Out of the Shadows 8
This story is mainly for my beloved Mona because I
could not do without her and also for all my friends on the SSB list. The
characters all belong to Lucasfilm and I am only playing with them for my own
pleasure. If you are looking for the established timeline (?) and character
continuity…forget it. This is a very alternative universe albeit still a Star
Wars one. My thanks as always to Rhea for the title suggestion and to Licia and
Michele for reading it through
Coruscant
Leia Organa tapped her manicured fingers on the desk
waiting for the connection to come through. “Come on, Wedge,” she muttered.
“What’s keeping you?”
The swirling pattern on the screen in front of her
finally coalesced into the familiar face of Rogue Squadron leader Wedge
Antilles. “Your Highness,” he said formally.
“Hello, Wedge.” Leia gave a relieved smile.
The pilot grinned, his tired face relaxing visibly.
“It’s good to see you, Leia. It’s been a while since we last spoke.”
“It has. Things are so busy right now.”
“I’m sure you didn’t contact me just for a
chat,” Wedge commented sardonically. “We do have an x-wing in need of
repair. Hobbie fried its insides.”
Leia’s mouth twitched in something that might have
been the beginnings of a smile. “You flight jockeys are rather too hard on
your ships. No – no time for a chat. I can’t remember the last time I did
have the luxury of being able just to pass the time of day with someone. I’ve
got an urgent request,” she said. “I need you to go and pick something up
for me on Praesitlyn. Rather convenient of Hobbie killing his ship like that. If
you could get one of the Rogues to routinely have a malfunction on a planet I
need something from, then we could have regular conversations.”
Wedge raised an eyebrow. “I’m not sure the high
command would be too happy about that. Is there a security issue or is this any
old article? Do I need back up? I only have Hobbie and Pash with me right
now.”
“There shouldn’t be a big problem – at least, I
don’t think there should be. It’s a collection of Jedi items which have
surfaced in the back of a storeroom in the university library on Praesitlyn.
Imagine my surprise when Tycho said you were visiting that very world.”
“Coincidence is an amazing thing.”
“It’s not coincidence, Wedge. There’s more than
that at work. According to the library, the box containers lightsabers and
books.” ‘It has to be the Force’, she thought. ‘It’s time to collect
all the information out there…for Luke’.
“What do I have to do?”
“Just go and collect the…box,
container…whatever it is. They have been warned that someone from the
“Duly warned,” Wedge said with a grin. “And
then?”
“Rogue Squadron have orders to head straight back
to Coruscant.”
Wedge’s dark eyes widened. “But…We have another
three weeks of duty before…”
“That’s been changed. Once you pick up whatever
Mistress Yashek has found, I want you to bring it straight to me. I should be on
Coruscant for the next few weeks.”
“Well, it doesn’t really matter to us where we
go. Coruscant’s just another place. It’s not home.”
Leia was surprised. “It’s not home?”
“Home is where my people are. My family are gone
– the pirates hitting Gus Treta saw to that. My sister…who knows. I have a
new family – Rogue Squadron.”
“Actually,” Leia said thoughtfully. “I agree
with you. Alderaan was my real home and it can never be replaced. Home is with
Han, Chewie and…and Luke.”
Tactfully, Wedge ignored the small wobble in Leia’s
voice as she mentioned Luke. “I’ll go and collect your Jedi stuff.
Hobbie’s ship should be fixed some time soon. Someone from the local garrison
is coming to help with the replacement parts.” He gave a wry grin. “I guess
Coruscant is where I have an apartment. Can’t remember the last time I slept
in it.”
“Yes, the couch in my office is quite comfortable
too. I seem to spend more time on it than in the perfectly good bed I have at
home.” Leia’s smile was sympathetic as she cut the connection. She looked at
the couch with something approaching fondness – at least she managed to sleep
on it. Without Han, her apartment was empty and she preferred to stay where
things were happening. Once security finished checking the thousands of rooms in
the
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Quo Zacx breathed a sigh of relief as she spotted the
tall figure of Iloncka Yashek disappearing into her office and the door clicking
shut behind her. “This way, Luke,” she said, motioning him along the length
of a door-lined corridor before ushering him into a dusty room filled with
rubbish bags and boxes of what appeared to be obsolete junk ready for
collection.
“You’re sure it’s alright to show me this?”
Luke stifled a sneeze, as the dust tickled his nostrils.
