Dark Secrets
Just after Tatooine Ghost
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Most of these characters I don't own. They belong to George Lucas. However a couple of these characters either I or a friend of mine own.
1
Captain Han Solo and Senator Leia Organa Solo sit in silence in the forward hold of the Falcon on their way home. The protocol droid, C-3PO sits near them, deactivated.
Han breaks the silence, "I'm sorry we didn't get the painting. I know how much you must have wanted it."
"That's all right. At least the Imperials didn't get the code chip."
"I guess that's what matters most. You look tired. Why don't you go and lie down. I will wake you when we get back home." Leia nodded and looked at her grandmother's diary. "Have you thought about how you're going to tell Luke about the diary or are you going to tell him?"
"I haven't really thought about it yet." Leia turns and walks out of the forward hold. Han sits at the table looking at the diary. He picks it up and tells the device to start playing the entries. He spends the remainder of the trip watching and listening to Lea's grandmother talk about her son Anakin. As he listens, Han thinks about the Empire that he, Leia, and Luke and others had fought. The only members he had fought personally were the soldiers. He had never really come into contact with the Emperor or his apprentice, Darth Vader. This was the person whom Leia's father had become. Han can not believe that the boy Shmi Skywalker was talking about could have been the one who ordered the murders of so many of his friends. This person is also the one responsible for his being but into carbonite and had tried to murder Luke. Han sits deep in thought when Chewbacca, his co-pilot, comes out of the cockpit and growls. Han looks up from the diary.
"We home?" Han asks. Chewie nods and heads back towards the cockpit. Han gets up from the table and walks to the cockpit. Chewie had just brought the Falcon out of hyperspace. Ahead of them, they could see the planet. Coruscant, had been the capital city during the Old Republican Era. When Palpatine had taken power, he kept the capital on Coruscant. Now that Palpatine was defeated, the government of the New Republic decided to make Coruscant the capital planet.
Now, because Leia is a Senator, Han and Leia live there with Leia's brother, Luke, who lives nearby at the Jedi Temple. Which was in the process of being repaired and renovated. Han and Chewie bring the ship into the planet's atmosphere. In the distance, they can see a sky taxi waiting by a landing platform. Chewie lands the ship on the platform. Han exits the cockpit. A few moments later, Han and Leia return to the forward hold, joined by Chewie and C-3PO. They exit the ship. Coruscate's sky was very busy. In addition to the taxi near the platform, there were many other vessels flying around in the air. Leia leads Han and the others to the taxi. As they near the taxi, the door opens. A dark clothed figure exits the vessel. Leia and the others freeze. For a long, tense moment no one moves or speaks.
"Luke, is that you? I didn't know you were going to meet us." The figure doesn't answer. "Okay, this is not funny. Who are you?"
"Where is Master Skywalker? I have something for him." The figure reaches up and removes the hood from her head, revealing red hair.
"Tell us who you are and maybe we will tell you where you can find Skywalker," Han said easing forward, his hand on his blaster.
"Who I am is unimportant. Please see that Skywalker gets this." The figure throws a small package at Leia.
"I will carry your message and package. My wife has more important things to take care of." Han said intercepting it. The figure nods and leaps off the platform and onto a sky speeder that happened to come up from nowhere beside the platform. Han looks down at the package in his hand. "Let's get going before someone else shows up." Leia nods. They enter the taxi and speed towards the Jedi Temple.
Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker is waiting outside the Temple. When the taxi lands, Luke walks up to the vessel. He opens the door. Leia, Han, Chewie, and 3PO exit. "I won't ask how your trip was," Luke said embracing Leia.
"Good," Leia said, returning the embrace.
"What is it? What happened?" Luke said as he feels the uneasiness in both Han and Leia.
"Let's go inside," Leia said taking her brother's arm. "We have a lot to talk about." They go inside the Temple. The workers inside are busy fixing cracks in the walls and ceiling. As they catch sight of the Jedi Master, the workers bow. Luke bows back. The group continues towards Luke's apartment within the Temple.
Once they are inside, Luke speaks. "Okay what happened and what do we need to talk about?" Luke is looking at Han.
"What are you looking at me for, Kid?"
