Chapter Fourteen
The Bird
Mayli sat and watched the man, her wrists in a cuff attached to the leg of the heavy metal table on which sat the sound equipment, keeping her hunched over in a rather uncomfortable and increasingly painful position. She damned herself internally for not bringing a weapon, as her blaster and various vibroblades remained in the Womp Rat One, sitting out there completely open on the landing strip. Upon seeing the words Ewok Brother on the side of the bunker, she simply rushed in, the rebellion first and foremost on her mind rather than her own safety.
The moment the man pulled the blaster on her, she surrendered. She had no hope against him, especially carrying the baby. And with the child present, Ewok Brother himself, she knew the man felt protective and weary of her. She understood. She would be the same way.
But now her mind churned on how to get out of this predicament. She'd been cuffed to the table for a half hour now, and the man had not called the Imperials. Rather, he led his son from the room and returned alone with a cup of water for her before sitting down and studying the screen with the rebel frequency. To her deep satisfaction, she saw the holoscreen nearly blank and felt that even if she failed to escape and ended up in the clutches of the Empire, at least she'd done all she could to protect the infant rebellion.
Still, the man hadn't spoken to her, nor she to him. He simply sat with his head in his hand, watching the holoscreen, sighing heavily from time to time.
"Daddy?" came the voice of the child.
"Sky, I told you to go to our rooms," the man said firmly, but not without warmth. Mayli saw a lot of love between father and son. Her eyes turned to the holopic of the woman on the table. The mother?
"Can I please show the Bird her picture?" the boy, Sky, said.
"My picture?" Mayli finally vocalized, surprised.
Sky rushed into the room, his father giving in, and approached Mayli.
"I drew you as a Bird," he said brightly, showing Mayli several drawings on dried bark. "I knew you were beautiful. And you can fly. But you're not as pretty as mom was."
Mayli nodded to the holo. "Was that your mother?"
The man pulled his son back to him. "Listen…um…Bird. We're not here to chit chat. You work for some sort of military group…against the Empire. I'll have you know I reported this to Coruscant days ago."
Mayli felt a twinge of defeat but stifled the feeling. She needed to focus on getting herself out of here.
"Then it's been reported. Why do you need me?" she asked matter-of-factly, trying to stay controlled, keep her wits about her. "If you just let me go, no one would be the wiser."
"I work for the Empire…I need to show allegiance," he said, although he didn't sound so certain. He held his son tighter to him, and glanced back at the holo of the woman.
"I'm harmless…look at me! I'm about ready to burst," she laughed, but it sounded empty, and she stopped abruptly. "Please…you don't need to turn me into the Empire. Just let me go. Nobody would know."
The man turned and met her gaze. "I can't. I need to do my duty."
Mayli became mad suddenly. "Listen…do you know what your precious Empire does to people in the galaxy? You…you sit out here in safety, not a care in the world! Well, I'll tell you. They kill! They enslave! They…"
"I know!" he suddenly shouted, standing up, his child still holding his hand and staring up at his father. "I hear all these things. That's my job, to listen."
"Well, do you know your son…Sky…will be recruited. I've seen them, those stormtroopers. They are nothing more than boys," she hissed back.
"You don't think that doesn't frighten me?" the man shouted. "Grand Moff Tarkin himself showed an interest in my boy. And have you been in that man's presence, felt the evil wafting off him? I know what the Empire is. But I am a man with a son, alone, my wife dead. I need to keep him safe."
Mayli stopped at his words. Grand Moff Tarkin? She'd seen him on the holonews, Obi-Wan briefly telling her about his few interactions with the man. His pointed face and formal demeanor as portrayed across the holonet always seemed a bit chilling, but overpowered by Darth Vader, whom Tarkin could be seen with often.
This man, this father, feared the Empire. And he had skills that could help the rebellion. An idea formed.
"I can keep you safe. Join us! I know people. Powerful people. Wealthy people. They can keep you and Sky safe," she said, putting all her persuasive powers in her voice. She wished more than anything Obi-Wan were here. He was so much better at these negotiation tactics than her. Of course, against this one man, he probably wouldn't need to use them. "These skills you have…I mean, look at this equipment. This one you built yourself. We could use someone like you."
