"Sleep here tonight, in the morning you will leave." The general turned to Spikket "I'm afraid for the meantime I must hold you in these quarters. The troops would be suspect if I announced you as a defector so immediately. Surely you understand."
"Of course. I understand."
The general and his son exited the building where Spikket was being kept. The night air was thick and humid but calm and cool. A gentle breeze regulated the temperature as the stars gleamed from above. From the vastness of the green planet, countless insects could be heard singing their mating nocturnes in the moist air.
Gen. Addick had left two men to guard the prisoner, and they would be rotated by daybreak. The rest filed into a small flying transport for the trip back to Sioul. Donovan said nothing as he peered out the window at what would be his final night on Orepsorp. The future was so uncertain, but he was not scared, he trusted his father's judgment. If he was needed elsewhere, then he would go. Gen. Addick closed his eyes for a moment as he whispered to his son, sitting beside him.
"Are you scared, son?"
"Not really" he replied rather hesitantly "I don't know why, I should be, but I'm not. I feel quite empty."
"Sleep will do you well." The general reached his hand out and planted it on his son's rugged shoulder.
At that moment, Donovan squeezed his eyes closed and gritted his teeth. He made a silent shriek of pain and shuck his head slightly. Colours flashed in through his mind and lightning speed. Half-form images and thoughts raced back and forth across the vastness of his mind, flashes of faces and horrible sounds amplified beyond imagination. He could not make sense of it, it was simply too random and fast.
"Another flash, son"
"Yea, they are getting worse."
"Soon it will all be over. Try not to think about them."
Donovan looked back toward the window at the night sky.
The next morning was like all others typical of the rainy season on Orepsorp. The sun rose with a luminous orange glow on the eastern ridge, and painted the western canyon walls with its warming light as the day went on. Sioul was again bustling, its populous doing their daily tasks and living peacefully. The cadets of the Rebel Academy were enjoying a breakfast at their mess hall. Donovan was absent.
Donovan was standing alone in one of the numerous courtyard gardens of the Mayor's Mansion with his hands grasped behind his back, following the common imagery portrayed by his father. He wore a drab shirt buttoned to the neck. His shiny boots glimmered from beneath the cuff of his perfectly pressed cadet uniform pants. He looked sharp, the true picture of a cadet, a scholar and a gentleman. His father approached unnoticed from behind.
"What are you all dressed up for?"
Donovan turned around to see his father standing there in the morning sun. His white uniform seemed to radiate pride as the ribbons on his chest broadcasted respect.
"I figured I'd wear this uniform once more."
"You will wear man clothes in the future. But now its time to take this off, your days off a cadet are no more, your future lies as a Jedi Knight. Your mission awaits."
He was proud of his Donovan, the man he had become, and his true self, which he had only begun to realize. Together, they walked out of the courtyard arm around each other.
The shuttle had been taken back to the airfield at the flight school where Donovan was to board. When they arrived, all the cadets had lined up at attention to salute the General and his son. Commander Winxo had briefed the cadets that Donovan would be leaving but even he was not told why. The cadets watched with reverence as their friend and colleague was leaving, possible forever. They could see a single tear rolling slowly down his cheek as Donovan and his father, the general, boarded the shuttle.
"I still can't believe this is happening. I'm only a cadet and now I am flying real missions behind enemy lines. Its unreal."
"You are not like the others, you are a Jedi, get that into your head!! Soon you will realize the true nature of yourself. Now get into that cockpit. I will see you soon."
They share a final embrace as Donovan swallows his fears and regains composer
"May the Force be with you."
The general exits the shuttle as all the cadets back away upon the sounds of the shuttle's engines igniting. They watch as the shuttle lifts off the ground and hovers for a bit. Then it rises and unfolds its bottom two wings to assume flight position. It begins the steep vertical climb, spiraling upward out of the valley.
"Not a bad take-off, young Addick." A screen on the dash explodes to life as a face unfamiliar to Donovan appears talking to him.
"Admiral Benvole?" asked the young Jedi
"No, I'm afraid not. My name is Uloo. I work for the underground network on Thracia. The Admiral told me to contact you upon take-off and give you further instructions."
