Chapter 7:
Days later, Luke groaned as he woke amidst the debris of the fight and saw the blood on the floor before anyone else. He knew not whether it was his own, Ben's or the attackers but he cared nothing more than getting out and finding the thing that had taken his son. Since the time Miennya had disappeared, Luke had never felt this much anger in his life and he was shocked that he could still feel it. After all, he had only been a Knight for a few years when he had taken his first padawan. Rising, he winced as he felt the knot on his head and the world blurred for a few seconds before righting itself and he charged into the crowd after knocking open the back door with a well-aimed kick.
Walking slowly past the designer shops and bars that flashed crude neon signs, he let the Force lead him and found himself outside the deserted Imperial Palace an hour later. Looking around carefully, he decided to start looking for answers there and made his way through. It was as if he had been there before, Luke decided. It was only after he had rounded the corner that he realised the Palace was styled the same way as the Death Star had been all those decades ago when he fought against Vader. Mara had also described the Palace to him when she was troubled with dreams of her past, the dreams that had recurred these last few weeks. He thanked the Force for Mara's dreams as he would have been stuck and soon lost in the cavernous insides of this ancient monument.
Looking around, he sensed the Force was exceptionally strong in one room so he entered and saw the Throne Room of his dreams. Seated upon the throne was a tall yet handsome man, his left cheek scarred deeply and his eyes glinting. Next to him stood a robed figure in black, silent and cloaked from view. Drawing his lightsaber cautiously, Luke ignited it and held it in front of him silently. The only sound was the humming of the blade, the air thick with tension and repression. The man motioned and in walked three Officers with a bound Ben Skywalker between them. Luke could feel his son's emotions burst out from him in happiness and gave him a warning look to quell his thoughts. Turning back to the throne, he advanced only to be blocked with a scarlet and black lightsaber. Looking at the figure in black, he thought he saw something familiar but shrugged it off. The figure had advanced and blocked the way so Luke tried to parry the thrust aside but the figure reacted at lightning speed and sent Luke flying from the throne with a pale hand.
---
Chuckling, the man held up a hand to stop and beckoned the figure over. As Luke watched, he smiled maliciously and removed the hood. As he did so, he revealed the face of one Luke had thought long dead. In the robe was his padawan, Miennya. The years had been kind to her, even though she was part of a race that never visibly aged or got weaker. Wrapping an arm around the revealed Miennya, the man kissed her lasciviously and smirked as Luke's anger leapt. Ignoring his Jedi training, he ran towards the throne only to be met with the girl's lightsaber as she turned immediately. Advancing on him, she thrust at him as Ben battled to get out from the clear viewing room he had been locked in minutes earlier. Luke kept defending but never attacking and she soon got tired of him and aggressively attacked him. The sabers lit up the room, otherwise shrouded in black and the sparks flew as the two opponents battled for control.
Using the lightsaber, she hit Luke with the edge and he disappeared into the blackness. Looking around, she pursued him and found herself alone. Pacing around, she tried to use the Force as Luke hid in the blackness. Then, he winced as she spoke in the same way that his father had on the Death Star that fateful night. Gone were the soft and seductive tones of her time on Yavin, now her voice was hard and brittle.
"You are here, Jedi. I will find you and kill you. Then, you will feel the full power of the Sith as you perish by my hand."
Speaking as best he could in a disembodied voice, Luke pleaded with her. "Miennya, don't do this. You must remember me, I am your master. I beseech you; do not stray from the Light Side."
Shaking her head, the name seemed familiar to the girl but she shrugged it off. "I know not who you speak of, Jedi, but you have never been my Master. My name is Ayaavath and I am the apprentice of Darth Tantalus. Save your petty mind tricks for some weak- minded individual but not me."
Luke tried once more. "You are Miennya, my first padawan. Whatever this man has done to you, you are my Miennya and I will never let you kill me. If you strike me down, I will become even more powerful than you can ever imagine. Remember..."
Ayaavath simply shook her head and then spied Luke sitting on a ledge in the dark and struck. Her blade cut into his hand and she sent him flying. He landed on the floor as the man chuckled and then appeared at her side. Fingering her hair, he sneered at the fallen Jedi.
"You see, my young Jedi, I was the one who kidnapped your precious Miennya from Yavin. I turned her into my apprentice, the one who is about to kill you. It was an enjoyable experience, breaking her in and deflowering her. I must show you sometime. She remembers nothing of her life beforehand, nothing of her name. I trained her well and now you will die at the hands of your fallen padawan."