"Because you have something for me."
"Yeah, I do." Han throws the package to Luke. Luke catches it and looks at it. "A dark figure met our taxi and gave that to us."
"Got a name for this figure?"
"No she would not tell us her name."
"She? Strange. Well let's see what it is." Luke opens the package. Inside is a small, white, stone like pendant. "This is really strange."
"What? What is so strange about it, Luke?" Leia asks moving towards Luke.
"Well, I have never seen anything like this." Luke notices something in Leia's hand. "What is this?" Luke says picking up her hand.
"This is a diary of our grandmother." Leia sees the shock and doubt in Luke's eyes. "The Darklighters now own the farm you grew up on. Their daughter found it. They asked me to give it to you."
"I always thought we would find something from our past. I just didn't expect this. Are you sure it's Grandmother's?"
"Yes I had two people who knew Grandmother tell me it was her. One of them was Father's childhood friend, Kister."
"Really? Wow. What's in it?"
"You'll just have to find out for yourself." Leia said placing the diary in Luke's hand. "So what did you do while we were gone?"
"I have been able to find out some information on some of the Jedi from before and during the Clone Wars. Come, I'll show you." Luke leads the group to his desk. A large object is sitting on his desk. R2-D2 is plugged into the object, downloading information from it. A small, holographic figure stands on the desk. He is speaking about a place called Kamino. Luke touches the keypad on his desk. The holographic figure vanishes. In its place appears another holographic figure.
"Obi-Wan and I will be heading to a small planet called Naboo in a few days. I'm not sure what will happen. But I suspect the Force will guide us," the holographic figure says. Luke touches the keypad and another holograph appears.
"I'm not sure what is happening to me. I feel like I'm not the Jedi I should be, but how can this be. I am the chosen one," the second holograph says. Luke touches the keypad.
"That's what R2 has found so far. I suspect we will find more as we go along." Luke looks at Leia. "What is it?"
"That last one was Father."
"I think so. I'll have to do some more meditation before I know. We should go see Mon Montha. She will want to hear your report on the mission," Luke says as he takes Leia's hand. The group, minus the droids, walk out of the Temple. They enter the same taxi and leave for the Senate. Inside the Senate, Leia meets with Mon Montha, the current President of the New Republic. Once her report is finished, Leia exits the president's office. Luke and Han are waiting for her outside the office.
"So do I know everything or is there something else you two need to tell me?" Luke asks as Leia walks over to Han and embraces her husband.
"I think I have decided to have children," Leia says looking up at Han. Han is smiling.
"What made you change your mind?" Luke asks her.
"I'm not really sure. I guess I just had to see a different side of Father."
"Did you see a different side of Father?" Luke asks. Leia nods.
"She's not the only one," Han said. "I hope you don't mind, but I listened to the diary as well."
"I don't mind. You are my sister's husband. You have a right to know about our family as well," Luke says placing a hand on Han's shoulder. Han nods. The group leaves the Senate and goes their separate ways.
2
That night, Leia and Han lie in bed in their apartment, snuggled under the blanket, sleeping. Not too far away, Luke lies in his bed. His mind races. He thinks about the things he, Han and Leia discussed. He also had his own thoughts. What kind of Jedi Master would he turn out to be? Would he ever marry? If he did marry, would he and his wife be happy and would they have children? He didn't know. After he calms his mind, he slowly drifts off to an uneasy sleep. As Luke sleeps, two dark figures sit on a ledge near the Temple. One is busy looking into Luke's apartment. The other is busy making sure no one was watching them.
"Do you think Skywalker knows you were the one who brought his mother's pendant?" Mara Jade's companion, a changeling named Zim, asks Mara.
"I have no idea," Mara Jade says as she tosses her red hair back over her shoulder. It was clear she is not looking away from the apartment for any reason. She watches intensely as Luke tosses and turns in his bed.
Inside the apartment, Luke is not sure what he is having is a dream or a vision. In his mind, medical droids are performing an operation on a young woman. The result of the operation is the birth of two children. Standing beside the woman is a man. He looks like a Jedi. Could this be his mother and father? Luke allows the images to flow. The first child was lifted into the air.
