(May Carrie Fisher rest in peace. She will be missed. I'd like to ask for a moment of silence for her, to remember her for a moment. Thank you.)


Chapter Nineteen:

Zolar sighed as Delrakkin came into view, settling back into his seat in the cockpit as his pilot took them down to the surface.

"It'll be good to rest for a little bit," Zolar admitted. "We will take a few days to regroup and then tackle this Force-user issue with a fresh perspective."

"That sounds great, Sir," the co-pilot said around a smile.

"And what of the runt in the back?" Yvette, the white-skinned Twi'lek asked, tossing her head in the direction of the cage the kid was inside.

"Leave him be for now." Zolar watched the trees get closer, and then he looked to the compound and made out the buildings that were now visible from the air.

Zolar stood from his seat as the shuttle they rode in neared the landing field, and he wrapped an arm about Yvette's waist. "Come, my dear. We have earned some alone time, don't you think?"

Yvette smiled just for him, running a finger up his arm. "Are you sure you're not a Jedi yourself, Zolar? 'Cause you just read my mind."

Zolar chuckled and let his desire for her show as they made their way to the ramp, Yvette already showering him with sultry kisses.

The ramp lowered, and Zolar took her down it, barely managing to look around amidst the distraction in his arms.

"Where is everyone?" Zolar wondered around a shuddering breath at Yvette's hand tracing his back seductively.

"Probably had too much to drink and are all passed out," Yvette murmured. "They've done it before when you leave for extended periods."

Zolar didn't know if he should agree or not, but as they neared his personal quarters, Yvette increased her antics, driving him crazy. Soon he had his hands on her hips, ready to take her to the bed once they were inside.

The door closed behind them... and then there was the click of several blasters and Zolar froze.

The lights were off, and so the Vurk couldn't see clearly, but even so his first thought was mutiny. "You would dare try to remove me from Captain's position?" Zolar growled indignantly, ready to kill whoever had the audacity to...

"I believe I have every right... Captain."

Zolar froze again, and he shoved Yvette off of him, his green face paling. The lights abruptly came on and the first thing Zolar noticed was the 501st with their blaster rifles aimed at his heart, and then the black-robed figure standing just behind Zolar's desk.

"Your Majesty," Zolar managed to say, though he did not bow.

Yvette was silent, waiting to see which way this would go. Darth Vader approached, his ocher eyes narrowing at the Vurk and Twi'lek.

"What, no respect for your Emperor?" he asked dangerously, and a rifle-butt was slammed into Zolar's shoulder.

The Vurk grumbled and bowed reluctantly, Yvette following suit. "What do you need, Your Majesty?"

"I have your men, and I own them now... just as I own you. And if you wish to live beyond this moment, you will do all that I command," Vader said, leaning backwards against the desk now.

"How do I know this isn't a ploy?" Zolar demanded.

"Commander?"

A man with a rank-pauldron upon his shoulder disappeared, and soon after a woman Zolar knew well was dragged before him, her head lolling limply as she muttered incoherently.

"Auspa?" Zolar gaped, and then he glared murder at Vader. "What did you do to her?! She's my best soldier aside from Yvette!"

"She was your best," Vader dismissed, stepping around the Rattataki as if she weren't really there. "And if this is what your best will end up like, do the rest of you stand a chance?"

Zolar made to protest, but Yvette placed a hand on his shoulder. "Just cooperate, Zolar. We may yet be able to get out of this."

"Smart woman," Vader mused, eyeing her with interest. The Emperor approached Yvette, and Zolar straightened, moving to place himself between the two. But he didn't get far before he was restrained by two blaster nozzles being placed to his chest.

Yvette shifted nervously as Vader circled her. "You are Force-Sensitive I see..."

She stiffened. "Yes Milord. But untrained."

"Not entirely," Vader corrected knowingly. "You are aware of your power... and while you don't have formal training, you aren't ignorant either."

He came to fore and tapped his chin with a finger. "What to do... what to do?"

"I can help you however you need, Your Majesty," Yvette said submissively. "Please have mercy: I am no Jedi."