“I want to.” Quo Zacx couldn’t explain why she
wanted to but she did. There was something about this stranger that made her
trust him. “This is where we found it. We’re updating some of the systems
and need this room so I was told to start clearing the rubbish. Perhaps we
should have moved the box somewhere safer but we kept it in here because we’ve
nowhere else. And who would look in a room full of junk?”
“Who indeed.”
“No one has for at least twenty years. It’s a
dumping ground.” Quo Zacx waded her way past the bags of rubbish, battered
filing cabinets and what appeared to be an upturned chair with only three legs,
and carefully opened a corner cupboard. “There were two wooden boxes found but
one of them was empty,” she said quietly. Gingerly, she eased one container
from its space on the shelf. Disturbed dust motes danced in the weakened light
given by grimy windows. “This box,” she pronounced with satisfaction,
“…on the other hand, is anything but empty.”
Luke stared at the battered wooden box, his mouth
dry. “Boa wood,” he stated with certainty, his hands lightly tracing the
carvings on the lid, brushing years of neglect from its surface. It was much
smaller than the trunk he had inherited from Obi-Wan but had been made by a
similar craftsman – maybe even the same one. This was part of his history and
his destiny. Carefully he lifted the lid and stared, fascinated, at the contents
of the box. It was just as Quo Zacx had said - lightsabers, some data rods and
other storage devices and a couple of books. Yoda would know what to do with the
items. It was all that Luke could do to stop himself from reaching inside and
examining everything in minute detail but now was not the time or place.
“I wasn’t sure what material it was made of. I
only thought that it seemed to be old.”
“Thank you,” Luke said, his manner grave. “You
do realise that I’ll have to take this with me.”
Quo Zacx stared at him as if she was seeing him for
the first time – the serious, bearded face with intense blue eyes under the
enveloping hooded cloak just like... Then the import of what he was saying sank
in. “But you cannot!” she exclaimed. “They are sending someone for it.”
“They?” Luke raised an eyebrow.
“A representative from the
“I have come for this,” he said, his words and
steady gaze compelling.
“You…” she mumbled, wondering what she should
do. “You would steal it?”
“I wouldn’t be stealing it. This belongs to the
Jedi.”
“I can’t see why, unless…”
“I am Jedi.” Luke pushed his hood back. “This
belongs to the Jedi,” he repeated. “It shouldn’t be given to governments
who will hold our heritage as a ransom for our skills and abilities. If we let
them do that then the order is finished before it is reborn. The Jedi Order must
be independent, able to help whosoever it chooses.”
“Then take it.” Quo Zacx said, making her
decision instantly. “How do we know who in the
“I don’t want you to get into bother over this
and there’s a good chance that you will,” Luke said regretfully. “I will
have to take away your memory of me. This is the only way.”
“Oh.” Her face fell.
“I cannot let you take any blame for this. You
might not remember this but your interest in the Jedi will remain. Whatever you
learn about Jedi history, keep it for me. One day soon I will return.”
“I will find out as much as I can,” she promised.
“Luke…do you have a lightsaber?” She had to know if she was right. It had
all became so clear. She knew who he was and her heart trembled at the thought
of being able to help this man.
He smiled. “Of course but you’d guessed that –
hadn’t you?” And from his belt his saber unhooked and flew into his hands,
igniting in a blaze of green power. He threw a flimsy-board tube up into the air
and cut it into several pieces with the buzzing weapon. “The symbol of a Jedi
Knight,” Luke said, as he shut the saber down. “It shouldn’t be used for
displays like that. My teacher would say that I was showing off. A lightsaber is
not a toy and shouldn’t be used lightly.”
“I appreciate you letting me see it, thank you.”
She chewed on her lip, thinking hard, and then pointed at the other box giving
Luke a mischievous smile. “We should fill the empty box. Pack it with papers
and some old useless data rods. It will give you some more time.”
Luke’s smile matched hers. “Good idea.”
Quickly they set about the task and then placed the
box back in the cupboard. Finished with their subterfuge, Luke gathered up the
box of artefacts and they returned to the main corridor where Artoo was waiting
for them. The little droid beeped an enquiry.
“I have it, Artoo. Could you head back to the
spaceport and get the ship prepped for takeoff? Thanks and Artoo...”
Artoo spun his domed head and trained his optical
sensor on his master.
“Keep a low profile, little fella. I don’t want
you getting into trouble.”
