This story and characters are based on situations and characters created and owned by George Lucas and Lucasfilm Ltd and the "Magnificent Seven" TV, property of Trilogy Entertainment, The Mirisch Group, MGM Worldwide. No money is being made and no copyright infringement is intended.

The Handmaiden’s Story

PROLOGUE

She was a handmaiden but that was a long time ago.  

Not that long by the standard of chronological time but it was still felt like an eternity behind her. Sometimes she wondered if all of it was a dream, that the past she remembered was some figment of imagination conjured up by little girls who dreamed such fanciful beginning in their innocence. She refused to believe it even though it would make things so much simpler if it were. Sometimes, she wished that she were just another ordinary person, not one charged with such a heavy burden of responsibility, whose life was spent watching and waiting for enemies and playing guardian to a promise.  

The irony of it was that should she choose to walk away and leave it all behind her; it was relatively easy enough to do. She thought of disappearing into the mists one day and returning to the estate where her father and mother, once aristocrats of good fortune had raised her in their embrace of love but they were gone now, disappeared just as surely as all the others. If she wanted to leave, she doubted anyone would stop her because she had served Queen and country more times than she could count and one dedicated to a service of another as she had been, had more than earned the freedom to live her own life.  

Except she could not because of the promise. 

The promise was ingrained into her as if it were branded into her skin with fire. It defined her existence, made up the salt that was her inner strength and kept her dedicated to its fulfilment forsaking all other aspects of her life. She was shackled to it as if bound by the strongest chains and yet it was bondage that gave her life its meaning and purpose. The one to whom she had made the promise was gone now, broken by despair over so many wounds that she sometimes wondered how one person could be injured so tragically over so many occasions. It was partly because of the suffering that she was so determined to carry out the promise made to the one who had charged her with the only thing that still mattered before passing beyond the veil. It was more than just a promise but an oath that had to be kept if the future was to be salvaged from the decay of the present. 

Her name was Rayne. 

Her family no longer existed so there was no need to remind herself of their loss by keeping their names with hers. To all, she was simply Rayne. She was the last of her kind. The last of an elite group whom had trained from adolescence to take on the role that would occupy their entire life and it was a vocation she was more than happy to partake for the one she served had been a lady of great distinction. At court, she had been designated a handmaiden but in truth, she was much more. Trained by the finest combat experts in the galaxy, the rigorousness of her training could only be bettered by the training of the Jedi and the Mistral warriors of Emberlene. She was not simply a handmaiden but a bodyguard, a combat expert and tactician. She could fly any ship, fire any weapon. Her training had been that extensive. To serve the Queen of Naboo demanded nothing less. 

At the age of sixteen, Rayne was sent to court in order to serve as handmaiden to Queen Amidala of the Naboo, known to those whom she considered friends, as Padme. It had been an honour to serve the Queen for the lady was one of those rare things in the galaxy; a ruler who genuinely cared about her people. Rayne had stood at her side for as long as Padme ruled the Naboo, until the dark times came and everything that was the Republic evolved into something dark and sinister, calling itself the Empire. Padme had stood in the center of maelstrom, swept away by the forces she was powerless to stop, bound prisoner by her heart and doomed forever because of it. After it was all said and done, the sparkle of life that so many had loved would fade from Padme’s eyes and in Rayne’s opinion that is when she really started to die. The physical death took place years later but deep inside, Rayne knew better. By the time Padme had died, all those who served as her handmaidens had almost met their demise, gone to their end in one way or another. Only Rayne remained for Padme to make her final bequest and since that day, Rayne had stood by waiting for the inevitable day when she would have to carry it through. 

Now Rayne was a permanent fixture in another court, on a world not unlike Naboo, serving not as handmaiden but rather as nurse and bodyguard to another member of royalty. This time, it was not allegiance that bound her to Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan but rather a promise. Before Padme had died, she had asked only one thing of Rayne but it was a big thing nonetheless. She had asked that Leia be protected at all costs and there were other instructions as well, ones just as entwined with saving the child’s life as the promise she asked Rayne to make. Rayne had been happy to make the promise because Padme had been more than just her employer and liege, she had been Rayne’s friend and in her life, there were not many friends at all. Her profession did not permit that luxury. To have friends was to let one’s guard down and Rayne could not afford to do that ever. 

To do that was to break her promise to the friend she still cherished and thought of late at night, when she was overcome with dreams of better times.  

When being a handmaiden meant something. 

***********

Bail Organa, leader of Alderaan and Senator of the newly established Imperial Senate entered the courtyard before the Floriade Gardens of the Royal Palace. Although he was by no means a dictator, he was still considered a King though he preferred to be known as diplomat rather than a ruler. It seemed that too many people were forgetting themselves because of their titles and being a King in a galaxy governed supremely by an Emperor seemed as shallow as any he had heard in recent times. However, King he was of Alderaan and though he played the part of politician these days, his personal life was fraught with all the intrigues that royalty and aristocracy was meant to incur.

He did not need this to come so soon but it had and it renewed the sorrow he thought he had banished to a distant place inside his heart, suddenly returned spewing forth like a hidden spring inside him. It had been months since her death, months and though Bail knew that it was unrealistic to think that determination alone would stem the tide of his grief, he prayed that it would because he missed her so very much. Padme had been his for a very short time and in truth; he still did not think that she ever truly belonged to him. Oh he loved her just the same and was intensely grateful that of all the people in the galaxy, it was he that she had come to for help; it was he that she chose to guard her and her child. She had married him for that very purpose, Bail did not delude himself by thinking it was any more than that although Padme did in her way love, he thought. But not once during their entire marriage did he ever look into her eyes and ever see the same fire that burned whenever she had looked at the one who came before him. 

The one who was Skywalker. 

Even now, Bail felt the rage bubble inside him when that name surfaced in his mind. She had loved Anakin Skywalker beyond belief, beyond everything and it had destroyed her. First it took away her life as Queen Amidala and then it took away her child and finally it took away her life. Bail hated him intensely because he would have died to have the love that Anakin Skywalker had so carelessly disregarded for a destiny that would see the blanket of darkness sweep through the galaxy and change it forever.  

Bail entered the extensive gardens that surrounded the palace and was immediately greeted by a manicured lawn containing all manner of exotic flora, garnished by colourful flowers that created an amalgam of scent that seemed almost like perfume. His eyes swept across the perfectly tended lawns and immediately spied his daughter playing near the topiary. A small smile crossed his lips when he heard her small voice speaking the language of two years olds to the animal shaped plant life. Leia was little more than two but she was easily the delight of his life. He knew that much of the reason he loved her so much because here was a part of Padme that was unconditionally his; who loved him as a father and never thought of another whilst doing it.  

It was so easy to forget his troubles when he saw Leia bounding barefoot across the garden, her dark auburn hair swinging over her waist, catching the sunlight as she moved. Her playmate at this time was a golden protocol droid, gleaming under the sun and though Bail had wished he could rid himself of the cursed machine once and for all, he knew Leia adored it. Why should she not? Her real father had built it and her mother had kept it as another reminder of him, as if Leia herself did not fill that capacity as it was. However, Padme had not much to bequeath her daughter when she passed away and Bail who had since purged the protocol droid’s memory banks of any knowledge of Anakin Skywalker and Queen Amidala, could not bring himself to deny Padme’s wishes.  

However, it was his love for his daughter that snapped Bail out of his reverie and forced him to turn his attention to the dark, lithe young woman who stood close by, watching the child closely in her capacity as Leia’s guardian. Bail was certain that Rayne had already seen him but was attempting to size up the reason for his sudden appearance as something that ought to give her concern. The sun was high in the sky and normally, they would not expect to see Bail until later that evening. Affairs of state usually occupied his afternoons and his appearance at this time, meant an interruption that could not wait.

She moved towards him first, her eyes always keeping Leia in her peripheral vision as she had done when Padme still lived. She was not especially likeable this handmaiden of Padme’s but Bail could not deny that he would trust his daughter in her care before the entire Imperial fleet. She was clad in crimson robes, not especially anonymous but the garments made her look like a cleric of some sort and she was beautiful in her way, even if her mercurial expression dulled that beauty somewhat. Brown eyes studied him closely as they closed the distance between them and her brow knotted, indicating that she was aware that there was some danger to her young charge.  

"Your highness." Rayne met him with the customary bow that always made Bail so uncomfortable, especially when he was in Coruscant and surrounded by other diplomats.

"Rayne." Bail responded shortly. "We have a problem." 

She did not react. She seldom did. The most response he received at his statement was a slight twitch on her sculpted brow. "What sort of problem, your highness?" She asked calmly. 

"He is coming here."

There was no reaction. He had not expected there would be. There was not even the need to ask who ‘he’ was because she knew that there was only one person to whom they would refer to in this way.

She blinked once, her eyes moving instinctively in Leia’s direction before she met his gaze again. "How much time do we have?"

"A day." He admitted readily, knowing her long enough to know that her questions were not asked without good reason and it was best to answer them promptly.  

"Are we aware of what precipitated this visit?" She asked once again. Inwardly, in the part of her that still dared to hope, she prayed it were not for the reason she feared.  

"I have my suspicions that he intends to take Leia as a hostage." Bail replied. "He knows I mean to block the Emperor in the Senate regarding the segregation policy and holding my daughter hostage would ensure that I cooperate."

She nodded slowly. "Why not just kill you?" She asked emotionlessly and that too was something that Bail had become accustomed to since she had come into his home. The woman did not waste time with tact, she spoke her mind directly. After dealing with diplomats and politicians, Bail found it strangely refreshing.  

"Palpatine is not a fool. Killing me would make me a martyr and he has enough difficulties with the Rebel Alliance without adding that to his troubles. Besides, it's not the Emperor's way to be so blatant. He would prefer having me under his control than removing me completely." Bail answered.

 "Are you certain that taking Leia hostage has no other purpose?" She inquired.

A shudder of fear ran through Bail at the thought but he honestly believed that his premise was correct. They had been so careful about protecting Leia. As far as Anakin Skywalker knew, he had one child not twins. Obi-wan and Padme had agreed that Lei's anonymity was her greatest protection but all that would mean nothing if he was in close enough proximity to the child for his Jedi senses to discover the truth. Leia was two years old, her memories of Padme would be fresh and easily to sense. The child still cried for her mother at night. In later years, her experiences would drive those memories so far beneath the surface that no one would be able to find them unless they were actively seeking it with forehand knowledge that she was daughter to Amidala of Naboo.

"I do not believe so but that does not eliminate the problem does it?" Bail sighed. 

"No," she shook her head. "Leia cannot be here when Vader arrives on Alderaan." 

"What are we to do?" He looked to her hoping she had a solution. "He claims that he is merely delivering sensitive diplomatic documents from the Emperor but we all know that Palpatine would never use him as a mere messenger. I've heard enough rumours about the Emperor's feelings towards me and our people in Coruscant are certain that this is his intention in sending Vader here." 

"We must take her away from Alderaan," Rayne turned to Leia. "There is no question of that but perhaps we can beat the Emperor at his own game.' 

"I'd like to know how." Bail retorted sceptically. "If Leia suddenly disappears, Vader is going to wonder why and probably be more determined to take a look at her, not to mention all the agents in Coruscant we'll be compromising when the Emperor realises we were forewarned of the situation." 

"I will take Leia away tonight and you will tell Vader that Leia has been kidnapped. That will keep him from coming to Alderaan personally but in the meantime, we must take the proper precautions." Rayne replied, indicating in her tone that there would be no discussion in the matter.  

Obi-Wan and Padme had left very explicit instructions as to what to do in the event that Vader ever came near them. The Jedi could read strong emotions and extrapolate from them the content of one's mind but only if the mind in question was weak and undisciplined. Bail Organa was disciplined nor was he weak-minded. Padme had left her daughter to Bail knowing that he could protect her and Rayne had every confidence that he would be able to shield his thoughts from Vader enough to keep the dark lord from guessing the truth.

"I understand," Bail nodded. "It will be done before I make my communications to Vader. If he should decide to come to Alderaan, he will come to find me worried about my daughter with no knowledge as to anything involving the Rebel Alliance and who might have taken her. Of course, we'll give him more than adequate proof that she was indeed kidnapped." 

"I hope it works," Rayne remarked. "If it does not, I do not envy your chances." 

"I do not care," he said firmly, staring at his daughter who was playing hide and seek with the protocol droid and found himself smiling. "She is my life, I will not allow anyone to harm her." Emotion welled up in his face and Bail had to look away to compose himself. His daughter was all that he had left of Padme, if anything happened to her he did not think he could bear it. "Where will you take her?"

Rayne considered the question for a moment, having produced contingency plans for numerous situations involving danger to Leia and deciding that the best place to hide Leia would be with the Emperor's enemies. "I was thinking that I would take her to one of the Rebel bases." 

The frown on the Senator's face clearly indicated he did not like this plan at all. "Rayne that is exceedingly dangerous. The Emperor is hell bent on destroying every rebel stronghold he can find. If you should be present if they are discovered......" 

"I have a specific cell in mind," she quickly spoke up to allay his fears. "I have not chosen it at random, your highness. Do you know of the rebels in the Territory?" Rayne looked at him. 

"Only that Mary Travis is in command there." Bail answered, feeling his trepidation ease a little bit because the Territory almost on the other side of the galaxy in comparison to Alderaan and Coruscant. Not to mention Mary Travis was one of their more able commanders and as a hiding place, Rayne could not have chosen better but Bail ached at the thought of Leia being so far away even though he knew that it was for the best. "Are you sure that you must go so far?" 

"Yes," Rayne replied, broking no argument on this point because there was a reason she wished to travel to that distant quadrant of space. "I am told that there is a Jedi there." 

"Are you sure?" Bail asked hopefully, starting to understand why Rayne would make such an arduous journey upon hearing that. A Jedi could successfully protect Leia from Vader on the unlikely chance that he was able to find her. No doubt once Bail set into motion the lie that Leia was kidnapped, Vader would send out Imperial spies to find the child first in order to use her as leverage against him. Bail would rather a Jedi be on hand if Vader became personally involved. As accomplished as Rayne was, if she were faced with Darth Vader, she had no possibility of defeating the man and they both knew. It was a sensible choice if there were indeed a Jedi in the Territory." 

"I would not be going if I was not certain of this." She said hotly somewhat annoyed that he had dared to question her on this matter. She did not leave such things to chance. If there were even the slightest doubt regarding her information, she would have abandoned the plan. "They say that he was friend to Obi-Wan and a great Jedi warrior. If I explain to him, he will understand. If he does not already." 

"What makes you think that?" The Senator asked, uncomfortable with anyone else knowing about Leia's lineage. As far as he knew, it was vitally important that Vader did not know about his children, not about Leia and certainly not about Padme's son whom Obi-Wan had spirited away a month after he was born. The loss had devastated Padme and Bail still held memories of how tearfully Leia had wailed in her crib after the separation from her twin. It was as if something physical between the two infants had been severed and though Leia was a happy child for most part, Bail had often had the feeling that she still searched for that missing part of herself.

"Obi-Wan said that he had told a select few Jedi about the twins and their importance to the future, I think it was his way of ensuring that if anything were to happen to him, the children would be safe. It is unlikely that this Jedi would know of course, so many of them are dead now, thanks to Vader." Rayne sighed, her expression bitter. Though she had never wished to be a Jedi, she had respected them as warriors and defenders of the weak. For more years than the galaxy had shown gratitude, the Jedi Knights had been the guardians of peace and justice. It angered Rayne how quickly they were now being forgotten. 

"Must it be this way?" Bail stared at his daughter, hating to be away from her, hating that he was powerless to keep her from danger and had to entrust that task to Rayne and a strange Jedi he had never even met.

"You know that question yourself," Rayne looked at him with a hint of compassion in her eyes. He did love Leia, of that Rayne had no doubt. She knew that if he were asked to do so, he would gladly sacrifice his own life to save his daughter. Leia may not have been born of his blood but she was very much Bail Organa's child more than she would ever be Anakin Skywalker's. 

"Yes I do," he signed, conceding defeat and resigned not to argue on this point any longer. "Hopefully, we will not have to carry out this ruse for too long. Once the segregation policy has been voted on, I'm sure you and Leia will be able to return to Alderaan. The Emperor would have no reason to harm Leia. In fact, it would be in his best interests to keep her alive until such time he needs to use her again." 

Rayne knew all about the segregation policy the Empire was intending to inflict upon the races of the galaxy. Bail Organa was its strongest opponent in the Senate and the only reason that he had not been killed for his opposition was because Alderaan was too powerful for Palpatine's fledgling Empire to make a move against. A dark premonition fell upon her and it sent a shiver through her spine. 

May the Force help Alderaan if the Emperor ever ceased to think that.  

CHAPTER ONE

Chris could hear him

 The tell tale sign of his approach was a hoarse, raspy breath, not at all human, amplified by the machinery he now surrounded himself with. Chris sensed that it was more than just armour, it had become the persona behind which he hid himself, the reflection to which he looked when he needed to expunge all memory of the person he had been. Chris supposed that not even the power of the dark side could make a man forget who he had once been, what he had believed in, no matter how far he strayed away from the path. There was no armour that was completely full proof, no mask that would do quite as well when one was trying so hard to keep ahead of the demon that chased him in the night when there was no one to face but himself.  

