Fic: Veil of Shadows, 13/13, PG-13
Title: Veil of Shadows
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: None
Category: AU, angst, romance
Timeframe: OT; around time of ANH
Summary: A strange tale where the good guys are bad, the Empire has won, and a Sith adept pursues the girl of his nightmares.
Chapter 1 Chapter 5 Chapter 9
Chapter 2 Chapter 6 Chapter 10
Chapter 3 Chapter 7 Chapter 11
Chapter 4 Chapter 8 Chapter 12
~~
13. The Way of the Sith
“This one is perfect, Artoo,” Luke said, trying to speak over the whine of the engines. He climbed up the side of the transport and dropped into the seat. It was a model he didn’t recognize, but right now all he cared about was that it could fly.
“Did you run all the diagnostics?”
Artoo beeped indignantly.
“Right, just thought I’d check.”
He strapped himself into the pilot’s seat and looked over at Artoo. The droid had plugged himself into the computer console. “This time, you can do the flying.”
Artoo squealed in protest, but he did as he was told. Moments later, they were soaring through space. Korriban was just a ball of dust in the otherwise perfect beauty of space.
Luke leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes. Several days ago he had left home thinking he could convince Mara to love him. He was going back empty-handed. Perhaps someday, when he became the Emperor’s apprentice, he would ask his master for Mara’s hand. Maybe then he would finally have her love.
He tried to push down the resentment and anger that had threatened to consume him after she left. It was the same ugly beast that had surfaced in him years ago when he nearly killed Leia. He couldn’t unleash that power on Mara, no matter what. He loved her, and you didn’t hurt the people you loved.
Luke rolled onto his side and cracked open an eye, watching Artoo talk to the ship. “Everything under control?”
Artoo’s reply was a relatively pleasant “yes”.
Satisfied, Luke closed his eyes once more and fell fast asleep.
~~
It was the first dream he’d had since leaving the palace.
He was standing at the end of a long, dark corridor. At the other end, he saw a lone window. Moonlight pooled on the floor beneath the window, illuminating a raised platform. As he walked slowly toward the platform, he saw the there was a person lying on it. The figure was draped in flowing white cloth, but from the curves he could see it was a small woman.
He began to jog toward the platform, his heart beating faster as he thought of who it might be. The corridor seemed to shrink around him, enveloping him in darkness even as he tried to reach the light at the end. Finally, he came to the edge of the platform, which was raised up several steps so that he could no longer see who was on top of it. Inscribed along the side was an ancient language, runes that he recognized.
It was a Sith altar. And the ritual sacrifice was already lying there.
As he climbed the steps up to the altar, he saw her beautiful red-gold spilling over the edge. A few more steps, and he saw her perfect face. She looked so peaceful with her eyes closed. He had never really known peace, not even with her.
And then, as he reached the top step, he realized someone else was on the altar.
It was her.
The thought of her brought bile to his mouth. The demon inside wanted to pull his beloved from the platform and burn this other woman, make her suffer as she had made him suffer.
But they were both chained to the altar, and they were also chained to each other. They lay atop a bed of kindling. He could save neither, but if he destroyed one, he destroyed his love.
The other woman was also asleep, her long brown hair splayed across the stone, tangled with the red hair of his beloved. He wanted to kill her, sacrifice her to the ancient Sith, be rid of her forever. For one moment, he considered it. He might be able to save the one he loved and still destroy his tormentor.
He reached for his lightsaber, holding it near the kindling.
Brown eyes opened suddenly and locked with his. She reached out her hand and grabbed his wrist, setting his skin on fire with her touch. As he started to burn, he fell to his knees, screaming past the fire that poured into his throat.
The chains fell to the side of the altar, and both women climbed off of it. They stared down at him, their faces contorted in horror. He extended a hand to his beloved, but she backed away.
He crawled forward, pleading silently with his love. She had to save him from the flames.
