Thanks I love dance, DragonRider2000, and Katie Ladmoore for your reviews! Here's a nice long chapter to tide you over while I'm gone. While it's incredibly depressing (at the later part), I've honestly been anticipating it for quite some time. Hope you enjoy it...as much as you can with a sad happening...ok, I'll be quiet...
"Druim na deur" is Scottish Gaelic for "the ridge of tears."
Isabel Bayrakdarian's "Dle Yaman" is for scenes 4-5 and Loreena McKennitt's "Prospero's Speech" is for 11 and on…
Druim Nan Deur
"Nice work. Great, Chewie! Great…always thinking with your stomach."
"Will you take it easy?" Luke protested, his arm helplessly sticking through the net. "Let's just figure out a way to get out of this thing. Elaina?" The girl informed him of her position by stomping her heel on his stomach. As the boy slightly groaned from the hit, he heard Han chuckling behind him, which caused his head to turn slightly. It was then he realized a feminine hand waving at him through the mesh. No other part of the woman was visible since she was apparently sandwiched somewhere between the two men. "Okay, never mind. Han, can you reach my lightsaber?"
"Yeah, sure," came the sarcastic reply, followed by a few jerky tugs at the net as Han attempted to fight his way through. Elaina's muffled growl was more than necessary for everyone to know her opinion.
Suddenly, the net gave way and everyone landed with a grunt. Recovering himself, Luke began to sit up, feeling slightly sore. He was about to laugh at his aunt-apparent, who was merely laying on her back, squinting one eye at a time, when some movement in the bushes caught his attention. A few seconds later, the group was surrounded by a bunch of furry little creatures, who, after marveling at their catch for a moment, pointed their spears at the team.
"Hey!" Han protested, grabbing and shoving away a weapon in his face. "Point that thing someplace else." After arguing with another fuzz-ball for a moment, the thing returned the threat. "Hey!" the captain declared angrily, reaching for his gun.
"Han, don't," Luke interjected. "It'll be all right." Elaina was not in the least supportive as she even hissed at the native who took her gun. Comically, it hissed back. "Chewie, give 'em your crossbow," he ordered the resistant Wookiee.
The locals abruptly froze in place as 3PO sat up, groaning,
"Oh, my head. Oh, my goodness!"
After chattering to each other, the little warriors began bowing and chanting to the droid, who seemed quite flattered.
"Do you understand anything they're saying?"
"Oh, yes, Master Luke!" he replied. "Remember that I am fluent in over six million forms of communication."
As 3PO spoke shortly to his miniature subjects, Luke thought that he saw Elaina momentarily look rather forlorn. He would have to ask her about it later.
"What are you telling them?" Han questioned.
"Hello, I think…I could be mistaken. They're using a very primitive dialect…but I do believe they think I am some sort of god."
"Well, why don't you use your divine influence and get us out of this?"
"I beg your pardon, General Solo, but that just wouldn't be proper."
Luke and Elaina chuckled slight at that.
"Proper?"
"It's against my programming to impersonate a deity."
"Why you…" When Han threateningly rose in his frustration, the natives went back on offensive, redirecting their spears. The general then held his hands up in surrender, shrugging. "My mistake. He's an old friend of mine."
They didn't look very convinced.
"Hold still, Kelly!" Leia cried as the seated woman shifted again. "I've never seen a grown woman fidget so much. I'm almost done!"
"You said that five minutes ago," the other brunette grumbled. "I'm starting to regret letting my hair grow so long. If it was short, you wouldn't have so much to play with."
The princess yanked her victim's hair enough to produce a stifled yelp.
"If it was short, I would have to put all of it up to make it look right."
"You might as well have with the way you're taking your sweet time."
"I. Am. Almost. Done."
"Fine."
A moment of nothing but Kelly's growl-ish breathing passed before Leia finally tied the braid off with a string of rawhide.
"Done!"
