Gah, I don't believe myself! I had finished this chapter a while ago and then forgot I finished it. *smacks head VERY hard!* Sorry for the wait, and please enjoy!
Kobayashi sat comfortably on the cushions provided for him and the others by the Yoalan people. They were very obliging, giving them much food saying it was for their 'journey'.
"So where are our Jedi friends?" Kerrick asked one of the Yoalans while Numel flirted with the females, causing Zhymmia to bristle in irritation.
"They are probably praying for protection right now," the Yoalan É-Lófô-No said as he lit candles in the hut. "It is the warning hours."
"What are the warning hours?" Carh'la asked.
"Our prayers go by the time of sun cycles," É-Lófô-No explained. "When the sun rises, it is a new cycle. Boté blesses us abundantly during this time, bringing light to our world. When the sun reaches the middle of the sky, it begins to fall, ending the cycle for the day. At this time, darkness begins to creep upon us. Our spiritual leader Wégú-Muä prays for protection against the dark messengers during this time. We call this time the warning hours because they warn us of the end of the cycle when all grows dark. Then it becomes the dark hours. We keep a constant vigil during the dark hours in order to ward away the fallen messengers of Boté."
"I see…" Kobayashi said, exchanging a bewildered look with his fellow Imperials.
Suddenly, a Yoalan ran in, panting. É-Lófô-No stood. He spoke in the Yoalan language for a while, his tone indicating that he was remonstrating the Yoalan. The Yoalan shook his head and spoke in rapid reply, sounding panicked and awed at the same time.
"Any idea what's going on?" Kobayashi asked Ooke.
"I don't know," Ooke shrugged.
"What's wrong?" Padmé asked. "Everyone's suddenly listening to this new one."
Kobayashi looked around the hut to see that Padmé was correct: everyone was looking at the newcomer in shock.
When the Yoalan finished speaking, all the other Yoalans began to yell or talk loudly at once. É-Lófô-No calmed them and gave them instructions of some sort. He then turned to face Kobayashi and the others once more.
"What's going on?" Rowan asked him.
"You must be very blessed," É-Lófô-No said in a trembling tone. "You cannot possibly be losing your mortal life… you must be in the process of being blessed!"
"What are you saying?" Padmé furrowed her brow in confusion.
"Your honorable Jedi leaders are not just any Jedi!" É-Lófô-No trembled violently. "Oh, this is too much to bear! To think that Boté's son is walking on our very soil!"
"Boté's what?"
"Wégú-Töfînala-Boté and Wégú-Töfînala-Boté-Tca are walking upon our world! We cannot bear such an honor!"
"Calm down," Padmé said. "Just tell us what's happening."
"You are friends with the most blessed in the whole of creation," É-Lófô-No said. "Boté's son looks upon you kindly. You cannot stay here; this is too lowly a place for you!"
"No, this is fine," Kobayashi tried to say, but É-Lófô-No wouldn't have it.
"You must stay in the temple!" he said. "No other place on Yoala is suitable, not even the huts of Wégú-Taä!"
Wégú-Muä sat cross-legged in the center of a rocky area. The room was open, with a fierce wind whipping. No Yoalans were allowed up there; only Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Wégú-Muä. Besides the whipping winds the place was silent. Anakin and Obi-Wan watched Wégú-Muä sit and mutter prayers under her breath.
The mood remained this way until É-Lófô-Ca burst through the curtained doorway. "Wégú-Muä, I must speak with you!"
Wégú-Muä opened her eyes and looked at the breathless Yoalan. "This place is sacred, É-Lófô-Ca; you desecrate it with your presence."
É-Lófô-Ca trembled but would not leave. "But Wégú-Muä, it is urgent, more urgent than the warning prayer session!"
Wégú-Muä stood and walked over to the Yoalan. "Then tell me quickly before you anger Boté."
"How could I anger him when his son stands before you?" É-Lófô-Ca pointed at Anakin, who jumped. "He is here with his mentor just as you prophesized!"
Wégú-Muä suddenly rounded on Anakin. "Are you truly the son of Boté?"
"I don't have a father," Anakin said quickly.
Wégú-Muä gasped and fell to her knees as if having a seizure. Anakin and Obi-Wan looked at her in alarm. "Just as the prophecy foretold—one born of twin suns with no mortal father, this one would be the enlightened son of Boté, Wégú-Töfînala-Boté!"
