"Crossroads of the Force" [PG-13] - Chapter Fourteen
"CROSSROADS OF THE FORCE"
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
WORLPORT, ORD MANTELL
Inside the hotel’s Jewel Conference Room, Padme sat at a table with Bail, Voranda, Mon and Garm; while a waiter served their evening meals. Once the waiter moved on to another table, Bail turned to the red-haired pilot. “Voranda, how did it go with the pilots this afternoon?”
A heartfelt sigh left Voranda’s mouth. “Not very well, I’m afraid. At least two dozen pilots had appeared at my meeting. Half of them walked out.”
“Did they even consider helping us?” Padme demanded.
Voranda shook her head. “They absolutely refused to have anything to do with the rebellion.”
“Idiots!” Garm Ilbis growled. “Why can’t they see the dangers of allowing the Empire to exist?”
Mon gave her elegant shoulders a shrug. “They are smugglers and pirates, Garm. What did you expect? These . . . spacers are probably more concerned with profit than our cause.”
Padme saw Garm glare at the red-haired senator. What was it about Mon that raised his ire?
“Perhaps it is best that we limit our recruitment to pilots interested in the cause,” Bail suggested. “Like those who are not criminals or smugglers.”
Voranda nodded. “I agree. However, I did manage to recruit at least five or six smugglers to the cause. And another five had agreed to help whenever they were available.”
“Odd terms,” Padme commented. She wondered if the dark-haired young man and the Wookie she had earlier met were pilots. Or the other man . . . the one who had briefly reminded her of Anakin.
Bail sighed. “Odd or not, at least these pilots have agreed to help. Somewhat.” He placed his utensils on his plate and regarded Padme and the others with a satisfied air. “What really matters is that we have finally commenced upon an organized rebellion against the Empire.”
Although Padme joined the others in assent for Bail’s small speech, her thoughts remained focused upon the young man and the Wookie she had earlier encountered. Despite the young man’s protests, Padme suspected that the pair did have a third roommate. She wondered if it happened to be the tall man in the dark clothes who eerily reminded her of her missing husband.
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Supper at the Sapphire Moon proved to be an enjoyable affair for Anakin and his companion. They enjoyed an excellent meal of Roba steak, Corellian potatoes, Scrimpi with Glockaw Sauce and Alderaanian wine. By the time they finally left the restaurant, the rain had ceased.
Arm-in-arm, the couple strolled through Worlport’s most exclusive shopping neighborhood. The evening seemed to be going fine . . . until Igraine brought up the subject of Ferus Olin. “How long has it been since you last saw your friend?” the Maldarian woman asked.
Anakin frowned. “Friend?”
“The one I had met at the hotel before we left.”
A sigh left Anakin’s mouth. “Oh yeah. Ferus. Actually, we were never friends.”
A pause followed before Igraine murmured, “I should have known. I thought I had detected a certain . . . lack of camaraderie between you two. Did you dislike each other?”
“We just . . .” Anakin paused, as he considered his next words. “We never really warmed toward one another.” Which happened to be the truth, he silently added.
Igraine continued, “You had difficulty warming up to the Jedi?”
Anakin opened his mouth to repudiate Igraine’s description of Ferus. He changed his mind, realizing that Igraine might not be that easy to deceive. “Just that particular Jedi,” he finally confessed. “There were times he could be . . . well, a little priggish. One can only wonder what he thought of me.”
“So, he is a Jedi Knight,” Igraine declared breathlessly. “I thought so. There had been a few of them on Maldare just after the Clone War. But they did not remain very long.”
The couple continued to walk along the wide avenue. They finally came upon a large, classical-style building with pillars, when more rain began to fall. Anakin led Igraine to shelter underneath the portico. Laughing softly, the pair paused next to one pillar. Anakin glanced at Igraine’s slightly damp face. Blue eyes met wide green ones and their laughter ceased. Electricity crackled between the pair . . . before Anakin lowered his mouth upon hers.
The kiss began as a light connection of two pairs of soft lips. Then a ball of heat welled inside the former Jedi Knight. It did not take long before what started as a light kiss, became a full blown passionate one.
After what seemed like an eon, the couple - reluctantly - ended their kiss. Breathing heavily, Anakin murmured, “I, uh . . . I didn’t mean to . . . um, I mean . . .”
“I’m glad that we kissed,” Igraine declared breathlessly. “I’ve wanted to kiss you since we first met.” A gasp left her mouth. “I mean . . .”
Chuckling softly, Anakin planted a light kiss on the side of her mouth. “I think I know what you meant,” he murmured. “And I feel the same.” As he lowered his mouth upon Igraine’s for the second time, Anakin realized that he meant every word.
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Several yards away, a human woman with a long blond ponytail observed the couple’s embrace with mild distaste. She recognized them as the pair who had killed her companions, today. Earlier, she had spotted the man - obviously a spacer - at the Lady Fate Casino with another human and a Wookie. As for the couple, she had first come across them leaving the Sapphire Moon restaurant on Arial Avenue. The woman saw this chance encounter as an opportunity to exact revenge upon the pair for her colleagues’ deaths.
