Chapter 2-Connections
(Home One-Alliance High Command Council Room)
The Noghri team that was contained in Alliance holding cells were kept on sections so they couldn't even smell the other if they tried to. Each Noghri was interrogated, but they answered nothing of the questions asked, and instead had this spaced out look. They were injected with truth serums, shown holo recordings of their actions, and asked why they had taken Luke from his room to an escape pod.
And still the Noghri were all silent.
"These Noghri are something. I've seen encryption programs from high level Imperial vaults cracked open sooner then them," said Admiral Ackbar, as read the report on how these proud warriors withstood every form of interrogation the Alliance used, and that the Noghri shrugged it off like it was nothing.
"Yes. The rumors surrounding the Noghri are certainly becoming clear fact, as they have been silent the entire time, and have kept us continuously in the dark about why they took Commander Skywalker," said Mon Mothma, as she had been unnerved by this, and she could see Leia was too.
"I think it's obvious. Commander Skywalker is really a spy for Vader and somehow the Dark Lord found out that we knew. He sent his agents to retrieve Skywalker knowing that we would get information out of him," said Madine, as he saw Leia scowl at him for his words, and saw the anger that burned in those eyes of hers.
"Luke is not a spy. Vader has been pursuing Luke for years ever since the Death Star was destroyed and there were some very close calls that he face that were nearly fatal," said Leia, as Luke had been on many missions with some of them not going according to plan, and risked her friend's health.
"Vader has never been known to keep his spy's in good health no matter how good they are," said Madine, as if he was talking about the weather, and it made Leia's anger grow from the General's words.
"Luke is not a spy. Stop saying that!" said Leia, as she did not want such accusations aimed at her friend from this former Imperial, and wished Chewie was here with her to rip Madine's arms off.
"The evidence we have says differently Princess Organa. The Noghri team sent here just proves it further," said Madine, as he had truly come to believe the boy was an Imperial spy, and this latest action by the Empire further proved his theory.
"I want to speak to the Noghri Leader. Alone," said Leia suddenly, as she saw her fellow Council members all looking surprised by that single statement, and was pleased to see that Madine disapproved of it.
"What? Why?" said Madine, as he had never expected this kind of tactic to be used by the Princess, and wondered what she was up to?
"When I confronted the Noghri they were prepared to fire and fight to the death in order to make sure Luke escaped. However, after the leader of the group looked at me for a few seconds, I saw something had changed in him, and his group followed him. Whatever he knew, they knew too, and it concerns me in some way. Even if I'm wrong, I think I can get the Noghri Leader to open up to me, and possibly get him to talk if only about Darth Vader," said Leia, as she knew from the rumors that the Noghri had always served Vader with unrivaled loyalty many do not see in their own soldiers anymore, and that their only purpose was to obey Darth Vader.
"It wouldn't make much sense for the Noghri Leader to talk to you Princess Organa," said General Rieekan, as didn't see the logic behind the idea, and wondered if Leia was gasping at straws in order to find Luke.
"Perhaps, but I think Noghri respect authority, and those they believe have it to a certain extent. All I'm asking for is a little time with the Noghri leader," said Leia, as she could feel her instincts telling her to speak to the Noghri Leader, and learn why he was ordered by Vader to take Luke from them.
"Very well. However, I want an armed team outside the cell incase there is trouble, and keep you safe," said Mon Mothma, as she didn't want their prisoner to suddenly become bold, and take Leia hostage.
"I understand," said Leia, as she bowed to Mon Mothma before leaving, and began to head directly for the holding cell.
(Star Destroyer-The Enforcer)
Luke struggled to open his eyes, as he felt the need to awaken become an apparent need of his mind, and saw he was no longer in an Alliance escape pod. He was in an Imperial Sick Bay area with the group of Noghri that had been in the escape pod with him and each one on high alert for any potential threats.
Sitting up Luke felt his wounds no longer plagued him, as he no longer had any wounds on his body, and found himself feeling healthier then he had in years. The door to the room opened, with the Noghri around him tensing with weapons ready to be used at a moments notice, and eyed the person coming in with calculating eyes.
"Ah, Jedi Knight Skywalker, I see you are awake, and feeling better I take it?" said the man wearing a doctor's coat and began examining the young man while under the ever piercing eyes of the Noghri around him.
"Yes. Though I'm not really a Jedi Knight, but rather a Jedi in training," said Luke, as he saw the doctor raise an eyebrow at that, but then went back to examining Luke's body for anything out of place, and at the readouts from the equipment that had been monitoring him since he was brought onboard The Enforcer.
"Well Jedi or not, your body is back to what it should be, and I'm sure Lord Vader will be pleased to know you are healthy again," said the doctor, as he had been informed by the Dark Lord about Skywalker getting the best medical treatment there was, and failure to do so would be lethal for the good doctor.
