Title: Republic Saga - Vengeance, Chapter Six
Author: Jonathan Evans
Author email: noggins@ic24.net
Summary: Mara realises she must fulfill Palpatine's last wishes or it will kill her - but that means Leia must die...
Disclaimer: George Lucas owns everything and I'm not making any money off of this nor do I intend to (I'd like to but that's not the point). You can distribute this freely provided that it's complete with this disclaimer and give the writer credit where credit's due.
REPUBLIC SAGA
VENGEANCE
CHAPTER SIX
The command ship of the Imperial fleet waited to issue the order
to attack Yarori. It orbited the planet just ahead of the other
Star Destroyers with its weapons focused on the Mandalore planet.
Inside, Emperor Thrawn spoke with the holographic image of Mara
Jade.
"You used me, Thrawn," she said angrily. "I do not wish to continue
our agreement. I'm sure you appreciate that..."
The Chiss eyed her carefully. "You know that is not possible. It
is you who betrayed me, if you remember, in destroying those bounty
hunters."
"How did you..."
"I know," Thrawn interupted. "I should kill you now, but I don't.
Because you are of some use to me. You will destroy Leia Skywalker
because it will kill you if you do not obey Palpatine's last
orders but until you do that you will follow me..."
Mara lowered her head. She knew it was true - her life depended
on the programming she received from the last, the real Emperor.
If she did not do as Thrawn commanded no doubt she could be hunted
down by the Empire before she could fulfil her destiny. "Once more,
my Emperor, just once more...
The hologram flickered away. Thrawn looked up to one of his officers
who was looking at his computer read-outs with more intensity than
the others. Thrawn was able to sense his emotions easily and
smiled. "What is it?"
The officer looked up, obviously shocked by this order. He moved
his eyes around the room before realising the emperor was talking
to him. "There's an, uh, Mandalore designed vessel coming from
the atmosphere of Yarori. It doesn't seem to be preparing for attack."
"Destroy it," Thrawn commanded as he gripped the arms of his custom
made throne.
* * * * * * * * *
Deflector shields up!" Anakin called out to his daughter as the first
barrage of laser fire hit them. She quickly did as commanded, saving
them from further hull damage. "How did they find this place?" Leia
asked. "The Mandalore had kept it hidden for so long!"
"I agree," Anakin replied. "This is too much of a coincedence."
"It has to be something with that woman I fought, Mara Jade... she
said she worked for Palpatine but I'd have thought she'd try to
keep away from the Empire after his death..."
Her father turned to her. "You encountered her too?"
She nodded. "She was filled with anger. It made her strong."
"I experienced that in my younger says. I used my emotions in battle
too many times. It nearly drove me to the Dark Side." Another blast
hit them hard. "Open fire. I'll pilot us towards the command ship,
you try to take out the shielder generators!"
"Yes, father!"
The vessel moved closer to the Imperial Star Destroyer, avoiding
as much damage as possible coming from all surrounding starships.
Leia locked the blaster cannons on the generators. "Firing...
now!" The yellow streaks hit the first of the two massive
globes but only resulted in minor surface hits.
"I'm taking us around for another shot!" Anakin called out.
"It's too late," his daughter replied. "We won't survive another
run on them..."
Their shields went down with a hum which slowly became silence.
"Oh no," Leia groaned.
"Be calm," her father replied. "The Force will guide us through
this."
The barrage finally stopped. The two Jedi looked at each other
carefully. A light on one of the console began to blink and an
alarm chimed.
"A troop carrier is joining with us. We're about to be boarded!"
Anakin stood up and ignited his lightsaber. Leia did the same and
they left the cockpit and entered the main section of the vessel
as Stormtroopers poared out from a hole blasted into the side.
The first three were hacked in half by the laser swords of the
Jedi. The rest moved back and began firing.
"Get to an escape pod!" Anakin ordered as he deflected several
blasts back on the Imperial troops. Leia moved swifty through the
short corridors, ducking laserfire. She glanced back over her
shoulder to see Anakin brushing them aside with a slight movement
of his wrist. Obviously his strong Force powers were returning.
Leia waited at the doorway to the pod. Anakin ran down to her.
