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Retribution 2001
short story by Louis Turfrey Thirty-seven years after
Episode IV – A New Hope The
pain shot through her like no other pain she had ever encountered. Even the
loss of her eyes had been a less agonizing experience. She could feel the
fibrous tissue of the bio-implants crawling their way into her brain and
nothing she could call upon in the Force was helping her. How she remained
awake throughout it all was a question she could not answer, but in the end
it all but ate away at her will to live. “She is still awake?” Aaron De’Athe watched coldly as his
sister writhed and fought against the bonds that anchored her to the table.
The implant on her hand had attached itself with very little problem.
However, the eye implants were still finding it difficult to embed themselves
and were having to create their own versions of the optic nerve. “Yes. She is very strong. Any other human would have died long
ago. I find it fascinating that the Jedi are able to survive when others
would have died. What is it that you have that other humans lack?” The
Yuuzhan Vong shaper looked inquisitively at Aaron, who stared coldly back. “You will never know Grethak Nor. Only the Force is able to
impart that knowledge, and you Vong are not able to access it, are you?” The shapers face clouded for a
moment and Aaron briefly caught the fire of an emotion, but it was gone as
quickly as it had surfaced. He smiled. Even the Vong could penetrate the
Force if they were angry enough. “When will she be ready?” The shaper examined his
instrumentation; seeming to loath it’s very touch on his skin. “Two hours, three at most.” Aaron nodded and looked back at
his sister as her struggles started to weaken again. “Good. Give her a days rest then bring her to the command
ship. Then I can begin her retraining.” She looked in the mirror at the
two orbs, glowing in her eye sockets. Strangely, they seemed less alien than
she had thought they would. Her head ached as she concentrated closely upon
her face. Small scars, already fading, showed where the microscopic tendrils
had forced their way into her skull. The thought made her dizzy, and she sat
down heavily on her sleeping cot. How have they done it? How
have they given me sight again? There was a light knock at the
door and her Force sense reached out. She opened the door with her mind. The
Force came easier to her now. Her brother stood there waiting. “Sister, how are you feeling?” She nearly leapt off the cot to
tear his heart out, but managed to control her emotions long enough to
answer. “What do you think?” He smiled, and she knew that he
had picked up on her emotional outburst. “Don’t be embarrassed by your lack of control sister. The
implants have short-circuited certain areas of your brain in order to function
correctly. Your behavioural centres have been modified somewhat.” He walked
into the large guest room and grabbed her by the face examining her scars.
Before she could fight him off he had let go. “Excellent. Your healing is complete. You will soon be able to
join me for your new training.” He smiled coldly at her and reached around
behind himself, presenting her with her lightsabre. “Firstly though, I think another sort of lesson is in order.” She reacted with instinct,
bringing her blade to herself, igniting it and slicing it down in a wicked
arc. It never hit its target. Pain shot from her implanted hand, straight up
her arm and into her brain. She dropped the blade and it deactivated, hanging
silently in the air. Aaron retrieved it as she gasped for breath on her cot.
“What have you done to me?” She managed to force the words from her
lips. The dark Jedi bent down and looked her straight in the eye. “Whenever you access the light side of the Force, you will
feel the same pain that you have just experienced. Eventually it will beat
you down, making you my willing apprentice. Until that time, you will learn
from me by force if necessary. Welcome to the dark side little sister.” Nias Derril watched closely on
the small monitor of his data pad as the Galactic Alliance shuttle entered
the hanger of the Victory Star Destroyer. He winced as it glided within
inches of the X-Wing that had been moved to the side of the bay. He'd seen
that type of shuttle before, during Imperial times. He pressed the record
button, capturing the ongoing images in the pad. Something scratched his
neck. "Easy Zee bee, I don't
want you blowing my head off." The small spider like service droid
warbled its electronic response and withdrew its manipulator arm slightly. There
was a click, a pinch and then the electronic slave collar was resting in his
lap. "Good work Zee bee,
that's part one completed." He felt a surge of adrenalin at the thought
that he was going to get payback for some of what the Ki-Ki had done to him.
