| << Time Reversal (Part 2) | Index |
| Sweeter Than Heaven or Hell (Part 3) |
Sweeter Than Heaven Or Hell (Part 3)
"Damn!" Dreese Thion kicked the small repair droid hovering at his feet. It had been
beeping incessantly for the last hour, and the noise was grating on what precious little
nerve he had left. This was a rotten deal from the beginning and now it stank like a month
old carcass. He stared out the window of the former Rekn Astin’s office. There was a storm
blasting around mayhem outside, its swirling sands making everything on the other side of
the window invisible to the observer.
Turning around he punched the comm button and called up Graak. "Any news on this
storm??" he asked fingering the butt of his blaster.
"It’ll be at least another 2-3 macrohours... sir..." The young assistant’s feminine
voice crackled over the communicator. "It shows signs of subsiding, but nothing marked."
Dreese slammed his fist down on the table, and shook his head. "This fraggin’ dirt
pile. We should just leave ‘em here to rot," he mumbled under his breath.
"I missed that, sir..." Graak commented, awaiting further instructions.
"Do you know where they are?? Have they moved?" Thion asked through clenched teeth; he
hated relying on anything as dubious as something called the ‘Force’.
"Not that I know of. The male - Skywalker, has closed himself off to me; but I can
still make contact with Organa-Solo."
"Have everybody ready to move as soon as it abates. And see that we have the appropriate
tools, equipment, and supplies on board all craft. I don’t want any hold-ups." He dropped a
heavy hand on the console and the screen went black. Two days!! Two fraggin’ days they had
been waiting out this storm. He kicked the work droid again, as the familiar sound of the
online systems engaging sounded within it. It tottered, began to hop, spun on one leg, and
then with a sudden metallic bang spewed its mechanical innards out on the floor. Satisfied,
Thion moved back to his original spot at the window, as the door behind him slid open and
the familiar smack, squelch, and dragging sound of his visitor filled the room.
"What do you want?" Dreese asked, his hate-inflected voice hiding nothing.
"We... we’ve... not been able to locate any information on the tunnels said to be
under the surface of this planet... Sir..." Josu informed the gunman, at the same time
retracting his dark antenna-like orbs and covering his face against any possible assault
the man might throw at him.
"Have you searched ALL of the data files???" Thion asked, not even turning to
acknowledge the creature’s presence.
"Only 86.931 percent of them, sir, but I was told you wanted an update," Josu replied,
his position remaining unchanged. If the last tidbit of information hadn’t provoked a
response, the next certainly would.
"And my ship? Have you been able to re-establish contact with the skiff’s Captain??"
Josu crouched and tried to make himself as small as possible before answering. Dreese
Thion’s ship had been in mid transport on one of the larger skiffs when the storm had
struck. That had been two night falls prior and nothing had been heard from the crew since.
They were probably a black smear on one of the many outcroppings spotting this region of
the planet, but Josu wisely chose not to verbalize this thought.
"The storm is still too severe to pick up any outside
communications, Sir."
The room was deadly silent for a moment before Dreese Thion turned
around; when he did, the look that was pasted on his face was one that betrayed little of
how he truly felt. Inside he was boiling, while outside he put forth a charming and
pleasant smile.
Pulling out the chair in front of him, the gunman sat quietly behind the former Commisere’s
desk, all the while maintaining his composure. "Thank you for your report," he said calmly,
at the same time reaching for the K60 miniature blaster hidden in his boot. "You may go -
and complete your task." He waved Josu out with his free hand and leaned forward onto the
desk. Tacitly he watched as the frightened creature turned to go, his senses seeking out
that moment when the creature had relaxed enough to let down his guard.
Facing the door, Josu’s sensitivity allowed him to pick up Thion’s deception just seconds before the blaster bolts exploded above his head. The Dalaa ducked covering his delicate orbs with two of his six limbs, while the others were busy covering his ghroka and his feeding cups. A squeal of terror escaped him as the bolts continued to fly around him.Then in one instant of utter horror, his mind pushed out, willing the bolts to stop. Surprisingly they did.
Not wanting to stay to find out what his new master had planned next, Josu passed his palm in front of the door’s locking mechanism, and slither/dragged his way out the door. Skittering as fast as his six legs could carry him, he never looked back. Had he, he would have been both surprised and probably pleased to see the irate gunman sprawled across the floor.
Luke’s heart jumped momentarily, despite the fact that the man’s
fear was almost palpable, and Leia’s response mimicked his own as they both obeyed the command and drew to
a halt.
"We mean you no harm," the young Jedi intoned softly over his shoulder - still unable
to see who was holding the blaster. All of the room’s occupants were awake now; he could
sense the alertness... fear... confusion, which emanated from each of the individuals - one
in particular - the old woman - was utterly terrified. "We just want to leave peacefully.
""Scruff - go get Till. He’ll wanna see these two," a voice belonging to a man echoed
loudly within the rocky chamber. "An’ hurry."
A tall boy about 18 standard years raced past Luke and Leia, a wrap tail of long dark
hair wagging behind him. He pushed at the room’s heavy door and, in an instant, was gone.
"We mean you no harm..." Luke repeated and mentally answered Leia’s unspoken question.
"No, they’re not Imperials!"
"Turn around slowly," the man with the blaster ordered. "An’ be sure to keep them
hands where we can see them."