"Vader? He's here?" said Luke, as he couldn't sense the man, and wondered if the Dark Lord was possibly masking his presence.
"No, but we did contact him immediately the instant we got you on board, and we were told by the Noghri that Lord Vader was to be told of your rescue from the Rebels. To be honest, when I saw you, I originally thought that they had done that to you, but saw that the methods used on you were not standard Noghri attacks, and knew any Noghri warrior worth his blade always makes the kills quick, and the damage to the physical body would precise when delivered. Your injuries are blunt, random, and lack the finesse the Noghri here possess with their years of training while in the service of Lord Vader," said the doctor, who had a form of respect for the Noghri, as they had sharp eyes when it came to the ways of the blade, and could rival any surgeon of any medical profession.
"When will he be here?" said Luke, as he wondered how long it would take him in trying to overpower the Noghri, and escape the clutches of the Imperials on this ship.
"The Executor will arrive here in another day, maybe less considering how the Dark Lord would no doubt try to rip through the very fabric of time just to see you, and speak with you for reasons I can't fathom. Though it's not my place to question Darth Vader and I have no interest in doing so," said the doctor, as he finished his examination, and began to leave to make a report to give to Darth Vader upon the man's arrival.
When the doctor left, Luke sighed, and collapsed back on the bed wondering what could possibly happen next for him knowing that soon his Fath-that Darth Vader would be on this ship.
"Something troubles you Son of Vader?" said one of the Noghri, as he saw Luke letting out a sigh, and the conflicting emotions on the young man's face.
"You could say that. I had always believed that my Father was a great Jedi warrior named Anakin Skywalker and that he was killed by Darth Vader. Only now, it seems that the two are the same person, and I don't know what to believe anymore," said Luke, as he wished he had been told the truth about his Father, and not lied to all his life.
"Your Father is a great warrior Son of Vader. In every mission Lord Vader undertakes for the Empire, he leads by entering the very battlefield itself to fight the enemy, and doesn't sit by while his troops fight the battle for him," said another Noghri, who had been with Lord Vader on several mission, and was proud to fight beside the Sith Lord.
'Perhaps, but now I know what Master Yoda meant when he said wars don't make one great, and that he was referring to my Father,' thought Luke, as he reached out to the Force for some measure of guidance, but found the answers he wished for were not there, and the young Jedi in training wondered if they would only appear to him right when his...Father came.
For the moment, all Luke could do was reach out to the Force, and wait for the outcome that was to happen.
(Alliance Frigate-The Containment)
Leia entered the cell of the Noghri Leader, who had symbols on his shoulder that if were translated correctly meant "Spirit of the Warrior", and it was clearly seen by the Princess of Alderaan. She had the guards inside the room wait outside of it, as the holo recording devices had been turned off on her orders, and she sat down in a chair not some 10 feet away from the shackled servant of Darth Vader.
"I know you don't want to talk to us about what you know, but perhaps you will just talk to me, and only me," said Leia, as she saw the Noghri Leader look at her with that blank look, and wondered if Vader had taught them this.
For a moment, the Noghri Leader did nothing, but looked at her with those cold blank eyes, and Leia wondered if he hadn't secretly killed himself while looking like he was meditating?
"You are his child," said the Noghri Leader, as he nearly made Leia jump out of her chair at the sudden talking, and felt she had just got her foot in the door.
"What do you mean? Of course Bail Organa is my Father!" said Leia, as she felt angry at the prisoner before her making such an obvious statement that it had to be an insult, and wondered what the servant of Darth Vader was getting at.
"No. Not him. That man is not your birth Father," said the Noghri Leader, as he ignored Leia's angry eyes looking at him with increased fury, and wondered if those eyes were like Lord Vader's when he was angry.
"You have some nerve telling me that, especially when it's coming from the servant of Darth Vader!" said Leia, as she saw the prisoner twitch at that, and she wondered if he was getting annoyed with her before got out of her to walk away.
"Do you want to know the truth behind your parentage?" said the Noghri Leader, as he looked at Leia turn around to face him, and saw the various emotions running through her facial features.
"What truth?" said Leia, as she saw the prisoner before her looking at her with kind almost gentle eyes now, and the survivor from Alderaan wondered what had changed.
"The truth that has been hidden from you all your life by that of lies from those that did not want you to know. A truth that when revealed will take all that you know and shatter it like glass," said the Noghri Leader, as saw Leia eyeing him carefully, and wondering if he was setting her up for some kind of trap.
"What could have been hidden from me that if told would change everything?" said Leia, as she walked over to him, and sat back down in her chair.
"Your Father is someone that you hate very much and would never want to accept if you were to know his name," said the Noghri Leader, as he knew destroying nearly 20 years of false truth was not an easy task, and that the lie was possibly preferred to the actual truth.
Maybe that was why so many people lie?
