More guards appeared, looking menacing and angry, and they were promptly downed by their own shots, as reflected by Kantasha's buzzing lightsaber.
The four fugitives suddenly found themselves surrounded, and one lightsaber was only able to do so much. Mara was carefully and effectively aiming at and disabling sentries when a sudden jolt of searing pain in her shoulder threw her to the ground.
"Mara!" Luke cried out, dropping to the floor, oblivious to the raging firefight around him.
"Are you insane, Skywalker? You're gonna get yourself killed...I'm fine," Mara scowled. She tried to put on a brave face, but Luke knew that the pain she was feeling was excruciating.
"You'll thank me later," he told her, inwardly wincing as he used the Force to knock her out. He closed his eyes and touched her shoulder lightly, starting the healing process.
Livid, he rose to his feet and extended his palm out, the Dark Side providing him all the power he needed to bring down those accursed guards.
Luke no longer had any qualms about using the Force to aid him in their escape, it seemed, and, after the most immediate threats were taken care of, he swept Mara Jade up in his arms and stalked forward impatiently, finally pausing since he was unsure of which direction to go.
The anonymous aide then led the way.
They didn't get to the ship without more trouble, and they certainly wouldn't have expected less from a maximum security prison on lockdown. But with Luke's increasing anger it was not as difficult as it might have been.
The dark-haired woman was familiar with the ship's passcode and controls, and it wasn't too hard to guess that she had made sure the supply ship was planted there.
But why she had done so was what Luke wanted to know.
Before he could ask her any questions, she requested clearance to takeoff, stating a code. Seeing Luke's dubious glance as to the ease of their escape, she told him crisply, "I modified their memories earlier."
Despite their getting clearance, they did not get away completely unscathed. Evidently, someone saw them leaving at a time when there was supposed to be no incoming or outgoing traffic due to the lockdown. Several craft gave chase, and a few glancing blasts hit the ship's hull before the escapees got far enough out of the planet's gravitational pull to jump into hyperspace.
Luke started tending to Mara, not noticing the strange look he was receiving from the still unidentified aide. He finally spoke in a quiet voice, "I want to hear your story when Mara wakes up...She deserves to hear it just as much as I do."
The woman sighed. "Very well, then."
"Skywalker, I'm going to kill you."
Luke turned his head to see green eyes glaring fiercely at him from the seat across from his. "How's your shoulder feeling?"
"Perhaps you didn't hear me. Your head is going to be served on a platter to—"
"It was for your own good!" Luke exclaimed defensively.
"And you didn't think of consulting me?" Mara Jade growled.
"I'm sorry, I was a little preoccupied."
"Yeah, well—"
The aide cut them off by clearing her throat. Luke shifted, looking at her. "So what is your story?"
"My name is Kantasha Pellaeon—" she began, getting cut off by Mara.
"As in Gilad Pellaeon, who served under Thrawn?"
Eyes flashing, the dark-haired woman answered, "He is my grandfather."
"I didn't know he had any kids," Luke remarked.
"Few do. Gilad was about to ship out for the military since he was already enlisted, and my father was the result of a fling he had when he was eighteen. Shortly after my grandmother became pregnant, he had to leave. My grandmother begged him not to go, but he was eager for action and angered by her persistence."
"Typical male," Mara muttered under her breath, earning a sharp, annoyed glance from Luke.
"She died in childbirth. Gilad found out about my father and made preparations for him to be taken care of by friends, warning them not to tell my father about his origins until he was of age. As soon as he turned eighteen, my father was told about his relationship to Gilad, and he moved to Coruscant in hopes that he might one day catch a glimpse of Gilad. He eventually married my mother after making his fortune, and they stayed on Coruscant." Kantasha paused for a moment, pursing her lips. "They were very different from me. They didn't understand the strange powers I had, and it frightened them. They were nearly forty when Darth Vader had them killed, sabotaging the cruise liner they were on while I was staying with my mother's sister. Vader killed them for my benefit as well as his, taking me in as an apprentice. Of course, he didn't know about you, then." Kantasha looked at Luke pointedly.
Luke's gaze fell to the floor. She'd known his father...
"What'd you do next?" Mara inquired, finding herself uneasy at the glance the other woman gave to the blonde man beside her.
"After Vader's death, I lived at my grandfather Gilad's home on Coruscant. I didn't see him very often since he was with the Imperial military, but that was not a problem for me since I'd only had a few years of training. I took my time alone to study some Sith documents that Vader had left behind for my use, and I improved my control of the Force."
"Vader left you something?" Luke asked, feeling a pang of regret and disappointment. He'd barely known his father, but it still hurt that the closest thing to a legacy that he had received from his father was his ability to use the Force. Vader had left him nothing tangible, nothing he could hold on to in moments of despair. Luke had only the memory of his father.
"A great man," Kantasha said softly. Skywalker's chin slowly lifted up, his inner pain showing through his eyes. Empathy shined through Kantasha's, easing the hurt.
"How did you get caught up in the jail break?" Mara shattered the moment like a sledgehammer taken to a sheet of glass.
Broken out of her reverie, the dark-haired woman answered. "I found out about Grand Admiral Thrawn's use of the insane clone Joruus C'baoth, and I followed the Chimaera to Myrkrr, boarding the ship with use of mind-control. I rushed to the command area where Thrawn was and demanded to see Gilad." A strange glint appeared in her eyes, and a secret smile tugged at her lips. "Thrawn was surprisingly calm, despite the fact that I had just knocked several of his men to the floor and warned his surprised Noghri bodyguard not to move. Grand Admiral Thrawn pulled me into a private room after asking me why I was there, and I told him that it was imperative that I find my grandfather and determine why he was having anything to do with an insane cloned Jedi. I was amazed by Thrawn's intellect, and we joined forces. We decided that it was likely that there would be a confrontation between you and C'baoth and that you would be the victor." It was almost as if Mara Jade weren't even in the room, which really annoyed the redhead. The glint in Kantasha's eyes had disappeared, but it was back again. "That was not the only event we foresaw. We knew that the Noghri were involved in something sinister and would rebel." She looked briefly to Parck, who nodded.
Mara and Luke exchanged a confused glance, but before they could say anything Kantasha left the room. She returned with a nutrient cage, containing a creature Luke knew far too well.
He cursed inwardly. He should have seen that one coming. How had he missed it?
"This is for all of our protection. It will insure that our plans are not jeopardized," Parck spoke. "Do not be alarmed."
"Because of the threat of Noghri rebellion, Voss Parck was placed aboard the Chimaera as an extra bodyguard for Thrawn. The only one that knew of Parck's existence on the Star Destroyer besides Thrawn himself was Rukh, since he was Thrawn's true bodyguard. But even Rukh thought Parck was only an aide, although one can only assume that the Noghri had his suspicions."
"But Thrawn was killed despite your precautions," Luke pointed out.
There was a brief and strangely tense pause.
"I'm afraid that's not so, Skywalker." The Chriss leaned forward at last, his red orbs bearing down upon the Son of Vader. "I am Grand Admiral Thrawn."
Author's Note: Many thanks to my betas Moy and Brigantia! Also, a bit of trivia: Pellaeon was one of the characters I originally considered to be Luke's cellmate.