Chapter 13

The commander took a datapad from his desk, activated the device and tapped on the screen, then he look at Luke with a grudging smile.

"Commodore Skywalker, we are most grateful to the Supreme Chancellor for sending you to Wegoyy so quickly after informing the Irithim government of our weeks-long investigation into the escape of prisoner Solichor. We have documented all the details of our investigations on this datapad. You can read for yourself, that the tracks we have found must be absolutely correct. First those tracks lead in the direction of Tropass. Unfortunately, these tracks have been erased in a series of sandstorms. Next we found tracks in the direction of the highland plateaus."

"And those sandstorms didn't erase the tracks leading to the highland plateaus?" Luke asked with an innocent look, remembering the many sandstorms he'd been through on Tatooine.

For a moment the commander was taken aback, then he quickly changed the subject.

"You've probably also seen the other holograms and our special scans from our investigations in the prison building itself that I sent with our report. Everything points to a carefully planned escape. Looks like she got help from someone in this building."

"You mean someone has helped her to escape, sir?" Luke asked somewhat skeptical.

"We guess that someone has helped her to escape almost from the beginning of her detention. In her cell we have found tens of coils of rope which she must have saved secretly over a long period. Similar ropes were hanging on the outside of the prison wall. Two deactivated and disassembled guarding droids were found in a corner near the wall. She has used the metal bodies of those droids to reach the top of the wall."

Luke nodded in apparent understanding. The commander continued.

"On the road to Tropass we have found some empty water bottles with her fingerprints."

"Have your men also found similar water bottles near the highland mesas?" Luke informed.

Again the commander hesitated to answer.

"Those empty bottles we've found are more than enough evidence to me. My main concern is that my men have to find her as soon as possible. We have set up a tight surveillance network of probes around the space port to prevent her to escape onboard a spaceship."

"Those empty bottles surely must have been blown in different directions during those sandstorms, don't you think, sir", Luke commented and continued, "if our escaped prisoner has found her way to the highland mesas surveillance probes are needed there as well."

"We're extending our search in all directions, commodore Skywalker", Dendicott snorted, clearly showing his discontent with Luke's comments.

Luke took a card from his breast pocket.

"I will take over all further investigations, sir. Will you, please, hand me that datapad with all the evidence you've found", He said and handed Dendicott his special warrant with Mon Mothma's signature, "You have to withdraw all your men and deactivated that probe-droid's network immediately."

Dendicott face turned red with barely restrained rage.

"You have very powerful friends, commodore. Alright, I'll withdraw all my men and deactivate those surveillance probes. Go and search Wegoyy's desert yourself, using those special Jedi skills of you. Good luck!"

Luke left the prison building and went back to Tropass with Dendicott's datapad. In his apartment he thoroughly examined the files on the datapad. After he had read Dendicott's burden of proof, he shook his head.

"He's covering up something", He murmured, reading several files anew.

His Jedi abilities told him that the Commander's so-called proofs were forgeries done knowingly.

"It clear that this burden of proof have been fabricated and all too obvious. The explicit indication of the tracks in the direction of Tropass which had been wiped out by sandstorms; the tracks which were leading to the highland mesas; the insinuation that someone inside the prison has helped her; the smuggled coils of ropes in her cell; the empty bottles with her fingerprints on them her, are all facts which are fabricated on purpose. Liane didn't escape, so what really happened to her? Commander Dendicott is covering up the actual state of affairs. How am I going to expose a possible cover-up?"

Luke recalled the vague images he had seen of a Corellian freighter lifting off from a highland mesa.

'What does the Force want to tell me?' He thought, 'Has Liane really left Wegoyy with that freighter? I have to find her. Only she can tell me the truth. Tomorrow I will start my own investigation, beginning with the ground personnel at the spaceport. Next I'll go to those mountain ridges behind Tropass and the Wegoyy Desert, to find indications or evidence if she may have been there.'

Next morning Luke went to the spaceport of Tropass and questioned the ground officers and their staff. He showed them a holographic image of Liane, but no one remembered having seen the young woman. His investigation at the space port took several days. Finally he concluded that Liane never had been near the spaceport at all. A similar investigation in the trade district also turned out to be disappointing. Liane definitely hadn't been in Tropass.

His next quest took him to the mountainous region and the Wegoyy Desert around Tropass. While it seemed absurd to assume that Liane would have fled there, especially after the Force showed him the footage from the Corellian freighter, Luke decided to do a thorough investigation there as well to rule out any uncertainty. Still he wondered why she should seek refuge in a desert, a dry, barren wasteland? The city was a much better place to take shelter.

For several days, he traveled through the canyons, the mesas and the low hills of area. Like he already had noticed on the maps, the area was deserted and uninhabited. The environment strongly reminded him of the Jundland Waste on Tatooine.

After a week he returned to Tropass, tired, but convinced that Liane hadn't fled to those mountain ridges. His various investigations had strengthened his belief that Commander Dendicott had covered up the truth. He decided to return to Irithim to report his findings to Mon Mothma and Madine. It was now up to them to take the next step.

"Use more probe droids, find that deserter and send Captain Phylotar to me," Commander Dendicott yelled.

The young guard hurried away. After a few minutes, Rand Phylotar entered Dendicott's office.

"Why did Sergeant Tydon leave the prison building without my knowledge weeks ago, Rand? And why hasn't he come back yet? You gave him permission to leave, didn't you?"

"Yes, he asked me if he could spend some time in Tropass with some old friends. He would report to me on his return. I accepted his request as he hadn't taken a furlough for a long time. More than a year to be exact."

"He wanted to spend some time with some friends! When was that? He's been gone for weeks," Dendicott snarled.

“Just after he left our Irithim spy in the desert, I think. To be fair, Dendicott, he seemed a little nervous when he got back from that mission. I don't think he's suited for this kind of assignment. He's still too soft."

"Of course he was nervous! He's in love with the girl. I have been informed about his misconduct and lack of discipline. He has broken our rules and became friends with her. He has visited her in her cell almost every night and has talked to her.

She has become his girlfriend and he has fallen in love with her. So that's probably the reason, why he hasn't returned, Rand.

In the speeder's log he had marked one of the required places where he supposedly had left her. I have sent a squadron to the place but they couldn't find no indication that he has left her there.

He must have gone back to where he really left her, because he secretly wants to leave Wegoyy with her and tell the Irithim government what happened.

I ordered the officer on duty to send him to me, because he is the only one who knows exactly where he left her, but he hasn't been seen for weeks.

Rand, this sergeant is involved in our cover up, and you signed for his leave and allowed him go to Tropass, but you never checked if he has come back", Dendicott snapped angrily, "Go after him, you fool. Immediately. Find him, and arrest him! He has deserted, and has ran away with one of our inmates. He certainly will try to contact that Jedi Knight to tell him what's going on here. I already have heard, that Skywalker has been questioning the staff and the space port personnel."

“You're exaggerating, Olon. Sergeant Tydon is a disciplined and honorable officer. He promised me he would report on his return. Maybe he got sick or had an accident. I'll check it out for you," Rand Phylotar said.

"If he's such a disciplined and honorable guy in your eyes, then explain to me, why he has falsified the speeder's log, and has deleted all his personal files and documents. The logs in our system reports that he deliberately has shredded his complete messaging system and has deactivated his personal account on the night before he got a transport to Tropass.

