Star Wars Infinities: The Warrior
By Christopher W. Blaine (darth_yoshi@yahoo.com)
DISCLAIMER: The characters and situations contained in this story are ©2003 by George Lucas and are used herein without permission for fan-related, non-profit entertainment purposes only. This original work of fiction is ©2003 by Christopher W. Blaine and may not be reproduced in part or as a whole without the express permission of the author.
CHAPTER 18
Leia had been very quiet for several days and even Dash was being especially polite to her. The wave through the Force caused by the deaths of the people of Chandrilla had physically affected her and Corran seemed to be extremely upset over the entire event, which Dash found strange. However, it was Quinlan Vos who had been changed the most. His normally pleasant features were darkened by a deep scowl.
Dash knew very little about the Jedi, except for the stories he had heard while growing up. He remembered watching several holodramas as a child, sponsored by the Empire, that portrayed them as thieves and liars, perverts with mind-control powers. After spending several weeks with Quinlan here on Dagobah, his opinion was gradually changing and he was coming to realize the extent that he had been brainwashed by the Empire.
Certainly he never had any love for the interplanetary government, as he was a natural nationalist; he wanted to see a free Corellia. Yet, he never would have imagined just how much his view on life had been shaped by Imperial propaganda. Quinlan Vos was nothing but a gentleman with the far off stare that Dash recognized all too well. Many of the grizzled veterans he sometimes drank with had the same look; the look of someone who had seen too much death and was afraid they were going to see much more.
"You worry about your friends," Quinlan said as he sat down next to Dash. The mercenary was cooking breakfast from his stores on the Outrider. This morning's fare was nerf sausage omelets, a welcome change from the terrible tasting gruel that Quinlan normally ate.
"Of course I do; I'm a mercenary, not a devil."
Quinlan nodded. "In the days of the Old Republic, there was not much difference. Had that fine institution lasted…"
Dash interrupted him almost immediately. "Look, maybe everything that was said about you Jedi wasn't the truth, but the Republic was corrupt. Too much leeway was given to the Jedi in government matters."
"You sound like a politician," Quinlan commented and then added quickly, remembering he was speaking to a Corellian, "one of the better ones."
Dash took a fork and rolled the sausage, ensuring it was getting cooked all the way around. Soon it would be time to add the eggs. His stomach was grumbling while they talked. "So, you think the Jedi had too much power?"
Quinlan pulled on one of his thick long braids, a habit he had picked up over the years whenever he was thinking of the old days. "Not so much power, as trust. We became complacent in that trust, forgot what it meant to earn that. The Jedi mediated disputes and enforced laws, but we did not do the things necessary to keep ourselves in the hearts of the people."
"Made it easy for the people to turn against you, eh?"
"Palpatine was saying the things people wanted hear. He preached racial pride, strong defense, law and order." He looked down at the ground and his worn sandals. They reminded him of his heart. The years had not been kind to either. "It sounds good when you first hear it."
"Yep, until you have to pay the bill for all of that security with your soul." Dash heard someone coming down the ramp of his ship and saw it was Corran. Leia was probably out doing her morning run, trying to get out of the "princess mode" as she called it. The physical exercise seemed to keep her mind off of the tragedy of Chandrilla.
"Hey, Dash," Corran called out, scratching his head. His hair was growing out here on this world of snakes and bogs and swamp gas and it was making him look a little older. Ever since Chandrilla had been destroyed, they all seemed a little older, as if the dreams of innocence died with the planet.
"What? Another headache?" Dash said, handing the fork over to Quinlan. "Don't burn it," he warned.
"Pain killers will not help what ails young Corran," Quinlan responded as he grabbed a sausage and put it in his mouth. Dash guessed he was using the Force to keep it from burning his mouth.
"Really?" Dash asked, halfway hoping the old Jedi had some sort of local cure. Corran had been getting severe headaches for several days now and it had prevented them from leaving. At first, Dash thought it was just an excuse to spend more time with the princess, but he noted the look of real pain on the younger man's face.
Dash was afraid that it might be a condition related to traveling in hyperspace. In some people, the brain and inner ear could not adjust to faster than light speed. The effect was not always instantaneous, but could build up over years. If it was so, then Corran could stroke out if they left.
"Corran, would you come a little closer, please?" Quinlan called out, gabbing another piece of meat. Dash patted his sidearm and warned the Jedi master a final time. Quinlan shrugged and used the Force to make Dash believe something had moved to his left. As he turned to look, Quinlan grabbed a final link and quickly put it in his mouth.
Dash turned back, fairly sure he had been snookered, but not saying anything because he lacked proof. Corran by that time had made it to their little campsite. "Master Vos?" Corran asked, his manners not having swayed since arriving.
