Definitions of Destiny: Chapter 17
Title: Definitions of Destiny
Author: Caryn B
Fandom: Star Wars (film canon only - see notes)
Timeline: 6 months after RotJ
Pairing: Luke/Han, slash
Rating: NC-17 overall; this chapter PG-13
Warnings: None
The list of chapters is here
Chapter 17
Artoo, left behind in the plascrete hut, greeted Luke's return with a show of relief that was even more marked than usual. For Luke, it was just another curious incident to add to the strangeness of the day. He touched his hand to the droid's dome, and accepted the glass of water that Perek-tain pushed into his hand.
She still believed that the lack of oxygen in the far cave had affected him, and was set on making amends for her failure to warn him. In many ways, it was easier for Luke to concede that it had been the air quality, combined with the atmosphere of the cavern, that'd caused his disorientation. Explaining the full truth to her was impossible.
He wished he could go somewhere by himself, to sit and think about what he'd seen. But there was the rest of the tour to go, and his input and presence were both expected and anticipated. Besides, there was still more he needed to discover.
He looked across at Perek-tain. She was giving instructions to a couple of her team members, both of whom kept stealing curious glances in his direction. The archaeologist seemed almost as stunned as Luke had been on discovering the nature of the carvings, but that in itself struck Luke as odd. Surely her predecessor, who'd studied the cave in detail, had known what the images depicted? Not to mention the Jedi who'd visited here over the years. What reason could they have had for withholding such a crucial aspect of Eellayin history?
And then there was Senator Danu. It can't have been coincidence that the Senator had mentioned the existence of a prophecy just hours before their visit to the cave, and it was clear that the name of the cave had meant something to him. He needed to speak to Danu privately, but finding an opportunity in their busy schedule was going to be tricky.
After the researchers had left, he re-joined Perek-tain. "Did Tiriss-elain explain why the Jedi called it the Cave of the Prophecy?"
Perek-tain shook her head. "Not to me. There was a mutual understanding between us that I would take over the day-to-day running of the excavations, but she would continue with the research on that cave. We didn't discuss it much."
"So you don't know what the prophecy was about?"
She shrugged. "I assumed at the time that it stood for a change in the nature of the Jedi. Now I suppose it must refer to the end of the Sith."
"Has all the Eellayin script been translated?" Luke asked.
"Mostly. There are still some symbols we've not been able to identify with certainty."
"On the last panel there are two objects in Vader's hands. I don't know what they are, but there's an inscription on each one."
"Ah, yes. The symbols used there are an earlier form of the script, but unfortunately there's too little of it to translate. Tiriss-elain believed that it describes a specific event, but the meaning is unclear. I presume it relates to this prophecy. The objects you mentioned are the two halves of an ekuila. It's an ancient Eellayin symbol for new life."
"Something like birth, d'you mean?"
"It usually means that," she replied. "Birth, regeneration, the continuity of life... But in this case it can't mean birth in the literal sense. With all that you've told me, it makes sense for the ekuila to symbolize the beginning of a new way of life - the opposite of the sequence of death seen in the previous panels."
"Why's it in two halves?"
"I can't answer that. It's unusual to show the symbol in that way. Perhaps it has something to do with differentiating the two sides of the Force, or a way of representing the end of the Eellayin's association with the Sith and the start of their friendship with the Jedi?"
Luke nodded. "D'you think the Jedi talked about the carvings with Tiriss-elain? They must've known about the links with the Sith."
"She told me the Jedi were researching the cave." Perek-tain hesitated, and Luke had the feeling that the conversation was making her uncomfortable, in the manner of someone breaking an implicit taboo. "I always thought Tiriss-elain knew more about the cave than she was admitting. But she was here on Polis Massa for many years - long before I stepped foot here. The carvings in that cave were special to her and she was secretive - almost possessive - over them. I didn't think it was my place to intrude, so I let it stand. But she always referred to the images as Jedi, not Sith. I never questioned that. Instead, I questioned my own preconceptions over what a Jedi was."
"What happened when Tiriss-elain left?" Luke asked.
Perek-tain looked at him with surprise. "She hasn't left. She still works here, but she's too frail to make it down into the caverns any more. In fact she knows you're here and is hoping to meet you. I'm sure Administrator Que-raik will be organizing it."
Luke kept his face composed, but inwardly he felt a rush of anticipation. There were no guarantees that Tiriss-elain would know much more than Perek-tain, but she'd had direct dealings with Jedi. "I'd like to meet her too. I'm interested in the Jedi who came to visit, so I hope she won't mind me asking her a lot of questions."
"I expect she'll have a lot back. Speaking of questions... there was something I wondered..."
She fell silent, causing Luke to prompt her curiously. "What?"
"Everybody says that you were involved with the Emperor's death. Is it true?"
Luke nodded. "It's true that I was there. A lot of rumors say I killed him, which isn't true. Darth Vader killed him."