----
Forcing the memory into Luke's head, he grinned as the Jedi twisted and convulsed as the memory flooded his mind. Nodding to his apprentice, he whispered his command in her ear and then watched as she loomed over the fallen Luke. But something stopped her from dealing the deadly blow. As she stood there, a memory came into her mind of her and Luke in the training circle on Yavin. Entranced, she looked from her master to Luke and back again. As she stared, the memories flooded back bit by bit and she remembered all that had happened over the last few decades. Lowering her blade, she turned, a look on her face of anger that the Sith lord had never seen before. Throwing her deactivated blade to the side, she stood in front of the injured Luke and glared at her captor.
"I will not kill my master, Sith. You tried to keep me from my true life and you tortured me to try and break my spirit. You nearly succeeded but no one can stop the Force, not even you. I remember everything despite your control, all you did to me and I refuse to be the agent of my master's downfall."
With a growl, the man stood and unleashed Sith lightning from his fingertips. The lightning entered Miennya and she fell, her body convulsing on the floor as the master cackled and inhaled the smell of burning flesh. Sending as much lightning into her as he could produce, the Sith lowered his hands as she lay still. Unbeknown to him, Luke had stood and snuck up behind the deranged man. With a cry, he sent his lightsaber into the man's back with as much force as he could master. The Lord screamed, his voice a mixture of agony and anger. With one last cry, he toppled off the throne and lay still.
Ignoring his corpse, Luke rushed over to the fallen body of his long-lost apprentice and cradled her in his arms. Smiling up at him gently, she stroked a tear away from his cheek and then fell unconscious in his arms, her head falling back against his arm. Luke felt her breathing slacken and moved a long lock away that had fallen over her face as Ben finally battered down the door and rushed towards them. Crying, Luke laid the girl on the ground and touched her chest. Ignoring Ben, he pressed down on her heart as the Force flowed from his fingers into her body. In a matter of minutes, the girl convulsed and began to breathe again but without opening her eyes. As Luke took her in his arms again, he walked out of the Palace with his son following after a well-timed kick to the dead corpse....
Days later, Luke groaned as he woke amidst the debris of the fight and saw the blood on the floor before anyone else. He knew not whether it was his own, Ben's or the attackers but he cared nothing more than getting out and finding the thing that had taken his son. Since the time Miennya had disappeared, Luke had never felt this much anger in his life and he was shocked that he could still feel it. After all, he had only been a Knight for a few years when he had taken his first padawan. Rising, he winced as he felt the knot on his head and the world blurred for a few seconds before righting itself and he charged into the crowd after knocking open the back door with a well-aimed kick.
Walking slowly past the designer shops and bars that flashed crude neon signs, he let the Force lead him and found himself outside the deserted Imperial Palace an hour later. Looking around carefully, he decided to start looking for answers there and made his way through. It was as if he had been there before, Luke decided. It was only after he had rounded the corner that he realised the Palace was styled the same way as the Death Star had been all those decades ago when he fought against Vader. Mara had also described the Palace to him when she was troubled with dreams of her past, the dreams that had recurred these last few weeks. He thanked the Force for Mara's dreams as he would have been stuck and soon lost in the cavernous insides of this ancient monument.
Looking around, he sensed the Force was exceptionally strong in one room so he entered and saw the Throne Room of his dreams. Seated upon the throne was a tall yet handsome man, his left cheek scarred deeply and his eyes glinting. Next to him stood a robed figure in black, silent and cloaked from view. Drawing his lightsaber cautiously, Luke ignited it and held it in front of him silently. The only sound was the humming of the blade, the air thick with tension and repression. The man motioned and in walked three Officers with a bound Ben Skywalker between them. Luke could feel his son's emotions burst out from him in happiness and gave him a warning look to quell his thoughts. Turning back to the throne, he advanced only to be blocked with a scarlet and black lightsaber. Looking at the figure in black, he thought he saw something familiar but shrugged it off. The figure had advanced and blocked the way so Luke tried to parry the thrust aside but the figure reacted at lightning speed and sent Luke flying from the throne with a pale hand.