The other woman, the vile one, pulled a vibroblade from her sleeve and handed it to his beloved. She took it and stared down at him, uncertainty in her green eyes.
He knew she would do it. She should do it. He closed his eyes and spread his arms wide as his only love plunged the blade into his heart.
The other woman stepped in front of his beloved. She held his lightsaber out and ignited it, raising it over her right shoulder.
She swung it toward his neck, and he woke up.
~~
Luke rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands as his ship reverted to realspace over Imperial Center. There would be hell to pay, he knew, but none of it would be as painful as Mara’s betrayal. He would take the punishment, become stronger, and then he would claim what was rightfully his. Even if he had to follow her to the edge of the galaxy and beyond.
The comm light flashed, and Luke opened up a channel.
“Unidentified vessel, you are entering restricted space. Power down and prepare to be boarded. Failure to comply will result in termination.”
“Negative, this is Luke Starkiller. My clearance is Aurek-Vev-Senth-Three-Nine-Seven-Zero-Seven.”
There was a pause on the other end. Luke smiled and began to steer his ship away from the patrol line.
“Apologies, sir. The Emperor has requested that you land on his personal platform.”
Luke’s raised both eyebrows and leaned back into his seat. “Thank you for your assistance.” He closed the comm and put a hand over his mouth, studying the planet below.
So the Emperor knew he was gone, and now he wanted to hand out Luke’s punishment in person.
Luke glanced over at Artoo, who was busy chirping at the computer, and scowled.
“At least someone’s happy.”
The city-planet loomed closer, and Luke couldn’t shake the feeling that he was in for more than just the usual punishment.
~~
He expected to be met by the Emperor’s red-robed Imperial Guards. Instead, eight stormtroopers marched onto the platform, each of them carrying their standard-issue blaster rifles at chest level. Luke kept an eye on them as he climbed out of his ship and jumped to the platform.
One of the troopers snapped a salute. “Welcome home, sir.” He gestured toward the palace. “His Excellency would like a word with you before you return to your quarters.”
Luke nodded and followed the troopers, reaching forward with his senses for any sign of danger. The stormtroopers had seemed a little nervous, but he couldn’t determine if it was because there was something wrong or if they just knew he was in trouble.
The door to the palace slid open, and Luke found himself in a part of the Emperor’s suite that he had never seen. Not that he was terribly surprised - the old man had more secrets than Luke had hairs on his head. They had entered a short corridor, and at the end were three doors, each leading off in different directions.
“Right through there, sir,” said the lead trooper, indicating the middle door.
Luke walked forward and waited while the trooper entered the access code. The door opened to reveal four more stormtroopers, each holding one corner of a large cage. Inside the cage was a furry, lizard-like creature Luke had never seen before.
Then he felt it.
Nothing.
“Wait-”
As the Force left him, two of the stormtroopers shoved him forward with their blasters. He caught himself on his hands and knees and stared up in disbelief at the caged creature that had somehow stripped him of the Force. The stormtroopers pushed him flat to the ground and trained each of their eight blasters on him. One of them removed his lightsaber from his belt.
“How dare you,” Luke snarled, craning his neck to look at the lead trooper. “I demand to see the Emperor!”
“You won’t find Palpatine here,” a voice called out. Luke peered beyond the cage, into the darkness.
“Leia?”
She emerged from the shadows, a ghost-like figure in her simple white dress. There were dark circles under her eyes, and on the left side of her neck, Luke saw a spider’s web of thin, shiny scars that had not been there when he left.
“You seem surprised to see me here, Luke.” She raised one brow, the corners of her mouth turning upward in a slightly puzzled, slightly amused look. “Do you like my ysalamir?” She indicated the creature in the cage.
Luke felt the barrels of three weapons on his back. “Where is the Emperor?”
Leia stepped into the lighted part of the corridor, though Luke noticed she kept to the edge, away from the cage. “He’s gone,” she said, eyeing the ysalamir. Her gaze returned to Luke, and she gave him a smile so filled with joy that he could hardly believe she was the Leia he’d grown up with. “Palpatine is dead, and I killed him.”
