Star Wars: Rise of the Sith
Chapter 6
I had two pages left. And most of it got deleted. So I wrote it again. And most of it got deleted.
Sorry for the wait. I'm on my third try.
*******
Ben shifted uncomfortably in the copilot seat of unnamed ship.
The copilot seat. Not the pilot's seat. Occupying that was Nike. She had said that she should take the pilot's seat so that he could better see the functions of his newly acquired ship.
In Nike, that translates to: I'm screwing you with my persuasive ways so that I can manipulate you into letting me pilot your ship while you sit next to me and think about how stupid you are for buying it.
Ben, Nike, Sylor, Moria, Dame and the druids had left Coruscant the next morning after their conversation. Nord had promised not to tell anyone where they were headed too, as long as they promised to come back and see him.
"Everyone strapped in?" Nike asked over the comlink, "we've about to make the jump to hyperspace."
"Hyperspace?" Damian moaned, "Why would we want to do that?" Nike rolled her eyes in annoyance, and Ben just laughed at Dame's dislike of flying.
"Well we can just spend the next twenty standard years possying our way across the galaxy," Nike suggested sarcastically.
"Just shoot me out the back hatch," Dame wailed.
"Why did you come?" Nike snapped.
"Because he's a valuable asset to our mission," Moria explained.
"How?" Nike asked, "All he can do is swing a stick around."
"Alright, any more comments about Jedi and the Force and I'll show you 'swinging a stick' and it'll be near your head," Ben threatened.
"Okay, everyone strap in, jumping in three, two, one," the bright stars quickly swirled into the familiar strands of smeared light as the ship blasted into hyperspace. Nike waited a moment for her body to adjust to the new speed before she stood up and walked into the sitting area, where Sylor was desperately trying to beat Zero in another dajarik game.
"So how long should this take?" Moria turned away from her datapad and asked.
"Well…" Nike said, "It'll take about two days to reach Hoth."
"I'd say that if we just get in there, grab Anakin, and get out, then it'll take a good three hours on Hoth," Ben said.
"What?" Dame asked, "Three hours? Are you out of your mind? Do you have any idea how tight security is around there, and yeah, you are a Jedi, but they're Sith, they've got all your powers and then some. It's gonna take a while. We gotta plan this out good."
"Dame's right," Moria said, "this isn't some game. We could get killed."
"To you foresee us getting killed?" Nike asked.
"The dark side clouds everything," all four Jedi told her in unison. Nike furrowed her brow in annoyance, and went into the kitchen.
All her life she had been around Jedi, and yet she still could not understand them. Their devotion to the Force, something that Nike could neither see or feel, confused her. She had depended on either herself or others her entire life and could never see herself putting faith in something she couldn't see.
The one thing though, that she couldn't stand, was everyone in her family blabbing on nonstop about the Force and how she needed to be patient, and how she shouldn't hate, and shouldn't fight, and how she needs to think before she acts, and how that everything that she ever did could be done better through the Force.
She grabbed some slices of bread out of the cabinet and then some sliced nerf out of the freezer. She made herself a sandwich, and then walked back out to the sitting area to eat it, without a plate just to annoy Moria who was anti-crumb or something.
"So anyway," Nike said, not bothering to swallow before she spoke, "what exactly am I going to be doing on this little trip?"
"Staying in the ship with the droids," Ben said.
"That plan's kriff, what else ya got?" She asked.
"Nike, if you came along you'd just get in the way," Sylor said, causing her to scowl.
"And how is that?" She snapped defensively.
"Well, you're not Force-sensitive," Ben said, "you have no weapon…you'd just be a fifth wheel."
"Mistress Nike I must agree," Threepio said.
"Well I don't," Nike snapped, "just because I'm not a Jedi doesn't mean I'm dead weight. I mean, look at my Dad, or Jag-he could kick any of your butts any day of the week. Or Wedge Antilles, or-"
"Look Nike," Moria said, "we know that you don't have to be Force-sensitive to do great things, but it does help, and you're only fourteen."
"And you're twelve, or do Jedi not age either," Nike snapped back.
"Listen," Ben said, "we don't want to get into an argument with you about this, but really, if you came, what exactly would you plan on doing?"
"Well I do have a blaster," she snapped, "so it's not like I'm weaponless, and I can fight, and I'm smart, I mean, who's the one who's been getting us out of trouble for the past…forever? Me."
"Yeah, and who's the one who is always getting us in trouble?" Ben asked, "You."
"Look, I'm going, whether you all want me to or not," she said.
"Nike," Ben sighed exasperated.
