By Moriah Organa
"Welcome to Dagobah." Dai-Men Jinn said brightly as the ship finally
juddered to a halt.
His two companions looked out the ports at the uninviting, befogged
swampscape; at each other; at him. Their silence was eloquent.
"It's nice and damp, you should both like that." he offered
propitiatingly.
Xhosa glanced at the climate guages, shuddered. "Dit-dit-brrriiiiit! To
cold!" the big athropod declared firmly.
Sylkie looked at the grey scummed pools, mouth twisting in a
grimace. "I wouldn't swim in *that* water for the Imperial treasury!"
"Very wise," Dai-Men answered, "I understand the aquatic life is
mostly carnivorous and usually hungry."
The little otter-like being rolled her large eyes ceilingward.
"Mavelous!"
Dai-men swivled the pilot's chair to face his two friends, Sylkie in the
co-pilot's seat and Xhosa hunched at the back of the cockpit. "I want
you both to stay in the ship, I mean it this time!"
They exchanged another look.
"Tch-chuuuk! Don't worry!" the athropod clicked.
"Funny place for a Jedi Master to hide." Sylkie fretted.
Dai-Men stopped trying to squeeze past Xhosa to the hatch shot a
quick smile back at her. "On the contrary, who in their right mind would
look here?"
The translucent image that was Obi-Wan Kenobi's manifestation on
the material plane hovered near the old Spice freighter waiting. A ramp
lowered and a man robed in Jedi brown emerged. The apparition
rippled as Kenobi's control faltered for a moment.
The family resemblance had always been strong but the addition of
twenty years had made it uncanny. it could almost have been his old
Master Qui-Gon Jinn standing there. The massive physical presence
and strong leonine features were there as was the mane of long,
straight hair and short beard but a darker brown than his father's had
been. Obi-Wan counted the years...yes, Dai-men should be almost the
age as Qui-Gon was when he was killed. Quickly shoved the thought
away. Even after forty years and his own death that memory still hurt.
Dai-Men stopped a pace or so away, smiled, "Master Obi-Wan.
You're looking well for a dead man." The deep yet soft voice was very
like his father's. As were his eyes, though a darker blue, deepset
beneath level brows with fans of tiny laugh lines at the corners.
Obi-Wan smiled in response let his attention slide past his Master's
son to the freighter. "You aren't alone." It wasn't a question.
"I have two friends with me." Dai-Men admitted, "They'll stay on the
ship -" shot a quick, rueful look over his shoulder. "I hope!"
Obi-wan laughed. "Just like your father, always picking up strays."
"Or perhaps I'm the stray that they picked up."
Dai-Men smiled. Continued seriously, "I heard Yoda's call, what does
he want of me?"
Turning Obi-Wan began to float up the path to Yoda's house,
Dai-Men keeping pace beside him. "You will have heard of Anakin's
son, Luke Skywalker -" the elder Master began.
"I've met him." Dai-Men replied, elaborated in response to Obi-Wan's
sharp, startled look. "I was curious. I sensed your influence, saw Yoda's
in his future," a shrug. "Concluded he needed no help from me and
returned to other things." a sidelong glance under tilted brows. "The
Force is strong in him."
"He too is like his father, willful and stubborn." Obi-Wan's face
reflected barely controlled pain and deep concern. "He left Yoda too
soon. He promised to return but we can't afford to loose the time. In
any case it's not Yoda's teaching he needs now but a Padawan
Master."
Dai-Men came to a full stop, eyes widening in shock. "You mean
me?"
"There is no one else." Obi-Wan returned, shook his head sharply as
the implication registered. "I didn't mean -"
The deep voice held only amusement. "I understand."
*I wonder if you do*
Yoda, sitting on a hummock in front of his little house, raised his head
as the two Jedi entered the clearing. *Like his father he is.* the ancient
Master thought, heart contracting at the memory of Qui-Gon Jinn. His
greatest failure in eight hundred years of training Jedi.
Dai-Men went down on one knee before him. Not in obeisance but to
put himself on a comfortable conversational level. Smiled with tangible
warmth. "Master Yoda, it's good to see you."
"And you, Small One."
Suppressed laughter danced in dark blue eyes at the incongruity of
his old pet name. "Obi-Wan tells me you want help with your latest
apprentice?"
Yoda bowed his head. "Run off he did, to face Vader, though unready
he was."
"He seems to have survived the experience." Dai-Men offered.
"The Force was with him." Yoda conceeded, "Protected was he."
Dai-Men's eyes focused on a point beyond the old Master's shoulder.
"I wonder, would Anakin really kill his son?"
"Anakin Skywalker no longer exists." that was Obi-Wan, radiating grief
and pain. "He has been devoured by the Dark Side. There is only Vader
now."
"I wonder," Dai-Men repeated softly, "Anakin was no ordinary man, no
ordinary Jedi..."
"Once fallen to the Dark Side there is no returning." Yoda stated flatly.
Dai-Men bowed his head but the two old Masters sensed his
disagreement.
Yoda snorted. "Stubborn are you, like your father."
"Father believed in Anakin." Dai-Men returned
pensively. "And - I find I do too." shook his head. "I have a feeling..."
his
eyes refocused on the present and he smiled reassuringly at his
seniors. "But we were talking about Luke."
"Incomplete is his training." Yoda was visibly and uncharacteristically
troubled. "Short is the time, taught he *must* be!"
"I can teach him to use a lightsabre at least." Dai-Men offered.
"More must you teach!" the Old Master responded with unexpected
vehemence. "Your courage, your trust in the Force, these must he
learn!"
Dai-Men said, taken aback, "I'll do my best, Master."
"Wrong have I been." Yoda continued more quietly but no less
startlingly. "Mistakes have I made, with your father and with
you....imbalance corrected must be." suddenly his eyes opened wide,
blazing into Dai-Men's. "Your task will that be, your destiny!"
"Yes, Master." was all his former student found to say. Shot a quick
look at Obi-Wan only to see his own astonishment reflected back at
him.
The unexpected fire faded. Yoda drooped, eyes nearly closing.
"You should rest, Master." Obi-Wan said gently.
"Yes, yes, old and weak have I become, no more use can I be."
"You have done your part, Master," said Dai-Men, warm and strong,
"time to let go and trust in the Force."
Yoda's long mouth curled. "Teach Luke. Too old am I to learn."
"I will." Dai-Men promised.
Luke sat on his bunk trying to meditate as Yoda had taught him but
with little success. He was distracted by worry over Leia. His new Jedi
sensitivity told him she was lonely for Han and afraid for him but she
refused to acknowledge those feelings burying herself in planning
sessions and liaison work. Not sleeping, barely eating, he didn't know
how to help her.
The comlink on the locker switched on. "Commander Skywalker?"
He opened his eyes giving up for the moment. "Go ahead."
"We just pulled in a freighter, sir -" the voice continued.
"Way out here?" Luke interupted, incredulous. "Some kind of nav.
failure?"
"No, sir," came the even answer, "the captain says he's looking for
you."
"Me!" Luke just managed not to squeak, fought down an unJedi-like
surge of alarm. "How'd he know where to find us? Is he one of ours?"
"No, sir, not one of our operatives." an uncertain pause. "He says he
followed his feelings."
Luke's breath caught. A Jedi? who else would just that phrase?
"Where are you?" he managed.
"Holding are B-89."
"I'll be right down."
Luke barrelled into the security holding room, skidded to an abrupt
halt at the sight of the tall, brown robed figure seated across from the
female security officer.
"Deak?" he wheezed.
"Dai-Men Jinn." he corrected, smiling. "Yoda tells me you're in need
of a sword master."
"You are a Jedi." Luke whispered, stunned. Then, "Yoda sent you?"
Dai-Men nodded.
"Excuse me, sir, the security officer broke in, "you know this man?"
"What?" Luke asked blankly, then the question registered. "Yeah, I
know him. I can vouch for him."
"Very well, sir, then I'll release him into your custody."
"That'll be fine." Luke said absently, trying to sort the questions
crowding his brain into some kind of coherent order.
The officer rose to leave, was stopped by a query from her former
prisoner.
"Does that mean my companions are now free to leave our ship?"
"If Commander Skywalker is willing to take responsibility for them."
she replied.
"Sure." said Luke, attention still focused on his new teacher.
"Then let's go collect them." Dai-men said.
"Luke!"
The two Jedi turned to see a white gowned Princess Leia hurrying
towards them, waited for her to catch up. She came to a slightly
breathless halt, gathered her dignity about her and favored Dai-Men
with a look of barely disguised suspicion.
Luke introduced them. "Princess Leia Organa, Master Dai-Men Jinn."
She nodded stiffly in response to Dai-men's bow, asked drily,
"Another Jedi Master? there seem to be a lot of you."
Dai-Men smiled at her. "Just Master Yoda and me I'm afraid."
Leia's hostility visibly increased.
*Oh boy.* Luke thought unhappily. Mentioning Yoda had been a
mistake. Through a reasoning process he didn't even begin to
understand Leia had settled the blame for all they'd suffered in Cloud
City squarely upon the little Jedi Master.
"We were just going down to the hanger deck to collect the Master's
companions." he said hastily.
"More Jedi?" Leia drawled, eyebrows arching.
Dai-Men shook his head. "Just friends. Actually your Highness," he
continued as they resumed walking, Leia between them. "the Alliance
might find their talents useful. Sylkie has a remarkable facility for
languages and codes -"
"We have droids for that." The Princess interupted rudely.
The tall Jedi Master gave her a look of mild reproof. "Droids have no
intuition, your Highness, their logic is too crude, too mechanical. They
miss subtleties obvious to an organic."
Luke pinched her arm. She glared at him and he returned a warning
look. *Mind your manners, Leia, that's a Jedi Master you're talking too!*
"And your other friend?" she asked in a more conciliatory tone turning
back to Dai-Men.
"Xhosa's specialty is multi-dimensional geometry."
"That's certainly something we can use." Leia managed to sound
almost enthusiastic. "we've got a real shortage of command and control
staff."
Dai-Men started to answer, looked away attention caught by
something undetectable to the others. "Oh no," he breathed, "not
again!" and strode rapidly ahead brown robe billowing behind him.
Luke and the Princess exchanged a puzzled look and increased their
own pace. Soon they could hear it too; a frantic chittering like a type
14
calculator droid having a nervous breakdown. The three of them
rounded the final bend to the hanger, Dai-Men several yards in the
lead, and were confronted by an enormous insectoid wedged tightly
halfway through the personnel hatch.
Luke and Leia came to a full stop in sheer surprise but Dai-Men went
right up to the creature.
"Calm down, Xhosa." he half scolded, half soothed. "Panic is
uncecessary and unhelpful."
"Dit-dit-Briittttt-choo-uk! Stuck!"
"I can see that." the Master replied, examining the situation.
The athropod had apparently tried to get through the human sized
hatch by crouching down and turning sideways. It hadn't worked. Only
his upper thorax and three out of four arms had made it through. A
powerful, grasshopper-like leg was just visible, painfully doubled
beneath him, but the rest of Xhosa was still in the hanger.
"I told him he couldn't make it." an irritable voice snapped.
Dai-Men took out a comlink, spoke into it. "No I told you so's please,
Sylkie. Constructive suggestions only, if you have any."
"Since most of Xhosa's still on our side I suggest you push and we
pull." came the answer.
"We?" Dai-Men queried.
"Me, two humans and a Mon Calamari." the comlink replied. "I think
they want their door back. Xhosa! stop kicking at them, they're trying
to
help!"
"Triiiilllllck! Tickles!" the insect complained.
