Parts of this chapter were written long before Episode I & II came out. I changed only a few things,(added the names of Shmi, Padme' and Qui-Gon) and added a few scenes to tie the story to parts of the two new movies. Please enjoy.
Chapter Three
The Dark Lord's duplicity
Cloud City was beautiful in its splendor within the clouds. It sat silently in the sky, seemingly abandoned as a lone figure walked through its empty streets and corridors, followed closely by a small droid. As the young rebel walked through the city in search of something elusive, the small droid slowly faded away while the clouds began to take over the city and engulfed it. The young man looked round without fear as the clouds fast approached him. Calmly he walked through a door and was inside the heart of the city, where the clouds could not reach him. And still there was no one to be found, only silence.
He stood listening, until the stillness was suddenly broken by the faint sounds of a battle nearby. He turned in the direction of the noise and followed it through the halls to another door. As he stepped through it his outfit changed. The tan fatigues that he was wearing melted into the clothing of the Jedi. He saw two figures dueling. Their lightsabers clashing inside the carbon freezing chamber, blood red against sky blue locked in a deadly struggle for survival. The Dark Lord's breathing could be heard like a metronome calmly pacing the battle. Vader's saber never failed to hit it's mark as he pushed young Skywalker's inexperienced blade back towards the edge of the freezing pit.
"Your future lies with me, Skywalker. Obi-Wan knew this to be true," the Dark Lord said as he advanced on the boy once more to push him back toward a gapping hole in the floor behind.
"No!" Skywalker's determined voice echoed throughout the room as his body disappeared into the freezing-pit.
"All too easy," Vader stated, with a casually methodic smile. He turned off his saber and started the freezing process with a wave of his mighty black gloved hand.
"I won't be caught that easily, father, nor will I be converted as you were," the young Jedi stated after witnessing himself disappear into the pit.
The Dark Lord's smile faded under his mask when he turned to face in the direction of Skywalker's confident youthful voice. He saw the boy standing in the doorway dressed in the familiar uniform of the Jedi, only his was jet black. The son of Skywalker looked stronger as the outside light radiated brilliantly behind him. Vader looked back to the carbon freezing pit and was shocked to discover himself standing on the edge of a huge open volcano. The smell of sulfur attacked his nose as he felt the fear inside him raising with the hot molten lava.
"No! " Vader staggered back from the edge of the great precipice and turned with a growl. "I won't let you throw me into that pit again Obi-Wan. You failed old man!"
The Dark Lord's lightsaber sprang to life in his tightened angry grip. "You stole my bride from me!" He turned and advanced with a lunge at the boy. "And my son! "
The Jedi reacted instantly to defend himself with a new green lightsaber. Their blades connected with an angry and violent hiss, which reflected the Dark Lords mood. "They were my salvation! " he growled bitterly. "Where did you take them? Tell me now or I'll kill you where you stand."
"I'm not Obi-Wan," Skywalker answered calmly while he held the Sith Lord's lightsaber at bay with his green blade held in his own black gloved hand.
"No, you're not. . .You're Anakin Skywalker's child. . .My son. . .Luke." Vader eased the pressure on his saber when he realized that he was staring into the caring eyes of his offspring. Those clear blue eyes, he knew them well, they were the same as Anakin Skywalker's. And they looked back at him with such affection, no words could explain. At once Vader knew what his bride had seen every time that he had looked at her. Anger and hatred rose up inside the Dark Lord when he saw himself as he once looked in his youth in the boy standing before him. He took his bitter hatred of Obi-Wan out on Luke as he thrust the boy back and then lunged at him with his laser sword at a fiery pace.
Vader felt the power of the dark side helping him to maneuver faster and stronger then he ever had before and this time he did not pull any of his blows as he had in the carbon freezing chamber. They battled furiously, with the Dark Lord crashing down on Luke with all the might of the Dark Force. The boy should have fallen under his endless barrage. And yet his son countered and parried every move he made, effortlessly, calmly, without breaking a sweat and with just one hand. This only made Vader's anger boil as he maneuvered Luke back to the edge of the volcano and spat out a question that was burning deep inside him. "Did HE name you "Luke" before HE stole you from me too?"
Luke sprang into the air, gracefully somersaulting over the Dark Lord's head and landed without sound two sword lengths behind him. "Does it matter who named me, father?"
"Yes," Vader hissed when he realized he was once again standing close to the edge of the volcano looking into it's molten center. Luke had out maneuvered him. He turned facing the youth when the young rebel spoke again.
"Why? It doesn't change who I am. Flesh of your flesh and blood of your blood."
Luke switched off his lightsaber and threw it over Vader's head into the lava filled pit below. "Obi-Wan is no more responsible for the choices you made in your life, than he is for my life and it's direction. For in the end YOU made the decision to turn to the Dark side." Luke's deep blue affectionate gaze pierced Vader's black armor, touching his very soul. The Sith Lord felt the darkness being chipped away by the boy's love. Luke spoke again with clear strong conviction in his voice, "We will fight no more." He extended his gloved hand out towards the Sith Lord, "Come with me father, there's nothing for you here anymore. Take my hand and let me lead you out of this empty darkness. It's what mother would want."