Artoo blew a disdainful raspberry, put down his third
leg and wheeled himself out of the front entrance.
“Your droid is very disrespectful,” Quo Zacx said
in surprise.
“He has a mind of his own,” Luke admitted. “And
I wouldn’t change him. We’ve been together a long time.” He stood
clutching the box, slightly apprehensive all of a sudden. “Do you think I
could exit out the back? I have this feeling that I shouldn’t go the way that
Artoo did.”
“Come on, Jedi Sky…”
Luke shook his head, placing one finger against his
lips. “Just Luke.” He clutched the box tightly to his chest once more. So
much for the hope that many in the galaxy would have forgotten his existence.
“There’s a fire door…security entrance at the
far end of this corridor. There’s no holocam on it either.”
“Some security door,” Luke commented.
“We’re in the middle of upgrading – it’s on
the list of things to do,” Quo Zacx replied shortly. “Lucky for us. I
can’t quite believe that I’m doing this. Quick…this way.”
They made their way swiftly along the corridor to the
exit the Omwati had indicated. Quo Zacx disabled the alarm and opened the door.
The watery sunlight hit their eyes and they squinted into what was a small
courtyard containing several dilapidated speeders.
“I hate doing this but…” Luke sighed. “I
cannot let you remember that I’ve been here. It will be discovered soon
enough.”
“I understand although I would wish to remember.”
“You will one day.”
“I would do anything to help the Jedi.”
“Why?” Luke was genuinely interested yet
perplexed that his calling made so many fear or admire what he could do.
“The Jedi were good and kind. They helped beings
without thought of reward or glory. My grandfather told me that he met one
once…tall with dark skin and a wise face. The Empire did not inspire such
loyalty – it brought fear, not devotion.”
“Not everyone agrees with you, Quo Zacx. The Empire
turned the Jedi into pariahs.”
“The Jedi will rise again.”
“I hope so and you will have played a part in that
growth.” Luke placed the box on the floor beside his feet and leant forward,
his hands touching the wispy blue feathered curls at her temple. “Goodbye, Quo
Zacx, and thank you. May the Force be with you.”
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
As Luke left by one entrance, Wedge Antilles, Pash
Cracken and Hobbie Klivvian entered by another and were immediately taken to the
head librarian’s office. The dean of the University had also been summoned and
was waiting for them.
Hobbie groaned and rubbed his hands on the pants of
his uniform, hissing into Pash’s ear, “Why does being a pilot in the best
fighter squadron in the galaxy mean that I have to spend so much time pressing
my hand against other beings’ clammy flesh in the interests of politeness?”
“You have a gift for it?” whispered back Pash.
“Funny. It’s not only all the bowing and
handshaking that gets me; it’s the making inane remarks to some weird being in
a fancy suit.”
“Goes with the job and, as I said, you have a gift
for making inane remarks,” Pash muttered.
“That’s not me – that’s Janson,” Hobbie
retorted.
“If we weren’t in Rogue Squadron that would be
worse,” he said. “Much worse. Think what would happen if we were in a B-wing
squadron. Sitting ducks.”
“True. What’s a duck?”
“Never mind. We need to let Wedge do the wheeling
and dealing. He’s the commander and that’s one of reasons they promoted
him.”
“I thought it was his age plus he lasted against
two Death Stars?”
“That’s a consideration. He must be the bravest
although you wouldn’t know to look at him. We’ll wait outside – act as his
security.”
“Good idea.”
They positioned themselves in a parade ground stance
on either side of the office door. Wedge glared at them but reluctantly followed
Iloncka Yashek into the room.
“This is Quo Zacx,” Iloncka Yashek announced, her
yellow eyes gleaming as the Omwati female warily entered the room. “She is one
of our research assistants and found the cache of Jedi items hidden in one of
our store rooms.”
Wedge bowed, his dark eyes taking in the slight,
Omwati female. She appeared distracted - even dazed. “Are you well, young
mistress?”
“I don’t know.” She frowned and rubbed her
forehead. “Things seem very strange.”
“You should sit down,” Wedge urged. Had she gone
a paler blue? It was difficult to tell.
“No, I’ll go and get the container,” she
murmured and slipped from the room, past the waiting pilots.
“Who was that?” asked Hobbie.
Wedge stood at the office door. “A research
assistant by the name of…Quo Zacx?” he looked to Iloncka Yashek for
confirmation. “She found whatever it is we have to take back to Coruscant.”