"I cannot go on the run…not with Sky," the man said.
"So you'll just wait for Grand Moff Tarkin to take him away," Mayli retorted. "Fool."
The man glared at her but said nothing. He sat back down, this time at the Imperial equipment, and punched in a code. Mayli's heart leapt. She'd failed. He would turn her in for sure. But the man stopped, pushed back the equipment, and slumped back in his chair. Silence fell again, even the child quiet, sitting on the floor, fidgeting slowly with the pictures of the Bird. After several minutes, the man rose, picked up the boy, and left the room, heading up the stairs. Alone, Mayli felt tears spring to her eyes, finally allowing the emotions to come.
Very early the next morning, as the sun just peaked through the Endor forest, Kell fixed breakfast, Sky sitting uncharacteristically quiet at the dining table. The evening before he'd returned to the woman with more water and a small meal, which she refused. She no longer spoke with him, but looked defeated, and he'd left her there for the evening.
He needed to call the Empire. Why hadn't he? Perhaps because she was pregnant, near her due date, and he worried…no, he knew…the Imperials would show no mercy. He'd listened in to talk of torture, execution. He shuddered as he poured a cup of juice.
And she'd been right, about the recruitment. He feared for Sky, for the future. But to go on the run! That might be a bigger risk to Sky than staying here on Endor. But he did not believe in the work of the Empire. Kell stopped cooking and leaned against the counter heavily, his mind rocking with the weight of his dilemma.
And the way she looked at him as she angrily spoke of injustice. The voice of a strong woman ringing through the bunker reminded him so much of his wife and how she always spoke with such conviction of those she helped as a nurse during the Clone Wars, his heart burned with the pain of remembrance and longing.
Sighing heavily, he put the food on a tray and motioned to Sky, who followed his father back to the comm room.
The woman sat, leaning awkwardly against the table, and he could see her wrists bloody from her attempts to free herself. She seemed asleep, but jerked awake when he entered, and he regretted leaving her in such an uncomfortable position, especially with child.
But she glared at him with deep anger. "Listen, turn me in or not, but you could at least let me use the 'fresher. I've been here half a day, and I would like the dignity of not wetting myself."
Kell nodded, and holding a blaster to her, uncuffed the woman and led her to the refresher, allowing her to close the door most of the way. When they returned to the table, he only cuffed one wrist, allowing her to sit up properly. He placed the food in front of her.
"Please eat something," he said, and turned when he heard a sniffle from Sky who sat huddled in one of the other chairs, picking at his food. "Sky?"
"I'm scared," Sky said. "What if they hurt the Bird?"
Kell looked back at the woman, who put a small piece of bread into her mouth, then took a sip of water. Would the Empire ever know if he let the Bird fly away?
A ping went off, and he looked at the equipment, seeing a hail coming in on an Imperial frequency. He opened the line.
"Kell Jett?" came an official sounding voice.
"Speaking," Kell answered, glancing to both sides to see the woman and his son watching him intensely.
"I am the captain of a small battalion traveling through your sector, and we've been ordered to stop by on our way Coreward to check about a possible rebel frequency you've discovered. We shall be in-system soon. I am calling ahead to let you know Lord Vader commands this group, and his private yacht is in our company. He will be doing an inspection with us, of the frequency as well as of Endor as a possible site of development, at the request of Grand Moff Tarkin, who's already visited, as you know."
"Lord…Lord Vader?" Kell stammered.
"Yes…well, I probably shouldn't have mentioned he was with us…but I find it appropriate to warn people…as a courtesy. Um…ah…he can be rather…imposing," the captain said.
"Thank you," Kell said. "I will prepare for his arrival."
The comm went silent, and Kell jumped as the woman suddenly grabbed his arm with her free hand. He looked at her to see her face wild with fear, far from the stoic expression she held most of their time together.
"He'll know!" she screeched at him. "He'll know about the baby! He'll know immediately. He'll sense it!"
