Chapter 56
hati was hiding behind a huge rock near the community building where the harvest men lived. It was dark, Palomintar Four had a few small moons which were on the other side of the planet. The only light shone from behind a window in the building. Chati shivered and pulled her thick coat tighter around her. She observed her surroundings carefully, and when she was sure that nothing moved around the building, she ran bent toward the lighted window. In the shadow she crept closer and hid herself under her thick cloak.
Inside the building Luke, Han, Chewbacca, Leia and Ian were meeting Cornell. The Jedi master and his friends were discussing their strategy with Cornell. The weathered leader of the harvest men looked at the holographic map that had popped up at the middle of the rough table.
Outside Chati carefully pulled herself up and gazed through the lighted window. She knew she was doing something out of the ordinary, but she was to curious about what Luke and the others would decided. In the morning Luke had come to Kamalin's and handed her a holographic image of himself. She had thanked him and Luke had told her about the meeting he would have with Cornell and the harvest men. He had said goodbye to her and had encouraged her to continue with her chores the school building and listen carefully to her old teacher what he showed about his knowledge of the Force. She had wished him well and when he had walked away she had felt a strange lump in her stomach and she realize that she didn't want to be separated from him. Again she carefully looked through the lighted window. She saw the holographic map and immediately recognized the surroundings of Ribana and the mountain ridge where that Darth Golluth lived.
The young woman gritted her teeth as she remembered how imperial stormtroopers had rounded up the inhabitants of Ribana. They had selected a number of strong young male Quelans and separated them from the crowd. The stormtroopers had lead the group out of Ribana to the mountain ridge. The remaining inhabitants had been told that the town had been occupied and their possessions had been confiscated. All inhabitants were expelled and had been prohibited to return to their homes forever. The stormtroopers had driven them into the wild lands and had chased them far away from Ribana. Her father, her uncle, together with master Kamalin and master Wildon, and Manall with a group of his harvest men had lead the group through the wild forests and woodlands to the west coast.
Chati remembered that against all odds several of the men had tried to return to Ribana in a vain attempt to recapture the city. Only a few had returned, telling the others that most of them had been killed by the stormtroopers who had build a impenetrable defense line around Ribana. After several weeks they finally had reached the hidden harbor where other harvest men had picked them up and brought them to the continent of Tyr.
The first year on Tyr had been difficult. Cantamaga had had only one large building which served the harvest men to store the nuts and provide a temporary shelter. That building had been renovated and refitted to serve as an administration building and housing for the governors' families. Everything else they needed had to be build. The first weeks the women and children had gathered the berries, roots, and wild vegetables for food in the wild lands. The harvest men hadn't allowed anyone in the wild forest with the nut trees. They had warned the refugees that there were dangerous predators - Urams - in those woods. All the men and some women had been busy building new houses for their families and had helped the elder Quelans to get a proper accommodation. Originally Tyr hadn't known any wildlife, but the harvest men had been able to capture a flock of nagawa's on Myr and had brought them to Tyr.
Once again Chati glanced through the window. She saw how Jedi master Skywalker was leading this meeting with Cornell. Chati admired Luke in silence. Cornell was known for his unyielding view, but he seemed to agree to the Jedi's words. Chati saw him nodding approvingly more than once. It was a pity that she couldn't hear what they were saying. Silently she dropped on her knees again and covered herself under her cloak. Determined she wondered how she could find a way to be part of the recapture of her hometown, although that would mean she would heavily disappoint master Kamalin. Suddenly it seemed she heard some voices. She crept closer to the wall, but to her surprise no one came outside. Still she heard the voices talking and arguing. She recognized Cornell's voice and the voice of the lady Jedi Leia alternating with the dark grumble of the Wookiee Chewbacca. Then Chati clearly heard Luke Skywalker's voice. She peered from under her cloak, but she saw no one.
"Cornell," she heard the Jedi master say, "Are you sure we can get access to the network of caves Darth Golluth uses as his shelter."
"Master Jedi," Cornell answered. "In the past the old river ran straight under the mountain to the former outlet, which is now the entrance of Darth Golluth's, as you call him, underground shelter. We only have to check the condition of the underground riverbed under the mountain. It's almost a millennium ago, that the river found a new course."
