Another day, another chapter...here goes...this one was a tricky one to write and you may see a few scenes creeping up that seem familiar...cause they are! I hope you enjoy...once again...I own only my characters...the rest belong to GL...though had I thought of this back then...I could be the millionaire now...sigh...oh well...enjoy!
Chapter 5
"Come, my son, join us...and together we shall bring peace and order to the galaxy..."
Luke's blue eyes glittered tauntingly as he held out a gloved hand to his son.
Anarion blinked. Where was he? A high chamber rose above him, cold and bare, its marble walls and pristine appearance dark. Windows looked out over a vast city, and a raised dais sat at one end, a chair in the middle, though it was empty.
"Father?" Anarion asked, slightly dazed.
"Yes, my son...come...we shall restore the Republic to what it is supposed to be. Together we can bring the Empire and Republic into harmony...and rule them as one!"
"My son, my sweet handsome son..." another voice came into his mind, and Mara Jade-Skywalker stood behind him, her green eyes pleading. "How I wish I could have raised you..."
"Mother?" Anarion whispered, barely believing his eyes. "Where am I?"
Mara and Luke seemed not to hear him, as they stepped closer. "Where is your twin? Tell us and then we can reunite...one family...never to be separated again..."
"I don't know..."
"Tell us, Anarion..." their voices melded together.
"Anarion...Anarion..."
The cold room began fading away and he felt a rush of pain run through him.
"Anarion...come back...Anarion!"
Anarion sat up straight in his bed, beads of sweat forming on his forehead and face.
"Anarion, are you alright?" Lalaith asked quietly. She was sitting above him, her hand on his shoulders and her reddish hair in lazy curls around her babyish face. "You were having a nightmare...I thought you wouldn't wake up..."
Anarion ran a hand through his short hair, closing his eyes and calling upon the Force to calm his breathing and racing heart. "Jedi don't have nightmares...only visions..."
Lalaith looked at him strangely. "What were you seeing? You sounded frightened..."
He glanced at her. Concern was evident in her features as she pulled a blanket around her shoulders, staying close to him as if she was worried the object of his dreams would suddenly materialize and come after them.
"It was my parents..." he stated simply. "Don't worry...I'm alright."
She nodded quickly, but made no move to go back to her bed. "I could never sleep while traveling...something about being in a strange place..."
Anarion smiled tiredly. "Every trip I ever took, I was always out ten minutes into the flight...Master Siel-own could never understand it...space travel just makes me sleepy, I guess."
"I wish I had your gift...it would make a lot more of these trips easier..." she sighed, crossing her legs and settling into a comfortable position. "I used to have dreams too...strange...always the same..." she whispered.
His eyes widened a bit, but he hid it behind mild surprise. "Everyone dreams..."
"No, these weren't regular dreams...it was the same one...frightening..." she paused for a moment, as if weighing her words. "The same thing that I saw when I first met you in Senator Organa-Solo's home..." she finished.
He sat stunned. "Did you ever tell anyone?" he asked slowly.
Lalaith shook her head. "No, I thought they would go away...I thought about asking Leia once...being she has Jedi senses and all...but I never did."
Anarion's face grew thoughtful for a moment, and then he took one of her hands. "Let's try something..."
She nodded, seemingly happy about the notion of a game.
"Close your eyes..." Anarion commanded, and she did so, a small grin on her face. "Now, I want you to clear your mind...push away every thought or worry...completely empty..."
She sat for a few moments, her mind a whirlwind. How in the world could she get rid of them all? She started with one, then moved on to another. It took quite awhile and she sensed Anarion's impatience, but merely nodded when she felt her mind was 'clear of all thoughts.'
"Good," his voice was tight, and she stifled a giggle. "Now, I want you to imagine the room...where everything is...the tie that binds it all together..." he paused, whether to let her think about that or for dramatic effect, she didn't know.
"Now, I want you to think about getting the cup on the boxes over there...don't move...just think about it coming to your hand."
Lalaith had to swallow her laughter, but she did as she was told. Imagining the plain cup floating through the air to her awaiting hand. Several moments passed. Nothing.
Anarion sighed. "Well, it was worth a try..."
Lalaith only heard half his sentence, as a darkness settled over her. Waves of icy pain washed through her, making her serene face contort in agony.
"Lalaith?" Anarion asked, worry beginning to cloud his features. "Lalaith, what's wrong?"