Quinlan closed his eyes and seemed to be mumbling. Dash assumed it was for effect but supposed it was possible the old Jedi was reciting a lesson from his past. Corran dropped to his knees and put a hand to the back of his head. "Ow!"
Dash looked at Corran and then to Quinlan. "That's a great cure, old man."
Quinlan shook his head. "It is as I thought. You have Jedi potential, Corran Horn. Your Force senses have become aware in this environment, yet you do not know how to control them."
"Jedi? There aren't any Corellian Jedi," Dash pointed out. "The last one was killed during the purge."
"True enough, and there never were very many Jedi from your world anyway; must have been something in the water," Quinlan mused. "Nevertheless, Corran could become a Jedi."
Corran kept rubbing the back of his head. "It's incredible. How?"
"The Force does not always reveal itself immediately, but ability is generally hereditary. If I had access to some records, I am sure we could solve the mystery. I assume your father is not a Jedi? No? Then it is a mystery for now." Quinlan turned some of the sausages over and licked his lips. "It seems you now have something else in common with young Leia."
The princess stepped out of the bushes and into the clearing. She was drenched in sweat and wearing nothing but a skimpy athletic top, shorts and weighted combat boots. "Great suns of Tatooine but you stink your worshipfulness," Dash said, pinching his nose.
"It's the smell of work," she commented, sticking her tongue out. "I'm sure you do find it offensive."
Corran stood up and immediately told Leia the news. "Do I have strong ability, Master?"
Dash laughed. "What? Are you now a Jedi in training?"
The other three looked at Corran as if the answer were completely obvious. He shrugged. "Of course, I should have known. All mercenaries should be so lucky as to spend the war baby-sitting Jedi apprentices!"
"You have the barest minimum of ability to qualify as a Jedi I sense," Quinlan said. "Now that I understand the problem, I think I can train you to control the pain."
"If that is the only thing I learn, I would be most grateful," Corran said with a bow. There was a small smile on his face and Dash guessed that somehow, Garm Bel Iblis knew the truth about Corran all along, as did Hal Horn. They knew the truth about Corran's lineage and it was no accident that Corran was made to come along with Dash.
"You finish breakfast, your lordship," Dash ordered. Leia was about to speak when he held a hand up. "I need to check for any information downloads." Because of the remoteness of Dagobah, they had to rely on periodic signal bounces off of Imperial satellites in neighboring star systems to get any news.
The Jedi had felt Chandrilla before they had heard of it and the last set of reports indicated that an uprising had started in the Corellian system and that the Death Star was moving there. Dash had also managed to download the official Imperial releases on the Death Star, a 120 kilometer wide sphere meant to house several thousand Imperial garrisons. As a side note, it had listed an "asteroid pummeling laser system" as a means of defense. In other words, Palpatine had not wanted to reveal the true nature of his weapon before he used it.
The station, Quinlan had explained after he reviewed the pictures, reminded him of a design that the Trade Federation had reviewed back in the Old Republic. The design had then been bounced around between various factions, but never realized because of the cost involved and the technology required to build it in a feasible amount of time.
Project scientist Bevil Lemilisk had been able to help Tarkin get the station built the information had said, naming Lemilisk as the Chief Imperial Weapons Scientist. Quinlan had mentioned that he had met Tarkin once and said the weapon made sense in that man's hands. "The Emperor had better kill him once that station is fully operational," Quinlan had murmured, indicating Tarkin was a very ambitious man.
Corran ran back into the Outrider and plopped into the pilot's seat. He turned on the communications gear and the signal boosters and just for fun, turned on his passive scanners as well, just to see what was above them. Immediately, he got a return. "What the hell?" he asked as he looked down at the readout.
There was an older model Corellian freighter coming in, heavily modified and jury-rigged by the looks of the power readings. The IFF indicated it was a ship called the Millennium Falcon and the computer listed it as wanted by the Republic security forces for suspicion of harboring Jedi. It was just sitting there in orbit, powered down for the most part except for the weapons systems and that was where Dash was getting the power readings.
The weapons were generating enough juice to light up a ship twice as large and that meant only one thing: smugglers. He didn't know what they would be smuggling way out here, though. Plus, the amount of space the weapons generators would take up would make the vessel absolutely useless for any decent ventures.
It occurred to him that it might be the ship that brought Quinlan Vos here originally. Maybe he had it slaved so it would remain in orbit. But why would he have the weapons systems powered up? Though the weapons were impressive, the freighter was not exactly a good gun platform. It might stop a star fighter or two, but an Imperial cruiser would take it out almost instantly with a turbolaser blast.
