Disclaimer: Wait let me check…Nope, still don't own Star Wars.
Ties that Bind Ch.8
Luke was hurrying along the streets after the urgent message Lando and Wedge had sent him. They were all to meet at the casino to plan their next course of action but there was really no question of whether they would follow the lead, it was simply a matter of what approach they would take. Luke ducked down an alleyway in order to avoid the crowds of Killisets; weirdly most of them seemed to be going his way. Despite the fact it was still daylight the buildings in this part of the city were so tall, and so close together that the alleyways between them were almost as dark as night. It was an eerie change from the rest of the city which was so bright and beautiful. Luke stretched out with the Force hoping to catch a glimpse of what could be going on, but aside from sensing their excitement, Luke could gain little from the aliens' minds. He tried to reach out further, but after a few moments he realized that his searching was distracting him from his surroundings and he stopped to catch his bearings.
"Uh oh," Luke muttered. "I must've turned down more alleyways than I thought and overshot the casino completely because this looks like the back of the spaceport…" Suddenly, Luke sensed a ripple in the Force behind him and he whirled around, his hand automatically reaching into his tunic for his lightsaber before he stopped himself from pulling it out completely. He felt a wave of shock hit him as his eyes caught the eyes of the figure behind him. In the darkness of the alleyway the majority of the man's face and body were shrouded in shadows but the pure red eyes that were focussed on him seemed to burn.
"Don't shoot!" The red eyed alien shouted and Luke realized that the man was pointing to his hand, still tucked into his tunic. Luke noticed that the hand the alien wasn't pointing with was held out to his side, clearly trying to show Luke he was unarmed. Luke let go of his lightsaber and pulled his hand out of his tunic.
"Who are you and why are you following me?" Luke was well aware of the description of Grand Admiral Thrawn but even though the stranger's red gaze resembled that description, he knew better then to jump to conclusions.
The alien took a step forward, his hands closed into fists at his sides and his eyes narrowed with indignation. "I am not following you, sir." The alien spat the last word out like an insult. "I was simply on my way to the spaceport when I heard a voice muttering something about the casino and assumed you were lost. I merely came to offer my assistance."
Luke's eyes had adjusted to the darkness, with a little extra help from the Force, and he could now see the alien in front of him fairly clearly. He was taller than Luke but equally lean, wearing a dark grey uniform with burgundy trim that looked suspiciously similar in design to an Imperial officer's uniform. Luke had never gotten a good look at Grand Admiral Thrawn himself, but from what he remembered Han and Lando telling him the two aliens were extremely similar in appearance. However, Luke was certain that this was not the admiral; despite being unfamiliar with the species he got the feeling this man was too young, perhaps around his own age. More importantly, the admiral would have likely been surrounded by guards and Luke would have been recognized instantly. Luke realized that the alien was still waiting for some kind of response from him and he racked his brain for a way to soothe the alien's irritation enough to convince him to answer some questions. He decided being mostly truthful would be the best way.
"I'm really sorry," Luke said honestly. "I have to admit I was pretty startled and just over-reacted…if you know where the casino is from here I could really use a guide."
The alien seemed to study him for a moment, then his hands loosened and he gave a graceful shrug. "Apology accepted. I am afraid I'm running a little late for my own meeting at the moment, so I cannot escort you all the way but I can lead you to the main road. Once there it will be easy for you to spot the casino."
Luke smiled. "Thanks, it'd be really appreciated."
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Lando had taken to drumming the table with his fingertips and a quick glance around told him that the others were as worried as he was. Wedge had contacted Luke first and then Tycho and Wes, yet the two pilots had arrived over twenty minutes ago and they were still waiting for Luke.
"It really hasn't been that long…I mean we have no idea how far north Luke was when you sent the message, right?" Wes tried to comfort the others but his own face betrayed his uneasiness. "Besides if he's in trouble he'll signal us with his communicator."
"Unless he's in a situation where he can't use it or is being stopped from using it or it was taken away from him. The fact that Wedge has already tried contacting him again without a response doesn't fill me with confidence." Lando growled. "I knew I should've pressed him not to go alone."
"Should a couple of us go out looking for him while the other two stay here in case he makes it?" Tycho asked.
Wedge shook his head. "No. I don't like us getting split up again, especially since we don't know for sure what's going on. Luke will be here, we just have to give him more time."
Lando looked out the window again, his face tense and his eyes searching. Come on kid, where are you?
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Grand Admiral Thrawn stood several meters away from the shuttle, his whole body tense and his eyes on the steadily darkening sky. Behind him were a dozen storm troopers, six on each side of the shuttle's entrance, standing at parade ground attention. Captain Pellaeon stood at the foot of the shuttle's ramp, watching the Admiral and wondering why he had not yet attempted to contact his younger brother. At first he and the Admiral had been quite calmly discussing the Killiset's customs and culture, preparing the captain for his first real contact with the natives. Yet as the minutes continued to pass by without a sign from the doctor, Thrawn had become continuously quieter until he silently broke away from the other Imperials to stand at his current position. Pellaeon knew he shouldn't question Thrawn's decision not to act but he was sorely tempted. The captain finally walked over to where the admiral was standing.
