Chapter 20:

Nol had been monitoring the hunt for Typho from the main control center for several hours when one of the junior officers came up to him, "Major, there's a communication coming in for you. It's from your wife."

Adan was immediately concerned; Rema hardly ever contacted him at work and only when something was wrong. He turned to his executive officer, "Take over Lieutenant, route it to my office."

As soon as he left the control center, he took off running. Fortunately, Lord Vader was on his flagship and no where around. Nol was glad; he did not want to have to explain to the second in command of the Empire why he was taking personal communications during a major crisis.

When he made his way to the office, he checked the communication unit and discovered that the message was audio only. He found that odd because his wife usually used their HoloNet unit for communication. "Rema, what's going on? Is there something wrong?"

There was no response; Adan checked the connection again making sure that it was not cut off. "Rema, do you hear me?"

"Adan, I need you here." As soon as he heard her voice he knew something was very wrong. Her voice was very quiet and unsure; it sounded like it was that of a child.

"What's wrong? What happened?"

He heard a sob coming from her, "Please come here; I need you. Something terrible has happened."

"Are you hurt?" Nol was afraid; he had never heard his wife so distressed.

More crying could be heard from her end of the communication. "No, I'm not hurt; just come here."

He did not know what was going on, but whatever it was, it was really upsetting Rema. It sounded like she was in pain, "I'm coming, but I'm contacting emergency services first."

"No!" She screamed. "You can't send authorities."

Now, Adan was even more afraid. He was about to call them anyway, but decided against it. He suddenly felt chills go down his spine; Rema did not want the Empire to know about whatever had happened. "All right, I'll be there as soon as I can."

Adan had never made it home so quickly. He pushed his Imperial issued personal speeder past the limit and arrived within fifteen minutes; the trip usually took close to a half hour. When he arrived, he was greeted by his teary eyed son. "Are you all right? Where's your mother?"

Tomas did not speak, he only pointed as he continued to sob. When his father picked him up, he latched onto him and refused to let go.

Still carrying the boy, Adan made his way to his and Rema's bedroom; he found her lying on the bed, weeping.

Putting Tomas down, he rushed to her side, "What's wrong?"

Rema sat up quickly and began weeping even more when she met her husband's gaze. "Please tell me that you love me. You promised me that you would love me no matter what; you said that during your vows. Please tell me you meant them."

Tomas began to cry even harder. Seeing his mother in that state was very upsetting to the small child. Adan did not know what to do. He was usually the person who took charge of situations and knew exactly how to fix things, but now he was lost. He decided to deal with his son first. He took the upset child into his arms, "Rema, I'm going to put Tomas to bed. I'm coming right back."

Rema did not answer as Adan took Tomas to his room across the hall. He did not know what to say to the child so he just held him and rocked him gently. As he tried to calm his son, Adan thought about what his wife said just minutes before. He was disturbed by the panic in her voice. Why does she think I would stop loving her? What did she do?

Many possibilities crossed his mind, each one worse than the one before. He wanted to know what she might have done but he greatly feared that knowledge. Adan looked down at the child that he held in his arms. He could not shake the feeling that whatever it was would change their family forever.

"Daddy," Tomas' tear stained face looked up at his father. "What's wrong with Mommy?"

He did not know how to answer because he did not know either. "I'm going to go see. Can you be a good boy and take your nap a little early?"

Tomas sniffed and nodded, "Please make Mommy better."

Adan felt his heart constrict painfully as he put his son to bed. "I will try." He hoped that Tomas would go to sleep quickly. The boy looked very tired and emotionally drained from watching his mother go through her ordeal.

With one duty accomplished, Adan wearily returned to his bedroom and found Rema sitting upright on the bed. She was not crying at the moment, but she looked away from him as he entered the room.

He sat down next to Rema and put his arm around her. Adan could not help but notice that she stiffened somewhat when he touched her. "Now, tell me what this is about."

Rema waited for a moment and then looked directly at her husband. When she did, a few more tears fell down her face. She looked away again as she struggled with her composure. "Promise me that you'll take care of Tomas, no matter what happens."

"My love, why are you speaking like this?"

A sob escaped her, "Just promise me!"

Adan got closer to his wife and took her completely in his arms. "Why would you have to ask that question? I will love you until I die, no matter what, and I'll always care for our son."

"Just remember, I love you so much and I would never intentionally hurt you."

"I know you wouldn't; now, tell me what happened." Adan could not remember ever being so afraid.

Rema took a deep breath to steady herself. "First, I want to know who I am talking to. Am I talking to the Imperial major or am I talking to my husband?"

At the mention of the Empire, Adan froze. He had a sinking feeling that his worst nightmare was about to come true. His voice hardened, "I am both."

She broke from his grasp and stood up. For a moment, she did not speak a word, but much was conveyed in the silence between them. Finally, she spoke, "If that's the case, then…" Rema turned around and looked her husband directly in the eye. "Major Nol, I have a confession to make."

Adan stood, and crossed the room to his wife. This time, there was no embrace and no gestures of support. Their difference in height seemed more pronounced as he towered over her. His expression was hard when he looked down at the woman that he pledged to love no matter what. "What did you do?"

