Master Jedi - Into The Light, Part 3
posted 18 January 2008, Friday
Though it had nothing to do with him, Lando felt guilty for his selfish attitude and his desire to get away from everyone. The thought of Leia's death made him want to crawl in a hole out of shame. Maybe there was something he could have done? Maybe he should have come out earlier and let Leia know he was there? A stream of reasons and other thoughts flowed through Lando's mind as he stood there weak in the knees.
"Lando get over here!" Luke called from the floor where he hovered over his sister's body. "Lando!" Luke yelled again before he convinced his legs to start moving. Lando ran across the hangar to Luke and looked down wondering what was so important to disturb the needed moment of silence. "Get the ship ready and make a place for Leia to lie down."
"Wha?" Lando shook his head trying to understand what was going on.
Luke glanced up at Lando and realized what was going through his mind. "She's not dead! Now hurry or she will be!"
After Lando scurried off to ready the Falcon, that Chewbacca only let him borrow because of Luke, Luke began another session of Force Healing hoping to stabilize his sister. "What the hell were you doing?" he asked her quietly, feeling like he had failed. Deep in his heart he knew that he could never kill his sister, the only family he had left, even if it meant allowing her to turn to the Dark Side. Her critical condition reassured him of this fact, and made him feel even more like a failure. I would have let you down Master, Luke thought. I would have let all Jedi down.
Two minutes and fifty-two seconds later, by his count, Lando ran back into the hangar and helped Luke carry Leia to the ship. As he watched Lando take off, Luke activated his comm and contacted Jina who was orbiting the planet with Anakin and Eshiy as passengers. "Jina! Can you read me?"
"I'm here."
"Get down here as quickly as you can and pick me up. We need to get to the Republic fast!"
"I'm already on my way down. I should be there in two minutes." Jina's reply caught Luke by surprise, but before he could ask her how she knew, she asked, "How is she doing?"
Luke hesitated to answer. "She's in critical condition. I did what I could, but..."
"She'll make it through this," Jina tried to comfort him.
"Listen. Don't tell your passengers anything about this. They don't need to know." Luke scanned the sky trying to see Lando, but was glad that he was long gone and well on his way.
The next day at lunch time Luke walked into Han's room where he was sitting on his bed eating one of his prescribed protein bars wondering if he was going to touch the artificial Bantha steak today. It was the first time Luke had seen his friend awake since the rescue. "Hey buddy! Come over here!" Han opened his arms to receive Luke and gave him as strong a hug as he could muster with his weakened body. "So you save my life then run off? What's that all about?"
Luke managed a tiny smile. "It's good to see you Han. I'm glad your getting better."
"But?" Han knew Luke was hiding something. The despair on his face was easy to see.
"Leia's in a coma. She's stable though and getting better."
"What?" Han threw off his hospital sheets and tried getting out of bed. He managed a few steps before collapsing in Luke's arms. "I need to go see her!"
"Relax Han. She's just down the hall. I'll take you in a little while." Luke forced him back into bed then covered him up.
"What happened? Who did this to her?" Han was angry but too weak to show it.
Luke repeated his prepared explanation. Han could never know what had really happened. "She did this to herself. The whole ordeal with you pushed her over the edge and she tried to... end things."
"I never should have left that day," Han began to cry. "This is all my fault."
"Now's not the time to point fingers. You've both been through a lot and you both have a lot of recovery to do. I'm sure Leia will be fine. Just give her time."
"You don't look so convinced." Han wiped the tears from his face.
Luke faked a smile, "I'm just tired. In fact I'm going to go get something to eat. When I come back I'll take you to see Leia."
Jina was waiting for Luke outside Han's room thinking about the recent events, and when he came out they walked together down to the prosthetics unit. Realizing the gravity of the recent events and Leia's current condition Jina was especially quiet and serious. Though she didn't understand everything that was going on she felt her master's pain and tried to act appropriately.
"Go down to the mess hall and get me something to eat," Luke ordered Jina as he sat down to get examined by the medical droid. He was waiting for Jina to leave before bringing out his hand which he had been hiding under his robe. The shame of his rebellion against his master was something he didn't want to share with Jina.
"I want to see it," she replied with no intention of moving. She wanted to feel like a part of everything that was going on, and so far she only felt like a straggler.
Luke shook his head at his obstinate apprentice, "Fine." He took out his hand and laid it on the table displaying his now defunct prosthesis. It's fingers were locked in a curled position and burn marks covered the bottom of the hand where the fingers had been cut off. The medical droid quickly began to examine it and the seam where it was connected to Luke's arm.