A high pitched scream echoed through her mind, filling it with the reverberations of complete torture. A laugh followed, low and sadistic. Never again will you challenge the Emperor or his servants...a cold voice spoke into the darkness. A pitiful whimpering answered the voice. Lalaith tried to reach for them, to find out what it was she was hearing, but the black nothingness only closed in.
"Where are you?" she called, but only the sound of a small cry answered before the darkness overcame her.
"Leia?" Han's worried voice carried through the Courascant home. "Leia?"
"I'm here, Han..." her voice came back, strained, from their sitting room.
He entered, finding her sitting, cross-legged on the settee, concern lining her features.
"The kids are coming back today...they just called in. They have some things to finish at the Jedi Temple before coming here...are you alright?" he asked, sitting down next to her and running a hand over her smooth dark hair.
"I just had a terrible feeling...something about Anarion and Lalaith...I'm afraid for them, Han. I'm beginning to doubt the Council's decision on sending them out alone..." she replied.
Han shushed her, placing a small kiss to her forehead. "Don't worry...they're strong kids...they can handle it...they remind me of how you and Luke were..."
Leia sighed. "Don't remind me..."
"Well, Anarion reminds me of Luke...not the idealistic farm boy Luke, mind you...no, more how he was after he confronted Vader the first time...solemn...thoughtful...he was never the same after that..." Han went on, then noticed Leia's strained features. "Course, he's also a troublemaker...I'd like to take a bit of credit for that..." he grinned lopsidedly, his dark eyes dancing. "But Lalaith, no, she's like you...sweet, beautiful...and stubborn as all hell..." he teased.
Leia looked over at him, an indignant smile on her round face. "Well, I had a lot on my shoulders when we first met...the Rebellion...Luke...this cocky star pilot who wouldn't leave me alone..." she returned.
"Cocky? Now, who's cocky?" Han returned, catching her in a quick kiss.
Laughter interrupted their conversation and both turned to see their children standing in the doorway.
"Never thought we'd come home to this...but I guess while we've been away our parents have become unrulely..." Jaina Solo teased, setting her bag down in the entryway and coming over for a hug from her parents. The twenty eight year old Jedi's face lit like her mothers, her dark brown eyes dancing in joy at being home.
Her brother, Jacen, stood in the hall, smiling softly. "Well, guess our parents have finally grown up..." he added, allowing Leia to hug and kiss him. "Hey, I heard our cousin was hanging around...do we get to see him? I saw Siel-own in the Temple."
Leia and Han's smiles faded, and Jaina immediately turned to them.
"Anarion isn't here...he was sent with a Senator to Dantooine...the Council gave this mission to him as his trial..." Leia returned.
"What?" Jacen demanded, looking as if he were going to storm back to the Temple immediately. "Why in the stars did they send him there? He can't handle that by himself!"
"Mama, he's only a padawan...a young one at that...how could they send him alone...especially when Uncle Luke is looking for him?"
"Your Uncle and Aunt were here..." Han replied, ignoring the glare that Leia sent his way. "And they know who Anarion is now..."
Jacen and Jaina exchanged glances. "We're going after him..." Jania spoke quickly, gathering her bag once more, a dangerous glint in her eyes.
"No, dear...the Council has given him this task...you cannot interfere..." Leia rationalized.
"Mother, do you not see? They have sent one of the most powerful padawans into a Imperial controlled planet and they expect to see him alive again?"
"Oh, they'll see him alive...just with a new Master and identity..." Jacen returned.
"Have faith...your cousin can overcome things..."
"No, mother...Anarion is young...and very...upset..." Jaina spoke quietly. "We talked with him a little while ago...he was really angry..."
"Well, that blows it...whats going to happen to Lalaith if he meets up with Luke?" Han asked, and Jacen's eyes widened all the more.
"They sent him with Senator Risal?" he gaped.
Jaina slung her bag over her shoulder and held out Jacen's to him. "Come on...I'm not losing my cousin or friend over this..."
Jacen nodded, his features dark as he regarded his parents. "I can't believe you let them do this..."
"Where are you going?" Leia pleaded, her mind returning to her son Anakin's departure...and how he had never come home.
"After our cousin...with or without the approval of the Council..." Jaina said heatedly, before they departed, the door slamming behind them.
Leia dropped to the floor, tears springing to her brown eyes. "I am losing my family!" she cried.
Han dropped beside her, pulling her into his arms and rocking her gently.
"I can't take it, Han...I can't bear to lose another child..."
