Chapter 34
The Relic

I want to go home.

Vader moaned as he hung slumped against the cold metal wall. His wrists were shackled over his head, just high enough off the floor to put a lot of strain on his shoulders and back. And on top of that discomfort, his head ached and his entire left side felt tingly and numb.

I'm such an idiot, he cursed. Such a kriffing moron! Stupid, stupid, stupid! Why did I do that?

Everything had been going fine. He and Obi-Wan had arrived on Raxus Prime with their task force without incident. The planet had been just as miserable as he feared; it smelled rank and there were piles of scrap and streams of sludge as far as the eye could see.

They had been deployed to the garbage planet due to reports that the Separatists were digging for something. Intelligence had no idea what they could be digging for, but someone thought it might be dangerous enough to send Jedi and clone troops to put a stop to it. Vader had thought that the whole mission was stupid, a waste of time, but he wasn't in charge.

Upon landing on Raxus Prime, the task force had broken down into groups and began searching the industrial wasteland for any Separatist presence. He and his Master's group were assigned one of the more remote search areas. Vader had not appreciated that.

For nearly two days they'd picked their way over broken ships hulls, corroded droids, and twisted hunks of metal that were no longer identifiable. Rusty, leaky barrels of toxic waste oozed their contents into vile ponds and sluggish streams near the bases of the scrap piles. There were no birds or plants or animals of any kind to be seen. The only sign of life had been a distant glimpse of what Vader swore was a Jawa sandcrawler trundling away off in the distance on the first day.

Then, on the beginning of day three, they'd found the Separatists. And it wasn't just any group of Separatists; Dooku had been personally overseeing the operations. Whatever those operations were, they hadn't known, but it appeared that they had been successful as they were loading…something…into the cargo compartment of a ship.

And then Vader had done something very, very stupid. He charged the old man, in spite of his Master's warnings (again), and tried to stop him. If Dooku was involved in something, he had reasoned, then it was very important and needed stopping. And he'd still been bitter and seething about his hand.

He'd been so focused on getting to Dooku and taking him out, he hadn't been paying attention to anything else. He certainly hadn't been paying attention to Dooku's new pet mercenary, Jango Fett's replacement. So when the mercenary had hit him with a stun blast, he hadn't even seen it coming…

When he'd woken up from the stun blast, just a few minutes previously, he found himself shackled and imprisoned. It was dark here, and quiet, but there was a subtle vibration in the floor. He was on a ship moving somewhere. But where?

Vader cursed himself more, weakly banging the back of his head against the metal bulkhead at his back. Stupid—thump—stupid—thump—stupid! …And ow.

His utility belt had been picked clean. No mini-medkit, no comm-link, no grappling hook, no multi-tool, and of course no lightsaber. He could use the Force to free himself, but he still felt to numb from the stun blast to try it. And his head hurt.

The door to his cell abruptly whooshed open and his blood ran cold. Dooku had come to see him. And Obi-Wan could not protect, could not save him here.

"Hello again," Dooku sneered in his dark voice. "I didn't expect to see you out and about so soon."

All his self-recrimination melted into fear, which he desperately tried to hide. "Well, I'm full of surprises," he spat defiantly, trembling.

"How unfortunate," Dooku sniffed. He walked right up to Vader, towering over his chained form. "What's more unfortunate is that I'm not allowed to kill you."

"Yeah, it's a pity, isn't it?" Vader snarled sarcastically. "It stings, doesn't it? That your Master values me over you—"

Dooku backhanded him so hard that he saw stars and tasted blood in his mouth. "Hold your tongue you miserable cur!"

Vader blinked dazedly and managed to swallow a pained whimper.

"Now," he roughly grabbed Vader's chin, forcing him to stare into Dooku's dark eyes, "tell me, why haven't you killed Obi-Wan Kenobi yet?"

"No opportunity to," he mumbled. Not that I will. Ever.