"We could beat them but then we'd be a target to the Star Destroyers
again. I should be able to use the Force to guide us back to the
planet," he told her as he turned off the magnetic seal to the
door. They got in and closed it just as the Stormtroopers got
to their senses and came bounding after them.
With the press of a button their were launched into space and away
from the Mandalore starship. Anakin closed his eyes as he moved
the pod away from the laser blasts with a perception only the
Force could give him. Leia began to realise how he was the Chosen
One as it was claimed. She looked out of the window to see a
Star Destroyer firing at them. It was on a direct course. The
princess closed her eyes tightly as they suddenly moved out of
its range. She breathed a sigh of relief. There was still a long
way to go though.
* * * * * * * * *
Thrawn suddenly felt something. He turned to the weapons officer.
"Fire three blasts. One directly at them and two to either side.
Make sure it is a close a possible. There should be no margin
for error."
"Yes, my lord."
The Imperial Cruiser fired again. The escape pod moved to avoid
the blast coming towards it but collided with one at its side.
Thrawn smiled. "The Force is not everything, Skywalker," he
said, half to himself. "As I shall prove."
* * * * * * * * *
Anakin lost his concentration on impact. He opened his eyes and
looked around. "There was nothing I could do," he told his daughter.
"I know," she replied. "I sensed a disturbance in the Force. I'm
not sure what it was but..."
"I felt it also. I'm not sure how it could have come about, but..."
There was a quiet hissing sound around them. Leia stopped talking and
knelt down to inspect where it was coming from. She fronwed. "Air
is leaking out. I'd give us another forty seconds before there isn't
enough for us to survive."
"Then we must conserve it..." Anakin took one last breath and slipped
into a trance-like state. His pulse slowed and his life signs decreased.
Leia began to worry. She didn't think she could perform this technique
at her level of training. She tried to mimic her father but soon
the lack of air made it impossible. She grasped her throat as she
began to choke. Anakin suddenly realised what was happening. "Leia!
Concentrate..."
"It's... too... late..."
A loud bang surrounded them. Anakin looked out of the window to see
a set of blast doors closing behind them. They had been taken
into a vessel. He opened the door to the pod with the Force and
looked in shock as he saw Mara Jade waiting for him.
"Hello, Skywalker," she hissed as she clasped eyes on him. "It's
been too long."
"What are you doing here?" he asked.
"It is my starship... well, it is now I've borrowed it from the
Mandalore."
He stepped out, hand on lightsaber, glancing back at Leia who had
passed out on the floor of the pod. A shuttle pod was also in the bay,
ready for take-off if things went wrong. While he wasn't concentrating
His weapon flew from his hand into Mara's. "We don't want you using that,
do we?" she smiled.
"You know I could defeat you without that," he informed her.
"The Force is my guide."
"Then you will become lost when..." Mara walked over to Leia and
pulled her out of the pod. She held a blaster to her head. "...you
daughter is dead. I reckon I could pull this trigger faster than
you could take it from my hands."
Mara dragged Leia's unconscious body out of the docking bay and
towards a door. "Get in there," she ordered Anakin. He took
one look at Leia and stepped in grudgingly. "Bind yourself."
He saw two sets of binders on the floor. He touched the first
and realised it was made out of cortosis ore which deavtivated
lightsabers upon impact. He tied up his ankles then his wrists.
they locked automatically. "You know I can get out of these once
you've gone," he said calmly.
"That's why I got this little beauty to make sure you don't try
it..." Mara opened a case in the cell and an example of the familiar
yellow lizard, the ysylamiri could be seen. Anakin suddenly felt
blinded to the Force. "He'll be keeping you company until I
have finished with Princess Skywalker here. Don't do anything I
wouldn't."
Mara closed the door behind her as she left. Leia was beginning
to come to as the other woman lifted her up to eye level. "I'm
glad you're awake now. I would have made it painful for you if
you hadn't come to by the time we got to the bridge."
"Why... are you doing this?"
"You humiliated me in front of the entire Empire when you
destroyed my master. Now it is time for you to suffer the same."
"My father...?"
"He is taken care of. He is quite alive. Now, come with me."
Leia managed to stand safely and pulled her arm away from Mara
forcefully. "I think I can do this myself." she replied.