"Recite the story!" she ordered É-Lófô-Ca, who said with her, "Boté wished to love his mortals even more and separated a piece of himself, making his son. Boté sent his enlightened child to the mortal dwelling where his son wandered and learned. But then a fallen messenger came and hurt the enlightened child of Boté, sending him on a path of destruction. Boté then sent a guardian to protect his child, the enlightened guardian of Boté's child—Wégú-Töfînala-Boté-Tca! These two walk the mortal world, blessing all in their path and bringing enlightenment to all who seek it."
Wégú-Muä then looked sharply at Anakin and Obi-Wan and bowed. "Oh child of Boté… I did not know that we were to be so blessed…"
"I'm leaving," Anakin muttered, trying to flee as quickly as he could. Obi-Wan stopped him; the Yoalans would probably take that as a curse of some sort, and the last thing they needed was mass hysteria.
Wégú-Muä told É-Lófô-Ca to call the others, which the Yoalan did with efficiency and speed. A parade of Yoalans entered, bowing to the ground before Anakin and Obi-Wan and then placing a blue headband on each of them. Anakin and Obi-Wan merely blinked, looking completely bewildered.
"What—how do you know about the prophecy, anyway?" Anakin stuttered.
"Your blessed father sent it to me two thousand sun cycles ago," Wégú-Muä responded. "But what of the sacred spouse? In a period of youthfulness, the enlightened child of Boté bonded with a mortal woman, making the woman more sacred than even Jedi. Where is this sacred spouse?"
"Eh…" Anakin and Obi-Wan exchanged awkward glances.
"Is she part of your entourage?" É-Lófô-Ca offered.
Wégú-Muä gasped. "Of course she is! I did not realize it until now; when I breathed through you all to see if Boté was with you, I felt a connection between a woman and yourself, oh enlightened child! Your sacred spouse is that brown-eyed woman!"
A group of Yoalans immediately rushed out of the room while the rest continued to lie prostrate and mutter odd prayers in their native tongue. Obi-Wan felt rather ridiculous about it all; he knew this had to stop somehow.
"We must call all of Yoala together to worship you, oh enlightened child of Boté," Wégú-Muä said immediately.
"That really won't be necessary," Obi-Wan finally managed to say. "We are departing—eh—very soon."
"Are you returning to Boté?"
"No," Anakin shook his head. "We're… traveling. We have to… help more worlds… you know, enlighten them."
"In fact, we had better be leaving now," Obi-Wan stressed before the situation could escalate any further. "Anakin, bless the people and let's go."
"What?"
"Now, Anakin,"
Anakin blinked and looked at the Yoalans awkwardly. They were all practically in a state of ecstasy at the thought of being blessed by their deity's 'son', particularly Wégú-Muä.
"Um…" Anakin said awkwardly. "As the enlightened child of Boté, eh… I… say that all of Yoala is now blessed. There. Now. Okay."
Suddenly the mood took a turn for the worse as Anakin collapsed to the ground in a gasp. Obi-Wan and Wégú-Muä were by his side in an instant and the Yoalans looked at each other nervously, panic in their faces.
"Anakin, what's wrong?" Obi-Wan asked.
"Palpatine's nearby," Anakin said through clenched teeth.
"Who is this Palpatine?" Wégú-Muä asked. "How does he affect Wégú-Töfînala-Boté in such a manner?"
"Palpatine is… a dark messenger," Obi-Wan explained in a way they could understand. "He affects Anakin rather badly…"
Wégú-Muä gasped. "He is the dark messenger who dragged Wégú-Töfînala-Boté into the path of darkness and destruction! He is the reason you were sent to watch the enlightened child!"
"Eh, yes, exactly," Obi-Wan agreed quickly. He then quickly returned his attention to Anakin. "Has he sensed you yet?"
"No," Anakin shook his head, trembling slightly. "But he is close… he found the fleet and is searching… Kichita, he's coming…"
Obi-Wan placed a reassuring hand on Anakin's shoulder. "It's all right, Anakin; we're leaving now. He won't find us."
