Chapter 62

Leia and Han looked at the Supreme Chancellor who sighed deeply and shook her head.

"I've got no permission to send a part of our join space fleet to the Palomintar System. The joined systems are afraid that sending an invasion force will violate the truce we have with the former imperials. They fear that the imperials will use it as a opportunity to start the war again. I can only send the Tychorion and Wedge Antilles and his men. They fall directly under my jurisdiction. I hope that admiral Vestor of the Basilisaea will retreat and leave the Palomintar System as he sees the Tychorion coming out of hyperspace."

Mon Mothma turned to Wedge Antilles and general Madine.

"General, master Antilles, when will we be able to leave."

"As we might expect violent behavior of the Basilisaea we need to take extra precautions, madam," Madine said, "I want my crew and ground forces to be volunteers only, but I don't want to put the lives of those men in danger. To fully equip the Tychorion and have her ready in case of battle I need another six, maybe seven standard days, maybe two weeks."

Leia sighed. Another two weeks, and Luke was still alone on Palomintar Four.

"Gold Squadron is ready to go, madam," Wedge Antilles said, "We can leave any moment."

"So is the Falcon," Han commented.

Mon Mothma laughed.

"I didn't expect you to tell me anything else, general Solo," She said, while she rose.

"Well gentlemen, senator, I suggest that Gold Squadron and the Millennium Falcon set course to Palomintar Four, but I don't want you to land on Myr. Stay in orbit. Until the Tychorion is ready, your main task is to put surveillance around the planet and the system and refrain the commander of the Basilisaea to send groundtroops to any of the system's planets. Master Antilles Gold Squadron must intercept any transport shuttle that is leaving the Basilisaea in an attempt to land on Palomintar Four. You're not allowed to use violent actions, just keep them at bay. The same counts for you, general Solo."

"Madam, I want to visit my brother. He's on his own on Myr." Leia said.

Mon Mothma shook her head.

"I'm sorry, Leia, but as I don't want the Basilisaea send a shuttle to the continent where we expect Darth Golluth lived, I also don't give you permission to land on it. Your brother, more or less volunteered to stay behind. We have to rely on his cunning as a Jedi master to take care for himself. He isn't completely alone, you told me, he is staying the Quelan harvesters. So, neither of you are allowed to send a transport ship to the surface."

Leia looked concerned, but she had to agree with the Supreme Chancellor's opinion.

Mon Mothma walked to the door of her office, indicating that their meeting had come to a end. Leia and Han slowly rosed. Leia looked at Wedge.

'See you in our appartment, Wedge. We have to change our plans.' She said through the Force.

Wedge nodded.

"I'm going to carry out the instruction to prepare the Tychorion, madam," Madine said. He saluted and left.

Han and Leia walked over to the elevator to get the ground floor. Within minutes they left the building. Neither of them spoke. Leia felt that her husband disagreed with the Supreme Chancellor's decision. She laid her hand on the sleeve of his uniform and looked up at him.

"Wedge is coming to see us," She said.

Han steered the transport speeder through Irithim to the appartment building where he and Leia lived. When they entered the top floor appartment Chewbacca greeted them with a loud grumble. Han shook his head.

"No, pal, it's just you, me, and Leia, and Wedge Antilles with his ten men. No groundforces, no permission to land." He said on an angry tone.

He turned to his wife.

"Are you simply accepting Mon Mothma's order, darling?"

"What do you think, my love, of course not, but we need to make a secure plan without violating Mon Mothma's orders and I think I might have an idea. Han, I need to see Luke. I want to be at his side and fight with him against Darth Golluth."

"Is it because of what you told me about that Force vision of Liane?" Han asked.

"More or less, although I admit that Liane's Force vision showed her a possible future. I talked about it with Wedge and he also agrees with me, that we have to be cautious even if it's a vision of the future. There's Wedge."

The entrance alarm sounded. Leia raised her hand and the front door slid aside. Wedge Antilles entered the lavish living. Immediately he looked at the view over Irithim.

"It still amazes me, Leia. To realize that it's only eight years ago that we started our new government here. You have bought a top notch apartment."

"Take a seat, do you want a drink, Wedge?" Han ask, "Leia just told me that she might have a plan to work around Mon Mothma's order. Did you hear what Liane said about Luke?"

"You mean, her Force vision. Yes, I was there with Leia. She was definitely talking to Darth Golluth, calling him Trevor. She also said that I wouldn't return to Mon Mothma secret residence. I can't apprehend what she meant by those words." Wedge said and sat down.

"You said you heard her talking to that weirdo. Does that mean that she was on Palomintar Four. Luke has told Leia that Liane had seen him in a similar vision laying on a burial pyre. Leia is very concerned about his words. She fears that her brother is underestimating that weirdo's powers." Han said, offering Wedge a glass with a cold drink.