Kelly took a moment to stare at the foggy 'mirror'. The outlining braid was a perfect copy of Leia's, except that it lacked the interlaced leather and was a few shades darker. Her dress was pretty much the same, also, though the sleeves had more of a layered look.
"It'll get in the way if we have to fight."
"No, it won't. You have your hair less done up than this quite often and it doesn't seem to bother you, then."
"Well…it does."
The girl sighed in aggravation.
"Lucky for you, this particular style goes into a bun pretty easily."
"Who bothered to take the time to teach you this stuff?"
Leia folded her arms at the Jedi's glare. She still didn't believe the story that the woman and her mentor had been passing acquaintances during the Clone Wars.
"Me being a princess, my aunts made me learn. Elaina helped me give them a more natural appearance."
"Thank the stars for that!"
Rolling her eyes at the endless sarcasm, Leia knelt down in front of her companion, suddenly turning serious.
"You and Elaina worked together in the Clone Wars."
Raising an eyebrow, Kelly stared at the speaker for a moment. She must have seen the persistent question behind the statement.
"Elaina and I didn't just work together. We were best friends…the closest thing you could get to being sisters…that is, until I fell to the Emperor." Leia's eyes popped wide open. Was she actually about to hear more than scant generalizations? "We grew and trained together and rarely were separated because both of our Masters usually stayed on Coruscant with the council. After we became Knights, though, we started training our own padawans and went our separate ways. We both fell in love with Obi-Wan. I fell to the dark side and nearly killed Elaina when she and Obi-Wan tried to stop me and Darth Vader. Obi-Wan and I went to look after Luke when his mother died in the chaos and your father asked Elaina to keep you safe. That pretty much covers it without going on for hours."
The princess stared for another moment.
"Kelly, I know that Bail Organa wasn't my real father and Queen Breha wasn't my real mother. Elaina already told me years ago. You know who my real parents are."
The older girl's jaws worked for a moment.
"Elaina knows what she's told you. She knows how to tell you. Ask her."
She skeptically narrowed her eyes, but before she could say anything more, the noise outside their hut grew considerably. Glancing at each other in confusion, the women rose and moved towards the exit, meeting a rather interesting sight. All of their companions, except for 3PO, who was enthroned on a stick chair, were tied on spits as if ready for…!
The natives' hubbub caused by their emergence obviously caught the captives' attention.
"Leia!" the two men called. Leia pursed her lips as the fur-faces raised their spears at her and Kelly.
"Your Royal Highness!" 3PO addressed her. Kelly sniffed her annoyance at being ignored.
"But these are my friends," the princess protested to the natives. "3PO, tell them they must be set free."
Kelly licked her lips before saying,
"Yeah…what she said!"
The droid did as told, but he was ignored at the wood was piled with all the more vigor.
"3PO," Luke called, "tell them if they don't do as you wish, you'll become angry and use your magic."
"But, Master Luke, what magic?" the machine queried. "I couldn't possibly…"
"Just tell them."
Poor 3PO did as told, but the response was the fire being brought out. Leia had to grab Kelly's arm to keep the woman from rushing onto the scene.
"You see, Master Luke, they didn't believe me, just as I said they wouldn't…" Poor 3PO. He cried in alarm as his chair floated above the ground, apparently by Luke's doing. "Put me down! Help! Master Luke! R2! Somebody, somebody, help! Master Luke, R2! R2, quickly! Do something, somebody! Oh!"
The second 3PO was landed safely, the terrified natives began untying the captives. The observing girls grinned as Han and Luke raced towards them, embracing them in a group hug. Remembering what Kelly had said about Elaina, the princess looked over Han's shoulder to peak at her guardian, who was still standing next to her spit, simultaneously rubbing her wrists and teasing one of the runts.
She had a gut feeling that something not so wonderful was about to happen.
The reunited group slowly situated themselves in the large hut, waiting for something to happen. Obviously, it had something to do with 3PO since most of the attention was on the multi-lingual can of bolts.