"And you said that Vader was a Jedi. I never encountered him, but from everything I've heard, it's very difficult to believe that."
Luke felt the familiar sensation of shutters closing down inside him, isolating and sealing off the knowledge that he couldn't freely divulge. He was uncertain as to whether Perek-tain's comment came from simple disbelief, or if it stemmed from some deeper instinct that Luke's involvement was far more complicated than he was admitting.
"I can understand how you feel," he said, keeping his tone as neutral as possible.
"Obviously you met him during the battle at Endor, but did you actually know him? I'm wondering how you can be so certain that the carving is of Vader."
Inwardly Luke flinched, hating the need to avoid the truth. But even if he could've been open about it, how could he explain something that had no rational explanation?
"I never got the chance to know him. The Emperor believed in destiny and it never occurred to him that anything could change it. By killing him, Vader did change things, but it never would've happened if Vader had been a true Sith. And Vader saved my life at the expense of his own. That's not the action of a Sith."
Luke shrugged, aware how unsatisfactory his answer was - not just to Perek-tain but to himself as well. He knew far too little of either the Jedi or the Sith to make such a categorical statement. And how could he be so sure that the Emperor had been the last of the Sith? Without conscious thought he'd done as Yoda, Ben and his father had exhorted him to do. He'd reached out with his feelings - and he'd known it was true.
The appearance of Senator Danu at his side saved him from further questioning. Danu held a small fragment of a stone vase. When he lifted it up, the light caught the profusion of tiny crystalline particles that were part of the stone's composition.
"This doesn't look like a local stone," the Senator remarked. "Do you think the Jedi visitors brought gifts for the Eellayin?"
Perek-tain took the object from Danu's outstretched hand. "I'm certain of it," she said.
She peered at a chrono attached to her utility belt and cast a glance between Luke and the Senator. When she spoke her tone was decisive, signaling an end to the hesitancy she'd exhibited just moments before.
"Let me take you both to our excavation storerooms. I still have much to show you."
***
The crazy thing was, how badly Leia had wanted him to go.
"I can't explain it. It feels likes something's out of step. Sort of... unbalanced," she'd said.
Han had tried to explain it away with logic. "You're gonna be upset. The way things've turned out-"
"I'm not upset! I wish everyone would stop telling me how I feel! This has nothing to do with any of that. It's to do with... with Luke."
"Because he's not here? Or because of what I did?"
"Neither of those." She'd sighed deeply and pressed the palms of her hands to her temples as though trying to calm herself. "After the Emperor's death Luke seemed more certain of himself. He knew what he'd done, and he knew he'd been right to do it. And when we started to train together, something just clicked into place. I felt like I belonged there. As though there'd been a place for me, just waiting."
Han had nodded but remained silent.
"It was to do with the Force. It felt like a calm, stable place. A refuge."
"And now it's changed?"
"Not just because I've seen another side to it. That's more to with learning and understanding how it works. It's because Luke seems on the verge of changing the way he is. If he thinks he needs to live his life differently, he'll do it."
"And you'll lose him if he goes. That's why you're feeling like this."
Leia had stared at Han with something like surprise. "I won't lose him. If he decides to leave, I'll be leaving with him."
He should've been expecting that, but the admission had startled him even more than Leia's blunt assessment of the power she'd achieved through anger a few days ago. And he hadn't known what to say. He'd stood there, holding Leia's gaze, knowing that she must've seen the confusion in his eyes. Only days before, Leia would've been the first to protest against such a possibility, concocting every manner of argument to set against Luke's reasoning.
In the face of Han's silence, Leia had explained further. "I keep imagining trying to live like the Jedi of the old Order. But instead of things feeling right, they just feel... skewed."
She hadn't known how to describe it, but Han thought he'd isolated what lay at the heart of her bewilderment. She'd been doing what Yoda and Ben had instructed Luke to do. She'd examined her feelings and wondered why the answer they'd given her was the opposite of the one she'd expected.
Then Leia had surprised Han yet again, pulling him into a hug that was full of unexpected warmth. "You must be wondering what you've done to deserve the pair of us," she'd said, laughter bubbling just below her words. It'd been an attempt to lighten both their moods, and on a superficial level it had worked. Han had left Leia smiling after him, but he doubted that happiness would last the length of his walk to the Falcon.
"Just tell him exactly how you feel, and forget about all the other problems," she'd said as he'd paused in the doorway. "It's all you can do now."
So now, at the top of the Falcon's ramp, Han turned and looked back at the base. His eyes sought the third-storey windows. Leia was there, watching him leave. He raised a hand, waited until she acknowledged the gesture, then moved into the ship.
He'd managed to wangle four days leave out of General Madine, but he'd be spending over half of that time traveling. For the remainder, he had no idea what he was going to do, and even less of an idea how his unexpected arrival would be seen by Luke.
