Star Destroyer Redeemer

Commodore Vanto intercepted Supreme Commander Skywalker outside the Officer's Dining Facility. "Sir, the Chiss long-range shuttle has landed in the port docking bay. Chiss navigator Vah'nya and her security detachment will meet you on the flight deck."

"Ah," Luke said softly. "Vah'nya...is that your...friend?"

Vanto looked uncomfortable with the question but answered. "Yes, Sir. Could we please keep that to ourselves? I don't want to cause her any embarrassment. The Chiss do not approve of my friendship with her."

"I understand completely," Luke fell into step next to Vanto as they walked to the ship's bridge. "How exactly does this work...Chiss navigation, that is?"

"From what Vah'nya told me, it is a Force skill for precognition or future sight." Eli glanced over to Luke. "What was very interesting to me is the Chiss...or as they call it...the Cheunh word for these navigators is ozyly-esehembo...which translates to Sky-Walker."

Luke hesitated a step, but then continued amble down the corridor. "Skywalker? That is curious."

Eli smiled. "She asked me if your people had this ability? Perhaps your ancestors were the human version of a Chiss Navigator."

Luke shrugged. "I will have to ask my father about that. It may explain why we both are excellent pilots."

They arrived at the bridge and found a half dozen Chiss onboard. Five were very large and intimidating male Chiss that gazed at Luke with hard red eyes. The men surrounded a young blue skinned Chiss female that appeared far younger than her twenty-nine years Eli claimed was her age. The young woman dropped her head in deference before lifting her eyes back to Luke and smiling. "Supreme Commander Skywalker. It is an honor to meet you."

"It is I that is honored," Luke greeted her warmly. He thought about approaching her and shaking her hand, but the protective posture of her security detail made him pause. He cleared his throat before addressing her again. "Can you explain to me how you go about doing your navigation work?"

Vah'nya moved until she was standing behind the navigator seated at a console. "First we try the coordinates for a direct flight but don't engage the hyperdrive." She motioned for the crewman to input the coordinated to the Katana Fleet given by Captain Karrde. She then closed her eyes for a long moment. She shook her head. "I sense our journey would not be successful." She turned to Luke. "We continue doing this until We discover a path that I sense would not end in destruction of the crew. We engage the hyperdrive and once at that location we do it again, trying various coordinates until we finally get to the location we desire."

Luke nodded. "How long does this usually take?"

Vah'nya gave a tight smile. "It usually doubles or triples the flight time depending on how many alternate coordinates we have to check before finding a safe passage."

"Ah ha," Luke said warily. "How many times have you done this?" He hoped his question did not offend.

"My career spans almost two decades with hundreds of flights."

"And they were all successful?"

The Chiss woman looked confused by that question. "I would not be here if they were not? Did I misunderstand your question, Sir?"

Luke laughed at foolishness of his question. It was like asking her if she survived all her flights. "I guess I meant to say, were there any complications or close calls?"

"Oh." Luke thought he almost noticed a slight smile flash across the woman's face, but it was gone almost as fast as it appeared. "No sir. No difficulties. The worse thing that has happened is we would get to a point where there was no safe way to proceed. At that point we would back track and try using a different approach."

Luke nodded, satisfied at her answer. "Excellent. Proceed. I want to get there a soon as possible." He turned to his Communications Officer. "Before each jump notify Grand Admiral Thrawn aboard the Chimaera of our jump coordinates. He will accompany us to our destination."

.

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Resistance Dreadnaught

Karrde and Luke had secret discussions behind her back. Mara knew she shouldn't be as irritated as she was about that, but somehow it seemed like a breach of trust between her and Luke.

Talon glanced over at her and sighed. "You're mad...aren't you?"

She crossed her arms across her chest and frowned. "No."

Karrde chuckled. "Yes, you are. You don't like the idea that Luke contacted me about something."

She looked away from her boss and dropped her gaze on Chin sleeping on the metal cot in the corner of the cell.

Talon scooted closer to her and gave her a nudge with his elbow. "He just wanted to know if I knew the location of Han Solo."

She turned her gaze to Karrde. "Why didn't he ask me?"

"That is something you need to discuss with him."

She made a humph sound. "Did you see the carbon scoring or smell that odor when we entered the ship?"

Talon gave a nod. "Have you ever heard of the Hive Virus?"

Mara shook her head.