Thrawn did not turn from where he was looking but he spoke before Pellaeon had a chance to open his mouth. "I have not been standing idle, Captain." He held up his communicator. "I realized that it was possible my brother was still at the hospital, in which case he would not respond to his communicator for fear of bothering the patients, so I waited. It took him time to respond, but he did send me a message a couple of minutes ago."
Captain Pellaeon felt a wave of relief. "Then he's safe, sir?"
The Grand Admiral's jaw clenched for a split second before returning to his normal icy calm. "No, Captain, he is not. He had only time to greet me before he was cut off by a shout. I could hear the sounds of struggle then nothing but static…But his communicator has a tracking device in it. I sent word for the Chimaera to pinpoint the device's location, and then we can begin our search." Thrawn's eyes returned to looking out into the spaceport and Captain Pellaeon looked out as well, anger and dread churning in his stomach.
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Theeon stood pressed against the wall of a dark, dingy alley and mentally kicked himself for the hundredth time. He had been leading the supposedly lost man towards the main street when his communicator had beeped at him. Theeon didn't hesitate to answer it and greet his brother, realizing how worried the man must be at his lateness, but no sooner had Thrawn's name passed his lips then his new 'friend' showed his true colours. There was a shout and the communicator was ripped from his hands while he was knocked to the ground; he had managed to scramble to his feet and pull his blaster from his tunic only to watch it get cut in half by a blaze of green light. Now the tip of that glowing green blade was pointed at his chest as its' owner stared at him.
"Who are you?" The Jedi asked.
"I'm not telling you a thing, Skywalker." A thin smile touched the edges of Theeon's lips. "A pity for you, since there's so much I know about you."
The Jedi hesitated. "I don't want to hurt you; I sense genuine goodness within you. I simply wish to know who you are and why you are working for the Empire."
Theeon did not want to tell Skywalker anything about himself or the Empire but he also knew that his brother would need him to buy some time to organize a rescue. A thought struck the Chiss and he knew exactly how to distract the Jedi master.
"Who am I? What about you, Skywalker? I know who you are; I wish to know why you aren't working for the Empire."
Skywalker seemed taken aback by the turn of questioning but he regained his composure quickly. "It is no secret who my father was, if that's what you mean. But in the end he renounced the Empire and the dark side."
"Renouncing the dark side is not the same thing as renouncing the Empire. Your father saw the potential greatness of the Empire, if only the evil of the Emperor could be overcome. He had such faith that you would help him achieve that greatness and instead you got him killed." Theeon watched as shock crossed Skywalker's face. He felt a twinge of guilt as he saw the pain that came through the shocked expression but he kept his own face impassive.
After a moment of regaining himself the Jedi spoke. "You knew my father?"
Theeon nodded. "Lord Vader trusted few people and I am proud to say that one of those few was me."
Skywalker stared at him, a strange mix of emotions playing across his face but before he could respond his communicator beeped, again. The whole time the Jedi was in Theeon's presence he had ignored the device, no doubt afraid of making the kind of mistake that Theeon had foolishly made. This time, though, he brought the communicator to his ear and answered while still keeping the lightsabre pointed at Theeon with one hand. "Wedge? Sorry I didn't answer before, I've been a little busy…I'm alright so far but that's going to change soon…Listen, tell the others to abandon the plan…Meet me by the ship in the spaceport…I've got the info we need but we've gotta get out of here." The Jedi turned the device off and looked into Theeon's eyes for a long moment.
"You said my father trusted you…that he told you he had plans for me and the Empire…would you say he was…your friend?" There was a searching look on Skywalker's face and Theeon did his best to keep his mind blank, afraid the Jedi would start trying to read his thoughts.
Theeon shrugged his shoulders gracefully. "Why does it matter anymore Skywalker? The man is dead, in no small part due to you."
Skywalker's eyes widened. "You blame me for his death? But it was-"
Suddenly they were cut off as they heard running footsteps towards them. Theeon turned his head to the sound and felt his heart sink as he saw four men round the corner of the alley, none of them in Imperial clothing. Skywalker lowered his lightsabre as the newcomers stopped to stare at Theeon.
"Is that…It can't be!" A dark haired, dark eyed man exclaimed.
"He's too young." The oldest looking man in the group said. "I've seen the Admiral, they might look almost the same but there's definitely an age gap."
"Gap? Try nearly thirty years…" Theeon muttered, noticing the older man was about to respond he added. "Speaking of the Admiral he and a great many Imperial troops will be arriving any second now. They may be coming from the far end of the spaceport, but if you want to make it past them to your ship…" Theeon gave a small, unpleasant smile. "Well, I suggest you hurry."
A sudden look of realization seemed to cross Skywalker's face even as the other four were beginning to move away. The older man grabbed Skywalker's arm and was about to drag him away when the Jedi spoke again. "Lando, I know who he is! Think about it! He looks just like the Admiral but he's younger. The Admiral is coming to his rescue; the Killisets spoke of another…"
Before Theeon could respond he saw understanding cross Lando's face along with a touch of something nastier, he exchanged a glance with Skywalker, who seemed to know what he was thinking and gave a small nod. Suddenly, Lando's blaster was pointed at Theeon and even as he pushed himself away from the wall to escape he felt a flash of pain through his chest then darkness overtook him.