The couple slowly drew apart. They spoke for a few minutes before hailing a passing air taxi. As the taxi conveying the couple ascended to the sky a few minutes later, Neela Prey strode toward the curb to hail another. She climbed inside and ordered the driver, a Rodian, to follow the other vehicle.
Neela’s taxi eventually followed the couple to Worlport’s bustling spaceport. After paying off her driver, she followed the pair to a hangar located on Volange Street. Two Corellian starships stood inside the hangar - star skiff and a freighter. The couple boarded the freighter.
Several ideas came to Neela on how to get her revenge for her friends’ deaths. One involved boarding the freighter and blasting the pair. But considering the spacer’s speed with a blaster, Neela feared she would not survive the encounter. Sabotaging the freighter might seem like a good idea. However, her knowledge of starship technology and design was very limited. Nor did she possess any explosives at the moment.
Neela paused. Explosives. She had to admit that the idea had merit. Although she had none in her possession, it would be easy to procure some explosives in the morning. And the spacer who had killed her friends would face a big surprise upon his departure from Ord Mantell. One that he will definitely not live very long to appreciate.
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BRIGHT JEWEL CLUSTER SECTOR
From his seat in the middle of the Devastator’s bridge, Darth Rasche turned to the ship’s commander. “Captain Wermis,” he barked, “how long do we have until this ship reaches Ord Mantell?”
“Another two hours, my Lord,” the pale, stocky man with receding light-brown hair replied.
Rasche nodded with satisfaction. “Good. Inform me the minute we arrive. And inform Commander Praji to send two companies of storm troopers to the shuttle bay.”
The Imperial captain frowned. “Two companies for a missing senator?”
Supressing his annoyance at the captain’s doubt, Rasche snapped back, “It might seem excessive to you, Captain. But my senses tell me that Senator Dahlma is not alone on Ord Mantell. She might be involved in a conspiracy.”
“I . . . uh, I see.”
“Good!” the Sith Lord retorted. He rose from his seat. “I shall be in my quarters. And do not forget my orders, Captain. As you know, I do not tolerate incompetence.” The warning hung heavy in the air, as Rasche marched toward the bridge’s exit.
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WORLPORT, ORD MANTELL
The human pilot and the Wookie emerged from the Lady Fate Casino in the early dawn looking slightly hung over. The Corellian pilot had spent the last six hours engaged in the middle of a high stakes game of sabacc. At the end of the game, Han had left at least 40,000 credits wealthier than he had arrived.
In the skies above, the dim sun struggled to break free through the clouds that hovered in the eastern horizon. Han barely noticed. He found himself feeling exalted over his recent winnings. “Forty thousand credits!” he crowed gleefully, as he and Chewbacca made their way toward a row of air taxis. “Not bad for a whole night’s work. Maybe I should give up smuggling and become a gambler, huh?”
Chewbacca growled sardonically, “I’m sure that Set would like that very much.”
“Nah! I don’t think he would mind,” Han replied. “In fact, if I keep this up, I’ll end up winning enough money to build that shipyard Ani and I have always talked about. Trust me. Leaving the smuggling business would not bo . . .” Han paused, as he realized that Chewbacca had stopped walking. He frowned at the Wookie. “Hey Chewie! What gives?”
The Wookie growled in a low voice, “Who’s Ani?”
The question caught Han off guard. With a sinking feeling, he realized that he may have committed a slip of the tongue. “Uh . . . someone. A smuggler. Like Set and me. He, um . . . we’re . . .”
“Why would you and this . . . Ani be interested in building your own shipyard? Why not Set?” Chewbacca insisted.
Oh hell! Han hesitated, as he offered a silent prayer to the gods. “Um . . . well Set, you see . . . well, he has never . . . I mean . . . he . . .” Han sighed heavily. What was the point? He realized that he might as well tell Chewbacca the truth. “Okay. The thing is . . . well, Set is Ani. His name is Anakin . . . Anakin Skywalker. You see, he used to be a . . .”
“ . . . Jedi Knight,” Chewbacca finished in an astonished voice. “Of course! ’The Hero With No Fear’. That would explain the lightsaber aboard the ship.”
Han coughed slightly. “Yeah, well don’t go calling him by that nickname. He hates . . .” The Corellian broke off, as he gazed upon a large shuttle descending in the sky. He immediately recognized the ship’s triangular outline and design. “Oh great!” he exclaimed. “Chewie, look!” He pointed at the shuttle, as it continued its descent upon the city. A second shuttle appeared in the sky.
The Wookie released a hair-raising roar. “Imperials!”
“We need to get back to the hotel and warn Anakin and the senator.” Han continued to stride toward the air taxis parked near the casino’s entrance. Then another idea came to him. “No, wait! What am I saying?” Han grabbed Chewbacca’s arm and dragged the latter - with great difficulty - toward the nearest air taxi.
Chewbacca demanded, “Where are we going?”
“To the ship,” Han replied. “We need to get ready for a quick getaway.”
“What about Set? I mean . . .”
“Don’t worry,” Han reassured the Wookie. “I’m not leaving him behind.” Upon reaching the line of air taxis, Han whipped out his comlink. “Anakin? Are you there? Wake up, buddy! I’ve got some bad news.”
END OF CHAPTER FOURTEEN