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For Disclaimer, Synopsis, etc. see Chapter 1. Addition: The characters of Thrawn and C'Baoth belong to Zahn. The character of Arikka Tyane/Rogue Twelve belongs to me. Song: "Over and Over" belongs to Emjay. "I want to spend my lifetime loving you" belongs to Marc Anthony and Tina Arena. Author: Asyr Sei'lar

A New War Chapter 3: Dark Fury

Sam Redbay woke to total darkness. For a moment, panic overwhelmed him as memories from his time among the Furies slipped through his mind. His conscious mind stepped in right then, reminding him of his current ordeal.

He carefully felt his way to the refresher, making sure he didn't trip over his unsteady feet. Slowly, but surely, he made his way along the wall. Harsh lights suddenly flashed on, blinding him. He dropped to his knees, covering his eyes to protect them. This type of torture had been going on for the past two days, along with starvation, dizzying holograms, and the occasional roughing up by the guards.

*I'm alive,* he told himself whenever the pain became too much. *I survived the Furies, I can certainly survive this.* He made his way stoically to the refresher, determined more than ever to get out of there and back to the New Republic.

The bridge of the Chimaera was extremely busy as the crew prepared for a hyperspace jump to the Sluis Van shipyards. Joruus C'Baoth, the clone of the long-dead Jedi Master Jorus C'Baoth, sat at one of the rear stations directly behind Grand Admiral Thrawn. "I demand my Jedi," C'Baoth rumbled. "Your Noghri have failed again and again, *Grand* Admiral Thrawn," he said, emphasizing the title sarcastically.

One of the blue-black eyebrows that covered Thrawn's glowing red eyes rose. "I assure, Master C'Baoth," he said calmly, "you will receive your Jedi soon enough. For now, your talents are required."

C'Baoth appeared to still be smoldering, but he closed his eyes, drawing on the Force to contact the other ships. There appeared to be some disturbance in the Force . . . C'Baoth frowned. Whatever the disturbance was, it appeared to be located extremely close. Searching, searching . . . Ah, there it was. It appeared to be someone who was extremely strong in the Force, yet unaware of it. C'Baoth smiled coldly. *Perhaps even stronger than Skywalker...* he mused. *This one could be turned easily.*

Captain Pellaeon noted the cold smile on C'Baoth's face amid the strain located there as well with concern. In his opinion, C'Baoth would and is turning into too much of a problem. He seemed to be enjoying his work *too* much. Thrawn noted Pellaeon's glance at C'Baoth. "Leave him be, Captain," Thrawn said. "He's doing what he enjoys most. Controlling people."

"The technology at your command is nothing compared to the power of the Force," said the other in a quiet voice. "As is the power you offer me." The Jedi was clearly enjoying the moment. "Did you know, for example," he said casually, "that there is a Force user on board this ship?"

Unconsciously, Pellaeon sat up straighter. "Skywalker?" he demanded.

"Hardly, Captain," the Jedi answered. "No, this one does not realize he has the Force at his command. I could easily turn him to the dark side."

"Where is he currently?" Thrawn asked.

"In the detention center," the Jedi answered.

"There's only one prisoner there currently, sir," Pellaeon informed Thrawn. "A Rebel pilot. He's still in phase one of interrogation, but he's proving unusually resistant."

Thrawn could see Pellaeon was hesitating about something. "What else, Captain?"

"He was found with some unusual devices. One appeared to be a communications device, but it was rather small, and appeared to do more than just open a channel. Another appeared to be a handheld sensor, but far more sophisticated than anything we or the New Republic has. The last object appeared to be some type of weapon, but it was shaped strangely. Also, we can see it fire, but we can't pick up any type of ion residue, the way you would with a regular blaster. Unfortunately, all the devices blew up before we could test them further."

"I see," Thrawn said. He swiveled to face C'Baoth. "It seems as though your 'Jedi' is more than he appears to be."

The Jedi smiled. "Rest assured, Admiral, I *will* turn him to the Dark Side."

The Sluis Van battle went badly for the Imperial troops, as Thrawn's plan to steal the Mon Cal Cruisers was foiled by Lando Calrissian and Han Solo. Rogue Squadron was present as well. Sam was only aware there was a battle being fought, a temporary reprieve from the torture they had been putting him through. He sat on his bunk, trying to keep himself in one piece as the ship shook from the multiple turbolaser blasts it took.

He closed his eyes, praying that he remained alive and able to get back to Rogue Squadron. *And to Inyri. God, how I miss her . . . * He lay down and closed his eyes, oblivious to the shaking of the ship.

He felt his mind reaching out … for what? A strange sensation suddenly hit him. It was like he could reach out and see the battle being waged. X-wings flew and shot up TIEs, among them Rogue Squadron. *All right,* he cheered silently. *Go Rogues!*

Another thought struck him. If the Rogues were here, why not find out if he could see Inyri? Stretching his mind, he was startled when he could almost *hear* her thoughts. *Inyri,* he called tentatively. *Inyri, can you hear me?*

Startled, Inyri nearly got herself vaped. She flew out of the main battle before tentatively calling back: *Sam . . . ?*

*It's me,* he confirmed. *For some reason, I can talk to you, mind to mind.* A pause. *I miss you, Inyri.*

*I miss you, too, Sam,* she answered warmly. *Where are you?*

*Aboard the Chimaera,* he responded. *I'm stuck in the detention center, no way out.* Another pause. *I love you, Inyri.*

*I love you—* Their connection was abruptly blocked as another voice insinuated itself in Sam's mind.