Vader studied her again. "No, you aren't a Jedi. A Jedi would not be so... willing to bow to the Sith. However, I do believe you could be useful."

Vader turned. "Commander Cody, take her to my shuttle and put her in cell 3-J."

"At once, Majesty." The man stepped forward and with help from two other stormtroopers the small group left.

Zolar looked after Yvette with fear for her well-being, turning to the Emperor. "What will you do to her?"

"Her life is no longer your concern." Vader motioned and Zolar and sat in a chair, where he was then chained down. "You and your men are mine to do with as I see fit. You will help me in the retrieval of an asset. Failure on your end will result in deaths of your men."

Vader produced an image, showing it to Zolar. "This young man was here not too long ago, and I hear you've been chasing him down."

Zolar took in the image of the Force-user he had indeed sworn a vendetta against. What caught the Vurk's attention was the different hair and eyes. But the pirate decided to keep that tidbit of information to himself.

The Emperor obviously didn't know that the young man before him had a different appearance. It never once crossed the Vurk's mind that he was looking at the prince, too caught up in trying to come out on top was he.

"Yes, I've been after that fool." Zolar ground out. "The stupid boy killed my best mate and many of my men. I will have his head, or so help me."

Vader's eyes hardened and Zolar did a double-take. "You would be wise to watch your tongue, Zolar."

The man's tone of voice set the Vurk back some, but the alien didn't apologize. "That murdering filth will suffer for crossing me, if it's the last thing I do."

Vader's lips lifted, and in a flash is hands were up and Zolar was screaming in agony as Sith Lightning jumped the distance between them. And with the metal chair he was sitting in, the effect was only increased.

Zolar writhed and shrieked, his body convulsing once the Emperor released him from the punishment.

"I warned you to watch your mouth." Vader snarled. "You will not touch the boy, or I will take you apart piece by piece myself."

Vader leaned in close, threateningly so. "No one hurts this boy but me, is that clear?"

Zolar shook uncontrollably from the aftereffects of the lightning, but managed a shaky nod.

Vader straightened again. "Very good."

With that he left the man to be guarded, walking outside.

00000

Vader was met by Commander Cody once more as he crossed the open area of the pirate's camp.

"Milord, we searched the ship... and you're going to want to see this." Cody gestured into the interior of the shuttle.

Vader lifted a brow, but obliged, walking up the ramp and pausing in shock to find a blue-skinned boy huddled fearfully in a cage.

Cody stopped next to him. "The boy won't talk to anyone, and we didn't know what you wanted us to do with him."

Vader considered, eyeing the child... and feeling a stir in the Force. "Bring him to me."

"Yes Your Majesty." Cody bowed his head and approached the cage, shooting the lock and pulling the child from the cage. The boy fought instinctively, but Cody was stronger and then when Vader towered over him, the boy froze, looking slowly upward with a hard swallow.

"Who are you, boy?" Vader asked.

The child trembled, and when Vader lifted a brow expectantly, he spoke in a whisper. "C-Calan, Your... M-Majesty."

"And why were you locked in there?"

"The pirates took me from my... mother," Calan replied in a timid voice.

Vader felt prompted further by the Force and so he took a seat next to the child. "And where are you from?"

"Um... I lived on Vestar." Calan seemed to be trying to figure out why the Emperor of the galaxy was getting down on his level.

Vader considered. Zolar had been chasing Luke, and if he had been on Vestar, Luke probably had been too.

"Your Majesty," a stormtrooper said as he approached.

"What is it?"

"Milord, we looked through the logs on the navicomputer and this shuttle was on Vestar just before coming back to Delrakkin." The man offered a datapad with their findings on it.

Vader nodded his approval of the report and the man bowed out to return to his work.

Vader looked back at the boy. "Why did he take you?"

"Because Zolar wanted me in place of the three pirates the shopper killed in my mother's store," Calan said softly.

"Did he chip you as a slave?" Vader asked with a disgusted undertone.

"No... not yet, Majesty," Calan answered.

Vader tapped his chin, and then noticed the boy looking at the holo of Luke that Vader still carried visibly.