Talon stretched out his legs out and leaned closer to Mara. "It was a virus eradicated before you were born. The most virulent strain attacks the brain, altering perceptions, making people go mad with rage. They become blood thirsty and murderous. The last transmission from the Katana Fleet indicated the virus was spreading throughout the ships. It was believed the Admiral, knowing the virus could infect the galaxy, slaved the ships together and made a blind jump...to hide the fleet or maybe to destroy it, thus saving others from the illness."

A cold shiver ran up Mara's spine. "Are we in danger...from a virus?"

Talon shrugged. "It was a fast-acting infection. If this ship is from the legendary Katana fleet, and the virus was still active, I would think the crew would have succumbed to the disease by now."

She nodded. "So, the smell..."

"Probably the mummified remains of a thousand crewmembers. They cleaned the ship thoroughly, but they couldn't get the smell out of the air ducts completely."

"Or hide all of the blaster damage," she added.

"No visible damage on the outside," Karrde pointed out. "That leads me to believe the danger came from within...from the crew."

Mara heard a shift in the ship's engines. "We dropped out of hyperspace."

Talon frowned. "That's not good. There is no way we are close to the coordinates given to Skywalker. We're somewhere else."

Mara blew out a frustrated breath. "I'll let Luke know." She closed her eyes and reached out with the Force. 'Luke!'

He must have been further away because her connection to him was now tenuous, and she could barely make out his reply. 'Yes!'

She pulled in a long breath and concentrated harder than she ever had trying to get the message to him. 'Out of hyperspace. Don't believe we are at coordinates given. Will update when we have more information.'

She waited for a response but received none. She opened her eyes and glanced over to her boss.

"Did it work?"

She made a gesture of frustration. "Not sure. I'll try again if we ever figure out where we are." She blew out a breath. "You sure you don't want to try to escape. I can probably get us to the Wild Karrde."

He grimaced. "Then what? Get past their tractor beam and turbolasers? No, we don't make a move unless it looks like they changed their mind about not doing us harm. Until then we wait."

Mara hated waiting...especially while in the detention block of a Dreadnaught, but she acquiesced

to her employer's wishes. "We'll wait then."

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Star Destroyer Redeemer

Commodore Vanto frowned when he noticed his supreme commander's faraway, glazed expression. "Is there something wrong, Sir?" When Skywalker continued to stare blankly, Vanto risked reaching out and touching his shoulder. "Sir?"

Luke startled before regaining his composure and turning to Eli. "Sorry, I was lost in thought." He gave the man a reassuring smile before making an excuse to leave the bridge. "I'm going to my cabin to meditate. Notify me when we get to the coordinates or if there are any complications."

Vanto nodded, concern coloring his expression. "Yes, Sir."

Luke exited the flight deck while running a frustrated hand through his hair. Mara had reached out to him. He was able to pick up that she was out of hyperspace and was probably not at the location he was currently in route to. He was about to respond, but the navigator had taken that exact moment to engage the hyperdrive breaking Luke's concentration. He tried to reestablish contact, but to no avail. Obviously, there was some limits to his and Mara's Force communication abilities. Perhaps if he meditated, he could reestablish communication.

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Mara gazed around the detention block and determined the ship had to constructed at least sixty years ago. All modern ships used force-fields to contain prisoners, unlike the bars and metal doors she viewed in this detention block. The cell in which she currently resided was at the intersection of two corridors. One corridor traveled to the left and right of their chamber and another was perpendicular allowing her a clear view down what she believed were level-one, maximum security detainment cells. From the looks of it, they were being held in a minimum-security area which was more like a cage, with three walls and bars along the front of the room. The cells in the level-one unit had solid durasteel doors with a small video screen on the wall allowing guard to see inside the room. Mara wasn't sure how food was dispensed, but if this ship was like other detention blocks there was probably a ration bar dispenser along the back wall. She turned and inspected her cell. There were four metal bunks jutting out from the wall. In the corner there was a durasteel toilet and sink with a waist high steel wall wrapping around to allow some privacy. What she didn't see was a food dispenser. That meant that somebody would be around to feed them eventually. Hopefully, at that time, she should be able to gain some information.

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"Arrrggh," Luke groaned in frustration. No matter how hard he tried he could not reestablish contact with Mara. He was confident that his inability was due to distance and not some more disturbing reason...such as her death. It was too much of a coincidence that his connection failed right at the start of his ship's jump to lightspeed. He rose from his meditation mat located in the far corner of his quarters and walked over to his communication system and keyed the code to contact his father.

After a few seconds a shimmering image of Darth Vader filled the area above the projector base. "You have an update?" his father asked in his deep baritone voice.