Chris found himself standing at the edge of a great platform, the wind whipping at his hair as he looked up and stared at an amber sky, with twin moon hiding behind the pink clouds. There were no ships in the air or on the platform with him but he was certain that this what the place was meant for, as a landing bay for incoming vessels. The world was none that he recognized and he wondered how he had come to be here. Looking over the edge of the platform, he saw a great drop that ended with the rushing waters of what appeared to be a large river, perhaps the largest he had ever seen. The frothy strength of its currents swept past him, meandering through the landscape into the distance. Even from this height, he could hear the roar of its powerful journey in his ears and imagined that he could feel the spray of droplets from standing so close. 

He heard that heavy breathing again and spun around sharply, his light sabre suddenly in his hand. Chris already knew who was behind him when he turned. The tremor he usually felt in the force was almost a thunderclap in his mind and he knew of only one person who could create such a shudder in the Force.

Vader.

It was pointless to say Anakin because he was no longer Anakin Skywalker. What was left of Anakin had died in the pit of molten lava he had fallen into when he had fought with Obi-Wan during their last meeting and battle. It had not only burned away much of his skin but it had killed Anakin inside of him and from that day on, what was left in place of the Vergence was Darth Vader, Sith Lord and servant to Emperor Palpatine. Chris could not see his eyes under the polish of black armour he wore around his scarred form but the colour suited him quite well. Vader was a dark pit of anger and hatred, a singularity that drew the Force to himself and annihilated all the good it was meant to possess. Vader’s dark cloak billowed in the wind around him and for a moment, there was no sound except that raspy, hoarse breathing. 

Crimson energy extended from the hilt of the light sabre as Vader approached and there was no need for words as he raised the weapon and swung. Energy against energy cracked loudly as Chris blocked the blow, the air vibrating from the sound as their blades met. Vader’s sabre seemed to bounce off his own and the Dark Lord recouped easily, twirling the sabre in his hand and bringing the weapon down at Chris again. Chris stopped the blow from progressing any further and shoved hard, forcing Vader to lose his balance before slamming his foot into the side of the Sith Lord’s knee. Vader dropped to the ground on one knee, balancing himself precariously as Chris swung again. 

The sky above them started to rumble and those clouds, looking so soft and pink earlier had metamorphosed into starchy tufts of grey. The clap of thunder distracted Chris momentarily and Vader took the opening and leapt up, spinning around mid air in a flurry of movement before landing on his feet to launch a renewed attack with rage and vigour. He was angry, Chris could feel it exuding from him in waves of power. The electronic depiction of his heavy breathing was faster, more paced and with his fury behind him, his blows were more frenzied, more powerful, until Chris was using every ounce of strength to block him, blade for blade. Energy slamming against each other cackled through the air as rain started to spit from the sky.  

They were like titans fighting for supremacy, matching each other, using the opposing sides of their belief as their champions. Chris could feel his limbs ache, could feel the inflammation of his muscles continue as he fought Vader to a standstill, inwardly amazed that he had lasted this long. Vader was the Vergence but in straying from the dark side, he had left that which kept him from being as powerful as he ought to be. The Force did not allow for corruption easily and those who strayed down the dark path usually had to pay the price, not only n a personal cost but also in how much power it chose to mete out. If Vader had been a true Jedi, he would have destroyed Chris by now.  

"You think it’s the dark side?" Vader suddenly spoke. 

Chris did not answer but his thoughts spoke clearly enough. What else could it be?

"It’s not the dark side that makes me weak Larabee, it’s your anger. Your hatred. I feel the rage inside of you; it fuels the dark side inside of you. You are closer to the path than you think and if you walk the way, you can have them back, you know. They can be returned to you." 

"NO!" Chris screamed and swung his blade once more, this time the serve was so powerful that the impact drove Vader to his knees again. 

"It feeds you doesn’t it?" Vader sneered. "I can feel it coming from you. You are being seduced as I was Larabee, seduced by the dark side of the Force!"  

"I AM NOT!" Chris shouted defiantly and suddenly in his rage, he had paused and when he blinked his anger away, he saw Vader strike and it was not a blow he could stop.  

The blade past through him without even pausing at the obstruction of flesh. He looked down and saw it enter his body, felt the bones disintegrate as the light sabre passed through his rib cage. There was pain but it felt very far away at the instant of entry but he knew that soon it would race towards him to make its presence felt. Chris did not scream, he was too mesmerized by his death for that. There was always very little blood for the light sabre cauterized flesh, blood vessels, veins, muscles and bone when it did its grisly work. Chris felt it penetrate through the strip of muscle on his back and leave his insides exposed when Vader retracted the blade. 

The pain finally caught up to him but he did not scream, he did not have strength enough for that. He became conscious of falling, of feeling his cheek scrape against the surface of the platform at the same time the teeming rain became a downpour. He saw puddles on the smooth steel floor, turning red by the blood that was weeping out of his mortal wounds. He saw them puddle around Vader’s black boots and then decided he did not want to look any more. He turned his gaze upwards to the grey sky and thought he might see Sarah and Adam now.

 Vader was right. He had embraced the dark side and thus would get to see Sarah and Adam after all.

Before he died……

********

"Chris Larabee woke up with a sudden start.

Unlike most people who often remained disorientated by the fact that the nightmares they had experienced a few seconds ago were merely the product on an overactive imagination in the dreamscape, Chris knew instantly that he had been dreaming. As the walls of the dream began to evaporate into the walls of his quarters, he found himself watching the transformation coming into being for the split second that it took for his mind to acquaint himself with being awake. Despite the fact that what he had just experienced was almost certainly his mind’s efforts to tell him something, Chris could not deny the physical effects it had upon him. He was breathing hard and in his chest, he could feel his heart pounding. All these were symptoms he knew well of course, the tell tale signs that he was frightened. 

It was not often he felt fear. For a Jedi, there was nothing more debilitating to the mind and soul than the sensation of fear. It robbed the Jedi of the inner peace required to be one with the Force and it fed that most terrible of things, the dark side where the Sith Lords often lost their souls. All Jedis were taught from the onset of their training to learn to the control of fear and Chris had thought he had more than mastered the skill by now. However, he knew that he feared for good reason for Jedis did not simply dream. Visions did not appear randomly for them, nor did dreams. The Force allowed the Jedi their prescience and he knew that any dream that came to him, usually had some element of truth behind it. His dreams of Vader had been the portent of something ahead. Something that could be years in the future or take place the moment he stepped out of his quarters. 

Chris took a deep breath and steadied himself, deciding that he had enough of sleep or dreams. He pushed himself from the sheets plastered to his skin and padded to the shower cubicle in his room to clean the salt from his skin. The cool water did much to shake the sleep out of his eyes and when he dressed himself to leave his quarters, Chris felt a little better physically. Stepping out of the quarters provided for him since he had joined the Rebel Alliance, Chris marvelled at the change in his circumstances. It was only a week ago, he had been languishing on Cordoba, all but prepared to die if anyone would do him the favour, more than content to drink himself to death if even that opportunity did not come along.

Now he was Siraj 2, a small moon orbiting Siraj Prime, a planet that had once been full of life but through poor ecological management had been left a barren wasteland due to the neglect of its inhabitants. The planet had been abandoned centuries ago, its population having fled to seek another world they could similarly ruin the same way they had done their native world. However, the structures they had left behind, particularly what appeared to be a temple of some description had now found new carers as the home of the rebel enclave in the Territory. Other than a note of its existence in some star map, there was little known about the Siraj Star System. What information, they had manage to garner about the system and the civilization here had been discovered when reconnaissance patrols made their visit to the planet surface and found a wealth of literature that had been abandoned by those who had scribed it. 

After watching the Jedi being system slaughtered out of existence, Chris did not know whether or not he wanted to support another cause even though as a Jedi he knew he could not walk away from the Rebel Alliance. They were attempting to stem the tide of evil that the Empire was spreading throughout the galaxy. How could he walk away from that when it was so much in keeping with the spirit of what it once meant to be a Jedi? Besides, the truth was not so high minded as all that. He needed to do something to keep his mind and his heart from being reminded that his family was gone. If dedicating himself to the Rebellion would decrease the amount of time he spent aching for Sarah and Adam, then it was well worth it.  

As he made his way through the corridors, he was still inundated with curious stares from the rebel personnel that happened by him. He supposed he was still something of a mystery to them and they had only a week to accustom themselves to counting him among their number. Of course he was accepted but the awe in which he was perceived made Chris uncomfortable. Having a Jedi in their ranks did not automatically mean they were invulnerable against their enemies. After the dream Chris had been visited with earlier, even Chris was starting to feel uncertain about his own mortality. However, he refused to start torturing himself with fears of whether or not he was going to die at the next corner. If it was his destiny to die, then so be it.  

"I don’t care whether or not we have been pushing our staff too hard," Chris heard Mary Travis telling Nathan Jackson as he rounded the corner of the corridor that led towards the operation center of the rebel base. "Until that deflector shield is up, we are wide open. You can tell the department heads that if they had a problem with fatigue, ask them how much of a problem they’re going to have when an entire legion of Imperial storm troopers walks right up to the door and knocks. I don’t want excuses Nathan, I want it done." 

"Yes Sir." Nathan gulped, aware that if he did not put it tactfully to the personnel in question, they would likely to be getting a visit from the Commander of the base and that would not be pretty.  

When she was determined, she burned hotter than a supernova, Chris thought to himself and thought it was often dangerous to be in close proximity to such fiery eruptions, Chris found that he could not keep away. He had seen soldiers come and go, very few stuck out in his mind and it was without a sense of bias that he could safely say that she was one of the best. Those under her command respected her and when she spoke, people invariably listened. She was tough but then Chris supposed that one in her position could not be any other way but she was also fair and the loyalty she garnered from those who followed her was a testament to her ability. 

"Hello Chris." Nathan said pleasantly even though there was still tension in the air over the exchange.

"Chris." She nodded and then turned back to Nathan. "Now we have a situation brewing with Josiah and he’ll need an escort. See if Buck is willing to take a run to Bespin. He’ll complain but you are to explain to him most strenuously that he is not going alone, I don’t care whether or not it’s a personal matter. You will remind him that he is a member of the Rebel Alliance and what he does affect everyone, so I will not have him risking his life unnecessarily, is that clear?’

Nathan let out a deep breath and nodded, perfectly aware that Josiah Sanchez would be complaining about an escort but Nathan was not about to bring that to Mary at this point. The woman was riding on the edge of a filthy mood and Nathan had no wish to provoke it any further. He glanced at Chris who gave him a look of sympathy as well as a silent order to leave this to him.

"What’s this situation?" Chris inquired innocently, trying to help if he could, not to mention deflect some of the vitriol Mary was exuding from Nathan."We’ve had a report from our spies on Coruscant that the Empire may have discovered where Josiah’s niece is presently hiding. The standing order for all renegade Senators of the Republic Senate is that they and their families are detained. Its Palpatine’s way of keeping his enemies under control, he keeps their loved ones under house arrest. In Josiah’s case, they’ll just use the girl to draw him out of hiding. She’s all the family he has left."

"I see." Chris nodded, appreciating why the senator would be so determined to reach the girl. "I take she is on Bespin."

"Yeah," Nathan nodded. "Cloud City. Its still privately owned and there is no Imperial influence there at all. If you have the money, you can hide there for a very long time and not be noticed."

"Unfortunately, those who are willing to accept a lot of money to hide you are usually happy to accept the same to give you away." Mary frowned, not all happy at the place that Josiah had chosen as a hiding place for his niece but supposed begrudgingly that these days, there was no place really that one could consider truly safe. "Josiah wants to bring her here but I have my doubts that taking his niece is what the Empire wants, I’m sure if they know where she is then the only reason they have not moved in is because they’re waiting for him to show up." 

What Mary did not say and Chris could tell rather easily without the benefit of using Jedi insight that though she had her reservations about allowing Josiah to go to Bespin, she could not bring herself to deny him the chance even if the possibility of a trap might exist. Josiah and Mary had been friends before the Rebel Alliance, before Palpatine even. Josiah had served with Mary's father as a soldier in the Republic Fleet and had known Mary since she was a girl. However, Mary was too much the professional to allow her personal feelings interfere with what her responsibilities as a rebel leader because too many lives depended on her. If she believed that there was a legitimate risk at work here, then Josiah had better sit and pay attention because Mary did not make such claims lightly. 

"What if I go with him?" Chris offered, thinking that this was the best way to bring the situation to a compromise. Josiah certainly would not feel as if the Alliance were interfering in his private business if Chris accompanied him to Bespin. 

"That would work." Nathan quickly caught on to the gesture Chris was making because Josiah would take offence at a squad of soldiers following him about and playing bodyguard since the man felt that this situation with his niece was his own responsibility and not that of the Alliance. Josiah considered Chris a friend and would not be so inclined to refuse a Jedis' help in this matter.  

And besides, nobody told a Jedi to do anything he did not wish. "I'll come with you." He volunteered. 

"This does not make me feel better." Mary frowned. "So from having one senator going Rogue on me, I'm going to have two of my best people wandering into a trap as well." She stared at Chris and Nathan with an expression on her face that told her they were fooling no one with this attempt. 

"We going somewhere?" Vin Tanner's voice entered the mix. The bounty hunter approached them just in time to see Mary throwing her hands up in resignation.  

"Sure you are," she spun around and glared at Vin whose gaze shifted to his two companions while he attempted to work out what he had walked into. "You're going to Bespin. Hurry along and pack, its warm there this time of year!" With that, she turned back to Chris and said very firmly. "I want this to go down very smoothly, you go there, get the girl and you get your asses right back here. I will not have all six of you become some sector chief's ticket to Coruscant if he captures you, am I clear?" Mary spoke in the superlative but Chris could tell she was speaking to him directly. 

"We'll be careful." He said coolly, aware that she was worried about all of them and perhaps a little weighted down be the disappointment of having to remain behind and having to ensure that thing were running smoothly here instead of making the trip herself.  

If Mary had known what Chris was thinking, she would have been added that she considered him and the five men in question to be her friends and was not all that eager to put them in the face of danger. However, she soon admonished herself for that thought because rightly, she should not be making any sort of distinction.  

The fact that they had a Jedi among them boosted morale like nothing else among the rebel personnel. It was reassuring to have that remnant of the Republic in their midst and her personal feelings aside, she did not want Chris hurt. The same went for Vin Tanner who seemed to have more information about the galactic underbelly than most of the intelligence operatives out in the field. He knew the underworld intimately, not to mention the people who were useful to the Alliance since they operated in a sphere of influence beyond the Empire's controls. Aside from that, the man was the best damn marksman she had ever seen and a natural leader, though he tried very hard to hide it. Buck Wilmington's skill, as a pilot needed no description. Since joining the rebellion on a full time basis, he had been putting the X-wing pilots through their paces and the youth he had brought within him appeared to have the makings of great aviator as well.

 "Alright," Mary took a deep breath, aware that she was over reacting and the truth was, she had no choice in the matter. Knowing Chris, if she refused, he would go anyway. "Please be careful. This may not be a trap but this comes to us too conveniently and I'm sure someone could be waiting for you in Bespin"

"We're going to Bespin?" Vin looked blankly at Chris.

Mary rolled her eyes and strode away, shaking her head in disbelief at what she was allowing these men to get away with.

"What's eating her?" Vin asked as Mary rounded the corner and was out of earshot.

"She's just feeling the pressure a little." Nathan replied, knowing the truth a little better than both of them. "We've had everything that could possibly go wrong today, go wrong. The deflector shield isn't working yet, there's some strange interference in the local atmosphere that's creating a ghosting on our sensors, very bad when you consider we need constant and up to date information over the entire system."

"True," Vin agreed. "I know I don't want a whole bunch of Star Destroyers coming out of hyperspace right on top of us."

"And she's worried about Josiah," Chris added and then remembered something else. "And now us.""She is in the top seat." Nathan reminded. "It comes with the territory."

Vin looked down the corridor where Mary had departed and had to feel some sympathy for the lady. It could not be easy being responsible for all this. He certainly would not like to be in her place. "So we're going to Bespin?" He looked at his soon to be travelling companions. 

"Josiah's niece is in trouble." Chris explained as they started walking towards the mess where the Jedi planned on getting some breakfast. "The Empire may know where she is so we're going to Bespin to bring her back here before they get their hands on her." 

"Sounds like a plan." Vin shrugged, not afraid to admit that he was up for some action. A week being cloistered here was starting to take its toll on him, he wanted to get out of this place for awhile, even if it was to go rescue a child. "As long as I don't have to do no babysitting." He joked.

"You don't have to worry," Nathan chuckled. "Josiah's niece isn't that young. She's at least sixteen years old I think." 

"A teenager," Vin frowned. "Oh joy. I knew my skills as a bounty hunter was going to come in handy." He retorted sarcastically. "So what's the precious little dear's name?" 

Nathan had to think a minute about what Josiah had told him about the girl. "Casey," he answered after a moment. "Casey Wells." 

**********

Bail tried not to be afraid when he was told that a transmission had come from a ship in orbit around Alderaan. He would have been something of a fool if he had not expected its arrival. Trying to remember everything Rayne had told him prior to her departure, the only thing that gave the ruler of Alderaan comfort was the fact that his daughter Leia was already out of the system and beyond the reach of the Emperor. Whatever happened now, at least she would be safe even if he were to never see her again. He sat at his desk and waited for the holo-transmitter to connect him to the large Super Star Destroyer poised over his world, like some dark cloud that was ready to storm. He had not seen the vessel for himself but the officers at Planetary Defence had stated it was the largest ship they had ever seen, almost a dreadnought.  