Now Chati heard the voice of Han Solo.
"How can you be sure we can use that underground riverbed, Cornell?"
Chati heard some inaudible grumpy answer. She knew, that Cornell didn't agree with Han Solo skeptical remarks, but the general and Cornell had something in common; both parties were skeptical and proud.
"We will take all our equipment with us, master Skywalker. If by chance the old underground riverbed is blocked somewhere, we will clear the rubble and created a new path."
"Darth Golluth might hear what you're doing and get suspicious," Chati heard Leia Solo say.
"No ma'am, let me explain," Cornell said, "During the seasons when we were living on Myr, we often did some secret mining under those mountains. We developed tools which can fractionate rock. We had to work that way, because using explosives might trigger earthquakes. As I've already explained to master Skywalker, the underground around the mountain ridge hold a lots of fissures, cracks and chasms. Probably underneath the mountain ridge a flow of lave finds its way to the other side of ridge further to the north."
"Is it an option to use explosives and change the course of the underground lava flow?" Han Solo.
"That's impossible, and dangerous, general Solo, for we're not sure about the precise course of the lava flow. We never investigate it. It's much easier to change the course of the river into the old bedding. That might cause a flood inside that cave network and drown that guy who has taken our town."
Luke spoke again.
"So we have three possible options, to enter the underground network of Darth Golluth.
One, we do thorough investigation on the course of the old riverbed and see if we can enter unseen in his network of caves.
Two, we divert the river to its old bed. The water flood will leave Darth Golluth no other option then to leave his underground shelter and flee.
Three, we investigate the possibilities to use the underground lava flow, change its course, and lead the flow through the old riverbed. That will certainly mean the end of Darth Golluth as the heat of the molten rock will suffocate him. That last option seems the most impossible. Cornell, we depend on your help and that of your men. We want to leave Tyr tomorrow morning with the Millennium Falcon. If you want to help us, we expect you to be ready at dawn."
As she heard Luke talking about the departure her heart missed a beat. He was leaving. Would she ever see him again? Would he come back to Cantamaga after he and his friends would have free Ribana from that intruder, or would they leave immediately to their home planet. Chati shuddered, but started to listen further.
"Well spoken, master Jedi, my men and I will do our part and support you as much as we can. You will see us tomorrow at dawn."
She heard some scraping of stools, but suddenly all seems completely quiet again. The only sound she heard was the hooting of a night bird. She opened her eyes. Irritated she crept from under her cloak. She had wanted to learn about the plan they had made to retake Ribana and now she had fallen asleep, dreaming about a conversation between Cornell and his harvesters and master Skywalker and his friends. Angry with herself she wanted to get back to her hiding place behind the rock, when she heard the voices of Luke and Cornell again. This time they were close by.
"We'll see you at the Falcon, Cornell. We'll leave Tyr as soon as you're ready." Luke said.
"We'll be ready tomorrow at dawn, master Jedi. You can count on us, " Cornell replied, "A group of seventy more of my men will leave and cross the ocean between Tyr and Myr. We can expect them to join us within a couple of days."
Chati heard footsteps, walking downhill, back to Cantamaga. A door closed and the sound of the footsteps died out. Chati rushed to the rock and saw that the lights inside the building went out. She waited for a couple of minutes, then she hurried down the slope and ran to her old home.
Without a noise she reached the backside of the government building. Everything was dark. She sighed relieved. They were all vast asleep. She checked her chrono: six hours before dawn. She had to hurry. She ran over to the window of her old room on the first floor. For a moment she stood still. At the other wing of the government building she heard the whispering voices of her human friends. The voices died out. Probably they would take some rest too.
She grabbed a hidden pole put it upright and climbed to the window. It took several minute unlock the window grip. Silently she open the window and slipped inside Once inside she started collecting a few things: a flashlight, a knife, some rope and a bag of nuts. She stuffed her thick coat on top. Carefully she lowered the tool bag and climbed on the window sill. She closed the window and lowered herself. She picked up the tool bag and hid the pole among some bushes. Then she quickly tiptoed away and ran to the spot outside Cantamaga where the Falcon and the space craft had landed.