"Han." The General turned away from Leia to face a somewhat disturbed-looking Elaina.
"Yeah?"
"Can I talk to you for a moment?"
He didn't really have a choice but to excuse himself from Leia and follow the girl as she just walked out the door.
"What's up?" She looked around suspiciously, grabbing his hand and dragging him further from the door. "Elaina, what's wrong?"
"Han, I have to go. Can you cover for me?"
He did a double take.
"Wait, where could you possibly be going?"
She nervously picked moss from the handrail with her short fingernails. Out of all the aspects of Elaina's personality that Han had seen, this was a new one.
"There's something I need to take care of…alone…and I don't know…when I'll be coming back."
The former smuggler's eyebrows shot skywards.
"El, I don't know what you've most recently got in that odd head of yours, but do you mind getting to the point of why you're telling me this?"
After taking a deep breath, she looked him dead in the eyes, her hesitance seemingly at bay.
"Promise me you'll look after Leia. I know you care for her more than anything, so I know I can take your word for it. Promise me, General Solo, you'll take care of her."
Han scratched his chin, still befuddled by the female mind.
"Sure." He threw up his hands when she didn't look in the least satisfied. "I swear on the graves of every blasted fuzz-ball here that I'll protect her with my life! Happy?"
"I am satisfied…and I'll hold you to that oath." Smirking, Elaina turned away and headed towards one of the many rope ladders on the tree. "Oh, and if that the shuttle we used to come here is missing, that's because I took it."
"How are you going to find it? It's pitch black out!"
She grinned, holding up a small device.
"I put a tracker in the cockpit before we left it."
Shaking his head, Han moved back to the tree-house. What were the midgets taking such time with?
"What are you staring at?" Jaylyn demanded laughingly, wrinkling her nose as she looked up from her office desk.
"My fiancé," was the simple reply as Qui-Gon leaned on the doorway, wiping his grungy hands on his pants and sitting in the chair opposite the doctor.
"I thought we agreed not to say that in the open until all this was over."
He ignored the statement.
"Dinner tonight?"
"I probably can't. I have to finish these evaluations and turn them in for review in the morning."
"I'm the one you have to turn them in to."
"But you have to get them to your superiors."
He clicked his tongue.
"I'll bring it here."
Her nose wrinkled further in a way that made her look simply adorable…little did she know.
"You have such a talent for making even the most boring thing interesting, don't you?"
He stretched, mimicking Elaina's accent (which both of the young officers found goofy).
"I know. I had lots of practice." She faked a glare and he lost the accent, leaning forward. "Come on, Jay. I'll be here at 1900 hours."
"Remind me what time that is again." He just stared. "Fine!" He grinned in triumph. "Don't forget to bring the salt, this time, General."
Qui-Gon's smile dropped.
"Are you forgetting that I'm not a general?"
Her eyes softening, Jaylyn dropped her pen, got up, walked around the desk behind him, and put her arms around his shoulders. His lips twitched as her eyelashes tickled his ear.
"You'll always be my general, Love."
Qui-Gon's jaw tensed at the memory. Why did everything have to fall apart now, when it was perfect?
He looked at his scanner when his ship dropped out of hyperspace at the coordinates his 'contact' on Tatooine had finally given up: the sanctuary moon of Endor. His eyes widened upon seeing his scanners pick up what looked uncannily like a Death Star on the other side of the planet. He had known that the Rebels had been aware of a new weapon of mass destruction…but did they know it was here? His thoughts of such things were a blur! Was it only a day or so since he had lost the woman he loved? It seemed far longer.
Shaking his head, the young man focused on his target, which was on the opposite side of the moon from the Death Star. Just as the 'contact' had said, it was a small facility at the bottom of a cliff just north of the planet's equator. The Rebellion would have to wait until Jay was safe.