Remarkable child, the Dark Lord thought to himself as he admired the youth's abilities. Luke was stronger than him and wiser in the light side of the Force than he ever was. While he gazed at his son he knew that he was not a boy at all, but a young man in his prime, who would never give in to the Dark side--ever. He had the strength of will to face his own destruction, rather than succumb to the darkness within himself. Gone was Vader's hatred. He felt his anger slowly melting away as well, replaced with pride and the growing affection of a parent.
I wonder if your feelings on this matter are clear Lord Vader.
Palpatine's words echoed all around father and son. Vader's pulse ran cold at the sound of his Dark Master's voice. He took a step towards Luke, who continued to gaze at him with total affection, paying no mind to the old Emperor. Vader raised his red lightsaber over his head to strike a killing blow and then froze as two female figures suddenly appeared on either side of Luke, flanking him.
Kill him! Kill him now before he destroys us both!
Not even Palpatine's chilling command could make the Dark Lord move against the trio as they stood before him, at that moment.
"Anakin, come back to us, son," Shmi's gentle voice beckoned him and touched a part of his soul he thought had died long ago on Tatooine with her.
The black helmet hid the look of surprise on his pale face as he looked at the first person he had ever loved and lost. "Mother! No you're dead, it's an old Jedi trick." Vader moved in closer towards Luke as Shmi continued, stepping in front of her grandson to meet her child.
"No, son I'm not dead as long as you remember me. Oh my little Annie how you've grown." She moved, wrapping her arms around him. He swallowed when a hard lump began to form in his throat. He felt the walls blocking the memories of his gentle loving mother crumble within her embrace. "I never left you son, I've always been here buried deep inside you." She touched his heart with her tanned, weathered hand and then disappeared as she slipped into his body.
"Look at your son Anakin and remember the man you once were--strong, caring, and most of all good," Shmi's words trailed off as Vader slowly lowered his saber.
Kill him! The Emperor ordered sternly.
"I must obey my master," the Dark Lord said automatically. Again the saber went over his head to strike.
"No! Anakin please!" The young Queen put herself between them. Vader froze once again. She looked at Luke and they smiled warmly at each other when she touched his cheek. She then turned her warm brown, tear filled, eyes to her husband, "He is our son. A living legacy of our love; you can't destroy him. If your anger needs a victim, then I offer myself in his place, for I'm the one who took him from you. But hear this first, I love you Anakin Skywalker, I always have." Her voice faltered for a moment as tears streaked down her beautiful face. The Dark Lord lowered his red blade. "No matter what Palpatine has been whispering in your ear about Obi-Wan and I, you know it's not true. You've always known in your heart that I could love no other." She stepped forward and touched his mask. Vader closed his eyes as he felt her hands on his face pulling him down to kiss the dark helmet. He felt her soft lips pressing against his as she too stepped into his body and opened up the place where he held her memories. "Anakin, look at our son standing so tall, strong and pure--like our love in the beginning--untainted by outside influences."
The Dark Lord gazed once more upon Luke Skywalker and this time switched off his saber.
KILL HIM, I SAY. . . NOW!
The Emperor's words reverberated everywhere as the heat of the volcano sprang to life with Palpatine's fury. Hot lava rose higher, slowly spilling out over the edge towards Vader.
The saber hissed violently back to life as if in angry protest against it's owner. Vader moved away from the hot magma and watched in disbelief when it took on the appearance of his Dark Master as it approached him. Great fear rose inside Vader when he thought that he could smell his flesh burning once more within his mask as he felt the heat from the figure raising hotter.
"KILL HIM, KILL HIM, KILL HIM!" Palpatine hissed while the lava figure boiled with his anger, distorting it's already grotesque features while he moved closer to the Dark Lord. Without thinking Vader automatically lunged at Luke.
The young rebel moved back gracefully, then slipped and fell on loose rocks under his feet when he realized he hadn't moved fast enough. He glanced at the opened wound on his side. It wasn't a killing blow, but it bled like one. Luke held his side and slowly stood back up. He glanced at the Dark Lord with love in his eyes. "Kill me if you must father. But know this before I die. . . . I've loved you all my life and I forgive you now, for what you feel you must do."
"FINISH HIM, VADER!"
"No! " The Dark Lord's ominous voice cracked, he choked back emotion and turned on the lava figure behind him. "He's my son, my flesh and blood. I can't! "
"You've lost your anger my old friend, it's what makes you strong. Look at young Skywalker." Palpatine's voice seethed with mockery as the crooked figure melted back into the lava. "Your son." Vader glanced back at Luke while the Emperor's voice echoed all around. Palpatine was everywhere and nowhere all at once. He is a living reminder of everything that you never were or ever will be. He's better than you. He's going to die, and he knows it. Look at the lack of fear in his eyes. I see now that you are too weak to kill him. The Emperor's crooked form finally reappeared behind Luke. A look of possessed evil reflected in his fiery yellow eyes and a maniacal grin on his pale face. He will take his place at my side or he will die!