***
After the oppressive atmosphere of the caves, the tall tower of the Medical Center was almost too dazzling in contrast. Long racks of daylight simulators bounced glaring light off the pristine white walls and gleaming, sterile surfaces. Everywhere was immaculately clean and devoid of clutter.
Droids worked silently, gliding about from one bank of equipment to another, transporting patients and communicating in voices designed to mimic the fluting tones of the Polis Massans.
A tall, angular droid slid up to them, greeting the Administrator and giving an approximation of the familiar nod of welcome to Luke and Senator Danu. "Are these the guests from the Alliance?" it asked.
Que-raik nodded. "They're here to visit our clone-cell unit. Sheni-dain is expecting us."
The droid led them through a series of high-security doors, activating each one with a coded combination that only it seemed to know. Danu gave Luke a surreptitious glance and raised his eyebrows. It appeared that even the Administrator of the colony didn't have free access to the clone-cell laboratories, and Luke wondered if this was an aftereffect of the Imperial ban, or a mechanism designed to protect the highly-desirable research from theft.
The laboratories were at the very top of the tower and were as spotless as the rest of the Center. Sheni-dain, at work beside a run of darkened cloning capsules, looked up at their arrival. She rose quickly, dipping her head in greeting.
"Senator Giddean Danu and Master Luke Skywalker?"
Luke bit back the instinctive denial that sprung up every time someone referred to him as 'Master'. The Polis Massans were expecting a Jedi, and attempting to explain his misgivings over that title was hardly appropriate here. Instead, he returned the scientist's greeting, and let the Senator start on the prerequisite small talk.
He looked around the laboratory with curiosity. Other than in its own, officially-sanctioned units, the Empire had outlawed cloning technology throughout the galaxy. Neither Luke nor Danu had ever encountered the process before, although they'd both come across the end products of the Imperial centers more than enough times.
Sheni-dain guided them around the unit, explaining the various stages of cell development that led to the finished product. As with most of the Polis Massans, Luke found it difficult to estimate her age. She seemed slightly uneasy with them, adopting a manner both brusque and clinical. Luke wondered if this was down to wariness. Senator Danu had told him that the Polis Massans were unusually introverted, preferring to remain amongst members of their own close-knit community.
"We're able to provide cloned skin transplants for patients requiring cosmetic reconstruction. The process is close to perfect from an aesthetic point of view, but we haven't been able to provide precise neural integration, as I think you're aware. I believe this is the procedure you plan to discuss with us, in return for our knowledge of clone-cell production?"
"Indeed," Danu replied. "I think, having seen what you've achieved here, we'd be very anxious to set up co-operation as soon as it suits you."
"I'm sure you understand that our exact procedures are very highly guarded. The galactic ban on private cloning forced our research underground, although we were lucky the Empire paid no heed to us, stuck out here. We've tried to keep the process as secret as possible because we're aware that there's huge scope for abuse."
"I understand that. I'm sure you want assurances that our intentions are purely medical."
"We'd wish to visit your own laboratories and confer with your droids. By all accounts, you've achieved remarkable advances with neural surgery."
The scientist turned to Luke and inwardly he tensed, knowing what was coming next.
"This technique was used on your hand?"
"Yes, I think so," he said. "The surgical droid wired a neural receptor into the hand, which is linked to my central nervous system."
"You feel normal sensation? Pain?"
"Yes."
"Would you allow me examine it?"
Danu made as if to intervene, but Luke shook his head almost imperceptibly. "Sure. I won't be able to answer any detailed questions about the surgery though. You'd have to ask one of our droids."
"I'm intrigued to see a genuine working model," Sheni-dain explained.
The remark stung, even though Luke had been expecting a comment of that nature. To Sheni-dain, the hand would undoubtedly be a fascinating and complex piece of equipment. He couldn't expect the scientist to have any idea of the emotional trauma that lay behind the surgery.
Many times, Luke had tried to imagine how he might feel about the hand if he'd lost the real one in some fluke accident, or through disease or injury. Would he be able to view it as impassively as Sheni-dain? But he'd never been able to separate the physical reality of the loss from the circumstances surrounding it, and it hindered his ability to accept it in the way that he should.
He looked away when Sheni-dain opened the access chamber, irritated with his inability to stem that knee-jerk reaction. He forced himself to turn his gaze back - it wasn't as if burying his head in the sand was going to change anything.
Sheni-dain's enthusiastic reaction took him aback. "Oh, it's beautiful. And wonderfully complex! May I test the responses?"
"Go ahead." He could at least appreciate the hand for its technical capabilities, although considering it as an object of beauty wasn't something likely to cross his mind. He caught the Senator's eye and gave him a wry grin. Just another step in the process of achieving galactic harmony.