Satisfied the ship wasn't moving, Dash got up, forgetting all about the download, and walked back outside where the other three were already eating. As usual, there was very little left for Dash. Quinlan reasoned that if Dash wished to work out with them, he would receive a larger portion. He would just smile and then add a couple of cold ales from his personal stores to his diet. So long as the beer held out, he would be just fine.
"Hey, why do you keep your ship's weapons powered up?" Dash asked as he picked up the skillet. It was all egg with no sausage.
Quinlan gave him a queer look. "My vessel sank into the mud fifteen years ago. It's probably rusted away by now."
"There's a ship in orbit?" Leia asked.
"Shouldn't Jedi sense that?" Corran asked. He was too interested in learning more about his Jedi abilities to realize the potential danger.
"It is strange," Quinlan said, chewing on his breakfast. "What sort of ship is it?"
"Computer identifies it as the Millennium Falcon."
Quinlan started laughing and then gave a few choice curse words. "That damn Ferrin! He's playing games!"
"What's a Ferrin?" Leia asked, not at all amused.
"An old friend. If he's returned, then the Force is gathering its champions," Quinlan said as he stood up. "Dash, I wonder if I might use your communications system to hail the Falcon?"
Dash agreed and led the Jedi master inside the ship. Quinlan stopped at the doorway and took in a deep breath. He hadn't stepped foot inside a ship for almost two decades. "It does bring back memories."
"You really miss the old days, don't you?" Dash asked.
"I miss my friends and I miss sharing our experiences in the Force with each other. Solitude is good for the soul, but it is poor for the heart."
"Yeah, hard to get a woman out here," Dash said, looking past Quinlan to down where Leia was performing one-handed push-ups. Corran, now suddenly filled with purpose, was joining her.
"She admires you, but she is fond of Corran," Quinlan told him.
"Like I needed you to tell me that. I don't even like her. Who'd want a young, well-muscled, flexible woman on a planet like this anyway?"
Quinlan nodded. "Exactly! Keep thinking that way, Captain Rendar and soon you will be speaking to the lizards like I do!"
They waited in another clearing not too far from the Outrider and watched as a small speck in the sky grew larger as the Millennium Falcon slowly made its descent. Quinlan had explained that Ferrin had scanned the planet and had not expected to find so many humans here. He had been contemplating exactly what to do when Quinlan had contacted him.
There exchange had been brief, but a happy one. Dash could tell that whoever this Ferrin was, Quinlan had great respect for him. As the ship continued to come down, he gave some brief history. "Ferrin was apprenticed to Master Ovos and was a headstrong young man. The only person I could ever compare him to was Obi-Wan Kenobi."
The other three looked at each other; they had no idea who this Kenobi person was. Quinlan answered the unspoken question. "He was killed many, many years ago by Darth Maul." That was a name they all knew. He was the First Hero of the Empire, followed by Darth Vader. "Ferrin made the mistake of trying to control the mind of Darth Vader and in doing so became tainted by the Dark Side."
"The Dark Side?" Corran asked. He had not participated in Leia's initial lessons so he was unaware of what they were talking about.
"There are always two in nature. Man and woman. Day and night. Light and Dark Side. Two faces of the same Force. The Dark Side is what gives the Sith their power; it feeds of the darker emotions: lust, jealousy, fear and anger. It provides a quick way to power, but it comes with a price. In stead of gradually adapting to the power of the Force, the Sith jump right in and their mortal forms suffer for it."
"Is that why Darth Deceptra has so many mechanical parts?" Leia asked.
Quinlan shrugged his shoulders. "She was a delicate flower of peace; I would assume that with the Dark Side inside of her, it has caused many changes in her."
"You sound sad over it," Dash said as the Millennium Falcon came into view. It was in worse shape than Dash had thought. Most of the armor plating was scorched and the paint was all burnt away. There were whole sections of the craft that were simply welded over with plates, as if to plug massive hull breeches.
"I am always sad when I think about a lost life. Padme Amidala could have been many things, yet she chose to follow her heart," Quinlan told them. "That is not always a bad thing, but in this case…"
"She could have chose better," Leia said. "How she could love a monster like Darth Vader I'll never know. How my father could have ever loved her is even more beyond me."
Quinlan regarded her and for a brief moment, he considered letting her know the truth. How would she react to the knowledge that Darth Vader was her father and Darth Deceptra was her mother? Would she completely reject her ancestry, or would she embrace it? People tended to dislike something until they found out it was a part of their make-up.
They were silent as the Falcon landed and they waited patiently as the gangway was lowered. Dash cast an eye on the main guns mounted on the top and bottom of the main section. They were heavy-grade turbo-batteries from Old Republic cruisers. He saw the amplification capacitors as well and mentally added up the joules of energy that the weapons would put out. If his calculations were correct, this ship could put a serious hurt on a star destroyer if it had to.