Easily able to disarm him, Luke thought better of it; deciding, at least for the time
being, to comply.
A surprised gasp escaped the old woman’s mouth as she noticed how unmarred the two of
them looked. They were a far cry from the battered twosome she had been caring for earlier.
There was still some evidence of their former injuries - but nothing which would betray
how serious they had been. She stepped back until her shoulders hit the rock and she could
go no further. A deep feeling of dread settled in the pit of her stomach. They were
Mondodii - wielders of the mind power - a group most revered on her homeworld of Pithehha.
It was the darker wielders who were responsible for the death and
slaughter of thousands on her home planet. Her parents had been amongst them, and at the
young age of 12 she’d been left to fend for herself amongst the ruins.
"Don’t trust them Xati!" was all she said.
"We need to leave - that’s all..." Leia told the young man in
front of her, his young eyes disclosed in confusion. "Our being here puts you in danger -
the longer we stay the more dangerous it gets."
"What kind of danger?" a gruff voice boomed from the doorway
behind them, and Luke immediately recognized it as belonging to the man who’d taken care
of him earlier. Turning to face him, the young Jedi noticed that behind the older man
stood someone else. He was dark and wiry and somewhat familiar to Luke as the man’s son,
Gar; and in his hands he held a fusion blaster.
"We’re being hunted..." The young Jedi told him honestly, and began lowering his arms
slowly.
"Keep ‘em up!" the dark-eyed youth yelled and stepped forward digging his blaster into
Luke’s back.
"You’d better watch what you do with that thing..." He
commented stepping forward just enough so that the blaster wasn’t touching him.
Leia just stood there quietly contemplating escape tactics. These people appeared worn and ragged. They weren’t Imperial, Luke was right about that, but that didn’t mean they were friendly either.
"Put it down Xati," Till ordered stepping into the room followed by Gar. "He’s right,
you’d better be careful." Then, turning to Luke, he asked: "So, who’s hunting you??"
Letting his arms drop to his side, Luke stepped closer to Leia
to lend a supporting arm. Though her injuries were no longer serious, he could sense her
fatigue; she had lost a lot of blood and was still weak. He slipped a supporting arm
around her waist and, grateful, she leaned on him. "We think it’s the Imperials..." He
told Till, carefully gauging the old man’s reaction.
"You think?? You mean you don’t know??" Till looked skeptical.
Luke looked at Leia. He hadn’t had time to tell her about the
probe he’d experienced earlier. "They were after us on the surface. They must have found out that we didn’t die in
the cave."
Till rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "So it was you they was after - we thought they
were after us."
"Why would they be after you?" Leia inquired, trying to force some strength into her
voice.
"Ahhh, we been a thorn in their side for some time now; we assumed they’d found us
that’s all. Tell me son - if we were to let you go, where would you be headin’ for?"
Luke remembered the last reading on the pod’s nav ‘puter had said that he was
somewhere in the Vastii Wastelands. "Anchorhead should be about 2 days walk from there
and then we were hoping to catch a ride to Mos Eisley or Den Abrid."
"Ha ha!!!" Till guffawed and shook his head. "Well you got our location right... we’re
inside the Vaspee’s ridge in the wastes - but your destination would be all wrong." A
look of sadness passed over his face. "Anchorhead’s been nothing but charred rubble for the
last 2 years and Eisley and Abrid are Imperial strongholds now. No one but official
personnel and any of the poor bastards who been arrested, allowed in there."
A piece of the old man’s memory flashed through Luke’s mind. It
was a young sandy-haired girl, vibrant and full of life; this was followed by a sense of sorrow and loss. He drew
in a deep breath.
"What about Lems?" he asked.
"What, aside from the fact that it’s a month’s travel from here on foot, and we have
no transportation? They own it too. In fact..." he moved his arms in a sweeping gesture,
"they have the entire planet sealed up tight as an airlock."
"What about communications?" The young Jedi asked, adjusting his position to accept
more of Leia’s weight.
Eyeing Leia, Till noticed how drawn and pale she looked. It was miraculous that she
was alive at all - really miraculous.
"Come--" He looked past them to the young man
standing behind them. "Xati - give Rana a hand here, and then help Gar round up everybody
else - we’ll meet in an hour in the centre room." Then he turned and bumped into Gar.
"Damn!" he let out a yowl as he scraped his arm on the firing tip of the fusion blaster
he still held at the ready. "Gar," he said shoving the muzzle towards the ground, "I think
you can put this away, now." And then to Luke and Leia he called over his shoulder: "We’ll
go to my room - you can rest, and we can talk, there." Then he stomped out the door.
"Till!" Rana yelled and ran past Luke and Leia who were slowly making their way to the
door.
"What?" He stopped just outside the door as she grabbed his elbow.
Dragging him out of hearing distance she pointed back towards the room. "They’re
Mondodii - don’t trust ‘em!"
Till’s jaw dropped momentarily, then he put both of his strong hands on her shoulders.
"The Mondodii have long since been dead, old woman."
"Then how do you explain them injuries?? They look almost healed."
"Different bio?" Till suggested still gripping his mate’s shoulders. "Listen Rana...
there must be a zillion life forms out there and all of them are different."
"They’re human Till!" She placed her hands angrily on her hips, and the look in her
eyes told him she was adamant. "They’re Mondodii..."