Somehow it was a vessel befitting Lord Darth Vader.

The air cackled slightly on the transmission panel and Bail found himself sitting back in his chair as if the holographic image had the power to do him harm. He knew better of course, he was not a superstitious man or an ignorant one for that matter but even being in close proximity to Vader made Bail anxious and why not? If Vader suspected that Bail had sent Leia away in anticipation of his own agenda then Vader would have confirmation that there were spies in the Emperor's court and that Bail must have access to them, making him just as guilty. Bail did not care if anything happened to him but he cared what happened to Leia. As it was, the communications networks across the galaxy had been told that the Princess Royal of Alderaan, had been kidnapped. Bail had ensured that Rayne and Leia were off the planet before the story had leaked and by the time planetary defence and internal security had swooped in on the palace, the kidnapping had become the media circus that he had hoped it would b e.

Bail felt his stomach clench as the image of Darth Vader appeared before him. Through the crackle of static and once the signal was cleared, he felt his skin chill at the sound of that mechanical breathing that could be from no one else but Vader.  

"Lord Vader," Bail Organa recouped his fears and launched into the act he had been rehearsing since he and Rayne had hatched this plan for his daughter's abduction. "How good of you to come to Alderaan at this troubling time." It was impossible to tell whether or not his performance as the wounded father was doing anything to convince the Sith Lord of his sincerity. The armour that made him more machine than man ensured that Bail be kept in a state of unknowing fear.  

"The Emperor was most disturbed to hear about the news of the young Princess. Do you have any idea who might have taken her?" Vader asked.  

Vader's tone was more than a little sceptical but for this to work, Bail had to ensure that he did not waver in the least. Any hesitation and Vader would spot it immediately, underestimating a Jedi, even a dark one was a fatal mistake. "No," Bail shook his head mournfully. "They were privy to an old passageway that we had sealed off within the palace and made their entry that way. Some of our staff were wounded in the attempt and Leia's body guard is missing, presumably dead. We are searching every ship leaving our space but so far, no information regarding her whereabouts have been discovered." 

"You must allow me to aid you in your efforts," Vader responded, his voice smooth as always and deeply resonating. It moved through Bail's skin almost like a tangible force. "The Emperor would be most unforgiving if I were to sit by and allow the child of one our most prominent senators languish in the hands of abductors."

"Yes," Bail said feigning gratitude. " I was hoping you would say that. Your abilities are highly regarded Lord Vader. Any help you could provide me would earn my deepest gratitude." 

"Of course, I am at your service." The dark lord seemed almost pleased by the aspect of playing hero and had Bail not known what he and his Emperor had originally planned for Leia, he would have been inclined to believe that the man was genuine in his efforts to help retrieve his poor, kidnapped daughter. "The Empire will put all its resources in retrieving your child. I myself will search all vessels leaving Alderaan space for a closer inspection." 

Bail shuddered at what that might entail but for held his tongue on that point. The Imperial Senate did not convene for another week, if this facade could be maintained for that long, then Bail could block Palpatine's segregation policy and Leia could resurface under the guise of being found by Alderaanian security forces.  

Bail only prayed that Vader did not find her first.

CHAPTER TWO

He could smell her close by, hear her breathing, wisp softly in his ears through the teeming rain. He could hear her voice telling him that she loved him, that she always would no matter what may choose to separate them. He could hear the sadness in her voice, the distance in every word she spoke, almost as if she were being pulled away from him even while he lay here in his own blood. Through the droplets of cold moisture wetting his skin, he felt the warm salty caress of a teardrop falling onto his cheek. He could feel her sorrow as he tried to open his eyes and felt as if the strength of the universe was keeping him from that one small task. 

"I miss you so much." He heard her say. "Adam cries for his daddy, I hold him to me in the darkness. This is a dark place Chris, dark and cold. We can't leave. We can't go on." 

Chris opened his mouth and felt the taste of cold rain on his tongue, He swallowed the droplet greedily but he could not feel it in his throat for all the blood. He knew that what he had tried to drink was forced out by the gushes of blood from his mouth and forced the words to remain unspoken in his throat. He tried to move but the pain paralysed him and left him floundering like the fish on a deck of a boat. He wanted to ask her so many things, especially why she and Adam were trapped in a dark place where there appeared to be no escape. They should be someplace better, someplace where nothing could hurt them any more.  

"Why?" He finally managed to croak, sputtering blood in a light spray as he forced himself to be heard. Chris shifted his head just slightly and one eye blinked open. Sarah was kneeling next to him, her hand on his cheek, tears in her eyes as she looked down on him with concern.  

"Because you keep us here my love," she whispered. "You won't let us go." 

"I have to" He cried out desperately. "If I do, I don't have anything else!" There were tears in his eyes as he managed that monumental effort and knew that he was almost finished, that soon his energy would drain completely and he would die.  

"Yes you do Chris," Sarah answered, "you have more than you know." 

"I don't want anything without you." He begged. "I want to go with you now. I want to be with you and Adam." 

"I want that Chris, I want that more than anything but its not going to happen," she answered weeping, tears running down her cheeks as she said that, strands of dark hair plastered against her cheek and her clothes hung off her in wet sheets. "It's not your time." 

"I don't care!" He pleaded. "I can't go on without you, I don't have it inside me to keep going without you!" 

"Yes you do Chris, you've always had it inside you. You have to be strong for the years ahead because they will be hard and they will also be filled with great joy but you must do one thing for me Chris, you must." Her eyes softened in that imploring way he had never been able to resist.  

"Anything," he whispered, knowing he could never deny her any request. 

"You have to let us go." 

"Not that!" Chris shook his head in anguish. "I can't do that." 

"Then you condemn us Chris, you condemn us to stay in the dark place. You keep us here Chris and we need to go. We need to go!" Sarah implored him, sobbing as the words left her. 

"No," he insisted. "I can't! I CAN'T!"

"CHRIS!" Vin Tanner's voice exploded through his consciousness and Chris opened his eyes to find himself staring up at the bounty hunter who was standing over him with an expression of concern on his face.  

"You okay?" Vin asked once he was certain that Chris was conscious.  

It took a split second for Chris to remember where he was. After a few moments, the disorientation bled away and he remembered that he was on board the Rogue, presently on route towards Bespin, carrying himself, Vin Tanner, JD Dunne, Nathan Jackson and Josiah Sanchez with Buck Wilmington in the cockpit. The journey had been almost a day in length and they had taken turns in the sleeping compartments so they would be refreshed when they reached Cloud City. Chris had intended to lapse into a meditative state but the lack of sleep because of his earlier nightmares had made him sluggish and sensibly he had opted to catch up on his slumber before their arrival on Bespin. 

"Yeah," Chris nodded somewhat mutely as he rose to his feet. "I'm okay. Just a bad dream." He muttered, brushing the images of Sarah away before they started to overwhelm him in the waking world as well as the dreamscape. He ran his fingers through his blond hair and rub the grainy feeling from his eyes as he shook the slack feeling from his limbs.  

"It looked it." Vin retorted, well believing it if what he saw was any indication. As Chris started to move out of the compartment, Vin took the opportunity to speak before they joined the others. "Want to talk about it?' 

Chris paused a moment and looked over his shoulder at the bounty hunter. He almost took the man up on his offer but found that when the moment came, he was not up to disclosure just yet. It was still too hard for him to talk about Sarah and Adam to anyone just yet, even to Buck who had been there on the day they died. "Perhaps one day." He answered with a hint of gratitude at the asking.  

"Alright," Vin replied, not about to push knowing in that instant what the nightmare had been about and was not about to pry where not wanted. Still he had sensed a great deal of conflict from his seat in the front of the ship and had been drawn to wake Chris from his nightmare by that very same feeling. If Chris did not wish to talk about its content, Vin had no difficulty abiding with that desire but there was something he had to ask. 

"Chris, I need you to teach me." 

Chris had started walking again when the question was put forward but froze in mid step. Not turning around, Chris asked quietly. "Teach you what?" 

"I don't want to be a Jedi." Vin said quickly, so that there would be no misunderstanding. "I'm not ready for that. I'm not sure I'll ever be ready but the fact of the matter is you said that you could read me easily. I don't mind it if you can but I'm not happy about any other Jedi I came across being able to do that. What if its Vader? He'll be able to see straight through me."

He had a point, Chris had to admit and a rather good one at that. Vin had no idea how to keep someone from probing his mind and if he should come across Darth Vader, there was information in his keeping that was simply too valuable for Vin to reveal to the Sith Lord. The fate of the galaxy depended on Vin keeping his secrets but Chris was not a Jedi Master and after what had happened to Anakin Skywalker, the potential for disaster in an apprentice trained badly was too much to ignore. Chris had padwan learners under his care before but he had never actually trained Jedi and he was not ready to do so now. 

"Alright," Chris conceded that much turning around to face Vin after a brief reflection regarding his decision. "If you want to learn something, I'll take to you someone who can teach you." He said firmly. 

Vin seemed somewhat taken back by the response, expecting a flat out refusal or that very least, an explanation why it was wise that he not be trained. He knew that much of Chris hesitation had to do with his safety, as long as he was not trained, the Emperor would have one less Jedi to hunt and kill. However, that surprise was soon overshadowed by the knowledge that Chris would not be in charge of his instruction. He only knew Chris and did not feel comfortable about anyone else teaching him. "Why can't you do it?" He asked, a little hurt that Chris was not carrying out the undertaking himself. Vin had thought they were friends.

"I'm not a teacher." Chris explained quickly, sensing what was in Vin’s mind at the time. "I've never done it and learning to use the Force is a tricky thing. It needs to be taught by someone who has been a proven teacher, someone who is also a Jedi Master. I'm neither of those things. Trust me when I say that this is the best thing for you."

Vin did not understand but then that was hardly surprising when it came to dealing with Jedis. They was all so confusing and there were so many rules that his head swam with the riddles that one had to overcome to comprehend what it was to become one. "So when do we go?" 

"When we've concluded our business on Bespin, we'll take a trip to the Dagobah system." Chris replied. 

The name sounded familiar but only because he had remembered seeing star charts that noted its existence. "The Dagobah system?" Vin looked at Chris with open confusion. "Isn't that an uninhabited system on the outer edge of the Minos Cluster?" 

"That's the one." Chris nodded and resumed walking out of the compartment to join the others.  

"Why there?" Vin asked, wondering if there was some Jedi rule that required training to be undertaken in some primitive corner of space.
"Because that's where he lives." Chris responded with a tone in his voice that sounded like he might have answering the endless questions of a bored child. 

"Who?" Vin asked, deciding that part of the Jedi trait was to be damn vague all the time. 

"Yoda." 

*********

When Chris and Vin emerged into the cockpit of the Rogue where the rest of their companions were presently situated, the ship had already entered Bespin space. They were immediately confronted with the image of amber skies and large streams of clouds that seemed to run forever into the horizon. One of the richest sources of Tibanna gas in the entire galaxy, the actual surface of Bespin was uninhabitable because the gas was lethal to most life forms. The surface conditions of Bespin was also as extreme and thus it remained devoid of life forms with most of the population residing in cities suspended high amongst the clouds of the planet. Chief among these cities was Cloud City; a self-contained facility that had been constructed by the first profiteers who came to Bespin seeking their fortunes. 

Buck was continuing his tutelage of JD's flight training abilities. While the youth had been sitting in on a few of the classes offered to new pilots at the Rebellion base, Buck had felt that there was no better teacher than experience and for once Chris could not disagree. Buck was the best pilot that Chris had ever seen. The man could do things with a ship that he was certain defied logic at times but it was skill that had saved lives, his included, on more than one occasion so Chris was not averse to his passing on his knowledge. Besides, JD had a great deal of natural ability although the young man seemed to prefer smaller one man fighters to large freighters but nonetheless he was an avid pupil when Buck was teaching. 

"This is the Corellian freighter Rogue - Registration No. 223. 4, Landing Permit 12454." Buck recited as he continued to communicate with the docking authorities in Cloud City, hoping the new registration papers he had obtained for his ship would be adequate to get them through the officials without fanfare. Since its capture by the Imperials, the Rogue and its captain were wanted for crimes ranging from sedition to high treason. Through their agents on Coruscant, the Rebel Alliance had procured Buck new registration papers for the Rogue, aware of how necessary it was for him to have the freedom to move around if he was to act on their behalf. 

"So Josiah," Vin asked taking a seat. "Does your niece know you're coming?" 

"No," Josiah shook his head unhappily. "I couldn't get word to her." The Senator eased back into his own seat, visibly concerned by that fact. "We usually communicate on a weekly basis. A cargo runner who comes this way takes messages to her from a third party. Its written in code that Casey worked out when I first had to go into hiding and leave her here." 

"Code?" Nathan asked suspiciously. "Maybe that's how the Empire got wind she was here. Someone might have been able to decipher it." 

"I seriously doubt that." Josiah said confidently. "My niece has quite the talent as a splicer not to mention more than a passing skill with machinery. I don't know even known where she picked it up but the child has the skill of an astrodroid when it comes to entering restricted systems and repairing sophisticated equipment." 

"Really?" Nathan mused, the wheels in his head already turning. "You know we need to establish new codes that the Empire cannot break. Maybe we ought to see what this girl can do." 

"Nathan...." Josiah started to protest, not at all liking the idea of Casey joining the Rebel Alliance. She was just a kid and a hot headed tempestuous one at that that. The idea alone would set her imagination running and Josiah did not want it planted into her head under any circumstances. 

"It was just a thought." Nathan immediately threw his hands up in a gesture of concession.  

"Keep it that way." Josiah growled. "I promised my sister I was going to look after her. That does not include making her a member of the Rebel Alliance besides she's only seventeen." 

"That's not so old Josiah," JD remarked, looking over his shoulder. "I'm only eighteen."  

"That's different." Josiah returned gruffly, hating to admit that the boy was right, JD was not much older than Casey and that he was now a fully-fledged member of the Alliance. Circumstances had not given JD a choice however, he had followed Buck and Josiah in their attempt to rescue Nathan Jackson from the Doldur installation and been marked as a rebel. After that, there was no going back down the path he had taken in the name of friendship and loyalty. 

"Not that much different." Buck retorted as he waited for clearance, trying to take his mind off the damnable wait while the powers that be decided whether or not his registration papers were the genuine article or a forgery. If it was the latter, he would have a matter of minutes to turn his ship around and get the hell out of here before every Imperial ship in fifty lights years were alerted to their presence. "Why don't you see what the girl wants to do. May be that she doesn't have any interest in joining the Rebellion, not many girls her age do. In fact, if you want something to worry about," Buck leaned over the captain's chair and threw Josiah a perfectly evil look. "Worry about the fact of what happens if she gets a whiff of JD. Most teenagers are impressed with young men with an air of danger about them." 

"What?" JD shot a look at Buck that was filled with nothing less than shock "What do you mean Buck?" He stammered. The thought had never even occurred to him. After all, there were girls from where he came from but they were never really interested in him and JD was always too shy to talk to them. His upbringing had been isolated and he simply did not have that much to do with the opposite sex other than his ma, to know how to talk to a girl. Josiah's niece by the sounds of it had been everywhere and seen things even though she was younger than him. The notion that she might cast her gaze on him in that manner was quite honestly intimidating. 

"See," Nathan grinned at Josiah with a similarly sarcastic expression on his face. "And you thought the only thing you had to worry about was protecting her from the Empire." 

JD turned back to Josiah and saw the Senator giving him a deep, frowned stare that made him swallow instinctively. "You touch my niece...." 

"Josiah." Chris Larabee spoke up, coming to JD's defence before details about the rending he would receive at the burly senator's hand became too explicit. "I'm sure JD will behave himself." 

Josiah let out a deep breath and threw JD a smile because he liked the young man and supposed that if Casey did find herself infatuated with him, she could do worse. Besides, JD was honest, forthright and willing to risk his life for a friend, qualities not lost on Josiah and he knew that part of the reason that he was so determined to protect Casey was because he had no other family in this galaxy. Casey's mother, his sister had been killed by the Emperor's purges. Her father had died in the Clone Wars and since the death of her mother, Casey had been residing with her Aunt Nettie, an elderly woman who could no longer protect her once it was discovered that Casey was Josiah's only family. Both had been hiding on Bespin ever since. For his cause, Josiah had placed Casey in danger and knew that he would always be a little less than reasonable when it came to her safety. 

"I'm sorry JD," Josiah apologized. "I guess I'm a little too protective of her." He confessed. "She's all that's left of my family." 

"Its okay Josiah," JD shrugged it off, feeling a little odd that someone like Josiah ought to be apologizing to him. He still felt somewhat awed by the company he kept lately and could not find it in himself to be mad at Josiah. Besides, he knew what it was like to be the only one left of a family and it was not a feeling he would wish on anyone. "I understand." 

"Corellian freighter Rogue," an unfamiliar voice erupted from the com unit in the cockpit, "You have been cleared for landing. You will be escorted to Landing Bay 23." 

Buck let out a sigh of relief and knew that the escort was standard procedure for most ships that were requesting docking at Cloud City for the first time. The construction of the city with its high spires, towers and platforms, required careful navigation through the architecture to reach the landing pads. One error in judgement could see an entire tower destroyed with its occupants inside, thus Buck understood the logic in having trained professionals guide visitors into its confines.  

"Thank you kindly," Buck said with no traces in his voice at the anxiety he felt awaiting their response.
Upon terminating the channel between them, Buck let out a sigh of relief. "Okay," he glanced at his friends once more. "Let's go do this."

