Part XI
"I'd like to learn something."
Wrynn stared at the resolute girl in surprise. In a month, she'd shown no initiative, no interest in furthering her powers in the Force, and had been beginning to wonder if taking her at such a young age had been a good idea, save the fact that, the younger she was, the easier they'd be able to rid her of her nostalgia for home and family. "And what would that be, my dear?"
Leyla pursed her little lips. "I want to learn how to remember things better."
He studied her curiously. "What do you mean? Do you want to be able to recall small details after something happens?"
She shook her head, whipping her braided hair around. "I want to be able to remember things from when I was little." Wrynn refrained from pointing out that she was still very little. "Sometimes I think I remember things from a long time ago… but then I don't."
"I… think I understand," Wrynn acknowledged slowly. "And is there a particular memory you want me to help you recall?"
Shrugging her shoulders, she did her best to look impassive. "No. I just think it could be fun to know how to do it in case it happens again." It was a total lie, of course; she wanted to try to remember what had happened before she woke up on Xela's ship, and Wrynn suspected as much. Nevertheless, he saw little harm in the matter. According to Xela, the girl had been sedated before she appeared, and the two men who had wrested her from her hiding spot had not survived the attack. The memory would tell her nothing.
"Very well," he nodded and smiled encouragingly. "Close your eyes. This is a neat trick, sort of like watching past parts of your life in a holovideo. Now clear your mind," he watched her relax, impressed at her mental control. "When you're immersed in the Force, and the stray little thoughts are out of your head, reach out for the moment you're trying to remember… if you have a glimpse in your mind, focus on that instance and let the image expand. Do you know of other people who were there? Envision them. How were you feeling, where were you? Let the pieces fall into place. Concentrate on your emotions, if you can remember them…"
Leyla was vaguely aware of her eyelids fluttering as she used the tips her mommy had given her for clearing her mind. Not wanting to investigate the situation when she'd been taken away from her home in front of Wrynn, she instead chose a different memory to practice on, confident that she could recreate the process in the privacy of her own room later.
It was a vague thought that had crossed her mind the other day, but it made her curious. She remembered having a party for a birthday… and it was soon after she'd gone to Coruscant with her parents, she thought, so probably her second one…
An image of two older girls stuck in her mind, and she pulled on it, drawing it around herself as she recognized them as the daughters of her daddy's uncle Wedge, Syal and Myri. Frowning in concentration, she imagined herself running around with them, playing hide and seek… and in the strangest sensation, she could actually see it happening, and at once she was the younger version of herself, and an outside observer, watching the giggling two-year-old squirm and be tickled.
"Once you're there, allow yourself to drift back and forth in time, letting the images come from within you…"
She pushed forward, almost losing her concentration with the odd feelings. Focusing once more, she saw her mommy come get her and, they all sat down for dinner and cake… Leyla saw her parents, and grandma Leia and grandpa Han… uncle Jacen was there, and daddy's uncle's family… but she had the sense that someone was missing, and she wasn't sure if the thought was coming from her own mind or that of her two-year-old counterpart.
It was like watching a holovid, she thought in faint amusement, as she sped over the boring part where she got cake all over her face and her family laughed. Then, she was saying goodbye to great-uncle Wedge's family, and drifting to sleep in grandpa Han's lap…
"Gotta stay up," her younger self mumbled.
"Why, sweetie?" daddy looked amused.
She yawned. "Have to wait for Kyp…" And then she was asleep and the memory ended abruptly, jolting Leyla straight back into reality.
Kyp… she frowned, remembering why the memory had been on her mind at all, before the realization of her mommy being hurt had driven it away. While she was meditating, she had been focusing on all of the light presences in her mind, and just briefly, she'd felt a touch from Kyp. It must have elicited the memory of waiting for him, she supposed, since Kyp hadn't actually been present for the birthday itself.
Ah well. She gave a mental shrug. Later that night she could look further and see if he'd shown up after all.
Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene.
"Isn't it amazing?" Tahlia was breathless with wonder. Kyp was wide-eyed in astonished nervousness.
The 'armada' was huge, a full sized battle fleet, save the absence of large starcruiser-sized vessels- thankfully. "Where did they all come from?" he asked.