There was nothing that could have prepared Luke for those words. He tried to convince himself that it was a lie, but even without the Force he could sense the truth in her words. He had never loved or cared for the old man, but it was still hard to accept that he was never coming back. It was harder still for Luke to realize how easily manipulated he had been. Korriban was a trap, a convenient way of getting him out of the picture while Leia made her move. And Luke had walked right into it.
Leia waved a hand at the stormtroopers, and they stepped away from Luke. He pushed up onto his knees and then rose to his feet, watching the soldiers from the corners of his eyes.
“You lied to me,” he accused.
“I didn’t lie to you. She was exactly where I said she would be.”
“You tricked me into leaving!”
Leia smiled again, darker this time. “Treachery is the way of the Sith.”
He hated her, not because of what she’d done, but because she had used him, had made him just another pawn in her schemes. In the end, he hadn’t really mattered at all. The fate of the Empire had been decided while he was light-years away.
She was the true Sith.
Luke felt a wisp of cool wind across his skin as another door slid open at the end of the corridor. Then he heard the choked, hissing sound that had followed him through so many nightmares.
Darth Vader stepped out of the darkness and leveled his masked gaze on Luke. “You did not tell me he had arrived.”
“Apologies, my lord. We were just finishing up here.” Leia took a step backward to join Vader. She lowered her chin just a little and smiled at Luke, that same knowing smile that had always bothered him. Without the Force, he could do nothing to wipe it right from her pretty face.
The Dark Lord folded his arms across his massive chest, the sound of the respirator pounding against Luke’s eardrums. “I will deal with him,” Vader rumbled, remaining motionless.
Leia’s brown eyes flashed triumphantly. “As you wish, Father.”
Everything inside Luke went cold at those words.
He heard the blood rushing through his ears, could feel it pumping rapidly through his heart, but it was like an icy river, freezing every thought and emotion. Several seconds passed before he was able to process what he had just heard.
Luke gazed up at Vader, unable to understand how this creature could have produced a child, how that child could have been Leia, how all his plans to surpass Vader and become the Emperor’s apprentice could have been smashed by one little word.
Father. Darth Vader was Leia’s father.
And then, without anything changing, it made all the sense in the galaxy. He had been too proud and too blind to see it.
Leia’s eyes met his, and they stared at each other for an interminable moment. “Now you understand,” she said softly. With a nod to Vader, she turned her back on Luke and walked away.
~~
14. A New Hope
He was beaten first, by the guards. He was tortured next, by a droid. When all of that was finished, they took the ysalamiri away and left him with Darth Vader.
Luke wasn’t sure how long the Dark Lord had stood over him, trying to break into his mind. He had long since stopped moving, but as much as he wanted to pass out, he could not let Vader in. There was still someone out there, someone who might become another of Vader’s victims if Luke did not protect her. She had betrayed him, but he would not do the same.
The cell was empty now. He reached out for the Force, fumbling about like a frightened child in the dark. There was nothing. If he could not sense them, then they would not be able to detect his thoughts or his emotions. Luke crawled over to the wall and huddled up against it, wrapping his arms around his legs.
Mara.
The thought of that name burned a hole in his heart, a hole that was at once painful and satisfying. He wished he could have touched her, just once.
He closed his eyes, recalling her face, imagining what it would have been like to kiss her lips. She might have grown to love him, in time.
Someone banged against the cell door, jolting Luke from his pathetic thoughts. He tried to pull his mind back together, tried to stop whimpering in the corner about how wretched his life suddenly was. He had trained to be a Sith, and there was nothing on the other side of that door that he couldn’t handle. Mara’s safety, wherever she was, depended on him.
The Force returned to him in an explosion of clarity. He flexed the muscles in his hands, waiting for Vader’s return.
I’m ready for you, old man. Let’s go.
