"Daddy! Daddy!" Cerasi shouted as she ran inside the house. Her green eyes were wide with excitement. "I saw a ship landing by the lake! It's big…and, and shiny!"
Nield walked out of the kitchen and looked down fondly at his daughter. "Did you now?"
"Daddy, come on!" Cerasi pressed, tugging at his hand.
Nield walked outside with Cerasi and down the hill to the lake. As soon as he spotted the ship, Nield stopped walking and held Cerasi's hand firmly to prevent her from going any further. "Cerasi, stay near me. If these people are not friendly then I want you to run to town and ring the bell that is in the square. Understood?" His face a mask of seriousness.
Cerasi looked up into Nield's clear blue eyes and nodded solemnly. "Yes daddy."
Giving Cerasi a reassuring smile, Nield checked the blaster at his belt with his free hand before they continued on toward the ship. They stopped within a few feet of the ship just as the ramp began to lower.
As the ramp gently hit the ground, a tiny, green, being with two pointy ears and a wooden cane came walking down the ramp. Nield drew in a sharp intake of breath when he caught a glimpse of the creature's lightsaber under his cloak. "Jedi." He all but hissed between his teeth. He tightened his grip on Cerasi's hand and drew his blaster. "What do you want here Jedi? You were not called here."
"Safe haven I seek for my companions. Address me as Yoda you may." Yoda calmly replied.
"Well, Yoda," Nield began sarcastically, "you won't find any here. Now turn around, go back into your ship and leave this planet."
"Daddy." Cerasi said, tugging at Nield's hand to get his attention. "Can I go play with them?" She asked, pointing toward the ship.
Nield looked up to see two young children and a young woman standing at the bottom of the ramp. He sighed, hooked his blaster back onto his belt, and looked down at Yoda. "I will gather the Yui Council together and we will discuss this."
Yoda nodded in acceptance and turned to beckon the women and children forward. "Padme Skywalker, this is and Luke and Leia are her children."
"I am Nield Teyden, head of the Yui Council and this is my daughter Cerasi." He slowly let go of Cerasi's hand and then watched as she ran towards Luke, Leia, and Padme.
Cerasi ran up to Leia, who had moved to stand in front of her mother, and smiled brightly. "Hello, my name's Cerasi."
Leia silently studied the green eyed, redhead girl and shyly smiled. "My name's Leia." She turned to point at her brother who was hiding behind Padme. "That's my twin brother Luke."
Cerasi slowly walked towards Luke and looked at him curiously. "Hello Luke. I'm Cerasi."
"He doesn't talk." Leia informed Cerasi.
A puzzled look appeared on Cerasi's face as she turned to face Leia. "Why not?"
Leia shrugged her shoulders and Cerasi turned back around to find Luke still staring at her. "Can you talk?"
Luke slowly nodded his head in response.
"Then why won't you talk?" Cerasi asked.
/The choice is mine./ Luke gently spoke in Cerasi's mind.
"The choice is mine." Mara mumbled as she woke up from her nap. She opened her eyes and then closed them again as she sank into the currents of the Force. She focused inward and felt the bond she had with Leia and then she went on to feel the bonds that had been broken. There was the bond that she had had with Master Yoda, the tattered remains were almost gone now. Then there was the bond she had had with Luke.
Luke's voice rang in her mind again, repeating those four words so clearly that Mara felt like Luke was right beside her. She brushed her mental fingers against the broken bond and then slowly withdrew from her meditation trance.
Tears glimmered in Mara's eyes as she recalled Luke's last words across their bond, a cry for help, just before their bond was severed. Luke's death had been sudden, there had been no warning. No one had known how closely bonded she had been with Luke, no one but Yoda had noticed her sudden withdrawal from everyone after Luke's death.
What made the pain even worse was the fact that she kept having a dream that was not possible now. In her dream she saw an older Luke and herself watching their children playing near a lake. That would never happen now, never.
Mara stood up and swiftly left the cockpit. I have a mission to complete, there is no sense in remembering the past when all it does is cause pain. Pain is weakness. I cannot afford to be weak. Let the past be the past.
Darth Zanthis studied the Sumne before him and slowly circled him. The Sumne was six feet tall and about average in weight for his species. The irises of his eyes were yellow were shaped like a thin oval. His ears were positioned like human ears but the ears of the Sumne were pointy, even his earlobes were pointy. The large nose of the Sumne was wrinkled near the top and his large bushy eyes managed to touch his nose. His mouth held many pointy teeth and his lips were a dark purple. His skin was black and a few tufts of hair sprang randomly from his head. The two hands and two bare feet of the Sumne were clawed and on the palm of his hands was a strange looking symbol. The thing that disgusted Darth Zanthis the most was the foul body order of Sumne. The Sumne smelled like a rotting corpse and smelled of still drying blood.
Zanthis despised all of the creatures, but the Sumnii were useful for his Master's plans. Hate poured from Zanthis' being as he stopped circling the Sumne and faced him, it, a creature of darkness, a devourer, a tormentor, an agent of evil. He had a very good reason to hate the Sumnii, to want to kill them all, but he couldn't. The Sumnii had his Master's protection, for now.
"Rectrest." Zanthis began, his voice steady and commanding. "The Emperor has considered you worthy of commanding the iBlywunth/i. Further orders will await you in your private quarters on the iBlywunth/i."
Rectrest hissed between his teeth, his light purple tongue briefly flicking out of his mouth. "Boy, we have been worthy since before you were born. In fact, we are more then just worthy to command starships, we are worthy enough to rule galaxies!" Ah…" He continued before Zanthis could cut in. "The Emperor knows this and so pretends that he controls us."
Zanthis' eyes narrowed and darkened as he spoke. "You walk a dangerous line, Rectrest. The Emperor will not be please by your words."
A smile of pure malice appeared on Rectrest' face. "And what will he do boy? Order you to kill me? You would like that wouldn't you?" His tongue flicked out of his mouth as he spoke. "Yes, your hate for me and my kind is strong. What a pity that that won't be enough to destroy me."
"It will be enough." Zanthis retorted, his eyes flashing yellow.
"Are you sure?" Rectrest asked, smiling slyly before Force slamming Zanthis into a far wall with such speed that Zanthis was unprepared to defend himself.
Zanthis dazedly attempted to get up off the ground, but Rectrest kicked him back down and rolled him onto his back.
"You still have much to learn boy. In fact, we wonder why the Emperor hasn't disposed of you yet. You say we are not worthy enough to rule the universe, but we say you are not worthy enough to clean the Emperor's boots!" Rectrest declared and then turned away from him.
His body aching, Zanthis leapt to his feet and glared at Rectrest. "Don't turn your back to me, Rectrest!"
Rectrest smirked, "I already have."
With a hate filled scream, Zanthis lit his blood red lightsaber and charged at Rectrest.
Rectrest simply reverted to his true black and purple gaseous form and then resolidified behind Zanthis and instantly disarmed Zanthis and shoved him hard onto the ground. Grabbing the front of Zanthis tunic, Rectrest looked at Zanthis with disgust. "Next time boy you won't be so lucky." His tongue flicked out of his mouth and then with a loud hiss Rectrest released Zanthis and left the building.