"Control yourself." The Master ordered. Placed his hands flat against
the creature's purplish chiton, just above and below the uppermost of
Xhosa's two right arms. "Ready?"
From the comlink, "Ready!"
Luke sensed a gathering of the Force, realized Dai-Men intended to
use more than simple muscle to unwedge his friend.
"Now!" the Master ordered. Pushed with hands and the Force.
Xhosa popped out of the hatch like a cork from a bottle. Dai-Men
caught himself on the frame as insectoid and pilots skidded in a tangle
across the hanger deck.
A moist explosion made Luke turn. Leia had backed herself against a
support strut with both hand clasped tightly over her mouth, a tear
trickling down one bright pink cheek. Luke took an alarmed step
towards her. "Are you all right?"
She nodded violently and he suddenly realized she was trying hard
not to laugh out loud. She unprised one hand and gestured
emphatically towards the hatchway.
Grinning a little he obediently returned his attention to the hanger.
Dai-Men Jinn was helping the sprawled pilots to their feet with
apologies and thanks. Luke could see the mens' annoyance melt away
under the Master's charm. He moved aside as the three pilots filed out
the hatch past him, returned their salute then joined Dai-Men and his
friends in the hanger.
The Jedi Master stood, arms folded into the sleeves of his robe, next
to the giant bug. Xhosa was at least nine feet tall his broad upper and
lower thorax purple on back and sides and a delicate blue in front. His
valentine shaped head was a soft lavender with feathery antenae
above glittering black compound eyes. He held his four arms clasped
across his body, possibly in imitation of Dai-Men's stance.
"This is Luke Skywalker, my new Padawan." The Master introduced.
*His what?* Luke wondered. "Hello."
"Brrrriiiiit-t-t-t-ah! Hi!"
"How do you do." said the voice from the comlink. She stood on
Xhosa's other side, as tiny as he was huge. Barely four feet tall,
sleander, humanoid and covered with sleek silvery-cream fur. The tiny
pink hands were webbed, nails inlaid with colored metals and gem
chips. She had big liquid green-gold eyes, a pink button of a nose and
wide pink lipped mouth. Wore a diaphanous silk sari secured with
jeweled pins.
"Your Royal Highness," said Dai-Men as Leia, now recovered from
her fit of giggles, joined them. "may I present my companions; Xhosa
Xhittimenti of Koloptera and Sylkie, an Erawhon from the planet Lune."
Xhosa managed a stiff inclination of his upper thorax while Sylkie
sank to the deck in a graceful genuflexion.
"Welcome aboard." Leia said graciously, every inch the Princess.
"Master Jinn tells me you wish to join the Rebellion."
Green-gold and glittering black compound eyes slid sideways to a
slightly discomfited Jedi Master.
"Naturally we'll be happy to lend a hand while we're here, your
Highness." Sylkie said after a perceptible and highly charged pause.
"Thank you." Leia glanced curiously from companions to Master,
guessing at a conflict of some sort. "I'm afraid quartering Xhosa may
pose some problems." She continued.
"He can stay on our ship." Dai-Men suggested.
"Tuh-tuh-tuh-Trillllick! Always on the ship!" the insect complained.
"It's not our fault you're too big." Sylkie pointed out unsympathetically.
"I'm sure he could fit through the cargo doors." Luke offered. "The
corridors shouldn't be a problem -" he gave the sizable athropod a
second look. "I think."
"The VIP suites have double doors I'm sure Xhosa could get through."
Leia put in helpfully.
"Thank you, your Highness, you're very kind." The Master accepted.
Sylkie and Xhosa turned reproachfully on Dai-Men the second they
were left alone in the lounge of their new quarters.
"Trying to get rid of us again!" she said furiously.
The Jedi Master
knelt down, putting himself on eye level with his outraged dimunitive
companion. "Listen, Sylkie, I admit I was wrong to try to leave you on
Ariya. I had no right to make that kind of decision for you. This is
different. Here with the Fleet you'll be able to make your own
contribution to the Rebel cause," smiled wryly, "and you certainly won't
be safe!"
Huge crystal tears welled up in green-gold eyes and spilled over
spangling soft pale fur. Dai-Men wiped them away with a gentle finger.
"That's not going to work, Sylkie, not this time."
"Git-git-Buuuurrrrit! What about you?" Xhosa wanted to know.
Dai-Men looked up at the looming insectoid. "I'll be staying a while, to
train young Skywalker."
"And then?" Sylkie asked in a small voice.
"And then I'll be leaving, alone." blue eyes embraced them both as
the warm voice continued. "You two have been good company these
last few years but my future lies along a different path from yours."
"You're going to get yourself killed!" Sylkie sobbed.
He stroked her sleek head comfortingly. "I promise I'll do everything I
can to avoid that happening."
Luke found his first practice session with his new Padawan Master an
eye opening experience. Vader had been a powerful but ponderous
opponent. Dai-Men, though much the same size, was light and graceful
as a dancer and fast, incredibly fast. Luke estimated he'd recieved at
least five mortal injuries in ten minutes sparring with lighsabres set
to
lowest possible power.
The Master disengaged, eyeing his panting, sweating padawan with
knit brows. It didn't take Jedi sensibilities to see he was unimpressed,
even alarmed by Luke's performance.
Leia certainly saw it. "Luke held his own against Vader." she snapped
defensively from her place on a sofa between Sylkie and Threepio.
Luke shook his head. "I lost." he reminded her, looked ruefully at his
new Master. "And Vader's a lot slower than you are."
That seemed to startle Dai-Men. His frown deepened consideringly.
"Must be the mechanical limitations of that cyborg body of his."
Luke glanced uneasily at his prosthetic right hand and the Master
smiled reassuringly. "I don't think your hand will be a problem, Luke."
"Then what is?" Luke demanded, thoroughly discouraged.
"For one thing you're waiting for me to act before you react." Dai-Men
answered. "Detach your time sense, see what I'm going to do before I
do it."
"That's impossible!" his student blurted.
"Very little is impossible with the Force." The Master replied serenely.
"And the Force is strong in you, Luke, as it was in your father."
"You knew my father?"
"Most of my life." Dai-Men smiled. "Obi-Wan'd been my father's
apprentice, he took an interest in me as a child and naturally I saw a
lot
of his Padawn. We learned about the Force together." Continued
thoughtfully. "Anakin came late to the training. Like you he had much to
unlearn."
"How old was he?" Luke asked.
"Nine." said the Master.
"Nine!" his student echoed, stunned.
"Far to old according to the Codes." Dai-Men went on. "The Council
made a special exception for him."
"If nine was to old when did Jedi start their training?" Luke demanded.
"One year was considered ideal." the Master replied calmly. "Though
exceptions were occasionally made for children up to four years old."
Padawan and Princess stared at him speechless.
"The reason for starting so young was to prevent the very problem
Luke's having now," Dai-Men explained. "he's been raised to accept
certain limitations which he must now unlearn."
"That's what Yoda kept saying." Luke agreed gloomily.
The Master reignited his lightsabre. "Let's try again." They reingaged,
Dai-Men deliberately slowing to half his previous speed. Still much too
fast for
his student.
"Stop trying so hard." he counselled. "Let go, don't try to control the
Force let it control you."
"I can't!" Luke panted.
"Of course you can, I've seen you do it when you fly. Don't think,
react!"
Luke bit his lip struggling for the calm openess he felt in a cockpit.
"Your father was a great pilot," Dai-Men continued conversationally,
"even at nine. He was a pod-racer you know."
"He was?" Luke asked eagerly, dodging the Master's blade barely in
time. "I wanted to try it but Uncle Owen said no human could possibly
be fast enough." "Only a Jedi or potential Jedi." Dai-Men
replied as
Luke continued to parry his attacks. "In fact that's how Anakin first met
your mother - and Obi-Wan and my father. Your mother's planet had
been invaded by the Neimoidian Trade Federation -"
"Mother's planet?" Luke interupted, counter-attacking, "I thought she
was from Tatooine?"
"Anakin was from Tatooine," the Master corrected, giving ground but
blocking every blow. "Amidala was Queen of Naboo."
"Queen! My mother was a queen?" Luke gasped barely countering a
lighting thrust.
"Elected to the throne at age fourteen, just a few months before the
invasion." Dai-Men replied. "Father's warning came too late but he was
able to free your mother and she decided to go to Coruscant and make
a personal appeal to the Senate. Unfortunately their ship was damaged
running the blockade and they had to land on Tatooine for repairs."
"And that's when she met father?" Luke asked. Absorbed in the story
he was barely conscious of his lightsabre as it countered his Master's
blows.
"In the shop of the dealer they went to for replacement parts."
Dai-Men agreed. "But the only money they had was Republic credits -"
"No dealer on Tatooine would accept those!" Luke interupted.
Disengaging he circled the Master, looking for an opening.
Dai-Men pivoted smoothly en-gard, grinned. "Exactly. A big pod race
was coming up and your father offered to drive for them. The prize
money was enough to cover the parts they needed.
Luke grinned back as their blades crossed and recrossed, "I guess he
won."
"Of course. The youngest being ever to win the Boonta. My father
sensed the Force in him and took Anakin with them to Coruscant to be
trained as a Jedi."
"Even though he was so old?" Luke flipped clear over the Master,
tried to suprise him from behind. Dai-Men spun and parried
with
effortless skill. "I understand there was some trouble with the Council
over that but they eventually saw reason."
"What about mother's planet?" Luke asked, doggedly pressing his
attack. "Did the Senate help?"
"Not really," the Master replied, allowing himself to be forced back but
countering every blow. "Amidala didn't wait for them to act. She
returned to Naboo and formed an alliance with the Gungans, a
nonhuman species who shared the planet, then led her own
counter-attack capturing the Federation Viceroy."
"Good for her!" Luke exclaimed, lunging.
Dai-Men side-stepped, knocking Luke's blade out of line, smiled
reminiscently. "Amidala was an extrordinary woman, beautiful, brave, I
was desperately in love with her as a boy."
Luke recovered, successfully blocking his Master's riposte. "Uncle
Owen never even told me her name."
"That'll be enough for today I think." Dai-Men disengaged,
extinguishing his sabre.
"Huh?" Luke abruptly snapped back to full consciousness, realized he
was holding his own weapon at ready, arms quivering with exhaustion.
The Master smiled, spread his hands. "You see, you can do it."
Luke looked at Leia. She stared back round eyed, on the edge of the
couch. "That was - incredible!"
"I engaged your conscious mind," Dai-Men explained, "leaving the
Force free to work through you."
Luke stared at the hands gripping his lightsabre as if they belonged to
somebody else.
Dai-Men had also been enlightened by the practice session. The boy
was alarmingly slow and had a limited repetoire of moves. Somebody,
presumably Obi-Wan, had taught him the basics but no more.
*No
time* he reflected, folding his arms as he gazed out the port into a
whirlpool of stars. *and a Force apparition can't spar.*
Frankly Dai-Men was amazed Luke'd lasted as long as he had
against Vader. Frowned, but apparently Anakin wasn't the swordsman
he'd once been either. The two of them'd been evenly matched in the
old days. The Master knew he'd improved over the years, had assumed
the same would be true of his old sparring partner. Evidently he'd
underestimated the limitations imposed by the cyborg body. Heavy,
mechanical, difficult to influence with the Force.
*Poor Ani.*
He pulled his mind back to his new Padawan. Physical skill wasn't
everything of course, the Force counted for much more. Unfortunately
Luke had problems there as well. He wasn't comfortable with the sabre
and found it difficult to surrender control.