Luke shook his head. "The Chiss navigator is moving us toward our destination, but Mara contacted me through the Force and said their ship dropped out of hyperspace. There is no way the ship that took her would be able to arrive at the coordinates given to us is such a short amount of time...even if they knew a direct route. She must be somewhere else."

"But where...you do not know."

"No father. I tried to regain contact. I think she is too far away."

"Then continue your mission. I will dispatch Admiral Pellaeon's fleet to search for the Dreadnaughts that captured the former Emperor's Hand."

Luke blew out a relieved breath. "Thank you, father. I will notify you when we have reached our destination." He disengaged contact and sighed. He really hoped Mara and her crew were alright. .
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It took over three hours before somebody came to the Mara's cell to bring dinner. The Resistance member was a human male and very young, probably in his late teens. He pushed a waist high meal delivery cart that was used to keep items hot or cold depending on which side of the cart he opened. Mara moved up to the bars, but he motioned with his hand for her not to approach. "Stand back until I'm ready to hand out the trays."

Mara took a step back and smiled. "Sure...can you tell us where we are and what is going to happen to us?"

The young man shook his head. "Sorry I can't talk to prisoners."

Mara asked him again, using the Force to overcome his, reluctance. The man stopped what he was doing and turned to her. "We are in orbit above Onderon waiting for a Resistance Frigate to rendezvous with us. You will be transferred to the Frigate and transported to a safehouse elsewhere."

By now Chin and Karrde had moved to stand next to Mara, fascinated in seeing a mind-trick in action. "Where is the safehouse?" Mara asked.

The guard gazed at Mara blankly. "I don't know...supposedly only the ship's captain knows...for security reasons."

Mara continued to press the man for answers. "How long until the Frigate arrives?"

"I was told three to four hours from now."

Mara gritted her teeth in frustration. "You will forget we had this conversation."

"I will forget we had this conversation." The man closed his eyes and shook his head as if coming out of a dream. He looked at his cart and then to Mara, obviously trying to figure out what just happened.

"Are you going to feed us or just keep staring at the food cart," Mara demanded, hoping her words would bring the boy out of his daze.

That did the trick. The young man became irritated with her demands. "Shut up, unless you don't want to eat!"

Mara threw up her hands in a gesture of surrender. "Okay, sorry."

He passed over trays of food one at a time through a slot in the bars, closed the cart and pushed it toward the exit. Karrde watched him as he left. "He didn't visit any other cells. I guess we are the only prisoners in this corridor...possibly within the entire detention block."

Mara took her tray and moved to her bunk. "I need to try to get ahold of Luke and let him know where we are." She placed the tray next to her before closing her eyes and reaching out for Skywalker through the Force. 'Luke! Luke!' She paused, hoping for a response, but none came. 'Luke! We are in orbit above Onderon! Onderon! We will be here for three hours! Onderon!'

She waited for a moment. When she didn't get a response, she tried again and again until Karrde finally interrupted her.

"Mara." She opened her eyes and gazed at her employer. "Mara, you've been in a trance for almost two hours. Why don't you eat."

She looked at her wristchrono in surprise. She thought it had only been a few minutes. She nodded before picking up her tray and taking a bite of a bread roll.

As she chewed Chin flashed her a smile. "That was an impressive show with that guard." His raised one eyebrow. "You don't do that to us, do you?"

Mara finished chewing and smirked. "It depends on your definition of 'us'. If you mean, Talon, Aves and you...then no. If you mean 'you'...then sometimes."

His jaw dropped. "You do mind-tricks on me?"

She rolled her eyes. "Only to get you to lift that toilet seat. Your aim is worse than Stormtroopers."

Chin gave a sheepish look. "That's okay, as long as it is only that."

"That and trying to get you to lock the 'fresher door when you are inside, but I guess I'm not strong enough in the Force to achieve that amazing feat."

Chin was about to make a smart-ass reply when an emergency klaxon screamed overhead as the ship shook. He turned to look out to the corridor while covering his ears with his hands, "What was that?"

Mara put down her food tray and stood slowly as the ship rocked again and the lights started to flicker. "That sounded like..." Her words were cut off when they were plunged into blackness. With the power cut the warning siren fell silent. Eventually some dim emergency lighting came on along the baseboards of the corridors. "I think we were hit by an ion cannon. The electromagnetic pulse has temporarily fried some of the ship's systems." There was another loud thump that rocked the ship. "That's a breaching pod hitting the ship."

Karrde went to the bars and looked out in the dimly lit corridor. "With the power out it is too bad we aren't in a cell with a Force-field barrier."