While running she thought about what she had heard. It hadn't been a dream. She really had heard the discussion between those Jedi and their friends and Cornell. They were about to leave and she wanted to go with them. She wanted to help them with the liberation of her hometown. A feeling inside her told her that her presence would be useful to Luke Skywalker, her all time Jedi hero. Her fast running made her pant heavily and for a moment she had to held her pace to catch her breath.
To her surprise the Falcon stood with blazing lights and the ramp down on the grassy plain. The big Wookiee Chewbacca was fiddling around the ship stowing stock and other supplies in the cargo holds.
Chati crept as near the ship as she could and started looking for a way to get on board and hide herself inside the ship, but there seemed no opportunity. Chewbacca was running fast up and down the ramp with their supplies.
In vain Chati waited for nearly two hours and almost wanted to give up and go back to Kamalin's house, when a grand opportunity offered itself. A large flock of grazing nagawa's entered the plain. Chati immediately recognized the opportunity, withdrew from her hiding place and made an outflanking move that brought her behind the flock of nagawa's. She picked up a large pole and started to shoo the nagawa's further unto the plain. The numb animals didn't really respond to her shooing and continued their grazing. Chati waved with her stick to Chewbacca and went over to him.
"Hey, Chewbacca, you're early this morning too. I didn't expect to see some one at this hour."
She pointed at the stack of crates.
"Are you leaving?" She asked.
Chewbacca grunted a long sentence in Shyriiwook. Chati didn't understand the hairy giant. She looked over her shoulder to the flock of nagawa's.
"They will stay there for a while. Shall I give you a hand?"
To her surprise the Wookiee gladly accepted her offer. Together they started to carry the remaining boxes inside the Falcon. Chewbacca grumbled and grunted approvingly and showed the girl where she had to stowe the crates. To her dismay Chati wasn't able to have a good look around as long as the Wookiee stayed close. She couldn't believe her luck, as she suddenly heard the voice of Han Solo outside the ship.
Chewbacca hurried away and down the ramp, leaving Chati inside on her own. The girl didn't wait a second, lifted one of the floor plates, where Chewbacca had stowed some mysterious equipment. She threw down her bag, jumped inside and pulled the floor plate back on top. The space was cramped, but Chati was able to hide herself behind a large crate. She heard Han Solo and Chewbacca enter the ship.
"No she isn't here, Chewie. You said, you left her in the cargo hold, when you stowed away those last crates. Well, she isn't here anymore. She probably left and went along with those nagawa's, remembering her own chores. I saw those beasts crossing the plains heading back to that mountain ridge, " She heard Han's comment.
Chati grinned in silence and made herself as comfortable as possible behind the crate. After they had landed on Myr, she would find an opportunity to leave this hiding place unseen. For a moment she felt sorry for master Kamalin, but her determination to help to free her home town and her stay near Luke Skywalker silenced her doubts about what she was doing.
Admiral Vestor of the Basilisæa paced slowly up and down the command bridge of the star destroyer. His face had a gloomy look and he felt an twist of frustration in his stomach. After Darth Golluth had scoffed his best technical engineer and had sent him away as if he was just a simply any errand boy, he had contacted some old friends who, although former loyalists of the empire, had answered his request and had sent him more information about admiral Matrik. The content of the three transmitted files had shed a shocking and gruesome light on his alliance with the former admiral, who was calling himself Darth Golluth. He had secured the information on a special datapad and had discarded the files from his personal communication system. The special dataset had been secured in the vault in his private quarters.
The admiral looked at the spherical planet that hovered in the middle of the large view screen: Palomintar Four, an unknown and insignificant piece of rock. How could some one get the idea that this Outer Rim planet could become the center of a new empire?
Admiral Vestor now pondered about what he should do. Should he carry out Darth Golluth's demand and continue the search for those Jedi, or should he remain near the Palomintar System, hoping that major Whain would contact him. It would be a great loss for his crew, if he had to leave the young technician behind. Major Whain was a very competent technical engineer and a dedicated imperial officer. There was nobody on board the Basilisæa; that could match his skills.
Yet he had many doubts about a fast return of his technical communication's officer. Darth Golluth certainly won't set this skilled technician free voluntarily. He was quite sure that major Whain would become a more permanent resident on Palomintar Four, a hostage for an indefinite time as Darth Golluth had said.