Wégú-Muä motioned É-Lófô-Ca over to the trio. "You must join the enlightened one's entourage, É-Lófô-Ca. Represent Yoala as all the others are representing their worlds in Boté's creation. Aid Wégú-Töfînala-Boté-Tca in taking care of Wégú-Töfînala-Boté. You must dedicate yourself to this task; it is far above my own."
É-Lófô-Ca nodded fervently. Obi-Wan didn't argue the point; he was too concerned over Anakin.
The room was in a state of chaos. Rumor had quickly spread that 'Wégú-Töfînala-Boté' had blessed Yoala and then suddenly rumors stated that the 'dark messenger' was nearby and tormenting the son of Boté.
Ooke wasn't quite sure which was more ridiculous. He really just wanted to get off this crazy world.
To top it all off, the Yoalans suddenly were now trying to drag Padmé to the temple, saying she was the enlightened wife of Boté's child.
"She's his what?" Moeema exclaimed.
"She is the sacred wife of Boté's child, Lófô-Töfînala-Boté-Hí!" É-Lófô-No explained rapidly. "She must be united with her spouse!"
"You're his wife?" Moeema and the rest of the Imperials turned to face Padmé.
"Well—I—" the Naboo woman sputtered.
"Things get more interesting by the minute," Ooke muttered before noticing that Zhymmia looked oddly sad and flustered at the same time. "Zhymmia, are you alright?"
"Fine," she said quickly, looking away.
Yoalans began shouting everywhere all of a sudden, diverting everyone's attention.
"What's happening now?" Rowan asked.
"Wégú-Töfînala-Boté and Wégú-Töfînala-Boté-Tca are coming!" É-Lófô-No translated, yelling at his fellow Yoalans who prepared for their arrival. "You must wait for them immediately!"
The Imperials needed no prompting; they were already rushing out of the tent the instant they heard Little One—eh, Darth Vader—and Obi-Wan were returning.
"Lord Vader!" Capt. Mentzer called out to him.
Anakin walked by them quickly, barely sparing them a moment's glance. "We're leaving. Let's return to the shuttles."
The Imperials stumbled to keep up with the agitated man. Ooke suddenly noticed that a Yoalan was following them. "Eh, shouldn't you go back to your temple?"
"I have been assigned to join the entourage," the Yoalan female said. "I am É-Lófô-Ca."
"Great," Ooke muttered, returning his attention to the shuttles as he quickly boarded one.
"We're going to have to scatter," Vader was saying as he boarded. "Too many shuttles will attract too much attention."
"I'm not leaving you," Moeema said.
The rest of his group agreed quickly, refusing to back down no matter how much he threatened to crush their windpipes. Eventually he sighed in resignation and assigned them all to that one shuttle so the rest of the Imperials could split from the group and hide.
Vader then faced É-Lófô-Ca. "You can't come with us. It would be too much for you."
"But I have been assigned to your entourage, oh enlightened child of Boté," she protested.
"Yes, Wégú-Muä assigned you to me, but I am telling you to stay," Vader snapped.
É-Lófô-Ca fell to the ground, trembling. "I am sorry that I displease you so terribly!"
Vader sighed. "You don't… displease me… I just have enough in my little 'entourage' for now. Stay here and… I don't know, pray for my safe journey or something. I might even come back and 'bless' your world again."
É-Lófô-Ca stood, keeping her head lowered. "Of course, Wégú-Töfînala-Boté,"
She then bowed herself off the ship. Vader and most of his Imperials sighed in relief.
"Now where should we go?" Jifo asked uncertainly.
"My home is within fuel range," Rowan suggested. "Taris is a large world and people can disappear rather easily in it. It would also be a good place to rest and find a new mode of transportation."
"But what will we do?" Zhymmia asked. "I mean, are we just going to run and hide for the rest of our lives?"
"No," Darth Vader shook his head. "We'll come up with a… plan. But first we need to lie low. We've attracted enough attention. Plot a course for Taris. We're going to your home, commander."
The Imperials sat themselves as the shuttle flew away from that strange small world that was Yoala. Ooke sighed in relief. That place was a little too… odd for his tastes. It also had no technology whatsoever, which was his worst nightmare.
Now they were going to Rowan's home world, Taris. It was rather like Coruscant, having a split between its upper and lower classes that was rather obvious. Rowan, being an Imperial officer, lived in the Upper City. Ooke had never been to Taris before, so it would be… interesting. He would normally call it exciting, but since they were on the run, it didn't quite hold the same tone.