"Are you going to tell me what happened?" Jina asked still feeling left out.
"I'll tell you that you did a great job. You kept our guests safe, and you even brought them back here by yourself. You've come a long way Jina, and I'm proud of you."
"Sir, since we do not carry this old model anymore would you mind accepting a newer prosthesis?" The medical droid interrupted.
"Sure. I just need it done as soon as possible," Luke replied.
"You're not supposed to be hiding things from me," Jina said, remembering a certain passage from Phrog's journals. It dealt with the relationship between a Master and apprentice, and stressed how the bond between them and their openness with each other would greatly dictate the apprentice's growth.
"Later Jina. Now's not the time for this." Luke sounded annoyed as he focused on his arm and began ignoring her.
Frustrated, Jina stomped out of the room and wandered the floor for a while arguing the reasons she should be told everything. When she got bored of that she decided to check on Leia. After sensing that no one was inside with her Jina entered Leia's room where she was laying on a Mark III Critical Care bed that monitored every single function of her body. Jina cautiously walked up to the display screen and began checking all of Leia's functions by pressing the corresponding buttons. Each section was diagnosed to be healthy except one. When Jina pressed the button to bring up Leia's neurological function the screen burst into a rainbow of colors dancing around. Jina had no idea what it meant, but the red, flashing warning on the bottom right of the display read CRITICAL CONDITION. Again, as to not disturb Leia, Jina tip-toed to the nearby seat and began to watch over her filled with curiosity and wonder.
Eshiy had just tucked a sleepy Anakin into bed for his afternoon nap when the door chime called her to the door. She tugged on her clothes and prepared herself expecting someone close to Leia, but when the door opened there were two janitorial workers outside dressed in blue uniforms and matching caps. Without asking, the taller of the two put his hand on Eshiy's chest and pushed his way in then ordered the smaller, younger one to enter. "Is everything prepared," the man asked in an angry, authoritative tone as he scanned the area.
"Y,yes," Eshiy replied clearly shaken and disturbed. The usually rock hard demeanor of Leia and Han's nanny was now crumbling.
"Control yourself woman. Remember your training," The man flashed a violent look at Eshiy.
Eshiy put her fear in check and tried to regain some composure. "There was only supposed to be one of you. How did you both get on board with the child?"
"You fool!" The man snapped, pulling the cap off the boys head. "This is the child!"
Eshiy shook her head in disbelief, "He is too old! Anakin is only two years old!"
The man reached over and slapped Eshiy as hard as he could. "Watch your tone with me slave! I carry what I was given. If there is a mistake it falls on you." The man walked over to Anakin's room and saw two-year-old Anakin sleeping.
"The mission must be aborted," Eshiy said feeling the pain in her cheek.
"Aborted?" The man walked back and got in Eshiy's face. "Are you giving the orders now? The Empire may have trained you like a spy, but that doesn't mean you have the right to give orders or make decisions in the presence of a real Imperial spy!" The man punched Eshiy in the stomach then pushed her to the floor. "You are nothing but a filthy Velusian whore! Don't forget it!" The man spit on her.
Anger had replaced fear and Eshiy's five hard years of Imperial training was starting to kick in. She picked herself up and thought of the small blaster pistol she always kept hidden within the many folds of her blue dress. "May I ask what you will do now sir?"
After rummaging in his pants for a minute the Imperial spy began assembling a small device with the pieces he had sneaked in. After another minute he finished his work and held up a makeshift thermal detonator as powerful as a regular one. "Our orders are to kill them both and escape should something go wrong, and clearly this mission has gone wrong since the day they assigned you to it."
Eshiy's heart leaped out of her chest with fear for Anakin. Now more like an adopted son Eshiy had grown to love Anakin, and there was no way she could stand by and allow his death. As the Imperial spy walked over to Anakin's room Eshiy removed the pistol from her dress and took aim at him, but before she could get the shot away the spy turned and fired his own hitting Eshiy in the right side of her chest, knocking her down. The spy raised his prosthetic hand and inspected his index finger which now had the tip blown off exposing the metal barrel of the blaster that was built into his hand. "I have five more shots, and though I would rather save them for my escape I have no problem wasting them on a whore like you."