There was some other equipment mounted on it as well, things he did not recognize. Most of it was around the shield generators, but there were also several small nodes all over the vessel. It looked like a self-destruct device, but he couldn't understand why.
His questions disappeared as two men exited. On was older, wearing a tattered brown robe over military style fatigues in a forest camouflage. His head was shaved bald and Dash guessed that he was Ferrin. The other man, a boy really, was carrying a heavy blaster rifle with arms that bulged muscles that Leia noted with an aye of approval.
From the boy's haircut, Dash guessed that he was used to wearing it long. Apparently, the older man had wanted to make a good impression. "Where did you learn to shut the Force off like that, old man?" Quinlan asked.
Ferrin took the older man into a bear hug. They laughed and slapped each other on the back. "Quinlan, meet my son, Kyp."
Quinlan extended his hand, but Kyp kept looking out into the jungle, waving the blaster back and forth. "Hey, kid, you want to relax?"
Kyp started to say something when he saw Leia. She was still in the exercise outfit and suddenly felt a little underdressed. There was lust in the boy's eyes. Ferrin cleared his throat and an embarrassed Kyp took a few paces back. "We haven't seen very many human women where we've been, miss; please forgive my son. He doesn't mean anything."
"Where you've been?" Dash asked. "Exactly where do you go that doesn't have any women?"
"Outside the Rim," Ferrin answered. He took another look at Leia. "She looks just like…"
"Yes, well, Princess Leia is a guest, sent by her father Bail Organna. You remember Bail?" Quinlan asked, nudging his friend in the Force.
Ferrin nodded. "Of course. You have my condolences, of course."
Leia frowned at him and Corran instinctively took a step in her direction. "What are you talking about?'
"Your father…by the Force, you don't know?" Ferrin wiped forehead with a cloth. "I hate to be the one to tell you but your father and most of the Royal House of Alderaan was executed by Darth Deceptra just prior to the destruction of Chandrilla. I only know because we've been downloading as much information as we could about the galaxy."
"Damn it," Dash swore as Leia started to break down. Corran was there, wrapping his arms around her, as if he could physically shield her from the darkness that was trying to swallow her up. Even Quinlan had to pause to catch himself lest his anger well up. Bail Organna had been a good friend and trusted ally. His loss to the galaxy could not be measured.
The fact that he was murdered by the woman he had cherished was simply a case of twisted irony. "Perhaps we should give them time?" Ferrin whispered.
Quinlan nodded and went over to say a few words to Leia. He put a hand on her shoulder and she went limp. Corran caught her and heaved her up in his arms. "She'll sleep for several hours, but will need a reassuring face when she awakens," he told Corran.
"Come on, kid, we'll take her to the Outrider," Dash commanded. As they were leaving, he turned to Kyp. The boy seemed lost in this world of adults, as if for the first time in his life he didn't know what to do. "Yo, Kyp, you come along too! Let the old men talk for awhile."
Ferrin told his son to go on and when all of them had departed, he turned to Quinlan. "Your wife?" Quinlan asked, wondering where Lyndia was. She and Ferrin had left the galaxy with the intent of meeting up with several other Jedi at the Rim. Lyndia had been previously married to another Jedi, a rare thing in the order but a requirement of her people, and had given birth to a daughter, Mara.
The same Mara taken in and raised by Mon Mothma. "She's been dead for a few years now," Ferrin lamented. Though they had been separated by at least a decade in age, he had loved his wife very much. Because of her age (her people went through their hormonal changes in their mid thirties), they had not been sure they could have children, but Kyp had been born without complications. "She died valiantly."
"I am sorry," Quinlan offered.
"She died so Kyp and I could escape. Now we have returned." Quinlan asked him about the other Jedi. "There are no more. Kyp and I are the last. If not for the Falcon, we would have died."
"How?" Quinlan asked, not able to believe it. "What is out there that is so powerful?"
"About two years past the Rim, we stopped and settled on a planet," Ferrin said as they began to walk. "Within six months we discovered we were not alone. We encountered and advance scouting party for a race of terrible creatures. These were beings we could not sense in the Force, beings that thrive on pain and sadism."
"But you got away," Quinlan added.
Ferrin stopped. "No; we got ahead of them. That's why we came. I hoped that maybe the Jedi had reformed."
"As far as I know of, I am the only one left," Quinlan told him.
"Then we are doomed."
"Being melodramatic aren't we? The Jedi are survivors…"
"Believe me when I tell you old friend that survival is not all that it's cracked up to be. Sometimes death is better." Ferrin looked up at the dense canopy of the forest. "There is a nightmare coming that makes the Sith look like a blessing. May the Force preserve us because the Vong are coming."
