Star Wars Infinities: The Master
Chapter 15
By: Christopher W. Blaine
e-mail: darth_yoshi@yahoo.com
DISCLAIMER: All of the characters and situations contained in this story are ©2003 by LucasFilm Ltd. They are used here without permission for fan-related entertainment purposes only. This original story is ©2003 by Christopher W. Blaine.
Had Leia not been caught up in the wave of emotions that were tearing through her mind, she might have sensed what was going on around her. Her brother's manipulations of the Dark Side, something he had practiced a full decade before Leia ever discovered the truth about her heritage, was also adding to the burden. The Dark Side was partially based upon deception; it allowed its users to manipulate the perceptions of others.
Fear and anger aided this because the imagination worked harder in these states. The imagination was the fuel for the fires of the Dark Side and Luke Skywalker was surprised at how fruitful Leia's mind had been when he first made contact with it. He had found so many fears, so many uncertainties that he had not known where to start.
Her two largest worries appeared to be (1) becoming like her mother and (2) marrying the right person for the wrong reason. It was Luke's intention to bring her to the Dark Side, to make her exactly like her mother. That would break the heart of the now reformed Padme Amidala and that would bring Luke enough pleasure to last a lifetime.
In order to effect her transformation from goody-goody Jedi padawan to servant of darkness he had to concentrate on her other fear, that uncertainty that always developed when facing any life-altering decision. He had done nothing really, merely tapped into her brain and brought forth her deepest fantasies. Everyone had fantasies but most had the good sense not to act upon them.
Luke halted in the passageway that led to the private hanger reserved for only the highest of Corporate Sector operative on Bespin. That would include, according to the information given to them by the Sector-Admiral, the modified freighter Outrider and the yacht Lady Luck. He reached out with the Force and could sense the flurry of activity occurring in the hanger bay. Both ships were preparing for launch, Luke could tell, because their respective owners, Dash Rendar and Lando Calrissian, were jittery. Their emotions played out in the Force as if they were bad music on giant speakers.
The Jedi were a different matter. Luke already sensed the loss of his party sent to investigate the Mandalorian ship. Kyp Durron had been involved in that and while duty might have demanded that Luke pursue the most powerful of the three, personal vengeance dictated his actions now. A Sith did not always adhere to duty when there was personal emotional profit involved.
The calm thoughts of Corran Horn were disturbing. His mind was a steel trap of military tactics and law enforcement information. Were he not a Jedi, Luke had no doubt he would be a top officer in the New Republic military. There was also a hint of anxiety regarding something with the Force; perhaps a new talent learned? Corellian Jedi, according the records that Luke was able to view on Imperial Center, were the oddest of the bunch that was for sure. No fewer than one hundred texts had been penned in the time of the Old Republic dedicated to the study of Corellian Jedi and why their Force talents manifested so strangely. There were no definitive answers.
Luke could not discern what the talent, if there was one, could be. For all the young Sith knew, Corran Horn was one of those Jedi that liked to contemplate the Force on a never-ending basis. He told his remaining men to fan out ahead of him, creating a human corridor for him to go down as he approached the hanger doors.
He turned his attention as he slowly made his way towards the end of the passage to his sister. He caught the brief sense of flirtation and a sudden welling up of sexual desire within her. She wanted Dash Rendar, or at least some roguish type, and it was causing to push all thoughts of sweet Corran Horn out of her mind. He laughed inwardly; how alike he and his sister were. Luke saw himself getting married one day if only to produce a legitimate heir. He never saw himself giving up his hundreds of lovers, though. It was one thing to acknowledge the womb with legs that carried your legacy; it was another to be so ignorant as to claim you could love someone enough to spend your life with them.
But hadn't his father loved his mother in that way? His father had been foolish not to realize that Darth Deceptra/Padme Amidala was unworthy of such attention. Like any female, she was weak on her own, unable to define herself without a man to provide her with some purpose.
Luke stopped before the doors and paused, sensing the history of the moment. His father's killer, Darth Maul, had stood like this on Naboo, Luke's mother's home world, and prepared to fight both Obi-Wan Kenobi and Qui-Gon Jinn. He had won that duel, defeating both men and setting the course for Anakin Skywalker's training in the ways of the Sith. How different the galaxy would have been if Darth Maul would have lost, Luke considered. No doubt Anakin would have become a great Jedi.
