Hey!
This takes place a few months after the events of the last chapter.
Warning! There is some violence in here that might be shocking. I am sorry for not placing a warning in the first posting.
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Denis Outrunner checked the chrono on his datapad as he waited in the busy, slightly crowded terminal for the transport he was assigned to call for boarding. There was still a standard half hour or so to go before boarding would be called, seats taken and then he could finally get to Idini.
He was a simple man trying to get away from the political upheaval that was happening on his home planet Polaris. He was just too afraid to stay on the beautiful but chilly planet while Insurgents were attacking important power stations, political offices and security stations.
His boss, Anji Ordes, had managed to get a majority of the workers of the Ember Bird Consultants Firm and their families assigned off of Polaris until things settled.
He had already taken a shuttle to Whetu and now he was waiting for the boarding call for the transport to Idini.
Denis was stirred out of his thoughts by a tall shadow falling over him.
He looked up to see an adult human or near human male with a face disfigured by burns holding the hand a small girl about four years old that Denis guessed was the newcomer's.
"You two waiting for your transport?" Denis asked the pair.
The little girl nodded eagerly; her black braids bounced and her brown eyes shone bright with excitement and a touch of fear.
Denis watched with a smile as the pair settled into two seats beside him.
"So where are you two headed?" Denis asked; curiously.
The man shrugged. "Outer Rim to look for work; I'm good with machinery so it shouldn't be too hard to find work in some repair shop or even a junkyard of some kind. We should be able to have a decent existence." He informed Denis.
Denis noted that the man sounded like he was perhaps from the Outer Rim, at least originally and spent a lot of time with beings from the Mid Rim and maybe even the Core. It made him curious why the man was heading away from all of that or even if he was trying to escape from something or someone.
"What about you?" The girl asked, stopping his thoughts.
"There's political upheaval on my home world Polaris so my boss decided to move as many workers and their families to other planets as possible. Rebels are suspected to be behind the upheaval." Denis told her and was rewarded with a scowl when he mentioned the word 'rebels'.
He had heard that they were causing trouble all across the galaxy. If he had to make a guess they might have recently been caught in the crossfire of some sort of fight with some insurgent group and Imperial Forces.
Personally Denis didn't care who or what was in charge of the galaxy as long as there was peace. It might be foolish thinking and feeling that way but the Republic had become corrupt and had needed an overhaul of some kind. As long as corporations, the spouses of planetary leaders and criminals were allowed to make the laws there would be no meaningful justice.
Of course some might argue that Sheev Palpatine wasn't any better but from what he had heard of Lord Vader the guy might not be a bad Emperor and even if the Empire controlled the news Denis could tell how the Emperor's Heir held his daughter that the mysterious man truly loved her and there were stories of Lord Vader arguing with those that were high up in the Empire about methods of extreme force versus only punishing the guilty parties.
"Sweetheart, go use the refresher and then go play with the other children in the play area across from us until I call for you." The man told his daughter.
The girl smiled brightly. "Thank you Daddy!" she cried, hugging him before she jumped from her chair and raced away.
"I bet she can be a handful." Denis commented to him.
He nodded.
"My name's Denis Outrunner." Denis introduced himself.
The man made an amused sound. "I'm Raijin Quell and my daughter's name is Alix." The man, Raijin, told him.
"Is your wife traveling with you or is she going to meet you?" Denis asked; curious.
Raijin's face twisted in sorrow. "My wife died from complications delivering our daughter. My little angel is the only thing I have left of my first angel. Do not apologize for your question or anything like that, you didn't know and I have long since come to terms with her passing even though it still affects our daughter."
"Oh," Denis responded; completely unsure how to react to what Raijin had told him.
"Are you married?" Raijin asked him.
"Not yet," Denis answered. "I've gone on dates with different females but I am waiting until I am a little more successful before I get serious about finding a life companion and start a family." Denis explained.
Raijin snorted.
"If you have that attitude you will never quite be successful enough to find a compatible female let alone have a family." Raijin informed him. "You have to be willing to take and make risks where love is involved. If you are lucky you will find someone that is right for you and you won't care about how many credits you have in the bank or don't have in the bank. You will just want to love each other and do what is best for them."
