A/N: Thanks to those that read and reviewed the first chapter. I have to emphasize that this is not a Star Wars clone, so don't try to guess which character represents which from the movie. The start of this was inspired by it, though.

Thanks once again to MicroGirl1225 for kindly pre-reading the story.

So, Chuck and the captain have set off in search of his uncle, Alexei Volkoff…

Far Distant Chuck

Chapter 2

Sarah Walker's flier was much faster than the one Chuck used. And it seemed like she flew it as fast as she could. He assumed that was in order to reach his uncle before anything happened to him. It was only a real problem when flying near cities and the air became more congested. Then, Chuck found himself tightly gripping his seat and keeping his eyes closed.

A beautiful laugh filled his ears. He opened his eyes, and looked at her as they cleared the latest city. She was smiling. "Is my flying too fast for you?" He could hear the humor in her voice.

"It's scary when you're dodging other fliers, but I know we need to get there quickly."

Her smile became a grin. "I fly like this anyway. It's fun."

His jaw dropped and she laughed again. Even though it was at his expense, he liked her laugh. "Do you mostly fly solo?"

She snorted a laugh this time. Not so melodic. "Yeah. You're not on your own being frightened of how I fly."

That made him feel better.

"What do you know about… your uncle?" she asked. There was definitely a hesitation before the last two words.

"You don't think he's my uncle?" he asked.

She tightened her lips and then said, "We need to get to him and save him. That has to be our focus on this flight." She looked over at him. "I need to know everything you do in order for me to be as prepared as possible."

Chuck could understand that, but didn't think he could help. "I don't know anything useful. All the time I've known him, he's been a farmer. He and…." He got choked up for a moment, thinking about his aunt being dead now. He got himself under control and restarted. He noticed that the woman beside him had let him take his time. "They had let me think my sister died with my parents, but I now know that's not true. I've been trying to find her for six months. I bumped into someone who knew my uncle a long time ago, and that made me want to know more, but I failed at that, as well."

She looked interested in that last part. "Who did you meet?"

"John Casey." He saw her face change. Not as interested now. "Do you know of him?" he asked.

"He's very well known. You said you met him. Where?"

"At the market."

"We may need him too, but Volkoff first."

"Casey said they'd fought together in the war, but then they lost touch. When they met here, my uncle didn't seem to recognize him anymore."

He thought about what else he'd learned in the last few days. "My aunt told me last night that they met where she lived with her parents on Vodana, but then separated, only to meet again twenty years ago at her mother's funeral. I think that was on Corisson. They married and came here."

"Same big gap from both stories, huh?" she said.

"Yeah. Searching to fill that has caused all this," he said miserably.

After telling her their destination, she relayed the details.

He had nothing else to say and didn't want to talk anymore, but wanted information from her. So, a couple of minutes later, he asked, "So, can you fill the gap?"

"I can, but can we do that after? I need to think about what we could face. Oh, and by we, I'm not including you. It will obviously be too dangerous for a civilian."

"So, why bring me?"

She looked sheepishly at him. "I thought you might have more information for me."

"Oh, I know the people he sees where we're going. Would that help?"

She rolled her eyes, and said, "Yes."

"They're the suppliers of the fertilizers and some of the additional additives to the crop nutrients. He's been working with them on improvements to the latter. I think that's why he travels to them."

She smiled, "That helps. This may be part of his past coming through."

He frowned. "You think these people are involved?"

"Oh, no, but I understand why he works with them."

It didn't make sense to Chuck, but she wouldn't discuss it further.

She took a call from the team that was following. "When will you be there?" she asked.

Chuck suspected it was the same man as before. "Don't go in shooting everyone. The people that Volkoff is meeting are likely to be innocent bystanders." She paused as she listened to what the other was saying. "Yes, I know they may be killed, but not by us."

Chuck switched off listening as she stated her planned approach. If he wasn't to be involved, it was pointless listening.

Staying in the flier wasn't as sensible as it sounded.

Chuck was lucky that his bladder demanded relief when it did. If he'd stayed in the cockpit, worriedly looking out, he'd be dead now. He guessed it was a rocket that was fired at the flier, but because he was in the toilet near the back, he didn't really know.

It took him several minutes to force the door open because all power was off. Maybe powered sliding doors weren't the best idea. When he finally did get out, looking forward felt like he was back at his house. Flames licking away at the remnants of the front of the craft.

He had to get away before the bad guys who'd fired at the flier came to make sure no one stayed alive. Fortunately, the rear exit had blown open from the air blast, so getting out was easy. However, what then? Where should he go? What should he do?

Indecision stopped him for a moment before he realized that dithering was not wise.

He looked out of the exit and looked around. The building ahead of him looked inviting. It was away from the one where all the fighting was occurring. With the noise of the lasers firing, the flames from the front of the flier and the cries of those engaged in the shooting, it was hard to think. Even at a fast sprint across the empty space separating him from the building, he'd be exposed for quite a while. Would he get shot?

Stop dithering and run, he told himself.