He has deserted, Rand, has picked up the girl and surely has informed that Skywalker about what we've done to her and possibly he also has told Skywalker how I'm running this prison; he is a traitor. He's a defector.

You're an even bigger fool than I thought, Rand. Well, let's hope our probe droids will find that defector together with the girl, otherwise we're in big trouble. If she will survive our special treatment and the Wegoyy desert with help of that disciplined, honorable guy of you that defector will inform not only that Skywalker, but also the government on Dalmaran. We must find them and kill them both. Immediately. Maybe we should hire a pack of wild dogs to tear them to pieces."

"Have you gone out of your mind, Olon. If Ian Tydon has been able to make contact with Jedi Skywalker, as you suggest, but what I don't believe, then the government on Irithim surely will find out what has happened. Any new actions from us, will get us deeper into problems."

“We're in deep trouble already, Rand, and let me get you one thing straight: If I'm disgraced, I'll drag you into it.

Find that deserted sergeant you trusted and find his girlfriend, idiot. Don't come back until you have found them! Dismissed!"

"My lord, the girl has been tortured and it isn't clear if she has survived that treatment. The prison commander Dendicott had accused her of spying for the New Republic. He commanded one of his guards to leave her in the Wegoyy desert," the two humanoids spies said trembling.

"Olon Dendicott killed her! This is outrageous. Now my whole plan to revive the empire will come to nothing", The dark cloaked person snarled, "Find out the truth about that torture treatments in the Wegoyy prison and if that commander is indeed responsible for her death, make sure that the government of the new republic gets evidence about the murder."

"We will, my lord, but a sergeant, the girl's guard, also has disappeared. Earlier on, we've sent him an anonymous message telling him we would inform the commander about his friendship with the girl, unless he would cooperate with us, but he has never answered. Because of his lack of cooperation we have informed the commander anonymously about his friendship with the girl. There could be a connection between the death of the girl and the disappearance of her guard. Maybe he has killed her to save his skin."

"Find that guy, and interrogate him. You may use any method to extract information from him. If he has killed her, bring him to me?"

"Yes, my lord."

The mysterious speaker switched off the holo display. Discouraged, he went to the large main room, where he sat down in the chair on the dais with a gloomy face. He kept staring at a pedestal with a frustrated look in his eyes. Slowly he reached out his hand and activated a switch at the side of the pedestal. The holographic image of a masked and in dark clad armored statue appeared.

"Lord Vader, your precious daughter has been tortured and my informants told me that she is dead. This means the end of my plans to revive the empire, unless I'll find some one else who will teach me the knowledge you and the emperor had. Why did you refuse, to teach me the same knowledge as you taught your daughter? Why did you advice the emperor to be on his guard for me? I know you've spread gossip about me on Coruscant, don't deny it. I could have reached your position, if you hadn't been in my way."

The voice of the dark cloaked figure sounded disappointed, depressed and full of hatred and anger. Disillusioned he looked at the holographic image of Darth Vader, while he held his hand under his head, staring with gloomy look in his eyes at his surroundings.

"Everything, for nothing," He murmured, as he switched off the pedestal angrily.

Luke immediately left Wegoyy after he had returned from his research in the Wegoyy's desert area. He just had fed the navi computer with the coordinates of Dalmaran, when the alarm light of the infocom started to flash. He put the hyperspace jump on hold, activated the holo display and listened surprised and with growing interest to the incoming message.

"Commodore Skywalker, I need to talk to you as soon as possible. I have very urgent and important information for you ", A distorted voice said agitated. The holographic image clearly had been deliberately garbled and blurred. The muffled voice sounded hurried and nervous, as if the speaker feared to be identified. Still the Force divulged who was trying to contact him.

"Before you're heading back Irithim, sir, can we meet in the Wegoyy desert after sunset at the following coordinates: 376C4-903D7?" The voice continued, "This message will delete itself within a couple of minutes after you've overheard it. Final warning: Watch out for Dendicott's probe droids."

The message broke off suddenly. Before the message could destroy itself, Luke copied the coordinates to the log of the navi-computer and retrieved some other details about the message. It had been entered in the ship's communication system four nights earlier, while he had been roaming the Wegoyy desert. He checked the coordinates at the holographic map of Wegoyy and noticed that the spot was at a very remote area of the planet, several hundreds of miles from Tropass.

After having reset the navi-computer, he plotted his return to Wegoyy. With a steep turn he went into orbit around the planet, at some six planet-diameters. Before he fed the navi-computer with the given coordinates he activated the cloaking device of this ship. At sublight speed he neared Wegoyy, taking care to stay out of range of the space port traffic controls.

Within an hour the navi-computer signalled that he had reached his destination. Luke remained cautious before he landed the Astræga in the Wegoyy desert. The whine of the ion-engines died out and Luke watched the desolated spot through the windscreen. There were no traces of life form readings on the console. Patiently he started to wait for things to come.

Wegoyy's sun reached its zenith and continued toward the distant horizon. When the Wegoyy sun nearly had vanished behind the horizon, Luke spotted a fast moving blot against the last rays of the setting sun. It was a speeder zigzagging through the desert with its head lights turned off. Luke watched the erratic handling as the vehicle approached the Astræga at top speed.

When the speeder had almost reached the agreed coordinates Luke switched off the cloaking of his ship. Immediately the speeder changed its course and accelerated straight to the Astræga. Luke lowered the ramp and walked down to welcome his visitor. The speeder made an abrupt stop in front of the ramp and a young officer, wearing a very untidy uniform jacket with the distinctive of a sergeant of the Wegoyy's prison guards, jumped out and rushed over to him.

"Thanks for coming, sir," He said with relief, as he made a formal salute, "I'm Ian Tydon."

Luke answered the salute and made an inviting gesture to the ramp of his ship.

"We've met before, sergeant. You're Liane guard, aren't you? I knew it was you who wanted to meet me. I recognized your voice in the message. Welcome on board the Astræga. Let's get inside."

Ian Tydon nodded uncomfortably, as he walked up to the ramp. Twice he looked back over his shoulder and scanned the horizon.

"You haven't been following, sergeant, if that's what you fear," Luke reassured him.

"Probe droids might have tracked my speeder from high altitude, sir," Ian answered worried, "I've sensed their presence in Tropass more than once these last weeks, that's why I'm wary."

Luke heard a nervous tone in the young man's voice.

"Put your speeder in the cargo hold of the ship. Drive up the ramp. On the right there's room enough."

Ian rushed back to the speeder and started the engine. He accelerated so fast that Luke thought it wise to jump aside, but the young officer drove up the ramp accurately. Luke followed him and observed the young man's actions attentively. There was a strange, but also very familiar sense in the young man's demeanor and behavior. Luke took his nervous guest to the control room and closed the ramp. He cloaked the Astræga and turned to Ian Tydon.

"You're very nervous, sergeant? I can ensure you, that you haven't been followed. I would have known."

"You don't know the commander's methods, sir. If you have recognized my voice, sir, then commander Dendicott also might. Maybe they even have intercepted the message, although I took care it would delete itself shortly after you had overheard it. The commander has lanced numerous of surveillance probes. He probably is looking for me, for I haven't returned to the prison after my furlough. Are you certain you haven't been followed either?" Ian said, stumbling over his words.