"Yeah, well, if they are Jedi, then we better be thankful - maybe they can help us get
out of this whherbly infested cesspool!"
"I’m okay." Leia replied turning her own dark eyes to his. "But I’d be better if we were back on Coruscant right now."
"Our room is just around the corner," Till informed them then moved back to help the young man with his woman, as Rana scurried back into the room. "You want me to carry you, little un?"
Luke smiled as Leia’s eyebrows shot up.
"No, that’s not necessary." She shook her head, and leaned further into Luke.
"Okay..." Till looked unconvinced.
"Honestly!" she assured him, and then added, "but thank you."
"Let’s go then." He gestured for them to follow.
Both Luke and Leia took in their surroundings as they moved down the cave turned
hallway. The rock was a dull and lifeless grey with the occasional streak of black running
through it, and looked very much like all of the other stone facings they’d seen. The
corridors were lit by low burning lumilamps powered by what appeared to be small battery
cells.
They had only been walking for about three macromins when Till stopped in front of a
section of wall that moved easily when pushed on. "Come," he waved them in.
Passing through the doorway Luke stared hard, trying to spot the mechanism which
allowed the door to move.
"We don’t know either son." Till told him crossing the small room and dragging over
what looked like two pillows for his guests to sit on.
Luke glanced at him, a puzzled look on his face.
"The doors - we don’t know how they move." Till reached into a small supply box and
pulled out a bottle of greyish-green liquid and three glasses.
"H-how did you know that’s what I was thinking?" Luke asked helping Leia over to one
of the pillow/chairs and sitting her down. She closed her eyes and placed her face in her
hands. "Hey you okay?" He asked, tenderly brushing aside a few of the many loose strands of
hair now clustering around her face.
"I’m feeling a little light-headed," She admitted, at the same time
wavering slightly.
"Over here," Till called and motioned to a group of the same pillow type chairs, which
the young Jedi surmised, made up a bed. "S’more comfortable than that rock you were lyin’
on."
Luke lifted his sister back up off of the pillow/chair and moved her over to the bed,
all the while ignoring her protests. "Get some sleep," He ordered covering her with a
handmade blanket.
"But we have to get out of here," Leia objected trying to sit up.
"We’re not going anywhere with you in this condition." He pushed her back down. "You’ve
lost a lot of blood and you’re still weak - whoever is after us will catch us much faster if you don’t gain some strength. SLEEP!" He placed a hand over her mouth. "No arguments Leia - sleep like I’ve taught you... In a few hours you’ll feel better." He kissed her on the forehead. "I’ll be right here," he said dropping to the floor beside her and grabbing her hand.
She closed her eyes then - unable to fight sleep any longer.
Luke turned back to Till, who was staring at the two of them, with a pleased look on
his face. "How did you know I was wondering about the door?"
"Ha!" Till laughed heartily and dropped onto one of the pillow chairs. "I don’t read
minds like you do - if that’s what you mean." He grabbed the bottle he’d taken out and
poured a cup for himself and one for Luke. "I saw you starin’ at it, that’s all..." He
passed the young Jedi a glass and downed his own drink. "The original inhabitants
constructed this place... We’re just tenants in somebody else’s house." He poured himself
another.
"Is this an intoxicant?" Luke sniffed the liquid and wetted his lips just enough to get
a slight taste.
"I wish it were son. It’s been years since I’ve had a good bottle of Corellian Brandy!"
He downed the second glass, and then set the cup on the floor. "No, this is Raapa Nectar.
It’s a fruit we’ve managed to grow in the caves. Needs no light, little water."
Luke took a drink and scowled at the bittersweet taste in his mouth. "Why do you say I
read minds?" Luke asked swallowing the rest, and placing the glass on the floor.
Till looked away for a moment contemplating the young man’s question, and then turned
his gaze back to Luke. "Rana thinks you’re Mondodii... Are you?"
"Mondodii?"
"That’s a Pithian word for Jedi... Rana’s from Pithorreh."
The planet the man mentioned sounded familiar, but Luke
knew little about it.
"What makes her think that?" Luke asked, still unsure whether he should trust this man with the
complete truth. He sensed no malevolence or deception in him, but Till had admitted that
they were wanted, and sometimes people did things out of the necessity for survival. The
last thing he wanted to be was to be traded to the Empire.
"Ha," Till laughed, "son, if you’da seen yourselves when you were brought in - you’d
know what. You were seriously injured, my friend, nerve damage in your left leg that would’ve
needed bacta treatment, if we’d had it. And that young miss," he pointed to Leia, "sleeping
beside you there, was nearly dead. Pretty miraculous recovery, wouldn’t you say?"
Luke smiled. "Yeah - I guess so... and yes, I am a Jedi..." He stopped momentarily,
his eyes turning to fall on the sleeping princess. "Leia isn’t though... She has Force
powers and can use them but isn’t fully trained." He reached out to touch her mind, and
felt comfort in the strength of her Jedi healing trance.
"So why is the Empire after you?" Till asked, pouring himself another glass of nectar
and then offering the bottle to Luke.
Luke shook his head. "Thanks but no..." It tasted too sweet for him to enjoy. "Leia
and I were on our way back from a political conference when we were intercepted. The
cruiser destroyed our ship but we ejected and crash-landed here... or at least somewhere
around this outcropping. After that I don’t remember much."