Mara's brow furrowed. "I thought you didn't want to try to escape?" She flicked a hand toward the locking system. There was a click and the barred door swung ajar. "We could have always gotten out of the cell. Getting off the ship is another matter."

Karrde looked surprised for a second before giving a tight smile. "I think while the Resistance is distracted, maybe it is time to leave."

As they moved to exit there was commotion at the end of the high security corridor. Resistance fighters flooded into the hallway and took covered positions behind the passageway support beams jutting out a half meter into the corridor. Mara grabbed Chin and Talon and pulled them back into the cell. "I think we are about to have company. Let's take cover behind the toilet privacy wall."

They positioned themselves behind the waist high wall. Mara was at the far left so she could have a better view of what was happening outside. She turned and whispered to Talon. "It looks like they are making a last stand in the detention center. That might mean the Empire is knocking at their door. I think our rescue party has arrived."

Talon risked a peek over the wall. "Is it Skywalker?"

Mara closed her eyes and reached out for Luke. Her eyes went wide when she realized who was aboard. "It's a Skywalker...just not Luke."

Karrde blew out a breath. "Kriff...Vader?"

"Yes, Vader."

The sound of intense blaster fire could be heard moving toward the detention center before a dark form filled the doorway at the end of the corridor. Resistance fighters fired their blasters as a red lightsaber activated and began deflecting shots back to where they originated. Young soldiers screamed as they fell to the ground, smoke rising from holes in their chest. Mara watched as Darth Vader pushed his palm out in front of him and a stout Sullustan flew through the air, his head hitting the bars of their cell. There was the sound of a sickening crack and the splatter of blood and brain mater onto the back wall of their cell. Chin turned ashen white before he leaned over the toilet and vomited the contents of his stomach.

As the vile stench of regurgitated prison food wafted through the cell Mara's nose crinkled. "Chin, give us a courtesy flush, why don't you."

Chin retched once more before flushing the toilet. "Sorry."

As Vader marched forward, he grabbed one Resistance fighter by the neck and raised him off the ground before crushing his larynx. The resulting cracking sound even made Mara, the hardened Emperor's Hand, queasy. The emperor tossed the man aside like so much garbage before moving to his next victim. During Darth Vader's rampage Mara could sense the emperor's emotions- which was best described as malicious euphoria. Vader could finally kill insurgents without the worry of blow back from his son. Obviously, Luke heard Mara's call and sent his father to rescue her. Eventually the blaster fire ended and all she could hear was the rough mechanical sound of the emperor breathing. She stood and moved toward the cell entrance. Vader was there holding the door open gazing at her, his face hidden behind his black mask. She wasn't sure what to do, so she dropped to a knee. "Thank you, Emperor Vader."

Talon and Chin came up behind Mara and mirrored her expression of deference.

"Rise."

The three stood, eyes remaining down, not knowing what was going to happen next.

Mara was the first to break the silence. "You have our undying gratitude. How can we repay you, your Eminence?"

"Give me a grandchild!" he bellowed.

Mara could sense Talon and Chin's shock at that statement. She might have been taken aback by the request if she couldn't also sense Vader's amusement.

Mara stifled a smile. "Yes, Emperor Vader. As soon as I am reunited with your son...I'll get right on that."

"See to it." The Dark Lord waved for the three to follow him.

Mara fell in step a half-meter from Vader. "I see Luke heard my call for help."

"No," Vader's voice was low and ominous. "I did."

She was so surprised that she dared to look up directly at the Dark Lord. "You did?"

A rumbling chuckle could be heard from the Sith. "Force communication was always your strength."

"Yes...but I thought it was because of a bond between people...like master and apprentice, between family or...or a romantic bond."

Vader stopped and turned his cape billowing around him as he did. "Which category do you believe helped you communicate with me?"

Mara's mouth dropped. "Ahhh...maybe my bond with you son helped me communicate with you?"

He looked her up and down his emotions now tightly hidden in the Force. "Perhaps. Or conceivably there is a connection that you are yet unaware of."

Before she could ask him to elaborate, he spun on his heel and moved down the corridor with a purpose, stepping over dead bodies as he went. "Mara Jade, you will come with me. Your comrades can take their ship and leave."

Mara sensed Talon was about to object, so she talked quickly. "It will be my honor, Emperor Vader." She gave Talon and Chin a warning glare convincing them to stay silent. "I assume we are on the way to see Luke."

"Yes, and when we arrive, I will end the Resistance and Rebellion once and for all."