Meeting an Old Master

(0 ABY)

All attempts at finding some rest proved utterly futile. Finally, Serina swung her legs over the side of the bed and just sat there staring at the wall. The outcry of the dying still lingered in her mind, effectively driving sleep out of her reach and even meditation had not helped her to shake the deep impression that horrible event had made in her soul.

Everybody was still waiting for the findings of the advance scouts sent out to investigate Dantooine. Serina was sure all they would find would be at best the base once used by Starkiller and the Alliance to imprison Vader. And it had certainly been deserted already some time ago, most likely right after her successful prison break. It would be difficult even for the Sith Lord to convince Tarkin of their plan, but it would be the only alternative left once the report from the scouts arrived. She had finished her preparations before retiring to her quarters; now all that was left was to wait for her master's order to proceed with it.

A hot shower was one of the luxuries her position as Vader's aide had secured her and now she needed it dearly. As the water washed over her it took away with it some of the tension of the past days. Suddenly, she felt a strangely familiar disturbance in the Force. She could not place the familiarity, but the ghost of a memory tugged at the edges of her perception.

She caught up with Vader as he made his way to the main docking bay accompanied by some of his troopers. Quickly he informed her of the freighter they had caught.

"We might not need to put your plan into action after all. Wait here." He motioned the troopers to follow him into the hangar where the freighter had been forced to land.

Serina faded into the dark at the back of the vast bay. Something was quite peculiar about this ship and the only way to discover the reason for this sensation was to wait and watch.

Vader had to be feeling the same way since she could sense his uncertainty when he ordered a full scan of the apparently empty ship. Then the bay emptied again, leaving only two stormtroopers and an invisible figure waiting in the shadows.

Serina's patience was rewarded when a short time later both guards disappeared into the ship only to emerge again after some moments being followed by a huge Wookie and an old man dressed in a brown Jedi robe.

Obi-Wan! Serina had to catch herself against the crate she was hiding behind as long-suppressed memories came rushing into her mind. Tatooine, her mission to infiltrate the smugglers, the Jedi she had felt upon approaching the Jundland Wastes, the man she had met at the cantina in Mos Eisley, how she had tracked him to his home in the mountains north of the Jundland Wastes, the quick fight that had left her at his mercy, how she had revealed to him whom she was serving, how she had talked him into helping her to protect her child from her dark master and the Emperor, how he had agreed to do just that.

But then the crash in the escape pod months later. He had been there to help her, but it had been too late. Her child had died and had no longer needed his protection. Apparently, he had made her forget all about meeting him, about him planning to help her, just as they had discussed. And there was another memory that she had forgotten as well. There had been a young boy, about twelve years old, a boy, who had reminded her of her dark master, a boy, who was strong in the Force, but totally unaware of it. For a moment, a feeling of betrayal surged through her, causing anger at the old man to well up inside of her. But she quickly reined it in. No, if he had made her forget that as well, she had most likely agreed to it at that time. It might have even been her idea in order to protect him and the young boy. How old would he be now? Eighteen or nineteen? What had become of him? Had he ever discovered his connection to the Force? Had Obi-Wan become his teacher? Too many questions for the moment and no answers in sight.

But it had to be him. There was no mistaking the stirring in the Force. Had Vader felt it also? Surely, the presence of his old master would not have escaped his notice, now would it? If so, a confrontation could hardly be avoided. But to avoid it might not be Obi-Wan's intention.

Becoming one with the shadows, Serina followed the old Jedi as he left the small command office near the hangar bay and headed down a long, brightly lit hallway.

Though he had aged visibly since their encounter on Tatooine seven years prior, he still moved with ease avoiding diverse patrols until he reached his destination.

Serina knew enough about the battle station from her past studies to be able to guess his intent. He was going to disable the couplings of the tractor beam to the main reactors, to allow the freighter to escape. She would wait for him somewhere along his way back to the hangar bay. Perhaps she could warn him of Vader's presence. But, most likely, it would not be news to him.

