Chapter XVI - Difficult Encounters
Krad opened his eyes and smiled. Perfect. Vader was on his way. All was going according to plan.
"Mind telling us what that was all about?" asked Kast.
Krad turned from staring out the Executor's bridge viewports to look at Aurra and the Mandalorian leader. "Another step in the plan," he replied smoothly. "It was genius, was it not? Skywalker could not refuse giving aid to his homeworld. Getting him here was the first step. The second, acquiring his students for bargaining purposes, was rather effectively handled by your order and the pirates. I must say that having Skywalker fall in with that Tusken was unexpected, but having another hostage was an advantage. And now that he is... incapacitated, the plan is nearly complete. Not only is he out of the way and thus no threat, but Vader knows his son is injured and is coming for him. All we must do is wait."
"I still think we should have just bombed all the boats at the wedding," Kast complained. "Could have taken care of it much sooner."
"Too many bystanders. Besides, the Skywalkers are mechanically adept and were able to sense the detonator before it blew."
"What of the pirates and your promise to them?"
"Yes, I know." Krad leaned forward to the comm unit. "Monar, you have my permission to invade Mos Eisley. The city and its spoils are yours." He turned back to Kast. "As for you and your men, I have already paid your dues. You may go."
"What of me?" snarled Aurra. "You said I would have a chance to cross sabers with a Jedi again."
"And you did," Krad replied. "Though it would seem you've gotten a bit rusty over the years. Gabriel was quite able to defeat you."
She spat at him and pulled out her lightsaber. "I should have known not to make deals with Jedi, even untrained ones."
Krad glared coolly at her. "If its the chance to kill a Jedi you want..." He took his lightsaber from his belt and tossed it to Kast. "Attack me, Aurra. I am unarmed."
Normally the bounty hunter might have questioned his actions, but her rage blocked out her common sense. She charged with a feral cry. Krad waited until she'd raised her weapon for the death blow, then blasted her mind with the Force. She crumpled to the floor, her brain tissue shutting down from the force of the strike.
Kast took an involuntary step backward, but Krad only laughed and called his saber back into his hand. "You needn't fear, Kast. You've been nothing but helpful. She, on the other hand, pushed me too far too many times." He motioned to one of the remaining technicians on the bridge. "Get rid of the body before it starts stinking."
A computer operator looked up. "Sir, ship approaching Docking Bay 4. Modified Firespray, pilot won't answer our hails."
Krad looked at Kast. "Friend of yours?"
"Fett. His wife and child are in one of the detention blocks. He's here to rescue them." He gripped his blaster tightly. "We've a score to settle with him."
"Let him land," Krad ordered.
"Yes, sir."
Kast left the bridge while Krad swiveled on his heel and continued to stare out the viewport.
---------
The beasts of Madman's Crown were in an uproar, running helter-skelter about the valley as two ships touched down -- one a sleek INCOM freighter, the other the familiar battered ellipse of the Falcon. Before the dust had a chance to settle Anakin was on the ground and running toward the hut where sensed Luke's students were. Luke had to be with them, he reasoned. Leia and Han were right behind him.
A white-robed figure emerged from the house, carrying a gaderffi.
/A Tusken!/ Instinctively he activated his lightsaber. Hatred unexpectedly welled up in him, and he struggled to quash it. A torrent of memories flooded his mind and threatened to carry him away.
/They're like animals!/ he heard a much younger version of himself snarl. /And I slaughtered them like animals! I hate them!/
/My son... my grown-up son.../
/Stay with me, Mom.../
/Those Tuskens, they walk like men, but they're vicious, mindless monsters.../
/I couldn't save you, Mom.../
He shook his head, forcing himself to block out the destructive thoughts. They would only make him do something rash. He had to focus on the task at hand. But if he found this Tusken had had anything to do with his son's pains...
The female Tusken paused when she saw him, then squatted and slid her weapon toward him. He paused and held a hand out to stop Leia and Han's advance, unsure of her intentions.
"What's she doing?" asked Sparky, coming up behind in his repulsorchair.