"Does this person even know that I am his daughter?" said Leia, as she had a feeling for years growing up that she wasn't the biological child of Bail Organa, but kept it buried by fighting the Empire, and not letting the feeling surface in the process.
"No. But make no mistake you are his daughter," said the Noghri Leader, as he saw Leia look at him with an impatient look, and wondered if she inherited it from her Father.
"Who? Tell me who my real Father is if you really know!" said Leia, as she now saw the Noghri Leader deep in thought, and she could see he was contemplating on whether or not to tell her.
"That is a conversation for another time," said the Noghri Leader, as his stance changed to like it was before, and no sooner had he done that did Madine walk in with his guards.
"Well, I see this attempt at talking in their ways of respect didn't show promise Princess Organa, and will have to be done by other means," said Madine, as he motioned for his Special Ops men to take the prisoner away, and saw Leia was angry at him for coming into the room.
"You have a lot of nerve entering when I was just about to get some information," said Leia, as she realized that the Noghri prisoner sensed Madine coming, and decided to shut up before the entered.
Whatever information the warrior in front of her possessed it was not meant for anyone else's ears except Leia's own.
"So you claim, but you had your chance, and now it's my turn. I have clearance from all the members of the Council," said Madine, as he handed her the datapad, and saw the Princess of Alderaan reading it quickly.
"To give the same interrogation you gave Luke, right?" said Leia, as she saw the man grin at her, and heard the shackled prisoners restraints move slightly when the guards lifted him up to his feet.
"That boy was an enemy of the Alliance. Commander Skywalker needed to know that spies and traitors are not tolerated within the military structure of the organization. What I do in my arena is not your problem Princess Organa and should leave it to those that are qualified to handle military matters," said Madine, as he took the datapad from Leia, and then turned to the Noghri in front of him now being taken to another cell for "proper" interrogation.
"You're making a big mistake," said Leia, as she was not about to have her only chance at getting information out of the prisoner be taken away because of some former Imperial Officer, and thought she was some weak woman that couldn't handle what he did.
"That's your opinion Princess, but that's all you have in regards in this matter, and unless you want me to report you to Alliance High Command for disrupting my means at getting information I suggest you back off," said Madine, as walked around her, and headed off with his prisoner to tell him what he wanted to know.
"Just like you disrupted mine General?" said Leia, as she saw the man stop, and look back at her with a look that told her he didn't like being contradicted.
"You were having a conversation with him Princess. That's not an interrogation," said Madine, as he walked out of the room, and left Leia to wonder what it was the Noghri told her.
She would have to ask one of the others and soon before Madine got a hold of them.
(Star Destroyer-The Enforcer)
The Executor easily dwarfed over the much smaller Star Destroyer, as the Lambada Class shuttle from the ships hanger exited the Super Star Destroyer, and entered the smaller one before Darth Vader walked with a purpose out of the shuttle through the corridors of the war ship towards the medical bay. The doctor in charge of Luke's condition in recovering from the Rebel's interrogation had given a detailed report while trying to keep up with the Dark Lord of the Sith.
Reaching the medical bay, Vader entered to see his son resting on the bed with the group of Noghri he assigned to find the boy now bowing at the Dark Lord's presence. As for Luke himself, he was giving off an aura mixed with fear, and of curiosity at just what the man was going to do now.
"Leave us," said Darth Vader to the doctor, who nodded to the Dark Lord, and left the two alone with the Noghri since they were like statues at this moment.
"Hi," said Luke, as he stood up, and saw his Father just standing there before the man moved faster then the boy thought possible.
And gave him a hug?
"My son," said Vader with pride in his voice and Luke didn't know how to react to this show of affection considering this was the Dark Lord of the Sith that served the Emperor.
"I...I can't truly call you Father yet after all I've been through on Bespin. I want to know you first before I do. The Noghri have said nothing, but great things about you, and while they speak the truth...what they say may be a little biased," said Luke, as he felt Vader let go of him, and saw the Dark Lord nod his head in understanding.
"I understand. As for what happened on Bespin, I do regret doing that to you, and wish I could take it back. It seems the Force has placed us in a circle of cruel irony in terms of us losing a limb when battling Sith Lords during our young lives as Jedi Apprentices," said Vader, as he turned away from his son, and flexed his right prosthetic hand at the memory of when Count Dooku cut off his right hand just below the elbow.
"Did you ever get over the fact that your hand was artificial?" said Luke, as he knew that was kind of stupid to ask since a large portion of his Father's body was currently artificial right now, and hope his Father understood what he was referring to.
"No. I just got used to it, but I never let it go, and I could always feel the sensation that came with it every so often," said Vader, as he turned back around to face Luke, and saw the boy nod in understanding.
