Of Light and Shadow
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I don't own How to train your Dragon or Star Wars.
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Tuhapin Nebula, Loki's Reach
The dark vastness of space was brightened colourfully by the nebula, orange and blue clouds of gas floating around. It was a peaceful sight the Loki's Reach was travelling through. Though the colours only overshadowed the cold void which space actually was. The ship slowly inched it's way through the nebula, to avoid the primitive imperial scanners in the region. The journey was long and most of the gang already went to sleep, except for Shadow and Heather. Shadow, who was piloting the ship, had noticed that Heather seemed lost in thought, she had been staring into space for a good while now.
"Perhaps you should go to sleep, the journey is still long."
Heather blinked, her eyes reflecting a lighting bolt that flashed in the gas clouds, before looking down and sighing.
"There's been a lot going on recently and I need to think about some things.", she said and slumped down in a seat. She let her head fall back and closed her eyes.
After some moments of silence, Shadow's voice rang out: "You could try meditating, it helps me greatly when I have... a lot going on."
Heather stood still, silently contemplating his advice, but the next moment Shadow had stood up and laid a hand on her shoulder. She flinched a little in surprise and looked up, seeing her eyes reflecting in his visor, a mysterious blue mist that told so much and nothing at the same time. "Hey, it's alright to...", Shadow said something but the world around her faded, his strange muffled, yet somehow comforting voice was the last thing she heard, before emerging on a raging battlefield in the depths of her mind.
--
FLASHBACK
Mygeeto, during Order 66
The icy wind whipped over the snowy landscape, howling with all its might. Yet the sounds of war thundered through the night, explosions and screams could be heard for miles. In the midst of the chaos Heather stood leading her men, the 353rd was hers now, since Hiccup passed aw... went missing. And so she stood there, lightsaber in hand, the men of the 353rd Reconnaissance Corps behind her. The silver markings on the ARF troopers' armour lit up by blue and red blasterbolts flying past. Before them was a bridge that led to the capital, a key location that needed to be captured. However, the droid forces of the CIS were resisting with everything they had. With no armoured support the 353rd were suffering heavy losses and Heather gave the order to retreat, hoping that Master Ki-Adi-Mundi and his Galactic Marines would have more luck on the other side of the capital.
Back at camp Heather was resting in her tent, when she suddenly felt a strange shift in the force. She gasped and shot up so hard that she fell from her cot. The shock she felt when many Jedi died quickly, one after another, had her gasping for air, kneeling on the cold ground. An uneasy feeling of utter betrayal suddenly overcame her. She groaned in pain at a particulary hard stab in her heart. ' Master Bevild'ara! No... ' Her old master had just died. She kneeled on the ground sobbing and groaning in pure agony when a realization hit her that let a cold shiver run down her spine. Trying to get up, Heather felt that it was already too late, a presence was already nearing her tent.
Commander Fury stepped into her tent, hologram in hand. The cloaked figure seen in the hologram spoke: "Commander Fury, execute Order 66." Heather's teary eyes widened, she knew that voice. Chancellor Bludvist.
Fury nodded and pulled one of his DC-17 blaster pistols from its holster.
Seconds felt like hours to Heather. She was sort of standing now, leaning on a table. Her face felt hot and tear-stained, her hands were balled into fists. She could see her reflection in her Commander's visor, a mix of betrayal, sadness and anger in her eyes.
"Hit me.", Fury said.
"What!?"
"Hit me, make it look real. Grab everything you can and run. I don't have much time."
"But..."
"Just do it already!"
Heather closed her eyes and took a deep breath, wiping away her tears. When she opened her eyes again, they were glowing an intense green.
"Thank you. I'm sorry..."
With a force push she flung him out of the tent, knocking him out cold, before rushing around in the tent, hastily packing everything useful. She could already hear some shouts, the clones having no doubt seen their Commander being flung through the air. When the first clone stepped into the tent, Heather was already gone.
--
Nal Hutta
Heather was sitting in a dark corner in some shady bar. The bar was loud, full of the scum of the galaxy and the stench was horrible. Nal Hutta was territory of the Hutts and the new so called 'Galactic Empire' didn't dare venture here, but Heather was careful nonetheless. To conceal her idenity, she wore a brown poncho and a black scarf. She was currently trying to think of a plan. She had already tried to contact other jedi, but her efforts were in vain. Becoming a bounty hunter was not an option, although her skills were certainly applicable.
But she had to survive somehow, she didn't even have a home. Then it hit her. 'Home! Why didn't I think of this earlier? I have to find them.', she thought. Heather knew about her parents, Master Bevild'ara told her and Hiccup about them when they became her padawans.
She got up and walked towards the bartender, a shady looking Rodian. "Where is the nearest spaceport?", she asked in a deep voice. "There's one in the next town.", he quipped, as if it was something she should have known. Heather flipped him a few credits and left, wordlessly. "To the left!", he called after her, but she acknowledged it without turning around.