He turned and shifted within the maintenance tunnel, moving to where a small
astromech unit that was working on a new installation. "How's that
installation going Arfive?" The astromech warbled a quiet response and Nias read it upon his pad. "Good. Activate it when
it has been completed and rig it into the internal com systems. I want them
to act as a conduit for the transmissions." The small droid closed up the inner casing and started to connect up
the box. Nias turned back to the monitor, just in time to see a black-cloaked
figure exiting from the shuttle. He zoomed in on to the display and gasped as
he saw the lightsabre hanging from the figures belt. He caught movement from
the left side of the screen and was astounded to see Commander Brotus
approaching the figure. They smiled and greeted one another. A second figure
emerged from behind the first. Slightly taller, and with a slimmer figure.
Nias changed to the second camera and saw the slim figure of a woman. She
also had a lightsabre. He zoomed in on her face, but was unable to see
anything due to the darkness of the hood. Nias noticed Brotus move towards
her holding out his hand, and started to split the view on his pad to show
different angles. She responded by moving towards him and holding out hers.
Nias had to do a double take. In place of her hand was what looked like a
six-fingered talon. Within the docking bay Commander Brotus stepped in closer to Trude.
She did not move away when he moved to push back her hood and so he folded it
back upon her shoulders. He gasped in awe at her face. Where there had once
been two closed and empty eye sockets, there now resided a pair of glowing
balls of light. Closer examination proved that they were eyes of some sort,
but like none he had ever seen before. Only light scars showed where they had
been grafted. "Incredible, their
medical knowledge is astounding. From what creature are they?" Aaron
moved around, his dark eyes sparkling with his own pleasure. "I am told that the
creature is a hybrid of humanoid DNA and that of a Vong species called the
Drac-Tekla. The creature is spider-like and is grown entirely for its eyes.
They offer three-dimensional stereographic vision, but can zoom to
microscopic or macroscopic levels. They also allow the user to see in several
wavelengths. Trude, why not show him the other advantage." Trude De'Athe nodded, moving slightly away from both men she
concentrated on a storage crate, not less than ten metres away. The metal on
the side of the crate started to blacken and scorch. Within seconds it had
started to glow, and within a minute had become white hot. Brotus started to
look slightly nervous and coughed to get Aaron’s attention. "That crate contains
energy munitions. I would rather that it didn't explode." Aaron nodded
and placed a restraining arm on Trudes shoulder. She broke her concentration
and the crate started to blacken again, solidifying within another minute. "Fascinating."
Brotus turned to Trude. "How do you feel my dear?" Trude paused for a second and then looked straight back at Brotus. "I feel pain Commander.
Much pain and much anger." Her voice was emotionless but Brotus knew
that was merely a front. She would
make an excellent weapon. Nias grinned from ear to ear when he noticed who it was, but then he
realised the truth of the situation and the grief struck him like a knife.
