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| Inheritance |
Inheritance
"We have to get out of here!" Arian yelled over the blaster fire. He grabbed his daughter's arm and pulled her behind one of the
estates large, ten foot walls.
" You stay here." He instructed his youngest child, Ailee, as he kissed her then turned to his Lieutenant. " Protect her." He ordered as
he left to defend his estate against the invading Imperial commandos.
" Shh, little one." Ailee spoke softly to her babe as she began to whimper, cradled to her chest.
" You must keep her quiet." The Jedi Lieutenant whispered. " They must not find you."
" I'm trying." Ailee began to cry. " Shh, Ciana, hush." She consoled. " I'll protect you. " Her voice was barely audible over
the blaster fire, and the slicing sound of the lightsabers.
" Why is this happening?" The young mother asked her Jedi protector. " We aren't their enemies."
" The Empire has taken control of the Senate." The Jedi answered, trying to watch for sigsn that they had been discovered. " And
the Emperor has ordered his armies to destroy all Jedi. " A stray laser bolt struck the wall beside them, and Ailee shrieked.
" You must remain quiet." The Jedi's voice calmed her. " Your father has given orders that you, and your daughter, must be protected
at all costs." He shook his head sadly. " General Kenobi is missing and presumed dead, and your family is now the last of the most
powerful Force users.
" My family is dying today." She whispered, cradling her babe closer. " My sister is dead, and my mother, and..." Ailee choked on the name.
" And Anakin, my only brother. " Tears streamed down her cheeks. " Why? Why did he do it? He's not my brother any more. He's..."
"Mistress Ailee ? Kiel?" One of the two Jedi called as they rounded the wall where Ailee, Ciana and her guard were hiding.
" Yes!" Kiel called. " Over here!"
Ailee looked at them silently. Her father was supposed to come back for her.
" He's dead, isn't he?" She whispered finally.
" Yes, Mistress." The Jedi answered. " You, and your daughter, are the last now. We must take you to safety."
" No! Oh, Father!" She cried, burying her face in the babies blanket. " How? How?!" She demanded; but she already knew
the answer. " It was Vader?" She whispered.
" Yes."
" Come, we must go." Kiel responded gently and held her arms as the other two Jedi led the way.
Suddenly, a squad of Imperial Special commandos charged them. Kiel pulled Ailee awal as the Jedi raised their lightsabers in defense.
They held their ground for awhile, but soon were overwhelmed by the force attacking them and fell- their bodies disappearing instantly, confusing
their attackers,
An explosion shook the ground under Kiel and Ailee as they raced for a hidden shuttle.
They never made it. Only a few feet from freedom, a laser bolt shot from the inside of the shuttle, sliced through Kiel and hit Ailee, killing
them both instantly. Kiel vanished as Ailee dropped to the ground, her arms still locked tight around her babe.
Days after the disaster ,what was left of the population of Atrisi came out of hiding and struggled through the destruction to look for help at the
Jedi estate. What they found frightened them.
The gigantic walls surrounding the estate had collapsed onone of the rooms, forever sealing it. The rest of the four story building was
in shambles. There was nothing to remind anyone that this had once belonged to a powerful Jedi Knight.
As the last of the fires burned out, the people stood watching and, with a sense of dread, realized that the Empire had won after all.
" How could this happen?" One woman asked of no one in particular.
" They were so powerful." Another stated, as if in a daze. " They protected us."
" The Empire has won."
" We must bury them. " The first woman who had spoken stated, gesturing to the bodied of the untrained Jedi lying broken on
the ground. " All this talk won't help the others."
By late afternoon, the bodies had been place in individual graves. Everyone was tiring, but suddenly a woman motioned for silence.
" I heard something." She shouted over the crowd. " Someone's alive."
They searched for a few minutes, but heard nothing more. One man just said she was crazy. Another snapped that
nobody could have survived such destruction.
But the woman was certain she had heard something,and continued looking. She had almost given up when she heard it again. A little
whimper. She turned and ran toward the noise.
She found the body of a young woman, lying dead on the ground, and a little hand reaching out from underher. She reached down and
gently turned the woman over. Lying in her arms was a beautiful baby girl.
Ciana looked at her with wide blue eyes.
" I found her!" The woman cried, gently lifting the babe into her arms. The childs clothing was torn, and she was
severely dehydrated, but she was alive.