Luke's stomach turned at the thought.
Corran suddenly looked up. "We've got trouble."
Lando looked over at the younger man in the co-pilot's seat and asked what was wrong. Corran looked at him and told him to continue the start-up procedure. He got out of the seat and ran back to the hatch. Checking his lightsaber, he opened the door and stepped down into the hanger bay.
He tried to reach out to Leia and got back the same fuzziness he often got from her. She had been so distant lately, but he supposed it was nerves due to their engagement. He had focused his fears inside, turning them into a desire to perform well on their first solo mission, no matter how mundane it appeared to be.
The Outrider was on the other side of the hanger bay and he did not dare use his communicator. Lando was convinced, just as Dash was, that they had been compromised by the Sector-Admiral. Many were the credits that the Empire was willing to pour out to capture Jedi and even the most professional of military men.
He used the Force to get a sense of the general area and he got a feeling of mocking hatred, the sort of emotions a bully had when stalking a weaker child. Corran had taken down many bullies in his day and today seemed just as good a day as any to face the local toughs. He picked up nothing overly unusual in the Force, but he still had a feeling in the pit of his stomach. It was the same "sixth sense" that his father had, something that all CorSec members had, regardless of age or experience. You just knew when trouble was coming.
Corran pulled his lightsaber off of his belt and kept his sword arm loose. He approached the massive doors that led into the passageway that would take people into Cloud City proper. This particular hanger bay had once been reserved for large cargo haulers, but now it served as a private hideaway for the most important vessels on Bespin.
The Jedi turned back towards the Outrider and could have sworn he heard a moan of ecstasy, but knew that was impossible. Leia lived him and Dash was one of his best friends.
Leia reached up and put her hands on Dash's damp chest and pushed. It was not in an attempt to get him off of her, but to get just a little more physical contact. As they continued their lovemaking, she rolled her head and smiled an evil smile.
Again Corran sensed something was wrong, as if he were in the middle of a puppet show and someone was yanking his strings. He saw that the engines on the Lady Luck were giving off the little waves of heat, distorting the air. The Outrider was warmed as well and when he looked at it, his vision started to waver. It was almost as if everything was an illusion.
He stepped towards the freighter, determined to satisfy his curiosity when the hanger bay door started to open. Corran whirled just as the doors lifted to reveal a pair of black boots. His lightsaber came to life, its blue blade singing a song of warning as he brought it up high over his shoulder,
When the door finally was open fully, Corran saw Luke Skywalker standing there, waving his crimson blade. Several civilian-clothed stormtroopers moved past Luke and started to file into the hanger bay. "Lando! Get out of here!" Corran called.
Luke somersaulted forward, his blade coming down in a strike meant to cleave Corran in half, but the young Jedi was not so easily beaten. He blocked the strike and spun to put a sidekick to Luke's stomach. The Dark Lord stumbled back, but not far enough. He used his blade to try and behead Corran and would have had Corran not ducked.
Lando, in the cockpit of the Lady Luck hit a button and several droid-brain controlled lasers popped out from secret hatches under the yacht. The weapons were set up to fire at anyone approaching the vessel since Lando could see Corran was busy. "Damn it, kid, you can't fight him!" Lando swore. He was half-tempted to strap on his blaster and go out there to help, but he knew that if they needed to get out of there quick, then he needed to be at the controls.
There was one thing he could do. "Dash, we've got trouble!" he said on the private line between the ships.
There was no reply for several seconds and Lando heard the first few shots from his lasers and the small graphic for his shielding showed minor hits to his engine area. There was no way that their small hand-held weapons could damage his ship, so he ignored them. If they managed to get by the lasers and were able to get to the hatch, Lando had an IG series assassin droid waiting to welcome them. He didn't want to send it out just yet; it was expensive after all.
"Dash!" Lando called out as Corran went flying across the hanger bay to slide into a crate of spare parts. "Damn!"
Luke Skywalker strode across the distance between himself and Corran. "You are no match for me boy."
Corran wiped the blood from his mouth, trying to keep his cool. "You better check again, little man. I'm the grown up here."
Luke laughed. "Man enough for my dear sister? I think not." He held his hand out and black lightning shot from his fingers to envelope Corran. The young Jedi had not been ready for the attack, but the truth was that he had very little experience in fighting Dark Lords. He tried to push past the pain, tried to use his newfound power to put some sort of image in Luke's brain, but he couldn't concentrate.