The Emperor then lunged at the Dark Lord's son with all the power of the Dark Force.
"Drop Luke!" Vader heard himself warn as he threw his red lightsaber directly at his son. The young rebel dropped to the ground once again and looked over his shoulder at the old Emperor. The old man wailed in pain when his servant's saber struck him solidly in the chest and then slowly cut him in two as it slid down his withered body until he vanished completely, dropping the lifeless saber hilt to the ground.
Vader sank to the ground relieved that his son was saved and yet terrified that the Emperor might again rise to take revenge. The silence that lingered for a moment was broken by the hoarse sobs of a man in great turmoil. He looked at his son as Luke reached down to help him back to his feet. Vader glanced at his hand when his child returned his weapon to him. They stood looking at each other, father and son. Luke smiled warmly at Vader and then stepped inside him filling the rest of his heart with the warmth of his affection.
The Dark Lord woke, covered in sweat. He swallowed hard as he heard his son's warning in a soft whisper inside his head, Bury your feelings deep down, father, or they could be used against you. . .
Vader sat upright and looked around his small sleeping chamber which was similar to his meditation chamber. It was black on the outside and stark white inside. It had a slightly reclined bed, that looked more like an oversized armchair. Ever since his lungs where damaged by volcanic vapors the Dark Lord could not sleep in any other position or in any environment that wasn't free of toxins without his helmet.
Vader looked at the control panel on the wall and with a mere thought activated it. He waited patiently as his black helmet was lowered slowly over his head. A high pitched hissing could be heard as a purity seal was made when the helmet was secured into place. When the chamber opened the Dark Lord stepped out into his own personal suite.
His heart raced as he felt the faint presence of young Skywalker within the room. Vader turned sharply to the side, half expecting to see his son standing behind him, high up in the old Jedi temple on Coruscant in the Imperial capital. Clearly Vader was shaken by his dream and its possible meaning.
He had only been back for a short while and had not yet met with his Master on his new assignment. He could not face the Emperor with these thoughts running through his mind or Palpatine would know.
The Dark Lord had of course dreamed of killing his old master many times to gain his power and control of the universe. That was the way of the Sith. The Dark Master took on his apprentice with the full knowledge that one day that apprentice would challenge him and, if successful, take his place as Master and start the cycle all over again. This was the first time, however, that there was no political agenda behind the old man's death, only the strong desire to protect his son from the darkness within Palpatine's empty soul.
Vader closed his eyes and cleared his mind of the visions within his dream. He remained that way for a while, not moving. Slowly another place entered the Dark Lords mind and he was transported back to another time. . .
She had found him standing like this on his balcony, on her home world, trying to meditate. She had been quiet in her approach, still he felt her there. Even with his eyes closed he could see the way she looked at him with true concern for his well being. He remembered how her presence eased his worried mind and calmed his troubled heart as he struggled with a difficult decision. His mother needed him. . . but she needed him too as much as he needed her. He reached back with his hand and she took it. The warmth of her touch filled him with such joy. Still it was not enough to block out the sounds of his mother's agony. If only he had acted sooner than she wouldn't be dead. If only he had followed his own instincts and not anothers then perhaps they would both still be alive. She turned to leave.
"Don't go, your presence is soothing," he heard himself whispering his calm request to her in a different voice. A softer, more youthful voice that was made hollow by the mask he wear.
Vader opened his eyes and found his hand reaching out for her and she was not there. He felt the moisture filling his eyes and briskly shook his head with a growl of frustration.
The memory of her brought his anger over her lose back to the surface and helped wash away the warm feelings that had stolen into his heart.
She was dead. They were both dead. He was alone, with nothing more to keep him company but his own angry thoughts. Well. . . Perhaps not that alone.
He walked across the large room to a hidden switch on the wall behind a huge marble planter in the corner. One touch and out popped a hidden panel on the wall, revealing three small training seekers. He had changed them into holo emitters years ago. Two of the silver spheres were dusty, and without thinking Vader tried to blow the dust off them with his breath then realized that no matter how much he blew, his breath would not make it past the grill of his dark mask.
Angrily he picked them up and dusted them off with his gloved hand. One of them was dented, with scrape marks on it's dull surface. When he threw them over his shoulder, they activated immediately, hovering high above the floor. Slowly the Dark Lord took out the last seeker, a newer looking one and carried it with him to a small table where he placed it down gently. He looked at the lifeless seeker and listened to the sound of his own breath as the mask's complex breathing apparatus took air from around him, purifying it before feeding it into his damaged lungs.
"Activate, alpha Annie. Activate, delta Anakin. He closed his eyes and listened to the sound of two holographic images as they greeted him, their feminine voices overlapping each other.
"Hello...Annie...Hello...Anakin...My son...My husband."
"Hello mother..." Vader turned and looked at the old holographic image of his mother. He had programed the sphere with all his knowledge of her and had bonded some of her essence to it with the Force long before he succumbed to the darkness within his soul.
"Anakin my lov..."
"Deactivate voice processor delta Anakin." Vader cut off the vocal transmitter on his deceased wife's hologram and scrutinized her image as it continued to speak without sound.