"I don't know," Anakin confessed.
The Tusken straightened, gazing confidently at them. "Anakin Skywalker?"
"You know me?" he asked, puzzled.
"You are Luke's father," she replied, nodding.
"You know my son?" He was beginning to feel like a broken holorecording.
"He came here to Madman's Crown to enlist my aid in the fight against the pirates," she explained. "A fine man. You should be very proud of him." She hesitated. "I must tell you something, Anakin."
"Well, don't leave him in suspense," Han advised.
"I.. forgive you," she said slowly. "For the death of my family."
Anakin cringed. She was a survivor of his slaughter all those years ago? He'd hoped that part of his past was dead forever. But that hope had been a foolish one, for he had known that, sooner or later, he would have to face that crime again. Slowly he thumbed off his blade and tossed it to the ground at her feet.
"I apologize deeply," he told her. "There was no excuse for my actions..."
"Anakin," she said firmly, raising her hand. "Please. It is the past."
There was tense silence for several minutes. Neither the Jedi nor the Tusken seemed to know what to say next.
"Who are you?" he asked finally.
"S'kina, almost-daughter of Chief Ha'taano of the Sarlaac Tribe, student of Obi-wan Kenobi, guardian of Madman's Crown."
He bowed. "I am honored. Where is my son?"
"Inside." She faltered. "He... he is in a bad way. Krad hurt him... terribly..." Her voice broke.
He caught the anguished thought and stiffened, startled. This Tusken woman loved his son! And Luke reciprocated that love! Did the irony of this entire situation never end? The lone survivor of his massacre was not only a Jedi, but Obi-wan's student and Luke's lover! Knowing all this, he couldn't hate S'kina. It might take years yet for him to fully shed his dislike of Sandpeople, but he couldn't hate this young woman.
"Let's see to him," Anakin advised, gently putting an arm around S'kina and guiding her into the house.
Xna was curled in a tight coil in the corner of the house, flicking his tongue repeatedly in agitation. Hekku and Korie sat together at the table, the Wookie moaning her distress and the Geonosian chittering comfort in his native tongue. Gabriel had his hands resting gently on Chyna's shoulders as she sat by their Master's side and wept.
Anakin knelt beside the bed where Luke lay, tears pouring from his eyes. His son's face was haggard and pale, brilliant blue eyes dull and staring flatly at nothing. Gingerly he reached out and touched his face, at the same time touching his mind with the Force. He had a brief glimpse of ragged-edged darkness, of a numb emptiness, before Luke flinched in pain and jerked away from his hand.
"Master Anakin, don't!" Chyna cried, grabbing his arm. "Don't hurt him!"
"I'm sorry," Anakin replied. "I... had to know."
Leia and Han entered, Chewie close behind. S'kina took them aside and quietly broke the news. There was a measure of relief and pain in both their eyes -- relief that Luke lived, pain that he had lost the Force.
"Leave us," Anakin said quietly.
Gabriel nodded. "Let's go, friends. The Skywalkers need some privacy."
Reluctantly they exited the house, leaving Anakin and Luke behind.
"Father?" Luke moaned, recognition flickering briefly in his eyes.
/He sounds so faint, like a ghost/ he thought in anguish. "Luke?"
"I'm so cold..." he whispered, then faded back into his comatose state.
Anakin gathered his son in his arms and clutched him to his chest as he wished he could have done when Luke was a baby. Sobs wracked his body, fear and guilt wracked his mind. How could this have happened? Why did Luke have to suffer for Anakin's sins? Why couldn't Krad have simply left Luke out of the entire struggle?
"My son," he choked. "My son... oh, Luke, I'd rather die than have this happen to you... my dear son..."
"Anakin."
The intruding voice was unfamiliar, but it had a strange ethereal ring to it, much as the voices of the Jedi had when they had appeared in spirit for his trial. Expecting the worst, he turned his head.