*You will come to me,* the voice said. *Who is this?* Sam wondered. *You will come to me,* the voice repeated. *You will become my apprentice and you will learn great power.*

*What are you *talking* about?*

The voice paused. *You mean you do not recognize the Force within yourself?*

*What Force? What is this Force?*

*Come to me,* the voice repeated for third time, *and I will explain everything.*

Sam woke up abruptly, sweat pouring down his face. Had he dreamed everything? No, a clear memory of what had happened remained in his mind and didn't fade, unlike dreams usually did. The contact with the unknown voice had left him feeling extremely cold. He shivered, wondering, with this new factor in his situation, if he would ever make it out alive after all.

"It *was* him," Inyri insisted. "He called to me somehow, maybe using the Force, I don't know. But he did. We talked. He told me he was in the Chimaera's detention center, with no way out."

"What else did he tell you?" Wedge Antilles asked carefully. They were seated in one of Home One's lounges, Wedge hoping the informal setting would put Inyri more at ease. The other squadron members were scattered around the lounge, sipping drinks, chattering happily after the victory. Inyri, however, had a serious look on her face, matched by Wedge's somber one.

Inyri blushed unexpectedly. "He . . . um . . . this is kind of personal, Commander. Absolutely no relevance to the matter at hand."

"Inyri . . ." Wedge warned.

"All right." She looked away. "He told he loved me. That he missed me terribly. That's basically it. Our contact was brief, and cut off when I was about to tell him I loved him back."

Wedge saw the sudden look of pain in her eyes. "I understand," he told softly. He nodded and rose. A crooked half-smile appeared on his face. "I won't bug you anymore."

Inyri barely registered her commanding officer's departure, so caught up in her pain was she. *Sam,* she called, *wherever you are, we're coming for you. Understand? We're coming.*

Inyri's call awoke Sam from his light doze. That was not the only thing, however. He could hear footsteps outside his door. Loud, rhythmic ones.

The door to his cell slid open, revealing two of the white-armor-clad troopers, and a tall man in robes. The man smiled, yet Sam could have sworn there was menace lurking behind that smile. "You are he," the man said in oddly echoing voice. Odd because the room didn't allow for echoes.

His voice struck a cord in Sam's memory. "You're the one who spoke to me in my thoughts," he blurted out.

Anger suddenly flared on the man's face. "Do not speak of such things in front of lesser beings," he bit out. Abruptly, he turned and headed out the door. "Come." Sam shook his head in wonder. What was wrong with this man? He didn't quite seem sane with such rapidly shifting emotions . . .

A trooper poked him in the back with his blaster. "Move it, Rebel scum," the trooper said. Sam moved obediently, following the man in the robes. He had a feeling of impending doom, but he couldn't pinpoint anything specific.

Images of Inyri welled up, as well as a profound sense of regret that he couldn't be with her. An old song from Earth's twentieth century wandered through his mind, reminding him how often Inyri's face cropped up in his thoughts.

"Over and over I see your face Over and over I long for your embrace Can't stop thinking about you, Thinking about you, Over and over . . ."

They entered private quarters fit for a high-ranking visitor, then entered what Sam thought of as the "inner sanctum." It was surprisingly spare, with only a couple of mats in the center. The door slid shut behind Sam, leaving the troopers outside. He watched the man nervously, wondering what was going to happen next.

The old man nodded at the mats. "Sit," he commanded.

Sam found himself sitting cross-legged on one of the mats. *What happened?* he asked himself. *How did I go from standing to sitting without realizing it?* The old man fluidly sat down, raising the danger rating Sam had given him.

"Now," the man said, "we begin your training."

"Whoa, wait a minute," Sam said cautiously. "What training?"

"Your training," the man said, "as a Force-user."

"What's this Force?" Sam demanded impatiently.

The man smiled. *Good, he is impatient. Already on the path to the dark side.* "It is a field generated by all living beings. It permeates the entire universe, from the life-rich forest to the cold vacuum of space. The Jedi are the group of people who can control and use the Force for their own purposes."

"Are you a Jedi?" Sam asked warily.

The man smiled coldly. "Yes," he answered. He stared intently into Sam's eyes. Sam was startled. "Grand Admiral Thrawn has instructed that I extract all relevant information from your mind, since you are proving resistant to standard interrogation techniques."

Sam tried to get away from him, but his body seemed frozen in place. His sight faded away as his eyes closed and his mind focused on trying to keep this man from his mind. The old man's mind slipped past his defenses. Sam fought a losing battle to shield his mind against the intruder. The man rammed through his defenses as effortlessly as a knife through water.