He found his attention wandering as the scientist proceeded. He didn't have to do very much. Just move his fingers when she asked him to. It was funny really. To think he'd been worried about how he was supposed to behave as a Jedi ambassador, and now all he needed to do was sit quietly while Sheni-dain made adjustments to the hand's interface. It was still diplomacy, in a weird kind of way.
The sharp shock of pain made him gasp, his fingers clenching involuntarily on the wires Sheni-dain had attached to his hand. Beside him, Artoo beeped angrily.
"I'm sorry," she said, her brow furrowed with regret. "Our cloned skin would feel that only as mild discomfort."
"I thought Master Skywalker explained that he felt pain," Danu said.
"My apologies," Sheni-dain repeated. "I hadn't expected the response to be so acute. The work is even more advanced than I'd anticipated."
"It's okay," Luke said. "It just took me by surprise, that's all."
With more care than she might otherwise have shown, Sheni-dain removed the electrodes from his fingertips. "There's been some repair work done. The hand was damaged?"
Luke nodded. "By blaster bolt."
"Did the interface shut down the pain response straight away?"
"It took a few seconds."
"So that could be improved on. Are you happy with the hand?"
"I'd have preferred to keep the original one, but I guess so."
"Would you be interested in replacing the synthskin with cloned skin, if you were compatible for such a transplant?"
Luke shrugged. "I don't think it'd matter that much to me to be honest. It's not that noticeable to others."
"But to yourself?"
"Well, obviously I know it's not real. But I'd know that whatever type of skin covering it had."
"Out of curiosity, would you allow me to test for compatibility? There's no obligation to take it any further of course. We're at a stage in our research where we're almost ready to develop a universal technique, suitable for all species. We've had success with human skin cells, but there are various factors that add complications."
"What does the test involve?" Luke asked. If it was simple, he supposed there'd be no harm in accepting, even though the whole process had begun to make him feel uneasy. She wasn't exactly leaving him without a choice, but the implications of refusing were not straightforward. Han would've grabbed his arm and marched him out of here long before it'd got to this stage - but then playing political games wasn't Han's thing.
"Just a tiny cell sample. Nothing more. It'd take just one second, and I can do it straight away."
"It doesn't include blasting megavolts of electricity through him does it?" Danu asked, his normally composed voice ruffled by concern.
Sheni-dain gave a short, apologetic laugh. "No, it's a plain old-fashioned skin prick." She picked up Luke's other hand and examined the thumb. "I'd take it from here."
She pulled a tray of equipment towards her and located a small steel implement sealed inside a transparent pouch. She waited expectantly until Luke nodded.
It felt to Luke a little like an insect sting, but without the lingering after-pain. A tiny trickle of blood crept across his thumb and he wiped it away.
Sheni-dain placed the implement inside a metal tube and tapped in a few commands on her data console. "Do you want me to process it? It's up to you."
"Okay," Luke said, curious as to what he was supposed to be compatible with. His own skin maybe? He'd probably find he wasn't.
Sheni-dain placed the tube inside the drum of one of the many machines in the laboratory. None of them served any purpose known to Luke, and the explanation of the cloning process had been so full of technical jargon that it'd been mostly incomprehensible. But maybe that had been intentional.
"The computer will send us an analysis in just under a minute. It tests the cells for the ability to replicate successfully under the conditions necessary. Sometimes - with other species - there can be a mutation."
A soft beeping indicated the presentation of the analysis, and Sheni-dain studied the screen in silence for a few seconds. She had an air of puzzlement when she looked back at Luke.
"You've passed the compatibility test, but... Well, there's something strange come up."
"Why doesn't that surprise me?" Luke murmured, supposing he should at least be grateful that his skin cells didn't seem to harbor any tendencies towards mutation. He twisted round to look at Artoo, startled by the droid's reaction. He'd moved away towards the laboratory doors and was circling around anxiously, making soft, apprehensive noises. Puzzled, Luke directed his attention back to Sheni-dain.
"The computer has matched you to a previous analysis," she explained. "I need to access old data for that because it's going back a number of years."
"I don't understand. What previous analysis?" Luke asked.
"Of your skin cell signature. It's been taken before."
"It can't have been."
Sheni-dain made a small, confused movement of her shoulders. "But this is your second visit here?"
"No - I've never been here before. It's got to be a mistake." He glanced round again at Artoo, distracted by his unusual behavior. The droid was still upset, demanding in quiet beeps that Luke leave the laboratories immediately.
"There's no mistake. An individual's skin cell signature is unique, and yours matches exactly an earlier sample that we hold here."
"It can't be from me. The computer must be mixing the samples up," Luke insisted.
Sheni-dain shook her head. "That's not possible. But it's a mystery to me why the earlier sample is unassigned. That should never have happened."
"Are there any other details with it?" Luke asked.