"A boy," the droid said. The woman mouths a word and touches the child. The second child was lifted into the air.
"A girl," the droid said. Again the woman mouths a word then dies. The man standing beside her begins weeping. The droids leave the woman's body, taking the newborn children with them. The images continue. Luke sees what he thinks is the same young woman's body. She is being buried. However, this woman still looks pregnant. He sees the streets lined with many people.
Somewhere in the crowd, he hears a familiar voice. "Pregnant she must still look." It is Master Yoda. But why must the woman still look pregnant? Still the images continue. Luke drifts closer to the young woman. She is beautiful. Her long brown hair is pushed away from her face, revealing the same white, stone like pendant Han had given him earlier. This had to be his mother. But where are her children? As Luke drifts away from the woman, he sees a man and woman boarding a ship. Two droids are with them, an R2 unit and a protocol looking droid. The man whispers something to one of the men. The woman is carrying a baby. Luke can't tell if the child is a boy or girl.
"Oh my," the tall gold droid says, sounding a lot like 3PO. The image of the man and woman fades to be replaced by a man carrying another child on a desert planet. The man nears a homestead. As Luke drifts near the site, he recognizes the place. It is it his Aunt and Uncle's farm on Tatooine. As the man hands the baby over to the woman, Luke notices whom it are. It is Obi-Wan Kenobi. Now Luke understands why Ben had been on Tatooine. He must have been sent to Tatooine to protect the boy.
3
Luke stirs and wakes. He looks out the window to see the sun rising. Luke sits in his bed for a few moments. After he collects his thoughts, he gets out of bed. He walks out to the terrace. The two figures see Luke exit and hide in the shadows of the building. Luke looks around, the slight breeze brushing across his bare chest. He sees many vessels in the sky around his apartment. After a few minutes, he goes back into his apartment and dresses.
After he had dressed, Luke exits the Temple. He crosses the street and entered a small café. In addition to the large creature in the kitchen and the roller waitress bot, Luke is alone in the café except for two figures seated in the back. The waitress bot took his order and then takes the slip of paper to the cook. While he is waiting for his food, the waitress fills Luke's cup with fresh, hot coffee. After seeing to Luke, the bot rolls back to the other customers. Meanwhile, the cook has finished Luke's food and brings the plate out to the Jedi Knight.
"Here you go, sir." The creature places the plate in front of Luke. Luke nods and picks up his fork. "You look like a Jedi with a lot on your mind," the creature says as he rounds the bar and sits near Luke.
"Why would you think that? You have not had Jedi in this place in quite a long while."
"You are the first Jedi I have had in the place since my father retired. He left me the place. However, when my father owned this place, many Jedi visited him."
"Really? Is your father still alive? I would like to ask him some questions, if he does not mind. By the way, I am Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker.
"Let me go and get him. We live right behind the café." The creature gets up and leaves the café. A few minutes later, he returns with a much older version of himself. They walk up to Luke. "Dad, this is Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker. Jedi Knight, this is my father, Dex." Dex sits down on the bench beside Luke.
"My son, Jex, tells me you are looking for information."
"Yes your son said that you had a lot of Jedi visitors. I would like to know who those Jedi were, if you don't' mind telling me about them."
"I don't mind at all. In fact, one Jedi came in here a lot. Obi-Wan. We became good friends over the years." Luke chuckles to himself. "What is that for?"
"Obi-Wan was my teacher for a short while. Tell me, did he ever come in here with his apprentice? The apprentice would have been about twenty years old at the outbreak of the Clone Wars."
"Obi-Wan brought a boy in here with him a few times. Arrogant lad. Obi-Wan should never have taken the boy. I could tell he was trouble. Tried to tell Obi-Wan but he didn't listen. I guess he loved the boy."
"Did Obi-Wan ever tell you the boy's name?"
"Oh yeah. Lad's name was Anakin Skywalker."
"My father," Luke says sitting up taller on the stool.
"I see that lad in you." Dex looks deeply into Luke's eyes. "I hope you are not as arrogant as he."
"I try not to be. Do you know much about Anakin?"
