Chapter 17: In Grave Danger, You Are
Tadeo and Aunecah Fel walked hand in hand through the integrated native and alien forests of Coruscant. The planet's primary was tickling the waters of the lake ahead, promising the suddenness of nightfall. The two Fel children knew that they should have asked permission before completing the assignment that Uncle Anakin had given them, but Auni had been insistent.
Now, as the sun sunk lower and lower behind the horizon and they began to shiver in their students' tunics and robes, Auni and Tad began to wonder if they had made the best decision. Tad squeezed harder on his sister's hand as the overhead tree branches and leaves provided an umbrella covering against the little remaining rays of light. The three-year-old still had a fear of the dark, and although he felt safe in the presence of his older sister, he was concerned by the shadows that shifted under the failing light.
"Auni, let's go back," he stuttered in the cold, his breath catching in the autumnal air.
Aunecah stared down at her brother, giving him a disgusted look. "You aren't scared, are you, Tad?"
The boy's lower lip jutted out in defiance of his sister's harsh accusation. "No way," he argued vehemently. "Benny says we should never leave the Temple without Momma's permission."
"Well, Benny left us, Tad. He made Momma, Grandma, and Grandpa upset. Uncle Anakin left too, and so we have to learn how to touch the Yuuzhan Vong ourselves," Auni said matter-of-factly.
Tad now sucked on his lip, trying to stave off the pain at missing his mother's cousin. Benny was not supposed to leave, although he had not left like Uncle Luke. Tad's dreams had been nightmares really of bad men coming to hurt Benny. He had not told Momma and Papa about the really bad dream, about the man dressed in black, as dark as the night that Tad feared, who would reach out a hand to Benny. Tad shivered, and it had nothing to do with the colder nights on Coruscant.
"I can sense the Yuuzhan Vong," Tad said, squeezing Auni's hand a little tighter.
Auni sniffed in the way that meant she was uncomfortable and trying to show her elderly superiority, a sign Tad had learned even before he could speak. "That's why I need your help, Tad."
Auni led them deeper into the integrated forest, the tiny legs of the Fel children avoiding the twisting multicolored Auna vines. Reaching up, Tad grabbed a branch of one of the Fasha trees that was leaning due to the change of season, and felt the alien sense of the Yuuzhan Vong. He only tugged on it for a second, though, before Auni hastened him forward.
"Why do we have to go so far?" Tad whined the question. He was tired, it was late, and he didn't need the Force to know that Momma and Papa were not going to be happy about their little excursion.
"Because there is more Yuuzhan Vong creatures deeper in the Force, Tad," Aunecah replied, as if this was the most obvious thing the in the universe. "Now will you stop complaining?"
"I'm tired," Tad continued to protest in the way only three-year-olds knew how: loud and high-pitched.
"What if I promise to let you play with me and Tipoc tomorrow," Aunecah said, waving the bait in front of her brother's nose.
Cocking his head to one side, Tad considered this with as much concentration as an attorney considering a plea bargain. Tipoc and Auni were best friends, and rarely included Tad in their adventures; the fact that Auni was even considering it told Tad that his sister was desperate. Despite his tiredness, he decided that this was too good to pass up.
"Alright, but you promised," Tad reminded.
Aunecah raised an imaginary lightsaber in a salute. "May the Force leave me and never return," she vowed solemnly.
Tad knew that she was true to this oath - no one took it at the Temple who was a Jedi and didn't mean to keep their promise. As they continued to delve deeper into the forest, Tad tried to focus his mind on anything else but the ever-shifting shadows. He found that most often his mind turned to his mother's cousin.
"Auni, do you think Ben will come soon?" he asked, struggling over a large mound of twisting vines.
Aunecah grabbed him from under his arms and hauled him over.
"Ben left us for his own reason," Aunecah answered. "You heard what Momma says, Uncle Anakin will get him back."
"What if Benny doesn't wanna come back?" Tad pressed the question that scared him the most.