"You some high falutin’ political person?" Till asked looking suddenly suspicious.
"Ha." It was Luke’s turn to laugh. "Hardly, Leia is a Council Member of the Alliance,
I am a member but I’ve never been a politician."
"Hmmm... The Alliance eh? Well I’ve never had much use for political types on either
side, but you’re welcome to stay here as long as you need."
"Thanks but I don’t think that we’ll be safe here for very long. Whoever is after us
knows we’re still alive and is probably looking for us now."
"Well then, son, they must have Canacas of Steel, ‘cause there’s one hell of a
windstorm blowin’ around out there," Till replied, standing up and moving over to the supply
box. He reached in and pulled out a couple of odd-shaped green fruits, something that
looked like a flat bread, and a brick of yellowish creamy Latchda. Piling these on a small
tray with two small plates, Till moved back to his seat and cut open the bread.
"So there is a way out of here?" Luke asked, his hope beginning
to swell.
"Yeah, if you’re the size of a credit." Till passed a hunk of the flat bread stuffed
with the Latchda to Luke, who accepted it eagerly. "There are small bore holes up in the
higher levels where the rock is thinnest... you can hear the wind - it makes a whistling
sound. The noisier the whistles - the more severe the storm."
"So the way we came in then, that was the only way out?" the young Jedi asked around
a mouth full of bread.
"You kiddin’ son?" Till licked his fingers. "There were about 50 openings - some too
small for a large-sized human, but any of the littler children would have fit through. But
the damn Empire blew ‘em to crap along with the entrance you came in." Till horfed the last
bite of bread and then picked up the fruit. "That’s why we thought they were after us,
figured they thought they could seal us in... and we’d die eventually."
"And you’re not concerned about being blocked in?"
"Hell no! If we’da had the munitions we’da done the same ourselves. That woulda kept
a lot of the larger more dangerous predators out. The small ones we can use for meat, and
the skins - if they’re a Tharf or Leecat - make good covers." He pointed to the blanket
covering Leia and for the first time Luke realized that it was hand-woven animal hair. As
were the pillow chairs and a small tarpaulin covering another metal storage box.
"But how do you plan to get out of here if you ever have to leave
in a hurry?"
"Through the combes." Till pointed to the floor beneath them. "Even if we did get out
into the surface, where would we go on foot? We’d be chased down faster than a Bantha
between two sandpeople!"
"So the catacombes really exist then?" He’d thought that they were settlers’ tales.
there were always caves within the mountains and ridges on Tatooine - but he’d never
explored deep enough to discover anything that could be called a catacomb.
"Laced through the entire planet - the historians don’t lie son..." Till chomped at
the fruit in his hands. "They lead to some interesting places too..." He smiled - a wicked
gleam flashing in his eyes as he picked up the brick of Latchda and waved it in Luke’s
direction.
"Like where?" Luke asked, his curiosity instantly peaked. He grabbed the food from
Till’s hand and examined it closely. "Hey," he looked up from the Latchda, "this bears the
markings of Doombrey - an Imperial supplier."
"Yup! Sure does." Till smiled. "That’s why they’re after us, we steal from them
whenever we get the chance!"
Luke’s mouth dropped. "You said you didn’t have any transportation - how do you reach
Mos Eisley, and Den Abrid then... On foot? Through the combes??"
"Hell no, Eisley and Abrid are spaceports; the imports and exports are handled there
with little else. Sure they have supplies, but not the kind we need," he said, tossing Luke
a fruit. "We get most of our stuff from the mining complex. It’s about three days walk
from here."
"Mining complex?"
"Yeah, some kinda alloy - highly explosive - an’ everyone is really tight-lipped about
it. Even the workers don’t know what they’re diggin’." Till pointed to Leia. "She okay on
her own? I kin show you ‘round and then intro you to everybody else..."
Luke looked down at his sister. She seemed to be sleeping restfully, and he could feel her strength growing. She’d want to be included in this trip, he was sure... but she was better off getting a little more rest. "Sure." He adjusted her cover then followed Till to the door.
Directly outside the door Till pointed down the corridor to his left. "Keep followin’
that, it’ll lead you to the combes."
"Is that the only entrance?" the young Jedi asked, following the old man who was
headed in the opposite direction.
"No, there are two others along this level. We’re in the lowest part of the ridge -
maybe 30 feet under ground."
"How many of you are there?"
"Bout twenty-three now, tho’ we did originally start out as thirty. Mostly women and
children too... Xati, Gar, Scruffy, Deak an’ me, we’re the only men, here, ‘cept o’coarse
for the young boys - Tav and Pag," Till explained turning a sharp corner. "Tav’s out with a
small infiltration group, right now they’re supposed to be getting us some fresh supplies.
Should be back in a few days."
"So the combes lead directly into the Mining Complex then?" Luke asked turning another
sharp corner, and at the same time hoping that he’d be able to remember how to get back to
Leia.
"Yeah - right to the bowels as o’matter o’fact." The old man
grinned.
"So you have access to food..." He held up the uneaten fruit. "Is
that all?"
Till stopped in front of a thin metal ladder, leading to a hole in
the rock overhead.
"Pretty much." He climbed the ladder with ease and then disappeared
into the hole.
"What about ships? Surface transport? Weapons?" Luke asked slipping
the fruit into one of his trousers’ pockets, then following the old man up into the
overhead hole.