"Walking to your execution. How brave of you."
"Who said anything about an execution?"
The two women walked to the bridge, Leia in front with a blaster
trained on her back. She knew Mara wouldn't pull the trigger.
She sensed something unusual in her emotions but couldn't quite
put her finger on what it was. In the short time she had
know this assassin Leia had realised there was something tormenting
her... something more than the death of Palpatine..."
* * * * * * * * *
Lando walked down the corridor in the Republic base on New Naboo
alongside the man who he now called his brother. Several Republic
officials looked in shock at the similarity between them. They
continued their conversation, ignoring the glances they were being
given.
"So you've been in salvery as long as you remember?" Lando asked.
"Yeah, I guess so. All my life," the other clone replied. "I just
thought that was all there was - some people were meant to be masters
and others slaves."
"Man, that's bad. If I'd known I would have been there so much
sooner..."
"But you didn't. You probably wouldn't have known either if it
wasn't for Master Gallia."
"Yeah," Lando smiled. "She ain't bad for a Jedi. She helped me
find you."
They came to a doorway leading to Mon Mothma's office. It opened
to reveal the Chancellor at her desk. She smiled, obviously happy
to see the two Calrissians. "Welcome," she began. "We are here to
discuss your position in the Republic..."
"I, uh, guess so," Lando's brother responded. "Don't mind if I
act a little... off at times. I've spent my entire life unaware
of either of Empire or the Republic."
"Of course," Mothma said. "But do either of you know how you
escaped the destruction of all the other clones of your type?"
They both shook their heads. "I guess someone felt sorry for
us and took us away before we could have been killed. Whoever
that was I'd love to thank them."
"I'd reckon they were killed by Palpatine as soon as he found out."
"*If* he found out!"
Mon Mothma looked at the other Calrissian. "I believe you could
play an important part in the Republic. I hope your brother will
be able to help you with this... uh, I don't believe I have been
given your name."
Lando looked at his brother. The latter finally spoke. "Actually,
I don't have a name..."
* * * * * * * * *
On the bridge of the stolen starship, Mara Jade opened a comm-link
with Thrawn's Star Destroyer. The holographic image of the self
proclaimed Emperor stood before her. "Ah, I see you have captured
your prey," he said, his hands crossed together in concentration.
"No doubt this is a show of force towards me to prove you no longer
have to work for the Empire."
"Something like that," Mara replied. She turned to Leia and as
she pushed her in front of Thrawn whispered "play along," to her.
Leia fell onto her knees in front of the blue flickering image
of the leader of the Imperial forces.
Mara took a tube out of a pocket on her belt and showed it to
Thrawn. "This is xeltron breil. I'm sure you know the details.
Harmless to the wearer but deadly to the victim. It paralyses
the entire bodily functions within seconds of entering the system.
First the heart stops working, then the brain. I used it during
assassination attempts for Palpatine. It worked effectively then
and no doubt it will now."
Thrawn frowned. "And what do you intend to do with it? Use it on
Skywalker?"
"Of course. She has embarrassed me before the first Emperor now
I will humiliate her before you." Mara applied the liquid from
the tube to her lips and pulled Leia up to eye level. "Look at
you. Pathetic. You can't even fight back..."
Thrawn smiled. He knew what Mara was about to do. She moved into
Leia, kissing her hard and, seemingly against her will, passionately.
She tried to pull away but couldn't eventually Leia's body fell
limp and collapsed on the floor. Mara looked up at Thrawn, wiping her
mouth clean. The grin on his face showed that he knew something
she didn't. After a long pause he finally spoke.
"I don't believe she is dead. Maybe you should do it again."
"Oh, she's dead," was the reply. She took a shock stick from a
holster and jabbed it into the princess. The electricity moved
visibly through her body but she didn't move. Mara stopped. "If
she had been alive she would have reacted to that."
"Then I believe your work is done. No doubt you never intend to see
me again."
"That's right."
"Somehow I have a feeling that things aren't going to work out
as you expect..."
The communication ended and Thrawn disappeared. Leia finally opened
her eyes and got to her feet. She moved for her lightsaber. "I don't
know what you were trying to do then, but you made a mistake..."