Sheni-dain was scrutinizing the data on the screen. When she spoke her voice had taken on an undercurrent of incredulity. "It was taken as part of our routine registration tests twenty-five years ago. There can only have been one reason for that." She turned back to face Luke. "You were born here."
chapter 18
Author: Caryn B
Fandom: Star Wars (film canon only - see notes)
Timeline: 6 months after RotJ
Pairing: Luke/Han, slash
Rating: NC-17 overall; this chapter PG-13
Warnings: None
The list of chapters is here
Chapter 17
Artoo, left behind in the plascrete hut, greeted Luke's return with a show of relief that was even more marked than usual. For Luke, it was just another curious incident to add to the strangeness of the day. He touched his hand to the droid's dome, and accepted the glass of water that Perek-tain pushed into his hand.
She still believed that the lack of oxygen in the far cave had affected him, and was set on making amends for her failure to warn him. In many ways, it was easier for Luke to concede that it had been the air quality, combined with the atmosphere of the cavern, that'd caused his disorientation. Explaining the full truth to her was impossible.
He wished he could go somewhere by himself, to sit and think about what he'd seen. But there was the rest of the tour to go, and his input and presence were both expected and anticipated. Besides, there was still more he needed to discover.
He looked across at Perek-tain. She was giving instructions to a couple of her team members, both of whom kept stealing curious glances in his direction. The archaeologist seemed almost as stunned as Luke had been on discovering the nature of the carvings, but that in itself struck Luke as odd. Surely her predecessor, who'd studied the cave in detail, had known what the images depicted? Not to mention the Jedi who'd visited here over the years. What reason could they have had for withholding such a crucial aspect of Eellayin history?
And then there was Senator Danu. It can't have been coincidence that the Senator had mentioned the existence of a prophecy just hours before their visit to the cave, and it was clear that the name of the cave had meant something to him. He needed to speak to Danu privately, but finding an opportunity in their busy schedule was going to be tricky.
After the researchers had left, he re-joined Perek-tain. "Did Tiriss-elain explain why the Jedi called it the Cave of the Prophecy?"
Perek-tain shook her head. "Not to me. There was a mutual understanding between us that I would take over the day-to-day running of the excavations, but she would continue with the research on that cave. We didn't discuss it much."
"So you don't know what the prophecy was about?"
She shrugged. "I assumed at the time that it stood for a change in the nature of the Jedi. Now I suppose it must refer to the end of the Sith."
"Has all the Eellayin script been translated?" Luke asked.
"Mostly. There are still some symbols we've not been able to identify with certainty."
"On the last panel there are two objects in Vader's hands. I don't know what they are, but there's an inscription on each one."
"Ah, yes. The symbols used there are an earlier form of the script, but unfortunately there's too little of it to translate. Tiriss-elain believed that it describes a specific event, but the meaning is unclear. I presume it relates to this prophecy. The objects you mentioned are the two halves of an ekuila. It's an ancient Eellayin symbol for new life."
"Something like birth, d'you mean?"
"It usually means that," she replied. "Birth, regeneration, the continuity of life... But in this case it can't mean birth in the literal sense. With all that you've told me, it makes sense for the ekuila to symbolize the beginning of a new way of life - the opposite of the sequence of death seen in the previous panels."
"Why's it in two halves?"
"I can't answer that. It's unusual to show the symbol in that way. Perhaps it has something to do with differentiating the two sides of the Force, or a way of representing the end of the Eellayin's association with the Sith and the start of their friendship with the Jedi?"
Luke nodded. "D'you think the Jedi talked about the carvings with Tiriss-elain? They must've known about the links with the Sith."
"She told me the Jedi were researching the cave." Perek-tain hesitated, and Luke had the feeling that the conversation was making her uncomfortable, in the manner of someone breaking an implicit taboo. "I always thought Tiriss-elain knew more about the cave than she was admitting. But she was here on Polis Massa for many years - long before I stepped foot here. The carvings in that cave were special to her and she was secretive - almost possessive - over them. I didn't think it was my place to intrude, so I let it stand. But she always referred to the images as Jedi, not Sith. I never questioned that. Instead, I questioned my own preconceptions over what a Jedi was."
"What happened when Tiriss-elain left?" Luke asked.
Perek-tain looked at him with surprise. "She hasn't left. She still works here, but she's too frail to make it down into the caverns any more. In fact she knows you're here and is hoping to meet you. I'm sure Administrator Que-raik will be organizing it."
Luke kept his face composed, but inwardly he felt a rush of anticipation. There were no guarantees that Tiriss-elain would know much more than Perek-tain, but she'd had direct dealings with Jedi. "I'd like to meet her too. I'm interested in the Jedi who came to visit, so I hope she won't mind me asking her a lot of questions."
"I expect she'll have a lot back. Speaking of questions... there was something I wondered..."
She fell silent, causing Luke to prompt her curiously. "What?"
"Everybody says that you were involved with the Emperor's death. Is it true?"
Luke nodded. "It's true that I was there. A lot of rumors say I killed him, which isn't true. Darth Vader killed him."
