"Crossroads of the Force" [PG-13] - Chapter Ten
"CROSSROADS OF THE FORCE"
CHAPTER TEN
WORLPORT, ORD MANTELL
Thanks to Anakin's intervention, the early morning quarrel between Han and Chewbacca quickly came to an end. Once the dust settled, the three comrades ate breakfast at the Blue Jewel Café. They eventually risked the rain to make their way to the Javian Hawk's hangar to check upon the ship's systems. It did not take long for Anakin and Han to discover that the starship's monitor needed new power cells.
"I'll see if I can buy some new ones," Anakin commented. "As soon as possible. Meanwhile, why don't you two continue checking the system? And try to behave."
"Aw, don't worry!" Han replied with a dismissive wave of his hand. "Chewie realizes that I'm not a morning person. Right?" The Wookie acknowledged Han's question with a mild growl.
Realizing he had nothing to worry about, Anakin grabbed his cloak to shield him from the rain and disembarked from the Hawk. He took a shuttle taxi to Worlport's commercial district. For nearly a half hour, Anakin visited several shops that sold parts for starships and other vehicles. Unfortunately, none of them had any power cells available. Just as he was about to enter his second junk shop on Illumna Street, he spotted a familiar figure leaving another shop, several meters to his right. He immediately recognized Senator Dahlma's aide, Igraine Colbert.
Just as when he first met her, Anakin felt a deep pull toward the young Maldarian woman. Attracted by the possibility of spending a few hours with her - alone - he began to walk toward her. He had only taken a few steps, when he halted in his tracks. It suddenly occurred to him that becoming emotionally involved with the Maldarian woman might not be a wise choice for him. He remained haunted by the circumstances that led to Padme's death. And already attached to Han, Anakin realized that the last thing he needed was a romantic relationship with another woman. Especially one that bore a strong resemblance to Padme.
Anakin took a deep breath, turned on his heels and walked in the opposite direction. He found himself retracing his earlier steps, until a strong sensation caused him to stop. Something was wrong. He had sensed a disturbance in the Force. And it came . . . in the form of danger for Miss Colbert.
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Ten minutes earlier, Igraine walked out of an arts-and-crafts shop, carrying her latest purchase inside a silver bag. During her three years at the University of Malag, she had developed an interest in art history and antiquities. Although the two subjects had never surpassed her passion for politics, Igraine began a hobby of collecting small artifacts during her years on Coruscant and travels throughout the galaxy.
Igraine had spent the entire morning taking notes of the conference for Senator Dahlma. When the lunch period arrived, Bail Organa suggested that everyone take a break and reconvene in another three hours. Igraine decided the three hours was a perfect opportunity for a little shopping in Worlport's commercial district. While strolling along Illumna Avenue, she came upon an arts-and-crafts store that not only sold art pieces, but antiquities as well. One particular item caught her attention - a statuette of the now extinct singing fig tree of Pil Diller. Igraine realized that the shop's owner must not have been an art expert. The latter had charged Igraine 50 credits for the item, unaware that it was worth a lot more.
Fighting an urge to stop and admire her recent purchase, the Maldarian woman continued her stroll along Ilumna Avenue. She passed an opening that led to a walkway along one of the planet's many saltwater lakes. There, she spotted a fair-haired woman and three men loitering around one of the benches next to the shore. She immediately ignored them and continued her walk down the avenue.
The rain grew heavier. Aside from her cloak, Igraine had nothing to protect her from the downpour. And the wet weather seemed to have driven many of Worlport's inhabitants indoors. The sight of the loiterers and the small number of pedestrians reminded Igraine that walking the city's streets - even within the commercial district - might not be safe for a lone individual. She unconsciously groped for the blaster pistol inside her cloak's pocket and heaved a sigh. Thank goodness she had remembered to . . .
"Do you need help with that package, Milady?" The woman's voice jolted Igraine from her thoughts. She turned around and discovered the four loiterers behind her. Upon closer inspection, one of the males happened to be a Duros.
"No thank you," Igraine politely replied in a firm and cool voice. She returned her hand inside her cloak's pocket and gripped her blaster. "I'm fine." She started to turn away.
The woman added, "Are you sure? Worlport is not the type of place for a lone person to roaming about. Especially with the streets half-deserted. My friends and I can escort you to your hotel."
An alarm went off inside Igraine's head. "Wha . . . what makes you think I'm staying at a hotel?"
The woman's deep blue eyes glittered. "That cloak you're wearing is not exactly common on this planet. And very few natives would be out on a wet day like this, unless he or she is forced to."
"Perhaps there is a reason . . ." Igraine broke off abruptly, as one of the human males flanked her left side. "What is he doing?" she demanded.