"Why did you bring her out if you didn't want to hear her, son?" Shmi's holographic image asked.
"I will look on her for the moment, but I don't need to hear her lies again."
"It has been a long time since I've seen this room." The hologram looked around the elegant suite then back at Vader. "Are we back on Coruscant?" The dark Lord inclined his helmeted head and glanced at his mother's image.
"I've always liked it here. It's a shame I couldn't have seen it when my soul was living." The hologram was so lifelike in its movements and it's vocal tones, that it was hard at times for Vader to think of it as a projected image. He had done such a thorough job of bonding some of his mother's essence to the small training seeker shortly after her death when he was still apprenticing under Obi-Wan. It made her physical loss easier for him to handle and made Obi-Wan nervous when he'd witness what his young apprentice had done.
As he walked to a huge window to look out over Coruscant, Vader remembered standing in the center of the Jedi council chamber while twelve sets of eyes scrutinized his very being. They were always willing to tell him that his actions would lead him down a dark path. He remembered the betrayal and the anger he felt towards his former master when the twelve council members decided that he should deactivate and dismantle his mother's seeker after they had viewed the hologram for themselves.
Only Shmi and Qui-Gon had faith in his abilities to overcome any dark future that he might face as an adult. And so he hid his mother's seeker away from everyone and presented a dismantled false seeker as proof of it's deactivation. He willingly deceived them and they never suspected it.
The great Jedi council, so complacent in it's position within the universe that they couldn't even see their fatal mistake. They might have been able to quell their own destruction looming on the horizon, if they had shown Anakin just a little compassion for the loss of his mother. Instead they had apathetically dealt with him and inadvertently started him down his dark path as they sent Jedi out one by one and sometimes two by two to their deaths in search of their Dark rivals.
"What's on your mind, son? What's wrong?"
"What makes you think there is anything wrong?" Vader gazed down on the huge city as it started coming to life in the early dawn hours.
"You brought Padme out and you didn't vent your anger on her. Have you forgiven her?" Shmi's seeker moved slowly making her image appear to be walking around the old Jedi counsel chambers freely as though she were real. She stopped next to her son's side and looked out over the vast city below, then turned her weathered eyes to the horizon as the sun began to rise. "The sunrise is beautiful, but it's nothing like Tatooine's dual sunsets."
"You were always fond of that rock of a planet," Vader stated dispassionately, then paused a moment, thinking.
"I do have something to tell you, mother. I should have told you when I first learned of it." The Dark Lord walked back to the table and picked up the last training seeker, he looked back at Shmi's hologram as it approached him.
"What is it, another hologram of Padme or is this one going to be Obi-Wan again. If it's your former master I don't wish to witness you destroy it."
"It's not Kenobi."
He tossed the seeker into the air above. It hovered overhead, waiting for it's instructions. "Activate Gamma Skywalker."
Luke Skywalker suddenly appeared, holding a blaster in his hand in holographic form in front of the Dark Lord. It moved silently as though it was looking for something, then flickered as it changed to start it's sequence again. The blaster was back in it's holster and a small blue and white astro droid appeared behind him.
"Skip to frame 27 and freeze Gamma Skywalker," Vader ordered, then looked at Shmi's image to see her reaction.
The hologram drew in a breath as though she were real when she looked at Luke's holographic face. She reached out trying to touch the image. "Anakin, my son."
Vader frowned under his black mask. "Anakin Skywalker is dead, mother. That is my son," he pointed vehemently at Padme's hologram, "and her final betrayal--His name is Luke Skywalker."
"If my son is truly dead then this young man could not possibly be your son, so you have no reason for your anger," Shmi stated calmly.
"He is my son!"
"Yet his name is Skywalker. So how can he be yours, my Lord?" The hologram questioned as she turned to look at her living child. "For you to be this young man's father, you would first have to admit that you are Anakin Skywalker, still among the living."
"It's true that Anakin Skywalker lived inside me once mother, but no more. He died when she left him for a better life among the royal family of Alderaan the moment she thought I was dead. She must have thrown my son away the instant he was born when she realized that he resembled me and not her new husband. Obi-Wan robbed me of her and in turn she robbed me of my son."
"Listen to yourself Anakin, you've already admitted who you really are. You call me mother. And I was once, when I was living. But the child that I carried and gave birth to is not the black armor I see before me, but the man behind the mask--the mask of anger and hatred you hide behind. You are my son, Anakin Skywalker and nothing that you do or say will ever change that. You were born a slave and though you didn't see my tears, I cried the day I let you go with Qui-Gon. You helped save an entire planet from slavery and became what you always dreamed of being--a great Jedi Knight. You're not dead son. You've only lost your way." The hologram walked over to Padme's image, looking at it as she continued.
"Yes, she married another, but only after she thought that you were dead. As for why she gave up her child, the only thing I can think is that it was to protect him from your Dark Master, Palpatine." Shmi glanced back at Vader. "A mother's love is hard to explain. If she thought that her child's life was in danger she would have sent him to the mines of Kessel if it was the only way to save him, even if it meant that she might never see him again. As long as Luke was alive and safe nothing else mattered. . . Not even you, son."
