Chapter 15: Premonitions of the Conscious
Sim steered the Falcon back into the atmosphere as he re-entered the atmosphere of Icylian. He had just dropped off Jedi Knight Coffish Grimen on the planet of Tranyus, a place that the Empire would never look at. He had thought about bringing Coffish to Icylian but decided against that since if the Empire found them there, he would be in more danger and that was something Coffish wished not to be in.
The Falcon entered the Temple's former hanger bay as it landed. Han, Lando, and Chewie were sitting at a table playing Sabaac when the Falcon arrived. The only thing that they did was give it a stare as they returned back to their game.
Sim unboarded the spacecraft as he went over to Han.
"Here you go," said Sim as he passed Han the key's to the Falcon.
"Thanks, you better not have put any scratches on it," said Han as he continued to play the game without offering a glance.
"Don't worry, I wasn't doing anything suicidal like flying through an asteroid field," said a sarcastic Sim, "also, do you guys do anything besides play this game?"
"No," replied the three except Chewie made a bark and growl that Sim interpreted as a "No".
Sim left the guys to play there games as he entered the training room to find Leia in a training session. He just stood at the door. Leia was leaping everything with her lightsaber on as she deflected incoming blaster shots at an amazing pace. She had over twenty droids in the room that were firing away at her at maximum setting. She leaped around as she deflected them all as the droids continued to defeat her but to no avail. Finally after five minutes she turned off the droids as she walked over to Sim.
"Master, I'm happy to see your back," said Leia as she walked up to him.
"Yes, well, I had some business to take care of," replied Sim, "it was urgent."
"Hmm... must have been seeing as you left me there," said Leia as she teased her master. Both of them walked out of the room as Leia hit the showers to get ready for dinner. Sim would not disclose what had happened for he knew that it was best left untold.
The day was sandy as Luke stared with tears filling his eyes. His Uncle and Aunt stood next to him as his Aunt placed a hand on his shoulder. His uncle didn't do anything, merely looking at the distance as he kept his serious face on.
A spacecraft landed in front of them as a figure jumped out of the cockpit. He had a black robe on with a hood covering his head. He wore a belt with a handle dangling from it as he walked up to Luke.
"Well, my little friend, what's wrong," replied the stranger.
"I'm going to miss you," said a sobbing Luke. He stared into the darkness of the hood as the stranger removed his mask and revealed his face. He was a young man, now more than 25 years old at the most and in his complete prime. He had dark black eyes and black hair that was covered by a turban. But all that anyone could see was kindness in his eyes, heart, and figure.
"Don't worry, I will always be with you," said the stranger as he pointed his finger at Luke's heart, "Right here with your parents, friends, and family."
"I know, Master Nam, but why do you have to go," asked Luke. Sim just stared into his eyes as he felt the urge to tell the boy but then knew that he wasn't allowed too.
"Because, it is my time to leave. Don't worry, my friend Ben Kenobi will watch over you," said Sim as he got up and looked at Luke's Aunt. His Aunt smiled at Sim, knowing what his true feelings were, with gentleness in her eyes. He embraced her as he said good-bye.
Sim walked up to Owen as he attempted to say good-bye but he was cut off, "Don't say anything. Just leave me and my family alone," said Owen without changing the expression of his face. Sim just stood there looking into his eyes,
"Very well then, but remember Owen, what comes around goes around," said Sim as he turned and pulled the hood over his head. But before leaving he turned once more to Luke as he looked at the child's bright blue eyes that reminded him of someone that was long gone. A tear rolled down his cheek at the thought.
"Don't worry, Luke. Stay strong! Remember the Force and I guarantee that you will do well. I foresee it my young friend," shouted Sim as he turned his head back once more and flashed a smile before walking away. He boarded into his cockpit as the spacecraft's engines ignited.
Luke just watched helplessly as the spacecraft took off and disappeared from his eyes. He collapsed as he sobbed violently as he remembered the good old days with Sim Nam. Owen went over to him as he patted Luke's shoulder,
"Don't worry, Luke, you don't need that crazy, wizard," said Owen with a smile but Luke just turned to him. His eyes were full of anger as he hit Owen's hand away and ran into the house as he sobbed.
Inhalator shot up as he woke up from his dream. He looked around the room as he realized where he was. His breathe was raspy and long, as if he had just done an exercise training. He sighed as he remembered his dream. He had been having this for the past week, each time he remembering the day that Sim Nam had left from Tatoinne for some unknown reasons.
He patted his head as he shook the thoughts from it. He was a Dark Lord of the Sith, while Sim was a Jedi. They were enemies, no matter their pasts. Inhalator gently slipped out of bed as he walked up to the window that showed only the blackness of space. He could feel that his back was still sore from the punishment Vader had given him for not fulfilling his task, which was ten long minutes of Force Lightning that would have killed anyone but only kept Inhalator alive because of his deep hatred.
As he stared out the window, something came to his mind. He remembered the days back at the Desert Hut where Sim Nam would visit him and tell him stories and play with him for hours. At that time, Owen and Sim were on good terms but something happened between the two that made Owen dislike all Jedi's including Sim. He never figured it out, but that didn't matter to Inhalator. Yet something continued to chip at him from inside, asking if what he was doing was in fact the right thing, the good thing. The voices of Yoda and Obi-Wan continued to plague him, reminding him of the dark side's consequences. Vader had taught him how to get them out of his head, but it only worked temporarily before failing him. It was only a matter of time before he would go insane at this point.
Sim walked up the room to the dining room as he entered it where the rest of the guys were eating. He sat down at his usual spot and started eating his breakfast,
"Good morning, everyone," said Sim as he stuffed his mouth.
"Good morning, master," replied Leia as she continued eating and reading something that Sim didn't care to figure out.
"Well, Leia, I need to talk to you after breakfast," said Sim as Leia looked at him, her curiosity peaked.
The rest of breakfast was eaten in silence as they finally left the room as Leia and Sim walked out of the room and down the hall.
"Yes, Master, what did you need to talk with me about?" said Leia as she kept up with her master.
There was a moment of silence as Sim answered her, "Leia, I think it is time we do what Jedi are suppose to do. We will be going on a mission," replied Sim as he continued to walk down the hallway.
"What kind of mission?" asked Leia as they entered the hanger bay with Han and Lando prepping the ship; obviously they had been told beforehand about this.
"We will be going to the Pepious System. There we will be launching an attack to free the Jedi prisoners there," said Sim as he walked over to Chewie who was fixing some stuff.
"But Master, isn't that place guarded by legions of clones? Vader and Lu... I mean Darth Inhalator will be there," said Leia as she caught herself from saying Luke. To her, Luke had died.
"I understand that, but in order to defeat the Empire, freeing as many Jedi as possible will be a priority. As for confronting the Dark Lords, if it must happen we will do what the Force tells us," said Sim as they entered into the ship.
"Okay, Master, but I want to know, I wish to avoid that problem," said Leia as they entered the Falcon to get ready to leave.
Han entered the cockpit as Lando sat in the co-pilot and repeated over the comlink,
"Welcome to Flight Falcon, please fasten your seat belts and get ready to go into space," said Lando with a laugh before Han took the comlink from him and turned it off.
The Falcon roared to life as they shot up into the sky and off into space. Sim watched as the temple disappeared before bringing his focus back to the events. Leia sat next to her master as she meditated. The trip would take over two days if they wanted stealth. From Sim's sources, that was the best time to infiltrate the prison.
It was do or die.