"It seems we have more in common then I thought. For what it's worth to the Noghri, I am glad that they saved me from the interrogation I was put under, and I am grateful for what they did," said Luke, as he saw the Noghri bow lower if it were possible, and sensed they were proud of their greatest accomplishment to date.
"It is unfortunate they lost half their group," said Vader, as he knew that the Noghri were not a large race of beings, and to lose even a fraction of their numbers was a heavy blow to take.
"They're not dead. I sense some of them have been interrogated by Madine, but they are resisting, and not saying anything to him," said Luke, as he reached out with the Force to sense the Noghri that sacrificed themselves to get him here, and the young Skywalker felt a sense of pride from those around him along with those in the Alliance prison cells for doing their noble deed.
"They will escape when the time is right. I have every confidence in them," said Vader, as he knew that the Noghri that were imprisoned would make their move when the right opportunity presented itself, and return to him once more.
"I don't doubt it since they managed to get onboard the Medical Frigate without being detected," said Luke smirking at that, but then it left him when a thought occurred to him, and sensed that his Father sensed it too.
"You want me to free Solo from the Bounty Hunter," said Vader, as he could read his son's mind easily in this openly trusting state, and the Dark Lord wondered if Luke was doing this willingly.
"He is my friend. On Hoth, I was attacked by a Wampa while on patrol, and after I got away I nearly froze to death. If it wasn't for Han, I would have died, and I wouldn't be here talking to you right now," said Luke, as he did owe Han one, and this way he could help set everything even down the line in saving people's skins.
"Very well. I will inform the Bounty Hunter to return here with Captain Solo and provide him the necessary payment to compensate him for his losses with Jabba the Hutt," said Vader, as he knew that the slug would be unhappy in losing his prize, but would have no choice in relenting, and would find a considerable amount of credits enough to keep his anger at bay.
"Thank you...Father," said Luke, as he could see the man he knew existed, and knew that his Father had some form of honor in him.
"You're most welcome my son. Get some more rest, as I will have our shuttle ready for departure for The Executor ready within the hour, and I want you rested for the things to come," said Vader, as he gave his son one last hesitant hug, and left the room to inform the Admiral of his orders.
"This is going to be one crazy family outing," said Luke, as he sat back on his bed, and looked up at the sealing before closing his eyes to go to temporarily sleep.
The last thing that ran through Luke's mind before he did was whether he was a Jedi or a Sith in training?
Only time would tell.
(Home One-Alliance High Command Council Room)
"Are you serious?!" said Leia, as she just read Madine's current proposal he had created for the Alliance to accept, and wondered how intoxicated the man was right now or when he had written the proposal.
"Quite actually. I don't see the problem with it," said Madine, as he saw Leia's eyes now almost glowing with rage, and thought it was something to behold right now.
"You don't see the problem with it? General Madine, you want us to issue a policy that is to issue to kill every single sentient being, who can use the Force, and declare all of them abominations of the Galaxy!" said Leia, as she had great respect for the Jedi from what her Bai-her Father had told her about Jedi, and was now ignoring the words that the Noghri had said about Bail Organa not being her real Father.
"I've seen what these kinds of beings can do to the Galaxy. History itself tells us of Jedi, Dark Jedi, and Sith nearly ripping the Galaxy into two with their sorcery. Every single being that is connected to this nonsense, is a threat to the Galaxy, and to the Alliance!" said Madine, as he knew that those with such powers were a threat, and in his mind all threats must be eliminated.
"Jedi have done nothing to warrant such hatred. That is Imperial propaganda created by the Emperor himself!" said Leia, as she was not about to have the very guardians of the Republic have their names stained by one of the members of the Alliance that was trying to restore the government they supported.
"Did it ever occur to you Princess Organa, that the Emperor was onto something when he created that so called 'propaganda', and that all those connected to it must be destroyed?" said Madine, as he saw many within the Council room look at him like he was crazy, and some of the members even had the nerve to shake their heads at him.
"I will not accept this ridiculous proposal to be added into the Alliance," said Leia, as she threw the datapad into the middle of the table, and waited for others to make their own voices heard.
"I agree with Princess Organa. Such actions are rash and can be views as genocidal," said Admiral Ackbar, as he had known several Jedi throughout the years during the Clone Wars, and was not about to betray those that had helped his people in their time of need.
"So do I. Jedi were the key defenders of the Republic right until its fall and if we are to truly restore the Republic we must wait for such individuals that have the power of the Force to appear," said Mon Mothma with General Rieekan also agreeing with her in this matter greatly.
'It's not much of a victory, but it's something to keep Madine at bay for awhile,' thought Leia, as she saw Madine scowling at his proposal being shutdown, and knew this was not the end of this.
There were plenty of battles to go.
(A/N: YAY! Another update! How was it? Good? Bad? Let me know in your reviews so I can do better since it's been awhile since I did Star Wars. Until next time...PEACE!!!)