"Ben, just let her go," Damian said, which surprised Nike that he was sticking up for her, "she could be useful. I mean, we've all seen how she flies, if she fights half as good then she could help."
"Thank you Damian," Nike said.
"No problem Shorty," he replied, and she frowned at the name he insisted on calling her.
"Alright," Sylor said, turning from the game he was loosing, "we have two days to figure out what exactly we're going to do, and how we're planning on doing it."
"I can try to map out the area by memory," Damian suggested.
"That'll work," Sylor replied, "Nike, you get weapons together, and the rest of us, let's practice with our lightsabers. We gotta make sure we're ready for the Sith."
*~*~*~*~
Han walked casually down the dusty street on Tatooine to a cantina in Mos Espa. He hadn't been sure where to start looking on the planet for the children, but as soon as he heard of the Podrace, and knowing that his daughter had never given up the chance to see a starship race, he figured that this might be a good place to start.
He had learned over the years that if you wanted to find someone then you should go to a bar, and so he walked into the Singing Nerf and sat down at the bar, ordered a drink, and listened to the local chat.
"-destroyed my crops and-"
"-five for that blasted droid and it broke. Blasted Jawas."
"-human that won the race-"
"-lost fifteen credits on that piece of Bantha Fodder."
Han's mind was brought back to the voice that had said something about a human winning a race. He turned in his seat and looked around, trying to find whoever was speaking. It was a Bothan talking to a Rodian, and he looked rather angry. Han got up and walked over to their table.
"What's this you're talking about?" He asked them, not bothering to introduce himself. The Bothan gave him a hard stare for a moment, and looked him over before speaking.
"The human that won the Podrace last week," he replied shortly.
"They gotta name?" Han asked.
"Sure," the Bothan shrugged, "Chewie Loso or something like that." Han blinked. He was a hard man to surprise, but that shocked him.
"Do you happen to know where there'd be any holos of the race?" He asked, trying to act unfazed.
"Well it's the first time to my knowledge that a human's won a Podrace, so I'm sure there's a good deal of 'em. You probably would need to check at the office down at the arena," the Bothan said with a shrug.
"Thanks," Han muttered before walking off. Chewie Loso. He wasn't an idiot. He had used fake names enough to spot one out. The fact that Nike had chosen Chewbacca's nickname though, surprised him a bit, because she had never even know his former partner.
More then that name though, the fact that she had not only entered a Podrace, but had won it. Won her first Podrace. A human raced for her first time and won. How did that possibly happen?
Well, Han thought smugly, she is a Solo after all.
*~*~*~*
Lane watched her sister stride back into the command room and straight over to the a computer, which she laid down under and began ripping different parts out of and rewiring.
"So I take it he said no," she supplied, and got a grunt in return. She and Reuben exchanged knowing looks, and turned back to their screens, waiting for the blow up.
"I mean what a hypocrite," and there it was. Launie came back out from under the computer and began her ranting. "He was flying his claw craft around when he was half our age!"
"Launie, we're nine, that means Dad would have been four and a half, I doubt that's true," Lane reasoned.
"I don't care!" Launie snapped, "We should be aloud to do something."
"We are doing something."
"I mean something important!" Launie snapped. Lane opened her mouth to rely, but then shut it. Launie was a hands-on person, if she wasn't doing something physically, then she wasn't doing anything. Looking at the holonet and charts was not her thing.
"We'll get our chance," Reuben said.
"Yeah, when we're sixteen and this war's over," Launie muttered, "it's not fair."
"You're thoughts betray you," Lane jumped, not at Master Luke Skywalker's sudden appearance, but at her sister's surprise that sent a sharp spike into her through their Force-bond. Launie wasn't surprised much, but when she was it sent Force-daggers into her twin, although she never knew that.
"What do you mean?" Launie asked, recovering quickly.
"I mean that you are focusing too much on the negative, and not on the positive of the situation," Master Skywalker explained.
"There is no positive," Launie snapped. Lane shot her a look that she deliberately ignored.
"Only from a certain point of view," Luke explained, taking a seat in the chair next to Reuben, "and from a darker one at that."
"So what are some positives?" Launie asked.
"Well your parents could have shipped you off to Coruscant with my kids," he told them.
"Uh, news flash Uncle Luke, your kids aren't in Coruscant," Launie informed him.
"I know that," he wrinkled his nose in brief annoyance of his children's escapades, "but if you two were along do you still think that they would have gone? It's one thing to have their parents mad at them for putting their selves in danger, it's a completely other thing when they put other people's young children in danger."
"But it's not as if they would have made us go along," Launie said, "we would have wanted to go."
"We?" Lane and Reuben asked in unison.