The door slid open, and a white helmet rolled into the cell. It stopped at Luke’s feet, and he stared down at it incredulously.
“I hope you’re worth all this trouble.”
Luke tilted his head back and stared up at the person who had just walked through the door. It took him a second to adjust to the bright light…
“Lady Rasia?” Luke gaped at the red-haired girl from the ball.
“Come on, we don’t have much time,” she ordered. “Get up.” She reached out a hand, and Luke took it.
“I don’t understand,” he said as she helped him stand.
“Neither do I, but this was my final order.” She looked up and down the corridor and motioned for Luke to follow.
“Rasia, what-?”
“It’s Brie, okay? Shira Brie. Now let’s go.”
She grabbed him by the arm and pulled him down the corridor as the detention center alarms began to blare.
~~
The flight was long, and Mara breathed a sigh of relief when she dropped out of hyperspace and saw an actual planet in her viewport. Her scopes didn’t pick up any cities, so she just headed toward the part of the planet that felt right.
Once the ship had landed, Mara took a moment to collect her gear. Then she opened the canopy and stepped out into a thick mist. She surveyed the landscape, wrinkling her nose at the unusual swamp smell. “This,” she muttered as she shouldered her bag, “will take some getting used to.”
A snap echoed off to the left, and Mara swung around and pulled out her blaster.
She found herself looking down at a short, sickly-green creature dressed in threadbare robes.
“Sorry,” Mara said, slipping the blaster back into its holster. “You startled me.”
The creature leaned with both arms on a crooked wooden stick, peering up at her with sleepy eyes. She found herself staring back, mesmerized.
“I’m looking for someone,” she said at last, breaking the brief spell.
“Found someone, you have, I would say,” it responded solemnly.
The raspy voice struck a chord in Mara. “You were the one who gave me the coordinates.”
The creature nodded gravely. “Come with me, young Mara. Much to talk about, we have.”
Mara turned and closed the ship’s canopy before following the creature into the murky darkness.
~~
Fin
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: None
Category: AU, angst, romance
Timeframe: OT; around time of ANH
Summary: A strange tale where the good guys are bad, the Empire has won, and a Sith adept pursues the girl of his nightmares.
Chapter 1 Chapter 5 Chapter 9
Chapter 2 Chapter 6 Chapter 10
Chapter 3 Chapter 7 Chapter 11
Chapter 4 Chapter 8 Chapter 12
~~
13. The Way of the Sith
“This one is perfect, Artoo,” Luke said, trying to speak over the whine of the engines. He climbed up the side of the transport and dropped into the seat. It was a model he didn’t recognize, but right now all he cared about was that it could fly.
“Did you run all the diagnostics?”
Artoo beeped indignantly.
“Right, just thought I’d check.”
He strapped himself into the pilot’s seat and looked over at Artoo. The droid had plugged himself into the computer console. “This time, you can do the flying.”
Artoo squealed in protest, but he did as he was told. Moments later, they were soaring through space. Korriban was just a ball of dust in the otherwise perfect beauty of space.
Luke leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes. Several days ago he had left home thinking he could convince Mara to love him. He was going back empty-handed. Perhaps someday, when he became the Emperor’s apprentice, he would ask his master for Mara’s hand. Maybe then he would finally have her love.
He tried to push down the resentment and anger that had threatened to consume him after she left. It was the same ugly beast that had surfaced in him years ago when he nearly killed Leia. He couldn’t unleash that power on Mara, no matter what. He loved her, and you didn’t hurt the people you loved.
Luke rolled onto his side and cracked open an eye, watching Artoo talk to the ship. “Everything under control?”
Artoo’s reply was a relatively pleasant “yes”.
Satisfied, Luke closed his eyes once more and fell fast asleep.
~~
It was the first dream he’d had since leaving the palace.