"We have our sources," Tahlia smirked wryly. "Ships slipped off of flight manifests, some claimed as casualties of battles where they were quietly sent away instead… crewing the bigger carriers was a little tricky, but we've had plenty of time to recruit those who are ready to see the glory of the old days returned."
Kyp desperately wanted to point out that she wasn't even alive during 'the old days.' He restrained himself. Again. "How long have they been amassing?"
"Oh," she thought, "I think some of them were on standby for us from the start… but when Moff Croyel took over, he consolidated the forces. The numbers expanded significantly during the war with the invaders." Kyp bit back yet another retort about the help such a fleet could have provided against the Yuuzhan Vong. "And some have only joined in the last several weeks, following the announcement of Red Fist."
She had reiterated for him what Mara had said, that Red Fist was the designator, signaling the start of the revolution. Given the timing, Kyp couldn't help but wonder at the connection the kidnapping of Leyla had to all of this, but he dared not broach the subject, lest it make her suspicious.
Tahlia pointed out a ship, the largest of the fleet by far. "We'll be docking with the Red Hand, our flagship," she said. It was a Corellian Dreadnaught, a ship with enough firepower to give an Imperial Star Destroyer a run for its money.
The rest of the journey was made in silence while Tahlia guided them towards the battleship and into the proper hangar, and Kyp stared around him, attempted to calculate approximate fire and manpower. It was impossible, given that he was unaware of the capacity of many of the dropships and fighter carriers that certainly held at least one squadron of starfighters- probably TIEs, Kyp assumed. Nevertheless, the magnitude of it all was astounding. Hundreds of ships all told, thousands of people who had simply… disappeared during the past several decades and, by the sounds of things, mostly in the past fifteen years.
Not that it would have been hard to accomplish during the Yuuzhan Vong war. Who would notice a starfighter here, a carrier ship there, when trillions of beings died during the five-year slaughter?
Still reeling, Kyp forced an impassive look onto his face and followed Tahlia from the docked shuttle. They were alone in the hangar, and the sound of his boots against the hard floor echoed across the bay ominously. They stepped through a blast door at the far end of the hangar, and were immediately met by two people; a stout, older man in an outdated Imperial uniform, and a young woman who looked around Tahlia's age with flowing blonde hair, deep-set, dark eyes, and a remarkably cold aura about her.
"Tahlia," she acknowledged shortly.
Tahlia turned and eagerly introduced Kyp to the others. "Kyp, this is Major Yortevin, our fleet commander, and Xela, one of my… colleagues." Kyp forced a pleasant enough smile on his face as he stared at the other woman. Even if he hadn't retrieved her name from the commando who survived the raid, Jaina's description of her, thoughtfully provided by Jag with the rest of his information, would have been enough for him to know that this was the woman who had physically stolen his little girl from her bedroom in the middle of the night. "Major, Xela… this is Jedi Master Kyp Durron."
Yortevin seemed relatively disinterested as he shook Kyp's hand; Xela carried a cold, calculating expression. "Master Durron," she said. "Your reputation precedes you."
He shrugged. "I make no excuses."
"Oh, you misunderstand me," she smiled dangerously. "Your belief in a firm and proper justice for Imperial pretenders… your lack of love for the political system… you'll fit in marvelously with our little bunch."
He quirked a brow. Some twenty-odd years after the fact, he hardly saw stealing the Sun Crusher and murdering millions of Imperial trainees and civilians 'firm and proper justice'… but it was just as well that Xela thought well of him for it, at the moment.
"I… eagerly await the opportunity to see your 'little bunch' in action," he smiled graciously, watching Xela's lip curl in amusement.
"You won't wait long," she turned her attention back to Tahlia. "The order has come forth; we attack in a week."
Tahlia was momentarily taken aback. "The target?"
"The crux of the Galactic Alliance navy- the Fourth Fleet." Kyp stared. That was Admiral Pellaeon's fleet, and he was a supreme tactical leader. "The attempt on the admiral's life was unsuccessful due to equal parts incompetence and… outside influence; we will attack while he is still reeling from the betrayal among his personal guards."
"When do we ship out?"
"Tomorrow," Xela shot a glance at Kyp. "Master Durron, you have a greater knowledge of Admiral Pellaeon's capabilities than any of us; perhaps you will accompany Major Yortevin to share them?"