"I know he was close to Palpatine. He was appointed to the Jedi Council, representing Palpatine." Dex leans into Luke. "And I heard he was married," Dex whispers. "I thought Jedi were not supposed to marry."
"The Jedi of the Old Republic were not supposed to marry, but my father didn't care for the rules I guess. Do you know who he was married to?"
"Like I said I didn't know for fact he was married, I only heard that."
"So you don't know who his wife was?"
"I heard she was a Senator."
"A Senator. From where?"
"A small planet called Naboo." Naboo, the planet that the one Jedi in the holographic records was talking about leaving for. "Well, do you have any more questions for me?" Luke shakes his head. "Well, have a good day, Master Jedi." Dex stood up and left the café. Shortly after Dex left, Luke decided to leave the café. The other two customers, Mara and Zim, watch the Jedi leave but don't leave right away.
As the two dark figures walk down the street, following Luke they speak. "How long are we going to follow this Jedi?" Zim asks Mara.
"Hopefully not too much longer," Mara says looking down at Zim.
"Are you still trying to carry out your orders concerning this subject?"
"Don't be silly. Those orders came from Palpatine and he is dead."
"Yes, but don't forget, you blame this man for Palpatine's death."
"I know you don't have to remind me. I have no idea why I am so interested in this man. I just find him interesting." Zim looks at Mara and smiles. Why was she so interested in this man? She could not answer that and neither could Mara. Mara looks up and notices that Luke was no longer on the street ahead of them. "Damn, we lost him," Mara says, looking around.
Luke glances over his shoulder as he rounds the corner. He has no idea that these two people are, but he sees that they are no longer behind him. "Must have lost them," Luke thinks to himself. He starts back toward the Jedi Temple.
Once he is back in his apartment, Luke pulls the pendant off his desk and looks at it. He glances across the desk and sees his grandmother's diary. Luke reaches over and picks up the device. He tells it to activate and sits at his desk listening to his grandmother talk about his father. Unfortunately, Luke is unable to remain awake. Sometime later, Luke is awakened by the buzz of the door to his apartment. "Enter, please," Luke says as he stirs. One of the workers enters the apartment. "What is it?"
"You have a visitor, sir."
"Who is it?" The worker does not say. Luke gets up and walks to the door. Leia is standing at the door. Her face is red from crying. "What are you doing here, Leia? Is there something wrong?"
"Something is very wrong. I need your help, Luke." Leia takes Luke's hand and leads him out of the Temple. They board a sky taxi. The taxi takes them to the landing platform where Chewie had landed the Falcon. Han and Chewie are standing on the platform. Once the twins arrived, they all board the Falcon.
4
Once the Falcon is in hyperspace, Leia tells Luke what is happening. "I have received a message from Ord Mandell. Before Alderaan was destroyed, my adoptive aunt left. She got married and had children. One of her sons is on Ord Mandell. He has just informed me that his son, Bail, has been kidnapped.
"Okay so why are we going? Should the Ord Mandell police not take care of this?"
"It's a long story, Luke. I really cannot go into it right now. Please, just trust me." Luke nods. Luke, Leia, Han, and Chewie sit in silence in the cockpit of the Falcon.
Once they reach Ord Mandell, Chewie brings the ship out of hyperspace. Leia contacts the security force. Han lands the ship where the security force directs him. Once the ship is on the ground, the passengers exit the ship. At the bottom of the ramp, stands a very stocky man.
Leia walks up to him and embraces him. "Blain. I am so sorry to hear about Bail. Do you have any idea who would have wanted to do this?"
"I only have my suspicions. Our family has made a lot of enemies here and any one of them could've done this." Luke is standing next to Leia. He places his hand on his lightsaber. "Leia, who is this?" Blain asks, pointing to Luke.
"This is my brother, Jedi Skywalker. He's here to help. Please trust me. Everything will be fine."
"I would not say that just yet, Leia. We have a Sith here."
"Sith? What is that?" Blain asks looking around.
"I will explain later. Right now, we have to get out of here," Luke says, taking Blain's arm. Blain leads the group to his home.
Watching Luke, Leia and their group in the shadows is an older woman. She looks down at the lightsaber hanging on her left hip then frowns as Luke makes his declaration. But then she smiles slightly when she sees Luke and Leia standing together. As the group walks away, the woman starts walking towards a waiting ship. Zim is standing at the bottom of the ramp waiting on the woman.