"Ah, but not from a parent's point of view," Luke continued, "think of it this way, you're nine, when most kids are nine they don't know anything about war and lightsabers and the dark side and things like that, you do, but your parents still see you as their innocent little babies. So if a sixteen year old, like Ben, brought you two along on some adventure of his, then you would be Ben's responsibility. Being nine, you might not know this, but Ben, Sylor, Moria, and Nike do, and they wouldn't have brought you along because you would be a teenager's worst fear: responsibility."
"But I thought that teenagers wanted to be responsible?" Lane asked.
"Yes well, who understands teenagers anyway?" Luke asked with a smile.
"I guess," Launie said, still looking disappointed about her lack of action.
"Anyway, I came over here to tell you all something," Luke said, standing.
"And what's that?" Reuben asked.
"You three, Padme, Danni and Jaina are all going back to Yavin Four to the Academy," he said.
"WHAT?!" Launie screamed. "Give me that whole big honkin' speech and then ship me off to the other side of the galaxy. Sith, Uncle Luke, you can't do that." Luke smiled and shook his head.
"I'm sorry, but that's where you should be, training. This is going to be a hard war, and one that'll we'll need all of our Jedi to work in. You all need to get ready to face the Sith. Not that it will happen any time soon, but I can guarantee that it will."
"So we do get to fight?" Launie beamed excitedly.
"You shouldn't be so-"
"I'm gonna go get my lightsaber and practice right now!" Launie declared and hurried out of the room. Luke watched her go and then turned back to Lane, looking a bit baffled.
"You guarantee it will happen?" Lane asked dryly. Luke's face turned from baffled to a sly grin.
"If it works," he winked at her, and then turned and left the room.
*~*~*~*~
Nike sat in the pilots seat of Ben's unnamed ship with her feet up on the dashboard and her head tilted back in a daydream of space, ships, blasts, and explosions. It was rudely interrupted by Ben bursting in.
"I need your help," he said in a serious voice. Nike sat up and he sat down in the copilot's seat and rested his hands on his knees, looking at her intently.
As cousins, Nike knew that at one point, her and Ben would have to have one of these serious talks, but she always figured it would be after he did something stupid to his first girlfriend, and not when they were on a starship going to save her dead brother from evil clone makers.
"What is it?" She asked, bringing to her mind any knowledge or wisdom she had learned in her short fourteen years.
"I need a name for my ship," he said. Nike rolled her eyes and kicked her feet back up on the dashboard.
"That's what this is about? Geez I thought that it was something important," she muttered.
"This is important," Ben insisted. Nike rolled her eyes and sighed.
"Look Ben, this is your ship, not mine, I can't name it, it wouldn't be right," she told him. Ben scowled at her for a moment before sitting back and putting on his "thinking face".
"I just can't think of one," he confessed, "I mean, I've gone through my mind on every name I could possibly think of, and it's either taken or stinks like bantha fodder." Nike wrinkled her nose, wondering how it was that everyone but her knew about this bantha fodder business.
"Call it the Skywalker Mobile for all I care," Nike shrugged. Ben rolled his eyes and got up.
"You," he said pointedly, "are zero help." And then he left. She smiled, kicked her feet up on the dash board, and shut her eyes.
*~*~*~*~
Luther Slayner stepped out of his ship, the Dark Flame, and onto Tatooine's dry, dusty soil. A small cloud of orange dust gathered in the air around his feet before settling again. He peered off into the city in the distance. He breathed in the air, and wrinkled his nose, unaccustomed to the dryness.
He looked over his shoulder at Sarleen Twi'blek, who was hopping out of the ship and coming to stand next to him.
"Are you sure he's here?" She questioned.
"This is where I felt him," Luther said simply. Dame was obviously trying to block him, but their extreme bond as twins kept them forever linked, even if in the smallest way.
"If he has decided to leave to the Sith, you do know what must be done?" He shot her a sharp look.
"My loyalty to my father is much greater then my loyalty to my idiotic brother," he snapped, "I will do what I must for the Sith Order."
"Good," Sarleen replied, just as harshly. Luther may have been Lord Reth's son, but she still outranked him, and that required respect.
"I can smell alcohol all the way from here," Luther complained, "what is this place called again."
"Mos Eisley," Sarleen replied, "this entire planet smells like dust, alcohol and bantha fodder."
"Then Dame would love it," he replied dryly. Dame's taste for alcohol-although he didn't drink too much-disgusted his brother. But like all of Dame's bad habits, it was just another way to show rebelling against his father who demanded order on a military level.
With a wave of his hand, Luther called two landspeeders out to them.
"Let's get this over with," he muttered, and they took off towards the city.