Denis outright gaped at Raijin. He had never thought about life or love like that. Yes, some of his coworkers had advised him to start looking for love but they had never quite put that kind of spin on it.
"Do you have any family members Denis?" Raijin asked him; changing the subject.
Denis smiled and nodded. "My parents live on Crynoh IV with my younger brother, Algar. Algar wants to be a freighter pilot when he's older. He says that he'll get paid to see strange new worlds and meet different species and civilizations." He couldn't help but laugh at the memory of the passion in his brother's eyes when he stated his reasons for it.
Raijin laughed. "Being a pilot like that does mean that you don't necessarily have to go on vacation to visit different worlds. However, I think he is in for some disappointment since unless he's a freelancer he won't see too many different planets but there are some firms that do have the option of rotating schedules." He mused.
"Maybe I should ask him if he's thought about the drawbacks of being a freighter pilot." Denis mused.
"Do you have any family?" Denis asked; returning the question.
"I have family on Tatooine and that's where we are headed. We parted on shaky terms just before the outbreak of the Clone Wars and I didn't keep in contact. Since I used to be in the military they might think I died in all the upheaval that followed the end of the Clone Wars. Something happened recently and I realized that family is more important than the disagreement that drove us apart." The man whispered to him.
Denis frowned slightly. He could have sworn that earlier Raijin had just stated that he and his daughter were heading for any old place in the Outer Rim. Tatooine was in the Outer Rim though and he wasn't on solid ground with his family there so maybe he didn't want to get his daughter's hopes up. "Better late than never," He told Raijin, giving him a friendly smile. He wouldn't ask him about the more precise destination.
"I hope so." Raijin replied.
A comfortable silence fell between them as they both watched Alix play with the other children that were also waiting for the transports to be called for boarding.
"I plan on talking them into trying to enter the Kawa Sāmrājya." Raijin suddenly whispered to him.
Denis felt his mouth fall open. The Kawa Sāmrājya had closed their borders fifty or more years ago and barely said a word to the Republic except to say 'get out of our space', the occasional 'we found something that belongs to you' and tense well wishes to the Supreme Chancellors of the Galactic Republic and a brief well wish to Emperor Sheev Palpatine when he turned the Galactic Republic into an Empire. As far as he knew they didn't allow anyone a certain distance from the outer edges of their territory.
"They now and then take in refugees and the lost." Raijin informed him softly.
Denis closed his mouth and nodded a bit. He didn't quite understand everything that Raijin had told him.
"Are you a dissenter?" Denis whispered.
"No, I just want to raise my daughter in peace, where she doesn't have to be afraid of terrorists. We have been caught in the crossfire between the Empire and dissenters on one too many occasions. So if putting some healthy distance between us will keep her safe then so be it." Raijin told him.
Denis felt his opinion of Raijin go up a few weldings. Here was a man willing to give up so much for his daughter and so many were not.
The gentle music that was playing from hidden speakers everywhere suddenly stopped; heralding a forthcoming announcement. All around him beings paused and more than a few reached for their simple baggage that was sitting next to them.
"All passengers, may I have your attention please? I am sorry to inform you that there will be delays for all ships as the terminals are searched for terrorists and their allies. On behalf of the Star Herald Lines I apologize for this inconvenience." A polite female voice announced over the terminal's PA system.
Grumbles filled the air as the music resumed and dimly Denis heard someone curse both security and the longer holdup.
"Wouldn't they have found any when they were going through security?" Denis demanded; angry at the delay.
"Not if they weren't in this planet's security system." Raijin informed him. "I heard that sometimes they send members to other planets to get on a public transport like this to get to another planet that they want to cause trouble on."
Denis spat a curse under his breath.
"Next time you talk to your parents tell them to get off of Crynoh IV; something terrible is going to happen there." Raijin whispered to him.
Denis turned to Raijin and opened his mouth but before he could ask him what he meant by that three squads of stormtroopers entered the terminal followed by a tall, Pantoran Imperial Officer.
