Master Jedi - A Mother's Instinct

posted 2 December 2007, Sunday
    I will fall upon them and repay them with my fury. They are evil, and they must die. My anger is just, no? My anger is righteous, no? I must stamp them out. I must not allow their evil to continue. If not they will continue to kill, rape, and take pleasure in more dark deeds. They are evil, and they must die!
    Leia was on the ledge of a building in the heart of Nar Shadaa looking down on a local human gang that had just killed and robbed someone. She was mumbling to herself clearly not in her right mind. The casual murder that took place below her had driven her over the edge, and her anger had once again taken over. She had no idea, but she was now in a state of Force Rage - a dark art the Sith commonly used to increase their physical strength and endurance.
    Like a cat, she squatted on the ledge then jumped down from the small, ten story building. With arms and legs spread out she came down in her red outfit having already selected the first one. Leia's black robe fluttered violently behind her as she dropped, and as she reached the ground the head of her first victim touched her hand then came crashing down into the ground exploding into gory bits. Jumping from the crater her landing had left she twirled about in the midst of the now six gang members breaking bones and rupturing organs. Her hand-to-hand training sessions with Menn-al had honed her skills making her deadlier than ever - a fact the thugs now trying to escape would testify to.
    The last two tried to run, but they didn't make it twenty feet before Leia had Force-lifted them fifty feet into the air. The crunching of their bones when they landed raised a tiny smile on her face. The juveniles who made up the gang now lay all around her dead or dying. With her fists clenched Leia looked around at the blood soaked street one last time then left.

    Twenty minutes Later Leia woke up on the roof of another building. What happened to me, she thought as she sat up and brought her hand up to her forehead to ease the pain. When she looked at her hand she saw the spattering of blood and followed it across her body realizing she was entirely covered. "Oh God!" Leia began to sob. Once again she fell to her side and curled up hating herself, and longing for her better days which now felt like a lifetime ago.
    When she had calmed down she picked up the beeping of her communicator which had been ringing for some time. She didn't want to get it, but like an annoying alarm the noise begged to be stopped so she plucked it from her belt and turned it on. "Who is this?" She asked harshly.
    "How is the mission going? Asked Menn-al in his cold, emotionless and unmistakable tone.
    "I'm fine! Everything's fine!" Leia felt confused by the question.
    "You do remember what you have to do?"
    "Yes," she lied. "Why are you calling me? Are you following me now?"
    "You know I've been ordered to follow you... You sound like you need assistance. Should I come down?" Menn-al reached out.
    "I'm fine... I'll be fine." Leia shut off her comm and tossed it away annoyed.