Having landed in a clearing some ways from the building, Qui-Gon secured his gun and speedily crept towards the facility in the darkness. He couldn't exactly knock on the front door, so the rescuer skirted the metallic structure's hundred-foot length to find the back door. Something was wrong, though. The Empire rarely, if ever, left a door open and unguarded. Admittedly, they weren't the brightest of people, but they weren't stupid.
Trying to remain aware of everything around him in anticipation of attack, Qui-Gon peeked into the dimly lit hallway beyond the door and slipped in.
Elaina stood staring out the window of the giant ship next to incarcerated Chancellor. Of course, she knew his bonds were just for show; the two guard droids on her other side, however, were not.
"I would advise you to cooperate, Mistress Jinn," he growled kindly (if there was such a thing).
"Why in the blazes do you think I would keep my mouth shut about you just so you can ruin the galaxy unchallenged?" she sneered, turning towards him. A rescue was coming soon, right? Then she could show who this scum really was, show her proof, and end it all.
"Come, now, my dear Master Jedi. You know as well as I do that it would be heartbreaking for the both of us if anything happened to our friends…and, when I say friends, I mean Padme, Obi-Wan, Yoda, and all the rest. It would be a tragedy if anything…unpleasant occurred." She merely glared. "Oh, don't play games with me. You know that I would not hesitate to destroy all their lives." His voice was obviously kept calm with great effort.
"You wouldn't," she hissed in return.
"Never underestimate a Sith," he challenged.
Just then, the door at the top of the stairs opened, revealing Anakin and Obi-Wan. Sidious was still waiting for an answer. Obi-Wan…Padme…Yoda… Scowling at the man one last time, Elaina turned around and marched out with the guards trailing her.
SSSSS
"What happened to you, Kelly?"
"I opened my eyes; that's what happened! The Jedi have been constructing this plot for who knows how long. The Chancellor was perfect with timing in his defense against them…you. I suppose, after the Council took you under their wing, Palpatine only figured that the odds should be even in that respect." She laughed. "Hardly even for you now, though. Look at you…for all your high-handed thoughts of yourself, you'll never match me, Elaina."
"Come back from the road you have taken! There's still a chance!"
"Never! If you could only feel the power…No, you're simply too stubborn…and compassionate."
SSSSS
"No, Master, I do not doubt your opinion…only my own. I don't trust myself anymore, after all that has happened."
"Learn to do so once again you must, though not to an extreme. In this, your father will help you, as he did on Mustafar."
SSSSS
"P squared times pi plus...no. P squared divided by pi plus…"
Elaina jumped when a knock came to her ears, causing her considerably streak her work.
"Oops. Sorry," Relin apologized, distractedly entering the cluttered room. "You were right the first time."
"What?" the girl asked, confused.
"Your algorithm. You were right the first time. It's P squared times pi." Elaina looked back at the board and blushed when she realized that he was right. "So, I thought that you were with your sister on vacation." The woman squeaked at his last statement. "Oh, sorry," he muttered sarcastically. "Right…the big secret. Don't worry; I haven't told anyone. I'm just glad you finally realized you could trust me."
"Relin, I do trust you."
"Don't worry. I didn't come here to argue with you." He looked back at the hefty carton on the table. "I thought we finished it."
Elaina sighed.
"We…well, you did. I just wanted to confirm a few things before setting it up and slipping back to my vacation."
"I'm somewhat disappointed that S.Q.E.A.K. is such a secret. An invention like that would make me famous."
"Well, you can bring it forward when this is done."
"Whether or not it works, it won't matter."
"True. I guess I'm just in denial," she laughed.
"I now believe that what you're doing is right. All my hopes go with you." She smiled fondly at the quirky little man. "Anyway, that's actually not quite why I tracked you down once I caught a whiff of the rumor that you were around."
"What is it?"
"I just felt like bragging that I asked the loveliest girl onboard if she'll marry me."