"Skywalker can feel you here?"
The woman nods. "He feels something here. But I don't think he knows it's me. My son is also here."
Zim nods. "Well Mara gave Skywalker the pendant. She is very interested in Skywalker."
The woman smiles. "I have had many visions of those two together."
Once inside his home, Blain introduces Luke and Leia to his personal security service and the rest of his family. Everyone sits and talked about who could have taken the boy. Luke also explains what the Sith are.
Once he is finished, Luke gets up and walks to the window. He stands for a long while, looking out the window. Leia can feel the turmoil brewing inside him. She walks up behind him and places her hand on his shoulder.
Luke turns to Leia. "I have to talk to you, Leia. I have discovered something about Mother." Luke excuses himself from the room. Blain escorts Luke up the stairs to one of the many bedrooms. After a few minutes, Leia joins him. She sits down on the bed next to Luke and begins listening to the vision that Luke thinks he had about their birth. Once Luke is finished, Leia sits in silence. There is a knock on the door. "Enter," Luke says looking at the door. Han walks into the room. Leia rushes to him and embraces him. "I think you had better take Leia to your bedroom and let her lie down," Luke says walking up to Han. Han nods and leads Leia out of the room and to their bedroom. Soon after, the sun set and everyone in the house settles into bed.
5
The next morning, Luke walks around the grounds of the house. He is rounding a corner when he receives a rush of emotion from the Force. From the emotions, he discovers that this spot is where the boy had been taken from. Luke begins walking away from the house. He walks out to the street. As he lifts his head, he sees a strange looking dark figure. Luke and the figure look at each other, studying each other.
Luke attempts to cross the road, but Leia catches his arm. Luke spins around, his hand instinctively going to his lightsaber. "Hey, it's only me," Leia says throwing her hands into the air. I thought I would find you outside. What are you doing?"
"I was walking around and discovered where the boy was when he was taken. Then I found this guy over there," Luke says looking back in the direction the figure had been. "But it looks like the person got away."
"Well, if you are finished out here, Blain's wife has breakfast ready for us." Luke nods and follows Leia back into the house. The household gathers around a large table and eats. Much of the conversation is about the missing boy. Luke sits quietly at one end of the table, barely touching his food.
Blain's youngest son, Tolain, walks up beside him. "Are you all right, sir?" Tolain asks looking at the strange man in his home.
"I'm fine. I just have a hard time eating in a strange place." Leia looks up from her plate and scowls at Luke. Luke smiles and shakes his head. Tolain nods and walks away. The rest of the family goes back to eating. The remainder of the meal is spent in silence.
After he is finished, Luke exits the house and begins walking down the street. Most of the people he passes on the street dismiss him as an unimportant visitor, including the woman from the docking bay. However, there is one small group who takes an interest in the Jedi Master as he passes them. This small group begins following Luke down the street. Luke rounds the corner and stops, hiding in an alleyway. When the group pass the alleyway, Luke leaps out of the alleyway and grabs the last person to pass.
"All right, who are you people and what do you want?" Luke demands.
"Look, we don't want any trouble. We heard about the kidnapping and figured you might be a security officer," the young man Luke is holding says.
"Now why would you think that?"
"I don't know, maybe it's because you are not dressed like anyone else here. Who are you anyway?"
"I am a Jedi. I am here to find the kidnapped boy. Can you tell me anything about him or his kidnapping?"
"I was outside the house the night it happened." An older man says approaching from the front of the group. "Someone climbed into the boy's window and took him."
Luke knows the man is lying. "That sounds too good to be true. Now, let's have the truth before I have you all arrested." The younger man Luke is holding looks at the older man and nods.
The older man looks at the ground and begins to speak. "Several days ago, someone approached me and told me to take the boy. I used to work for the family, so I know their routine. The boy always goes for a walk around the house before heading to bed. One night, my son there," he points to the man in Luke's grip," posed as one of the security officers and took the boy."
"How were you able to take him without him screaming and alerting his family or security?"