The stormtroopers split into pairs of two and started to check the identifications of those in front of them and waving scanners in their faces before either waving them to one side or just continuing on all while the Pantoran watched.
Denis retrieved his Identification Chips and out of the corner of his eye saw Raijin reaching for his.
"Are you going to call Alix over?" he asked Raijin and received a negative head shake. "She has her ID on her?" he asked and received a nod of confirmation.
After what seemed like forever two stormtroopers reached Denis and Raijin. "ID?" one of the stormtroopers asked him pointedly.
Denis handed over his identification chips to the nearest one while the other one ran a scanner over him. The scanner made a beep that sounded negative and he was handed back his ID chips a moment later.
They moved on to Raijin and requested his ID. Raijin handed them over but they didn't scan him. "Where did you receive your burns?" one of the stormtroopers asked Raijin.
"I was working in a shop when an explosion went off outside and I was burned helping evacuate my fellow workmates." Raijin responded calmly.
"Everything seems to check out." The one with Raijin's ID chips commented.
With that the stormtroopers turned and began to head away when the scanner beeped.
Denis watched in confusion as the stormtroopers returned and one of them stepped on Raijin's left foot. Raijin hissed in pain and scowled at the stormtrooper only to be kicked in the leg.
"Over here!" The stormtrooper yelled before Raijin attacked him and his companion.
Denis grabbed his bag containing his datacards and threw himself as far as he could from the place where one of the two stormtroopers laid in a heap but more were hurrying over to help their comrades. He watched in horrified awe as Raijin took on multiple opponents as if they were nothing; it almost was as if Raijin knew what they were planning before the stormtroopers knew what they were going to do.
The terminal was full of screaming beings and in the ruckus he heard a frightened child call out for their father. Denis thought it was odd since so many sentient children usually called for their mothers when they were frightened or hurt.
"Run Leia!" He thought he heard Raijin yell out as he attacked another group of stormtroopers.
Denis felt his mind going fatally blank as Raijin smashed the butt of a stun rifle in helmet of a stormtrooper and the appearance of several Red Guard.
This had to be some terrible nightmare that he was trapped in and for some reason he couldn't wake up from it.
Raijin charged the Red Guard and somehow managed to rip a Force Pike from one of them before taking him down.
Denis thought he was going to be physically ill but somehow the thought came to him that Raijin was trying to escape the Empire with his daughter. For some reason he was wanted by the Empire but not for sedition or something similar.
More stormtroopers and Red Guard attempted to encircle Raijin but he would just take down those that got too close to him.
A high pitched scream cut through the terminal and Raijin momentarily paused in his attack. It was the opening that the Red Guard needed.
Raijin went down on the floor, his face was twisted in pain before it went blank and he started spasming on the floor. Immediately the Red Guard and stormtroopers stepped away from Raijin's shaking body; weapons at the ready.
A child's sobs caught Denis's attention and he watched as a tall, powerful looking Twi'lek female drew close to the Red Guard; dragging a sobbing and thrashing Alix behind her.
"Daddy, wake up! We gotta get away! He'll hurt us again!" she cried out when she saw her father's now limp body that was carefully being placed on some sort of hover stretcher with restraints being locked in multiple places under the supervision of the Pantoran Imperial Officer.
Suddenly Alix went limp and dropped making the Twi'lek woman release her. Alix then snatched something off of her belt and a red blade shot out of it impaling the Twi'lek.
"A lightsaber," he whispered in awe. They were the weapon of Jedi Knights and they were now apparently the weapons of Lord Vader and the rumored Empire's Elite.
Denis felt his bag fall to the floor and somehow spill his datacards on the floor.
A Red Guard leaped into action and swept his Force Pike in such a way that Alix dropped the lightsaber that she had taken from the Twi'lek. She was then pinned to the floor and a pair of stun cuffs were placed on her wrists.
Alix tried to pull her wrists apart only to be visibly shocked and she cried out in pain. Denis couldn't erase the scowl on his face; he didn't know much about stun cuffs but even an average Antilles like him knew that the pair on Alix's wrists were over the top for a child her age.