As the spy turned and began again towards Anakin's room Eshiy turned to the boy who had been standing there quietly the entire time and motioned him to move back towards the front door. "It's dangerous. Get back and protect yourself," she whispered. The spy checked Eshiy again to make sure she was still down then activated the bomb as he entered the doorway. As he stepped in a shot whizzed past his right ear. "You fool!" he quickly turned ready to finish Eshiy off, but the second shot that followed didn't miss and hit him in his left eye. As he fell dead Eshiy realized that he had managed one last shot and hit her in the stomach taking away whatever fighting strength she had left.
The thermal detonator bounced on the ground three times then rolled right next to Anakin's bed counting down the detonation sequence. Anakin had been awake for a while hidden under his sheets. The commotion just outside had caught his attention, but was too scared to move. His death was quick as the bomb exploded, obliterating everything in his room. Eshiy cried out as the pain of her loss became greater than the pain of her wounds. The boy she had cared for and nurtured almost exclusively, the boy she had grown to love as her own because his parents were too busy was now gone.
The boy who had been brought there by an Imperial spy got up coughing from the dust and debris left by the explosion. He was confused, scared and had no idea what to do. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed Eshiy waving him over with a weak motion of her hand, and obeyed like he had been taught from birth. Eshiy was on the brink of death, but there was one last thing she had to do. With her last ounce of strength she unbuttoned her dress and lifted her bra frightening the boy who was now hovering over her. She reached under her left breast and removed a small, grey, metal cylinder. As she began to fade she placed it in his hand and held it with both hands. "Don't be afraid..." she whispered with her last breath. The boy stared at Eshiy blankly for a few moments before the front door flew open allowing Republic soldiers to rush in. With quick military precision they secured the area and took the boy into custody.
At 7:08PM Galactic Standard Time, thirty minutes after dinner, Luke visited Han to tell him the news. Han didn't cry out, he didn't shed a tear. Instead he laid on his bed and stared blankly at the ceiling. He didn't talk to Luke, he didn't talk to anyone. He fell within himself to recollect and savor the few moments of time he made for his son. Inevitably the introspection lead to much heartache, regret and self hate, but he knew he deserved all of it. Finally his thoughts turned to Leia and what he would tell her when and if she woke up.
After mourning Anakin Solo for three days, Han Solo realized that he did not want to live the life of a pirate smuggler anymore. He was old, tired and heart broken. The lust for adventure and the thrill of danger that had so completely dictated his life were completely wiped away by the remembrance of his son.
To Be Continued...
"Lando get over here!" Luke called from the floor where he hovered over his sister's body. "Lando!" Luke yelled again before he convinced his legs to start moving. Lando ran across the hangar to Luke and looked down wondering what was so important to disturb the needed moment of silence. "Get the ship ready and make a place for Leia to lie down."
"Wha?" Lando shook his head trying to understand what was going on.
Luke glanced up at Lando and realized what was going through his mind. "She's not dead! Now hurry or she will be!"
After Lando scurried off to ready the Falcon, that Chewbacca only let him borrow because of Luke, Luke began another session of Force Healing hoping to stabilize his sister. "What the hell were you doing?" he asked her quietly, feeling like he had failed. Deep in his heart he knew that he could never kill his sister, the only family he had left, even if it meant allowing her to turn to the Dark Side. Her critical condition reassured him of this fact, and made him feel even more like a failure. I would have let you down Master, Luke thought. I would have let all Jedi down.
Two minutes and fifty-two seconds later, by his count, Lando ran back into the hangar and helped Luke carry Leia to the ship. As he watched Lando take off, Luke activated his comm and contacted Jina who was orbiting the planet with Anakin and Eshiy as passengers. "Jina! Can you read me?"
"I'm here."
"Get down here as quickly as you can and pick me up. We need to get to the Republic fast!"
"I'm already on my way down. I should be there in two minutes." Jina's reply caught Luke by surprise, but before he could ask her how she knew, she asked, "How is she doing?"
Luke hesitated to answer. "She's in critical condition. I did what I could, but..."
"She'll make it through this," Jina tried to comfort him.
"Listen. Don't tell your passengers anything about this. They don't need to know." Luke scanned the sky trying to see Lando, but was glad that he was long gone and well on his way.
The next day at lunch time Luke walked into Han's room where he was sitting on his bed eating one of his prescribed protein bars wondering if he was going to touch the artificial Bantha steak today. It was the first time Luke had seen his friend awake since the rescue. "Hey buddy! Come over here!" Han opened his arms to receive Luke and gave him as strong a hug as he could muster with his weakened body. "So you save my life then run off? What's that all about?"