The older Fel child stopped and faced her brother. "Tad, why wouldn't he want to come home?"
Tad never liked it when Auni was overly nice to him; as brother and sister, sometimes they felt it was their Force-given duty to argue, and when Auni was nice it meant something bad was happening and nobody was telling him. "Benny's scared, and I miss him," Tad admitted.
"We all miss him, Tad," Aunecah assured him.
Deep down, Tad knew that Aunecah loved Ben as much as he did, even if Auni couldn't understand their mother's cousin like he did. There was a special bond between Ben Skywalker and Tadeo Fel, one destined by the Force, although neither boy knew it yet. Tad was just beginning to experience the nature of a Seer, although he could not predict things the way that Ben did. Now Tadeo Fel saw the possibilities, the many threads that the Force could pass down through, where Ben saw the distinct, what would happen, visions that cast him into sorrow.
Night settled over Coruscant, and the many insects, some purely Yuuzhan Vong or native to the galaxy, others a strange combination of the two. Tad was grateful for the large amount of light that the seven clustered moons of Coruscant provided the forest, the areas that it lightened, and the path that it showed before him and Auni.
It was due to this light that he saw the shine of metallic chrome. He squinted his green eyes, trying to discern a shape in the distance of shadow. "Auni," he said, pulling his sister's hand back to stop her. "There's somfun over there," he told her, pointing in the direction of the shining metal.
Aunecah followed his finger. "It's a ship," she breathed. "Come on, let's check it out." If there was one thing that Aunecah had inherited from both parents, it was her love for machinery, and a ship sitting in the middle of the forest was too much of a temptation to check out.
Together, the two Fel children traversed over the vine-twisted and root-encrusted surface of Coruscant, to the ship that was beyond anything Tad had ever seen in his short three years of life. It was a sleek black wedge shape, that had two TIE Fighter-like fins on either side of it; from out of the cockpit the front came to such a lethal point that it might as well have been a dagger in the sky.
"Auni, what kind of ship is this?" the little boy murmured as his sister led him around the enigmatic ship.
"I don't know," she said thoughtfully, her lower lip caught between her teeth as she reached up to touch the black metallic surface. She brushed her fingers against the surface and drew them up to her face to scrutinize them. "It's not very dirty, it hasn't been here for very long."
Tad pulled against his dazzled sister until Aunecah let go of his hand, and he went to the back of the ship, where he had spotted the access ramp. Walking up to the control pad, he put his chubby fingered hand over the inset keys, and tried to picture the code, like his mother, Uncle Luke, and Ben had taught him. Without thinking, his fingers flew over the keypad, punching in the correct code.
The access hatch hissed open, swinging down with compressed air. He bounded up the ramp, his tiny legs pushing him up with little difficulty. Inside, red light tantalized him with curiosity, and he entered without thinking of the consequences. As soon as he crossed the threshold, the door swung closed. He ran to it, pushing it with his arms and feeling a cold ball sit in the bottom of his stomach. Tears coursed down his cheeks as he realized that the control panel was set too high for him to use the same trick he had before.
Reaching out to his sister and mother, his grandmother, Uncle Jacen and Aunt Tahiri, anyone he could think of in his circle of friends and family, he touched them with the Force, and emitted a high-pitched mental scream.
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Inside one of the conference rooms at the NRI Security Building on Mon Calamari, Han Solo and his Jedi team sat around a glass table filled with water and some of the indigenous fish that graced the oceans of Mon Cal. It had been nearly a week since their arrival, and they had gotten to the very point that Han had predicted; nowhere fast. Yet Gyser Feld insisted that they continue the search of the records that were sent to Mon Cal from every NRI office in the galaxy.
The whole team seemed disheartened by the lack of progress, and Han himself had contemplated using some of the less-than-diplomatic approaches he had used in his smuggling days to convince Feld that this fruitless search was coming to an end. Maddeningly, Feld managed to get Chief of State Tiv's backing on the whole mess of an investigation, and Han was forced to continue this wild tauntaun chase.