Vestor straightened his back and looked through the screen to Palomintar Four once again. Decisively he shook his head. Yes, he would abandon the search for those Jedi; he had to stay in this corner of the galaxy and make a solid plan to get his young officer back on board the Basilisæa.
'We'll stay in this section of the galaxy. Those Jedi can wait,' He thought.
He walked over to the command group.
"Captain, move the Basilisæa further outside the Palomintar System at some eight hundred system diameters. When the ship has reached her new position all unnecessary activity should be shut down."
"Yes, sir!" The captain of the star destroyer saluted and passed the order to the helmsman.
The engines started and slowly the star destroyer set course to her new position.
"Ian, where are you?" Han Solo yelled.
"I'm in the control room, Han. I've just finished the final check out." Ian answered and appeared on top of the ramp.
"Have you seen, Luke?" Han asked.
"He's saying goodbye to Toallin and Mugin and their families. He said, that he will accompany Cornell and his men afterwards."
Leia walked up the ramp.
"With all these folks it will be a bit cramped inside the Falcon," Han said, "Oh, there's your brother, darling, with those harvesters. Tough guys, these men."
Han walked back and met his brother-in-law at the end of the ramp.
"Have you seen, Chati?" Luke asked.
"Yes, she has been helping Chewie with the cargo. Afterwards she left, looking after a flock of nagawa's. I saw them going to the mountains. Is anything wrong?"
"Toallin asked if one of us had seen his daughter, for Kamalin came hurrying to the government building and told him she hasn't been sleeping in her room," Luke said.
"Chewie told me she was here very early, even before daylight. She probably had some chores to do and slept outside with those nagawa's. Stupid animals,"
Luke grinned.
"According to Liane, they are very savory when roasted."
Han looked confused.
"What does that girl knows about nagawas?"
Luke's face had a broader grin.
"She knows how to roast them. During a survival mission on Morantan she had to kill a nagawa to get some food. Han, tell Cornell and his men where on board they can take a seat. I going back to Toallin and Kamalin to tell them they should worry about Chati. "
Han shrugged his shoulders and looked over Luke's shoulder where Cornell and the other harvesters were placidly waiting. Each of the thirty men was carrying a dangerous looking variety of weapons and tools. Han made a gesture to invite them on board.
"Find yourself a place inside. You can store your arms and tools in the hold if you want to."
"We like to keep them with us, general Solo."
"That's alright with me."
Han turned, walked up the ramp, followed by the harvesters, Chewie. Inside the Falcon it took some time before every one had strapped in. Han, Chewie, Leia and Ian went over to the cockpit, where Chewie started the engines. Han waited at the ramp for his brother-in-law to return. Within minutes Luke was back and Han closed the ramp and went over to the cockpit of the Falcon. Luke followed looking around as if he sensed something.
"Here we go, fellahs," He said to no one in particular. He looked back to his wife, who was talking to Ian Tydon.
"I sensed it too, Ian, maybe we should tell Luke about it." He heard Leia say.
"What's matter?" Luke asked as he entered the cockpit.
"Luke, Ian and I sense some Force flow inside the Falcon." Leia said.
Luke nodded.
"I sensed it too, Leia. Probably some of those harvesters are Force-sensitive, like Chati. I felt that Force influence also during our meeting with Cornell and his men yesterday evening. Don't pay any further attention to it. Their Force-sensitivity might have helped them in the past to survive all alone on Tyr during the harvest season."
The Corellian freighter started to hover about the grassy plain. Han increased the power on the ion-drive and the space ship vanished inside the cloud layer. It took a couple of minutes before they had passed those thick clouds, but then the Falcon shot away into space.
On board the Basilisæa a junior officer in charge watched the images of the wind screens at the command deck, when suddenly he noticed a short movement coming from behind one of the planets of the Palomintar System. He warned a substitute officer to take over the observation screen. He walked over a control desk and asked a replay. Step by step he watched the short movement which seemed to have come from the rear side of Palomintar Four.
Once again he replayed the sequence this time with maximum magnification. On two images of the sequence the object that emerges of Palomintar Four's surface was visible. He separated the two images and used a enhancing sequence to get a better image of the object. Slowly the object became sharper and more recognizable. After the enhancing sequence had ended the officer fed the image into main computer of the ship. On the display some familiar markers popped up.