"Absolutely, I would have been aware of any secret observation. Like you I would have sensed the presence of probe-droids." Luke said calmly, "Also for your reassurance: I have taken over the investigation of Liane Solichor's escape. By order of the Supreme Chancellor the commander must withdraw all his men and any probe-droids he launched. It would be a severe offense of the authority of the Supreme Chancellor, if the commander would ignore those orders. "

"It's naive to think he will follow that order, sir. The Supreme Chancellor is far away and the commander is acting as a kind of self-proclaimed governor. Not only in the Wegoyy prison, but in Tropass and its surrounding areas as well. He has surrounded himself with a group of sycophants and yes-men who support his regime inside the prison building and the jurisdiction he has claimed over a wide area that includes the prison's surrounding desert and the capital of Tropass."

Luke looked at the young officer who was accusing his superior of severe misconduct, or possibly worse. He kept the accusation in mind and changed the subject of their conversation.

"Tell me, sergeant, what's so important that you tried to hide your identity and why did you asked me, to meet at this desolate spot?"

"This part of Wegoyy doesn't fall under the jurisdiction of the Wegoyy prison, therefore I chose this place. I have important information about Liane Solichor, sir. I know you have been looking for her in Tropass and in the Wegoyy desert around Tropass these last ten days. The Irithim government has probably commissioned you to investigate her so-called escape", Ian Tydon said as he sat down on the edge one of the couches in the control room, still showing his uneasiness.

"You said 'so-called' escape, sergeant?" Luke asked, quickly masking the tension in his voice.

"Sir, I want to tell you what really has happened to her. Don't believe what commander Dendicott has told the New Republic's administration. Liane Solichor hasn't escaped. She was brought to the Wegoyy desert, after the commander and his second-in-command have tortured her," Ian Tydon blurted out, showing the frustration he felt. "I was ordered to bring her to a uninhabited spot in the Wegoyy desert, some days after you had visited her about seven weeks ago."

Luke felt the vexation and anger of the young man. Although he already had sincere doubts himself about the commander's provided evidence, the fierceness with which Ian Tydon expressed Liane's fate, somehow came as a shock to him.

"I have read the commander's explanation and the provided proof about her daring escape. He even assumes that someone inside the prison building has helped her. Probably your story may shed a different, possibly a better light on the events," Luke said and leaned back on the couch.

"May I ask you a blunt question, sir?" Ian asked, "Do you believe what commander Dendicott has told you? Do you believe what he has reported to the Supreme Chancellor's administration."

"During my recent visit the commander has made a serious attempt to convince me, but you're right, sergeant, I have very serious doubts about the evidence he has provided, therefore I am looking for all possible extra information I can get about Liane Solichor's disappearance."

"As I told you, sir: Liane Solichor hasn't escaped; she has been tortured with flashing lights and shrieking sounds, drugged and afterwards his second-in-command ordered me to bring her to the Wegoyy desert and to leave her there without any help. Unconscious, mind-drugged, tied up, stunned and blindfolded."

"You mean, that commander Dendicott has locked her up again in the SL-chamber again?"

"Did she tell you, that she had been punished that way before?"

"Not by so many words, sergeant, but during my first visit, I sensed her fear for what had happened to her in the beginning of her detention. You just said that Liane Solichor has been brought into the Wegoyy desert drugged, blindfolded and unconscious. What do you mean by those words? Has she been brought to the desert as part of her punishment. You also said that you accompanied her?"

"No, sir, I wasn't accompanying her," Ian said with a shameful look in his eyes, "I was ordered to leave her at a desolate spot in the Wegoyy desert. She shouldn't be able to find her way back to prison or to Tropass, but I had made a plan to leave her in a relatively safe place, sir, with the intention to go and get her at a later moment. I couldn't bring her to some friends of mine in Tropass immediately, because two of commander Dendicott's elite guards were accompanying me."

"You made a plan to bring Liane Solichor to a safe place. Did you made that plan before or after she had been tortured? Please, sergeant, tell me your story from the beginning. So start with what happened to Liane Solichor after I had visited her."

Ian seemed ill at ease, and looked frustrated at his host.

"It much more complicated, sir", He sighed, "I'm personally involved in what has happened to Liane Solichor. Being Liane Solichor's guard it was my duty to carry out the demand to bring her to the desert, but weeks earlier, I had been blackmailed, because rumors had been spread I had become friends with her. Someone must have noticed my secret visits and leaked that information. Has she told you about our secret chats?"

Luke nodded, "She has, sergeant. She liked those talks with you. More than once she told me I also should trust you, but go on with your story, sergeant. "

Ian Tydon looked relieved for a moment, then took another deep breath, his face still showing his discomfort.

"About eight or nine weeks ago, some days before your first visit, I received a message in my personal messaging system. It was a direct personal threat."

"Who threatened you?" Luke said inquisitively.

"The message was anonymous, sir, but the blackmailer said that he knew about my friendship and my secret chats with Liane Solichor."

"Which is a violation of the prison rules, " Luke said.

"That's right, sir. Talks between the guards and the inmates are strictly forbidden, under penalty of degradation, or even a conviction by the court martial. The blackmailer provided a lot of details about my secret contacts with Liane Solichor. How he had gotten that information, I don't know. He threatened, that he would tell my superiors all he knew, if I wouldn't accept his conditions. The demand was: I had to help Liane Solichor to escape. After a successful escape I had to bring her to an agreed meeting point in a very obscure part of Tropass."

"So some anonymous blackmailer put you under pressure. Did you tell anyone about the message?"

Ian Tydon shook his head.

"Absolutely not, sir. Shortly after I had received the blackmail, you came to visit Liane Solichor, and three or four days after your third visit commander Dendicott accused Liane Solichor of being a spy for the New Republic's government. She refused to give him a proper explanation about why she had been addressing you, as if you were a good friend and why she even had been calling you by your first name."

Ian saw Luke's surprised look.

"On your second and third visit commander Dendicott has used surveillance cams, to record your talks with her, sir."

Luke nodded thoughtfully and gestured Ian to go on.

"Two of the commander's elite guards and I took her to the commander's office. Those two guards violently pushed her on her knees, when she refused to give a proper explanation about the reason for your visits and her behavior. They humiliated, kicked her and slapped her, because her silence outraged commander Dendicott. She became very angry and attacked the guards, using those strange peculiar skills she already had used earlier: a kind of choking and strangling some one from a distance. The commander slapped her in her face several times. He forced her to release his men. He then ordered her to be stunned and placed in the SL room indefinitely."

"And all the time you also were there and had to witness what happened between the commander and Liane Solichor?" Luke asked.

"I had to, sir, being her personal guard I had to accompany her wherever she's taken, but personal guards haven't any authority to interfere."

"And you know what else they did to her, sergeant?"

Ian nodded.

"Twenty four hours shrieking sounds is maddening a prisoner and multiple flashing color lights are blurring a some one's mind. The commander also has ordered to give her a mind drug at regular intervals to break her resistance, so he would force her to tell him the truth about your visits. It was the commander's second-in-command, Rand Phylotar who supervised the torture with the mind-drug from start to finish. Somehow she resisted the attempts with that mind-drug and finally Rand Phylotar instructed the medical droid to administer her an extremely high dose of the drug so that all her memories would be erased and she would never be able to remember who she was or where she had been and what had happened to her. That same captain Phylotar ordered me to bring her to a desolate spot in the Wegoyy desert and leave her there: blindfolded, drugged, stun without knowing who she was."

