Chapter 13
Feeling well rested after a couple hours of sleep, Leia took a hot relaxing shower, put her hair up into a bun, and put on a comfortable shirt and pant's. She went outside where she saw Han sitting on the steps and watching something. Leia sat down next to him and looked where Han was looking.
"They've been dueling for about an hour now." Han informed her and looked at her. "Did you sleep well?"
"Yes. It was nice to sleep with no visions or dreams."
Han wrapped his arm around Leia and she rested her head on his shoulder. "Good."
"So who do you think is winning?" Leia asked.
Han looked back at the distant forms of Anakin and Obi-Wan and shrugged. "I have no idea. I'm surprised Mara hasn't joined them yet. She enjoys a good challenge."
Leia nodded her head. "Yes, she does."
"This little vacation has been nice. We should stay longer." Han remarked, looking at Leia.
Leia rolled her eyes and lifted her head to look at Han. "You know perfectly well, that trouble seems to find us whenever things start feeling very peaceful."
"Must be a Skywalker trait." Han teased, and looked back over at the two dueling Jedi. "Your father has a knack for it."
Leia looked in time to see her father land backwards into the water and then stand up in time to encounter the next wave of cold seawater while Obi-Wan stood a few feet away and still dry. Leia laughed and laughed even more when her father retaliated by using the Force to send a huge spray of water at Obi-Wan. The lightsaber duel became a water fight and soon Obi-Wan was drenched too.
"That looks like fun." Leia commented.
"Count me out of it. They have the Force on their side." Han responded.
Leia looked at him in astonishment and then stood up. "Fine then."
Han let her walk a few feet away from the house and then ran to catch up to her. "Hey, I was kidding. Of course I'll join in."
Mara ran through the dense foliage, flipped over fallen trees and swung from vines as she did an exercise run through the woods. The Force flowed with and around her as she ran, whispering to her things hidden and seen. The Force soothed her mind from troubled thoughts and helped her to relax and release her negative emotions into the Force and letting peace take their place.
After running some number of miles, Mara began to slow down and an hour later she came to a stop near a small clearing. Her sweat covered shirt clung to her skin and beads of sweat dripped down her face. Taking off the bag that was on her back she took out a towel and dried her face, neck and arms. After doing that, Mara put the towel back into the bag and pulled out a bottle of water and slowly sipped from it.
Feeling refreshed, Mara slung the bag back onto her back and continued on, at a walk, into the clearing. The warm sun felt good on her skin as she sat down on a rock and relaxed, soaking in the heat.
It was peaceful here, deep in the woods. The birds flew around and chirped, the sounds of animals were distant and non-threatening. For now, everything was calm, but something was missing and that threatened the peace Mara had momentarily found.
The empty spot where Luke's presence used to be became more noticeable and it was almost like something was screaming at her from far away. Mara shook her head and attempted to meditate, but the feeling did not go away. Irritated, Mara stood up, placed her bag on the ground and went into the middle of the clearing to do a couple of katas. Keeping busy seemed to be the only way to forget about the empty spot, to drown out the phantom cries.
Zanthis returned to his quarters after he had slept for a few hours and headed straight to the refresher for a much needed shower. As he washed himself under the hot streams of water, Zanthis' tense muscles began to relax and his mind clear.
Magnus is a liar.
Zanthis shrugged his shoulders as he scrubbed at his left arm with the soapy washrag. "Of course he is. What do you want me to do about it?"
There was a sound that sounded like a cross between a choke and a sneeze. What to do? You should thrash the life out of him!
"That is not an option." Luke calmly answered as he rinsed the soap off his body and let himself simply enjoy the water.
Oh but you would like to do that. You could if you would just remove that mental barrier and…
Zanthis frowned. "I will do no such thing! Now be silent!"
There was a gurgling sound and Zanthis felt pressure at the base of his skull. I will not be silent!
Turning the water off, Zanthis left the shower and grabbed a towel to begin drying off. "Would you like me to kill myself?" He suggested in a serious voice.