Quo Zacx hurried down the corridor but as she neared
the store, a figure slipped from one of the reading rooms and followed her.
She manoeuvred around the piles of debris waiting to
be carted away until she got to the back of the room where the cupboard was
situated. “I thought there were two boxes,” she said to herself as she
lifted the carved boa wood box and prepared to take it to the men who were to
carry it all the way back to Coruscant. “There were two boxes. One is
missing.” Suddenly feeling that she wasn’t alone, she turned to face a tall
figure, unrecognisable under a heavy cloak and breathing mask. “Can I help
you? I’m afraid that this part of the library is not open to the public…”
“Give me the box,” the figure demanded harshly in
a voice fed through a vocal modulator. It could have been either a male or a
female. The Omwati did not know.
Quo Zacx blinked in surprise. “No.”
“Give me the box.”
“I said 'no'.” Was that a blaster in the
being’s hand? This was serious. Someone wanted this box of…
“Then I’ll have to take it.” The figure snarled
and suddenly launched itself at the unsuspecting female.
Quo Zacx found herself flat on her back, her head
reeling as it hit something in her descent to the floor. The box was in the arms
of someone who wasn’t supposed to have it. “Hey!” she managed to croak.
“Give that back. It doesn’t belong to…”
But the figure turned and began to run. Quo Zacx
dragged herself to the alarm and hit it with as much force as she could muster
before sinking to the ground. “Stop thief…”
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Pash and Hobbie barely had time to react to the alarm
before Wedge was back out of the office his blaster already in his hand. “What
is it?”
“The Omwati…Quo Zacx. She hasn’t returned,”
Hobbie murmured worriedly as the siren made even the simplest of conversations
impossible.
“Hobbie, you go and check on her,” Wedge shouted.
“Pash, come with me.”
But he hadn’t gone far when a figure dashed past
them and disappeared out of the main entrance clutching a medium sized wooden
box. He didn’t need to see a sabacc deck to know that someone had got hold of
their stuff.
“After him,” Wedge yelled, immediately giving
chase and sending a couple of blasts after the departing figure. They clattered
down the front steps firing off more shots. The box fell to the ground with a
crash. With one snarled curse, the figure stared at the spilled contents, leapt
onto a swoop bike and fired the engine. Wedge and Pash could only watch as it
disappeared.
“At least they didn’t get the box,” Pash
commented thoughtfully. “And I think you managed to hit him…or her.”
“No, I caught the edge of the cloak - that was all.
Still, they gave up a little too easily for my liking. I wonder why.”
Pash strode purposefully over to where the box lay,
the lid several metres further on and the contents scattered. “I can tell you
why,” he said.
“Why?”
“This box is full of rubbish.”
“What!”
“We’ve been brought on a wild morodin hunt - all
for nothing.” He pointed to the scattered bits and pieces. “Or have we? What
would be the point? None of us are fools.” He picked up the box and the lid,
handing them to Wedge. “Maybe there was a box, perhaps there’s
another one and it’s already gone.” Bending over, Pash collected the
crumpled pieces of flimsy and the cracked data rods. “There’s certainly no
lightsabers in this container.”
Wedge stared up at the sky in frustration, watching
idly as a lone x-wing streaked across the horizon. “Leia’s not going to like
this.”
Pash stamped his foot with annoyance. “We need to
speak to this Quo Zacx, providing she’s not the one who raced out of here with
the box under her arm.”
“She couldn’t have been – it’s not possible.
Let’s ask about another box,” Hobbie said.
Pash frowned. “They would not have brought us out
all this way for nothing. The head librarian doesn’t strike me as the sort of
person to set up such an easily discovered scam.”
“Lessons learned from Dad, Pash?” Wedge said with
a grin.
“Nope, my own gut feelings.”
“Well, since they match mine…” Wedge extended
his arm. “After you.”
They returned to Iloncka Yashek’s office to find it
empty and Hobbie motioning to them from a doorway at the far end of the main
corridor. The dean of the University stood wringing his hands while the head
librarian was carefully supporting a dazed Quo Zacx, her severe features
softened into unexpected concern as she tended the younger female.
Hobbie handed Mistress Yashek a water bottle.
“Whoever tried to steal this box managed to shove this kid so hard that she
cracked her head off the edge of that filing cabinet.”
“She looks a little dizzy,” Pash observed.
Wedge knelt down beside her. “Are you all right?”