Dooku gave him a long, hard stare before apparently accepting that answer. "Lord Sidious wants it done as soon as possible," the count harshly reminded him.

"Yeah, yeah," Vader croaked. He ran his tongue over his cracked lips and tried not to gag at the metallic taste of his own blood. "So what was with all the digging? I never pegged you as a dumpster diver."

The count released his chin and moved his hand to grip Vader's hair, forcing his head back at a painful angle. "Lord Sidious instructed me to recover the scattered parts of the Dark Reaper personally, and the Force Harvester is the more important component. Very soon now the Republic will tremble in fear at the relic that I have unearthed. When it is unleashed, you had best stay out of the way." Dooku slammed his head back into the bulkhead and released his short hair.

Vader swayed by his chained wrists, blinking and desperately trying to regain his wits. "So…so what're you goin' to do with me now?"

"You will be released…eventually." Dooku flashed him a frozen smiled. "But until then…"

A lance of acid-pain slammed into his thick mental shields, penetrating them with the ease of a hot knife through warm butter. A screamed blasted in his ears that sounded rather like his own, only higher pitched and more strained than usual. And then his mind exploded in fire and darkness…

Obi-Wan paced the length of his quarters on board the Republican Star Destroyer, Vindicator, and worried. Every now and then he would curse Vader's reckless impulsiveness. But mostly he just worried.

This Darth Sidious wishes Vader to act as a sleeper agent, he reminded himself. Dooku will not kill him. He can't without drawing his Sith Master's wrath.

Still, knowing that, he worried. He'd tried to stop the boy, tried to call off his blind charge up the scrap pile. He'd tried to follow him, tried to engage Dooku's forces to prevent him from leaving. But Dooku and his mercenary had easily detained Vader, loaded him into their ship, and left before reinforcements could arrive. The ship was gone from the system before anyone could stop it.

He paused in his pacing and sat down on his narrow cot. I've failed him. First in him losing his hand, and now this—captured by the enemy he fears most.

Sighing, he ran a hand through his shaggy hair and tried to meditate. He was not just a Jedi Knight now, but a general of the Republic's grand army. He had other pressing responsibilities to attend to. If an opportunity arose to free Vader, he would, but not at the risk of his troops. Only a fraction of the full order of clone soldiers was active, and for the moment each one was precious and not to be wasted.

A chime at his door gave a few seconds' warning before Master Fisto entered his quarters. "I know you've already given your official report, but do you have anything to add – off the official record – that could further explain Vader's behavior?"

"What needs explaining?" Obi-Wan asked.

"The Council was under the impression that you had more control of him," the green Nautolan frowned. "And yet he blatantly ignored your orders to charge right into Dooku's grasp. Honestly, it looks very suspicious."

"It does, doesn't it?" Obi-Wan sighed and ran his hands over his face as he took a moment to think. "The boy suffered under Count Dooku for years, and then to be exposed to him so soon after the man mutilated his arm… I can't say that I'm surprised that he attacked so recklessly. He hasn't had enough time to find a way to deal with the rage he feels towards Dooku. Seeing him again only brought to mind thoughts of revenge and blinded him to all else."

"Not a very Jedi-like response," Kit remarked.

"He was not raised to be a Jedi like us," Obi-Wan reminded the Master. "We cannot expect him to behave as we would."

"True," Kit conceded. "But the Council still views his actions as suspicious."

"We shall just have to wait until he turns up again," Obi-Wan shrugged wearily.

"He may not be alive when he does," Kit warned.

"I don't think so. Vader is more valuable to the Sith as a sleeper agent within the Jedi. He can't perform that function if he's killed." Obi-Wan shook his head. "I doubt he'll be killed. But hurt? I wouldn't put that past Dooku. Not after Geonosis."

Master Fisto's normally cheerful face looked downright grim. "I have to agree on that count…"

The first thing he became aware of was pain. It wasn't actual physical pain, but it might as well have been. It was a psychosomatic pain so powerful that it threatened to burst his skull and set all his nerves on fire.