You wouldn't, you haven't completed your mission yet. The voice went silent for a few seconds and then continued, One can hardly call it being successful so far. Afterall, you failed to save your mother. In fact…
"Enough!" Zanthis shouted as he left the refresher and headed for his dresser to put on some clean clothes. Tears pricked at his eyes as he put on his clothes. Once Zanthis finished getting dressed he laid down on his bed.
That memory hurts, doesn't it? Even though part of your mission failed, you still want to continue it. Incredible.
Anger boiled within Zanthis and he closed his eyes, trying to regain his calm.
Muddle, fuddle, tuddle, suddle, cruddle, wruddle, suddle, spuddle. Mire, fire, spire, cire, tire, ire, lyre, pyre, dyre. Kosume, tesume, resume, delude, jeblue...
The voice continued onward, relishing the pain it caused as Zanthis' thoughts became confused and his head throbbed to the point where Zanthis thought it would explode. Tears fell from Zanthis eyes and beads of sweat formed on his forehead as a fever began to rage.
A small tremor rippled in the Force and grew bigger as the disturbance grew. Mara's eyes snapped open and she ended the kata she had been doing by stepping into a defensive posture.
Stretching out with her senses, Mara located the source and she spun around to face it as it came barreling into the clearing.
The source of the disturbance, a young male child about ten years old came to a complete stop a few feet away from her. He was breathing heavily and he was also carrying a small child on his back. The child looked scared, like he was being hunted.
The Force screamed at her in warning, and that was when she finally sensed the children's pursuers. The Wrossks. Mara instantly sprang into action. She leapt into the air and landed behind the children. "Find some cover!" she ordered the older child. The child obeyed and began to run to the other side of the clearing. Mara sensed the invisible Wrossks begin to surround her and she pushed them all away with a powerful Force push.
The Wrossks that recovered first, fired several bolts of deadly energy at Mara, only to have them reflected back. Five Wrossks fell, their lifeless bodies becoming visible.
Two of the Wrossks, holding odd staffs in their hands, charged Mara from behind. Mara leapt into the air, sliced the staffs in half with her lightsaber and slammed her feet into their faces and then used the momentum and the Force to make her fly into the air, blocking bolts of energy as she went and landed behind a Wrossk that she sensed was the leader. Her lightsaber hit its mark, killing the Wrossk.
For a moment there was a stillness and then the fury of hell broke lose as they all at once attempted to attack Mara.
Mara gracefully countered every attack, letting the Force guide her movements. In the Force, the Wrossks were a dark mass of swirling energy. The weapons they used pulsed with a sick yellow-green glow. She could sense their hatred and bloodlust, rolling off of them in waves.
Mara cried out as a staff caught her in the arm, drawing blood. Whirling around, she sliced the head off of the Wrossk that had the staff and then blocked some more energy bolts from behind.
The Wrossks began to retreat and Mara let them go. Turning off her lightsaber, Mara sank to the ground. Black spots danced in front of her eyes, and for a few moments she felt incredibly weak. Closing her eyes, Mara took in a few deep breaths and then opened them to see the children she had saved looking at her.
"Are you alright?" The oldest boy asked.
"I'll be fine." Mara answered as she slowly stood up and went over to her pack. She pulled out her bottle of water and took a few sips. After refreshing herself, Mara, took out a small medkit from her pack and began to treat the wound on her arm "What are your names?"
"I'm Zeth and this is my little brother, Kyp." Zeth adjusted Kyp on his back who still had a firm grip around Zeth's neck. "We were traveling with our mother and were attacked by the Wrossks while we were in orbit around the planet. Our mother told us to get to the escape pod and get to safety. We crash-landed in the forest and then got as far away from the pod as possible. The Wrossk tracked us down anyway. We managed to hide from them, but they found us, so we ran and then bumped into you."
He's surprisingly calm about this. Mara probed the outside of Zeth's mind and found impressive shielding for a child his age, however, Mara could still sense the tumult of emotions under Zeth's shielding. That's not healthy, but we can't have him breaking down now. The Wrossks will be back and in a larger number.