"Ships? Naw - supply transport once o’month chock full a troopers, and new fresh slave
drivers... Surface transports, yes... they have ‘em but we can’t get to ‘em. Lost two
really good friends tryin’ that one time - never attempted it again." Till grimaced, his
weathered face betraying the sense of loss he felt. "Cost of a human life means nothin’ to
the Imps... but to me it does." He tapped his chest.
Luke’s deep blue eyes did a quick scan of this new level and he wasn’t surprised to
find it identical to the one below. Grey rock, lamps and hidden doors... But there were
more people here than on the other level, he could sense their emotions, love, anger,
sadness...
"Weapons are damn near impossible - we used to occasionally get some munitions... but
not for a while now. They’ve learned to keep a stronger lock on ‘em." He motioned for Luke
to follow him.
"So what do you do, just walk in through a hidden door, take what you need and leave?"
the young Jedi asked, quickening his step to keep up with the taller man’s lengthy stride.
The mining complex would have to be his and Leia’s way out... maybe they could steal a
skiff, at the very least send out a message.
"That’s pretty close..." Till smiled and pointed to a large opening in the wall to
the left of them. Inside there were several of the pillow seats, a few actual chairs which
were Imperial issue by the look of them, the usual lamps, a fairly large-sized supply box,
and a huge three foot high basin of a liquid that looked like water. "S’our meetin’ area...
but we’re a little early," Till said, checking the ancient chrono on his wrist. "Nother 20
macromins or so. Wanna continue this tour? I can take you up to the chamber rooms and we
can check on that storm."
"Mmm... Yeah." Luke turned to depart the room, his eyes reluctantly leaving the basin
of liquid - he was parched. The nectar he’d tasted had been too sweet to quench his thirst -
and had, in fact, just added to it.
"Here." Till passed Luke an Imperial issue metal cup he’d taken from the supply bin
and pointed to the basin. "Have a drink - you look dry as a dustball."
Luke grinned as he accepted the cup and walked over to the basin. "It IS water?" he
asked dipping in his cup. He’d been fooled before, with drinks and an odd assortment of
food. Once he’d cramped for two days after eating an unkwat on Theesis V and another time
he’d spent several hours in the sani after drinking a cup of Unjawalian Ale he’d
originally thought was water.
"Sure is son," Till laughed, and walked over and patted the young man on the back
pointing to the water. "And it’s a good thing we fill this container daily - otherwise
you’d just be a memory by now."
Luke raised his eyebrows questioningly, as he drained the cup.
"Two of our young’uns were out looking for our regular sink holes when they found
you." Till rubbed at the stubble on his face. "Tav came back to get help and Chani stayed
with you ‘til we could get there... Brave little girl."
"Sounds like it," Luke commented, looking unsuccessfully for somewhere to place the
cup. "I’d like to thank her." He held it up. "What do I do with this?"
"You full?"
"Yeah," Luke nodded, thinking how easily he could drink the whole container. "I’ll
leave some for the others."
Well then here..." The old man sauntered over to the metal supply box, pulled out a
double-sided clasp, and handed it to Luke. "The cup’s yours now." He pointed to his own
belt where another cup, similar to Luke’s but more abused-looking, hung. "Everybody has
one, kind of an initiation rite." He laughed loudly.
Luke hooked it onto his belt and, for the first time, realized that his lightsaber was
missing. It had been hanging there prior to the crash, but must have dislodged either
during the accident or perhaps in the cave. He’d also had a survival pack with him...
unless he’d left it on the surface. Most of his memories were fogged. "Ummm, did you find
anything else in the cave?"
"Not a thing." Till shook his head. "But to be quite honest we really didn’t look -
you were mighty sick at the time and we just wanted to get you outta there. We can go take
a quick look if you’d like - but it’s still a bit unstable." The old man pointed overhead.
"It’s two levels up."
"Would you mind?" Luke asked staring past Till now, his attention drawn by a young
girl of about sixteen standard years who was standing in the doorway. She was almost his
height with piercing brown eyes, shoulder-length honey-colored hair, and, by the looks of
it, very heavily pregnant.
"Feerah!" Till turned after following Luke’s gaze and gave the girl a big hug. "How
are you feeling today, my love?"
"Pregnant!" She replied uncomfortably, as Till let out a voracious guffaw.
"I certainly hope so, with a belly like that." He patted
her tummy, and turned to Luke. "This is Feerah Tanahee - Scruffy’s girl. She’s expectin’
the first addition to our small group here." He moved forward, dragging the reluctant girl
with him. "This is...?" Awkwardly the old man realized he hadn’t gotten the young man’s
name.
"Luke Skywalker..." Luke finished and held out his hand. "And it’s
nice to meet you."
"Same here," Feerah replied, pulling the grey robe she wore around
to cover her belly and then taking Luke’s hand. His touch made her shiver; it was warm
and strangely calming... and he was extremely attractive - despite his mussed appearance.
She flushed slightly and backed away - Scruffy would be upset if he knew her thoughts.
Luke reached out mentally to touch her baby. It was a good, strong life sense which was growing at a miraculous rate inside her. He loved the feel of an unborn child; he used to link with Jacen and Jaina when Leia was carrying them. Some day he wanted to feel his own child that way, he thought wistfully. A deep sense of worry shot out of Feerah’s mind as the baby let out a kick.