"The person who gave us the job also gave us a potion to use on the kid to put him to sleep. Once my son hit the kid with the potion, the kid fell onto the ground, asleep."
"You don't happen to know where the boy is now, do you?"
"As a matter of fact, I have to go and collect the rest of the money the guy offered us for the job."
"Okay, we told you what you wanted to know, now let me go," the young man says, starting to fight.
"I have one more question for you before I let you go." Luke tightens his grip on the man. "How did you know that I was connected to the boy?"
"The guy showed us the device he carries. He told us that if we saw anyone else carrying the same type of device, follow them and take them out." Luke lets the man go. The man stands in front of Luke, holding his throat. "So what now?"
"You will go and pick up your money. I will follow you. If you say anything to your employer, I will turn you in. After you have collected your money, I will go in, rescue the boy, take care of your employer, and then you will turn yourselves into the Ord Mandell Police. I will talk to the police and have your punishment reduced. If you don't, I will not intercede on your behalf. It this understood?" Everyone in the group nods. "Good. Let's go then."
The older man leads Luke down the road. They come to a small boarded up house. The older man goes inside. Luke creeps up to the side of the house. He reaches out to the Force and listens to the conversation and senses for the boy. He is there. The older man comes out of the house. Luke creeps to the back of the house. He quietly pulls a board off the window and enters the house. As Luke makes his way through the house, he can feel the presence of the weak Sith inside the house. He is with the boy. Luke freezes. Someone is coming towards him. He ducks into a room and watches the boy go into the refresher. The Sith follows the boy, making sure his charge is not trying to escape. Luke reaches out to the Force and catches the Sith in his grasp. The Sith spins around and sees Luke. He tries to reach his lightsaber, but the boy has managed to knock the device away from the Sith. Luke ignites his lightsaber, but instead of slashing him, Luke put the Sith to sleep. Luke looks at the shaking boy.
"It's all right. I'm here to help. Come on." Bail runs to him. Luke picks the boy up and runs out of the house. A few minutes later, Luke and the boy are safely away from the house. The Jedi can hear the sirens of the Ord Mandell Police. He picks up the boy and calmly begins walking away from the house.
A little while later, Luke reaches Blain's home. He hands the boy to the security officer and follows them into the house. Blain and his wife meet them in the sitting room. The security officer sets the boy on the floor. Bail runs to his mother and father. They embrace each other, crying and shouting. Han and Leia, after hearing the ruckus, come down into the sitting room. Leia looks at Luke and smiles. Blain looks at Luke. Luke bows to him. Blain walks up to Luke and thanks him. Blain also offers Luke a reward, but the Jedi Knight refuses.
6
A little while later, Luke, Leia, and Han board the Falcon. Han receives clearance from Ord Mandell security to lift off. Once he and Chewie have the ship high enough, they key the ship into hyperspace. Leia has gone into the stateroom to shower. Luke sits with C-3PO in the forward hold. After Leia has finished her shower, the Falcon arrives at the capital. Han and Chewie decide to choose a different landing platform. They land the ship and exit. Luke and Leia follow them. The group boards a sky taxi. The taxi heads off towards the Solo's apartment. Once they arrive, Chewie, Han, and Leia exit the taxi.
"You want to come in and eat with us?" Han asks Luke before he walks away from the taxi. Luke shakes his head. "All right, Kid." Han says looking at Luke, then closes the door. "Have a good night." Han walks away from the taxi. The taxi leaves the apartment and heads towards the Jedi Temple.
Once he arrives at the Temple, Luke steps out of the taxi. After he closes the door, Luke spins around. "What in the world?" Luke asks. "Who are you?"
"Did you get my package?" Mara asks Luke as she studies him.
"Yes, I did," Luke says to the figure staring at him. "I would like to ask you some questions about it, if you don't mind."
"It's not time for you to know, Skywalker," Mara says as she turns to leave.
Luke reaches out and grabs her arm. "How do you know this? Who are you? Who sent you?" Luke had none of his questions answered. Instead, the figure unexpectedly blows a fine mist at Luke's face. Luke faints and falls to the ground. Once Luke is unconscious, Mara leaves. Luke wakes several hours later in his bed. Leia is sitting at his desk.