"Well, congratulations! It's Nurse Jen, isn't it?"
That happy moment was gone and dust. She was about to do the hardest (and, at the same time, easiest) thing she had ever done and she was being hindered by a protocol-obsessed lieutenant, who probably didn't know which end of a lightsaber was the handle.
"I demand that you allow me to pass."
"I'm sorry, but I can't do that unless…" The filtered voice paused for several torturous moments before finally coming through again. "You have clearance. Use docking bay three."
"Thank you," she snapped, switching the com off and heading for the docking bay.
Once she had landed and opened the hatch, the woman was met by several stormtroopers led by a commander of some sorts.
"The Emperor has commanded that I bring you before him," he chirped.
Bowing her head with a sadistic little smile, Elaina followed her escort into the halls.
Qui-Gon jumped back when something scrambled by his feet, only to realize that it was a small rodent. Everything was so silent; he imagined he could hear his own heartbeat. What if they lied to him and Jaylyn wasn't anywhere near this haunted house? The bunker had turned out to be much larger than it had appeared on the outside. The top was only a cover for a much larger structure underneath.
Just then, something ahead caught his eye in the darkness. Light was streaming out from the under a door about a hundred feet beyond. He only prayed that Jay was all right.
"So, what was with the change of heart in letting me in?"
The escort commander beside her looked at Elaina wearing an indecipherable face.
"The Emperor was…expecting you."
She chuckled at the confusion struggling to be shown on his face. The Ally, Arabella, was also beside, looking almost sorrowful. She had long since allowed the parasite full access to her mind.
"Of course the Emperor was expecting me."
He wedged the door open, sighing in relief when it complied without protest, but squinting slightly when he realized that the room was fully lit, in perfect contrast to the rest of the establishment.
"Qui-Gon!"
His eyes adjusting, the young man finally caught sight of the doctor, who was sitting on a stool in the middle of the room. She seemed ready to bolt towards her rescuer until the ominous noise of filtered breathing became audible.
Elaina tapped her foot slightly as the elevator seemed to just go up and up for hours.
"So," she began, for some reason finding it amusing to try getting this commander to chat, "…how's the Emperor's health?"
She suppressed a grin when he stuttered again. This guy was just not an idle talker!
"As excellent as always," he muttered.
"Vader!" the young warrior growled, whipping his gun out, though he instantly lowered it when he realized it would have no effect. Instead, he looked back at the woman, who was gazing into his eyes, pleading him to stay, to leave, to save her, to run…
"It was good of you to join us, boy," the Sith stated, moving to stand just behind Jay. She visibly shivered at the presence.
"Let her go, Vader. She has nothing to do with this."
"Oh, she has everything to do with this," he mocked, fingering a strand of his fiancé's hair. "You know what the Ally's directive is once it gains a foothold?" He waited for an answer, dropping the hair when no answer came and giving his own. "To serve the Emperor. You have disappointed the Emperor greatly with your stubbornness. Now, you will pay."
Qui-Gon narrowed his eyes in anger. At that moment, someone else appeared beside him. The sight was quite surprising. It was him, but the eyes were a frightening yellow and the mouth seemed to have a permanent smirk.
Vader nodded approvingly, as if he could see the image, and actually addressed the copy!
"Return to the Death Star when you are finished."
The Sith then moved past Qui-Gon, dropping something at his feet, before turning back to wait at the entrance.
Why couldn't he move? The son of Obi-Wan Kenobi looked at the entity in horrified realization.
"Hello, Qui-Gon. We meet at last."
Once again, it disappeared.
Dr. Erassa still sat on her seat, not trusting her limbs to hold her up. Honestly, she had never been more frightened in her life. Everything had been just fine until Vader showed up to take charge from her captor and send the apparent Moff to the Death Star.
Why wasn't Qui-Gon moving? What was happening? After looking beside him as if seeing a ghost, a great strain had come across his face. He seemed to be fighting something internally…but, what?