Luke looked at the face of the young man opposite him. He saw the honest and reliable look with which the young man looked at him, but also sensed the tremendous conflict of conscience in the young man.

"Tell me, sergeant, have you ever considered to bring her to the meeting point that had been mentioned in that blackmail message?"

"Not for a single moment, sir, I've never considered to comply with the demands of the blackmailer, not with any blackmailer. In fact, I never answered that message; after reading I had shredded it. I knew I risked to loose my assignment as her guard, and to be brought before a court martial, if commander Dendicott would hear anything about my secret chats with Liane Solichor," Ian Tydon said indignantly. "I took her to a place only I know, sir. A place where she would be safe, at least for a while. Later I wanted to bring her to Tropass and hide her with some old friends of mine, and afterwards I wanted to seek a way to leave Wegoyy together with her, and to find a cure for the loss of her memories. Unfortunately I couldn't work out this second part of my plan."

Luke smiled as he heard the hardly suppressed dismay in the young man's voice.

"I don't want to offend you with all my questions, sergeant," He said reassuringly, "Tell me, what happened next."

"Even before I was ordered to leave her in a deserted place, I had become aware that I too was guilty and was participating in a premeditated plan to kill her. After I had returned to the Wegoyy prison to report, I felt even more guilty about what I had done. I had now truly become an accomplice and responsible for Commander Dendicott's deliberate assassination plan. I asked Captain Phylotar who is my superior, to sign a furlough letter. I told him that I wanted to spend some time with friends in Tropass, but I had made up my mind never to return to the prison, sir. Before I left I deleted my entire personal messaging system, and all my other personal files. I also changed several personal acces codes, so nobody would be able to find out what I had done. I don't want to be involved with the prison regime of the Wegoyy prison any longer, sir. By now, the commander certainly knows I have deserted, and I'm sure he's looking for me, for I have first hand knowledge about what he has done to Liane."

"Did you already go back to the place where you had left Liane Solichor?"

"I couldn't do that immediately, sir, for I went to Tropass with the regular supply transport from the prison. Once in Tropass I have been looking for a possibility to hire a speeder and to go back to the place. The circumstances prevented me to carry out that plan immediately without charging suspicion, so I had to look for another way to safe her."

"Why haven't you left Wegoyy after you had reached Tropass?" Luke asked, noticing that the young man didn't mentioned Liane's surname anymore.

"I felt highly responsible for what I had done, sir. I needed to find a way to save Liane, and I also hoped, that you would come back to Wegoyy again. I wanted to tell you the truth about what the commander had done to her. At your first visit, sir, I have seen your concerned attitude for her. You're her friend, a very close friend, I presume."

Luke smiled, but neglected Ian Tydon's comments.

" Four days ago, sergeant, you left your message in the messaging system of my ship. How did you know that the Astræga is my ship?"

"After I had reached Tropass I went into hiding in the suburbs of Tropass, where some friends of mine have set up their enterprises. They are old pals from the academy. They provided me with the necessary equipment to break in on the space port's computer system and monitor if any federal ship with the markings of the New Republic's government was registered. We're all very familiar with hacking activities, and using my old knowledge I succeeded to find the registration number and name of your ship in the landing permission log: the Astræga. Your ship bears the New Republic's identification marks, although it's a former imperial shuttle. In the log your name was registered as the pilot. I secretly have followed all your investigation from the day of your arrival, sir, ten days ago. While you were roaming the Wegoyy desert, I grabbed the opportunity to infiltrate the infocom system of your ship to leave you a message. I'm glad you've read it before you went into hyperspace, for I worked under terrible strain and I wasn't sure it would be activated at the right moment."

"Those hacking activities could have been noticed, leading the space port authorities its source."

"A calculated risk I accepted, sir, for I felt the need to inform you personally. I had to tell you the true story and what has happened to Liane."

"You brought her to a certain spot in the Wegoyy desert? A spot you only know? Does that mean, that, despite the commander's orders, you were free to choose the place where you could leave her?" Luke asked, hardly able to suppress his own inquietude about Liane, but when, for a short moment, he used his Force skills, he sighed relieved. He felt her living presence through the Force, although those tremors were very weak. She was alive, and although the Force wasn't revealing anything about her whereabouts, he was now absolute certain that she wasn't any longer on Wegoyy.

"No, sir. The commander had marked several coordinates, sir, all of which I ignored. Even before I was ordered to take her to one of the marked places in the Wegoyy Desert, I planned to take her to the place I had in mind. I hope I made the right choice and that we will find her there."

"Tell me more about the place where you left her, sergeant," Luke said.

"Maybe you and I should go there together tonight and bring her to safety, sir. As I said, I wanted to do that myself, but I couldn't find a good opportunity without being noticed. I took her to the Draga territory."

"The Draga territory? Are the Draga colonists or smugglers, living in this desert?"

"The Draga are a indigenous humanoid tribe. I have lived among them, when I was sent on a long lasting survival mission in the Wegoyy's desert as part of my final military training. They appreciated my camaraderie and I have stayed with them longer than was needed, for I had become good friends with them. They are covered with small pearly skin plates along their spine, like reptiles. They seldom contact the outside world, but they're very friendly and always helpful, if they trust you."

"Can we contact them? Can you bring me to them?" Luke urged.

"I can, sir, but I can't be certain that we will really meet them. As I said, they avoid contact with outsiders as much as possible. However we might find some evidence about what has happened to Liane after I left her on that spot. I only hope, she has survived, and that the Draga have given her shelter."

"Were you sure, that they would take care of Liane Solichor?" Luke asked.

"No, sir, and there's also a possibility, that commander Dendicott already has ordered his men to get back to the spot to see what has become of her. The coordinates where I stopped the speeder were logged in speeder's navi-computer. I have tried to manipulate the record, but I didn't managed to delete and shred the complete record from the log. To create confusion, I marked one of the commander's marked places as the one where Liane had been left behind, but I'm absolutely not sure if I have mislead the commander. There's a little reassurance, the two elite guards who guarded Liane on that transport, haven't noticed that I cut her bonds before I left her. I didn't want to leave her completely helpless. If she could use her hands, she would be able to take off the blindfold. I also left her the little green box with the pendant you have given her. She has told me that she can use it in a special way to reach you. Hasn't she done so?"

Luke shook his head.

"I haven't heard of her since my last contact with her some seven weeks ago," Luke said calmly.

"I already feared you would say that, sir, otherwise you probably wouldn't be here," Ian said with a thoughtful and understanding nod, "Sir, I couldn't do anything else, I had my orders. I'd wished I could have done better, for Liane didn't deserve this kind of treatment."

"I don't blame you, sergeant, for what has happened," Luke said with a reassuring smile, after Ian had told him that Liane was still in possession of the Jedi-pendant, "There is some reassurance. Liane Solichor is alive."

"You're sure, sir?"

Ian sighed with relief, without realizing how Luke could be so sure.

"Then she must have been able to free herself, before Dendicott's men could find her. Maybe she has found shelter with the Draga indeed, although it also might be, that she's now trying to find her way through the mountain desert on her own. She doesn't know who she is, nor where she comes from, for the drug they gave her, has blocked her past and her memories almost permanently."

Luke needed some moments to control his emotions. Liane had been send drugged and unconscious into the desert to die, because a malignant prison commander wanted to cover up his vicious torture practises and his unproven accusations.