"What happened?" Luke asks, trying to sit up.
"Someone found you on the steps, passed out. The police were called. Han and I were also called. I rushed over here like a good sister."
"How long ago was this?"
"About five hours ago," Leia says walking over to the bed.
"She was waiting for me."
"Who?" Leia asks, sitting on the bed.
"Our delivery person. She met me outside and hit me with some type of gas. I guess she caught me off guard."
"Did you get a good look at her?"
"No she was wearing a long, black cloak with a hood."
"Well, I did get something from her through the Force. Luke, she wants you dead. I'm worried about you, but if you are sure you will be fine, I will leave," Leia says starting to get up. Luke reaches out and touches her arm.
"Stay a while longer. I want to know more about your trip. What else did you find out about Father?" Leia sits back down on the bed. She tells Luke about the pod race. She tells him about their father being a slave. She also tells him about Kister. And she finally tells Luke about the Tuskin Raiders and how they had tortured their grandmother.
"Wow. You could feel where they had kept her through the Force? That's great, Leia." Leia is unsure if she should tell Luke about her dream. Luke can sense the uncertainty in her. "Is there anything else?"
"Yes, I had a dream but I'm afraid."
"Afraid of what?"
"Afraid that if I tell anyone, this thing will happen."
"Leia, if the Force gave you a dream, I think the worst thing to do is keep it to yourself. Even if the vision is of something terrible." Leia nods and begins to tell Luke about her dream. He sits and listened very intently to every word.
Leia Organa, newly Leia Organa Solo, sat behind Han and Chewbacca on the flight deck of the Millennium Falcon. The twin suns of the Tatoo system were hanging outside the forward veiwport, a pair of white eyes blazing up from the black well of space. Like all twins, they were bound together by a tie as unpredictable as it was powerful. Sometimes, the bond boosted their luminosity far beyond that of two normal suns. At other times, it sent waves of ionic discharge pulsing across space to scramble circuits and reorient core-relative compasses. Today, the twins were assailing the Falcon with electromagnetic blasts, overloading her sensors and filling the cockpit speakers with static.
As Chewbacca worked to raise the proper filters, the static faded from a roar to a crackle, then softened to a hiss, which rose and fell in a sharp rhythm. Puzzled by the odd snickering sound, Leia glanced over at the mater comm console and found the reception indicator still scanning for signals. She leaned forward against her crash webbing.
"Han, do you hear..."
No sound came from her mouth. The snicker became a deep chuckle, and a nebula of black gas began to gather in front of the Falcon. Han showed no reaction to it. Neither did Chewbacca, even when it coalesced into the cowl of a Jedi cloak.
"Han! Don't you see..."
Again, her voice made no sound. Glaring out from beneath the cowl, the twin suns looked more than ever like eyes-heartless eyes, full of malice and power lust. Where the cloud was thin, crooked streaks of purple radiance created the impression of a twisted mouth and wrinkled face.
The mouth rose at the corners. "Mine."
The voice was cruel and distant and rife with dark side power. Leia gasped-silently-and tried raise an arm that had suddenly grown as heavy as the Falcon.
The smile became a sneer. "Mine."
Still neither Han nor Chewbacca seemed to notice what was happening. Leia would have screamed, had her mouth been willing to obey.
The nebula began to thicken, and the purple wrinkles faded behind its inky veil. The twin suns dimmed to darkness, and the black cloud assumed the shape of a familiar mask-a mask of harsh angles and obsidian sheen, framed by the long, flaring neck apron of an equally black helmet.
Vader's helmet.
A chill wave of nausea washed over Leia. The curved eye lenses grew transparent, but instead of the blazing brightness of Tatooine's twin suns-or the angry red-rimmed gaze of Darth Vader-she found herself looking into her brother's soft blue eyes.
"Luke! What are you..."
Her question remained as silent as the others she has asked. Luke's eyes grew hollow and hard and haunted, and the helmet moved slowly from side to side. Blue flickers of electricity snaked across the speech circuits behind the respiratory screen, but his words were rendered nearly inaudible by the static crackling. Leia made out something about not following and staying out of darkness; the Luke fell silent again. She tried to tell him that his equipment was malfunctioning, that his voice had been obscured, but before she could find a way to make herself heard, the helmet stopped moving.
