Master Jedi - The Dark Road of Revenge
posted 28 April 2007, Saturday
The first shift of the day had just started when a small ship floated through the shield barrier of the Adrinium mine and landed. It had only been a month since the mine had been started, but the nomadic community that followed the workers from rock to rock had been around for years. Made up of small, mobile stores and houses, most of them covered in dust and dirt, these types of places held little interest for those not in the smuggling or mining business. This particular group, however, was host to a recent murder and kidnapping which many were trying to forget.
Out of the small ship walked a small woman cloaked in a red, hooded robe. She stepped quickly and deliberately down the narrow path residents had affectionately dubbed main street causing the few heads around to turn. The long time residents who noticed her quickly took cover knowing that she was trouble. They were used to smugglers, thieves and all sorts of shady types, but this woman was different. Everything about her spelled death.
Two buildings away from the landing area was one of the larger establishments in this mining colony. It was old, extremely beat up, and wore the marks of many years of use. On top of the thin sheets of metal used for doors was a very small sign that read: Bar, Food and Drink, All welcome. The woman in the red robe walked up to the doors and without touching them, opened them. She quickly walked through and sat down at the bar; two stools away from a miner decked out in his work clothes and helmet. The first shift was the quietest time of the day as far as customers were concerned, and today only four people were in attendance. Everyone except the miner, who was busy scarfing down a meal, took a few seconds to notice the mysterious, cloaked figure. One cautious lady in the back didn't like the possibilities this person could bring and wisely decided to leave.
After observing the mysterious patron, for what he didn't notice was more than a few minutes, he slowly walked up to her with a cloth in his hand and spoke. "What can I get you?" The bartender said as he tried to sneak a peek at the woman's face under the hood.
Slowly, the woman lifted her arms and stretched out her hands on the moist bar table revealing her red gloves. She spoke in a trembling whisper which caused the bartender to lean in. "Do you know Han Solo?"
"No I don't," the bartender whispered back in an annoyed tone. "Besides... information isn't free around here."
Leia lifted her head up giving the bartender a glimpse of her face and looked at him with eyes that could cut through the Trilinium hull of a Star Destroyer. "You don't seem to understand the situation," Leia whispered again; this time with more tension in her voice.
"I think you better--" Before the bartender could finish his command for Leia to leave she moved her hand to her side, without taking her eyes off the bartender, pointed it at the oblivious miner and began Force-electrocuting him. The miner's screams of agony shocked the patrons in the bar to reach for their weapons, but when they saw what was happening they froze in disbelief and horror. On the floor the miner was writhing in pain as the electricity ran through his body. He kicked over a few stools as he uncontrollably moved around then began to choke on the foam and spit that was coming out of his mouth. The smell of cooked flesh quickly filled the bar causing one of the patrons to gag and vomit on themselves. The bartender stood frozen in shock as he watched the unbelievable horror that had fallen on him this day.
Three minutes after the nightmare had begun the miner was dead on the floor. "Do you understand the situation now?" Leia said out of the side of her mouth obviously holding back a tremendous amount of anger.
"What the hell are you?" The bartender whispered, still trying to make sense of what he had just witnessed.
"Don't make me ask again!"
"Uh... yeah... Han Solo. Yeah I know him. We've done each other some favors." The bartender backed away from Leia a few steps really wishing to run away.
"I know this is the last place Han visited before he disappeared. Tell me what happened!"
"Um, I don't know. He came in and got piss drunk. I, I didn't want him to drink anymore so I asked my buddy to take him back to his ship so he could sleep it off."
"You did exactly what the bounty hunter asked you to do, right?" Leia stood up and pulled her hood back enough to clearly reveal her face.
The bartender quickly raised his hands in disagreement. "What? No! I don't know about any bounty hunters. I wouldn't sell Han out like that!"
Leia closed her eyes and sighed; a sign the bartender took as positive. The entire room stood quietly as Leia thought for a moment then began to wag her head. "It's just too convenient," Leia replied before lifting her right hand and sending a concentrated stream of Force lightning into the bartender's head. He screamed in pain for a few seconds before his head exploded into a bloody mess; his body falling limp on the floor.