Luke managed a tiny smile. "It's good to see you Han. I'm glad your getting better."
"But?" Han knew Luke was hiding something. The despair on his face was easy to see.
"Leia's in a coma. She's stable though and getting better."
"What?" Han threw off his hospital sheets and tried getting out of bed. He managed a few steps before collapsing in Luke's arms. "I need to go see her!"
"Relax Han. She's just down the hall. I'll take you in a little while." Luke forced him back into bed then covered him up.
"What happened? Who did this to her?" Han was angry but too weak to show it.
Luke repeated his prepared explanation. Han could never know what had really happened. "She did this to herself. The whole ordeal with you pushed her over the edge and she tried to... end things."
"I never should have left that day," Han began to cry. "This is all my fault."
"Now's not the time to point fingers. You've both been through a lot and you both have a lot of recovery to do. I'm sure Leia will be fine. Just give her time."
"You don't look so convinced." Han wiped the tears from his face.
Luke faked a smile, "I'm just tired. In fact I'm going to go get something to eat. When I come back I'll take you to see Leia."
Jina was waiting for Luke outside Han's room thinking about the recent events, and when he came out they walked together down to the prosthetics unit. Realizing the gravity of the recent events and Leia's current condition Jina was especially quiet and serious. Though she didn't understand everything that was going on she felt her master's pain and tried to act appropriately.
"Go down to the mess hall and get me something to eat," Luke ordered Jina as he sat down to get examined by the medical droid. He was waiting for Jina to leave before bringing out his hand which he had been hiding under his robe. The shame of his rebellion against his master was something he didn't want to share with Jina.
"I want to see it," she replied with no intention of moving. She wanted to feel like a part of everything that was going on, and so far she only felt like a straggler.
Luke shook his head at his obstinate apprentice, "Fine." He took out his hand and laid it on the table displaying his now defunct prosthesis. It's fingers were locked in a curled position and burn marks covered the bottom of the hand where the fingers had been cut off. The medical droid quickly began to examine it and the seam where it was connected to Luke's arm.
"Are you going to tell me what happened?" Jina asked still feeling left out.
"I'll tell you that you did a great job. You kept our guests safe, and you even brought them back here by yourself. You've come a long way Jina, and I'm proud of you."
"Sir, since we do not carry this old model anymore would you mind accepting a newer prosthesis?" The medical droid interrupted.
"Sure. I just need it done as soon as possible," Luke replied.
"You're not supposed to be hiding things from me," Jina said, remembering a certain passage from Phrog's journals. It dealt with the relationship between a Master and apprentice, and stressed how the bond between them and their openness with each other would greatly dictate the apprentice's growth.
"Later Jina. Now's not the time for this." Luke sounded annoyed as he focused on his arm and began ignoring her.
Frustrated, Jina stomped out of the room and wandered the floor for a while arguing the reasons she should be told everything. When she got bored of that she decided to check on Leia. After sensing that no one was inside with her Jina entered Leia's room where she was laying on a Mark III Critical Care bed that monitored every single function of her body. Jina cautiously walked up to the display screen and began checking all of Leia's functions by pressing the corresponding buttons. Each section was diagnosed to be healthy except one. When Jina pressed the button to bring up Leia's neurological function the screen burst into a rainbow of colors dancing around. Jina had no idea what it meant, but the red, flashing warning on the bottom right of the display read CRITICAL CONDITION. Again, as to not disturb Leia, Jina tip-toed to the nearby seat and began to watch over her filled with curiosity and wonder.
Eshiy had just tucked a sleepy Anakin into bed for his afternoon nap when the door chime called her to the door. She tugged on her clothes and prepared herself expecting someone close to Leia, but when the door opened there were two janitorial workers outside dressed in blue uniforms and matching caps. Without asking, the taller of the two put his hand on Eshiy's chest and pushed his way in then ordered the smaller, younger one to enter. "Is everything prepared," the man asked in an angry, authoritative tone as he scanned the area.
"Y,yes," Eshiy replied clearly shaken and disturbed. The usually rock hard demeanor of Leia and Han's nanny was now crumbling.
"Control yourself woman. Remember your training," The man flashed a violent look at Eshiy.
Eshiy put her fear in check and tried to regain some composure. "There was only supposed to be one of you. How did you both get on board with the child?"
"You fool!" The man snapped, pulling the cap off the boys head. "This is the child!"
Eshiy shook her head in disbelief, "He is too old! Anakin is only two years old!"