Suddenly Yoda's words made sense; above all Luke needed the faith
to trust in the Force. A lesson Dai-Men had learned thoroughly in a
hard school. But transmitting that faith to his Padawan would mean
touching on some questionable ground. He sighed, troubled. He didn't
want to confuse Luke with conflicting philosophies - yet Yoda knew their
difference quite as well as he did. The old Master would have been
within his rights to insist Dai-Men limit himself to the technicalities
of
sabre-play but instead he had asked - no demanded - more.
The
Master unfolded his arms, decision made. He would teach Luke exactly
as he'd taught his other Padawans, and let the boy himself decide the
path that was right for him.
Leia walked a somewhat depressed Luke back to his quarters. "You
had him on the defensive." she offered encouragingly.
"Because he let me," he replied ruefully, "he wasn't going all out, Leia,
even in that first bout." looked down at the scorch marks on his shirt.
"He'd cut me to ribbons in a real fight."
"Well he is a Master after all, you'll learn, Luke."
"I'll have to learn fast," he said quietly. "time's running out."
"Why do you say that?"
Luke turned to look into frightened brown eyes. "Because it's true, I
feel it....and so do you."
Leia bit her lip. "The Alliance can't survive another defeat." she
admitted, "The next battle will be the last, one way or another."
He put an arm around her and she leaned into his shoulder seeking
what comfort he could give.
"Yoda and Ben kept telling me to follow my feelings but when I did
they said I was wrong." Luke complained, explaining to his new Master
why he had left Yoda and couldn't go back just yet.
"Was it your feelings you were following or your fears?" Dai-Men
asked softly.
Luke's shoulders slumped. "Fears I guess, I sure wasn't much help to
Han and Leia."
"The future is always in motion." the Master said, just as Yoda had,
continued. "It's dangerous to base your choices on might be's."
"Then what should I base them on?"
"Listen to your feelings and trust in the Force." Dai-Men replied, "That
is the first lesson of a Jedi and the last."
"But how do you tell feelings that come from the Force from your
own?"
His Master grinned. "That's what all the lessons in between are
supposed to teach you." Continued seriously. "Your ultimate aim is to
become one with the Force, to shed personal fears and desires and
seek only to know the will of the Force and to do it."
"That - sounds hard." Luke said inadequately. It sounded damn near
impossible!
"It is." Dai-Men smiled. "I've been working at it for forty-six years and
I'm not there yet."
"Great. I don't have forty-six years."
"I know. But you have time enough to make a start. To commit
yourself to the path."
"I've done that!" Luke protested.
"Have you?" The Master's tone was gentle but not his words. "Do you
truly understand what it means to be a Jedi? It's a hard life, Luke, the
Force gives much but in return it demands everything. Your whole
heart, your whole mind, your very soul, lifelong and beyond."
Dai-Men's blue eyes held Luke's like a vise. The Master was right he
realized, up to this moment he hadn't seriously considered what it
meant to become a Jedi. He'd thought of it in terms of skills to be
mastered, of the Force as a weapon to use against Vader and his
Emperor. But it was more than that.
He'd have to let it into himself, let it change him. To be a Jedi meant
loosing the self he was now and becoming somebody new. Somebody
with great power and great responsibilities, like Dai-Men or Ben.
Time slid out of focus as he looked down a tunnel of years at a
phantom of the Luke Skywalker he might become: Brown robed and
grey haired, face lined with sadness and strength. Wielding a lightsabre
with sure skill, counselling, teaching, following the Force wherever it
led.
Could he really become that man? Did he want to? Did he have a
choice?
He closed his eyes squeezing back tears, regrets, fears. Found
himself thinking, *Someday I'll tell my own students about this moment.*
and for an instant he was that older Luke looking back, remembering
the decision that changed his life.
Then the vision faded and he was an uncertain Padawan again
looking at his Master with grief, fear and resolution. "I want to be a
Jedi." he said quietly "Then let us begin."
Leia first realized her attitude towards Luke had changed drastically over
the past months
when she found herself at the door of Master Jinn's quarters message flimsy
still clutched in
her hand. Once she would have kept her feelings from Luke, not wanting
to burden him, now
she foud herself turning to him instinctively for support and advice. She
signalled and the door
slid open. Luke and Dai-Men looked at her unsuprised, concerned.
"What's wrong, Leia?" Luke asked gently.
She sucked in a deep breath, holding back tears. "A message from Lando
on Tatooine. Still no
sign of Boba Fett, as far as Lando can tell he hasn't even contacted Jabba."
her voice rose,
"It's been four months, Luke! Where is he? what's he done with Han?"
Luke took her in his arms and she melted against him, trying to draw on
the strange new
strength in him.
"Han'll be all right." he breathed into her hair. "I feel it."
Why did that make her feel so much better? When had she started believing
so implicitely in
Luke's intuition?
"Hibernation isn't pleasant," Master Jinn put in quietly, "but nobody can
hurt him as long as he's
sealed in that carbonite block."
That was true. Han wouldn't be in real danger until Jabba thawed him out.
"I'm suprised Fett hasn't at least communicated with Jabb," Dai-Men mused
consideringly. "as
a rule bounty hunters lay their claim as quickly as possible, even when
delivery is going to be
delayed for one reason or other."
"Sounds like you've had personal experience." Luke probed, as always curious
about his
Master's past. "Too much," was the wry answer. "all Jedi have a price on
their heads."
Leia looked at Master Jinn over Luke's shoulder, wondering how he could
be so - so serene
after half a lifetime as a hunted fugitive.
"Imperial Intelligence likes to keep tract of bounty hunters," Dai-Men
went on, "perhaps we
should consult them."
"Sure," Leia snorted, "just open up a channel and ask!"
"No, I don't think that would work." the Master replied, grave tone belied
by the twinkle in his
eye.
"The II command center for the Outer Rim territories is on Eevo 2. I suggest
we go have a look
at their records."
Leia frowned at him, looked up at Luke. "Is he serious?"
"He's always serious." was the dry answer.
"It would be a good exercise for Luke." Dai-Men went on thoughtfully, "and
we might learn
something useful."
She pushed herself away from Luke and confronted his Master head on. "You
two are going
to just walk into II headquarters and ask to see what they've got on Boba
Fett?"
"I wasn't planning on asking but that is the general idea." Dai-Men smiled.
"You're crazy." Leia said with conviction.
"You're not the first to say so."
To the Princess' astonishment General Madine, head of the Alliance's covert
operations,
accepted the idea at once.
"You're crazy too!" she blurted.
Madine smiled thinly. "I've had first hand experience of what a Jedi can
do, your Highness."
glanced at Dai-Men. "Almagest, sixteen years ago."
The Master laughed. "Was it you?"
He shook his head, smiling. "A friend."
"What did he do?" Leia wanted to know, glancing warily from one man to
the other.
"She." Dai-Men corrected.
"She had an entire Imperial base running around in circles and blasting
shadows is what she
did." Madine remembered. "We lost at least a third of our men and machines
to friendly fire and
morale was shot to Hell."
"Fear can be a powerful ally." The Master said to Luke, addded reassuringly
to the Princess, "I
don't plan to be that obvious, Force willing they'll never even know we
were there."
Leia turned to Luke as to her last bastion of sanity.
"We'll be fine." he told her, "and we'll find out where Han is."
She bit a suddenly trembling lip. "I don't want to lose you too, Luke."
He put a comforting arm around her and squeezed. "You won't, that's a promise."
"From both of us." Dai-Men said gently, "I will bring him back, Princess,
you have my word."
The breath sighed out of her. "I'll hold you to that Master Jinn."
The Master's ship was a pre-Clone Wars spice freighter, basically a giant
hold with a tiny
living section tacked onto the bow. As little space as possible had been
'wasted' on the crew;
a cramped main cabin with minute Captain's quarters and only slightly larger
bunkroom
opening off it. The cockpit was equally compact, Luke noticed the two rear
seats for the com
and scanner stations had been removed and all the hatches enlarged for
Xhosa's benefit with
one of the holds fitted up as his quarters. But nothing could be done about
ceilings so low
Dai-Men had to stoop and Xhosa must have to crawl.
"Cozy." Luke remarked sliding into the co-pilot's seat.
His Master laughed. "All the 'Jinx' had to recommend her was her price
back when we bought
her but I've become quite attached to her over the years."
"The Jinx?" Luke echoed.
Dai-Men nodded. "Named by my second Padawan Master, he used to say she
was just a
conglomoration of malfunctions waiting to happen.
Luke grinned. "I never thought I'd see a ship that looked worse than the
Falcon. How'd you
keep her going?"
"The Force has been with us, and Jedi are good technicians." Dai-Men finished
the pre-flight
check and smiled at his protege. "We have a certain flair for jury-rigs
and emergency
improvisations."
"I'm a pretty good tinkerer myself," Luke admitted, "got plenty of practice
working on the old
clunkers at our farm."
The Master nodded. "As I said it's a Jedi talent, along with piloting.
Your father excelled at
both."
Mention of his father silenced Luke for the remainder of the launch. Dai-Men
had proved far
more forthcoming than either of his previous Teachers, told him quite a
lot about his parents,
the Jedi Order and the Purge. But one question Luke had never asked; 'Is
Darth Vader my
father?'. If Dai-Men knew he would tell him, Luke had no doubt of that,
but would he know? By
his own account he'd been far from the center of things when the Emperor
struck, one of the
major reasons he was still alive. Dai-Men'd already admitted ignorance
of Amidala's fate was
it likely he'd know Anakin's? Besides: *Vader was lying, he had to be lying...Ben
wouldn't lie to
me, he couldn't...* Luke firmly pushed away the memory of Ben's persistant
evasiveness on
the subject of his father, tried to forget the moment he'd touched Darth
Vader's soul and found
a pinpoint of light buried in the darkness.
When he finally did speak, after they'd made the jump to hyperspace and
settled in for the
wait til breakout, it was to ask about Dai-Men's past not his own.
"Second Master?"
"Like you I lost my first Teacher to Darth Vader." the Master replied calmly.
Luke blinked. "But- I thought you said the two of you were out in the Rim
Territories when the
purge started?"
"We were." Dai-Men turned his chair to face Luke's. "But we didn't stay
there. Kaljeyru had
been the chief sword master of the Jedi for some four hundred years. He'd
resigned his
Council seat and effectively retired decades before but he was too powerful
for the Emperor
to overlook. As for me," he shrugged, "I was only a Padawan but my father
had been a strong
Jedi and a great swordsman it was deemed prudent to eliminate me as well."
Luke reflected on what he'd seen of his Master's powers and decided the
Emperor had
shown good judgement there.
"When you're being hunted, Luke, sometimes it's better to confront your
pursuers rather than
hide from them." Dai-Men continued, "And there was something that needed
doing. The
Council and those Jedi actually on Coruscant had been the first to die
but we learned many of
the Temple children were still alive, held captive by the Emperor to be
trained as his servants -
we had to get them back. My Master called together what Jedi he could reach,
other survivors
and a few renegades -"
"Renegades?" Luke interupted, "you mean Dark Siders?"
"No!" The Master replied emphatically. "There were other reasons to break
with the Council,
honorable reasons." he sighed, "They could be very rigid, very arbitrary.
My own father
defied the them more than once, so did yours and Obi-Wan. My second Master,
Hamilcar, was
one of the renegades. His particular sticking point was Jedi detachment,"
smiled at memories,
"Ham believed in getting involved with individuals and causes."
"There were less than fifty of us, renegades, padawans and all." Dai-Men
continued quietly,
"Over half died but we got the children back. Kaljeyru deliberately sacrificed
himself to cover
our retreat."
"Like Ben." Luke said softly.
