Title: "Transcend Force"
Author: Shaitanah
Rating: PG-13
Timeline: Before ANH (Republic episodes – a month after AOTC)
Summary: Shortly before Episode IV Darth Vader is sent on a mission to the remote planet of Luki IV. + Vader learns that the planet has something to do with him & Obi-Wan & starts to suspect Kerrit; memories from Vader's past come alive.
Disclaimer: Star Wars belong to a genius, i.e. George Lucas. I only wish I owned Anakin/Vader! ;)
A/N: Please REVIEW!
Chapter 3
AGREE TO WAIT
It was difficult for Darth Vader to maintain the kneeling posture, but he remained steadily on his knees before the holoprojector. One might have detected slight trembling in his black-clad form, had anyone seen him just then. Despite himself, Vader had always felt a little out of place in the presence of the Evil One who had turned him to the Dark Side of the Force.
The hooded figure was now reduced to a small blue transparent image. The Emperor spoke in a deep voice: "I sense a disturbance in the Force. It is somehow connected with the planet you are on".
"Indeed, my Master?" Vader asked in a poisonous voice, only thankful for that the vocoder transformed it into an expressionless sound signal.
"You are in danger, my friend. So are we all. The Rebellion is growing stronger. Those like Tarkin may underestimate the danger, but the Rebellion could be our undoing. I have foreseen it. We need you on our battle station".
"I am doing all that is in my power".
The Emperor interrupted him in a sudden haste: "An old name pops in my mind when it dwells on that moon. Skywalker. And another one: Kenobi".
Vader tensed. The memory of the shuttle taking off, fuming and droning, flickered again.
"Is there anything you wish to tell me, Lord Vader?" Palpatine inquired.
The Dark Lord shook his head. His premonitions were all too blurry. He never ignored the Force, taught well both by Kenobi and Darth Sidious, but here was another matter, the matter of his own mind. Vader certainly hoped it was playing tricks at him for he would never want to dig into the painful past again.
The holoprojector switched off. Vader began pacing, quickening his steps gradually. A new threat was drawing nearer, still obscure but distantly powerful – and Vader got stuck on the base with no perspective of getting away. Kerrit was coming. He launched a ship and was probably in the outer space already, but Vader had gotten a vague impression it was quite dangerous to draw near the planet all in all. He also disliked the rising pressure of the Emperor. The Sith Master was concerned with the Rebellion progress. 'What does it have to do with me?' Vader thought irritably, gasping from a short sting of Anakin in him: impatient, unruly, prepared for an argument.
Someone knocked quietly for fear of disturbing the Dark Lord. Vader opened the door with a swing of his hand. Sora came in with an invitation for the demonstration of the rocket of the pre-TF type.
The test site was full of representatives of numerous races. Everybody chattered casually, sounds floating above the ground like a sheer tablecloth. The rocket TF-b 7.0 was set in the middle of the field, ready to take off. Its slick silvery corpus made it look like an enormous bullet. It started in a whirlwind of white smoke and an outrage of applaud, golden sky darkened, losing its glitter bit by bit the way an old cover of paint crumbles in pieces in time. Roaring, stirring the masses of spectators on the tribunes, the rocket took off. They held their breath for a couple of agonizing seconds. The test site became utterly quiet, on the verge of insanity. Vader's mechanical ear-dynamics caught every small sound. Then suddenly it stopped. The spectators wailed and shouted.
It took more than two hours to examine all the advantages of the weapon. During that spectacular rotation Vader became aware of that his interests lay more with Sora than with the show. Her resemblance to Padme stunned him. Padme with her silken hair coiled in two lateral buns over the ears, her luminous eyes and her kind smile – why had that had to happen to her? Rage boiled in him, extreme anger towards Darth Sidious who had manipulated him and locked him up in that gaol of a suit; Sora who was so young, so much like Padme, so in love with her boyfriend the way Amidala had been with Anakin; Jass Apollo so lucky in love and his career.
"The show does not seem to entertain you, my lord", Sora said in an undertone.
"On a contrary, captain. I find your engineering process quite intriguing".
Sora smiled coyly. Purely out of curiosity the Dark Lord Force-scanned her. Calm on the outside, she shivered, breathing shallow, failing to relax. Every once in a while she skewed her eyes upon the tribune where the scientists' lair was situated.
"I am looking forward to meeting the author of this masterpiece", said Vader. Sora turned in his direction. "Who is he, by the way?"
"It's a she". Sora blushed a little. "Dr Feyh designed the sketches about ten years ago. However, she is no longer on the staff. She resigned, and we lost her trace. Rumour has it, she lives on the outskirts of Narrhuma as a hermit".