"Damn it, Dash!" Lando yelled, jumping out of the pilot's chair and grabbing an Imperial issue blaster. He ran up to his droid. "Follow me," he said before stepping outside. He was immediately assailed by laser fire from the stormtroopers that had managed to survive the laser attack. Lando saw that two of his custom mounts had been shot out but that was expected when dealing with crack Imperial troops.
Lando directed his assassin droid to take out the men in front of them, which it did with cold efficiency, while he ran for the cover of the Outrider's landing gear. A stray shot burned through his signature cape and grazed his arm, but he felt nothing as he saw Corran writhing in pain. Lando, a good shot in his younger days and a better shot after he had been drinking for a while, drew down on Luke and screamed.
"Skywalker!"
Luke whirled around, bringing his palm up as Lando fired. Three shots were deflected by Luke's bare hand. Lando dropped his blaster, his mouth agape as Luke moved his arm in a sweeping motion. An invisible wall of Force struck Lando and sent him flying into the hull of the Outrider. Lando fell to the deck with a loud thunk.
Corran struggled up and called his lightsaber to his hand from across the bay. Luke jumped up to avoid being tripped by it, giving a little laugh as he did so. In the same motion, he performed an acrobatic jump to the left and missed being struck in the back. Corran moved and swung again and again, but Luke was only toying with him. The Jedi knew he was loosing control and he tried to reach down and find some center.
He tried to think of Leia and Luke stopped. His face was alive with delight as he contemplated what Corran was doing. "Would you like to get my dear sister out here? Hmmmm, I wonder what she's doing?"
Luke used the Force and opened a link between Corran and Leia. For the first time since he found he was a Jedi, Corran experienced the Force like a true Jedi. The whole world became something alien and he knew this was how the most powerful of Jedi Knights saw the galaxy. What did that say about him?
Then something entered his brain. Brief flashes of sensation that he had never felt before. He smelled sweat and a musky odor that seemed so out of place in this battle. The horror of what he was experiencing dawned on him even as Luke cackled like a witch. "Seems my sister is busy with a real man," he said as he cut the link.
Holding his fist out, Luke grabbed Corran through the Force. The stunned Jedi dropped his lightsaber and became consumed by his conflicting emotions. Luke lifted him high into the air, considering dropping him and letting him explode into a puddle of blood and gore. Lord Ravage wanted Jedi to turn, though, and besides, Luke still had some plans for his sister.
Corran felt his throat close and he struggled to breathe, only a part of him wanted to stop. His own tears were choking him as the deep dagger of betrayal penetrated his heart. As blackness closed in around him, Luke shook his head. "Now, you feel my pain," he whispered.
"Corran!" Leia called out as she finished buttoning her flight suit. Her mind was awash with sensations and feelings that she could not sort out. Next to her, Dash was hurriedly slapping a fresh power pack into his blaster. He looked at her, his face betraying the feelings he was now experiencing.
Leia grabbed her lightsaber and ran towards the ramp that was slowly lowering onto the hanger bay floor. Corran was right behind her and the two of them stepped out into a scene of carnage. The brilliant purple skies of Bespin were above them and bodies were strewn below. Lando and Corran both were in crumpled heaps on the floor and Luke's men were finally rallying to the point they could concentrate their fire on an assassin droid that was attacking them.
"My sister!" Luke said with genuine delight. Leia stopped and took him in. She had not been this close to him in almost a decade, ever since she won that single podrace against him. He looked very much like their father, except for the sneer on his face. Luke radiated hate and anger and it was like someone had turned on a light for her.
"You! You're the one who's done this to me!" she screamed, igniting her lightsaber.
Luke could feel the hot rage coming off of her and he actually sniffed the air. It was a pleasant aroma of pure fury. He brought his own lightsaber up and stuck out his free hand. He gestured for her to come closer. Dash reached out and grabbed her shoulder. "No," he said. "We need to get out of here!"
The assassin droid finally went down after a coordinated strike of thermal detonators and one heavy blaster. The remaining stormtroopers moved in, some going aboard the Lady Luck, others scrambling to provide cover for their master. Dash turned and dropped one trooper with a shot to the head and received tow shots to his thighs in return. In an agony that Leia felt through the Force, Dash went down onto the ramp and rolled down towards the hanger bay floor.