Leia took a few steps towards the door, stepping through the blood and guts she had spilt, before stopping and lowering her head. The two remaining patrons looked on frozen in fear trying to will the monster that had just killed two people out of their lives. Instead Leia began to tremble as the thoughts of her husband fueled her rage. She had come here hoping to find answers, vengeance and relief, but the empty, guilty feeling eating away at her pressed on driving her mad. With an incredible explosion of Force energy Leia raised her fists in the air and tore the entire bar and its remaining customers to shreds as she screamed in anger.
After the explosion a handful of people ran over to see what had happened. Two mine security guards walked up to the only person left standing amidst the debris to see if she needed help. "Are you okay? What happened here?" Asked a guard.
"God... how did you survive a blast like this?" The other one added.
Leia was breathing heavily from the exertion as she slowly turned her head towards one of the guards and said, "I... destroyed this place."
"What the hell? What did you do!" The guard in front of Leia was clearly startled. "Hey Bill you better go get some help!"
"I'm leaving now. I suggest you don't get in my way." Leia began walking away from the scene.
"Hey! You can't leave!" Were the last words of the guard as he grabbed hold of his blaster rifle and took a shot at Leia. Spinning around, Leia Force-blocked the shot with her right hand, swatting it away, then came around with her left and sent a stream of lightning at the guard. She let him go after a few seconds because of the inconvenience. It would simply take too much time to kill him, and she wanted to leave.
The bystanders looked on in shock staring at Leia, murmuring among themselves. The closer she got to her ship the more people arrived to see what was going on, and in a matter of moments Main Street was full of onlookers. Leia pulled her hood down to cover her face, but the staring and the whispers didn't stop. In her mind the whispers mocked and shamed her for all of her mistakes: leaving the Republic, turning on Han, Ignoring her son, becoming an assassin, killing innocent people. With each step closer to her ship Leia's madness grew, and what were a few concerned whispers became loud jeers and insults. A block away from the landing area she had become a mess, stumbling over herself as she desperately tried to escape her inner demons. Then in a outburst of rage Leia screamed, "Leave me alone!" And out of her poured streams of Force-lightning in all directions catching anyone who was nearby. Those who were not on the floor screaming in pain ran away. Leia fell to one knee extremely exhausted with a terrible headache. She looked around at the injured on the floor then limped back to her ship.
Leia slowly opened her eyes to the annoying ring of her door chime and found herself sleeping in her bed, fully clothed, on the Eviscerator. Was it a dream, she asked herself knowing that it was all painfully true. Ring, Ring! How long have I been here, Leia sat up and rubbed her eyes. The screen clock at the side of her bed told her it had been two days since her trip to the mine. Ring, Ring! Leia looked down at her self as she scanned the room and was suddenly revolted by the dry blood stains on her robe. She unbuttoned it and threw it on the floor near her bathroom then checked her face and hair in the mirror for any more reminders of her latest rampage. Ring, Ring! "Damn it! I'm coming!"
Leia stomped over to the door and found Menn-al waiting on the other side in his regular emotionless character. "The Admiral would like to see you immediately," He calmly said.
"If we're not getting attacked what the hell is so urgent?" Leia responded loudly.
"I'm sorry, but I do not know. You have been in your room for two days and the Admiral has been wanting to speak to you. I assume he can't wait any longer."
"Fine. I'll go see him in a minute."
"Again, I apologize, but I'm to personally escort you to him immediately," Menn-al bowed courteously.
Leia looked up to the ceiling as she tied her hair into a pony tail, "Unless you plan of forcing me to go - and we both know you don't - both of you are going to wait until I am damn well ready!"
Without saying a word Menn-al persuaded Leia to get ready in five minutes. His hovering over her like a silent zombie annoyed her into cooperation. He wasn't trying to hurry her, but it worked out that way. The trip to Dorem's strategy room, the place where he spent most of his time, was felt longer than it did due to weakness Leia was feeling in her body. To date, her episode at the mine was the most Force energy she had ever expended, and it was taking its toll.
"You've been a stranger Princess Leia Organa!" Mocked Dorem as Leia walked in and sat down across from him eager to rest. "Have you been sleeping all this time? You don't look too good."
"What's so important that you need to escort me up here? What do you want?" Leia rested her face on her fist.
"Thank you Menn-al. I think you better leave us now, " Dorem ordered. Menn-al quickly obeyed and departed after bowing to everyone. After he had closed the door behind him, Dorem cleared some papers from his black metallic desk (all of his desks were black), and sat down with some papers in his hand. "So... Do I want to know what happened on your latest tear? It must have been hell to keep you in bed for two days and still looking like this," Dorem asked.