"Qui-Gon! What's wrong?" In her worry for her lover, Jay forgot her fear and ran towards the deeply concerned man.
"Stop!" he cried. "Don't come any closer!"
In her confusion, the girl froze in place. When Qui-Gon opened his eyes again, they were yellow. As she saw the dagger at the man's feet, she realized what Vader meant by 'finished'. Glancing at the knife her holder had mysteriously placed in her belt, she saw Vader's plan. She had broken Qui-Gon away from the dark side at Cloud City. If she was eliminated…
Qui-Gon slowly bent to get the dagger, a satisfied smirk coming across his face.
"Qui-Gon, no, please…"
Fire seemingly coming to his eyes, he headed towards her. Jaylyn hesitantly grasped the weapon at her waist. If she changed him once, she could do it again…right? Seemingly satisfied, Vader left.
The elevator door finally opened and Elaina instantly began making her way to the metal stairs, gazing up at the large chair at the top, which was facing the gigantic window. She smiled happily at the older, dark-skinned man coming down the stairs as she went up.
"Panaka?" she exclaimed. "The Queen's head of security? Naboo? Panaka?"
He smiled back.
"It's good to see you, Elaina."
"What are you doing here? I haven't seen you since that business with the Federation all those year ago."
"Moff of the Chommel sector, now. I just finished an errand for the Emperor and dropped by here before heading back."
"It is good to see you well, my friend."
"You too."
As the old acquaintances went their separate ways, Elaina focused back on her target.
The girl blocked another of his attacks.
"Please, Qui-Gon, don't do this! You're a good person. You're my fiancé. Please!"
The man chuckled as he effortlessly knocked her down again, despite his host's desperate calls in the background as they struggled for control.
"Qui-Gon is not here."
"Yes, he is," she gasped, rolling away.
He decided that this toying was getting old and began forcing memories into her mind…tormenting thoughts of Vader. What he didn't anticipate was that she would be able to fight back with memories of her own.
"Elaina taught me how fight back if my mind was ever invaded like this," Jay replied to his sudden uncertainty. She forced one last memory into his mind before he retreated. He recognized it from a faint memory from Vader…just an image, really…of his father as a young man, a boy he knew to be Anakin, and an older man with long hair… "I don't need to remind you what your father would say if he saw you now," she continued as she ducked. "But you do no justice to your namesake. I may not know much, but I know that your grandfather was a great man. You shame him by this. You shame me."
The Ally hesitated as Qui-Gon found some strange, renewed strength. He was losing the inner battle! How?
The throne swiveled around to reveal the Emperor.
The Ally launched one last attack as Jaylyn found herself cornered against a wall.
Qui-Gon smiled. He had won the battle! He couldn't feel the Ally's presence. Jay had… His smile faded.
Elaina knelt down.
"My Lord, I have come."
The woman sunk to the floor with a ragged gasp.
Reality crashed down on him as he saw the blade in her chest.
"Jaylyn…I couldn't stop it…I'm sorry…please…"
She silenced him, caressing his cheek with a blood-stained hand as he held her in his arms.
"You're here," she whispered. Qui-Gon felt a panic. Her breathing seemed shallower by the second.
"Yes, I'm here," he said quickly.
"No," Jay said quietly, but firmly, "you are here."
"Yes, the Ally's gone," he confirmed, more than slightly bewildered.
She smiled faintly.
"Then I have done what was needed."
"Jay? Jaylyn! You're going to be all right. Stay with me, Jay!"
"I love you."
"Don't do this, Jay. Don't abandon me." She breathed a laugh as if the thought was funny.
"Silly boy."
She reached up to touch his face again, but her hand went limp the second he held it.
"Don't leave me alone," he whispered, despair closing in.
Thanks for reading and please review!
My sincerest apologies to DragonRider2000! The story's not over, though! *hides behind trash can*