Sam finally gave up, focusing on finding out as much about this man as he could. Because the man had to open his defenses to reach to Sam's mind, he was as vulnerable to the same sort of attack he had used on Sam. Sam dove through his memories, focusing on the more recent ones. He also sorted through the information stored in the man's brain. A name appeared to him . . . Joruus C'Baoth. Images of space battles, memories of the long-range communications required to coordinate battles for Thrawn. Information on what exactly the Force was, history of the Jedi and their battles with the Sith, history of then Old Republic, the Rebellion, and what he knew of the current new Rebellion. What he knew of Thrawn's plans, and his own plans.

*Oh my God,* Sam exclaimed silently. He had discovered Thrawn's use of the Spaarti cylinder to provide enough crewpeople for the defeat of the Rebellion. The worse part was the discovery of C'Baoth's own plans. Because the clones' minds were alike, and C'Baoth knew how to control minds, he was planning to take control of the clones' minds so as to provide him a personal army he could use against anyone, friend or foe. *He is insane . . . I have to escape,* Sam thought desperately. *Somehow . . .*

*There is no escape.* C'Baoth's laughter echoed derisively in his mind. *I will turn you.*

Sam broke contact forcefully, surprising C'Baoth before he could stop Sam. Free of C'Baoth's influence, if only momentarily, he ran out of the room, hitting one of the troopers and grabbing his gun. The other trooper fired, the blaster bolt missing Sam by inches. Sam fired back, but not before he heard the other trooper calling for backup.

He reached out with his newly acquired Force senses, based on the information he had extracted from C'Baoth's mind on Jedi techniques. He sensed where his astromech droid was being kept, a cargo bay just off the main hangar bay.

C'Baoth's laughter continued to ring in his mind. He came up against Force barriers, images of C'Baoth in the corner of his eye, always mockingly dancing in and out of focus, things that suddenly came flying at him. His hair was coated with sweat, fear rising up in him. *I'm about to go as insane as he is,* Sam though grimly. *This isn't a ship, it's a funhouse. A really warped one.*

He managed to reach the entrance to the cargo bay and release his astromech droid, but his way to the hangar bay was blocked by C'Baoth, wielding a lightsaber. "How *dare* you disobey me!" C'Baoth shouted.

"You're not getting me!" Sam shouted back defiantly.

A sly look slipped on to C'Baoth's face. He tossed an extra lightsaber to Sam. "You must prove yourself," he said, almost purring, "to be my apprentice."

Sam shuddered. C'Baoth seemed to be becoming more unstable with each passing moment. It was only a matter of time before he exploded and hurt somebody.

He ignited the lightsaber and assumed a guard position that he had learned in some of the few fencing lessons he had taken at his sister's behest. C'Baoth parried with an aggressive stance. He immediately began attacking. Sam was barely able to block the blows C'Baoth showered on him.

*He's too fast. Time to change the rules.* Sam slipped into a crouch, and, in one fluid movement, extended his leg out to swipe C'Baoth's feet from under him. C'Baoth fell to the floor with a loud bang. Sam sprinted toward his X-wing. His astromech, Bat, was already next to the X-wing. Sam levitated Bat into the astromech socket, then leaped into the cockpit as Bat raised the canopy. There were shouts from assorted techs and troopers, but nobody was fast enough to stop the agile little fighter from blasting its way out. "Bye-bye suckers!" Sam yelled in pure relief as his X-wing shot into hyperspace.

"So then I got my X-wing into hyperspace. That's basically it," Sam concluded as he looked at all his friends from Rogue Squadron assembled around his bed in the medical center. Inyri squeezed his hand. He turned his head and smiled at her.

Corran rose from his position across from Inyri, smiling mischievously. "Let's leave, guys," he suggested. "I think they want some time alone."

Sam hardly noticed as the rest of Rogue Squadron filed out the door. His attention was completely on Inyri. "I was afraid I'd never see you again," he said softly, the very idea threatening to choke him with emotion.

She stroked his cheek. "Well, you're back," she said simply.

He laughed. "Indeed." He grew sober. "I love you, Inyri Forge. I've never really felt this way about anyone else before. I know I may never see the Federation again for the rest of my life, but I'd like to have at least some happiness in my new life. I know that I can have it with you. I'd like to spend the rest of my life with you. Even if I do get a chance to go back, I won't. Not without you, anyway."

She blushed. "I love you, too, Sam. Ever since I first met you, you've intrigued me. I've . . . never met anyone like you before. I was, well . . . sad, when I didn't get a chance to tell you I loved you back. But now I'm telling you."

Sam sat up, embracing Inyri. She smiled in pure delight, her emotions too overwhelming for description. Swept up in their emotions, their lips met, everything else fading into the background. When at last they let go, Sam sighed contentedly, Inyri resting her head on his chest. They sat together in companionable silence, watching the stars fly past them on the viewport in Sam's medical suite.

"Moon so bright, night so fine, Keep your heart, here with mine, Life's a dream, we are dreaming.

Chase the moon, catch the wind, Ride the night to the end, Seize the day, Stand up for the light.

I want to spend my lifetime loving you . . ."

La Fin!