The officer looked aghast at the screen. Then he turned on his heels and hurried to the briefing room of the ship where Admiral Vestor and his staff members were discussing their situation.
He asked the guard on duty permission to enter. After several minutes the doors swung open and the men around the table looked up. The officer brought a formal tight saluted and waited.
"Yes, officer?" Admiral Vestor asked.
"Sir, a space ship has come out of hyperspace behind Palomintar Four. I used the enhancer to get a better image of it. You'd better have a look at it, sir. It's on screen at your desk."
Admiral Vestor activated the screen on his desk. It took a few moments before the information popped up. The admiral looked at it for a moment. Then he looked at the officer.
"Thank you, officer, dismissed."
The officer left and admiral Vestor look at his staff.
"I'm postponing this meeting. I've just got note that the Millennium Falcon has gone into orbit around Palomintar Four. You all know what this means, don't you?" He said looking at the circle of men around the table.
They all rose and walked over to the door.
"Get the Basilisæa ready to intercept this freighter. I have a feeling we will have some interesting visitors soon. "
Admiral Vestor left the room and strode to the command bridge. Several thoughts were rushing through his mind. The Millennium Falcon; in this system. Could that mean that the New Republic knew about Darth Golluth's whereabouts? Then they probably also might know Darth Golluth's other plans.
"Start the engines, captain, and bring the ship further away and head for the other side of the system. I want to intercept that freighter."
"Yes, sir!" the captain responded and a short while later the Basilisaea began to move to the other side of the Palomintar system.
The Millennium Falcon increased her velocity and altitude. Han Solo wanted to reach Myr from the back side of the planet. He was very busy talking to Chewbacca, when suddenly Leia and Luke who were sitting behind him, made an unexpected gesture. Leia jumped to her feet, reached over to the control panel and wanted to flip a switch
"What are you doing?" Han interrupted and pushed her hand aside.
"Switch on the ship's cloaking, Han, immediately," Leia said, "there's an imperial-I super star destroyer moving outside the system's gravity field."
"An imperial-I super star destroyer? Here? Come on, sweetheart. You know better than I do, that our fleet wiped out nearly all those star destroyers near Jakku," Han boasted.
"Yes, nearly, but not all," Leia snapped, "Do as I tell you, Han, otherwise we have to cut off this mission."
"How can you be so sure. Chewie, check this sector of the galaxy."
The Wookiee flipped several switches and grunted a long answer.
"See, darling, there's nothing out there. You're imagining things."
"Imagining things," Leia remark furiously, "I felt the ship through the Force. Ask Luke, if you don't believe me. He has felt the same."
"Alright, alright, if you Jedi think there's a star destroyer out there I'll do as you please," Han said sarcastically and pressed the button to cloak his ship.
"Leia is right, Han," Luke said calmly. "We'd better get into high orbit outside the system and see what those imperials are up to."
Han shrugged his shoulders and turned to Chewbacca.
"Get the navi-computer ready for a short hyperspace trip, Chewie."
Luke and Leia looked concerned outside the windscreen of the Falcon.
"On my mark, Chewie, three-two-one."
The Falcon shot away into hyperspace. Han watched the controls.
"Outside, cut in sublight engines. Now!"
The Falcon came out of hyperspace just outside the gravity field of the Palomintar System. She flew at a high orbit. Chewbacca pointed to a screen and Han whistle.
"My apologies to the Jedi members of my family. There's indeed an old friend out there. Probably one the last remnants of their fleet."
"It's the Basilisæa," Leia said in her Jedi voice. She looked at her brother. "Admiral Vestor is in command of this super star destroyer. He landed on Endor when Ian and I were looking for you and Liane. Darth Golluth was accompanying him. It seems that admiral Vestor and Darth Golluth have teamed up again."
"The Basilisæa is setting course to Tyr," Luke said, "We have to lure them away. The cloud layer forms a kind of defense shield, but they might discover Cantamaga; if that happenes the Quelans are sitting ducks. Han, deactivate the Falcon's cloaking and make sure they see us."