"Exactly like." the Master agreed. "He'd planned it that way from the begining.
Arranged for
Hamilcar to take charge of me. Ham'd left the Order years before, there
was a good chance
he wasn't on the Emperor's list. And he'd been my father's first Apprentice,
Kaljeyru knew
he'd take care of me for Father's sake."
"What did you do then?"
"Got back to the Outer Rim territories, saw the children settled, and scattered.
Master Hamilcar
and I bought the Jinx and went back to doing what Jedi do."
Luke blinked. "What's that?"
"Wander, meddle," Dai-Men smiled, "poke into things best left alone. It's
a hard life, Luke, but
it's rarely dull!"
"Adventure, excitement, a Jedi craves not these things." Luke quoted in
a very bad Yoda
voice.
His Master laughed. "Perhaps not but he'll get them whether he wants them
or not so he might
as well enjoy it!" shook his head, still smiling. "The trouble with Master
Yoda is he seems set
on taking all the fun out of being a Jedi."
Luke looked back uncertainly. Oddly disturbed by criticism of Yoda, however
affectionate,
and puzzled by the seeming contradiction. "But - you said it was a hard
life?" he ventured.
"So it is." was the serene answer. "But not without its compensations.
There is a great
satisfaction in service to your fellow beings and great joy in closeness
to the Force." He
smiled reassuringly at his Padawan. "Becoming a Jedi does not mean being
miserable for the
rest of your life, or turning into an emotionless automaton," Dai-Men sighed,
"which I
sometimes feel is Yoda's ideal."
"Now I'm really confused." Luke heard himself say.
Another sigh, this one rueful. "Of course you are. I've been a grave disappointment
to Yoda,
Luke, like my father was before me. We've both insisted on following our
feelings even
against his teachings." Dai-Men spread his hands, "I am *not* Yoda's idea
of what a Jedi
should be. The only reason I'm your Padawan Master is because there's literally
nobody else."
"You're saying Master Yoda's wrong?" Luke blurted.
"In my opinion, about some things." the Master replied, smiled, "of course
I could be the one
who's wrong. You'll have to decide."
"Me!" Luke echoed in alarm.
"Yes you." Dai-Men explained gently, "A Master is just a guide on the Path,
Luke, it is you who
must walk it. Remember Yoda's teachings, listen to mine, and choose what
feels right to you."
Terrific. As if the saberwork wasn't hard enough now he was expected to
choose between
his two Masters. Worse, if Dai-Men wasn't the ideal Jedi than what was?
"Now is not the time for introspection." his Master scolded mildly. "Focus
on the moment, Luke,
be aware of the Living Force."
"Yes, Master."
A gentle sigh. "And remember not to call me Master."
"Sorry."
Luke looked around, trying to focus on the moment. The street was full
of arrogant Imperial
uniforms, the few civilians veering nervously out of their way. But the
Imps in turn steered
clear of Dai-Men. Luke glanced up at his Master. Dressed as he had first
seen him in standard
free spacer's shirt, vest, pants and boots but without the cocky aggressiveness
characteristic of the breed. Just a calm confidence that intimidated without
effort or intent.
Luke wondered now how he could ever have taken him for anything but a Jedi.
"There it is." the Master murmured.
Imperial Intelligence Headquarters was a monolithic tower of black glass
and plascrete
dominating the street. The other buildings crouching cowed around its feet,
as if desperately
hoping to go unnoticed. Which was pretty much how Luke felt. He swallowed
and hoped he
didn't look as nervous as he felt.
"Most people get nervous around Intelligence," Dai-Men said in a calm undertone.
"confidence
would be much more suspicious."
"How do you *do* that?" Luke muttered back, "I didn't think Jedi were telepathic!"
The Master smiled. "We're not. I'm reading your face not your mind, young
Padawan."
"Don't call me Padawan." Luke reminded.
The smile lines around the Master's eyes deepened then disappeared at the
entrance yawed
before them, flanked by six black uniformed guards.
Luke gulped as weapons came down to cover them. An officer stepped forward
to stand eye
to throat with the tall Master. Only Luke caught the subtle hand gesture
as Dai-Men brough
Jedi powers into play. "We're expected."
"Right." the officer agreed, "These two are expected." weapons snapped
back up to Luke's
relief.
"Informants report to office twelve." the Officer finished.
"Thanks." Dai-Men led the way inside. He seemed to know exactly where he
was going,
threading his way confidently through the maze of corridors.
"You've been here before." Luke guessed. "Once or twice." the Master admitted.
Stopped at a
sealed door and slipped a circuit wafer from belt pouch into the security
lock.
"What's that?" Luke whispered, glancing uneasily up and down the empty
hallway.
"A universal reprogrammer disk." Dai-Men replied in a normal voice. Seeming
quite at his ease
despite
being in the heart of enemy territory. "It'll fool the lock computer into
believing we've entered
the authorization code." flashed a smile. "Very rare, and extremely illegal.
A gift from a kind
but quite dishonest friend."
The door opened with a soft click. The Master went directly to the main
console tapping away
at the controls with practiced skill.
Luke watched the door like it was a Wampa snow beast getting ready to charge.
His heart
thudding uncomfortably fast. He hadn't been this nervous on the Death Star.
Of course then
he'd just been a crazy kid, now he was a Rebel Officer and Jedi Padawan,
he knew too much
to ever be so thoughtlessly reckless again. The door opened. A technician
entered and froze
at the sight of them. Heart in his throat Luke stepped towards the woman,
reaching out with
the Force to sooth the alarm rattling her mind. "Hi there."
Her eyes tracked to him. "You know us, we work here."
"You work here." she repeated, smiled. "Sorry to interupt, I forgot my
data pad."
"This it?" the Master pointed to a tablet on a nearby console.
"Yeah, thanks." She picked it up. "Bye." Walked out.
Luke stared after her, jaw sagging floorward. Nice work." said the Master.
"I can't believe I did that!" Luke stammered.
"Well I didn't." Dai-Men shut down the computers, pouched a data cube.
"Shall we go?"
They had almost reached the outer lobby and Luke was just begining to breath
easier in
anticipation when they were forced into a subhallway by a large convoy
of stormtroopers
guarding a gaggle of civilians. Men, women, even children, some crying
softly, others angry,
most simply dazed as if unable to believe what was happening to them.
"Hostages." Dai-Men said grimly as the crowd disappeared around a bend
in the corridor.
"We've got to do something!" Luke gasped back.
The Master didn't waste time agreeing. "This way." No doubt about it, Dai-Men
really knew this
place. He led Luke quickly through a labyrinth of twisty subcorridors to
a set of double doors
guarded by a quartet of stormtroopers. "I was afraid of that," the Master
said softly, "the
execution yard." drew his lightsabre.
Luke pulled out his. "You've got a plan?"
A ghost of a smile. "We don't have time for a plan." Dai-Men replied and
strode out of cover
towards the guards.
"Huh?" Luke blinked at the suddenly empty space his Master had just filled
then scrambled
after him.
The four troopers never had a chance to even point their weapons. Dai-Men
gestured briefly
right and left and they fell back, choking and clutching at their throats.
The Master hit the
opening mechanism, waved Luke inside then followed triggering both the
regular and blast
doors closed behind them. The yard was open to the sky with viewing galleries
running
around the top of sheer basaltic walls. The huddled mass of civilians stared
at the two Jedi in
bewilderment, parting automatically for Dai-Men as he crossed to a set
of gates directly
opposite the inner doors. His lightsabre flashed as he ignited it and sheered
through the
control panel. The gates slid open onto a windowless alley. The Master
turned to the nearest
hostages, a middle aged man clutching a teenaged girl and small boy to
him.
"Go left." Dai-Men instructed crisply, "you'll come out in the back streets
of the Industrial
sector. The man just stared. "Go!" possibly the Master put some Force into
the command.
Anyway it got them moving. The blast doors began to glow primrose.
"Master," Luke called, "they're burning through!"
Dai-Men strode back to his side as the yard continued to empty. The last
of the hostages
disappeared out the gates some ten seconds before the doors blew in. The
Master didn't just
deflect the blaster bolts, he bounced them right back into the Imperials'
teeth then charged
through the doors into their midst.
Luke followed. The sight that met his eyes was incredible, beyond anything
he'd ever
imagined. A Jedi sword master in his prime wielding his lightsabre with
an artistry Luke knew
he'd never equal or even approach.
Dai-Men was a whirlwind, green blade deflecting blaster fire, sheering
through gunstocks and
armour. Leaving Luke, swept along in his wake, with very little opposition
to fight.
Suddenly the Master seized his arm pulling him into a subhallway. "Run!"
Force running, and leaping, were two things Luke had thoroughly mastered
with Yoda. He
had no difficulty keeping up as they zig-zagged through increasingly cramped
access
corridors. Finally skidding to a halt on a sort of balcony overlooking
a deep gulf.
Luke looked at the pulsing power conduits, thick as tree trunks, running
up the walls and
shook his head. "Reactor core. Why do I always end up in the reactor core?"
His Master just smiled, pointed to a catwalk some twenty feet above. "Up."
They jumped a dozen levels upward, from catwalk to catwalk then through
a hatch into yet
another subhallway leading to a wide curving corridor. Deeply carpeted
and silent but awash
with crimson light from flashing wall alarms.
"Looks like a full alert." Luke observed.
"I'd be insulted by anything less." Dai-Men replied, almost lightly, reigniting
his sabre and slicing
through the nearest door into a luxuriously furnished office. He crossed
to the wide picture
window and began cutting a hole in the clear-steel.
Luke followed shaking his head. "And Yoda called *me* reckless!"
His Master flashed a smile over his shoulder. "Remind me to tell you some
of the things my
father and Obi-Wan got up to in their time."
Escape proved a simple matter of dropping to a neighboring roof then crossing
several other
rooftops before descending to street level by way of a back stair and through
a busy
resturant kitchen.
Dai-Men seemed to know the back alleys of Eevo City as thoroughly as the
labyrinthine
corridors of II HQ. He led Luke on a circuituous route back to the obscure
landing field where
they'd left the Jinx.
"Will the hostages be all right?" Luke worried as they prepared for take
off.
"I think so," Dai-Men replied, "Imperial security will be much more interested
in tracing the two
Jedi who rescued them."
Realization hit, Luke looked at his Master in alarm. "You've given yourself
away! The Emperor
will know you're alive!"
Dai-Men glanced back from under tilted brows. "He's known that for seventeen
years.
"He's where?" General Madine frowned across the conference table at the
Jedi Master and
his apprentice.
"Had Abbadon." Dai-Men repeated patiently.
Leia, next to Madine, shook her head in confusion. "Never heard of it."
"I'm not suprised," the Master leaned back in his chair, steepling his
fingers. "an interesting
place in its way but not well known. Had Abbadon was once a city planet,
much like
Coruscant, but about five thousand years ago it was leveled by some unknown
enemy and
most of its atmosphere blown away. The modern population is transitory;
archaeologists,
salvors and treasure hunters for the most part with a small Imperial force
trying to maintain
some kind of order."
"Sounds like you've been there." Luke observed.
"I have." his Master replied, "Years ago during the wars."
Luke blinked. "You fought in the Clone Wars?"
Dai-Men gave him a dryly amused look. "I'm only a year or two younger than
your father."
continued to Madine and Leia. "The Mandalore were preparing Had Abbadon
as a redoubt for
their final stand but Obi-Wan cornered the last of them on Kettlebrai so
they never used it."
"But why would Fett go there instead of Tatooine?" the Princess demanded.
"That's what worries me." the Master admitted, "According to the II data
a number of former
Mandalore have gathered on Had Abaddon."