Ooke turned to his left and looked out the window for a short while before the windows went opaque, which was standard protocol upon entering hyperspace in Imperial ships (though Vader would actually look out at hyperspace during the trip and would often dismiss the protocol).
Speaking of Darth Vader, he certainly seemed rather tense. The other Imperials had taken notice and watched him worriedly. Vader seemed to notice, which only increased his anxiety. Ooke wished it wasn't so awkward; when Vader had been amnesiac he was at least easier to get along with.
Finally, it seemed that Kobayashi wanted to break the ice. He stood and walked towards Vader, but Vader stopped him before he even got started.
"No, Koby," he shook his head. "Just… no,"
"Just know that we are here to help, sir," Kobayashi said. "We wouldn't have stayed, otherwise."
Vader watched Kobayashi and nodded slowly, his eyes softening just a little. Then he looked away, his mind preoccupied with other issues… mostly likely the issue of the emperor.
Ooke himself didn't know what to do about the emperor. He had never given it much consideration when he was first taking care of Vader; his mind had been on the issue of Vader himself. However, once he grew attached to Little One, he didn't want Emperor Palpatine getting his hands on the boy. Now, though… what were they going to do now? Was Zhymmia right? Were they just going to hide for the rest of their lives? What about their families? Ooke worried incessantly about his parents and two sisters.
An hour crawled by and everyone steadily grew bored. Vader eventually fell asleep, leaning against Obi-Wan's shoulder. Padmé began to talk to Moeema, Ryatsi, and Carh'la, while Zhymmia simply watched Vader. Numel seemed to be debating something or another, constantly staring at Zhymmia and then Vader. Marrax was staring out the window, looking pale, while Capt. Mentzer paced in the front of the shuttle. Kerrick, Kobayashi, Rowan, Ress, and Shiine were having a lively conversation in the back, laughing loudly and enjoying each others' presence. Jifo looked a little out of place, watching everyone silently.
Ooke decided to walk over to the silent ensign and start a conversation. "Jifo… we're going to Rowan's home… so where are you from?"
"Dorthus Tal City," Jifo replied. "It's on Sacorria."
"Do you live with your family?"
"No, it's just me," Jifo smiled a bit sadly. "My family is pretty split. My mother and father haven't spoken to each other in five years. My father moved to Corellia about three years ago. My mother is still in the old family house back on New Plympto. My older brother, Diddur, and I moved to Sacorria so we would be close to either parent, but eventually Diddur moved away with his wife Fernanda to Belasco. So now it's just me."
"I'm sorry to hear that," Ooke said genuinely. "I still live with all my family on Corulag."
Jifo nodded and the two were left in a somewhat awkward pause. Jifo continued the conversation when he asked, "So how long have you been in service?"
Ooke leaned back in his seat, thinking. "Well, let me see… I've been serving for about two years by now. I enlisted in the academy a year before the war ended… it seems so long ago now. The galaxy has changed so much."
"Were you always in Death Squadron?"
Ooke nodded. "Yes, I was. I've always been in the Executor's engineering division one way or another. It makes me wonder what I'll be doing when this mess is over."
"If it is ever over," Jifo muttered.
"Cheer up, Ji," Ooke said with a smile. "We'll figure something out… we have to."
The bridge of the Judgment was silent and efficient. Officers stood overseeing the enlisted men who were dutifully sitting at their posts. Reports constantly came in about the rest of the fleet, keeping the admiral updated on everything.
One of the officers on this bridge shifted uncomfortably before leaving for the lounge once his shift finished. When he sat, he sat heavily, obviously worried about something. Another officer took notice of this odd behavior and sat beside the first.
"Is something wrong?" the man asked. "You seem preoccupied."
"It's this whole issue with Death Squadron," the first officer, a lieutenant, said, shaking his head as he did so. "I just wish I knew what was happening. I mean, have you heard the reports? First the squadron goes missing entirely, and then it reappears over Nihoma missing its essential officers, and the rest claim that there was a fleet-wide evacuation. To top it all off, it is discovered that the Executor is not among the fleet."
"It's about your father, isn't it?" the other officer, a fellow lieutenant, surmised. "He's among the missing."