Rema did not look away from him. He could not help but be reminded of his many interrogations that he performed or witnessed and how the subjects were often defiant at the beginning. "I have betrayed the Empire."

He felt like someone had kicked him in the chest. Adan found it hard to take a breath as he felt his and his family's life crumble. Finally, words were again possible, "How did you betray the Empire?"

Not being able to stand his gaze anymore, Rema turned her head away from him only to have Adan grab her by the chin and turn her back to him; he did not let go.

"Answer me!" He yelled very loudly when she did not respond, something that Adan had never done before with his wife. He could see that she was terrified of him.

"I know Typho, the man that's being sought. He was married to my cousin, Adira, and I've been corresponding with him for the past few months."

"Your cousin, the one who was executed as a traitor if I recall correctly, was married to the one who is the Empire's number one suspect in the attack." It was a nightmare, pure and simple. Adan was angry, angrier than he had ever been. "You certainly have an interesting little family, don't you my dear?"

She tried to back away, but her husband's hard grip would not allow it. "I had no idea what he'd done! He often spoke about the Empire, but I just thought it was the grief talking when he mentioned how it needed to be destroyed. I never paid it much attention."

Adan felt sick again; he was angry and felt betrayed in the worst way. "But you did pay attention to it, didn't you Rema? You've been listening to that murderer and that's where those new ideas of yours came from, wasn't it?"

Rema shook her head emphatically, "No, I didn't, please believe me!"

He let go of her chin and grabbed her shoulders hard, "How am I supposed to believe anything you tell me?" In the back of his mind, Adan knew he should not have been yelling like this but his anger would not allow him to listen to his internal voice of reason. "You have been having secret correspondence with a blood-thirsty terrorist. What else have you been doing with him?" He demanded angrily.

Rema began crying again as she shook her head emphatically, "No, we only spoke. I was only doing it for my cousin's sake. He was so sad and lost after her death; he needed a friend."

Adan released his wife's arms and began pacing the room. "A friend? Is that what they call co-conspirators on your homeworld?"

"I had nothing to do with the bombing! I had no idea what he was planning. Do you honestly think that I could murder so many people?"

He stopped pacing for a moment to look at his wife again. He tried to not be affected by seeing her tear-stained face, but he could not. Taking a deep breath, Adan sat down on the bed and tried to calm himself. "No," he answered truthfully, "I know you're not a murderer."

Rema sniffed and wiped the tears from her eyes, "There's more."

No, I can't handle any more. "What is it?" Adan feared the answer to that question.

"He came by a few days ago, while you were at work."

He knew what she was speaking of, "That man that Tomas told me about; the one who he said made you cry...the one who you lied about and said was one of your old classmates. That was him?"

Rema nodded, "I didn't know he was even on Coruscant. I hadn't heard from him in weeks."

Adan laughed bitterly, "Well, he's apparently been quite busy." He sighed, "What did he want?"

"That's what I wanted to tell you. He wanted to look at one of your datapads."

A datapad, that must be how he got hold of Imperial frequencies. That's how he knew when we were coming. "You let him have it."

"He said that he needed it to avenge Adira's death and to save the galaxy. He said nothing about the attack."

He stood up again and closed in on Rema, "He tried to kill Lord Vader; he failed, and then kidnapped a small child. When Typho is captured, he will be interrogated and your name will come up. Oh Rema, you have no idea what you did?"

"I'm so sorry."

Ignoring her apology, Adan continued. "Let me tell you what's going to happen next. You will be brought in and interrogated. Now, I know there's a lot of rumors that go around about what an Imperial interrogation is like; let me tell you from personal experience, they're all true...Rema, all of them!"

Rema backed away and Adan could see fear in her eyes. Good, I hope I'm scaring her; she needs to know what she has done. He grabbed her hand so she could not escape him, "They will shoot you up with drugs that will rob you of your sense of self; you will know nothing but pain. You will suffer every indignity imaginable, and all that will seem like a holiday compared to what will happen once Vader gets hold of you!"

She wrenched her hand from his. Rema looked like she wanted to say something, but decided against it. Instead she sat down in the middle of the bed with her knees against her chest and her head bowed.

"Did you even think about Tomas when you did this? Do you have any idea what will happen to him?"

Rema shook her head, "It was my mistake...my crime. You will take care of Tomas after I am executed." Her voice was weak and devoid of emotion.

"No, it doesn't work that way. Tomas will most likely be placed in an Imperial run orphanage and then be conscripted into the military as soon as he comes of age."

"But why would they take him from you?"

Adan sat down on the bed next to his wife, "If I do not turn you in immediately after learning of this, I will be considered just as guilty in the eyes of the Emperor. Even if I do, there's a chance that he'll still be taken away. The Empire takes a dim view of traitors; remember what happened to the Jedi."

Rema looked at her husband thoughtfully, "Then you'll have to turn me in. I won't let you and Tomas pay for my crime."