"If you need someone to place your anger on, then let it be the one who is truly responsible for everything that has gone wrong since you chose to follow him."
"My Master did not make her run into the arms of another man. That she choose to do on her own. He was right all along about her."
"Palpatine lied to you and you know it. You could have gone back to her and learned the truth, but you didn't. You chose instead to believe and follow the Emperor down his path of deception and devastation. What else could she think, son, but that you were dead as I'm sure Obi-Wan had told her. How can you hold on to such anger for something that you have no control over now?"
Vader gave no answer.
Shmi sighed and looked at Luke's hologram as she quietly walked over to it. "And does your Master know of your son?" She glanced at Vader and saw him give a slow nod. Shmi gazed back at the hologram for a long moment. "What are the Emperor's intentions with my grandson?"
Again the Dark Lord said nothing. He was shocked that Shmi's hologram would lay claim to Luke so quickly.
"Your son is a handsome young man. He must be very strong in the Force for Palpatine to want him dead."
"What makes you think the Emperor wants him dead?" Vader asked.
"It's obvious, son. How could the Emperor look on any child of yours and not see a threat to his existence? That threat would have to be vanquished before it had a chance to raise up and destroy him. Am I wrong?"
The Sith Lord slowly walked towards his son's hologram as he explained, "My Master wants him to join us."
"Do you really think that your Master is going to give Luke a chance to decline his proposal? What does your heart tell you about that, son?"
Vader didn't have to listen to what his heart had to say, he knew what his Dark Master wanted with Luke. He knew that Palpatine had suspected that he had let the opportunity to kill the Jedi escape him on Could City. He walked past his mother's hologram back to the window and looked out it again.
"Make no mistake, Anakin, the Emperor will have his way. And if he thinks for a moment that you are incapable of carrying out his will he'll find someone who can. Either way your son is as good as dead," Shmi declared. Her holographic image turned in the direction of the door to the suite, when a gentle tone announced someone was waiting outside to enter the room. She looked back at the Dark Lord who turned and looked from the door to her.
"Good bye son. I hope it won't be too long before I see you again." Shmi's image faded away slowly and her seeker returned to it's spot in the hidden wall panel.
"Good bye mother," the Dark Lord sighed in an undertone. He mentally turned off the remaining two seekers and sent them back to their spots. The hidden panel closed as Vader looked at the door.
"Enter."
The Door slid open with a gentle hiss and Melea Tempest walked through it into the room. She had a similar look to the Dark Lord's dead wife, with waist long light brown hair that was partially held up in a braided bun on the top of her head. She was not tall in stature, but what she lacked in height she made up for in beauty. Gaining the favor of men was never a problem for her. Powerful men lavished her with gifts and money to win her affections.
She was highly intelligent as well and used it to her benefit, graciously accepting the gifts offered her without giving anything of herself away in return. She knew no man and swore that no man would ever know her. For the one she wanted was unattainable; and therefore, she would remain so as well.
Melea was the Emperor's clever pawn set in place as a personal aide to the Dark Lord, in the hopes that her resemblance to his long dead wife would earn his trust, so that he might confide in her. She would at the end of every meeting with Lord Vader report any possible intrigues against the Emperor. However Palpatine, though brilliant in all things tactical and manipulative, never understood the workings of love. He knew how to use the emotion to his advantage but not how to control it in others and therefore he had never suspected that his pawn would cast aside her loyalties to him for his faithful servant.
Years of watching after the fallen Jedi had long since swayed her heart towards him, though she never showed it to him or his Master. She knew she was a painful reminder to Vader of what he had lost, due to his old Jedi Master and friend; Obi-Wan Kenobi. The Emperor had counted on her to fan the flames of the Dark Lord's hatred of all things Jedi related, including his own son. Melea therefore knew that she had no hope of earning what she knew his dead wife had owned, his heart.
Melea walked towards the Dark Lord without fear, then stopped and bowed in front of him. "My Lord."
"What news have you of the Emperor's plans?"
"Your suspicions were correct My Lord. He is sending Mandalorian Hunters after Skywalker as we speak."
Melea stood quietly by as Vader turned and paced around the room in thought. She watched him walk past her and turned, never taking her eyes off him while he contemplated his next move. She was his loyal servant and would wait patiently by all day for his next order, if that's how long it took for him to give it.
Finally after several minutes of silence Vader asked her a question. "You still have contacts among the hierarchy of the Mandalorians?"
"Yes my Lord. And some of them are sympathetic to the Old Republic. I know of a disbanded member of the Red Guard who would follow you without question to regain his position and ranking."
The Dark Lord said nothing, to her added information about their loyalties. "Good. Have them send out the ex-Red Guard to intercept the Hunters and tell him to make haste. Palpatine has made a bad decision if he's thinks I'm going to let anyone deal with young Skywalker."
He paced past Melea once more.
