The Prodigal 2001 short story by Louis Turfrey Thirty-seven years after Episode IV – A New Hope The alley was dark and her quarry was scared and full of fear. Trude De’Athe knew the problems this would cause. Fear led to the Dark side, and although her quarry Geata Altona was not yet a Dark Force adept, the Twi’lek was slipping closer each day. Force only knows why he had left the academy. Trude’s mind slipped back to the day when Altona had announced his intention to leave. When Blake had impassively asked why, he simply mumbled some feeble excuse about needing space. However, when Blake had asked him to return his lightsabre, one of Blake’s own creations, he refused. Blake tried reasoning with him but the Padawan ran away. Blake had refused to follow him, saying that each man must follow his own path. Eventually he relented and sent Trude instead. She knew this was a test of sorts, he was always testing her. How difficult could it be to bring in a third-rate Padawan that had not yet attained enough skill to create his own lightsabre? As she moved slowly forward, the Force enhancing her senses of smell and hearing, she caught another sound from behind her. Padded feet hitting the ferocrete floor lightly. She considered the ramifications of this. The alley had windowless factory buildings running either side. Each building was in excess of thirty meters high. She had not sensed the approach of the second person and had not heard the quiet whine of a repulsor unit. Whoever was behind her had enough Force ability to reduce their impact to near nothing, could mask that ability well and were confident enough to go up against her in a dark alley. This could be trouble There was the sensation of movement in front of her and the snap hiss of a lightsabre. Then from behind, there was a flare of movement through the Force and a coldness she had not felt for a long time. Fear tingled at the back of her mind as sibling recognition sparked. “Aaron. I thought you were dead.” She heard a low chuckle and a second lightsabre ignited behind her. “You wish. I’ve come to claim you little sister.” She heard Geata’s heavy breathing from in front and felt fear wash over her. “It’s not too late Geata. You can still return to us.” She forced herself to remain calm now, letting the Force flow through her. She felt the tension in front of her and again heard the chuckle from behind. “Oh, he can’t do that, little sister. He’s returning himself to us instead. He has some valuable information on that cargo cruiser you’ve been travelling around in. It’s a shame you won’t be able to tell anybody about it.” The attack came swiftly, and from both directions. Trude chose to avoid it. Instead of meeting where her body would have been, the two blades collided with each other. Her Force enhanced leap took her over Geata’s head and towards the far end of the alley. She realised her mistake almost immediately. There was nothing there but a dead area in the Force. As she concentrated her senses she felt the minds of three Dark Jedi, and one who was Force sensitive. A trap. “Give it up Trude. I don’t want to kill you, I need you. Join me.” She felt coldness around her thoughts and knew he was trying to alter her perceptions. “I’ll never join you Aaron. What happened to you? How could you turn from using your Force abilities for good into darkness?” She felt the cloud pass over him and the brief slip of his thoughts as he remembered the Holocron. Before she could control herself she found herself gasping. “You still have the Holocron?” There was a feeling of resignation and then coldness as Aaron spoke. “Oh, dear little sister. Now I’ll have to kill you anyway.” No further warning was needed. She extended her Force sense to it’s maximum and assessed her situation. Her brother leapt up above her, bringing his blade down in an overhead arc. So fast was his movement that she was barely able to parry it. However, her reflexes took over when her mind was numbed and she felt the Force flow through her as she deflected, then turned the blade aside. She countered with her own thrust as Geata came at her from the other side. She judged his strength and found his mind unguarded. She planted a firm suggestion that he should swing to her left side. Miraculously, it worked and she had no problem deflecting the second blade into the path of Aaron’s second attack. “Fool! If you cannot use a blade you should not have one.” She felt a surge in the force and Geata’s blade was wrenched from his grasp and propelled down the alley. She felt his confusion and fear as he leapt out of the way, taking himself outside the combat zone. “Just you and me now little sister. Think you are up to it?” In answer, she struck low, causing Aaron to jump above her blade. As he did so, she gathered the Force and thrust it towards him. He shot back towards the alley wall, but somehow managed to turn in mid air and land nimbly. She felt the anger radiating from him and allowed herself a little smile of satisfaction. “You have grown significantly since our last meeting. You will make a notable addition to my ranks.” He leapt forward, covering the five metres between them in one jump. His lightsabre came down in a wicked arc that sliced at Trude’s arm. She felt the heat of the blade scorch her skin as it passed through empty cloth. Trude lunged inside the attack, letting the Force guide her towards her quarry. As she did so, she felt a tingle in the Force from behind her. Letting her mind empty, she dropped down and the blaster bolt missed her head by millimetres. There was a curse as the bolt impacted upon Aaron, but she felt no sign of pain from him, only concentration in the Force. He too had grown since their last meeting, and the energy was dissipated harmlessly. Something clattered to the floor nearby and she knew the blaster had been yanked from its owner’s hands. Above the sound of their clashing sabres, Trude could just hear the sound of struggling at the far end of the alley. Trude suddenly had an insight. The three dark Jedi were not here to stop her, but to stop the other Force sensitive from getting involved. It amused her that it needed three. He must be one hell of a warrior. Aaron jumped up and over, turning to slash at her as he came down. Trude marvelled at his mastery of the lightsabre and knew she would eventually lose the fight. She felt no nervousness or fear, only a deep sense of calm. She dropped deeper into the Force and let it fill her body and mind. She sensed Aaron dropping deeper into the dark side and took the fight to the next level. Geata watched as the two Jedi fought hard and fast. So quick were they fighting, that he could not keep track of all the moves. He felt a deep sense of shame at being unable to take