WARASOLI CAPITAL - STREET LEVEL
Retired Jedi Master Tokasi Ben-Kai, or rather, Senzo Osami as he was calling himself these days, walked through the doors of the restaurant 'The Galactic Tranquillity' to have his lunch. It had been a chaotic day at the office, just like all the days of these past few weeks. The political climate on Warasoli had gotten much tensed and it had culminated in yesterday's coup which had turned the lives of everybody upside down. Any regular fighting had been scarce on the planet itself while most apparently took place in space and for a time, the planetary security forces had been able to keep the enemy at bay. But then this very morning, the main force of the enemy had reached Warasolis and a landing of troops could begin. It was mostly the administrative areas that had been seized but you could still hear the sound of explosions in the distance and...Suddenly he felt a presence in the Force and it had such an impact on him that it was only through a great effort that Tokasi did not reveal his own presence. He had not felt this one since he left the temple that day, almost 10 years ago. 'Jorani'!
He spotted her immediately and she was sitting with...a little girl? The waiter droid then came up to him and he asked for a booth further in. It had doors you could close and it gave a little more privacy. He ordered a cup of ché while pretending to study the menu, just to get rid of the droid for a while. In secret, he peeked at his former padawan and found that she had both changed a lot, and still looked much the same as she once did. But the thing that bothered him the most was how openly she made her presence known in the Force and...the confusion that surrounded her. Could it have something to do with the little girl sitting next to her, munching at a piece of bread?
The girl also had a slumbering but powerful aura in the Force. He took a sip from his hot cup and concentrated.
Extremely slow and just as careful, he let a thin string of the Force reach out from him and touch her without her even knowing he was there. She had no defences or walls around her mind at all. That was not good. What he saw next made him even more concerned. Confusion, anger, fear and a sense of hopelessness filled Joranis Force signature. Tokasi pulled back just as careful as he had reached out and he was troubled. There were definitely something wrong here.
On the other hand, what else was expected when the order was gone, the temple burned and all surviving Jedi branded as traitors and hunted down by the empire? The question at hand though, was how he would proceed right here and now. He had no knowledge of what Jorani might, or might not, be involved with and he had sworn never again to interfere with the concerns of the order. Besides, he reminded himself, he had a life of his own now and he was actually quite happy with it.
On the other hand, this was not just any random Jedi. This was Maly 'Grasshopper' Jorani, as he once took as a padawan learner when she was but a little girl and had watched grow up to become a full-fledged Jedi knight. No matter how many years would pass, he would still feel some kind of responsibility for her. And her emergence in this very restaurant when he was going for lunch was too much of a coincidence. Clearly, the Force was at work here. But would she welcome him or would she run away, or worse, get hostile?
When the waiter droid returned, he decided to do a small test. He ordered the fish-of-the-day-with-noodles and another cup of Ché but gave specific instructions on how to prepare the hot drink and that it should be served to the lady at that table over there. He waited until the droid came up to Jorani with the cup of steaming liquid. He could not hear what she said but when she rejected the cup the droid pointed at Tokasi, sitting in his booth. The droid left Joranis table with the cup sitting on the table right in front of her and Tokasi could see how she watched him with the Force. He was quite calm and knew she could not 'see' him at all which should make her a bit confused. So she looked at her cup again and suddenly she twitched and a wave of perception, recognition, doubt and...hope came rushing through her.
She stared intensively at the cup again, lifted it to her nose and sniffed it. Then she looked right at him again, he still sat completely still, staring into the table. She sipped her Ché and he could feel how she made her decision. Jorani said something to the little girl who had dozed off and the two of them walked over to him. Before she got a chance to say anything he made a gesture for them to sit down on the opposite side of his table and the little girl quickly jumped into the booth, curled up in a ball by the wall and dozed off again. Jorani also sat down but in a little more sceptical way and he slid the door shut behind her.