Smiling, the woman answered, "Don't mind Falin. He simply wants to help with your package."
"I don't need help," Igraine coolly replied. "So, if you don't mind . . ." She started to walk away. The woman and the Duros blocked her path. "Excuse me!"
Menace crept into the woman's eyes . . . and voice. "Now, that's not nice. All we're trying to do is help and you treat us like bantha fodder. How do you expect us to deal with such a negative attitude?" Then she barked, "Falin! Cardo! Grab her!"
The two human males started toward Igraine. She whipped out her blaster pistol and shot the one called Falin in the right shoulder. The other human named Cardo knocked the blaster from her hand. He raised a fist to strike her, when a burst of blaster fire struck him in the chest, causing him to fall backwards.
A blaster rifle appeared in the Duros' hands and he aimed it at Igraine's side. At that moment, the blond woman made a grab for the Maldarian's pistol on the ground. Using the bag that held her statuette, Igraine swung it at the woman and knocked the pistol out of the latter's hand. Blaster fire caught the senator aide's attention. She glanced to her right and saw the Duros sink to the ground with a smoking hole in the middle of his chest. The blond woman's eyes flew open before she ran off, disappearing into the wet distance.
Curiosity over the identity of her rescuer, Igraine whirled around. Her eyes flew open at the sight of a familiar figure draped in a dark cloak . . . holding a blaster. "Captain Horus!"
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"Yes?" Anakin responded with a smile to Miss Colbert's outburst.
The Maldarian woman shook her head in disbelief. "How . . .?"
"I saw you leaving that shop," Anakin continued. He glanced at the weapon in his hand and then at the bodies on the pavement. "I think I forgot to put my blaster on stun," he added ruefully.
Miss Colbert retorted, "I'm certain they didn't have their weapons on stun." She kicked at one of the fallen men, who grunted. "We need to contact . . ."
The soft roar of an engine muffled Miss Colbert's words. Both she and Anakin glanced up and saw a shuttle descend from the wet sky. Once the shuttle landed on the ground, a male Zabrak and a female human departed from the vehicle. Their uniforms indicated that they were part of Worlport's security force. "What's going on?" the Zabrak demanded. He glanced at the bodies on the ground. "Falin Brand." He shook his head in disgust.
"Along with Yun Cardo and Raynor," the human woman added. She examined the bodies before frowning at Anakin and his companion. "One of them is still alive. What happened?"
Before Anakin could speak, Miss Colbert informed the security officers about her encounter with her attackers. "I'm afraid that one of them got away," she ruefully added. "A human woman named . . ."
". . . Neela Prey," the Zabrak grimly finished. "The leader of a gang of street scum who prey upon pedestrians. Especially visitors. I'm Officer Viert." He nodded at his partner. "And this is Officer Yung. We will require your names, so that we can include you in our report." Viert pulled out a data pad.
Anakin gave Officers Viert and Yung his alias and explained that he had came upon Miss Colbert, while she was under attack. Meanwhile, the Maldarian woman hesitated before she gave a name. "Serena Cunus," she replied. Anakin shot her a surprised glance. "From Chandrila. I'm a visitor."
Officer Yung directed her gaze at Anakin. "And you? Are you also a visitor?"
"Freighter pilot," Anakin replied. "I had arrived here, yesterday . . . with a cargo. I'm simply spending a few days until I leave."
The human officer pulled out a comlink and began to speak into it. Meanwhile, Officer Viert informed the couple that they were free to go. "We have your statements. If we need to contact you about a trial . . ."
"Trial?" Miss Colbert exclaimed. "But I'm a visitor."
Viert nodded at the thugs. "One of them is still alive, Milady. Hopefully, he will be able to tell us where we can find his friend, Prey. Like I said, we will contact you for his trial. It should be within a day or two."
Anakin grabbed hold of Miss Colbert's free arm. "Thank you, Officer. If you need me, I'll be staying at the Hotel Grand."
"So will I," Miss Colbert added weakly.
Realizing that the perfect moment to leave had arrived, Anakin murmured, "Excuse us." Then he drew the Maldarian woman away from the crime scene. Anakin eventually led her toward a shuttle stop. "Well, I believe we've just had our excitement for the day."
"I cannot testify at that man's hearing!" Miss Colbert bewailed. "The senator and I will probably have returned to Maldare, by then."
Anakin shrugged his shoulders. "Then chances are that he will be released."
"But that is not right!"
A sigh left the pilot's mouth. "There are a great many things in this universe that are not right . . . or fair, Milady." A grim reminder of his past flashed in Anakin's mind. He added bitterly, "Trust me. I had to learn the hard way."
The Maldarian woman fell silent. Both she and Anakin spotted a shuttle bus descend from the sky. "Our shuttle has arrived," she murmured.