"And your next step will be their tracker beam?" Han asked cynically.
Luke grinned.
"We will avoid that. The Falcon is no match to a star destroyer if it comes to speed. We might have a good chance to out run them. Maybe we should play a little game with them. Fly in their direction until we're sure she going to follow us."
Wedge Antilles was watching Liane and Yarmod who were practising with their lightsabers against several floating remotes. Yarmod was an excellent padawan and could repel all the random laser beams in the blink of an eye. Liane was a bit slower, but it amazed Wedge Antilles how fast she could jump to avoid the laser beams if she couldn't repel it. He raised his hand and the remotes sailed in his direction. Liane and Yarmod switched off their lightsaber and walked over to him.
"Well done, good practise, both of you. You're absolutely doing a good job, Liane. What about a lightsaber fight against each other?"
Yarmod looked at Liane and grinned. Liane looked concerned.
"What's the matter, Liane. You dare to have a fight with me, don't you?" He asked.
"Master Antilles," Liane turned to Wedge, "We might hurt each other in a lightsaber fight, don't we?"
"You're both using training lightsabers, Liane. They only paralyze when you hit your opponent. It's the same feeling as the beams of the remotes. Yarmod loves to train that way."
"Are you both fighting each other?" Liane asked. "Seems dangerous to me, as you are a skilled Jedi, master Antilles."
"I'm not using this lightsaber, Liane," Wedge Antilles answered, pointing at the lightsaber on his belt, "I still have the training lightsaber Luke gave, when I started my training as his padawan."
Liane looked relieved and Wedge and Yarmod both started to laugh.
"You don't like fighting, Liane, do you?" Yarmod said.
"I hate fighting. I've seen too much of it. It's not the way I want to use the Force, but master Thon and master Odan-Urr told me I had to learn to wield a lightsaber, if I wanted to become a Jedi healer."
"A Jedi doesn't fight to win, Liane, a Jedi only fights if he has to defend himself. In a conflict fighting is always the last option a Jedi chooses," Wedge said.
"Luke said the same to me, when he gave me this training lightsaber. I can't imagine a situation where I could have to use my lightsaber or become engaged ..." She stopped in mid sentence.
For a moment she stood transfixed. Her eyes got a distant staring expression. In her mind she saw flashes of her Force visions as a Jedi. Wedge and Yarmod watched her. She focussed again on her guests and laughed.
"But if I can't really hurt you, Yarmod, I will gladly accept the challenge," She said, walking to the middle of the lawn.
Yarmod looked at his master. Wedge nodded with a vague smile.
"Remind the positions you've learned, young padawan," He said.
"I will, master," Yarmod answered and followed Liane.
Liane had ignited her lightsaber and took a defensive position. Yarmod raised his lightsaber and made a upward move, but Liane parried it effortlessly. She pivoted and brought her lightsaber upward under Yarmod's beam. The bright beams of the lightsabers clashed, sending tiny sparks to either side.
Once again Yarmod wanted to break through her defense, but Liane seemed to see each of his moves in advance. Concentrated Wedge watched the training duel of his padawan and the young woman. His padawan defended himself amazingly good against Liane's blows, but Wedge became more and more amazed about the way Liane wielded her lightsaber. She would become an excellent fighter one day. Once again Liane made a high somersault. She landed on her feet and immediately took a defensive stance. Yarmod slashed, but Liane made a swinging move and send his lightsaber off his hand. The young padawan raised his hands and made a deep bow.
"You win, Liane. Excellent action, you fully took me off guard."
"I didn't have the intention to win, but it's been a nice training, thank you Yarmod."
"When did master Luke gave you your lightsaber, Liane?" Yarmod asked.
"When we were in Ben's house on Tatooine. Luke taught me how to assemble a training lightsaber. He also told about the Illum crystals which are used in real lightsabers. It's one of the final ..."
"Yarmod is padawan, Liane, don't reveal what Luke and I expects him to do to become a Jedi Knight."
"I'm sorry, master Antilles. Luke and I have been discussing a lot of all his Jedi knowledge."
"You have a special relationship with him, don't you?" Wedge said and looked at her in a special way.
Liane looked at him and understood the meaning of his words. She nodded and smiled serenely.