*********

 She had not meant to slice into the system. Really she did not.  

Aunt Nettie had warned her time and time again, that eventually someone was going to find out what she was doing and pay a little closer attention to her than they should and find out who she was. If that happened, well she was in for a lot of trouble. Unfortunately, this warning though given to her several times already, had not made its full impact upon her awareness until three hours ago, when Imperial agents arrived and took custody of her. It was bad enough that she and Nettie were now placed in a situation where their lives were in danger but now it appeared as if they were using her to set a trap for her Uncle Josiah, which did not sit well with Casey at all. Josiah was doing important things for the Rebel Alliance and she just knew that his capture would mean his death, like it had meant for her mother. 

Casey paced the floor of her room for the hundredth time, trying to think of what she could do to aid her situation. She could not just let them come and take Uncle Josiah! If she had not been monitoring the city's private communications channel they would not have traced her slicer routine back to this suite and discovered who she was! Casey felt awful and yet she had no idea what to do about it. She glanced at Aunt Nettie who was staring out the window, looking so tired and worn. The old lady did not have the energy to raise her and they both knew it but Nettie had been determined to try and Casey would always love her for it.  

"Casey dear," Nettie glanced her way. "Stop that. You're making me nervous." The old woman looked away from the window where she had been staring at the panoramic vista outside. The advantage about living in a city suspended miles above the surface was that every window afforded a panoramic vista although at this moment, Nettie would prefer being some place where it did not require a ship to leave the city. 

"I'm sorry Aunt Nettie." Casey paused in mid step because she had come to a decision. Her skills as a splicer and a tinkerer had brought her to this end and if she were to extricate herself, Aunt Nettie and Uncle Josiah from this situation, she would have to use those very same abilities. The Imperial agents had locked her and Nettie in her bedroom while they waited for Josiah to arrive. Without saying another word to Nettie, Casey padded over to the door that led to the next room where the agents were presently situated, no doubt intending to surprise Josiah the moment her uncle walked through the door. She pressed her ear against the door, uncertain of what she was doing except that she had to do something. 

"Casey, what are you doing?" Nettie asked and Casey immediately gestured for her to be quiet. 

Nettie felt silent immediately and rose to standing position as Casey continued to listen. After a moment of inactivity as well as silence, Nettie joined her niece at the door. "What is it?" She whispered. 

"There's only two of them there now." Casey remarked.  

"The others must have gone to get ready for Josiah's arrival." Nettie replied with a frown. "Probably setting a nice little trap for him." 

Casey nodded begrudgingly that was not far from the truth in which case she had very little time to act. "We’ve got to escape Aunt Nettie." She whispered softly upon moving away from the door. 

"That's easier said than done," Nettie pointed out. "The doors locked. We can't even get out of the room much less past those two men." 

"I know," Casey started to pace once again but this time she did not do so for very long because less than a few minutes had passed when suddenly, she was hurrying to the computer terminal in her room.  

"What is it?" Nettie asked, all too familiar with that expression on the girl's face. It usually marked the onset of something inspired and for once Nettie was more than happy to see it at work, especially if it meant that disaster could be averted for Casey, herself and Josiah Sanchez.  

Casey did not look up as her fingers flew over the computer controls but she did answer her aunt with a little smile on her lovely youthful features, "I got an idea."

*********

They did not know how long they would be waiting, only aware that their instructions had been explicit that they were to wait until the Senator showed. While Imperial agent Ely Joh was content to remain in these surroundings indefinitely for the arrival of their quarry, his partner in this endeavour, a young rookie who needed things moving along at a faster pace than this, was growing impatient with each second. Dagmyr was new to the work, fresh out of training, Ely Joh wagered and as customary practice, the youth was paired with a veteran who would complete his on-the-job tutelage of what it was to be a member of Internal Security for the Empire.  

Personally, Ely Joh would be surprised if he survived the year. 

"Settle down." He instructed the young man for the dozen time, not that he paid much attention. "The Senator will get here when he gets here. Our people are in place, we’ll get him." Ely Joh said confidently. 

"What if he doesn’t take the bait?" Dagmyr asked impatiently. 

"We made it very clear that we knew where she is," Ely Joh answered wearily, wondering how many times he was going to have to clarify this with the young man before he was forced to shoot him. "She is the only family he had left, he’ll be here." 

"I don’t know…." The young man seemed sceptical but Ely Joh gave little credence to his disbelief. Men like Josiah Sanchez who were willing to risk everything on principle had the inherent flaw possessed by heroes and martyrs alike, the grandstanding need to prove their overt sentimentality, especially where familial responsibilities were concerned. 

"He’ll be here." Ely Joh insisted with enough edge in his voice to indicate to his companion that this debate was becoming tiresome and to remember who was in charge here and who had to take the orders.  

"Maybe we ought to see what the girl is doing in there." Dagmyr suggested instead. 

"Unless she and the old lay can fly, I don’t see a problem." The lieutenant said gruffly, wondering how long he would get if he really did shoot this annoying creature.  

"She’s got a computer terminal in there." He pointed out, not about to relent. "She could be doing all sorts of things from that juncture. I mean we caught her because she was poking around in restricted areas didn’t we?" 

On that note however, he did have a point and Ely Joh supposed that there was no harm in checking on the girl. He was about to mention that when suddenly, he heard the old lady call out.

"Excuse me?" Her voice passed through the door. 

An exchange of glances passed between the two agents before Ely Joh nodded at the young man to proceed. He hurried forward even before his superior had given him the signal.  

"What is it?" He asked upon reaching the door. 

"I need to use the utility." The old woman responded. "It’s been hours since you put us in here." She reminded. 

Ely Joh saw no harm in that and the old woman was not incorrect about the length of their incarceration. "Go ahead," he nodded, giving his companion permission to continue. 

Dagmyr reached for the door panel and activated it when suddenly; something that sounded like a burst of electricity erupted in the air. Ely Joh turned to the noise just in time to see Dagmyr’s body spasming so violently, he could not even scream. His hand was still pressed against the door panel and the surge of blue energy running through him had its source from that location. Dagmyr continued to jerk and shudder, appearing like a marionette under the direction of an unskilled puppeteer.  

Ely Joh was on his feet in seconds, running towards the young man when the suddenly the energy burst cut short and Dagmyr collapsed to the floor in an abrupt heap, his body still jerking in sharp spasms. Ely Joh dropped to examine his life signs when all of a sudden, the door slide open before him. He tried to aim his gun but the girl moved faster, having anticipated his actions and brought down the heavy sculpture she was holding in her hands, down on his neck. The pain flared though his consciousness as the object crumbled over his skull and he became aware of his gun leaving his hand through the haze.  

Casey saw the man go down and immediately retrieved his weapon. With adrenaline pumping through her veins and giving her more courage than she thought herself capable, the young woman did not even have to think twice when she set the weapon for stun and fired while the agent was still reeling from her assault. The blast of energy was brief but when it faded away, he lay just as lifeless as his companion next to him. 

"Nettie!" Casey gestured her aunt forward.  

Nettie appeared at the door way quickly and was somewhat shocked by what she found there but was not about to argue with the results of Casey’s ‘idea’. "You did it." She exclaimed with a measure of surprise and pride in her niece’s abilities.  

"I didn’t do anything yet," Casey retorted, keeping her hand on the gun as she and Nettie went to the door. "We still have to get out of Cloud City." 

On that note, the two women hurried out of the room, hoping that their luck held until they could contact Josiah Sanchez and tell him about the trap that was awaiting him.

CHAPTER THREE

Despite existing beyond the realms of Imperial control, Cloud City was as sophisticated and modern as any city that might be found in the core worlds. While its architecture was definitely influenced by Coruscant, it had a touch of the pristine that was common to Alderaan and the spires and towers that embellished its skyline was certainly in keeping with the Bimmisari designs that were popular at the time of its construction. Indeed, Cloud City prided itself on its cosmopolitan atmosphere and as the new arrivals to the urban centre departed the upper levels where the docking port was located, it was hard not to be impressed by the beauty of it. 

Docking authorities had not given them much notice after they had cleared customs since the registration papers that Buck had produced appeared genuine, still the pilot was not eager to remain here for very long. Cloud City for all its skyscrapers, manicured lawns and terraces was built on illegal currency. The reason for its opulence was that it did not pay the high tariffs required of the Spacing Guild and thus it remained out of Imperial control. However, such a place tended to invite a specific type, being those who did not wish to be noticed and those who in turn made their living from the sale of information, found Cloud City to be a place where fortunes could be made. Buck knew that if anyone of these informants so much as thought that there might be a profit in any of them, the Empire would be here faster than he could blink.  

"You been this way before Buck?" Nathan inquired as they travelled through the white hallways that led into the heart of the city.  

"Once or twice." Buck remarked, maintaining that façade of indifference even though he was noticing everything. "Too expensive in my opinion." 

"I didn’t know Tibanna gas was so profitable." JD remarked, having learnt something about the industry when he was in school.  

"It is but these people are selling to clients who can’t afford to go through the Guild channels." Chris explained. "So they can charge whatever they like and its usually quadruple the normal price." 

"Wow." JD whistled softly even though he was fascinated by everything he had seen so far to feel much trepidation at the possible danger that might be awaiting them here. "Why couldn’t they go through the normal channels?" 

"For any number of reasons," Josiah explained. "Usually those who can’t go through the Guild have been blacklisted for poor commercial practices, political embargoes, the usual." 

They entered what appeared to be the main promenade, a crowded place surrounded by shop fronts selling all manner of things. Crysosilk clad mannequins peered through display windows at them, while the aroma of exotic spices wafted at them from the restaurant next to it. Unlike Cordoba, there was not the bazaar like atmosphere he had come to know. Here the scent of opulence overrode everything else. This was not a place for bargain hunters, for the women who moved past in their expensive clothes and the men who regarded them distastefully all reeked of aristocratic indulgence. 

Chris Larabee was also paying close attention but not because he was playing tourist to his new surroundings. He could feel something drawing close, pressing in on them even if he could not for the moment discern what that was or whether or not that it was danger. All he could feel was this eminent sense of arrival. He let his gaze sweep through the crowded promenade, attempting to make a visual confirmation of what his mind was telling him. Not that he doubted the tremor in the Force that gave him such insight but sometimes, it was necessary to rely on one’s other senses as well. 

Unaware that Chris was engaged in the same activity, Vin Tanner had picked up the scent as well, except what he noticed was far different than the sensations presently experienced by his Jedi companion. Vin’s insight was more observation. He was no stranger to Bespin, having followed the trail of many a bounty here on occasion. Since Cloud City and Bespin was not governed by Coruscant, they had their own version of law enforcement in place of storm troopers. It was common to see the Cloud City Security forces wandering about the busy promenade keeping order. However, ever since they had made their arrival in the city, Vin had not seen one at all. What he did see were a number of plainly dressed men, too plainly in his opinion for this fashionable crowd. It was as if they were attempting to blend into the background but the effort was too forced and easily spotted by someone who knew what to look for.  

Imperial agents, Vin decided and judging by the number of those he had suspected of being more than what they were, a lot of them. 

"Josiah," Vin spoke up. "Are we far from your niece?"  

The tone of the bounty hunter immediately put Josiah on guard and he averted his eyes towards the younger man immediately. "Why?"  

"We’re being watched." Chris stated. "We have been since we walked into the promenade." 

Reflexively, Josiah almost turned to look but Chris stopped him immediately. "Keep walking." He ordered. "Don’t let them think we’ve seen them." 

Josiah swallowed thickly and faced front again, continuing their journey across the crowded promenade while feigning ignorance at their discovery. "What do we do?" 

"Hell." Buck Wilmington swore. "I knew it! I knew it was too easy. Bespin port authorities are usually absolute pains in the asses when a ship docks in. For them to just take my registration papers and just let it go at that without any questions….." 

"Buck, we had no choice." Nathan quickly moved to assuage the man’s guilt. "We had to land to get to Casey." 

"So how far away is she?" Vin repeated his question.  

"She’s in the Level 14 of the Residential Sector." Josiah answered quickly. "She and Nettie have a suite there under the name of Felisa Dar."  

"Buck," Chris responded after considering what their next step ought to be. Obviously the Imperials had no wish to make their move in a crowd full of people. It was likely they were waiting until Josiah and his companions had exited the promenade before making their attempt to capture him. "You, Nathan and Josiah need to stay here for awhile, mingle in the crowd and make sure you’re being seen by a lot of people." 

"I have to go find Casey." Josiah said firmly, not at all liking the idea of being shielded when his niece was in danger. He did not care about the consequences to himself but he did care about Casey and was willing to risk anything to ensure her safety.  

"Vin, JD and I will do that." Chris said smoothly, already anticipating the protest. "Right now, you need to stay out in the open. They’re waiting for you to move out of the promenade to close their net. We’re not giving them the chance. You three wait here, make them think that you have no idea about their presence while we go get your niece." 

"You have no idea what she looks like." Josiah retorted. 

"Yes I do." Chris responded, having already seen the image of the girl in Josiah’s mind. The senator’s fears for his niece were so overwhelming, he was broadcasting his fearful emotions clearly. "I have my ways."  

Josiah seemed reluctant still but had to concede the point because he knew Chris was right. If this was a trap than he would do more harm than good, not just to Casey but to all of them by insisting he go retrieve her himself. Chris’ plan made sense, they were expecting Josiah to appear, not a Jedi Knight, an ex-bounty hunter and a boy. 

"We’ll find her Josiah," Vin reassured the older man. "Its what I do." He remarked cockily, trying to assuage Josiah’s fear and his guilt for not taking part in her safe return himself.  

"Alright," Josiah smiled wryly. "Just be careful." 

"Sure dad." Vin retorted and was rewarded with a stern frown from the dignified senator. 

"Listen all of you," Chris gave the three members of their group remaining in the promenade a hard glare conveying that what he was about to say was to be obeyed and he was hearing no argument otherwise. "If anything goes wrong, if they decide to take the risk and come after you here, clear out. Get back to the Rogue and return to base."  

"We’re not leaving you behind." Buck said firmly. 

"Yes you are," Chris returned sharply. "At the moment, you, Nathan and Josiah are on the Imperial’s mot wanted list. JD and Vin are still low priority, JD is just another rebel foot soldier as far as the Empire is concerned, Vin is a bounty hunter who reneged on a deal and they won’t sent Imperial agents after me, they’ll send heavy guns used to dealing with Jedis. You on the other hand, have intimate knowledge of rebel collaborators and sympathizers and don’t even let me start with you and Josiah, Nathan." 

The second command of the rebel enclave in the Territory fell silent at that statement because the Jedi was right as much as he hated to admit it and once again, Mary Travis’ words surfaced inside his mind. For the cause to succeed there had to be sacrifices and not always ones that were easily stomached. "Alright," Nathan nodded begrudgingly, understanding better than all why Chris’ orders had to be followed. "If things get to hot, we’ll take off but only if things get too hot." He insisted. "We’re not running out on you at the first sign of trouble. We’ll make back to the ship and prep her to leave but we will remain until the last possible minute for you before we go, is that clear?" 

This time it was Nathan who was not going to stand for an argument on this issue and waited for Chris’ response. The Jedi and the soldier locked gazes for a few seconds as a silent battle of wills was exchanged between the two and Chris realised that on this matter Nathan was going to be quite intractable.  

"Okay," Chris conceded defeat, deciding that they could not afford to waste any more time debating the issue. "You win."

"Thanks," Nathan sighed, pleased that he had did not have to press his point any more than that.

"We’ll be back as soon as we can," Chris remarked as he, Vin and JD broke away from them. 

"We’ll be waiting." Buck retorted and gave Chris a long stare, which though not as forcefully stressed as Nathan’s stance earlier, was nonetheless as determined to proving that he meant what he had just said. 

**********

Casey and Nettie had not managed to get very far because once their escape was noted, there were Cloud City guard patrols everywhere. She had hoped to have at least escaped out of the Residential Sector by now, intending to reach the upper levels where there were more people on the move in which she and Nettie could lose themselves. What alarmed Casey the most however, was the fact that while she had been boosting the energy output to the door which had incapacitated one of her jailers earlier, she had managed to access a coded transmission being sent from docking control to the central command. The message relayed that Josiah was already here and was presently under surveillance.  

She and Nettie had been hiding in a maintenance closet, trying to discern of someway they could get through the patrols and had so far yet to arrive at any bouts of inspiration like the one that had managed to see them escape out of their suite. Casey knew they could not remain indefinitely where they were for the urgency of the situation was mounting with Josiah’s presence in Cloud City. It was no longer her own well being that concerned Casey so much but rather the fate of her uncle. Casey had a feeling that now that he was in Cloud City, she was no longer a priority and the enemy would expend all their time in attempting to apprehend him. 

"We can’t stay here much longer," Casey whispered inside the dark confines of their hiding place. "We’ve got to reach Josiah before he walks into the trap." 

"He’s already walked into the trap Casey," Nettie replied grimly. "That’s what Cloud City is to him now, a big trap." 

As a foreboding as that sounded, Casey had a bad feeling that Nettie was right but the young girl was not about to give up just yet. She still had the gun in her hand and while she was happy to fire it a while ago to escape the room, the loss of adrenaline now filled her with all sorts of fear in regards to its use. "Then we have to warn him." She took a deep breath and pushed open the compartment door, peering through the vein of light that bled into the space to gauge whether or not it was safe to emerge.