"Hey, that's the guy!" Calan pointed eagerly. "He's the one my mother helped!"

Vader picked up the image and showed it to the boy more fully. "This young man?"

Calan hesitated, frowning. "Oh... well, I thought it was. The person who shopped for parts had dark hair and brown eyes."

Vader stilled. "Say that again?"

"According to the bill of sale my Mom wrote up, he said his name was Velius, and he had brown eyes, dark hair." Calan informed the Sith Lord.

Vader looked towards the building the Vurk was still inside. "Did Zolar know this?"

"He would have to, since he came there looking for him..." Calan said, shifting at the Emperor's darkened mood.

Vader ground his teeth, and in a flash rose to his feet, stalking with Dark purpose for the Vurk's quarters.

00000

Zolar had a plan in place now: he would help the Empire search out the boy. With their added resources he could find the runt faster. But as soon as he had the fool alone, he would kill him.

The boy would not survive long enough to return to the safety of Coruscant. And if Zolar didn't get to the boy before he was moved to the Empire's ships, he'd lose his chance.

Zolar looked up when the door abruptly clanged open, and as the two stormtroopers left to guard the Vurk snapped to attention, Vader stormed in and lifted his hand.

Zolar felt an invisible hand clamp down on his throat and the Vurk balked in panic.

"You didn't think to tell me that he'd changed his appearance?!" Vader thundered. "How convenient of you to..."

Suddenly the Emperor paused as something caught his attention, and Zolar wondered if, in his panicked state his last thoughts had been shown to the man. The pressure on his neck vanished and the Emperor leveled a look at the alien that made the skin on his arms crawl.

"So, you were planning to stab us in the back after we gave you a chance at life?" Vader said in a low voice.

Even the stormtroopers winced, but Zolar barely noticed, so focused on the man before him was he. Vader came closer, and when the Vurk was looking up into the Sith's yellow eyes, the other continued, holding aloft the holo once more.

"Tell me, Zolar, do you even know who it is you are hunting?" Vader inquired, almost amicably.

Zolar sensed the trap, but knew he had to answer anyway. "Just some runt of a Force-user."

Vader clearly had to restrain himself from striking the Vurk, and that was worrisome to the alien. "Allow me to... shift your perspective."

Vader did something to the image and when he next showed it to Zolar the image was changing from the blond-haired blue-eyed youth to the brown-eyed dark-haired one. But the face remained the same.

Zolar frowned. "Okay, yes, I knew he had different hair and eye color, so why the big deal?"

Vader actually laughed, a slow, deep chuckle that gave Zolar chills. "And you are the leader of this pirate gang?" the Emperor asked rhetorically.

Zolar sensed, even without the Force, the drop in temperature within the room while Vader straightened once more.

"Does the blond young man remind you of anyone?" Vader asked.

Zolar studied the image anew, and he knew he was missing something key. The Vurk glanced nervously at the Emperor... and only then saw the change in the man before him. Somehow, the yellow eyes were now an intense blue.

The exact same shade as the boy's from the holo.

Zolar's breathing abruptly became labored and he jerked his gaze back to the holo and he suddenly knew.

"I... I had no idea!" Zolar stammered, only then realizing how deeply in trouble he was.

Vader's eyes were yellow again and he slammed a heavy fist into Zolar's face. "That boy is MY SON, and YOUR future Emperor!"

Zolar felt his eyebrow split with the hit and then his jaw was pounded by another fist.

"You have been hunting MY SON like a piece of meat!" Vader roared.

"I didn't know he was the Prince!" Zolar pled desperately when the Emperor continued to beat him brutally.

"Your stupidity will cost you your pitiful life!" Vader snapped, and the troopers watched as Zolar was beaten to death by their Emperor.

Only when the body was limp and unmoving did the Emperor straighten.

With a roll of his shoulders and a crack of his neck to loosen tense muscles, the Sith spat on the dead body. The man's knuckles raw, and with blood spattered on his face and robes, Vader looked to his men. "Remove this piece of trash from my sight."