Donovan was shocked but seemed optimistic, instructions were always helpful considering the confusion he was living with. He glanced out the main window at the turquoise atmosphere which was slowly darkening to reveal the black emptiness of space.
"Did they teach you how to fly Imperial shuttles at flight school?"
"No, they didn't. I don't really know how, but I can fly this thing like it was my job."
"Of course you can. Do you think your father was lying to you? You already know everything you need to. Codes, plans, protocol, languages, machinery, weaponry, operation procedure to name a few. As far as we are concerned you are one of the most skilled men in all the galaxy, you know the Empire in and out but luckily for the Rebellion, you're on our side."
"I'm still skeptical, how can I know all this? It just doesn't make sense."
"A test. Why don't you open the weapons hold."
"Well, which button is it?"
"You tell me, ace. You should have no trouble finding it."
Donovan squinted pensively and immediately slapped his fingers on a small red button to his right. A computerized voice proclaimed "weapons hold open, push again to close"
"Ha, you see. You knew it all along. Now, set your course for Kannto, I will call you again when you reach orbit. At top speed on your hyperdrive, you should be there in a day or so. Try to get some rest, eh champ. You're gonna need it once you land here."
The screen went blank as Donovan Addick finally began to relax. He adjusted himself in his seat and began to speak to himself.
"Coordinates, set. Engines report, fully functionally. Calculations, complete. Here goes nothing."
He flicked a thin metallic switch as he watched the stars streak across the cockpit canopy at light speed. He took a moment to marvel at his first experience traveling at Hyperspeed and soon retired into the rear where a small sleeping quarters was arranged. Donovan Addick, laid down and within minutes fell asleep.
His dream was no sweet lullaby. Constant flashes plagued his mind and his visions, for the first time, began to take true shapes. Amid the firery chaos he saw the distinct faces of storm troopers, running in every direction as Donovan watched them from below. They seemed 40 feet high, crushing everything in their path, fire and destruction swooped from every angle. The sound of blasters and explosions echoed in his sleeping ears and pains danced down his spine time and time again. Then a brief moment of silence left Donovan alone. He rose from his slumber and looked around puzzled. He saw nothing. No shuttle interior, no metal walls, no screens or cargo holds. Nothing. He stood up and looked at where he had been sleeping, nothing was there. He grew frantic as he spun around searching for something he could see, hear of feel in the blackness of this void. Nothing. Suddenly, he was knocked from his feat with a blast of red-hot wind. He lay face down on the ground and quickly turned over, above him he saw the dark silhouette of the evil Lord Darth Vader standing hovering over him. His mechanical breaths growing louder and louder as he approached. Donovan crawled backwards on his hands pushing with the soles of his feet, but he could not get away. The dark lord stood directly above him and peered into his eyes. Donovan immediately clutched his throat gasping for air. Vader grabbed him by the shirt collar and picked him in the air. Donovan still could not breath, but he stared at Vader.
"I am coming for you, young Jedi. There is no hiding from the Dark Side!!"
Donovan's eyes flew open. He gasped for air as he lay on his back staring up at the ceiling of the Imperial Shuttle. It had all been a dream. He sat up to see nothing out of the ordinary. The inside of the shuttle looked the same as when he went to sleep. Everything was normal. He put his face in his hands as if to wipe the bad dream from his mind and then stood up. His bare chest was sturdy and strong, but cold. He picked his academy uniform from the floor where he had placed it and hastily put it on. He reentered the cockpit and sat in the pilot's chair. Observing the dash indicator panels, he proceeded to talk again to himself.
"Landing cycle beginning, sub light engines on. Hyperdive...off."
As he switched off the hyperdive, he saw the streaking stars come to a halt. In his view, a bright white planet, speckled with green and blue stood directly in his path. Kannto. Just then the screen flashed to life once more with Uloo's face just as it had the day before.
"Good morning, my friend. Hope you slept well." Uloo chuckled slightly as if had know. Donovan chose to ignore the remark "You should be landing in about an hour, in the meantime I want to explain a few things. First thing, take off that ugly academy uniform, you will be shot on site if you run into any imperials. Open Cargo hold A and put on the uniform in there. Go now I will be waiting."
