Chapter 186

On Takodana

After 2 days, Laetitia and Chewbacca finally reached Takodana. Chewie stayed back with the ship, while Leah went to find Maz and talk to her.

When she entered the bar, she felt everyone's eyes on her. The dirty looks of the Pirates, Smugglers, Bounty Hunters, everyone. She wanted to grab her lightsabers so badly and make sure they could never look at another person like that again.

As much as she wanted to do that, she took a deep breath to calm down. That was right, but ... it also wan't.

So Leah ignored the looks and just went ahead. She loved Maz, but she always questioned her choice of job. Having a safe haven for Pirates and Smugglers was ... not the best job in the Galaxy.

"Ami?" A voice expressed.

Leah quickly turned around, with her lightsabers in her hand. She was so deep in her thoughts that she didn't even recognize the voice.

"Hey." The girl nervously said when she saw Leah's weapon.

Leah cleared her throat as she put away the lightsaber. She already had everyone's eyes on her in the bar. She really didn't need to attract any more attention. She exhaled deeply as she tried to pull herself together.

"Rose ... Hi." She managed to say.

Rose smiled as she put the drinks she was holding on a table. Rose was the girl Leah had saved from that angry Pirate 11 years ago. After she saved her, Rose felt indebted to her. She had, after all, saved her life ... And she wasn't an important person to save.

But Leah did, anyway.

"Where is Han? You three will have the usual?" Rose asked, smiling.

Leah's smile faded away as she heard Han's name. This was the first time she had been to Takodana, or any bar, without her alcoholic brother. She couldn't even find her way around a bar.

That was not a place for her. She needed to get him back. She needed him and his simple comments back in her life. She would go crazy without him.

"Is everything okay?" Rose worriedly asked her friend as she saw the pale look on Leah's face.

"Yeah, I'm alright." Leah quietly said.

"Hey, do you know where Maz is? I'm supposed to meet her here."

"Queen Maz left a while ago with someone. She didn't mention about you coming along." Rose said.

"Do you know where she went?"

"No, she didn't say anything."

Leah sighed in frustration as she turned around. What was Maz doing? She was the one who asked Leah to visit her. Now, she was gone? Why? Where was she? Why did she have a bad feeling about this?

"Do you wanna have a drink when you wait?" Rose offered.

Leah didn't know how to reply to that one. She was never one to refuse a drink, since she never actually got drunk. But how was she supposed to drink when she was pregnant? She didn't want to hurt her own baby.

"Um ... No, I'm good. Thanks, though."

"Then, why don't you at least sit down? You look a bit pale. You must be tired from the long journey."

Leah rubbed her eyes to stop the feeling she was getting in the Force. Yes, she was tired, but ... it was also more than that. Something was happening ... or was about to happen. And whatever it was, it wasn't good.

It had something to do with the baby. She could feel danger near her.

"Lady Vader ..." A voice suddenly hissed in her ears.

Leah turned around quickly. What the hell was that voice? No one was behind her. But what did she just hear? 'Lady Vader'? Seriously? What was that? Who even knew she was related to Darth Vader?

"You alright?"

Leah sighed as she turned back to Rose. She knew she was being nice, but that girl could be a bit annoying. And she really wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone. What she was feeling in the Force got her in a mood.

"I'm just gonna go get some air, okay? If you see Maz, tell her I'm in the forest."

"Okay. Be careful."

Leah nodded tiredly as she walked out. On her way out, she couldn't help but be disturbed a bit. She had a bad feeling about what she just heard.

Laetitia ran outside the Castle to get some air. She suddenly felt like she couldn't breathe there. She didn't know if she was suddenly having a panic attack, or it was because of being pregnant. Or the worst thing ... the dangerous feeling she felt in the Force made her breathless.

She took deep breaths to calm herself down. She felt the baby kicking harder than ever in her belly, which wasn't helping. As much as she loved to feel her own child's movement, she was already out of breath and in a lot of pain.

But maybe the baby was feeling something. She was warning her mom about the danger that was coming.

What was it?

Suddenly, Leah turned around quickly as she heard something from behind her. No one knew she was even there. Who was it?

"Maz?" She asked, hoping to be right.

"Try again." A voice echoed all around her.

"Who are you?!" She demanded, using all the courage she had.

As she said that, a dark figure started to appear from nothingness. Leah grabbed her lightsabers quickly, but just when she was about to activate them, they were pulled out of her hands and thrown aside.

Leah fisted her hands to stop the shaking. She was nowhere near powerless without her weapons, but still. She was powerless ... because she was pregnant. She tried to take out the knives hidden under her clothes, but that figure gave her no time.

He Force-pushed her away to break her balance. Leah groaned in pain as she struggled to get up. Who the hell was it that was powerful enough to do this to her?