Mara shook her head. "You won't need that weapon yet."
"I thought you wanted me dead. Let's do it here and now. We'll fight
and the stronger will be victorious..."
"No. When I kill you it will be on my own terms. I wanted Thrawn to
think I had done it so I could escape his grasp. Now I'm free we can
deal with it in time. For now I let you live - knowing that I will
be coming for you and when I do you won't expect it."
She disappeared through the doors leaving Leia watching after her
with a hand still ready to pull out her lightsaber. She lifted
up her hand and touched her lips. Surely Maraa hadn't used xeltron
breil on her. If she hadn't been able to slip into a trance both
of them would have been killed by the Empire.
Leia rushed down to the docking bay to see the shuttle pod leaving
via the blast doors. She opened the door to the cell her father was
in. Once inside she couldn't see him - only two open binders and
the ysylamiri - dead. She turned to see Anakin standing behind her.
"She didn't think I would take that option," he told her. "But it
was the only way."
"You killed it?"
"I had to. It wasn't the first time. Many years ago I got severly
reprimanded for doing the same thing on a mission with Obi-Wan.
I have been walking the line between the light and the dark for
a long time, my daughter. It is the only way to bring balance..."
Leia didn't have time to discuss this. "We have to get in control
of this ship. We're on auto-pilot at the moment but I don't think
that'll suffice soon."
* * * * * * * * *
"Get a lock on that vessel," Thrawn ordered, standing up out of
his throne. He marched across the bridge of the Star Destroyer
and looked out of the front window. "I want it on board now."
He held his white hands behind his back, hidden in the many folds
of his black robes.
"Tractor beam ready. I'm about to get them..." The officer turned
back to the emperor with a look of horror on his face. "They're
out of range. They took control at the last second!"
"WHAT??!?!" the pale skinned Chiss exclaimed. "Destroy them! Destroy
the planet! We have waited too long. Reduce them to ashes!"
The entire fleet of Imperial vessels began to fire on the surface
of Yarori as hundreds of TIE Fighters were launched towards the
starship containing Leia and Anakin...
TO BE CONTINUED......
Author: Jonathan Evans
Author email: noggins@ic24.net
Summary: Mara realises she must fulfill Palpatine's last wishes or it will kill her - but that means Leia must die...
Disclaimer: George Lucas owns everything and I'm not making any money off of this nor do I intend to (I'd like to but that's not the point). You can distribute this freely provided that it's complete with this disclaimer and give the writer credit where credit's due.
REPUBLIC SAGA
VENGEANCE
CHAPTER SIX
The command ship of the Imperial fleet waited to issue the order
to attack Yarori. It orbited the planet just ahead of the other
Star Destroyers with its weapons focused on the Mandalore planet.
Inside, Emperor Thrawn spoke with the holographic image of Mara
Jade.
"You used me, Thrawn," she said angrily. "I do not wish to continue
our agreement. I'm sure you appreciate that..."
The Chiss eyed her carefully. "You know that is not possible. It
is you who betrayed me, if you remember, in destroying those bounty
hunters."
"How did you..."
"I know," Thrawn interupted. "I should kill you now, but I don't.
Because you are of some use to me. You will destroy Leia Skywalker
because it will kill you if you do not obey Palpatine's last
orders but until you do that you will follow me..."
Mara lowered her head. She knew it was true - her life depended
on the programming she received from the last, the real Emperor.
If she did not do as Thrawn commanded no doubt she could be hunted
down by the Empire before she could fulfil her destiny. "Once more,
my Emperor, just once more...
The hologram flickered away. Thrawn looked up to one of his officers
who was looking at his computer read-outs with more intensity than
the others. Thrawn was able to sense his emotions easily and
smiled. "What is it?"
The officer looked up, obviously shocked by this order. He moved
his eyes around the room before realising the emperor was talking
to him. "There's an, uh, Mandalore designed vessel coming from
the atmosphere of Yarori. It doesn't seem to be preparing for attack."
"Destroy it," Thrawn commanded as he gripped the arms of his custom
made throne.