"I don't fear Trevor's powers, Han, neither does my brother, but there might be another reason why Liane saw Luke on a bier. Maybe Vestor has already send some of his troopers down to the planet."

"You've heard what the Supreme Chancellor said; your brother is cunning enough stay out of sight of any trooper. Sit down, darling, want a drink. Chewie get that pouch and put it over there. We have to talk."

Han poured drinks for himself, his Wookiee pal and his wife. They all sat down near the doors to the terrace and for a moment they enjoyed the vista of the new build city of Irithim with the blue mountain ridge as a backdrop.

The newly promoted colonel Whain looked at the holographic display with some disgust. The four creatures on the display didn't look very promising.

"Listen carefully," He said gruff, "These are the coordinates on Na'ctaMagh'Ba which are a lead. They don't, I repeat, they don't mark the exact location. You have to find the exact location yourselves. Do you understand?"

"Yes, colonel, we do," One of the creatures said, "We told you we have been following a submersible with the markings of the New Republic which was clearly on it's way to Na'ctaMagh'Ba, but our hired submarine went berserk. We got seasick and had to return to the Mas'onom harbor. We had the ship checked, but nothing was wrong with it, but we've got another submersible now. We insisted, for we didn't trust the first one."

"Yes, yes, yes, I am not interested in your stories. Feed the navi-computer of your submarine with the coordinates I gave you. You have to follow that course precisely and see if you find a harbor, a bay with a secret entrance, or anything else. If you have found something that looks like a kind of accommodation you register the coordinates and report back to me. Understood!"

"Yes, sir," The spokesman said.

"Then get going and don't waste your time." Whain said snappy.

He switched off the communication line and walked to the door. It slid aside and Whain entered the long corridor that lead to the main hall where Darth Golluth was waiting. The two guarding droids snapped to attention and opened the double door to the main hall.

"Enter, colonel, and come closer," Darth Golluth said, rising for his stone chair, "Do you have any success to report?"

"I've contacted your spies in Mas'onom and instructed them to investigate the coordinates of the communication system that send that procon message. I'm not convinced that the guys are smart enough to carry out your missions. You're wasting your money. Shouldn't I contact the Basilisaea and ask admiral Vestor to send us some guys of the imperial intelligence force. They are more reliable guys than the ones you're working with."

"Would they be loyal to me, or to the old imperial forces, colonel?"

"They probably will report to admiral Vestor, master."

"I don't want Vestor to know too much details of my plans. So, it's out of the questions that we hire those man, although I agree with you, that they would probably get faster results. How long do you think those guys, we've hired, will report back the results of their investigation."

"They wanted to leave immediately, but they needed to be cautious. The waters around Na'ctaMagh'Ba are constantly under surveillance of the Dalmarian science supervisors, an armed force, kind of militia, which has to prevent illegal access to the forbidden continent."

"Yes, I know, the former group I sent to Na'ctaMagh'Ba was intercepted. They were towed to Mas'onom and got a serious warning not to trespass the surrounding waters around the continent again. Unfortunately their mission ended without results. I hope, the guys we are sending now, will do better. You may leave me now and do what ever you want. I suggest, you take a look outside this residence. Have a look around and tell me if any changes are needed to the main entrance. Take one of my droids with you, if you like, so you can immediately do reprogramming if necessary. Do it your way, I trust you, colonel."

"Yes, sir." Colonel Whain bowed and left the main hall.

He didn't go straight to the main entrance of the underground dwelling but went to his lavishly refurbished quarters to get a very small infocom. He activated the device and started to walk around in the underground corridors and passageways, while the small device registered the exact position of all the corridors, passageways and caverns. Every now and then Whain carefully looked around to see if he wasn't under surveillance of one of the numerous guarding droids or probes, which were constantly monitoring the underground residence. After half an hour he went back to his quarters, changed his clothes for his new uniform and walked through the long main corridor to the entrance. The front doors stood wide open, there were no guarding droids and for the first time since his involuntary stay he stepped outside into the surrounding nature. He looked around and took some deep breaths, exhaled and started to walk along a rough path that sloped down the mountain. At the end of the path a kind of paved road was leading right and left. Whain observed the road where weeds were growing between the cobbled stones. He looked left and followed the road with his eyes. It seemed to lead around the mountain, possibly to the other side or to a pass to cross the mountain ridge. He took a mental note to investigate that side the next time and register the environment and the surroundings of the underground residence more closely. He turned right and started to walk down the cobbled stone road which sloped further downwards. After some five hundred meters he ran into four droids which seemed to do some patrolling on the road.

"Good day, colonel. Nice weather at the moment. Are you going to visit Ribana?" The head of the guarding droids asked.

