling at all of it. She couldn't tonight. Instead, her mind lingered on with the rebellion that was beginning right in their own town seventy miles away and with the Kyuzo bounty hunter named Embo. However small such beginnings were, they were still beginnings. Things just might start changing for the better in their little corner of the Outer Rim, and it was happening right in front of her.

Rebellion. Now the word sounded energizing, exciting.

Takira made her decision. She was going to go back to the old warehouse and join them, helping the cause in any way she could. If they were going to resist the returning troops, she wanted to be a part of it. She wanted to contribute to all those ideas the Kyuzo talked about that evening, instead of sitting around waiting for the galaxy to change without their assistance. She would go back and help them.

Now tomorrow could never come fast enough. Takira wanted to go there now. The thought itself was too incredible to let her focus. She looked down at her collection in front of her, which had grown immensely in nine years. She had gadgets, small objects ranging from jewelry to playing cards to counterfeit credit chips, small pieces and parts from broken down items she sometimes found out in the sand dunes. She even had a growing collection of small fabric samples which she hoped to someday use to make more clothes for herself.

For nine years she had done nothing but collect pieces of the outside world. Pieces left behind by other beings as they walked through life and had adventures together. Pieces each containing their own story that would never be heard. She had been gathering bits of their stories hoping to gain a story of her own, never thinking that she gained nothing to leave behind for others to find. She had little glimpses here and there of an adventure waiting for her, and she kept it all in a box to look at, as if they were the real thing. That was what she collected. For nine years.

Without thinking about it, Takira grabbed the nearest drape off the edge of her bed and covered her collection with it so she would not have to look down at it any longer. The drape, she discovered with a jolt, was the old poncho given to her nine years back by the Kyuzo when it began to rain that day. It had lost its smell of smoke a long time ago. Not that it was a smell Takira could ever forget.

But she had had enough excitement for one day. Takira tried to settle herself down, but found it difficult. She could only be assured that tomorrow would bring even more of the energy she felt tonight, as her thoughts dwelt on the idea of fighting back the Empire.

Would she try to find the Kyuzo and invite him back to the house? Would she just make a break for the warehouse? Would she invite the Kyuzo to come with her to the warehouse?

Who cared? By morning, she would know what to do.

Before Takira fell asleep, she had one last sinking feeling. If she was going to help them fight back the Imperial troops, she would have to convince Cad.

That was easier said than done, to put it mildly. Especially considering his reaction to the Kyuzo's business proposal. Takira may still be in the dark about what exactly went on while Cad was in the war and even what happened before that. But she did know he was not going to approve if she was out helping a bunch of young men and women fighting back troops. Takira knew exactly how he would react if he saw her in any sort of danger, and said reaction was rather unpleasant.

Helping them out, without letting Cad know about it, seemed to be the only option left. But Takira did not even want to think about how he would react, should he find out.

Sleep now. Figure it out tomorrow.

A/N: If I were any less of a sadistic author, I would make this less discreet to save you the nervous perspiring and fretting. But I am sure all of you are beginning to get a good idea of where this is going...

Don't worry, all may not be as you expect it to.

Boba Fett is going to be in the next chapter, so stay tuned! The plot thickens.