"You mean Fett's a Mandalorian Warrior?" Luke wanted to know.
Dai-men nodded. "Or trained by one, it comes to the same thing."
"But the Mandalorians were destroyed on Kettlebrai!" Madine protested.
"And the last of the Jedi died at Condawn." The Master smiled wryly. "There
are always
survivors, General. My guess is they've spent the last twenty-odd years
training up a new
generation of warriors. Now they feel strong enough to declare themselves."
"And if Had Abaddon was prepared as a redoubt they'd have weapons and equipment
stored
there." Luke deduced.
"Exactly." Dai-Men agreed.
"What about Han?" Leia pleaded.
"Presumably still safe in hibernation in Fett's cargo hold." the Master reassured her.
"We've got to do something about the Mandalorians." Luke blurted, "Stop them."
"I agree." Dai-Men glanced at Madine. "The Emperor isn't interested, he's
got more immediate
worries."
The General looked troubled. "The Alliance can't risk going up against
Mandalorians, we just
can't afford the losses."
"I understand." the Master responded, cutting off Luke's protest. "Only
Jedi were a match for
the Mandalore. We'll handle it."
"You and Luke?" the Princess gasped, appalled.
"And a few others." he smiled.
Luke stared at his Master. Others? How many Jedi were there anyway?
"Eight!" Luke echoed Dai-Men's casual answer incredulously. They'd exchanged
the
debriefing room for Leia's quarters.
"That I know of, including you and me." the Master said tranquilly.
"Against how many Mandalorians?" Leia wanted to know.
"Not many, fiteen, twenty at most I'd say."
"That's two to one odds." Luke pointed out.
"Probably worse." Dai-Men conceeded, "I doubt all the others will make it to Had Abaddon."
"Great." his Padawan sighed. "Master, I've heard about the Mandalorians,
even Jedi had
trouble taking them."
"I remember." the Master smiled, reminding Luke he'd actually fought them. The boy flushed in
embarrassment.
"I'm not saying it will be easy." Dai-Men continued, "but don't discount
the Force, Luke, It is a
powerful ally. Trust it, there will be a way."
"Yes Master." his protege sighed dutifully. Trusting the Force that much
was going to take
some doing.
"What about Han?" Leia demanded, nothing wrong with her focus, "If he's on Had Abbadon -"
"Good point, your Highness," Dai-Men agreed. "I suggest you send word to
Calrissian, he and
Chewbacca can meet us there." smiled faintly, "Our battle with the Mandalore
should be all the
cover they need to retrieve Captain Solo."
"So *We'll* rescue Han, Lando, Chewy and I." The Princess glared regally
at the two Jedi,
daring them to argue.
Master an d Apprentice exchanged a look and remained prudently silent.
Which left Dai-Men with one other problem; telling Sylkie and Xhosa, but
especially Sylkie, he
was going off again without them.
"Chuuuuur-click! Why can't we - tliiiiiiick! ? go too?" Xhosa wanted to know.
"Yeah," Sylkie agreed, green eyes glinting suspicion, "why not?"
"Because for all your talents neither of you can be called a fighter." the Master replied.
A snort from Sylkie. "Xhosa could always fall on the enemy."
"Trrriiiiiillllck! Sylkie, rrrriiiiitt-rrrrriiiiiit, talk them to death."
The athropod retorted and looked
pleased with himself.
Dai-Men laughed.
"Fighting who?" Sylkie demanded.
"Bounty hunters, mercenaries." the Master replied easily. His small companion
relaxed slightly,
she'd seen him roll such by the half dozen. "They're holding one of the
Rebel leaders, a
Captain Solo, the Princess asked us to help get him back."
"Just you and Luke?" Sylkie pressed.
Dai-Men shook his head. "Her Highness will be coming with us, and other
Rebel operatives
meet us there."
The Erewhon nodded, satisfied. A Rebel operation was quite different from
Dai-Men running
off on his own. Besides it couldn't be too dangerous if they were taking
the Princess.
The Master hid a smile and a twinge of guilt. Not a word of lie, but not
the whole truth either.
Sylkie was going to kill him when she found out, and shewould, but not
til it was too late.
One thing about Had Abbadon it actually made Tatooine look good in comparison.
An
unbreathable, paper thin atmosphere, blazing hot by day, bitterly cold
by night. A landscape of
crumbling gray ruins crawling with trigger happy treasure hunters and a
domed spaceport
under strict Imperial control. Lando shrugged, picked up his glass at least
a man could get a
decent drink.
The message from Skywalker had been brief and to the point; Boba Fett,
and presumably Han,
were on Had Abbadon. No explanation of why Fett would take a detour to
this rock with a fat
bounty waiting for him on Tatooine. Presumably Luke would fill in those
little details after he
arrived.
"Calrissian."
Lando jerked round, one hand going instinctively to his blaster then broke
into a grin of startled
recognition. "Jayce? Jayce Darklighter! don't tell me they got pod-racing
on this rock?"
His friend slipped into the seat opposite. "Not that I know of. Anyway I don't race anymore."
"Shame." Lando regretted, "I made a fortune off of you."
Jayce smiled. "Word got around, my odds were shortening."
True, but they'd really cleaned up those first few races. Nobody'd believed
a human could
even finish the course much less win. In fact Jayce was the only human
pod-racer Lando'd
ever heard of, though Darklighter himself claimed there'd been one other
- some kid on the
Outer Rim.
"So what brings you to beautiful Had Abbadon?" Lando wondered, "Or shouldn't I ask?"
Darklighter smiled that thin secretive smile of his. "Same thing as you actually."
Lando blinked. "You know Skywalker?"
Jayce shook his head fractionally. "Never met him." Other memories surfaced.
"Please tell me
you're not after Fett." the gambler begged. Darklighter had a bad habit
of going after ugly
types for no apparent reason. It was going to get him killed someday. Actually
it was kind of
suprising it hadn't already.
That enigmatic smile was scarcely reassuring. "Not exactly." his eyes slid
to the Cantina
entrance. "Here they are."
Lando turned. Chewy was in the lead with the Skywalker kid right behind
him - and Princess
Leia Organa. Lando shook his head, should have expected that. And bringing
up the rear a
very tall human in a long brown robe much like the one Jayce was wearing.
"Friend of yours?" the gambler asked, nodding towards the last.
"Sort of."
He sighed. It'd always been tough getting a straight answer out of Darklighter.
Oh well, he
usually knew what he was doing. Lando just hoped this wasn't one of the
rare exceptions
and that whatever Jayce had in mind wouldn't conflict with Luke's plans,
whatever they
were. Not that Skywalker'd stand a chance in a head to head, Jayce Darklighter
was one of
the hardest customers Lando'd met in a lifetime of rough company.
Lando had company Luke noted, tall, supple and readheaded with a keen,
sharp angled face
like a bird of prey - and wearing a long dark brown robe! Another Jedi?
he shot a quick glance
back Dai-Men, saw his Master was smiling mostly with his eyes. Yup, had
to be.
They reached the table, names were exchanged.
"Jayce Darklighter? the pod racer?" Luke demanded, reverting briefly to thrilled racing fan.
The other man grimaced. "Six races and I'm labelled for life!"
"I warned you." the Master grinned.
'Only a Jedi or potential Jedi' Dai-Men'd said, so Darklighter was one
of them! But he looked to
be about Han's age, too young to have been trained before the purge.
"Jayce was my first apprentice." the Master added casually. Following Luke's
thought
processes with his usual uncanny acuracy.
"Apprentice what?" Lando wanted to know.
"Long story." Leia answered briefly, before getting to the really important
question. "What
about Han?"
Lando had to shake his head. "I'm sorry, Princess, I haven't been able
to find a trace of Slave
1. Are you sure Fett's here?"
"He's here." that was Jayce. "According to traffic control records he put
down at a private
field on the other side of the planet."
The Master nodded as if he'd expected that.
Lando frowned. "How'd you get at those? Imp bureaucrats are tighter than
a -" remembered
the
Princess's presence just in time - "miser's fist." That damned smile again.
"There are ways."
added a conciliatory, "I've been here a day or so longer than you, Lando,
had time to make a
few contacts."
"Look, would somebody just tell me what the hell's going on?" the gambler demanded.
"Not here." Luke responded with a quick glance around the crowded cantina.
"On the Falcon then." Lando persisted.
Luke looked up at his Master. "You were expecting others?"
"They'll find us." Dai-Men replied confidently.
"The Force will guide them." Jayce murmured with a sardonic sidelong glance
at the Master,
who merely smiled in reply.
Luke was suprised to feel a definite twinge on jealousy.
They were about to follow Lando, Chewy and Leia into the Falcon when the
two Jedi
suddenly pivoted in unison about eighty degrees looking towards the hanger
entrance. Luke
turned too, searching his feelings. He didn't sense anything - or did he?
The door opened admitting two forms swathed in long hooded brown robes.
One very tall,
nearly Dai-Men's height, the other shorter than Luke. They moved briskly
across the bay floor
to join the group at the foot of the boarding ramp. The taller of the pair
reached up to put back
his hood and Luke felt his jaw sag.
His first impression was of a broad toothy grinframed by masses of brown
curls tumbling low
almost into a pair of wide lucent blue eyes flanking a formidable beaky
nose. A clown's face
at once sad and merry, and not at all what he'd expected a Jedi to look
like.
"Luke Skywalker, Raj Naberrie." The Master introduced.
Two large warm hands enfolded Luke's. "So you're Queen Amidala's son? Delighted
to meet
you!" his voice was beautiful, rich, mellow with a Core World's accent.
"You knew my mother?" Luke stammered.
Another dazzling smile. "I was one of her subjects. A very great lady."
"Thank you." her son replied, still off balance.
The Master placed a steadying hand on his Padawan's shoulder. "And this
is Mei-Qan Kenobi,
Obi-Wan's granddaughter."
The second Jedi put back her hood revealing a blond head of blue beaded
braids, looped and
coiled, and an almost familiar face; delicate and dimpled with Ben's fierce,
fearless blue eyes.
"Chani?" Luke gaped in disbelief.
"Hello, Luke." she smiled, added, "We're old friends, Master, we grew up together."
"Yes, of couse you did, I'd forgotten."
Lando wasn't sure what he'd expected but not this! "Jedi Knights, Mandalorian
Warriors,
sounds like the Clone Wars all over again." No wonder Luke hadn't wanted
to talk about it in
public.
"It could be if we don't stop them here." The so-called Jedi Master said seriously.
"We do have time for a plan don't we?" Jayce asked drily.
For some reason Luke and the other three Jedi all grinned as if at some in joke.
"You expect me to go up against Mandalorians you better have a damn good
plan!" Lando
informed them emphatically.
"It'll be your job to rescue Han." Dai-Men returned, "I'm sure you and
Chewbacca and her
Highness will be more than equal to the challenge."
The Wookiee roared enthusiastic agreement flinging a shaggy arm around
the Princess and
hugging.
Leia grinned in response, hugged him back. "You bet we will, Chewy!"
Lando was more skeptical. "Sounds like yoy guys are gonna provide one Hell
of a diversion."
he conceeded. Glanced at Jayce. "I've seen Darklighter in action and I've
heard about Jedi, but
just five of you? Against who knows how many Mandalorians?" And one of
the five a slip of
a girl. Jinn looked capable enough but Lando had his doubts about Naberrie
and Luke too
come to that.
Dai-Men spread his hands. "We must work with what we have. The Force is with us."
That was real reassuring. "Yeah, well no offense but I'd feel a lot better
if we had something
a little more tangible in the way of back up."