Serina was already starting to wonder if he had taken another way when she finally sensed Kenobi only a few feet away from her hiding place. As he passed the small niche she quickly reached out and pulled him into the shadow beside her.

"Serina!" Obi-Wan recognized her instantly even so she had changed since their last meeting on Tatooine. He gave her a quick once-over. She still wore a kind expression on her face, but there were hints of the darkness that had taken root in her soul, of the evils that had to have been her companion in the years that had passed. "I see, you remember again." It was a statement of the obvious. After all, his presence had been incorporated as the trigger to release the mental bonds on her suppressed memories. "What are you doing here?" One look into her eyes answered the question for him. "Oh, you are still with him!" He shook his head in dejection. "You still believe in the good in him after all he's done in the past years?"

"We've been through this thoroughly enough when we met on Tatooine. You know my feelings toward Vader. I didn't follow you to discuss them with you, only to warn you." Her voice was barely above a whisper, her concern for him obvious. "He is here. And if he has felt you as I have, he will come looking for you. He has grown very strong in the years since your last fight. You might not be able to win this time around."

Obi-Wan regarded her quietly for a moment, realizing she must have had a glimpse at what lay ahead of him. "You must always remember what I have told you on Tatooine. Luminous beings we are, not this crude matter. If he kills me I will only become more powerful, but if it's the other way around he'll cease to exist. Or worse..."

He sensed in her a much stronger adherence to the dark side than when she had begged for his help in protecting her unborn child, but she had not yet passed the point from which there was no turning back. He marveled at this knowing the strong ties that bound her to his former padawan. What a great Jedi she could have become had she not chosen this foolish and dangerous place at Vader's side. But she had not been open to reason regarding this seven years back, she surely would not be now.

With a fatherly embrace he wished her farewell, then he slid out of the small niche back into the corridor. Serina waited until he had passed around the corner at the far end of the passageway, then she followed slowly.

She hadn't gotten very far yet when the sound of clashing lightsabers reached her ears. Although part of her didn't want to see the fight, she felt compelled to round the next corner. There they were!

Obi-Wan was backing toward the hangar as Vader was bearing down on him. Through the open blast doors, Serina got a glimpse at the rest of Kenobi's group as they were using the commotion to make a run for the freighter.

With a brief flash, the fight was suddenly over. All that was left of Obi-Wan's presence was an empty cloak. Vader poked at it, wary of some trick, but Serina knew the old man had vanished.

When a shout from the hangar bay drew everybody's attention, Serina turned and hastened back to her rooms, relieved over her master being unharmed while fighting down the immense sadness she felt at Obi-Wan's passing away.

The StarLady, its sleek black design a striking contrast to the gray shuttles in one of the smaller docking bays, had already been replenished and was ready for the final take-off check-up when Serina entered the hangar. She commanded the junior officer who was following her to take her luggage - just one small travel bag she could have easily carried herself, but what good were privileges if you didn't use them! - to the ship while she checked in with the port master.

"As soon as we drop back to realspace I need to get start clearance. I expect your crew has done a good job. Lord Vader would not be very pleased should I run into any trouble!" The port master was quick to assure her that everything was in perfect order.

Serina turned sharply and headed out to her ship. Once again, she admired the sleek form of the craft Vader had presented to her as a gift some years prior. It was a powerful ship, quite maneuverable and fast, nearly invisible in open space due to the special coating even if she didn't use the cloaking device. And one should never underestimate its firepower! Together with its strong shields it truly was a ship to be reckoned with in any fight.

But flying into a fight was not her purpose this time. Sure, there would be a battle shortly. The rebels would not give up their base easily. But Serina was not about to become involved.

She had gotten a glimpse at the young man in Kenobi's group, the one that had cried out at the old man's disappearance. And she had recognized him immediately: the farm boy she had met on Tatooine, the boy, whose existence Obi-Wan had all but deleted from her memory for so many years. Only too well did she now remember again the name she had stumbled across so unexpectedly: Luke Skywalker, the son of Anakin Skywalker, who had turned into a Sith Lord, the master, whom she had been serving now for so many years.

