8
There
were ships everywhere, all around the planet. Luke looked out distractedly but
his eyes became immediately enormous. He knew that Coruscant had to be big but
it was something far more than only 'big'. Even if the only lights came from
the ships that flew around it, the planet showed immediately its apparatus of
towers and bridges.
The
enchantment of that vision remained even when Luke and his Jedi diligently
descended. The ship shared the hangar with a well known piece of junk. Irene
smiled when she recognized Threepio, shining in his gold suit. The woman hadn't
to call Luke: before she turned Luke had already left the group and was running
to the protocol droid, very childishly in the opinion of the older Master. The
Jedi Master didn't give Threepio the time to move and hugged him.
"Sir-sir
Luke?!"
"Threepio!"
shouted Luke, smiling.
The
protocol droid wasn't able to fully understand human mind but avoided
cautiously to express his thoughts.
"I'm
so happy to see you again!"
"I'm
happy too…sir Luke."
"Where's
Artoo?" asked Irene taking a look around in the hangar. Luke turned and found
out that his Jedi were all there, looking at him. He didn't need words to
explain his feelings and no one of the Padawans, nor Rjssdek had to ask.
Everyone knew that the Master felt homesick as they did.
"It's
coming…I hope." Explained the protocol droid in a humanly worried voice. A
whistle announced the arrival of the astromech droid. Luke immediately turned toward
the opening door of a turbolift. Two people were coming with the droid and
everyone knew who they were.
Luke
ran to the turbolift and the whistles of the short droid grew louder until the
man stopped before it. Artoo was humanly happy to see Luke and showed it in the
only way it knew, twisting and whistling as loud as it could. Luke knelt before
the droid, forgetting Han and Leia. Artoo then started talking, running over
the friend with an unstoppable melody. When the short machine finished its speech
Luke smiled and patted on its head.
"I've
missed you too, Artoo. The astromech droid they gave me is so silent."
Artoo-Detoo
answered, the little droid was plainly angry for the misbehaving of that other
droid. Luke shook the head, smiling to calm it.
"It
doesn't matter now, friend."
Artoo
agreed.
Han
coughed and Luke instantly looked up at him. The Jedi stood up and they looked
at each other for a moment, angrily. Then they both exploded in a loud shout
and hugged each other.
"I
was thinking you've missed that little droid more than us, kid!"
Luke
opened his mouth to answer, his eyebrows already frowned. But Leia, as shining
as a star in her blue dress, took a step toward them and placed a hand on the
shoulder of her brother.
"You'll
talk later, the ceremony has to begin."
The
two men glanced at each other then did a very formal military salute. Leia gave
them a cheesy smile and turned. The woman took a step in the direction of the
turbolift and the group composed immediately and followed her.
"I've
prepared three rooms for you and the Padawans." Announced then the Senator, a
meter far from the turbolift and she knew Luke had immediately nodded.
The
Senate was the exact copy of the one once been on Coruscant. It made everyone
feel dizzy the first time they took a look in that chasm at the hundreds of
locations for the senators, who filled most of the seats, chattering with their
well-known diplomacy. When, from the bottom of the pit, rose a rounded
location, similar to the Senators's, the Senate silenced immediately. Three
people were on it.
Han,
uncomfortable in his official military suit, swallowed taking a worried look
around. Leia turned a little and touched his hand, smiling to calm her husband.
Mothma saw the scene out of the corner of her eye, without losing her stiff and
solemn posture, shining in the black elegant suit trimmed with the presidential
symbols. After a deep bow Leia and Han sat down and Mothma started her speech.
The platform slowly turned to let everyone see Mothma completely. Leia closed
her eyes at the end of the speech, waiting, hoping. The enthusiastic applause
of the Senate dispelled her doubts. No one but Han saw her tears of happiness.
Leia looked at him, her eyes were two diamonds in the soft light. Han smiled with
her. Then the woman turned to a platform at her left. A hooded figure nodded
and she nodded after it.
Two
platforms moved smoothly near the presidential one. Leia didn't understand
immediately why but all became clear when Mothma turned toward Luke and the
Jedi with him. In the following silence Luke and the Jedi took off the hoods.
Even the younger ones were serious and immobile like statues.
Luke
linked the minds of his Padawans in a comforting ring before he talked.
His
charming voice enchanted the audience for one hour, but no one noticed it. The
Master wanted to thank one by one who'd made the Academy possible but there
wasn't enough time. At half of his speech he silenced, iced by a terrifying
perception. The Jedi turned immediately to detect the source of the perception.