A strong blow in the solar plexus knocked him against the back of the seat,
wind wooshing
out of him.
Jayce smiled sardonically. "The Force can be pretty tangible."
"So I feel." Lando wheezed, trying to get his breath back. Suddenly a couple
of odd incidents
in their common past made a lot more sense. "Good trick." he admitted.
"We can't plan until we have some idea of what we're up against." Jinn said briskly. "Jayce?"
"I saw ten names I recognized on the arrivals list but that's probably not all there are."
"And my memories of the redoubt are a quarter of a century old." Dai-Men
agreed. "A recce is
definitely in order. Luke and Mei-Qan."
The former blinked. "Huh?"
"A man and a woman are inherently less suspicious than two men." Jinn explained.
"You and
Mei-Qan have the further advantages of youth and an innocent appearance."
The girl's dimples deepened in a smile that was anything but innocent.
"Or at least you do." the Jedi Master corrected himself drily.
"What about me?" the Princess demanded. "I'm a woman and Luke and I are
used to working
together."
"But you're not a Jedi." Dai-Men raised a hand to stop her protest. "I
know you've been trained
as a Swan Sensana and can take care of yourself but," he grinned disarmingly,
"if you go,
Chewbacca will want to go and Wookiees just aren't built for stealth."
Chewy growled agreement, preening himself.
Leia conceeded the argument with less than perfect grace.
"Don't worry." Mei-Qan smiled, "I'll look after Luke."
A snort from young Skywalker. "The way I remember it was usually the other
way around."
added to Dai-Men, "she was nuts as a kid."
"She hasn't changed much," Jinn replied, "takes after her grandfather."
and tilted a challenging
eyebrow at the girl.
She smirked. "Your father was much worse."
"According to Obi-Wan, not exactly a disinterested witness." Dai-Men retorted.
"From what I've seen all Jedi are crazy!" Leia grumbled.
The four representatives of the Order laughed.
"You could say that." Jinn agreed.
Sure could Lando thought.
The suface of Had Abaddon was a dense maze of tumbledown buildings, often
open to the
sky, making it difficult to tell street from interiors. Luke steered the
pressurized speeder
through the tricky, twisty labyrinth at full speed trusting to his Force
enhanced instincts and
reflexes. Funny how it was so much easier to do that in a cockpit that
with a sabre.
"Ben's dead." he blurted abruptly. *Good going, Skywalker, real tactful!*
"I know." Chani answered calmly, "I felt it." Gave him a sidelong look
from dark rimmed blue
eyes. "And I've seen him since."
Of course she had. "So that's where he keeps disappearing to." Luke muttered
grabbing a
few feet of altitude to avoid a fan of rubble littering the roadway. "And
where'd you go to all
those years ago? Word around Anchorhead was Ben'd sold you to the Hutts."
She laughed. "Poor grandfather! I was thirteen, time to start my Padawan
training, he sent me
to join the other Jedi."
"Dai-Men was your teacher too?"
"Not likely!" another sidelong look, this one brimming with amusement.
"I developed a major
crush the minute I met him and infatuation plays havoc with the Padawan
- Master
relationship. My teacher was female, Dom'na Anuril Windu. You won't be
meeting her, I doubt
she could get away if she even heard the Master's call."
"Where is she?" His hands automatically turned the speeder down a side
way seconds
before a precariously balanced wall collapsed across the road.
Dimples flashed. "Trust me, you don't want to know."
Luke glanced at her, she wore a dull grey thermo-suit just as he did but
filled it out rather
differently. He sensed worry. "Dangerous?"
Her answer held an acid bite. "You could say that." The speeder dipped
into a crude, ill-lit
tunnel beneath the wreckage of fallen towers.
"Why aren't you with her?"
"Because she wouldn't take me, damn her eyes!" Chani flared. Took a breath
and deliberately
changed the subject. "You were supposed to come too, twelve years ago."
"I was?" Luke asked startled, veering around an all but invisible roofall.
"Absolutely. But Uncle Owen put his foot down. Grandfather could do as
he liked with me but
you were going to safe on Tatooine. None of this Jedi nonsense for you!"
her voice softened.
"He wanted to protect you, understandable - and futile." shrugged, "Grandfather
knew the
Force and your destiny would take a hand sooner or later, he decided to
wait."
Luke shook his head disbelievingly as the speeder emerged into the light.
"But if I'd started my
training then I'd be a full fledged Jedi by now, and Ben, Uncle Owen and
Aunt Beru would still
be alive!"
"But you wouldn't have been on Tatooine to hear rincess Leia's call for
help," Chani pointed
out. "She would have died without delivering the Death Star plans to the
Rebels and terror of
the battle station would have cowed the Outer systems into submission.
Grandfather had
more foresight than most, he knew what he was doing."
Luke decelerated to normal cruising speed as they entered the redoubt's
detection range. The
plan was to survey the suface before penetrating the redoubt itself. A
plan that changed
abruptly when a trio of white armoured forms appeared on the roadway ahead
of them. Luke
hit the brakes.
"Restricted area." a bored trooper told them through the exterior mike. "Let's see your ID."
Luke dug in his pocket.
"What do you mean restricted?" Chani demanded aggressively, "this sector's
down as
unclaimed."
"My orders say it's restricted." the trooper droned.
Luke passed his Alliance Officer's card through the valve in the speeder's
bubble, nudged
with the Force. "It's in order."
"Everything in order here." the trooper agreed.
"So what's it about?" Chani persisted, "Somebody find something good and
the Empire grab
it?"
The trooper ignored her. "Move along."
Luke doubled back the way they'd come, pulled off into the shelter of a
ruinous building,
looked at Chani. "That's a suprise!"
"Sure is." she agreed, pulling out a comlink. It was a model unfamiliar
to him, oval shaped and
very compact. "Master? the situation's just become much more complicated."
Dai-Men's eyebrows rose and knit slightly. "Stormtroopers? According to
the II file no Imperial
action was being contemplated." he sat in the pilot's seat of the Jinx,
with Jayce in the
co-pilot's chair next to him and Raj cross-legged on the floor behind.
"A bit of personal initiative on the part of the local commander?" Jayce suggested.
"He'd have to be crazy to take on Mandalore with Stormtroopers." Mei-Qan
pointed out.
"Maybe he doesn't mean to take them on." He persisted, "Had Abbadon is
a dead end posting
if ever there was one, perhaps he sees a deal with the Mandalore as a way
out."
Raj sighed. "You have a depressingly cynical view of human nature, Jayce."
"But usually correct." the other Jedi retorted. "That's what's so depressing."
"I don't think they know why they're there." Luke put in over the link.
"Their sense was very
bored, they wouldn't be feeling that way if they knew they were right on
top of a bunch of
Mandalorian Warriors!"
"They didn't turn nasty when I prodded," Mai-Qan added thoughtfully, "which
suggests their
commander keeps them on a tight rein and takes a dim view of mishandling
civilians."
"Not the kind of man to conspire with Mandalore then." Dai-Men mused, "Interesting,
I wonder
what he has in mind?"
"Do we proceed?" Mei-Qan wanted to know.
"Yes, but be careful."
Luke, fervently: "You bet!"
Mei-Qan with mock hurt: "Always!"
Dai-Men rolled his eyes and cut the connection.
"A bit soon to be pushing him out of the nest isn't it?" Jayce asked, resuming
the conversation
the call had interupted.
The Master sighed. "I can't let him become dependent on me. Luke has to
be able to stand
alone, he has some hard choices ahead and must learn to trust his own judgement."
Jayce shook his head. "Poor kid. You're expecting a hell of lot of him."
"I know."
Raj said quietly, "Does he know about his father?"
"I'm not sure," the Master answered. "I think he suspects, I sense conflict
whenever Anakin's
name comes up."
"Doesn't he have a right to know?" Raj pressed.
"Better not." Jayce argued. "If he's to destroy the Sith it won't help
his focus to know one of
them used to be his father."
Raj looked up, eyes glinting through a tangle of curls. "Used to be?"
"You sound like Obi-Wan," Dai-Men put in, quoted: "'Anakin Skywalker is
dead, devoured by
the Dark Side.'"
"Isn't that the way to look at it?" Jayce asked. Raj and the Master eyed
him in mutual
disapproval. He continued defensively, "Granted I never knew him personally
like you two did
but even I find it easier to think of Anakin Skywalker as a different person
than Darth Vader."
"Easier perhaps," Raj scolded, "but is it true?"
"He could have killed Luke on Bespin," the Master mused, "I'd like to know why he didn't."
Raj's wide blue eyes grew wider. "You think he has some feeling for the boy?"
"It's possible," said Dai-Men, "and if true it means Anakin Skywalker isn't
quite dead after all."
looked at Jayce.
"When I said as much to Master Yoda he told me there is no way back from
the Dark Side.
You and I know better."
Long red eyebrows curled as the younger Jedi frowned. "But I was Dark less
than a year,
Skywalker's been seeped in the Sith way for over two decades." flashed
a startlingly brilliant
smile. "And he doesn't have you to help him."
The Master looked thoughtful.
"That's right," Raj said drily, "Go giving him ideas!"
"No!" Jayce rapped out emphatically, "I won't let you do it!"
Dai-Men grinned wickedly. "You think you can stop me?"
"The three of us can." Raj said firmly, "Four with young Luke." a pause, ruefully, "I hope."
The Master laughed. Jayce didn't. "If you challenge Vader you'll die."
he said flatly, "Or don't
you believe your own mother?"
"The present changes the future, as Mother always says." Dai-Men reminded.
"Don't worry,
Jayce, I doubt I could reach him if Obi-Wan failed. Luke....Luke is a different
matter. And
maybe one other..." his voice trailed off pensively.
Jayce was not to be distracted. "I want your word, Master, you won't challenge
Vader *or*
Anakin Skywalker!"
Dai-Men bowed his head. "I promise."
His former Padawan relaxed warily. Surely that was plain enough, not even
Dai-Men could
wriggle out of it. Could he?
'Forget past and future,' Dai-Men'd said time and again, 'focus on the
moment.' yet Luke
couldn't help wondering how in the Galaxy his Master had managed to negotiate
the tiny
access tunnel without frying himself on the power conduits. Levitation?
or had he somehow
used the Force to shrink himself a few crucial centimeters? By now Luke
was ready to
believe almost anything.
A light appeared at the end of the tunnel, Chani was through. A few seconds
later Luke
followed her wriggling out into a distinctly familiar ambience.
"Power core," he sighed, looking over the catwalk rail into the depths.
Turned to Chani. "I
always end up in the power core."
She nodded wisely. "It's a Jedi trait, we instinctively seek the center."
Huh? "You serious?"
Dimples sparkled. "No, but it sounds good."
Luke rolled his eyes. "Do all Jedi make bad jokes in the middle of a dangerous mission?"
She shrugged. "All the ones I know."
Another sigh. "Guess I'll just have to get used to it then. Where's the map?"
Leia had chosen to remain in the relatively spacious, comfortably familiar
confines of the
Falcon. Chewy would have insisted anyway. He took Han's final order, to
take care of the
Princess, very very seriously. He might be willing to leave her with Luke
but not three
strangers, Jedi or no. The Wookiee and Lando'd then disappeared into the
cockpit leaving her
to herself.
She sat at the table in the main cabin and fidgeted. Part of her formal
training as a Princess of
Alderaan had been how to sit still for hours yet she fidgeted. There was
nothing to do but
wait, and waiting was not her strong suit. She worried about Luke. She'd
feel a lot better if
Master Jinn were with him instead of that blond! Caught herself up, 'that
blond' was a Jedi
Knight and General Kenobi's granddaughter. The girl'd barely said a dozen
words to her so
why did she feel so hostile? Because she'd been Luke's childhood sweetheart?