Unfortunately, it was not. 

"There!" Someone yelled and Casey pulled back but too late. 

No sooner than she had retreated into the darkness did the door swung open and the first guard who made the attempt was soon thrown half way across the corridor when Casey aimed the blaster in his direction and pulled the trigger. Casey kept firing; not even sure that she was hitting anything but the volley of sound and energy blasts slamming into the walls of the corridor created enough confusion for she and Nettie to escape the compartment. 

"Run Nettie!" Casey shouted.  

Nettie ran forward, afraid to leave the girl but also knowing her age made her a liability to Casey. She had to put enough distance between them so that when Casey caught up, they would still be far enough from their captors to remain out of their reach. She hurried forward and could get no further because around the corner she saw more guards converging on them. Nettie turned around and saw Casey laying enough fire between herself and the guards attempting to reach them to be able to break away to join her. However, the young girl had not seen what was coming from behind her. 

Casey’s hands were shaking each time she pulled the trigger but what she could not achieve aiming, she more than made up for in volume. The blasts came so rapidly, mostly because she was utterly terrified that she hardly noticed whether or not they were meeting their mark. The weapon was still set on stun to which Casey was terribly grateful because she was not ready to kill anyone yet. 

"Casey, behind you!" Nettie cried out. 

Casey turned around and saw the guards coming from behind her and ahead. With a sinking feeling she knew that she and Nettie would soon be surrounded and there was nothing she could do about it. Once again, she scolded herself at the foolishness that had brought her to this situation.

"Get out of the way!" Casey shouted at Nettie and the lady ducked behind a corridor wall as Casey started shooting at the Cloud City troops that were coming at her from the opposite direction. The blasts impacted near them but did nothing to stop them from closing in and suddenly she realised she forgotten about the ones she had been attempting to escape. She turned around just in time to see a Cloud City guard swing the butt of his rifle into her face. 

Casey let out a soft squeal of pain as her cheek flared in agony, the impact against her skull was so hard she felt her teeth rattle. Casey became conscious of falling and marvelled by how the blow had robbed her so quickly of the ability to stand. She heard Nettie screaming somewhere in the background and turned her head far enough to see another guard bringing down his weapon on the back of the old lady’s neck. Casey cried out in horror as she saw Nettie’s eyes rolling backwards as she dropped to her knees, her frail body going limp before she fell face first onto the hard floor. The sound seemed to drain from her world as she forced herself to crawl forward, aware that there was something wet and warm making its way down her cheek.  

She had to reach Nettie because Nettie was not moving. 

The gun was still in her hand and when she realised that Aunt Nettie could be dead, Casey turned around slowly and saw the man who had hit her coming forward. Without even thinking twice, Casey swung the gun around and this time something more than adrenaline was at work. She pulled the trigger with little or no reluctance, sending energy straight into his chest. From a suitable distance, the stun blast would have knocked him unconscious but at this range, being less than a foot away from her, it had the power to do some serious damage. She heard him scream, saw him stagger back, his eyes opened wide with shock before the injury took hold and forced him to succumb. 

She saw another about to fire at her when suddenly, there was a blur of movement over her head. It sailed across the air in a neat arc before landing directly in front of her in the form of a man she did not recognise. The new arrival was clad in dark robes and Casey tried to recall when she had seen someone like him and found that she could not. However, the mystery of what he was disappeared the moment the light sabre came to life in his hand. The Cloud City guards recognised him too because suddenly they forgot all about her and started shooting at him. Somewhere in the distance, Casey heard someone calling out. 

"JD, get the girl!" 

Casey followed the sound of the voice and realised it was coming from behind her. She turned her injured head painfully and saw a dark haired stranger making short work of the remaining guards by the deadly accuracy of his marksmanship. Upon seeing him shoot, Casey realised how unskilled she had been because when he pulled the trigger, the blasts did not go helter skelter in all directions. Each blast met its mark. From his vantage point behind the corner Nettie had taken refuge briefly, he picked the guards off one by one, until their bodies covered the floor where they had fallen.  

"Hey," she suddenly heard a voice in her ear. "Are you okay?"  

Casey looked up and found herself staring at a young man not much older than her. He seemed just as overwhelmed by everything taking place around him although to his credit, he was holding his fear at bay enough to carry out what had been asked of him. His hand slipped under her arm, attempting to lift her from the floor or at least help her to her feet. Casey was grateful for the assistance and she scrambled to her feet, realising that help was at hand. 

She heard shots being fired and the distinct hum of a light sabre. The young man was pulling her out of the way, dragging her to the safety of a corridor that seemed to be free of the shooting for the moment. She was conscious of his taking the gun out of her hands and in all truth, did not mind so much that he did. She was happy to relinquish it and noted with some measure of comfort that he handled the thing as if he knew how to use it. 

"Stay here." He ordered. 

"No!" Casey pulled him back as he was about to return to the fighting. "You’ve got to help my Aunt Nettie!" 

JD groaned with exasperation. "What do you think I was gonna do?" He grumbled. 

"You need a gun to go help my Aunt Nettie?" She barked back, the whole day fraying her nerves and her temper somewhat.

"No I need a gun to make sure I don’t get my ass shot off while I’m trying to help her!" JD retorted before hurrying forward, keeping his head down as he crossed the hallway attempting to avoid being caught in the cross fire of stray shots that were being deflected by Chris' light sabre. 

JD paused to see Chris cutting his way through two remaining guards. At the Jedi's feet were the remains of blasters that had been sliced apart by the light sabre. Their masters lay next to the metal fragments just as useless. JD could not help being awed as he watched Chris moving, leaping into the air, spinning gracefully before landing and wielding the elegant weapon in his hand like it was all apart of an orchestrated ballet. The Cloud City guards never had a chance and some had even started running, deciding that it was not worth their trouble to die in a futile effort to take on a Jedi Knight. For those who yet to come to that decision, Chris was more than ready for them. He moved like lighting, seldom in one place long enough for them to fire at him and when they did, the blasts bounced off the light sabre as Chris swung and parried while he deflected each one. 

Vin on the other hand did not have to move as much. The bounty hunter was more than comfortable where he had positioned himself and he kept the guards off Chris’ back as they came down the corridor. Vin’s prowess as a marksman was reaching near legendary status among the members of the Rebel Alliance. Indeed, JD had been taking a few lessons from the man and knew just how proficient Vin was behind the barrel of a gun. No sooner than more reinforcements arrived in his sights, Vin pulled the trigger on his blaster and cut them down before they could even cross the space to reach him. His positioning made it possible for him to hold them off indefinitely but really, it was only required for as long as it took for JD to take care of his part of the plan. 

On that note, JD reached the old woman who was lying unconscious on the floor. He could see the slight heaving of her body which indicated she was still among the living but he did not at all like the look of the soggy patch of hair on the back of her head which indicated a serious injury. A surge of anger filled him wondering what justification there could be in assaulting a woman of her years in this manner. JD immediately tucked the weapon he had taken from the girl into his belt, having faith enough in both Chris and Vin to keep any stray shots from reaching him while he took the old woman to safety. She did not stir as he wrapped his arms around her and lifted her up.  

Nettie did not weigh very much but she was gravely wounded for she did made no reaction to his presence and must be very unconscious if she was that unaware of anything taking place around her, especially with all the excitement occurring at the moment. JD was careful to remove her frail form from the scene of the commotion and once he was past the crossfire, JD shouted out to Vin and Chris collectively. 

"I’ve got them both!" He announced. 

Chris glimpsed briefly in his direction and then turned to the remaining guards who were still shooting. Choosing to waste no further time with them, the Jedi focussed himself for a moment of calm even though it was exceedingly dangerous for him to do so. However, the pause was all he needed and when he looked up at his adversary, he could sense their fear when they saw him switch off his light sabre. There was no warning at all as Chris sent them flying through the air with such force that when they landed on the smooth floor, they did not stop, continuing to slide forward in their unconsciousness as far as their momentum would take them. Once he had finished with them, he turned around and started towards Vin. 

"Vin!" Chris called out. "Its time to go." 

Vin nodded slightly in Chris’ direction before turning back to the guards he had been facing. He squeezed off a few more shots, making sure they met their end in soft flesh before retreating behind the wall to join Chris and JD. 

"Aunt Nettie!" Casey cried out when she realised just how badly her aunt was hurt. 

"We have to keep moving." Vin stated upon joining them and then noticed the state of the old woman JD was holding. "She looks bad." 

"She does." Chris agreed making a quick examination of the wound. "She needs a bacta tank and quickly. We have to get out of here, right now." 

"Who are you?" Casey demanded, suddenly remembering that there were dangerous people after her and sense demanded that she trusted no one, even if these men appeared to be under the guise of trying to save her life and that of Nettie’s for the moment. "How do I know you’re not after my Uncle Josiah too?"

"Are you kidding?" JD exclaimed. "We’re not getting shot at for the hell of it you know, Josiah’s here, going crazy with worry about you!" 

The group had started moving, running at a brisk pace as they turned down corridors and new junctures with Casey in the lead. The young woman seemed to know where they were going, not that Chris was surprised. He sensed a staggering amount of intelligence in this girl’s head, much more than most would give her credit. Suddenly, he was starting to agree with Nathan Jackson that Casey Wells could be of great use to the Rebel Alliance. When they had put a little distance between themselves and the guards, Chris paused a moment to take stock of themselves and to check on the injured member of their party. 

"JD, are you alright with her?" Chris asked, aware that they had very little time before the entire complement of Cloud City’s law enforcement was upon them, not to mention the Imperial troops that were keeping close eye on Josiah. This was all the incentive needed for them to close their net on the Senator. He hoped that when things had started to get rough, Nathan had heeded their advice and gotten to the Rogue.  

"Yeah," JD nodded quickly. "She’s not very heavy, I can manage. Besides, you two are better at keeping those guards off our tail than I am anyway." 

Chris placed a hand on JD’s shoulder and remarked. "Maybe so but only for the experience." He said with enough feeling in his voice to make the young man swell with pride. "Now young lady," Chris turned to Casey, "what’s the fastest way to the launch bays from here?" 

"Through the maintenance section." Casey replied quickly. "Some of the doors are restricted but that will mean they don’t expect us to go that way because they’re sealed." 

"Sealed?" Vin exclaimed. "What good is to us if they’re sealed?" 

"Well they won’t expecting us to go that way," Casey responded with a little smile "And they also don’t know that I know the master codes to all restricted systems." 

"Of course." Vin retorted before they started moving again, wondering what other surprises Miss Wells had for them.

CHAPTER FOUR

It was not hard for Buck Wilmington to ascertain the precise moment it became expedient for them to leave.

 Suddenly klaxons were sounded across the promenade, blaring through the ordered walkways around the observation windows that allowed visitors a panoramic view of Cloud City at its best. The alarms sent people scurrying in all directions, retreating for the multiple exits that existed throughout the place. The disarray did the service of creating some small measure of confusion, heightened by the electronic voice above that called for more guards to report to the Residential sector, in particular Level 14. Buck had no doubt that they were being ordered to that section of the city because Chris and the others must have got the girl and were no small way, fighting their way out.  

Despite the natural compulsion to go help his friends, Buck remembered what Chris had said and knew as much as he might hate to do it, he had to get Nathan and Josiah out of here. Both were too vital to the fledgling Alliance to be captured and with the present pandemonium, it was the perfect opportunity to remove themselves from the vicinity and from under the vigil being maintained by the Imperial agents. At this moment, Buck was certain they were attempting to sort through the running bodies to locate their prey. The confusion would not last long however, once the promenade was evacuated the leash be set off the Imperials because there would be no one left to notice them.

 "We have to go." Buck called out to Nathan and Josiah as he gestured them towards the nearest exit. "Now." 

Nathan and Josiah were thinking the same thing although Josiah's thoughts were clouded with worries about Casey and her guardian Nettie. However, he had presence of mind to get moving quickly because if Chris, Vin and JD had successfully liberated his niece and her aunt then it was vitally important that their rescue be no complicated with worries about his welfare. Buck was right, they had to get to the ship now and prepare it for launch because they would almost certainly need a quick getaway. Following Buck's lead, he and Nathan insinuated themselves into a large crowd of people moving swiftly towards a near by exit. He looked over his shoulder and could see the faces of dour looking men scouring the group for a familiar face and immediately dropped his head out of view in an effort not to be seen. Although he could not say for sure, Josiah was certain that Nathan and Buck were doing the same thing.

The crowd advanced to the nearby exit like the rising swell of a wave, sweeping towards the doorway in a tide of bodies. Josiah glanced behind him and saw the Imperial agents brandishing their weapons, probably at the realisation that the prey was making its bid for escape and unless they acted now, it would slip out of their reach. Josiah faced front again, keeping Nathan and Buck in sight as the crowd pushed out of the doorway, leaving the Imperials behind who were on the move now and were no doubt, not far behind. Josiah saw the doorway rush at him, then sailed over his head before rapidly descending behind him as he made his way through.

 As the crowd emptied out into the corridor beyond the promenade doors, it began to break up into smaller groups; scattering as they prepared to continue their journey through the diverging corridors that than ran to other parts of Cloud City. Josiah immediately made his way to Buck and Nathan, who had unholstered their weapons in anticipation of the Imperial troops that would soon make their appearance, no longer restrained by the need for concealment, since the crowd was so panicked they would notice nothing anyway. Josiah did the same, his eyes shifting towards the doorway from the promenade, watching the rest of the inhabitants pushing their way through and knew that the agents sent to apprehend him would be among their number soon enough.

 "What are we doing?" Josiah asked although it was somewhat a redundant question.

 "We’re heading straight to the landing bay." Buck retorted with no hesitation in his voice. "We’ll prep the ship and wait as long as we can for Chris and the others. If I know that crazy Jedi, he’s already on his way there with your niece."

 "I hope so," Josiah responded, not wanting to question Buck’s faith in Chris Larabee but Casey was his kin and he could not help but worry when it came to her welfare. 

Buck did not waste time with words and immediately broke into a run down the corridor that would take them towards the landing bay. Josiah and Nathan fell into pursuit and progressed almost to the end of the long passageway when suddenly a harsh voice, full of authority and menace barked at them.  

"HALT!"

 The order was capped off with a blast from a laser rifle. The bolt of energy slammed into a wall behind Josiah when he did not stop in his tracks. It made a screeching sound as energy impacted against the duralite covering, melting the material all the way to the steel plates beneath it. The corridor quickly filled with the acrid stench of burning metal and a cloud of white fumes quickly obscured the passageway. Buck Wilmington who was first to reach the end of the corridor immediately paused and use the curve of the wall for cover as he shouted at his lagging companions.

"Hurry, I’ll cover you!" He shouted and began firing past them, being careful not to hit them by mistake. He sent a barrage of shots at the approaching Imperial agents, limiting their pursuit as they retreated to keep from being hit. Nathan and Josiah hurried past him and Buck squeezed off a few more shots at the enemy to lengthen their lead a little more before he pulled back and started running himself. Those in the corridor who had not been wise enough to leave the area upon the outbreak of shooting, were pressed up against the walls, determined to give them as much of a wide berth as possible.  

"Where are we going?" Nathan demanded, unfamiliar with the maze that was Cloud City and feeling it more than ever now that Imperial agents were hunting them. 

"There’s an bullet lift at the end of this corridor," Josiah responded, knowing the city a little better than his companions after his numerous visit to Casey. Although it was dangerous for him to do so, Josiah knew that his niece needed to feel she was not totally alone in this galaxy and sometimes, such things could not be conveyed by way of transmissions. Such reassurances needed to be made face to face and though he risked much, he cared for the girl too much to deny her that comfort. "It should take us straight up to the landing bay." 

His statement was punctuated by another blast of energy that sailed past him and impacted on the wall directly ahead. Bystanders in the corridor immediately screamed in fright, high pitched wails of women crying out as they dropped hastily to the floor in order to avoid being caught by stray fire. Nathan did not answer Josiah but instead swung around and pulled the trigger on his weapon, giving Buck who was behind him, some measure of protection as the pilot caught up to them. The Imperial agents, there were at least a dozen of them, were forcing their way through the bystanders in order to reach them and Nathan could not believe they would open fire when there were so many civilians about. 

The bullet lift was up ahead. The few civilians who were standing in front of it, waiting to escape the shooting scattered upon sighting them. Overhead, Buck heard the same voice that had alerted the city that there was trouble in Residential Section, Level 14 was not warning people to vacate Corridor 23 of the Promenade Section, citing extreme danger while at the same time, calling security forces to converge upon their location. 

"Just in time." Buck sighed as Josiah slammed his palm on the panel of the device and sent the door sliding apart. 

They stepped into the glass enclosure as the Imperial soldiers sighted where they were and raised their weapons to fire at the closing doors. 

"Damn!" Buck swore and prepared to drop to his knees to avoid being shot when the doors close that moment to seal them inside. He heard the impact of the blast on the metal and felt the entire capsule shudder. However, the nature of Cloud City’s precarious location made it necessary for her original designers to construct a city that was able to maintain its structural integrity at all costs. In truth, Cloud City was constructed to withstand a Level 10 shockwave, shrugging it off the way a Wookie would shake the water from his coat and continue on as always, with business as usual. A single blaster shot to the outer doors of a bullet lift was going to do very little to hamper its operations. 