"What are you…"
"You have to let me go! Now! I cannot be around Darth Vader. He'll know the baby belongs to Ben. And he'll track us down. Everything will be lost! Please, please! I'm begging you. I have to leave now."
Sense the baby? Ben? What did she mean about Darth Vader knowing about the baby? He looked into her desperate eyes, her nails digging into his flesh as she clutched his arm.
"Please," she whispered, as tears began to fall down her face.
Obi-Wan slept little that evening in his room at Jabba's. He paced around, finally leaving for fresh air and walking around the village. When he returned, he meditated, reaching out in the Force for Mayli, trying to get some inkling of what was happening. Nothing. But his danger sense continued to flame, driving him near madness with desperation.
Still, with Mayli not even due back for another day, he tried to convince himself he needn't worry about anything…yet. He finally lay down as the first sun rose, and fell into a fitful sleep.
He dreamt, but his dreams came in a disjointed blur, memories of things that happened in the near and distant pasts and flashes of events his imagination seemed to conjure. He watched Qui-Gon die again, but gained consciousness quickly, not wanting to relive that moment, and he fell back into dreams to find himself kissing Mayli for the first time, right before the krayt dragon emerged and ruined the moment. But as the dragon came toward him, it transformed into General Grievous, bearing down onto him. The whirl of the lightsabers wielded by the mulit-armed cyborg spun in an almost hypnotic spiral, and suddenly, Obi-Wan found himself sitting at the table in his and Mayli's home staring at a Sith holocron. Conscious enough to recall this as a negative memory, Obi-Wan willed himself to think of anything else, but his brain kept with this story.
But then Obi-Wan realized this wasn't a memory. When he'd opened the Sith holocron before, he'd been in Mayli's old hut, when they'd first met, and in this dream, he sat at their dining table in their current home. And the holocron looked distinctly different. Obi-Wan fixated on his own hands, which both rested on the table, and felt surprise. His fingers appeared a little bonier, his hands more wrinkled.
"Well old man, you ready?" came a deep voice, and Obi-Wan rose his gaze to see the Sith Scholar Jac, older, silver running through his dark, thinning hair, sitting across from him. The man smiled broadly, not of his taunting of their encounters before, but with an air of kindness. But Obi-Wan also read a dark determination in his spirit.
"Yes," he heard himself say, and watched as he and Jac both reached for the holocron at the same time.
The image shifted suddenly to a tabcaf. He sat across from a beautiful young woman whom he'd never seen before but felt he knew. She read a data pad intently, absent-mindedly taking a drink of her caf before going back to twirl her long strawberry blonde hair around her fingers. She suddenly looked up, her eyes, a deep shade of blue, locking with his. She gasped.
And just like that, Obi-Wan found himself awake, staring at the ceiling of the room, hearing the bustle of the day begin outside. He rose slowly, trying to process everything he saw. The memories…Jac…the holocron…the woman. What did it all mean?
The dreams began to fade as the events of the previous evening, discovering the deactivated comm, came back to him. Glancing at the time, he sighed. He should go to work, not lay panicking. He'd begin to truly worry if Mayli did not return within a standard day. No, that was false. He already worried. Occupy your mind, Kenobi!
The evening proved to be slow, Jabba deciding to retire early to his private rooms rather than lounging in the cantina. The holoscreens around the bar showed an overview of the past week in galactic sports. Obi-Wan found himself watching an interview with a young athlete signed to a new team, two regulars at the bar murmuring how the team's manager spent too many credits on the man.
The news broke into the program suddenly, causing a groan from the patrons watching the sports broadcast, but gaining the attention of most of the room.
"Breaking news," the male human news anchor said. "An explosion in industrial Coruscant has destroyed a weapons factory. No reported deaths, as the manufacturer only uses droids, but the entire facility, which produces many of the blasters used by the stormtrooper legions, is a complete lose."
Footage showed the ruins, fires still burning, emergency workers attempting to get things in order.