"Yesterday evening you said you wanted to show us some of your explorations," Wedge said changing the subject of their conversation.
"I can show you the waterfall cave. It's really lovely. Do you want to go now?"
"Good idea. Afterwards I want to have a look at the extensions you made to the original map."
"I'll get my flashlight," Liane said and left the terrace.
Yarmod and Wedge watched her go.
"She's almost ready to become master Luke's padawan, don't you agree, master," Yarmod said.
"She already more than a padawan, Yarmod. The problem is that her knowledge of the Force is too fragmented. She knows a bit of many Force uses, but doesn't control it fully. She really misses a master to tell her precisely what it means to be a Jedi Knight, but she's doing very well on her own. I admire her perseverance and her progress."
"There she is, admiral!" the captain of the Basilisæa pointed to the shape of the Millennium Falcon flying in high orbit of the Palomintar System.
"Track her!" Vestor answered.
"She's flying straight in our path, admiral."
Admiral Vestor looked through the windscreen of the command bridge and watched the small moving spot in the middle.
"Prepare the tracker beam, captain."
"Admiral, she has disappeared. Oh no, there she is again."
The Millennium Falcon had changed course and zigzagged through space in front of the imperial star destroyer.
"Don't loose sight of that ship, captain. I know who's on board. I want a word with her captain," Vestor commanded.
Once again the Falcon changed it course and now flew straight to the Basilisæa. Suddenly she disappeared again.
"What happened? Where is she?" Vestor yelled frustrated, looking up from the view screen.
"We can't track her, admiral. She probably went into hyperspace." the captain answered.
Admiral Vestor gritted his teeth and slammed the desk of the view screen, as the Millennium Falcon came into view again, filling the windscreen of the command bridge.
"He is a mad man, he is on a collision course," the captain yelled, instinctively ducking and seeking coverage for the impact.
But the Falcon shot away, made wide looping and flew in front of the imperial star destroyer.
"Follow!" admiral Vestor commanded, "He is provoking us. I wonder why?"
The Basilisæa steadied her course and continued the pursuit of the freighter, but the distance between the two ships couldn't be narrowed.
"She trying to shake us off, admiral. Probably she's preparing to go into hyperspace."
"Don't let her escape. Their captain mustn't be able to get away and warn those rebels of the New Republic."
The Basilisæa now went into full pursuit of the Falcon, which was still following a frantic course around the Palomintar System. The captain of the star destroyer managed to reduce the distance between the two ships slightly, but he couldn't get a direct aim to get the Falcon in the tracker beam. He didn't took his eyes from the screen, but the Falcon once tricked him again and vanished from the screen. For a couple of minutes the captain waited to see if she would reappear again, but this time all that remained was the empty void of space.
"We've lost her, admiral. She probably made the jump into hyperspace," the captain reported.
Admiral Vestor looked disgusted at the blackness of space. Why had the Millennium Falcon appeared in the Palomintar System? Investigations? The Palomintar System wasn't a very interesting system. Had the New Republic become suspicious because their main computer system had been infiltrated? Darth Golluth had told him, that he couldn't use his communication system anymore, but that was obvious, because the complete com system had been taken apart by his tech droids. Had the technicians on Quoith found the cause of the infiltration attempt? Should he go down to Palomintar Four and tell Darth Golluth what had happened? It would be another very unpleasant encounter with former admiral Matrik. An encounter he wasn't looking for. No, he'd better wait and watch what would happened. Darth Golluth wasn't aware of his presence, at least he hoped he wasn't.
"Should I get your shuttle ready, admiral," the captain asked, "You probably want to inform Lord Golluth about the pursuit of the Falcon?"
Admiral Vestor made a negative gesture.
"We have prevented the Millennium Falcon to land on the planet. She had to break off her mission and had to flee without getting any information. We stay in orbit around the system."
Liane looked up to Wedge Antilles and shook her head determinedly.
"I won't. I'm not going to tear down all I did, master Antilles. I use this place to practise the Force meditation ways Luke has taught me. Luke says, it's a wonderful place to feel the Force and become one with it," She tried to remain calm and dignified, but in her voice Wedge heard the stubborn rejection of his advice.