“Just winded, sir,” she said shakily. “And I
feel strange…”
Wedge hated to have to ask her questions when she was
obviously in need of medical attention but this was part of his job. “Did you
see who it was?”
Quo Zacx shook her head and wished that she hadn’t
as the throbbing intensified. She closed her eyes and swallowed, trying to will
away her feeling of nausea. “They were cloaked and masked too…spoke through
something that altered the voice. I could not tell.”
“Voice modulator. They didn’t get the box. You
managed to hit the alarm – well done.”
“What about the other box. There were two,”
Iloncka Yashek protested.
Wedge glanced at the other Rogues. So there had been
two boxes. Now they only had one.
“It’s not there but it’s safe,” Quo Zacx said
dreamily.
“How do you know?”
“I can’t remember.” Her dark blue eyes widened
in panic. “I honestly can’t remember. There’s a gap in my memory.”
“She needs to see a healer. She’s obviously
concussed,” Hobbie said worriedly in an undertone to Wedge.
“I just know that it’s safe. It belongs to the
Jedi.”
“You know someone has the first box?” Wedge asked
sharply.
Quo Zacx frowned. “No…yes. I can’t remember,”
she repeated. “My head hurts.”
“It looks like this one?” he persisted. She could
be lying but he doubted it. The Omwati were intelligent thinkers, not
subversives. He’d interrogated his fair share of possible malcontents and
would swear that Quo Zacx was telling the truth.
Quo Zacx closed her eyes, tears trickling down her
pale blue cheeks as Wedge stared at Iloncka Yashek for an answer to his
question.
“It was exactly the same – size,
material…exactly,” she confirmed.
Pash looked at his commander. “I’m on it, Wedge.
I’ll go and check the security cams. See that she gets medical attention.”
“Good.” He knelt beside the Omwati. “Come on,
you need to see someone.” She opened her eyes and gave a tiny nod. Wedge
helped Quo Zacx to her feet and looked at the dean of the University.
He cleared his throat nervously. “I’ll see that
she gets to a medic immediately.”
“Thank you.”
An hour later, Pash shook his head. He’d checked
the records of all the employees currently working in the library and reviewed
all the security cams but nothing unusual had caught his interest until the
intruder had attempted the taking of the box. “Nothing, boss.”
“Nothing? Oh well. We’ll take the empty container
with us. Maybe some historian on Coruscant can tell us something about it.”
On their way back to the spaceport, they stopped off
at the university medical facilities to speak to Quo Zacx. She’d been treated
and was recovering swiftly but still couldn’t recall anything for an hour
prior to the Rogues’ arrival at the library.
“I’m sorry, Commander Antilles, that I cannot be
more helpful.”
“We’re just glad that you weren’t seriously
harmed.” Wedge sat in the chair beside her bed. “The doctor tells me that
there’s an hour that you cannot account for.”
“Yes.” She looked troubled. “But it could all
be because I hit my head. I’ve tried to remember what happened and I cannot. I
just have the feeling that the items are safe. I know it’s irrational and I
cannot help it. It’s just a feeling I have.”
“A feeling?” Wedge froze. Where had he heard that
expression? He dug into a pocket and fished around…ah, there it was. Han had
given this to him just in case. He produced a miniature holo. “Do you
recognise this man?”
Quo Zacx stared at the holo and gave a little smile.
“Of course I do. That’s Luke Skywalker, the Jedi Knight.”
“Have you seen him here on Praesitlyn?”
The blue-skinned Omwati female looked a little taken
aback. “Are you serious?”
“Yes.”
“I’ve seen him on ‘Empire’s Most Wanted and
holo-shows like that. I would love to meet him in real life. I’ve always been
interested in the Jedi. It’s their history…”
“Yes, thank you.” Wedge cut her off.
“What would he be doing here? It’s not exactly
the Core.”
“You forget, there was a box of Jedi items hidden
here and that could be reason enough for Luke Skywalker.”
“But I would remember…surely?”
“You would think so, wouldn’t you? But the ways
of the Jedi are strange. I don’t know if they understand them totally
themselves.”
Perhaps the thief had already managed to steal the
first box; Wedge couldn’t be sure. There was no image of the first box’s
disappearance on the holocams. But the memory of a lone x-wing in the sky stayed
with him all the way back to the spaceport. Was it Luke? Was that the first hint
that he was still alive in over three years?
**************************************