A faintly glowing form, two-and-a-half meters tall and garbed in loose chocolate-brown robes, stood on the opposite side of the room. She was Kruvexian, broad-shouldered and slender-limbed, with skin the color of a newly minted penny and eyes almost the same shade of blue as Luke's. She held her clawed fingers steepled before her, and her lekku reached her waist and were held back by a durasteel headband stamped with her homeworld's royal seal.
"Zorn the Swift," he murmured.
The ghost gave the briefest smile before letting her gaze settle on Luke. She lowered her hands to her sides and stepped to Anakin's side to observe more closely.
"Maybe we can both help him," she said quietly.
"I killed you, Zorn," he protested. "I destroyed the Order and your homeworld. My actions turned your son into a dark sider. Why would you want to help me?"
"Because like your son and S'kina," she stated firmly, "I have found the strength to forgive."
Anakin laid Luke back down on the bed. "What can we do to restore him?"
"He needs no restoring," Zorn replied. "The Force is with him. It always is and will be. You can't remove it. But you can place a barrier between him and the Force, creating the illusion that you have taken the Force away from him entirely. That is what Krad has done."
"How can we remove the barrier?"
"We cannot. Only the one who placed the block can do so. But Luke can find the strength to breach it, if he tries."
"He can't," Anakin protested with a moan that was almost a sob. "He just lays there! He won't even respond!"
"Give him time," Zorn assured him. "He must recover from the shock."
"We don't have time. Krad might attack at any moment..."
"No," Zorn said with such confidence that Anakin turned to stare at her. "He waits for you to come to him, Anakin. He expects you to react as Vader would -- with anger, vengeance, and hatred in your heart. You must turn those emotions away and meet him with forgiveness and understanding. You must fight the darkness with light."
"Why must I go to him at all?"
"Because like you, he can be saved." A pained look crossed her alien features. "When I gave birth to Krad, I wanted him to become a great Jedi. I hoped I could be as great a teacher as my Master, Plo Koon. But I failed.
"I wanted to spare my son from any chance he might turn to the dark side. So when he showed any evidence of impatience, fear, or anger, I coaxed him away from such emotions. But by not allowing him to experience those feelings, I couldn't teach him why they brought on the dark side, how using the Force in anger was so wrong. When he saw me die, those feelings consumed and overwhelmed him. He couldn't know they were of the dark side. So he continues to tap into the darkness without knowing it is destroying him.
"Redemption was possible for you, Anakin. It is possible for Krad as well. I ask you to go to him, but not fight him unless you must to defend yourself or an innocent. Try to cool his anger and draw him away from the dark side."
Anakin nodded slowly. "After all I have done to him and you, it's the least I can do in recompense." He stood. "Where is he?"
"Orbiting Tatooine on the Stardestroyer Executor."
"What?! But my ship's at Ord Mantell for repairs..."
"You were given that lie on Krad's orders, to cover up the ship's absence. He captured Admiral Piett and took over the ship to further his plan. Act fast, for he has ordered his pirates to destroy Mos Eisley. And remember -- do not harm him unless you absolutely have to. If you die, you become one with the Force. But a dark sider simply ceases to exist when his mortal body is slain.
"I'll remember."
"May the Force be with you," she said in farewell, then faded.
---------
Everyone outside S'kina's house stared, surprised, at Anakin as he strode out the door, heading toward the Falcon with a resolute step.
"I need to borrow your ship awhile, Han."
"Hey!" he protested. "What do you think you're doing?"
"I must face Krad," he replied. "He has captured the Executor and is currently aboard it. Sparky, go about your business. This shouldn't involve civilians. Leia, General Solo, the pirates are preparing to take Mos Eisley. You must alert the Republic Army and stop them. Padawans, aid them. S'kina, stay here and watch after Luke."
Hekku bowed. "It will be done, sir."
"Except my part," S'kina stated firmly. "I go with you."
"No," Anakin ordered, shaking his head. "Someone must tend to Luke."
"We will take him to your ship's medical bay," she countered. "He will be better cared for there, for my herbs can do no more for him. Besides, someone has to make sure you don't hurt yourself on this jaunt."
"Fine," he relented, not having time to argue. "Let's move out!"
