Chapter Five
Kayla breathed a sigh of relief when they (she, Biggs, and an injured Dack) arrived at the rendezvous point. She heard when Biggs uttered a sigh of his own when he spotted a small, two-person shuttle sitting alongside his and Luke's X-Wings.
"Thank the Force! Somebody's lookin' out for us!" Biggs muttered, and Kayla was inclined to agree. It was more than just luck that had gotten them this far; and that left only one option. The Force itself.
"All we've gotta do now is get Dack on board that shuttle, and wait for Luke. We probably won't have to wait long for him, though." Kayla thought, as some of their comrades helped them get Dack situated, then hurried back to the trenches.
"Force be with them. There's some guys who deserve metals for valor, eh, Kay?" Dack asked, painfully, his blue-green eyes glazed with pain. Kayla nodded, and gently pressed a cold compress onto his fevered brow.
"Yeah. Hang in there, Dack. We're gonna get goin' soon." Kayla promised.
"But not without Luke, right?" Dack asked, looking a little concerned for the young commander.
"Of course not. In fact, we're gonna stick closer to him than flies to a Hutt. I swear by the Force." Kayla said, half-jokingly, half-seriously. Dack smiled, despite the pain he was in, chuckling softly at Kayla's declaration.
"You ready to go, Kay?" Biggs asked, through the communications system in the shuttle.
"Yeah, just about. Gotta get Dack fastened in, then I'll start warming up the engines." Kayla replied, as she finished doing just that and hurried to the cockpit. By the time she got there, Luke had already just arrived at his X-Wing, and Biggs was lifting off.
"Ready to leave this ice-cube, Kay?" Biggs asked, jokingly.
"Heck yeah! It's suddenly too hot for us here, Biggs!" Kayla stated, in the same tone.
"Then let's fly." Biggs said, with some daring in his voice, as they lifted off and followed Luke into space. Kayla could sense Luke's surprise when he sensed them following him.
"What do you two think you're doing?! Why're you following me?!?" Luke's voice asked, over the comm-link.
"Luke, there's too many enemy ships nearby, and I need to avoid contact with my younger brother at all costs. Going with you to wherever you're going is better than regrouping with the others, since my brother is out for revenge on something I did." Kayla replied, firmly. She grinned slightly when Biggs muttered a soft 'she told you' and when Luke sighed in exasperation.
"All right, all right. You win………………Has either one of you heard of the Dagobah System?" Luke asked. Of course Kayla had, but Biggs was a different story.
"Dagobah? Where's that and why do you want to go there?" Biggs asked. This got another sigh from Luke; this one of longsuffering.
"It's a system on the farthest reaches of the Outer Rim. There's someone I need to see there…………to complete some training." Luke replied, the latter part of his response hesitant at best.
"Jedi training?" Biggs asked. There were a few moments of stunned silence, then Luke spoke again.
"Yeah. I need to see if I can finish what Ben Kenobi started to teach me………Are you two still willing to follow me?" Luke asked.
"Yep. Just lead the way, Luke. 'Sides, I promised Dack we'd stay with you, and I don't like to break promises." Kayla stated.
"Biggs is right, you are as stubborn as a Wookie." Luke mumbled, as they continued on their way.
Jordan snarled as he reentered his quarters. Kayla had slipped through his grasp just as easily as water. Channeling his fury through the Force, he threw anything and everything that wasn't bolted down at the walls, creating quite a din in the process.
"That bitch………….she got away again………." Jordan growled, furiously, when he'd finished demolishing his room. For three years, his resentment at being forgotten by his elder sister simmered, thus bringing him even closer to the Dark Side of the Force than even he had dared to imagine.
"It's almost as though we were meant to be in this universe………..Come to think of it, we never really fit in back in our old universe. I wonder……………" Jordan mused, his thoughts interrupted by yet another summons from Darth Vader.
"I'll think on this more later. For now, I'd best go before Master Vader becomes angry with me." Jordan muttered, as he departed from the wrecked room and headed for Vader's quarters.
"Bloody hell! Whatta pea soup fog! Can't see a thing!" Kayla mumbled, as she tried to find a safe place to land the shuttle.
"Got that right. Didn't think a Jedi Master would choose such a crazy spot to hide." Biggs agreed. A few moments later, they landed on the swampy planet of Dagobah. Kayla hid a grimace of disgust as she eyed her surroundings.
"Worse than I thought. I didn't know it smelled this bad! Thank goodness the movies didn't have smell-o-vision or somethin' like that!" Kayla thought, darkly, as she checked on Dack. Surprisingly enough, Dack was asleep, despite the rough landing. She let out a soft sigh of relief, then stepped over to the hatch. Without even straining her ears, she could hear Biggs complaining about their current situation.
"Damn………………we're gonna have a hard time leaving this bog! Both of the X-Wings are stuck. It appears that the only ship that managed to find firm ground was the shuttle." Biggs grumbled, as he and Luke got out of their ships, and as Kayla opened the entrance hatch to hers'. They jumped in surprise when Artoo started to follow Luke, and toppled over into the bog.