* * * * * * * * *
Deflector shields up!" Anakin called out to his daughter as the first
barrage of laser fire hit them. She quickly did as commanded, saving
them from further hull damage. "How did they find this place?" Leia
asked. "The Mandalore had kept it hidden for so long!"
"I agree," Anakin replied. "This is too much of a coincedence."
"It has to be something with that woman I fought, Mara Jade... she
said she worked for Palpatine but I'd have thought she'd try to
keep away from the Empire after his death..."
Her father turned to her. "You encountered her too?"
She nodded. "She was filled with anger. It made her strong."
"I experienced that in my younger says. I used my emotions in battle
too many times. It nearly drove me to the Dark Side." Another blast
hit them hard. "Open fire. I'll pilot us towards the command ship,
you try to take out the shielder generators!"
"Yes, father!"
The vessel moved closer to the Imperial Star Destroyer, avoiding
as much damage as possible coming from all surrounding starships.
Leia locked the blaster cannons on the generators. "Firing...
now!" The yellow streaks hit the first of the two massive
globes but only resulted in minor surface hits.
"I'm taking us around for another shot!" Anakin called out.
"It's too late," his daughter replied. "We won't survive another
run on them..."
Their shields went down with a hum which slowly became silence.
"Oh no," Leia groaned.
"Be calm," her father replied. "The Force will guide us through
this."
The barrage finally stopped. The two Jedi looked at each other
carefully. A light on one of the console began to blink and an
alarm chimed.
"A troop carrier is joining with us. We're about to be boarded!"
Anakin stood up and ignited his lightsaber. Leia did the same and
they left the cockpit and entered the main section of the vessel
as Stormtroopers poared out from a hole blasted into the side.
The first three were hacked in half by the laser swords of the
Jedi. The rest moved back and began firing.
"Get to an escape pod!" Anakin ordered as he deflected several
blasts back on the Imperial troops. Leia moved swifty through the
short corridors, ducking laserfire. She glanced back over her
shoulder to see Anakin brushing them aside with a slight movement
of his wrist. Obviously his strong Force powers were returning.
Leia waited at the doorway to the pod. Anakin ran down to her.
"We could beat them but then we'd be a target to the Star Destroyers
again. I should be able to use the Force to guide us back to the
planet," he told her as he turned off the magnetic seal to the
door. They got in and closed it just as the Stormtroopers got
to their senses and came bounding after them.
With the press of a button their were launched into space and away
from the Mandalore starship. Anakin closed his eyes as he moved
the pod away from the laser blasts with a perception only the
Force could give him. Leia began to realise how he was the Chosen
One as it was claimed. She looked out of the window to see a
Star Destroyer firing at them. It was on a direct course. The
princess closed her eyes tightly as they suddenly moved out of
its range. She breathed a sigh of relief. There was still a long
way to go though.
* * * * * * * * *
Thrawn suddenly felt something. He turned to the weapons officer.
"Fire three blasts. One directly at them and two to either side.
Make sure it is a close a possible. There should be no margin
for error."
"Yes, my lord."
The Imperial Cruiser fired again. The escape pod moved to avoid
the blast coming towards it but collided with one at its side.
Thrawn smiled. "The Force is not everything, Skywalker," he
said, half to himself. "As I shall prove."
* * * * * * * * *
Anakin lost his concentration on impact. He opened his eyes and
looked around. "There was nothing I could do," he told his daughter.
"I know," she replied. "I sensed a disturbance in the Force. I'm
not sure what it was but..."
"I felt it also. I'm not sure how it could have come about, but..."
There was a quiet hissing sound around them. Leia stopped talking and
knelt down to inspect where it was coming from. She fronwed. "Air
is leaking out. I'd give us another forty seconds before there isn't
enough for us to survive."
"Then we must conserve it..." Anakin took one last breath and slipped
into a trance-like state. His pulse slowed and his life signs decreased.
Leia began to worry. She didn't think she could perform this technique
at her level of training. She tried to mimic her father but soon
the lack of air made it impossible. She grasped her throat as she
began to choke. Anakin suddenly realised what was happening. "Leia!
Concentrate..."
"It's... too... late..."
A loud bang surrounded them. Anakin looked out of the window to see
a set of blast doors closing behind them. They had been taken
into a vessel. He opened the door to the pod with the Force and
looked in shock as he saw Mara Jade waiting for him.