Then the face of the anchor suddenly appeared again. "Another breaking story, just into the newsroom. Imperial forces are under attack both on-planet and in-orbit on Ryloth. The Free Ryloth Movement has commandeered the news sources on that world and are feeding the populace incorrect, anti-Imperial sentiments while rag-tag groups of rebels attack soldiers on the streets as well as in orbit. We are currently working on getting footage. While we wait, let's look back to Coruscant to see how…wait! Another story. Several unidentified ships have appeared in the Kashyyyk system, firing on an Imperial battle cruiser. This all seems to be happening at once, as if planned."
Obi-Wan watched, his mouth hanging open. The rebellion was beginning. How could it be otherwise? They'd orchestrated three simultaneous attacks. Whatever happened with the devices, the rebellion still existed and now made a show of force. Scenes of the attack in Kashyyyk finally came in, transmissions from Ryloth still blocked. Obi-Wan shook his head in wonder. People were working against the Empire.
"Look at what your darling Mayli helped accomplish," said a familiar voice next to him. Obi-Wan turned to see Qui-Gon sitting at the bar, watching the holoscreen. "You must be very proud of your woman, you companion, my son."
Obi-Wan opened his mouth to speak, but looked back up at the holoscreen when the assembly in the cantina let out cries and groans. The news no longer appeared…the sports broadcast continued as if nothing ever happened. Obi-Wan frowned deeply, knowing the Empire cut the news feed, not wanting the planets under their rule to see the mass show of resistance.
But Qui-Gon was right, he did feel a deep sense of pride for Mayli, his brave lover. He looked back down at Qui-Gon, only to find the chair empty, the spirit gone.
Back on Endor, Mayli strained to hear what the muffled voices said beyond the door. After her desperate plea to let her go due to the arrival of Vader, the man, Kell Jett, pulled his son outside the room. They'd been gone five minutes, and Mayli wondered what the man said to his boy. Would they let her go?
Fear ran through her veins. She needed to leave, absolutely could not be in Darth Vader's presence. She remembered when she'd met Yoda, and he knew the baby belonged to Obi-Wan within moments. Wouldn't Anakin, who'd practically been raised by Obi-Wan, sense the presence of the child that quickly as well?
Her whole body began to shake. What would he do with her? He'd most likely interrogate her, torture her. From his history, she knew he would not care if she were pregnant or not. But she would die before she would reveal anything, about Obi-Wan, about the rebellion.
Then a more terrifying thought came to her as she sat alone. Images of the labs of the Sith Scholars came to her head, and she wondered what Vader and the Emperor would want to do with her, carrying the child of a Jedi. To the baby! Hadn't she herself suggested Anakin to be a lab experiment? That train of thought brought fresh tears to her eyes.
And they wouldn't need to interrogate her. The Womp Rat One sat open out on the landing strip, and the Imperials could access her previous hyperspace coordinates to and from the rebel base. They'd see the holopic of her and Obi-Wan by her bed.
She needed to leave now!
The door opened, and Kell and Sky appeared. The man walked over and uncuffed her quickly. Standing shocked, she rubbed her painful wrists.
"Go now!" he said, and pulled her toward the door, Mayli feeling stiff all over but adrenaline kicking in as she hit the middle of the stairwell.
Hurrying across the pavement, she reached the ship, picking up the toolbox that remained at the bottom of the ramp and placing it just inside before coming back down.
She stood in front of Kell and Sky. The man looked fearful and nervous, but the child smiled broadly, handing her one of the drawings he'd made of the Bird.
"Thank you," Mayli said, then looked at the father. "Come with…"
But the distant sound of machinery jolted them both, and Kell looked to the sky, his face paling.
"They must have been right outside the system when they called," he said, then swallowed hard.
Mayli turned to the sky to see a company of three Imperial TIEs flanking a transport, followed by an elegant yacht she'd seen before, on Alderaan.
It was too late. Leaving now would attract attention, perhaps even fire from the TIEs. The company, along with Darth Vader's yacht, began their descent.
Author's Note: Next time, Mayli comes face-to-face with Darth Vader.
Thank you for reading. Have a wonderful day. And please check out my other story, Another Galaxy, just posted this past week. The tale features Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, and some new characters, set during the Clone Wars era. Take care!