He knew the wisdom in what she was asking him to do, sacrifice her to keep their son from being taken away, but Adan did not think that he could bear to actually do it. His position would require him to witness his beloved's interrogation; he was sure Vader would insist.

This was the day that he feared the most, the day when he would be forced to choose between his wife and the Empire. He wished that there was someone to turn to, but there was no one. Knowing Rema was waiting for a response, he turned to her, "I'll wait and see how things turn out. I'm not going to do anything yet, at least while Typho still on the loose."

Rema buried her head into Adan's shoulder; he could feel her tears wetting the sleeves of his uniform. "I'm so sorry."

"I know."

Leia was tired; it had been hours since the man who took her stopped for a rest. After he had first taken her, the man ran while holding her for a while and then he put her in a speeder. After a ride that never seemed to end, he left the speeder and they went on foot again.

The man had hold of her hand and pulled the princess along. Leia's arm was really sore and she was terrified. He had promised her many times that he would not hurt her, but she did not believe him. She wanted to go home, back to Alderaan and never come back to this horrible planet again.

"Where are we going?" She asked again; he had not given her an answer before and she really did not expect one, but Leia hoped that maybe it would make him stop for just a moment; she was so exhausted.

He did not stop; he only glanced back at the princess momentarily before continuing on his way. "We'll be there soon, but we have to hurry. Stop asking me questions!"

It was becoming harder and harder to not give into fear, but the princess tried to remain brave. What would father do? "What do you want; we can negotiate."

He laughed, "I don't think the Empire is going to be in the mood for negotiation."

"Why did you take me?"

He stopped and turned to the princess. She could see something dangerous in his eyes, "I told you, stop talking." He pointed to the general area, "Look around you. Does this look like the Coruscant that you have seen before?"

For the first time since the ordeal began, Leia took a good look at her surroundings. He was right; this was a part of the capital that she had never seen. It looked like it was underneath the great buildings. It was dark, dirty, and the few beings around seemed very unsavory.

The man bent down closer to the princess, "This is the capital's undercity; the part of Coruscant that the Emperor couldn't tame. There are more dangerous things down here than stormtroopers. Trust me little one, I am the least of your worries here." He then began walking briskly again, pulling Leia behind him.

Finally, they reached the end of a long alleyway and the man pulled some sort of device out of his pocket. He pressed a few buttons, and what was once looked like a solid durasteel wall opened up to reveal another corridor. "We're almost there, let's go."

The corridor led to a series of turbolifts and even more hallways. He stopped at a door with an access panel next to it. "Here we are, let's just hope the Emperor didn't find out about this. If he did, things will soon get very interesting."

"Where are we?"

The man pressed a few buttons on the access panel and suddenly the door opened. Leia felt a strange sensation as she peered into the dark room beyond the door. She wanted to see what was inside but was afraid. He ushered her into the room and began working with a nearby computer console. "We are at the last place where they would look for us."

Leia tried to make out forms in the near darkness, but it was impossible. She saw what looked like another door. "And that is?"

Immediately, that door opened to reveal a room like she had never seen before. It was huge, with high ceilings and columns. Leia felt drawn to the place; and she had a strange sense of being at home here in this unfamiliar and dark building.

The man walked up to her, "We're in the old Jedi temple."

She turned to him sharply, "How did you get in here; the entire place is guarded."

"No, just the grounds around the temple. I'm sure the Emperor doesn't trust stormtroopers in this place. The inside is guarded with an advanced security system; fortunately, I am very much familiar with systems like these and know how to disable them without detection."

Leia was torn, she was being held captive but she could not help but be excited about where she was. This was the building that she had wanted to get a look at when she first arrived on Coruscant. She could not believe that she was actually inside it.

She looked around and could see scorch marks all over the walls. "What happened here?"

"One of the Emperor's many atrocities." He began leading the princess further into the building; his small hand-held lamp was their only source of light in the vast room. "But it wasn't the first, and definitely not the last."

"Is this where the Jedi were executed?" Leia remembered reading about this in her history studies.

The man turned to the princess, "This was not an execution; it was a slaughter led by Lord Vader himself."

The continued walking until they came upon strange shapes lying on the floor. It took Leia a moment before she realized what they were and then she screamed in terror.

Lying in various places throughout the large room were skeletal bodies surrounded by fabric in varying shades of brown. Leia wanted to close her eyes to block out the horrible sight, but she could not. She only stood in the same spot, completely unmoving.

The man seemed disturbed as well; he surveyed the room with a look of sheer horror that matched Leia's own. "The entire building is a tomb; he left them here to rot."

"Why?"

"I don't know, maybe as a monument to his greatest victory."

Leia felt strange, almost like she and the man were not the only ones in the temple. She felt like she was being watched by many eyes but she could not see anyone. "We can't stay here."

"We'll go to another room, but we're staying in the temple. It's the only place where they won't look for me. I need time." He began leading her to another area, away from the horrific scene before them.

Leia looked up at him with pleading eyes, "Please let me go."

"Believe me when I tell you, I bear no ill will toward you; but I cannot let you go. I'm sorry."

Tears began streaming down the princess' cheeks. Please find me Father.