"Hello, Skywalker," she hissed as she clasped eyes on him. "It's
been too long."
"What are you doing here?" he asked.
"It is my starship... well, it is now I've borrowed it from the
Mandalore."
He stepped out, hand on lightsaber, glancing back at Leia who had
passed out on the floor of the pod. A shuttle pod was also in the bay,
ready for take-off if things went wrong. While he wasn't concentrating
His weapon flew from his hand into Mara's. "We don't want you using that,
do we?" she smiled.
"You know I could defeat you without that," he informed her.
"The Force is my guide."
"Then you will become lost when..." Mara walked over to Leia and
pulled her out of the pod. She held a blaster to her head. "...you
daughter is dead. I reckon I could pull this trigger faster than
you could take it from my hands."
Mara dragged Leia's unconscious body out of the docking bay and
towards a door. "Get in there," she ordered Anakin. He took
one look at Leia and stepped in grudgingly. "Bind yourself."
He saw two sets of binders on the floor. He touched the first
and realised it was made out of cortosis ore which deavtivated
lightsabers upon impact. He tied up his ankles then his wrists.
they locked automatically. "You know I can get out of these once
you've gone," he said calmly.
"That's why I got this little beauty to make sure you don't try
it..." Mara opened a case in the cell and an example of the familiar
yellow lizard, the ysylamiri could be seen. Anakin suddenly felt
blinded to the Force. "He'll be keeping you company until I
have finished with Princess Skywalker here. Don't do anything I
wouldn't."
Mara closed the door behind her as she left. Leia was beginning
to come to as the other woman lifted her up to eye level. "I'm
glad you're awake now. I would have made it painful for you if
you hadn't come to by the time we got to the bridge."
"Why... are you doing this?"
"You humiliated me in front of the entire Empire when you
destroyed my master. Now it is time for you to suffer the same."
"My father...?"
"He is taken care of. He is quite alive. Now, come with me."
Leia managed to stand safely and pulled her arm away from Mara
forcefully. "I think I can do this myself." she replied.
"Walking to your execution. How brave of you."
"Who said anything about an execution?"
The two women walked to the bridge, Leia in front with a blaster
trained on her back. She knew Mara wouldn't pull the trigger.
She sensed something unusual in her emotions but couldn't quite
put her finger on what it was. In the short time she had
know this assassin Leia had realised there was something tormenting
her... something more than the death of Palpatine..."
* * * * * * * * *
Lando walked down the corridor in the Republic base on New Naboo
alongside the man who he now called his brother. Several Republic
officials looked in shock at the similarity between them. They
continued their conversation, ignoring the glances they were being
given.
"So you've been in salvery as long as you remember?" Lando asked.
"Yeah, I guess so. All my life," the other clone replied. "I just
thought that was all there was - some people were meant to be masters
and others slaves."
"Man, that's bad. If I'd known I would have been there so much
sooner..."
"But you didn't. You probably wouldn't have known either if it
wasn't for Master Gallia."
"Yeah," Lando smiled. "She ain't bad for a Jedi. She helped me
find you."
They came to a doorway leading to Mon Mothma's office. It opened
to reveal the Chancellor at her desk. She smiled, obviously happy
to see the two Calrissians. "Welcome," she began. "We are here to
discuss your position in the Republic..."
"I, uh, guess so," Lando's brother responded. "Don't mind if I
act a little... off at times. I've spent my entire life unaware
of either of Empire or the Republic."
"Of course," Mothma said. "But do either of you know how you
escaped the destruction of all the other clones of your type?"
They both shook their heads. "I guess someone felt sorry for
us and took us away before we could have been killed. Whoever
that was I'd love to thank them."
"I'd reckon they were killed by Palpatine as soon as he found out."
"*If* he found out!"
Mon Mothma looked at the other Calrissian. "I believe you could
play an important part in the Republic. I hope your brother will
be able to help you with this... uh, I don't believe I have been
given your name."
Lando looked at his brother. The latter finally spoke. "Actually,
I don't have a name..."