Donovan reluctantly shed his clothes and proceeded to Cargo hold A. He opened the door sounding a small pressure release. CO2 gas fell harmlessly to the ground revealing a brand new Imperial Uniform, pressed and decorated in proper style, complete with hat and shoes. He rolled his eyes but quickly covered his naked body. Rushing back into the cockpit, Uloo was waiting.
"Hey kid, you look sharper than the quills on a Geeba."
"This feels strange."
"Well, would you rather have your cover blown. Now listen, you are to answer only to the name Lieutenant Garbo. Garbo is being transferred from duty on Kessel. He will be met accordingly, everything has been taken care of, all you have to do is act casual and try to not stick out. Shouldn't be hard considering you already carry in your head everything you need to do and say."
"Oh yea, I forgot." Donovan sarcastically pointed to his temple, covered now by the standard grey cap worn by Imperial Officers.
"One more thing, you might need this."
At that moment, a small compartment opened on the wall, inside was a small grey metal box. Donovan reached for it but did not open it. Before he could ask any questions, Uloo was gone. He proceeded to open the box. Inside was a shiny new lightsabre. Chrome and Alloy, its shined at him like buried treasure. Immediately he knew what it was from his father's fairy tale bed time stories as boy, Donovan never imagined he would be holding one. He reached into the box with his right hand and grabbed it from the soft foam housing it, at that instant, his mind was rocked by another flash.
The colours and sounds from his dream the night before returned and shouted in his mind knowing away at his sanity. He screamed aloud from inside the cockpit but then was relieved but the same silence he knew the night before with the Vader encounter. This time he was not scared, this time there was no Vader. Addick wore the distinct robes of a Jedi Knight and held the lightsabre loosely in his right hand. He looked down at his garb and smiled. He then hit the ignition button on his lightsabre giving life to a brilliant purple flame. He moved it left and right waving it in front of his face casting a purple hue across his young brow. He giggled to himself as it hummed from the energy it emitted. Donovan turned it off and holstered it to his belt.
The flash was over. Donovan's eyes rose from his sabre and onto the planet before him. Suddenly it all made sense. He smiled and laughed, bolstered by confidence, driven by passion, and motivated by uncertainly. He tucked the lightsabre beneath his coat and prepared to land.
He proceeded to land the foreign craft. It came naturally to him, as if he had done it a thousand times before without fault. As he caught sight of Kul-Dan spaceport he laughed quietly to himself, he was beginning to enjoy this charade but he was still skeptical as to what exactly he was supposed to do, exactly.
Upon landing he exited the craft and walked toward the docking bay exit. He spoke to no one but walked with diligence through the crowded hallways. Kul-Dan was a menagerie of alien beings; some large, others small, some flying, other crawling and walking and slithering along, scaled and furry, ugly and strange - over the clanging chatter of various intercoms, he could hear dozens of foreign languages, but he paid no attention he, continued, unperturbed to the locker holding.
The lockers were located at the north wing of the spaceport near a small lake. As he approached, young Donovan Addick peered out a long window at the new planet around him. Gleaming brilliant white sands, spotted with exotic plants and stones gave way gently to the crystal clear lake he saw before him. Kannto was a desert planet but it contained a tremendous amount of resources and oases spotted the landscape from every angle.
"A very strange place for me to save the Rebellion" Donovan thought to himself as he approached the locker area. He hesitated for only a moment since he knew, somehow, exactly which locker he was looking for. The tall grey metal lockers were secured by a series of combination locks, luckily for he Addick, he knew the combination without thought. He punched the series of unmarked keys in the proper order as he heard a pressure lock release. Gently, he unlatched the handle and opened the thick metal door. Nothing was there except a small metal panel with a screen on the front.
"Hello again! Seeing that you have landed successfully and have found this, I take it you are becoming accustomed to your new skills." Uloo again appeared and mockingly dictated commands to the young pilot.
"Yea, doesn't seem too hard, this Imperial stuff."
"Well, its gonna get a lot worse, I can tell you that. We don't have much time to waste, the Admiral will be landing shortly."
"He's not even here yet?"
"No, he's coming don't worry, he has to move his entire fleet, remember? Once they are positioned he will land. As of now, maybe you should wait for him."
"Wait for him, where?" before Donovan could get an answer, Uloo's face vanished as he heard a deep and bellowing voice behind him.