Was it a Sith Lord? ... Or Arcann?

"Stop hiding behind your powers, and show yourself!" Leah gritted through her teeth.

The figure laughed as he took his hood off. Leah took a moment to analyze the person ... or thing. He was a human, or at least, looked like one. There were markings on his face, making it difficult to recognize him.

"Wait, aren't you ..." Leah trailed off when she thought of a name.

"Aren't you a clever one?" The man mused.

"Master Hett?!" She shrieked in surprise.

A'Sharad Hett was a Jedi Master in the Old Jedi Order. Leah only knew him by reputation. The one and only time she had ever seen him was when he was meeting with her father, Anakin. They were somewhat close.

"I see my reputation precedes me, seeing as you and I have only met once." He calmly smiled.

Hett started taking step by step closer to Leah. She just walked away from him, not turning her back on the enemy. What was he doing here? How did he even survive Order 66? His voice may be calm, but she could feel he wanted to ... kill her.

"It's impossible." Leah breathed out.

"What is? That I survived Darth Sidious' blade during the Jedi Purges? I was one of the lucky ones. The Force was with me ... As you can see, I am quite alive."

"This can't be real." She argued.

She was sure no Jedi, other than who she knew, survived. Otherwise, they would have contacted her. Why hadn't he? What was really going on? Why was his presence so dark in the Force? What did he want with her?

"On the contrary, my darling, this is very real ... As is that." He said as he pointed his finger at behind Leah.

Before she could turn around and see what he was talking about, Leah felt a tight grip on her neck. Someone from the back was blocking her airway.

"This is my hell! You are a guest, so behave yourself!" The creature hissed in her ear.

Leah tried to move her head, but it was no use. She couldn't see who was grabbing her from behind, but she was sure it wasn't good.

"Let go ..." She murmured, trying to break out.

"Yes, I wish I could let go." Hett agreed with her quietly. He didn't seem ... sane.

"In years, I have reached out through the Force, but could not sense any other Jedi. A light had gone out in the Galaxy, and I was alone. The 'Jedi Purge', as it became known, was extraordinarily effective. I started to lose my mind."

"I'd say you lost more than that!" Leah gritted through her teeth as her eyes pointed at the mechanical arm of the Dark Jedi.

"Yes, I lost a lot more ... After I barely survived what you people call 'Order 66', I sought refuge on my home planet ... Tatooine." He slowly started.

Leah sighed as much as she could. The hand around her neck was loose, but it still stopped her from moving. She already had a bad feeling about this.

"I went to my family and led my own group of Tusken Raiders, trying to hide from the Empire ... When I met another Jedi, I was so happy. Even if it was the great Negotiator, Obi-wan Kenobi. I was no longer the last Jedi ..." Hett was saying.

Leah was on her guard as his relief turned into anger and hatred. It was dangerous.

"He ... was not feeling the same way as I was. He had completely lost his way, and attacked me when I was making sure justice was received by the people!"

"Speaking of losing ways ..." Leah sarcastically muttered. She had a feeling why Obi-wan attacked Hett.

This time, Hett was consumed in anger and slapped Leah across the face. She didn't even grunt as she turned her face back to him. He was no Dark Jedi ... He was a Sith.

Oh, great! As if 2 isn't enough.

"Speak when spoken to, Jedi!" The creature hissed in her ear, which made Leah roll her eyes in disgust.

"Years later, I learned that the very moisture farm I intended to attack had concealed Anakin Skywalker's son ... And that Anakin Skywalker, as Darth Vader, had turned Sith, and betrayed the Jedi Order." Hett venomously said.

Leah didn't even try to hide her surprise. How the hell did he find out about Darth Vader? And Luke was her brother? That he was Anakin's son?! What was happening?

"These are all great. But I have one question. How did you know who I was? Like you said, we only met once 20 years ago. Are you a fan of 'Leader Skywalker'?" Leah asked, which Hett replied with a smile.

"Trust me, Skywalker, I have no interest in any of you. I have already made the mistake of getting involved with a Skywalker. I paid greatly for that." He bitterly said.

"No, I found you ... because of him. He is a Noghri, as you can see. When you walked into that bar ... Let's only say that it was not hard for him to smell the daughter of his 'savior'." Hett explained.

Leah frowned in confusion. Noghri ... They were creatures with high smelling abilities. She knew that as she already dealt with one of their kind when she was with Ezra and Kanan ... but how did he 'smell' her genetics?

"Lady Vader!" The Noghri excitedly hissed in her ear.

Leah disgustedly pulled her head away from him. She sighed in frustration. She wanted to get out of there. She felt like she couldn't breathe. She wanted to cry out in pain, but she didn't want to give that satisfaction to her enemies.