Spreading his hands wide, Han leaned back in his conforming chair. "I don't know why I'm asking this, but do we have any leads?"
The whole table seemed to share in a combinative snort. "In a word, Captain. No," Athaliah answered. "I don't know how long we've spent going through those terminal records, but there is nothing to indicate that there was an untimely or inappropriate log. To be honest, Captain, this is not our specialty. We're covert agents in the Order, we can spot a spy in the flesh, but computer terminals have no feelings, no intentions."
Han nodded, feeling as frustrated as the rest of his team. "I understand your concerns, Athaliah, and believe me, I've been trying to convince Feld of that. However, my wife's influence hasn't quite made the diplomatic effect she would like." He laced his fingers in front of him. "I've spoken with my son, Jacen, and he has agreed to make contact with Chief Tiv. Jacen has some sway as the liaison to the Republic. Hopefully, with his pull we can be out of here in a couple of days." He paused for a moment. "But we still need a jumping-off point once we've got our freedom back. Anything suspicious? Amodt, what have you got on Feld?"
Amodt, whose pensive manner reminded Han of Luke and Ben so fully that he felt a pang of regret that the Skywalker family continued to be pulled apart, stroked his chin for a moment before answering. "Feld's proven to be a ladies' man, Captain. He frequents the nightclubs that have started to dot Mon Cal since the New Republic came to be seated here, but nothing incriminating. To be honest, Captain, I'm not sure what you want me to find."
"I'm not sure what I want you to find either, Amodt," Han said. "But I think you're on the right track. Athaliah, do you want to do some of that covert operation stuff you were talking about?"
A cultured dark eyebrow cocked in unrestrained curiosity. "What do you have in mind, Captain?"
"How do you feel about checking out the local scene?" Han answered the question with a question.
Athaliah caught his gist, and gave a wicked smile. "I understand you perfectly, Captain."
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Choking smoke was the most appealing factor of the nightclub in the slummier parts of Mon Cal, it hid the cracked and peeling paint on the walls, underneath the slightly less identifiable substances that were caked on the permacrete. Shifting in the outfit that was much more revealing than her Jedi clothes, Athaliah sipped at the blue-colored liquid in her hand. She had stripped out of the prosthetic skin and eye color replacements that had made her appear the Yosorian delegate that the group's cover had required her to be.
Around her drunken Calamarians stumbled out of the nightclub, some of them in the arms of newfound friends, and sharing their new agreement in loud, lewd, tongues. Athaliah had long since stopped being surprised by such behavior, but she couldn't understand why Han thought Feld would come here. This hardly seemed the place that the Republic's Home Head of Security would frequent, even in his dalliances.
Shock coursed through her in the next few minutes when Gyser Feld came trotting in. He headed for the bar almost immediately, the bartender already preparing his drink, as though Feld frequented this place often. Athaliah noticed that Feld had freed himself of all markings that might identify him as an officer in the New Republic. iI wonder if his ambiguity comes off the moment he's got a pretty girl on his arm/i, Athaliah thought snidely to herself.
Which was her part in this little game of intrigue. To see how far Gyser Feld would go… It would have been easier if she had not already been introduced to the man, whom she found personally repulsive, as she did most political types - and Athaliah was well aware that Feld's job was all for the glamour.
She waited for him to spot her - just because the man was a limelight-seeking sleaze didn't mean that he wasn't good at his job. Sometimes it was the good ones that fell the fastest. He was halfway through his third drink when he deigned to notice her. Athaliah was impressed that he managed not to choke on the sudden swallow that was visible in his thin-skinned neck. He gulped the rest of his drink before turning to fully face her.
She gave him an incredible exaggerated seductive smile. "Tough day, Feld?"
The man lapped up the bait like mother's milk. "You have no idea, Ms. Torran," he replied, returning her grin.