"Luke, here is one of the twosome we pulled outta the collapse. The girl’s asleep in
Rana an’ my room." Till placed a hand on Feerah’s shoulder. "We’re gonna go back to the
cave and see if we can locate something that may have been left there. Can you ask Gar to
run up and take a listen in the chambers; see how the storm’s progressin’, and tell
veryone we may be a bit late?"
"Sure." Feerah bit her lip and nodded, trying to pull her eyes away from Luke’s
crystal-like blue ones. It felt like he could see right into her soul with them. "I’ll go
get Gar now."
"Good." Till smiled and gave the girl’s tummy a final pat, then he
gestured to Luke."Come on. Let’s head up before everybody arrives and we get stuck here."
Passing by, Luke grasped the girl’s arm, and whispered into
her ear. "Your baby will be fine, he or she is strong."
Feerah smiled broadly and turned to thank him, but he was gone.
The twin suns presided over Tatooine’s mid-morning sky with
their usual blistering intensity. Aboard the skiff, the Ramshackle, Dreese Thion stared
off into the horizon with a look that was equally as intense. A non-native, having lived
on Mon Calamari for most of his life, this place was - to him - as close to hell as one
could get, and equally as hot.
Wiping at his brow, he bent along the same railing as the late Rekn Astin had only
several days earlier.
In the hold there was enough supplies to keep him, and the 225 men accompanying him,
fed, and watered for the next week easily. Within the bellies of the two skiffs travelling
alongside the Ramshackle, there was an assortment of equipment and munitions which would
be necessary to excavate the ridge they headed towards. The ridge where Organa-Solo, and
Luke Skywalker were last seen.
Locked in a special containment field within the hold of the "Halfmast", and as far away from Thion as possible, was Kininin’s pet servant Josu. The gunman had considered leaving the Dalaa back in the mining complex but in the end had thought better of it, deciding to bring him instead. The stupid creature could possibly prove useful; if not, at least he might get himself killed.
Graak, too, had been permitted to come. The young human had contended that he could
track the fugitives and did know the planet well, so Dreese had seen to it that he came
along but made sure that he was assigned aboard the "Deception". Thion didn’t like the
thought of being around anyone who even claimed he could read minds or perform wizard’s
tricks - whether it was truth or NOT.
Shaking his head the gunman stared angrily at the passing mountains, his deep blue
eyes searching for any signs of his ship. It wasn’t likely that they’d run into it here,
because the port from which they’d been moving it, Mos Eisley, was located in the opposite
direction from where they were travelling; but his hope said anything was possible. He’d
arranged to have a guard detail of twenty sandtroopers removed from their regular postings
and reassigned to a desert search, but there had been no word as yet.
"Sir?" A young comm officer stepped out of the safety of the Ramshackle’s bridge, and
gave his report. "According to our records, sir, we should reach Skywalker and Organa-Solo’s
last known location within the hour."
"Humph." Thion let out a non-committal huff, then nodded and waved a hand of dismissal,
without even turning to acknowledge the man’s presence. "They’d better be there!" He
muttered under his breath once the officer was out of earshot.
"Sure is dark in there." Luke Skywalker stared into the small tunnel that could have
been his, and Leia’s, permanent resting place.
"Yeah," Till rubbed the sweat from his forehead, and passed Luke the second lamp he
carried. "An’ hot too," he grumbled, flicking the switch that would flood the small unit
with power. "Hope you don’t mind son, but what the hell are we lookin’ for?"
Luke looked back over his shoulder. "Sorry," he said peering back down the tunnel.
"Leia and I had some supply packs with us, and I’m missing my lightsaber." He pointed to
the hook on his belt usually occupied by his weapon, then closed his eyes trying to
remember if Leia still had hers. Nothing came to him other than the recollection of
her face, and the sense of relief he had experienced when he’d finally realized she would
be okay.
"Well, are a few supplies an’ a weapon worth riskin’ your rear end for?" Till asked
nodding in the general direction of the tunnel. "It’s still real unstable in there."
Almost as if to punctuate the old man’s statement, a loud grumble filled the cavern followed by a crash of debris and a belch of dust and dirt.
Luke nodded silently and took a few steps forward. There was stuff in his pack that
could be used. A comm setting topped the list, along with a few munitions. Then there was
medical supplies, rations and clothes. None truly a necessity, but he wanted his
lightsaber back if at all possible. "Wait here," he told Till moving further into the
cavern. "I’ll be back in a moment."
"Don’t think so, son." Till moved up behind him, adding his own light to Luke’s.
"We’re in this together.That’s the way things work with us, here. Nobody’s alone."
"Thanks." Luke threw a grim smile back at him and held the dim lamp up in front of
him.
What was once a fairly wide space, had become stiflingly narrow, and cluttered with
large chunks of rock and grit. It was amazing that he and Leia had survived at all, he told
himself advancing a few more careful steps into the darkness. The memory of Leia lying
injured on the stone table, and the ensuing battle for her life, made him shiver.
Reaching out with the Force, Luke drove those thoughts away and began a mental search of the tunnel, seeking out the familiarity of his saber. Often objects, especially those that held great sentimentality, held a sense of the person who owned them. A sense he could usually pick up on.
There was life in the tunnel. It was a darkened and rudimentary life form; Luke could
feel its instinct, but little more. "There’s something in here," He muttered and moved
onward.