"Ribana, is there a city nearby?" Whain asked amazed.

"It was a city, colonel. The invasion army of Darth Golluth expelled the Quelans who lived there. It's now deserted for nearly nine years. Didn't our master tell you about it?"

Whain was on guard. He watched the group of droids and then he started laughing.

"Oh, yes, he did, but I didn't know the city was at a short distance of our master's residence."

"It will take about an hour and half, maybe two hours to get there, colonel. We can get you a speeder, if you want."

Whain shook his head.

"No, thank you. I going to take a walk. I have been idle for a long time. It's good to get some exercise again."

"Enjoy, colonel. Don't forget we close the main doors during the night, but if you return late, you can use frequency code seven-five-four-zero to have one of us to open the door for you."

"Thank you, very nice. I might indeed be back late," Whain said and entered the frequency in his infocom, "See you, later, guys."

He continued his walk. As the road made a bend he turned his head and looked back. The group of droids were still standing at the spot where he had met them. He walked on at a steady pace and reached the outskirts of Ribana in less than two hours. He walked along the domed buildings and looked around in wonder. This has been a prospering city. It's inhabitants had built themselves nice two storey domed house with a gardens. Those gardens were now overgrown with weeds. He reached a large square with a larger building. Probably the town hall, or the building of the local government. He walked over to the entrance, but the doors were locked. He tried a back door, but he couldn't find a way to enter the building. Turning his back on the building he walked on through the main streets, looking around and sometimes entering one of the domed houses. Some of them were still furnished, but most of the chairs, tables and couches bore traces of decay. Although he had had a tough training as an imperial officer, Whain had to admit that the sight of the desolated houses shocked him. The whole town left a frightening and depressing impression. He walked back to the main town square and left the town along the same route. Slowly he walked up the cobble stone road. The patrolling droid were nowhere to be seen. He walked up the path and saw that the doors to the main entrance were still open. Suddenly he had the depressing feeling that if he would enter the residence of Darth Golluth again, he would shut himself off from the outside world again.

Liane was busy collecting some of the dried herbs when she suddenly felt that Ian was watching her. She turned around, stepped off the stepping stone with her arms full of tufts. Ian looked around in the cave.

"Lovely, all those different fragrances, Liane. Why are you doing this?"

"Mainly, because in the beginning I wanted to do something useful. I harvest these herbs in the forest cave. When dried they can be stored for years and used as a medicine."

"Who taught you this knowledge?" Ian asked, entering the cave, looking around.

"On Morantan, it was Eremian; on Endor, it was Logray."

Liane had walked over to a workbench and put the tufts down. Carefully she started to collect the dried leaves and put them in hermetical sealed jars.

"Can I give you a hand, Liane?" Ian asked.

"You can. Can you take down those tufts over there," Liane said, pointing to three large dried tufts with woody branches, "Be careful, some of those branches have nasty thorns. Put on these gloves, they will protect you."

She threw a pair of gloves in his direction. Ian took them up and started to laugh.

"I think, these are a little bit to small for me, Liane,"

He placed one of the gloves on his outstretched hand. Liane placed her hand on the glove.

"No, this isn't the right size. I'm sorry I haven't larger ones." She laughed.

Ian took her hand in his and pulled her closer.

"You're the loveliest girl, I know, Liane," He said softly, "Thank you, for showing me those holocrons and thank you ... for your help on Palomintar Six. I felt your hands on my face and I heard your voice. I fell asleep, but you were gone when I woke up."

He pulled her to the stepping stones and forced her to sit down, still holding her hand his hands.

"You were there, weren't you, Liane? On Palomintar Six in the forest cabin, I mean?" He asked.

Liane nodded.

"Somehow I was. I saw the domed cabin in the woods. I felt your pain, because you were severely wounded. I got help from my mother Severini and the very strong Force power of other long gone Jedi. The Force brought me to the place where you were laying. Do you remember the images I showed you?"

"I do. Your help was amazing, for the next morning I felt less pain, but the most amazing experience came the other night. A woman brought me to the Jedi garden of healing. She told me that you were her daughter, so I must have met Severini, your mother. She is as beautiful as you, Liane. You look a lot like her; the same color of hair, the same friendly green-blue eyes, the same caring manners. She brought me to a beautiful pond near a waterfall and I took a dive in the pond. The water was lovely, so I swam around for a while. When I got out of the water, your mother brought me to a wonderful opaque milky white pavilion. Inside, in the middle of the floor, stood a couch. I laid down and Severini put her hands over my face, like I've seen you doing with Teebo, and I began to feel drowsy. I fell asleep and when I woke up I had completely recovered. No wounds, no burns, my skin healed, no pain anymore. Liane, this was so amazing. You, healers, must be very powerful."

Liane had listen intently at him.