Krad opened his eyes and smiled. Perfect. Vader was on his way. All was going according to plan.
"Mind telling us what that was all about?" asked Kast.
Krad turned from staring out the Executor's bridge viewports to look at Aurra and the Mandalorian leader. "Another step in the plan," he replied smoothly. "It was genius, was it not? Skywalker could not refuse giving aid to his homeworld. Getting him here was the first step. The second, acquiring his students for bargaining purposes, was rather effectively handled by your order and the pirates. I must say that having Skywalker fall in with that Tusken was unexpected, but having another hostage was an advantage. And now that he is... incapacitated, the plan is nearly complete. Not only is he out of the way and thus no threat, but Vader knows his son is injured and is coming for him. All we must do is wait."
"I still think we should have just bombed all the boats at the wedding," Kast complained. "Could have taken care of it much sooner."
"Too many bystanders. Besides, the Skywalkers are mechanically adept and were able to sense the detonator before it blew."
"What of the pirates and your promise to them?"
"Yes, I know." Krad leaned forward to the comm unit. "Monar, you have my permission to invade Mos Eisley. The city and its spoils are yours." He turned back to Kast. "As for you and your men, I have already paid your dues. You may go."
"What of me?" snarled Aurra. "You said I would have a chance to cross sabers with a Jedi again."
"And you did," Krad replied. "Though it would seem you've gotten a bit rusty over the years. Gabriel was quite able to defeat you."
She spat at him and pulled out her lightsaber. "I should have known not to make deals with Jedi, even untrained ones."
Krad glared coolly at her. "If its the chance to kill a Jedi you want..." He took his lightsaber from his belt and tossed it to Kast. "Attack me, Aurra. I am unarmed."
Normally the bounty hunter might have questioned his actions, but her rage blocked out her common sense. She charged with a feral cry. Krad waited until she'd raised her weapon for the death blow, then blasted her mind with the Force. She crumpled to the floor, her brain tissue shutting down from the force of the strike.
Kast took an involuntary step backward, but Krad only laughed and called his saber back into his hand. "You needn't fear, Kast. You've been nothing but helpful. She, on the other hand, pushed me too far too many times." He motioned to one of the remaining technicians on the bridge. "Get rid of the body before it starts stinking."
A computer operator looked up. "Sir, ship approaching Docking Bay 4. Modified Firespray, pilot won't answer our hails."
Krad looked at Kast. "Friend of yours?"
"Fett. His wife and child are in one of the detention blocks. He's here to rescue them." He gripped his blaster tightly. "We've a score to settle with him."
"Let him land," Krad ordered.
"Yes, sir."
Kast left the bridge while Krad swiveled on his heel and continued to stare out the viewport.
---------
The beasts of Madman's Crown were in an uproar, running helter-skelter about the valley as two ships touched down -- one a sleek INCOM freighter, the other the familiar battered ellipse of the Falcon. Before the dust had a chance to settle Anakin was on the ground and running toward the hut where sensed Luke's students were. Luke had to be with them, he reasoned. Leia and Han were right behind him.
A white-robed figure emerged from the house, carrying a gaderffi.
/A Tusken!/ Instinctively he activated his lightsaber. Hatred unexpectedly welled up in him, and he struggled to quash it. A torrent of memories flooded his mind and threatened to carry him away.
/They're like animals!/ he heard a much younger version of himself snarl. /And I slaughtered them like animals! I hate them!/
/My son... my grown-up son.../
/Stay with me, Mom.../
/Those Tuskens, they walk like men, but they're vicious, mindless monsters.../
/I couldn't save you, Mom.../
He shook his head, forcing himself to block out the destructive thoughts. They would only make him do something rash. He had to focus on the task at hand. But if he found this Tusken had had anything to do with his son's pains...
The female Tusken paused when she saw him, then squatted and slid her weapon toward him. He paused and held a hand out to stop Leia and Han's advance, unsure of her intentions.
"What's she doing?" asked Sparky, coming up behind in his repulsorchair.