* * * * * * * * *
On the bridge of the stolen starship, Mara Jade opened a comm-link
with Thrawn's Star Destroyer. The holographic image of the self
proclaimed Emperor stood before her. "Ah, I see you have captured
your prey," he said, his hands crossed together in concentration.
"No doubt this is a show of force towards me to prove you no longer
have to work for the Empire."
"Something like that," Mara replied. She turned to Leia and as
she pushed her in front of Thrawn whispered "play along," to her.
Leia fell onto her knees in front of the blue flickering image
of the leader of the Imperial forces.
Mara took a tube out of a pocket on her belt and showed it to
Thrawn. "This is xeltron breil. I'm sure you know the details.
Harmless to the wearer but deadly to the victim. It paralyses
the entire bodily functions within seconds of entering the system.
First the heart stops working, then the brain. I used it during
assassination attempts for Palpatine. It worked effectively then
and no doubt it will now."
Thrawn frowned. "And what do you intend to do with it? Use it on
Skywalker?"
"Of course. She has embarrassed me before the first Emperor now
I will humiliate her before you." Mara applied the liquid from
the tube to her lips and pulled Leia up to eye level. "Look at
you. Pathetic. You can't even fight back..."
Thrawn smiled. He knew what Mara was about to do. She moved into
Leia, kissing her hard and, seemingly against her will, passionately.
She tried to pull away but couldn't eventually Leia's body fell
limp and collapsed on the floor. Mara looked up at Thrawn, wiping her
mouth clean. The grin on his face showed that he knew something
she didn't. After a long pause he finally spoke.
"I don't believe she is dead. Maybe you should do it again."
"Oh, she's dead," was the reply. She took a shock stick from a
holster and jabbed it into the princess. The electricity moved
visibly through her body but she didn't move. Mara stopped. "If
she had been alive she would have reacted to that."
"Then I believe your work is done. No doubt you never intend to see
me again."
"That's right."
"Somehow I have a feeling that things aren't going to work out
as you expect..."
The communication ended and Thrawn disappeared. Leia finally opened
her eyes and got to her feet. She moved for her lightsaber. "I don't
know what you were trying to do then, but you made a mistake..."
Mara shook her head. "You won't need that weapon yet."
"I thought you wanted me dead. Let's do it here and now. We'll fight
and the stronger will be victorious..."
"No. When I kill you it will be on my own terms. I wanted Thrawn to
think I had done it so I could escape his grasp. Now I'm free we can
deal with it in time. For now I let you live - knowing that I will
be coming for you and when I do you won't expect it."
She disappeared through the doors leaving Leia watching after her
with a hand still ready to pull out her lightsaber. She lifted
up her hand and touched her lips. Surely Maraa hadn't used xeltron
breil on her. If she hadn't been able to slip into a trance both
of them would have been killed by the Empire.
Leia rushed down to the docking bay to see the shuttle pod leaving
via the blast doors. She opened the door to the cell her father was
in. Once inside she couldn't see him - only two open binders and
the ysylamiri - dead. She turned to see Anakin standing behind her.
"She didn't think I would take that option," he told her. "But it
was the only way."
"You killed it?"
"I had to. It wasn't the first time. Many years ago I got severly
reprimanded for doing the same thing on a mission with Obi-Wan.
I have been walking the line between the light and the dark for
a long time, my daughter. It is the only way to bring balance..."
Leia didn't have time to discuss this. "We have to get in control
of this ship. We're on auto-pilot at the moment but I don't think
that'll suffice soon."
* * * * * * * * *
"Get a lock on that vessel," Thrawn ordered, standing up out of
his throne. He marched across the bridge of the Star Destroyer
and looked out of the front window. "I want it on board now."
He held his white hands behind his back, hidden in the many folds
of his black robes.
"Tractor beam ready. I'm about to get them..." The officer turned
back to the emperor with a look of horror on his face. "They're
out of range. They took control at the last second!"
"WHAT??!?!" the pale skinned Chiss exclaimed. "Destroy them! Destroy
the planet! We have waited too long. Reduce them to ashes!"
The entire fleet of Imperial vessels began to fire on the surface
of Yarori as hundreds of TIE Fighters were launched towards the
starship containing Leia and Anakin...
TO BE CONTINUED......