Echoes of the Past

Estellio

Rating: Pg-13 (T)

Summary: Luke watches as an all too familiar pattern unfolds. Fear, love, anger, hate, death. Can he learn from his mistakes and stop what is happening or is the past doomed to be repeated and the republic plunged back into war?

A/n. Sorry it took me so long to update.

Furry fur : You are very strange, you know that? Sorry, Kyv is dead, how about this. I'll bring him back in ghosty form is you keep reviewing, deal?

The little hobbit that could: AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Best name ever, and yes! Ryan did create Ryan but he's mine now bitch, to do whatever I like with. Mwahahaha. I see crossdressing in the near future. Nah, I'm joking. Ryan was one of the original authors who turned this fic over into my capable hands but he still pesters me constantly and is always pering over my shoulder if I'm writing a fic asking 'Is that echoes, why aren't you writing echoes? Does this have smoethign to do with Star Trek! You sad, sad woman. Star Wars is so much better' and then we argue and no work gets done at all.

tanwen: Here's your candy. lol. Thanks for the review.

Gevaden: Go away, you're scary.

Dana-Carter: Live with it you nitpicker. Risha Y'darb will haunt you till the day you die, I'll have it put on your headstone deary. lol, is it really that bad? Well you're going to hate this chapter, it has a lemur like being called Bevan. Mwahahaha. I told you I'd put it in a fic, you didn't beleive me but...

enough of that, onto the fic.

IOIOIO

Ariot watched the Senator pace back and forth silently, she had been pacing for nearly an hour and Ariot estimated it would take another twenty seconds before she finally through herself on the bed and told her what was troubling her. Then again she had had that estimate an hour ago as well but now it seemed far more likely.

With an exaggerated sigh, the young Senator threw herself onto the bed, her peach senatorial robe dancing in the rush of her fall.

"Who would want me dead?" She asked, more to the ceiling than to Ariot but she answered anyway.

"Three names spring to mind." Ariot said immediately. "Neka Rin, Ylan Farr and Lady Urisa." At the last name Risha sat up, casting Ariot an odd look.

"Urisa? As in, the Lady of the house Arisa? Why would she want me dead?" She asked, plainly at a loss to Ariot's reasoning. "I mean, I can understand Neka Rin and even Ylan Farr, they are two senators who have political reasons to get me out of the way, but the Y'darb's have never offended the Urisan's. This is preposterous, why would any of them want me dead?"

"I have two words for you…Prince. Kohmdal." Risha snorted, falling back onto the bed.

"You're grasping at straws now." She said dismissively and Ariot let out a harsh breath through her nose.

"You are too trusting."

"You are to untrusting."

"…Is that even a word?" Risha raised her head enough to shoot her a sharp look before laying back down. "Even if I am wrong, I am merely listing all the possibilities. Both Senatorial and Marital. You single handedly brought Ylan Farr's career around his ears by pressing him on that matter of the smuggling ring in his area of space. When you uncovered he was allowing pirates to have free pick of the land you made it your mission to topple him and things like that could make people hold a grudge. You have opposed every campaign that Neka Rin has headed since you joined the cabinet, often voicing rather strong opinions about his way of conduct and personal hygiene and Lady Urisa, or any of the Urisan family, would love to see you dead and Galen Urisa in your stead. She was a candidate to marry Prince Kohmdal also and lets just say she wasn't thrilled you and Kohmdal were joined instead of her."

"It's not like it was my choice." Risha mumbled.

"I didn't say it was, but that still doesn't rule them out. I could think of a few more less important people but none that could afford three fully fledge Bounty Hunters." Risha made a non-committal noise and turned on her side in the bed, facing the wall and mulling over it for several moments.

"If we could prove it was Neka Rin we could get him out of power." Ariot sat up straight, reholstering the blaster she had been cleaning.

"Oh, we think it's Neka now?"

"It couldn't' have been Lady Urisa, she'd have sent a family assassin. She is very xenophobic and is not open to dealing with Zabrak and Trandoshans."