"I don't know," Anakin confessed.
The Tusken straightened, gazing confidently at them. "Anakin Skywalker?"
"You know me?" he asked, puzzled.
"You are Luke's father," she replied, nodding.
"You know my son?" He was beginning to feel like a broken holorecording.
"He came here to Madman's Crown to enlist my aid in the fight against the pirates," she explained. "A fine man. You should be very proud of him." She hesitated. "I must tell you something, Anakin."
"Well, don't leave him in suspense," Han advised.
"I.. forgive you," she said slowly. "For the death of my family."
Anakin cringed. She was a survivor of his slaughter all those years ago? He'd hoped that part of his past was dead forever. But that hope had been a foolish one, for he had known that, sooner or later, he would have to face that crime again. Slowly he thumbed off his blade and tossed it to the ground at her feet.
"I apologize deeply," he told her. "There was no excuse for my actions..."
"Anakin," she said firmly, raising her hand. "Please. It is the past."
There was tense silence for several minutes. Neither the Jedi nor the Tusken seemed to know what to say next.
"Who are you?" he asked finally.
"S'kina, almost-daughter of Chief Ha'taano of the Sarlaac Tribe, student of Obi-wan Kenobi, guardian of Madman's Crown."
He bowed. "I am honored. Where is my son?"
"Inside." She faltered. "He... he is in a bad way. Krad hurt him... terribly..." Her voice broke.
He caught the anguished thought and stiffened, startled. This Tusken woman loved his son! And Luke reciprocated that love! Did the irony of this entire situation never end? The lone survivor of his massacre was not only a Jedi, but Obi-wan's student and Luke's lover! Knowing all this, he couldn't hate S'kina. It might take years yet for him to fully shed his dislike of Sandpeople, but he couldn't hate this young woman.
"Let's see to him," Anakin advised, gently putting an arm around S'kina and guiding her into the house.
Xna was curled in a tight coil in the corner of the house, flicking his tongue repeatedly in agitation. Hekku and Korie sat together at the table, the Wookie moaning her distress and the Geonosian chittering comfort in his native tongue. Gabriel had his hands resting gently on Chyna's shoulders as she sat by their Master's side and wept.
Anakin knelt beside the bed where Luke lay, tears pouring from his eyes. His son's face was haggard and pale, brilliant blue eyes dull and staring flatly at nothing. Gingerly he reached out and touched his face, at the same time touching his mind with the Force. He had a brief glimpse of ragged-edged darkness, of a numb emptiness, before Luke flinched in pain and jerked away from his hand.
"Master Anakin, don't!" Chyna cried, grabbing his arm. "Don't hurt him!"
"I'm sorry," Anakin replied. "I... had to know."
Leia and Han entered, Chewie close behind. S'kina took them aside and quietly broke the news. There was a measure of relief and pain in both their eyes -- relief that Luke lived, pain that he had lost the Force.
"Leave us," Anakin said quietly.
Gabriel nodded. "Let's go, friends. The Skywalkers need some privacy."
Reluctantly they exited the house, leaving Anakin and Luke behind.
"Father?" Luke moaned, recognition flickering briefly in his eyes.
/He sounds so faint, like a ghost/ he thought in anguish. "Luke?"
"I'm so cold..." he whispered, then faded back into his comatose state.
Anakin gathered his son in his arms and clutched him to his chest as he wished he could have done when Luke was a baby. Sobs wracked his body, fear and guilt wracked his mind. How could this have happened? Why did Luke have to suffer for Anakin's sins? Why couldn't Krad have simply left Luke out of the entire struggle?
"My son," he choked. "My son... oh, Luke, I'd rather die than have this happen to you... my dear son..."
"Anakin."
The intruding voice was unfamiliar, but it had a strange ethereal ring to it, much as the voices of the Jedi had when they had appeared in spirit for his trial. Expecting the worst, he turned his head.
