Chapter 3

She ran to the docking bay. With unnatural energy, she ran, leaving Jeff behind her gasping for breath. All the time thinking, hoping, that the person on the escape pad was alive. And finally she got there, with Jeff closing the gap. He gasped for breath, and yet, he walked over to the escape pod to open it. Stormtroopers were everywhere in the bay by now, and Jessica could sense the anxiety in everyone, including herself.

Then, the pod's door flew open, and out stepped something that made Jeff want to scream right there.

His brother.

Michael Darkrider.

Instead of a warm homecoming, the two lunged at each other's throat. Jeff, being the slower of the two, and Michael being quicker, grabbing his brother's throat, and squeezing with all his might. But his grip wouldn't last long as Jeff circled out with his feet locked them in place around Michael's ankles. He pulled inward and both tumbled to the cold metal floor. Jeff then swung at his brother's form, yet missed as Michael rolled across the floor. He then came up from behind Jeff and grabbed his throat again, squeezing to kill.

During all this, Jessica stood by and watched in a confused daze. She did not know who this person before her was, but Jeff did. And obviously, they weren't the best of friends. Her danger sense went off as Jeff leered toward unconsciousness from loss of air, and she reached down, gripping the mysterious person with her enhanced force grip and threw him to the side.

"Stop it both of you!" she yelled at the top of her lungs. Yet, the mystery man tried to get up and lunge at her even. She outstretched her hand toward him and sent him flying into the life pod. Jeff tried to get up as well, so she pushed both to the ground in an invisible, smothering blanket of the force. She pointed at the man, and asked, with no sign of diplomacy in her voice, "Who the hell are you?" She was angry, and it showed.

The man seemed to stare at her for a second, then spoke up. "Michael Darkrider."

"Darkrider?" she said. She then shot her questioning gaze at Jeff, who nodded at her, still lying on the ground where her force grip kept him.

"He's my brother," Jeff said.

She then looked back at Michael, who was fighting the grip. "You damn Imps!" he shouted. "Let me go! I'm going to kill you, Jeff!" He kept shouting.

Jessica finally clenched her fist together, cutting off his air supply. "Shut up and I'll release you." He fought more, but began to settle down as he could no longer keep focused. "There, now," she said as she released him, feeling as if she were talking to a child. "Listen, I will let you both up if you can act like mature adults and not little children."

Both men nodded, and she let the force grip go. "That's better. Jeff, this is your brother, correct?"

"Yes," he said, wanting to call her Jessica, but bit his tongue. If Michael knew she was dear to him, he might do something to her . . . "My brother, Michael Darkrider."

Glancing at Michael, Jessica spoke again. "I can see there is some friction between you two." Dry understatement, she thought to herself. "Please, work it out. You," she said pointing to Michael, "are going to be on this ship a while, and I don't want you killing my best officer. I am Admiral Jessica Darken. You can call me Admiral, Jessica, or whatever. This is my ship, and you will go by my rules." She motioned for two stormtroopers to come forward.

"I am not staying here!" Michael shouted, and reached for his blaster. He got off a carefully aimed shot at Jessica, and fired tree more less skillfully aimed. Using the Force as her guide, she brought her saber up from its perch on her belt, and neatly deflected the bolts. He fired again at her, and she deflected it. He couldn't get off anymore as Jeff tackled him to the ground. Michael's blaster slide across the floor, and Jessica snatched it into her hand with a force pull. "Oh, I believe you are." By now the troopers had put binders on him although he was still fighting them. "Take him to the detention level. Jeff, come with me." She then stalked off.


Once inside of her ready room, she pointed to a chair. "Sit," she said, like giving commands to her pet. "Now, you want to explain to me what just happened?"

Jeff sighed as he sat down. "Michael and I have our differences. I joined the Imperial Academy, and he stayed in the family business. That's all." You liar, he said to himself. There's more to it, and she'll never believe you. That's right, just tell her you killed your own family on the orders or your superior. Go ahead. Tell her you killed your brother's fiancee in that blast. And then she'll think you're a man who values the Empire above your own family.

"Jeff?" she said, and he looked up at her breaking his daze. "You okay? You kinda zoned out for a second."

"Yeah, I'm fine. But, just, what are you going to do to Michael?"