---
Chuckling, the man held up a hand to stop and beckoned the figure over. As Luke watched, he smiled maliciously and removed the hood. As he did so, he revealed the face of one Luke had thought long dead. In the robe was his padawan, Miennya. The years had been kind to her, even though she was part of a race that never visibly aged or got weaker. Wrapping an arm around the revealed Miennya, the man kissed her lasciviously and smirked as Luke's anger leapt. Ignoring his Jedi training, he ran towards the throne only to be met with the girl's lightsaber as she turned immediately. Advancing on him, she thrust at him as Ben battled to get out from the clear viewing room he had been locked in minutes earlier. Luke kept defending but never attacking and she soon got tired of him and aggressively attacked him. The sabers lit up the room, otherwise shrouded in black and the sparks flew as the two opponents battled for control.
Using the lightsaber, she hit Luke with the edge and he disappeared into the blackness. Looking around, she pursued him and found herself alone. Pacing around, she tried to use the Force as Luke hid in the blackness. Then, he winced as she spoke in the same way that his father had on the Death Star that fateful night. Gone were the soft and seductive tones of her time on Yavin, now her voice was hard and brittle.
"You are here, Jedi. I will find you and kill you. Then, you will feel the full power of the Sith as you perish by my hand."
Speaking as best he could in a disembodied voice, Luke pleaded with her. "Miennya, don't do this. You must remember me, I am your master. I beseech you; do not stray from the Light Side."
Shaking her head, the name seemed familiar to the girl but she shrugged it off. "I know not who you speak of, Jedi, but you have never been my Master. My name is Ayaavath and I am the apprentice of Darth Tantalus. Save your petty mind tricks for some weak- minded individual but not me."
Luke tried once more. "You are Miennya, my first padawan. Whatever this man has done to you, you are my Miennya and I will never let you kill me. If you strike me down, I will become even more powerful than you can ever imagine. Remember..."
Ayaavath simply shook her head and then spied Luke sitting on a ledge in the dark and struck. Her blade cut into his hand and she sent him flying. He landed on the floor as the man chuckled and then appeared at her side. Fingering her hair, he sneered at the fallen Jedi.
"You see, my young Jedi, I was the one who kidnapped your precious Miennya from Yavin. I turned her into my apprentice, the one who is about to kill you. It was an enjoyable experience, breaking her in and deflowering her. I must show you sometime. She remembers nothing of her life beforehand, nothing of her name. I trained her well and now you will die at the hands of your fallen padawan."
----
Forcing the memory into Luke's head, he grinned as the Jedi twisted and convulsed as the memory flooded his mind. Nodding to his apprentice, he whispered his command in her ear and then watched as she loomed over the fallen Luke. But something stopped her from dealing the deadly blow. As she stood there, a memory came into her mind of her and Luke in the training circle on Yavin. Entranced, she looked from her master to Luke and back again. As she stared, the memories flooded back bit by bit and she remembered all that had happened over the last few decades. Lowering her blade, she turned, a look on her face of anger that the Sith lord had never seen before. Throwing her deactivated blade to the side, she stood in front of the injured Luke and glared at her captor.
"I will not kill my master, Sith. You tried to keep me from my true life and you tortured me to try and break my spirit. You nearly succeeded but no one can stop the Force, not even you. I remember everything despite your control, all you did to me and I refuse to be the agent of my master's downfall."
With a growl, the man stood and unleashed Sith lightning from his fingertips. The lightning entered Miennya and she fell, her body convulsing on the floor as the master cackled and inhaled the smell of burning flesh. Sending as much lightning into her as he could produce, the Sith lowered his hands as she lay still. Unbeknown to him, Luke had stood and snuck up behind the deranged man. With a cry, he sent his lightsaber into the man's back with as much force as he could master. The Lord screamed, his voice a mixture of agony and anger. With one last cry, he toppled off the throne and lay still.
Ignoring his corpse, Luke rushed over to the fallen body of his long-lost apprentice and cradled her in his arms. Smiling up at him gently, she stroked a tear away from his cheek and then fell unconscious in his arms, her head falling back against his arm. Luke felt her breathing slacken and moved a long lock away that had fallen over her face as Ben finally battered down the door and rushed towards them. Crying, Luke laid the girl on the ground and touched her chest. Ignoring Ben, he pressed down on her heart as the Force flowed from his fingers into her body. In a matter of minutes, the girl convulsed and began to breathe again but without opening her eyes. As Luke took her in his arms again, he walked out of the Palace with his son following after a well-timed kick to the dead corpse....