"And you said that Vader was a Jedi. I never encountered him, but from everything I've heard, it's very difficult to believe that."
Luke felt the familiar sensation of shutters closing down inside him, isolating and sealing off the knowledge that he couldn't freely divulge. He was uncertain as to whether Perek-tain's comment came from simple disbelief, or if it stemmed from some deeper instinct that Luke's involvement was far more complicated than he was admitting.
"I can understand how you feel," he said, keeping his tone as neutral as possible.
"Obviously you met him during the battle at Endor, but did you actually know him? I'm wondering how you can be so certain that the carving is of Vader."
Inwardly Luke flinched, hating the need to avoid the truth. But even if he could've been open about it, how could he explain something that had no rational explanation?
"I never got the chance to know him. The Emperor believed in destiny and it never occurred to him that anything could change it. By killing him, Vader did change things, but it never would've happened if Vader had been a true Sith. And Vader saved my life at the expense of his own. That's not the action of a Sith."
Luke shrugged, aware how unsatisfactory his answer was - not just to Perek-tain but to himself as well. He knew far too little of either the Jedi or the Sith to make such a categorical statement. And how could he be so sure that the Emperor had been the last of the Sith? Without conscious thought he'd done as Yoda, Ben and his father had exhorted him to do. He'd reached out with his feelings - and he'd known it was true.
The appearance of Senator Danu at his side saved him from further questioning. Danu held a small fragment of a stone vase. When he lifted it up, the light caught the profusion of tiny crystalline particles that were part of the stone's composition.
"This doesn't look like a local stone," the Senator remarked. "Do you think the Jedi visitors brought gifts for the Eellayin?"
Perek-tain took the object from Danu's outstretched hand. "I'm certain of it," she said.
She peered at a chrono attached to her utility belt and cast a glance between Luke and the Senator. When she spoke her tone was decisive, signaling an end to the hesitancy she'd exhibited just moments before.
"Let me take you both to our excavation storerooms. I still have much to show you."
***
The crazy thing was, how badly Leia had wanted him to go.
"I can't explain it. It feels likes something's out of step. Sort of... unbalanced," she'd said.
Han had tried to explain it away with logic. "You're gonna be upset. The way things've turned out-"
"I'm not upset! I wish everyone would stop telling me how I feel! This has nothing to do with any of that. It's to do with... with Luke."
"Because he's not here? Or because of what I did?"
"Neither of those." She'd sighed deeply and pressed the palms of her hands to her temples as though trying to calm herself. "After the Emperor's death Luke seemed more certain of himself. He knew what he'd done, and he knew he'd been right to do it. And when we started to train together, something just clicked into place. I felt like I belonged there. As though there'd been a place for me, just waiting."
Han had nodded but remained silent.
"It was to do with the Force. It felt like a calm, stable place. A refuge."
"And now it's changed?"
"Not just because I've seen another side to it. That's more to with learning and understanding how it works. It's because Luke seems on the verge of changing the way he is. If he thinks he needs to live his life differently, he'll do it."
"And you'll lose him if he goes. That's why you're feeling like this."
Leia had stared at Han with something like surprise. "I won't lose him. If he decides to leave, I'll be leaving with him."
He should've been expecting that, but the admission had startled him even more than Leia's blunt assessment of the power she'd achieved through anger a few days ago. And he hadn't known what to say. He'd stood there, holding Leia's gaze, knowing that she must've seen the confusion in his eyes. Only days before, Leia would've been the first to protest against such a possibility, concocting every manner of argument to set against Luke's reasoning.
In the face of Han's silence, Leia had explained further. "I keep imagining trying to live like the Jedi of the old Order. But instead of things feeling right, they just feel... skewed."
She hadn't known how to describe it, but Han thought he'd isolated what lay at the heart of her bewilderment. She'd been doing what Yoda and Ben had instructed Luke to do. She'd examined her feelings and wondered why the answer they'd given her was the opposite of the one she'd expected.
Then Leia had surprised Han yet again, pulling him into a hug that was full of unexpected warmth. "You must be wondering what you've done to deserve the pair of us," she'd said, laughter bubbling just below her words. It'd been an attempt to lighten both their moods, and on a superficial level it had worked. Han had left Leia smiling after him, but he doubted that happiness would last the length of his walk to the Falcon.
"Just tell him exactly how you feel, and forget about all the other problems," she'd said as he'd paused in the doorway. "It's all you can do now."
So now, at the top of the Falcon's ramp, Han turned and looked back at the base. His eyes sought the third-storey windows. Leia was there, watching him leave. He raised a hand, waited until she acknowledged the gesture, then moved into the ship.
He'd managed to wangle four days leave out of General Madine, but he'd be spending over half of that time traveling. For the remainder, he had no idea what he was going to do, and even less of an idea how his unexpected arrival would be seen by Luke.