Luke locked gazes and held her transfixed for what might have been seconds... or minutes... his eyes now the lifeless blue of ice. Leia grew cold, and frightened, and the mask dissolved back into the black nothingness of space, leaving her to stare out once again into the mind-stabbing brilliance of the Tatoo systems twin suns. Tatooine Ghost, Troy Denning, pages 1-3
Once she is finished, she let out a deep sigh. "I feel a lot better now that you know about that."
"Good. I knew you would. Now, let me see you out to your taxi," Luke says trying to get out bed.
"No way. You stay in bed and rest," Leia says gently pushing her bother back to the bed. "I will see myself out and I will come by and check on you tomorrow. You just get some sleep." Luke nods and lies back down on his pillow. Soon after Leia had leaves, Luke drifts off to sleep.
7
Sometime the next afternoon, Leia arrives at the Temple to find Luke still asleep. Leia walks over to the bed and taps Luke on the shoulder. Luke stirs and sits up in bed.
Leia smiles at him. "Hello," Leia says.
"Hello."
"How are you feeling?"
"Hungry," Luke says as his stomach grumbles.
"Well let's go get something to eat."
"All right, let me get changed and I'll meet you outside," Luke says with a smile. Leia nods and walks to the door. After she walks out, Luke gets out of his bed and changes. Within a few minutes, Luke is walking down the hall with Leia beside him. They exit the Temple and board a taxi. The taxi heads towards the Solo's apartment. Once the taxi arrives, Luke and Leia exit and head towards the door.
C-3PO meets the two at the door. "Master Luke, may I take your cloak?"
"Yes, 3PO here you go."
"Mistress Leia, your cloak?"
"Here you go, 3PO." The droid takes the cloaks and walks away.
Luke follows the droid into the apartment. "What smells so good?" Luke sniffs the air as he walks towards the kitchen.
"I have no idea. Han has been cooking."
"Han cooking?" Luke raises his eyebrows. "This I have to see." Luke walks into the kitchen. Han is standing near the stove, holding a pot. "Hey," Luke calls out.
"Hey, Kid, how you feeling?"
"Much better. What are you cooking?"
"I didn't tell Leia and I'm not about to tell you," Han turns away from Luke. "Luke, don't use your Jedi mind trick on me, either."
"Now would I do that to you?" Han looks over his shoulder at Luke and winks. Luke chuckles and walks out of the kitchen.
Thirty minutes later, Han walks out of the kitchen and announces that dinner is ready. Luke and Leia follow Han into the dining room. 3PO brings everyone a drink. When everyone is seated, the meal begins. The droid is busy bringing food and taking away dirty dishes. Once everyone is finished with dinner, they sit at the table and talk. After a long while, Luke notices that Leia is getting tired. He also notices that not only is he tired but also drunk. 3PO leads Luke to the spare bedroom down the hall. Luke lies on the bed and falls asleep.
As he sleeps, Luke thinks about the figure that had met him outside the Temple. He also thinks about not only his vision but also Leia's. What was happening to him? He didn't know. After a while, Luke's thoughts drifts to other things. He even dreams about a red-haired woman lying in his arms.
The next morning, 3PO bringing him a plate of breakfast awake Luke. "Good morning, Master Luke. Did you sleep well?"
"Yes I did, 3PO, thank you. What is this?"
"Mistress Leia told me to bring this to you. She also told me to tell you that you are not leaving here until you eat."
"Really. I guess I have to do what my sister tells me to do." Luke eats the food. After he is finished, he dresses and walks out of the bedroom.
Han and Leia are in the sitting room. "Sleep well, Kid?"
"Yes if you don't mind, I need to get back to the Temple." Luke says as he crosses the room. Leia stands up. Luke kisses her cheek. "I'll see you later, Leia." Luke looks at Han. "Take care of her."
"I will, Kid, you take care."
"All right." Luke turns and walks out of the apartment. He boards a taxi and heads back to the Temple. Luke is expecting the same person to meet him at the Temple. To his disappointment, no one is waiting for him.