"Lieutenant Garbo, I presume."
"Of course. I understand."
The general and his son exited the building where Spikket was being kept. The night air was thick and humid but calm and cool. A gentle breeze regulated the temperature as the stars gleamed from above. From the vastness of the green planet, countless insects could be heard singing their mating nocturnes in the moist air.
Gen. Addick had left two men to guard the prisoner, and they would be rotated by daybreak. The rest filed into a small flying transport for the trip back to Sioul. Donovan said nothing as he peered out the window at what would be his final night on Orepsorp. The future was so uncertain, but he was not scared, he trusted his father's judgment. If he was needed elsewhere, then he would go. Gen. Addick closed his eyes for a moment as he whispered to his son, sitting beside him.
"Are you scared, son?"
"Not really" he replied rather hesitantly "I don't know why, I should be, but I'm not. I feel quite empty."
"Sleep will do you well." The general reached his hand out and planted it on his son's rugged shoulder.
At that moment, Donovan squeezed his eyes closed and gritted his teeth. He made a silent shriek of pain and shuck his head slightly. Colours flashed in through his mind and lightning speed. Half-form images and thoughts raced back and forth across the vastness of his mind, flashes of faces and horrible sounds amplified beyond imagination. He could not make sense of it, it was simply too random and fast.
"Another flash, son"
"Yea, they are getting worse."
"Soon it will all be over. Try not to think about them."
Donovan looked back toward the window at the night sky.
The next morning was like all others typical of the rainy season on Orepsorp. The sun rose with a luminous orange glow on the eastern ridge, and painted the western canyon walls with its warming light as the day went on. Sioul was again bustling, its populous doing their daily tasks and living peacefully. The cadets of the Rebel Academy were enjoying a breakfast at their mess hall. Donovan was absent.
Donovan was standing alone in one of the numerous courtyard gardens of the Mayor's Mansion with his hands grasped behind his back, following the common imagery portrayed by his father. He wore a drab shirt buttoned to the neck. His shiny boots glimmered from beneath the cuff of his perfectly pressed cadet uniform pants. He looked sharp, the true picture of a cadet, a scholar and a gentleman. His father approached unnoticed from behind.
"What are you all dressed up for?"
Donovan turned around to see his father standing there in the morning sun. His white uniform seemed to radiate pride as the ribbons on his chest broadcasted respect.
"I figured I'd wear this uniform once more."
"You will wear man clothes in the future. But now its time to take this off, your days off a cadet are no more, your future lies as a Jedi Knight. Your mission awaits."
He was proud of his Donovan, the man he had become, and his true self, which he had only begun to realize. Together, they walked out of the courtyard arm around each other.
The shuttle had been taken back to the airfield at the flight school where Donovan was to board. When they arrived, all the cadets had lined up at attention to salute the General and his son. Commander Winxo had briefed the cadets that Donovan would be leaving but even he was not told why. The cadets watched with reverence as their friend and colleague was leaving, possible forever. They could see a single tear rolling slowly down his cheek as Donovan and his father, the general, boarded the shuttle.
"I still can't believe this is happening. I'm only a cadet and now I am flying real missions behind enemy lines. Its unreal."
"You are not like the others, you are a Jedi, get that into your head!! Soon you will realize the true nature of yourself. Now get into that cockpit. I will see you soon."
They share a final embrace as Donovan swallows his fears and regains composer
"May the Force be with you."
The general exits the shuttle as all the cadets back away upon the sounds of the shuttle's engines igniting. They watch as the shuttle lifts off the ground and hovers for a bit. Then it rises and unfolds its bottom two wings to assume flight position. It begins the steep vertical climb, spiraling upward out of the valley.
"Not a bad take-off, young Addick." A screen on the dash explodes to life as a face unfamiliar to Donovan appears talking to him.
"Admiral Benvole?" asked the young Jedi
"No, I'm afraid not. My name is Uloo. I work for the underground network on Thracia. The Admiral told me to contact you upon take-off and give you further instructions."
Donovan was shocked but seemed optimistic, instructions were always helpful considering the confusion he was living with. He glanced out the main window at the turquoise atmosphere which was slowly darkening to reveal the black emptiness of space.