"Hello Grasshopper." he said, lifted his head and looked into her eyes with a smile. At the same time, he let his presence in the Force be known and she quickly drew a breath. "Master!" she whispered and covered her moth with her hand. He held up a finger. "Not anymore." he said with a soft tone "I left all that behind a long time ago, remember?" She stared at him as if she doubted what her eyes were seeing.
"You recognized your Ché?" he asked with joy in his voice.
"Yes, but it took me a while to remember." she said, still with doubt written all over her face. "Master, is it really you?"
"Yes Maly, it is me." he chuckled and only now she seemed to fully accept his presence and he noticed how she relaxed and calmed down.
"You don´t know how glad i am to see you." she said after a time of silence. "Or to see any friendly face at all for that matter." She covered her face with her hands and sighed. "Oh, i´m such a mess." then she took away her hands and looked at him. "How did you find me anyway?"
He smiled and said "Easy. I walked through that door over there to have my lunch and saw you sitting here. Or rather, you were broadcasting your presence in the force for everyone to see so i couldn´t have missed you even if a rancor walked by." She blushed a little and giggled, looking down when her former master lectured her.
"Hm, well master, i´ve had some things on my mind so i haven´t been all that focused lately." Then she looked at him again with intense in her eyes and he knew what she was going to say.
"But i couldn´t see you. Not even when i sat down here in front of you. Your Force aura is somehow blurry and, well, not sharp, almost transparent and very faint. Hadn´t i seen you with my own eyes, your seat might as well be empty. You are somehow blocked from the Force. How do you do it?"
He chuckled and said "That, my former padawan, is a long story and, as usual, include a lot of hard training."
Then he got serious and looked at her, leaning forward a bit. "But enough said about me now Maly. Tell me what´s bothering you."
She sighed and looked at the sleeping girl and could not stop herself from smiling. "She´s either completely crazy, running around, jumping and laughing or she is exhausted and falls asleep." Suddenly the waiter-droid knocked on the booth door with his order and Tokasi asked Jorani if she was hungry.
"Well, yes, maybe just a little." she answered and Tokasi quickly ordered what used to be her favourite dish when she was a girl which made her laugh.
"I´ve almost forgotten about that. How can you remember it?" He smiled, slightly embarrassed.
"You were my last apprentice and the day after your trials i left the order. Call me an old sentimental man if you like."
She nodded once, slowly. "You were right master." she said thoughtfully. "The Clone Wars did mean the destruction of the order."
"Well," he said and tilted his head. "Not quite. I´m afraid it wasn´t all that simple looking at it in retrospective." then he chuckled again. "But as an old friend once said, that was all just an excuse for me to leave the order in an honourable way."
While they were eating, Jorani finally told him what was lying heavy on her heart. She had plaid her usual game with the Empire, blowing up something big and important and that made them angry as a swarm of wasps and they came after her. Nothing unusual about that. It´s how they always plaid the game.
But then she had found the little girl, crying just outside a small shop blown to pieces. He parents laid dead on the ground next to her and the crying girl tried to wake her mother up as if she was just sleeping. The small family had probably just been at the wrong place at the wrong time.
"True." Tokasi interrupted "But also consider that from the girl's point of view, you were on the right place at the right time. Or she would probably had succumbed."
Jorani nodded and continued. "But i also sensed her to be Force sensitive and both you and i know all too well what it would mean if the empire would find her."
Tokasi nodded, adding "So you took her with you." "Yes." she said, slowly nodding. "I couldn´t just let them take her, kill her, or worse, turne her to the dark side. She felt like...well, one of us." Tokasi could feel her anger rising but said nothing. This was not a time for lessons.
"I mean, look at her." Jorani said and turned her eyes at the sleeping little girl. "She´s just a child. A little girl. Could you imagine her in the hands of the Emperor or Lord Vader?"