*~*~*~*
Han Solo strode purposefully over to Nord's Parts and Supplies. After spending the entire day in getting the Mos Espa racecourse, and finding someone who knew where Chewie Loso was from, and figuring out just where this place is-because people on Tatooine aren't the most helpful ones-he had finally tracked her here. And now he strode, undistracted, toward the building.
As soon as he walked in, he was taken aback by the unusually cleanliness of the place. While most Tatooine shops had piles of trash mixed in with heaps of ship parts, this one had nice stacks of parts organized into groups by their use, and there weren't cobwebs and dust stretched across the room.
"Can I help you?" A rough voice broke into Han's thoughts. He turned to see a Besalisk-a rather large Besalisk-standing in an open doorway ahead of him.
"I'm looking for a Chewie Loso," he said as casually as possible, "I heard she worked here." Han barely caught the slight narrow of who he guessed to be Nord's eyebrows.
He knew exactly who "Chewie Loso" was.
"She's on extended leave," he replied shortly, "can I help you with anything?"
"Where did she go?" Han asked.
"Do you really think that I'd just go and tell you where my employees are?" Nord laughed. Han pulled out his blaster and aimed it right in between Nord's eyes. That made him stop laughing.
"I want to know where she is," he said slowly and dangerously. Nord gulped, and looked into Han's face. He almost instantly furrowed his brow, and then his eyes got really wide, and then he laughed. Han lowered the blaster off the Besalisk, and wondered if he'd gone insane.
"Hey pal, what's so funny?" Han snapped.
"You're Han Solo," Nord replied when he was done laughing.
"Yes…" Han said, unsure of where this was going.
"By the way she talked about you I figured you didn't care whether she was on Coruscant or running around on the Sith's space station," he said. Han frowned, and took a moment letting everything sink in before he spoke again.
"She was running around on the Sith's space station," he informed the Besalisk, "which is why her mother and I sent her to Coruscant, but she's too blasted hard headed to ever listen."
"From what I hear it was Moria's idea to come here," Nord said. Han rolled his eyes.
"Moria?" He asked, "If this was her idea then my name's Yoda and Nike can join the military. No, Nike just probably convinced Moria that she'd get off easier then she would."
"Sure," Nord replied, hardly convinced.
"So, know that you know who I am, can you tell me where my daughter is?" Han asked impatiently.
"Sorry, no can do."
"Why not?"
"Because, they told me not to tell."
"Listen buddy, this isn't some grade school girl's secret," Han snapped, "this is an angry father looking for his daughter, and you know where she is. So tell me."
"I can't," Nord said again, more forcefully this time, "but I can tell you that they're in a nameless Y7-88 Corellian flying east of here, with a three day head start."
"Well thanks," Han said sarcastically.
"I wish I could do more," Nord said, "but I can't turn on my word." Han huffed, turned, and left the alien.
*~*~*~*~
Anakin Solo stretched out with the Force. He felt little life around him, and what he did feel was quite disturbing, but he sought to find someone he knew. Perhaps Uncle Luke, or Jaina, or his mother. Or maybe even Tahiri.
He quickly diminished that thought. Tahiri would probably be married, and very much over him by this time. Still, he couldn't help but think of her.
He focused instead on just finding anyone familiar. It was hard, and he wasn't even sure if he'd recognize anyone.
And then suddenly, he felt something. It was a very light tap into some kind of great power and energy. Someone who was very strong in the Force. In it he felt familiarity, but it wasn't anyone he recognized.
And then the person struck back at him with a Force shield. Anakin was knocked across the room and into the stone wall behind him. He groaned and rubbed his head, and found that the other person was inspecting him with the Force. He fought the urge to knock them right back-he wasn't even sure if he was able to do that over their obvious distance.
Why was this presence so familiar yet unknown to him?
Who are you? He asked, knowing that they wouldn't receive words, but hoped they'd get the general idea.
Who the dirt of Sith are you? It came back very forcefully, but very clear. As if the person-the girl, that much was apparent-were in the room with him. He sighed, not wanting to tell some random person who he was, but figuring that he would rather have tea with Nom Anor than stay in solitude any longer.
Anakin Solo. He imagined himself, and sent it to the girl.
WHAT?! Anakin grabbed his head and fell on the ground as sharp vibrations of surprise hit his mind like knives. How was this girl doing this? How was he having a conversation with someone he didn't even know?
I'm Anakin Solo. He repeated, although fully aware that she heard him.
But you're DEAD! She informed him. Anakin rolled his eyes: as if he didn't know that.
It's a long story. Who are you? And how am I able to talk to you so clearly?