"No one is going to harm my son," Vader vow as an after thought to the Emperor's latest action against Luke. He turned his helmeted head to her with a menacing order, "Make sure this ex-guard understands that I will be the only one to bring Skywalker to the Emperor."
"As you wish my Lord." Melea bowed and exited the room.
Keirdan, Bailen and Freya were just finishing up with their meal in Taver's Tavern, on Zirus Five.
Maybs came over to their table after Keirdan caught her eye.
"Yes, can I get you three something else?" she asked. "We have a fine selection of desserts."
"No thanks I'm full," said Keirdan.
"Yeah I couldn't eat another bite," Bailen replied, with a satisfied stretch.
"I'm surprised you managed to finish what you ordered," teased Freya, "Three helpings of Tralaxian stew? Honestly you're a bottomless pit." She closely examined his thin frame, "Where do you put it all?"
"In my legs," Bailen smiled, stretching out his long legs.
"Well that explains it," Freya sighed with mild amusement, watching him casually cross his legs next to her.
"You'll be wanting your check then?" Maybs inquired with a pleasant smile.
"That and a tour of the backstage area," Keirdan answered.
"I'm sorry but back stage is for performing bands only." Maybs replied. "Unless you happen to be members of the band that's playing here tomorrow night then you can't go back there."
"We're part of Rogue's Gambit," Keirdan told her. "We have a standing offer to do a gig here."
"Oh well, that's different then," Maybs smiled pleasantly again. "Where is your manager, Ehker Recs?"
"He's not here."
Maybs frowned slightly at Keirdan. "I'm afraid that you're going to have to wait for him to show up, before you can go backstage. When were you expecting him to arrive?"
"He's not coming," Freya answered, drawing the tavern woman's attention, when Keirdan fell conspicuously silent.
"Well then I don't know how we're going to work this out. Your manager was the one who set this up, and it's with him that Stilmon made the arrangements for your standing gig." She paused for a moment in thought then, "If you have him call Stilmon with your conformation--"
"He can't call," Keirdan said sadly. His obvious tone gained Maybs' suspicious inspection.
"Has something happen to Ehker?" she inquired. The sudden raise in her worried concern spoke louder than words to Freya.
"He was a friend of yours," the empath guessed.
Maybs nodded.
"He and Stilmon share some history," she confirmed. As she scanned their somber faces she voiced what they could not bring themselves to say. "He's dead isn't he?"
"Yes," Keirdan quietly answered.
Maybs became suddenly misty eyed. She glanced back at her husband tending the bar. "He saved my Stilmon's life once," she said almost to herself.
Before she looked away Stilmon caught her stare and handed his duties off to another bartender and then left the counter.
"When did it happen?" Maybs asked as Stilmon walked up.
Keirdan answered her question but did not give any details on how their captain died.
"What's going on?" Stilmon asked, gaining his wife's attention. He was more than concerned by her sad expression. "What is it?"
"It's Ehker's, Stilmon, he's--" Maybs paused, finding her bad news hard to say. Still she took a breath and explained, "He's dead."
Stilmon did not look shocked at this. On the contrary, he gave a heavy sigh as he examined the trio at the table, "You must be members of Rogue's Gambit." After they nodded he motioned them and Maybs to follow him backstage.
Keirdan and Bailen exchanged a significant look and then turned to Freya, who gave the slightest reassuring nod that they weren't being set up. They all stood and proceeded to follow after the tavern owner and his wife. They were lead through a side door and down a short hall to a closed door, where they came to a stop. There was no visible means of gaining entry to the door, who's sign read supply closet. There were no controls, no sensor pads or voice recognition panels on the wall next to it. There was nothing, but several blaster scorch marks.
It was in one of the burned blaster holes that Stilmon stuck his index finger in, to hit the hidden switch within. He looked at his curious wife when he stepped back from the wall. Maybs expression turned to surprise and she covered her mouth when a portion of the wall, not the door, moved. It soundlessly slid back about two inches and then glided into itself.
Stilmon led them all inside and turned the lights on as the wall closed behind them. The room was spacious and sparsely decorated, with a table and chair set and a double sized bed.
Maybs saw the bed first and turned on her husband in an instant. "I want to know what you've been doing in this room."
"Now Maybs hunny, it's not what you're thinking," said Stilmon defensively as he ushered her away from the closing wall entrance.
"I hope it's not what I'm thinking," she fumed, scanning the hidden room and placing her hands on her hips in irritation.
Stilmon placed a finger to his lips shushing his wife. She folded her arms in an ever greater mood.
"I've been helping in the underground," he told her.
"You're a part of the Alliance?" Maybs asked in total surprise.
"Not exactly, at least not officially," he answered.
"We're inside Krix's storage shed," said Maybs, after scanning the hidden room once more.
"I was going to tell you about this Maybs," Stilmon said when he saw his wife's surprise turn to anger.
"You said that he wasn't interested in selling," she grumbled accusingly, her hands back on her hips in her temper.
"I gave him an offer he couldn't refuse," he explained simply, then raised his hand to stop her before she really got started, "I'll tell you everything later."
Not completely reassured by Freya earlier, Keirdan asked curiously, "How is it that you know who we are?"