Anakin simply nodded. Standing close to his companion resurrected feelings of longing and desire he had experienced when he first spotted her outside of the junk shop. This time, he decided not to fight his feelings. "How many hours or minutes do you have left until you rejoin Senator Dahlma?" he asked.
"A little over ninety minutes. Why?"
The shuttle landed on the ground, several feet away from the couple. Anakin took a deep breath and asked, "Would you like to have lunch with me? I . . . know of a place not far from the hotel." The shuttle finally halted before them.
Miss Colbert gave the former Jedi a long stare. The latter could see the temptation of such an offer glittering in her green eyes. To his relief, she smiled and answered, "I would love to join you, Captain Horus. By the way, why don't you call me, Igraine?"
Anakin returned her smile. "And you can call me Set." The shuttle's doors slide and Anakin followed Miss Col . . . Igraine inside the vehicle.
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Han snapped one of the intake valve levers back in place. Then he glanced at the Javian Hawk's chronometer and realized that Anakin had been gone for over an hour. He shook his head in disbelief. Exactly how long did it take to find a couple of power cells in this town?
Just as he was about to head for the cockpit, a voice cracked over his personal comlink. "Han? Are you there? It's . . . Set."
Set? Han's mind immediately set off warning bells. Either Anakin suspected Chewbacca of being nearby . . . or he had company. "Yeah, buddy. I'm here. Uh . . . about those power cells for the console? Have you found any?"
A sigh filled Han's ears. "Not yet," Anakin's voice replied. "I've checked four stores, so far and they're all out of power cells. Apparently, the influx of pilots on this rock has depleted the supplies." Anakin paused. "Listen, it's almost time for lunch. Why don't you and Chewbacca take a break? Work on the Hawk, after lunch. I should be able to find some power cells by then."
Han would prefer to continue checking the Hawk's systems for any further repairs, rather than eat. But with Anakin in another part of the city . . . "Okay, where do you want to meet?"
Static crackled from Han's comlink, as he awaited Anakin's answer. Then the latter finally answered, "Actually, you and Chewbacca can go find some place to eat. I . . ."
"Captain Horus," a female's voice chirped. "We've arrived at our stop."
Why that sly dog! Han did not know whether to feel annoyed or relieved by Anakin's abandonment of him and Chewie for female companionship. "You were saying . . . buddy?" he wryly demanded.
An embarrassed cough followed before Anakin finally answered, "Uh . . . I'm with Miss Colbert. Senator Dahlma's aide."
"I do recall remembering who she is." Han said caustically. Then he added, "Hey, don't forget about the power cells you need to buy. And that meeting with Voranda at the Lady Luck Casino."
Anakin’s voice replied, “Yeah. I’ll be there. See you later, Han.”
The young Corellian overheard Miss Colbert asked, “Who is Voranda?” He allowed himself an amused smile and made his way toward the starship’s port side.
“Hey Chewie!” he cried. “Looks like we . . .” Han paused at the sight of the Wookie standing before the weapons locker and staring . . . at Anakin’s lightsaber. “So, thinking about your old Jedi friends?”
Looking slightly startled, Chewbacca merely nodded. “And an old acquaintance from the Clone Wars,” he added. “He was a powerful old Jedi Master named Yoda. He had commanded our troops against a Separatist invasion force.”
“You knew Yoda?” The question popped out of Han’s mouth before he could stop himself.
A frown creased Chewbacca’s brow. “You’ve heard of him?”
Han quickly thought up a story to make up for his faux pas. “Um . . . yeah. From some old Jedi Knight,” he quickly added. “Set and I had met him years ago. On Dantooine.”
The Wookie nodded at the lightsaber. “Did you get that from him?”
“Huh? Han heaved an inward sigh. He really should learn to lie a little better. “Uh . . . no. No, we . . . um, found that . . . the following day.”
Chewbacca asked, “Why didn’t you give it to the old Jedi, anyway?”
Oh great! Again, Han hesitated before he came up with another answer. “Um . . . he left. The old Jedi Knight. He . . . um, left the day before we found it.” Nodding, he added weakly, “Yeah.”
Chewbacca merely grunted.
Han quickly changed the subject. “By the way, I’ve just heard from Set. It seems he’s having lunch with a certain senator’s aide he had ran into. And he hasn’t bought the power cells, yet.” With a sigh, he shrugged his shoulders. “So . . . we might as well break for lunch. C’mon.”
Once more, Chewbacca stared at the lightsaber. Then he shook his head and walked away from the weapons locker. Han followed. As the pair disembarked from the Javian Hawk, the Corellian found himself wondering how Chewbacca would react if he knew the truth about Anakin’s past as a Jedi . . . and a Sith Lord.
END OF CHAPTER TEN