The glass capsule surged upwards, the moment its passengers were safely aside. Constructed to run against the façade of the city, they sailed upwards, leaving the towers, the spires, the promenades and manicured terraces behind as they reached for the landing bay at the highest peaks of Cloud City. Buck leaned against the side of the glass wall, taking in nothing of the view as he faced his companions.  

"I hope Chris is on his way," Buck sighed. "Because I don’t know how long we’re going to be able to wait for him." 

"He’ll be here." Nathan said confidently, having an unshakeable sense of belief that if anyone could make it through the enemy to reach them, it would be Chris. 

Buck did not answer because he was not so much afraid of the enemy trying to capture them in Cloud City as he was of the ones who were no doubt waiting for them in the space above it.

**********

The hydraulic door released with a loud hiss and revealed another corridor, this one definitely darker and grimier than the last. Certainly it was not plated with duralite sheets or white nor have any of the soft, ambient lighting that filled most corridors of Cloud City. This one with its steel grills, open ventilation shafts and exposed conduits was a maintenance corridor and for their purpose extremely useful for it was led directly to the landing bay. Casey looked at her male companions with more than a hint of satisfaction at being able to work her magic on the control panel that allowed them access into this restricted zone. Indeed their journey here had progressed as far as it did because of the young woman’s ability to access such places and although none of them had spoken it out loud, they were all singularly impressed by her abilities as a slicer.  

"This should take us straight to the landing bay." Casey replied as JD hurried through the open doors with Aunt Nettie who was still unconscious. They had not seen any Cloud City guards in the last ten minutes and Chris was starting to wonder if there was reason for concern. He had expected the entire complement of guard coming down on them by now, however, as of yet, they had been pursued with drips and drabs. The optimistic would think that this was just luck but Chris could tell even Vin was dubious about their supposed ‘good fortune’. 

"Good," Vin drawled, his eyes averting toward the direction they had come to see if any more guards were on approach. "The sooner we’re out of this place the better. I got a real bad feeling about this." 

"Me too." Chris remarked in agreement at his insight. "Something’s coming at us. I can feel it." 

"I hate it when you do that." Vin grumbled as the doors slide close behind them after they had stepped into the maintenance corridor. "You’re usually right." 

Chris shrugged and flashed the bounty hunter a grin of mischief. "It’s a gift." 

Vin rolled his eyes and chuckled slightly, feeling somewhat indulgent displaying such humour considering the situation they were presently embroiled in. Facing front, they caught up quickly with Casey, JD and the unconscious Nettie still in his arms. Admirably, the young man had managed to keep pace with them even though he was carrying twice the load. The strain was starting to show but fortunately, they did not have far to go. 

"How are you doing JD?" Vin asked as they reached him. 

"I'm okay." He said panting hard. "She's not that heavy." 

"Come on!" Casey, who had gone up ahead of them, retreated when she realised that she was alone. "Let's get moving! Aunt Nettie needs a doctor!" With that, she started running forward again, leaving the three men to look at each other with resignation.  

JD turned to his older companions with a completely serious expression on his face and replied soberly, his eyes narrowing as he spoke. "I hate her."  

Neither Jedi or bounty hunter spoke as JD let out a sigh and started following the young woman, like a man being led to his death or finding himself faced with a path for which there was no turning back. For a few seconds they allowed the footsteps to grow more distant before Vin finally deigned to speak. 

"Sure you do."

**********

 They arrived at the landing bay to hear the sound of gunfire smashing against metal and knew that the source of it had to originate from whatever hangar the Rogue was presently occupying. It appeared as if the Empire had discarded its covert attempt to retrieve Josiah because as they hurried towards the berth where the Rogue was awaiting them, they could hear the call for more troops to the landing bay. Very soon, this entire area would be brimming with Imperial agents and Cloud City guards and not even Chris, with his Jedi abilities would be able to stand against the onslaught. Unfortunately, the berth in which the Rogue was waiting had been cordoned off by the troops attempting to reach the ship. 

Even though the Rogue had access to blast its way out of Cloud City by now, Chris knew of only one reason why the ship was holding its position. Buck was waiting until the last possible minute before he would take off, refusing as only Buck would to leave them behind. For once, Chris was grateful of his old friend's vigilance for the old lady in JD's arms could not wait any longer for medical attention. Even now, he could sense the sand of her life slipping away and the margin of time where she was capable of being saved was dwindling rapidly.  

They made their approach stealthily, barely noticed because of all the pandemonium caused by the guard's efforts to breach the Rogue's defences. Chris could hear the low explosions of sound that occurred periodically as they closed the distance between themselves and the ship. Louder and more percussive than the mere shots from blasters being fired, each time the rumble was heard, it sent a shockwave through the structure. 

"Buck's firing his lasers at them." Vin exclaimed, recognizing the sound as those made by his own ship, the Tracker.

"Yeah," Chris nodded, "its the only way he can keep them from reaching the ship." 

"How are we going to get past them?" Casey demanded. She had got them here this far but she knew as well as her companions that there was no way they would get into the berth. There was only way into the stall the Rogue was occupying and at present that door, was bottlenecked by Imperial troops trying to get past the laser bombardment Buck was using to hold them back in his desperate bid to maintain his position while waiting for his friends to arrive. "There's only one way in." 

"I know," Chris answered having considered that already. "You think you can get us to the berth directly next to it?" 

Casey stared back at the Jedi, confused even though she nodded in response. "Yes, but why?" 

"Can you or not?" JD bit back, wondering why it was necessary for her to question everything. Chris would not ask unless he had a reason for doing so. 

"Of course I can." She snapped back at him, not caring whether or not he was carrying Aunt Nettie, no one spoke to her that way. She was a member of the aristocracy. Her family had connections to the Republic Senate for as long as the Council had existed. Who was he to talk to her like some kind of commoner? "I just don't understand why." She turned back to Chris. 

"There isn't time for explanations." Chris returned firmly. "Just get us there now." 

His tone penetrated all her haughty stubbornness to register the seriousness of her situation and how it was completely unacceptable that she questioned him at this time. Besides, even Casey Wells had sense enough to know you did not argue with a Jedi. She swallowed thickly as she heard more weapons fire sounding closer than she would like and too much shooting and killing had taken place already, she did not want any more nor did she wish to lose any more people its sting. 

"This way," she said quietly and darted into another juncture leading away from the direct path towards their destination. As they retreated from the shooting, Casey made a series of twists and turns, down unoccupied corridors that had been evacuated because of the violence being carried out. Fortunately, the lack of bystanders ensured that no one would be able to report to those in authority at having seen them. Still Chris was certain that the Empire had not completely forgotten about them and was conducting its own search for them in a more limited fashion.

The berth that was directly next to the one being occupied by the Rogue was empty when Chris, Vin, JD, Casey and Nettie Wells reached it. Like the rest of the facilities in Cloud City, there was no ceiling and as they looked up above, they were greeted by the amber skies of Bespin with just enough twilight in them at this time of day to add a twinkle of stars in the canopy. Chris immediately went to the wall that was being shared by the two berths, his Jedi senses picking up the gamut of emotions beyond. All sorts of feelings, from fear, anticipation, worry and determination exuded through the duralite surface with his even needing to touch it. 

"Seal the door!" Chris ordered Vin. 

The bounty hunter nodded and immediately activated the door panel, sending the steel doors sliding shut and keeping them confined inside its four walls. Just to make certain that they would be completely uninterrupted, Vin aimed his weapon at the control pad and squeezed off one shot. One shot was all he needed. The blast more or less vaporized the mechanism and fused all the controls into an amalgamation of steel, duralite and plasteel. No one would be barging in on them unless they were armed with a laser torch any time soon. 

"What are you going to do?" Vin called out to Chris as he jogged over to the Jedi, who was running his hand across the surface of the wall, almost as if he was examining his texture.  

"You can't be thinking of cutting through that." Casey blurted out, guessing what he was intending. "That's almost five inches thick!" 

"Will you shut up and let him do what he has to?" JD retorted with more than a hint of exasperation in his way. "Chris would not have brought us here unless he knows what his doing!"  

"Hey!" Casey whirled around and glared at him, her voice full of imperious outrage. "Don't ever talk to me like that okay? I don't care from what backwater hick planet you crawled out of?"

"Backwater hick planet?" JD blazed back, his voice smouldering with as much menace as either Vin or Chris had ever heard the young man exude. "I may not be from Coruscant or wherever it is that you came from but at least I didn't have to the Rebel Alliance's most important members risking their lives to save your scrawny butt!" 

"My but though scrawny is none of your concern!" She said haughtily just as JD started to sputter with fury. 

"KNOCK IT OFF!" Vin Tanner exploded, having reached the limits of his patience, which in actual fact took some doing. "Knock it off or I swear to Feetal's Giz, whether or not the entire Imperial fleet is outside that door, I WILL put both you kids over my knee and give you the trashing that you deserve!"  

"You would not dare...." Casey returned. 

Vin took one step forward and looked down at the young lady with an expression of pure ice reserved for those he had hunted in the past. "Try me." 

"We don't have time for this." Chris Larabee commented seemingly oblivious at the antics of his younger companions as he brandished his light sabre. Activating it, the beam of energy extended from the hilt and Chris wasted no time in impaling the entire length of the weapon into the wall. The blade disappeared through layers of duralite and steel like a hot knife if butter. The tremendous heat generated by the weapon, not to mention the power of the Force melted the duralite first, sending rivulets of Duranis ceramic and dye sliding down the surface to pool at the base of the wall. The metal around the incision began to superheat, turning red at first as it made the initial penetration. As Chris began to cut his way through, it shifted from that primary stage to an amber shade, indicating the increasing temperature. 

Vin motioned JD and Casey to take a step back as sparks began to fly in tiny embers across the floor. Chris continued to cut, working his way through the wall, cutting them opening needed to reach the Rogue. The light sabre turned the steel around the cut from amber to white, until its colour was almost milky to the touch. The heat could be seen on Chris' skin as his face dampened with sweat as he continued to cut, almost three quarters of the way done. The path of the cut upon cooling had reverted to the char colour of burned metal and Vin could see the pinpricks of light appearing through the fissures created by the light sabre's precise work. 

By the time the blade had reached the end of its journey, the metal around it had turned blue and Chris knew after that, it would complete its journey into molten steel. Fortunately, what he had so far accomplished was enough. Taking a deep breath as he deactivated his light sabre, Chris took a step back, wiping the sweat from his brow. The others had been watching with awe the magnificent superiority of the Jedi weapon and hardly noticed Chris had closed his eyes to concentrate until the newly cut section of the wall began moving of its own volition. 

"This is where we leave this party." Vin responded, realizing what Chris was about to do and felt just like JD did at that moment, a great deal of pride in being able to safely say that he had utmost confidence that the Jedi would find their way out of this present predicament.  

The section of torn metal began shifting where it stood for a few more seconds when suddenly, an invisible force shoved it violently forward. It travelled a few feet into the next berth before slamming onto the floor with the loud clang that could only be produced by metal against the metal. Beyond the newly formed passageway, Chris could see the laser rifle underneath the hull of the Rogue firing away mercilessly at the Imperial troops trapped at the doorway. It would only be a matter of time before they brought larger weapons to deal with the threat so time was of an essence. 

"Move!" Chris barked at them and ushered the others forward.  

"Get going!" Vin ordered, liberating Nettie from JD and Casey. The youths ran forward, pausing briefly at the door to get further instructions from Chris. 

"I'll go first," Chris replied, speaking not only to JD and Casey but also to Vin. "I'll keep them off you and you long enough to get to the ramp. Understood?" 

Both of them nodded quickly and Chris turned to Vin. "Make it fast. I'm good but I'm not that good. There's too many of them out there." 

"I hear you?" Vin nodded in understanding just before Chris raced out into the open.  

As anticipated, all gunfire turned in his direction at the moment of his appearance. Chris had already activated his light sabre and immediately set down to the daunting task of deflecting the murderous bolts of energy. Moving through the air with lightning speed, his speed was such that it was hard to see where he began and where his light sabre ended. However, none of those who were with him paid any attention, remembering his orders to them first and foremost because it was necessary to save his life as well as theirs. JD grabbed Casey's hand and bolted forward, ignoring her protest to let her go as he raced towards the ramp way and forced her to keep up. In a matter of seconds, they were bounding up the extended walkway into the belly of the ship. 

Vin was the next to follow, unable to move as fast because of the lady in his arms but making good time nonetheless because he had to. He looked up long enough to see Chris deflecting the blasts of the Imperial troops as well as the Cloud City guards and knew that even for all his speed, the Jedi could not maintain that devastating pace for long. With that in mind, Vin found a renewed sense of strength as he raced forward, intending to come to Chris' rescue as soon as he could. However, he need not have worried, he had just felt his foot touch the steel plate of the ramp way when Josiah and Nathan appeared, taking enough cover to start firing past Chris. 

"Chris!" Josiah shouted at Vin ascended the walkway into the ship. "Get up here! We'll cover you." 

The Jedi did not show any indication that he heard them but suddenly, his light sabre deactivated and he leapt up, performing a back flip in mid air that sent him tumbling towards them. He landed on the ground a scant few feet from the ramp way and made a running start that sent him flying towards them once more. This time when he touched ground, it was not the floor of the berth beneath him but the walkway that led into the Rogue. He dropped heavily, driven almost to his knees before he composed himself a few seconds later. 

"Close the hatch!" Chris heard Nathan yelling and glanced behind him long enough to see the ramp retracting into the ship. The deck below him was already vibrating; indicating that Buck had the engines prepped and ready to blast off for some time now. If the Imperial agents knew what was good for them, they would be leaving the immediate vicinity about now. It was not wise to be at the tail end of a freighter about to blast into space.  

"Get us out of here Buck!" Nathan shouted once more.

He needed not have made the demand for Chris could already feel the Rogue lifting off the floor of the berth. The ascent was smooth as it soared into the sky beyond the perimeter of the city below. Once suitable distance was placed between the vessel and the floating metropolis, its turbo engines would ignite and the Rogue would streak out of the atmosphere like a comet reaching for the stars. 

"Casey!" Josiah finally caught his breath enough to regard his niece. "Thank the Force you're safe." The big man embraced her warmly and Chris did not have to be a Jedi to sense just how grateful the both of them were to see each other again, alive and well. The tender moment gave warmth to everyone who witnessed it, even to JD who had been at such logger heads with the young woman until Buck Wilmington's voice filtered through the ship's com system. 

"Get up here all of you." His voice was full of tense foreboding. "We've got trouble."

CHAPTER FIVE

Buck was right. They were in trouble.

By the time they arrived at the cockpit of the Rogue where Buck was presently at the controls, the freighter was already making its way out of the atmosphere. Around them, the overpowering amber skies of Bespin were diminishing quickly, being replaced by the deep, rich colours of indigo space. However, their departure from the planet had not removed them from the danger they had attempted to flee in Cloud City. The premonition of something else lurking in the seemingly disarming beauty of space came back to haunt Chris as he saw what was awaiting the Rogue as it escaped the planet’s gravitational field. 

The Star Destroyer was not alone.  

Chris suspected the moment they had been airborne, the fighters that were hovering around the destroyer like flies to a rotting carcass, had also been launched to intercept the Rogue before it could make the jump to light speed. The number of fighters in the air indicated that the Empire was taking no chances with them; they meant to capture the rebels alive. It would have been quite flattering to know that they were considered so dangerous by the enemy if not for the fact that their chances of escaping this particular net was dwindling rapidly. 

"I think we’re in trouble." Vin stated in what had to be the understatement of the millennium. 

"Josiah," Buck immediately took control of the situation because he of all people was an absolute master when it came to getting his ship out of tough scrapes and this one was no exception. "Get in the co-pilot’s seat. I need someone to help me fly this thing if we’re going to get out of this alive. Chris, I need you at the starboard gun ports." 

"I’m on it," Chris nodded and immediately retreated out of the room 

"I’ll take port." Vin retorted and joined him, wasting no time because when those fighters came after them. They would come after them with all guns blazing. They had a slim advantage in the fact that the Empire wanted them captured alive but if they put up enough resistance that edict might change to simply eradicating them once and for all. 

"I can take the rear gun ports." JD volunteered. 

Buck looked over his shoulder in concern. "Are you sure?"  

He did not want to appear as if he doubted the young man’s abilities but the truth was, there could be no margin for error in this. The only way they were going to escape was to fight their way through those TIE’s to gain enough distance to make the jump to hyperspace. Buck had been giving JD some lessons since they met but shooting simulated targets was one thing, shooting live targets was something else entirely because the deaths would be real, not some disappearing blip on a screen. While he was somewhat confident of JD’s ability, he did not know if the kid was ready for that. 

JD knew precisely what was going through Buck’s head and while he was grateful to the older man for his consideration, even JD was perceptive enough to see that time was crucial here; they did not have it to debate the matter. "No," he answered truthfully. "But we don’t have much of a choice do we?"

"Boy knows his mind." Josiah pointed out, offering JD a little support. 

Buck would not have refused him even if he could because JD was right, they did not have a choice and as Josiah had pointed out, it was his decision. "Alright," Buck nodded after a moment of hesitation. "You know how to handle the controls?" 

"Just like you showed me," JD called out as he started out of the cockpit, not waiting once he was given Buck’s approval. Within seconds, he had disappeared from view. 

"What about me?" Casey asked once he was gone.

"You can take a seat and strap yourself in." Josiah answered before Buck could make a response.  

"But I can help." Casey pouted, even though she was uncertain how she might be able to be of assistance at this time. She just felt the need to be doing something; especially since it was her fault they were all in this situation in the first place.  