"Ehker told me that he'd send you here if something happened to him. I'm supposed to keep you safe until your contact comes for you," Stilmon explained. "I'm sorry I didn't recognize you when you first came in. No offense, but I was hoping that he wouldn't send you, cause that meant that he was gone."
"What assurances can you give us that you're telling us the truth," Keirdan inquired suspiciously.
Stilmon casually gestured to Freya, "Ask your empath if I'm lying." Freya's brow raised impressed and he nodded knowingly at her. "That's right Missy, I know what you are and what you can do."
Before he could draw another breath to utter another word, the brothers reacted, drawing out hidden weapons. Keirdan aimed at Maybs, who jumped back, stifling a shocked scream behind her hands. Bailen pointed his blaster point blank at Stilmon and protectively placed himself in front of Freya, who remained unmoved by the siblings quick defensive reaction.
"You have five seconds to explain," Bailen growled, his normal cheerful eyes turning deadly.
"Stilmon!" Maybs called, her voice shaking.
"It's going to be okay Maybs they wont hurt us," he calmly assured his, now, frightened wife.
Bailen shifted his aim only slightly and then pulled the trigger. Up until that moment, Stilmon had remained as unmoved as Freya. Now, though he didn't show it on the outside, he was very nervous as he felt the heat of the blaster fire rush past his right cheek. His heart dropped into the region of his stomach when Bailen reaimed at him and said quite plainly, "That's one second gone, you sure you want to waste another one Stilmon? "
The tavern owner swallowed the sudden dryness in his mouth away and hurried explained. "Captain Recs told me all about her discovery not long after you found her. That was about five years ago, near the outer rim. You weren't supposed to be there but he said that the living ship she was on was calling you to it's location." Bailen relaxed some while he listened, but still kept his blaster firmly aimed at Stilmon as he continued, "Ehker said something about the ship's call waking up the two who aren't here."
"What's the ship's name?" questioned Keirdan without taking his eyes or his weapon off Maybs.
"Eclipse," Stilmon answered.
"How many bodies did we find on board her?" Bailen inquired next, for only the member's of Rogue's Gambit knew that answer.
"Twelve. Ten dead, one dying," Stilmon gestured with his head towards Freya, "and her, barely alive."
"Who founder her?" Bailen asked next.
Stilmon met his stern penetrating blue eyes and said, "You did."
"How are we doing, Freya?"
"You can relax, Bailen. You know he's telling the truth," she replied.
Bailen did not lower his weapon though, instead he questioned his brother, "Keirdan what do you think?"
"I can give you more proof if you really need it," Stilmon interrupted. He pointed to a drawer and Freya went and opened it. She pulled out a demo disc of Rogue's Gambit's music and showed it to her companions as Stilmon told her. "There's a holo disc player in the corner."
Freya went to the player and started the disc. The bands first song began.
"Well at least we know he's a fan," said Keirdan sarcastically.
"You want the fifteenth track," Stilmon told Freya.
"We only recorded thirteen tracks," Bailen grumbled, his crisp edge back.
"It's there you just have to program it," Stilmon assured.
Freya pressed for the nonexistent fifteenth track and then stepped back when a full sized hologram of their deceased Captain came to life.
He was a Bothan of average height, with a long thin face and a defiant glint in his gray eyes. The hologram flickered as Ehker took off the cap he always wore and ran his hand through his unruly blond hair. He straightened and tugged at the Imperial outfit he was wearing, which just happened to be the one he'd worn on the day of his death, then fully faced the room.
Freya reached over and covered the muzzle end of Bailen's weapon, then pointed at the hologram. "It's a message from Ehker."
Bailen and Keirdan both shifted their focus to Ehker's hologram when it cleared it's throat before it spoke.
"Hello gang." It greeted in a pleasant voice. "Something bad must have happened that resulted in my death or you wouldn't be watching this right now. I hope I died during a battle," a sad look traveled across the hologram's face as it took a brief pause then straightened and offered an apology. "If not, then I'm truly sorry Lana for placing such a heavy burden in your lap. I must also thank you for carrying out my orders. I know my gratitude is a small consolation to what you must be feeling right now, but take some peace in knowing that you did the right thing and paid my family the highest honor. You saved their line from complete destruction; and that, my friend, is worth more than my own loss a hundred times over."
Freya's eyes misted over when she felt the brother's sorrow feed into her own while they watched and listened to the hologram.
"With that said let's get to business," said Ehker, his voice picking up a crisp businesslike tone as he placed the cap back on his head and took a commanding stance. "First of all, you can all lower your weapons, Stilmon and his wife Maybs are friends of mine. I've told Stilmon everything about you and Freya so that you'd know that you can trust him. Second, if you didn't all know it already, Lana is now in command. I know that you'll do a good job. Terell, you and Keirdan will share second command. Bailen, it's up to you to keep them all ground based; and Freya, well, you know what your job is. My death automatically set off a prerecorded message for a pick up at this place. Don't leave the planet without your escort. You are to stay with Stilmon, he will keep you safe until your ride shows up. If you're checked into a hotel already, that's alright, but you can't stay there. Don't check out and don't tell anyone that you're leaving, just go. This place may look safe but it isn't." The holographic Ehker's expression turned grim as he continued. "Freya you'll have to reign in your abilities here, you're just too close to those who might pick up on the disruption. Now listen up all of you, this is my last command and it's up to each individual whether or not you want to follow it, which you probably won't, but here it is anyways. If no one shows up in ten days, destroy the disc and disband. You've all done your bit, go find a quiet place far away from this madness and settle down."
