Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars: The Force Unleashed

Note: Apologies for being a day late with this. As Saturdays repeatedly seem to be busy for me I think I'll change my updating day to a Sunday as I seem to be around more. Thanks to all my followers - both old and new. A huge thank you, also, to those who take the time to review. It is very much appreciated. And again, a big, BIG thank you to Liisiko, my beta. She spends a lot of time helping me out despite her busy schedule.

CHAPTER 36 - Another

Location: The Armistice / Alderaan / The Rogue Shadow

Galen stormed in through the door of the med bay; his eyes darting around the room until they fixed on the nervous face of a trainee nurse sitting behind a desk. The lettering on the display screen casting an orange glow on her pale skin.

"I need to see the Cerean."

The nurse paled further. "I'm sorry, sir. I've been told that no one is to disturb him now. Senator Mon Mothma has only just left."

"This is important."

"Please, sir, if you'd just calm down and wait—"

"What's going on here?" Another voice called. "Is there some sort of problem?"

"There will be if you don't let me through." Galen snapped.

The doctor's eyebrows rose. "Indeed?"

Galen gritted his teeth and tried to regain his composure. "That Cerean could have something on him which is leading the Imperials straight here to us. You need to let me through."

"Without word from the senator, we can't do that, I'm afraid."

"Are you listening to a word I'm saying? If you don't let me through there's a good chance that we'll all be in danger." He took a step towards the door to find the doctor moving around to intervene.

"We have to consider our patients, Jedi Starkiller."

Galen was just about to launch into another tirade when Juno appeared in the doorway behind him. She'd not had a chance of keeping up with his pace and looked slightly out of breath as she grasped the door frame to pull herself into the room.

"Shall I call for the guards?" The nurse asked timidly.

"No." Juno interrupted. "There's no need for that. If you won't let us in to see, can you look for it?"

The doctor frowned and after a tense moment, said: "Shei, where are the clothes the Cerean was brought in with?"

"The locker in his room." The nurse replied carefully.

"Okay." His eyes fixed back on Galen. "Wait here."

Galen didn't look back, but he could sense Juno moving to stand just behind him, a hand's breadth away. In his mind, the timer was counting down, the distance between them and destruction closing fast. Perhaps it was already too late.

The doctor reappeared after an agonizingly long time – though it was probably only a few seconds – some tatty garments in his hand. He was rooting through the pockets even as he approached them.

"Anything?"

"Give me a moment." The doctor replied, clearly not a man to be rushed into doing anything. He moved across to the table and shook the garment upside down. A key card and an assortment of other trinkets rattled across the tabletop but there was something among them that had Galen's heart sinking.

A black cylindrical object – so small that it could easily have been overlooked – rolled across the table.

"You were right." Juno breathed, spotting it at the same time he did.

Galen snatched the transmitter from the table, so quick that no one would have been able to stop him, and squeezed it tightly in the palm of his hand.

"Is it an Imperial device?" The doctor queried, sounding more alarmed now.

"Who else would it belong to?" His voice was cold with fury. And then, under his breath: "I've been an idiot."

"How could you have known?" Juno defended. "No one knew."

"We need to get this away from here." He continued. "The clone could be here at any moment and if Vader has found him already, there's no telling who might turn up." The dark clone alone would be bad enough but now he was imagining an imperial fleet, a Star Destroyer leading the way. Vader's flagship…

A groan of pain emanated from the direction of the Cerean's room, drawing their attention. The elderly alien was standing in the doorway, his face hollowed with despair. "Please tell me this isn't true." He croaked.

"You should be in bed, Alin." The doctor replied swiftly, his scolding bearing the undertones of kindness.

"I did this." He wheezed.

"You have done nothing."

But Alin-Fa-Liir didn't seem to be listening. His eyes were fixed on Galen and though there was fear there, it was not because of him. It was because of what he believed was going to happen. "I released him!" The alien all but shrieked. "Why does nobody see that?"

The nurse was at his side, trying to placate him but he shook his arm free of her grasp.

"Can someone please tell me what this is all about?" The senator's voice was cold and stern as she swept into the room.

"Senator?" The doctor seemed surprised to see her.

"I was informed of a disturbance. I should have guessed at the cause." Her eyes settled on Galen and Juno.

Galen's accusing eyes swept back across the room, noting the sudden sheepishness of the nurse standing by the Cerean. Somehow she'd managed to get a message out to bring the senator back.

"The Cerean we brought back with us had a tracking device planted on him, Senator." Juno hastily relayed the information. "We hoped you would still be here when we arrived."

"A tracking device?"

Galen held it up for her to see, though he made no move to hand it over.