--
Heather had made it on a shuttle, she didn't know the destination, she just wanted to get to a planet with a bigger spaceport. Find a ship that could take her to the Archipelago System, maybe steal one, but she didn't like stealing. She absentmindedly watched as the shuttle left hyperspace, until an announcement shook her from her daydreaming.
"~Attention all Passengers! As by Imperial law, all individuals that enter Imperial territory must subjugate themselves to a thorough security procedure. I repeat, all individuals that enter Imperial territory must subjugate themselves to a thorough security procedure.~"
'Damn, what do I do?', she thought. ' You're a Jedi, you're smart... Wait, I'm a Jedi, I can use the force!' And so Heather queued and waited her turn.
When she walked up to the booth, the Imperial officer told her to show him her ID. Heather focused on him, looked him in the eye, made an inconspicuous hand gesture and whispered loud enough for him to hear: "I don't need to show you anything. I shall pass."
In a monotone voice he replied: "You don't need to show me anything. You shall pass. Welcome to Mimban." One button press and the gate opened and Heather walked through. Just as she thought she had made it, the station suddenly shook, the lights flickered and an alarm sounded. Heather fell against the wall and opened her eyes to a hallway that now shone in an eerie red from the emergency lighting.
'I have to get out of here!', she thought and sprinted down the hallway.
--
When she finally found a hangar bay, Heather sneaked past the guards and managed to steal an Alpha-3 Nimbus-class-V wing starfighter. Flying out of the hangar, she was able to see the chaotic battlefield: Starfighters clashing in vicious dogfights, capital ships barraging each other, debris floating around. Heather was so focused on the sight, that she failed to notice the V-19 Torrent that came in behind her. She cursed when an explosion rocked her ship and several alarms went off. Her attempts at getting the ship under control again failed.
"Oh no.", Heather exclaimed as she noticed that she was twirling towards a frigate. Luckily for her, she crashed into the ships hangar bay. Heather furiously tried opening her cockpit hatch as her ship slid further through the hangar. The damaged V-wing came to a sudden stop when it crashed into another fighter. Heather's head smacked against the side of her cockpit and she lost conciousness.
"Heather. Heather..."
FLASHBACK END
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"Heather! Everything okay?", Shadow asked. Heather had been silent for a good minute and her eyes seemed unfocused. She quickly snapped to attention, her eyes focussing on him, and answered: "Yeah, yes... uhhh, yeah."
Shadow apparently accepted her answer without comment, but after a few moments he told her: "It's okay to show emotion, you know. This war is taking a toll... on all of us."
"I guess it does." Heather retreated through the door, only glancing back once, taking a last look at the enigma who called himself Shadow.
--
A few hours had passed and Shadow was still in the cockpit, admiring the astonishing view of the nebula. His helmet laid discarded on the control panel before him. A beeping sound interrupted the silence, it was Shadow's hologram projector. Distinct green eyes narrowed, before he took his helmet and put it back on. He accepted the transmission.
A Wookie appeared, or more like it's head and shoulders. "RRAAAAWWWRRR!"
"Yes we'll be there on time. Why?"
"ROOWR WRHAA!"
"Imperial reinforcements? When will they arrive?"
"RRRWROOO RARR ROORW!"
"Hmm... Alright, here's the plan: You sabotage the communications relay and I make a few micro jumps. We'll be there to set a trap for them, if necessary. If not, we get out of there as soon as galactically possible. We're meeting at th-...", Shadow stopped mid-sentence. He sensed someone nearing the cockpit. "We'll talk later." And with that he ended the transmission.
--
When Astrid entered the cockpit she could see Shadow as he pressed a series of buttons on the control panel.
"What are you doing?"
"Hello to you too, Captain.", he answered. "Programming a micro jump."
"A micro hyperspace-jump? This ship can do that?", Astrid asked, ignoring Shadow's remark.
"Yes, it can. Say, have you recently talked with Heather? She seemed a bit... troubled.", Shadow replied and turned in his chair, so that he was facing her. "You can take a seat if you want."
"No, I haven't, when I woke up she was sleeping. There are a few things on her mind, but nothing she can't handle.", Astrid told him, sitting down on one of the seats.
"I have yet to understand the mysteries of a female, especially a Jedi, and I perhaps never will, but my instincts have seldom betrayed me. She could use some meditation. You could also talk to her, you two seem like good friends to me."
"The mysteries of a female...", Astrid chuckled. "The oh so wise Shadow is at the end of his understanding."
"Good to know that you do have a sense of humor.", he quipped back.
"Hey! I am very funny! Insulting a Lady like that..."
"Oh? So you're a Lady now? Very intimidating!"
"You're a jerk, you know that?"
"And you're a ~Lady~ !", Shadow sing-songed as the stars dissolved into white blurs, the Loki's Reach now in hyperspace.
--
Fear not for I have returned to you my dear followers! This is not abandoned, I just had a lot going on recently.
I hope you enjoyed this new chapter.
Some flashbacks, some Shadow sass and a Wookie. Something for eveveryone I hope! :D
Bis zum nächsten mal! Until next time!
-Eric