"What about Farr?"

"He is under house arrest on Ir'ellan Prime and I do not believe he has the backbone to try anything so bold, it must be Neka Rin, it has to be." Ariot nodded, agreeing with her Master's reasoning.

"Alright, say it is. How do you plan on going about proving it?" Risha got back to her feet and strode over to the Comm. "You'll need access codes for that, Ryan has everything on this ship encoded and locked and reencoded. The guy's paranoid." Risha snorted with laughter.

"I have the codes." She said and began dialling. Moments later a wizened, lemur like creature appeared on the screen.

"Senator Risha, when I heard of your disappearance I was worried, are you well?"

"I am fine, Senator Bevan, however an attempt has been made on my life and I have been forced into hiding, I can not reveal to you where I am but there are a few favours I must call in. It is my understanding that the annual Senatorial ball takes three days from now at the Senatorial Palace, yes?" Bevan nodded and was about to speak but Risha cut her off. "How do you feel about a little entrapment?"

IOIOIO

Luke closed his eyes and began to meditate. Only a few moments earlier he had felt a disturbance in the force that he couldn't recognise but knew he had felt before.

A flash of red, a scream of pain, death.

His eyes shot open from the vision and judging by the fact it was now dark he had been meditating for several hours. He had never had a vision that vague and yet so powerful. Something bad was about to happen and it was going to happen soon.

"Master Luke, Han Solo has arrived. Chancellor Leia sent me to inform you." A youngling entered, bowing his red and white striped head reverently.

"I'll be right there." Taking one last look out the window he heard the scream of a distinctly female voice ringing in his ears.

I sense a great disturbance in the force, I should meditate further…maybe Leia can give me some council.

With that though he rose and made his way out to the docking bay. He didn't even nod at the passing Jedi as he retreated into a pensive state of mind, mulling over what he had seen. A red lightsaber, the colour of the sith, the screaming of a woman he thought he knew and a death. He didn't know how he knew someone had died, only that he did.

Maybe this isn't a vision but a memory, of a time when the Sith existed. They're gone now and they're never coming back…this doesn't feel right though.

"Space Monkey!" He looked up to see Han walking forward. He was surprised how much the man had changed in the last four years since Luke had seen him. The grey that had speckled his auburn hair now dominated it and he had deep laugh lines etched around his eyes.

"Han, it's been too long." Luke said embracing the older man warmly and then turning to Leia. "Leia, when you have a moment, could I speak with you." Before she could say anything Anikan strode forward.

"Actually Master Luke, I was wondering if I could speak with you a moment, I seek your guidance on…" He trailed off, keeping eye contact with Luke. The Jedi Master nodded to the younger Knight and led him to his chambers.

"What is it Anakin?" He asked turning to face him.

"Recently I have been having…disturbing…visions of a man and woman fighting. It's a lightsaber battle, one of them is using a blue lightsaber and the other a red one, there is a woman who is screaming and then…nothing." Luke paused, their visions were so similar it was unlikely.

"What else can you tell me?" asked Luke.

"There is so much rage and pain." He replied, shaking his head. "It's hard to tell anything but I keep having it. It's a little different each time. Sometimes…I can feel the rage, undiluted rage and anger but other times I just feel a deep, profound sorrow that is so overwhelming it leaves me disoriented afterwards…then there is this pain. This deep, unforgiving pain. I can't explain it Uncle Luke. It's like she's not in control of what she's doing and she'd dieing inside." Luke raised an eyebrow.

"She?"

"Yes, Master Luke, she. I have seen the man and woman who are fighting, quite clearly."

"Would you recognise them if you saw them?" At Anakin's nod Luke moved to his computer. "Do you think you could compile an image on them To give me reference. One of them is using a red lightsaber, the art of making synthetic crystals is both lost and banned, only a Sith would seek to revive this knowledge and we must not let the Sith re-emerge."

"But she doesn't feel evil, just angry and a little afraid."

"There is an old saying, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. You don't have to be truly evil…to be evil." Anakin shook his head.