"I understand, you love this place, Liane..." Wedge said
"Not only I love this place, but Luke likes it too, and so does the Supreme Chancellor," Liane objected.
Once again she stubbornly shook her head. She determinedly switched off the five lamps and walked over to the steep entrance passageway of the cave.
"I'm going back to the residence," she said and turned her back on Wedge Antilles, "I'm sure you can find the way back on your own."
Wedge watched her go. He understood her feelings for this spot, for he also cherished the wonderful sight of the cave, but he also was responsible for her safety and this place wasn't safe. Not anymore. He felt sorry for the young woman who had to spend her days in solitude in this cave system, but he knew he had to be firm and convincingly. She also had to learn to understand the dangers of her explorations. He walked up the steep slope and thought about an possibility to show her the reason why he wanted her to give up all her explorations, without perseverance in her stubborn refusal.
When he entered the residence through the transparasteel doors, he only saw his padawan performing a Jedi meditation near the lake. Liane was nowhere to be seen. Wedge walked over to the terrace and set himself down on one of the couches. He observed Yarmod who stood motionless on his hands, his eyes closed.
'Let the Force flow through you, young padawan and she will show you images of the past and the present,' He said through Jedi telepathy.
Yarmod almost lost losing his balance, but he recovered his control of the Force.
'Master, I see myself as a schoolboy, being bullied by one of my classmates. I can feel again who I hated him for his dominant attitude.'
'Control those feelings of hatred, Yarmod. You know what the consequences are of any dark feelings inside you. Let the Force tell you how you could have dealt with his unfriendly manners. I feel you also feared him, didn't you?'
'Yes I did. I always evaded him as much as possible, but my actions never felt good, master.'
'Why not?'Wedge asked and rose from his seat to support his young padawan.
'I always felt cowardly, but I couldn't find a good way to cope with his dominant behavior at that time.'
'Now turn inside, Yarmod, and let the Force show you the cause of his behavior.'
'Yes, master.'
For a moment every thing went silent. The only noises were the rustling sounds of the leaves in the forest cave.
'Master, I see him now. His father is bullying and beating him. He is crying.'
'That's what you should have asked yourself when you became aware of those feelings of hatred for this opponent from your past. Learn from the image the Force has been showing you, Yarmod. Never judge a person only because of his appearances, manners or behavior. The same counts for everything that happens in the past, the present, even in the future. Use the Force to look for those hidden facts and you will learn to interpret the real causes at a different point of view. Tell me, do you still feel hate for what he did to you, for you've missed an opportunity, Yarmod, to show you cared for him. You could have become friends with him.
'I understand, master, no I don't feel anymore hatred. Now I pity him. He must have had a sad youth. My father never bullied me, nor did he ever beat me or my siblings. My parents always encouraged me to follow my own path.', the young padawan answered remorseful.
He released himself from his Force meditation and jumped to his feet.
"I will remember your words, master," he said and looked around, "Where is Liane, master, didn't she come back with you? Did you tell her, she can not go on exploring the caves outside this residence any longer?
"I did, but she stubbornly adheres to her own view. I told her she had to take off all the illumination lamps in the waterfall cave and the ropes in the passageway, but she refuses to follow my advice. It's probably very difficult, my young padawan, to convince someone as headstrong as Liane to look at a situation from a different point of view. You didn't see her coming back, did you?" Wedge said concerned.
"Maybe Threepio has seen her, master."
Wedge Antilles walked over to the pantry, where Threepio and Artoo were always bickering about the dinner preparations.
"Threepio, did you or Artoo see Liane?"
"Yes, master Antilles. She came in with a angry look in her eyes. She didn't speak to Artoo or me and went to her private quarters. If she hasn't come to the terrace or the living, she still must be there, master Antilles. Shall I go and tell her to join you and master Martan." the golden droid asked.
Wedge Antilles raise his hand.
"Thank you, Threepio. It's alright, I only wanted to know if she's in the residence."
He walked back to the terrace.
"She has gone to her private quarters, Threepio said. I'll contact Luke tonight and discuss this matter with him. He knows her much better than we do, Yarmod," Wedge Antilles said with a deep sigh, looking concerned at his padawan. Slowly he walked over to the control panel in the living and sealed off the residence from unfriendly eyes.