How could Jedi side with the Ki-Ki? He would have very little time to
complete his plans with two Jedi onboard. Especially if they were now working
with Brotus. His thoughts were filled with confusion as he ran through the
checklist on his datapad, why would the Jedi work with the enemy? He needed
to know more. "Zee Bee, reattach the
collar, but alter the unlock code to my DNA pattern. Disable and remove the
explosives as well." The little droid warbled a response and started its
job. Within seconds Nias had the deactivated detonator in his hands. The
detonite charge came a minute later. "Good, now lets brew some home made
fun." Brotus watched as Derril approached. The man made him angry. He was
supposed to be a man of note in the Setnin Sector. A skilled operator who
could repair almost anything was not supposed to have problems repairing an
Imperial Victory Class Star Destroyer. He had removed him from that project
when Cathum had arrived. However, he had still been useful in converting this
old Republic MC 90 cruiser to his needs. He turned to his colleagues. "Mister Derril here is
another example of what the Setnin Sector used to stand for, disorganised
crime and lawlessness." Trude looked around towards Nias as he approached and looked him
straight in the eye. He kept his composure, barely, and felt a tickle in the
corner of his mind. "Wait for me". The thought popped in there
unbidden. He was startled and dropped his datapad. "Fool, what if you had
erased the service reports!" Brotus let his irritation rise to the
surface. Nias seemed unperturbed; Brotus reflected that it was probably due
to the drug the man was taking. When he had found out that the man was
addicted to spice, he had almost shouted with joy. He'd kept the man under
his control by reducing the dosage he was allowed. However, of late that had
not been as effective, and the dosage had been lowered little by little as
the weeks went by. When the dosage had become ineffective, the slave collar
had been attached. Brotus fingered the control on his belt, maybe he should
teach the man a lesson in pain control. Nias interrupted his thoughts. "Commander, we are now
at ninety eight percent efficiency. That’s thirty percent up on the highest
previous average for this ship." He nodded towards Trude. "Miss
De'Athe, good to see you again." Brotus stared at him and he could feel the attention of the other Jedi
as well. He continued to fill his mind with the repair schedules and handed
over the datapad. Brotus took it and examined the statistics. "There is a five
percent drain on the shields, what is causing it?" Nias was ready with his rehearsed answer. "A phase inverter is
out of alignment. I have expressed the need for a new one, but high command
refused. Apparently they are making modifications to the flag ship."
Brotus frowned at this news. Command of the fleet should have been his and
his alone, not split between a bodyguard and an old man. He placed the pad on
to the communications panel. "Very well. You may
attend to the ionic fields in the landing bay. I will arrange for a light
evac suit to be given to you." Nias nodded and moved off. Brotus turned to the hooded figure beside
him. "Was he telling the
truth?" Aaron De'Athe removed his hood and there was a frown on his face. "Difficult to say, his
head was too full of repair schedules and diagrams. I would have to conclude
he is. At least for the moment." Brotus nodded and turned to one of his warriors. "Make sure Mister
Derrill is given an evac suite, but limit it's oxygen supply to one hour at a
time. I don't want him wandering anywhere." Trude De'Athe sank down in her assigned quarters and dropped the
mental shield that she had hidden behind for the last few days. The hand had
stopped hurting days ago, but the eyes still offered a high level of pain. A
tear ran down her cheek at what they had done to here, what she had been
forced to go through. Whatever the creature was that had donated its eyes, it
had been Force sensitive and receptive to the dark side. Day by day she found
that the light side was falling further and further away. If she could only
stop the pain she would be able to concentrate, push it away. She tried again
to maintain some form of control and was soon back inside her mental cocoon.
She reflected coldly to herself that she would deal with De'Athe when the
time came. The problem was, she didn't know which one to blame. She headed
back to the bridge. Nias made the final adjustments to the ionic shield emitters and
signalled for the little droid to test them. The ZB 12 unit walked up to the
shield and placed a tentacled arm gently through the gap. There was a fizzle
but the droid was unhurt. He tested the air pressure in the bay. Seventy
percent of normal. It would do. He quickly snapped the air supply in his suit
to external filtering. The small tank had been drained to nearly fifty
percent before he had entered. He needed more time than that allowed. He
buzzed his communicator. "Derrill here. There’s
been a short in the emitter. I can only get seventy percent pressure. I think
it's a fluctuation in the gravity plates but I need to get at the main
generator to make sure. It's located under that shuttle. Can someone come and
move it?" He needed the shuttle moved over by about five metres so that
he could turn the X-wing around. There was a brief pause then he heard
Brotus. "Miss De'Athe will be
with you shortly. Meanwhile stay where you are." A few minutes later Trude walked into the landing bay. However,
instead of getting into the shuttle she extended her altered hand in its
direction. Nias watched as he signalled for the R5 unit to board the X-wing.
