Jedi Dawn – Chapter 7
By Sienn (2001)
Rating (for chapter): PG-13
Protagonists: Luke/Mara
Category: Drama/Action/Angst
Time Frame: 26 A.Y.
Spoilers:
See Chapter 1
Disclaimer:
See Chapter 1
Coruscant, Imperial Palace, 1 Day Before The Peace Talks Begin
Leia Organa Solo took a deep breath and straightened her demure senator's gown. It consisted of a simple robe of deep red colour, underlining her hair that she had left hanging down to her waist. Only at her temples, she wore two thin, long braids.
"The Queen's Pride should come into sight any minute now, Your Excellency." 3PO's voice sounded shrill and somewhat distant over the howling of the wind. The docking bay Leia had assigned to Teneniel Djo's transport was the very highest there was in the Imperial Palace and severely guarded. Although no one really expected any Peace Brigade actions on Coruscant, Leia was not willing to take any chances.
And, judging by the fifty-six ship strong fleet the Queenmother had brought with her, Teneniel obviously had had the same thoughts as Leia. While the sleek transport made its landing, Leia's thoughts drifted back to the events during which she had first met Teneniel Djo. It seemed to have been an eternity ago - and although she had never been particularly friendly with the Dathomiri woman, Leia awaited their reunion eagerly.
After all, it was a part of her past that was obviously still the same. The Hapan Consortium had not been afflicted yet by the Yuuzhan Vong conquest, but the numerous worlds seemed to be aware that their wealth in any matter was a strong incentive for the alien species to lay their eyes on this star cluster.
Thinking of Teneniel also brought dear remembrances of Han with it. After Dathomir, they had married - the adventure on this wild planet had actually been a proposal in Han Solo's own way. Chaotic, unplanned, but certainly appealing - if you lived through it, that is. Leia smiled. Han did everything in a very unique way and grieving about Chewbacca's death was no exception.
But when they had met above Ithor, Leia had felt the wall that had built up between them shatter a little bit. When she had seen how Han had cared for Luke, with so much friendship and love in every gesture, she had seen that the Han she had known for so long, the Han prior to Chewie's death, was still there. And perhaps closer to resurfacing than she had thought. She would certainly be happy to forget all the nasty things he had said to her. Leia admitted that she hadn't been decent either, when they had once again engaged in fierce arguments.
And now Han was on his way to Coruscant. He was supposed to arrive in the evening - just in time to be briefed about what he had to do. And he would bring Luke along with him. Leia sighed inwardly. Luke was a problem that couldn't be solved with diplomatic talks, nor tactical or fighting skills. Luke needed entirely different things to heal. And Leia was afraid that she, although she loved him with all her heart, wouldn't be able to let him recover totally from what he had been through - again.
The hissing of steam let Leia bring her head up. Deep in her musings, she had entirely missed the transport finishing its landing. The hatch popped open and the ramp was brought down. Clad in a simple night blue gown and wide trousers of the same colour, her hair complicatedly braided and brought up around her head, Teneniel Djo offered a stunning appearance. With a quick flash of jealousy Leia wondered how the woman had managed to defy time. There was no grey hair to be spotted, nor wrinkles. Then Leia chided herself. It was certainly not the time to pay any attention to such things.
With a genuine smile, the two women met on the roof and embraced each other. "It's good to see you again, Leia. I was worried. The news we got on Hapan wasn't particularly encouraging concerning you and your immediate family." Teneniel smiled genuinely, eyeing her with friendly curiosity.
Leia smiled back: "Things have changed rather fast, Teneniel. Neither I nor the Jedi had a good stand before Ithor, you know. In this regard, this battle has done us good, as much as I wish it hadn't happened."
Teneniel nodded: "I understand. But certain things are necessary, Leia. If it hadn't been for the battle and your role in it, then this fluffy excuse of a President would still be in power - and Force knows what he would have made out of the New Republic."
Leia agreed. "I know. But it doesn't make me feel any better about what happened above Ithor. But we should talk about the immediate future." Teneniel nodded again, then frowned when two black-clad, rather small figures attached themselves behind them.
"My bodyguards," Leia explained. "They are Noghri. I'll introduce you to them later."
"Fine. Now tell me what I'm supposed to do here."
"Sure. If you would follow me. I think we should discuss this in my rooms - out of the danger of being eavesdropped."
Ten minutes later, they had settled into comfortable chairs in the President's office and sipped at their cooled R'alla mineral waters. The integrated window-holofields gave a stunning view of a Bespin dawn.
"Ok, Leia, now let's talk business. You know that the Hapan Consortium would have joined this war. I offered that some weeks ago. I expected that I and my planets would be welcome, but I didn't expect to be part of some delegation like this." The Dathomiri witch folded her legs and pierced Leia with a cool, intelligent stare.