Lt. Raltharen Chupa-Pau sighed. "Yes, he is. I'm worried. I don't know what's happening; none of us do."
"We'll find him, Raltharen," the lieutenant said reassuringly. "What's the progress on the search, anyway?"
"There's no sign of the Executor anywhere," Raltharen sighed. "No one knows why there was an evacuation issued; it's suspected that there are traitors among the top officers who are missing."
"Surely they don't include your father in the group of traitors… do they?"
"I don't know," Raltharen shook his head. "We've changed course, though. I'm not quite sure why. The emperor just said to head towards Wild Space."
"Where did you hear that?"
"It's amazing what you'll hear when you report navigations to the captain."
The lieutenant stood. "Well, I had best be getting to my own post, then. Stop worrying, Raltharen; we'll find those officers, and when we do, everyone will know that your father is no traitor."
From space, Taris looked like a green planet with swirls of white creamy clouds curled all across the surface. Then a strip of steel crossed the planet like a belt with lights glittering so brightly the strip seemed to sparkle. It was almost as if someone had taken a piece of Coruscant and wrapped it around this world. Occasionally pockets of this would appear on other parts of the planet, but the belt was the most striking.
The Imperial shuttle headed right for the belt.
Cdr. Chupa-Pau sighed contently beside Ton. Most of the shuttle was silent by now; its inhabitants were fast asleep. The shuttle was running on Taris time; it had switched when they plotted the coordinates. On Taris it was currently two in the morning.
Ton found that he couldn't sleep too well. His nerves were fraying little by little. Being on Taris was not very promising for Ton; it had a large upper city and it was heavily Imperial.
Force, he thought. The very fact that I have to think that should tell me something is wrong with this situation.
However, being on Taris had its advantages. For one thing, no one would suspect them to hide in the middle of Imperial activity. Also, there were too many people for them to really be noticed.
A loud snore snapped Ton out of his musings and he looked over at Lt. Beillane and Lt. Tunrott. The two were leaning their heads atop each other and were dead to the galaxy around them. Ton found himself envying the two young lieutenants who found it so easy to just release their stresses.
Ton then turned his attention to Lord Vader, who was snuggled comfortably between the wall and Master Kenobi. Although it had been unintentional, the young man had simply gotten comfortable leaning against the Jedi Master, who took no offense to it; in fact, the Jedi had wrapped his cloak around Vader and allowed the man to use the Jedi's shoulder as a pillow.
Ton wasn't quite sure what to do. He was no longer a captain; he had lost his ship. He felt out of place now, lost in a group of Imperials who all knew each other well and cared for each other. Everyone was a comrade… except for him.
He had never concerned himself with "friendship" and he still did not. However, loyalty and camaraderie were completely different from "friendship". Ton was loyal to Vader more than the emperor by now, though he had never envisioned himself turning traitor for the man. Still, even Vader was friendly with the others, though it was nowhere near as obvious as it had been when he was amnesiac.
Ton sighed. He never cared for making connections with his fellow officers; he simply did his duty. However, now all of their duties were far more entwined than any of them had ever imagined. He supposed the least he could do was be a bit more amicable. That did not mean being as irritably optimistic and talkative as Kobayashi, though.
The shuttle began its descent into the atmosphere and the trembling that followed awoke a few of the inhabitants.
"Are we there?" Lt. Reukli slurred.
"We're entering the atmosphere," Ton answered.
The shuttle's landing awoke nearly the rest of the occupants as it bounced slightly upon touching the ground. The pilot and copilot, the only two Imperials not part of the original group, entered the passenger hold and opened the landing ramp silently.
"Captain," the pilot walked towards Ton, removing his helmet. "We managed to get through atmo without any protocol issues, but it might be best if you use another ship from now on."
"What about yourselves?" Ton asked, taking note of the pilot's wording.
"My home is on this planet, sir," he responded. "I and my friend will stay here. We won't be of much more use."
"Thank you for everything, pilot," Ton said.