He was very familiar with this sort of pain. That didn't make it any easier to bear. It did, however, give him some clues as to how to end the pain.

Breathe… Let it go… Let it all go… The pain isn't real… It's all in my head…

Vader gasped in agony as he forced his mind open to the currents of the Force. His mind felt raw and bloody. But he couldn't wait for it to heal or recover. Somehow, he knew he didn't have enough time for that.

It felt like it took forever, but eventually, the pain faded into a much more manageable dull throbbing in his skull and ache in his joints. His mental senses still felt overly-sensitive but only time would help with that. Besides, he was simply too worn out to whip his mind back into order any more today.

With his mind patched up, he pried his eyelids open. Instead of seeing the dimly lit insides of a shipboard cell, he saw green. Lots and lots of green. He wasn't on the ship anymore; he was on a planet somewhere.

Slowly, stiffly, he sat up and glanced around. He was in a deciduous forest filled with enormous trees and tangles of vines. A few yards away was an escape pod resting against the leaf-littered ground.

I guess I crawled out of that, he mused. But…I don't remember doing that. Ugh, Dooku really messed me up this time.

The cruel count had done it many times in the past, when he'd been the dark noble's unwilling possession. Dooku would plant pain in his mind, horrifying hallucinations, visions of his childhood friends and mother dying horrible deaths or abandoning him. Sometimes it was punishment while other times it was just for the count's amusement.

I have been violated… He sighed and hugged his knees to his chest. Again. …Damn it!

It was why he'd refused the training bond with Obi-Wan. After what Dooku had done to him, the thought of anyone else inside his mind was horrifying, intolerable. The idea of having a bond, a pathway between minds, was even worse. Even now he couldn't imagine having a bond with anyone.

Shaking his head sharply, he forced himself to stand up and think. Okay… Step one: figure out where the hell I am. Step two: figure out where the nearest Republic base is. Step three: find a way to get from point A to point B as quickly as possible.

Looking around again, he saw no signs of any kind of civilization. No people, no buildings, no vehicles aside from the escape pod that had dumped him here. The only sounds he heard were rustling leaves and animal calls. He was alone.

"Well this is just great," he grumbled to himself and picked his way back to the escape pod. "Much nicer than Raxus Prime, but I'm really not in the mood to go camping."

There wasn't much in the small pod. His dark cloak was neatly folded on one of the seats. When he picked it up to put it on, most of his gear, some ration bars, and a water canteen fell out of it.

Hey! He grinned and sorted through the stuff. I got all my stuff back! Lightsaber, mini-medkit, multi-tool, re-breather, grappling hook and line, and…

"Damn it!" Vader shouted. "No comm-link," he cursed. The one thing that I really need…

He cursed and fumed for a while as he jammed his gear back into his utility belt. This was turning out to be the week from hell. First he'd been sent to Raxus Prime, then he'd been really dumb and let Dooku catch him, then Dooku had had his way with him, and now he was stranded on a planet with no comm-link.

Still quietly ranting and spewing profanity, he turned away from the escape pod and started walking. He was too mad to try and make a more focused attempt at getting to help. And his head still hurt too much. So he stormed aimlessly through the woods for what felt like hours.

It was a stupid thing to do, to let his anger and frustration get the best of him. He let it distract him, and that cost him. One minute he was hiking through the dense woods and the next he was hanging upside-down by his left ankle, several feet above the ground.

"Damn it!" he howled again as he hung from the tree, half-blinded by his own cloak. "This is so not fair!"

Irritated in the extreme, he beat aside his cloak and pulled his lightsaber from his belt. As he was contorting himself to cut the vine that had snared his ankle, he heard a roar that made him freeze. He strained his ears and heard another roar, closer this time.

Oh shit! Whatever that is, it sounds mean! I gotta get out of here! Need to get—

There was a roar almost directly beneath him and he twisted around to see…a Wookiee?