If Luke had finally discovered his connection to the Force and had joined the rebels, there would be a chance that they could destroy this monster of a battle station. If the Force was with him! And if they found out about the weak spot as she had. She was not about to be anywhere near the station if that was the case!

When Vader had informed Tarkin of her findings, the Grand Moff had only shrugged the danger off. To him the station was invincible. He would destroy Yavin 4 just as he had Alderaan; that was all that concerned him.

So Serina had taken her leave of Vader, promising to return as soon as the battle was decided. Although he had been sure that her worries were unfounded he had let her go. Caution was sometimes better than valor and her premonitions had proved true too often already. He would make sure this wasn't one of those times, but one never knew for certain what was to come.

"Hey, you are leaving, too?" A familiar voice interrupted her thoughts. Surprised, she turned to see the young navigations officer from the mess hall approach. "Is that your ship?" he added with an incredulous tone in his voice.

Serina nodded. "Right on both accounts. That's my ship, all right, the StarLady!" She did not try to hide her pride even a bit. "And I will be leaving as soon as we drop back to normal space."

"Me too," the young man replied. Then a shadow of great sadness mingled with a simmering anger crossed his face. Covering his emotions up quickly he continued, "I got some important family business to attend to, so I was assigned to accompany this head designer" - he motioned toward the figure of an older man with an unruly shock of white hair standing together with several other scientists besides one of the shuttles - "and his fellows to Carida. From there I'll continue to Imperial Center."

"We still have some thirty minutes before reversion, would you like to go for a walk?" Serina could feel the young man's need to talk to somebody. Perhaps she could find out what was bothering him.

"Why not, better than having to talk to him over there." His disgust for the other man became quite palpable now.

"Isn't that Bevel Lemelisk, the one that designed this whole station?" Serina asked as they headed out of the hanger bay.

"Yeah, that's him."

For a moment they walked along the nearly deserted corridor in silence.

"You don't like the guy, do you?"

"Not in particular." The young officer was close to opening up, Serina could feel it. Reaching out with the Force, she tried to encourage him to tell her about his problem. After a quick glance around to ensure that nobody was close enough to overhear their conversation, he continued, "If he hadn't thought up this monstrosity, Alderaan would still exist!" The pain in his eyes spoke a clear language.

"You are from Alderaan? Oh, I'm so sorry for you. That must have been awful for you to watch your home planet destroyed. Is that why they are sending you back to Imperial Center?"

"Yeah, I asked for a transfer because of "family problems" and they granted it."

"And what are you going to do there? You can't go back to Alderaan."

The young man looked at her for a long moment. Why did he have a feeling that he could trust her? He didn't even know her name! But he had to tell somebody, and she was leaving too, surely, she wouldn't tell on him! "I won't wait for a new assignment; I'll be getting out of the Navy. After what the Empire has done to Alderaan, I...I just don't know what to do now. Perhaps," he hesitated for another moment, "perhaps I'll even join the rebellion if they survive this attack. I've lost all my faith in the Empire." Anxiously he watched for her reaction.

Serina nodded slowly. "I understand quite well what you are feeling. And, trust me, I won't tell on you. Just consider your next steps well. Nothing you can do will bring back Alderaan or your loved ones!"

"No, but perhaps I can do something to prevent it from happening to others. I guess I got to get going now. Perhaps our paths will cross again someday?"

"Perhaps someday," Serina agreed. They had returned to the hangar bay and were standing at the ramp leading into the StarLady.

"May I just ask for your name before I leave?" The young man looked at her expectantly.

"It's Serina, Serina Wanders," she replied.

"Well, I'm Dirk, Dirk Hariks. And I'll be seeing you." With a sad smile, the young man turned and headed for the shuttle at the other end of the hangar.