Close behind him, Till reached into his pocket and pulled out a razor-sharp tooling
knife. "How do you know?" he asked.
"I can feel its presence, it’s a very basic thought process," Luke informed the old
man, his voice falling to a harsh whisper.
There were always animals, life forms, lurking around the caves. Some of them hunting for smaller prey, some seeking shelter. Most of them were harmless to humans, but there were some, the larger Womprats or Micrees, which could be deadly. Holding his lamp up a little higher, Till strained his worn eyes to see what the young Jedi did. "Could just be a Fruugaer..." he put forth. "The mountain’s full of ‘em." "Yeah, maybe..." Luke replied softly, still searching for his saber. In the pitch blackness he could see nothing and all. The minds of the people around him intruded on his thoughts, disrupting his search and overpowering his senses. A mother angry at her daughter, a young girl worried about her unborn fetus, Leia awake, confused, and a predator hungry and afraid. "Get back!" Luke yelled, pushing the old man backward as the creature pounced.
It grabbed Luke solidly by the wrist, its powerful teeth sinking into his artificial
hand, and causing the lamp he held to fall and crash on the rock beneath him.
"Reeehaaw!" Till let out an ear-shattering scream, and drove the tooling knife up into
the animal’s throat. Slain instantly, the dead weight of it knocked Luke against Till and
the tangled threesome fell to the floor.
A warm sticky wetness oozed out over Luke, soaking his clothes and hair. Struggling
out from underneath it with Till’s help, Luke grabbed the cloth the old man offered and
wiped the creature’s blood off his face. "Thanks." He finished cleaning himself up and
stuck the wipe into his pocket as the old man bent down to examine the corpse.
"Hmph..." He let out a disgusted grunt and kicked the carcass. "It’s a Micree...
Meat’s awful and NO hide to speak of," he said passing the remaining lamp to Luke and
grabbed the animal by its front paws. With a huff he pulled it back to the tunnel’s
entrance.
Holding the lamp up in front of him, Luke searched the shadows for anything resembling his saber. He could sense that there was one item in there which had the air of sentimentality about it. An emotional attachment of some sort. He just hoped it wasn’t an old boot or something.
A few steps ahead of him there was a large boulder, and then behind it a mountain of
rocks where the entrance used to be. Climbing over the boulder, Luke scanned the area,
his eyes coming to rest upon the silver hilt of a saber sticking out of the rubble. A
genuine smile crossed his face.
"Everything okay in there?" Till called from the entrance, his voice soft as he could
physically make it, so as not to shake loose any of the rocks. "You need me to come back?"
The young Jedi gently removed some of the rubble from the small area and placed the
lamp there. "No," Luke called back quietly, as he crouched and cautiously began digging
around the base of the weapon. It was Leia’s saber, the different shape of the hilt had
given it away, immediately.
A few moments of gentle digging and he’d freed the instrument. Hooking it onto his
belt and picking up the lamp he turned to leave, then something caught his eyes. Wedged
between the boulder and the wall appeared to be one of the survival kits. Luke dropped
the lamp again, and tugged at the strap. It gave away easily until most of it was clear of
the hole, when it stopped, pinned by something unseeable; probably the other strap. Luke
thought of giving it another tug. A low rumble filled the tunnel, and bits of dust and
debris began to scatter. Till was right about one thing, Luke told himself, the area was
very unstable. One final tug and a nudge of the Force and the pack was free.
In a scramble Luke grabbed the lamp and frantically climbed across the boulder, a mess
of rock and powder following him. Then, with one loud blast, the tunnel began to shake
wildly; rocks and pebbles glanced off those strewn about the floor. Luke ran, mentally
deflecting much of the falling debris, as Till yelled encouragement at him from the
entrance.
"Move it son - the whole thing is collapsing!" Till called and held his breath as Luke
dodged the last few fallen rocks, and reached the main hallway.
Gasping, Luke threw himself up against the wall and collapsed beside the carcass of
the Micree.
"Luke, son, you must have EWOK feet stuck up your behind!!" Till exclaimed patting the
young Jedi on the back. "I’ve never seen anyone as lucky as you. Did you get what you was
lookin’ for?"
Luke first held up the satchel in triumph and then pointed to the saber clinging to
his waist belt. "This is only part of it, but it will have to do," he said climbing to
his feet, and passing by the old man.
Till just shook his head in amazement, and smiled. "You’re one lucky bugger," was all
he said.
Luke returned the smile as he walked by the old man. "It’s not luck," he said, "it’s
the Force."
Locked in a cool, dark room in the corner of the Halfmast’s hold, Kininin’s small servant huddled against the wall. He shuddered at the sound of the scratching and clicking of the room’s other occupants, and frequently wondered whether something would suddenly jump from the shadows and tear at his throat. This was Josu’s hell. For someone who was as prone to fear as he was, dark places held little appeal. In fact the only place he didn’t experience fear was while he was in his nest egg.
Terrified and shaking, the small Dalaa sought solace in the Force, reaching out to
touch the minds of other life forms and tap into their strength. It had been three days
since he’d nested, fearing the gunman would try to kill him; and he was tired.
From somewhere out in the bleakness and the drift of dark and preoccupied minds around
him, came an answer. It was soft and gentle, almost like a child’s touch and it soothed
him. He would sleep for a time.