Vader blinked stupidly. "Um…hi?"

The Wookiee stared up at him quizzically and made a questioning growl.

"Sorry, I…wasn't looking where I was going." He cringed at how lame that sounded. "Could you get me down, please?"

His Wookiee savior nodded in agreement and briefing vanished from Vader's sight, making a sound that was suspiciously similar to a chuckle.

Yeah, laugh it up, hairball, Vader fumed. Laugh at the stupid Jedi Padawan that walks right into the trap. It's hilarious!

A few moments later, the vine that held him slowly lowered him to the ground. Once he was no longer suspended, he clawed the noose off his ankle and jumped to his feet. The Wookiee watched him straighten himself out with an amused stance.

Vader hesitated a moment before asking what was probably a very stupid question. "This isn't Kashyyyk, is it?"

The Wookiee snorted at him and shook his head.

"Yeah," Vader muttered, "didn't think so." It's not my fault I have trouble deciding what's a jungle and what's just a temperate forest. I'm from Tatooine, a freaking desert! "Um…I'm kind of lost and stranded. Could you help me out?"

The Wookiee chuckled at him again and gestured at him to follow.

Well that was embarrassing, Vader sighed as he followed his tall, hairy guide. But, at least I'm getting somewhere now…

It was evening now and the light was fast fading from the dense forest. His Wookiee guide, Graffarl, had brought him to a tree-bound Wookiee village a few hours ago. Since then, he had learned that he was on Alaris Prime, a Wookiee colony moon in the Kashyyyk system. The Wookiees had only just recently founded this colony, and to avoid drawing the attention of the Trandoshans, they were keeping it quiet to prevent the murderous reptiles from launching slaving raids here.

After a meeting with the Wookiee elders of the village, complicated by the fact that he couldn't understand a word of Shriiwook, Graffarl invited Vader into his home for dinner. The Wookiee hunter had no mate, but lived with his two brothers and a cousin. At least one of them was a good cook; Vader couldn't remember the last time he'd eaten so well, even if it was mostly meat.

Now, as the sun was setting, he leaned on the railing outside of Graffarl's house and enjoyed the cool night air. The Wookiee elders had promised to send the Republic a message, telling them that he was here. So hopefully a ship would be arriving in a few days to pick him up. But he didn't mind waiting. It was very nice here.

I'm glad I got ditched here. It's like a second vacation. If only Dooku wasn't my travel agent…

Closing his eyes, he opened himself to the Force to try and feel the forest. His find still felt raw, but it was getting better. In a few days it would be like it had never happened. Before, when Dooku had still held him, it had taken much longer to recover from the old man's attacks on his mind. But now Master Obi-Wan had taught him better, how to soothe the mental wounds, even though Vader had never let the older man see those scars for himself.

The forest felt so alive he felt like he was going to drown in it. The massive trees, dense plant and animal life, and the Wookiee colonists made signatures in the Force that were unlike anything he'd ever sensed on Coruscant. It was as beautiful and awe-inspiring as it was humbling.

A strange shiver drew his awareness upwards, away from the surface of Alaris Prime to the stars above it. Something cold lurked there. Something cruel and…

Dooku! he started. He's up there! And…

There was something else near the Sith Lord. Something ancient, black, cold, depthless, implacable, hungry, powerful, and boundlessly, irredeemably evil. It wasn't alive, but it wasn't a machine either. It was a distillation of pure malice and recoiled from it, instinctively.

What is that thing? Vader shivered violently as he returned to himself. And what is Dooku going to do with it? Obviously nothing good, but…

Graffarl yowled questioningly at him, not that he could tell what the question was, only that it was a question.

"Something's wrong," Vader muttered. "Something terrible is going to happen…and soon." He couldn't say how he knew, he just knew it. And when he just knew things, they had a terrible habit of being correct.

The Wookiee rumbled something that sounded either confused or worried, or perhaps both.