"Can we easily reach the spot where you left her, sergeant?"

"Certainly, sir, I have the coordinates. But it's impossible to land there with a space ship. It's on a small plateau halfway down the canyon floor between some high canyon walls. Maybe we should use my speeder."

"Can we land at the top of the mesa or in the canyon itself?"

"Only at top, sir, it's a flat tableland."

"Then we'll land at the top. Let's go, sergeant. Thank you, sergeant, for all what you've done. I'm very glad you left her the box with my gift. Although she might not be able to use the pendant at the moment, it might help me to find out where she is at a later stage. Now let's go to the spot where you have left her. I need to know what has happened to Liane Solichor after you left her down at that canyon ridge."

Ian looked at Luke.

"Pardon me for asking, sir, but why is it so important to find her?"

"Our government sees her as an escaped prisoner, sergeant, and I've been given the order to find and arrest her again. Your story sheds a different light on what has happened to her. Now I absolutely need to find her, for she has to tell our Supreme Chancellor what's going on in the Wegoyy prison."

Ian shook his head.

"No, sir, although I'm only a junior sergeant, you're not fooling me. You're personally involved, just like me. You are a close friend of her. I clearly feel, that you're very worried about her disappearance. She is a relative of yours, isn't she? "

Luke laughed.

"No, she isn't, sergeant, but how about you? Why did you get yourself involved with an inmate of the Wegoyy prison? Why did you ignore the rules of the Wegoyy prison and started with your secret visits and chats with her; why did you disobey the orders you've been given, and why did you leave your assignment without further notice? Do you realize, sergeant, that's a serious form of insubordination? Commander Dendicott and I are both high ranking officers in the New Republic, and earlier on in our chat you have been accusing your commander of malice practises? Are you aware, I could arrest you for insubordination and possible false accusations?" Luke said with some authority.

Ian Tydon seemed hurt and very disappointed, but suddenly he gave Luke a defiant look.

"I know you can arrest me, sir! If you have to, so be it. I know, I am a deserter and I am not expecting or asking any favors from you, sir. I know the consequences for what I have done, but what I was ordered to do was against my conscience. I have been honest with you and told you the truth about what happened to a lonely girl. You weren't her guard day in and day out , week after week. You've never heard her crying during the lonely nights. I have, and I felt sorry for her. Did you know that she was the only female prisoner? Do you understand that she was only looking for a way to be treated with some kindness and respect. You only have visited her three times, but I was there from the moment of her arrival to the tragic and monstrous way the Commander ordered her to die in the Wegoyy desert.

Ian's voice trembled with his suppressed emotions. Luke looked silently at the young officer.

"Liane has been treated unfairly and unjustly. From the moment I was assigned as her guard, I liked her. After they had treated her very inhumanely in the beginning of her detention I pitied her. She was a very lonely and sad person. I felt that she needed some one who would show her some compassion. After I had become friends with her, I've had many nice chats with her. She was always friendly. She clearly enjoyed our chats, but she was also very worried about the risks I took. Many times she warned me not to overstep the prison rules. She must have trusted me, for she told me about the extraordinary present you had given her. She even showed me the box with the pendant. I warned her to be careful with it and I helped her to find a place in her cell where she safely could hide your gift. When she had been taken to the SL-chamber I took the box away and hid it among my own possessions.

Liane never has given me the impression that she was a dangerous criminal. She was more a naive girl, feeling scared and threatened by the way commander Dendicott and his men treated her. You probably know the truth, why they send her to the Wegoyy prison with its harsh regime. Not a regime to do justice to a lonely girl. It is hard to believe that she tried to overthrow the administration of the New Republic as was written in her file. She also told me that Darth Vader has been her father. If that's true, sir, than I know the real reason why the Supreme Chancellor and her advisors exiled her to this horrible prison? The government on Dalmaran is afraid of her because Darth Vader has been her father. They didn't exile her to Wegoyy for what she has done, but for what he has done."

Ian stumbled over his own words, feeling his good intentions and sense of honor betrayed. Luke put a reassuring hand on Ian's shoulder.

"The accusations you made against me are entirely justified, sergeant. I would have given a lot for it, if I had the chance to better protect Liane. But even I couldn't do much more than visit her. You're absolutely right; I haven't been here every day like you. I have not seen or heard what you saw and heard. The way Liane was treated, was against your sense of honor. That's why you, very consciously and conscientiously, broke the rules of Wegoyy Prison, especially because you realized that Liane didn't belong here. I completely agree with you that the punishment imposed on her is disproportionate to what she has done. With my comment about your possible arrest, I just wanted to know why you were so concerned about Liane. Your feelings for her are genuine. You have become a really good friend of hers, Sergeant."

Ian relaxed.

"My apologies sir, I just had to vent, about what I have seen, how they treated her and what she went through."

"There is no need to apologize, sergeant. Your words are clear to me, they are honest and true. They expressed the concern you felt for her. Let me tell you part of Liane's story. Darth Vader is her foster-father. He adopted her and brought her up on Morantan. I don't have to tell you who Darth Vader was, do I?"

Ian shook his head. Luke continued.

"You have seen several times the strange ways Liane can use to revenge herself if some one threatens her. That knowledge, which is the knowledge of the Sith, she has learned from Darth Vader."

"Why did he taught her those nasty knowledge, sir? I've heard he was a Sith lord, whatever that maybe."

"Have you ever heard anything about the Force, sergeant?"

Ian look puzzled.

"The Force?"

For a moment Luke's thoughts were thrown back to a moment in his past when he had asked the same question at Ben Kenobi. He smiled. Ben had immediately given an explanation he hadn't understood. He wondered if this young sergeant would understand a further explanation at this moment.

Ian had noticed Luke's long silence after his question.

"Isn't that the great power the Knights of former the Jedi Order possessed, sir?" he cautiously asked.

"More or less, sergeant," Luke said with a smile, "Indeed a Jedi Knight can use the power of Force, but a Sith lord also can. Only his use of the Force is based on ultimate control and suppression."

Surprised and curious Ian was listening to Luke's words.

"What has this all to do with Liane, sir?"

"Liane Solichor, sergeant, is a highly Force-sensitive young woman. Darth Vader has taught her how to make use of her Force skills to control and manipulate people. That's what's she doing, when she is afraid, or feels threatened.

On her home planet, Morantan, Liane Solichor has lead a very protected, but also a very lonely life. Her solitary upbringing has never made her aware of the changed situation in the galaxy after the Alliance defeated the empire, and her obstinate and aggressive behavior has brought her into trouble more than once. Again this time on Wegoyy. She has never learned to cope with setbacks or misfortune, as Darth Vader always has given her the impression she was gifted with a great talent.

After the space forces of the New Republic eliminated the last imperial resistance on Morantan, Darth Vader's stronghold, Liane was brought to Irithim. Her resistance against her detention at Irithim was unprecedented. Instead of awaiting the decision of the High Court, she has gotten herself involved in an uprising against the New Republic's administration. She was arrested anew on Ortel, and the High Court sent her to Wegoyy for her part in the coup. "

"Poor girl," Ian murmured and this time it was he who was silent for some time. Luke sensed his companion's concern after he had told him Liane's story. After some moment Ian looked up.