"It will be alright, Leia..." he soothed, though he found a hard time believing his words as well.
Luke Skywalker drew the black hood over his head, covering his face in shadow. His crystalline blue eyes scanned the horizon of Dantooine, his mind fixed on the ebb of the Force around the small planet. The Empire had held presence here since the Republic had come into power...and they were not giving it up without a fight. He had let Mara talk with the Viceroy of the planet, telling him about the people who were coming and what they wanted.
The trap would close easily...rapidly...their son would have no chance of escape or refusal. The thought made him smile. He, like Mara, longed to have their family together. He wished that his sister would see his way of things, but without her guidance, her children remained with the Jedi as well.
Something easily remedied...he thought, the smile growing on his chiseled features. Soon the Skywalker family will be reunited...
He inhaled deeply, flexing his power and turned from the setting sun back to the lights of the space port. By this time tomorrow, his son would be with him...and everything that he dreamed would be reality.
Lalaith...Anarion spoke urgently through his mind, directing his thoughts towards the unconscious Senator beside him.
His test had gone horribly wrong. When he had thought she had no Jedi reflexes at all, he had been so far off. Instead of being a simple exercise, she had experienced a vision, and a frightening one at that, by the emotion that had rippled through her.
He sat beside her, his hand on her cool forehead, speaking softly, directing the Force through him into a healing technique to her. She was breathing deeply...as if in sleep, but her eyelids continued fluttering madly.
His eyes opened, and blue green orbs focused on the ships cabin around them. A sudden sense of danger washed over him. This mission would be more then they bargained for. Something stirred in the Force as they grew closer to the Imperial world. He was already on edge from her vision and the thought of being alone, but this new wave of uncertainty only added to his unease.
He was pulled from his thoughts as Lalaith groaned and sat up, rubbing her temples.
"Are you alright?" he asked cautiously.
She nodded, her gaze meeting his. "What happened?"
Anarion offered her a small smile. "I was trying to see if you were Force sensitive...and we got a bit more then we thought...just relax...you'll feel better in a moment..."
Lalaith studied him, confusion in her eyes. "We're connected in some way..." she said suddenly.
He regarded her carefully. "Everyone is connected...the Force binds all living things together. You only feel that now because you've opened your mind to it. In time, you could even learn to master it...though you're a bit old to be taken as a padawan..."
"No...that's not what I meant...we're...you and I...are connected somehow..." Her eyes closed tightly and she shook her head. "I don't know what I'm talking about..." A small sigh escaped her lips. "I've been having the most awful thoughts, Anarion...frightening..."
He scooted closer, his gaze intent. "What about?"
"That I may know who my true parents are...but I'm hoping that I'm wrong..."
Anarion half smiled. "Come on, any parents have to be better then mine...I mean, at least your not an heir to the Skywalker legacy..." he jested.
Her silence made his smile fade as he looked up at her. "Lalaith, what is it?"
She shook her head again. "No, its just my imagination running away with me...how far are we from Dantooine?" she asked, changing subjects rapidly.
Anarion eyed her curiously, but let the topic slid. "About an hour, I'd say...best we changed into something a bit more...appropriate, my lady." He returned, standing and searching through his bag for an alternative to his Jedi robes. "I don't think my kind will be looked upon too kindly..." he added, a small smile on his features as he left her in solitude.
Lalaith nodded and pulled out a simple dress, its dark blue and purple cloth shimmering like the night sky. It was plainer then her Senatorial clothing, but still denoted a sense of nobility. She quickly changed, braiding her long hair and coiling it about her head in two buns.
Anarion returned a moment later, his robes traded for simple breeches and shirt. He pulled his belt around his waist, attaching his lightsaber, then concealed it with a poncho like cape.
The landing call sounded, and he looked at her expectantly. "Well...here goes nothing..." He gathered their bags and they walked silently down the ramp towards the landing platform.
The business of the capitol port on Dantooine swept around them, seemingly unaware that two young people of the Republic had just landed on their planet.
Lalaith took a deep breath, uneasiness showing in her stance.
"It'll be alright..." Anarion whispered.
"I just...I've never been afraid before..." she returned, pulling the hood of her dress over her fiery hair.
Anarion looked over at her, trying to offer strength through a weak smile and continued forward, sensing her beside him, her stance and gait regal. They said little as they headed for the nearest place of rest, but both knew that this mission was precarious; and both remained on guard.