***
After the oppressive atmosphere of the caves, the tall tower of the Medical Center was almost too dazzling in contrast. Long racks of daylight simulators bounced glaring light off the pristine white walls and gleaming, sterile surfaces. Everywhere was immaculately clean and devoid of clutter.
Droids worked silently, gliding about from one bank of equipment to another, transporting patients and communicating in voices designed to mimic the fluting tones of the Polis Massans.
A tall, angular droid slid up to them, greeting the Administrator and giving an approximation of the familiar nod of welcome to Luke and Senator Danu. "Are these the guests from the Alliance?" it asked.
Que-raik nodded. "They're here to visit our clone-cell unit. Sheni-dain is expecting us."
The droid led them through a series of high-security doors, activating each one with a coded combination that only it seemed to know. Danu gave Luke a surreptitious glance and raised his eyebrows. It appeared that even the Administrator of the colony didn't have free access to the clone-cell laboratories, and Luke wondered if this was an aftereffect of the Imperial ban, or a mechanism designed to protect the highly-desirable research from theft.
The laboratories were at the very top of the tower and were as spotless as the rest of the Center. Sheni-dain, at work beside a run of darkened cloning capsules, looked up at their arrival. She rose quickly, dipping her head in greeting.
"Senator Giddean Danu and Master Luke Skywalker?"
Luke bit back the instinctive denial that sprung up every time someone referred to him as 'Master'. The Polis Massans were expecting a Jedi, and attempting to explain his misgivings over that title was hardly appropriate here. Instead, he returned the scientist's greeting, and let the Senator start on the prerequisite small talk.
He looked around the laboratory with curiosity. Other than in its own, officially-sanctioned units, the Empire had outlawed cloning technology throughout the galaxy. Neither Luke nor Danu had ever encountered the process before, although they'd both come across the end products of the Imperial centers more than enough times.
Sheni-dain guided them around the unit, explaining the various stages of cell development that led to the finished product. As with most of the Polis Massans, Luke found it difficult to estimate her age. She seemed slightly uneasy with them, adopting a manner both brusque and clinical. Luke wondered if this was down to wariness. Senator Danu had told him that the Polis Massans were unusually introverted, preferring to remain amongst members of their own close-knit community.
"We're able to provide cloned skin transplants for patients requiring cosmetic reconstruction. The process is close to perfect from an aesthetic point of view, but we haven't been able to provide precise neural integration, as I think you're aware. I believe this is the procedure you plan to discuss with us, in return for our knowledge of clone-cell production?"
"Indeed," Danu replied. "I think, having seen what you've achieved here, we'd be very anxious to set up co-operation as soon as it suits you."
"I'm sure you understand that our exact procedures are very highly guarded. The galactic ban on private cloning forced our research underground, although we were lucky the Empire paid no heed to us, stuck out here. We've tried to keep the process as secret as possible because we're aware that there's huge scope for abuse."
"I understand that. I'm sure you want assurances that our intentions are purely medical."
"We'd wish to visit your own laboratories and confer with your droids. By all accounts, you've achieved remarkable advances with neural surgery."
The scientist turned to Luke and inwardly he tensed, knowing what was coming next.
"This technique was used on your hand?"
"Yes, I think so," he said. "The surgical droid wired a neural receptor into the hand, which is linked to my central nervous system."
"You feel normal sensation? Pain?"
"Yes."
"Would you allow me examine it?"
Danu made as if to intervene, but Luke shook his head almost imperceptibly. "Sure. I won't be able to answer any detailed questions about the surgery though. You'd have to ask one of our droids."
"I'm intrigued to see a genuine working model," Sheni-dain explained.
The remark stung, even though Luke had been expecting a comment of that nature. To Sheni-dain, the hand would undoubtedly be a fascinating and complex piece of equipment. He couldn't expect the scientist to have any idea of the emotional trauma that lay behind the surgery.
Many times, Luke had tried to imagine how he might feel about the hand if he'd lost the real one in some fluke accident, or through disease or injury. Would he be able to view it as impassively as Sheni-dain? But he'd never been able to separate the physical reality of the loss from the circumstances surrounding it, and it hindered his ability to accept it in the way that he should.
He looked away when Sheni-dain opened the access chamber, irritated with his inability to stem that knee-jerk reaction. He forced himself to turn his gaze back - it wasn't as if burying his head in the sand was going to change anything.
Sheni-dain's enthusiastic reaction took him aback. "Oh, it's beautiful. And wonderfully complex! May I test the responses?"
"Go ahead." He could at least appreciate the hand for its technical capabilities, although considering it as an object of beauty wasn't something likely to cross his mind. He caught the Senator's eye and gave him a wry grin. Just another step in the process of achieving galactic harmony.
He found his attention wandering as the scientist proceeded. He didn't have to do very much. Just move his fingers when she asked him to. It was funny really. To think he'd been worried about how he was supposed to behave as a Jedi ambassador, and now all he needed to do was sit quietly while Sheni-dain made adjustments to the hand's interface. It was still diplomacy, in a weird kind of way.