"Sir, pardon me for asking, what do you mean by saying, that Liane is a Force-sensitive woman? What precisely is the Force? I have heard about it, but you seem to know a lot more of it. What powers does the Jedi Knights have? Are there still any Jedi Knights?"

Luke smiled. He hooked his lightsaber from his belt and put it on the table. Astonished Ian Tydon looked at it, before he looked up at Luke again. Luke nodded and smiled.

"You certainly must have heard the name of Skywalker before, sergeant? You even addressed me with that name on my first visit."

"The commander introduced you as commodore Skywalker, sir. I didn't know you also are a Jedi Knight. Now it's clear to me, why you could tell me that Liane is alive, and why she can use your gift to contact you and tell you what's wrong with her. You have been protecting her even though you couldn't be here all the time. And I just accused you of negligence."

A shameful blush covered the young sergeant's cheeks.

"Yes, sergeant, I gave Liane the pendant, so she should could contact me if she needed my help. Are you sure she's suffering from a severe kind of amnesia?"

"The mind drug they gave her will block her memories for a long time. It's not even sure if she will ever remember anything. Shouldn't we go to the Draga territory, sir, as soon as possible. If Liane is still with them, she needs our help to find a cure for the loss of her memories."

Luke nodded and sighed unnoticed. Liane had lost her memories. That was the reason why she hadn't been able to contact him through the Force. But there was a glimpse of hope; she still possessed the Jedi-pendant. Unnoticed Luke used the Force once more to find more traces of the lost girl, but the images he got where blurred and unclear. He recalled the vague images of the Corellian freighter he had seen. Again he felt some tremors of her living presence through the Force, although those tremors were very weak. He turned to Ian and put his hand on the young man's shoulder again.

"Let's find those Draga friends of yours, sergeant. They probably can tell us more," He said.

Luke went to the cockpit and started the engines. Amazed Ian notice how easily the ship began to hover only a few meters above the ground without losing height. Luke asked him to enter the coordinates in the navi-computer and slowly the nose of the spacecraft turned in the right direction. Without increasing the speed Luke use the Force to let the ship find a safe trajectory.

About three quarters of an hour later the navi-computer confirmed they had arrived at the indicated coordinates. Luke let the Force show him a safe landing spot and some moments later he lowered the ramp and stepped down on the top of the tableland. The four moons of Wegoyy illuminated his steps. Ian followed him. When Luke reached the rim of the canyon Ian point downwards.

"I left her on that broad ledge below us, sir."

"Call me Luke Ian. Let's forget formal ranks and titles. How far down is it?"

"A hundred meters maybe."

Luke used his Jedi skills to see an image of the steep canyon wall by way of the Force. He pointed to a spot some fifty meters to the left.

"We can easily descent over there and reach the ledge along that side. To the left there are some more smaller ledges we can use. I'll get some ropes from the ship."

He returned to the ship and picked up several coils of rope from the cargo hold. He fastened the ropes around the pylons of landing gear of the Astræga, shut the ramp and prepared for his descent. He lowered along the rope, while placing his feet against the canyon wall. Ian followed him in the same way. On the broader ledges they took some moments to adjust the ropes. Finally Luke stepped on the plateau. When Ian reached him, he pointed to the spot, where he had left Liane. They found the cut ropes and the cloth that had been used as her blindfold. Carefully Luke searched the flat rock and walked over to the rim at the far side. There he picked up a piece of paper.

"Ian, did you wrap the box in this kind of grey paper?"

Ian took the piece of paper Luke was holding in his hand. He nodded. Luke unhooked a flashlight from his belt and examined the stones near the rim. He carefully looked at the stone formations and then he nodded. Slowly he put one feet on a broad ledge and than the other.

"There are some kind of stair-steps over here, which are sloping downwards. They're leading to a deeper level of the canyon floor. Let's examine them. Be careful, this path is steep and narrow. Hold on to the rope. Wait for my signal."

Luke took the other end of the rope, fixed a flashlight band around his head and started to descend. After some twenty steps he signalled to Ian to follow him. Every time Luke asked the Force to show him the right path. Their descent brought them deeper into the canyon. It was completely dark at the canyon floor. Luke intensified the beam of his flashlight band. There seemed to be nothing, but the Force told him that they were being watched. Slowly he sat down and beckoned to Ian to do the same. He lowered the lamp and started to wait. Several minutes passed without anything was happening.

Then Luke started to talk with his soft Jedi voice.

'Don't be afraid. We mean no harm. We only want to talk. We need some information.'

Another couple of minutes passed. Luke tuned the light until it became a faint beam. He reached out to the creatures who were watching them. He felt their anguish for his unexpected presence and tried to ease their minds. Slowly one of the creatures stepped forward.

"Who are you?", The creature asked suspiciously.

"I am Luke Skywalker and this is Ian Tydon."

"We know him. He once lived with us," The creature pointed at Ian. "Welcome back, Ian Tydon. Why did you leave that girl here? She was bound and unconscious. Did you come back to see what has become of her?

The creature's voice sounded stern and reproachful.

In the dark Luke smiled with joy. These creatures recognized Ian and had seen him, when he had left Liane on the ridge. He slowly turn up his flash light a bit higher.

"Please, don't blame me for what I did, Magonato," Ian answered ashamed. "Where is she now? Is she still with you?"

"No, didn't you know that she couldn't recall what had happened to her? It was not good to keep her with us."

"What happened, has she left this place on her own?" Luke asked politely.

"No, we have brought her to the trade place. Those men have taken her with them. They will bring her to places she knows."

"Who are those men? Do you mean some space traders?"

The creature nodded.

"They come to the trade place. We give them the statues we've made and the stones we dig. We get lots of goods and clothes in exchange."

"That trade place, is it near Tropass?" Luke informed.

"No, it's up there."

The creature pointed to the top of the canyon, where they had left the Astræga.

"How often do they come?"

"Always, if after seventeen times the four moons have past. Then we have made a lot of statues. We send one of us up there to warn us if they have arrived."

Luke slightly sighed. The traders who had taken Liane with them wouldn't return to Wegoyy soon.

"Could you, please, tell me more about those traders. How many men are there? What's their ship look like? What language do they speak?"

The creature stepped nearer and sat on a stone. He pointed with his stick at the ground and drew some lines. After a while a rough drawing of a Corellian freighter appeared. The model was very common, but there had to be ways to find its identification markings. More importantly, the six traders, who looked alike, always came together. They spoke Intergalactic Basic; Liane had spoken with one of them and the men had decided to take her with them. Luke stretched out his hands as a token of his friendship.

"Thank you for all this information? We won't disturb you any further. Thank you for your hospitality. We leave in peace."

He rose, activated the flashlight and walked back to the steps. At the foot of the steps he turned around.

"I need one more answer. Was the girl wearing a chain or a necklace?"

"Yes she was, but she wasn't sure if it was hers. She had a small box in her hand, when we found her. In it was a necklace, but she didn't remember if it belonged to her. There was a round precious piece of metal attached to the chain. I have seen she was wearing it. I was sure she was very fond of it. When she left us, she asked Mintob, if she could take the box and the necklace with her. He didn't object, for it was obvious to him and to the members of our tribe, that it belonged to her."

"Good, thank you very much. We leave now. Come on, Ian, we go back to Tropass."

Climbing the small steps again took some time. At last they reached the broad ledge. Ian looked up to the top. He sighed. Luke felt how tired his companion was.