A spike of ice slammed into his chest, snapping his head up to the sky. Electricity crackled over his nerves as the air grew thick, almost solid in his lungs and around his chest. The feeling of danger in the Force was so strong he thought he might die from it.

Graffarl was holding his shoulders and barking something at him urgently, but Vader could barely hear him. The Force was screaming in his head, demanding that he move, that he run. It was like what had driven to flee from the Corellian hospital, except that he knew that this was the Force talking, and not his own terror-soak paranoia.

"We need to get out of here," he gasped dazedly. "If we stay here we're all going to die!"

His host stared at him in blank incomprehension before a panicked Wookiee howl split the air. There was a lot of confused and frightened roaring back and forth for several minutes, the whole time Vader felt the urgency growing, pressing down on his shoulders, making him feel sick. And then there was action as the entire Wookiee village began to move.

Graffarl dragged Vader along by the arm as he and his relatives raced through the walkways of the village. Overwhelmed by the screams of the Force, Vader was only half with them as he struggled to keep up. The Wookiees brought him to some platforms where vehicles were kept and Graffarl dumped him into a strange contraption that was small, half-wood and half-metal, and didn't seem capable of flight. But fly it could and within moments Graffarl had it rising over the treetops, it's rotor blades pumping up and down at blinding speed, reminding him very much of the wing beats of insects.

"That way!" he pointed urgently. "We need to go that way!"

As the Wookiee turned the frail craft onto the indicated heading, Vader gathered his wits enough to turn around and see what they were running from.

At a point a few miles away from the receding village the forest was dying. The vibrant green of the trees' leaves was stained the brown of death, and the mark was spreading at an unnatural rate. It was as if some invisible force was sucking all the life out of the forest.

And then he felt it. The evil object that Dooku had hovered over Alaris Prime had sprung into terrible life. Without even trying to he could feel it expanding into a black hole. Its ceaseless hunger was awake now, and that was what was killing the forest. That was what they were running from.

Graffarl snarled something that sounded like a curse and urged the craft faster. Behind them the rest of the Wookiee transports, star ships and atmospheric craft of all kinds, followed them at top speed over the canopy. But some were just not quick enough.

The expanding circle of dead and dying trees grew faster and faster. Soon it was close enough for Vader to see with his own eyes. He could watch leafy treetops wither and thin and brown until the entire tree wilted over. A few of the vessels at the back of the pack started to wobble before falling out of the sky, the Wookiee occupants drained dead like the forest below them.

Soon the draining death grew close enough and strong enough for Vader to feel it. Dooku's Dark Side object began to pull at him. He could feel it try to devour his life force. The pull was cold, so very cold, and painful. It was like having fish hooks stabbed into his skin all over his body and then pulling on them.

Vader doubled over, gasping in agony. Oh make it stop! It hurts! I don't want to die!

Then, just as he felt himself start to lose the battle, it slowed, then stopped. The fleeing Wookiee craft pulled away from the dead circle of forest. And they kept going, even after it had stopped, for several miles before daring to stop and land.

Trembling, Vader practically fell out of the strange two-person craft. With great effort, he focused his bruised mind and tried to see what Dooku was doing. What he found was a relief.

The mysterious thing that had ravaged Alaris Prime's vast forests had slipped back into its sort of dormancy. Dooku was pulling away from the colony moon, taking the thing with him. Soon the Sith Lord and his sick toy would be gone from the system.

Vader slumped into a boneless heap on the relatively bare hill where the Wookiees had landed. "He's leaving. It's over." For now, anyway…

Graffarl crouched by his head and barked a question.

"Count Dooku, the Sith Lord and Separatist leader," Vader explained quietly. "He's the one who did that to the trees. He used some sort of Sith weapon. But he's leaving now…I can feel it."

The Wookiee moaned something sad.

"The Republic needs to know about this," Vader mumbled. "Things have just gotten a whole lot worse."