He was standing at the end of a long, dark corridor. At the other end, he saw a lone window. Moonlight pooled on the floor beneath the window, illuminating a raised platform. As he walked slowly toward the platform, he saw the there was a person lying on it. The figure was draped in flowing white cloth, but from the curves he could see it was a small woman.
He began to jog toward the platform, his heart beating faster as he thought of who it might be. The corridor seemed to shrink around him, enveloping him in darkness even as he tried to reach the light at the end. Finally, he came to the edge of the platform, which was raised up several steps so that he could no longer see who was on top of it. Inscribed along the side was an ancient language, runes that he recognized.
It was a Sith altar. And the ritual sacrifice was already lying there.
As he climbed the steps up to the altar, he saw her beautiful red-gold spilling over the edge. A few more steps, and he saw her perfect face. She looked so peaceful with her eyes closed. He had never really known peace, not even with her.
And then, as he reached the top step, he realized someone else was on the altar.
It was her.
The thought of her brought bile to his mouth. The demon inside wanted to pull his beloved from the platform and burn this other woman, make her suffer as she had made him suffer.
But they were both chained to the altar, and they were also chained to each other. They lay atop a bed of kindling. He could save neither, but if he destroyed one, he destroyed his love.
The other woman was also asleep, her long brown hair splayed across the stone, tangled with the red hair of his beloved. He wanted to kill her, sacrifice her to the ancient Sith, be rid of her forever. For one moment, he considered it. He might be able to save the one he loved and still destroy his tormentor.
He reached for his lightsaber, holding it near the kindling.
Brown eyes opened suddenly and locked with his. She reached out her hand and grabbed his wrist, setting his skin on fire with her touch. As he started to burn, he fell to his knees, screaming past the fire that poured into his throat.
The chains fell to the side of the altar, and both women climbed off of it. They stared down at him, their faces contorted in horror. He extended a hand to his beloved, but she backed away.
He crawled forward, pleading silently with his love. She had to save him from the flames.
The other woman, the vile one, pulled a vibroblade from her sleeve and handed it to his beloved. She took it and stared down at him, uncertainty in her green eyes.
He knew she would do it. She should do it. He closed his eyes and spread his arms wide as his only love plunged the blade into his heart.
The other woman stepped in front of his beloved. She held his lightsaber out and ignited it, raising it over her right shoulder.
She swung it toward his neck, and he woke up.
~~
Luke rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands as his ship reverted to realspace over Imperial Center. There would be hell to pay, he knew, but none of it would be as painful as Mara’s betrayal. He would take the punishment, become stronger, and then he would claim what was rightfully his. Even if he had to follow her to the edge of the galaxy and beyond.
The comm light flashed, and Luke opened up a channel.
“Unidentified vessel, you are entering restricted space. Power down and prepare to be boarded. Failure to comply will result in termination.”
“Negative, this is Luke Starkiller. My clearance is Aurek-Vev-Senth-Three-Nine-Seven-Zero-Seven.”
There was a pause on the other end. Luke smiled and began to steer his ship away from the patrol line.
“Apologies, sir. The Emperor has requested that you land on his personal platform.”
Luke’s raised both eyebrows and leaned back into his seat. “Thank you for your assistance.” He closed the comm and put a hand over his mouth, studying the planet below.
So the Emperor knew he was gone, and now he wanted to hand out Luke’s punishment in person.
Luke glanced over at Artoo, who was busy chirping at the computer, and scowled.
“At least someone’s happy.”
The city-planet loomed closer, and Luke couldn’t shake the feeling that he was in for more than just the usual punishment.
~~
He expected to be met by the Emperor’s red-robed Imperial Guards. Instead, eight stormtroopers marched onto the platform, each of them carrying their standard-issue blaster rifles at chest level. Luke kept an eye on them as he climbed out of his ship and jumped to the platform.
One of the troopers snapped a salute. “Welcome home, sir.” He gestured toward the palace. “His Excellency would like a word with you before you return to your quarters.”