"I appreciate the sentiment darling," Buck said as his hands flew across the lit cockpit control panel, "but right now the best thing you can do is keep out of the way." 

Keep out of the way! Casey fumed upon hearing his statement though delivered in the nicest possible way; however, the occasion warranted that she simply obeyed without argument. Frowning, she placed herself in the seat and then remembered Aunt Nettie who was presently being taken care of by Nathan Jackson who had promptly taken charge of the old woman upon boarding the Rogue. Although Casey had never met Nathan, she knew him by sight, having familiarized herself with most of the rebels that occupied the Empire’s most wanted list. Nathan was in prestigious company, being counted among the likes of Mon Mothma, Bel Iblis, Mary Travis and General Obi-Wan Kenobi. 

"Where’s Nathan?" Buck asked. 

"He’s in your medical bay," Josiah answered quickly. "Nettie was hurt on the way to the ship, he’s trying to stabilize her so she’ll survive the trip back to the Alliance." 

"Nathan," Buck flicked on the switch that would allow him communications with that section of the freighter. "Secure yourself and your patient now." 

"She’s badly hurt," Nathan’s voice returned. "I’ve got to get her stats under control." He protested. 

"I know you do," Buck responded sympathetically. "But we don’t have the time for that. We’re surrounded by enemy fighters and a star destroyer. I’ll have to do some fancy flying if we’re gong to make the jump to light speed so the moment, you’re going to have to buckle yourself and the lady in for the duration." 

There was a brief pause and Casey wondered if Nathan would protest. She did not like the idea of having to leave Aunt Nettie to her injured state and would like to have said so but she understood, if somewhat begrudgingly, what was at stake here. Nathan understood it as well because a second later he responded to Buck’s demand. 

"Understood." He said quietly, obviously not liking it that his charge would have to wait to receive her treatment but forced to comply because the situation demanded nothing less. 

Once he was certain that all of his passengers were secure, Buck faced the cockpit window and saw the Star Destroyer coming into view. The large ship cast a shadow through the plexiglassed window and it was an awesome sight to watch the enormous bulk defeat its size and design to sail gracefully forward in the soundless void of space. The fighters around it approaching on an attack vector, holding formation long enough to reach dispersal range and then the Rogue would be completely surrounded on all fronts. Buck took a deep breath, trying to remember when he had been in a fight like this and knew that it was a pointless exercise trying to recall the incident when he needed to be completely focussed. Resting his hands on the controls, he kept his eyes trained on the approaching enemy and spoke rather sedately, which seemed out of place coming from him. 

"Josiah," Buck said smoothly. "All you have to do is keep up with me, compensate for every depletion on every system that I’m going to overload. You hear me?" 

"Yeah," Josiah nodded, knowing that their survival depended on his making sure the ship was capable of keeping up with Buck’s manoeuvring skills. "I hear you." 

Buck nodded and watched the TIE fighters in his console screen began to break up from their group formation to move into individual attack vectors. They were coming in fast and to survive, Buck was going to have to be faster. "Let’s do it."

***********

The Rogue exploded forward at maximum acceleration, the ignition of all thrusters creating a brilliant flare of blue from the engines as the freighter streaked away from the approaching ships. The TIE fighters in pursuit immediately matched her speed, burning up the dark skies as they surged forward with equal power. The pilots occupying the enemy ship had an attack plan already in motion as others of their scattered numbers began to enclose the space upon which the freighter was at its epicentre. They were aware that the only chance the rebel ship had of escaping was to gain enough velocity to reach light speed and were well prepared for that eventuality. With the Star Destroyer lagging behind, every second the TIE fighters were able to delay the freighter from reaching its end, was another second that the ship came closer and closer to being caught in a tractor beam. 

Buck knew the strategy. It was standard Imperial procedure but he was not about to fall into the trap. He pulled the nose of the Rogue up sharply and began climbing, rising above the trajectory of the ships closing in on him. They had been pursuit him at maximum velocity and the sudden change in direction caught them by surprise. Buck knew the manoeuvre would not allow the Rogue to escape but it would give the ship valuable breathing space as he began to calculate the jump to hyperspace. He wanted to be able to jump immediately upon gaining breaking speed and managed to make the complex calculation while at the same time keeping one step ahead of the enemy. 

The enemy regrouped as anticipated and immediately reconfigured their trajectory to maintain the pursuit. The correction took less than a hundredth of a second which was nowhere as long as the seconds that had ticked by when the Rogue’s manoeuvring had caught them off guard. Once again, the net was being flung, bound by links made up TIE fighters bent on driving them towards the Star Destroyer who was closing in on them from the distance. This time they change their tactic in order to ensure their prey did not escape. Pouring more power to their engines, a feat when taken up by a smaller vessel ensured its acceleration far outmatched the larger ship it was pursuing, the TIE’s closed the gap between themselves and the Rogue and entered firing range. As soon as the Incom Cosair fell into their targeting scanners, the TIE fighters open fire. 

This too did not fall anywhere beyond Buck’s expectations of the situation. He knew that eventually, it would come down to this, a dogfight in open space. It was the reason why he had sent Chris, Vin and JD into the triad of gunnery turrets in the Rogue. Once again, he proved that he was a better pilot than he by swinging around his ship in a neat curve, much to tight for a vessel of its size but Buck knew his ship well and he knew what she could do. She managed the manoeuvre quite flawlessly and suddenly the TIE’s behind him had to veer out of the way as the freighter came charging right at them. The formation scattered once again, as ships struggled frantically to get out of the way, one or two did not make it as they spun out of control before colliding into one of their pilot pilots. The others learned from the mistake, felt their anger at seeing comrades die and then regrouped once more for the kill. 

*********

This was not like pod racing. 

Although that particular sport was hardly safe, it did not frighten JD Dunne as much as this did. In pod racing, things were simple. There were obstacles ahead and all one had to do to safety traverse the terrain and be declared the winner was to avoid them. As JD sat inside the rear gunnery turret, a small circular room in which a chair was mounted to the floor in front of the gun port controls, he felt the fear pressing against his insides and told himself that if he did not fear, he was a fool. Flexing his fingers at the hand held controls, JD swallowed thickly as he saw the TIE fighter’s approaching the Rogue at rapid speed. All that stood between him and space was a thick sheet of plexiglass that allowed him to view the vacuum outside without the benefits of electronic imaging although he could defer to the console screen of his targeting scanner if he liked. 

"Here they come." JD heard Buck announce.

He adjusted his headset and braced himself in the seat, returning his hands quickly to the controls, watching the approaching ships. Positioned at the rear of the Rogue, he could not only see the fighters that were closing in fast but also the large destroyer that was further back in the pursuit. JD reminded himself not to worry himself about the details and his eyes remained fixed on the TIE’s as the group of nine suddenly split into three divergent groups. Two veered off to either side of him but one trio remained entrenched behind him. 

He was jarred out of his observations by the first shots that ripped across the deflector shield before him. He could see the energy being absorbed by the invisible field of energy that kept them from being blown apart. The three were coming at him, firing across and he was doing nothing to stop them. The ship shuddered with each bolt of energy that struck the shields and JD knew he had to do something fast. He had volunteered to do this and there was no turning back now, Buck needed him to perform. 

JD closed his eyes for a brief second and told himself that he was not in the gunnery turret of a star freighter firing Imperial TIE fighters but back home on that little backwater as Casey had called it so ignorantly. He was back at that last day, the one that prior to the day he had left for Cordoba. He had taken the pod racer that had won him all his victories, the one he had built from nothing, the one he knew he had to turn over to its new owners that night itself, for one last run. JD remembered staring across the plains of the Badlands, studying the meandering paths through rock and thought to himself that he knew everyone. That last flight when he had sailed through the course, JD had almost felt invincible. Everything since then had been a different kind of chaos but for one moment that day, he had felt uncertain about anything. If he was to be any good to Buck and the others, he would have to be that again. 

JD opened his eyes, saw the TIE’s in front of him and whispered softly to himself. "Catch me if you can." 

A feeling of confidence swept over him and suddenly, he remembered why he had been so good pod racing. Humans could not normally indulge in pod racing because the speed and the reflexes required went beyond their ability to keep up with other species. Most who tried died but not JD. There was no Force in him that allowed him to keep up, just this utter feeling of absolute confidence that was beyond words to express. His hands began to move. He barely noticed the movements, following the targets with his transfixed gaze, refusing to let them escape him or the range of the weapons under his control. Enemy ships knew when they were targeted and the ships before him certainly displayed the signs of such knowledge for the lead ship desperately tried to escape his sights. JD barely flinched when he fired that first time, watching the bolt of energy streak through space that was twisting and turning around him thanks to Buck’s expert handling of the ship, before meeting its target. The TIE fighter simply exploded, the circular fuselage erupting outward, sending its flat wings spiralling into the void in flames before the vacuum extinguished it forever.

The wingmen for the destroyed ship immediately started bombarding the turret with more blasts, attempting to breach the shields to take their revenge upon their leader’s killer, unaware that even as they were pounding the Rogue with more firepower, he was preparing the same fate for them. JD did not even flinch as he target the left wingman, watching the craft flash on the console next to the firing controls when it had been acquired and he had a clear shot. It was not even registering on his brain what the digitized blip was in actuality, he was only concerned with that fact that he had to clear the screen for his next target. Firing just as indifferently upon the doomed vessel as he had done its predecessor, the craft vaporized in mid air.  

He noticed other ships that had been conducting strafing runs across the Rogue were now breaking off from that action and rushing to aid the lone TIE fighter that was left remaining. JD forced away any notions of fear and remembered where he was and what he was doing. Once again, the Barren Straits flashed in his mind and the image renewed his sense of purpose as well as his concentration. He barely noticed when he destroyed the last of the original trio of ships that had been in pursuit, even though by now its destruction was witnessed by the other TIE fighters rushing to take its place.  

JD hardly noticed the changing of the guard. His reflexes were moving so fast, his brain was barely registering the movement of his hands. All his senses had become fused and he was working so swiftly towards reaching his goal of eliminating as many TIE fighters from his line of sight the way he might circumnavigate the obstacles in the course of a pod race. Explosion after explosion flared before his eyes and all he could do in reaction was to move on, searching quickly for another target, honing the precision of his shooting to finer art than before. Everything else around him had dissolved into nothingness and entirety of his universe became the battle he was presently waging. 

It was unlike anything he had ever felt.  

*********

 "Where they’re all going?" Vin Tanner questioned as he shot another TIE fighter out of the sky. 

"I don’t know," Chris Larabee responded through his headset. 

At first, they had been inundated with enemy fighters until there were so many ships in the air that it felt like a swarm had surrounded them in space. However, as Vin and Chris, two exceptional pilots in their own right, continued the laborious task of fighting off the enemy ships in order to give the Rogue its corridor of escape, they found the number of ships attacking the starboard and port gun ports beginning to dwindle. The effort of the TIE fighters towards them seemed almost secondary in nature and Vin was genuinely perplexed. While they were far from forgotten since the enemy continued to make passes at their section of the Rogue, the TIE fighters seemed more focussed on the rear of the freighter.

"They're blasting the hell out of the rear turret." Vin retorted.

"Pick up your rear scanner." Buck said suddenly, his voice sounded strange almost as if there was a hint of astonishment in it. 

Vin and Chris in their respective alcoves immediately obeyed and watched the destruction taking place on the targeting screens before them as blips disappeared at an astounding rate. 

"Feetals Gizz!" Vin swore as he saw the rapid volley of blasts flying across the sky, vaporizing every ship that came into contact with it. He had thought he was fast in a gunnery turret but what he was seeing left in awe. "What the hell?" 

"Its JD." Buck's voice filtered through Vin's headset with a mixture of awe and concern. "He's manning the rear gun ports." The pilot responded. "I count at least twelve kills so far." 

"Twelve!" Vin exclaimed. He was uncertain of the exact number but the sharpshooter knew he had taken down at least seven ships so far but JD's tally was almost double that. "How did he manage that? The kid can barely shoot a gun." He cried. 

"Have you ever seen pod racing?" Chris asked them both, not surprised by the number of JD's kill even though he was somewhat concerned that the youth had yet to pause and consider that each ship he was destroying had a life that was equally terminated when the flames had disappeared from the sky. 

"Jabba the Hutt used to have them on Tatooine," Vin remarked. "There were not many humans who can do it." 

"JD told me that he was supposedly the best pod racer on his home planet. If that's even remotely true than his reflexes are faster than most humans I've ever seen." Chris confessed readily.  

"Could he be Force adept?" Vin ventured to ask as another ship flew by his targeting sights and was quickly destroyed for its trouble.  

"No," Chris answered immediately before pausing a moment to take care of some TIE fighters coming at the starboard side of the ship. "I don't sense it in him. However he is doing this, its purely a natural talent." 

"I knew he had potential," Buck started to say and Vin could imagine the proud grin on his face even as he was speaking. "But I never imagined this." 

"How long until we jump?" Chris asked, returning to the subject at hand. The Imperial forces were in disarray, scattering and regrouping, attempting to form some kind of battle plan. Chris would prefer to be gone before they formulated their new strategy.  

"One minute and counting." Buck replied confidently. "They aren't enough of them to stop us now." The star pilot retorted. 

"JD," Vin spoke into his headset. "Damn kid, where do you learn to shoot like that?" 

JD did not answer for a few seconds as he considered his answer. Until Vin had spoken, he was so lost in what he was doing that he had barely heard the conversation echoing through his headset. All he had been aware of was this need to vanquish the enemy so that they could escape, everything else had become secondary and yet in the course of that determination to succeed, he had transcended himself in a way he could not define. JD wondered if it was possible to find enlightenment in the middle of a battle but somehow he had and he knew without even saying it, that he would never be the same again. 

"I was just trying to help." JD said weakly. 

"I'll say!" Buck exclaimed enthusiastically. "Kid, when we get back to the Alliance, I am going to make you in the greatest star pilot in the Rebel fleet. You got the gift." 

"Buck," Chris' soothing voice entered the mix. "Take it easy." 

JD was glad for the intervention because in all truth, upon regaining some measure of coherence following his performance, the young man was rather shaken. He had no idea that he had been capable of such skill and the fact that it started to dawn on him that lives had been lost, JD was not entirely sure whether it was a skill worth having. He stared at the stars before him, watched the drifting remains of what had been numerous ships, each occupied by someone alive, not any more thanks to him and felt a cold shiver run through his spine. As the Rogue pulled further and further away from the debris field, JD continued to stare at it even after the ship had jumped into hyperspace and there was nothing before him but the memory of what he had done.

CHAPTER SIX

Ezra Standish never thought he would ever like being in command.

In fact throughout his career, he had gone through great pains to avoid being in charge of anything. It was not that he did not have the ability, far from it actually. His instructors at the Academy had branded him with the qualities of a natural leader but it was not commanding others that Ezra had always shirked away from, it was assuming responsibility for them that was the hard part. Suffering for his own mistakes was something Ezra did not mind enduring but it was another thing entirely to have others suffer because of his short comings. His entire career until this point had been an exercise in ensuring that he avoided taking centre seat at all costs. 

Of course things had changed. When he had asked for a transfer to Cordoba it had been for purely selfish reasons. Someone had to be close enough to Nathan to ensure the man did not get himself killed for his seditious activities. Ezra had assumed he would be given some minor position where he dissolve into the background and keep his ears open for any information that would keep Nathan and his skin from being two separate entities. Never in all his imaginings did he consider the possibility that they might saddle him with command of the entire outpost.  

True, Cordoba was hardly the dream assignment for the up and coming Imperial officer. It sat on the border of what was called Wild Space euphemistically known as the Territory because beyond it was the emptiness between galaxies. The Territory was as close to the galactic rim as one ever wanted to get. Being so far from the core world also made it a place running rife with all kinds of villainy.  

Cordoba itself was the end zone for what was called the Correllian Run where the natural pilots of that world, ignoring all sensible laws of navigation fought immense gravitational forces to cut through several systems to reach their destination a great deal sooner. There was only one thing worse than the Corellian Run and that was the Kessel Run, but as of yet, there was no pilot insane enough to make the attempt. However, aside from crazed Corellian pilots dealing in search of glory or a blazing end to their career, Cordoba also had to contend with dealing with gangster, specifically those emanating from Tatooine, Zhar, Alzoc 3 and Ryloth, worlds that were firmly controlled by the Hutt overlords. 

It was a challenging assignment that was remarkably suited for someone with Ezra's talents because he knew how to deal with such people and he had made it an art to out think them. Also, being so far from Coruscant meant that he was away from the political jockeying that seemed vital to the place's functioning. Besides, despite there being a rebel cell in the area, the Alliance kept their activities in this area to a bare minimum so he did not have to worry too much about being at cross purposes with them.  

When it was all said and done his assignment here was also rather routine, which was what Ezra craved. He had his own office, an adjutant named Claire Moseley who ensured that he never missed any of his meetings and he sensed knew what was going on around the place a lot better than he did. She did however, seem to disappear quite a bit but was always there when he needed her so he did not complain. She was a pretty little thing with gold hair and delicate features. Ezra spied a wedding band on her finger but Claire seemed reluctant to talk about her husband so all Ezra knew about him was that he was the First Officer of a military ship. He who understood a person's need for privacy, did not press for more information, liking the woman enough to leave her, her secrets. 