"It seems we are all alone, my sister," Luke said, gesturing again. "Come, show me if you are worthy of our mother's attention."
"You're just jealous she loves me more," Leia said out of spite. She rushed Luke and he, enraged at the comment, ran towards her. They met in the middle as their weapons clashed and arced. The sound was like small thunderclaps as Leia used every move and trick she had been taught. Luke countered each strike and was finally able to start throwing some of his own attacks at her.
He gauged her defense and found it lacking. "Too much time on your back and not enough in practice I see," he joked.
She spit at him. "You put these thoughts in my head!" she snarled as she cut low.
He back flipped out of the way and parried another swipe at his midsection. "You give me too much credit, sibling. I only brought out your inner desires. It was so easy." He pushed out with the Force and she lost the grip on her lightsaber. "You're such a slut."
She called the weapon back to her hand, but at the last moment ducked and let it sail past. In mid-flight she used the Force to grab it and ignite it. Centimeters before it struck Luke in the face, he grabbed it in with the Force as well and easily turned it away. The weapon deactivated and fell to the floor. Luke then pushed it with a thought out of the hanger bay and into the sky below the floating city.
"And so it ends," Luke said in triumph as he watched his men collect Lando and Dash. "What to do with all of you now?"
Leia moved to get up and a trooper shot her in the back with a stun setting. She fell forward immediately. Luke stepped over to her and looked down. She moaned slightly and he put a boot on her exposed hand. She gave a small cry as he pressed down until he heard the satisfying crunch of bone.
Leia looked up through tear-filled eyes. "Why?"
"Because I serve the Dark Side, sister dear. You can beat me; all you have to do is give in to the hate that is filling your heart right now. Than anger will give you power in the Force and you will be able to cut me down." He waited for her to reply and she just dropped her head to the cold floor.
"You are pathetic," he said as watched Dash and Lando being dropped down next to Corran. "Isn't it enough that I got you to betray your only true love?" He laughed at the thought. "You really could do much better."
Leia again struggled to get up and Luke turned around and marched over to the three men his own guards had captured. He clipped his lightsaber to his belt and looked to the senior man still alive. "Get Fresca to prepare our passage out of here immediately. I want some more troops down here as well. I'm not taking any chances with my sister."
The man, knowing that carrying out the orders would greatly extend his life, left without a remark. Luke looked into the sky and closed his eyes. His mind reached out beyond the confines of Bespin and into the space surrounding the gas planet.
He sensed a change in the mood in the Sector-Admiral; apparently he was playing his hand a little too much and Luke could read the thoughts of the other senior officers on his vessel. He also picked up the scattered thoughts of combat and he guessed that his armada was engaging the Mandalorian vessel.
"Must have been Jango Fett," Luke murmured. He had half-guessed that it was his ship; it was famous in the Old Republic. He then sensed something else, something powerful in the Force and he realized that Kyp Durron was there as well. A bounty hunter and a Jedi; he wondered what they were up to. Obviously it was important if Durron had left his students here.
He would have to send someone after them to see what was going on.
"Sister, dear," Luke called as he turned around. Two troopers moved to go and lift her up by her armpits. One of them picked her head up by the hair so she could face her brother. "I don't think you're angry enough, I think you're holding it in. I suppose if I was a big strong Corellian you'd be pulling that flight suit off…"
"Bas…bastard!" Leia managed to get out as feeling returned to her lips.
"Takes one to know one, bitch," Luke said as he slowly walked back towards her. He kept his hands behind his back and his face seemed to grow darker. "You don't know the freedom of the Dark Side. Our father did. Our mother did."
"And they both rejected it!"
"They were both weak then. The Dark Side does not cater to the weak, Leia; only to the strong. I can sense it in you, you want to be strong. You're afraid that by marrying Corran, you will lose some of your individuality." He stopped in front of her, but kept his hands clasps at the small of his back. "You want the freedom I offer you. Freedom from guilt, freedom from worry."
"I will never join you," she said in a raspy voice.
He shrugged. "Maybe, but I guarantee you will hate me." He leaned in close to her face and licked a tear. "Which one?"
Repulsed, she tried to pull back, but the troopers held her in place. "What?" she asked.
"Which one dies?"
She got his meaning. "No, Luke…"
He waved a finger and the Force launched out like a battering ram, striking the nearest fallen hero and knocking him out of the hanger bay and into the open air of Bespin.