"We'll take some rest, Ian. It will take some hours yet, before Wegoyy's sun will rise. At dawn our climb will be safer."

They sat down against the canyon wall. Luke closed his eyes and committed himself to the Force to ease his mind. His meeting with Ian had given him lots of information. Most important was that he was sure that Liane was alive and that she was wearing the Jedi-pendant he had given her. But as long as she couldn't remember who she was, she probably wouldn't know how to use the pendant again. It also wouldn't be easy to find out where she was now. Space traders, like the six brothers with whom Liane had left Wegoyy, weren't using the regular trade routes. Only when he could find out the identification marks, or the name of the ship, he would be able to trace them and go after them. Luke felt how the Force enclosed him while her powers flew through him. He relaxed and fell asleep.

Some hours later Luke woke up refreshed and saw that daybreak was near. Ian was laying on his back with his hands behind his head. His eyes were closed, and his face had a worried expression.

"Did you get some sleep, Ian?" Luke asked.

Ian opened his eyes, sat up with slightly grin

"Well yes, a bit. A couch is certainly more comfortable, but I still can relax under difficult circumstances."

They both laughed.

"If you're ready, we'd better get to the spaceship. I want to be in Tropass before the daytime shift comes up. The men of the night shift have more time and often are more willing to do some research."

"Can you put me off at our meeting point?"

"Sure, but what are your further plans? Don't you think it would be better if you come with me to Dalmaran, instead of staying here on Wegoyy with the risk that Dendicott's men will find you one day, or that that blackmailer will contact and threaten you again. I need your testimony to support my evidence, and to inform the High Council about what's going on here. I want an investigation on a very high level. Won't you join me to Irithim, Ian?"

"I didn't dare to ask you, Luke, after you accused me of insubordination. I'm still a deserter."

"You haven't deserted, Ian, nor is there any question of insubordination, even though I used that word to hear your motives. You did your duty to report a serious misuse of power to an officer of the New Republic. As a high senior officer it is one of my prerogatives that I may give any officer a promotion without consulting my general or the Supreme Chancellor. You'd better come with me. Here's your new assignment: inform the members of the High Council and the Supreme Chancellor what has happened to Liane Solichor, staff sergeant Tydon."

Ian look astonished at Luke's who stretched out his hand.

"Staff sergeant? You're giving me a promotion, Luke? And you also want me to come with you Irithim?"

Stunned, Ian shook Luke's outstretched hand.

"That's settled then and now let's leave quickly. We'll talk about all this when we're on our way back in Tropass. Once on Dalmaran your promotion will be confirmed," Luke commented

He looked up at the steep canyon wall and examined the range of smaller ledges they had used to descend. They were some ten to twelve meters above each other. With the ropes as support, it would take a few easy jumps to get to the top. He reached inward and jumped. The Force easily landed him on the first ledge. Again he jumped and reached the second ledge. When he had reached a broader ledge halfway he looked back at Ian.

"I will pull you up, when I've reached the top." He yelled back.

Ian nodded, too amazed to say anything. Astonished he followed Luke as he saw him disappear over the top. Immediately the rope started to move and Ian fasten it at his safety belt. He placed his hands around some protruding rocks and hoisted himself up the canyon wall, but instead of having to climb, he was pulled up at a steady pace. In less than ten minutes he stepped on the flat tableland. He looked at Luke who was coiling the ropes.

"Never seen anyone jump that high, Luke! Where did you learn that?" He exclaimed.

Luke laughed.

"The Force is a powerful ally for a Jedi Knight, Ian. Only with her help I can make these high jumps. "

He coiled the ropes and walked up the ramp to the cargo hold. Ian followed him, looking at him in admiration.

'Liane's friend is the Jedi Knight who also must have fought in the Civil War,' He thought. In awe he follow Luke inside the Astræga.

"Why didn't you use your skills as a Jedi, so commander Dendicott would tell you the truth, Luke?"

Luke smiled meaningfully and walked to the cockpit.

"Of course I could have used the Force during my visit to commander Dendicott, but it's not the Jedi's way to force a confession from some one, Ian. Being a Jedi Knight, I use the Force to evaluate a situation from the right perspective, not to force the truth from opponents. From the beginning I knew that the commander was lying to me. My Force powers told me he had been falsifying the burden of proof he provided, but I need to provided the Supreme Chancellor and the members the High Council with solid evidence about what's going on here. They are our leaders, they have to make the decisions, I only can report."

"What's the use of being a Jedi Knight if you can't get a confession immediately? I thought that those special powers the Jedi Knights possess, always can give them power to find the truth." Ian said.

Luke laughed.

"You must have heard some misleading information about the Jedi, Ian. The Jedi Knights don't possess special powers. It's the Force that gives them their power, and the Force allows them to use that power. The Force helps me to see through people, to feel their emotions and to extract information from their minds if necessary. A Jedi uses the Force with care and prudence. My main objective was to find information about Liane's escape. She's the key witness in this case. You have provided me with a lot of extra evidence. I'll tell you more about the Jedi Knights and the Force, when we're on our way to Irithim . Now let's get to the space port. The sooner I have the information about that Corellian freighter the better ."

Luke started the engines and took off. He circled the planet several times at a high orbit, before he requested clearance for landing. Before he left his ship, he advised Ian to stay on board the Astræga, and went to the office buildings.

The officials greeted him politely, but after Luke had explained what he needed, they shook their heads.

"No sir, we have no lists of trade freighters. They come and go whenever they want and most of the time they even don't ask for clearance to land at this space port. Maybe you should check out at the bars in the suburbs of Tropass. Most of those freighter traders have their connections there."

Back in the Astræga Luke told Ian what he had learned. They decided to wait till nightfall to visit some bars. Luke noticed that Ian felt ill at ease, as he watched the hustle-and-bustle at the space port, while ground officials were monitoring the incoming and outgoing ships. To reassure his companion Luke asked permission to maneuver his ship to a repair pit. Once there he locked the ramp and started the long wait till the night shift would arrive, which would gave them the opportunity to leave the space port unnoticed. Together they passed the time playing some holoplays. Luke also handed Ian the datapad with Dendicott's burden of proof. Liane's former guard added some valuable information about the evidence the commander had provided. The fingerprints on the bottles had been taken from Liane when she had been unconscious after she had been tortured. The coils of rope had been deliberately placed in her cell after she had been brought to the desert.

"Shouldn't you inform the High Council immediately, Luke?" Ian asked.

"I thought about that, but after you told me that Tropass and its spaceport are under the jurisdiction of Wegoyy Prison, I dropped that idea. 'Friends' of commander Dendicott could intercepted such a message. I don't want to alert the commander. It's better if him thinks that I have accepted his evidence. As soon as we're on our way to Irithim I will send our Supreme Chancellor a first report. I also don't want to bring your life into jeopardy. Your testimony about what's going on at the Wegoyy prison, is very important"

For a moment an uncertain glance flashed over Ian's face, but Luke put his younger companion's mind at ease. When the night fell, Luke put on his Jedi clothes and put Ian's speeder on the platform. Ian had decided to accompany Luke, disguised as a space port mechanic, for he could lead him easily to the more darker areas of Tropass. They exited the space port area, using a rear gate which led to a maze of the back roads.