"Since when does my business concern you?"
"Since you came to me for help. Besides, I am not without compassion, and it is troubling to see you wasting away like this. Perhaps it is time to give up your search and move on with your life."
"No!" Leia yelled as she brought her fist down on the table severely denting it. All of the papers and files on desk slid towards the middle in a clump. "Don't you ever say something like that to me again. If you do... I will kill you." Leia glared at Dorem with her fist still firmly on the table. Dorem knew Leia had special abilities, but he had never witnessed them like this. As he looked into her eyes he realized that he was afraid. Even though he had not feared anything for at least thirty years, Dorem found himself honestly afraid of the woman sitting across from him. He lowered his eyes and bowed with his head admitting defeat. "I apologize. I will never speak of it again." Defeat was not a word in Dorem's vocabulary, and anyone of his men who spoke of it were quickly dealt with. Inside Dorem was disgusted with himself, ashamed, and he didn't really know why he submitted so easily. He was not afraid of death. A man like him who had killed thousands of people and faced death multiple times were numb to it. What was it about Leia that made him act so differently?
Leia retracted her fist and sat back in her chair again. "Stop wasting my time, Dorem. What do you want?"
"Ah! Yes." Dorem shuffled through the papers in his hand. "As you know the Empire has unofficially declared war on me. They don't want me to win this civil war because they fear I could strip away their power. A few weeks ago an ensign was noticed on deck thirty-one when he should have been taking inventory--"
"A spy." Leia interjected.
"Yes. A spy. We knew there would be a few on board... That didn't surprise me. What did surprise me was this." Dorem handed Leia a piece of paper. "We found it in his room. Apparently he left in too much of a hurry to clean up after himself."
"It's just a bunch of gibberish," Leia replied after looking it over.
"Actually its one of the codes used by Imperial Special Intelligence. I have a friend on coruscant that helped me decode it. Here is what it really says," Dorem handed Leia another piece of paper. It read:
The witch is gone. Will commence collection of material in two hours. Prepare the rendezvous.
"This still doesn't make any sense."
"Think about it. The witch? There's only one person on board this ship that can fit that description." Dorem leaned back in his chair.
"Me? What could they possibly want with me? I'm not even supposed to be here." Leia tossed the papers back on Dorems mangled desk.
"I don't know what they are after, but they know you're here and they specifically targeted you."
To Be Continued...
Out of the small ship walked a small woman cloaked in a red, hooded robe. She stepped quickly and deliberately down the narrow path residents had affectionately dubbed main street causing the few heads around to turn. The long time residents who noticed her quickly took cover knowing that she was trouble. They were used to smugglers, thieves and all sorts of shady types, but this woman was different. Everything about her spelled death.
Two buildings away from the landing area was one of the larger establishments in this mining colony. It was old, extremely beat up, and wore the marks of many years of use. On top of the thin sheets of metal used for doors was a very small sign that read: Bar, Food and Drink, All welcome. The woman in the red robe walked up to the doors and without touching them, opened them. She quickly walked through and sat down at the bar; two stools away from a miner decked out in his work clothes and helmet. The first shift was the quietest time of the day as far as customers were concerned, and today only four people were in attendance. Everyone except the miner, who was busy scarfing down a meal, took a few seconds to notice the mysterious, cloaked figure. One cautious lady in the back didn't like the possibilities this person could bring and wisely decided to leave.
After observing the mysterious patron, for what he didn't notice was more than a few minutes, he slowly walked up to her with a cloth in his hand and spoke. "What can I get you?" The bartender said as he tried to sneak a peek at the woman's face under the hood.
Slowly, the woman lifted her arms and stretched out her hands on the moist bar table revealing her red gloves. She spoke in a trembling whisper which caused the bartender to lean in. "Do you know Han Solo?"
"No I don't," the bartender whispered back in an annoyed tone. "Besides... information isn't free around here."
Leia lifted her head up giving the bartender a glimpse of her face and looked at him with eyes that could cut through the Trilinium hull of a Star Destroyer. "You don't seem to understand the situation," Leia whispered again; this time with more tension in her voice.