Luke didn't. He seized the parapet of the platform and stared in front of him,
while his mind was expanding in the Senate. He found a sign, something like a
mental luminescent trace. He followed the trace but a moment before to arrive
at the end of the trace Luke heard a rustling and then shouts and screams. He
turned and saw Irene bending forward. He and Rjssdek grabbed her a moment
before she fell down from the platform. Rjssdek left Irene's arm and Luke bent
the knees, softening her fall. The eyes of the woman were dull and looked at
Luke without really seeing him. Then, as if someone had hit her on the head,
Irene fainted.
"She's
tired." Whispered Luke, looking around but everyone heard him. Leia rose and
whispered something to Mothma who nodded and announced the party for the
inauguration of Chewo Coruscant. The Senators left slowly their platform and
followed the four gracious women, or men – to delight the female senators as
the male ones – who led them to the enormous, majestic, fabulous Peace Salon.
Luke, holding Irene by the waist stayed until the last Senator left. The Jedi
Academy was alone now, Mothma Leia and Han had been the first who had left the
Senate. Luke waited another second then pivoted, giving in the same time the
orders to the apprentices.
The
second platform rapidly reached the wall and smoothly docked. The door shifted
aside immediately and the group, with Lukas at the head, headed to the party.
The Jedi who were with Luke jumped from the platform, landing noiselessly on
other platforms long the rounded walls. Luke glanced at everyone then the five
Apprentices started the search. Rjssdek kept in contact with Luke while he was
examining a platform far from him.
There's something
wrong here, Luke.
I know, I can feel it.
It's the same perception I had when I met…
…the hooded boy. I was
afraid of this. Rjssdek finished Luke's thought, for the
young Master was too surprised to do it himself. In the half darkness the long
hands explored, without touching anything, the elegantly carved surface of the
seats, of the parapet, of the wall. In the Force flowing the trace was still
visible and Rjssdek followed it.
How did they let him
come to the inauguration?!
That boy is not who he
seems. Rjssdek's answer iced Luke. But a
movement in his arms distracted him from his thoughts.
"Luke…"
called Irene, moving slowly, trying to make her head stop twisting. Luke
caressed her cheek.
"I'm
here…don't worry."
The
woman wide opened her eyes trying to see Luke but she found out she couldn't.
She knew Luke was near, she could feel the warmth of his body, its smell but
she couldn't see it.
"Luke!"
Cried out moving the head and the hands. Luke gently stopped her arms and made
the woman sit on the floor. Irene was crying, her once green eyes were black,
completely black. Luke was terrified too but his voice came out calm and
encouraging.
"Keep
calm, dear. Keep calm…" He spoke softly, caressing her hair, surrounding her
cold body, so small and fragile in the brown cloak to seem to vanish . He would
have cried out a deafening imprecation against that boy and probably killed him
if he had been another man. But he was Luke. Luke Skywalker, Jedi Master, Guardian of the Republic. The problem
in that dark moment seemed enormous and no one had to know what had happened.
Luke sighed and stood up holding Irene in his arms; without moving the hand on
the control of the platform, it moved and reached the wall. The door opened and
Luke, explaining the situation to the others who were still in the Senate,
exited.
The
corridor was empty and softly lightened by a yellowish light from the ceiling,
as most of the city. The smell of wet paint was a constant, as in the rooms
that Leia had reserved to the Jedi in the Second Tower, but Luke was getting
used to it.
In
the Peace Salon the party was going on better than Leia could imagine, everyone
was enthusiastic of Chewo Coruscant and her face was hurting for how many times
she had smiled. Han was with her, a bit uncomfortable in his elegant suit as he
had been with the military one, saving his wife from the most boring people
when they did their best to make them fall asleep. The music stopped when, on
the main entrance of the salon Lukas, followed by half of the Jedi Order,
appeared. Their presence was enough to ice the atmosphere.
In
the way toward the Senator, Lukas explained the situation to Leia, who promptly
referred to Han. After the greetings the more courageous people in the room
reached Lukas, taking him as a kind of leader, and nearly fought to talk to him
or to the other. Lukas then, over the crowd around him saw something.
Sitting
on a chair talking to other three Senators, there was a young guy, with a long
black hooded tunic, embroidered with golden swirls and symbols. The boy eyes
him for a moment, reducing his eyes into two menacing fissures. The left angle
of the mouth rose in a sinister half smile. Lukas drew a step back but no one
noticed it and a fat Senator, dressed in green and yellow with heavy rings on
every fingers, ran over him with a silly story about a threatening beast that
was, in his fantasy, he had defeated, saving even a Jedi.
Master, you think…
I'm
sure of it