The man reached over and slapped Eshiy as hard as he could. "Watch your tone with me slave! I carry what I was given. If there is a mistake it falls on you." The man walked over to Anakin's room and saw two-year-old Anakin sleeping.
"The mission must be aborted," Eshiy said feeling the pain in her cheek.
"Aborted?" The man walked back and got in Eshiy's face. "Are you giving the orders now? The Empire may have trained you like a spy, but that doesn't mean you have the right to give orders or make decisions in the presence of a real Imperial spy!" The man punched Eshiy in the stomach then pushed her to the floor. "You are nothing but a filthy Velusian whore! Don't forget it!" The man spit on her.
Anger had replaced fear and Eshiy's five hard years of Imperial training was starting to kick in. She picked herself up and thought of the small blaster pistol she always kept hidden within the many folds of her blue dress. "May I ask what you will do now sir?"
After rummaging in his pants for a minute the Imperial spy began assembling a small device with the pieces he had sneaked in. After another minute he finished his work and held up a makeshift thermal detonator as powerful as a regular one. "Our orders are to kill them both and escape should something go wrong, and clearly this mission has gone wrong since the day they assigned you to it."
Eshiy's heart leaped out of her chest with fear for Anakin. Now more like an adopted son Eshiy had grown to love Anakin, and there was no way she could stand by and allow his death. As the Imperial spy walked over to Anakin's room Eshiy removed the pistol from her dress and took aim at him, but before she could get the shot away the spy turned and fired his own hitting Eshiy in the right side of her chest, knocking her down. The spy raised his prosthetic hand and inspected his index finger which now had the tip blown off exposing the metal barrel of the blaster that was built into his hand. "I have five more shots, and though I would rather save them for my escape I have no problem wasting them on a whore like you."
As the spy turned and began again towards Anakin's room Eshiy turned to the boy who had been standing there quietly the entire time and motioned him to move back towards the front door. "It's dangerous. Get back and protect yourself," she whispered. The spy checked Eshiy again to make sure she was still down then activated the bomb as he entered the doorway. As he stepped in a shot whizzed past his right ear. "You fool!" he quickly turned ready to finish Eshiy off, but the second shot that followed didn't miss and hit him in his left eye. As he fell dead Eshiy realized that he had managed one last shot and hit her in the stomach taking away whatever fighting strength she had left.
The thermal detonator bounced on the ground three times then rolled right next to Anakin's bed counting down the detonation sequence. Anakin had been awake for a while hidden under his sheets. The commotion just outside had caught his attention, but was too scared to move. His death was quick as the bomb exploded, obliterating everything in his room. Eshiy cried out as the pain of her loss became greater than the pain of her wounds. The boy she had cared for and nurtured almost exclusively, the boy she had grown to love as her own because his parents were too busy was now gone.
The boy who had been brought there by an Imperial spy got up coughing from the dust and debris left by the explosion. He was confused, scared and had no idea what to do. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed Eshiy waving him over with a weak motion of her hand, and obeyed like he had been taught from birth. Eshiy was on the brink of death, but there was one last thing she had to do. With her last ounce of strength she unbuttoned her dress and lifted her bra frightening the boy who was now hovering over her. She reached under her left breast and removed a small, grey, metal cylinder. As she began to fade she placed it in his hand and held it with both hands. "Don't be afraid..." she whispered with her last breath. The boy stared at Eshiy blankly for a few moments before the front door flew open allowing Republic soldiers to rush in. With quick military precision they secured the area and took the boy into custody.
At 7:08PM Galactic Standard Time, thirty minutes after dinner, Luke visited Han to tell him the news. Han didn't cry out, he didn't shed a tear. Instead he laid on his bed and stared blankly at the ceiling. He didn't talk to Luke, he didn't talk to anyone. He fell within himself to recollect and savor the few moments of time he made for his son. Inevitably the introspection lead to much heartache, regret and self hate, but he knew he deserved all of it. Finally his thoughts turned to Leia and what he would tell her when and if she woke up.
After mourning Anakin Solo for three days, Han Solo realized that he did not want to live the life of a pirate smuggler anymore. He was old, tired and heart broken. The lust for adventure and the thrill of danger that had so completely dictated his life were completely wiped away by the remembrance of his son.
To Be Continued...
Post a Comment (1)
1. Jake left...
20 January 2008, Sunday 10:23 am
Ouch poor Leia, to lose her child on top of being at the brink of the
darkside. She'll blame Luke and be lost forever to the darkside