So you're Anakin…
What part of that is so hard to understand? The Ana or the Kin?
Don't get smart with me, Solo. She snapped back, and for an instant, Anakin could see his sister there. Jaina. That's what was so familiar about this girl. Jaina was part of her. He was talking to his sister's daughter! His niece!
JAINA GOT MARRIED?!!!
What kind of world was it out there? He'd apparently missed a lot. He felt back, to try to reconnect with her, but couldn't. She was still there, but not as strong as she had been, she wasn't seeking him out. In place on her openness there were stone walls.
*~*~*~*~
Lane had always been the quieter of the two identical Fel twins. Where Launie would yell, and make sure that everyone around her knew what she was feeling, Lane kept to herself, keeping all her thoughts and feelings inside, as if scared to say something.
But now she wasn't scared, and Launie could see it in her one jade, and one brandy brown eyes.
"Launie Fel," she started, in her dangerously harsh voice that was so much like their mother's, "let me get this straight. You think that stealing-excuse me-commandeering Aunt Mara's ship is a way to prove to our parents that we can help out in this war and shouldn't be sent to Yavin Four?"
"Exactly," Launie replied, she didn't see what was so hard to understand about that.
"That's suicidal. And if Aunt Mara doesn't kill us, then Dad and Mom will," her identical pointed out.
"You always look at the negative," Launie complained. Reuben snorted, and she shot him a mean look.
"Listen, Fel," Reuben said, "I know that when one of these ideas pop in your head, there's no stopping you, but don't expect me to be at all involved."
"You two are so paranoid," Launie rolled her eyes, and ran her white strip of hair through two fingers.
"Paranoid? Or just not stupid?" Reuben asked. Launie groaned a sat down in her chair.
"So maybe it is a stupid idea," she snapped, "who cares? I'm so bored. I can't take this any more."
"We'll be at the Academy this time next standard week, and you'll be having fun there running around and causing a scene." She huffed at his weak attempt at making her happy.
"I'm gonna go to the 'cademy," the three friends turned to the doorway, where Padme was standing. Launie rolled her brown eyes and moaned.
"Why don't you just go away?" She asked.
"Well whatdoya want me to do? Jump out a window?" The little girl snapped back.
"Be my guest," Launie shrugged.
"Come on you two," Reuben said, "let's not fight."
"Well what else is there to do?" Launie asked.
"Really," Padme agreed, "I'm bored."
"You're only three, you can't be bored."
"I'm almost four, Bantha fodder, and I can too!"
"Did you just cuss?" Launie asked with surprise.
"Yes I did."
"Where did you hear that from?" Reuben asked.
"Daddy," was the solid reply.
"Ha, wait'll Aunt Danni hears about that," Launie laughed.
"Lane, what ch'a lookin' at?" Padme asked, ignoring Launie. Lane didn't answer, but continued to stare with intent brown and green eyes, down at the hanger blew through their window.
"HelloOOoo," Reuben said, waving his hand in front of her eyes, "Coruscant to Lane, come in Lane."
"I hear you," Lane mumbled, her eyes never moving. Launie and Reuben exchanged glances, and then looked out in the direction Lane's eyes were aimed at. The hanger looked exactly like it always did, nothing strange or different about it.
"Lane, are you okay?" Her sister asked in a serious tone. There came no answer.
"Lane, say something," Reuben ordered.
"Lane, you're scaring me…" Padme whined. Launie felt for his sister through the Force, and knew that she was feeling out somewhere, to someone else, but who that someone was she couldn't tell. That aggravated her. How could Lane communicate with someone that she couldn't? They were twins after all. Couldn't they do the same things?
"Snap out of it!" Launie snapped, and slapped her sister upside her head.
"OW!" Lane cried, grabbing the back of her head and glaring up at Launie. She stood up quickly and glared at her twin. Their eyes were perfectly even, and brown calmness was being hit with a green/brown glare.
"What was that for?" Lane snapped.
"I thought you were going vegetable on me," Launie said. "What were you doing?"
"Talking to someone," came the simple reply.
"But your mouth wasn't moving!" Padme declared.
"Through the Force," Lane clarified for her.
"Who?" Reuben asked.
"Um…"
"How?" Launie asked, "we can talk through the Force, but that's because of our bond, how can you talk to some complete stranger?"
"How do you know they were a stranger?" Reuben asked.
"I don't know…" Lane said meekly, "I don't know how I did it, it must have been him…"
"Do you know who it was?" Launie pressed.
"I…I think it was Uncle Anakin."
********
HAHAHAHA!!!! FINALLY DONE!!!!!!!! I'll get on the next chapter quickly!!!!