"Artoo! Where are you? Artoo!!" Luke shouted, in alarm, when the astromech droid disappeared under the murky water. Seconds later, one of Artoo's multipurpose arms extended above the water, showing Luke the visual sensor and allowing him a short sigh of relief.
"Artoo sure is hard to keep track of. He has more stubborn will than most people I know." Kayla muttered, earning herself a somewhat miffed look from both men. Kayla gave them both a sheepish grin, before Artoo's optic piece disappeared under the water again.
"ARTOO!!" Luke, Kayla, and Biggs yelped, as the water went still for a few moments.
"Artoo?" Luke asked, almost too afraid to look. A split second later, Artoo Detoo was spat out of the water by a giant marsh creature.
"I take it he didn't taste too good?" Kayla asked.
"Must not have." Biggs agreed.
"What's goin' on out here?" Dack asked, as he stumbled out of the shuttle to join the trio.
"Dack! Don't move! You're just gonna make your injuries worse!" Kayla scolded, as the wounded young pilot sank to his knees. Dack gave the group in front of him a wry grin.
"Couldn't very well sleep through what happened just now. 'Sides, I just got a feeling that we should stick together. Somethin' important is about to happen, and I want to be a part of it." Dack murmured, honestly. Kayla sighed and rolled her eyes, giving Biggs and Luke her 'help me out here, please?' look. The two other men shrugged.
"Thanks for nothin' you two." Kayla grumbled, halfheartedly. She knew she couldn't stay angry for long; these were her closest friends in this universe. They were the ones that kept her from going insane. This got a chuckle from all three of the men, and Biggs ruffled her hair.
"No problem. Now, where do we find this Jedi Master you were talkin' about, Luke? Any ideas?" Biggs asked. Luke shook his head.
"The only thing I can tell you, Biggs, is that a Jedi Master lives here somewhere…….." Luke replied, as he gazed at the eerie forest that stood around them.
"Kinda hard to imagine a Jedi Master hiding in a place like this." Dack stated, thoughtfully.
"Yeah…………yet if you're really saying that coming here was a bad idea, I'm starting to agree with you. This place is like………something out of a dream……or…..I don't know. Maybe I'm just going crazy." Luke murmured.
"I think we're inclined to agree with you, Luke, about this place seeming like a dream. In any case, you two might as well get to shore, if we're gonna find this Jedi you came to find." Kayla said, as she helped the stubborn Dack to his feet and shouldered his weight. She watched as Luke and Biggs jumped into the fetid water and make their way over to her.
"I just hope Jordan doesn't remember that Luke came here to try and finish his training. If he does, none of us will be a match for him." Kayla thought, knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt that her brother would use his knowledge of the Star Wars movies against her and her friends…………….and that it would prove disastrous for all of them.
Far away from Dagobah, on board the Executioner, Jordan arrived just as Vader's helmet was being placed back on his head. He could see the nervous new Admiral, Piett, struggling to maintain his composure while in the presence of the Dark Lord of the Sith.
"Yes, Admiral?" Vader asked, after the helmet was firmly in place.
"Our ships have sighted the Millennium Falcon, milord. But……..it has entered an asteroid field and we cannot risk……….!" Piett started, but was interrupted by Jordan.
"Asteroids do not concern my Master and me, Admiral. We want that ship, not excuses." Jordan growled, hiding a smirk when he sensed Vader's approval.
"Yes, milord…………..and Commander Devans…………." Piett replied, shakily, before leaving the room.
"Jordan, are you certain that you would rather not go to Dagobah?" Vader asked, after they were both sure that Piett was out of earshot. Jordan nodded.
"If we can capture those on board the Falcon, it will lure my sister and Skywalker out of hiding. Don't worry Master, I know what I'm doing." Jordan replied, confidently. Darth Vader nodded, then dismissed him.
"Don't worry Kayla. You're safe for now. I want to be the one to take you down; I don't want some stinkin' stormtrooper to do it for me." Jordan thought, coldly, as he walked down the hall, ignoring the looks of fear and respect he was getting from the Super Star Destroyer's crew as he went.
"Now, all we've got to do is find this Yoda person…………..if he even exists." Luke muttered, as he and his companions set up a makeshift camp on one of the few patches of solid ground they could find in the swamp.
"It's still a strange place to look for a Jedi Master." Biggs stated, as he set down a container of food, looking around in disgust as he did so.
"Yeah, I'll agree with you on that, Biggs." Kayla murmured, as she helped Dack get comfortable (or as comfortable as he could get, considering they all were in the middle of a swamp).
"This place gives me the creeps." Dack mumbled, as he listened to the sounds that were coming from all around them. Ever since they had landed on the marshy planet, Luke had explained to them what he'd seen on Hoth, and why he needed to find Yoda now.
"But still…………..Yoda had some pretty weird taste to choose a planet like this one to hide on." Kayla silently mused.