    This is the third time I black out like this. I don't know what I'm going to do, she worried. I don't even know where the hell I am. What the hell am I doing here? She pulled herself off the ground then began to walk to the ledge. She felt terrible and as soon as reached it she threw up on the roof. I'm supposed to kill someone, she started to remember. I can't believe I got myself into this. Back behind Leia her comm began ringing again, but after a quick, uninterested glance she hobbled over to the lift and took it down.
    Leia rode the lift down for a long five minutes before the doors opened letting in a blinding blue glow. She stepped out shielding her eyes as they adjusted then realized she had only descended three floors. "Dammit!" She snapped, but the lift had already closed and waiting for it would probably involve a large amount of time she wasn't interested in wasting there. The entire hall was blue with blue velvet walls and the annoying blue glowing lights. How can these people live here, she asked herself as she strained her eyes to find a stairway. As she reached the end a door just in front of her swung open and a Bith female walked out completely nude. She offered Leia a curious look then continued down the hall. Leia shook her head in disbelief, wondering if she had finally lost her mind, then found a stairwell she promptly took down.
    She had gone down a few flights when she noticed intense groaning coming from below. Almost afraid to look she peaked over the rail and caught a quick glimpse of a couple engaged in sexual relations before she ran up the stairs and into another hallway. What the hell is going on here, she thought as her pace increased to a near run. With no visible exits Leia followed the hall to a small open area with a red couch. Almost in a panic now she didn't notice the large, overweight Twi'lek woman sitting there. "Are you okay dear?" The Twi'lek asked. "You don't look well."
    "Huh?" Leia looked around confused.
    "You should sit down," the large woman wearing a tiny nightgown that barely covered her lower half stood up and gently lead Leia to the couch. "What's your name dear? Do you know where you are?"
    Leia dropped her face into her hands and took a few deep breaths. "I think I'm going crazy. I blacked out earlier and now I don't know where I am, and there's naked people walking around, and I just want to get out of here."
    "Well dear, you're in Mika's whore house and naked people walking around is normal here."
    As soon as she heard the words whore house something clicked in her mind. Leia remembered something else. She was looking for one of these. "I'm sorry, my name is Leia."
    "My name is Li'Laan. I'm the head mistress in charge of this floor, and I'm guessing you're not here to work even though you're covered in blood."
    "People enjoy being covered in blood? Forget it I don't want to know," Leia shook her head in disgust.
    "Let me get you a towel then." Li went to a back room and brought Leia a wet towel and some drinking water.
    "Thank you. You've been incredibly kind," Leia began cleaning the dry blood off herself.
    "So why are you here? This isn't the type of place to get lost." Li pulled on her tiny nightgown trying to appear modest for Leia.
    "I blacked out and woke up on your roof, and since then I haven't been able to remember why I'm here. I think I'm looking for a place like this... There's someone I have to meet."
    "Well, you have your work cut out for you dear since this is one of the largest prostitution districts on Nar. Maybe if you remembered the name I could help you."
    Leia tried to focus her mind, but nothing came to her. "Sorry, I'm not getting anything, but an Imperial officer shouldn't be that hard to find right?" The words slipped out of her mouth as she suddenly remembered a bit more.
    Li's eyes widened, "Dear there's been a lot of talk about such a man frequenting Shii's place a few blocks from here. Supposedly he's fallen in love with one of the young girls and now visits her every month."
    "Shii's place huh?" Leia slowly stood up and took off her robe. "Thanks for all of your help. There isn't anything I can do for you is there?"
    Li looked at Leia's utility belt and the laser sword that hung from it. "I have a feeling your business with this man isn't friendly."
    Leia wagged her head sadly. "No. It's not."
    "If you do find him, and he's with one of our own please don't harm her. I know it's stupid to ask, but we try to take care of each other around here."
    Leia surprised Li by walking up to her and giving her a hug. "I promise I won't."

    Shii's Garden of Delights was a high end house of prostitution frequented by the wealthy. Outside it looked like every other run down building in the area, but inside it looked clean and brand new. The lobby was white and well lit, but more importantly featured a handful of armed guards Leia didn't want to get involved with. Her promise to Li was still on her mind and on the way there she had decided to extend it to everyone who wasn't an Imperial.
    Leaving the entrance Leia entered the narrow alleyway next to the building and walked to the rear where she found a condemned fire escape that had been cut off at the fifth floor. With a deep breath and a lot of hope that it wouldn't collapse she Force-jumped at it and grabbed one of the rails. The entire structure creaked and bounced as she climbed on it, and as quickly as she could she scampered up to the roof. Now how am I going to find this man, Leia thought as she cut a hole in the stairwell door.
    On the next floor down Leia found the entrance to a hallway which was divided only by a thin, expensive looking curtain. She peaked in, looking in both directions, but saw nothing. I might have to persuade someone to help me, and I really don't want to do that, Leia groaned. I'll just check each floor first I guess. One by one she descended, peaking into each hallway hoping to get some clue, but all she could find was the occasional prostitute. By the time she reached the fifth floor Leia had no hope left, but a far off conversation caught her ear. Without a doubt it was the digitized voice of stormtroopers.
    Slinking her way to the corner of the hallway Leia leaned up against the wall and stole a quick glance down the connecting hall. Two stormtroopers stood guarding a room about six doors down. She thought for a second about how to get into the room quietly then turned the corner and approached the guards. One of them noticed her immediately, but didn't say anything. They waited until she was halfway there before asking who she was. Leia responded by raising her hand and Force-choking them unconscious. When they hit the floor she rushed to them and quickly Force-opened the door and dragged them in.
    The room was elegant and large with a convenient hallway that separated the rooms facilitating the storage of the guards. I better get this over with before the guards wake up, Leia worried as she unhooked her lightsaber. She looked in each room as she tip-toed through the hall and found a couple sleeping in the bedroom. Leia stared at them for a minute as they slept soundly under soft music and pictured herself with Han. I'm doing this for you, she said to herself before jumping at the sleeping man and running her lightsaber through his chest and down to the floor. He died instantly.
    As Leia stood over her victim the young girl next to him rolled over and let out a startled scream. "Be quiet! I'm not going to hurt you!" Leia whispered sternly as she dropped down on the girl's side of the bed and grabbed her by the jaw. After she quieted down the crying of a startled baby in a box crib next to the bed became clear. Stunned, Leia let go of the girl and took a few steps back watching as the girl got up and grabbed the baby up in her arms. Leia's legs became weak causing her to stumble to a nearby chair, and there she sat while the distraught, naked girl comforted her child.