She calmed herself down and let her head rest in her palms. "I didn´t even have a plan. I just took her and kept fleeing from the Stormtroopers chasing me." Then she shook her head, still covering her face. "But it all went wrong. I´ve been outsmarting the empire for the last six or seven years now. I´ve even faced Vader, twice, and escaped to tell the tale. But in less than two weeks, this little girl here has razed it all and put me in some serious trouble." Jorani took her hands away and Tokasi could see how tired she was. She pushed her empty plate away and slumped back in her seat.
"I´ve never seen Vader myself," he said. "but if only half of what i´ve heard about him is true, then you´ve truly performed some acts of wonder."
Jorani smiled slightly, almost in a shy way. "Mm, but it all went out of my hands. It grew too big for me to handle. "Then she looked up into the ceiling. "He´s up there now, you know that don´t you? I messed up big time and he´s been following me to this place. According to the Administrations HoloNet feed an entire Star Destroyer has come to help them against the rebels, but it´s me they´re really after".
She shook her head and said with a tired voice "Frell! I can get out of this, i know i can. But not with her. Vader won´t give up until i´m in the net and soon enough he´ll end this little planetary uprising and he´ll be able to do some serious hunting." Then she sighed again and slumped even deeper in her seat.
"We were only to stay her a few days. Just to get my ship repaired, and then we´d be off again. But then this rebellion got in our way and all space traffic was shut down. I could probably have blasted my way out, if i was alone, but not together with her. I just can´t do it. Not a chance."
Tokasi nodded. "I understand." he said and leaned forward, continuing in a lower voice. "But you were meant to find this child, you know that as well as i do. However. It may not be your task to take care for her while she grows up. You must find someone who can before you leave."
Jorani sighed again, looked quickly at the girl, still sleeping, and then turned back to him. "Well, i´ve been thinking about that. But it´s more than just caring for her. She must be trained. At least enough to hide her powers so she won´t be exposed. Who´s going to do that if i leave her? Jedi masters don´t grow on trees these days you know." Tokasi chuckled and said "And yet, there is one sitting right in front of you. Even though he is a retired one."
That seemed to raise her spirit just a little bit. "That´s true. What a coincidence, huh?" Then she giggled and mimicked his voice. "There are no coincidences, young padawan. Only the Force." The memory of lessons long ago made him smile and she asked "I suppose there is no chance of you taking care of her?"
His answer surprised her. "The possibility has actually crossed my mind." Her eyebrows rose and her hopes with them.
"I have been eating my lunch here every now and then for several years now." And he pointed over his shoulder with his thumb. "My office is just nearby. There were no coincidences who lead my way here this very day. Just as little as luck were leading your steps. It was indeed the will of the Force for us to meet."
Jorani was just about to say something but he held up his hand and she kept silent while he continued. "But, i did swore an oath a long time ago to never again interfere in the concerns of the order. I am sorry Maly, but i cannot take care of this child." Jorani nodded and he could feel how the small hope she had faded away.
Then suddenly she had an idea and she smiled faintly with a cunning look on her face.
"Master." she began, ignoring him frowning at her using that title. "You took an oath to never again interfere in the concerns of the Order, was it not so?" Tokasi nodded, wondering where she was going with this.
"Just so." he said. She nodded and continued.
"Then listen to me. This girl is four years old. Five at the most. She wasn´t even born when the empire rose up to power. The order has fallen a long time ago and doesn´t exist anymore. These two circumstances together makes it impossible for this girl to be a concern of the Order because there hasn´t even been a Jedi Order for as long as she has lived."
Tokasi nodded, suppressed a smile and said "True. But also a little bit vague." Now Jorani nodded in turn.
"That may be. It really was the will of the Force for us to meet, i see that now. But that means the girl is not the concern of the Order, she never was, but instead she is the concern of the Force." And now she smiled a triumphant smile. "And you don´t doubt the Force do you, master?"
Tokasi was silent for a while, searching within himself. He already knew the three of them meeting like this was all too much of a coincidence and he felt the living Force was at work here. The Order he once swore to keep away from was long gone and all its 'concerns' with it. He thought it over once again before he nodded.
"I see you have gained in wisdom during all these years."
