UP SHAK NEBULA By Kondoru

Standard Disclaimers.

Thanks to JP for Betaing.

Part Two. Conversation between two of the Damned in a Sithi Hell…

"Daughter…."

"Do not call me that!"

"What do I call you then? Rebel Princess?"

Snorts.

Sighs. "What supplies do we have?"

"I'm checking… growls Very generous, One Rebel emergency kit…"

"Is that all? After all you have done for the Alliance?"

"We have a standard months' worth of ration bars each. Even you."

"My suits charged with vitapaste and water…I'm good for a fortnight."

"Good, because we are short of everything."

"This planet has plenty of food and water, yes?"

"Yes."

"Go outside, find a plant with bilobed leaves and nubbly purple berries."

Few minutes later

"Here you are. How did you know it was here?"

"I can smell it. My suits olfactory sensors are very functional. I smell all sorts of interesting things here."

"What does it do? Is it a poison?"

"The berries you cannot eat. Mash them to a pulp, they are a good antiseptic. You can put them on wounds or water down for a germ killing wash."

"Ah."

"The leaves you can make a tea from, settles your stomach…As no doubt we all will need on a strange diet."

"How do you know all this?"

"My daughter, there is really only one kind of poverty….That of ignorance."

"How so."

"I have knowledge, all on my suits computer. Proud. Find me a junk heap and I will make you a droid…Or a spaceship."

"We haven't one of those…Yet."

"I know all the edible and useful plants and animals. The Rakata brought many kinds to Lehon."

"That's good, as it seems we have been marooned on a desert planet."

"You're just fine here. There's much worse."

Curious "How will you manage?"

Sighs "I am dying. My lungs are worse than ever…I am too weak to move. My suit is still functioning so if we keep it recharged with the power pack…It should last long enough."

"Ok, Looks around So, you know where we are?"

"Yes Sighs Lehon."

"Ah?"

"Put it this way…It's a Dark Side black hole. Pauses you know nothing about Lehon?"

"No, not really."

"This is where the Dark side began. We have been sent right back to the beginning."

"Have we?"

"Yes. But that's a story I will save for when Luke is here. If I could get my comm working I could contact the governor here and get help."

"Turn us over to the Imps…Not on my watch!"

"I'm no Imperial."

"Could fool me!"

Few minutes silence.

"Where's Luke?"

"Out exploring."

"In this rain?"

"Luke likes rain."

A few minutes silence

"Well, we are lucky…Nice planet with lots of life."

"There's worse."

"Like Tatooine?"

"Don't bring up Tatooine!"

"Luke grew up there."

"And I wish I had Obi-wan Kenobi all alive again so I can cut him into little pieces. Tatooine, faugh! Taking my son there indeed. Place full of Hutts."

Blithe "well Jabba is no longer a problem at least."

"I heard he is dead."

Nods "Yes, I killed him."

"I should have known it was you."

Smug "I am your daughter. Also lucky."

"You are right about luck; plenty you can eat here….You two should be fine…Until I die."

"And we can return to the Alliance."

"I do hope so. But Lehon is inhabited…Patchily. It's a tourist resort."

Looks about her "I like it."

"Lehon is a monument world. It's a protected archaeological site. There are remains here dating back fifty thousand years."

"Long time inhabited?"

"Yes…But the original inhabitants are long dead…And that's a good thing."

Snorts "Just like you to say that! You and your hatred of aliens!"

Shakes head "Ever hear of the Builders?"

"Yes. They spread civilisation through the Galaxy and laid the foundations of the Old Republic."

"That's one version of the history…A much sanitised version, I must say. The builders were the race known as the Rakata. Lehon is their home planet."

"Not them! I have heard they are cannibalistic savages!"

"Like your Ewok friends?"

"Don't bring my friends into it, the Ewoks are a loving race who protect their homeworld."

"Tell that to the 501st."

"I don't think they ate all that many of your Stormtroopers…Only the dead ones."

"Never mind. Mon Mothma chose right. We are now in a Dark side Hell…Can't you feel it?"

"Come to think of…."

"You can feel it. I feel it."

"The Force."

"I will teach you what I know before I die."

"…Uh huh…"

"Ok, Luke will teach you. Pauses you will need knowledge of the Force to live upon Lehon. As an untrained Force sensitive you are in real danger here."

"The only Force danger I see is in this cave with me."

"Yes, yes. Can I apologise for the way I treated you?"

Inarticulate sounds

"I won't then. But I will help protect you from Lehon."

"It's all dead?"

"No. It's not dead. As I said, this is a Monument world but the Force never dies. Digging is not permitted here."

"I imagine every red blooded archaeologist is itching to get their trowels in."

Shakes head "Not if they are sensible ones. There are good reasons Excavation has been stopped. Pauses Even after all this time some of the artefacts are active."

"No!"

"Unfortunately yes. You can explore and learn things…A good thing. But I don't want you messing with strange artefacts in case they are dangerous. Some are trapped to harm Light siders."

"We must warn Luke."

"So we will. The Emperor stayed away from Lehon for very good reasons. Me, I have downloaded all the data I can get to my suits computer. I never knew when I might need to know it. Pauses besides, one of my agents is an archaeologist."

Frowns in sudden realisation "Dr Aphra! That droid kriffer!"

"Watch your tongue, daughter."

Growls.

"We are perfectly safe provided we do nothing stupid. But, you must follow my warnings."

"Humph."