The three friends frowned at the hologram's suggestion to quit the rebellion. They exchanged severe looks, which plainly showed that they all agreed that his death was not going to be in vain, they would finish what they had started no matter what.
Ehker's holographic image took pause as though in momentary thought as to his final farewell then said, "It was an honor working with you. You were all my friends, my extended family, if you will. It was my greatest pleasure in knowing that I was a part of such a group of people as you. Keep each other safe and may honor always keep you and peace find you well. And may the Force be with you all."
The hologram ended and faded away.
The room fell silent as Keirdan, Bailen and Freya each considered what the hologram had said. It was Maybs who broke the silence with a question to Keirdan.
"Could you please not point that at me?"
He blinked and then looked back at her. "What? Oh, sorry about that," he apologized while returning his blaster to the hidden holster in his vest. "But you can't be too careful in our business."
"You guys are just a little jumpy," Stilmon observed. He was greatly relieved that Bailen had also returned his weapon to its hidden holster, in his jacket.
"You would be too if your every step was being hounded by the Empire," said Freya.
"They know what you've got?" Stilmon asked on a more serious note. "Who slipped up?"
"It wasn't one of us," said Keirdan.
"Someone on the inside gave you away then?" Stilmon guessed.
"That's what I'm thinking," was Keirdan's candid reply.
"Any ideas as to who it is?" asked Stilmon next.
"No," said Keirdan, meeting Freya's eye and giving the slightest shake of his head. She knew he wasn't being honest and it was clear to her that he wasn't going to voice his opinion on the matter until he was sure of his suspicions.
"Terell and Lana should see this," Bailen said, taking the disc from the player. He turned to Stilmon, "Is it alright if I take this?"
"Sure go ahead," he nodded, "Ehker wanted you to have it."
He then looked inquisitively at Freya, who turned to him when she felt his curiosity rise. He looked as though he was steeling himself to ask her a question. If Ehker had really told him all about her, then she was sure what he was longing to ask.
"Is there something on your mind?" she asked him.
Taking his cue from her, Stilmon asked his question.
"Is it true," he began quietly, "that you can move things with your mind?"
Freya casually extended her hand towards Bailen and Stilmon's eyes widened in awed amazement when the disc levitated out of the Corellian's grip. Maybs jumped behind her husband and grabbed his arm in fear as the disc sailed easily into Freya's waiting hand.
"Yes," she answered, pocketing the disc.
"Ehker was right--I didn't believe--Well your kind are dead." Stilmon stammered in a whisper, his eyes filled with happy moisture. "I thought that I'd never live to see that again."
Freya smiled faintly, apparently he was under the assumption that she was a Jedi. Neither she nor her two companions could bring themselves to dash the hope that sprang up in his eyes as he stared at her.
Stilmon sniffed and then clapped his hands together with a hearty laugh. "No wonder he wanted to keep you a secret."
"Stilmon what have you gotten us involved in?" Maybs asked him in a fearful whisper. "Bringing a Jedi witch into our home. She'll have every Hunter coming down on our heads if she stays here."
"Relax Maybs, she's not a Jedi," Keirdan assured.
"And don't call her a witch," Bailen added defensively.
"She can use the force," Maybs stated matter-of-factly, "And only Jedi can do that. The Mandalorians will know she's here and come after her. It's death to anyone found harboring a Jedi in this sector."
"I'm no Jedi," Freya exclaimed bluntly, as though insulted by Maybs placing her in that role. "And I don't use the Force. No Force sensitive individual is going to sense anything from me save illness."
"All the same Freya," Keirdan broke in, "perhaps you should do as Ehker suggested and refrain from using your. . ." He paused momentarily, not wanting to make Maybs feel any more nervous than she already was, ". . . Your unique talents while we're here."
Freya opened her mouth to protest, then closed it and looked at Bailen when he chimed in next, "Yeah we don't want to risk exposure."
"You two know perfectly well that I don't abuse-" She started then paused when Bailen made a significant motion with his eyes towards Stilmon and his wife, who were both watching and listening. "Oh very well, if it will make you two relax I'll refrain." She agreed in a beleaguered mood.
The three friends then turned to Stilmon after he inquired about his late friend's death. With a heavy sigh Keirdan took the lead and started explaining what happened. Maybs stood quietly next to her husband, staring nervously at Freya. The empath crossed her arms and did her best to ignore her rude behavior. Still Maybs could not stop staring at her in unconcealed fear. She finally dropped her worried eyes to the bare floor when Freya, tired of feeling her wary scrutiny, met her anxious stare with a penetrating inspection of her own.