"Daddy, don't leave me!" she cried out in fear as a Red Guard roughly grabbed her by her upper left arm.
"Let me go!" She screamed and tried to break free only for the Red Guard to hit her with his free hand.
Denis could only watch as the hover stretcher containing Raijin was pushed away and listen to Alix cry and scream as the Red Guard holding her followed; leaving the Pantoran Officer.
Forcing himself to move, Denis started to collect his scattered datacards; shaking from what had to be an adrenaline rush.
In his side vision, he watched as medical droids checked on Raijin's victims on the floor either declaring them alive or dead.
Raijin was a Jedi!
Denis paused as the thought bounced around his mind. He wasn't sure where he sat on the matter of the Jedi but obviously Raijin hadn't agreed with everything the Jedi did since he had a daughter that had to have been conceived before the end of the Clone Wars.
He wasn't sure how Raijin would have known his family unless the people he was hoping to go to were his deceased wife's family.
"Excuse me sir but I have questions to ask you." A female voice spoke. Denis lifted his gaze from the floor and looked into the yellow eyes of the female Pantoran Imperial Officer.
"Yes," he asked; his voice cracked slightly from fear.
"Did Raijin Quell tell you what his destination was or what his plans were?" she asked.
Denis was silent for a moment before he answered. "He said something about looking for work in the Outer Rim and trying to make a living working in a repair shop." He answered. It wasn't a lie since Raijin had mentioned it to him before sending his daughter off to play.
She looked at him for a long few seconds before nodding and walking away.
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On the planet Idini five hours later. . .
Denis carefully lowered himself in a chair situated in the sitting area of the apartment he would be living in during his stay on Idini. He was having a hard time erasing the images of Raijin fighting the stormtroopers and Red Guard.
He didn't understand though if Raijin was a Jedi why they had taken him alive.
His thoughts turned to Raijin's family on Tatooine and how they might never know his fate or about Alix.
Denis frowned when he thought of Alix's name. During the first part of the fight he could have sworn her father had called her 'Leia'. Had they been traveling under assumed names? If Raijin was a Jedi he most likely would use one but why would his daughter be using one?
"He'll hurt us again!" rang in his mind. Had they been prisoners of the Empire? He had said he wanted to talk his family into trying to enter the Kawa Sāmrājya. There they would be safe from the reach of the Galactic Empire; if they managed to get in and not be turned over to the Empire.
Sadly shaking his head, Denis picked up his work bag; deciding that now would be a good time to sort his datacards again.
It didn't take him long to sort them again and discover that somehow he had acquired an extra one. With a puzzled frown he picked up his datapad and after making sure that it had a free datacard slot carefully inserted it.
It took only seconds to come online and after a moment's hesitation he opened it. It didn't take him long to realize that it was for Alix or Leia as it appeared her name truly was. It contained detailed instructions on the off chance she got separated from her father how to stowaway on a ship, that the planet Tatooine was her destination, an address: Lars Homestead, Grid Ten, Northern Hemisphere and a reminder to lose the datacard if she was going to or was captured by Imperial Forces.
"Next time you talk to your parents tell them to get off of Crynoh IV; something terrible is going to happen there."
Denis paused when Raijin's or whoever he was, warning vibrated in his head. Raijin had no reason to warn him but out of kindness. If he was going to get them off of Crynoh IV though, he would have to be subtle and give them good reasons to return to Polaris or another world besides that a man he suspected was a Jedi told him that something bad was going to happen. Perhaps he should tell them about the excellent piloting classes that North Star Freight offered for aspiring pilots and there was an upcoming opening at Ursa Energy.
He would keep his family safe from whatever threat would befall Crynoh IV.
In the meantime, he would hold on to the datacard and one day he would go to the address and tell them about Raijin or whatever his name had been. How he had wanted to make amends with them.
He promised the Stars that he would do it.
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Denis will be returning at a later date.
And I have completely forgotten to say this but I have a new Beta Reader! Also to those that also read Dark Angel I updated it a month or so ago.