"I have a meeting with the Viceroy tomorrow morning...until then, our purpose and place of residence has been kept secret," she spoke softly as they entered a dingy room.
The walls were dirty and stained heavily, as were the carpets. Two windows looked out over an alleyway, and after an initial attempt to let in fresh air, they quickly abandoned the idea for the foul stench that permeated the room. Curtains hung in tatters about the windows and the beds were made with questionable linens.
"Well, its not home..." Lalaith began light heartedly, giving Anarion a small grin. She quickly set to work, and Anarion marveled at how in a few minutes she made the place look light years better. She stripped the beds and laid out plain, but clean blankets and began hanging their things in a small closet. When she was finished, she sat on the edge of the bed and sighed.
"Perhaps we should tour the city...get our bearings?" she suggested.
Though Anarion doubted the city to be a great tourist place, he agreed and followed her out into the busy streets. They passed by many more run down shops and houses, before entering the central area. Here life seemed to race by, as people and speeders alike traveled the walk ways and roads. Buildings built of crystal and steel rose about them on all sides, but Lalaith continued towards the only reprieve in the world of harsh industry. A small park rested between the buildings, the only haven of beauty in a choke filled city. She settled onto the grass, running her hands over it with a look of sheer bliss in her features.
"I can almost see home...the blue lakes and streams...the wide open meadows of flowers and grass...every color you could imagine..." she said softly.
Anarion sat beside her. "I've never been to Cecilian...but I've seen pictures...it seems like a wonderful place..."
She opened her eyes, focusing on the young man. "It is..."
Anarion smiled, picking a flower and twirling it between his fingers. "So what made you get into politics?" he asked.
A smile graced her features. "Your Aunt Leia...she used to always visit my family when I was little...I used to idolize her...thinking she was the most wonderful person in the whole galaxy. She worked so tirelessly to fix the wrongs of the Empire...and was so kind. I wanted to be like that. I wanted to help bring peace and harmony into the Republic...so I went into social service..." she looked over at him. "What made you want to be a Jedi?"
"My father..." he replied simply. "When I was little...I grew up with my Aunt and Uncle...and my cousins, Jacen, Jaina, and Anakin were all training...and Aunt Leia used to tell me stories of how my father brought Anakin Skywalker back to the good side and fought with the Rebel Alliance...she filled me with tales of him as a great Jedi...so when the time came, I went to the Academy..." He trailed off, pain filling his eyes. "I guess things aren't always what you imagine them to be..."
Lalaith laid a hand over his. "Life is full of struggles...its our loved ones that help us get through them. They're who we look to for stability. Your Aunt and Uncle are wonderful people...it has been an honor knowing them..." She smiled softly. "And I'm sure that one day you will be just a great a Jedi as your father..."
Anarion nodded slowly, his thoughts lapsing them into silence.
The afternoon faded quickly into twilight, and they began back towards their room, each caught up in their own thoughts and reminisces.
"Master, you need to call Anarion and Senator Risal back..." Jacen Solo stood before the Jedi Council with his sister, his dark eyes smoldering.
"And why is that?" Tel'amir asked.
"Because they are in danger...terrible danger..." Jaina continued.
"Question the Council's authority on this matter, do you?" the Jedi Master pushed.
Jacen's gaze fixed on Tel'amir. "Yes."
Jaina looked over at her twin. "If you do not call him home, we will go out after him."
"Impossible...he has been given his trial...no one, not even you can help him..." Cira returned.
"You have sent him to his doom! Don't you see? Uncle Luke will be looking for him..."
"You must trust the judgement of this Council...and follow its mandates..." Kyp Durron stated, his clear features understanding, but firm.
"Then it is settled..." Jacen spoke quietly, and the Council breathed a sigh of relief.
"We're going after them...without your permission or blessing if that be the case..." Jaina finished, and her brother nodded.
Kyp looked up at them quickly, his expression concerned. "You cannot...it is the will of the Force..."
"It is not our will to see our cousin turn to the Darkside and lose a good friend...Masters..." Jacen returned, he bowed and the two exited the chamber.
"Matters are worse...now, the rift between the Skywalkers is deeper..." Tel'amir stated sadly.
Kyp hung his head, disappointment washing through him. "Reckless...this was our last hope..."
So another one...please review! I'm probably not going to be able to update for a bit...though I will try my hardest...I'm hoping to get this story a little darker...so I need to plot...that and I have school...so for now, enjoy!