The sharp shock of pain made him gasp, his fingers clenching involuntarily on the wires Sheni-dain had attached to his hand. Beside him, Artoo beeped angrily.
"I'm sorry," she said, her brow furrowed with regret. "Our cloned skin would feel that only as mild discomfort."
"I thought Master Skywalker explained that he felt pain," Danu said.
"My apologies," Sheni-dain repeated. "I hadn't expected the response to be so acute. The work is even more advanced than I'd anticipated."
"It's okay," Luke said. "It just took me by surprise, that's all."
With more care than she might otherwise have shown, Sheni-dain removed the electrodes from his fingertips. "There's been some repair work done. The hand was damaged?"
Luke nodded. "By blaster bolt."
"Did the interface shut down the pain response straight away?"
"It took a few seconds."
"So that could be improved on. Are you happy with the hand?"
"I'd have preferred to keep the original one, but I guess so."
"Would you be interested in replacing the synthskin with cloned skin, if you were compatible for such a transplant?"
Luke shrugged. "I don't think it'd matter that much to me to be honest. It's not that noticeable to others."
"But to yourself?"
"Well, obviously I know it's not real. But I'd know that whatever type of skin covering it had."
"Out of curiosity, would you allow me to test for compatibility? There's no obligation to take it any further of course. We're at a stage in our research where we're almost ready to develop a universal technique, suitable for all species. We've had success with human skin cells, but there are various factors that add complications."
"What does the test involve?" Luke asked. If it was simple, he supposed there'd be no harm in accepting, even though the whole process had begun to make him feel uneasy. She wasn't exactly leaving him without a choice, but the implications of refusing were not straightforward. Han would've grabbed his arm and marched him out of here long before it'd got to this stage - but then playing political games wasn't Han's thing.
"Just a tiny cell sample. Nothing more. It'd take just one second, and I can do it straight away."
"It doesn't include blasting megavolts of electricity through him does it?" Danu asked, his normally composed voice ruffled by concern.
Sheni-dain gave a short, apologetic laugh. "No, it's a plain old-fashioned skin prick." She picked up Luke's other hand and examined the thumb. "I'd take it from here."
She pulled a tray of equipment towards her and located a small steel implement sealed inside a transparent pouch. She waited expectantly until Luke nodded.
It felt to Luke a little like an insect sting, but without the lingering after-pain. A tiny trickle of blood crept across his thumb and he wiped it away.
Sheni-dain placed the implement inside a metal tube and tapped in a few commands on her data console. "Do you want me to process it? It's up to you."
"Okay," Luke said, curious as to what he was supposed to be compatible with. His own skin maybe? He'd probably find he wasn't.
Sheni-dain placed the tube inside the drum of one of the many machines in the laboratory. None of them served any purpose known to Luke, and the explanation of the cloning process had been so full of technical jargon that it'd been mostly incomprehensible. But maybe that had been intentional.
"The computer will send us an analysis in just under a minute. It tests the cells for the ability to replicate successfully under the conditions necessary. Sometimes - with other species - there can be a mutation."
A soft beeping indicated the presentation of the analysis, and Sheni-dain studied the screen in silence for a few seconds. She had an air of puzzlement when she looked back at Luke.
"You've passed the compatibility test, but... Well, there's something strange come up."
"Why doesn't that surprise me?" Luke murmured, supposing he should at least be grateful that his skin cells didn't seem to harbor any tendencies towards mutation. He twisted round to look at Artoo, startled by the droid's reaction. He'd moved away towards the laboratory doors and was circling around anxiously, making soft, apprehensive noises. Puzzled, Luke directed his attention back to Sheni-dain.
"The computer has matched you to a previous analysis," she explained. "I need to access old data for that because it's going back a number of years."
"I don't understand. What previous analysis?" Luke asked.
"Of your skin cell signature. It's been taken before."
"It can't have been."
Sheni-dain made a small, confused movement of her shoulders. "But this is your second visit here?"
"No - I've never been here before. It's got to be a mistake." He glanced round again at Artoo, distracted by his unusual behavior. The droid was still upset, demanding in quiet beeps that Luke leave the laboratories immediately.
"There's no mistake. An individual's skin cell signature is unique, and yours matches exactly an earlier sample that we hold here."
"It can't be from me. The computer must be mixing the samples up," Luke insisted.
Sheni-dain shook her head. "That's not possible. But it's a mystery to me why the earlier sample is unassigned. That should never have happened."
"Are there any other details with it?" Luke asked.
Sheni-dain was scrutinizing the data on the screen. When she spoke her voice had taken on an undercurrent of incredulity. "It was taken as part of our routine registration tests twenty-five years ago. There can only have been one reason for that." She turned back to face Luke. "You were born here."
chapter 18