"It was an honor, sir,"
The pilot and copilot quickly disembarked and then Ton faced his Imperials. Cdr. Chupa-Pau was awake and alert, shaking Lt. Cdr. Tade to awaken her. The former senator from Naboo (Ton was still trying to figure that one out—how was it they ran into nearly every person who was supposed to be dead, killed, or taken to the emperor? Not to mention that they had just found out that she and Lord Vader were married) was stirring just beside a half-awake Lt. Cdr. Norhek. Lt. Cdr. Chelcu, Lt. Beillane, and Lt. Tunrott were stretching and standing while Lt. Reukli awoke Ens. Kenzee and Ens. Hu. A loud snore and a grunt issued from the back corner where Lt. Sanus was slowly coming back to reality. Ens. Mothezsh was looking around at the rest of the Imperials to see if everyone was readying to disembark. Meanwhile, Master Kenobi was awakening silently, his eyes opening slowly and taking in their surroundings before the Jedi gently nudged Vader awake.
"What is it?" Vader mumbled sleepily.
"We're here, Anakin," Master Kenobi said softly.
Vader let out a little shiver and then stood. Ton couldn't blame him for shivering; it was winter on this side of Taris, and it was bloody freezing.
"Lead the way, commander," Ton said to Cdr. Chupa-Pau.
"I think it might be best to address me as Rowan, sir," the commander said with a smirk of amusement. "We don't want the entire city knowing that Cdr. Chupa-Pau is about the area."
"Right," Ton nodded and then motioned towards the ramp awkwardly. "Eh, lead the way, Rowan,"
Cdr. Chupa-Pau nodded and exited. Vader followed next, then Senator (former senator—this was so confusing…) Amidala and Master Kenobi, and then the rest of the Imperials, going two by two.
Ton brought up the rear as Cdr. Chupa-Pau led the group through the Upper City. The lights on top of the curved skyscrapers sparkled brightly, leaving everything illuminated though it was so late. Not many were wandering about, so they quickly walked through a plaza and took a transport to a more homey and residential section of the city.
Cdr. Chupa-Pau led the group to an apartment complex. They entered, not seeing much of the aesthetics in the lounge since it was so dark. The large group had to take three turbolifts, which all sped to the eight hundredth floor.
The commander walked to the fifth door to the right and shuffled through his duffel bag before finally picking out a card key. He inserted it into the slot, held it there for a moment, and then pulled it out. A soft beep issued from the lock and the door silently slid open.
A dark corridor was all Ton could see. It led into a large open room with deep blue carpeted floors, a panoramic window to the right along with sliding glass which led to a roomy balcony. An open kitchen unit stood off to the left. Ton couldn't see too much in the darkness, though the lights from the city shone into the living room and illuminated the long white couch and a dining table just beyond it. Ton could make out another hallway up ahead.
Cdr. Chupa-Pau—eh, Rowan—looked around the room with pride. "I see she's settled in well."
"What do you mean?" Lt. Beillane—blast it, Kobayashi, whatever—asked.
"My wife moved into this apartment just after I returned to service," Rowan replied. "I just saw the empty beginnings of this place."
He then turned to face all of the Imperials. "All right, if I recall correctly, this apartment has three guest bedrooms. Each bedroom can probably fit about four of you if you squeeze in together. Then maybe three of you can share the couch."
The group quickly offered two of the guest rooms to the five women. Lt Cdr. Tade, Lt Cdr. Norhek, Dr. Tunbaoth, and Ens. Kenzee would share the first guest room, while Amidala had to share the second with Ton (who felt rather embarrassed about the idea), Vader, and Lt. Reukli. Ens. Mothezsh, Ens. Hu, Master Kenobi, and Lt. Beillane took the third room. Lt. Tunrott and Lt. Sanus refused to take any of the rooms; they said they had slept on far worse and could handle the couch, sharing it with Ress and Lt Cdr. Chelcu.
Once everything had been settled, everyone went to their respected rooms. Ton entered the guest room and saw that there were only two beds that could barely fit two people on them. He and Lt. Reukli quickly took the bed against the right wall, leaving Amidala and Vader watching each other.
Vader sighed and bowed his head, backing out of the room. Padmé watched him go with a neutral look. Her eyes glistened, holding anger behind them and a grim understanding. She then promptly went to the other bed and fell asleep. Lt. Reukli and Ton looked at each other and shrugged.
Please review! Oh, and by the way, the story "Military Mishap" has been published - it's the story you all requested about Kobayashi. Please read and enjoy it - it was written just for you. :-)
Eh... let's see, Imperial profile... here's Zhymmia!
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