"So, as my friend said ... welcome to our hell." Hett finally said.

"Can you tell your 'friend', here, to let me go? I'm feeling a bit dizzy." Leah said, trying to pull herself together.

"What purpose would that achieve? You are feeling lightheaded from the baby inside you. You will be dizzy in any position." Hett stated, smiling.

Leah blinked in surprise. She opened her mouth and let a shaky breath out. She was hiding her pregnancy very well. How did he find out?!

"The baby ..." Leah tried to say, but Hett's shout stopped her.

"The baby?!" Hett screamed.

Noghri grabbed Leah around the belly stronger with the intention of hurting the baby. She grunted in pain. The baby was in pain. Yet, there wasn't anything she could do. She was completely powerless.

"That kid never stood a chance! It's better to do it a favor, and end its life now!"

"No."

"As if your 'Skywalker' bloodline isn't filth enough, you poison is even more by merging it with Sidious'?!" He shouted.

"I will not just watch and let that shell of my friend enjoy being a 'grandfather'!" Hett promised with hatred overfilling in his voice.

Fear took over Laetitia when she saw the lightsaber in Hett's hand. He walked closer with the red blade ... He was going to kill her and the baby! She couldn't let that happen. She needed to do something. She would never let anyone hurt her baby.

"Aah!"

With a scream, Leah gathered all the strength she had to get rid of the Noghri grabbing her from behind. She hit him strongly in the stomach with her elbow. The Noghri screamed out in pain, but he couldn't do anything as Leah threw him over her shoulder by the head.

He just fell on the ground, unable to get back up.

Once she dealt with that problem, she put her fists up, ready to attack the Sith Lord, who wanted to kill her child. No one messed with her and lived ... No one.

"It's over, Hett. There is no point in this. Your 'friend' already beat you." Leah stated, talking about the sore subject they both wanted to avoid.

Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader.

"He is NOT my friend! He's a scourge, a walking symbol of hatred and darkness! He is a monster" Hett shouted in rage.

"When he told me of what he had done to the Tuskens, my family ... I should have reported him to the Council. Had I actually done something, he would have never had the opportunity to slaughter the entire Jedi Order!" He said out of guilt and hatred.

Leah fisted her hand even harder. She knew Hett and Anakin were close, but ... did he trust him enough to tell him about his darkest secret at the time? It made sense why Hett was so out of it. He was consumed with ... guilt.

She couldn't help but wonder if that was the reason why he became ... this. Would the same thing happen to her if she left herself drown in guilt?

"There is no saving that atrocity, festering in your womb. Its grandfathers will destroy it one way or another. The power it possesses ... It is not something Sidious or Vader can simply walk away from. They will corrupt whatever light it might have in it!" Hett promised her.

"Better it dies now, and you along with it." He finally said as he threw his red lightsaber at her.

Normally, Leah would have been quick enough to use his lightsaber to attack him, but she wasn't in her perfect shape. The baby was slowing her down. So the only thing she could do was dodge the blade, and make sure it didn't touch her.

That was good ... for only 2 seconds. The Noghri pulled himself together in that time, and attacked Leah. He bit her in the right leg, trying to break her balance. And it worked.

Leah cried out in pain as she fell to the ground. The Noghri's teeth were so deep. Too deep. She couldn't even move her leg. She was completely defenseless. There wasn't anything she could do to save her daughter or herself.

"Any last words you would like me to deliver to your brother and father?" Hett asked.

"Go to hell!" Leah gritted through her teeth in pain and frustration.

"Trust me, I am already there ... We all are." He quietly said, which caused Leah to roll her eyes. She was getting tired of this.

"Accept this, Skywalker. There is no escaping this. No one is here to save you." Hett laughed in humiliation.

Just as he said that, another red blade appeared ... in Hett's chest. It sliced his heart directly in half. Leah almost jumped up in surprise as she watched Hett fall to the ground.

"I am."

The Noghri ran quickly to the figure who had saved Leah. He tried to fight him off, but the figure was too powerful. He cut the Noghri's hand with a swing of the blade. He then approached the creature and struck him down in cold blood.

Leah only heard the Noghri whimper as he died. She tried to stand up, and see who it was that saved her. She wanted to thank him, and remember his name. Or kill him if it was a danger to her daughter.

But she immediately regretted her wishes when she saw who it was.

Arcann!

Done :)

Woo! A lot of things happened in this chapter. Laetitia was attacked! Will she and the baby be okay? What do you think of Arcann's sudden appearance? Why did he save Leah? How would she react? Would she thank him for saving her daughter's life ... or kill him for murdering her husband in cold blood?

Don't forget to review and tell me what you thought of this chapter!

:)