Leia could
read print, she saw the signs.
*But - I'm in love with Han, how can I be jealous of Luke?* She sighed.
It was all so
confusing....she did love Han, infuriatingly unsuitable as he was. The
Princess in her said it
would never work, the woman didn't give a damn. But she'd become so close
to Luke these
last months. He was her best friend in the universe, yet there was more
to it than that....Oh
Damn! "Face it, Leia, you want them both and there's no way that can work.*
Another sigh. It would sort itself out once they were together again she
promised herself.
Once they had Han back - she smiled, soon now very soon ? the three of
them would work it
out somehow. She loved them both, they both loved her and each other too.
There would be a
way, they'd find a way. She'd lost enough in her life, she wasn't about
to loose either of her
men! Oh, damn! What was taking Luke so long?
"I think you counted that one twice." Chani said into his ear, warm breath
tickling the tiny hairs
and sending decidedly distracting tingles down his spin.
*Focus, remember focus.* "They all look alike in that damned armor." he
complained,
sotto-voce. "Don't they ever take it off?"
"Don't think so." he felt her shrug, causing still more distracting sensations.
"You'll have to ask
Dai-Men. Tatty looking lot aren't they?"
Luke had to agree. The concealing armor was scratched and scarred, the
decorative half
cloaks ragged. Only their weapons seemed in prime condition, including
a few lethal looking
devices he couldn't identify. "Any idea which one's Fett?"
"Luke, I'm only a year older than you remember?"
came the sardonic whisper. "I've never seen a Mandalore before either.
Your Princess would
know, she saw Fett on Bespin."
His princess?
"Guess we've seen all we need to." Chani concluded. "Shall we go?"
"How?" it was a fair question. The ventilation shaft wasn't really wide
enough for two but
Chani hadn't let that stop her. She'd crawled up his back to get her own
view of the
Mandelore armory below. Now they were crammed together like tube packed
plion fish.
She laughed softly, "That's easy, turn on your side."
It wasn't easy at all, it was awkward and more than a little embarrassing,
but eventually they
were nose to nose. Chani put her arms around his neck, increasing his discomfort.
"Now let go."
"Huh?"
"Let go!" she repeated and kicked loose the feet he'd braced against the
sides of the shaft.
They slid down the gentle incline, gathering speed. Luke's arms tightening
involuntarily around
his partner as they tobogganed around twists and turns to finally shoot
out the end of the
shaft landing on nearly thirty years worth of wind-drift at the bottom
of the main ventilation
well.
"Ooff!" Luke wheezed.
Chani laughed. "It's always easier going down."
He gave his childhood friend a decidedly unfriendly look. "Dai-Men's right,
you haven't
changed a bit."
She made a face. "You have. When'd you get so stiff and proper?"
"Huh?" Luke stared, "who me?"
"Yes you! What was it? your Rebel officer's training?"
"A Jedi must have the deepest commitment, the most serious mind." Luke
quoted with an
attempt at dignity.
She rolled her eyes. "Oh, *Yoda* I should have known." got to her feet
and headed for an
access hatch.
After a startled second Luke followed. "You know Master Yoda?"
"Only by reputation." she replied over her shoulder. "Nasy, dreary little creature!"
"He's not!" Luke protested, ducking his head to enter the cramped accessway.
A snort. "Well that's how he sounds. Grandfather likes him," she conceeded,
"Dai-Men too, for
all he was so mean to him."
"What?" Luke asked, "When? how?"
"When Yoda was training him as a boy." She answered, opening the hatch
to the Power
core. "And I call not letting a seven year old see his own mother mean."
"Yoda did that?" he said uneasily, "why?"
"Because he thought Dom'na Moriah would be a bad influence." Chani paused
on the catwalk
to tilt her head thoughtfully. "He may have had a point there, look how
Raj turned out."
"Huh?" Luke was lost.
"She was his Teacher for a while." Chani explained, "And Raj is a bit odd,
I'm sure you
noticed."
Like he could miss it. "She's not my Princess." He blurted out of nowhere.
Chani took the one-eighty degree turn without a blink. "No?"
"No. She's in love with Han, Captain Solo, the man she's here to rescue."
"Maybe. But she loves you too." a sly, sidelong glance, "and she wasn't
at all happy about
you going off with another woman!"
He'd picked up on that too. "She loves me like a friend - a brother."
Chani turned away from the opening to the power tunnel to look directly
up at him. The crystal
azure eyes she'd inherited from Ben ablaze with an emotion Luke couldn't
quite interpret.
"She's your sister."
"Yeah," he said defensively. Okay, maybe it *was* the corniest old line
in the Galaxy but that
was how Leia felt to him, like family. The only one either of them had
now. "We've sort of
adopted each other."
"Nice." Chani said and disappeared into the tunnel.
Leia heard the outer lock open and bolted for the passage, found it full
of Jedi. The fact three
of them were exceptionally tall had something to do with the crowded impression,
as did the
flowing brown robes they all wore. Including Luke. She stared; for the
first time he was
dressed as a Jedi in high necked ivory tunic and a dark brown robe that
was slightly to long
for him. They looked like, undoubtedly were, hand me downs. Yet in another,
less literal
sense, they fit perfectly.
Luke saw her staring, shrugged embarrassed. "My uniform got kind of messed up."
"Thermo suits stick." Mei-Qan said tersely, adding to Luke. "I thought
you knew you weren't
supposed to wear anything under it."
He blushed. "I never wore one before, I thought it was like a pressure suit."
"No great harm done." Master Jinn consoled as they emerged into the main
cabin. "Except for
that one, forgivable error you did very well. You got the information we
needed *and* kept
Mei-Qan out of trouble. I'm impressed."
"That's right, pick on the girl." She quipped back easily, "But I'm not
the one who spent three
weeks in an Imperial Labor Battalion!"
"We are none of us perfect." Dai-Men agreed tranquilly, while Jayce and
Raj stangled laughter
and Luke stared incredulously.
"The good news is the redoubt's almost exactly the way you remember it;
two defensive
rings around a core area including an underground hanger bay." Luke spread
the map drawn
by Dai-Men on the table, it had only one or two scribbled emendations.
"The bad news is
there's a lot more of them then we thought. At least thirty, maybe a few
more."
Leia and Lando exchanged a dismayed look. Chewy vented an unhappy roar.
Jayce lifted a curling brow. "Six to one? A little steep for me."
"Me too." Raj agreed.
Mei-Qan shrugged. "I'll do it if I have to."
"But you'd rather not to have to." Dai-men finished crisply. "Neither would
I. Obviously it would
be better if we didn't have to engage them all at once."
"Yeah but how are you going to arrange that?" Lando wanted to know.
"I'm not sure yet." the Master conceeded. "But I think the first step is
to have a little talk with
the Imperial Commander."
Dai-Men stood in the center of the Falcon's lock looking like a lean brown
cloaked column with
his arms folded into the sleeves of his robe. Stared sternly down at the
determined young
woman before him. Leia gazed up at nearly two meters of formidable Jedi
Master and stuck to
her guns.
"I'm a trained diplomat," she reminded him. "I could be useful."
"And if you're recognized?" he asked.
"Well you *are* a Jedi Knight." she replied, eyes widening guilessly. "Surely
you can protect
me from a few dozen Imperial troopers."
Behind her Luke, wisely keeping well clear of the confrontation, gave a
snort of
ill-suppressed laughter.
Was that a smile? Hard to tell with the moustache. Suddenly the dark blue
eyes unfocused, no
longer seeing her but something else - the future? He blinked back to the
present said, "This is
not a good idea."
"Like sending Luke into a fortress full of Mandalorian Warriors was?"
Definitely a smile. "I thought so. Very well, your Highness, stay close to me."
Leia had every intention of following the Jedi Master's instructions to
the letter now that she'd
gotten her way. She wasn't sure why she was so determined to go with him.
Maybe she
was just tired of waiting around. She knew it was dangerous, to the Jedi
as well as herself,
but she couldn't shake the feeling that somehow her presence would help.
Wishful thinking
maybe but after all it was Dai-Men who kept saying 'Follow your feelings."
She glanced covertly up at him. If anybody was risking recognition it was
the Master. His long
brown robe and well worn sand colored tunic might melt into the crowd on
an agricultural
planet but here, surounded by shipsuits and Corellian vests, he stood out
like - she groped for
a metaphor - like a very tall tree in the midst of Coruscant's towers.
"The Jedi have been officially non-existent for nearly a generation." he
said quietly. "Even our
pictures have been proscibed. Nobody will recognize me for what I am."
Leia blinked. "Luke's right, you do read minds!"
A sideways smile that reminded her with a pang of Han. "Not minds, faces."
teasingly. "I didn't
expect a 'trained diplomat' to be so transparent."
She sniffed in mock offense and put on her best 'princess face'. "Better?"
"A little."
The princess-face slipped into a grin. Leia pulled it back into place and
wondered yet again
why Dai-Men seemed so familiar. Not as if she'd known him before but somebody
like
him....Maybe it was a Jedi trait. Raj Naberrie affected her the same way,
and Mei-Qan Kenobi.
But there was a simple explanation for the latter at least. She looked
a lot like the holos Leia'd
been shown of her grandfather General Kenobi. Especially the eyes.
Jayce on the other hand felt like a total stranger. Luke had heard of him
apparently as a
pod-racer. She shook her head, seemed like a funny thing for a Jedi to
do. And Lando was
apparently an old friend. Not exactly a recomendation considering what
Lando's friends were
like. Of course Han was one of Lando's friends. Could a Jedi be a scoundrel?
She
suppressed another grin. Maybe so, scoundrels did have their points!
After five minutes inside the Imperial garrison she was begining to wonder
if this had been
such a good idea after all. She hadn't seen so many stormtroopers in one
place since the
Death Star and they were all *staring* at her.
"Men usually look twice at a beautiful woman." The Master murmured, reading
her mind again.
"Especially bored and lonely soldiers."
Was that really all it was, ogling? Now that she'd calmed down and really
looked she could
read no suspicion in the eyes fixed on her. Just a rather flattering appreciation
and occasional
touch of wistfulnes.
Leia'd never thought highly of her own looks. Comparing herself unfavorably
to her tall,
elegant aunts and dim childhood memories of a dark, delicate face with
sad brown eyes. Of
course people had told her she was beautiful but compliments paid a princess
were not to be
trusted. Nobody'd ever been so disrespectful as to ogle her before, or
called her beautiful not
as a compliment but a simple statement of fact.
There was nothing offensive or lascivious in the stares directed at her.
Really these Imperials
were as well behaved as Rebel soldiers. Polite, even pleasant. It was very
strange.
"Do you have an appointment, sir?" the clerk outside the C.O.'s office
asked Dai-Men
courteously.
"I'm afraid not." the Jedi Master replied. "It concerns sector 9-10-00."
The man's eyes widened. "One moment please." He spoke urgently into his
desk com, a
silence field rendering his words and the response inaudible.
"Please go in." said the clerk.
The Imperial commander was a youngish man, about Han's age, with a strained,
edgy look to
him. He scrutinized the Master and Leia briefly before demanding, "What
about sector
9-10-00?"
"What about the Mandalore?" Dai-Men countered composedly.
"You know about them." the commander stated flatly.
"As do you." the Master agreed, "Do you have a plan?"
"Are you kidding?" the commander pushed back his chair and began to pace
restlessly. "I
don't have the troops or equipment to take on even a handful of Mandalorians."