"I think you better--" Before the bartender could finish his command for Leia to leave she moved her hand to her side, without taking her eyes off the bartender, pointed it at the oblivious miner and began Force-electrocuting him. The miner's screams of agony shocked the patrons in the bar to reach for their weapons, but when they saw what was happening they froze in disbelief and horror. On the floor the miner was writhing in pain as the electricity ran through his body. He kicked over a few stools as he uncontrollably moved around then began to choke on the foam and spit that was coming out of his mouth. The smell of cooked flesh quickly filled the bar causing one of the patrons to gag and vomit on themselves. The bartender stood frozen in shock as he watched the unbelievable horror that had fallen on him this day.
Three minutes after the nightmare had begun the miner was dead on the floor. "Do you understand the situation now?" Leia said out of the side of her mouth obviously holding back a tremendous amount of anger.
"What the hell are you?" The bartender whispered, still trying to make sense of what he had just witnessed.
"Don't make me ask again!"
"Uh... yeah... Han Solo. Yeah I know him. We've done each other some favors." The bartender backed away from Leia a few steps really wishing to run away.
"I know this is the last place Han visited before he disappeared. Tell me what happened!"
"Um, I don't know. He came in and got piss drunk. I, I didn't want him to drink anymore so I asked my buddy to take him back to his ship so he could sleep it off."
"You did exactly what the bounty hunter asked you to do, right?" Leia stood up and pulled her hood back enough to clearly reveal her face.
The bartender quickly raised his hands in disagreement. "What? No! I don't know about any bounty hunters. I wouldn't sell Han out like that!"
Leia closed her eyes and sighed; a sign the bartender took as positive. The entire room stood quietly as Leia thought for a moment then began to wag her head. "It's just too convenient," Leia replied before lifting her right hand and sending a concentrated stream of Force lightning into the bartender's head. He screamed in pain for a few seconds before his head exploded into a bloody mess; his body falling limp on the floor.
Leia took a few steps towards the door, stepping through the blood and guts she had spilt, before stopping and lowering her head. The two remaining patrons looked on frozen in fear trying to will the monster that had just killed two people out of their lives. Instead Leia began to tremble as the thoughts of her husband fueled her rage. She had come here hoping to find answers, vengeance and relief, but the empty, guilty feeling eating away at her pressed on driving her mad. With an incredible explosion of Force energy Leia raised her fists in the air and tore the entire bar and its remaining customers to shreds as she screamed in anger.
After the explosion a handful of people ran over to see what had happened. Two mine security guards walked up to the only person left standing amidst the debris to see if she needed help. "Are you okay? What happened here?" Asked a guard.
"God... how did you survive a blast like this?" The other one added.
Leia was breathing heavily from the exertion as she slowly turned her head towards one of the guards and said, "I... destroyed this place."
"What the hell? What did you do!" The guard in front of Leia was clearly startled. "Hey Bill you better go get some help!"
"I'm leaving now. I suggest you don't get in my way." Leia began walking away from the scene.
"Hey! You can't leave!" Were the last words of the guard as he grabbed hold of his blaster rifle and took a shot at Leia. Spinning around, Leia Force-blocked the shot with her right hand, swatting it away, then came around with her left and sent a stream of lightning at the guard. She let him go after a few seconds because of the inconvenience. It would simply take too much time to kill him, and she wanted to leave.
The bystanders looked on in shock staring at Leia, murmuring among themselves. The closer she got to her ship the more people arrived to see what was going on, and in a matter of moments Main Street was full of onlookers. Leia pulled her hood down to cover her face, but the staring and the whispers didn't stop. In her mind the whispers mocked and shamed her for all of her mistakes: leaving the Republic, turning on Han, Ignoring her son, becoming an assassin, killing innocent people. With each step closer to her ship Leia's madness grew, and what were a few concerned whispers became loud jeers and insults. A block away from the landing area she had become a mess, stumbling over herself as she desperately tried to escape her inner demons. Then in a outburst of rage Leia screamed, "Leave me alone!" And out of her poured streams of Force-lightning in all directions catching anyone who was nearby. Those who were not on the floor screaming in pain ran away. Leia fell to one knee extremely exhausted with a terrible headache. She looked around at the injured on the floor then limped back to her ship.
Leia slowly opened her eyes to the annoying ring of her door chime and found herself sleeping in her bed, fully clothed, on the Eviscerator. Was it a dream, she asked herself knowing that it was all painfully true. Ring, Ring! How long have I been here, Leia sat up and rubbed her eyes. The screen clock at the side of her bed told her it had been two days since her trip to the mine. Ring, Ring! Leia looked down at her self as she scanned the room and was suddenly revolted by the dry blood stains on her robe. She unbuttoned it and threw it on the floor near her bathroom then checked her face and hair in the mirror for any more reminders of her latest rampage. Ring, Ring! "Damn it! I'm coming!"