Those seconds were the longest of his life. Even as he was running, he wondered if he should be weaving rather than sprinting directly, but knew that would take longer, so a straight line it was.

When he reached the entranceway, he quickly ducked inside.

His heart was pumping faster than that run should have caused, and he knew that fear was also a contributor.

He hurried through the shop floor to the exit at the far side. When he got there he froze. What he saw changed his plan completely.

A man all in black was forcefully leading Sarah Walker. Her wrists were bound behind her back. Who still used rope like that?

Also, why had they captured her rather than just killing her? Did they think she had information they needed? She certainly had some Chuck wanted.

He looked ahead and saw the large craft she was being led to. Were there more men on board? Probably. Was Chuck stupid enough to rush out, get on board and try to save Sarah? It seemed so.

He knew that if the craft took off without him, he'd never be able to help her. He'd never see her again. Why did that upset him so? He told himself it wasn't just her that may be on board. His uncle might be, too.

As soon as he saw the two had walked up the ramp and into the craft, disappearing inside, he sprinted again.

He was only just fast enough because the ramp started to rise as he stepped onto it. He realized it was going to become the vertical back of the craft, so he couldn't think of any clever move, and just rushed in.

He was lucky. The back of the craft was also some sort of storage area, so there were plenty of crates for him to hide behind.

He felt the craft lift off.

Now he just had to stay out of sight, while also finding the blonde woman and freeing her without being noticed. That was all!

As expected, finding Sarah wasn't easy because he had to avoid detection.

As he slid along the corridor with his back pressed against the walls, he thought of the comedy vids he'd watched where the main character stupidly did this, thinking it made him invisible. He knew he wasn't, but he still instinctively did it.

Fortunately, the doorways were recessed, so he would be able to dip into those if he heard movement. However, if anyone passed him, he'd be spotted.

Equally fortuitous was the fact that each door had a window. He knew he was risking being seen, but he had to look into each or he might miss Sarah. However, he needn't have worried about that. The sound of a man slapping her and demanding to know what use she had for Volkoff was very easy to both hear and locate.

There was an empty room opposite the one from which he heard those noises, and had then seen what was happening, so he slipped into that.

So, what should he do?

He decided that as soon as the man left her, Chuck would rush across to save her. Oh, what a brave man! Foolish, more like. He had no weapons to protect himself if he was caught, and if he did manage to release her, what next? Not only that, what if this man stayed a long time and even gave up the interrogation and killed her? Chuck shivered at that thought.

He was just about ready to charge across when someone else called the man away.

Chuck waited for the footsteps to quieten before opening his door and peeking out. No one was in sight, so he rushed over to the other room.

Sarah was slumped forward in a chair with her limbs securely locked in clasps to the arms and legs of it. Even before she looked up, he could see blood dripping off her face.

When she locked eyes with him, they widened. "What are you doing here?" she hissed.

"Saving you, if I can work out how to release you," he replied.

"That's easy. Just press the sensor on the back of the seat by my shoulders."

He walked around her and found the sensor. One touch and the clamps on her arms and legs opened up. Sarah got up but was initially a bit unsteady. Chuck moved to help her, but she held up her hand to stop him.

Her fists moved to her hips and she glared at him. "Thank you, but you should've stayed in the flier!"

"'Thanks, Chuck.'" He said sarcastically. "I couldn't when it was attacked!"

Her eyes widened, then she asked, "So how did you end up on this one?"

He blushed and sheepishly replied, "I saw you being brought on board."

She rolled her eyes. "I allowed that because I saw them bring Volkoff on. You shouldn't have come. Now I have to rescue you both!"

"Well, I'm so sorry! I was trying to help you."

"Why do you care?" She looked genuinely confused. He couldn't understand why she was asking. Wouldn't anybody? "I'm no damsel in distress, Chuck. I can look after myself."

"Didn't seem like it," he muttered, starting to get annoyed with her lack of gratitude.

She huffed, then seemed to calm down. "Thank you, Chuck. I'm not used to anyone other than my team helping me. I must seem very ungrateful."

"A bit," he replied, but said it with a smile.

She smiled back briefly, but then said, "I need to find where they have Volkoff. It'll probably be more sophisticated than in here. Somewhere they'll force the answers out of him." She looked at him. "Two of us searching would be impossible to avoid detection."

"We are not separating again," he said as forcefully as he could. "It took me ages to find you before, and I can help with him while you 'protect us.'"

She obviously wasn't used to her orders being rejected. She stared at him with eyes that brooked no dissent, but he wasn't changing his mind. She frowned. That stare must normally work. After a sigh, she said, "Stick close behind me and do exactly as I say."

He nodded and they set off.

Walking closely behind Captain Walker was distracting. She had such a nice backside in those tight trousers.

After a few minutes, she said, "Keep looking around for danger. My butt isn't going to attack you."

"Sorry," he blushed and muttered, but did as she asked.

It was strange that they didn't meet anyone.