Ezra was in his office that morning going through the daily ship traffic reports when Claire burst into his office unannounced. She was normally the picture of efficiency so this interruption was all but forgotten in the light of what had precipitated it. Claire's expression was one of fear, again something not normally seen on the capable young woman and Ezra immediately rose to his feet behind his desk. "Lieutenant?" 

"He's here." She swallowed, her eyes wide open. 

"Who?" He looked at her confused.  

"The Executor." She cleared her throat. It was clear she had run all the way to his office. "Its pulled into orbit. You have to see it Sir. It's one of the new Super Star Destroyers. It's enormous. It's almost the size of a dreadnought or a space station but then its his ship so he would have the best....." 

"Claire, Claire," Ezra rounded his desk and approached her, putting his hands on her shoulder to calm her down. "You are babbling. Please try to make a little sense." 

"Lord Vader." She replied and in that one word justified her agog manner. 

"He is here?" Ezra's eyes widened. 

"He is on his way down in a shuttle. He will be here in ten minutes." She answered, the frightened look in her eyes deepening by the second. 

Ezra could hardly blame her of course. One could not be a member of the Empire without knowing with whom she was referring to with such fear. Darth Vader was the undisputed right hand of the Emperor and though Ezra had spent most of his time on Coruscant, he had been fortunate enough to never cross paths with the dark Jedi. The rumours ran thick throughout court about the man's reputation and Ezra had heard enough to know that there was a very good reason, people prayed never to fall under his notice. Not even Palpatine himself generated such fear. They said that he was a Sith Lord, a legendary order of dark Jedi who did not seek to dispense justice but rather advanced their own ambitions of power. From Chris Larabee, Ezra knew that it was largely through Vader that the Jedi were being hunted into extinction.

Ezra was in trouble and he knew it. His complicity in the Rebel Alliance was a secret known to himself but Vader might learn the truth if he probed deeply into Ezra's mind and Ezra had no doubts that the man would do so. He frantically tried to remember what Chris had said about the Jedi ability to sense thoughts and knew that it was usually harder to do so with a will that was strong. Chris had once told him that he was hard to read because he was able to hide so much of himself behind the facade of indifference behind which he shielded his emotions. Ezra knew that to completely hide his state of mind from Vader was impossible but if he could obscure the thoughts behind the emotions then perhaps he would be able to get past Vader's telepathy without giving himself away. 

"Sir I can't be here." Claire spoke up suddenly. 

"Why is that?" He looked at the young woman. 

"I just can't." She whispered. "I can't have him looking into my mind. I couldn't stand it Sir." Her voice was almost pleading with him. 

Ezra stared at her for a moment. "What is it you have to hide?" He wanted to ask her. 

Claire did not know what to do. She was certain that Ezra would not turn her in if he was told her secret but she was not absolute on that belief. However, without a proper explanation, he would not let her leave and if she were here when Vader arrived, then it would matter little anyway. She would be caught in this untenable position. "My husband is a member of the Rebel Alliance." She answered finally, watching him closely for reaction. 

Ezra nodded. Somehow, he was not surprised. Claire had asked for this assignment, just as he had and no one asked to be sent to Cordoba without very good reason for doing so. He supposed it made perfect sense when he thought about it. He had read her record and found that Claire had until this posting, a promising career. He had wondered about why she had requested this assignment but believed it to be no one's business but her own and thus never pressed the issue. Besides, they worked well together and she made his tenure as commander of this post a lot less tiresome than it should be. For that, he was grateful and he would not allow any harm to come to young woman. 

Ezra did not answer her, turning instead to his desk where he picked up a data pad and immediately jotted down something on the screen. Claire stared at him anxiously, wishing he would say something but not daring to prompt him into speaking in case he said something she did not want to hear. After a moment, he faced her again and handed her the data pad. 

"What's this?" She asked. 

"It is my authorization for you to take one week of furlough." Ezra said quickly, aware that time was of the essence. "You may take it anywhere you choose. My advice would be off world. Take a passenger cruiser to Ryloth, I believe their annual summer carnival is about to start. The decision is yours. I will expect you back in one week." He gave her a lock of mock command. 

"You're letting me go?" She looked at him with astonishment and relief. 

"I cannot do without my adjutant can I?" He gave her a little smile.

"Thank you Sir!" She embraced him hard, unable to believe her fortune.

"This overt displays of emotion will do nothing to impress me when it comes to promotion review," he joked even though he hugged her back for a second before pushing her away to a more appropriate position.  

"Now you have to go." He said firmly, this time he was completely serious. 

"Yes Sir," Claire smiled. "Thank you." 

"My pleasure," the commander smiled as he turned towards the door. "Let us hope I will still be here when you return."

************

Everyone was assembled and waiting by the time the shuttle sailed into the Cordoba Imperial outpost. Personnel had fallen into formation on the deck of the hangar floor, standing erect and at attention as they waited for the visit of the most important arrival to the base in its entire history. A thick plush length of carpet had been hastily rolled out at the exit of the berth where the shuttle would be making its landing, flanked on both sides by impressive looking Imperial officers and storm troopers alike who were eager to have their curiosity satisfied about Vader. Most had heard of his reputation and Ezra doubted that there was anyone here who had actually seen him.

However, from all accounts, Ezra was told that those who saw Vader, never forgot it. 

The shuttle sailed into the hangar and promptly made its way to the berth where it was assigned. The sleek white craft seemed to glide through the high ceilings of the hangar, oblivious to those watching it as he landed soundlessly in the berth, its white wings pulling close to the hull as it set down on the ground and rested comfortably on its landing ramps. The low hum of its engines died down a few seconds later and the faint smell of ionised gas wafted through the large area before the ventilation system eradicated it completely from the air supply.  

Ezra took a deep breath and hope that Claire was well away from here. He took a deep breath and steadied himself; completely aware of the manner his state of mind had to be if he was to face Lord Vader and walk away with his skin intact. He steeled himself as he stepped forward to greet the Sith Lord, forcing himself to slip into that place he often found so comfortable when playing a hand of sabaac, the place that kept his opponent from guessing what he was holding in his hand. The main hatch had started to slide open as Ezra reached the entrance to the berth and he paused upon arriving at the doorway. 

Two storm troopers emerged first; taking flanking position as either side of the hatch before the dark lord made his exit. When Darth Vader stepped into view, Ezra realised that his fearsome reputation was completely justified. Clad entirely in black armour from head to foot, he was a vision of fear to anyone who came across him. No part of him remained exposed, from the mask that covered his face to black rubberized material that kept him protected within it. A long black cape followed him and as he stepped further into view, Ezra could almost feel the ripple of apprehension that swept through the room. Almost as bad as his black armour was the raspy sound of his breather at work. That cold, metallic sound of breath being taken had the ability to pierce through the skin, Ezra thought. 

"Lord Vader." Ezra greeted, wearing the best poker face he had ever been able to muster in his entire life. "It is an honour to have you here. I am Captain Ezra Standish of the Cordoba Imperial Outpost." 

Vader did not waste time with such salutations and nodded slightly in response to Ezra's greeting before he launched into the reason for his arrival. Vader did not stop walking, knowing already where he was going as soon as he stepped off the shuttle. He strode down the carpet aisle way fashioned for his arrival, ignoring the soldier snapping to attention as he passed by. He did not even look over his shoulder to see if Ezra was following him. He knew with absolute certainty that the captain was keeping pace with him. 

"Captain Standish, you're aware of the kidnapping of Bail Organa's daughter, Leia?" It was not a question. 

"Of course," Ezra answered automatically. At the moment, the kidnapping was high profile news over the galactic band. As an Imperial officer, he would have been extremely remiss if he was not aware of the abduction. Bail Organa leader of Alderaan, one of the jewels of the core worlds was also an eminent member of the Imperial Senate. An aristocratic statesman, Bail Organa had been one of the strongest voices in the Republic that had somehow managed to make the transition to the Senate without being erased from existence. It was a testament to his skill that he was able to navigate the minefield of politics these days when it was very likely that he was one of the leaders of the Rebel Alliance. 

"I have information that the kidnappers might be in collusion with the Rebel Alliance." Vader continued to speak. "I understand that there is a local cell here." 

Remember, absolute indifference to the subject, Ezra told himself and immediately put up the necessary fortifications in his mind as he thought of nothing else but the question, focusing on it with the same razor sharp intensity that he might used to play a particularly sharp game of sabaac. "There have been numerous sightings of rebels on Cordoba, I believe they use it to be a point of transfer for personal and other transactions. Of course, catching them is another thing entirely." 

"Yes," Vader hissed and there was clear malevolence in the raspy breathing following that word which suffused Ezra with enough concern for the dark lord to sense it. "Am I bothering you Captain?" 

They had left the hangar and though they were walking side by side, Vader clearly knew where he was going. Ezra realised that he was heading to the command centre of the station and supposed if he were seeking information on possible rebel activity on Cordoba that would be the place to be. Ezra allowed himself to feel no apprehension on that count, realizing that it was a sensible course of action. However, Vader's question was meant to provoke a response and Ezra realised that sometimes, the best way to deal with an enemy who was doing a very good job of scaring you, was to let him know it. 

"Frankly, yes." Ezra answered honestly.  

Vader glanced at him briefly and faced front again. "How refreshing. An honest answer." There was nothing complimentary in his tone. "And for what reason do I frighten you Captain?" 

"Besides the obvious Lord Vader?" Ezra asked, not wishing to be insubordinate but he was getting a sense of the man and playing him for anything but the terrifying figure he was, would be making a fatal error.  

"Besides the obvious, Captain." There was almost a hint of sardonic amusement in his mechanically amplified voice. Ezra took that as a good sign. 

"I am concerned why you are handling this matter personally. " Ezra responded. "I appreciate the Emperor's interest in the kidnapping, after all Senator Organa is a respected member of the Senate but there are just as qualified people in his service to undertake the retrieval of a little girl instead of someone as important as yourself." 

"Flattery does not impress me Captain." Vader replied smoothly. "However, you are correct in assertions. I commend your astute observation." 

"Then there is more taking place here than we know?" Ezra ventured a guess as they rounded the corner. 

Vader paused a moment and regarded Ezra for a few seconds. Ezra kept thinking of the wall inside his mind, the one that hid his secrets and then he started thinking about the game of sabaac, how it was played, what suits made a winning hand. He began calculating the probabilities of how he could win the game with one particular set of groupings and filled his mind with all matter of trivialities. After a few seconds, if there were anything important for him to reveal, Vader would have to sift through all the other thoughts in order to reach it.  

"Are you hiding secrets from me Captain?" Vader asked, his mechanical voice seemed low. 

"Yes," Ezra answered honestly once again. "I know that you were once Jedi and that you can sense things from me. My thoughts are no one's business but my own. I have nothing to hide that is any danger to the Empire but I will not allow my mind to be open to your abilities. If you require assistance, I will do everything in my power to aide you and more but I will not tolerate you being inside my head." 

"Do you have any idea who I am?" Vader asked again, once again there was the trace of amusement, like he was curious to see what Ezra would throw at him next. 

"I know who you are and I know that with a simple thought, you make me a memory but if I am afraid of you then I became of afraid of everything and I will be not be afraid of everything." Ezra responded, hoping he sounded as brave as he was trying to be. 

Behind him, Ezra could hear Vader's entourage of lower ranking troops listening in breathless anticipation for what the dark lord would say. They had enough experience with Vader to know that demotion was the last thing this captain had to worry about. If he felt so inclined, he could kill Ezra on the spot and there would not be anyone who could either stop him or would even dare to for that matter. Vader's place next to the Emperor was that secure.  

"Your will is strong Captain," Vader answered after a moment. "An unusual trait but I see no reason to take this any further. I have things to attend here and you will assist me." 

"It would be my pleasure to do so." Ezra offered, wondering if Vader had any idea how relieved he was inside. He supposed the Sith Lord probably did.  

"In three days, the Imperial Senate convenes on the issue of segregation." Vader resumed speaking as he started towards the command centre once again. "This is an act that will have far reaching consequences throughout the Empire and the Emperor wants it passed at all cost. Organa is our strongest supporter of this policy and I believe that the child was kidnapped in order to coerce Organa into voting against the law. Therefore, the Emperor has directed to personally take charge of this situation to retrieve the child before the Senate meeting convenes." 

"I see," Ezra nodded in understanding. "Having his daughter would certainly give them a great deal of leverage, especially with the Alliance. I believe the rebellion is composed of multi-racial factions, Organa's situation could undermine the Emperor's wishes for this Act if they blackmail him to vote otherwise." 

"You see the problem." Vader responded. "So we must find them. I believe that the kidnappers will attempt to enter Cordoba in order to find safe haven with the rebels."

"That would make sense. As you said, Cordoba is a main transfer point for them." Ezra agreed. "If the kidnappers are rebels then all we have to do it wait for them to enter our trap." 

And all Ezra had to do was somehow warn them. 

**********

Ezra did not dare to do anything until after Vader had returned to his ship.  

For a long while he paced the floor of his office, trying to decide whether or not he was going to do what he had to and risk his life in the process. He knew that most of the story that Vader had told him was nothing but a lie. Ezra knew Bail Organa's reputation enough to know that the man was one of the staunchest opponents of the segregation policy and that he would never support the bill in the Imperial Senate. Ezra was uncertain what Vader's true intention were to Princess Leia in all this but he did know for a fact that he was not going to stand by and allow an infant to be used as an instrument of blackmail.  

Of course the only people who could prevent this were the Rebel Alliance and Ezra had no idea where their base was to contact them. It was by his own desire that such information was withheld from him because Ezra's position made him a vulnerability they did not need to have. However, for once he was going to have to forsake his own rules about contacting them because Nathan needed to know this information. Nathan would take what Ezra knew to someone who could be of aid to the young Princess. After much soul searching, Ezra came to the conclusion that he would have to act no matter what the risks to himself. There was still enough conscience left inside of him to know that the oath he took as a soldier a long time ago still meant something to him. He was not going to be party to harming a child. 

Thus Ezra found himself sneaking out of the base after Lord Vader's departure, certain that his absence from the outpost would be missed if he stayed away for any more than a brief period. Making his way through Cordoba, he went to the only person he knew who could put him in contact with the Rebel Alliance; the small tavern and hostel owned by the lovely Inez Recillos Wilmington. Ezra had met the woman on the few occasions he had visited the establishment to see Nathan and the rest of his friends and found her to be rather charming and compelling much to her former spouse' chagrin.

 He immediately captured the attention of everyone in the tavern the moment he entered the premises. Imperial officers usually did in this place. A few patrons chose to depart their booths hastily, obviously conducting enterprises that were so illegal that even the possibility of an Imperial interest was enough to send them scurrying. The others merely continued with their business, whether it be drinking, gambling or taking company in some of the young ladies that frequented the place in search of business of their own. Inez was behind the counter serving and Ezra took a moment to admire the beauty of her as she offered her customers a warm smile with their orders.  

Upon seeing him, her face lit up with a smile that was more than obligatory and despite himself, Ezra's jaded insides found himself glad to see the lovely Miss Recillos. He walked up to an unoccupied section of the bar and pulled himself up on a stool before she joined him. 

"Captain Standish," Inez said sweetly to the handsome officer. "Its a pleasure to see you." 

Ezra took her hand gallantly and planted a small kiss on the delicate skin of her knuckle and responded just as smoothly. "Likewise dear lady." He smiled, dimples at their most boyish as he looked at her. 

"Your usual?" She asked. 

Ezra was rather surprised she remembered. After all, he could count the number of times he had been here but then supposed that it was no feat of magic that she remembered, Inez after all was quite remarkable. "If you please." He answered and let out a soft sigh when he saw her withdraw to go fill his order.  

He wondered if she knew how utterly lovely she was and was certain that half the reason her human customers kept coming back to this establishment when there were so many more in Cordoba with far better facilities, was to enjoy a taste of her lovely smile and pleasing manner. Ezra knew that he would gladly have come back here time and time again, even if it were not Nathan's favorite watering hole whenever he had business in Cordoba, not to mention the fact that this was a safe haven for all members of the Rebel Alliance. 

Inez returned a moment later and served him his Tynnan whiskey in a small glass. "There you are," she answered. "Just the way you like it." 

"I would like it with you in a private berth of a passenger cruise taking a tour of the Sullustian Rings." Ezra remarked with a hint of flirtation. "But this will do for now." 

"You do know how to talk to a girl Captain," Inez leaned closer, appearing as if she'd like to stay where she was for awhile, talking to him. Ezra had no objection to that either and took a deep breath of the floral scent that clung to her body so enticingly.  

"I do but as much as I would love to be able to do nothing but focus entirely on you as you deserve, I pray I cannot." He lowered his voice even though the disappointment was clear in his voice. "We have a situation and I need to contact your friends most urgently." 

"I see." Inez nodded. "Does it have anything to do with that super star destroyer that's in orbit around Cordoba?" She asked, her voice becoming serious now. 

"How did you know?" He asked with surprise. 

"That's been the topic of discussion for most of the clientele tonight. Its not often a ship of the line enter Wild Space. Who is on board?" Inez responded, having heard endless speculations from her customers for most of the evening. A ship that size was hard to miss and she was certain that similar discussions were being conducted throughout the city regarding its origins and purpose here. 

Ezra exhaled loudly and replied. "Vader." 

Inez's eyes widened in shock but she managed to control her surprise with admirable restraint. "Lord Darth Vader?" 

"The same." Ezra nodded sombrely. 

"I'll contact my friends immediately." She answered.

TO BE CONTINUED