Quickly they engaged in conversation, Feld plastering the both of them with more and more alcohol and Athaliah using the Force to extract the toxins from her body. When she felt he was adequately drunk, she leaned over, pressing her lips against his in a deep kiss, somewhat sickening the second-generation Alderaanian Jedi.
"Perhaps I can help you with your troubles," she whispered into Feld's ear.
Through his drunken stupor, Feld smiled ridiculously at her. "I bet you could."
He snatched up her hand, Athaliah pretending to actually match his excitement. Feld led her through the bar and out the front door, where abruptly he snapped up straight, before slumping into Athaliah's awaiting arms. Across the hoverstreet, dartgun still in hand, was Harmon Amodt, a concerned look on his face. She knew that Harmon had not liked this idea at all, had only gone along with it because the famous Han Solo had suggested it.
She waved at him to let him know that she was all right, and sent a burst of reassurance through the Force. There weren't many at the Temple who knew about their feelings for one another, and they had both made it a point to keep it a secret. For two years they had kept the ruse going with none of their friends the wiser. Although they both knew that there was nothing wrong about their relationship, they also knew that not many Jedi-Jedi marriages worked out. Few like the now-deceased Masters Skywalker had the happy endings that were dreamed about.
Several couples passed her before Captain Solo arrived in the speeder. She passed off their silent inquiries with a simple, "Man can't hold his liquor", before Captain Solo helped lever the ungainly weight of the large head of security. She slid into the back seat with the unconscious man, settling her riding skirt before initiating the door lock.
"Nice work, Torran," Captain Solo said as Harmon came to slide in next to him in the passenger seat.
Athaliah herself couldn't help but fall under the spell of the Solo charm. This man had, after all, married the princess of her parents' home planet. "Thank you, Captain Solo."
Harmon passed her another hypospray of sedative. "Here, you might need this," he said, lingering the contact as the fingers brushed.
"Good shot," she congratulated, as her fingers briefly closed over his. "Where to next, Captain?" she asked Han.
"We check out Security Chief Feld's quarters," Han answered. "Let's keep this little operation to ourselves. The Council already has a lecture built up for Anakin, I don't feel like being next to him when they issue it."
Athaliah and Harmon exchanged amused looks. "Absolutely, Captain," she assured him.
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Aunecah Fel clutched her head as she ran through the integrated forests of Coruscant, trying to physically press her brother's mental cries from rebounding in her head. Tears of complete child fright were coursing down her round cheeks, her pumping legs were being cut up as she dashed through thorned vines that held more of the Yuuzhan Vong bestial attributes. She stumbled a number of times, when her legs could not keep up with her headlong dash.
Up ahead, closer to the Temple, she could feel her mother's warm presence like a beacon, guiding her. If circumstances weren't so dire, Auni might have been afraid to face her mother in the wake of her disobedience, but Tad was in trouble, and the young girl loved her brother more than anything.
It was only when she could see her mother in the light of Coruscant's seven moons that Auni noticed that Grandma and Papa had come along with her. Momma ran up to her and engulfed her in a hug, before placing a hand on her forehead and quieting Tad's mental cries. Tears of relief replaced the ones of fear.
"Where's Tad, Auni?" Papa asked, as Momma passed her over to Grandma Leia.
"We found a ship," Aunecah explained on a hiccup of air, trying desperately to remember everything Uncle Luke had taught her about remaining calm. Not an easy thing for a nine-year-old. "I think he's inside."
"It's alright, Auni. We'll find him," Grandma Leia said, soothing back Auni's hair from her forehead. A gentle hand trailed down to Auni's painfully scratched and bleeding legs, and almost instantly Auni felt the relief provided by Grandma's manipulation of the Force. "We'll have to have a healer look over her legs after we get Tad," Grandma told her parents as they continued to hurry through the forest.
Momma tossed her head back towards them. "Auni are you alright?" she checked.
Bravely, Aunecah bit her lip and nodded for her mother. "My legs only hurt a little."