In Tropass' trade area they left the speeder on an overcrowded parking lot. Most of the freighter pilots came together in the crowded bars along the narrow streets in this part of Tropass while they were looking and hoping for information about available cargo trips. In each bar it took them several drinks and a lot of patience before Ian could bring the conversation to the topic they were looking for. To Luke's surprise, Ian seemed quite familiar with the habits and behavior of the residents of these suburbs. He introduced himself as Luke's unofficial guide and told that the Jedi Knight urgently needed information about a group of six brothers. Luke's friendliness and hospitality took away the normal suspicion freight traders have for strangers and officials. Finally in the fourteenth bar they had luck. An old weathered out pilot overheard Ian's story and joined the conversation with his younger mate.

"So your Jedi friend is looking for the Grann brothers, isn't he? Yarnick, Brion, Ronan, Bran, Conor and Kieran Grann? Good guys, very honest traders. What does he want of them?"

Luke came up with the story that the government of the New Republic needed the six men to fulfill several missions to support some diplomatic trips.

"They seem to have a lot of contacts in the Outer Rim and beyond. The Supreme Chancellor wants some very reliable freighters pilots to lay contact with Outer Rim folks so we could establish diplomatic alliances with them."

"Sounds good," The old pilot said, "But didn't you guys of Irithim government had help from Han Solo and his mate Chewbacca. If you're looking for a real good freighter pilot than it's Solo. Man, he knows everybody, everywhere. Hadn't he been promoted general?"

"Indeed he was, but he has resigned and has left Dalmaran. I've tried to find him, but so far I didn't have any luck. When my government heard about, what did you say, the Grann brothers, they asked me to offer them the opportunity. Do you know where I can find them. I was told that they were trading in this area."

"They were, but they already have left weeks ago, as far as I know. Don't asked me if I know their next destination. They're free traders, you know. Now here, then there and going everywhere," The old pilot grinned.

"Do you know by chance the name and the identification markings of their ship. The government could leave them a message on every space port in the Outer Rim," Luke asked cautiously.

"You folks at Irithim must really be desperate. What's going on? Are we threatened by another Imperial fleet? Has the emperor returned?" The old pilot said in a fit of laughter

The whole bar laughed.

"Very well, master Jedi, this time you have found yourself a lucky guide at the space port. If you offer my mate and me another drink and a good meal at your expense, I will give you that name and number. But don't expect a fast response on any message you send them. The Granns seldom check their messaging systems."

Luke ordered drinks for the whole bar with a jovial gesture. The barkeeper brought a small plastisteel flex card and the old pilot wrote down the markings of the Corellian freighter of the Grann brothers, their names, and the name of their ship: the Grannd Traveler. Luke put the flex card in his pocket and thanked the man. He and Ian stayed at the inn till closing time. They went back to the speeder and drove off to the space port. Luke went over to the briefing desk and requested to be scheduled for take off, then he went back to the Astræga.

He got his clearance for take off and outside the gravitation of Wegoyy the Astræga made the jump to light speed to reach Dalmaran.

"It's likely there is a good chance that the troubles with the daughter of Darth Vader have been solved permanently, Jerno," Kalip said good humored, "It seems that she hasn't survived some torture practises in the Wegoyy prison. Our intelligence service has intercepted another one of those strange messages. This time from Tropass and aimed at that still unknown location in the Outer Rim. Again, the recording was encrypted with the same old key, so that we can now determine the content of the message sent. The same voices, as in the earlier recordings, mention that she died as a result of torture. There is also talk of a missing officer who was the woman's guard. Those liasons suggest that he might be involved with her death. Our intelligence force can now deactivate the monitoring of the messages to the Outer Rim. Here is the transcript of that last decrypted message."

After Jerno had read the message, he looked up at Kalip.

"Our intelligence force must continue their monitoring," He said thoughtfully.

"Continue? Jerno, these last months that monitoring task has occupied too many hours already. The woman is dead. We don't have to worry any longer about the possible threat she could be. Why don't you contact the agent of the New Republic and ask him if he can confirm our intelligence force report."

"Kalip, your men have done an excellent job, beyond excellent in every way, but I still want them to continue monitoring those strange connections to a location in the Outer Rim. I have a good reason for it, although I'm not yet sure about what's exactly going on a planet or system in the Outer Rim. No, I can't tell you and Valann, nor the other members of the council what's on my mind just yet. In timely manners, when I have full proof of my concerns I will tell you my hypothesis and especially the threat that hypothesis might impose on the galaxy as a whole. The information your men gather could be of immense value. It might become the solid base for my hypothesis."

Kalip Ru'undo looked in wonder at the chairman of the Provisional Coruscant Council.

"Jerno, you can't keep any secret ideas for Valann and me," He protested.

"I'm not keeping anything secrets for you and Valann, Kalip. I just want to be absolutely sure of my suspicions and conclusions before I present them to you and the other members of the council. I only ask for the quiet cooperation of you and Valann so that I can find evidence for my findings as soon as possible, because those strange messages could be the clue to a dangerous conclusion. A conclusion I can't reveal yet, because I haven't gathered all the necessary proof yet. So, please be patient. You and Valann will be the first with whom I will share my findings, before we will inform the council members. At moment it's better if I keep my thoughts to myself."

Kalip nodded, "I understand, Jerno, if you don't want to reveal any unproven facts too early, but don't wait too long to inform Valann and me."

Jerno patted his co-leader and old friend at his shoulder.

"I know I can rely on you, Kalip. Your quick thinking, your arguments and conclusions and the solutions you propose combined with Valann's cautious attitude are a good guideline for the policy of our triarchy. I learn a lot from both of you and I appreciate the discussions we have together. Now, let's get back to your conclusion about the possible death of Darth Vader's daughter. In the report there is talk about a possible connection between the disappearance of her guard and the death of the woman. Let's assume the following: could it be that he helped her to escape and that he ran away with her. The transcript of the message states that he has violated the prison rules and has become friends with her. After fleeing with her, he allegedly spread the rumors of torture in Wegoyy Prison and the death of the woman. What do we know about the guy?"

"We can get that information if we send one of our people to the Tropass spaceport. The spaceport is under the jurisdiction of Wegoyy Prison. I'm sure gossip and rumors about a deserted guard from Wegoyy Prison have been circulating there," Kalip suggested, "one of our undercover agents in Irithim could go to Wegoyy."

"Didn't I just say, that I admire you for your quick way of thinking, my friend. Indeed we could get much more information from Wegoyy that way. Also order our intelligence agents at Irithim to send us the reaction of the New Republic government, about the woman's escape. We already know that Jedi Knight Skywalker broke off his visit at Tambrin and that he has gone to Wegoyy to get more information about her escape. It's necessary that our undercover agent in Tropass, also gets information about Jedi Skywalker's inquiry at the Wegoyy prison. He hasn't returned to Irithim yet, so we don't know what he has been doing on Wegoyy. I expect him to return one of these days and give a full report about his findings. I'm also eager to know the reaction of the New Republic's government about the possible death of the woman."

"You don't believe she is dead, Jerno."

"Not until I hear some official information about her death from the New Republic's government. If the woman has died of the effects of torture or abuse I expect the Supreme Chancellor will start an investigation in the Wegoyy prison. She and her advisors will hold the commander of the Wegoyy prison accountable for the woman's death if there really is talk of torture, abuse, or other prohibited practises which violate the rules and vision of the New Republic."