    Ten minutes passed before Leia felt good enough to stand and break the morbid stillness of the room. Her maternal instinct had overwhelmed her with sadness and guilt, but the necessity to move on and get the girl to safety brought back the cold, darkness she was now familiar with. Leia grabbed a silk robe from the closet and laid it next to the girl who was still silently crying on the floor. "Get dressed so you can get out of here. I don't want you to take the blame for this," Leia said softly.
    "Why the hell do you care? Just kill me too and end my misery." The girl looked at Leia with angry eyes.
    "He was a piece of lying, Imperial garbage. What did he promise you? To take you to his ship? To give you a ride around the galaxy? The Empire treats women like shit, and they are not allowed on their ships unless they are prisoners--"
    "He loved me! He loved me, and he was going to take us away from here. Now my son has no father and we'll have to die in this hell." The girl closed her eyes and held her son tightly.
    "If you want to leave then let me take you out of here. I'll take you somewhere you can be truly safe and free from all of this," Leia motioned around the room.
    "The girl shook her head. "I'll still be alone. Don't you understand?"
    "I know what it's like to be alone. My husband is probably dead thanks to me, and I haven't seen my..." Leia sat down again and stared at the floor hit by someone she hadn't thought about in a while. "I haven't seen my son in a long time..."
    The girl just sat on the floor quietly.
    "You still have a chance to be a good mother and raise a son you will be proud of. I'm sure you'll even find a man who will really take care of you. There's no point in talking about this anymore though," Leia stood up determined to get the girl out. "Get dressed! I'm taking you out of here!"
    "Can I have some water," the girl asked without looking.
    "Um, sure. Now start getting dressed while I come back."
    Leia walked into the kitchen and grabbed a glass still thinking about Anakin. The situation had instilled in her a desire to see her son again and the guilt of leaving him alone for so long. My whole life is a disaster, Leia contemplated as she filled the glass with water from the sink. At almost the same time as she closed the faucet the distinct sound of a blaster rang out from the bedroom. "Oh no!" Leia yelled as she turned to run back to the bedroom. The glass of water crashed on the floor three steps out of the kitchen and by the time she was three steps from the bedroom the second shot rang out. Leia stopped at the bedroom door holding on the wall as her eyes began to water. Mother and child were now dead.
    Leia covered the bodies with the silk robe she had taken out of the closet. She sat down again on the nearby chair and buried her face in her hands as she wept. She wept for the desperate, young girl and her son, but more so she wept for herself and the horrible excuse for a mother she had been. She also wept for Li and the promise she couldn't keep.

    Three days later Leia was all packed and ready to leave. It was time to get away from the Empire and go home to make the best out of whatever family she had left. "It has been a pleasure working with you," Menn-al said as he watched her load her small ship.
    "My time here has been anything but pleasurable. In fact it's been hell. You've helped me out a lot, and if the circumstances were different I'd consider you my friend. Maybe when you aren't obligated to Dorem we'll cross paths again and things will be different."
    "I'll look forward to it." Menn-al bowed and left Leia alone without another word. He didn't show it, but Leia's harshness hurt him.
    Before leaving Leia went up to see Admiral Dorem who wasn't happy to be seeing his associate go. In spite of using her to serve his purposes he had grown fond of her. "So you're leaving? You haven't found your husband yet. Are you giving up?" Dorem said clearly upset.
    "Not that you give a damn, but if I do continue to search for my husband I'll do it alone. Being here has brought me nothing but grief, and I need to leave. What's left of my family is still waiting for me, and I've neglected it far too long." Leia stood in front of Dorem with her arms folded.
    "I won't hide the fact that I've used you to further my cause, but then again our agreement was clear from the beginning. I helped you find those involved with his capture so don't pretend that you didn't get anything out of it. However, that is neither here nor there. The truth is that my respect for you has grown, and it's disappointing to see you go."
    "My entire time here has been nothing but a disappointment," Leia turned to leave but stopped as Dorem spoke.
    "If you ever need anything--"
    "I hope I never do Admiral." Leia interrupted Dorem, then left.

To Be Continued...

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