Jorani then laughed and all her troubles seemed to be gone when she answered "I had a great teacher, master."
WARASOLIS – ADMINISTRATION ASSEMBLY HALL
The shuttle carrying Lord Vader finally arrived at the administrative centre of the planet. It landed in a large open area in front of a huge and very impressive building. There were a lot of troops gathered here and through the main viewport, Shiri could see many AT-STs on patrol. TIE Fighters flew in formation all over the sky to even further enhance the impression of imperial power and superiority. When the repulsorlifts smoothly set the shuttle down and the entry ramp was lowered, Lord Vader rose and said "Come. I have a task for you."
Shiri had not been listening. She was set to just remain in her seat and follow the shuttle back to the Nemesis. Then she noticed from the corner of her eye that the Co-pilot and the Gunner had turned their heads and were staring at her.
"What?" she said and in the same moment realized that Lord Vader had been speaking to her. She jumped up and sprinted down the entry ramp, following the dark Lord and his twelve Stormtroopers. But she did not quite know where or even how to walk. She had to walk very fast to keep up with the others but should she walk beside Lord Vader (he had, after all called her), just behind him, slightly to the left or perhaps last in the Stormtrooper column? She did not have much time to figure things out so she just hurried along a little to the side of the 'real' imperial forces and that made her feel more like some kind of mascot.
Just before they passed through the buildings gigantic set of doors, Lord Vader called her to him. He pulled something out and handled it over to Shiri.
"I want you to set up a communications link to the Nemesis and have Captain Natane standing by."
"Yes sir." she answered at once, turning the gadget around in her hands. It was a portable Holo-Projector and it took her less than 30 seconds as they walked, to establish the connection and relay the dark Lords command up to the Nemesis.
"Copy that." the communication station answered in the other end. "The Captain will be standing by."
They marched in to a very large hall, probably functioning as some kind of official reception area in the administrative building. It was a great number of people gathered inside, sitting on many levels like an amfi theatre and cheering loudly. Probably high officials or other representatives of the higher classes of society with influence. Now, with the battle more or less won, they all wanted do get as much light as possible from the victory to fall on them. The only problem is, Shiri thought and looked at the black cape of Lord Vader, darkness does not reflect light. It consumes it.
At the other end of the giant hall, there was a podium raised with six steps leading up to it where a number of people were standing and Shiri guessed they must be members of the planets highest administration. In the centre, some steps in front of the others, Prime Administrator Chebanis stood, still wearing that impossible suit with far too many and too large feathers and on his head, that strange hat...or if it really was an animal of some sort. Lord Vader halted at the foot of the podium and the Stormtroopers halted, turned to face each other and took two steps back. Shiri again felt somewhat lost but she knew she probably should keep close to Lord Vader so she placed herself behind him, a little to his left.
Prime Administrator Chebanis put his arms out in a kind of inviting gesture and made a deep, ceremonial bow.
"Lord Vader." he began. "Allow me first of all, on the behalf of the people of Warasolis express my deepest gratitude. Without your firm intervention we had all been slaves under the boots of the rebels. None is more shocked than myself of the..."
Lord Vader cut him off. "How could this happen?" he said, standing with his hands in his sides. "Where were your planetary defences? Why were you so week?"
The Prime Administrator looked taken aback of the sudden questioning and looked nervously around for support but when he did not find any, he answered with a well-rehearsed smile on his face.
"I assure you, My Lord, none is more surprised than i and i also assure you that the committee i am going to set up will go to the bottom of this. I promise that this administration" and he made a gesture with his arm to his colleagues behind him "will not spare any means to find whoever bore the responsibility for this scandal and will not let this happen again!"
Shiri could almost feel how the air around Vader sparkled of his anger building up. Wrong answer, she thought while the Prime Administrator kept talking, more to the crowd now than to the man in front of him. "For some years now i have been suspicious of a hidden corruption within the administration and when i find those who..."
Vader lifted an accusing finger at the Prime Administrator and suddenly the man had trouble breathing.