The senator's eyes narrowed. "It must be destroyed. Cut the signal."

"No." Galen's voice cracked like a whip. "It's too late for that. He's had plenty of time to track us. He probably already knows where we are."

"That is easy enough to fix. We are on a ship."

"So that's it? Destroy the device and slip into hyperspace? Let him go again? You'd give up the perfect opportunity to end his destruction and avenge the lives he's already taken?" Kota's included, he thought, his temper rising. "We can lure him with this and set a trap of our own. It's time you kept to your side of the bargain."

"Insulting my integrity will get you nowhere, Starkiller. The decision is not mine to make alone."

"The decision isn't yours at all."

Behind him, Juno cleared her throat in subtle warning.

"The others must be consulted."

"And by then you'll find Imperials tearing through your ship." He snapped, reaching back for Juno. His fingers circled her wrist and pulled her closer to him. "I can't allow that to happen."

"You don't have a choice in the matter."

"Yes, I do." Galen's voice shook with barely restrained rage. "I'm not a mindless weapon you can use and discard as you see fit. I won't stand by and do nothing. I won't let that clone gain the upper hand again."

His grip on Juno tightened and, before anyone could react, he had launched from the room; almost dragging Juno off of her feet in the process.

"Galen! Galen, you need to slow down."

"There's no time."

"I can't keep up." She gasped.

Without warning he ground to a halt and Juno slammed into him, clearly unprepared for him to stop so suddenly. Thankfully, he'd caught her by the elbow and kept her on her feet.

"Here, keep this safe." He pressed the transmitter into her palm and scooped her up into his arms. "Hold on."

He launched into a full sprint, slowing only to send communication to PROXY to get the droid to begin preparing the ship to leave. Juno's arms were tight about his neck, her eyes squeezed tightly shut. And, when they arrived at the docking bay and he set her gently down, she swayed dangerously on her feet.

"Please don't do that again." She murmured, holding on to his arm.

"You used to pilot a fighter without any problem."

"That was different." She pointed out.

"Come on." He urged. "We need to get away from here."

Neither of them, as of yet, knew where they were going.

Bail Organa looked up as his daughter re-entered the room, her brow etched with worry as she took up her seat again. Pale sunlight filtered in through the window of his Alderaanian estate and cast her face with shadows.

"Something has happened?" He asked.

"Yes." She looked up at him and sighed. "I just received a message from Mon Mothma."

"Let me guess." The man gave her a wry smile. "She's having trouble with our young Jedi."

"It shouldn't come as a surprise." She replied. "But it is concerning, isn't it? The longer this goes on the less and less I can see a partnership working out. He's not like General Kota."

Bail's eyes darkened with remorse. "No. I think he's more like him than we first thought. They were both stubborn, both determined to do things their own way. They were always looking to the course of action rather than that of diplomacy. The only difference is that Kota was able to temper his emotion with caution. The boy cannot."

"But can we blame him? His influences and his training were built around the use of emotion towards destructive ends. And now that Kota is gone there is no one to keep him in check."

"There is Captain Eclipse." Bail pointed out.

"I worry about her."

"You should not. They are both strong."

"Strong, yes. Strong enough? Who knows?"

"So what exactly did Mon Mothma say?"

Leia relayed the message to him.

"And where are they now?"

"She doesn't know. They've yet to make attempts to communicate with them. I've asked that I be allowed to try and speak with them first. Our relationship with Starkiller is fraught with tension as it is. If he goes rogue, it's not going to be good for anyone. If we're going to part ways, I'd rather it be on good terms."

"And what do you think of Starkiller's plan?"

"It's a big risk, but truthfully, it might be the only chance we have of stopping another disaster from occurring. The people will begin to lose heart if they see the casualties we are taking."

"And?" He prompted, sensing there was something else bothering her.

"It seems to me that every move we make, the Emperor is always one step ahead of us. We think we're luring them into a trap only to realize – too late – that we're caught in theirs." Her expression tightened. "Can we afford to let Starkiller walk into a trap set by Vader?"

"Are you concerned about Vader's influence on him?"

"I worry about his ability to work with us against the Empire when he has so much history with Vader. This fight is personal for him. If he is tempted back to the dark side there will be no one left to stop him. His strength is both an asset and a liability. He walks a fine line. But what are we to do? With Kota gone, he is the only one left. We need him."

For a moment, Bail dropped deep into thought, his chair creaking as he leaned back into it. What he said next, took Leia by surprise. "There may be another."

"Another Jedi?"

"Contrary to popular belief, there are some that have successfully evaded the Empire's reach. I may know of one who may be willing to aid us when the time is right. If Starkiller no longer wants to help us – through his own choice or not – we do have other options, limited though they might be."