"It wasn't by choice that he came to this planet, Kayla." The mysterious voice from before said, gently, in the back of Kayla's mind.
"What the……………………" Kayla's mind yelped, startled. Apparently the shock she'd felt at 'hearing' the voice again must have shone up on her face, since all three of her male companions were giving her strange looks.
"What's wrong, Kayla?" Luke asked, concerned for her.
"N-nothing, Luke. Nothing at all." Kayla nervously replied.
"Your expression says otherwise, Kay. You didn't sense anything, did you?" Biggs questioned.
"Not exactly." Kayla answered, not exactly lying, yet not exactly telling the truth, either.
"Something startled you, Kay, and you're reluctant to tell us what." Dack said, knowingly. Luke and Biggs leaned forward, expecting Kayla to tell them what she'd sensed.
"It wasn't Vader, I'll tell ya that much." Kayla stated, stubbornly. She smiled slightly when all three men sighed in relief. They knew, as well as she, that they were no match for Darth Vader as they were now. Luke's Jedi training was incomplete, and hers' hadn't even started yet.
"Y'know, there's something familiar about this place…….." Luke murmured, getting back to the situation at hand.
"Yeah, you're right about that………..I don't know why, though." Biggs agreed. Dack and Kayla nodded their agreement. For some odd and unexplained reason, Dagobah was eerily familiar to all of them.
"I don't know either…………….I feel like……." Luke said, softly, trailing off before he could finish the thought. They all jumped when another, unfamiliar voice piped up.
"Feel like what?" the croaking voice asked, startling the four into unholstering their blasters and aiming them at…………….a green, pointy-eared midget?!
"Like we're being watched." Kayla and Luke said, at the same time. The 'midget' cringed, seemingly afraid of the four blasters aimed at him.
"Away put your weapons. I mean you no harm." The midget said, as he motioned for the four to put their weapons back into their holsters.
"Okaaaay then………….it's one thing to watch this in the movies, but it's a totally different thing to actually have it happen to you!" Kayla thought, as she watched the midget straighten and look at each of them in turn.
"I am wondering, why are you here?" the midget asked, curiously.
"We're looking for someone." Luke answered. The midget's eyes brightened.
"Looking? Found someone, you have. I would say, hmmm? Help you I can. Yes." The midget said, jovially, then added, "Heal wounds, I can." Dack rolled his eyes and gave the midget a disbelieving look.
"I doubt it. It would take a bacta tank to heal my wounds right now." Dack stated, doubt reigning supreme on his young face.
"I also doubt he truly can. Besides, we're looking for a great warrior." Luke said, as he looked at their rations and wondered how they could make them stretch.
"Ahhh, a great warrior! Wars not make one great." The midget said, with a hint of sadness in his ancient voice. Kayla watched as the midget started rummaging through their belongings, hiding his sadness in his antics.
"He's been here by himself for a long time. He's probably glad to hear voices that aren't his own………..even if we were kinda impatient with him." Kayla mused, smiling when Artoo tried to get Luke's lamp back from the midget, resulting in a rather humorous tug-of-war between them.
"C'mon, Luke. Let him have the lamp. You can use mine in the meantime." Biggs said, trying not to laugh at the situation before him. Luke gave Biggs a deadpan look, before turning to Artoo.
"Artoo, let him have it." Luke ordered. Artoo uttered a reluctant sounding beep, then let the midget's arm go.
"Now will you move along, little fella? We've got a lot of work to do." Luke grumbled, as he motioned to the ships that were still stuck in the bog.
"No! No, no! Stay and help you, I will. Find your friend." The midget said, getting a chagrined look from Luke and some snickers from Kayla, Dack, and Biggs.
"We're not looking for a friend. We're looking for a Jedi Master, sir." Kayla said, politely. The midget arched an eyebrow (or eye ridge, if you prefer), then grinned.
"Jedi Master. Yoda. You seek Yoda." The midget said, thoughtfully. Luke stared at him in surprise, as did Dack and Biggs. Kayla, on the other hand, had been expecting this.
"You know Yoda?" Dack asked, curious despite the pain he was in. The midget nodded.
"Mmm. Take you to him, I will." The midget promised, giving Kayla a knowing look before turning and walking a short distance away from them.
"Yes, yes. But now, we must eat. Come. Good food. Come." The midget said, as he led them away from the campsite. Luke glanced questioningly at his friends, who shrugged in response. What did they have to lose by following the midget?
"Can you handle a walk, Dack?" Kayla asked, as she helped the wounded pilot get to his feet.
"I can take anything, so long as you guys are around." Dack said, getting a look of gentle surprise from Kayla.
"Don't get all mushy, kid." Biggs muttered, trying to hide the fact that he'd been touched by the younger man's declaration.
"It's the truth, Biggs…………it's definitely the truth." Dack murmured, in response, as they followed the strange little midget to his swampland home, not expecting what was to become a major turning point in all their lives.