"Feyh? Vere Feyh?"
Sora nodded, then tilted her head as if wondering if it rang any bell. Vader's mood was undetectable. Another piece of a puzzle. He could picture Dr Feyh's face very clearly – at least, its 22-years-ago version – whereas he didn't know under which circumstances they had met.
Captain Zabel's comlink chimed. She replied hastily to her interlocutor, then asked Vader if he was familiar with any man named Kerrit. "Major Coloe from Landing Monitoring declares that a man named Val Kerrit has just been taken in charge due to his connection to the Rebel Alliance".
Vader rose and left the test site, though not before he dispatched Sora to bail his aide out. The seeds of distrust had been planted. He'd have to keep an eye on Kerrit from now on.
The ship rocked hard. Lightning ripped through its hull, tearing into two pilots. Ignoring pain, the younger one gripped the control wheel firmly and tried to straighten the course. The outpouring of bolts from the control panel increased in intensity. Frozen on his seat, the older man pressed the evacuation button before his co-pilot could protest. The pair flew up and descended quickly to the ground, toppling and spinning, electric currents crackling over their weakened bodies. The youth had enough time to push his companion away from the falling fragments of the starship. The everything went pitch black. Overwhelming, mute darkness embraced him.
Anakin came to his senses, feeling wet stains on his face. The remnants of the wrecked shuttle were still burning. Mild rain was working on breaking it off. The sky above was orange, lined with stripe-like clouds, pale golden, tinted with grey, ready to produce wild storm. Anakin got up, feeling sharp pain in his limbs, and looked around. He was, apparently, in the middle of nowhere.
Skywalker rubbed his eyes to ease the stinging, but it only made it worse. He felt as if he was back home on Tatooine, a sandstorm approaching. He shuddered at the memory. After the recent events Tatooine wasn't exactly where he wanted to be.
His Master's limp body by the damaged fuselage called for his attention. Anakin rushed towards him, felt his pulse – very faint – and focused on his senses. 'Calm', he reasoned with himself, 'steady. You can do it'. In truth, he had never done that before. Force healing was a complicated process, known only to the greatest. Anakin put his hand on Obi-Wan's chest. Damn! His heart stopped! It took Anakin all his knowledge (not that he possessed much of that sort) and all his patience. His senses heightened, focused in one massive wave which plunged straight into the older Jedi's heart, animating it. It came alive, pumping blood with all the fierce strength of a newborn. The Jedi gasped for air and focused his hazy sight on Skywalker.
"Anakin! What is–?"
"You shouldn't speak now, Master. Tell you later, okay? Have rest for now".
The rain stopped, having bathed the thirsty earth in its cooling water. Obi-Wan fell asleep, completely drained. Meanwhile, Anakin treated his hurt ribcage, musing on what had actually happened.
Obi-Wan woke up in a tidy room, wrapped up in blankets, his head buzzing. Air smelled of lemon drops and medicine. Rubbing his numb neck, the Jedi sat up. Strange… he had no memory of this place. Puzzled, he caught his Padawan whisper in the dark.
Anakin was recording a message on a portable data-chip in the other room. His hushed voice was full of concern, doubt and passion. "…By rights I should be by your side now! Looks like we aren't even in the Core anymore. Don't worry when you get this message. I'll be… we'll be fine".
"Who are you planning to call?" Obi-Wan asked. His apprentice faced him, hiding the chip behind his back.
"Noone!"
"I assume, you've already contacted the Council".
Skywalker unfolded a holomap in front of him, maximized the area of their possible whereabouts and reported rapidly: "According to what I've learnt from the locals, this moon is the fourth satellite in the Luki System, Morra, or Luki IV. It's small, almost entirely occupied by various labs and pharmaceutical companies. The interesting fact is that we've very nearly been pulled in by the moon's natural forcefield".
Anakin wasn't speaking about the Force though Obi-Wan accented his attention at that. The planet seemed to be very Force saturated. It reeked with the Force. Obi-Wan couldn't understand why he had never heard of it before. He sensed an unusual amount of life here, almost as if they fell inside the Living Force itself.
Anakin coughed to remind of his presence. "I have contacted the Council. They promised to delay the meeting until we are available. The problem is that the locals don't travel often. The choice of the ships isn't big".
"We aren't in the position to choose anything", Obi-Wan remarked.
"Exactly. I'm afraid we'll have to wait at least a week before they allot us a transport…"
His voice trailed off. Obi-Wan bent his head at the acceptance of the unfortunate fact. The Jedi are patient. The Jedi never demand, they wait.
They agreed to wait. Obi-Wan's silence signed an invisible contract for that.