"Well, I'm going to let him cool down. Then I'm going to take him to his quarters. And maybe drill him over about the New Republic --"

She stopped abruptly at the look on Jeff's face. "No, not an interrogation. I just want to ask him some things, like about what's going on in the galaxy. Relax, he's not a prisoner. Although," she added with a slightly mischievous smile, breaking her harsh exterior, "if you two keep fighting, I'll throw you both in the brig."

He snapped to attention. "Yes, sir!" he said, adding his own smile.


Jessica marched into the cell occupied by Michael Darkrider. She looked him over carefully, noting his green eyes and long, brown hair. He was tall, like his brother, and very handsome. Yet there was something about him . . . She could not place it, yet something vaguely familiar. The way he sat, the way he walked. "You're a smuggler, aren't you?" she said, the thought dawning on her. Like from a dream . . .

"Yeah," his voice cut through her thoughts. "So when is my execution? Gonna interrogate me first?"

She sighed. People always though she was bad news because she was an Imperial. "I'm not going to do anything of the sort. You are a guest aboard this ship. If you choose to be. If not, I'm sure there are other positions you can find yourself in. Of course, this is only temporary, until you get your new ship. On that matter, I would like to express apologizes. The ship's gunners are somewhat trigger happy, and acted on the orders of --"

"Jeff, no doubt," he said, cutting her off.

She stopped, and gazed into his eyes. "No, your brother was nowhere near the bridge. It was in fact my second in command, Captain Electra." She then added a cold smile not meant for him, but really for Electra. "Don't worry. Between you and I, he is on his way to becoming food for the Pit of Carkoon on Tatooine. Ever been there?"

"Oh, yeah. Really hot. Not an experience I want to live again." He let his composure slip, and was beginning to actually trust her. No! Don't! An inner voice sounded. These are the same people who murdered Katherine! Never, ever trust them! His despair was covered by a stoic face, yet his feelings radiated from him like heat.

"Who's Katherine?" Jessica asked, aware that the name had jumped at her along with his despair.

He gazed up at her, and for a moment, caught her eye. In it, he could see the troubled emotions she had, the pain, the loss, the sadness. He managed a weak smile, and resisted the urge to yield to her the information. "Just someone I knew once."

"Oh," she said, not believing a word he said about her, but continued on. "You can trust me, you know. Just because I wear this uniform does not mean I'm cruel and cold-hearted."

He continued to gaze at her, and then remembered what she was. She was a Jedi. Was she a Dark Jedi or a Light Jedi? Probably Dark, since she was Imperial. If she was Dark, she would have killed him by now, wouldn't she? She had just said that she wasn't like that, though. He nodded towards the lightsaber that rested on her hip. "Jedi?"

She smiled back to him. "Yeah. The last of the old, I believe. Or so my master told me."

He continued to gaze at her, studying her. "And who was that?"

She raised an eyebrow, curious as to why he was so curious about her. "My father and mother instructed me in the ways of the Force. Why is it that you are so concerned?"

"Oh, just curious."

She stretched out with the force, attempted to probe him, and then jumped back in surprise. "You are Force sensitive?"

"A little. Not much there to it. I was told I didn't have enough talent to actually become a Jedi. The only one in my family to actually show some Force potential."

"Oh. Maybe I could --"

"No! Just keep your old hokey religion to yourself. I have no use for it's ways in my field of business."

Most weird, Jessica thought. I think there is more to it than that. Maybe because I am Imperial he thinks I am a Dark Jedi. "Oh, okay. I was just trying to be the gracious host. Well," she said motioning for her guards to leave her, "I will show you to your quarters."

He blinked. An Imp offering him quarters? Well, she said he could trust her. "There is one more thing," she said as he rose from his perch on the cell's cot.

"And that is?" Information I bet. Most likely on the New Republic.

"Please, don't try to kill your brother again. He is my best officer, and," she said, her voice softening from it's usual hardness, "a great friend."

He smiled at her, although it was not friendly, only bitterly sardonic. "Just keep him away from me and I think I can manage."

She smiled back, yet kept eyeing his smile. Just like Jeff's. She had now come to associate that smile as the Darkrider smile.

Stay away from him, Princess, he's bad news.

She jerked her head up, wondering where the voice had come from. Her own, mental voice had scared her. Princess was something she hadn't been called in a long time. A nickname her father used when she was a little child. What made it surface now?

You are the princess. You must claim your throne now or certain doom will come.

She laughed silently at the voice. A voice from the future, no doubt. The voices and feelings had almost always been right.

Yet, "almost" didn't count for much.