Tying the makeshift bandage around her arm, Mara put her stuff back into the bag and picked it up. "Are you up to more running?"
Zeth nodded his head. "I can."
"Here let me carry your brother." Mara said as adjusted the pack on her back and reached for Kyp.
Kyp clung stubbornly to Zeth, whimpering when Mara finally got him to lose his hold on Zeth.
"Don't worry, Kyp," Zeth tried to reassure his brother, "She's going to help us."
"Alright, let's go!" Mara told Zeth and broke into a run back to the beach house. She ran just fast enough where Zeth could keep up, but they were going too slow. Grabbing her comlink from the belt she attempted to contact Leia, but got no response. Calm, I need to be calm. already she could sense the Wrossks moving through the jungle toward them. This wouldn't be a problem if I didn't have kids to protect.
An idea struck her a few minutes later and Mara sent out a call through the Force. If they haven't sensed the danger already then they know about it now. Mara could hear Zeth's heavy breathing as he tried to keep up. He's worn out already, how long have they been pursued for?
"How much further?" Zeth asked.
"We have a couple of miles to go." Mara responded.
A few minutes later, Mara heard Zeth trip and fall down. Slowing down, Mara turned around and ran back over to Zeth. "Are you all right?"
Tears sparkled in Zeth's eyes, but his face remained passive as he stood back up. "I'm fine."
"Sit down, we'll rest here for a little bit." Mara told Zeth.
Zeth complied, but looked nervously back the way they had come.
What do I say? Deciding not to say anything, Mara stretched out with the Force and sensed Anakin and Obi-Wan's presences approaching. Mara smiled and opened her eyes. "Help is on the way." Mara sat down next to Zeth and Zeth snuggled up to her.
Mara wrapped her free arm around Zeth, thankful that she given his little brother a light sleep suggestion.
Several minutes passed by before Mara heard the distant sound of a speeder coming down the path. Standing up, Mara looked down the path and saw a speeder approaching and then braked suddenly, causing the speeder to jolt.
"Anakin!" Obi-Wan's irritated voice exclaimed.
Mara couldn't help but smile and then looked down at Zeth. "Come on, our ride's here."
Zeth stood up and followed Mara to the speeder.
Obi-Wan got out of the speeder and helped Mara and Zeth get inside. "We got here as soon as we could."
Zeth buckled himself and then asked, "How are we going to turn around? The speeder is to big."
Anakin laughed. "Watch and learn kid. Hold on tight."
Obi-Wan managed to get buckled up in the backseat just before Anakin used the Force to tilt the speeder up onto its back, turn it around, and bring it down.
Zeth's eyes were as wide as saucers and Obi-Wan just groaned during the maneuver.
After turning the speeder around, Anakin put the speeder into full throttle and they sped away.
Mara relaxed in the seat in relief and looked at Kyp who was still sleeping against her breast. The children were going to be safe now.
Xanatos leaned back in the pilot's chair and closed his eyes. He listened to the steady thrum of the ship's engine and began to drift off to sleep.
"You have done well."
Xanatos smiled when he heard the familiar voice of his Master. "It was your teachings and guidance, Master."
Qui-Gon smiled. "Yes, but you have also learned a lot without my help."
Opening his eyes, Xanatos looked to his right where Qui-Gon was sitting on the copilot's seat. "That is true. So why are you here?"
"I have a small assignment for you." Qui-Gon told him.
Xanatos frowned and crossed his arms over his chest. "Whatever it is I'm sure it can wait, Master. I haven't seen my family in a long time. Force, I haven't seen my youngest child yet. Plus, I have Lixion to think about."
Qui-Gon's face was a mask of stony resolve. "I understand, but this assignment can't wait. In fact, it's vital."
"I said no. I am going home." Xanatos responded, looking away from Qui-Gon.
"Lives are at stake, Xanatos."
"Do you think you have interfered enough?" Xanatos asked, mild annoyance in his voice.
"I am only following the will of…"
"I know, I know." Xanatos interrupted. With a heavy sigh, he made his decision. "What is the assignment?"