Teneniel had never been a dumb woman, but since she had left Dathomir and married Prince Isolder of Hapan, she had developed into someone to be taken very seriously. Certainly, the intrigues that were so common in the Hapan royal house had played a significant role in this metamorphosis.
"Oh, if we had received this peace offer some time ago, say a month or two, you certainly wouldn't have been asked. Not by Fey'lya and not by me. But to speak frankly, Teneniel, I want your fire power at my back in case the Yuuzhan Vong play false."
Teneniel grinned: "I take it I have not over reacted in bringing a fleet of this size with me?"
The Alderaanian princess smiled: "Certainly not. I very much appreciate it. To be honest, the New Republic Fleet is in quite a sorry state by now. We have lost many ships and even more good men and women above Ithor and I feel a lot safer with your ships at my side when I engage with the Yuuzhan Vong."
"But they DID say they'd only bring one ship, didn't they?"
"They did indeed. But then, they also promised to leave Ithor alone if Corran bettered Shedao Shai. I suppose that says what I think of Yuuzhan Vong promises."
Teneniel frowned: "I think my sources weren't as reliable as I thought. Corran Horn had an agreement with this Vong?"
"Yeah. But don't worry about your not knowing this. I have arranged for a briefing this evening where the whole delegation will meet and we will review all information available on the Yuuzhan Vong."
"Good. Then we can come to more personal matters now."
Leia's eyes darkened: "Are you talking about Luke?"
Teneniel nodded: "You bet I do. What I felt, Leia, scared me. And I want to know what happened."
The Chief-of-State sighed: "You know, I can't tell you much. This is very personal and you have to ask Luke if you want to know more. But I can give you a general overview."
The Hapan queen nodded: "That'll do."
Coruscant, An Abandoned Skyscraper, The Same Day
Lieutenant Kume Doknu, a Grannan, felt sweat trickle down his spine. When he had heard the news about Ithor, some weeks ago, he had not been able to do anything but gape at the subordinate bringing him the report. And since that very moment, he had been wondering if he had chosen the wrong side all along this last year. If the Jedi, Skywalker, was able to overthrow the Vong, to actually save the galaxy from them, then he had been fighting the whole time against the very Order and its leader who had been the saviour of his people. Unfortunately, that had become clear to him only now - that as well as the mess he was in.
True, the Yuuzhan Vong had offered peace talks. The galaxy was relieved, the Peace Brigade was relieved - and officially didn't exist anymore. The respective Yuuzhan Vong anchormen and leaders who had led the single Peace Brigade teams had just broken contact and ignored them.
So one could think that it was simply bad luck that Kume Doknu and his men had been assigned to Admiral Denj Idao when they had joined the Brigade. The face of the Admiral, distorted in the common way and with the scars in the form of the signs of domain Idao on his forehead, showed all too clearly that he was certainly not in a good mood. Doknu could not remember that he had ever been.
"But, Sir, I thought the Yuuzhan Vong had declared a cessation of battle until the outcome of the negotiations is clear," he rasped, suddenly feeling very out of place.
"Infidel, you're not to question my authority. I have sent you and your fellow vermin to Coruscant to provide me with information, not to voice stupid questions. Do you have my information?"
Doknu paled slightly. If he played this wrong, Idao would have him sacrificed or simply killed in a matter of hours. And what little information he had been able to gather would not be enough to satisfy the Vong Admiral, that much was clear.
"Unfortunately, we could only come up with the information that Luke Skywalker is expected to arrive on Coruscant in time to attend the negotiations with his sister, Organa Solo."
As he had foreseen, the expression of the Yuuzhan Vong became even grimmer. "I already knew that, infidel. I wanted to know when, on which ship and on which vector he would arrive. And how much time I have before the Warmaster arrives. I take it you're not able to provide me with this intelligence?"
Doknu swallowed. That was it. "No, Admiral, I'm sorry. We couldn't get hold of these details. Security has been increased ten-fold since Organa Solo has become president again."
Expecting to be sentenced to death, Doknu braced himself and began to think of a way to get out of the Admiral's control, when the Vong surprised him yet again.
With a grunt, the villip before him collapsed into its natural form and the Admiral was gone. Well, that hadn't been so bad, had it? Nonetheless, Kume Doknu's legs felt like jelly when he left his shelter to meet up with the fellow members of his team to talk about their return to where they came from - before Idao could do anything about it.
Vong Ship Criarto, On Route To Coruscant, Elan's Chambers
Elan hissed furiously at the head of Denj Idao projected by her personal villip. "What you did was not only totally useless, you also risked our very cause, Admiral."