"Don´t lie to me Prime Administrator." Vader said and the hall went silent.
"You are as incompetent as you are corrupt. You have betrayed your people and plundered the state, letting means for planetary defences fall into your own pockets."
Prime Administrator Chebanis was now purple in his face and sweating heavily.
"But you were right about one thing." Life at last ran out of the choking man. "You will not let this happen again." The lifeless body fell to the ground.
"Who among you is vice Administrator?" Vader asked the terrified crowd at the podium who tried to get as far away from their dead colleague as possible without actually leaving the podium itself.
"I-i-i am, my Lord. I am vice Administrator Bovrec." Vader raised his hand and pointed a finger at the man, who drew a breath in terror and staggered backwards, thinking his last moment had come. But nothing happened and instead he stumbled on his colleagues and fell to the floor.
"Good." Vader said. "You are now acting Prime Administrator of this planet." Then he turned to Shiri and she at once held up the small HoloProjector in her palm, activated it and the blue miniature figure of Captain Natane appeared .
"My Lord." he said and looked like a perfect exampel of an imperial officer. Vader turned once again to the crowd at the podium and spoke.
"The leadership of this planet is incompetent, corrupt and on the edge of treason against the Empire. It is not acceptable. The instability of Warasolis will not serve as an example to other corrupt planets. Therefore, the security of the planet will remain under the protection of the orbiting Star Destroyer Nemesis until the safety and stability of this planet is once again guaranteed." There was moment of silence while the words just spoken sank in. Then Vader continued.
"Captain. This is the new acting Prime Administrator. He will answer to you during the time it takes to establish proper imperial gouvernance again."
"Yes my lord." Captain Natane answered. Right answer, Shiri thought. Short and right to the point. Vader again turned to the newly appointed Prime Administrator Bovrec.
"I will keep myself informed about this planets development." Then he pointed at the poor man who instinctively put a hand on his throat.
Don´t make me come back, Acting Prime Administrator." He then turned around and marched out with the footsteps of the Stormtroopers echoing behind him.
No one was cheering any more.
When they had left the hall and was on their way back to the shuttle, Shiri could feel the small HoloProjector she still held in her hand was vibrating and beeping.
"Sir." she said but Vader just kept walking. "Sir, there is a message for you." she repeated, held up the small device and the figure of Captain Natane reappeared.
"What is it Captain?" Vader asked, still marching, making it difficult for Shiri to hold the holographic image steady.
"My Lord." Natane said. "We have located the prime objective of this mission." That made Vader stop in his tracks and he looked up to the sky and closed his fists.
"At last." he said and then looked back at the hologram. "Send the coordinates to my shuttle." Then he marched on to the spaceship.
The hall behind them was still silent.
WARASOLIS – A ROOF HIGH ABOVE STREET LEVEL
Jedi Knight Maly Jorani had never felt more calm or sure of herself as when she left Master Ben-Kai and the little girl behind her. Vader already knew she was on the planet and would never give up until he had her in his grip. But he did not know about the girl and obviously not about Master Ben-Kai either for that matter. And so Jorani made a decision to assure it remained that way. She would face Vader allright, but she would do it alone, leaving the girl and Ben-Kai behind her, hidden from the dark Lord. Unknown.
To her surprise, Master Ben-Kai had not protested nearly as much as she had thought he would. He said he knew she had already made up her mind and he would not try to stop her. They had gone through some mental exercises together and she had found her inner calm again and no longer thought of the girl as a burden or a baggage she had to carry on her shoulders. That way, he had said, Vader would not feel she was covering up or hiding something from him. At least he should not do so but he knew so little about the dark Lord that he could not be certain of anything.
But nonetheless, she felt more free now than for many a year. Free in a way she had not felt since she took care of the little girl and she knew in the deep of the Force that this was the right path for her to follow. She would draw Vader's attention to her and away from Master Ben-Kai and the girl, making sure they would remain undetected and hidden from the empire. She knew he would train the girl far better than she ever would and thus, the Jedi skills, knowledge and wisdom would live on, hidden in exile until the time came when the Order would once more stand firm and guard peace and justice in the galaxy.