"You found the place inside yourself to start the Jedi healing, that's what Severini told me. It seems that every Jedi knows how to call on the Force to heal when injured. Because you were in such a terrible pain, Severini helped me to get my Force spirit to you on Palomintar Six to help you to find your own healing powers again. Luke has taught you how to access those healing powers, hasn't he?"

"He did, but I couldn't concentrate enough to practise that knowledge. I never used it before. Master Luke, only told me about the possibility. Liane, if you hadn't come to Palomintar Six, I would have died, I think."

He bowed over to her and gently kissed her cheek. Liane felt a lump in her throat, but didn't resisted his affectionate gesture. She clearly felt how much her friend loved her and she couldn't deny that she loved him too, despite her eternal bond with Luke.

"Ian, why did you ask master Yoda about your Corellian parents?"

"They aren't my parents, not my real parents, I mean, they are my foster-parents. I am really sure about that since I have been master Leia's padawan. I've never told master Luke or master Leia, but I have seem some strange images when I'm doing Force meditation. May I tell you what I have seen?"

Liane nodded encouragingly. Ian had taken both her hands in his.

"There is a man, carrying me. I'm three, maybe four years old. The man is carrying me under his cloak to keep me warm, but he is running through a forest. He is talking to me, reassuring me that my mother will join us soon. I must have fallen asleep, because when I opened my eyes again we were on a different spot. The man is still carrying me, but he isn't running any longer, he strides for he still seems to be in a hurry. We come to a house and there the man hands me to another man and a woman. I recognized them, they are the ones I, up to now, saw as my parents. The man who has brought me to them leaves and the man and the woman take me inside the house. I get new clothes and there are two other children. They call me Ian and I learn to listen to that new name, although I seem to remember I was once called Tama-Hinn. At least my mother called me by that name."

"You've got these Force visions after you became Leia's padawan, Ian?"

Ian shook his head.

"Much earlier, I have seen these images already, when I lived in the Wegoyy desert among the Draga. I interpreted them as a kind of recurring nightmare, because I almost saw them once a week. After master Luke showed me my Force potential and did the test for my midi-chlorian count I learned to meditate on the Force. Then I saw those images every time I did my meditation and I started to wonder what they could mean. I have always seen the man and the woman on Corellia as my parents and their kids as my siblings, but I have always been a different kid when I grew up. They all had sparkling brown eyes, mine are blue. Their hair is much lighter than mine and they all have many curls. The more I have been thinking about it, the more I realized that that I'm not Ian Tydon with Corellian parents, but some one who once was called Tama-Hinn and who lived on a planet with a dense forest. I vaguely remember the edge of a sea and a house nearby in the woods. The people I grew up with aren't my real parents, they fostered me because the man who brought me to them, must have ask them to take care of me. Liane, it seems that I'm an adopted child, abandoned by my real parents."

"You mustn't say that, Ian. You don't know the reason why you were brought to Corellia. Maybe it was for your own safety. I don't think your parents abandoned you."

"I think, there might also be another explanation. The man who brought me to Corellia has stolen me from my real parents, for that's the reason why he was running through that forest. But I'm glad that master Yoda has confirmed my assumptions. It's a bit difficult to accept, but it explains the differences between my siblings and my parents and me."

"What you going to do now, Ian?" Liane asked with concern.

"As soon as master Luke let me pass the final trials, as soon as I have become a Jedi Knight I'm going back to Corellia and I'm going to ask them to tell me the truth. Who brought me to them? Did they know him? Was he my real father? Where is he now? I must know the truth, Liane, just like you want to know who your real parents are. I fully understand, what a devastating discovery it must have been for you, when you found out on Endor that Darth ... "

Liane pulled one hand freed and put her fingers on his mouth.

"Don't call him by that name, Ian. To me he is my father and I call him Anakin."

... Anakin was only your foster-father." Ian continued.

"You must tell Luke about your plan, Ian. I'm sure he will help you to find the truth. He and Leia have done a lot to find the name of my mother. I know I'm Severini's daughter and I want her to be proud of me."

"Aren't you going to look for your real father, Liane? Don't you want to know?"

"I do, but master Yoda has told me that he's been united with the Force during the Civil Wars. It seems that he was a Jedi Knight too, but I have to wait and be patient. One day I will meet him and I will also meet Severini, that's a promise master Yoda and Severini have made."

"Your real father also has been united with the Force, just like your mother Severini?"

"Master Yoda told me he has been a very powerful Jedi."

Ian was silent for some time. Liane watched him and surrounded him with her compassion and consolation. In her mind she saw the images again of Ben running through a dense forest with a little four year old boy on his arm: Tama-Hinn, his son, Ian Tydon, her friend. She felt sad, because she knew that her friend, like her, would never meet his father.