"I don't understand."

"I didn't think you would. When you are older you will understand, but let's hope you never need to." Luke placed a reassuring hand on the younger Knights shoulder. "Let's hope you never found out the way I did." Luke thought briefly of his father He had never been evil, he had turned to the darkside for pure reasons but it had tainted him. If can catch this woman his nephew spoke of early, he may be able to stop her turning to the darkside, he may be able to save a life.

IOIOIO

Senator Neka Rin reclined back in the his chair.

"Hold the left one higher." He instructed the Rodian holding two suits. One was a dark, blood read with black scroll work from collar to hem, the other was royal blue with golden pin stripes. "Hmm…I like the red one." He mused aloud. "But the blue one looks more stately."

"I think they both look pompous and gaudy, kind of like you." Neka turned to see Ykar, standing in the doorway to his private chambers.

"What are you doing here?" He snarled, clearly unimpressed with the Zabrak's entry.

"I have news on Kamir." Neka dismissed the Rodian who fled the room with the conviction of a man who was sure he would be killed for staying.

"Is he back?" Ykar chuckled.

"He's dead. Risha was at a hanger down town with an antique collector named Ryan." Neka thought for a moment.

"I know that name, Ah yes, the Jedi turned junk dealer, why should I care?"

"He's not a junk dealer, he collects Old Republic, or more specifically, Old Jedi Order artefacts. Gems, ships, holicrons…lightsabers." He let this hang a moment for dramatic effect. "Ryan was trained for years to be a Jedi Knight. Though he left early on in his padwancy he has trained and honed his skills. Perhaps you should have warned Kamir he'd have a Jedi to contend with?" Neka shrugged.

"So what, he died, he was just one bounty hunter among thousands. I'll send another." Ykar chuckled, it was a rasping sound from deep in his throat that made Neka's hair stand on end and his had to tighten on the arm of his chair while the other edged for the dagger strapped to his thigh.

"They've been alerted to your presence now. There's no hope…unless."

"Yes?"

"How about a little…oh…how do you put it…back scratching?"

"..I'm listening."

"As you know there is to be a Senatorial Gala the day after tomorrow…I have a plan."

IOIOIO

Name: Ariot.

Age: 24

Home planet: Unknown

Occupation: Captain in the Senatorial guard, currently assigned to Risha

Hair: Blonde

Eyes: Blue

Height: 5 10"

Marital Status: Single.

Basic history: Ariot entered the guard at the age of sixteen and trained under the wing of Captain Hanar for four years. She served another two years as a Lieutenant to the prominent Senator of Naboo and after her heroic and competent display in which she saved his life she was promoted to Captain. She was later assigned to the Senator of Kereys who after a year stepped down in favour of Risha whom she has served for a year. Very little is known of her life before this thought Risha has learnt her parents died when she was young and that Ariot feels the Jedi were to blame. Accounts of what happened are vague and sketchy at best but Ariot was left with a hate of Jedi and fear of enclosed spaces. There was a rumour that she was a rather infamous bounty hunter named Sarel Keera in her youth but she neither confirms or denies these rumours and there is no evidence to back up the claim.

Personality: Ariot is often abrasive, argumentative and hostile to people she doesn't know or doesn't like however she knows her place in society and behaves with the utmost respect to her 'superiors'. Although she is well versed in hand to hand combat and sword fighting she tends to use her custom, guards blaster and a single Mandalorian battle shield. Her aim is second to none and she can boast the capability of stopping three blaster shots with her shield, blindfolded. Her reflexes are so quick it is almost like she has a sixth sense for danger and she has an incredible knowledge of weapons, armour, bounty hunter markings and security systems which could have begun the rumours of her bounty hunter past which are fuelled by her silence of her life before her guard career. She is naturally suspicious but not overly paranoid and has an uncanny sense of telling when people are lying though she tends to try and stay out of Senatorial business unless it pertains to protecting her ward. A mysterious figure but a highly competent soldier.