They were approaching the end of the main corridor when they met the first member of the crew. That only happened because he exited the door between them. She heard the door hiss open and immediately turned. With one thrust, she hit him in the throat with her hand's chopping motion. She was so fast and hard that she not only cut off his air passage, but also seemed to break his neck. She caught him and dragged him back into the room. It all happened so fast that Chuck was stunned. He'd heard of deadly force, but this was the first time he'd witnessed it.

She stripped the man of his weapons, two lasers, and looked more confident being armed. Frightening, even.

The final door, the one ahead of them must be the cockpit. It seemed odd that they would have his uncle in there.

Chuck looked at Sarah and saw her determined look. He nodded to encourage her.

Sarah burst in. There were two people in the cockpit. One was the man who'd been slapping her earlier. He turned, gun in hand. She just shot him in the face.

The other, a woman, was in the pilot's chair, but sitting back having set the destination. She turned more slowly, but had managed to reach for her gun. A hole suddenly burned through the visible part of that hand. Sarah was pleased with the shot as the gun dropped from the woman's hand. "You're not in control anymore," she hissed.

The woman turned further, obviously in pain, but with no weapon now. "And you think you are?" she taunted. Her other hand was reaching for the controls, and another burn ensued, but she must've connected, because the display on the monitor showed the view ahead shifting.

"Why the shift?" Sarah demanded.

"So that you don't get there first," the woman snapped. Even with two wrecked hands, she launched herself at Sarah, who instinctively fired again.

In the silence that followed the body hitting the floor, Chuck muttered, "So, we're lost now?"

Sarah had to correct him and his lack of knowledge. "We should be able to reset it to either where we came from or the destination. She will have known that."

"She said she did it so that we didn't get there first, wherever it was heading."

That was what worried Sarah, "Well, we're not lost, anyway."

Chuck looked relieved, but then he spotted something. "Uncle!"

Sarah followed his gaze. She hadn't noticed the man crumpled on the floor in the corner of the room. She then took in the rest of the room, seeing the rig set up around a chair. She groaned recognizing that.

She followed Chuck to his uncle. Volkoff was still alive, but barely. The marks against his head confirmed her thoughts.

Volkoff looked at Chuck. "Have they caught you?" his very weak voice asked.

"No. We're safe. We'll get you help."

"Too late for me," Volkoff replied. "I need to tell you things, while I still can."

Sarah doubted he had long, so backed off a bit, but still listened.

"I'm not really your uncle. Your parents were my friends and associates. I took you in when they were killed."

Chuck looked confused and even more so as Volkoff continued, "They were killed to stop them from talking about our creation. That was my fault for contacting them before my escape."

Chuck was totally confused now. Sarah didn't think it would help for him to start asking the questions that were probably appearing in his head. "I can explain it," she said.

Volkoff looked at her. "But you don't know all about our invention, or how I was forced to alter it." Then he just muttered, "You'll find out when you reach the destination they extracted from my brain."

So, that was why he'd suffered that brain drainer. There was no point asking him the destination as he would no longer know.

"The woman passed details to someone else, so you're not the only ones heading there."

Sarah frowned. "What's there?"

Volkoff winced and then answered, "I don't know, but whatever it is should be destroyed."

Sarah guessed Volkoff was now quickly losing memories, but she guessed, "The original Intersect!"

"Intersect?" Chuck asked, completely out of his depth. Then he got control of himself. "We're not going anywhere other than to get you medical treatment."

Volkoff was fading fast, even though Chuck refused to see it. The dying man patted Chuck's hand. "Too late," he repeated. "Good luck finding your sister."

"You really don't know where she is?" Chuck asked, his mind going off at another tangent.

"No," Volkoff replied. "Look after your aunt." He winced again, and for longer this time.

Sarah knew the signs. The device drained the brain of targeted information, but if the victim resisted, it somehow drained the strength from the body, too. Then, whatever it put in the brain, started to eat away at it. Volkoff wouldn't last long now.

The man lay back and just said, "We love you like a real son, not just a nephew. Tell your aunt that she can tell you everything."

He closed his eyes in obvious pain. Chuck looked on in his own pain, not knowing what to say or do.

Volkoff opened his eyes again. "Your mother's family may help, but I can no longer recall them."

The memories were disappearing faster, as Sarah expected. It was accelerating.

"Where did you meet my parents?" Chuck asked.

"Who?" Volkoff asked.

"Stephen and Mary Bartowski," Chuck replied.

"No…." And that was Volkoff's final word.

Sarah got into the pilot's chair and reset to the last programmed destination. They had to get there, and fast.

She reached for the communicator so that she could report the coordinates displayed before her. The two of them would definitely need help.

She also knew that once she'd done that, she needed to have a long talk with the grieving man with her. He needed to know exactly who Volkoff was, and had been, as well as who his parents really were. She would also have to explain what they had created and why it had to be destroyed, just as Volkoff had mentioned.

A/N: More facts about the past, but still no real clarity for Chuck or us. Most of this chapter, like the first, was from Chuck's pov, but obviously the last scene was from Sarah's. We'll get more of that from now on.

With all the various planet names, I might add a glossary if people think it's a good idea.