Nodding slowly, he turned to the major. "I have never fought personally with- or against- Pellaeon, but he does certainly have a reputable leadership ability. I will do what I can to assist."
As he followed Yortevin to a conference room a few levels down, Kyp finally allowed his stomach to twist in worry. Allowing the Masters to think he had attacked an innocent Jedi was fine; she hadn't been innocent, and her knowledge had been key to locating Leyla. And even if she didn't remember, he'd had Mara's permission to alter her memories. But this… he was willingly giving information to enemy forces on how to fight against a GA fleet. That was downright treasonous.
Mind working fast, Kyp knew he'd have little time to fix this, once it was done.
Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene.
The Millennium Falcon soared into orbit over Bastion, having received immediate landing clearance due to Admiral Pellaeon's intervention. Jag stared down from the co-pilot's seat over the swirling colors that spun and whirled as the sun reflected and refracted off of the planet's atmosphere.
They had received clearance to land in one of the secure hangars of the Imperial Palace, only a short journey from the library and archives where they expected they would be spending many hours over the next couple of days as they pursued first, the situation with the old code transponders, and second, the current political upheaval in the Imperial Remnant. Both long shots… but it was what they had to go on at the moment.
Behind Jag in one of the passenger chairs, Jaina gave a sudden gasp. He spun as best he could around his crash-webbing, and Han yanked so hard on the control yoke that air-control snapped at him to stay on course.
"What?" Jag demanded. "Is it Leyla?"
"No," Jaina said, looking confused more than anything. "I'm not sure what it was… something's about to change."
Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene.
A low sense of uneasiness permeated the meeting hall where several Jedi Masters and a handful of Jedi Knights were gathered. At the front of the room stood Kenth Hamner, Saba Sebatyne, Corran Horn, Kyle Katarn, and Cilghal. Luke was again present via hologram.
Jacen and Zekk stood side-by-side off to one side, curious as to the need for the sudden, emergency gathering.
"Friends," Luke held up a hand, and Jacen was impressed at the way a small, blue representation of his uncle managed to command a room from hundreds of light years away. "It is strange business that brings us together today, but it must be addressed immediately. I know many of you have felt recent disturbances in the Force…" there was a low rumble of assent in the room. "I have as well; many of the Jedi here have. There are powerful, dark forces at work in the galaxy, and many of us have sensed them.
"I received a coded transmission an hour ago with a standard Imperial encryption; it requests the Jedi to launch our fighters and join the Fourth Fleet." Jacen and Zekk eyed each other in surprise. "I was not able to trace the source of this message, and therefore must conclude that it did not originate with the fleet itself, leaving us with the question of whether to acknowledge, and risk falling into a trap."
"Why would someone send an anonymous request like that?" Zekk asked skeptically.
Corran shrugged. "Someone has information that the commander finds unreliable; a spy trying to warn of a future ambush without giving themselves away; or, you know- trying to lure dozens of Jedi to their deaths."
Jacen's mouth quirked. "Ever the optimist eh, Master Horn?"
"That's CorSec for you."
"Master Skywalker," Katarn stepped forth, "I think we have an obligation to respond. Even if the source is unreliable… the kidnapping of Leyla Solo-Fel, the incident with Belotab's wife, the attempt on Admiral Pellaeon that nearly killed Jaina Solo… these are not random events. There is something dark at work, and we need to meet it rather than sit in relative comfort here on Coruscant… even if the only way to find it is by walking straight into a trap."
Saba sassed in agreement. "This one thinkz that Master Katarn iz right."
"Masters?" Luke queried. "Objections?" No one spoke. "Very well; pilots, we'll rendez-vous near Obroa-Skai in four days time. I'll send coordinates to Master Sebatyne when we launch from Ossus. May the Force be with us all."
As they walked slowly from the hall, Jacen looked up at Zekk. "What do you think?" he asked quietly.
The tall, dark man looked uncertain. "One of us should stay here," he said reluctantly. "We promised Jaina and Jag that we'd stay alert for any news or changes on Coruscant."
Jacen hesitated. "I'll stay," he conceded. "There should be a family member here. Besides," he grinned, "you're a better pilot."
"I wasn't going to say anything."
End Part XI