"Did they teach you how to fly Imperial shuttles at flight school?"
"No, they didn't. I don't really know how, but I can fly this thing like it was my job."
"Of course you can. Do you think your father was lying to you? You already know everything you need to. Codes, plans, protocol, languages, machinery, weaponry, operation procedure to name a few. As far as we are concerned you are one of the most skilled men in all the galaxy, you know the Empire in and out but luckily for the Rebellion, you're on our side."
"I'm still skeptical, how can I know all this? It just doesn't make sense."
"A test. Why don't you open the weapons hold."
"Well, which button is it?"
"You tell me, ace. You should have no trouble finding it."
Donovan squinted pensively and immediately slapped his fingers on a small red button to his right. A computerized voice proclaimed "weapons hold open, push again to close"
"Ha, you see. You knew it all along. Now, set your course for Kannto, I will call you again when you reach orbit. At top speed on your hyperdrive, you should be there in a day or so. Try to get some rest, eh champ. You're gonna need it once you land here."
The screen went blank as Donovan Addick finally began to relax. He adjusted himself in his seat and began to speak to himself.
"Coordinates, set. Engines report, fully functionally. Calculations, complete. Here goes nothing."
He flicked a thin metallic switch as he watched the stars streak across the cockpit canopy at light speed. He took a moment to marvel at his first experience traveling at Hyperspeed and soon retired into the rear where a small sleeping quarters was arranged. Donovan Addick, laid down and within minutes fell asleep.
His dream was no sweet lullaby. Constant flashes plagued his mind and his visions, for the first time, began to take true shapes. Amid the firery chaos he saw the distinct faces of storm troopers, running in every direction as Donovan watched them from below. They seemed 40 feet high, crushing everything in their path, fire and destruction swooped from every angle. The sound of blasters and explosions echoed in his sleeping ears and pains danced down his spine time and time again. Then a brief moment of silence left Donovan alone. He rose from his slumber and looked around puzzled. He saw nothing. No shuttle interior, no metal walls, no screens or cargo holds. Nothing. He stood up and looked at where he had been sleeping, nothing was there. He grew frantic as he spun around searching for something he could see, hear of feel in the blackness of this void. Nothing. Suddenly, he was knocked from his feat with a blast of red-hot wind. He lay face down on the ground and quickly turned over, above him he saw the dark silhouette of the evil Lord Darth Vader standing hovering over him. His mechanical breaths growing louder and louder as he approached. Donovan crawled backwards on his hands pushing with the soles of his feet, but he could not get away. The dark lord stood directly above him and peered into his eyes. Donovan immediately clutched his throat gasping for air. Vader grabbed him by the shirt collar and picked him in the air. Donovan still could not breath, but he stared at Vader.
"I am coming for you, young Jedi. There is no hiding from the Dark Side!!"
Donovan's eyes flew open. He gasped for air as he lay on his back staring up at the ceiling of the Imperial Shuttle. It had all been a dream. He sat up to see nothing out of the ordinary. The inside of the shuttle looked the same as when he went to sleep. Everything was normal. He put his face in his hands as if to wipe the bad dream from his mind and then stood up. His bare chest was sturdy and strong, but cold. He picked his academy uniform from the floor where he had placed it and hastily put it on. He reentered the cockpit and sat in the pilot's chair. Observing the dash indicator panels, he proceeded to talk again to himself.
"Landing cycle beginning, sub light engines on. Hyperdive...off."
As he switched off the hyperdive, he saw the streaking stars come to a halt. In his view, a bright white planet, speckled with green and blue stood directly in his path. Kannto. Just then the screen flashed to life once more with Uloo's face just as it had the day before.
"Good morning, my friend. Hope you slept well." Uloo chuckled slightly as if had know. Donovan chose to ignore the remark "You should be landing in about an hour, in the meantime I want to explain a few things. First thing, take off that ugly academy uniform, you will be shot on site if you run into any imperials. Open Cargo hold A and put on the uniform in there. Go now I will be waiting."
Donovan reluctantly shed his clothes and proceeded to Cargo hold A. He opened the door sounding a small pressure release. CO2 gas fell harmlessly to the ground revealing a brand new Imperial Uniform, pressed and decorated in proper style, complete with hat and shoes. He rolled his eyes but quickly covered his naked body. Rushing back into the cockpit, Uloo was waiting.