"Measure your tone, Priestess. Do I really have to remind you that you are in NO position whatsoever to speak to me in this way?" the older Yuuzhan Vong growled.
Elan snorted: "I don't care a damutek's spit in which caste you are and which rank you have. You endangered our mission in the command of glorious Yun-Yuuzhan. And you know perfectly well that I could always mention your insubordination to Tsavong Lah."
Idao's eyes narrowed to slits. "Don't try to threaten me, Priestess. My sympathies have never been with you and your sect, you know that. The circumstances are everything that is binding us together. And there is NO reason for me to not dispose of you and please Yun-Yuuzhan on my own."
"There is a reason, Admiral. Without me, you would achieve nothing. With me, you could achieve everything. The Warmaster doesn't even suspect me to be in contact with you. He won't suspect me to be in contact with the forming resistance against him either. So I'll be your only source for reliable information - and I am the only one who can act directly against Lah. You need me and you know it." She grinned predatorily and relished her victory. Warriors. If it hadn't to do with weapons, they were just as intelligent as a villip - or even less, if Idao was any example to go by.
The Admiral clenched his teeth and Elan could see how much it cost him to remain calm. Well, he would have to.
"For now, you're right. So what is it you want me to do?" he asked, his voice husky with barely controlled frenzy.
"Leave Luke Skywalker alone. I have my own plans for him. And no aspect of them involves you."
"But?" Now the voice was just about audible and decidedly ready for attack. Stupid things, these warriors.
"This is none of your concern. Do what you're best at and leave the thinking to me. Fight and kill. But only if I tell you to. As soon as we have arrived above Coruscant, I'll send you a courier with the co-ordinates of our future meeting place. Until then, find yourself some hiding place."
With this, she patted the villip and the face of Idao vanished before he could answer her. This stupid admiral would probably become a nuisance at some point. Hopefully, Elan would find a respectable replacement in his fleet. But at the moment, she had no time whatsoever to occupy herself with him. She had plans, indeed. And these plans called for another contact, another truce to establish.
She called for her aide, not bothering whether the young female learned of what was going on. She was her crèche-sister and would never turn into a traitor to Elan.
"See that you find me a way to contact the villip of Mezhan Kwaad. And find it soon. I have a most interesting task for her. Tell her only so much."
Millennium Falcon, On Its Way To Coruscant
"Han, when exactly did you replace these couplings the last time?" Luke's voice sounded dull from the lounge. Han, sitting in the pilot's chair and trying to persuade the artificial gravity to pop back on, grinned somewhat embarrassed.
"Well, do you really want to know?"
"No. No, I guess I don't want to know." This time, Luke's voice sounded clear behind him and Han turned just in time to see the Jedi Master pushing his way towards the co-pilot's seat. Some black blotches of lubricant were neatly spread across his face and his robe was splattered grey with dust.
"You need to clean your maintenance tunnels, Han, or I will never ever set a foot in them again. I probably got a dust lung out of this," the kid grumbled, rubbing frantically and uselessly at another blotch on his right hand.
Han grinned. "Ah, you've been through worse things, Junior. Anyway, you think I can try it?"
Luke grimaced. "Sure. The gravity will be ok again, but I can't guarantee for anything else. You do know that the usefulness of a colour code is in vain if you use the same colour for three different systems, don't you?"
Han pushed a few buttons and levers and with an unpleasant, nauseating feeling, the artificial gravity readjusted itself. "Actually, Luke, these couplings aren't the same colour at all."
Luke abandoned the blotch on his hand and stared Han straight in the eyes: "Han, they're all green."
"Not if you are a Verpine."
The blue eyes in front of him widened: "Why, for Force's sake, did you ever buy a Verpine coded..."
Han waved the coming argument away. "Ah well, I was short of couplings and these were the only ones I could get. And I thought the colour was nice - well, at least the one I could see."
Luke sighed: "I will never fully understand how the Falcon actually flies. You have cobbled together parts of every sort of ship, haven't you?"
"Almost. You think a villip would look better than the communication unit?" Han smirked and checked the navi computer. Three hours to go, then they'd arrive on Coruscant.
Luke snorted and refused to comment in any way.
"Three hours, kid, and we'll arrive. You should take the time to clean yourself up a little bit. You look like a real mess."
Han laughed at the furious stare Luke shot him: "Han, you've consumed our entire water supply for making a stew which made us sick for hours. How exactly am I supposed to clean up?"
"Take something from the maintenance bay. These lubricants will stand ordinary water, anyway."
"I really missed travelling with you, you know. My life was so pleasant, it almost wasn't bearable," Luke growled and rose to make his way to the maintenance hatches again.