"Yes, Your Highness," they replied as they obeyed.

As they left, Vader's comlink went off and the Emperor ripped it off his belt. "What is it, Admiral Piett?"

"Your Highness, the bounty hunter Boba Fett has just arrived in system and is looking for an audience with you," Piett replied succinctly. "What are your orders, Milord?"

Vader blinked. What did Fett want with him?

"Did he give any details?" Vader inquired as he moved to clean up.

"No, Majesty, but he was adamant that what he has to say is quite important." The suspicion in Piett's voice was unmistakable.

Vader considered, once more feeling the Dark Side stir welcomingly. "Very well. Let him pass. Have him land in the pirate compound, or he will be shot down."

"As you wish."

00000

Luke stood in the doorway to the lobby, watching the somber way his two companions went about their dinner. There was a certain lackluster way about them, as if they knew their days were numbered.

And with both the Empire and Jabba the Hutt after them, Luke didn't blame them. Although, Luke was pretty sure they didn't know of the Empire yet.

"Han?" Luke spoke softly as he gingerly entered.

The smuggler's gaze lifted to Luke's and the man offered a flat smile. "So, do you still want to be friends now that you know our dirty secret?"

Luke frowned. "Why wouldn't I want to be your friend? I don't care about Jabba's crosshairs. I am the one who foiled your way to pay him back, so if anyone is to blame, it's me."

Han thinned his lips, and Luke met his gaze evenly. "You can go ahead and say it, Han. I can take it."

Han sighed. "Okay, yes, you screwed up our spice shipment."

Luke began to nod his assent, but Han held up a hand. "But. In all fairness to you, we sort of expected Zolar to double-cross us."

Luke blinked, taken aback. "I will make this right, Han," he finally murmured. "There has to be a way to get Jabba to leave you two alone."

"If you've got any ideas, I'm all ears," Han drawled. "The only possible way would be to pay Jabba what we owe plus a generous tip as a peace offering. And even then, Jabba would probably take that and throw Chewie and me in the brig and leave us there to rot until he decided to feed to his latest pet."

Luke considered. "How much do you owe him?"

"Too much." Han deflected.

"Han..."

The smuggler sighed heavily. "With interest and the peace offering I mentioned... we owe Jabba about eighty-thousand credits."

Chewie howled mournfully and Luke swallowed that tidbit.

"What happened?" Luke asked softly. "Why do you owe him money?"

"We were moving some of his cut spice and the Empire boarded our ship. We had to jettison the spice... and after the Empire left we spent three full days searching for those blasted crates, but they were gone."

Luke nodded slowly, thinking it over before he spoke again. "What if you could get him some spice?"

Han frowned even as Chewie straightened. "What do you mean?"

Luke gave the pair a pointed look. "We just transported millions of credits worth of the very same spice to Zolar and his men. Why not steal some of it back?"

Han's jaw actually dropped. "Force kid, I've heard some crazy things in my time, but this takes the rychate. Are you insane?!"

Luke didn't flinch. "I guess I am."

Chewbacca leaned forward. [Velius, that's a suicide mission.]

"And we aren't already on one?" Luke countered knowingly. "How long do you think you can run or hide from Jabba? I can guarantee he already has bounty hunters out there, and some of them are the best of the best."

[That doesn't mean we need to go into the Asyyyriak nest!] Chewie countered. [We will do more jobs, earn the money.]

Luke shook his head. "You two are on Jabba's most wanted list now. You won't get far, and if someone miraculously does give you a job, it won't be a clean one. They'll be waiting to snare you in their trap so they can get the reward money from Jabba."

Han placed a hand over Luke's. "Look, Kid. We appreciate your willingness here, but the answer is no. Maybe if we were desperate... but right now we aren't."

Luke thinned his lips. "Okay, it's your choice. Just... be careful."

Han nodded. "No kidding."


(A/N: Anyone who'd like to see what Nella looks like overall can view the image I based her off of with the artist's permission. I just added a few of my own things to create her look. Go to Deviantart . com and look up "Parallel— Floating Droid Art" by Wiggagram.)