A faintly glowing form, two-and-a-half meters tall and garbed in loose chocolate-brown robes, stood on the opposite side of the room. She was Kruvexian, broad-shouldered and slender-limbed, with skin the color of a newly minted penny and eyes almost the same shade of blue as Luke's. She held her clawed fingers steepled before her, and her lekku reached her waist and were held back by a durasteel headband stamped with her homeworld's royal seal.
"Zorn the Swift," he murmured.
The ghost gave the briefest smile before letting her gaze settle on Luke. She lowered her hands to her sides and stepped to Anakin's side to observe more closely.
"Maybe we can both help him," she said quietly.
"I killed you, Zorn," he protested. "I destroyed the Order and your homeworld. My actions turned your son into a dark sider. Why would you want to help me?"
"Because like your son and S'kina," she stated firmly, "I have found the strength to forgive."
Anakin laid Luke back down on the bed. "What can we do to restore him?"
"He needs no restoring," Zorn replied. "The Force is with him. It always is and will be. You can't remove it. But you can place a barrier between him and the Force, creating the illusion that you have taken the Force away from him entirely. That is what Krad has done."
"How can we remove the barrier?"
"We cannot. Only the one who placed the block can do so. But Luke can find the strength to breach it, if he tries."
"He can't," Anakin protested with a moan that was almost a sob. "He just lays there! He won't even respond!"
"Give him time," Zorn assured him. "He must recover from the shock."
"We don't have time. Krad might attack at any moment..."
"No," Zorn said with such confidence that Anakin turned to stare at her. "He waits for you to come to him, Anakin. He expects you to react as Vader would -- with anger, vengeance, and hatred in your heart. You must turn those emotions away and meet him with forgiveness and understanding. You must fight the darkness with light."
"Why must I go to him at all?"
"Because like you, he can be saved." A pained look crossed her alien features. "When I gave birth to Krad, I wanted him to become a great Jedi. I hoped I could be as great a teacher as my Master, Plo Koon. But I failed.
"I wanted to spare my son from any chance he might turn to the dark side. So when he showed any evidence of impatience, fear, or anger, I coaxed him away from such emotions. But by not allowing him to experience those feelings, I couldn't teach him why they brought on the dark side, how using the Force in anger was so wrong. When he saw me die, those feelings consumed and overwhelmed him. He couldn't know they were of the dark side. So he continues to tap into the darkness without knowing it is destroying him.
"Redemption was possible for you, Anakin. It is possible for Krad as well. I ask you to go to him, but not fight him unless you must to defend yourself or an innocent. Try to cool his anger and draw him away from the dark side."
Anakin nodded slowly. "After all I have done to him and you, it's the least I can do in recompense." He stood. "Where is he?"
"Orbiting Tatooine on the Stardestroyer Executor."
"What?! But my ship's at Ord Mantell for repairs..."
"You were given that lie on Krad's orders, to cover up the ship's absence. He captured Admiral Piett and took over the ship to further his plan. Act fast, for he has ordered his pirates to destroy Mos Eisley. And remember -- do not harm him unless you absolutely have to. If you die, you become one with the Force. But a dark sider simply ceases to exist when his mortal body is slain.
"I'll remember."
"May the Force be with you," she said in farewell, then faded.
---------
Everyone outside S'kina's house stared, surprised, at Anakin as he strode out the door, heading toward the Falcon with a resolute step.
"I need to borrow your ship awhile, Han."
"Hey!" he protested. "What do you think you're doing?"
"I must face Krad," he replied. "He has captured the Executor and is currently aboard it. Sparky, go about your business. This shouldn't involve civilians. Leia, General Solo, the pirates are preparing to take Mos Eisley. You must alert the Republic Army and stop them. Padawans, aid them. S'kina, stay here and watch after Luke."
Hekku bowed. "It will be done, sir."
"Except my part," S'kina stated firmly. "I go with you."
"No," Anakin ordered, shaking his head. "Someone must tend to Luke."
"We will take him to your ship's medical bay," she countered. "He will be better cared for there, for my herbs can do no more for him. Besides, someone has to make sure you don't hurt yourself on this jaunt."
"Fine," he relented, not having time to argue. "Let's move out!"