The woman noticed a necklace, in the shape of two lightsabers, hanging from the childs neck.She turned it over
to find an inscription. There were two words on one lightsaber that read: Ciana Skywalker. On the other was the words:
Heir to the Jedi.
" Come on Leia, concentrate." Luke instructed.
He was holding her in a handstand with the Force, hoping she would learn to do it herself.
Wishful thinking. When he released his hold on her, she toppled to the ground like a sack of beans.
Luke shook his head as Leia frowned at him.
Wicket, who was sitting on a broken log watching, laughed so much that he tumbled backwards off the fallen log.
Leia tried to keep from giggling as Wicket got up and kicked at the offending tree angrily.
Luke and Leia laughed out loud as the angry furball stomped away, making faces at what had been his seat.
Luke moved to help Leia off the ground when he saw Han coming toward them with two others walking silently
behind him.
"Sorry to interrupt you two." Han apologized to Luke. " But this man wants to talk to you."
Luke turned to look at the man.
" You are Luke Skywalker." He stated.
Luke nodded his head. " What can I do for you?" He asked curiously.
" You're really him?" The girl spoke up. The man beside her quieted her with a look.
" I am Jamin Damon, the governor of Atrisi; and this is my adopted daughter-Ciana."
" Hello." Luke smiled. " Welcome to Endor."
" I need to tell you some things." Jamin said, looking uneasy.
" Oh?"
The man took a deep breath and began.
" There was once a Jedi estate on Atrisi belonging to an Arian Skywalker. We believe you
are his grandson."
Luke and Leia exchanged looks.
" Yes, the estate walls collapsed around it during the battle; crushing and burying it under the rubble. All but one room.
Recently, some of my peopla discovered-'found'- that room, completely untouched. THey gained entry and found a computer. That was all the room contained."
Jemin stopped for a moment to allow Luke to digest the information before continuing. " We, Ciana and I, believe this computer
contains the birth records of all the Jedi that ever lieve; and the history and origins of the Jedi."
" What? Are you sure?" Luke asked.
" Yes, but we can't get into it. It has a secret password and anyone wanting access to it only has
two chances to guess, or the computer will self-destruct. We tried it once before we found this information."
" You are a Jedi, and we believe you can break the code." Ciana stated. The owner of the estate was Arian Skywalker, my grandfather."
Luke shook his head, not knowing whether to believe her or not. He told himself he had no reason
to doubt their word, but still...
" My mother," Ciana could sense Luke was having doubts, so she continued. " Had a sister, Aimee, and a brother Anakin."
" Wait." Luke stopped her, taking a step closer." Anakin was our father's name." He indicated Leia and himself.
" That's what we thought." Jemin stated. " Because Aimee was killed on Atrisi, and Anakin disappeared;
but he had a wife who, we think, was pregnant. It turns out we were right." He smiled.
" Leia is my twin sister." Luke replied.
Jemin nodded, but it was Ciana who spoke." My mother and Aunt were twins; and I was one of twins but my brother was
killed on Atrisi."
" Apparently twins run in our family." Leia smiled and embraced Ciana. " Welcome to the family, cousin."
As you can see." Jemin observed of the small room they stood in, " It was very well preserved."
Luke looked around; all the feelings of what had occurred here so long ago flooding his thoughts. He could see everything
as clearly as if he had been there.
" What word did you use?" Luke asked of Jemin as he sat down at the computer console.
" Jedi." Jemin answered.
" No." Luke observed. "That would be too obvious."
" Well, what could it be?" Ciana asked from behind him.
Luke closed his eyes, trying to see the past. He did-everything-so clearly.
" We must make the computer inaccessible." Arian said. " They cannot be allowed to obtain the information contained here."
" What will you do, sir? " His Lieutenant asked. " How can we keep the information hidden?"
" I will construct a password. One that only three people will ever be able to decipher. It will not only require the password, but
the name of the person guessing. The computer will know the names of the three possible people."
" What will the password be?" The young Jedi asked.
" I can tell you because I have forseen the destruction of the Jedi. These three children will be the last of our blood." Regret and
sadness shone from the old Jedi's eyes. " These three children- two of whom have not even been born yet- will be Family; and the only heirs
to this estate. With the information contained within this computer, they will build a new Jedi order; even stronger than this one. These children are..."
Luke looked up from the memories, stared at the computer, and stated simply- typing the words as he said them:
" Heirs to the Jedi."
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