Papa gave her a fond smile for her bravery, and gave her cheek a gentle caress. "Jai, can you still feel him?" he asked Momma.
"He's up ahead, but his cries have gone softer. Auni, what kind of ship was it?"
"I've never seen anything like it, Momma," Aunecah answered on a breath of awe.
Reaching the ship, none of the grown-ups stopped to admire it as Auni and Tad had, but ran around it, looking for an entrance. Momma ran to the green glowing keypad once they had, and placed her hand over it, briefly closing her wildly worried eyes. Her eyes snapped open, and Momma's fingers leapt over the keypad without pause; the access ramp lowered, but there was no sign of Tad.
"Tad?" Momma called, as the three grown-ups ran up into the belly of the ship.
They found Tad under one of the consoles, curled up into a ball and rocking himself back and forth. Momma knelt down next to him and opened her arms to her little boy. "Tad, Momma's here, Tad," Jaina whispered softly, soothingly.
"Momma?" the little boy's head came up, tears caught in his green eyes. Like a spring, Tad rocketed into Momma's arms, his own pudgy appendages coming to encircle his mother's neck. With a sharp sigh of relief, Momma tightened her grip on Tad, slowly getting to her feet. Papa hugged them both quickly, tightly. The he held out his arms to Auni, and she leaped from her grandmother's grasp to her father.
Then the three grown-ups took their first glance inside the strange ship. It was small, compact, much too tight for the three adults standing inside of it, and they had to slide past one another as they each found something new to scrutinize.
"What is this?" Papa asked.
Momma screwed up her features in concentration. "Those side pie-plate fins are very reminiscent of the TIE Fighter, but this ship is new, constructed within the standard year, I would say."
"The wedge shape reminds me of the Star Destroyer," Grandma muttered thoughtfully. "But some of it has the markings of Old Republic technology."
Papa and Momma nodded. "There's definitely an Imperial feel to it."
"Bad man built it," Tad suddenly spoke up, from his placed slumped against Momma's shoulder. "Bad man who wants Benny."
Momma exchanged a concerned look with Grandma. "Oh, no."
"It looks like we've found our spy," Grandma said.
"How long do you think it has been here?" Papa asked. "That way we can tell how long our spy has been here."
Momma walked over to the console and ran her fingers over it, hefting Tad in her arm so as not to lose her balance. "Maybe we can find out. Mom, Jag, take the kids back to the Temple. I'll see what I can find out about our little pal here."
Papa shook his head. "I don't want to leave you."
"Take the kids, I'll be fine," Momma insisted, brushing a finger over his cheek. "Whoever our spy is, they're not here now."
"I'll be back," Papa promised. He looked to his mother-in-law. "If you'll watch the children."
"Of course," Grandma said, taking Tad from Momma's arms. "Be careful. There is a dark stir to the Force."
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Ships made into shadows by the cloaking devices the Sith Lord Nefarion had found in one of the Emperor's few known storehouses lowered to the soft marsh of Coruscant. It was one of the last shuttles to arrive on the Jedi's planet, the one carrying Warmaster Tarsvin Shraq. The Yuuzhan Vong Devotee warrior had been secreting his large group of warriors on the planet, the Jedi none the wiser, blind to the Yuuzhan Vong.
The demi-god Nefarion had informed him that both Skywalker and Solo were off-planet, the only two Jedi known to be able to feel the Yuuzhan Vong in the Force. With the favor of the gods on their side, Shraq should have control of the Temple before the two Jedi cousins arrived. Then Shraq could have his revenge against the people that had destroyed his own, dividing them into weaklings who feared death and avoided meeting their gods.
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Beyond the plain of reality, in the stirrings of the Force, Luke Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi stood side-by-side, helpless against the rise of the Dark Side.
Luke turned to his mentor in both life and death. "The Dark Side has peaked?" He asked, already knowing it for a fact.
"The time of trial is at hand," Obi-Wan affirmed.