"There's more than a handful down there I'm afraid." Dai-Men responded,
"We estimate at
least thirty."
"Thirty!" the commander stopped in his tracks, stared at the Jedi appalled. "So many?"
"At least. Have you communicated with Coruscant?"
"They're not interested." the Imperial snapped. "Either they don't believe me or they just don't
care."
"They don't care." Leia heard herself say bitterly. "Why should they? They
won't be the ones
to suffer."
The young commander gave her a brief but piercing look. "You could be right, ma'am."
"Then you'd be open to another offer?" the Master inquired.
"You kidding? I'll take any help I can get! From anybody, even the Rebel Alliance."
Leia just managed not to choke on her own breath.
Dai-Men didn't turn a hair. "That pretty well describes our position as
well," he said smoothly,
"perhaps we can help each other."
"That was awfully easy." Leia said dubiously as they walked back to the
ship. "Did you put a
whammy on him?"
Dai-Men cleared his throat with some care before replying. "No, your Highness,
it wasn't
necessary. Captain Aiton is, as he said, desperate enough to snatch at
any straw."
"That crack about taking help even from the Alliance," she continued uneasily,
"you don't think
he suspects -?"
"Probably just a figure of speech." the Master soothed.
The other Jedi took the news they were to have Imperial support philosophically.
As Luke
whispered to her *nothing* Dai-Men did could suprise them any more. Lando
and Chewy were
less jaded. They objected strenuously and Leia had to do some fast talking
to cool them down
and convince them the Master knew what he was doing. She hoped.
"Twins." Mei-Qan said flatly.
"Yes." Raj confirmed. Sighed, "I was there when they were born. Obi-Wan
and Amidala
decided Luke would be trained as a Jedi but Leia was to follow in her mother's
footsteps."
The four Jedi had returned to the Jinx to collect some equipment. Luke
had remained behind on
the Falcon allowing them to speak freely.
"A princess," said Jayce, "but not of Naboo."
"That wasn't possible." Raj explained, "They had to be hidden, all three
of them. Master Anakin
didn't know about the twins but he was searching for Amidala, wanted her
back. So Obi-Wan
took Luke to Tatooine, probably the last planet in the universe Master'd
ever go back to. And
Bail Organa hid Amidala and adopted her daughter as his own." he looked
curiously at
Mei-Qan. "How did you know?"
"Something Luke said made the pieces fall together." she shrugged. "*They*
don't know, not
consciously, but their feelings betray the truth."
"Obi-Wan and Yoda seem to be keeping a great many secrets from Luke." Dai-Men
observed
thoughtfully.
"His father *and* his sister." Raj agreed, his disapproval obvious.
"It's not for us to question their judgement." The Master said firmly.
"Luke is their responsibility,
doubtless they have their reasons."
"He's *your* padawan." Raj pointed out.
"And if he asks me a direct question I will answer it honestly. But I won't
volunteer information
his Masters have chosen to withhold."
"And neither should I." said Raj resignedly. "Very well."
"What about our so-called princess?" Jayce asked.
"Nothing so-called about it." Dai-Men interupted crisply. "By Alderaani
law an adopted child
has exactly the same status as a natural one. Legally Leia is not only
a princess but the
rightful heir to the House of Organa."
"Okay, so she's really a princess." Jayce conceeded, lifting his hands
in surrender. "But I take
it she's also been kept in ignorance?"
"Dom'na Moriah saw to it she'd be - incurious - about her birth family."
Raj admitted. "She
remembers Amidala, at least I hope she does, and knows she's adopted. Bail
was to tell her
her real father had been his good friend and comrade in arms."
"True enough, as far as it goes." Jayce nodded. "As far as it goes." Raj echoed grimly.
Somewhat later, after the two younger Jedi had returned to the Falcon,
Raj raised another
question with the Master.
"You really believe Luke can somehow reach Master Anakin and turn him back
to the Light
Side?"
"I know it sounds unlikely," Dai-Men admitted, "but I sense the possibility."
"You said something about another - " Raj continued, his clown's face tighting
with an old
pain. "I hope you didn't mean me."
"Anakin killed Obi-Wan, his own Master." Dai-Men reminded his friend gently.
"I know." Raj scraped up a wry smile. "And Kaljeyru, and a few hundred
others. I shouldn't
take it so personally."
"Raj, I've lost two Masters to death, that was bad enough. I can only imagine
how much it
hurts to have your Master turn against you."
"Not to mention finding out your second cousin once removed is a Sith."
the other Jedi replied
with false lightness. "Taken altogether *not* one of my better days." his
voice fell. "Sometimes
I think Obi-Wan has a point. It would be so much easier if I could believe
it somehow wasn't
really Anakin Skywalker who tried to kill me." looked up, wide eyes filmed
with tears. "But it
was my own Master, turned and darkened but still him, and he wanted me
dead."
Dai-Men reached out to squeeze his friend's shoulder. "But you got away?"
he reminded
softly, "maybe because deep down he *wanted* you to escape."
"Maybe. I'd like to think so." Raj pulled out a large multi-colored handkerchief
to mop his eyes.
"What were we talking about before I sidetracked us into this emotional
bog?"
"You wanted to know who besides Luke might be able to reach the good still
in Anakin." the
Master replied. "I was thinking of my father. He believed in Ani, in his
destiny. He just might be
able to break through Darth Vader's armor."
Raj tilted his head quizzically. "Your father's been dead for forty years."
"From a certain point of view." Dai-Men smiled.
Leia couldn't sleep. Not even Sensana relaxation techniques helped. She
looked at the
chronometer, three quarters of an hour to go. Lying in bed fretting wasn't
doing her any good.
She might as well get up. The main cabin was empty except for Raj Naberrie
sitting at the
game table playing with a set of holocards. No, not playing practicing
magic tricks. Leia smiled
reminiscently. Her great aunt, Auntie
Mor, had done card tricks for her when she was little. Making them appear
and disappear,
dance with each other and morph into 3-D images. She could remember pestering
Auntie to do
them over and over. And somebody else - she frowned in concentration, trying
to remember.
A boy, seeming almost grown up then but younger than she was now, with
wide blue eyes,
a beaky nose and thatch of disordered brown curls...
"Raj!"
He looked up, initial suprise giving way to a familiar toothy grin. "So you do remember."
"What - what were you doing on Alderaan?" she sputtered.
Eyebrows disappeared beneath the fringe of curls. "Hiding of course. Like
every other Jedi.
Your Great
Aunt Moriah was my Teacher for a time."
"Auntie Mor was a *Jedi*!" Leia gasped.
"And a powerful one, if somewhat eccentric." another grin. "Make that *very*
eccentric!
Eventually she passed me on to Dai-Men's Padawan Master for further training."
"Auntie Mor knew Master Jinn?"
Raj looked at her in genuine suprise. "Her own son? Of course she knows him."
"Her *son*?" Leia exclaimed. "Auntie Mor was his *mother*?"
"That's right." Raj was begining to look worried. "You didn't know?"
"Nobody bothered to tell me." Leia replied through clenched teeth.
Lando was still worried about the Imperials. "Luke, Leia, Chewy and I are
all wanted Rebels."
He ranted to Jayce. "The Jedi aren't even supposed to exist any more! Yet
Jinn calmly walks
into Imp headquarters and proposes a deal! He's got to be crazy -"
"Just willing to take long chances." Jayce smiled.
"You should understand that, Lando."
"Yeah, well..." the gambler grumbled uncertainly. Long odds were one thing
when cash was
at stake but this was their lives.
"Master trusts in the Force." Jayce continued. "I admit it's sometimes
hard on those of us with
less faith. But he's never been wrong yet."
"There's always a first time." Lando said gloomily.
"There are too many Mandalore for us to risk engaging them en-mass." Jayce
reminded him
patiently. "The Stormtroopers can help us divide them into more manageable
lots."
"Manageable!" the gambler snorted. "I know you can handle yourself, Jayce,
and I bet Jinn can
too, crazy or not. But what about Naberrie? or Luke? Not to mention that
little girl. You can't
seriously mean to pit *her* against a Mandalorian warrior!"
Jayce laughed. Long, hard and all but silently as Lando shifted uncomfortably
in his chair.
"That 'little girl'," he said when he'd gotten his breath back, "may be
the second best sabre
fighter alive. Not that there's all that much competition these days."
Jayce shrugged.
"Mei-Qan's better than I am, a lot better. So's Raj for that matter, he's
got a few more years
experience behind him." shook his head at his friend. "Don't judge a Jedi
by appearances,
Lando, we'll fool you every time."
Luke shared Lando's doubts. At least as far his own skills were concerned.
"Skill will come with practice, Luke." his Master consoled as they walked
down the passage
to the Falcon's main cabin. "The Force is much more important. Trust in
it and you'll do fine."
"Even if I am the worst swordsman in the whole Jedi Order." Luke said gloomily.
Dai-Men grinned. "Not while my mother's alive you're not!"
His mother? Before Luke could ask more they'd entered the main cabin to
find everybody but
Chani already assembled. Leia rose from the game table, fastening them
with a glacial stare
that froze Luke in his tracks.
*What've I done now?* he wondered, then realized she wasn't looking at
him but at the
Master.
"Something wrong, Princess?" Dai-Men asked mildly.
"You could say that." she snapped, voice edged with the clipped Core-worlds
intonation she
used when she was being formal, or very angry. "I'd say there's something
wrong when
practically my only living relative doesn't see fit to mention the fact
to me!"
Huh? Luke was mystified but the Master seemed to know what she was talking
about. He
looked at Raj who shrugged, embarrassed.
"I'm sorry. I didn't know it was a secret."
"It's not." Dai-Men sighed, turned back to the angry princess. "I'm sorry,
Leia, you're right I
should have told you." spread his hands in apology. "I'm afraid I have
a bad habit of keeping
things to myself."
"You can say that again!" Jayce muttered from a corner.
Luke was still confused. "You two are related?"
"Master Jinn's mother was my great aunt." Leia explained. "Which makes us cousins."
He looked up at his Master in suprise. "You're a prince?"
Dai-Men shook his head. "I'm a Jedi, like my father before me. Mother too
for that matter."
continued to Leia. "I only visited Alderaan once as a boy. And never did
learn much about the
Organa heritage. I'm afraid I tend to forget about it."
"I don't know all that much about my mother's side of the family either."
Leia admitted, mollified.
Smiled almost shyly. "I've been wondering who you reminded me of."
The Master's eyebrows lifted. "Most people say I look just like my father."
"I wouldn't know since I never met him. But you have Auntie Mor's eyes.
And you talk just like
her sometimes. I was crazy about her when I was little." Leia continued,
"But I never knew
she was a Jedi or that she had a son."
"It came as something of a suprise to my grandparents as well." Dai-Men
recalled, sitting
down across the table from her. "Seems Mother forgot to tell them she had
a child."
Raj laughed. "That's sounds like Dom'na."
"I remember she was terribly absent minded." Leia smiled.
To Luke's relief she seemed completely over her intitial temper. Though
he couldn't really
blame her for being angry. She'd lost her entire family when Alderaan was
destroyed, all but
a brother who'd gone over to the Empire. Even a distant cousin would be
some consolation.
Dai-Men's mother sounded like quite a character. He remembered Yoda'd considered
her a
bad influence.
Suddenly Chani popped out of the lock passage, blue eyes dancing with mischief.
"Better get
anything incriminating out of sight." she warned, "They're here."
"Stormtroopers aboard the Falcon. And by invitation no less!" Lando grumbled
to Chewy.
"Good thing Han can't see this."
The Wookiee barked a rueful agreement.