part in the battle. At the same time he also felt a deep sense of relief. He liked Trude, and although he had been coerced had found it difficult to betray her. Maybe in another life he might have been her friend, had he not become a disciple of the dark side. However, he knew now that Master Aaron despised him. He had felt the loathing when he had lost Blakes lightsabre. He would never be reaccepted onto the Jedi path. Trude felt herself starting to tire. Twice, Aaron had been able to get inside her arc, twice he had wounded her. Her hand throbbed where the little finger had been surgically removed by his blade. She silently called out to Blake, hoping that he would understand her failure, and opened herself completely to the Force. No barriers, no thought, only reaction, if she failed today it would be as a Jedi, not a Padawan learner. Geata heard her call, but noticed that the rest of the dark Jedi appeared impervious to it. He realised then that the light side was with him. Without thought of consequence, he called his discarded blade to him and started walking towards the melee. Trude felt Geata approaching and knew that her time was short. She might be able to take on a Jedi Master for a short period, but not whilst being attacked from two directions. She sent a silent thought out towards Geata, trying to second guess his attack, and found only warmth and resignation. She knew what he planned. Suicide, in order to save her. She couldn’t let him do it. Perhaps there was an alternative though. “Stop. I yield.” She said it so quietly that Aaron nearly missed it. However, he withdrew his attack, leaping back out of her way. She threw her deactivated lightsabre down. “Say that again.” Aaron asked with delight. “I said, I yield. I will join you of my own free will. No deceptions” The youthful dark master nearly jumped for joy. Then he noticed the look on Geata’s face and realised what the young Padawan had been planning. His anger rose and he threw his activated blade at the apprentice. There was the snap hiss of another blade and his own blade was deflected by Trude’s. “I yield on the condition that you let this Padawan go. He will be useful in conveying the message of my capitulation to my former master.” Aaron was not about to turn away the opportunity of teaching such a powerful young Jedi and agreed. “Yes. He may go, but if I ever set my eyes on him again, he will die by my hand.” Geata needed no further warning and ran out of the alley. Trude retracted her blade and walked towards Aaron. She placed her lightsabre in front of her on the floor and knelt before her new Master. “My life is yours to do with as you wish, brother.” Aaron smiled, a thin wicked smile that he knew his sister would never see. “Yes little sister, it is.” EPILOGUE Blake sat thoughtfully as he listened to the young Padawan. He pulled images from the Twi’lek’s mind and saw the battle. He had been right; she was a powerful young Jedi. And one who was about to walk the same dark path he had, so many years ago. Geata stopped his speedy recollection of events and Blake steepled his hands in silence. “What do you want Geata? What path will you travel now?” The young Padawan looked surprised, visibly restraining himself by gripping on to the desk. “Sir, with respect, she may still be able to be rescued. Why are we waiting?” Blake frowned; this one would take some teaching. He reached across the table and placed his hand on the Padawans, calming him. Geata’s surprise registered for only a moment, then he smiled, the first smile Blake had seen the young man emit since he had joined the academy. “She was sent to retrieve you and bring you back into the fold. She succeeded in this, did she not?” The Padawan nodded. “Good, then what she does with her free time is her affair. I will confer with the other members of our council here, and we will look into what action can be taken. For the moment, meditate on why she chose to surrender herself. Take your time; go into a healing trance if need be to. I will come for you when I need you.” Geata continued to smile and left the office. He was passed in the doorway by Master Zeboden, who looked inquiringly at the young Jedi as he passed. He closed the door and sat opposite Blake. “You pushed him, didn’t you?” Blake nodded, standing and facing the window. Zeboden wondered why he always did this when he entered the office. “She’s in danger and I can’t help her Zeb.” He sighed, looking down at his hands. “What do I do?” The older Jedi Master raised an eyebrow and stood to walk over to Blake. “She knew the risks when she accepted the assignment. She knows the danger she is putting herself in. If it helps us smoke out the dark side adepts then so much the better. If not, we would have lost her eventually anyway. Does Nera know yet?” Blake shook his head. “When she finds out there will be hell to pay.” Trude walked after Aaron and the one called Brotus, following them into the bowels of his starship. They rounded a turn and Trude found herself in what looked like a large medical bay. A strange creature stood from a nearby desk, it’s talloned hands and disfigured features giving it the appearance of a creature from children’s worst nightmares. It bowed its humanoid form and spoke. “The gretch-kla is ready for insertion. Is this the subject?” Trude felt a sinking feeling as she realised what the creature was. A Yuuzon Vong, probably a shaper. She had heard the fearful stories of what these creatures were capable of. “Yes.” Aaron looked smug. “She lost a hand during our battle. Is there anything you can do to replace that?” The creature looked over at Trude, examining her mostly intact hands. “She appears barely scratched.” Aaron nodded to the two dark Jedi standing to either side of her and they clamped strong arms onto her shoulders, forcing her to sit on a nearby bench. Aaron walked over, activated his lightsabre and the two Jedi wrenched her injured hand outwards. The lightsabre dismembered the hand, just above the joint. Trude almost fainted with the pain. “As I was saying, what can we do to replace it?” The Prodigal 2001 short story by Louis Turfrey Thirty-seven years after Episode IV – A New Hope Histories – Heralding the return of Aaron De’Athe the after his apparent death some months before. This shows the Setnin Jedi Council hard at work, before the Fall of Chancai, still trying to control the rise of the dark side
adepts. And thrown into the mix a Yuuzhan Vong, from the New Jedi Order tales. Working
on the assumption that some survive the invasion of the Star Wars galaxy,
this character has fallen into the employ of Aaron De’Athe and Commander Brotus. Cast of
Characters Trude De’Athe Geata Altona Aaron De’Athe Commander Brotus Blake De’Athe Master Zeboden |