She stood in an open area, rather high above street level. It served as some kind of landing area for smaller cargo vessels to and from the building, but it was deserted now and had been so for some time judging from the look of it. Earlier she had chosen this place carefully and had two alternative escape routes prepared in case she had to get away somewhat hasty. Then it was just a matter of finding a couple of Stormtroopers, jumping in on them and wave her lightsaber around a bit. She had led their hunt to this place, making sure they did not lose her and here they would 'hold' her until he arrived.
So, here she was. Standing close to the edge and feeling the wind in her hair and how it played with her clothes, turning and flapping them.
Unlike many other planets, Warasolis did not have a climate control system and so nature could roam freely as it wished. Like now.
Jorani could feel the rain hanging in the air and she drew strength from the pure and untouched power of nature.
She did not need to wait vary long. Soon enough a Lambda-class imperial shuttle appeared in the sky and landed with hauling repulsorlifts. The entry ramp was lowered and a small party of Stormtroopers disembarked. So, let's play our little game once more, she thought.
WARASOLIS - INSIDE A LAMBDA-CLASS SHUTTLE
"Come." Lord Vader said when rising from his seat. "You will watch and learn."
This time Shiri was up in a flash and followed him. Learn what? she thought but knew better than to say anything.
When they marched down the entry ramp Vader said to the Troopers standing there "Stay here and do not interfere."
"Yes sir." the Stormtrooper Commander said and saluted, but Vader had already turned away and marched down to the lonely figure further away.
"Don´t worry. Stay with us and you´ll be all right." the Commander said to Shiri who shook her head as she said "I´m not worried. It's only a single person against all of us. What could happen?" The Trooper turned his white helmet towards her and said without irony in his synthetic voice "You have never seen a Jedi fight before?" and she shook her head. The Trooper pulled up a pair of binocs from his belt and handed them over to her.
"Then you sure hit the jackpot Gambling Girl. Watch carefully for this is a rare thing to see these days."
Lord Vader stopped only a fiew steps away from Jorani.
"So, we meet again, Jedi." he said. "You have eluded me before but this time will be different. This time I will destroy you."
Jorani nodded to greet him. "I´ve heard that from you before, Sith. And yet, here we are." she paused for a second and added "Again."
Slowly, almost as if struck by melancholy, he pulled out his lightsaber.
"Many Jedi have said the same thing to me before you. But I have destroyed them all. Just as i will destroy you. I am more powerful than any Jedi have ever been or ever will be." Jorani took out her own lightsaber and ignited it.
"Well, we´ll see about that won´t we?" The green light shone bright in the grey light of the cloudy day.
But he surprised her by not activating his own weapon. Instead, he straightened his back and looked up to the dull sky. He almost looks tired and worn down, she thought.
"It doesn´t have to end like this Grasshopper." he said, still looking up.
The words took her completely by surprise and she lost her concentration, even for only a second, but he did not exploit the weakness in her defences. Instead, he just stood there, unmoving.
"What did you call me?" she asked to regain her concentration and to win time. Nobody had called her that since her days in the temple, except for her former Master only half a day ago. It was only her closest Jedi friends who even knew of her nick-name, and they were all dead.
"You don´t have to die here today." he said. "What good would come from death? All you have learned, all the years of training at the temple, all your skills and wisdom. All would have been for nothing and will be lost. Forever."
And then he looked straight at her and held out his hand.
"Join me." he said. "Join the dark Side and you will become more powerful than you can possible imagine." He closed his fist.
"I will teach you ways of the Force that few have ever even heard about. Yet, you will learn to control them and become a true Master."
Jorani stared at the black mask and slowly shook her head.
"You´re mad." she said. "I will never join the Dark Side."
He looked at her for a short time.
"Then so be it Jedi. You will die." he finally said and ignited his own sword.