"Oh, I know, Luke." Then Han became serious and added: "I missed that, too, Luke."
The Jedi stopped dead-track and stared for a moment at him, suspicion evident in his eyes. But when he saw it wasn't a joke, his features relaxed. "Thanks, Han." He smiled and left.
"Well, anytime," Han said, forcing the lump in his throat back. How he hated it when it got all emotional.
Coruscant, Imperial Palace, Military Briefing Room 20, 7 Hours Later
"Well, that's pretty much all we know about them." Belindi Kalenda finished her report and warily eyed her listeners. She had never spoken to an assembly of such galactic importance before and was utterly surprised that she had actually gotten along without stammering once.
Directly in front of her, Admirals Kre'fey and Pellaeon were sitting, two beings she more or less knew. Behind them, President Princess Leia Organa Solo was seated, another familiar figure which hadn't changed much except for some slight wrinkles around her eyes. Next to the President sat Queenmother Teneniel Djo from Hapan, very attractive in a dark brown combination clearly not in the usual wardrobe of a queen. Behind the women sat Wedge Antilles, Han Solo and Luke Skywalker. And these had been, except for the Admirals, the toughest listeners she had ever had.
But now she was through and she was proud of it. "Any questions?" she asked, her throat feeling strained after almost three hours of continuous talking.
"No. But it worries me that we know more about their ships than we do about their people," the president said, frowning slightly at the last hologram, showing one of the captured coralskippers.
"That will make the negotiations tricky," Kre'fey agreed.
"And dangerous," Skywalker added. It was the first time he had said a word. "It will lead to misunderstandings and they could lie to us without us recognising it. We have no way to know whether they're trying to sell us out or not. When they say they need that or that, we'll have to believe it."
"Well, we'll just have to be careful then," Antilles said, scratching his head and looking every bit as uncomfortable as everyone else in the room.
"Very careful," the Chief-of-State reinforced. "And we will not bring any technical weapons with us. No blasters, no vibro-blades."
Skywalker was about to say something, but his sister interrupted him: "You will of course carry your lightsaber, Luke. I think with three lightsabers and three people capable of fighting with them, we will have as much a chance if it comes to fighting their whole ship as we would have with four additional blasters."
"Probably. Though I don't like it, Leia," Solo growled.
"Believe me, Han, I don't like it myself. Not a bit."
*~~
"Luke? Can I have a word with you?"
Surprised, Luke stopped on his way down the corridor towards the lift-tubes and waited for Teneniel to catch up with him. Before him, Wedge and the admirals got into one of the tubes and vanished.
"Sure."
Teneniel reached him and eyed him suspiciously. "You were rather closed up before the meeting. Is that the way you greet old friends?"
Luke looked embarrassed for a second, then embraced her a little bit awkwardly and smiled. "Sorry, Teneniel. I was not in the mood for chattering." He sighed. "Actually, I'm still not. Please pardon me, but I want to get into my bed and sleep a few hours before it comes to business."
Teneniel bit her lip. "I understand that, Luke, but I hoped you would listen to me. It's personal and I don't have anyone here. Leia is not quite as close to me as you are."
Luke frowned, eyed her more attentively now, then gestured her to follow him. "Alright, then. I won't let you down if you've got problems to talk about."
Her face brightened, then became serious again. "It's not so much the problem itself, but the consequences that bother me." She drew a deep breath, then said firmly. "Isolder and me... well, to speak frankly, we've got problems and we're almost to the point where we rather kill each other than talk like civilised people."
Luke gaped at her rather astonished and it took him some minutes to gather his thoughts. "Oh. I'm sorry, Teneniel."
She smiled: "Thank you, Luke. Actually, I didn't want to bother you, because I heard you have your own problems, but I had to talk to someone..." When she saw Luke's features darken, she stopped and reached for his hand.
"Now, I'M sorry, Luke. I didn't want to..."
"Don't worry." He cut her off, surprisingly accepting her hand in his. "Not talking about it wouldn't make it better anyway."
"I would listen," she said softly, catching his gaze and meeting it openly. She gently pressed his hand.
Luke smiled, but shook his head: "No. I appreciate the offer, Teneniel, but that's too personal, even for our friendship. And I've got Han and Leia to talk to if the need should arise." He pressed her hand in response, turned and vanished into the next lift tube.
Teneniel watched him go, slightly irritated, though not about his refusal to talk to her. She had expected this. What made her wonder was that she obviously had forgotten how mesmerising and beautiful his eyes were - and that she had just remembered again. Shaking her head, Teneniel decided to take the stairs instead of the lift tube and catch a little bit of fresh air before going to bed.