Leia stomped over to the door and found Menn-al waiting on the other side in his regular emotionless character. "The Admiral would like to see you immediately," He calmly said.
"If we're not getting attacked what the hell is so urgent?" Leia responded loudly.
"I'm sorry, but I do not know. You have been in your room for two days and the Admiral has been wanting to speak to you. I assume he can't wait any longer."
"Fine. I'll go see him in a minute."
"Again, I apologize, but I'm to personally escort you to him immediately," Menn-al bowed courteously.
Leia looked up to the ceiling as she tied her hair into a pony tail, "Unless you plan of forcing me to go - and we both know you don't - both of you are going to wait until I am damn well ready!"
Without saying a word Menn-al persuaded Leia to get ready in five minutes. His hovering over her like a silent zombie annoyed her into cooperation. He wasn't trying to hurry her, but it worked out that way. The trip to Dorem's strategy room, the place where he spent most of his time, was felt longer than it did due to weakness Leia was feeling in her body. To date, her episode at the mine was the most Force energy she had ever expended, and it was taking its toll.
"You've been a stranger Princess Leia Organa!" Mocked Dorem as Leia walked in and sat down across from him eager to rest. "Have you been sleeping all this time? You don't look too good."
"What's so important that you need to escort me up here? What do you want?" Leia rested her face on her fist.
"Thank you Menn-al. I think you better leave us now, " Dorem ordered. Menn-al quickly obeyed and departed after bowing to everyone. After he had closed the door behind him, Dorem cleared some papers from his black metallic desk (all of his desks were black), and sat down with some papers in his hand. "So... Do I want to know what happened on your latest tear? It must have been hell to keep you in bed for two days and still looking like this," Dorem asked.
"Since when does my business concern you?"
"Since you came to me for help. Besides, I am not without compassion, and it is troubling to see you wasting away like this. Perhaps it is time to give up your search and move on with your life."
"No!" Leia yelled as she brought her fist down on the table severely denting it. All of the papers and files on desk slid towards the middle in a clump. "Don't you ever say something like that to me again. If you do... I will kill you." Leia glared at Dorem with her fist still firmly on the table. Dorem knew Leia had special abilities, but he had never witnessed them like this. As he looked into her eyes he realized that he was afraid. Even though he had not feared anything for at least thirty years, Dorem found himself honestly afraid of the woman sitting across from him. He lowered his eyes and bowed with his head admitting defeat. "I apologize. I will never speak of it again." Defeat was not a word in Dorem's vocabulary, and anyone of his men who spoke of it were quickly dealt with. Inside Dorem was disgusted with himself, ashamed, and he didn't really know why he submitted so easily. He was not afraid of death. A man like him who had killed thousands of people and faced death multiple times were numb to it. What was it about Leia that made him act so differently?
Leia retracted her fist and sat back in her chair again. "Stop wasting my time, Dorem. What do you want?"
"Ah! Yes." Dorem shuffled through the papers in his hand. "As you know the Empire has unofficially declared war on me. They don't want me to win this civil war because they fear I could strip away their power. A few weeks ago an ensign was noticed on deck thirty-one when he should have been taking inventory--"
"A spy." Leia interjected.
"Yes. A spy. We knew there would be a few on board... That didn't surprise me. What did surprise me was this." Dorem handed Leia a piece of paper. "We found it in his room. Apparently he left in too much of a hurry to clean up after himself."
"It's just a bunch of gibberish," Leia replied after looking it over.
"Actually its one of the codes used by Imperial Special Intelligence. I have a friend on coruscant that helped me decode it. Here is what it really says," Dorem handed Leia another piece of paper. It read:
The witch is gone. Will commence collection of material in two hours. Prepare the rendezvous.
"This still doesn't make any sense."
"Think about it. The witch? There's only one person on board this ship that can fit that description." Dorem leaned back in his chair.
"Me? What could they possibly want with me? I'm not even supposed to be here." Leia tossed the papers back on Dorems mangled desk.
"I don't know what they are after, but they know you're here and they specifically targeted you."
To Be Continued...
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