"Do the other senators know about this?"

"No. This particular Jedi is an old friend of mine. A certain Obi-Wan Kenobi."

The name rang with familiarity.

"Will he help us?"

"When the time is right." Bail Organa repeated gently. "But first we must prepare. The Empire's Death Star is on the move. If those plans aren't in our hands, I fear what the Emperor will do with that sort of power."

"Final preparations are underway now." Leia assured. "If all goes to plan, we'll have everything we need to organize a successful counter attack."

Bail nodded.

"I should make arrangements to contact the Rogue Shadow."

"I've calculated a short jump." Juno replied, her fingers flying over the console as she tried to pinpoint some better locations. "It'll give us time to find a true destination to lure the dark clone. Any suggestions?"

"According to my data, Captain, the choice is fairly limited." PROXY informed.

A list flared on the display and Juno began to calculate distances and times.

"We need somewhere with a low population." Galen interrupted.

"If he has any common sense left, he'll know this is a trap." Juno continued removing a number of possibilities from the list as she scrolled through.

"It doesn't matter." Galen replied. "All that matters is that he follows us."

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to kill him."

She flinched at that, her hands faltering on the keys. "What about Kota's plan?"

Out of the corner of her eye she saw him grip the hilt of the green lightsaber.

"He seemed to think that would work but—honestly—I don't know."

"We need to try, at least." Juno replied, refreshing the list and filing through the remaining possibilities; her mind moving from one calculation to another and then back again to compare the data.

The ship's transmitter flared into life and the pair of them exchanged glances.

"Mon Mothma?" Juno guessed.

"Who else?"

"Would you like me to handle the calculations on your behalf, Captain?" PROXY chimed in helpfully.

"If you would." She flicked the switch to accept the transmission and leaned forwards in her chair, sucking in a breath. No doubt there'd be some sort of ultimatum. "This is the Captain Eclipse of the Rogue Shadow." Her voice was clipped with authority.

"Juno. It's good to be talking with you again." The voice startled them. It wasn't Mon Mothma at all.

"Leia?"

"I've had word from Senator Mothma regarding the transmitter you discovered on one of the survivors."

"That's correct. We intend to use it to lure the clone into a trap of our own making and end his part in this war before we suffer another catastrophe."

"Do you have a location?"

"We're working on that now. I'm thinking somewhere towards Cerea."

"To help sell the deception." Leia concluded in agreement. "That sounds wise."

"You are in favor?" Juno asked, carefully.

"I'm not going to try and stop you, if that's what you're asking. I trust that you are capable of diffusing this situation. I only ask that you be wary. This could be some sort of ploy to lure you both back into Vader's reach. I'm sure I don't need to tell you how dangerous that could be."

"We'll be careful, Leia."

"I'll arrange a location for you and inform the relevant parties." Leia continued. "I'll have the co-ordinates encrypted and sent out as soon as I have them. Is that acceptable?"

"It is. We'll be dropping out of hyperspace in approximately thirty-two minutes."

"I'll do my best to get something to you before then."

"Thank you, Leia."

"Now we will just have to hope that he is confident enough to step into this trap you've orchestrated."

"I don't think that will be an issue." Juno confirmed.

The conversation came to a close and, Juno, relaxing somewhat, hardly dared to believe that Leia had decided to side with them and approve their decision. It was nice to know they had someone on their side. She turned to say just that to Galen, only to find his seat vacant.

"Where did he go?"

"He did not say." PROXY continued. "Would you like me to monitor the ship?"

"Thanks, PROXY." She leapt out of her chair and sped out of the cockpit, just catching sight of him turning into the training room. She was through the door before it could close after him and he turned to look at her.

"Galen?"

"That voice in my vision." He replied. "It's Leia." He looked angry that he hadn't realised it before then.

Juno shook her head. "Leia? But what does that mean?" It scared her, in fact, to think of what it might mean; for the rebels to have to resort to their 'last hope'.

"I don't know." He replied, looking frustrated. "Nothing makes any sense."

"Hey." She touched his cheek and forced him to look at her. "Listen. We don't need to figure that out, just yet. Worrying about what might be will only get in the way of what is important now. You need to focus on winning this confrontation, especially now that we have Leia on our side."

He caught her hand as she started to withdraw and squeezed her fingers gently. And then, quite unprompted, he pulled her against him and held her close, tucking his face into the curve of her neck.

When he spoke, his breath was delightfully warm against her skin. "A change is coming. I just don't know what it is."

"Whatever it is." She murmured back. "We'll handle it."

He said nothing; only held her tighter.

To be continued: 2nd September