The shuttle rose by a metre off the floor and started moving to the side. It
then dropped gently to the ground. Nias snapped open his faceplate. "Trude. Would you mind
telling me what’s going on?” Trude looked vacantly at him for a moment then moved towards him. "What do you
mean?" Her voice was cold and hard. "I mean, what are you
doing working with Brotus? He's an insane criminal." She smiled at him and he recognised the warmth that had once resided
in her face. "I don't work for or
with him. I chose to join Aaron to save somebody else’s life. Now I must find
a means of escape." She moved closer to Nias, lifting him up bodily off
the floor with her altered hand. "Soon Nias. The dark side is closing
and I have very little time left." She set him down. Both Brotus and Aaron watched the exchange from the security cameras
on the communications console. "What do you sense
Aaron?" The dark Jedi concentrated for a moment and his face turned stony. "Deception. On the part
of my sister and Derrill." He turned towards Brotus. "Shame, I invested
a lot of time and money into those alterations. You may do with her as you
wish." Brotus nodded, turned to the nearest officer and fed him orders. Nias was explaining his plan to Trude when a claxon sounded and red
lights started up around the bay. Nias looked towards Trude, snapping his
faceplate back on, activating the suit mike. "The pressure will drop
to about thirty percent normal, but the shield won't give out completely.
I've rigged it to hold. You'll have to get to the co-pilots position on the
X-wing. Think you can do it?" She nodded and sprinted towards the
fighter. Nias tried to keep up, but she was in her seat well before he
struggled up the ladder. He pulled the lever to close the canopy and heard
the familiar voice of R5. He read the screen. "Good, bring her around
and prepare the cannon. Lock S-Foils into attack position." He watched
as the fighter slowly rotated. Blake's old ship had been modified
considerably since her creation and he struggled to recognise all of the new
controls. "Shields. Any ideas?" "Ask R5." Nias
nearly kicked himself for forgetting the little droids primary function. "R5 bring the shields
up double front and ram the ionic shield." The warble that came back to him told him that the droid was not very
happy with the plan. "Don't worry, I've
lowered the ionics to minimum potency. They barely hold in the
atmosphere." The droid warbled its assent and the ship shot forwards. From the bridge Brotus looked on the scene in the docking bay. Aaron
noticed the full anger on his face. "He's just outlived his
usefulness." He picked up the slave remote form his chair and activated
the stud. The X-Wing shot up and away from the cruiser as the primary bridge
expanded outwards into space, creating a ball of fire that lit up the nearby
space for kilometres around. Nias shielded his eyes, and allowed himself a
moment of glee. "That'll take care of
him." Trude concentrated for a moment and felt a familiar mind. "No. You missed. Aaron De'Athe and Brotus stood where the bridge had once been,
surrounded by a ball of dark crackling energy. The Commander fumed once more
as he realised that he had been outwitted by a starship mechanic. He looked
towards the area where the pad had been placed and could see the bulkhead of
the deck below the command centre. Aaron looked at him, disdain on his face. "It feels bad doesn't it? Letting
somebody escape?" Brotus nodded, unable to
trust his feelings on the matter. Aaron had assured him that the escape was
necessary, but he was not convinced. "Don’t worry. I'll keep
my end of the bargain." Aaron nodded back and took out a small covered package from his tunic.
He unwrapped it and a small spider-like creature uncurled itself onto his
hand. He stroked it and it started to emit light. Very soon, they had the
picture of the inside of the X-wing. They both looked on as the streaks of
hyperspace engulfed the X-Wing. Then the transmission was gone. "Excellent. The plan is in place." Retribution 2001
short story by Louis Turfrey Thirty-seven years after
Episode IV – A New Hope Histories – Following on directly from The Prodigal, and
preceding the events of the Chancai
Invasion, this Louis Turfrey tale
shows how strongly Aaron
De’Athe holds sway over
his younger sister Trude.
But it also shows the deviousness of Nias Derril and the determination of Trude to do the right
thing. One of the final stories of 2001, this leads right into the Chancai Invasion and
continues Louis storyline involving the Setnin struggle against not only the Ki-Ki but the forces of the dark side.
Cast of Characters Nias Derril Trude De’Athe Aaron De’Athe Commander Brotus Grethak Nor |