"Hey kid, you look sharper than the quills on a Geeba."
"This feels strange."
"Well, would you rather have your cover blown. Now listen, you are to answer only to the name Lieutenant Garbo. Garbo is being transferred from duty on Kessel. He will be met accordingly, everything has been taken care of, all you have to do is act casual and try to not stick out. Shouldn't be hard considering you already carry in your head everything you need to do and say."
"Oh yea, I forgot." Donovan sarcastically pointed to his temple, covered now by the standard grey cap worn by Imperial Officers.
"One more thing, you might need this."
At that moment, a small compartment opened on the wall, inside was a small grey metal box. Donovan reached for it but did not open it. Before he could ask any questions, Uloo was gone. He proceeded to open the box. Inside was a shiny new lightsabre. Chrome and Alloy, its shined at him like buried treasure. Immediately he knew what it was from his father's fairy tale bed time stories as boy, Donovan never imagined he would be holding one. He reached into the box with his right hand and grabbed it from the soft foam housing it, at that instant, his mind was rocked by another flash.
The colours and sounds from his dream the night before returned and shouted in his mind knowing away at his sanity. He screamed aloud from inside the cockpit but then was relieved but the same silence he knew the night before with the Vader encounter. This time he was not scared, this time there was no Vader. Addick wore the distinct robes of a Jedi Knight and held the lightsabre loosely in his right hand. He looked down at his garb and smiled. He then hit the ignition button on his lightsabre giving life to a brilliant purple flame. He moved it left and right waving it in front of his face casting a purple hue across his young brow. He giggled to himself as it hummed from the energy it emitted. Donovan turned it off and holstered it to his belt.
The flash was over. Donovan's eyes rose from his sabre and onto the planet before him. Suddenly it all made sense. He smiled and laughed, bolstered by confidence, driven by passion, and motivated by uncertainly. He tucked the lightsabre beneath his coat and prepared to land.
He proceeded to land the foreign craft. It came naturally to him, as if he had done it a thousand times before without fault. As he caught sight of Kul-Dan spaceport he laughed quietly to himself, he was beginning to enjoy this charade but he was still skeptical as to what exactly he was supposed to do, exactly.
Upon landing he exited the craft and walked toward the docking bay exit. He spoke to no one but walked with diligence through the crowded hallways. Kul-Dan was a menagerie of alien beings; some large, others small, some flying, other crawling and walking and slithering along, scaled and furry, ugly and strange - over the clanging chatter of various intercoms, he could hear dozens of foreign languages, but he paid no attention he, continued, unperturbed to the locker holding.
The lockers were located at the north wing of the spaceport near a small lake. As he approached, young Donovan Addick peered out a long window at the new planet around him. Gleaming brilliant white sands, spotted with exotic plants and stones gave way gently to the crystal clear lake he saw before him. Kannto was a desert planet but it contained a tremendous amount of resources and oases spotted the landscape from every angle.
"A very strange place for me to save the Rebellion" Donovan thought to himself as he approached the locker area. He hesitated for only a moment since he knew, somehow, exactly which locker he was looking for. The tall grey metal lockers were secured by a series of combination locks, luckily for he Addick, he knew the combination without thought. He punched the series of unmarked keys in the proper order as he heard a pressure lock release. Gently, he unlatched the handle and opened the thick metal door. Nothing was there except a small metal panel with a screen on the front.
"Hello again! Seeing that you have landed successfully and have found this, I take it you are becoming accustomed to your new skills." Uloo again appeared and mockingly dictated commands to the young pilot.
"Yea, doesn't seem too hard, this Imperial stuff."
"Well, its gonna get a lot worse, I can tell you that. We don't have much time to waste, the Admiral will be landing shortly."
"He's not even here yet?"
"No, he's coming don't worry, he has to move his entire fleet, remember? Once they are positioned he will land. As of now, maybe you should wait for him."
"Wait for him, where?" before Donovan could get an answer, Uloo's face vanished as he heard a deep and bellowing voice behind him.
"Lieutenant Garbo, I presume."