Carefully balancing the bundle of fresh clothing he held in one hand, Luke Skywalker
placed the large basin of water occupying his other hand down on the floor and pressed
his weight against the door to Till’s "room". The old man had supplied him with the clothes
and then told him to go change before presenting himself to the others. If he’d been a
mess before the trek into the tunnel, he was down right disgusting now, he thought pushing
the door open and then entering the room.
Stopping cold, it took several seconds for him to register the sight before him and
almost a full minute before he could pull his eyes away.
Leia had awakened to the touch of the other mind. It had been afraid and seeking
solace, so she’d sent out a sense of reassurance. Once the contact drifted away, she’d set
about cleaning herself up with several of the supplies that had been left at her "bedside".
To the left of the former Alderaanian Princess lay a discarded heap of filthy old
clothes, and a basin full of thick, muddy looking blackened water which she had used to
scrub away as much Tatooinian grime as physically possible. Still a little wet, and
slightly raw, Leia’d sat back down on the bed, with nothing on but a blanket wrapped around
her waist. She was in the midst of struggling with her hair when Luke walked in.
Sucking in his breath, the young Jedi muttered a flustered ‘sorry’ and turned to
leave while the Princess gathered the blanket around her and jumped to her feet.
"Oh Maker, Luke!" Leia let out a fear-filled cry and covered the short expanse of
room. "Are you all right?" she asked running her fingers over the dried patches of blood
on his face and matting his hair. A look of concern, turned to confusion, marred her face
as he backed away from her touch and towards the door.
"It’s not my blood," he told her beating a hasty retreat into the hallway. The vision
of her naked ivory skin, and long dark hair falling loosely across it burned its memory
into Luke’s mind. His face tingled where she’d touched him, and a lump rose in his throat.
For one moment, for a single heartbeat in time, he’d wanted to touch her in a way that
he’d long ago only fantasized about. It was the reality of this thought that had driven
him out of the room. "I’ll clean up out here," he called as the door slid back into place.
A sonic blast filled the upper-most portion of the ridge, destroying one of the
chamber rooms and almost everything in it. Through the gaping hole in the cliffside,
bright sun flooded into the room and glinted off white armor as the room began to fill
with troopers. Busy picking their way around the rubble, none of them noticed the small
blonde girl backing out of the room’s only entrance, a low-set crawl space maybe, one foot
high.
Chani’s heart pounded against her chest as she sped for the lower levels. She had to
warn the others.
A faint mental nudge from Leia informed Luke that she was finished dressing and needed his help. Shaking the remaining water from his hair, he ran his fingers through it, performed a final check for clots of Micree blood, then pulled the rough hand-woven tunic over his head. He’d done a quick but thorough job of cleaning up, and felt years younger because of it. Dumping the basin in the hallway as he had been instructed, he watched as the sandstone absorbed it almost instantly, and then entered the room.
Leia was still fiddling with her hair, as she had been the first time he’d entered;
but this time, Luke sighed in relief, she was dressed in a garb similar to what he wore.
The outfit itself seemed a little large for her petite frame, the grey baggy pants
bunching up along her ankles and the white tunic almost as long as a dress, but it seemed
to suit her and realistically one couldn’t have complained anyway.
"Oh, good you’re here." She turned and flashed a slightly embarrassed smile at him.
"I know this will sound stupid, but can you help me with my hair?"
Luke’s mouth dropped, the last thing he wanted to do was touch her. "Uh sure... What
do you want me to do?" he asked, moving haltingly towards her.
"Oh, nothing elaborate..." Leia smiled and handed him a tie. "Just wrap it around my
hair once I gather it," she said, pulling it up into a long tail and holding it firmly with
both hands. "I swear one needs four arms to put their hair back in that." She turned to
allow Luke access to the tail.
Reaching up, Luke did as instructed; his fingers fumbling slightly with the thin strand of flexi yarn. Her hair was soft, as soft as silk, against his palms, and had the smell of a fragrant flower. A sudden desire to run his fingers through its silkiness with the touch of a lover trampled through his mind, but he immediately blanked it out, and finished tying up her hair as quickly as possible. His fingers felt sluggish and his hands were shaking, but he managed to complete his task, and step away, before Leia could notice. ‘This is getting worse,’ he thought; once again wondering why he was feeling this way after all of these years.
"Thanks!" Leia turned and pointed to a small tray of fruit and bread sitting on top
of one of the room’s storage boxes. "Did you eat?" she asked bending down to bundle up
her dirty clothes. "I had some of the bread while I was waiting for you to return...
Where did you go?"
"No, thanks, I had some while you were sleeping. Till was showing
me around and we went back to where the cave collapsed," Luke explained. "Oh! Here..."
he remembered the saber attached to his belt and, pulling it off, offered it to her.
"Where’s yours?" she asked ,noticing the saber wasn’t where it"
should be.
"I don’t know, probably under a huge pile of rock by now."
"Then you keep mine," she told him, turning away so that he could not make her take
the weapon.
Luke was about to argue the point when the door to the room burst in, followed by
Till and Rana.
"Come on, son!" he roared, grabbing two of the sleeping pillows off the floor and
stuffing them into one of the storage boxes Rana had opened. "The Imps are up above,
an’ we’ve rigged ‘er to blow!"
| << Time Reversal (Part 2) | Index |