Luke nodded and followed the troopers, reaching forward with his senses for any sign of danger. The stormtroopers had seemed a little nervous, but he couldn’t determine if it was because there was something wrong or if they just knew he was in trouble.
The door to the palace slid open, and Luke found himself in a part of the Emperor’s suite that he had never seen. Not that he was terribly surprised - the old man had more secrets than Luke had hairs on his head. They had entered a short corridor, and at the end were three doors, each leading off in different directions.
“Right through there, sir,” said the lead trooper, indicating the middle door.
Luke walked forward and waited while the trooper entered the access code. The door opened to reveal four more stormtroopers, each holding one corner of a large cage. Inside the cage was a furry, lizard-like creature Luke had never seen before.
Then he felt it.
Nothing.
“Wait-”
As the Force left him, two of the stormtroopers shoved him forward with their blasters. He caught himself on his hands and knees and stared up in disbelief at the caged creature that had somehow stripped him of the Force. The stormtroopers pushed him flat to the ground and trained each of their eight blasters on him. One of them removed his lightsaber from his belt.
“How dare you,” Luke snarled, craning his neck to look at the lead trooper. “I demand to see the Emperor!”
“You won’t find Palpatine here,” a voice called out. Luke peered beyond the cage, into the darkness.
“Leia?”
She emerged from the shadows, a ghost-like figure in her simple white dress. There were dark circles under her eyes, and on the left side of her neck, Luke saw a spider’s web of thin, shiny scars that had not been there when he left.
“You seem surprised to see me here, Luke.” She raised one brow, the corners of her mouth turning upward in a slightly puzzled, slightly amused look. “Do you like my ysalamir?” She indicated the creature in the cage.
Luke felt the barrels of three weapons on his back. “Where is the Emperor?”
Leia stepped into the lighted part of the corridor, though Luke noticed she kept to the edge, away from the cage. “He’s gone,” she said, eyeing the ysalamir. Her gaze returned to Luke, and she gave him a smile so filled with joy that he could hardly believe she was the Leia he’d grown up with. “Palpatine is dead, and I killed him.”
There was nothing that could have prepared Luke for those words. He tried to convince himself that it was a lie, but even without the Force he could sense the truth in her words. He had never loved or cared for the old man, but it was still hard to accept that he was never coming back. It was harder still for Luke to realize how easily manipulated he had been. Korriban was a trap, a convenient way of getting him out of the picture while Leia made her move. And Luke had walked right into it.
Leia waved a hand at the stormtroopers, and they stepped away from Luke. He pushed up onto his knees and then rose to his feet, watching the soldiers from the corners of his eyes.
“You lied to me,” he accused.
“I didn’t lie to you. She was exactly where I said she would be.”
“You tricked me into leaving!”
Leia smiled again, darker this time. “Treachery is the way of the Sith.”
He hated her, not because of what she’d done, but because she had used him, had made him just another pawn in her schemes. In the end, he hadn’t really mattered at all. The fate of the Empire had been decided while he was light-years away.
She was the true Sith.
Luke felt a wisp of cool wind across his skin as another door slid open at the end of the corridor. Then he heard the choked, hissing sound that had followed him through so many nightmares.
Darth Vader stepped out of the darkness and leveled his masked gaze on Luke. “You did not tell me he had arrived.”
“Apologies, my lord. We were just finishing up here.” Leia took a step backward to join Vader. She lowered her chin just a little and smiled at Luke, that same knowing smile that had always bothered him. Without the Force, he could do nothing to wipe it right from her pretty face.
The Dark Lord folded his arms across his massive chest, the sound of the respirator pounding against Luke’s eardrums. “I will deal with him,” Vader rumbled, remaining motionless.
Leia’s brown eyes flashed triumphantly. “As you wish, Father.”
Everything inside Luke went cold at those words.
He heard the blood rushing through his ears, could feel it pumping rapidly through his heart, but it was like an icy river, freezing every thought and emotion. Several seconds passed before he was able to process what he had just heard.
Luke gazed up at Vader, unable to understand how this creature could have produced a child, how that child could have been Leia, how all his plans to surpass Vader and become the Emperor’s apprentice could have been smashed by one little word.
Father. Darth Vader was Leia’s father.
And then, without anything changing, it made all the sense in the galaxy. He had been too proud and too blind to see it.
Leia’s eyes met his, and they stared at each other for an interminable moment. “Now you understand,” she said softly. With a nod to Vader, she turned her back on Luke and walked away.
~~
14. A New Hope
He was beaten first, by the guards. He was tortured next, by a droid. When all of that was finished, they took the ysalamiri away and left him with Darth Vader.
Luke wasn’t sure how long the Dark Lord had stood over him, trying to break into his mind. He had long since stopped moving, but as much as he wanted to pass out, he could not let Vader in. There was still someone out there, someone who might become another of Vader’s victims if Luke did not protect her. She had betrayed him, but he would not do the same.
The cell was empty now. He reached out for the Force, fumbling about like a frightened child in the dark. There was nothing. If he could not sense them, then they would not be able to detect his thoughts or his emotions. Luke crawled over to the wall and huddled up against it, wrapping his arms around his legs.
Mara.
The thought of that name burned a hole in his heart, a hole that was at once painful and satisfying. He wished he could have touched her, just once.
He closed his eyes, recalling her face, imagining what it would have been like to kiss her lips. She might have grown to love him, in time.
Someone banged against the cell door, jolting Luke from his pathetic thoughts. He tried to pull his mind back together, tried to stop whimpering in the corner about how wretched his life suddenly was. He had trained to be a Sith, and there was nothing on the other side of that door that he couldn’t handle. Mara’s safety, wherever she was, depended on him.
The Force returned to him in an explosion of clarity. He flexed the muscles in his hands, waiting for Vader’s return.
I’m ready for you, old man. Let’s go.
The door slid open, and a white helmet rolled into the cell. It stopped at Luke’s feet, and he stared down at it incredulously.
“I hope you’re worth all this trouble.”
Luke tilted his head back and stared up at the person who had just walked through the door. It took him a second to adjust to the bright light…
“Lady Rasia?” Luke gaped at the red-haired girl from the ball.
“Come on, we don’t have much time,” she ordered. “Get up.” She reached out a hand, and Luke took it.
“I don’t understand,” he said as she helped him stand.
“Neither do I, but this was my final order.” She looked up and down the corridor and motioned for Luke to follow.
“Rasia, what-?”
“It’s Brie, okay? Shira Brie. Now let’s go.”
She grabbed him by the arm and pulled him down the corridor as the detention center alarms began to blare.
~~
The flight was long, and Mara breathed a sigh of relief when she dropped out of hyperspace and saw an actual planet in her viewport. Her scopes didn’t pick up any cities, so she just headed toward the part of the planet that felt right.
Once the ship had landed, Mara took a moment to collect her gear. Then she opened the canopy and stepped out into a thick mist. She surveyed the landscape, wrinkling her nose at the unusual swamp smell. “This,” she muttered as she shouldered her bag, “will take some getting used to.”
A snap echoed off to the left, and Mara swung around and pulled out her blaster.
She found herself looking down at a short, sickly-green creature dressed in threadbare robes.
“Sorry,” Mara said, slipping the blaster back into its holster. “You startled me.”
The creature leaned with both arms on a crooked wooden stick, peering up at her with sleepy eyes. She found herself staring back, mesmerized.
“I’m looking for someone,” she said at last, breaking the brief spell.
“Found someone, you have, I would say,” it responded solemnly.
The raspy voice struck a chord in Mara. “You were the one who gave me the coordinates.”
The creature nodded gravely. “Come with me, young Mara. Much to talk about, we have.”
Mara turned and closed the ship’s canopy before following the creature into the murky darkness.
~~
Fin